Aug 17, 2020 Resource Management

WITH THAT.

UM, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE STRICT TIME LIMITS THAT WE ARE PAINFULLY AWARE OF THESE MEETINGS.

I'LL SAY LET'S GO AHEAD AND CALL TO ORDER THIS MEETING OF AUGUST MEETING OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AT 3:03 PM.

UM, AND I'LL START OUT WITH THE, WITH ROLE AND IF YOU WOULD PLEASE MAKE SURE TO GIVE AN AUDIO RATHER THAN JUST A HANDS IT'S ALSO THAT WE HAVE A ROLL CALL.

UH, THIS IS, UH, CHAIR HARMON, UH, COMMISSIONER LAST YEAR, WHITE, UH, COMMISSIONER BATTEY JACK SAID HE WAS UNAVAILABLE FOR THIS MEETING.

WAS THAT CORRECT? JAMIE? YES.

UH, COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN, PRESENT, UH, COMMISSIONER BRENNAMAN.

THANKS, REBECCA.

UH, COMMISSIONER , UH, COMMISSIONER GILLMAN.

COMMISSIONER JOHNSON AND COMMISSIONER SMITH WITH THOSE PRESENT.

I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE FOR HIM.

SO WE'LL GO AHEAD.

AND, UM, JAMIE, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR CITIZEN COMMUNICATION? NO, MA'AM WE DO NOT.

NO, WE DO NOT.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN.

THANK YOU VERY

[1. Approve minutes of the July 22, 2020 Special Called Meeting of Resource Management Commission.]

MUCH.

UH, THEN MOVING ON, UH, OUR NEXT FIVE, BUT BY THE ONE ON THE AGENDA IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JULY 22ND MEETING.

DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

THANK YOU, LEO.

A MOTION.

SO MOVED BY COMMISSIONER DIELMAN SECOND I'LL SECOND.

UH, ALL IN FAVOR, SAY AYE.

AYE.

HI.

THANK YOU ALL.

UH, THE MOTION IS APPROVED.

[2. Establish a working group of Resource Management Commissioners to coordinate with the Office of Sustainability regarding the Austin Community Emissions Dashboard as it relates to Commission goals.]

UM, NOW I, UM, NEXT WEEK, THE ITEM TWO ON THE AGENDA, THIS IS THE OLD BUSINESS ITEM THAT WE DID WANT TO MOVE BOARD BECAUSE IT'S BEEN ON OUR LAST AGENDA.

WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET IT TO US ON OUR LAST MEETING AND I THINK IT WILL BE A RELATIVELY, YEAH.

UM, THIS ITEM HAS ESTABLISHED THE GROUP OF THE RMC TO COORDINATE WITH THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, STARTING THE DASHBOARD FEEDBACK.

ARE YOU GUYS HEARING THAT? YEAH.

SORRY.

IF, UH, IF YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING, IF YOU DON'T MIND REMAINING ON MUTE, HOPEFULLY THAT'LL HELP US ALL HEAR EACH OTHER A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

AND I THINK IT'S BETTER NOW.

COMMISSIONER BRENNAMAN COMMISSIONER BLACKBURN.

UM, SO THIS ITEM WAS, UH, UH, ACTUALLY PROPOSED BY COMMISSIONER SMITH REGARDING, UM, ESTABLISHING A WORKING GROUP TO COORDINATE WITH THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, UM, REGARDING THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY ADMISSIONS DASHBOARD, UM, AND UTILIZING THAT TOOL AS IT RELATES TO THE GOALS OF THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.

UM, I'D HEARD FEEDBACK FROM A COUPLE OF COMMISSIONERS THAT WERE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS.

UM, AND SO AT THIS MEETING I'D LIKE TO ESTABLISH A WORKING GROUP.

UM, JAMIE, I MAY ASK YOU BY FOR ORDER OF, UH, PROCESS OR A FEW OF THE COMMISSIONERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKING GROUP ARE NOT PRESENT AT THE MEETING.

UM, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND ESTABLISH A WORKING GROUP ANYWAY, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.

IF YOU EVER REQUIRE THEM, UM, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER MEETING, IF YOU'RE NOT THERE, YOU GET PUT ON A WORKING GROUP.

OKAY, GREAT.

WELL, LET ME, UH, START, UM, BY, BY ASKING, UH, FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE HERE, UM, WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN, UM, A, AN AUSTIN CON COMMUNITY EMISSIONS DASHBOARD WORKING GROUP.

I WOULD LIKE TO, OKAY.

I THINK I SAW YOUR HAND GO UP.

YEP.

AWESOME.

AND COMMISSIONER WHITES.

BUT I THINK YOU WERE MUTED.

YES.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND, UM, JAMIE, IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR WORKING GROUPS MUST REMAIN BELOW FORUM, CORRECT.

UM, SO WE CAN HAVE UP TO FOUR MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.

IS THAT CORRECT? DO ACTUALLY HAVE UP TO FIVE.

[00:05:02]

SORRY, MY IT'S MONDAY.

I DON'T KNOW.

UM, OKAY, GREAT.

SO WE'VE GOT, UM, TWO MORE SPOTS FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN.

I DID, UM, WHEN, AFTER THIS WAS DISCUSSED, UM, PREVIOUSLY REGARDING THE DASHBOARD, I KNOW, UM, COMMISSIONER FREELAND AND, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER, UM, BABIAK, WE'RE ALSO INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING.

UM, AND SO IF IT'S OKAY WITH THE WORKING GROUP, I MAY RECOMMEND THAT WE, UH, WE ADD THOSE TWO AS WELL.

UM, ASSUMING THEIR ACCEPTANCE OF, UH, OF WORKING ON THE WORKING GROUP.

ANY OTHER, UM, THANK YOU.

SO, UM, I THINK THE NEXT STEP HERE WOULD BE, UM, THE OFFICES OF SUSTAINABILITY HAS OFFERED A TRAINING FOR THE WORKING GROUP TO GO THROUGH EMISSIONS DASHBOARD TOOL.

UM, AND WHICH POINT I BELIEVE, UM, THE CHARTER FOR THE WORKING GROUP WILL BE UP TO MEMBERS.

UM, BUT I BELIEVE THE INTENT WOULD BE TO THEN UTILIZE THAT TOOL, UH, AS WE GO ABOUT OUR BUSINESS AS A COMMISSION AND COME BACK TO THE FULL COMMISSION WITH RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE BEST WAYS TO, TO DO EXACTLY THAT.

ANY ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM.

LET'S MOVE RIGHT ALONG TO OUR STAFF REPORTS IN BRIEF PINK, UM, BRIEFINGS ARE FOR STAFF BRIEFING IS FROM, UH, AUSTIN WATER.

THEN

[3. Quarterly report and update on water conservation programs by Austin Water Utility.]

UM, MR. JORDAN, THANK YOU.

UH, ONCE AGAIN FOR BEING WITH US.

NICE TO SEE YOU.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

UM, AS YOU MENTIONED, MY NAME IS MARK JORDAN.

I'M THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION AT AUSTIN WATER.

AND TODAY I WILL BE PROVIDING YOU WITH A QUARTERLY UPDATE OF THE WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES AT THE UTILITY.

UH, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THE BACKUP MATERIALS THAT ARE PILLS, BUT FOR THIS AGENDA ITEM, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE ARE TWO REPORTS LABELED QUARTERLY UPDATE ON THE WEBSITE.

OUR THE FIRST IS IRREGULAR MONTHLY REPORT.

UH, THE SECOND IS THE QUARTERLY UPDATE PRESENTATION I'LL BE GIVING TODAY.

UH, HOWEVER, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT EITHER REPORT.

SO AT THIS TIME I'M GOING TO ASK MY DRIVER THERE AT CITY HALL TO PULL UP THIS PRESENTATION.

GREAT.

UM, AS YOU KNOW, ADOPTION OF CODE NEXT HAS BEEN CHALLENGED IN COURT.

IN REAL QUICK, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

YOU KNOW, TODAY I'M GOING TO BRIEF YOU UPDATE YOU ON THE STATUS OF SIX ITEMS. THE FIRST IS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT, WHICH IS COMMONLY KNOWN AS AMI OR THE SMART METER PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE RELATED WATER SMART CUSTOMER PORTAL.

THAT WILL GO ALONG WITH IT.

THE SECOND ITEM I'M GOING TO TOUCH ON IS THE CONSERVATION ORDINANCE THAT ARE CONTAINED IN THE PROPOSED, UH, CHANGES TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.

AND I'LL GIVE YOU KIND OF A STATUS OF THAT.

THE THIRD ARE PROPOSED CONSERVATION ORDINANCES ARISING OUT OF THE WATER BOARD PLAN, UH, THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.

AND THERE WE'RE GOING TO BE MOVING AHEAD ON THOSE WITH A POTENTIAL COUNCIL ACTION IN DECEMBER.

THE FOURTH IS I JUST WANT TO REVIEW WITH YOU THE REVISIONS TO THE CURRENT REBATE PROGRAMS AND NEW INCENTIVE PROGRAMS AS WELL.

AND FINALLY END UP ABOUT, UH, TALKING BRIEFLY ABOUT SOME POTENTIAL INSTEAD OF PROGRAMS THAT, UH, ARE UNDER EVALUATION.

SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO I'M GOING TO START OFF WITH THE AMI PILOT PROJECT.

UH, NEXT SLIDE NEXT MONTH, WE'LL BEGIN THE INITIAL OF THE SMART METERS WITH THE WATER SMART CUSTOMER PORTAL TO 5,000 RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

THERE'LL BE EVENLY SPLIT BETWEEN THE RIVER PLACE AND MUELLER SUBDIVISIONS.

THESE LOCATIONS WERE CHOSEN TO TEST THE SIGNAL STRENGTH OF THE, A WIRELESS NETWORK IN THE HILLY TERRAIN THERE AT RIVER PLACE, AS WELL AS COMPATIBILITY WITH DIFFERENT TYPES AND AGES OF WATER DISTRIBUTION INFRASTRUCTURE.

YOU FIND IN THE MUELLER AREA, THE PILOT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MARCH OF NEXT YEAR, AND IF EVERYTHING GOES AS EXPECTED, THEN FULL DEPLOYMENT OF AMI AND THE CUSTOMER PORTAL WILL OCCUR OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

THERE'LL BE A REPLACING ABOUT 265,000 ANALOG METERS ACROSS ALL CUSTOMER SECTORS.

UH, IF YOU'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM, YOU'LL FIND IT AT THAT WEB LINK.

YOU SEE IT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE, UH, WWW.MYATXWATER.ORG.

NEXT LINE.

[00:10:01]

THIS ALONG WITH THE COUNCIL ELECTIONS THIS NOVEMBER AND PROBABLY COUNCIL FOCUS EARLY NEXT YEAR ON THE REALLOCATION OF THE FUNDS, UH, FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE OTHER PROGRAMS I THINK ARE GOING TO BE TAKING UP MUCH OF THEIR TIME AND ATTENTION.

SO IT MAY NOT BE UNTIL NEXT YEAR THAT THESE CODE NEXT CHANGES, INCLUDING OUR CONSERVATION ORDINANCES THAT ARE CONTAINED IN THEM WILL BE TAKEN UP PROBABLY MARCH AT THE VERY EARLIEST.

BUT I WOULD LIKE TO JUST BRIEFLY REVIEW THE STATUS OF THESE, YOU KNOW, THE NATURE OF THESE ORDINANCES.

AND, UH, IF YOU MAY RECALL, THESE WERE PRESENTED TO YOU LAST YEAR IN ANTICIPATION OF COUNCIL ACTION IN DECEMBER.

SO, UM, A BIG PAUSE BUTTON THAT HAS BEEN, UH, UH, PUSHED ON THESE THINGS.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO JUST REAL BRIEFLY, THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT REQUIREMENTS, UH, THIS ORDINANCE WOULD REQUIRE ALL NEW COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS TO SUBMIT A WATER BALANCE.

IT'S IDENTIFYING ALL NON POTABLE WATER DEMANDS THAT COULD BE MET FROM, UM, OUT, UH, ONSITE SOURCES OF ALTERNATIVE WATER.

UH, THESE WOULD INCLUDE THINGS LIKE RAINWATER, AC CONDENSATE, GRAY WATER, STORM WATER, AND TO DETERMINE, UH, WHAT COULD BE USED TO BE A NON POTABLE WATER DEMAND, SUCH AS IRRIGATION AND TOILET FLUSHING.

UM, AUSTIN WATER DURING THIS PROCESS WOULD PROVIDE INFORMATION DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF THE INITIAL DESIGN REVIEW ABOUT REBATES AND OTHER INCENTIVES, AS WELL AS CASE STUDIES SUCH AS THAT AT OUR NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY AND THE NEW PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BUILDING THAT'S, UH, LOCATED AT THE CAMPUS.

THIS, UM, INITIAL WATER BALLOT SUBMISSION WAS TO BEGIN JUNE ONE OF THIS YEAR.

SO, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY RUNNING BEHIND OF COURSE, ON GETTING THAT, UM, OFF THE GROUND.

AND, UH, THE NEXT SLIDE ON THE RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION.

UM, THE SECOND CONSERVATION ORDINANCES AND THE PROPOSED LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE WAS TO EXTEND THE DISTANCE FROM 250 FEET TO 500 FEET WHERE NEW COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO CONNECT TO THE CITY'S RECLAIM WATER DISTRIBUTION LINE.

UM, AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, RECLAIM WATER IS THE TREATED ADMINISTRATE WASTEWATER INVADE IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS OUR PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM.

AND THIS WAS TO TAKE EFFECT UPON ADOPTION BY CITY COUNCIL.

UM, ORIGINALLY EXPECTED ALSO IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR.

AND THEN FINALLY ON THE LIGHT IN THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE ONSITE RULES AND REGULATIONS, UH, BEGINNING IN DECEMBER ONE OF 2023 LARGE NEW COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF OVER 250,000 SQUARE FEET WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MEET THE NON POTABLE WATER DEMANDS WITH AVAILABLE ONSITE ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES, UH, THAT AS IDENTIFIED BY A AUSTIN WATER APPROVED CAP, UH, CALCULATOR IN WATER BALANCE TWO YEARS PRIOR TO THIS REQUIREMENT, UH, WE WERE TO DEVELOP A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK THAT INCLUDED THE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS, THE MONITORING PERMITTING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THESE SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS INCENTIVE PROGRAMS TO ENCOURAGE THE USE OF THESE SYSTEMS PRIOR TO THE MANDATE TAKING EFFECT.

AND THIS WOULD ALLOW US TIME TO TEST DRIVE AND LEARN FROM THE USE OF THE CALCULATOR AND THE REGULATORY GUIDANCE FOR THOSE WHO VOLUNTEERED.

I INSTALL THESE SYSTEMS BEFORE THE MANDATE IN 2023.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO SORRY, THE PDF OF THIS KIND OF, UH, HAS RUN TOGETHER SOME OF THE LETTERS ON THE SLIDES.

SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, BUT THIS SLIDE TALKS ABOUT THE INCENTIVES OR THE INSTALLATION OF THESE ALTERNATIVE WATER SYSTEMS IN THE LARGE NEW DEVELOPMENT BEFORE IT WOULD BECOME MANDATORY.

UM, IN ADDITION TO OUR TRADITIONAL REBATE, UH, TYPE INCENTIVES, UH, WE, UH, OUR PLAN ON OFFERING IMPACT FEE REDUCTIONS.

SO THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, THERE'D BE A REDUCTION IN THE TAP FEE BASED UPON THE METER SIZE NEEDED FOR THE REDUCED POTABLE WATER DEMAND.

THEY'D STILL INSTALL A METER SIZE TO MEET ALL THE WATER DEMANDS OF THE FACILITY, BUT ONLY PAY FOR THE SMALLER METER FEE, UM, OR, UH, THE WATER DEMAND.

THAT'S NOT OFFSET BY THE ALTERNATIVE WATER THAT'S BEING USED ONSITE.

AND THEN WE WERE ALSO GOING TO OFFER A $1 MILLION

[00:15:02]

GRANT PROGRAM TO HELP PEOPLE PAY FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THESE SYSTEMS. AND OF COURSE, A TRADITIONAL PROGRAM SUCH OUR BUCKS FOR BUSINESS REBATE WILL CONTINUE TO BE AVAILABLE.

THAT'S UP TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UH, FOR THE SMALLER PROJECTS OTHER AND JONATHAN, YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN THIS, OF COURSE, OTHER NON AUSTIN WATER SOURCES OF FUNDING, SUCH AS PACE LOANS, UH, COULD ALSO BE USED OR THE INSTALLATION OF THESE KINDS OF, OF, UH, ALTERNATIVE ONSITE SYSTEMS AS MANY, YOU KNOW, THE PROPERTY SAYS CLEAN ENERGY PROGRAM AT, UH, IS, UH, ADMINISTERED THROUGH THE TRAVIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT, BUT IT PROVIDES LOW COST, LONG TERM FINANCING FOR WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION IMPROVEMENTS TO, UM, TO COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO IN ADDITION TO THESE PROPOSED ORDINANCES THAT ARE IN CODE NEXT THAT ARE CURRENTLY, UH, IN LIMBO, UH, WE ALSO HAD ADDITIONAL CONSERVATION ORDINANCES THAT ARE PROCEEDING, UM, OUTSIDE OF THE LDC.

AND ONCE AGAIN, BEING PROPOSED AND PLANNED TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL THIS DECEMBER, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO MANY OF THESE CHANGES HAVE TO DO WITH COOLING TOWERS.

UM, SO WE ALREADY HAVE WATER EFFICIENCY, STANDARDS AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR COOLING TOWERS, AS WELL AS AN INSPECTION AND REGISTRATION, UH, REQUIREMENT FOR THESE.

UM, BUT WHAT THESE NEW ADDITIONAL ORDINANCES WOULD DO IS TO INCLUDE WATER EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR THE DRIFT ELIMINATORS AND COOLING TOWERS, AS WELL AS ADD A REQUIREMENT OR BIOCIDES TO BE ADDED TO THE MAKEUP WATER, TO PREVENT ALGAE GROWTH.

AND THAT WOULD INCREASE WATER EFFICIENCY AS WELL AS PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH BY HELPING PREVENT AIRBORNE BACTERIA.

UM, THE PROPOSED ORDINANCES WOULD ALSO INCLUDE OR IMPOSE IN ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY OR FAILURE TO SUBMIT THE REQUIRED COOLING TOWER REGISTRATION AND ANNUAL INSPECTION REPORTS TO ENSURE THE TOWERS ARE MEETING THESE WATER EFFICIENCY STANDARDS AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS.

UM, THIS WOULD BE SIMILAR.

SO THIS WOULD BE ADDING A SIMILAR PROGRAM IN FEE AND ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR NOT COMPLYING WITH THE COOLING TOWER PROGRAM.

UH, AND THEN FINALLY, UH, THOSE WHO DO NOT SUBMIT A REQUIRED REGISTRATION INSPECTION WOULD BE INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE EVAPORATIVE LOSS CREDIT ON THEIR WASTEWATER BILLS.

I WOULD SAY IN ADDITION, R AND D, WELL, IN ADDITION TO THESE ORDINANCES FOR THESE EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWERS, I THINK OUR MAIN FOCUS FOR, UH, FOR WATER EFFICIENCY IN THIS AREA IS TO REALLY ENCOURAGE AND INCENTIVIZE THOSE NON EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWERS.

THOSE ARE NOT WATER CONSUMING OR USE LESS WATER.

SO I THINK OUR BIG PUSH IS TO EVENTUALLY MOVE AWAY FROM THESE SYSTEMS. UH, BUT FOR NOW WE'RE TRYING TO TIGHTEN MAKING SURE EVERY BODY IS, UH, COMPLYING WITH THE EXISTING, UH, REQUIREMENTS NEXT.

EXCELLENT.

HUH.

YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ALSO PROPOSING A WAIVER TO THE COMMERCIAL IRRIGATION METER REQUIREMENT AND THEREFORE THE PAYMENT OF THE ASSOCIATED TAP FEES AND COSTS.

AND WE'RE DOING THAT AS AN INCENTIVE TO CAP AND REMOVE AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, UH, AND TO HELP PROMOTE, YOU KNOW, TO ADDRESS THE LARGE CONSUMPTIVE USE THAT THEY PRESENT AS WELL AS TO HELP INCENTIVIZE THEM MOVING MORE TOWARD THE NATIVE LANDSCAPING AND ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF WATER.

SO THAT'S ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS, IN THE SUITE OF ORDINANCES, UM, THAT WE'RE ALSO PROPOSING NEXT SLIDE.

AND THEN FINALLY, AND THIS IS TWO YEARS OUT STILL, BUT, UM, ANYWAY, WE'RE LOOKING, UH, AT, UH, REVISITING A RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE THAT WAS FIRST PROPOSED IN THE ONE 40 PLAN FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO REMEMBER THAT, UM, THAT PROPOSED ORDINANCES, UH, ORDINANCES ORDINANCE, LIMITED GRASS AND AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS FOR NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT TO TWO AND A HALF TIMES THE BUILDING FOOTPRINT, OR NOT MORE THAN 10,000 SQUARE FEET, WHATEVER IS LEFT.

IT ALSO WOULD REQUIRE NON TURF GRASS AREAS, UH, WOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE

[00:20:01]

NATIVE MORTAR UP TOLERANT LANDSCAPE ON THE PREFERRED, UH, PLANT LIST.

SO WE'RE GOING TO START THERE.

UM, COUNCIL DID NOT APPROVE THAT, UH, I GUESS ROUGHLY 10 YEARS AGO, BUT ANYWAY, UH, UNDER THE WATERFORD PLAN, IT'S PROPOSES AS, UH, A STRATEGY FOR US TO, UH, RELOOK AT.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN WHERE WE LEFT OFF THERE UNDER THE ONE 40 PLAN.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THIS SLIDE GIVES THE, THE ORIGINAL COMPREHENSIVE TIMELINE FOR THE ADOPTION OF ALL THE CONSERVATION ORDINANCES OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD FOR THE ALTERNATIVE WATER, REGULATORY GUIDANCE, COOLING TOWERS AND IRRIGATION METER WAIVER ORDINANCES, NOT IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.

THIS TIMELINE WOULD INCLUDE PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER INPUT MEETINGS IN LATE SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR, AS WELL AS BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, AND THEN A COUNCIL ACTION IN DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR.

SO I'LL BE BACK WITH YOU SOON AND THE OCTOBER, NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME TO GIVE YOU, UM, A SUMMARY OF THE KIND OF PUBLIC INPUT WE GOT ON THESE PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND REVIEW THOSE FOR YOUR INPUT BEFORE, UH, GOING TO CITY COUNCIL IN DECEMBER.

AND ONCE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THE DELAY IN THE ADOPTION OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE WILL REQUIRE ADJUSTMENTS TO SOME OF THE TIMELINES FOR THOSE AFFECTED ORDINANCES RELATING TO THE ALTERNATIVE WATER REQUIREMENTS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, YOU KNOW, DESPITE THE PAUSE IN SOME OF THE ORDINANCE ADOPTIONS WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE CONTINUED TO BE VERY BUSY AND DEVELOPING NEW AND REVISED INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. SO NEXT SLIDE.

SO JUST REAL QUICKLY, I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH THESE, UM, WE'VE DOUBLED OUR REBATE AMOUNTS BASED ON NEW COSTS, BENCHING BENCHMARKING INFORMATION IN THE WATERFORD PLAN.

IT'S BASICALLY THE, UH, AVOIDED COST OF DELAYING A PAYMENT ON THE REMAINDER OF THE LCRA CONTRACT OR, UH, UH, OFFSET BY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES.

SO OUR NEW COST BENCHMARKING BASED UPON THAT IS NOW, UM, GENERALLY A DOLLAR PER THOUSAND GALLONS SAVED.

SO IT BASICALLY HAS DOUBLED, UM, OUR REBATE AMOUNTS, UH, ACROSS ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. KNOW WE'VE ALSO BEEFED UP THE BUCKS FOR BUSINESS REBATE TO GO AHEAD AND ADD THE ALTERNATIVE WATER CALCULATORS AND ANNUAL ALTERNATIVE WATER PROGRESS REPORTS FOR NEW COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.

UH, AS WE, UH, TRY TO HELP THE SMALLER PROJECTS, UH, INSTALL SOME OF THESE ALTERNATIVE WATER, UH, SYSTEMS, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

WE'VE ALSO, UM, ADDED NEW PRESSURE REDUCTION COMPONENTS, UH, IN OUR COMMERCIAL IRRIGATION SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT REBATE AND LIFTED THE ONCE FOR LIFETIME APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS.

UM, NEXT SLIDE OR OUR WATER-WISE LANDSCAPE, WE'VE ADDED GRAVEL PATIOS OF NOT MORE THAN 200 SQUARE FEET AS AN ELIGIBLE OFFSET OR MEASURE TO REPLACE TURF GRASS.

UH, WE'VE ALSO FOR HABITED THE NEW INSTALLATION OF PERMANENT IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AS A PART OF THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION, AS WELL AS ADDED SOME FLEXIBILITY TO THE LANDSCAPE FABRIC.

THAT'S PUT DOWN WHEN YOU PUT THE NEW LANDSCAPE, UH, AND WELL AS COMPOST REQUIREMENTS, NEXT SLIDE ON THE, UM, ON THE RESIDENTIAL IRRIGATION REBATE, IN ADDITION TO INCREASING THE REBATE AMOUNTS OR ALL THE ELIGIBLE COMPONENTS OF THIS PROGRAM, UH, WE'VE ALSO ADDED REBATES TO CONVERT TO SIX INCH POPUP SPRINKLER HEADS AND ALSO STREAMLINE THE, UH, APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THAT.

UM, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WE HAVE A, AN ANNUAL WORKSHOP WITH THE LICENSEE IRRIGATION INSTALLERS, AND THEY SAY PROBABLY THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO ADDRESS, UH, RESIDENTIAL IRRIGATION SYSTEMS ARE WITH THOSE HIGHER POP-UP NOZZLES THAT DON'T GET BLOCKED BY GRASS OR OTHER NEARBY FEATURES, UM, AS WELL AS PRESSURE REDUCING THE PRESSURE SO THAT THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM IS, UM, IS WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY.

SO WE'RE EMPHASIZING THOSE AS WELL AS INCREASING THE REBATE AMOUNTS.

AND SO FAR, I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A PRETTY GOOD RESPONSE BY DOING THAT.

UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO NEW INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. SO WE'VE GOT THREE NEW INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

[00:25:01]

THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED, UH, OVER THE SPRING AND SUMMER MONTHS.

UM, NEXT SLIDE, THE FIRST ONE IS A, UH, A PILOT REBATE PROGRAM FOR A HOME WATER USE MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT DEVICE.

THE ONE YOU SEE PICTURED HERE ON THE SLIDE, I BELIEVE IT LOOKS LIKE THE FLUME DEVICE, BUT ANYWAY, THESE ATTACHED TO THE METER AND, UH, ALLOW THE CUSTOMER TO GET NEAR REAL TIME WATER USE INFORMATION AND THEY, AND ALSO SOME ACTIONABLE ITEMS TO TAKE, TO HELP MANAGE AND, UH, IDENTIFY WATER CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES AND BETTER MANAGE THE WATER USE.

AND SO THIS IS A VERY QUICK COST EFFECTIVE DEPLOYMENT AND AN INTERIM MEASURE, UH, PARTICULARLY UNTIL WE GET FLOW, UH, FULL DEPLOYMENT OF AMI AND THE WATER SMART PORTAL.

I WILL SAY THAT THE, THE, UM, AMI AND WATER SMART IT'S, IT WILL BE AN HOURLY RATE.

AND THE USE THE WATER USE INFORMATION WILL LAG BY A DAY IN THE REPORTS THAT ARE PROVIDED TO CUSTOMERS.

SO THIS, THIS ACTUALLY COULD BE, UM, A LOT OF OUR CUSTOMERS MAY ACTUALLY LIKE THIS, UH, UH, BETTER AS FAR AS GETTING THE INFORMATION FASTER AND MORE, UH, FREQUENT FREQUENTLY THAN WHAT WE WILL, UH, EVENTUALLY BE ABLE TO DO WITH THEIR AMI PROJECT AND THE WATER SMART PORTAL, UH, NEXT LINE.

AND, UH, THE JUNE DATE.

THESE ARE WHEN THESE BECAME EFFECTIVE.

THIS IS OUR, UH, PULL BACKWASH FILTER REBATE.

THIS IS A REBATE FOR MORE WATER, EFFICIENT CARTRIDGE, BACKWASH FILTERS FOR SWIMMING POOLS THAT WOULD REPLACE THE LESS EFFICIENT SAND FILTERS.

AND SO WE'RE OFFERING A REBATE ON THAT, UH, NEXT SLIDE.

AND WE, UM, WE HOPE TO ROLL OUT NEXT MONTH, OUR A, A GRAY WATER REUSE REBATE FOR SOMETHING CALLED LAUNDRY TO LANDSCAPE SYSTEMS. AND THEY'RE VERY SIMPLE THINGS YOU SEE THE THREE WAY DIVERTER, IT HOOKS UP TO SOME PCB BY PIPE THAT GOES OUTSIDE AND BY GRAVITY FED, UH, DISTRIBUTES, UM, THE GRAY WATER TO WHERE YOU WANT IT TO, UH, HELP WATER PARTS OF THE LANDSCAPE, UH, AND SO FORTH.

SO IT WOULD BE OFFERING THAT, UH, NEXT MONTH.

UH, FINALLY NEXT SLIDE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE STILL SOME, SOME PROGRAMS THAT WE ARE CONTINUING TO REVIEW TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE EFFECTIVE AND COST BENEFICIAL.

AND ONE OF THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN ON THE TOP OF OUR LIST HAS BEEN THE RAINWATER HARVESTING PROGRAM.

UH, NEXT SLIDE.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL CONTINUING TO SEE HOW WE CAN, UH, INCREASE PARTICIPATION FOR TRIPOLI BY LARGER COMMERCIAL USERS, BUT STILL PROVIDE IT AT A, UH, AT A REBATE AMOUNT THAT'S COMPARABLE TO THE BENEFIT THAT WE WOULD IN WATER SAVINGS THAT WE WOULD GET FROM THAT.

YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED EARLIER OUR DOLLAR PER THOUSAND GALLONS SAVED AS OUR COST BENCHMARK.

UH, THIS PROGRAM AT THE CURRENT REBATE AMOUNTS ARE ROUGHLY PAYING CLOSE TO $16, A THOUSAND GALLONS SAVED.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS HAS A LOT OF BENEFITS BESIDES WATER SAVINGS.

THERE'S A WATER QUALITY, A STORM WATER MANAGEMENT COMPONENT TO IT, BUT WE STILL NEED TO KIND OF LOOK AT IT AND MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE USE OUR CUSTOMER REVENUES, THE, UH, THAT WE ARE DOING IT, THAT HAS SOME KIND OF COMPARATIVE BENEFIT TO THEM AS WELL.

UH, AS FAR AS WATER SAVED AND OFFSETTING THOSE COSTS OF WATER TREATMENT AND DISTRIBUTION SUPPLY THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE PASSED ON TO THEM, UH, IN THE FORM OF HIGHER RATES.

SO WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIND THAT, UH, UH, THAT PROPER BALANCE IN LOOKING AT RAINWATER HARVESTING PROGRAMS. AND THEN FINALLY ON THIS LAST SLIDE, NO THING WE CONTINUE TO WRESTLE WITH IS, UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE, THERE'S A MODEL LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE THAT DOES REQUIRE AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM TO MAINTAIN THE VEGETATION AS A STORMWATER RUNOFF COMPONENT, BUT ALSO TRY TO LOOK AT WAYS WHERE WHEN IT'S REQUIRED BY SOME LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE WHERE WE CAN INCENTIVIZE THE RETIREMENT, THE ABANDONMENT, THE CAMPING, OR REMOVING OF THESE COMMERCIAL, UM, IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, BECAUSE THEY CAN BE SUCH A SIGNIFICANT, UH, SOURCE OF WATER CONSUMPTION, PARTICULARLY IN THE SUMMER MONTHS.

[00:30:02]

BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S, UM, NEXT SLIDE, I THINK THAT'S IT, AS FAR AS WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE UTILITY, AS FAR AS NEW PROGRAMS AND ORDINANCES, AND BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT THIS OR ANYTHING IN THAT MONTHLY, UH, MONTHLY REPORT.

HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF CAP CUSTOMERS BASED UPON, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE USING THEIR INDIVIDUAL UNIT METERS, TRY TO IDENTIFY THOSE AREAS WHERE WE'VE GOT THE LOW INCOME POPULATIONS AND AT LEAST TRY TO OFFER THEM PROGRAMS AS FAR AS WHETHER IT'S LOW EFFICIENCY, AIR RAIDERS, OR SHOWER HEADS, OR EVEN GOING AND OFFERING WHAT'S CALLED A DATA LOGGER TO TRY AND IDENTIFY ANOMALIES, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT THE SMART METER EVENTUALLY HELP US DO, BUT GO IN THERE WITH DATA LOGGERS AND TRY TO FIND THE ABNORMAL USE WHERE INVITED, HELP US IDENTIFY A LEAK OR SOME OTHER PROBLEM THAT WE CAN HELP THEM ADDRESS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR, UH, YOUR PRESENTATION AND THE UPDATE MR. JORDAN.

WE, WE CERTAINLY ALWAYS APPRECIATE IT.

AND, UM, WELCOME TO COMMISSIONER SMITH AND COMMISSIONER JOHNSON.

UH, GLAD, GLAD TO HAVE YOU GUYS WITH US AS WELL.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION FOR, UH, FOR MARK, PLEASE? UM, MARK, ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT, UM, SUBMITTING IN YOUR DECEMBER PACKAGE, SOME OF THE, UM, THINGS THAT YOU HAD IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE THAT GOSH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE QUITE A BIT OF THINKING ABOUT THAT, UM, ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD JUST, I DUNNO, WHETHER YOU TAKE THEM OUT OF THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, BECAUSE WE WILL NEED TO CIRCLE BACK WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS ABOUT WHAT THEY FEEL ABOUT THAT, BUT MAYBE ON A PARALLEL COURSE, MOVING AHEAD WITH SOME OF THOSE ALTERNATIVE WATER PROVISIONS THAT ARE REMOVED FROM THE CONTROVERSY THAT, UH, WAS REVOLVING AROUND THE DEVELOPMENT CODE CHANGES AND MOVE AHEAD ON SOME DIFFERENT TRACK IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE, UM, THE, THE CITY ORDINANCES RIGHT NOW, WE HAVEN'T MADE A DECISION.

I KNOW WE'VE GOTTEN SOME INPUT ON THAT FROM OUR WATER FOR TASK MEMBERS.

UH, BUT RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'VE NOT YET PULLED THAT TRIGGER AS FAR AS TO APPROACH COUNCIL MEMBERS OR PERHAPS THEY WILL APPROACH US AND SAY, LOOK, YOU'VE GOTTEN GENERAL SUPPORT FOR A LOT OF THESE THINGS.

YOU'VE GOT SUPPORT FROM THE WATER FORD GROUP YOU'VE GOT SUPPORT FROM YOUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, UH, WOULD IT BE OKAY IF YOU JUST WENT AHEAD WITH THESE OTHER ORDINANCES THAT YOU HAVE IN PLAY FOR DECEMBER WITH THE COOLING TOWERS AND SO FORTH AND PUT THEM TOGETHER IN A SEPARATE PACKAGE AND GO AHEAD AND GET THEM, UH, GET THEM BEFORE COUNCIL, BUT SMITTY RIGHT NOW, NOTHING, NOTHING YET ON THAT TO REPORT, BUT WE ARE LOOKING HARD AT IT.

I THINK, YOU KNOW, FROM THE PRESENTATIONS YOU HAVE MADE, THEY CERTAINLY MAKE GOOD SENSE AND IT'S CONTROVERSIAL AS LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE HAS BEEN.

I THINK IF YOU CAN FIND ANY TRAIN, THAT'S MOVING, THAT'S A FUNNY, THAT'S A FUNNY ANALOGY BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING EARLY ON TO DETERMINE WHAT WAS THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE, UH, IN WHICH WAS THE COAL BURNING, WHICH WAS, UH, THE BULLET TRAIN.

BUT, WELL, THAT WAS MY FIRST QUESTION AS WELL.

SO, UM, I GUESS JUST TO ADD MY SUPPORT, IT SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOLUTIONS THAT DON'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY, UH, REAL OPPOSITION OR CONTROVERSY LET'S LET'S GET STARTED WOULD BE MY VIEW OF THAT.

UM, I HAD A COUPLE OTHER LIKE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

UH, ONE WAS JUST ABOUT LANDSCAPE CLOTH.

UH, IS THERE A TYPE THAT IS LIKE ALLOWED OR INCENTIVIZED IN PARTICULAR? THERE'S NOT, THERE'S NOT A SPECIFIC TYPE, AS LONG AS IT'S DEGRADABLE, UM, UH, PLASTIC THAT'S RIGHT.

I'VE, I'VE SEEN MESH THAT DEGRADE.

I'VE SEEN NEWSPAPERS USED, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY CAN, THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR.

I SEE PEOPLE PUTTING IN PLASTIC IN THE GROUND AND IT DISTURBS ME.

RIGHT.

UM, MY OTHER QUESTION, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, I'VE ASKED YOU ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BUT I'M JUST GOING TO ASK AGAIN, UM, I KNOW THE SMART METERS ARE ONLY GOING IN BASICALLY WHERE THE CITY HAS A METER NOW.

UM, SO JUST WONDERING IF THERE IS ANY, UM, ANY WORK BEING DONE OR PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE, FOR HOW, UH, MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTS MIGHT BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THAT TECHNOLOGY IN THE FUTURE.

YOU KNOW, I, I CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.

UM, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, AS YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE MULTIFAMILY UNITS, INDIVIDUAL UNITS ARE SUB-METERED WITH METERS THAT ARE OWNED BY THE FACILITY MANAGER.

I THINK THERE'S ONE OR TWO EXCEPTIONS, SO THAT PRESENTS ITS OWN PROBLEM.

BUT WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS AT LEAST WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO DIVIDE, TO, UH, IDENTIFY WHERE YOU

[00:35:01]

THANKS.

GLAD TO HEAR THAT, I GUESS JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UH, IF THERE'S ANY WAY TO START THINKING ABOUT HOW TO INCENTIVIZE PROPERTY OWNERS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SWITCH OVER TO THIS TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY, UH, PARTICULARLY MAYBE STARTING IN THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, PLACES WHERE LOWER INCOME RESIDENTS ARE LIVING.

I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO DO.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S OBVIOUSLY BENEFICIAL TO THE CUSTOMER TO HAVE THIS MORE REAL TIME, UH, CLOSER TO REAL TIME DATA.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SUCH A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF, UH, ESPECIALLY LOWER INCOME RESIDENTS LIVING IN MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.

SO THAT'S WHY I KEEP ASKING ABOUT THIS AND I PROBABLY WILL KEEP ASKING ABOUT IT, BUT THANK YOU SUPPORTED THAT AS WELL.

SORRY ABOUT THAT.

I GUESS A MAILMAN IS HERE.

UM, I WOULD MENTION, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, UH, WORK WITH FOUNDATION COMMUNITIES IN THE PAST AND THEY HAVE APPROACHED US ABOUT, UH, GETTING ON THE LIST SOONER THAN LATER FOR THESE SMART METERS.

AND SO, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRY TO EXPLORE THAT, UH, PARTICULARLY IF IT WORKS WITHIN, UM, OUR TIME TABLE AND THE AREAS IN OUR PILOT AND THEN EVENTUAL DEPLOYMENT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR MARK SMITTY? I THINK I SEE YOUR, YEAH, YOU CAN SEE MY LIPS MOVING.

MADAM, OUR CHAIRMAN, ARE WE POSTED FOR ACTION ON THIS? WAIT, WE ARE NOT POSTED, THIS IS, THIS IS POSTED FOR UPDATE ONLY, BUT IF I UNDERSTOOD MARK CORRECTLY, UM, AND JAMIE, WE CAN TALK THROUGH THIS AS WELL, BUT YOU'LL BE BACK BEFORE US IN THE OCTOBER, NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME.

UM, BEFORE YOU GO TO COUNCIL AND DECEMBER, I BELIEVE YOU'RE, YOU MIGHT BE MUTED MARK.

YES, THAT IS CORRECT.

REVIEW BACK WITH AN RCA.

AM I ONLY WITH AN RPA IN THE OCTOBER, NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME? THAT'S RIGHT BEFORE WE GO TO COUNCIL IN DECEMBER ON THOSE, UM, ON THOSE OTHER ORDINANCES.

SO I WONDER IF THERE IS A WAY FOR US SOMEHOW TO OTHERWISE, BESIDES TAKING ACTION SIGNAL TO COUNSEL OUR SUPPORT ON TAKING SOME OF THOSE MEASURES AS MARK'S, UH, MENTIONED, UH, TO THE DECEMBER COUNCIL MEETING.

AND, UM, I KNOW INTERNALLY MARK YOU'LL TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE IN SUPPORT, BUT WAIT, SO OCTOBER, WE COULD BE IN TROUBLE GETTING YOU WHATEVER GREEN LIGHT YOU NEED ON THAT.

SO MAYBE WE SHOULD BRING THIS BACK UP NEXT MEETING AND THEN A SIGNAL, YOU KNOW, PASS SOMETHING SIGNALS IT'S MANY.

I, I THINK THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

AND IN FACT, ONE OF THE ITEM SIX ON OUR AGENDA TODAY IS DISCUSSION AND LOOK AHEAD AT OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE IN KIND OF LOCKSTEP WITH THESE DISCUSSIONS AS THEY'RE COMING UP.

UM, AND SO I'LL, I'LL MAKE A NOTE OF THAT HERE.

AND IF WE'D LIKE TO, UM, TALK TO ME MORE SPECIFICS, UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO IT WITH ITEM SIX TODAY, UM, BUT WITH THE INTENT OF HAVING A DISCUSSION AT OUR NEXT MC MEETING.

OKAY, MARK, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR, FOR YOUR TIME AND ALL THE EFFORT THAT YOU PUT INTO THIS UPDATE AND INTO THE PRESENTATION.

GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE AND PARTICULARLY SOME OF THE NEW AS WELL AS OLD MEMBERS.

NEXT, LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS OUR QUARTERLY REPORT UPDATE, UH, FROM TEXAS GAS SERVICE.

NICE TO SEE YOU AS WELL.

[4. Quarterly report and update on natural gas conservation programs by Texas Gas Service.]

HI, UM, I'M GOING TO LET, UH, THE TECH BEAR DRIVE,

[00:40:01]

SO HELLO, ERIC.

PERFECT.

SO MY NAME IS JASMINE KING BUSH.

I AM THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM SUPERVISOR.

I CAME ENROLLED ABOUT FEBRUARY.

I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND SOME IN PERSON MEETINGS, SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS TO MY BENEFIT.

UM, I FIGURED IT'S PROBABLY HARD TO BE INTRODUCED TO THESE MEETINGS VIRTUALLY GO AHEAD AND, UH, ADVANCE FOR ME PLEASE.

I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM OFFERINGS THAT WE HAVE AND UPDATE.

UM, AND THEN I HAVE SOME TIME AT THE END FOR QUESTIONS, IF YOU HAVE ANY OUR COMMERCIAL PROGRAM, UH, HIGHLIGHTS, UM, POINT OUT THE OBVIOUS OF COVID-19 HAS IMPACTED OUR ABILITY TO GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, DO THE WORK THAT IS NORMALLY A BUSINESS BUSINESS AS USUAL.

SO, UM, THINGS LIKE THE MASS ORDER AND DISTANCING HAVE SLOWED DOWN OUR OPERATIONS CONSIDERABLY.

AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IN A COUPLE OF SLIDES, UM, CLEAR RESULTS IS THE COMPANY THAT HANDLES, UH, THOSE OPERATIONS FOR US.

AND WE ARE IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THEM.

THEY ARE CHECKING IN WITH OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS TO SEE WHAT THEIR COMFORT LEVEL IS AND ABILITY TO ALLOW WORK, TO CONTINUE.

AND WE'RE BEING SENSITIVE TO THAT.

UM, THERE ARE SOME OPEN JOBS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO COMPLETE.

UM, AND THEY'RE ALSO HAVE A PHASED APPROACH TO BUSINESS GETTING BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL.

I USE AIR QUOTES.

I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL EVER GET BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL.

UM, AND WE ARE TARGETING HOSPITALS, HOTELS, AND MULTIFAMILY, UM, BUILDINGS.

AND I'M SURE YOU CAN APPRECIATE SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES THAT LIE WITHIN, UM, SERVICING THOSE CUSTOMERS, UH, GO AHEAD AND ADVANCE FOR ME PLEASE.

AND OUR RESIDENTIAL.

UM, WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS WITH OUR NEWSLETTERS, UM, AND, UH, EMAIL E-BLASTS AND THEY CONTAIN THINGS LIKE, UH, TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE ENERGY, USE THEIR APPLIANCES MORE EFFICIENTLY, UM, CALCULATE, UH, ANY PROPOSED ENERGY USAGE.

UH, THIS YEAR, OUR WATER KIT PROMOTION, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, SEND OUT 3060 WATER KITS, WHICH WAS GREAT.

UM, GETTING, GETTING THOSE INTO THE HANDS OF PEOPLE THAT CAN USE THEM.

UM, SO FAR, UH, WE'VE GIVEN OUT 190, UH, HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR INCENTIVES.

UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE A, UM, A BUMP IN THAT, UM, WHEN THE, UM, OFFSET OFF SEASON INCENTIVE, UH, START IN OCTOBER AND, UM, WE'VE GOT 44 PLUS PARTICIPATING BUILDERS RIGHT NOW.

SO JUST OVER 44, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND THAT AND GET INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS OUT TO MORE BUILDERS, CUSTOM HOME BUILDERS, BUILDERS THAT WE HAVEN'T REACHED OUT TO BEFORE.

NEXT SLIDE, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE WE ARE AND HOW WE'VE BEEN IMPACTED.

UM, THESE ARE OUR NUMBERS YEAR TO DATE AND THAT'S JUNE, UH, JANUARY THROUGH JUNE FOR OUR RESIDENTIAL REBATE PARTICIPATION.

IF YOU'RE CONSIDERING IN JUNE, WE'RE ABOUT 50% OF THE YEAR, UM, AND LOOKING AT WHERE WE ARE COMPARED TO WHERE WE WERE IN 2019 AND 2018 OR THE WHOLE YEAR WE ARE RUNNING UNDER 50%.

UM, WE ARE IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES TO GET OUT IN FRONT OF THE HOME OWNERS, UM, AND, UM, REALLY SOCIALIZE WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO THEM, UM, DOING, UH, DIFFERENT, USING DIFFERENT APPROACHES, UH, SEEING HOW WE CAN PROVIDE MORE EDUCATION AND GET IT OUT THERE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

GO AHEAD AND, UM, ADVANCED PLEASE, LOW INCOME FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM.

UM, THIS HAS, YOU KNOW, IT'S A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD TO SAY IT'S BEEN A GREAT YEAR, RIGHT? SO WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE CAN HELP FAMILIES.

UM, BUT THEN THAT'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, TALKING, SPEAKING TO THE NEED THAT WE'VE ASSISTED A YEAR TO DATE, JUST OVER A HUNDRED FAMILIES.

UM, WE'VE REPLACED ABOUT 148 APPLIANCES JUST OVER, UM, AND WE'VE DONE A STELLAR JOB.

THANKS.

UM, SHOUT OUT TO MY TEAM.

I WANT TO GIVE THEM A THANKS.

UM, ABOUT 15% OF THE BUDGET IS REMAINING AND, UH, FOR THE SAME TIMEFRAME PREVIOUS YEAR 2019, WE'VE SEEN A 50% OVER, UH, WHAT WAS HELPING THE FAMILY'S HEALTH IN 2019.

WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO INCREASE ABOUT 50% MORE THIS YEAR, WHICH IS GREAT.

UM, REALLY STAYING IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE AGENCIES THAT ARE PARTNERING WITH US, UM, AND LETTING THEM KNOW THAT WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE AVAILABLE.

AND EVEN WITH THE INSTRUCTION, UM, WE ARE MAKING OURSELVES, UM, AVAILABLE TO HELP AND GET THOSE REQUESTS PROCESSED.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

[00:45:02]

SO, UM, OUR EDUCATION SPECIALIST AND, UM, SUPPORTING TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON GETTING THE NEWSLETTER OUT IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, GETTING THEM, UH, WE KNOW THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE READING WE'VE, THIS IS NOT A NEW INITIATIVE, BUT WE ARE SEEING THE NUMBERS INCREASE PEOPLE BEING ONLINE AND READING EMAIL, CLICK THROUGH RATES.

SO WE'RE REALLY BEING SO MUCH MORE INTENTIONAL GETTING INFORMATION OUT TO THEM, HELPFUL INFORMATION.

UM, AND THEN ALSO THE WATER SAVINGS KIT PROMOTION.

WE REALLY HIT THE GROUND, UM, AND, UH, BLASTED ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT PLATFORMS, MEDIA PLATFORMS, THE AWARENESS OF THE WATER SAVING KITS AND, UM, HOW THEY CAN IMPACT A CUSTOMER'S BILLS AND SAVINGS GOALS.

AND, UH, I DON'T HAVE A SLIDE, BUT I DID WANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE ADM, UM, SURVEY THAT WAS COMMISSIONED, UM, THROUGH, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

SO WE'RE WORKING WITH ADM TO PROVIDE, UH, THE SURVEY.

IT SHOULD BE GOING OUT TO OUR CUSTOMER BASE, RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL, UH, END OF THIS WEEK, BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK.

AND WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UM, WELL, THEY'LL GET THAT FEEDBACK.

UM, IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS, I BELIEVE IS THE TIMEFRAME THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR ADM TO HAVE THAT FEEDBACK, BUT WE'RE LOOKING TO HAVE IT SENT OUT LIKE THIS WEEK EARLY NEXT WEEK.

AND THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

JAMIE SAID, KEEP IT SWEET AND SHORT AND SIMPLE, ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION JASMINE, WE CAN, WE CAN OPEN IT UP AT THIS POINT.

ARE THERE QUESTIONS FROM, OR COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? TWO, TWO QUICK QUESTIONS IF YOU DON'T THE FIRST IS, CAN YOU TELL, UM, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT SURVEY, UM, AND EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION IS IT'S TRYING TO TEASE OUT FROM, FROM CONSUMERS EXPECTATIONS.

AND THIS MIGHT LEAD INTO MY SECOND QUESTION, UM, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE IN THE, UM, NOW IN THE SUMMER MONTHS THAT WE'RE IN NOW, THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT ELECTRICITY BILLS AND HV AC LOWS, AND WHAT THAT'S DOING TO CUSTOMERS FEEL BILLS.

UM, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN SPEAK TO, UM, KIND OF LOOKING FORWARD TO FOR, UM, FOR DEMAND FOR NATURAL GAS AND IN TERMS OF HEATING FOR THE WINTER AND WHAT THE ECONOMIC CRISIS MAY BE DOING TO PEOPLE IN TERMS OF ENERGY BURDEN, ANY COMMENTS, UM, THAT YOU HAVE TO SPEAK TO, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WELL.

SURE.

SO I'LL ADDRESS YOUR FIRST QUESTION.

UH, THE SURVEY IS LOOKING AT, UM, PROGRAM AWARENESS, PROGRAM USAGE, UM, AND, AND KIND OF THE BACKSTORY BEHIND THE AWARENESS.

SO HOW ARE CUSTOMERS BEING MADE AWARE OF THESE PROGRAMS, UM, IS THE EDUCATION THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING, INFLUENCING THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM, UM, AND, UH, TO WHAT EXTENT THEY'RE USING THE PROGRAM.

AND SO, UM, THAT IS AN EMAIL SURVEY, UM, THAT IS BEING SENT OUT AND THEN THOSE, UM, THE, THE SERVER, THE SERVER IS GOING TO COLLECT THE DATA AND GIVE THAT DIRECTLY TO ADM AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

SO, UM, I'M NOT SURE IF I, DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? THAT'S HELPFUL.

THANK YOU AGAIN, MOSTLY AROUND PROGRAM AWARENESS.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND YEAH, THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, LEARN ABOUT THE PROGRAM, THE EFFICACY OF THE PROGRAM, UM, THROUGH THE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.

UM, AND THEN, SO THERE ARE SOME EFFORTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY AND HAVE BEEN UNDERWAY, UM, UH, SINCE ACTUALLY ONSET OF THE PANDEMIC.

UM, THERE WAS, UH, DEFINITELY, UM, SOME FUTURE OUTLOOK, UH, AS TO HOW WE CAN HELP THE CUSTOMERS.

AND SO OUR PR AND MARKETING TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING TO SOCIALIZE WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO THE CUSTOMERS WITH REGARD TO BILL ASSISTANCE, UM, AND, UM, UH, CUSTOMER BILL RELIEF.

UM, AND SO THOSE EFFORTS ARE ONGOING.

I DON'T HAVE PARTICULARS.

I KNOW, UM, THAT THERE WERE, UM, DISCONNECTS THAT WERE, UM, SUSPENDED, UH COMPANY-WIDE FOR AN EXTENDED, UH, FOR A TEMPORARY AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT I'M NOT QUITE SURE OF THE DATE OF WHEN THOSE WILL BE RESUMED.

I BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE RESUMED AND THEN THEY WERE PUSHED OUT A LITTLE MORE.

SO THERE'S AWARENESS THROUGHOUT THE COMPANY ON, UM, OF WHAT'S GOING ON AND HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR THE CUSTOMERS.

I APPRECIATE IT.

IT'S A BIT OUTSIDE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY, OTHER, I MEAN, IT IS RELATED IN SOME WAYS I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE.

WE'RE TALKING THROUGH OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, UM, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO BE AWARE TO AWARE OF FOR US TO BE AWARE OF, UM, REGARDING, UM, EITHER RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION OR ANY OTHER TOPICS THAT YOU'D LIKE US TO BE THINKING OF, UM, ON YOUR FALL AGENDA? HMM.

UM, AND THEN FINALLY AGAIN, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

IS THERE ANYTHING, UM, THAT AS

[00:50:01]

AT THIS TIME? NO.

UM, BUT I SAY THAT WITH RESERVATION THAT I MAY THINK BACK AND GO HMM.

BUT AT THIS TIME, NO.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

AND THANK YOU.

UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR JASMINE BEFORE I LET HER GO? I HAVE A QUESTION.

SO, UM, EXCUSE ME, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT INFORMATION, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT, UM, IN JUNE, UH, THAT AN INCREASE IN TEXAS GAS RATES WAS IMPLEMENTED WITHOUT COUNCIL VOTING ON IT.

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT PROCESS? I DO NOT HAVE THE PARTICULARS, BUT KATIE, BUT IF YOU GIVE ME ABOUT A DAY, I CAN GET PARTICULARS AND GET THEM TO YOU.

IF YOU CAN SHARE THAT WITH THE WHOLE COMMISSION, IT'S JUST A SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT THAT COULD HAPPEN WITHOUT A COUNCIL VOTE.

AND SO I'M INTERESTED IN THAT, ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF IT BEING A PANDEMIC AND, YOU KNOW, FOLKS STRUGGLING WITH BOTH ALREADY.

YES.

YES, I DID.

I DID DO SOME READING ABOUT IT, BUT I DID NOT DO ENOUGH TO BE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO YOUR, YOUR QUESTION ADEQUATELY.

SO I WILL GET SOME INFORMATION, SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMISSION.

WE WILL MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS.

AND JASMINE, IF YOU COULD SEND THAT TO ME, I CAN MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY ON THE COMMISSION AND ANYBODY IN THE PUBLIC THAT'S LISTENING TO THIS GETS THAT INFORMATION.

WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING PRETTY WELL ON TIME.

NICE.

NICE JOB EVERYBODY SO FAR.

UM,

[5. Update on Austin Community Climate Plan revisions.]

UM, ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS AN UPDATE ON AUSTIN'S COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN REVISIONS, AND I BELIEVE, UH, KAYLA, YOU HAD AN UPDATE TO SHARE WITH THE GROUP.

YEAH, THANKS DAN.

I APPRECIATE IT.

UM, SO, UH, I THINK HOPEFULLY YOU ALL REMEMBER THAT, UH, AUSTIN IS GOING THROUGH A FULL EFFECT OF THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY CLIMATE PLAN.

IT WAS ADOPTED IN 2015, AND SO THERE'S A SCHEDULED UPDATE PROCESS.

AND, UH, WE'RE NOW IN, IN THAT FIVE YEAR UPDATE, UM, THE NEW PLAN IS GOING TO BE CALLED THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

AND THAT IS BECAUSE THE WHOLE PROCESS AND THE PLAN ITSELF HAVE BEEN VERY MUCH FOCUSED AND GROUNDED IN EQUITY, UH, AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE AND PRIORITY ALONGSIDE REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.

SO, UM, I THINK THAT IS, UM, I'VE BEEN PRETTY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

THERE'S BEEN GREAT, UH, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, I THINK, COMPARED TO MOST OTHER OR REALLY ANY OTHER, UH, CITY PLANNING PROCESSES THAT I'VE BEEN AWARE OF.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT TO BE PROUD OF IN THIS PLAN.

THE OPPOSITE SUSTAINABILITY IS GOING TO BE COMING US NEXT MONTH FOR A PRESENTATION AND WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR HOPEFULLY OUR ENDORSEMENT OF THE PLAN.

SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WEREN'T SEEING THOSE DETAILS FOR THE FIRST TIME NEXT MONTH, AND BEING ASKED TO VOTE ON SOMETHING THAT MAYBE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF US, LIKE I KNOW SHANE IS, UH, CHAIRING COACH HERRION WITH A COUPLE OTHERS, THE STEERING COMMITTEE HE'S VERY FAMILIAR, BUT YOU KNOW, I KNOW SOME OF Y'ALL MAYBE HAVEN'T BEEN FOLLOWING.

SO THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO JUST, UH, TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TODAY TO JUST REVIEW SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE MOST RELEVANT TO OUR COMMISSION.

UM, THE FULL PLAN IS OVER A HUNDRED PAGES.

UM, I DO ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ IT.

I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT STUFF IN THERE, BUT I FIGURED THAT AT LEAST THE SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, UM, KIND OF PORTION OF THE PLAN, I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE A PRETTY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF, CAUSE IT FALLS WITHIN OUR PURVIEW.

THERE IS ALSO A TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION SECTION THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NEVER QUITE CLEAR TO ME LIKE HOW MUCH WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO ON EVS.

SO I DIDN'T SHARE THAT SECTION, BUT THE FIRST PUBLIC DRAFT OF THE DRAFT OF THE PLAN WILL BE OUT.

UH, I BELIEVE THIS FRIDAY, THAT'S THE, UM, YOU KNOW, ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE.

UM, SO OBVIOUSLY PEDRO, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK AT ALL THE, ALL THE SECTIONS, ALL THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THERE, UM, WHEN THAT IS RELEASED, BUT I DID SEND AROUND, UM, IT WAS JUST A KIND OF BARE

[00:55:01]

BONES, UM, COPYING AND PASTE, UH, KIND OF POWERPOINT THAT JUST HAD, UM, EACH OF THE, UH, GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR THAT SECTION.

I COULD, IF IT'S OKAY WITH THE CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO JUST KIND OF QUICKLY GO THROUGH A FEW OF THOSE, IF I CAN SHARE MY SCREEN.

IS THAT OKAY, DANA? YES.

YOU'RE YOU'RE MOST WELCOME.

AND WE'RE, WE'RE GOOD ON TIME.

DO YOU THINK LESS THAN 10 MINUTES? WOULD THAT BE, I MEAN, I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH THEM ALL.

THAT'S WHY I SENT IT IN WRITING.

UM, BUT JUST KIND OF WANTING TO DO SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS.

SO ARE YOU ALL SEEING MY SCREEN NOW? YEAH.

OKAY, GREAT.

SO FIRST OF ALL, UM, JUST TO KIND OF MAKE IT EASY TO FLIP THROUGH HERE, I PUT THE, THE GOALS ARE THE GREEN SLIDES AND THEN EACH OF THE SLIDES FOLLOWING THE GREEN CARDS ARE THE STRATEGIES, UM, TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.

AND ALL OF THE GOALS IN THIS PLAN ARE, UM, SET TO BE, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY ACHIEVED BY 2030 AND ALL OF THE STRATEGIES ARE AIMING AT A 2025.

SO THIS PLAN, UNLIKE THE PREVIOUS ONE IS VERY MUCH FOCUSED ON THE NEAR TERM SO THAT WE'RE NOT JUST PUTTING THINGS OUT THERE THAT MIGHT HAPPEN SOMEDAY.

WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT ARE ACTIONABLE.

RIGHT.

UM, SO THIS FIRST SCHOOL I THINK IS ONE OF THE ONES THAT IS ESPECIALLY RELEVANT TO OUR COMMISSION, UH, SETTING A GOAL, UH, FOR NET ZERO CARBON BUILDINGS, ALL NEW BUILDINGS, NET ZERO CARBON BY 2030 AND 25% OF EXISTING BUILDINGS, I WILL SAY.

I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE PERCENTAGE IS.

UH, BUILDINGS THAT SAY TODAY ARE AT LEAST ALREADY ELECTRIFIED THE CARBON, BUT MIGHT BE A LITTLE MORE POISED TO ACHIEVE THAT.

SO THERE WILL BE SOME, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK DATA COLLECTION THAT WILL BE NEEDED ON THAT FRONT, BUT, UM, THE SCHOOL DOES KIND OF IMPLY, UH, ELECTRIFICATION OF BUILDINGS, UM, BOTH ESPECIALLY NEW BUILDING GOING FORWARD.

UM, AS I MENTIONED, UH, EQUITY IS A STRONG COMPONENT OF THIS PLAN SEALS, UH, THESE STRATEGIES, UH, BOTH IN THIS SECTION AND IN OTHER SECTION, REALLY, I'M TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ARE BENEFITING.

UM, AND LIKEWISE, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF EDUCATION COMPONENTS WILL BE, UH, SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL SEE IN MULTIPLE SECTIONS OF THE PLAN.

I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO ALL THE DETAILS, BUT, UM, DECARBONIZING, UH, BUILDINGS IS DEFINITELY, UH, YEAH, AN IMPORTANT ASPECT AS WELL.

UH, YOU KNOW, TO ACHIEVE THAT, TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE THAT NET ZERO CARBON GOALS.

SO, YOU KNOW, ADOPTING A NEW BUILDING AND ENERGY CODES AND, UH, AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND ALSO KIND OF LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO ENCOURAGE, UH, YOU KNOW, ELECTRIFICATION AND OTHER SOLUTIONS, INCLUDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ESPECIALLY FOR NEW BUILDINGS, BUT ALSO FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS AS THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE RENOVATED.

UM, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S, UH, YOU KNOW, IN HOW WE'LL GET HERE OF EACH OF THESE, AGAIN, I'M NOT GONNA LIKE READ THROUGH ALL OF THIS, YOU'LL HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU.

I REALLY DO ENCOURAGE YOU TO AT LEAST READ WHAT I SENT YOU TODAY, UM, OR WHAT JAMIE SENT YOU ON MY BEHALF, UM, HOW WE'LL GET THERE, UH, IS WHERE YOU'LL SEE KIND OF THE SPECIFICS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE STRATEGY FOR NEW BUILDINGS HERE.

WHAT'S THE STRATEGY FOR 15 BUILDINGS AND IN TERMS OF INCENTIVES, UM, AND THEN ALSO IN THIS ONE, YOU'LL SEE, UM, SOME THINGS AROUND, UH, NATURAL GAS.

SO, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL HERE DEFINITELY IS TO TRY TO, UM, REDUCE THE BUILDOUT OF, UH, NEW, NATURAL GAS INFRASTRUCTURE, AND EVENTUALLY START PHASING THAT OUT BECAUSE AUSTIN ENERGY IS DOING SUCH A GOOD JOB OF, UH, YOU KNOW, MOVING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY THAT WE CAN GET SIGNIFICANT EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY HERE BY ELECTRIFYING BUILDINGS.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE THAT ARE PERHAPS, UH, LEFT USING NATURAL GAS, ALSO LOOKING FOR WAYS TO REDUCE, UH, THE EFFECT, THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM THAT NATURAL GAS USE.

SO LOOKING AT RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS SOURCES, WHICH ARE PRETTY LIMITED, BUT WHERE THEY'RE AVAILABLE, UTILIZING THEM ALSO ENERGY EFFICIENCY, UM, AND ALSO LOOK HOPEFULLY FOR OPTIONS TO REDUCE NATURAL GAS.

[01:00:01]

SO THIS IS AN AREA I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ALL THESE THINGS IN THIS COMMISSION, UH, SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE, SO GOOD TO BE AWARE OF, UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS ANOTHER AREA THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THROUGHOUT THE PLAN.

SO THIS ISN'T THE ONLY PLACE THAT IT EXISTS, BUT IT'S THE ONE THAT'S KIND OF RELEVANT.

UM, AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE EQUITY COMPONENT, UM, OUR RECURRING, UM, THEN THE NEXT NEXT, UH, SECTION OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS, UH, IS, UH, LOOKING AT REFRIGERANT LEAKAGE.

THIS IS I THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE TANGENTIAL TANGENTIAL TO OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR CORE FOCUS HERE, BUT IT IS RELATED OF COURSE, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AIR CONDITIONING AND EFFICIENCY ARE DEFINITELY THINGS THAT WE ENGAGE IN IN THIS COMMISSION.

SO I THINK IT IS, UH, RELEVANT AND IT'S DEFINITELY A, UH, AN IMPORTANT, UH, SOURCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, UH, REFRIGERANTS ARE, YOU KNOW, VERY POWERFUL GREENHOUSE GASES, AND A LOT OF THOSE THAT ARE OFFERING THE BEST EFFICIENCY, UH, IN TERMS OF OPERATING, UH, AIR CONDITIONING AND REFRIGERATION EQUIPMENT, UNFORTUNATELY HAVE THE HIGHEST, UH, WARMING POTENTIAL.

SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME WORK TO BE DONE THERE, BUT THERE ARE, UM, OPTIONS.

AND AS YOU GO THROUGH, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL STRATEGIES, FIRST OF ALL, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, LEAKAGE IS LIMITED AND THAT'S ALL THAT IS BOTH AT THE END OF LIFE AND THAT'S WHERE THIS CAPTURING INDUSTRY.

BUT THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED EFFICIENCY, BUT THEN ALSO INCENTIVES FOR LEAK DETECTION AND REPAIR.

AND THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF LARGER COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATION, UH, GROCERY STORES AND RESTAURANTS, YOU KNOW, PLACES THAT HAVE BIG REFRIGERATORS.

UM, SO AGAIN, TRAINING AWARENESS, UH, REDUCING THE VOLUME, YOU KNOW, HAS A LOT TO DO, UH, ALSO WITH, UM, EFFICIENCY I'M GOING THROUGH.

YEAH, SO SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS GOAL THREE HAS TO DO WITH REALLY THE EMBODIED ENERGY.

AND THIS IS A BIG, UH, KIND OF NEW AREA IN THIS CLIMATE PLAN IS WE DO START LOOKING OUTSIDE THE GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARY OF AUSTIN AND W THERE A WHOLE ASSUMPTION SECTION ON CONSUMPTION, UH, EMISSIONS, AND THOSE EMISSIONS OF COURSE ARE ACTUALLY HAPPENING ELSEWHERE, BUT THEY'RE EMBEDDED IN ALL THE PRODUCTS THAT WE USE.

THIS PARTICULAR SECTION IS ABOUT THAT KIND OF EMBEDDED ENERGY, THOSE EMBEDDED EMISSIONS IN OUR BUILDING PRODUCTS.

UM, AGAIN, I THINK IT IS, IT IS RELEVANT TO US BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE THE GREEN BUILDING PROGRAM AND, UH, THINGS THAT SHOULD BE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE ENCOURAGED HER INCENTIVIZED, UH, THROUGH THAT PROGRAM OR THROUGH OTHER PROGRAMS THAT AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, I THINK APPROPRIATE IN LIGHT OF THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, NEW KIND OF MORE HOLISTIC FRAMEWORK TO LOOK NOT AT JUST IS THIS EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF ENERGY USE AND EMISSIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING RIGHT HERE.

BUT, UH, WHAT IS THE, YOU KNOW, MORE HOLISTIC IMPACT, UH, AND REALLY BOTH IN TERMS OF LIFE CYCLE, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF OTHER POLLUTION THAT COMES ALONG WITH, UH, THE PRODUCTION AND DISPOSAL OF THOSE PRODUCTS AS WELL.

SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S POSSIBLE SOMETIMES I BROUGHT UP MY OFFER, GREAT OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY, BUT IT TAKES A LOT OF ENERGY TO PRODUCE AND IT'S NOT EASILY RECYCLED, AND MAYBE IT CREATES A LOT OF TOXICITY IN THE PRODUCTION AND IN THE DISPOSAL.

AND SO MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ACTUALLY SHOULD NOT BE ENCOURAGING.

SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE SOME, SOME AREAS THAT, THAT ARE EXPLORED IN THESE, UH, OR WILL BE EXPLORED IN THESE STRATEGIES AS THEY'RE IMPLEMENTED MMM.

YOU KNOW, LOWER CARBON MATERIALS.

UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE IN THIS AREA, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE, HOW CAN YOU START SEQUESTERING, PERHAPS SOME GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND THINGS LIKE CEMENT, AND HOW CAN YOU AVOID SOME OTHER HIGH INTENSITY MATERIALS, AGAIN, EDUCATION OUTREACH, UM, STIMULATING LOCAL ECONOMY TO, UM, COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS.

UM, AND THEN THE FINAL SECTION HERE, UM, IS ACTUALLY

[01:05:01]

FOCUSED ON WATER AND, UH, WATER CONSERVATION AND WATER REUSE.

SO AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL THERE, THERE IS A LOT OF OVERLAP IN THIS PLAN WITH OTHER CITY PLANS, UH, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING WATER FORWARD.

UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE IS DEFINITELY, UM, AN INTERSECTION HERE, AND I KNOW ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, GOALS AND STRATEGIES WE'RE DONE WITH, UM, SORRY WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH DEPARTMENTS, UH, IN CONSULTATION.

SO HOPEFULLY THEY ALL MELD WELL WITH, WHAT'S ALREADY KIND OF UNDERWAY AND TRYING TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND ALSO TRYING TO WEAVE EQUITY INTO THE SOLUTIONS.

SO YOU'LL SEE HERE ENGAGING IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AND, UH, LOOKING AT THAT ENERGY WATER NEXUS AS THE KIND OF KEY STRATEGIES IN THIS SECTION.

UM, I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT THERE, BUT IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, UH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY NOW, ALSO HAPPY TO, YOU KNOW, TALK WITH ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO GIVE ME A CALL OR SHOOT ME AN EMAIL.

IDENTITIES? SO THOSE EXPERIENCES, SO IT'S BEEN A GOOD TELL YOU, BUT THIS IS SORT OF LIKE IF YOU COULD MODEL THIS SHOWS, YOU KNOW, SHOWS THE CITY AND FOLKS, I MEAN, IN PUBLIC OR COMMUNITY PLANNING PROCESSES, THAT IT IS TOTALLY POSSIBLE TO DO THIS AND DO IT RIGHT.

WELL, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT, UM, FOR THAT FRANKLY, A HEADS UP, UM, AND KIND OF WHAT, WHAT TO EXPECT HERE AND THANK YOU FOR DISTRIBUTING, UM, THE MATERIAL WITH THE COMMISSION, UM, VIA, VIA JAMIE.

UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, WANT TO SAY, I THINK, I THINK THE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE, UM, AND EVERYONE ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE AND ALL OF THE ADVISORY BOARDS THAT GO A TON OF WORK HAS GONE INTO GETTING TO, TO THIS POINT IN THE PROCESS.

SO CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL INVOLVED.

UM, AND, UH, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THE FULL COMMISSION, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT KEVIN AND I DISCUSSED AS WE WERE TALKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS, KNOWING THAT THIS WOULD BECOME BEFORE US, UM, FOR OUR, DURING OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING.

UM, AND THE FACT THAT OUR, OUR MEETINGS ARE CONDENSED NOW NECESSARILY TO THE VERY STRICT 90 MINUTES, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT THE COMMISSION AND THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE ENOUGH KIND OF HEADS UP AND READ AHEAD MATERIAL, UH, TO MAKE INFORMED, HAVE INFORMED DISCUSSIONS AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, OR, OR TAKE ACTION, UH, REGARDING UPCOMING ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.

UM, SO I'LL JUST ECHO, UH, CAIAPHAS ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ALL THE, THE COMMISSIONERS TO READ THROUGH THE MATERIALS, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH INTENT, UH, KNOWING THAT WILL COME BEFORE US, UH, NEXT MONTH, OF COURSE, AND THEN CHAIRMAN, I JUST WANT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CLIMATE TASK FORCE, WHEN I LOOK AT WHAT'S BEEN DONE IN SAN ANTONIO, HOUSTON, DALLAS, GENTEN, THIS IS A REMARKABLE DOCKET DOCUMENT.

AND, UM, I REALLY WANT TO SAY HOW PROUD I CAN WORK.

GOD.

YEAH, THANKS.

UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY A TESTAMENT TO THE COMMITMENT OF THE OFFICES, SUSTAINABILITY, UM, STAFF AND HOW THEY APPROACHED THIS AND WORKED WITH, UH, MEMBERS OF THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE ON THE FRONT END TO SET UP A GOOD PROCESS AND BROUGHT THE EQUITY OFFICE IN, ON THE FRONT END AS WELL.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S A GOOD TEMPLATE FOR HOW YOU CAN DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY.

SO, YEAH.

SHANE, DO YOU HAVE THOUGHTS THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE SINCE YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY VERY INVOLVED? I THINK YOU'RE MUTED.

IT'S KIND OF TRICKED ME WHEN THERE'S NEW ON THE STREET, ON MY COMPUTER AND ON MY PHONE AS WELL.

UM, YEAH, THANKS FOR NAMING THAT AND, UH, APPRECIATE THE, UH, SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION OF THE HARD WORK THAT'S GONE INTO IT AND EQUITY.

UM, YEAH, AND IT'S, IT REALLY SHOWS WHEN YOU HAVE A PERSON WITH COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ORGANIZING EXPERT EXPERTISE AS A STAFF PERSON LEADING THE OUTREACH, AND IT REALLY WEAVES IT THROUGHOUT A STEERING COMMITTEE AND ADVISORY GROUPS.

AND THEN WHEN YOU HAVE THE, A VERY DIVERSE AND, UM, NOT MAYBE MAJORITY PEOPLE OF COLOR ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE ABOUT DEFINITELY SHOWS.

UM, SO IT'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN A, A LEARNING PROCESS FOR, I THINK, LOTS OF FOLKS INVOLVED, UM, BOTH ON, YOU KNOW, HOW TO CENTER EQUITY AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE NAVIGATE MULTIPLE DIFFERENT EQUITY CONCERNS THAT ARE DIFFERENT FOR DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND DIFFERENT PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT

[01:10:01]

UM, AS LONG AS YOU, AREN'T SORT OF WEDDED TO ONES SHORTER, STRICT TIMELINE, AND WE'VE HAD TO, I THINK EXTEND OUR TIMELINE THREE OR FOUR TIMES, BUT IT'S ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE CAN, AND WE CAN GET PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT POLITICS, YOU IN THE SAME ROOM AND WORK REALLY WELL TOGETHER.

I THINK WHEN WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO SEND HER EQUITIES.

GOOD POINT ABOUT THE TIMELINE CHAIN.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK AT ONE POINT, UH, THE FIRST, AT LEAST PUBLIC DRAFT I THINK WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUT IN JUNE, BUT, UM, I THINK IT WAS GOOD THAT WE GAVE IT MORE TIME.

UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF TIMELINE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL GET THAT PRESENTATION AND, UM, HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACT ON THAT NEXT MONTH.

AND THEN, UH, IT'LL BE GOING TO COUNCIL, UH, PROBABLY LATE OCTOBER, POSSIBLY FINAL ACTION IN EARLY NOVEMBER, BUT IT COULD BE LIKE LATE OCTOBER, JUST KIND OF DEPENDS ON COUNCIL AVAILABILITY AND ALL THAT.

UM, AND THEN I GUESS JUST THE ONE OTHER THING IN TERMS OF ACTION, UM, THE SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, WHICH TO REMIND YOU ALL IN THE RMC REPRESENTATIVE FOR IS GONNA, UM, HOPEFULLY, AND HAVE A RESOLUTION, UM, THAT WILL PASS AND THEN ENCOURAGE OTHER COMMISSIONS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT TO WORK FROM, OBVIOUSLY THIS COMMISSION WANTS TO MAKE ADDITIONS OR CHANGES OR WHATEVER, THEN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S TOTALLY OUR PURVIEW, BUT I WILL BE BRINGING SOMETHING HERE FOR US TO WORK FROM.

UM, AND I WILL, UH, YOU KNOW, COMMIT TO SHARE THAT, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST A FEW DAYS IN ADVANCE, SO, UM, EVERYBODY CAN SEE IT, BUT IF THERE'S ANYBODY WHO, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY WANTS TO, UM, WORK WITH ME ON THAT, OBVIOUSLY IT NEEDS TO BE LESS THAN A QUORUM, BUT, UM, ADEPT THAT THAT'LL BE AN ISSUE FOR US.

SO JUST HIT ME UP IF YOU WANT TO COLLABORATE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.

UM, KAI AND SHANE AS WELL FOR, FOR YOUR COMMENTS.

UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION ON THIS AGENDA ITEM FOR THIS MEETING? OKAY.

UM, ANY OTHER NEW BUSINESS?

[6. Discussion of goals, logistics, and timing of placement of items on future agendas.]

UH, YOU, WE CAN PUT YOUR FEWER ITEMS ON THE AGENDA IN 90 MINUTES THAT WE CAN, COULD NARA MEETINGS IN PERSON.

THEN WE'LL, UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM SIX, UM, WHICH IS OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, DISCUSSION OF GOALS ARE GETTING FIXED AND TIMING OF PLACEMENT OF ITEMS ON FUTURE AGENDAS.

AND I'M VERY HAPPY THAT WE'VE GOT A WHOLE 14 MINUTES LEFT TO DISCUSS THIS ITEM.

UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S ONE THAT WE, UM, ESPECIALLY IN OUR, UH, LIMIT OUR CONSTRAINED VIRTUAL FORMAT, NOT GOTTEN A CHANCE TO DISCUSS MUCH, BUT I THINK, UM, I GUESS MAYBE I'LL, I'LL SET UP THE DISCUSSION AND THEN I'D LIKE, IT I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP TO THE COMMISSION.

UM, AND, UM, IF YOU'LL RECALL IT WITH OUR, UH, LAST MEETING MATERIALS, UM, OUR ANNUAL INTERMINGLE WITH YOU, UH, WAS DISTRIBUTED, UM, WHICH LISTED A SERIES OF GOALS FOR THIS COMMISSION FOR THE UPCOMING CALENDAR YEAR.

UM, THOSE GOALS WERE BASED LARGELY, UM, AND JAMIE, PERHAPS PLEASE STEP IN HERE IF I, IF I MISTAKE MISSPEAK IN ANY WAY, BUT THOSE GOALS ARE BASED LARGELY, UM, AROUND THE DUTIES, UH, LAID OUT BEFORE US AND OUR BYLAWS AS A COMMISSION.

UM, AND I THINK A VERY ROBUST SET OF, UH, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR US TO DISCUSS THE YEAR.

UM, UH, VICE-CHAIR YH JB, AND I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING, UH, LOOKING AT OUR, UM, BASICALLY THIS COMMISSION'S PLANNING CALENDAR, UM, AND DOING ALL WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, RECEIVING BOTH UPDATES AND HAVE A TIME FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION BY THIS COMMITTEE, UM, IN TIMELINES THAT FALL WITHIN THE NATURAL CYCLE OF, UH, ITEMS, UH, GOING BEFORE COUNCIL AND OTHERWISE.

UM, AND IT REALLY JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE CALENDAR TO DISCUSS WHAT WE NEED TO WHEN WE NEED TO, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE MOST IMPACT ON OUR, UH, WITH OUR DUTIES AS A, AS A COMMISSION.

UM, SO THAT BEING SAID, WE ALSO APPRECIATE THAT IN OUR, UH, LIMITED FORMAT, UM, WE ARE, UH, IN SOME CASES GETTING TO FEWER ITEMS,

[01:15:01]

UM, SO WE NEED TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT, UH, WHEN WE SCHEDULE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.

UM, AND SO I'M GONNA BRING UP A COUPLE THAT WE DISCUSSED HERE IN THIS MEETING, AND THEN JAMIE, IF YOU WOULD, UM, IF YOU CAN GIVE AN UPDATE ON OTHER ITEMS THAT WE HAVE, UH, ON, ON OUR LIST, UM, AND THEN I'D LOVE TO, TO OPEN IT UP TO THE FULL COMMISSION, UH, TO, TO, UH, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU GUYS WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADDRESS WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU, UM, WITH REGARDS TO RESPONSIBILITIES AND THE DUTIES OF THIS COMMISSION, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GIVE APPROPRIATE NOTICE FOR ANY STAFF UPDATES, UH, AND THAT WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE, UH, TIME ALLOCATED FOR DISCUSSION.

UM, SO AGAIN, AS KIND OF A MENTIONED, UM, THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY WILL BE COMING BACK TO US NEXT MEETING, UH, REGARDING THE CLIMATE PLAN.

I THINK WE SPENT SOME TIME, UM, ON THAT.

UM, AND THEN MARK ALSO SHARED WITH US, UH, THAT, UH, COMING BACK, UH, IN OCTOBER, NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME, UM, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DIDN'T PROVIDE INPUT AS APPROPRIATE FOR THE CALENDAR, UH, FOR THE, THE COUNCIL, UM, SHOWING FOR THE WATER UTILITY IN, UH, DECEMBER JAMIE, COULD YOU GIVE A QUICK UPDATE OF OTHER ITEMS THAT WE HAVE ON THE AGENDA FOR OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS, MADAM CHAIR MEMBERS, THE ONLY ONES THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO GET TO ARE THE QUARTERLY REPORTS THAT WE JUST HAD TODAY, UM, YOU KNOW, BY, BY ALSTON, BY YOUR, YOUR BYLAWS, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SUGGESTING DEBBIE KIMBERLEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS WAS, UH, PROVIDING AND FINAL UPDATE ON THE SHINES PROJECT, OR WHAT WERE LESSONS LEARNED FROM SOLAR FOR ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF CUSTOMERS AND FOR OUR DISTRIBUTION GRID, ALSO AN UPDATE, UM, WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS FOR MIDDLE INCOME CUSTOMERS AND, UM, UH, A REPORT ON THE TCEQ GRANT FOR FAST CHARGING EVIE STATIONS.

THOSE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS.

WE HAD A STAFF, UM, THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR THE COMMISSION TO HEAR FROM.

OTHER THAN THAT, I DIDN'T KNOW THE KIVA REQUESTED BACK IN FEBRUARY.

I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE AN UPDATE FROM CODE COMPLIANCE ON HOW THE SOLAR READY CODE PROVISIONS ARE BEING ENFORCED AND GOING.

UH, THERE'S BEEN LOTS GOING ON WITH CODE WITH A PANDEMIC, BUT THAT IS TIME TO AT LEAST REQUEST THAT AND SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'D STILL BE INTERESTED IN.

AND THEN, YEAH, BEARING IN MIND AS WE RUN IT, THEY'VE STARTED DOING THIS THAT MANY TIMES, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER MEETINGS HISTORICALLY HAVE ENDED UP RUNNING INTO QUORUM DIFFICULTIES WITH THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS TRAVEL.

THAT COULD ALL BE DIFFERENT NOW.

SO WHO KNOWS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.

THANK YOU, JAMIE.

UM, COULD YOU ALSO PLEASE GIVE A BRIEF UPDATE REGARDING, UM, THE COORDINATION WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE REGARDING, UH, THE EQUITY, UH, WORKSHOP THAT WE DISCUSSED? WE ARE SCHEDULED AND CONFIRMED FOR OCTOBER 15TH.

WE DID TRY TO GET A SEPTEMBER DAY, BUT THAT WAS NO, BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS EVERYBODY IS, WANTS TO HEAR FROM THE EQUITY OFFICE AND THEN IS IT'S REAL HARD TO GET ON OUR CALENDAR RIGHT NOW.

SO THAT WAS THE ONLY DAY THAT WE COULD GET EVERYBODY THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE THE FULL, FULLY EFFECTIVE TRAINING, OCTOBER 15TH AT 1:00 PM.

ALL OF YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A CALENDAR INVITE FOR THAT.

THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.

GROWTH AT A TIME WHEN THE CITY IS GROWING.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE.

UM, SO I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION.

UM, ARE THERE OTHER GOALS OR OBJECTIVES OR DISCUSSION ITEMS THAT WE EITHER HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT OR YOU DIDN'T SEE IN OUR, UH, IN OUR ANNUAL GOALS THAT WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT? SO I WAS REFLECTING ON THIS SOMETIME LAST YEAR, UM, AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION WAS CREATED.

I DON'T KNOW, SOMETIME, MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

YEAH, MY MEMORY IS RIGHT.

UM, MAYBE THE EARLY NINETIES.

UM, AND WHEN I LOOK BACK ON WHAT WE HAVE DONE AS A CITY AND AS A COMMISSION, WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED A GREAT DEAL, ESTABLISHED A NUMBER OF PRECEDENTIAL PROGRAMS THAT HAD BECOME NATIONAL STANDARDS.

WE HAVE CUT ENERGY IN AUSTIN, THE POINT WHERE WE'RE AT NEGATIVE ENERGY USE AND

[01:20:01]

UM, WE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE WHAT WE'VE DONE ON WATER OR ON GAS.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET AN UPDATE ON THAT.

UM, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE WE OFTEN WIN NATIONAL AWARDS FOR OUR PROGRAMS. UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST MAYBE IN JANUARY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WE HAVE A, UM, KIND OF A RETROSPECTIVE, WHAT HAVE WE DONE AND WHAT DO WE GOT LEFT TO DO? UM, KIND OF MEETING, UM, I SAW JAMIE'S LIGHTS ON JAMIE.

DO YOU KNOW WHEN WE'RE ACTUALLY ESTABLISHED? UM, NO, I DID NOT MEAN TO HAVE MY LIGHT ON THAT WAS THE OPERATOR.

I SAID, HEY MAN, IT'S JUST A THOUGHT, I MEAN, IT WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A LONG TIME.

WE'VE DONE A LOT.

WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'VE GOT LEFT TO DO.

I THINK IT WAS A GREAT IDEA, SMITTY, UM, AND JUST A GENERAL CHECK IN.

AND I THINK JANUARY IS ABOUT THE RIGHT TIME TO SAY, YOU KNOW, GIVEN, GIVEN OUR CALENDAR AND THE WAY IT WORKS, WHEN, WHAT DID WE SET OUT FOR OURSELVES FOR THIS YEAR AND HOW WE'RE DOING BASICALLY, WHAT DOES THE REST OF THE GROUP THINK? I MEAN, IT'S HARD TO GET PEOPLE TO TALK ON VIDEO.

IT'S LIKE A GOOD IDEA.

THE TWO PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE GOOD AT THIS, I THINK ARE ROGER DUNKIN, WHO WAS RUNNING THE CITY'S CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT BACK WHEN IT WAS AN INDEPENDENT GROUP AND PAUL ROBINS WHO IS LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR HAVING CREATED, UH, THE RMC.

UM, THIS IS GOING BY MEMORY.

I'M SURE THERE ARE MANY OTHER PEOPLE, PAUL, YOU KNOW, PAUL LOBBY, TOR ROGER, UH, SAID, YES, THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.

LET'S DO THAT.

AND I MAKE SURE TO YOUR PATH WAS SOMEHOW INVOLVED, KNOW WE'RE STILL DOING VIDEO CONFERENCE AND YOUR SHAPE WOULD PROBABLY SHOW UP, LEAVE.

SHE'S NOW 103 YEARS OLD AND HAS A MEMORY BETTER THAN MINE IN SO MANY, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND, ARE YOU, WHEN YOU SAY A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK, SO ARE YOU THINKING A COMPILATIONS OVER LIKE KIND OF THE WHOLE TRAJECTORY OF THE RMC, AS WELL AS A KIND OF THIS, THIS YEAR LOOK KIND OF WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN? WHERE SHOULD WE BE HEADED? YEAH.

AND ONCE IN A WHILE, IT'S A GOOD THING TO SIT DOWN AND SAY, YOU KNOW, SORT OF EMPOWER OURSELVES BY SAYING, BECAUSE WE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THIS COMMISSION PUSHING THE UTILITY TO DO MORE THAN IT WAS PREPARED TO DO AND GO BEYOND, UH, UH, SORT OF BUSINESS AS USUAL.

UM, THAT IS SO OFTEN THE BENCHMARK THAT IS GIVEN THEM BY THEIR BOND HOLDERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED NEW PRECEDENTS.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHERE WE WERE IN 1990, WHEN VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING WAS, WE SHOULD BUILD ANOTHER COAL PLANT TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY, WHERE, UM, SOME WAYS, MANY WAYS BECAUSE OF THE PRECEDENT SETTING WORK THAT AUSTIN HAS DONE, UM, ON A WIDE VARIETY OF FORUMS, UM, THERE ARE NO, THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE SAID WE'RE NO, NO ONE IS INTERESTED IN BUILDING NATURAL GAS PLANTS ANY MORE IN TEXAS BECAUSE WIND AND SOLAR ARE SO INEXPENSIVE ALONG WITH ENERGY STORAGE THAT YOU CAN'T MAKE ANY MONEY OFF THE NATURAL GAS ANYMORE.

AND WHEN I WAS REFLECTING ON THAT, SOME OF THE FIRST PURCHASES THAT AUSTIN MADE, UM, ALONG WITH AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER AND 95, I THINK IT WAS A WIND WHEN EVERYBODY THOUGHT WE WERE ABSOLUTELY CRAZY TO DO THAT TO A POINT TODAY.

AND EVERYBODY THOUGHT WE WERE ABSOLUTELY CRAZY.

AND WE DROPPED THE PRICE OF SOLAR TO A POINT WHERE IT WAS, UH, COMPETITIVE WITH.

AND IN SOME INSTANCES OF LESS EXPENSIVE THAN A NEW NATURAL GAS

[01:25:01]

PLANT.

UM, THAT'S BECAUSE OF WHO WE HAVE DONE, WHAT THIS COMMISSION AND THE EDC AND THE CITY COUNCIL, AND, YOU KNOW, MOST RECENTLY MAYOR ADLER, BUT MAYORS FOR THE LAST 20 OR 30 YEARS HAVE DECIDED TO DO THAT, HAVE RADICALLY TRANSFORMED THE WAY WE DO UTILITIES IN THIS COUNTRY OR IN THE STATE IN THE STATE.

AND IT GIVES US COURAGE TO DREAM BIG AND DO MORE.

ABSOLUTELY.

OH, YOU'RE MUTED.

THANKS FOR THAT SMITTY.

UM, JUST, UH, YEAH, KIND OF BACK TO OTHER AGENDA ITEMS. UM, DANA, AS I WAS LOOKING AT MY EMAIL JUST NOW, UM, I REALIZED I MISSED A REPLY FROM YOU, UH, IN AN EMAIL THAT I SENT YOU, UH, KIND OF, UH, LIKE, UH, T PAUL HAD TOLD ROBBINS, PID SENT US AN EMAIL WITH A FEW ITEMS IN IT.

UM, ONE OF WHICH I DID ASK TEXAS GAS ABOUT THIS ISSUE OF THEM GETTING THEIR, A RATE INCREASE, UH, SOMEHOW APPROVED TO THAT CITY COUNCIL.

UM, I AM INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THAT.

AND THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S THIS SOME CITY DEPARTMENT.

AND LET ME GO BACK TO THAT EMAIL THAT, UM, I GUESS, WAS ABLE TO DO THAT, UM, THROUGH SOME ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS THAT I WAS TOTALLY UNAWARE OF.

SO I DUNNO, IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD BE INFORMED ON SINCE WE, UM, I DON'T KNOW, INTERACT WITH THEM REGULARLY, BUT THEN HE ALSO EMAILED US ABOUT, UH, APPARENTLY AUSTIN ENERGY IS LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY, UH, REDUCING THE KIND OF REDUCING OR ELIMINATING.

I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH THE PROGRESSIVE RATE TIERS OF FOR, UM, ELECTRICITY THAT WE HAVE.

SO THE TIERED RATES, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT'S VERY RELEVANT TO EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION AND I, MY UNDERSTANDING HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AT, UM, YOU KNOW, REDUCING KIND OF PER CAPITA PER HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY USE HERE.

SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT MIGHT BE WORTH US ENGAGING THAT SINCE SOMEBODY DID EMAIL US ON IT, I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO BE RESPONSIVE.

THANK YOU, CRAIG, BUT THOSE ARE GREAT, GREAT POINTS AND YES, I'VE, UH, I HAVE THAT EMAIL IN FRONT OF ME, UM, AS WELL.

UM, AND I KNOW THERE WAS AWESOME COMMENTS ABOUT INSTANT SAVINGS PROGRAM, UH, IN, IN THAT NOTE AS WELL.

SO WE'LL, UM, LET LET'S LOOK AT THAT AND INCLUDED, INCLUDING, ESPECIALLY THE TIERED RATE STRUCTURE IN FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, UP TO SPEED ON WHAT THE CURRENT PLANS ARE THERE.

I SEE WE'RE AT FOUR 31, ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP, UM, AT THIS TIME? OKAY, THANK YOU.

AND I WOULD RECOMMEND, UM, THAT WE WILL TRY TO HOLD THIS SPACE AT THE END OF EACH MEETING TO DO THIS FORWARD.

LOOK, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ALL COLLECTIVELY AWARE OF THAT'S KIND OF WHAT'S COMING AT US.

AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY WHAT HOMEWORK THAT WE NEED TO DO TO BE PREPARED FOR UPCOMING OR, YOU KNOW, THINKING WE NEED TO DO, BUT TO BE PREPARED FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS.

UM, JAMIE, ANYTHING ELSE WE NEED TO ASK MADAME CHAIR, ALONG WITH SMITTY'S COMMENTS ABOUT ALL THE GREAT WORK THE RESEARCH MANAGEMENT COMMISSION HAS DONE.

UM, THIS WAS THE AIR WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE.

WE ARE CELEBRATING IN A VERY LIMITED WAY, THE HUNDRED 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF AUSTIN ENERGY BEING RUN BY THE COMMUNITY AND NOT BY OUTSIDE FORCES.

THAT'S JUST SOMETHING LIKE EVERYBODY TO KEEP IN MIND, ANYBODY THAT'S WATCHING THIS, WE'RE ABLE TO DO IT.

WE DID NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF YOUR DIRECTION, WE'VE HAD GOOD PEOPLE ON STAFF WE STILL DO, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, HELP, HELP KEEP THE COMMUNITY AROUND AND CELEBRATE, CELEBRATE.

THE PEOPLE ARE SMART ENOUGH TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.

THEY'RE 125 YEARS OF PEOPLE WANTING TO BUY IT FROM US.

THANKS JAMIE, FOR BRINGING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION, IT'S QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR SURE.

WELL, UH, WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL, UH, AGAIN, UH, IN SEPTEMBER HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR WEEK.

WELL, THANK YOU, UH, EVERYONE FOR YOUR TIME AND ENERGY.

THANK YOU AGAIN, JASMINE AND MARK FOR YOUR, UH, YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND YOUR UPDATES.

UM, JAMIE, THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR ALL THAT YOU DO TO, TO KEEP THIS COMMISSION GOING AND ORGANIZED AND TOGETHER.

UM, THANK YOU ALL IMAGINE.

[01:30:02]

START MOTION TO ADJOURN.

THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.