Sep 16, 2020 Downtown Commission

[CALL TO ORDER]

[00:00:04]

IT'S A MEETING OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOWNTOWN PERMISSION TO, OR TIME IS THREE O'CLOCK.

IT IS SEPTEMBER 16TH, 20, 20.

WELCOME AND GLAD TO SEE EVERYBODY'S FACES.

I KNOW IT'S BEEN A BIT OF A CHALLENGE TO GET TOGETHER AND TO HAVE OUR MEETINGS AS SCHEDULED.

AND I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND YOUR ENDURANCE AND YOUR PARTICIPATION.

UM, THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS CALL ROLL.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MONA.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

UM, CHAIR HARRIS, VICE CHAIR BRISTLE HERE.

COMMISSIONER GOMEZ.

COMMISSIONER HARRISON.

YEAH, COMMISSIONER LAYMAN.

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LEAF.

MEISENBACH HERE.

COMMISSIONER SERGEANT COMMISSIONER SHEAR COMMISSIONER CORNEA.

YEAH, COMMISSIONER ROBERTO.

THANK YOU, MELISSA COMMISSIONER HIRED STAFF HERE.

COMMISSIONER, WHETHER IT BE AND COMMISSIONER TAYLOR.

OKAY.

WE ARE STILL AT QUORUM CHAIR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ARE WE ANTICIPATING ANY COMMISSIONERS THAT WEREN'T CALLED TO JOIN US LATER? POSSIBLY COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, ANY TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.

OKAY.

OKAY.

VERY GOOD.

WELL, THE FIRST

[1. Approval of Minutes of the July 17, 2020 Meeting Minutes]

UH, AND I WOULD NOTE THAT THERE'S ONE CORRECTION THAT I CAUGHT THAT NEEDED TO BE MADE.

UH, UH, IF YOU WILL LOOK AT THE MINUTES, UH, IT'S TITLED A REGULAR MEETING, JULY 15TH, 2020, AND BELOW.

THE FIRST SENTENCE SAYS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH, 2020.

UH, AND THAT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED TO JULY 15TH.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER CHANGES OR AMENDMENTS TO THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 15TH MEETING? I'M NOT LOOKING AT IT, BUT COULD YOU CHECK THE SPELLING OF MY NAME THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN H MEGAN AND COMMISSIONER.

IT'S NOT HAPPENING, NOT LOOKING AT IT RIGHT NOW.

THANK YOU.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER CHANGES? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER.

MEISENBACH ALL IN FAVOR.

SAY BYE BYE.

OKAY, SO THE NEXT ITEM OF BUSINESS, EXCUSE ME, PUBLIC.

THIS IS JOSEPH AT THE, THIS IS JOSEPH WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE HERE AT CITY HALL.

WE NEED TO BRIDGE THE LINE FOR A COMMISSIONER WEBER FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.

SHE WILL BE CALLING IN.

SO COULD YOU JUST RECESS FOR LIKE ONE MINUTE AND LET CTM BRIDGE THAT CALL? OKAY.

I DON'T KNOW THAT I TECHNIQUE.

THAT'S CORRECT.

CHAIR.

IF YOU'RE THE MEETING ORGANIZER, PLEASE WAIT FOR THE LEADER TO ADMIT YOU ARE NOW JOINING THE MEETING.

THANK YOU, CHAIR CALLS.

NOW.

THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF REVERBERATION.

WE JUST FIXED THAT.

UM, WE, WE SHOULD BE READY NOW.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

YEAH.

COMMISSIONER GOMEZ.

HAVE YOU JOINED US COMMISSIONER GOMEZ.

IS THE CTM TECHNICIAN STILL ONLINE? YES.

THERE IS NO COMMISSIONER GOMEZ ON THIS LINE.

[00:05:01]

OKAY.

OKAY.

SHOULD WE STAY? DO WE NEED TO STAY IN RECESS OR CAN WE CONTINUE? YOU MAY CONTINUE.

THANK YOU.

AND ACTUALLY, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT, UM, THIS IS FOR CTM.

IT'S ACTUALLY SHARE GONZALES THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CONNECTED FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.

NO ONE HAS CALLED IN ON THE TEAM'S LINE THAT I SENT OUT.

SO I'M SORRY FOR MY CONFUSION.

IF IT WAS CHAIR WEBER OR CHAIR, UH, GOMEZ, CHICKENS, ALICE.

YES.

I'LL REACH OUT TO HER AGAIN.

DO WE HAVE ANY MEMBERS OF THE, TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK, NURTURE? NO CITIZENS ARE SIGNED UP FOR COMMUNICATION.

OKAY.

UH, SINCE CHAIR GONZALES IS NOT ON YET, UM,

[3. Downtown Commission Bylaws]

AND OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS, WE'VE BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH THE CITY PARKS OFFICE.

OUR MOTION, OUR APPROVED MOTION WAS TO GONE TO THE CITY COUNCILS AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.

IT NEVER MADE IT, UH, IN THE INTERIM.

WE ALSO SPOKE WITH BOTH THE INTERIM CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION WHO WAS, UM, VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT PARTICIPATING, BUT WE ALSO SPOKE WITH THE CHAIR OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION AND, UH, THEIR SUPPORT STAFF.

AND THERE WAS A CONCERN THAT GIVEN THE EFFECTS OF THE HAND, DEMIC ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND PARTICULARLY ON, UH, THE DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENT FOR LIVE MUSIC THAT, UM, IT WOULDN'T BE AN IDEAL TIME TO REMOVE THEM FROM THE COMMISSION, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVEN'T PARTICIPATED IN AMMONIA, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG MORE THAN THREE YEARS.

UM, AND SO WE HAVE A, UM, WE PRESENTED SEVERAL OPTIONS TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, SO WE CAN GET THIS MOVING AND GET IT TO AUDIT AND FINANCE.

UM, ULTIMATELY, UM, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

AND SO WE'RE FURTHER BEHIND AND WHERE WE WANTED TO BE IN TERMS OF ENGAGING THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.

IT TURNS OUT WE ARE NOT KEPT ON NUMBER PARTICIPANTS.

UM, AND SO, UH, THE, THE ITEM BEFORE US IS TO AMEND THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION BYLAWS AND MORE PARTICULARLY AMEND THE MOTION THAT WAS MADE LAST TIME, REMOVING THE MUSIC COMMISSION AND REPRESENTATIVE AND REPLACING THEM WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEMBER IN WHAT WE'RE DOING IS MERELY ADDING A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION UNDER, UH, SECTION THREE AB OF OUR BYLAWS AND, AND AUGUST.

DO WE, DO WE ALREADY HAVE THAT MOTION SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL OR DO WE NEED TO MAKE THAT MOTION TODAY? WELL, THE ORIGINAL MOTION WAS APPROVED AT OUR LAST MEETING AND THE, UM, YOU WILL HAVE GOTTEN IN THE EMAILS, A COPY OF THE BYLAWS WITH THE SINGLE USE SINGLE CHANGE, UH, AND THAT'S ALL WE'RE WE'RE WELL, I GUESS WE NEED, WE NEED TO AMEND THE MOTION THAT WAS APPROVED AT OUR LAST MEETING.

OKAY.

YOU WANT ME TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE THAT MOTION? THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.

I SAID, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND THE BYLAWS TO INCLUDE THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.

UM, I THINK THAT'S ALL WE NEED TO PRAY ON THAT.

RIGHT? A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION COMMISSION, MONA, WILL THAT BE SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE? WE HOPE.

OKAY.

YEAH.

WILL IT BE SUFFICIENT? AND I APOLOGIZE.

I DON'T HAVE THE PREVIOUS DOWNTOWN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION NUMBER IN FRONT OF ME, BUT I BELIEVE IF YOU WERE GOING TO AMEND THAT FORMER RECOMMENDATION AND JUST NEED TO DOCUMENT, AND I, I CAN, UM, I CAN SEND THAT OUT.

I'LL TRY AND PULL IT OUT.

I'M HAVING PROBLEMS WITH MY INTERNAL EMAIL RIGHT NOW, BUT THAT'S WHAT WILL NEED TO HAPPEN ON THAT FORM OF RECOMMENDATION.

[00:10:01]

AND IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN ADD THAT NUMBER ON OUR BEHALF? WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE NEED TO HAVE THAT ADDED LATER.

YES.

OKAY.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? YES, I SECOND IT, I SEE COMMISSIONER LEHMAN SECONDING IT.

ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS HEARING NONE.

ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION, PLEASE SAY, AYE.

AYE.

OPPOSED I HAVE ONE OPPOSE.

OH NO, I HAVE A QUESTION IF I COULD.

OH, WELL WE JUST HAD THE BOAT.

SO THE MOTION CARRIES, UH, COMMISSIONER HAIM STAFF.

YES.

AND THIS IS RELATED, BUT NOT SPECIFIC TO THAT MOTION.

SO THAT'S WHY I WAITED.

UH, THERE ARE SEVERAL OF US, MYSELF INCLUDED WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, BUT WE AREN'T ALLOWED TO VOTE BECAUSE WE REPRESENT OTHER GROUPS IN MY CASE, OF COURSE, THE HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION.

SO BY WAY OF CLARIFICATION, WOULD THIS NEW MEMBER BE IN THE SAME CATEGORY? AND IS THERE A REASON WHY WE CAN'T BE ALLOWED TO BE VOTING MEMBERS? AND CANADA'S A QUORUM? I THINK IT'S BAD.

I WAS AT THE LAST MEETING.

SO I WASN'T ABLE TO BE IN THAT CONVERSATION, BUT IS THAT AN AMENDMENT OF THE BYLAWS OR IS THERE SOME REASON FOR OUR CHARTER THAT THOSE OF US WHO REPRESENT OTHER COMMISSIONS AREN'T ABLE TO VOTE? AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE AN AMENDMENT TO THE BYLAWS BECAUSE THE MEMBERS OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONS CURRENTLY ARE, UM, UH, UNDER THE BYLAWS, THE NONVOTING MEMBERS.

AND WE DID HAVE A FAIRLY LENGTHY DISCUSSION ABOUT IT NOT TOO LONG AGO.

UM, AND THE DISCUSSION OF, UH, INCLUDING, UH, UH, OTHER COMMISSION MEMBERS AS COUNTING TOWARDS QUORUM AND, UH, MONA CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

I THINK THE INTENT WAS TO LEAVE THINGS AS THEY WERE.

YES.

UM, THE ENABLING ORDINANCE WOULD HAVE HAD, WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE.

AND FROM THOSE WHO ARE VOTING ARE ACTUALLY APPOINTED BY SITTING CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES.

SO THERE IS AN ISSUE OF, THESE ARE MY WORDS, ACCOUNTABILITY, WHERE VOTING MEMBERS ARE ACTUALLY ACCOUNTABLE TO THE SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE, OR THE REPRESENTATIVE THAT THERE IS.

UM, THERE, WE, I DO RECALL GOING ROUND AND ROUND ON THE OPTICS OF THIS.

ALRIGHT.

SO I'M JUST, I'M JUST SAYING THAT IT COULD BE, THAT LET'S SAY I WOULD PICK ON, I DON'T KNOW, PICK ON, YOU WERE PICK ON SOMETHING ELSE, RIGHT.

WHERE YOU MIGHT LIVE IN A, IN A DISTRICT, RIGHT? NOT ONLY DO YOU WEAR THE HATS OF A COMMISSION THAT YOU'RE REPRESENTING, THAT YOU'RE ALSO LIVING IN A SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT AS WELL.

AND THE, ONE OF THE, WHAT ARE THE OPTICS THAT WE WERE MADE AWARE OF IS THAT THEN THERE COULD BE CONSTRUED AS TO NOT APPOINTMENTS, BUT TO VOICES OF A PARTICULAR SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT WITH VOTES GOOD, BAD, RIGHT.

OR WRONG.

BUT THAT IS ONE OF THE LENSES THAT WE ARE LOOKING THROUGH.

AND, UH, THAT WAS SOME EDUCATION ON OUR PART OF STAFF.

SURE.

NO, I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION.

AND AGAIN, UM, I CAN SAY FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON'T GET TO VOTE, UM, WE CAN APPRECIATE THAT, BUT TO ALSO NOT BE ABLE TO BE COUNTED IN THE QUORUM, I WASN'T INVOLVED IN THAT CONVERSATION.

I'M FAIRLY NEW.

I THINK IT'S BEEN A LITTLE OVER A YEAR, BUT, UH, I CAN SAY THAT HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF TIMES WHERE IT'S LIKE, GOSH, I'M HERE, BUT I WISH I COULD BE COUNTED.

WELL, THE GOOD THING IS THAT YOU'RE COUNTED IN YOUR VOTES.

AND THAT'S ONE REASON WHY IT'S VERY IMPORTANT INPUT THAT WE RECEIVE FROM EACH OF OUR MEMBER COMMISSIONS.

AND SO, UM, THAT'S WHERE MAYBE YOU DON'T GET A CHANCE TO VOTE, BUT YOU DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE MEANINGFUL INPUT.

AND I'D SAY ALSO THE, THE PARTICIPATION, UM, UH, OTHER, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, BUT, UH, UH, I CERTAINLY FEEL LIKE I DO GET A LOT OUT OF IT AND APPRECIATE ALSO THE STAFF KEEPING ME UP TO DATE.

SO HEY, THANK YOU ALL, RONNIE.

UM, SO I BELIEVE DID I SEE, UH, CHEER GONZALES, ALL THIS IS CHEER YOU ON THE BALL.

DO WE KNOW WHO CALL IN USER TWO? IT IS CTM STILL ON THE LINE.

[00:15:05]

LET ME SEND A SEPARATE CTMS HERE.

THIS IS STEPHANIE HALL AT CITY HALL RIGHT NOW.

AND I CAN CHECK IN FOR YOU COLOR USER.

NUMBER TWO ON THE LINE, YOUR PHONE NUMBER AGAIN IS FIVE ONE TWO SEVEN FIVE ZERO.

PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR WE'LL HAVE TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE MEETING.

OH, GOMEZ.

I COULDN'T GET ON THE REGULAR WAY.

SO I HAD TO DIAL IN.

PERFECT.

YOU MADE IT.

WE GOT YA.

THANK YOU.

WE CAN VOUCH FOR HIM.

OKAY.

WELL, WE STILL DON'T HAVE CHEER GONZALES ON, UM, WHAT JUST FOR REFERENCE.

UM, WE HAD DISCUSSED CHAIR GONZALEZ SPEAKING ON, UM, THE, THE, UH, POLICE BUDGET AND ON, UH, POLICIES.

UH, AND THEN ALSO ON THE DISCUSSION OVER FUTURE USES OF THE, UH, APD FACILITIES DOWNTOWN.

HOPEFULLY SHE'LL BE ABLE TO JOIN US HERE BEFORE SHE WANTS SO WE CAN GET TO HER OR INPUT.

UM, SO WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD

[4. Working Groups]

UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE NOT MET IN PERSON IN QUITE SOME TIME.

THE, YOUR AUSTIN CORE TRANSPORTATION PLAN IS STILL IN PROGRESS.

UH, AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF COMMISSIONER SCORNING HAS GOT ANY UPDATE FOR US REGARDING THE, THE PLAN OR NOT, NOT.

I DO NOT.

I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING AT ALL.

OKAY.

UM, HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT AT OUR NEXT MEETING.

WE ALSO INCLUDED THE PUBLIC SAFETY WORKING GROUP, UH, AND THAT GROUP HAS NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET.

UM, AGAIN, I WOULD INVITE COMMISSIONERS FORNEY OR COMMISSIONER LAYMAN TO COMMENT.

IF ANYBODY IS INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, PLEASE EMAIL MONA.

UM, WE CERTAINLY, IT WAS A PRIORITY OF THE COMMISSION, UH, TO HAVE THAT WORKING GROUP AND WE, WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK.

WE'RE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING.

SO IF ANY OF Y'ALL ARE SO INCLINED, PLEASE DO GET IN TOUCH WITH MONA, UH, COMMISSIONER'S CORNEA, COMMISSIONER, LAYMAN, ANY COMMENTS I HAVE NOTHING TO ADD, EXCEPT THAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT.

YEAH.

I MEAN, UM, ALL RIGHTY.

UM, THEN WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THIS AGENDA AT A BREAKNECK PACE.

UH, THE

[5. Items from other Commissions (Part 1 of 2)]

DID WE GET, UH, LET'S SEE A UPDATE FROM COMMISSIONER AND ROBLEDO IS, UH, DON'T BELIEVE SHE'S ON THE LINE.

OH, THERE YOU ARE.

UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES.

I DON'T LAST TIME WE HAVE THE DESIGN COMMISSION, BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT WE STARTED A WORKING GROUP THAT IS GOING TO REVISIT THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.

THOSE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES WITH THAT IS IT'S PART OF THE GREAT STREETS WHERE PEOPLE THAT APPLY FOR THE GREAT STREETS THAT THEY NEED TO MEET THE URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES.

SO THAT PROCESS IS STARTING.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT THE TIMELINE IS? OH, DON'T BE LIKE THAT.

THAT'S A FAIR QUESTION.

MY APOLOGIES.

WE'RE HAVING OUR FIRST WORKING GROUP MEETING ON FRIDAY AND THEN, AND THEN I'LL, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.

WELL, WE LOOKED YOUR COMMENTS, GIVE ME COMFORT, UM, THAT, THAT WE'RE DOING OKAY.

UM, THAT WE'RE MEETING OR AT LEAST MEETING.

SO YES, CHAIR.

THIS IS JOSEPH AT CITY HALL.

WE DO HAVE JUSTIN'S ALL IS ON THE LINE.

SO WHENEVER YOU'RE READY FOR HER TO SPEAK, SHE IS AVAILABLE.

OKAY.

UH, WE'LL, WE'LL MOVE BACK UP INTO THE AGENDA AND BRING HER ONLINE, PLEASE.

SHE'S AVAILABLE.

YOU CAN JUST CALL HER NAME WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, WELCOME

[2. Update from Public Safety Commission]

UM, WHERE YOU'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU WITH US TODAY.

CHAIR GONZALES IS THE CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION, AND I WILL GIVE THE FLOOR TO YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[00:20:01]

THANK YOU.

GREAT.

THANK YOU.

UM, SO YES, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME SPEAK WITH YOU ALL AND MEET YOU VIRTUALLY.

UM, I HAVE TAKEN OVER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION AS OF AUGUST, SO I'M FAIRLY NEW, BUT I HAVE BEEN SITTING ON THE COMMISSION FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS.

WELL, WELCOME TO A CHALLENGING JOB.

COULD YOU UPDATE US A LITTLE BIT ON, UM, THE BUDGET AND CITY POLICING POLICIES AS IT PERTAINS TO THE, THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING SO AS OF RIGHT NOW? SO, SO WE ARE AN ADVISORY BOARD AND WE HAVE, UM, VERY SPECIFIC MANDATES IN DEALING WITH ITEMS OF POLICY AND BUDGET, BUDGETARY REASONS AS WELL.

UM, THE, THE LAST TIME WE TOOK ANY ACTION ON ANY OF THE BUDGETS, I'M SORRY.

I'M I CAN SEE PEOPLE ARE TALKING AND I CAN'T HEAR YOU ON MY HEADSET.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE ALL QUIET ON THIS END.

WE'RE WE'RE LISTENING TO YOU.

OKAY.

OKAY, GREAT.

SORRY.

IT'S UM, I'M WATCHING YOU GUYS LIVE ON THE AIR.

AND SO I CAN, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A SYNC ISSUE, SO I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.

UM, OKAY.

SO, UM, WE TOOK ACTION IN MAY.

UH, WE HAD A SPECIALLY CALLED MEETING ON THE, UM, THE POLICE BUDGET AND WE HAD RECOMMENDED, UM, THAT SOME OF THE CITY POLICE BUDGET, UH, BEING MOVED, UH, AND WE DID NOT, UM, OFFICIALLY ENDORSE ALL OF THE POLICE RECOMMENDED, UH, BUDGETS, UH, BACK IN MAY WE ACTUALLY, UM, REQUESTED THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY, UH, BE REQUESTING BE MOVED INTO A PUBLIC SAFETY BUCKET THAT WAS MANAGED BY, UM, EMS DUE TO SOME ISSUES THAT EMS NEEDED.

UM, SOME, SOME TECHNOLOGY THAT EMS WAS VERY FAR BEHIND AND I APOLOGIZE, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT WORDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT THAT WAS BACK IN MAY.

THAT WAS THE LAST, UM, ACTIVITY THAT WE'VE DONE ON THE BUDGET.

OBVIOUSLY, LOTS OF THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THAT MAY MEETING AND THE COUNCIL HAS TAKEN LOTS OF OTHER ACTIONS, UH, THAT WAS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE RECOMMENDED.

SO THAT, THAT WAS THE LAST UPDATE I HAVE ON, UM, ANY ACTION THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE AROUND APD AND, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY.

AND I'M HAPPY TO, TO FOLLOW UP AND MAKE SURE YOU ALL HAVE THE, UH, THE OUTCOMES AND, UM, THE BOATS THAT HAPPENED IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE SENT IN MAY, UM, WHAT WE HAVE DONE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY, AND THE FOCUS THAT WE'VE DONE SINCE I'VE TAKEN OVER AS CHAIR IS A COUNCIL MEMBER FLYING AGAIN, UM, WHO LEADS THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, UM, CITY COUNCIL, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH COMMISSION.

UM, SHE HAS ASKED THAT WE HAVE FURTHER, UM, ORGANIZATION AND FURTHER PLANNING ON HOW WE USE THE COMMISSION TIME AND HOW THE COMMITTEE ALSO WORKS.

SO WE HAVE STARTED DOING MONTHLY MEETINGS TO COORDINATE, UM, ITEMS THAT THE COMMISSION CAN UNDERTAKE AND SPEND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME WITH ON REVIEW AND A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME ON, UM, RESEARCH FOR TOPICS FOR, UH, BEFORE IT GETS TO THE COMMITTEE.

UM, SO AS YOU MENTIONED, UH, LAST MEETING, WE HAD ABOUT 30 MINUTES SET ASIDE FOR OUR FIRST PUBLIC INPUT AROUND THE REPORT, THE THING OF APD HEADQUARTERS AND WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.

SO, UH, WE ALSO HAD, UH, MR. DARNELL XANDER FROM THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS, UM, THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF THE CITY ON TO PRESENT TO US, AND HE BASICALLY GAVE US A TIMELINE AND HE BASICALLY SAID, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT ALL OF US KNOW, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING ANYTIME SOON.

UH, IT'S GOING TO BE QUITE A FEW MONTHS.

THEY HAPPEN AND WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH APD, UM, TO MOVE THEM OUT OF THAT CURRENT LOCATION, UH, AND HOW THEY WOULD MANAGE THAT, UM, MOVEMENT.

SO, SO THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

UH, OVERNIGHTS, UH, AND COUNCIL MEMBER FLANAGAN HAD ASKED US TO START THE CONVERSATION.

SO IN OUR LAST MEETING, WE HAD, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE BUSINESS SIDE.

WE HAD, UH, COVINA, SHE FROM, UH, EMS AND WE HAD, UH, A NONPROFIT GROUP THAT MANAGES, UM, TENANTS RIGHTS, UH, SPEAK

[00:25:01]

CONNOR WAS THE IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, AND HE'S VERY INVOLVED IN THESE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES.

SO, UM, BASICALLY WE STARTED THE FIRST ROUND WITH THOSE THREE PEOPLE THAT WERE GIVING US THEIR PLANNING AND THEIR IDEAS OF WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN WITH THE ORGANIZATION, UH, AND WITH THE BUILDINGS MORE IMPORTANTLY, UM, AND REALLY SELENA SHE FROM, UH, EMS. SHE IS THE, UM, UH, THE UNION, UH, THE EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVE, BASICALLY FROM THE EMS. AND SHE BASICALLY, UH, PUT A GREAT ARGUMENT TOGETHER ABOUT KEEPING SOME SORT OF AREA IN THAT DOWNTOWN SPACE WHERE EMS COULD DO, UM, A WEEKEND KIND OF, UM, I CAN'T, I'M, I'M, I'M AT A LOSS FOR WORDS, FOR THE THINGS THAT SHE SAID, BASICALLY LIKE A, A PLACE FOR THEM ALL TO COME TOGETHER AND TO DO PLANNING AROUND THE EMS COVERAGE AND THE PROTECTION AND THE PUBLIC SAFETY OF DOWNTOWN.

SO SHE REALLY HAD A GREAT PRESENTATION WITH SOME REALLY NICE PHOTOS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SHOW ABOUT WHERE EMS IS CURRENTLY, UM, UH, WORKING OUT OF DOWNTOWN AND HOW HARD IT IS FOR THEM TO FIND A GOOD PLACE TO HAVE THAT TRIAGE AND TO HAVE THAT, UM, THAT PLACE FOR THEM ALL, TO COME TOGETHER, TO TALK ABOUT THE EVENTS OF THE NIGHT AND TO PLAN FOR THE, THE WAY THEY MANAGE OUR DOWNTOWN AREA.

UM, SO WE HEARD FROM HER, WE ALSO HEARD FROM, UH, THE BUSINESS SIDE, THERE WAS AN ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACCELERATOR RUN BY PRESTON JAMES CALLED DEBUNK, WHO CAME ON AND TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING, UM, SPACE SPACE FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND SPACE FOR BUSINESSES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

AND THEN TRISHA KRIEGER FROM, UH, THE I'M GONNA APOLOGIZE.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.

THAT'S A TENANT'S RIGHTS ORGANIZATION, TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE EXPANDING OF, OF, UH, UNITS FOR, FOR HOUSING DOWNTOWN AND HOW, HOW IMPORTANT THOSE WERE.

SO THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME TO HEAR THAT KIND OF FEEDBACK.

AND THIS IS OUR FIRST TIME WE DID IT.

AND NEXT TIME WE'RE GOING TO DO IT AGAIN IN OCTOBER.

UH, CONNOR WILL ALSO BE DOING IT FOR US AGAIN, MR. KENNEY WILL BE PULLING TOGETHER A PANEL AND WE ARE, UH, LOOKING FOR, UH, REPRESENTATIVES THAT, UH, ARE IN THE NONPROFIT SPACE AROUND HOMELESSNESS.

WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR, UH, A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT TALKS ABOUT, UH, LGBTQ RIGHTS AND IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND THEN WE WILL PROBABLY HAVE SPACE FOR ONE, UM, MORE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION TO SPEAK TO US ABOUT WHAT WE ENVISION FOR THAT, THAT SPACE AND HOW WE MOVE FORWARD.

IT CERTAINLY SOUNDS LIKE YOU ALL ARE BEING VERY DELIBERATIVE AND I THINK WE ALL APPRECIATE THAT A COMMISSIONER'S QUESTIONS.

MMM.

UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.

WELL, Y'ALL, IS THERE A REPORT THAT Y'ALL ARE COMING OUT WITH KIND OF AT THE END OF THIS, OR IS THERE SOMETHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT OR SEE OR WEIGH IN, UM, BOTH AS CITIZENS, BUT ALSO AS A DOWNTOWN PERMISSION? I DEFINITELY BELIEVE WE WILL BE.

I'M PUTTING TOGETHER ALL OF OUR NOTES FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS FLANAGAN, AND WE WILL BE DOING THAT FOR SURE.

UM, AND THEN, YEAH, I'M, I'M OPEN TO CREATING SOME SORT OF DOCUMENT THAT CAN BE SHARED.

AND LIKE I SAID, THIS IS VERY, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY PUBLIC INPUT THAT'S GOING TO BE TAKEN AROUND THIS.

OBVIOUSLY THIS IS JUST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UH, USE THE COMMISSION'S TIME, UH, TO HELP THE COMMITTEE FROM, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL SPACE.

BUT I'M, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT.

AND I WILL CONSIDER MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE FOR, FOR CREATING SOMETHING TO SHARE WITH YOU GUYS.

AND THIS IS ALSO A GOOD THING.

I DID HEAR THE VOTE ON, UH, MAKING A SPACE FOR A PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONER ON YOUR DOWNTIME COMMISSION.

SO I WILL TAKE THAT BACK AND SEE IF I HAVE, UH, VOLUNTEERS OR, OR SOMEONE FROM THE COMMISSION TO JOIN YOU.

AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT THING FOR THEM TO PRESENT TO YOU GUYS, AS WELL AS THEY START THEIR, THEIR SERVICE ON YOUR COMMISSION, OTHER COMMISSIONERS.

WELL, I'VE GOT TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.

UM, THE FIRST IS WHAT DOES APD THINK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF RELOCATING FROM THAT SIDE? UM, FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN, UH, FROM, UH, CHIEF GAY AND, AND OTHER STAFF MEMBERS THAT DIDN'T INTERACT WITH US IS THEY ARE THEY'RE OPEN TO IT.

THEY HAVE NO ISSUE MOVING OUT OF THAT BUILDING.

UH, ACTUALLY THEY ARE, UM, SEEING MAYBE NOT, NOT COMPLETELY, UM, MOVING OUT OF THAT CURRENT

[00:30:01]

UM, AND THEY THEY'RE JUST OPEN AND EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES FROM WHAT I CAN TELL THERE IS NO, THERE'S NO PERSPECTIVE FROM WHAT I, FROM WHAT I ENDED.

DID THEY HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO SERVE MORRIS DOWNTOWN WITHOUT THEIR HEADQUARTERS BEING THERE? UM, I HAVE NOT HEARD THAT DIRECTLY, BUT DEFINITELY HAVING, UH, SELENA, SHE TALKED TO US ABOUT THE DESIRE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF SPACE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY TO COME TOGETHER, ALL THREE ORGANIZATIONS TO COME TOGETHER AND, AND PLAN, AND THEN DO DEBRIEF.

THAT'S THE WORD I WAS LOOKING FOR DEBRIEFS THAT FINALLY CAME TO ME, UM, AND TO DEBRIEF ON, ON THE ACTIVITIES, UH, WAS SOMETHING THAT, THAT DEFINITELY RESONATED WITH US.

UM, SO THERE IS, I THINK THERE IS A DESIRE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATIONS TO STILL HAVE, UM, SOME SORT OF, OF, UH, UH, UPSTAGING PLACE DOWNTOWN.

OKAY.

UM, DO, DOES ANYBODY HAVE, AND THIS MAY NOT BE A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD.

DOES ANYBODY HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF VALUE BEFORE THE APD PROPERTIES? UM, THAT WOULD BE THE REAL ESTATE DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN WHO SHOULD HAVE THAT.

OKAY.

OKAY.

SO THEY HAVEN'T, THEY HAVEN'T GIVEN YOU ALL ANY INDICATOR.

YEAH.

UM, HOW MUCH DOES APD HAVE AVAILABLE FOR A NEW POLICE HEADQUARTERS? I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.

AND WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD IS IN THE SHORT TERM, IT WOULD BE MORE ABOUT MOVING THEM TO OTHER FACILITIES, NOT NECESSARILY CREATING A BRAND NEW HEADQUARTERS AT THIS POINT, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS JUST WHAT I'VE BEEN MADE AWARE OF.

THERE MIGHT BE OTHER PLANS THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF.

UM, LAST QUESTION, AND I DON'T MEAN TO INUNDATE YOU, WHERE DOES OTHER THAN, UM, DELL, UH, WHERE DOES BRECKEN RE I MEAN, UH, WHERE DOES EMS BASE DOWNTOWN? UM, THERE, W THEY SHOW, UH, SELENA, SHE HAS SHOWED US, UM, IT'S A, IT IS A REALLY STRANGE LITTLE, UH, THEY'RE BASED IN THE GARAGE, REALLY.

I THINK AT DELL SETON, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, I DEFINITELY DON'T HAVE THE EXACT, UM, ADDRESS, BUT SHE SHOWED PICTURES TO THE COMMISSION OF A VERY SMALL SPACE IN A GARAGE SOMEWHERE CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN THAT THEY WERE CURRENTLY BASED OUT OF, UH, ANY QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS.

YEAH.

THIS IS COMMISSIONER GOMEZ.

I'D LIKE TO ASK, UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS.

AND FIRST I'D LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR MY IGNORANCE ON THIS, BUT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT JUST THE APD BUILDING OR DOES IT INCLUDE THE MUNICIPAL COURT BUILDING AND, UH, ARE THERE SIMILAR SEWAGE PROBLEMS WITH THE APD BUILDING AS THERE WERE WITH MUNICIPAL COURT? UM, I, I CAN'T, UH, SPEAK IN WITH ALL THE CONFIDENCE OF A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER OR AN ENGINEER THAT, THAT DEALS WITH THOSE ISSUES, BUT I HAVE HEARD, UH, OF, OF THOSE ISSUES WITH APD HEADQUARTERS, FOR SURE.

UH, AND AS FAR AS I KNOW, UH, COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, IT IS ONLY THE APD HEADQUARTERS BUILDING THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED.

BUT ONCE AGAIN, I'M NOT AN EXPERT AT, AND I'M NOT SURE.

AND, UH, I WAS WONDERING BECAUSE MANY YEARS AGO, WHEN THE, UH, HOME DEPOT PROPERTY AND THE ST JOHN'S AND I, 35 WAS PURCHASED, THERE WAS, UH, AN IDEA THAT THAT'S WHERE THE NEW APD HEADQUARTERS WAS GOING TO GO.

BUT BECAUSE THE FOUNDATION AND STRUCTURALLY BUILDING OUT THERE WAS GOING TO BE MUCH TOO EXPENSIVE, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THE DOLLARS WERE SPENT FROM APD TO PURCHASE OR PART OF THE, THE MONEY THAT WAS USED TO PURCHASE THAT PROPERTY OUT THERE, UM, WAS, WAS TO RELOCATE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.

DID THAT MONEY GET RECOUPED, OR IS IT JUST ALL UNDER THE CITY, CITY FUNDS? AND, UH, AND THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, GETTING MONEY FOR APD TO RELOCATE IS, IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO HAVE TO BE DISCUSSED.

UM, OTHERWISE, UH, YEAH, I DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THAT.

I APOLOGIZE, COMMISSIONER GOMEZ.

THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I HAVE.

AND JUST ONE LAST THING IS THAT THE EMS,

[00:35:01]

UM, THEY, THEY REQUESTED THAT A STAGING CENTER BE PUT IN THIS DOWNTOWN SPACE WHEN IT IS REIMAGINED AND IT HAS CHANGED INTO WHATEVER IT'S GOING TO BE, UH, THE CURRENT STAGING.

I'M NOT SURE I CAN'T SPEAK TO IT.

IT MAY MAYBE THE SOBRIETY CENTER, BUT HONESTLY I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE.

OKAY.

WELL, THANK YOU.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

THANKS.

THANK YOU.

I THINK YOU MIGHT BE ON MUTE IF YOU'RE TRYING TO RECOGNIZE FOLKS.

I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T MUTE MYSELF IF IT'S FREAKY THAT WAY.

IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA, IT'S WEBEX ZOOM FIGHTING IN MY COMPUTER, BUT YOU HAD YOUR HAND UP.

OKAY.

YES, I, I, UH, OUR REDEVELOPMENT IS THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE FORMER HOME DEPOT SITES.

SO I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT ON THE SOURCE OF THE, THE BOND FUNDS THAT WERE ISSUED FOR THAT, UM, FOR, UM, THE COMMISSIONERS SAKE, UM, THAT BOND PROPOSITION WAS SPECIFIC TO, UH, UH, MUNICIPAL COURT AND POLICE SUBSTATION.

IT WASN'T THE, IT WASN'T THE RELOCATION OR THE LOCATION OF A POLICE HEADQUARTERS.

UM, SO, UM, THE AMOUNT OF BOND, AND SO THOSE WERE TAX EXEMPT BOND FUNDS, AND I BELIEVE THAT WAS FROM A 2006 PROPOSITION PUBLIC SAFETY PROPOSITION.

UM, SO THE MONEY THAT WAS USED TO ACQUIRE THAT PROPERTY WAS, UM, A HUNDRED PERCENT PUBLIC SAFETY, THE 2006 PUBLIC SAFETY BOND FOR A MUNICIPAL COURT IN PLACE SUBSTATION.

AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

IT WAS AFTER WE PURCHASED THE PROPERTY, UH, CITY COUNCIL WENT IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.

THANK YOU QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION.

OKAY.

I HAVE A QUESTION IN WHAT Y'ALL ARE LOOKING AT.

ARE YOU ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE ABOUT THE SIZE OF AUSTIN AND OUR GROWTH RATE AND, AND OUR DENSITY DOWNTOWN, UM, LOOKING HOW OTHER CITIES ARE DEALING WITH THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND, AND WHAT HAPPENS IF THEIR, UM, THEIR MAIN, YOU KNOW, HEADQUARTERS ARE MOVED OUT OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA, UM, AND SORT OF DISPERSED, UM, AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE REST OF THE CITY, UH, I GUESS I'M COMING FROM THIS AND IN THE, UM, I KNOW IT NEEDS TO HAPPEN AND, AND IT'S INEVITABLE, BUT, UM, I'M A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT THE HEADQUARTERS BEING MOVED OUT OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ON, ON BEHALF OF THIS COMMISSION, THAT SEEMS LIKE A RELEVANT STATEMENT.

I CAN SAY THAT WE HAVE NOT LOOKED AT THAT THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE, UM, HAVE CONSIDERED BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT I THINK THAT THE MOVING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE MOVING OF THE HEADQUARTERS IS NOT, UM, UNFORTUNATELY OUR IT'S NOT OUR DECISION.

IT'S A DECISION THAT WILL BE MADE BY A CITY COUNCIL.

UH, WHAT THEY'RE ASKING US TO DO IS JUST TO TAKE PUBLIC INPUT AROUND WHAT THIS COULD BE, UM, IF THIS WAS A DONE DEAL, RIGHT.

IF THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

SO, UM, IT'S DEFINITELY INFORMATION THAT WE COULD, UH, REQUEST AND WE COULD TRY TO SEE, BUT AT THIS POINT IT'S NOT, UM, BASICALLY THEY HAVEN'T DIRECTED US TO DO THAT COMPARISON.

THEY'VE DIRECTED US TO TAKE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THANK YOU.

WELL, I THINK THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON.

AND, UM, OBVIOUSLY KNOWING WHAT OTHER CITIES USES BEST PRACTICES REGARDING THE LOCATION OF POLICE HEADQUARTERS WOULD BE A PRIME INTEREST TO, TO US FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT REASONS.

ONE THE LAND THERE, WELL, MAYBE THIS WAS THE WRONG ORDER, ONE PUBLIC SAFETY TO THE LAND AND THE OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR ANY OF A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WOULD AFFECT DOWN TOWN, CHEER GONZALES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US

[00:40:01]

WE APPRECIATE THE TIME THAT YOU SPENT AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO ONCE WE CAN GET EVERYTHING SQUARED AWAY WITH, UH, THE COUNCIL AND OUR, OUR, OUR, UH, BYLAWS, UH, WE ENJOY, WE WILL ENJOY HAVING A MEMBER OF YOUR COMMISSION SITTING IN ON OUR MEETINGS AND PARTICIPATING.

I WISH IT HAD HAPPENED SOONER, BUT WE'LL GET THERE.

WONDERFUL.

THANK YOU AGAIN.

AND PLEASE REACH OUT IF I CAN BE OF ANY SERVICE MOVING FORWARD.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

OKAY.

UM, WE'LL

[5. Items from other Commissions (Part 2 of 2)]

WELL, WE, WE HAVE BEEN ACTIVE, UH, DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME WITH REMOTE MEETINGS AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONDUCT MOST OF THE SAME BUSINESS, UH, AS IT PERTAINS TO THE DOWNTOWN, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN, UH, IN OUR RECENT, UH, A COUPLE OF MEETINGS, UH, WE DEALT WITH TWO OF THE PROJECTS THAT I HAD TALKED ABOUT PREVIOUSLY, WHERE WE HAVE HISTORIC BUILDINGS THAT ARE EITHER, UH, BEING DIRECTLY IMPACTED WITH LARGE TOWER, UH, PROPOSALS, UM, AS A, AS AN ADDITION, OR, OR, UH, AN EXTENSION OF THAT EXISTING BUILDING, UH, OR, UH, IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THOSE.

AND, UH, IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE, UH, IN, IN THESE TWO MEETINGS, WE HAD TWO VERY SIMILAR CASES AND, UH, ONE OF THEM WAS REJECTED BY THE COMMISSION, UH, AS INAPPROPRIATE AND OVERSCALED, UH, THAT WAS A, UH, WOULD, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A, UM, HOTEL PROJECT ON A PROPERTY, RIGHT.

ADJACENT TO, UM, THE, UH, THE CAPITOL COMPLEX, UH, WITH THAT HISTORIC BUILDING.

UH, THE OTHER WAS IN EAST AUSTIN AND HAD AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THAT WAS APPROVED.

UH, I ACTUALLY ABSTAINED ON THE ONE HAVING TO DO WITH, UH, THE CAPITOL COMPLEX.

UH, I WASN'T ABLE TO PARTICIPATE, UH, BUT I DID SPEAK AGAINST THE ONE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH IT'S VERY LAUDABLE, UH, WE STILL HAVE THIS VERY BIG ISSUE OF WHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR MAINTAINING AND PRESERVING.

NOT ONLY SPECIFY SOME OF THE PROPERTIES, UH, AS LITTLE TEENY PROJECTS, LITTLE EXISTING PROJECTS, BUT ALSO HOW THEY SHOW US THE WHOLE CONTEXT OF AREAS AND DISTRICTS THAT THEY REPRESENT.

SO IT'S AN ONGOING ISSUE AND WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO DISCUSS IT, AND IT PROBABLY WILL HAVE MORE RELEVANCE TO, UH, OUR COMMISSION.

IS THERE MORE CHANGES BEING PROPOSED IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA? I WILL SAY JUST QUICKLY.

ONE THING WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT IS WE'VE REQUESTED OF STAFF, AND WE MAY ASK FOR YOUR HELP IN DOING AN INVENTORY OF PROPERTIES THAT ARE IN THE DOWNTOWN CORE THAT HAVE A DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN THEIR USE AND THEIR POTENTIAL ZONING.

SO WE'LL AT LEAST IDENTIFY AHEAD OF TIME WHERE SOME OF THE PRESSURE POINTS MIGHT BE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH WILL LET US KNOW WHEN THAT GETS UNDERWAY AND THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE IN THE PROJECT.

ABSOLUTELY, CERTAINLY.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

UH, COMMISSIONER HIMSELF.

UM, I WAS INTERESTED, IT WASN'T ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS, ONE WHERE THE HISTORIC BUILDING WAS MOVED TO ACCOMMODATE THE TOWER THAT, UH, THAT'S THE ONE ON THE EAST SIDE, IT'S A RESIDENCE THAT, UH, WAS RESTORED.

AND, UM, THE, UH, ISSUE HAD TO DO WITH, UH, ITS CONTEXT AS WELL AS, UM, UM, WHAT ITS CONDITION WOULD BE THOUGH.

THE PROPOSAL WAS GOING TO MOVE THE PROJECT AS APPROVED, AS PROPOSED AND RECOMMENDED WAS ACTUALLY MOVING THE, THE HOUSE, BUT SLIGHTLY IN THE SAME AREA, UH, THAT, THAT DOES CONCERN ME.

HAVING WATCHED SOME PROPERTIES NEAR THE CAMPUS, BE MOVED WHERE THE BUILDING IS CUT AT LEAST IN HALF, IF NOT IN QUARTERS.

AND THEN, UM, I'M NOT SURE THE HISTORIC COMMISSION CAME BACK TO SEE IT WHEN IT WAS PATCHED BACK TOGETHER WITH BANDAIDS.

IT WAS PRETTY SAD NEAR SAN PEDRO.

SO, UM, ANYWAY, I, I WONDER IF YOU HAVE A FEELING FOR, IS THAT THE DIRECTION WE'RE GOING WITH HISTORIC PROPERTIES THAT ARE IN THE WAY THAT THE, THE MOVING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, UH, PICKING UP, PICKING UP A RESIDENCE AND MOVING IT INTO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LOCATION ON THE SITE DOES NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRE THAT AMOUNT OF, OF TAKING THE PROPERTY APART.

AND IT IS NOT UNCOMMON, PARTICULARLY FOR WOOD-FRAME HOUSES WHEN THEY ARE MOVED TO BE CUT INTO PIECES.

AND YOU'D BE SURPRISED AT HOW EASY THEY CAN BE REASSEMBLED.

[00:45:01]

UM, YOU KNOW, JUST HAVING AN OLD OBJECT THAT'S SITTING THERE, DOESN'T, DOESN'T TELL YOU NEARLY AS MUCH AS A STREET LOCATION, HISTORY AND CONTEXT, UH, THAT SUPPORTS THAT HISTORIC BUILDING.

IT'S PART OF A FABRIC.

AND INCREASINGLY WE'RE WORKING WITH HISTORIC DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO TRY TO MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF THE SPECIMEN BUILDINGS AS YOU UNFIT MIGHT THINK OF THEM, THE LANDMARKS THEMSELVES, BUT ALSO THE CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURES AROUND THOSE.

SO, UH, BUT YES, WE ARE GOING TO SEE QUITE A FEW BIT, WE WILL SEE A LOT MORE OF THIS.

WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF APPLICATIONS FOR DEMOLITION PERMITS AND WITHOUT HAVING A HISTORIC DISTRICT SPECIFICALLY, I'M AFRAID A LOT OF THEM ARE BEING RUDE.

I APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.

THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.

UH, THE NEXT UP IS, UH, COMMISSIONER WEATHERBY AND I DON'T BELIEVE COMMISSIONER, WHETHER IT BE HIS OWN CALL.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

OKAY.

UH, THEN, UH, WE WILL MOVE ON, UH, IS COMMISSIONER KEATON.

I'M NOT SEEING COMMISSIONER KEATON EITHER.

UH, AND AS FAR AS THE MUSIC COMMISSION GOES, UM, THEY HAD ASSURED US THAT THEY WOULD HAVE SOMEBODY IN PLACE, UH, BY NOW, UM, AND THEY'RE MEETING, I BELIEVE, LEAVE ON FRIDAY, UH, AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY HAVE SOMEBODY, UH, ASSIGNED TO ATTEND FUTURE MEETINGS.

OBVIOUSLY, GIVEN, AS I MENTIONED AT THE TOP OF THE MEETING, GIVEN THE IMPACT ON WHAT JUST HAPPENED, UH, GIVEN THE IMPACT ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IN DOWNTOWN, I THINK THERE WAS, WE MAY HAVE DISCUSSED THIS LAST TIME.

THERE WAS A REPORT THAT SAID IT'S POSSIBLE BY OCTOBER THAT 75, 80, 90% OF VENUES COULD BE OUT BUSINESS.

AND, UH, THAT WOULD BE UNFORTUNATE AND ADVERSELY IMPACTFUL FOR DOWNTOWN AUSTIN.

SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THE MUSIC COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE AT THE NEXT MEETING TO UPDATE US BECAUSE THAT WILL BE OCTOBER.

AND WE WILL WE'LL KNOW IF, UH, THE STORY HAS COME TRUE OR NOT.

UM,

[6. Staff Updates]

CHRISTINE STEPH DOESN'T HAVE ANY, UM, PARTICULAR UPDATES.

OTHER THAN IF ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO ADD DISCUSSION TO ANY OF THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS LISTED ON YOUR AGENDA COMMISSIONERS.

I'M NOT HEARING ANYTHING OUT THERE.

I SAW THAT MOONTOWER HAD BEEN ERECTED AND I DIDN'T READ THE WHOLE STORY, BUT I WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT COMMISSIONER LAYMAN'S BEEN HARD AT WORK IN THE BACKGROUND.

YEAH.

I WOULD JUST LOVE TO KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT IT TO TAKE FULL CREDIT, BUT I DON'T.

ALRIGHT.

UM, NOTHING ELSE FROM STAFF, I HAVE ONE ITEM STAFF TO DO ONE ITEM ON THE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT CONGRESS AVENUE HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE.

UM, I GUESS IT WAS ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK THAT THE CITY IS PLANNING ON MAKING THE TEMPORARY, UH, BIKE LANES PERMANENT, WHICH IS GOING TO JUST ALLOW FOR FOUR TRAFFIC LANES ON CONGRESS AVENUE.

UH, I KNOW WE HAD THE URBAN DESIGN INITIATIVE, WHICH, UH, WE ENDORSED, WHICH HAD FIVE LANES.

SO YOU HAD A CONTINUOUS LEFT TURN LANE, AND I AM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO GET SOMEONE FROM URBAN TRANSPORTATION AT OUR NEXT MEETING TO EXPLAIN HOW THEY PLAN ON NOT REDUCING THE, THE, UH, TRAFFIC VOLUME ON CONGRESS AVENUE BY DOING WHAT THEY'RE PLANNING TO DO RIGHT NOW.

AND THERE WAS NO PUBLIC, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY PUBLIC PROCESS WHEN THEY, FOR THEM TO DECIDE TO DO THAT AS WELL.

SO I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, AS SOME OF YOU, IF YOU WORK DOWNTOWN, YOU KNOW,

[00:50:01]

AND SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW SOME OF THE REASONING, WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

DID THEY GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHEN THIS WAS TO TAKE EFFECT? I BELIEVE THEY'RE STARTING SOME OF IT THE END OF THIS MONTH, EXCEPT FOR DAYS THAT THE WORK IS SUPPOSED TO BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 20TH AND FINISH OCTOBER 20TH IS MY UNDERSTANDING FROM ATD.

AND I, I AGREE WITH YOU COMMISSIONER.

I, I DON'T KNOW.

I DON'T THINK THAT THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON IT, AT LEAST NOT FORMALLY.

UM, W WHEN YOU SAID URBAN TRANSPORTATION, DID YOU WANT SOMEBODY, WERE YOU SUGGESTING SOMEBODY FROM UTC OR SOMEBODY FROM THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT? I THINK MAYBE, UH, DIRECTOR SPILLER OR SOMEBODY WOULD BE THE MOST HELPFUL? YEAH, I BELIEVE SOMEONE LIKE DIRECTORS OR I BELIEVE IT WAS DAVID TAYLOR MAY HAVE BEEN IN CHARGE OF THAT INITIATIVE.

CAUSE I I'D ALSO BE CHAIRMAN.

I'D ALSO BE INTERESTED IN AN UPDATE ON THAT PROGRAM, MONA CHRISTINE, COULD WE SEE IF WE CAN GET THAT SCHEDULED FOR OUR NEXT MEETING GIVEN THE TIME SENSITIVE NATURE OF THE PROJECT? ABSOLUTELY.

THANK YOU.

OTHER COMMISSIONERS,

[7. Potential Future Agenda Items]

UM, YOU KNOW, AUGUST YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, 75% OF THE MUSIC IN USE, YOU KNOW, THE POSSIBILITY OF THEM CLOSING DOWN.

IT SEEMS LIKE IT MIGHT BE RELEVANT THAT WE HEAR FROM, UH, THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT AS WELL, UM, AND GET AN UPDATE FROM THEM AND, UM, WHETHER THAT'S A TUBER NOVEMBER, UM, I THINK IT SEEMS KIND OF TIMELY FOR US RIGHT NOW TO OKAY.

SHARE YOUR ACTUALLY AND VICE CHAIR.

YOU'RE ACTUALLY MOVING INTO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SEVEN WITH CONVERSATION.

SO DO YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE FORWARD TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN? YES, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN.

AND SO WE'VE GOT THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT AND THE CON CONGRESS, THE NEW HEALTHY STREETS ITEM SO FAR.

DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT MIGHT BE MORE TIME SENSITIVE? I KNOW IT'S CHALLENGING WITH US MEETING REMOTELY AND, UM, NOT HAVING THE CHANCE TO DIALOGUE ON A LOT OF THIS STUFF.

AND WE DO HAVE THINGS THAT ARE QUIETLY SNEAKING UP ON US.

SO YOUR ITEMS THAT YOU ALL ARE AWARE OF, THAT WE'RE MISSING OUT ON BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF OUR REMOTE MEETINGS AND EVERYBODY ELSE'S REMOTE MEETINGS, UM, PLEASE DO BRING THEM TO OUR ATTENTION SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THEM BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING LIKE THE HEALTHY STREETS INITIATIVE WHERE THIS TO GET BIAS WHERE THE DOWNTOWN AND, UM, WOULD THERE BE DERELICT OR NOT ADDRESSING SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

UM, SO IF YOU DO HAVE THINGS THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO BRING THIS, BRING IT TO OUR ATTENTION SO WE CAN BE THE BEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE PERMISSION THAT WE CAN BE FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS.

UM, ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT'S A POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? WELL, HEARING NONE, IT'S THREE 54.

UM, I WILL GO AHEAD AND DO SEE IF I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

I SO MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

DO I? AND, UH, COMMISSIONER SCORNING A SECONDED.

THANK YOU AGAIN.

I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND YOUR PARTICIPATION.

UH, I DO WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH EACH OF YOU, UM, AS WE GO FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT YOU'RE BEING HEARD AND THAT YOU FEEL LIKE, UM, YOU'RE BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WAY YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN ALL THE COMMISSION.

AND WE'LL GET THOSE SET UP HERE BEFORE TOO LONG.

UH, BUT I APPRECIATE EACH OF YOU AND YOUR, YOUR ENGAGEMENT.