* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:01] AND TO BEGIN TONIGHT'S ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. AND [Call to Order] FIRST I'LL TAKE ROLE. COMMISSIONER GARY. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER BERE RAMIREZ. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER BRA. COMMISSIONER DINKLER. AND I KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER DINKLER WAS HAVING PROBLEMS GETTING ON, SO I WILL CIRCLE BACK. COMMISSIONER DUNCAN PRESENT? COMMISSIONER EVANS? HERE. COMMISSIONER KING HERE. COMMISSIONER RAY HERE. COMMISSIONER SMITH. SO I WILL CIRCLE BACK, UH, FOR COMMISSIONERS, RAY AND LER, AND [Consent Agenda] FIRST NOW TO READ THE CONSENT AGENDA AND, UH, A ONE APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JULY 7TH, 2020 AS CORRECTED FOR THE DATE. AND THEN, UH, B, PUBLIC HEARINGS REZONING, UH, B ONE REZONING C 14 DASH 2019 DASH 1 59 ARBORETUM LOT NINE. AND THE, UM, I HAD A QUESTION FOR ANDREW IS, UM, UH, I WAS A LITTLE UNCLEAR ABOUT YOUR LAST MINUTE MESSAGE. IS, IS, IS IT STILL APPLICANT POSTPONEMENT REQUEST FOR AUGUST 18TH CHAIR COMMISSION LEAVES ON ANDREW? THERE? THAT IS CORRECT. APPLICANT POSTPONEMENTS AUGUST 18TH. OKAY, GREAT, THANKS. AND THEN B TWO REZONING C 14 DASH 29 20 20 60. AVERY LAKE LINE THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT, B3 REZONING C 14 DASH 2020 DASH 0 0 6 1. THIS OLD WORLD, THIS OLD WOOD REZONING THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT BEFORE REZONING C 14 20 20 66 CONCORDIA RESIDENCE HALL PDA AMENDMENT, AND THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT. AND THEN B FIVE C EIGHT J 2018 DASH 1 67, UH, ONE A ADD ADDISON SECTION FIVE AND THAT IS OFFERED FOR, THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT AND C AND B SIX SUBDIVISION C EIGHT DASH 2020 DASH 0 0 38 A CHARRO ESTATE'S SUBDIVISION OF LOT 15 THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT. B SEVEN FINAL PLAT FROM APPROVED PRELIMINARY PLAN C EIGHT DASH 2018 DASH 1 65 0.1 A CASCADES AT ONION CREEK EAST PHASE ONE THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT. AND, UH, B EIGHT C EIGHT DASH 2018 DASH ONE SEVEN SORRY, 0 1 7 1 0.1 A, UM, C EIGHT, UH, H GOODNIGHT RANCH PHASE TWO AND THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT. AND THEN B NINE, UM, IS FINAL PLA C 8 20 29 0 A MANA MANCHA ROAD APARTMENTS AND THAT IS OFFERED FOR, THAT IS OFFERED FOR CONSENT FOR DISAPPROVAL FOR RE UH, REASONS. AND, UM, IS IT OKAY IF I JUST READ INTO THE RECORD THAT THE ZONING AND PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDS DISAPPROVAL FOR THE REASONS AS REFLECTED IN EXHIBIT D OF THE STAFF REPORT? WILL THAT SUFFICE ANDREW CHAIR COMMISSION LIAISON, ANDREA? THAT'S CORRECT. OKAY, GREAT. AND THEN ACTUALLY NOT ON HERE IS B 10 AND B 10 OR IT'S AN ADDENDUM AND THERE IT IS. AND THAT IS A SITE PLAN EXTENSION B 10 S P C DASH 99 DASH TWO, NINE POINT, UM, 2 0 1 9 A AND THEN XT FIVE HYDE PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, COREY'S MULTI-USE FACILITY. AND THAT IS ALSO OFFERED FOR CONSENT. AND BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING OR BEFORE WE MAKE [00:05:01] A MOTION, IS THERE ANYBODY ONLINE WHO WISHES TO SPEAK ON ANY OF THE, UM, ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE CONSENT? ESSENTIALLY ALL OF THE ZONING CASES AND PLAT SUBDIVISIONS ARE ON CONSENT. IS THERE ANYBODY WHO WISHES TO SPEAK HEARING THEN? AND THEN WILL TAKE A MOTION FOR CLOSING THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THE CONSENT AGENDA? IS THERE A MOTION CHAIR? I MOVED THAT WE CLOSED THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ACCEPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS WAS JUST READ AND THE MINUTES MOVE DOES MODIFIED. OKAY. SECOND. OKAY. AND THE SECOND BY, UM, UH, MOTION BY COMMISSIONER DUN, UH, SORRY, COMMISSIONER EVANS. AND SECONDED BY, BY, UH, COMMISSIONER DUNCAN. I WILL ASSUME ALL THOSE IN FAVOR. UH, AND PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS AND SOME PEOPLE I'M STILL NOT SEEING, SO WHY DON'T I, IN FACT, ON MY LITTLE THING, I AM JUST SEEING, UM, I'M NOT SEEING COMMISSIONER DINKLER AND THAT IS VERY STRANGE. UM, UM, I HAVE BEEN, UM, MUTED AND UNMUTED. I'M TRYING TO GET BACK IN. HERE WE GO. OKAY. SO, BUT EVERYBODY ELSE RAISE YOUR HAND AND THEN COMMISSIONER DINKLER, JUST GIVE US AN AFFIRMATIVE CALL. UM, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION NOW. DO THEY, UM, THE CONSENT AGENDA INCLUDE THE DISAPPROVAL ON THE SITE PLAN NUMBER NINE, UH, AS STATED IN THE EXHIBIT ATTACHED TO EXHIBIT? YES. OKAY, GOT IT. I GOT IT, HONEY. AGREED. SO MOTION PASSES FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA AND THAT WAS VERY QUICK. AND NOW WE ARE ONTO THE PRESENTATION. AND NORMALLY, OH, COMMISSIONER AGUIRE, WE NEED TO REFLECT ON THE RECORD THAT COMMISSIONER BRA JOINED US AS WELL. OH, YES. THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER DINKLER. SO COMMISSIONER BRA, COMMISSIONER DINKLER HAVE JOINED US. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COMMISSIONER GARY FOR POINTING THAT OUT. AND NOW WE ARE CHAIR, CHAIR. JUST TO CLARIFY, THIS IS COMMISSIONER KING THAT THEY, THEY DID VOTE FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA AS WELL, IS THAT CORRECT? YES. I SAW COMMISSIONER BRA AND DINKLER DID A VOICEMAIL. THANK YOU. OKAY, NOW [C1. Briefing on the merger of the Neighborhood and Community Development and Planning and Zoning Department into the Housing and Planning Department as proposed in the City Manager’s FY 20-21 budget submittal. Presenters: Rodney Gonzalez, Assistant City Manager, (512) 974-2313; Rosie Truelove, Director, Neighborhood Housing & Community Development, (512) 974-3064; Jerry Rusthoven, Assistant Director/ Interim Lead, Planning and Zoning Department, (512) 974-3207.] ONTO C ONE BRIEFING ON THE MERGER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLAN COMMU NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY DEV AND ACTUALLY NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT INTO THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT AS PROS IN THE CITY MANAGERS FISCAL YEAR 2021, BUDGET SUBMITTAL AND THE PRESENTER, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT IS RODNEY GONZALEZ, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, ROSIE TRULOVE DIRECTOR, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. AND JERRY RUSS HOEN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, INTERIM LEAD PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, CHAIR. THIS IS RODNEY GONZALEZ. CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES. OKAY, GREAT. I APPRECIATE IT. AND YES, DID YOU POINTED OUT ROSIE TREE LOVE AND JERRY WESTER WERE ARE ON THE CALL AS WELL. THANK YOU FOR, UM, ASKING US TO COME AND PROVIDE A BRIEFING. AND WHAT I INTENDED TO DO IS GO OVER THE GOALS AND THE BENEFITS THAT WILL BE DERIVED FROM THE, UH, PROPOSED MERGER, UH, PLANNING AND ZONING AND NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, STARTING WITH OVERALL GOALS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE GOALS THAT HAVE BEEN SET OUT ARE TO DELIVER CITY SERVICES IN A MORE EFFICIENT MANNER, UM, TO LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES OF WHERE WE COULD SEE POSITIONS THROUGH THE MERGERS THAT COULD BE USED IN OTHER UNITS, AND ALSO TO LOOK HOW WE CAN USE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FURTHER SUPPORT VARIOUS CITY INITIATIVES, INCLUDING, OF COURSE STRATEGIC DIRECTION 2023. I WILL START OFF BY SAYING THAT WE ORGANIZATIONS ARE NOT NEW TO THE CITY ORGANIZATION. IF YOU'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME, YOU'VE SEEN DEPARTMENTS BE CREATED, SEEN DEPARTMENTS BE MERGED, YOU'VE SEEN OFFICES BE CREATED, ET CETERA. UM, OVER THE LAST, OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 10 YEARS, WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF CITY DEPARTMENTS OFFICES AND WORKING HAVE BEEN CREATED, UM, THROUGH VARIOUS REORGANIZATIONS AND NEW STRUCTURES DEVELOPED. AND THE CHANGE THAT COMES WITH REORGANIZATION CAN BE DIFFICULT TO ABSORB, UH, BECAUSE CHANGE REPRESENTS A NEW WAY OF [00:10:01] DOING BUSINESS AND THAT NEW WAY OF DOING BUSINESS HAS TO BE IMPLEMENTED AND, AND IT HAS TO BE EMBRACED IN ORDER FOR IT TO WORK OUT. UM, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, VERY CLOSELY WITH ROSIE AND WITH JERRY, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS A LASTING CHANGE. THAT THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT IS TEMPORARY IN NATURE, BUT SOMETHING THAT REPRESENTS A NEW WAY OF DOING THIS. UM, AND WITH REGARD TO CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED UNDER THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY UMBRELLA, THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS. THERE ARE SOME PERMITTING CHANGES THAT ARE BEING RECOMMENDED TO DSD, MAINLY ABSORBING SOME OTHER PERMITTING FUNCTIONS ACROSS THE CITY. UM, THOSE WOULD BE MUSIC PERMITTING AND LICENSED AGREEMENTS FROM REAL ESTATE SERVICES AND SMALL CELL PERMITTING, UM, AND AS WELL, YES, SMALL CELL PERMITTING UNDER TERRA. SO THIS ISN'T THE ONLY CHANGE THAT IS RECOMMENDED WITHIN THE BUDGET WITH REGARD TO OUTCOMES THAT WE INTENDED TO DERIVE, UM, LET ME START OFF BY SAYING ALL THE DIVISION AND PROGRAM AREAS FROM BOTH FUNCTIONS ARE TO BE RE RETAINED. UH, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ELIMINATED. UH, THE OUTCOME OF COURSE, THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS A MORE COORDINATED PLANNING, ZONING, HOUSING, AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CITY THAT IS BENEFICIAL TO ALL. AUSTINITE MERGER WILL ALLOW FOR A MORE INCLUSIVE PLANNING PROCESS THAT'S FOCUSED ON ADVANCING EQUITY AND PREVENTING DISPLACEMENT AND THE MERGER. BOTH DEPARTMENTS WILL BRING TOGETHER A COMMUNITY FOCUSED DIVISIONS AND ACTIVITIES TO MORE EQUITABLY AND EFFICIENTLY DELIVER COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING AND HOUSING TO THE COMMUNITY AS WHOLE. THROUGH THE MERGER, WE DO INTEND TO CREATE A NEW UNIT THAT IS FOCUSED ON DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION AND NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION. UM, AND THROUGH THE MERGER, OF COURSE, WE HOPE TO ENHANCE CAPACITY TO CREATE AND PRESERVE, UH, CURRENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO DEVELOP AND DEPLOY COMPLETE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PROACTIVE PREVENTION TO SHOW THAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON THE NEEDS OF OXYGEN'S MOST VULNERABLE. THE OTHER BENEFITS THAT WE INTENDED ACHIEVE ARE ENHANCING OUR SUPPORT FOR STRATEGIC DIRECTION 2023, WHICH, UH, THIS IN PARTICULAR THE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORD THE AFFORDABILITY OUTCOME BY PROVIDING MORE CAPACITY FOR COMPLETE COMMUNITY COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING AND FOR DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION PROGRAMMING. UM, WE ALSO HOPE TO ADD CAPACITY TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT AND AS MENTING CAPACITY FOR MORE INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY BASED PLANNING TO DEFINE, EVALUATE, AND UPDATE OUR SHARED ASPIRATION NOW IN THE FUTURE. AND OF COURSE, WITH THE DMR PRACTICE, UH, PLANNING, IT'LL PROVIDE GREATER, UH, PREDICTABILITY FOR AUSTIN AS WE EVOLVE OVER TIME. THE TOTAL BUDGET OF THE COMBINATION OF BOTH DEPARTMENTS IS 108.1 MILLION WITH THE TOTAL NUMBER OF POSITIONS OF 120 POSITIONS. AND, UM, I'M SORRY THAT I CAN ONLY PARTICIPATE BY PHONE. UH, YOU KNOW, I CERTAINLY WOULD LIKE TO, UH, PARTICIPATE ON VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH THE, UH, COMMITTEE. UH, BUT THAT'S OKAY. I WANTED TO PROVIDE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW. AND OF COURSE THEN, UM, UH, BOTH OR ALL THREE OF US RE UH, JERRY, ROSIE, AND MYSELF ARE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. I DO ALSO WANT TO ASK ROSIE AND JERRY IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT THEY MIGHT WANT TO CONTRIBUTE AS FAR AS THE OVERVIEWS IS CONCERNED. HI, RODNEY. UH, THIS IS ROSIE TRUK. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU GUYS CAN HEAR ME. YES, I THINK, YEAH, I, I THINK I THINK YOU COVERED, UH, THE POINTS THAT I WOULD'VE WANTED TO COVERED. FIRST I REMAIN AVAILABLE ALL THE ANSWER QUESTIONS. OH, THANK YOU. AND JERRY, JERRY OR, OR NOT, JERRY, ARE YOU PLANNING TO SAY ANYTHING? AND IF NOT, WE'LL JUST GO ON TO, UM, I WILL ASK ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER. GONZALEZ, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING FURTHER TO SAY? RODNEY, THAT IS, UH, THAT IS THE GIST OF THE PRESENTATION CHAIR. OKAY. SORRY, TERRY, THIS IS JERRY OV. UM, I, SORRY, I JUST, I JUST, I FORGOT TO MUTE. UM, I AGREE WITH WHAT ROSIE SAID. I THINK RODNEY COVERED THE HIGHLIGHTS THAT I'M AVAILABLE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH JERRY. AND THANK YOU ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER GONZALEZ, AND, [00:15:01] UM, AND NOW ANY, UH, COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM, FROM US AND, UH, UM, JIM, THANK YOU MUCH. UH, I PUT TOGETHER A, UH, A COUPLE OF SLIDES. UM, UH, ANDREW, COREY, ARE YOU ALL THERE? DO YOU HAVE, UH, ACCESS TO HIM? COULD. OKAY, THANK YOU. UM, FIRST OF ALL, WE START OUT BY SAYING I'M GONNA THANK, UH, SYSTEM CITY MANAGER, UH, GONZALEZ FOR HIS EFFORTS. AND, UM, I, I WILL BE THE FIRST ONE TO SAY THAT, UH, MERGING IN THIS AREA IS LONG OVERDUE. SO THAT'S NOT, MY COMMENTS ARE NOT DIRECTED TOWARD DOING IT. IT'S HOW WE DO IT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT I'VE SEEN THE CITY ADDRESS AND SOMETIMES, UM, I CLICKED MY FIRST, UH, THE FIRST THING I WANNA COMMENT ON, UH, THANK YOU IS, UH, IS THE STRUCTURE, UH, THAT, UH, HAS BEEN PROPOSED. UH, THE THREE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED DELETED, UH, HAVE SHOWN BY THEIR PAST PERFORMANCE THEY VALUE AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CITY. SO NOTHING IN MY COMMENT SHOULD TAKE AWAY FROM THAT, BUT I DO WANT TO COMMENT ON IS THAT THERE IS A STRONG REDUNDANCY IN THE THREE THAT BOTHERED ME GREATLY TO TAKE ON A, THE TOTAL MANAGEMENT, UH, HIERARCHY OF, OF THIS ORGANIZATION. LET ME JUST HIGHLIGHT THIS. FIRST OF ALL, UH, MOST OF THE EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UH, ALL OF THE EXPERIENCE OF TWO OF THE THREE. SECOND OF ALL, ALL OF THEIR EDUCATION HAS BEEN HERE IN, IN, OR THE, THE CITY OF BOSTON AND ALL IN GOVERNMENT, UH, AND BUSINESS. AND THIRD OF ALL, ALL THEIR EXPERTISE IS IN NON HOUSING PLANNING, ZONING, CURRENT AREAS. IT'S IN ALL PURCHASING, PR AND COMMUNICATIONS. SO WHILE THAT ASPECT, I THINK WE HAVE A STRONG REDUNDANCY THERE. IT'S ALMOST LIKE, UH, WE'VE CLN THREE PEOPLE AND, UH, PUTTING 'EM IN THERE TO CLICK THE NEXT BUTTON. SO WHAT BOTHERS ME ABOUT THIS IS THAT ALL OF THEIR EXPERIENCE, NONE OF THEIR EXPERIENCES ANYWHERE ELSE, THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW ANY OTHER WAY OF DOING THINGS OTHER THAN THE CITY OF WAS AUSTIN. AND I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT WHILE WE'RE GREAT, UH, WE, THERE ARE OTHER PLACES THAT, UH, HAVE, HAVE, UH, UH, IMPLEMENTED THE METHODS OF WHAT I'M GONNA CALL GROWTH MANAGEMENT. SO I'M TRYING TO PUT US ALL UNDER ONE UMBRELLA. AND, UH, THEN THERE'S NOBODY THAT HAS HAD ANY EDUCATION IN FINDING ZONING PERMITING, AND THERE'S NOT ANY EXPERTISE IN PLANNING ZONING PERMITTING, WHICH IS A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF THE WHOLE PUZZLE. THE SECOND PART IS THAT LOOK AT PERFORMANCE. OKAY, NOW I DID CLICK NEXT ONE THERE, THERE WE GO. SO THE ONLY WAY WE REALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT PERFORMANCE, AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA GO BACK TO, UH, THE PERFORMANCE INDICATOR THAT WE'RE ALL STRUGGLING TO TRY TO FORGET. THAT'S THE ZER REPORT, WHICH WAS FIVE YEARS AGO, WHICH, UH, REALLY TOOK A STRONG LOOK AT OUR ENTIRE GROWTH MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND TOLD US IN ABOUT 500 DIFFERENT ISSUES WHAT WE NEEDED TO ADDRESS. BUT I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE FOUR AUDIT REPORTS ON OUR OWN SET AUDITOR DID ON THESE DEPARTMENTS IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS. FOUR YEARS AGO, WE HAD AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND I, I DON'T WANNA GO INTO A LOT OF DETAIL. THEY'RE, THEY'RE AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO LOOK AT, BUT THEY HAVE PROBABLY THE AUDITS THAT I'M REFERRING TO OR THE HOUSING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PERMITTING DEPARTMENTS ARE PROBABLY THE HARSHEST AUDIENCE FOR ANY CITY DEPARTMENT THAT WE'VE GOT IN AUSTIN CITY GOVERNMENT. UH, LET ME, UM, LET ME GO TO THE NEXT ONE. CAUSE I TRIED TO SUMMARIZE IT. SO IN LOOKING AT THE PERSONNEL THAT, THAT THE MANAGER HAS OPTED TO ASSIGN TO THIS NEW DEPARTMENT, ALL THREE DIRECTORS, NONE OF THEM HAVE ANY PLANNING AND ZONING FRIENDS EDUCATION EXPERTISE. OKAY. AND YOU ADD TO THAT ONE MORE TIME THERE, THINK YOU ADD TO THAT, THAT FOR THE DEPARTMENTS THEY'VE BEEN MANAGING FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, THIS IS A SUMMARY. YOU CAN GO BACK AND [00:20:01] READ THE REPORTS. THEY HAVE BEEN HIGHLY CRITICIZED FOR, UH, NOT ESTABLISHING GOALS OF STRATEGIES, NOT MAINTAINING RELIABLE DATABASE, NOT MONITORING STAFF PERFORMANCE, NOT DETERRING IN PROPER EXPENSES, NOT IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE AND NOT SETTING TIMELINES OR TARGETS. I I THINK THAT THIS IS TOO IMPORTANT TO FUNCTION. I'M TALKING ABOUT PLANNING, ZONING, HOUSING, ALL OF THESE THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TO TAKE THE CHANCE THAT THIS DEPARTMENT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FILL WHAT, WHAT THE CITY NEEDS. CLICK ONE MORE TIME. AND IT ALL, I THINK RAISES A VERY CRITICAL QUESTION OF THE CITY, CITY MANAGER. IF THIS, THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT WE WANT TO TURN THE FUTURE OF ONE OF THE NATION'S FASTEST GROWING AND MOST ECONOMIC REED CITIES OVER TO LIKE, IF NOT, THEN MAYBE THE CITY MANAGER SHOULD GO BACK TO THE DRAWING. NOW I'M GONNA END MY COMMENTS WITH AN ILLUSTRATION I'VE FOUND BECAUSE I THINK ITS VERY APPROPRIATE. AND BELIEVE ME RIGHT NOW, I, THE SHOES THAT I WOULD LIKE LEAST TO BE IN AS OUR CITY MANAGER DEVELOPED THIS IS, BUT WE, AUSTIN IS AT A PIVOTAL POINT. WE ALL KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW THE MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE CITY COUNCIL HAVE THEIR HANDS FULL WITH SOME OF THE WORST CRISES WE COULD HAVE, WHETHER IT BE THE VIRUS, WHETHER IT BE POLICE, WHETHER IT BE HOMELESSNESS, UH, WHETHER IT BE TRANSPORTATION, TAXATION. I MEAN, I, I I, I'VE BEEN, I'VE WORKED FOR CITIES FOR 60 YEARS AND I, I'M ALMOST SOMETIMES I THINK THAT MAYBE ALL OF THE ILLS THAT I'VE SEEN IN MY 60 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE HAVE COLLECTIVELY FOLLOWING UPON US IN TEXAS AT THIS TIME. SO I THINK IT IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE NOT SCREW UP THIS, UH, THIS REORGANIZATION. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT PEGS AND THE RIGHT HOLES, AND WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH REORGANIZATION. AND AS I STARTED THE START, I AGREE A HUNDRED PERCENT WITH, UH, MR. GONZALEZ THAT THE REORGANIZATION'S APPROPRIATE, BUT WE NEED TO DO IT IN THE RIGHT WAY AND WE NEED TO PUT THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN PLACE. UH, AND, UH, AND I DO THANK THEM FOR BRINGING IT UP. SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY 2 CENTS FOR THE DAY. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. UM, AND FIRST I'LL ACTUALLY, YEAH, YEAH, GO AHEAD. UH, MR. GONZALEZ. SURE. AND, AND I WANT TO THANK COMMISSION O DUNCAN, UM, FOR HIS COMMENTS. I TRULY APPRECIATE IT AND I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THESE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, UM, IN THIS FIELD AND IN THIS ARENA. AND I COULDN'T AGREE WITH HIM MORE ABOUT THE PRIORITIZATION OF THESE TWO FUNCTIONS. UM, RIGHT NOW IN, IN THE PLACE THAT WE'RE AT. AS AN OFFER OF CLARIFICATION, IF I COULD, COMMISSIONER DUNCAN, UH, THE TWO DEPARTMENTS THAT WOULD BE MERGED OR NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND PLANNING AND ZONING, I KNOW THAT YOUR SLIDES REFERENCE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UM, THAT IS NOT PART OF THE MERGER. AND SO I JUST WANTED TO OFFER THAT CLARIFICATION THAT, UH, THE MERGER DOES NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. UM, SO I'M NOT SURE IF THAT MIGHT HELP WITH SOME OF, SOME OF THE COMMENTS. UM, AND AS FAR AS THE EXECUTIVES ARE CONCERNED, THE EXECUTIVES WILL REMAIN AS ROSIE, REBECCA, AND JERRY RUSS SOLY. I, I KNOW THAT, UH, YOU DIDN'T INCLUDE JERRY AND THAT SLIDE, BUT JERRY IS OF COURSE, A AN EXECUTIVE WHO WILL REMAIN AND THE MERGER WILL ALLOW US TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE WHO, IT'S MY INTENTION TO DO JUST WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, WHICH IS TO, UH, FILL IT WITH, UH, THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE EXPERIENCE AND THE EXPERTISE THAT WE NEED AND COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING, UM, THAT WILL COMPLIMENT THE STAFF THAT IS ALREADY PRESENT. BUT I DID WANNA MENTION THAT THE MERGER WILL ALLOW US TO BRING ON BOARD, UH, AN ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE POSITION IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE HAVE WITH ROSIE AND REBECCA AND JERRY. AND, AND I WILL ASK, UH, ROSIE AND JERRY IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT THEY WANTED TO COMMENT IN THAT REGARD. RIGHT. THIS IS JERRY. UM, I DON'T KNOW, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF I COULD ADD ANYMORE TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID. UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE STILL WORKING ON THE, UH, THE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT, WHAT THE ORG CHART WOULD LOOK LIKE. UM, WE'RE KIND OF IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW GOING OVER THAT WITH THE, UH, MANAGEMENT FROM BOTH DEPARTMENTS. AND, AND THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT, UH, THAT, THAT I WOULD OFFER, JUST BY WAY OF CLARIFICATION, UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER DUNCAN, YOU REFERENCED YEARS OF EXPERIENCE OF, OF THE INDIVIDUALS, UM, SPECIFICALLY MYSELF AND REBECCA. AND WHAT YOU HAVEN'T NOTED ON THERE IS THE TIME THAT HER, THAT HAS BEEN SPENT BY BOTH OF US IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT. [00:25:01] AND SO, UM, FOR ME, I'VE BEEN WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR FOUR YEARS, AND I THINK REBECCA HAS BEEN THERE FOR AT LEAST 10. AND SO WHILE MY EXPERTISE AT, AT THE CITY OF BOSTON BEFORE THAT WAS IN, IN PROCURE MC FIELDS AND IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, UH, HAVE BEEN WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR FIVE YEARS, AND SHE'S BEEN WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR 10, I'M SORRY, FOR FOUR YEARS. AND SHE'S BEEN WITH THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR 10. SO JUST, JUST BY WAY OF CLARIFICATION, UM, I, I'VE BEEN THE DIRECTOR OF HOUSING FOR FOUR YEARS AND, AND SHE, UM, HAS BEEN THE DEPUTY FOR THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT I'VE BEEN IN THE DEPARTMENT AND WAS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR BEFORE THEN. OKAY. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR RESPONDING. AND ARE THERE ANY OTHER, UH, QUESTIONS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY COMMISSIONER KING? YES. UM, AND THIS QUESTION IS FOR, UM, UM, DIRECTOR GONZALES, UH, UM, I MEAN, ASSIST ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, GONZALES. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. UH, BUT, OR, OR THE OTHER STAFF THAT'S THERE. UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, THE RENTAL REPAIR, I MEAN THE HOUSING REPAIR PROGRAM IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS GOING TO, THAT BUDGET IS, IS BEING PROPOSED TO BE, UH, MOVED, UH, OUT OF THAT, UH, THAT BUCKET THIS YEAR, THE FUNDING THIS YEAR, AND MOVED INTO, INTO HOMELESSNESS. AND SO, BECAUSE THERE'VE BEEN PROBLEMS WITH THE, THE, I GUESS THE RENTAL, I MEAN THE REPAIR PROGRAM, UH, HAVING CONTRACTORS NOT DOING A GOOD JOB. AND THERE'S BEEN PROBLEMS WITH PROGRAM, AND I THINK IT WAS REFERENCED IN ONE OF THE AUDITS THAT COMMISSIONER DUNCAN, UH, MENTIONED. BUT, UH, I, I WONDER HOW IS THAT KIND OF PROBLEM GOING TO BE ADDRESSED? I, I DON'T, I, I'M CONCERNED THAT THE SOLUTION TO THAT PROBLEM IS TO SIMPLY TAKE THE MONEY AWAY FROM RENTAL REPAIRS, WHICH PEOPLE NEED MORE THAN EVER RIGHT NOW TO PREVENT THEIR DISPLACEMENT AND TO HELP THEM RIGHT NOW AND TO MOVE IT. AND I UNDERSTAND HOMELESSNESS IS IMPORTANT TOO. IT'S A, IT'S A CRISIS AS WELL, BUT I DON'T THINK THE SOLUTION IS TO SIMPLY MOVE THE MONEY OUT OF THAT BUCKET. WHY NOT FIX THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM, WHICH IS A PROBLEM WITH THE REPAIR PROGRAM ITSELF, AND, AND NOT, NOT TAKE THAT FUNDING AWAY, THE WE NEED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. SO CAN Y'ALL COMMENT ON THAT IN HOW YOU WOULD ADDRESS THAT PROBLEM, UH, NOW AND GOING FORWARD INTO THE PROPOSED MERGER? SURE, ROGER, I'VE GOT THIS. OKAY. THANK YOU, ROSIE. UM, YEAH, SO, SO FIRST WHAT WE ARE DOING IN THE, OUT IN THE ACTION PLAN FOR OUR FEDERAL DOLLARS, UM, FOR THIS COMING FISCAL YEAR IS WE ARE REACH HOUR MAYBE BEING THE DOLLARS FROM PRIOR, FROM THIS PRIOR PERIOD THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO SPEND ON OUR HOME REPAIR PROGRAM. SO WE'RE NOT DEFUNDING ANYTHING FOR NEXT YEAR. THEY'LL STILL HAVE THE SAME ALLOCATION GOING INTO THE NEXT YEAR. UH, WE JUST RECOGNIZE THAT THOSE DOLLARS WERE NOT ABLE TO BE SPENT DUE TO COVID AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GO INTO PEOPLE'S HOMES TO REPAIR THEM. AND SO WE'RE MOVING THEM TO, UH, TO HELP WITH, UM, CAPITAL EXPENDITURES FOR, FOR HOMELESSNESS, UH, MOVING FORWARD. THOSE PROGRAMS, WERE STILL HOSTILE FUNDING NEXT IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, AND WE HOPE TO HAVE THEM BE IN MUCH BETTER SHAPE. WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT ACTUALLY OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS ON OUR HOMEWORK CARE PROGRAM. THE AUDIT THAT WAS REFERENCED, UH, WAS A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO. AND I THINK, BUT FOR THE CHALLENGE OF COVID RIGHT NOW, WE WOULD NOT BE DOING THE ACTION THAT WE'RE DOING. SO I THINK THAT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE IN, ARE IN ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD SHAPE. UM, AND WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH OUR HOME REPAIR COALITION AT THE CITY THAT, THAT EXISTS IN AUSTIN. AND, UM, DOING WHAT WE CAN TO CONTINUE TO EVEN WORK ON HOME ON THE, FROM THE EXTERIOR, UH, WHILE KEEPING WHAT WE KNOW IS A VULNERABLE POPULATION SAFE AND AND PROTECTED FROM THE ILLNESS. THANK YOU, ROSIE AND COMMISSIONER KING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. AND, UM, AND IT HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT ROSIE AND THE STAFF HAVE FOCUSED ON THE HOME REPAIR PROGRAM AND GETTING IT IN MUCH BETTER SHAPE THAN IT WAS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, AND I COMMEND THEM FOR THE WORK. UM, BUT WHAT ROSIE HAS MENTIONED IS THAT WITH REGARDS TO THE FEDERAL FUNDS, AND THAT'S WHERE WE GET THIS MONEY FROM, UH, THERE ARE STRICT TIMELINES WITH WHICH WE HAVE TO SPEND IT. AND SO BY SHIFTING IT OVER TO HOMELESSNESS, WE CAN ACTUALLY SPEND THE DOLLARS, UM, IN CAPITAL MUCH SOONER THAN WE CAN ACTUALLY GET INTO THE HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS, BECAUSE AS ROSIE MENTIONED, GETTING INTO HOMES RIGHT NOW FOR REPAIRS IS COMPLICATED DUE TO COVID. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, COMMISSIONER RAY. HEY, THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION. IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE. UM, MY QUESTION [00:30:01] RELATES TO THE REAL SCARCITY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT WE HAVE IN OUR CITY. UM, AS WE ALL KNOW, WE REALLY CAN'T BUILD ENOUGH OF IT. UM, AND EVEN THE PROJECTS THAT WE DO APPROVE OFTEN TAKE SO LONG TO BUILD THAT WE ARE REALLY WONDERING IF WE CAN ADDRESS THE SCALE, THE PROBLEM AT THE RATE AT WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE CAPABLE OF BUILDING. SO I JUST WANTED TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW WITH THE IMPROVED COORDINATION OF THIS DEPARTMENT, UM, HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE PERMITTING PROCESS FOR AFFORDABLE DEVELOPMENT? SO THE PROPOSED MERGER DOESN'T, UM, NECESSARILY INVOLVE THE PERMITTING PROCESS FOR OUR AFFORDABLE DEVELOPMENT. HOWEVER, WE DO, UH, WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE FOLKS AT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO REMEDY ANY PERMITTING ISSUES THAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING FOR OUR AFFORDABLE DEVELOPMENTS. WE ACTUALLY HAVE A POSITION, UM, THAT IS DEDICATED TO JUST KIND OF SERVING IN THAT BOMBED TYPE CAPACITY, UM, WITH OUR, FOR OUR AFFORDABLE DEVELOPMENT. AND, AND I AGREE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. UH, WE NEED, WE NEED TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY AND NUMBER OF INCOME RESTRICTED HOUSING UNITS THAT WE HAVE IN AUSTIN. AND, AND WE'RE DOING THAT BY SPENDING THE 250 MILLION AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND PROGRAM, UH, AND, AND TRYING TO LEVERAGE THOSE DOLLARS AND, AND STRETCH THEM AS FAR AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNITS. BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM THAN WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO WITH THE CURRENT FUNDING LEVELS THAT WE HAVE. UM, AND SO WE LOOK TO, YOU KNOW, OUR PARTNERS ALL ACROSS AUSTIN TO HELP WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH WITH CREATION OF MORE GLOBAL HOUSING AND COMMISSIONER, RIGHT? THIS IS MANAGER OF GONZALES, IF I COULD, ON THE PERMITTING, I KNOW THAT WE'VE MADE REALLY GOOD STRIDES. MOST RECENTLY, AS YOU MAY RECALL, COUNCIL MEMBER PIAR PUSHED THROUGH WHAT WE CALL THE AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED RESOLUTION. UM, ROSIE QUICKLY HAS SEEN A SIMPLE, UH, TEAM OF VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THAT, AND THAT'S OF COURSE HELPING TO BRING MORE HOUSING BOARD, MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. IN PARTICULAR, ABOUT THREE AND A HALF YEARS AGO, WE IMPLEMENTED WHAT WE CALL THE EXPEDITED BILLING PLAN REVIEW PROGRAM, WHICH HAS ALSO HELPED OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PARTNERS GET THEIR PROJECTS, UM, PERMITTED AND UNDERWEIGHT QUICKLY. SO I FEEL LIKE WE'VE MADE SOME REALLY GOOD STRIDES IN THAT REGARD. I KNOW I PERSONALLY HAVE WORKED WITH HAKA, WITH FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES, WITH A NUMBER OF, UH, OTHER AFFORDABLE AFFORDABILITY HOUSING PARTNERS, UM, TO UNDERSTAND AND TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET THESE PROJECTS THROUGH THE SITE PLAN PROCESS AND THROUGH THE PERMIT, THE BUILDING PERMITTING PROCESS FASTER. UM, WE'RE ALWAYS GOING TO WORK WITH THEM BECAUSE, UM, WE'VE MADE GREAT STRIDES, BUT I WANNA ENSURE THAT WE GET THE SUPPORTABLE HOUSING, UM, ON THE GROUND AND OPEN AS QUICKLY AS AS POSSIBLE. SO I, I DO BELIEVE BY MERGING THESE TWO DEPARTMENTS, IT'LL HELP IN OUR PLANNING EFFORTS AND OF COURSE PUTTING HOUSING ON THE GROUND. UM, AND I'M ALWAYS MINDFUL THAT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, WHICH IS UNDER MY PURVIEW, UM, AND C ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, THAT WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO CONTINUE TO SPEED UP THE SITE PLAN PROCESS AND THE BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS FOR OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. THANK YOU. ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER LER? AND, AND THEN I'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER GEAR. SORRY. UM, THIS IS A QUESTION FOR MR. GONZALEZ. IN MY UNDERSTANDING YOU CORRECTLY IN SAYING THAT YOU PLAN ON HIRING A NEW DEPARTMENT HEAD THAT HAS EXPERIENCE IN PLANNING, UM, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE AN ORG CHART OR, OR, AND I DO KNOW PLAN HOUSING IS JUST A PIECE OF PLANNING IT. UH, YOU HAVE TO HAVE, IF YOU HAVE TRAINING IN URBAN PLANNING, YOU GET TRAINING IN, UM, ALL SORTS OF PROCESSES. AND THOSE INCLUDE, UH, HOUSING AND ZONING AND SITE PLANS AND SUBDIVISION AND TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITY KNOWLEDGE. YOU GET EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THAT. AND SO, AM I UNDERSTANDING YOUR INTENTION IS TO PUT A NEW HEAD, UH, IN THAT HAS THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE WITHOUT AN ORG CHART? I'M NOT CLEAR WHAT YOUR, WHO, WHO IS GONNA BE IN CHARGE. THANK, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION. COMMISSIONER. UM, ROSIE TRULOVE WILL BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE MERGE DEPARTMENT. UM, [00:35:01] AND SO SHE'S CURRENTLY THE DIRECTOR OF NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING. UM, AND SO THE EXECUTIVE OR THE, THE DIRECTOR WILL BE ROSIE CHILO, WHEN I HAD MENTIONED THE, THE OTHER EXECUTIVES, REBECCA AND JERRY, UM, THEY ARE THE EXECUTIVES WHO WILL ALSO BE IN THE DEPARTMENT. WE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE, UM, WHAT WOULD BE A, UH, FOURTH EXECUTIVE. SO WHEN YOU COUNT ROSIE, JERRY, REBECCA, WE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A FOURTH EXECUTIVE POSITION THAT WILL LIKELY BE AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR POSITION. UM, AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO BRING ON, UH, THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE. AND WHEN I SAY BRING ON, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THERE, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, UM, FOLKS INTERNAL TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN WHO MAY HAVE THAT EXPERTISE, UM, OR EXTERNAL AS WELL. YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANNA MAKE ANY COMMITMENT YET AS TO, UH, THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A LOT OF TALENTED FOLKS, UM, ACROSS THE CITY, UH, WHO MIGHT, UH, FIND THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT IT WILL BE A POSITION WHERE WE WANT TO HAVE THIS EXPERIENCE IN AS WELL. COMMISSIONER DANGLER AND, OH, YOU GOTTA TURN ON YOUR, AND I'M GONNA STEP AWAY TO LET A, I'VE GOTTA LET SOMEBODY OUT. COMMISSIONER DANGLER. OW. I'M SORRY, DEB. UH, MR. GONZALEZ, I THINK YOU'RE MISSING MY POINT THEN. YOU BASICALLY ARE PUTTING THE DIRECTOR OF NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING IN CHARGE OF BOTH PLANNING AND HOUSING. SO SAY THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH ZONING IS THE ULTIMATE TIEBREAKER, THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT WHO DOESN'T HAVE ANY BACKGROUND IN PLANNING ISN'T AN ENGINEER. SHE IS, AND I'M NOT SPEAKING TO, I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, IS YOU HAVE A DE DEPARTMENT AND YOUR STRUCTURE IS IN, IN ESSENCE, ELEVATING ONE PIECE OF PLANNING OVER EVERY OTHER ASPECT. AND, UM, I DON'T THINK YOU GOT RIGHT. IT'LL BE REAL BLUNT. UM, I THINK THERE'S SOME BENEFIT TO HAVING THE COORDINATION. I THINK THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHERE THE TWO DEPARTMENTS HAVEN'T COMMUNICATED, UH, VERY WELL, WHERE THE INFORMATION ISN'T SHARED. FRANKLY, I BETCHA I COULD ASK WHAT THE ORDER OF PROCESS IS FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. DO YOU GET THE ZONING FIRST OR DO YOU GET THE, UH, APPLICATION IN FOR SMART HOUSING? I'M GONNA GET A DIFFERENT ANSWER FROM HOUSING THAN I'M PROBABLY GONNA GET FROM, UM, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. BUT WHY ISN'T THE, THE HEAD OF THIS DEPARTMENT SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE IN PLANNING? SO, UM, ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR CONCERN, COMMISSIONER. SURE. UM, IN LOOKING AT THE MERGER, OF COURSE, WHAT I LOOK AT IS THE EXECUTIVES THAT ARE FROM BOTH DEPARTMENTS AND HOW DO WE PRESERVE, AS I MENTIONED, UH, EARLIER, PRESERVING WHAT WE HAVE. AND I, I HAVE FULL FAITH AND CONFIDENCE IN BOTH ROSIE AND JERRY AND IN THAT REGARD, AND I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT, WHEN DECISION GOES TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL, WHICH IS THE DIRECTOR, UH, POSITION, ET CETERA. UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW, DECISIONS LIKE THAT AREN'T MADE IN A VACUUM. UH, THEY ARE MADE WITH ALL THE INFORMATION IN FRONT OF EVERY INDIVIDUAL. AND, UM, YEAH. SO I MEAN, I, I WOULD SAY THAT, THAT THAT IS MY RESPONSES THAT I'M LOOKING AT THE MERGER WITH THE EXECUTIVES THAT ARE CURRENTLY, UM, IN THEIR SEATS AND TRYING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO KEEP THOSE INTACT. OKAY. OKAY, THEN, COMMISSIONER GARY? YES. UH, MY QUESTION IS, UH, GEAR TOWARDS MR. GONZALEZ, THE CITY MANAGER. UM, TO WHAT DEGREE ARE YOU, YOUR PRESENTATION, I HEARD A REFERENCE TO EQUITY AND DISPLACEMENT. I DID NOT HEAR A REFERENCE TO THE INTERPRETATION. SO TO WHAT DEGREE ARE YOU GOING TO INCLUDE, UM, THE EQUITY OFFICE IN THIS PROCESS? UM, COMMISSIONER, IF, UH, I COULD MAYBE JUST ASK CLARIFICATION. ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT LIKE, DO WE INCLUDE THE EQUITY OFFICE IN THE MERGER, OR DO YOU, OR YOU, MEANING LIKE [00:40:01] IN THE WORK THAT WE DO, IN THE WORK THAT YOU DO IN REGARDS TO DATA, UH, TO EVALUATE, UH, HOW EFFECTIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE, YOU KNOW, THE EQUITABILITY OF THE SERVICES THAT NEED TO BE PROVIDED, OR, UM, PLANNING, HOUSING, ALL OF THAT, WHAT DEGREES THE EQUITY OFFICE GOING TO BE INCLUDED? I SEE SOMETIMES DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS WORKING IN SILOS, AND I FEEL THAT THERE, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO SHARE INFORMATION AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, WHAT IS BEING, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE GOAL AND IS THAT GO BEING MET? AND ESPECIALLY IN REGARDS TO EQUITY. AND, UM, AND I'M WORRIED THAT MAYBE GENTRIFICATION IS NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED. I, I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION. I'M GONNA ALSO LEAN ON ROSE WITH THE ANSWER. UM, MAYBE I CAN START WITH A HIGH LEVEL. UM, THE EQUITY OFFICE HAS GONE THROUGH A NUMBER OF EQUITY ASSESSMENTS FOR, FOR RARE CITY DEPARTMENTS. AND I BELIEVE HOUSING HAS ALREADY BEEN THROUGH THEIR EQUITY ASSESSMENTS. UM, AS WITH ANY ASSESS, YOU LEARN THINGS, UM, AND GOING THROUGH IT, UM, THE EQUITY OFFICE IS A STRONG PARTNER IN THE WORK THAT WE DO. UM, WE ALWAYS LOOK TOWARDS THE EQUITY OFFICE TO HELP US IN THE WORK AND TO GUIDE US IN COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS AS WE DO OUR WORK, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS OF GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT. UM, SO WHEN YOU FIRST TALK ABOUT, UM, ANTI, AND WHAT WE TALK ABOUT IS ANTI DISPLACEMENT. UM, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THAT, I THINK WE PROBABLY ALMOST COLLAPSED THE TWO ANTIS DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION. UM, WE CERTAINLY ARE IN TUNE WITH BOTH OF THOSE AND OUR ATTEMPTS AT THE MERGER ARE TO ADDRESS BOTH OF THOSE SITUATIONS. ROSIE, IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO ADD, UH, ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU AND AND HOUSING HAVE DONE IN PARTICULAR WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE? SURE. UM, I, WE HAVE ACTUALLY HAD WHAT I FEEL LIKE IS A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE AS WE'VE BEEN, UM, GOING THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT. AND NOW I'M TALKING ABOUT SPECIFICALLY THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT HOW THAT CAN COME INTO PLAY WITH HOUSING AND PLANNING. UM, THEY'VE BEEN STRONG COLLABORATORS AND PARTNERS, UM, OF OURS AS WE'VE WORKED THROUGH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TASK COURSES. UM, MOST RECENTLY THE, THE ANTI-DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION TASK FORCE, UM, THAT WAS CHAIRED BY RAUL ALVAREZ AND NEFERTITI JACKMAN. UM, WE INCLUDED A POSITION IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET IN THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT TO SPECIFICALLY WORK ON DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION AND GENTRIFICATION ISSUES AND TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGIC HOUSING BLUEPRINT AND A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME FROM THAT TASK FORCE. UM, WE BROUGHT IN ACTUALLY NE JACKMAN AS A TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE TO SERVE, UH, IN A PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CAPACITY TO HELP US, UM, TO HELP US BUILD OUR DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION AND GENTRIFICATION, UH, MITIGATION PROGRAM. AND I'M LOOKING TOWARDS THE MERGER OF THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO BE ABLE TO SHINE A STRONGER LIGHT ON THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE THERE AND TO HELP BOLSTER THAT, UM, BY, WITH ADDITIONAL STAFFING IDEALLY, AND WITH, WITH A PLACE OF PROMINENCE TO WORK ACROSS ALL OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND IN THE HOUSING ACTIVITIES. SO IT'S, IT'S KIND OF, UM, THIS IS GONNA BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY ELEVATE, UM, AN ISSUE THAT WE RECOGNIZE AND HAVE HEARD FROM MANY CONSTITUENCY GROUPS AS BEING SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO HAVE A PROMINENT PLACE. AND SO WE'RE LOOKING THROUGH THIS MERGER TO BE ABLE TO HELP ACCOMPLISH THAT. AND THE EQUITY OFFICE, AGAIN, WILL CONTINUE TO BE THAT STRONG PARTNER. UM, WE MEET WITH THEM REGULARLY AND, YOU KNOW, EVERY, EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE TO COLLABORATE WITH, WITH BRIAN AND KELLY AND THEIR TEAM, WE DO, AND, AND HAVE FOUND THAT TO BE A GREAT ADVANTAGE OF OURS. I HAVE A QUESTION. SURE. I ARE YOU OKAY? YEAH. OKAY, NOW. YES. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEAH. OH MAN, I ALL, A BUNCH OF WINDOWS JUST OPENED UP. UM, YES, PLEASE GO AHEAD. SORRY, I WAS LOOKING FOR MY OWN QUESTIONS. YES. UH, CHAIR, I JUST WANTED TO ASK IF I COULD CLARIFY THAT THIS NEW OR, OR SOME REFERENCE WAS MADE TO, UH, A POSITION THAT'S GONNA BE FOCUSED ON DISPLACEMENT, GENTRIFICATION, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE HAD WHAT'S CALLED A HOMELESSNESS CZAR APPOINTED. [00:45:01] WILL THIS DISPLACEMENT GENTRIFICATION POSITION BE, WHAT LEVEL WILL IT BE AT? WHAT KIND OF PROMINENCE AND WHAT KIND OF BUDGET WILL IT HAVE? COULD THEY PLEASE CLARIFY THAT? BECAUSE WE'VE HAD DATA EARLIER FROM THE I-TEAM HERE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, I-TEAM THAT SHOWS THAT, YOU KNOW, OVER 232,000 HOUSEHOLDS ARE AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT. IT'S A BIG ISSUE THAT NEEDS REALLY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. SO I JUST WANNA SEE HOW PROMINENT THIS POSITION IN THIS ROLE IS GONNA BE AND WHAT BUDGET IT WILL HAVE IN THE NEW DEPARTMENT. SURE. SO, UM, THE LEVEL OF EMPLOYEE THAT I'M LOOKING AT IS, IS BASICALLY AS HIGH AS YOU CAN GET WITHOUT BEING AN EXECUTIVE. AND SO THE TITLE WOULD BE ONE THAT DOESN'T EXIST YET IN THE CITY, IT WOULD BE A DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICER. UM, AND I'M, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF SOMEONE THAT, UM, OR A, A RELATIVE LEVEL THAT WOULD, IT WOULD BE COMPARABLE TO, BUT I'M COMING UP THAT, THAT YOU GUYS WOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE TITLE OR POSITION, AND I'M COMING UP SHORT. UM, BUT AT A HIGH LEVEL, IT'S A HIGH LEVEL POSITION THAT'S NOT AN EXECUTIVE. UM, MY HOPE IS TO GET A TEAM, A ROBUST TEAM. I THINK IT WILL PROBABLY START AT, UM, FIVE OR SIX FTES. AND WHILE I DON'T HAVE A STRONG ANSWER ON THE BUDGET YET, I CAN SAY THAT, UH, CAUSE WE ARE STILL WORKING ON, ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT DEDICATING $5 MILLION IN THE HOUSING TRUST FUND NEXT YEAR TO, UM, TO WORK ON DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND TENANT STABILIZATION PROGRAMS. AND THAT'S ON TOP OF THE EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING RIGHT NOW. UH, THAT'S PART OF OUR COVID RESPONSE, WHICH IS A 15 MILLION PROGRAM THAT THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION STAFF IS INFORMING THE CREATION AND OPERATION OF THAT PROGRAM. I JUST, I DIDN'T HEAR THAT. I'M SORRY. JUST THERE WAS A LITTLE GLITCH IN THE AUDIO. DID YOU SAY, UH, 5 MILLION NEXT YEAR WOULD BE AVAILABLE? THAT'S, THAT'S, WE'RE, WE'RE FINALIZING OUR PROGRAMMING OF THE DOLLARS IN THE HOUSING TRUCK FUND, BUT THAT IS OKAY. THE BALLPARK OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. UM, SO IF THAT SHIFTS UP AND DOWN, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT WEEK, THEN FORGIVE ME FOR THAT. UM, BUT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, MY GOAL IS TO HAVE THIS BE A HIGH LEVEL POSITION THAT WILL BE ABLE TO ENGAGE NOT ONLY ACROSS THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO ENGAGE ACROSS THE CITY TO ENSURE THAT, UM, THE, THE WORK THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES IS BEING THOUGHT OF THROUGH A DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION LENS. UM, THIS WILL BE A VALUABLE MEMBER OF MY LEADERSHIP TEAM AND, YOU KNOW, IT WILL BE A, A COMPETITIVE PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT WE GET THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE JOB. YES. AND, AND MAY I JUST SAY, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE, THE INFORMATION TONIGHT AND THE EFFORT TO MERGE THESE TWO DEPARTMENTS. AND I AGREE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE RIGHT WAY. AND, BUT I DO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT AND PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION. YEAH, I DEFINITELY AGREE. ARE, UM, COMMISSIONER GUI, YOU LOOK LIKE YOU WANTED TO FOLLOW UP, BUT I'M READING A TINY, LIKE ONE BY TWO INCH. THANK YOU. I JUST, I'M REALLY CONCERNED. I JUST REALLY WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GENTRIFICATION AND DISPLACEMENT. AND WHAT I KEPT HEARING WAS THAT THE DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION OFFICER, IT NEEDS, IT'S THE IMPORTANT TO STRESS THAT GENTRIFICATION ALSO NEEDS TO BE EQUALLY CONSIDERED IN THIS, YOU KNOW, IN THIS, YOU KNOW, PROCESS. SO I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER DUNCAN. I THINK COMMISSIONER EVANS HAD HIS HAND UP BEFORE ME. I'M SORRY, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER EVANS. MY APOLOGIES. ALL OF MY THAT'S ALRIGHT FOR YOU. SO I, MY, MY COMMENT'S VERY SHORT, I JUST WANNA SUPPORT WHAT COMMISSIONER DINKLER BROUGHT UP. I THINK THAT IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT THIS WHOLE OPERATION BE LED BY SOMEBODY WHO THOROUGHLY UNDERSTANDS THE PLANNING PROCESS. WE ARE THE VICTIM IN THE CITY OF NOT PROPERLY APPLYING, NOT PROPERLY PLANNING FOR SUCH A LONG TIME. AND I THINK THAT WITHOUT HAVING SOMEBODY ON BOARD THAT'S, UH, TRAINED AND CAPABLE IN THAT AREA IS JUST GOING TO LEAD TO MORE OF THE SAME, UH, COMMISS. UH, THANK YOU. AND I ACTUALLY WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH THAT, BUT COMMISSIONER DUNCAN, UH, DID SOMEBODY ELSE HAVE THEIR HAND UP? BECAUSE I , I, I JUST, OKAY. LEMME, THERE'S SEVERAL THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN SAID. I, I THINK THAT WHAT [00:50:01] WE'RE DOING HERE IS EXTRAORDINARILY IMPORTANT AND I JUST DON'T WANNA SEE US SCREW IT UP. ALRIGHT. AND I HATE TO GO BACK IN HISTORY, BUT MERGING AND REORGANIZING, MAN, DO I KNOW WHEN I CAME TO WORK FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN IN 1984, THEY TOTALLY MADE THE REORGANIZATION AND I INHERITED PIECES OF SEVEN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. SO I AM A VETERAN OF KNOWING ABOUT REORGANIZATION. AND I, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD WAY OF GOING. IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO PUT THE RIGHT PIECES AND THE RIGHT PLAYERS IN PLACE, OR YOU'RE JUST SPINNING YOUR WHEELS, ALL RIGHT? AND THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE DONE. UH, MANAGER, IT'S ALWAYS REFERRED TO A VACUUM, I WOULD SAY IT IS DEFINITELY NOT SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE DONE IN THE BACK ROOM. IT NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH FULL TRANSPARENCY AND WITH FULL IMPLICATIONS AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE, THE LONG TERM EFFECTS CAN BE. I'M GONNA SAY SOMETHING WE HAVE GOT, AUSTIN IS FORTUNATE. WE'RE A CITY THAT ATTRACTS PEOPLE, IT ATTRACTS QUALITY PEOPLE AND WE'VE GOT SOME DAMN GOOD EMPLOYEES IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, BUT THEY'RE BURIED DOWN IN THE BOWELS. AND SOME OF 'EM ARE FRUSTRATED. AND I, I WAS TALKING, I HATE TO HEAR THIS CUZ I'VE SPENT MY WHOLE CAREER AS, AS A PLANNER, BUT I HEARD ONE OF 'EM SAY SEVERAL MONTHS AGO THAT PLANNING IS NO LONGER THAT RELEVANT. WE, WE ALL HAVE TO CHANGE OUR NAME TO THE SCHEMING AND REAL ESTATE ROULETTE DEPARTMENT. AND WHEN IT GETS DOWN TO THAT TYPE OF A LEVEL, I'M EMBARRASSED. I'M EMBARRASSED FOR THE CITIZEN, FOR THE CITY. I'M EMBARRASSED FOR THE, FOR THE PROCESS THAT IT'S CONVOLUTED. I'M, I'M VERY, I'M FRUSTRATED. I REALLY AM. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR SHOWING SOME EMOTION, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, I THINK OKAY. WE TALK ABOUT HIRING. OKAY. AND I GOT, I MEAN, I'M SITTING THERE LISTENING TO THE . IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE THE DIRECTOR OF PLANNING RETIRED. NOTHING HAS BEEN FILLED. I FOUND OUT THAT A MONTH AGO WE LOST ONE OF OUR BEST, IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, RYAN ROBINSON. I CHIEF DEMOGRAPHER. I MEAN, I HAD 60 YEARS AGO, I STARTED MY CAREER IN THE JOB BRIAN ROBINSON JUST RETIRED FROM, ALL RIGHT? SO I HAVE SOME KINSHIP WITH THAT, AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT POSITION. I DON'T SEE ANY, I I, AS I SAID EARLIER, I AM SYMPATHETIC WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. I KNOW THEY GOT, THEY'RE JUGGLING A LOT OF BALLS RIGHT NOW, BUT IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT JUST BE DONE RIGHT. AND IF IT'S NOT, DON'T DO IT. I'D RATHER HAVE THE, THE JUMBLED, DISJOINTED SITUATION RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT THAN PUTTING IT OVER INTO A DEPARTMENT THAT HAS NOT SHOWN THE HIGHEST OF MANAGEMENT SKILLS. OKAY? FIVE YEARS AGO I WAS CRITICIZING AND WHEN I WAS CHAIR OF THE, UH, OF THE COMMITTEE, CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CALLED NEXT, GOD FORBID HOW LONG OR THAT WAS, AND I WAS FRUSTRATED BECAUSE NOBODY HAD ANY IDEA OF HOW MANY DWELLING UNITS OUR, OUR PROGRAMS AFFORDABLE UNITS HAD GENERATED. THAT'S FIVE YEARS AGO. THIS IS 2020. WE STILL HAVE NO IDEA THAT IS NOT GOOD MANAGEMENT. SOMEBODY IS DROPPING THE BALL. AND, AND, AND PAUL GO, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT HIRING SOMEBODY. I HEARD, I, I HEARD MANAGER LES WHEN SOMEBODY SAID, GO OUT AND LOOK FOR SOME GOOD ONES. HE SAID, OH, WE GOT HIM RIGHT HERE IN TOWN. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT IN TOWN, BUT THERE IS TALENT IN THE REST OF THIS COUNTRY. WE ARE THE ONLY CITY THAT I KNOW OF, MAJOR CITY THAT DOES NOT HAVE A CERTIFIED PLANNER IN A KEY MANAGEMENT POSITION. THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR IS A CERTIFIED PLANNER. THE NOT CERTIFIED, I MEAN, HAS A MASTER'S DEGREE IN PLANNING, HAS EXPERIENCE IN PLANNING AND KNOWS HOW TO HIRE PLANNERS. AUSTIN IS NOT HEADING THAT DIRECTION. I, I, I KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT THE THING TO SHOW EMOTION ON, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO THE CITIZEN OF THE CITY. AND WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS WE GOT TODAY IF WE HAD BEEN DONE DOING DECENT PLANNING ALL ALONG. I MEAN, WHERE'S OUR SMALL AREA PLANNING PROGRAM? IT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE. I MEAN, LOOK AT THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE PUSHED BY SIDE. WE'VE GOT PROBLEMS IN RIVER CITY AND THEN SOMEBODY THAT KNOWS WHAT THE HELL THEY'RE DOING TAKES CHARGE. WE'RE NOT GONNA SOLVE IT. AND, AND, AND, AND I REALLY AM EMBARRASSED CUZ TWO OF MY COLLEAGUES, COMMISS MISSION RE MISSION FROM VARIOUS ARE ALSO CERTIFIED PLANNERS. AND, UH, AND I, THE FUTURE IS GOOD, OKAY? AND IT'S GONNA BE GOOD IN AUSTIN, BUT SOMEBODY NEEDS TO START MAKING SOME MAJOR CHANGES [00:55:01] AND START LISTENING TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND NOT JUST THE ONE PERCENTAGE. I I'M GONNA SHUT UP. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. I APOLOGIZE KATE. AND, UM, THEN, UH, ANYTHING ELSE. BUT IF NOT, I ACTUALLY, I MEAN, I, I'M GONNA BUILD ON THIS THING ABOUT WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, DUNCAN SAID AND HIS PRESENTATION LAST TIME ON DICK LILLY. AND I THOUGHT, OKAY, THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION ABOUT A VISIONARY PLANNER TO HEAD UP THE PLAN. AND I THOUGHT, WHERE IS, WHERE IS OUR DICK LILLY AND WHY AREN'T WE LOOKING FOR DICK LILLY RIGHT NOW? PEOPLE DO WANNA COME TO AUSTIN, AS OTHER PEOPLE HAVE POINTED OUT. AND I THINK IT'S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT NOW TO HAVE A DICK LILLY, BECAUSE WE ARE, AND I, AND I THINK WE SHOULD FOCUS BACK ON PLANNING BECAUSE AS COMMISSIONER EVANS HAS REINFORCED AND COMMISSIONER DILER SAID, IT'S ALL WE NEED. WE ARE NOT BEING PLANNED RIGHT NOW. AND PLANNING IS MORE THAN HOUSING, IT'S TRANSPORTATION, IT'S OPEN SPACE, IT'S RESILIENCY. IT IS SO MANY THINGS. AND I THINK THE OTHER WAY TO LOOK AT IT IS, IF YOU ARE HA ADDING HOUSING IN, THEN WHY NOT ADD PARKS? THEN YOU GET HAVE THIS JUST MEGA DEPARTMENT. SO LET'S GO BACK TO BEING PURIST AND HAVING PEOPLE WHO PLAN IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. AND YOU HEAR ME COMPLAIN ALL THE TIME HERE WHERE WE APPROVE A SUBDIVISION AND I'M LIKE, WELL, WHERE IS THIS? AND WE'RE, AND ESPECIALLY ON THE OUTER REGIONS, ZAP IS REALLY SEEING AREAS THAT TAKE, ARE BEARING THE BRUNT OF A LACK OF A PLANNING PROCESS. AND I WANNA SEE PLANNING, I WANNA SEE AMENITIES, AND I WANNA SEE THE WHOLE CITY TAKEN CARE OF. AND SO THAT'S, AND ESPECIALLY ONE OTHER THING I'M GONNA SAY, AND THAT IS IT'S RELATED. IT'S, WE ARE THE CENTER OF A GROWING REGION. AND I'VE HEARD ABOUT OTHER CITIES IN OTHER AREAS, THEIR PLANNING DEPARTMENTS OR THEIR PLAN, THEIR CHIEF PLANNER JOINS A REGIONAL PLANNING TEAM AND THEY'RE TRYING, WORKING ON PLANNING TRANSPORTATION AND THE, AND JUST THE WHOLE AREA AS MUCH AS THEY CAN DO, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE DIFFERENT MUNICIPALITIES. AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE DOING THE AUSTIN PLANNER AND THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE REACHING OUTWARD AND LOOKING AT THE BIG METROPOLITAN AREA AS BEST AS THEY CAN, GIVEN CONSTRAINTS OF OTHER MUNICIPALITIES. BUT WORKING, TRYING TO COME UP WITH A VISION FOR THE WHOLE AREA WITH THE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES. AND I THINK THIS MERGER IS SORT OF A STEP BACKWARDS, BUT THAT IS MY TAKE ON IT. KAREN, MAY I JUST, JUST CHIME IN? I DO. I JUST WANNA GET MY, UH, UH, VOICE ON THE RECORD AS, AS EXPRESSED SHARING THE CONCERN ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP OF THIS NEW PROPOSED, UH, MERGE DEPARTMENT AND, AND THAT WE DO NEED TO REALLY LOOK SERIOUSLY AT BRINGING IN CERTIFIED PLANNERS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, HAVING, UH, A PLANNING EXPERT LEAD THAT DEPARTMENT. AND, AND THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UM, IF WE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS THE BUDGET FOR SMALL AREA PLANNING? HOW MUCH IS IN THE BUDGET? AND I, WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT IS THAT THE PROPOSED LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE IN THAT CITYWIDE ZONING MAT IS GOING TO BE, TAKE THE PLACE OF PLANNING, THAT'S GOING TO BE THE PLAN FOR OUR CITY. AND THAT WORRIES ME GREATLY. SO THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT THE PLANNING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW. THE LONG RANGE PLANNING, THE NEIGHBOR, THE SMALL AREA PLANNING THAT WE NEED. AND SO I, I'M, I'M WANT TO ADD MY VOICE TO THIS, UH, CONCERN ABOUT THE PROPOSED LEADERSHIP FOR THIS DEPARTMENT AND THE LACK OF, OF PLANNING EXPERTISE IN THAT LEADERSHIP. AND I'M NOT PICKING ON ANY PARTICULAR PERSON THERE FINE INDIVIDUALS HERE, AND I, THIS IS NOT PERSONAL WHATSOEVER. THIS IS ABOUT WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR CITY. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANY OTHER HANDS RAISED OR, OH, COMMISSIONER DINKLER AND THEN COMMISSIONER RAY AND I TOO WANNA REINFORCE THE FACT THAT, AND I THINK BRUCE EXPRESSED IT MORE CLEARLY THAN I DID IT. WHEN YOU PUT THE HOUSING PIECE IN CHARGE, I'D SAY A BUNCH OF OUR CASES ARE COMMERCIAL . AND SO, UH, PROBABLY 40 TO 50%, YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE THAT OVERALL PERSPECTIVE. UM, AND I'M, I REALLY HOPE THAT YOU WILL REVALUED RESPOND TO THE NOISE AND THE POLITICS AND THE LIKE. UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE PROCESSES THAT I THINK EVEN AFTER AUDITS AND TASK [01:00:01] FORCES THAT AREN'T STILL RESOLVED, I E WHAT COMES FIRST? , YOU'RE APPLYING FOR THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. DO YOU GET THE ZONING OR DO YOU GET THE SMART CERTIFICATION? BUT ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT, UH, MR. GONZALEZ YOU MADE WAS Y'ALL WANTED TO FOCUS MORE ON LONG RANGE PLANNING. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DISCOVERED IN TRYING TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH FOR OUR BUDGET AMENDMENT IS WE'VE LOST, UH, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT LOST THEIR, ONE OF THE POSITIONS THEY HAD DEVOTED TO LONG RANGE PLANNING. SO, UM, I, I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS REAL COMPREHENSIVELY. UH, LOTS OF CITIES FOCUS MORE ON PLANNING. LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE MASTER PLANS THAT ADD IN, UH, REQUIRE INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENTS AS PART OF YOUR PLANNING PROCESSES. UM, HOPE WE'LL STAKE A STEP BACK AND, AND, AND REALLY LOOK AT THIS A LITTLE MORE. THAT'S, THAT'S IT FOR ME. MM-HMM. . OKAY. AND COMMISSIONER RAY. UM, SO ECHOING PREVIOUS COMMENTS BY MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS, KIND OF AROUND THESE THEMES OF SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL GROWTH AND THE NEED FOR LONG RANGE PLANNING. UM, I WANT TO ASK Y'ALL ABOUT PLANS TO COORDINATE HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS. UM, IN NOVEMBER, VOTERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPROVE WHAT WILL BE HOPEFULLY A TRANSFORMATIONAL INVESTMENT IN A MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM. UM, AND I AM CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THIS NEW DEPARTMENT WILL COORDINATE WITH, UM, YOUR PARTNERS AT CAPITAL METRO TO REALLY PLAN FOR A COORDINATED, AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND TRANSIT STRATEGY. SO WE DON'T WASTE THAT OPPORTUNITY. UM, SO I WANTED TO SEE IF THAT'S PART OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING AND KIND OF HOW YOU CAN ANTICIPATE RESPONDING TO, UM, HOPEFULLY THAT VALID ITEM PASSING IN, UM, NOVEMBER. SPEAK TO IT. YEAH, UH, ABSOLUTELY. UH, ROSIE CERTAINLY CURRENTLY SPEAKS TO THE WORK THAT SHE'S DONE WITH THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, F CITY, BOSTON, AS WELL AS, UH, CAP METRO. UM, IN FACT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST, ROSIE WAS JUST PART OF A RESPONSE TO A CONCERN WITH REGARD TO DISPLACEMENT, UM, THAT, UH, I THINK IT WAS ALSO CONNECTED TO A QUESTION OF PROJECT CONNECT. AND SO ROSIE AND THE TEAM HAS BEEN VERY ENGAGED, UH, WITH REGARDS TO THE PROJECT AND TO THE CONCERNS OF DISPLACEMENT. BUT, UH, YES, ROSIE, IF YOU COULD FILL IN PLEASE, THAT'D BE GREAT. YEAH, SURE. UM, I MEAN IT, WE HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY WORKING WITH, UM, THE FOLKS IN THE CITY THAT ARE WORKING ON PROJECT CONNECT AS WELL AS, UH, WITH TOP METRO. UM, I, I SHARE PERSONALLY THE CONCERNS, UH, ABOUT DISPLACEMENT. AND ONE OF THE PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE USING, UM, AS PART OF OUR CRITERIA AND STRATEGY FOR DEPLOYING THE LAND ACQUISITION BOND ASSOCIATED WITH THE $250 MILLION AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND, IS TO SEE HOW WE CAN ENSURE THAT, UH, THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, FORESEE WHERE, UH, WHERE THE DIFFERENT LINES ARE GOING THROUGH PROJECT CONNECT AND, AND POTENTIALLY ACQUIRE PROPERTY AND, UM, AND ENSURE THAT THERE WILL BE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ALONG THOSE, UH, ALONG THOSE FUTURE CORRIDORS. SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN. WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THAT, UM, UH, IN, IN, IN EVER INCREASING CAPACITIES AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE, THE FRUITION OF THE PROJECT. AND I THOUGHT I SAW A HAND UP, UH, IF NOT THEN, UM, I JUST HAD JUST ONE OTHER, AND THIS WAS, THIS IS A MORE DETAILED QUESTION. I MEAN, MY, I'M STILL CONCERN, I'M CONCERNED, BUT I'M LIKE, HAVE, I WAS HOPING TO SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THIS PRESENTATION TONIGHT. LIKE WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA BE, YOUR METRICS AND ORGANIZATION CHART AS COMMISSIONER DINKLER POINTED OUT? SO I WAS WONDERING WHAT YOUR TIMELINE IS FOR PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER AND HAVING IT ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC TO REVIEW. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER. WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING THAT TOGETHER. UM, AND OF COURSE WE DO IT IN CONCERT WITH CORPORATE HUMAN RESOURCES. I ENVISION THAT WE SHOULD HAVE THAT, UM, MAYBE ANOTHER TWO WEEKS OR SO, UH, THAT WE COULD OF COURSE MAKE IT PUBLIC. SO I'M HOPING FOR THAT SO THAT WAY IT CAN ALSO HELP WITH ANSWERING QUESTIONS AND RESOLVING CONCERNS. [01:05:01] BUT WE COULD, WE COULD CERTAIN, WE WILL CERTAINLY ENDEAVOR TO GET THAT DONE, UM, QUICKLY, SO THAT WAY THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO, UH, THE OBJECTIVES THAT WE'RE INTENDING TO PURSUE WITH THIS MERGER. GREAT. YOU AND THEN I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR, UM, FILLING THE CITY DEMOGRAPHER POSITION, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE A CITY DEMOGRAPHER. UM, AND ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING, UM, WHAT'S THE PLAN THERE RODNEY? I CAN GET THIS ONE. YEAH. THANK YOU. SURE. UM, UH, CHAIR, UM, WE ARE WORKING ON, UH, FILL IN THAT POSITION. UM, THE CITY HAS IMPLEMENTED A HIRING FREEZE DUE TO THE, UM, ECONOMIC SITUATION. UM, HOWEVER I'M ASKING FOR AN EXCEPTION, UM, TO THAT, TO, TO FREE UP THAT POSITION FOR US TO BE HIRED. SO IT'S GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW. IT NEEDS TO BE REVIEWED BY THE, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO GET THAT EXCEPTION. OKAY, THANK YOU. GET THAT EXCEPTION. WE'LL BE POSTED IN THE POSITION. YEAH. AND ONE KEY COMPONENT, AS YOU ALL KNOW, IS THAT RYAN WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN CENSUS. UM, AND SO, UM, JERRY AND I HAVE READ THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE. IT IS GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS INITIALLY OF, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES AND BUDGET AND THEN IT MAKE ITS WAY TO MYSELF. BUT, UH, JERRY AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE POSITION. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER DUNCAN? I, I JUST WONDER, THANK FOR CORRECTING OWN THE ORGANIZATION. I, UH, HAD A, THE ONLY INFORMATION I HAD OFFICIALLY HAD WAS, UH, AN ARTICLE I HAD READ IN THE AUSTIN MONITOR BY JOE CLIFTON. AND I THINK IN THAT ARTICLE SHE DID IN FACT INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AS PART OF THE ORGANIZATION. UH, BUT TONIGHT, I THINK YOU'VE CLARIFIED IT, THAT THAT IS NO LONGER, I, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BEING PART OF A REORGANIZATION. IT'S JUST HOW YOU REORGANIZE IT. UH, CUZ DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IS THAT, THAT EXTENSION THAT TOUCHES MOST PEOPLE, AT LEAST IN THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, AND THEY NEED TO BE TIED WITH A GOOD PLANNING FUNCTION, UH, AND A GOOD HOUSING FUNCTION. SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO, IT'S HOW YOU'RE DOING IT THAT'S BOTHERING ME. UH, AND I I I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT YOU HAD CHANGED THE RULE. I MEAN, OR MAYBE MS. CLIFTON WAS WRONG IN HER ARTICLE, UH, THAT YOU, UH, THAT YOU WERE NOT INCLUDING, UH, YOUR OLD DEPARTMENT AS A MATTER OF FACT, RODNEY. SO YOU'RE WELCOME. COMMISSION AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, FOR YOUR COMMENT AND THANK YOU TO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION CHAIR FOR YOUR COMMENTS. AND, AND I, AND I COULD LEAD SOME PARTING COMMENTS. I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, THE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. UM, I WOULDN'T BE PROPOSING THE MERGER IF I DIDN'T THINK THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY COME OUT WITH A BETTER PLANNING, UH, FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. UM, CURRENTLY WE DO PLANNING, OF COURSE, NOT JUST WITHIN THE PLANNING AND SEWING DEPARTMENT. WE DO CLIMATE PLANNING IN THE HOUSING, UH, DEPARTMENT AS WELL. WE DO PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION, WE DO PLANNING IN A NUMBER OF OTHER DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THESE ARE TWO OF OUR KEY AREAS THAT DO THE PLANNING, OF COURSE, UH, HOUSING AND, UH, THE LONG RANGE COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING. AND I REALLY DO THINK THAT BY MERGING THE TWO, AND I BELIEVE THIS, THAT ULTIMATELY WE'RE GONNA END UP WITH A MUCH STRONGER FOCUS ON PLANNING AND HOW WE ACCOUNT FOR THE GROWTH OF THE CITY. YES, WE DO HAVE GROWTH IN COMMERCIAL AREAS. WE, WHAT'S DRIVING A LOT OF THAT IS THE INFLUX OF NEW RESIDENTS TO AUSTIN AS WELL AS THE, UH, NATURAL INTERNAL GROWTH. AND SO FOR ME, HAVING THESE TWO DEPARTMENTS MERGE WOULD DEFINITELY LINK THE WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING IN SILOS, COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER, BUT IN SILOS. AND, AND I REALLY DO REALLY END UP WITH THE, WITH THE STRONGER PLANNING, UM, OVERALL FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. OKAY. UM, ANY FINAL QUESTIONS? AND IF NOT, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, GONZALEZ, AND ROSIE AND JERRY, REALLY APPRECIATE IT. THIS WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND DEFINITELY, AND ALSO THANK YOU FOR TAKING OUR HARD AND PROBING QUESTIONS AND REALLY JUST VERY MUCH APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU ALL. HAVE A GREAT, HAPPY TO BE HERE. OKAY. BYE BYE. THANK YOU. AND [01:10:02] ANY THOUGHTS AMONGST OURSELVES AND IF NOT, UM, COMMISSIONER EVANS, I'M GETTING A LITTLE, UH, AHEAD OF MYSELF HERE, BUT OUR NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS TO, TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS. YES. AND THOSE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS WERE LOOKED AT WITHOUT THIS, UH, MERGER THAT WE'RE SEEING. AND I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE POSTPONE ANY ACTION ON THAT UNTIL WE PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER AS A COMMISSION REGARDING OUR APPROACH ON THIS. I THINK THAT'S, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. I MEAN, EXACTLY, BECAUSE YES, I, I'M GONNA SHUT UP. YES, ABSOLUTELY. YES. AND COMMISSIONER BRA, I FEEL LIKE I SAW SOMEONE ELSE'S HAND UP FIRST, BUT DO YOU WANNA POSTPONE ACTION ON THE, UM, THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS TILL NEXT MEETING? UM, IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH THE TIMELINE THERE? I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT WE WERE UP AGAINST LIKE IT COMING UP REALLY QUICK. I, I THINK OUR IMPACT FROM THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS IS SUCH THAT WE WOULD BE BETTER SERVED BY MAKING A COHESIVE STATEMENT. I, UH, I GUESS, I GUESS I FELT LIKE CONCERNED A LITTLE BIT THAT MOST OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS DON'T SEEM TO ME TO BE, THERE MIGHT BE A COUPLE, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE COULD EDIT THOSE. I I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S, YOU KNOW, AND, AND YOU KNOW, DAVID AND, UM, ELLEN CAN COMMENT ON THIS CUZ THEY, UH, DRAFT AND DID MOST OF THE DRAFTING. BUT, UH, I I, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS RELEVANT. LIKE I, I WOULD, I WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT LOSING TIME ON SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT AREN'T RELEVANT TO, UH, THE MERGER NEURO PLEADING. UH, YES. AND, UH, IN THE TERMS OF THE TIMELINE HERE, I'VE GOT THE TIMELINE. THE, THE BUDGET ADOPTION TIMELINE IS A BUDGET INPUT MEETINGS ON THE 23RD, WHICH IS, UH, THURSDAY AND THE 30TH OF THIS MONTH. AND THEN WORK SESSIONS ON THE 20 AND THE 4TH OF AUGUST. AND THEN THE ADOPTION IS ON, UH, AUGUST THE 12TH. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE CRITICAL TIME WHEN THEY'RE TAKING ALL THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND REALLY FORMULATING AND TRYING TO FINALIZE THE BUDGET. UM, SO WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT, AND THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AREN'T SPECIFIC TO THIS MERGER. I, I, I, I CAN'T POINT, I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW THAT WOULD BE INCONSISTENT WITH THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT. UH, BUT WHAT I WOULD, I DO CONCUR WITH COMMISSIONER EVANS ABOUT, UH, THAT WE NEED TO MAKE A STATEMENT. I THINK THERE IS A COMMISSION ON THE PROPOSED MERGER. AND, AND YES, THERE WILL BE POTENTIALLY SOME BUDGET COMPONENTS TO THAT, TO THAT PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, EFFORT IF WE, IF WE, YOU KNOW, UNDERTAKE IT. BUT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT WE CONTINUE ON WITH THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAVE RIGHT NOW TONIGHT. AND THEN WE HAVE THIS ITEM ON THE MERGER ON OUR AGENDA FOR NEXT, NEXT MEETING. SO WE CAN FORMULATE A, A RESPONSE OR SOME KIND OF A STATEMENT. UH, COMMISSIONER RAY AND THEN COMMISSIONER DINKLER, UH, CHIMING IN HERE. I WOULD AGREE THAT TIME IS REALLY OF THE ESSENCE. IF WE WANT THESE COMMENTS TO BE RECEIVED DURING, UM, THE PUBLIC IMPACT PROCESS, UM, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE CONCERNS THOUGH, UM, IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO SLIGHTLY TWEAK THE RECOMMENDATIONS SUCH THAT THE ONES, UM, WE HAVE FOR N H C D AND THEN THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PLANNING AND ZONING COULD BE ALL UNDER ONE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE PROPOSED HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT. UM, OTHER THAN THAT, I FEEL AS IF COMING UP WITH, UM, MORE FINE, LIKE A HIGHER RESOLUTION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A DEPARTMENT THAT'S YET TO EXIST IS ALMOST A DIFFERENT QUESTION. UM, AND ONE WHICH WOULD REQUIRE MORE THOUGHT AND THAN WE HAVE, UM, BEFORE THE END OF THIS PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS. AND COMMISSIONER, I FORGOT WHO I THOUGHT I SAW SOMETHING, BUT COMMISSIONER EVANS, HOW ABOUT THIS? HOW ABOUT BEFORE THOSE TWO BULLET POINTS ON THE TWO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, THE, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING AND ZONING, THAT WE JUST INSERT A, A SIMPLE STATEMENT THAT, UH, ZAP HAS JUST BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE PLANS TO MERGE THESE. AND WHILE WE'RE SUP IN SUPPORT OF THE POTENTIAL MERGER, WE WOULD LIKE TO STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT THE DEPARTMENT, UH, BE LED BY AN ACCREDITED PLANNING PROFESSIONAL. [01:15:04] I, OKAY, COMMISSIONER. UM, I WAS WONDERING IF MAYBE WE SHOULD DO A LITTLE BIT MORE THOROUGH, UM, WEIGHING IN ON THE, ON THE PROPOSED MERGER. AND I, I I LIKE THAT. I I LIKE THAT IDEA, BUT MAYBE FLESH IT OUT, HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO FLESH IT OUT. UM, SO, AND THAT IS JUST MY THOUGHT. AND, AND COMMISSIONER DINKLER WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK AND SHE'S NOW BACK. YES, SHE'S BACK. GO AHEAD. STAFF MUTES ME ONE MORE TIME. I'M GOING TO SCREEN, I'M THE ONLY PERSON HERE THAT HAS WORKED AT CITY HALL AS A COUNCIL AID. THIS WILL BE TIMELY. IF EVERYTHING IS DONE AT ONCE IN TWO WEEKS, WE DON'T HAVE TO BE PART OF THE PUBLIC HEARING PROCESS. WE CAN BE TAKEN UP AT ANY TIME BEFORE THEY ACT ON THE BUDGET. WE HAVE TIME TO DO THIS IN TWO WEEKS. AND I WAS A LITTLE DISTRESSED TO HEAR THAT WE LOST OUR LONG RANGE PLANNER, UH, IN, IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT. AND NOW I'M HEARING WE DON'T HAVE RYAN ROBINSON. I I THINK OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE TO TIE INTO THE MERGER AS IT STANDS. SO I, I WOULD PREFER THAT WE HOLD OFF AND DO WE, TRUST ME, COMMISSIONER RAY, TRUST ME, MR. KING, WE WILL BE FINE IF THIS HAPPENS IN TWO WEEKS AND WE GET A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION. I WILL TELL YOU THAT STORM WATER MAPPING HAS BEEN MAPPED OUT. THAT WORK APPARENTLY WAS COMPLETED, BUT, UM, I REALLY THINK WE OUGHT TO BE WAITING TWO MORE WEEKS AND GETTING, GET A LITTLE MORE DETAIL. YOU, YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE SOMEBODY HEADING THAT DEPARTMENT WHO UNDERSTANDS THE PROCESSES. MM-HMM. . THAT'S IT FOR ME. COMMISSIONER KING. WELL, YOU KNOW, I, I I, I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS IS SORT OF A LAST MINUTE KIND OF THING THAT'S COME, COME INTO OUR PERSPECTIVE HERE AND THAT WE DO WANNA WEIGH IN ON THIS, BUT THE LATER WE WEIGH INTO THE PROCESS, THE LESS LIKELY I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN IMPACT BECAUSE IT COMES BACK IN AS IT GETS CLOSER TO CLOSER AND CLOSER, CLOSER TO THE FINAL VOTE. IT'S HARD TO MAKE CHANGES AS YOU GET FURTHER DOWN THE PROCESS. THE, THE, THE TIMELINE DOWN HERE. NOW, UH, YOU KNOW, SO IF WE ARE GOING TO DELAY THIS RECOMMENDATION, BUDGET RECOMMENDATION FOR TWO MORE WEEKS, THEN I WOULD ASK THAT THE COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE WANTING TO MAKE A RESPONSE TO THIS, THAT THEY PROVIDE THAT INPUT SO WE CAN COMPILE IT AND GET IT BACK TO EVERYBODY IN TIME TO REVIEW IT. UH, YOU KNOW, WE GOT FEEDBACK, WE ASKED FOR FEEDBACK AT THIS BUDGET THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, AND WE DID GET FEEDBACK FROM, UH, ONE COMMISSIONER IN A TIMELY MANNER AND, AND TWO COMMISSIONERS AND, BUT WE CAN GET ANY OTHER FEEDBACK. AND YET IT'S COMING UP. YOU, YOU KNOW, I, I I JUST, THAT FEEDBACK NEEDS TO COME IN EARLIER SO WE CAN GET IT COMPILED AND GET IT OUT TO ALL THE COMMISSIONERS SO THAT WHEN WE DO CONVENE TO REVIEW IT, WE ALL HAVE THAT INFORMATION WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE. AND BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA BE HERE DISCUSSING THIS, IF WE DO IT IN TWO MORE WEEKS, WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING THE SAME ISSUES AGAIN AND THE WORDING THAT WE WANT TO PUT INTO THAT UPDATED BUDGET RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO THIS, THIS MERGER. SO I WOULD JUST ASK THAT THE COMMISSIONERS REALLY PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, CONCISE INPUT ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THIS OR EDIT IN THIS BUDGET RECOMMENDATION IN A TIMELY MANNER SO WE CAN GET IT COMPILED AND OUT TO EVERYBODY SO WE CAN BE EFFICIENT AT OUR NEXT MEETING AND, AND GET THIS BUDGET RECOMMENDATION DONE. HI. OKAY. COMMISSIONER BRA. I THINK I SAW COMMISSIONER RAY'S HAND UP FIRST IF, OKAY. COMMISSIONER RAY. SORRY ABOUT THAT. UH, THANK YOU. I HAVE SOME DRAFT LANGUAGE TO THROW OUT THERE IF PEOPLE ARE RECEPTIVE TO PASSING SOMETHING TONIGHT. UM, THAT I THINK COULD ENCAPSULATE WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR. UM, CAN I GET SOME HEAD NODS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE WILLING TO ENTERTAIN? OKAY, GREAT. YES. UM, SO IN ADDITION TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE, UM, LET'S INCLUDE A NEW SECTION THAT SAYS SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF, WITH THE PROPOSED MERGER OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING AND NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS. AS THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, ZAP RECOMMENDS SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH EXTENSION, UH, SORRY, SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH EXTENSIVE NATIONAL LEVEL EXPERIENCE, UM, AS A PLANNER, UM, SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH EXPERIENCE AS A DEMOGRAPHER AND AN EMPHASIS ON LONG [01:20:01] RANGE PLANNING AND SMALL AREA PLANNING. I HEADS NODDING. AND COMMISSIONER EVANS, I JUST WANTED TO, TO COMMENT, I SUPPORT THAT. I THINK THAT THAT'S CLEAR AND CONCISE, EASY TO PUT IN AND I, IF YOU'RE AGREEABLE, I'D LIKE TO SEE IT PUT BEFORE THE TWO BULLET POINTS. I AGREE. I THINK THAT'S REALLY GOOD. COMMISSIONER JUST WANTED CLARIFY. WE ARE ACTUALLY NOW ON THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATION ITEM, RIGHT? OH, OKAY. WHY DON'T WE ACTUALLY A GOOD POINT. WHY DON'T WE NORMALLY GO TO [E1. Discussion and possible action on City budget recommendations. Sponsors: Commissioners Ray and King] FROM THE E ONE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE CITY BUDGET RECOMMENDATION SPONSORS, COMMISSIONERS, RAY AND KING AND, AND, AND I DO SUPPORT COMMISSIONERS, RAY, COMMISSIONER RAY'S, UH, PROPOSED WORDING THERE. A AND ALSO COMMISSIONER EVANS PUTTING IT AT THE BEGINNING. THAT'S FINE WITH ME TOO. UH, QUICK QUESTION. WE ARE POSTED TO ACT ON THE CITY'S BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS. WERE NOT POSTED TO NECESSARILY WEIGH IN ON THE MERGER. SO CAN YOU REPEAT THE LANGUAGE SO THAT I'M MAKING SURE WE'RE NOT RUNNING IN AS PARLIAMENTARIAN THAT WE'RE NOT RUNNING INTO ANY ISSUES WITH, UH, OPEN MEETINGS OR ARE, UH, ELLEN CAN YOU MISS COMMISSIONER RAY, CAN YOU RE REPHRASE, RE SAY THAT LANGUAGE ONE MORE TIME? SURE. UM, SO CAUSE IF IT FITS IN WITH THE BUDGET, RIGHT? RIGHT. SO WHAT I'VE GOT IS WITH THE PROPOSED MERGER OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING AND NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS, UM, ZACH RE ZACH RECOMMENDS SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH EXTENSIVE NATIONAL EXPERIENCE AS A PLANNER, UM, SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH EXPERIENCE IN DEMOGRAPHY AND AN EMPHASIS ON LONG RANGE PLANNING AT THE SENIOR LEVEL. COMMISSIONER KING, I HAVE A, A SUGGESTION TO ADD TO THAT. MAYBE WE COULD SAY AT THE PROPOSED AT THE, THE, THE, THE PROPOSED MERGER IN OF THE TWO DEPARTMENTS IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET. THAT WAY WE'RE TYING IT TO THE BUDGET IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET BECAUSE THE MERGER WILL HAVE BUDGETARY IMPACTS IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET ITSELF. SO THAT WAY IT DIRECTLY CONNECTS IT TO THE BUDGET. OKAY. SO THAT WORDING WOULD BE THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE PROPOSED MERGER OF THE TWO DEPARTMENTS. WE RECOMMEND IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE PROPOSED MERGER THAT WE RECOMMEND SENIOR IN PLANNING LEADERSHIP OR SENIOR LEADERSHIP, SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH PLANNING DEMOGRAPHY, SMALL AND LONG RANGE PLANNING EXPERTISE. COMMISSIONER BRA, CAN I MAKE A SUGGESTION? UH, THERE'S A SHARED CONTENT BUTTON. I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD GET JUST THE, SOME OF LIKE, UH, COMMISSIONER RAY COULD POST SHARE CONTENT AND LIKE SHOW HER THE LANGUAGE AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AS WE'RE MAKING AMENDMENTS. THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL. YOU GIVE ME ONE SECOND. , I ALSO JUST WANNA KNOW IF THIS FEATURE WORKS, JUST A CURIOSITY THING. THINK OKAY. UM, COMMISSIONER BREAK. CAN YOU REPEAT WHAT THIS FEATURE IS? IF YOU SEE LIKE YOUR UNMUTE AND THEN YOU SEE A VIDEO AND THEN YOU SEE LIKE A SQUARE WITH AN ARROW, IT SHOWS LIKE SHARE CONTENT. YOU PROBABLY COULD USE THAT TO LIKE SHOW ON YOUR SCREEN WHAT LANGUAGE YOU HAVE DRAFTED. YEAH, IT WOULD SURE BE NICE IF WE COULD HAVE SOME TRAINING AS OUR RESOLUTION SUGGESTED . [01:25:01] YEAH, AND AS I SAID, I LIKE, I KIND OF WANT YOU TO DO IT JUST LIKE TO SEE IF WE CAN MAKE THIS WORK CUZ IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE IF WE COULD USE THIS. BE SURE THE FUTURE. YEAH, I AGREE. I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. OH GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER BRA AND THANK YOU COMMISSIONER RAY FOR BEING THE GUINEA PIG. CONGRATULATIONS. SHOULD WE HAVE A, UM, ANY MORE DISCUSSION OR DO WE WANNA HAVE A VOTE ON INCLUDING THIS IN THE RECOMMENDATION COMMISSIONER A GARY, IS THERE GOING TO BE A PROVISION REGARDING SMALL AREA PLANNING AND DO WE WANNA SAY SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITH NATIONAL EXPERIENCES AS A DEMOGRAPHER OR JUST KEEP THAT AS IS? UM, WHAT WOULD YOU, UM, ACTUALLY COMMISSIONER GARY, WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND OR DO YOU ARE YOU JUST SAID, I THOUGHT I HEARD IT, THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL WHEN COMMISSIONER RAY WAS SENDING IT, I THOUGHT I HEARD HER MADE A REFERENCE TO SMALL AREA OF PLANNING UNLESS HURTING CORRECTLY. I HEARD SO I AGREE AND I SEE COMMISSIONER DUNCAN'S HAND UP AND I APOLOGIZE IF I'M NOT CALLING ON YOU BECAUSE, BECAUSE WITH THIS I CAN'T REALLY SEE EVERYBODY, SO I'M JUST GONNA CALL ON PEOPLE. I SEE. SO JUST COMMISSIONER DUNCAN. UM, MY COMMENT ON THE DEMOGRAPHER, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY SENIOR LEADERSHIP, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS GONNA COME OUT RIGHT. RYAN ROBINSON IS ONE OF, I THINK IN OUR STANDING EMPLOYEE AND WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO FILL HIS SHOES. I MEAN, I'M GONNA TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, IMMEDIATELY, UH, IN FACT, I'M ALMOST EMBARRASSED TO SAY THAT WHEN I MADE THE REFERENCE THAT I HAD HIS JOB 60 YEARS AGO, THAT WAS RIGHT OUTTA SCHOOL. I MEAN, HE KNEW THE CITY, HE HAD THE DOCUMENTATION. WE JUST NEED FOR THAT TO BE FILLED. IT NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH GOOD ONE. THE SECOND PART, AND I AGREE WITH YOU COMMISSIONER GARY, UH, WE NEED TO HAVE, AND I DON'T DISAGREE, WE WANT SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS LONG-RANGE MONEY, BUT SMALL AREA PLANNING RIGHT NOW, UH, IS IS I THINK A CRITICAL NEED IN THIS TOWN. WE STILL HAVE IMAGINE AUSTIN, IT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED. THAT'S TRUE. BUT IT DOES GIVE US THE OVER OVERARCHING PLANNING FRAMEWORK. WE NEED TO GET DOWN TO A LEVEL. UH, AND WE, WE, WE SEE THIS EVERY DAY. I MEAN, IN OUR, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE DON'T HAVE THOSE PLANNING GUIDELINES FOR ZONING. UH, SO, UH, AND I SEE THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, RAY HAS ADDED A SMALL AREA OF PLANNING. SO THAT'S ALL I'VE GOTTA SAY IS, UH, LET'S DON'T LOSE OUT ON A REAL GOOD DEMOGRAPHER JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A SENIOR, YOU KNOW, A NATIONAL REPUTATION. UH, QUITE FRANKLY, THAT ROLE COULD COME FROM SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS AUSTIN BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY DOCUMENTING ALL THAT. I, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CRITICIZE OUR LOCAL TALENT AND RESOURCES EARLIER. AND A GOOD DEMOGRAPHER PROBABLY IS SOMEBODY WHO HAS, UH, EXPERIENCED AND AND KNOWS AUSTIN. SO THANK YOU. OKAY, THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR, TO COMMISSIONER RAY FOR DOING ALL THIS. AND, UM, AND HOW DOES THIS WORK FOR YOU ALL COMMISSIONERS? AND I APOLOGIZE BECAUSE I CANNOT SEE EVERYBODY AT THIS POINT. UM, UM, I I IT'S REALLY TOUGH TO JUGGLE THIS. UM, THE ONLY CONCERN I APPRECIATE USING THE SUGGESTIONS ON THE LANGUAGE, THE ONLY POINT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE WAS I REALLY DO THINK THE DIRECTOR OF THIS MERGE DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE, HAVE THE NATIONAL LEVEL PLANNING EXPERIENCE. I'M VERY HESITANT ABOUT USING THE WORD SENIOR LEVEL BECAUSE THEN WE'LL JUST GET A, AN ASSISTANT, ANOTHER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, . AND I, I THINK THE CONCERN THAT I HEARD, THAT I HEARD EVERYONE RAISING TONIGHT IS THAT, THAT WE NEED A COMPREHENSIVE VIEW AT THE TOP PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESSES FOR HOUSING, UM, COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, UM, AND HOW IT INTEGRATES WITH EVERY OTHER DEPARTMENT. AND I, I'M VERY HESITANT TO WORD USE THE LANGUAGE SENIOR LEVEL PLANNER WITH NATIONAL EXPERIENCE. I COULD SEE THEM LITERALLY ADDING ANOTHER ASSISTANT [01:30:01] DIRECTOR WHEN THE POINT IS, IS THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE THE, THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE. SO MY THOUGHTS AGAIN? MM-HMM. , COMMISSIONER EVANS, DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? I DID THAT FIRST, UH, BULLET POINT WHERE IT SAYS SENIOR LEADERSHIP, THAT WE JUST TAKE OUT THE WORD SENIOR LIT LEADERSHIP AND THAT THE DIRECTOR OF THIS DEPARTMENT BE SOMEONE WITH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE AS A PLANNER. I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA. THAT'S WHAT WE HEARD FROM, I MEAN THAT JUST LAYS IT OUT THERE. UM, I THINK THAT'S GREAT. APOLOGIES THAT I COULDN'T SEE ANYBODY BEFORE NOW. I FIGURED OUT HOW TO CHANGE MY WINDOWS. OKAY. COMMISSIONER RAY. ALL RIGHT. SO JUST TO REITERATE, UM, THE LANGUAGE THAT'S BEING SHARED CURRENTLY, UM, HOPEFULLY ENCAPSULATES OUR DISCUSSION, UM, INCLUDING THE RECENT FEEDBACK, UM, TO EMPHASIZE THAT THE DIRECTOR SHOULD HAVE EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCES AS A PLANNER. THE DEMOGRAPHER WILL BE SENIOR LEVEL, UM, AND THAT THE LONG AREA AND LONG RANGE AND SMALL AREA PLANNING, UM, WILL BE EMPHASIS WITH PHYSICIANS AT THE SENIOR LEVEL. UM, SO IF, UM, MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS THINK THAT THIS IS A GOOD SUMMATION OF OUR DISCUSSION TONIGHT, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE, UM, THAT WE ADD THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, TO THE EXISTING BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AS THE FIRST BULLET POINT, UM, ABOVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR N C D IN PLANNING AND ZONING. ANY OKAY. UM, COMMISSIONER, UH, COMMISSIONER EVANS SECOND. OKAY. MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RAY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER EVANS. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OH GREAT. AND, UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HANDS. OKAY, GREAT. AND I'M RAISING MY HAND. I CAN'T SEE YOU. YEAH, THERE YOU GO. MM-HMM. . OH, THAT'S GREAT. MM-HMM. AND, OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THAT'S WAS AND DID EVERYBODY OR IS THERE ANYBODY AGAINST? OKAY, THEN IT'S, ANYBODY ABSTAINING HAVE TO ASK. OKAY, THEN IT'S UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND THANK YOU FOR WORKING ON THE BUDGET. AND THEN, UM, SO THAT'S THAT. AND THEN ITEMS FROM THE COMMISSION. SO I ASSUME WE ARE DONE WITH E ONE AND [E2. Discussion and possible action regarding matters related to any proposed revisions to the Land Development Code including but not limited to staff updates, presentations and scheduling. Sponsors: Chair Kiolbassa, Commissioner Duncan] E TWO IS DISCUSSION IMPOSSIBLE. ACTION ABOUT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, ANYTHING FROM YOU, COMMISSIONER DUNCAN? UH, NOTHING FROM ME, BUT NOTHING ANYBODY FROM ANYTHING [F. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] THAN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. AND BELIEVE ME, WHEN I, I HAD ACTUALLY CALLED UP RYAN ROBINSON TO ASK HIM ABOUT HIS PRESENTATION THAT HE, WE HAD ASKED HIM FOR A LONG TIME AGO WHEN I HEARD THAT HE, HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS NO LONGER WORKING. I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED. UM, SO HE RE RE HE RETIRED JUNE 30TH, BUT WE WON'T MAKE HIM AN AGENDA ITEM. I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO RYAN ROBINSON FOR BEING OUR DEMOGRAPHER. AND, AND THEN, UM, COMMITTEE REPORTS, [G. COMMITTEE REPORTS & WORKING GROUPS] UM, ANYTHING. I KNOW THERE WERE SOME COMMITTEES THAT WERE GONNA MEET AND CODES AND ORDINANCES JOINT COMMITTEE DIDN'T MEET. OKAY. COMMISSIONER PING, I'M JUST, I'M NOT SURE INCIDENTALLY THAT DOES, UH, YOU DID NOT GIVE COMMISSIONER RE RAMIREZ TWO VOTES FOLLOW. CAUSE I SAW TWO HANDS WAVING ON HER SCREEN BACK TO THE CS BUSINESS. UH, OUR CODES MEETING, UH, CODES AND OUR JUST DID MEET, UH, WE HAD A GREAT DISCUSSION ON, UH, UH, THE STREET IMPACT FEE, UH, WITH INFORMATION THAT WAS TRANSMITTED ONTO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE COUNCIL. I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT PART WAS SO THAT, UH, ONE OF OUR MEMBERS WAS, UH, IS ELECTED THE VICE CHAIR COMMISSIONER RAMIREZ. CONGRATULATIONS. SO WHERE DID SHE GO? ENJOY TO BE TOO DISTRACTING. WELL, CONGRATULATIONS. OH YEAH. OKAY. CONGRATULATIONS TO, UM, TO TAKING A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THAT ON THE CODES AND ORDINANCES AND ORDINANCES [01:35:01] COMMITTEE. AND HOW ABOUT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN JOINT COMMITTEE? NOTHING TO REPORT. OKAY. AND THEN THE SMALL AREA PLANNING JOINT COMMITTEE? WE DON'T, WE HAVEN'T HAD A MEETING. OUR NEXT MEETING IS IN AUGUST. OKAY, GREAT. OKAY. AND I FEEL LIKE, OH, AND ACTUALLY THIS IS AN, AN AGENDA ITEM I GUESS, BUT I WANT TO FOLLOW UP WITH OUR RESOLUTION AND I WILL PLAN TO DO THAT, UM, AND, UM, SEE IF WE GET ANY TRAINING. THANK YOU TO COMMISSIONERS BRA AND COMMISSIONERS RAY, FOR, UM, STEPPING US A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THE TECHNOLOGY AND COMMISSIONER BRA. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WOULD BE AN AGENDA ITEM, BUT I WONDER IF WE COULD TAKE FIVE MINUTES AT SOME POINT TO JUST LIKE GO THROUGH THE FEATURES AS A GROUP AND CUZ I HAVE SOME LIKE, IDEAS ABOUT LIKE RAISING HANDS FOR SPEAKING AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WOULD YOU ALL BE DOWN WITH THAT? DOES THAT NEED TO BE AN AGENDA ITEM AT SOME POINT? UM, IF, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. I MEAN, OR, OR, OR IF YOU JUST WANNA SHOOT ME A NOTE OR COMMISSIONER KING, I'LL CORRESPOND TO THAT WITH AS A, AS AN AGENDA ITEM SO THAT WE CAN HAVE IT ON. WE'LL JUST BE PRACTICING. WE'LL WHAT THAT WOULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL AND USEFUL, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR US. OKAY. AND THAT SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. SO THAT'LL BE AN AGENDA ITEM AND ANYTHING ELSE? IF NOT, WE ARE CAN CALL IT A NIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. TELL ME, WHO'S THAT WRITING, JOHN, TELL ME, WHO'S THAT WRITING? JOHN, TELL ME, WHO'S THAT WRITING? JOHN, THE BOOK OF THE SEVEN, GOD CAME DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN CALL ADAM BY HIS NAME. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.