[00:00:02]
SO, UH, TODAY IS MONDAY, JANUARY 25TH, 2021.
UH, THIS IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION.
UH, IT'S SET ON MONDAY, WEDNESDAY OF THIS WEEK, UH, IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE, UH, CLARK'S, UH, NATIONAL MEETING, AS WELL AS THE US CONFERENCE OF MAYORS MEETING.
I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE ACCOMMODATION, UM, COLLEAGUES.
UM, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE, UH, AGENDA THAT WE HAVE IN FRONT OF US RECOGNIZING THAT, UH, THERE'S, UH, AT NOON TODAY, UM, UM, I NEED TO LEAVE TO DO THE WEEKLY COVID CALL THAT HAPPENS AT MONDAY AT NOON.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE THREE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL THAT NEED TO LEAVE TO GO TO THE CAP METRO MEETING.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT THE CAP METRO PEOPLE WILL BE COMING BACK.
I THINK THEY'RE MEETING EXTENDS INTO THE, UH, INTO THE AFTERNOON, SO WE'RE GOING TO LOSE PEOPLE, UH, BASICALLY AT NOON.
SO THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE WORK THROUGH THE AGENDA THAT WE HAVE? UH, WE HAVE, UH, UH, THREE SCHEDULED BRIEFINGS, LEGISLATIVE, THE, UH, CHAMBER AND UPDATE ON HOMELESSNESS.
WE HAVE TWO ITEMS OF COUNCIL DISCUSSION, THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL AND MAYOR PRO TEM.
UH, AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, ITEMS RELATED TO THE, UH, UH, POTENTIAL MAY 21ST, UH, ELECTION AS WELL AS, UH, MOTEL, UH, UH, LEGAL ISSUES.
AND THEN WE HAVE PULLED ITEMS AND WE HAVE A FAIR NUMBER OF PULLED ITEMS TODAY.
UH, AND IT LOOKS AS IF ONE OF THEM HEALTH SOUTH COULD BE A, UH, YOU KNOW, A SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATION.
UH, IF, IF, IF HISTORY HOLDS, UM, IT LOOKS AS IF, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, THE DISCUSSION, THE ELECTION OF MAYOR PRO TEM IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD PUSH TILL THURSDAY AND SOME ARE REQUESTS FOR THAT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO PUSH THAT ONE UNTIL THURSDAY.
THERE IS THE, UH, BRIEFING ON THE, UH, ETHNIC, UH, CHAMBER, UH, ISSUE.
UH, THAT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA TIL NEXT WEEK.
I WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE PUSH THAT TILL LATER IN THE DAY OR INTO THURSDAY, UH, OR AT LEAST NOT, NOT START ON THAT, UH, THAT WE BEGAN REAL FAST TO SEE, UH, I WANT TO JUST TOUCH BASE ON THE INNER GOVERNMENT THAT THE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AND THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL SEE IF WE CAN RESOLVE THAT.
CAUSE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO REPORT THAT TO THE CLERK AND THEN GO INTO THE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE AND THEN THE HOMELESSNESS, UH, UPDATE.
UH, AND I DO THAT, ASSUMING THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A LONG CONVERSATION AND THE APPOINTMENTS, IF IT IS THEN WE'LL, WE'LL PULL THAT BACK FOR THE BRIEFINGS.
YES, KATHY, I'M JUST WONDERING ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEMS. I KNOW ONE OF THEM IS CAN YOU GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO YOUR MICROPHONE? SURE.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF IT MAKES SENSE.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SUGGEST, I WONDER IF IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE THE EXECUTIVE SESSION RELATED TO THE AGENDA ITEM OR EARLIER IN THE DAY I'M CONCERNED.
I MEAN, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A SCHEDULE BEFORE US TODAY THAT USUALLY TAKES US UP BRIEFINGS AND A BUNCH OF HOLD ITEMS AND SEVERAL REALLY MEDIA EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO I THINK THE IDEA OF THAT WE MIGHT END BY NOON IS PROBABLY AN, A HOMELESSNESS BRIEF, YOU KNOW, WITH ONE OF THOSE BRIEFINGS BEING HOMELESSNESS.
I THINK IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE TO WRAP UP BY NOON, UM, AND EXECUTIVE SESSION SINCE IT USUALLY HAPPENS OVER LUNCHTIME, BUT IS SETTING US UP FOR THE CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING THURSDAY.
I WONDER IF WE COULD HAVE THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION ABOUT, ABOUT THE HOTEL MOTEL STRATEGY THIS MORNING SO THAT WE CAN KNOCK THAT OUT AND THEN MAYBE MOVE ON TO THE, UM, SOME OF THE PULLED ITEMS I PULLED THE HEALTH SOUTH, BUT I, I HAVE, UM, ASKED LOTS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS IN THE PAST.
I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY TODAY.
I REALLY, UM, I MEAN, IT MIGHT BE PROMPTED BY DISCUSSION OF MY COLLEAGUES, BUT I, I REALLY JUST WANTED TO PULL IT, TO SEE IF ANYONE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MESSAGE BOARD POSTS THAT I PUT FORWARD IN DECEMBER AND JUST, UM, I WILL HAVE SOME UPDATES TO THAT THAT I CAN RUN THROUGH REALLY SUPER QUICKLY.
SO FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T HAVE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT WITH YOU.
I THINK THAT THE EXECUTIVE SESSION OR MOTEL STRATEGY, HOTEL QUESTIONS, LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO THAT NEEDS TO COME UP BEFORE NOW.
I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST, COULD WE NOT JUST DO THAT NOW, KNOCK IT OUT.
AND THEN, AND THEN COME BACK THEN WE KNOW HOW MUCH TIME WE HAVE FOR THE REST OF THE MORNING ITEMS. THEY COULD DO THAT.
I MEAN, I THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD ALSO HAVE TIME TO, TO
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REALLY KNOCK OUT THOSE BRIEFINGS AND BELTS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.UH, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY REVERSE THAT ORDER IF THAT WAS THE DESIRE OF COUNCIL, UM, MCKENZIE.
I JUST WANTED TO YOU'RE MUTED.
YOU JUST, YOU WERE ON, OR YOU WENT OFF, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT MOST OF THE ITEMS I PULLED, I JUST HAVE ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS FOR EACH, SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH THEM PRETTY QUICKLY.
ALISON, UM, I JUST WANT TO SUGGEST THAT PERHAPS WE COULD, UM, HAVE THE HOMELESS BRIEFING, BUT NOT ASK OUR QUESTIONS AND THEN GO IN BECAUSE THEY MAY ANSWER SOME OTHER QUESTIONS THAT WE WANT, UM, ANSWERED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AND THEN WE COULD RETURN AT A LATER POINT TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THEM.
I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE, IF WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE MOTELS, HAVING A BETTER SENSE OF WHERE WE'RE WITH THIS STRATEGY BEFORE WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, I THINK WOULD BE GOOD.
UM, LET'S DO THAT AND LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE WATCH THE CLOCK AND KATHY I'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE AMPLE TIME TO BE ABLE TO GET INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION BEFORE NOON.
[D1. lntergovermental Entities and Council Committees memberships.]
RESPECT TO THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL STUFF AND COMMITTEES, I'VE HANDED THAT OUT, UH, TO, UH, IT WAS PUT ON THE, UH, THE MESSAGE BOARD, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR AND FOR INNER GOVERNMENTAL, UH, ISSUES.UH, AND THEN, UM, UH, SUGGESTIONS WITH RESPECT TO, UH, UH, COMMITTEES IN THE LIFE OFFICE.
I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT I THINK PAIGE IS WAITING OVER PAGES WAITING, RIGHT.
SHE'S IN, BUT, UM, SHE'S WAITING TO BE MOVED OVER.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY OF THE ELEMENTS WITH RESPECT TO, UH, THAT MESSAGE BOARD POSTS THAT, THAT, THAT I HAVE, THAT THEY WANT TO, UH, DISCUSS OR RACE? KATHY? I NEED TO CHECK ONE THING, SO I DON'T NEED TO GO FIRST.
IF ANYONE, AS HAS AN EYE, YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE TO RAISE YOUR HAND SPEND.
UM, ONE OF THE, I DID WANT TO POINT OUT LAST TIME WE DID THE PSYCHIATRIC STAKEHOLDERS COMMITTEE MEETING.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN IS OUR DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVE.
I HAD INFORMALLY SERVED ON IT IN THE PAST AND THEN AT ONE OF THEIR MEETINGS, CAUSE I TRY TO ATTEND WHEN I CAN.
UM, THEY INFORMED ME THAT THEY THOUGHT I WAS ALSO A PART OF IT.
SO JUST, JUST, UM, BY WAY OF LETTING MY COLLEAGUES KNOW, I, I KIND OF, I GO TO THAT ONE TOO.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I AM A SECOND DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVE WHERE I JUST ATTEND.
I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN MEETING FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
THIS IS WHAT WAS, UH, ITEM NUMBER 26.
UM, WE ALLOWED TO IDENTIFY, I GUESS IF THEY'RE JUST APPROVED, UH, I HAVE NO PROBLEM AT ALL.
KATHY, ADDING YOU TO THE LIST WITH AN A, IF WE'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE DESIGNEE, I DON'T KNOW WE ARE.
UM, YES, I THINK THAT THE WAY THEY OPERATE AND I KNOW THAT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON WAS INTERESTED IN IT TOO.
SO YOU MIGHT JUST ADD ALL THREE OF US.
UM, IT'S A PRETTY INFORMAL MEETING.
I THINK THAT AMONGST THE THREE OF US, WE CAN ALL PARTICIPATE.
UM, AND ASSUMING THAT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON IS, IS, IS INTERESTED.
I'M NOT, SHE MAY TOO BUSY THIS TERM.
I TALK TO HER, WELL, LET'S DO THIS.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND ADD COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON LET'S HAVE ME.
AND THAT WAY EACH ONE OF US WOULD HAVE DIFFERENT THE TOUR OF COUNCIL, UH, APPROVAL ON THAT, UH, FOR WHEN WE'RE ABLE TO ATTEND.
SO ADDING, SO WE'LL HAVE FOUR PEOPLE IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS ON THE LIST? ALISON? UM, I HAD A QUICK QUESTION ON THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL.
WHAT THAT IS GREG, YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THAT? YEAH.
THE COMMUNITY JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL HAS EXISTED FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
IT WAS FORMED BY THE FORMER DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
UM, THE NEW DISTRICT ATTORNEY HASN'T, UH, YET ANNOUNCED EXACTLY HOW, OR IF HE'LL CHANGE THE PLANS RELATED TO THAT, BUT CURRENTLY MYSELF ACM, UH ARIANO AND CHIEF, UM, ARE THE CITY'S REPRESENTATIVES THERE.
THE JUDGES HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE, THE SHERIFF
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SITS ON THAT COUNCIL.UM, AND IT'S A PLACE FOR SINCE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE.
UH, UM, LEADERSHIP IS SPLIT AMONGST CITY AND COUNTY.
IT'S THE COORDINATING BODY FOR THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, KATHY? YES.
I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES, WHY IT SAYS ALL COUNCIL IS THAT ONE WHERE WE LEARNED WE DON'T HAVE A RAP OR WHAT, WHAT IS, IF ANYBODY COULD SIGN UP TO, TO ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE.
AND SO, SO THERE WAS NEVER A DESIGNATED CONTACT FOR THAT GROUP.
AND I KNOW A LOT OF, A LOT OF US ON THE DIOCESE HAVE PARTICIPATED.
I ACTUALLY HAVEN'T GONE TO THEIR CONFERENCES, BUT I HEAR THEY'RE REALLY VALUABLE.
AND IF WE EVER CAN TRAVEL AGAIN, I LOOK FORWARD TO DOING THAT, LET ME TRAVEL SOON.
AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT FOR EVERYBODY, IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE THAT, THAT YOU SHOULD TRY TO DO THAT.
AND THERE WAS ONE OTHER, I THINK IT WAS THE CAP COG THINGS I JUST WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, RIGHT? WHY ARE THERE FOUR? SO CAP COCK ONCE I SEE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE? WHAT, HOW THAT LONG AGO I WAS ON CAP COGS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND I THOUGHT THAT GENERAL ASSEMBLY WAS TYPICALLY WHERE TYPICALLY POSITIONS HELD BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO HAVE WE, ARE WE SUGGESTING A MOVE AWAY FROM THAT MODEL BY APPOINTING FOUR MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL INSTEAD TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY? WELL, IN MY SIX YEARS WE HAVEN'T APPOINTED SOMEBODY FROM THE COMMUNITY.
SO I WAS ON AWARE OF THAT AS A, AS A PRACTICE, KATHY.
SO, I MEAN, I WAS JUST UNAWARE OF THAT.
WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT IN THE LAST, I THINK WE SHOULD.
I THINK WE SHOULD JUST LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE IT IS A NICE OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE LIKE CAN, AND SOME OF THOSE OTHER PLACES, UM, ARE JUST REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TO, TO SHOW LEADERSHIP.
AND I, IF I'M REMEMBERING THAT GENERAL ASSEMBLY CORRECTLY, I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND I KNOW AS WE'VE, YOU KNOW, THERE'VE BEEN A COUPLE OF INTER-GOVERNMENTAL BOARDS WHERE WE NOW FILL IT WITH A COUNCIL MEMBER RATHER THAN A COMMUNITY MEMBER.
AND JUST IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, REALLY GROWING COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND LEADERSHIP, I THINK WE SHOULD AT LEAST HAVE THAT CONVERSATION IF WE COULD THINK ABOUT AND GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF CAP COG BETWEEN HERE TO STAY, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD, UH, AND I, UM, WANTED TO SAY, AND IT GETS TERRIFIC.
I'D LOVE TO SEE, UM, NEW MEMBERS ON THE HATE CRIMES, TASK FORCE.
I HAD SERVED ON IT IN THE PAST AND THEN REALIZED THAT WE, WE ONLY HAD ONE, ONE OF OUR DAYAS, UM, COMING AFTER I STEPPED OFF.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT THAT WILL BE FULLY, THAT OUR COUNCIL WILL BE FULLY REPRESENTED AGAIN ON THE HATE CRIMES TASK FORCE.
SO THANKS, THANKS TO, UM, NEW MEMBERS, COUNCIL AT MADISON AND FUNDUS FOR, FOR JOINING THAT.
SO, KENNY, I WAS WONDERING HOW TO WEAR THAT TRADITION.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE THIS LIST, BUT CAN I WORK WITH YOU TO LOOK AT THAT, TALK TO THE CAB COCK PERSON, TALK TO, ANDREW'S GOING TO BE ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THAT AND MAYBE COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL WITH A, WITH A, WITH A DIFFERENT LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES.
I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE INFO THAN I SORT OF SHARED.
I CAN'T REMEMBER EVEN WHO THOSE FOLKS WERE, BUT, UM, YEAH, I'LL TEE THAT UP FOR US TO TALK ABOUT, UM, KENZIE.
I WOULD LIKE TO SERVE, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTRIBUTING ON A MOBILITY COMMITTEE, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS AUDIT AND FINANCE.
I WAS HOPING THAT WITH MY APPOINTMENT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, I COULD ALSO SERVE ON CAP COGS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
THAT'S A CHOICE THAT THE CAP COG EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MAKES NOT US.
UH, SO, UM, UM, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAD, HAD REACHED OUT AND, AND, AND HAD, UH, ASKED ABOUT, UH, AN AVAILABILITY FOR THAT.
AND, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY, AND ANNA HAD EXPRESSED AN INTEREST.
UH, SO THAT'S WHY I HAD DONE THAT.
UH, BUT THAT'S, UH, A POSITION.
I THINK THAT YOU NEED TO BE LOBBYING THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF CAP COCK TO, BECAUSE THAT'S A CHOICE THAT THEY MAKE.
I HAVE SPOKEN WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ABOUT THAT.
I WAS HOPING THAT MAYBE I COULD JUST KEEP MY SPOT ALSO WITH THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN CASE I'M ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT AT LEAST HAPPENS IN EVEN GIVEN THE CONVERSATION WE HAD WITH KATHY.
IS THAT CHEMICAL MAINTAIN YOU IN THAT PLACE AND ANYBODY ELSE ON THIS LIST? YES, I AM.
I WOULD JUST SUPPORT KEEPING MCKINSEY
[00:15:01]
ON THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND I'M HAPPY TO WORK WITH MCKINSEY.UM, I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE POSITION, BUT I'M SURE THAT I CAN WORK WITH MCKINSEY AND WE CAN FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, TO, UM, SHARE SOME RESPONSIBILITIES.
I WANT YOU TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
AND BY THE WAY, I THINK I SAID TO YOU THAT IS DECIDED BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND IT'S NOT RIGHT TO DECIDE THAT BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, UH, AND WHOEVER THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PICKS IS THE PERSON THAT WOULD, UH, BE IN THAT SPOT.
I THINK, YEAH, I MAY BE MIXING THOSE UP.
SO I LOOK FOR, TO INFO ON THAT.
I DID ALSO JUST WANT TO SAY ABOUT THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE.
I THINK LAST TIME THE COUNCIL HAD DESIGNATED YOU AS THE REP, UM, AND ALSO HAD DESIGNATED, UM, ME AS THE REPRESENTATIVE SINCE I REPRESENT THE REST OF DOWNTOWN.
AND THEN WE LEARNED THAT THERE'S REALLY JUST ONE SPOT AND THE SPOT ISN'T A VOTING MEMBER.
SO JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I WOULD LIKE TO BE DESIGNATED AS A NON OFFICIAL MEMBER, UM, JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR CAUSE I DO, I DO ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS REGULARLY.
I'LL DO THAT KATHY AND I WILL ALSO CONVEY THAT TO THEM.
AND I THINK GENERALLY IT MIGHT BE USEFUL, UM, AS THINGS MOVE FORWARD FOR US TO REALLY TALK WITH THE DA ABOUT HOW THOSE, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY POSITIONS THE CITY HAS AND, AND WHAT KIND OF ROLE THEY PLAY ON THAT BOARD, GIVEN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT AND SOME OF THE, IT HAS A REAL, YOU KNOW, REAL CLEAR TIE TO THE CITY.
HOW'D YOUR IDEA IN THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
SO THE AUDIT AND FINANCE MEMBERSHIP STAYS ALTAR POOL ADLER, TOBO DISHY KELLY, WE'RE ALL ON AUSTIN ENERGY.
WE'RE OVERSIGHT ADS FOR US TO KITCHEN, WATER POOL, AND ELLIS, UH, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
THAT'S PHILANTHROPISTS AND ME TOO.
TOBO HARPER, MADISON, AND KITCHEN HOUSING AND PLANNING, UM, IS, UM, UH, FACADE, RENTERIA, LS, HARPER, MADISON, AND KITCHEN.
UM, MOBILITY IS A LS, KELLY KITCHEN AND ALTAR AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
UH, WE HAVE HARPER, MADISON, AND COSARA AT THIS POINT, UH, DOES ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO, UH, JOIN AND BE PART OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE? I THOUGHT I HEARD MAY A BIT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY WANTED TO BE ON THAT.
N KELLY, ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO BE PART OF THE COMMITTEE TO COMMITTEE? I ANTICIPATE ATTENDING A LOT AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL, AS WE'VE SEEN, UH, OKAY.
WE'LL START THEM WITH THOSE THREE.
IF THAT CHANGES, JUST LET US KNOW.
THERE ARE TWO MORE AVAILABLE SPOTS THERE.
WITH THAT, I WILL THEN REPORT THAT TO THE CLERK, UH, AS, UM, WHAT WE'RE DOING.
[B1. Legislative Update. (Staff Briefing)]
MANAGER, LET'S GO TO THE, UH, UH, PRESENTATIONS HERE THIS MORNING.LET'S DO THE LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATION.
UH, WE'LL THEN HAVE THE HOMELESSNESS PRESENTATION, BUT HOLD QUESTIONS.
HOW SO WE CAN GET INTO A EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UM, WE'LL MAKE THAT CALL JUST AS WE'RE GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION IN CASE WE CAN LET THE STAFF MANAGER THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, AND GOOD MORNING.
THIS IS OUR FIRST, UH, FORMAL WORK SESSION OF 2021.
AND IT'S GREAT TO SEE EVERYONE.
AND AS THE MAYOR SAID, WE DO HAVE A PACKED AGENDA FOR TODAY.
UH, SO WE'LL DIVE RIGHT INTO IT.
AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LEGISLATIVE SESSION THAT HAS TECHNICALLY STARTED, BUT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY IN THE WORKS AND WE WANT IT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE USE THIS TIME EARLY IN OUR MEETINGS, UH, FOR 2021 TO BRIEF YOU ON SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD AND THE WORK THAT OUR INTER GOVERNMENT RELATIONS TEAM WILL BE DOING.
AND SO WELL WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO HAVE IT BRING OVER OUR DIRECTOR, UH, BREE FRANCO, UH, WHO WILL BE WALKING US THROUGH A PRESENTATION, UH, AT THAT TIME.
GOOD MORNING, AMERICA COUNCIL, BRIEF BRONCO AND OUR GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I'LL GO THROUGH THIS QUICKLY, SINCE, AS YOU ALL SAID, YOU HAVE A BUSY SCHEDULE IN FRONT OF YOU.
I TAKE, CAN YOU PULL UP MY POWERPOINT PLEASE? NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
UM, JUST TO UPDATE YOU ALL VERY QUICKLY, AS WE PREDICTED A REPUBLICAN DATE, FEELIN WAS ELECTED THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.
IT WAS AN ALMOST UNANIMOUS VOTE JUST TO VOTING AGAINST HIM.
UM, ALSO THEY ARE ALREADY GRAPPLING WITH THE STATE BUDGET, UM, BEFORE THEIR BUDGETS CAME OUT, THEY ALREADY HAD ABOUT
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A $1 BILLION SHORTFALL PROJECTED NOW WITH THE TWO BUDGETS, WHICH, UH, GIVE AN OUTLINE OF ALL THE THINGS THEY WOULD LIKE TO FIND THERE IS ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL 7 BILLION.THEY, I THINK THEY WOULD HAVE TO FIND IF THEY WANTED TO FIND ALL THOSE BUDGETS.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY WILL, THAT'S THEIR STARTING PLACE.
AND WE'LL SEE WHERE THEY END UP.
UM, SENATE COMMITTEES WERE ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 15TH AND THOSE WERE DISTRIBUTED TO YOU ALL.
AND HOUSE COMMITTEE PREFERENCE CARDS WERE DUE LAST WEEK ON THE 22ND.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THOSE HOUSE COMMITTEES YET, BUT THERE'LL BE FORTHCOMING.
UM, THEY'RE ALREADY OFF TO THE STRONG CLIP OF THEIR BILL FILING THEY'RE AT, AS OF JANUARY 21ST, THEY HAVE FILED ALMOST 1700 BILLS.
UH, REMEMBER THEIR NORM IS FILE ABOUT 7,500 BILLS.
SO WE'RE A QUARTER OF THE WAY THERE.
AND ALSO REMEMBER THE MAJORITY OF THOSE BILLS ARE FILED DURING THE LAST 10 DAYS AND BILL FILING, WHICH GOES UP TO ABOUT MARCH 10TH AND THAT'S WHEN THEY DROP ABOUT 4,000 BILLS.
SO WE STILL HAVE A WAYS TO GO ON WHAT'S TO COME.
UH, I THINK AFTER THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS COME OUT, YOU'LL SEE A STRONG INCREASE IN BILL FILING AS PEOPLE WILL FILE BILLS TO MATCH THE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS.
AND THEN WE'RE ALSO STILL WAITING FOR THE GOVERNOR TO DO HIS DATA, THE STATE, WHICH MAY PRODUCE MORE LEGISLATION, UH, BOTH CHAMBERS WILL CONVENE TOMORROW AND THE HOUSE HAS ALREADY ANNOUNCED THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS AND WILL NOT.
UM, AS WELL, THE PROTOCOL FOR HOW THEY'RE HANDLING COVID AND OTHER RULE MAKING AUTHORITY AS PREDICTED THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR DID REQUEST IN THE SENATE ACQUIESCE TO LOWER THE THREE 53 FISTS THRESHOLDS AMONGST THEM, THE SENATORS FROM 19 TO 18 VOTES AFTER COVID PRO PROTOCOL, UM, SENATORS AND STAFF ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE A COVID TEST BEFORE ENTERING THE CHAMBER.
AND BEFORE ENTERING A COMMITTEE HEARING, UM, IT SAYS STAFF MUST BE TESTED THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, BUT THEY ALSO MUST BE TESTED FOR, UM, ACCESSING A HEARING OR CHAMBER, UM, IN THE HOUSE.
THERE IS TESTING THAT IS DONE AT THE MEMBERS, UM, HONOR THAT THEY HAVE DONE IT.
SO IT'S NOT MANDATED, BUT ALL THE HOUSE MEMBERS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH COVID-19 TESTING AND HOPEFULLY ARE USING IT.
UM, HOUSE MEMBERS AND STAFF, THE PUBLIC WILL BE QUITE AWARE OF FACE MASKS, BUT THEY ARE ONLY GOING TO ALLOW VIRTUAL TESTIMONY IN THE HOUSE FOR INVITED WITNESSES, MEANING WITNESSES THAT THE COMMITTEE CHAIR INVITES AND FOR REDISTRICTING, UM, WELL, I'M SORRY IN THE SENATE, THEY'RE GONNA ALLOW IT FOR REDISTRICTING.
UM, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY VIRTUAL TESTIMONY THEY'RE GOING TO ALLOW.
AND SO IT'S STILL GOING TO BE A DIFFICULT SESSION ABOUT MANAGING HOW TO TESTIFY WITH COVID STILL AT THE HIGH PACE THAT WE HAVE IT.
RIGHT NOW, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, YOU GUYS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS SLIDE.
THIS IS THE PYRAMID I PRESENT TO YOU ALL.
EVERY SESSION OF THE KEY PRIORITY ISSUES WILL BE, WE ARE ANTICIPATING FROM THE CAPITAL.
THE ONES IN YELLOW MEANS THAT THERE IS A BILL THAT'S ALREADY BEEN FILED IN THAT AREA.
UM, AS I EXPLAINED TO YOU ALL BEFORE THAT TOP-LINE IS JUST PICK YOUR FLAVOR UP.
PREEMPTION ACTUALLY SHOULD ADD A SQUARE ON THERE.
THAT INCLUDES HOMELESSNESS, PREEMPTION, MEANING THAT, THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS, UH, TWEETED REPEATEDLY ABOUT HIS DESIRE TO OVERTURN THE CITY'S BAN AT CAMPING ORDINANCE.
UM, HE HASN'T FILED ANYTHING YET, BUT I EXPECT WE'LL HEAR ABOUT IT.
IN HIS DAY STATE, WE HAVE SEEN A COUPLE OF BILLS FILED RELATED TO POLICE REFORM PREEMPTION SAYING THAT CITIES CAN'T CUT THEIR BUDGETS.
AND IF THEY DO, THERE ARE CERTAIN, UM, CONSEQUENCES FOR THAT COVID PREEMPTION HAS TO DO WITH BOTH THE GOVERNOR'S AUTHORITY AND EVEN MAYORS AND COUNTY JUDGES AUTHORITIES.
WE HAVE SEEN SOME BILLS FILED THAT WOULDN'T ADMIT THAT OR PENALIZE CERTAIN ACTIONS TAKEN BY THOSE OFFICIALS.
UM, YOU ALL KNOW WHAT THEY'RE CALLING THE TAXPAYER FUNDED LOBBYING BILL.
WE'RE CALLING THE COMMUNITY ADVOCACY BAN.
THAT BILL HAS BEEN FILED BY SENATOR HALL AND REPRESENTED MILTON ALREADY.
AND WE'VE ALREADY SEEN SOME LEGISLATION RELATED TO AUSTIN ENERGY THAT WOULD SEEK TO EITHER DEREGULATE OR PUT UNDER PFC AUTHORITY, AUSTIN ENERGY.
ALSO, BILL IS RELATED TO LIMITING OR PENALIZING AUSTIN ENERGY FOR USING RENEWABLE RESOURCES OR AS THE BILL STATES, NOT JUST USING GAS AS THE SOURCE OF FUEL.
UM, THOSE ARE THE BILLS WE'VE ALREADY SEEN.
YOU'LL SEE THESE BILLS WEEKLY IN THE UPDATES THAT MY OFFICE PROVIDES EVERY FRIDAY.
THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, JUST GO INTO MORE DETAILS ON THESE BILLS AND PROVIDE, UM, MORE DESCRIPTION OF IT.
[00:25:01]
ARE THESE BILLS, WHICH AGAIN, I JUST TALKED ABOUT IN THE PYRAMID.IT, IF YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD ONE OR TWO MORE SLIDES, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE SOME OF OUR PRIORITY LEGISLATION THAT THE COUNCIL ASKS FOR OUR DELEGATION AND OTHERS TO FILE HAS BEEN FILED AS WELL, UM, RELATED TO TRY TO REMOVE THE BAN ON INCLUSIONARY ZONING THAT HAS BEEN FILED.
THEY REPRESENTING THE CONCEPT OF GETTING, BEING ABLE TO HAVE MORE FINANCIAL TOOLS FOR CLOUD COMPUTING HAS BEEN FILED BY CENTERS, AFRIDI AND REPRESENTED ISRAEL.
NEXT SLIDE, AS WELL AS THE OTHER, SOME OTHER INITIATIVES RELATED TO ALLOWING PUBLIC HEALTH, TO BECOME A PROVIDER FOR MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT.
THIS DOESN'T EXPAND MEDICAID, BUT IT DOES ALLOW PUBLIC HEALTH TO USE THAT, DO USE THAT HEALTH CARE SYSTEM TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES THAT IT MIGHT LOSE FUNDING ON THROUGH, UM, LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDING, THE PRIMA FACIA SPEED LIMIT BILL YOU'RE ALL REALLY FAMILIAR WITH.
AND THEN I THINK THIS IS THE LAST SLIDE.
SO LIKE I SAID, SHORT AND QUICK, I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU, MAYOR FOR QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PRESENTATION.
WOULD YOU PLEASE TAKE THIS? THANK YOU.
REPORT OFF OF THOSE SCREEN COLLEAGUES, IS ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR BRI AT THIS POINT? DOESN'T SEE, OR APPEAR TO BE ANY, OKAY.
AND, UM, GO FORTH AND, AND THANK YOU ALL.
[B3. Update on homelessness related issues. (Staff update) (Part 1 of 2)]
COUNCIL.WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION, WHICH IS B3 THE UPDATE ON HOMELESSNESS RELATED ISSUES.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE WELCOMED OUR NEW HOMELESS STRATEGY, OFFICER DIANA GRAY, UH, TO OUR TEAM.
AND WE ARE JUST GRATEFUL FOR HER TO JOIN US AT THE CITY AND REALLY THE DEPTH OF PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION THAT SHE'S BEEN ABLE TO BRING TO THE CITY IS EXTENSIVE.
AND WE'RE THRILLED TO HAVE HER COME FORWARD TODAY.
TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, WHAT SHE'S LEARNED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS AND ALSO, UH, WHAT CURRENT PROJECTS THAT THEY ARE WORKING ON AND THE PATH FORWARD.
UM, BUT TO BEGIN WITH, I'M GOING TO START WITH, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, HAYDEN HOWARD AND ALLOW HER TO TEE UP THIS DISCUSSION, UH, BEFORE DIANA JOINS US DIRECTOR HAYDEN HOWARD.
UM, ABOUT A YEAR AGO, UM, WE SENT A MEMO TO MARY COUNCIL TO TALK ABOUT THE REALIGNMENT OF THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFF AT THAT TIME, WE CREATED THE HOMELESS SERVICE DIVISION AND OFTEN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE LEADS FOR THIS PRIORITY AREA.
AND WE BEGAN PROVIDING WEEKLY UPDATES AND DISCUSSING STRATEGIES IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN THE WORK THAT WAS HAPPENING WITHIN THE CITY.
AT THAT TIME, WE FORMALIZED THE CITY MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE TEAM AND WE ASSIGNED THREE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES AND WE BEGAN OUR WORK WITH OUR EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS IN FEBRUARY OF 2020, BELLA CARMEN WAS NAMED THE INTERIM HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER.
WE WANT TO THANK HER FOR THE WORK THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO DO BY STANDING UP TO THE VISION AND CONTINUE TO MOVE US FORWARD.
WE WELCOMED THE CONSULTANTS IN MARCH OF 2020 AND BEGIN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM.
AT THAT TIME, WE WERE HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT OUR MOTEL OPPOSITIONS AND MOVING THAT INITIATIVE FORWARD AS WELL.
AND THEN AS YOU ALL KNOW, COVID-19 EFFORTS BEGAN SHORTLY AFTERWARDS.
WE ARE VERY EXCITED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, AS DIANA GRACE HAS MOVED INTO THE POSITION OF OUR HOMELESS OFFICER AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER WITH MAYOR AND COUNCIL, OUR COMMUNITY ACROSS THE CITY TO MOVE US FORWARD AT THIS TIME, I WILL TRANSITION TO DIANA.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE A PRESENTATION THAT CAN BE SHARED ON SCREEN.
SO FIRST OF ALL, I JUST, UM, WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AS YOUR HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER, BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE PRESENTATION.
UM, TODAY MARKS THREE WEEKS, UH, IN THE POSITION.
AND, UH, I HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND SPEAK WITH SEVERAL OF YOU ONE-ON-ONE OR IN A MEETINGS
[00:30:01]
ABOUT THE MANY, UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY CURRENTLY.AND I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, UM, THAT HAS BEEN SO IMPORTANT IN INFORMING, UH, THE BEGINNING OF MY WORK AND THAT, UH, I DO INTEND TO MAKE TIME FOR EACH COUNCIL MEMBER TO JUST SIT DOWN AND LISTEN TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR DISTRICT AND ANY SPECIFIC CONCERNS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, I HAVE BEEN AT, UH, IN AUSTIN FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS AND I HAVE BEEN DOING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND WORK IN HOMELESSNESS FOR ABOUT THE LAST 20.
SO MY BACKGROUND, UH, REALLY STARTED WITH WORK IN THE SPRINGDALE WEBER BELL NEIGHBOR NEIGHBORHOOD, AND IN ST JOHN'S DOING FIRST TIME HOME OWNERSHIP, UM, FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, UH, AND FROM THERE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A COUPLE OF NATIONAL NONPROFITS, UH, ENTERPRISE COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT IS REALLY FOCUSED ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING GENERALLY.
AND I, UH, WORKED FOR THEIR LOAN FUND STRUCTURING, UH, HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FINANCE, AND THEN ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO START THE TEXAS OFFICE OF CORPORATION FOR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING, UH, WHICH IS ONE OF THE NATION'S LEADING NONPROFITS AROUND CREATING THAT PERMANENT HOUSING FOR FOLKS WITH, UM, LONG-TERM NEEDS, WHO WILL HAVE ONGOING SERVICE NEEDS AND ONGOING NEEDS FOR, UM, FOR DEEP SUBSIDY.
HAVING SAID THAT, UM, THROUGH THOSE YEARS, WORKING WITH NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, MY WORK WAS REALLY ROOTED IN TEXAS AND CONTINUED TO BE ROOTED IN AUSTIN.
AND SO I STEPPED INTO THIS POSITION KNOWING OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR COMMUNITY PROVIDERS QUITE WELL, UM, AND HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE CITY DIRECTLY OVER THE YEARS.
UM, ALSO, AND SO, UH, ONE OF THE ASSETS THAT I FEEL LIKE I WAS GIVEN TO ME COMING IN IS THAT I KNOW HOW DEDICATED AND BRIGHT, UH, BOTH CITY STAFF AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ARE.
AND SO I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT, UH, MOVING IN THAT WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER VERY WELL.
STEPHANIE MENTIONED IT, BUT I WILL ALSO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BENEFITS, UH, AND TREASURES THAT I'VE HAD OVER TIME WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE HOMELESS SERVICES DIVISION IN THIS FIRST YEAR, AS IT'S BEEN STOOD UP AND WORKING DIRECTLY WITH BELLA CARMEN, WHO HAS CARRIED A TREMENDOUS, INCREDIBLE LOAD AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE JUST A HUGE ASSET TO THE DIVISION.
SO I WANT TO THANK HER FOR HER WORK AND JUST EXPRESS HOW MUCH I VALUE HER.
SO TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS, IS GOING TO BE QUITE HIGH LEVEL AS, AS THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR A LONG TIME, KNOW THAT THE FULL BRIEFING ON HOMELESS ACTIVITIES CAN TAKE HOURS.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY NOT TO DO THAT TODAY, BUT PARTICULARLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A COUPLE OF NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, I THOUGHT WE WOULD DO SOME HIGH LEVEL DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM AND SOME OF THE CITY'S ACTIVITIES.
AND THEN JUST TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT SOME OF THE NEW THINGS THAT ARE UNDERWAY AREAS.
I THINK WE ARE GAINING MOMENTUM AND ALSO SOME OF THE PRIORITIES THAT ARE ON DECK THAT WE HOPE TO TACKLE.
SO WE CAN GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THESE ARE REALLY THE MOST CRITICAL DATA POINTS IN TERMS OF HOMELESSNESS IN AUSTIN ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT, ABOUT 2,500 INDIVIDUALS IN AUSTIN ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND OF THOSE ALMOST 1600 ARE ON SHELTER.
SO THEY'RE EITHER, UM, IN A TENT OR UNDER A BRIDGE OR SLEEPING IN A CAR OR AN ABANDONED BUILDING.
UM, AND WE ALL OF COURSE ARE ACUTELY AWARE OF, UM, CRISIS AROUND UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING RIGHT NOW.
AND THE URGENCY OF CONFRONTING THAT ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT.
OF COURSE THERE ARE 2,500 FOLKS OR SO, BUT PEOPLE CYCLE IN AND OUT OF HOMELESSNESS OVER TIME, OVER THE COURSE OF AN ENTIRE YEAR, WE UNDERSTAND THAT ABOUT 9,000 AUSTINITES EXPERIENCE, AT LEAST ONE DAY OR NIGHT OF HOMELESSNESS, OUR SYSTEM CAPACITY, UM, THE BEDS AND, UM, AND PROGRAM SLOTS THAT WE HAVE TO CONFRONT THIS, UM, ARE UNFORTUNATELY INADEQUATE.
UM, AS MANY COMMUNITIES, UH, CONFRONT, AND WE WILL BE WORKING TO EXPAND THAT YOU HAVE ABOUT 500 EMERGENCY SHELTER BEDS, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE OF COVID-19, THAT NUMBER IS SUBSTANTIALLY
[00:35:01]
REDUCED, UH, TO, UH, REDUCE TRANSMISSION ABOUT 120 TRANSITIONAL HOUSING BEDS.THOSE ARE PRIMARILY FOR, UM, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS AND IN SOME CASES FOR YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS, 463 RAPID REHOUSING, UH, BEDS, AND THEN ABOUT 1100, UM, UNITS OF PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
THE, THESE, THIS DATA REALLY ALL COMES FROM ECHO FROM THEIR VARIOUS HUGGED REPORTING TOOLS, UH, AND THEIR HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM.
SO IT'S BEEN IMPRESSED UPON ME THAT MY TITLE IS THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER, AND WE REALLY WANT THIS DIVISION TO BE ABOUT IS STRATEGY AND COORDINATION.
AND SO IN THINKING ABOUT MY VIEW OF THE KEY ROLES FOR THE DIVISION, THERE ARE THREE AREAS THAT I WANTED TO TOUCH ON BRIEFLY.
ONE IS OBVIOUSLY THE STRATEGY, UM, CENTERPIECE AND PLANNING.
SO WE WANT TO IDENTIFY WHAT OUR BEST, UH, INTERVENTIONS AND STRATEGIES ARE.
WHAT'S REALLY GOING TO WORK FOR US.
AND THEN THINK ABOUT HOW WE FUND THOSE INTERVENTIONS, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LEVERAGING FUNDS FROM THE STATE, THE FEDS AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS WELL, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT, UM, FUNDING IS LIMITED.
AND, UH, WE WANT TO USE OUR DOLLARS TO THE HIGHEST IMPACT.
AND ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL WITH SOME FREQUENCY, UM, DECIDE THAT WE NEED SOME DEEPER KNOWLEDGE AROUND A PARTICULAR TOPIC.
AND SO WE HOPE TO SERVE AS THAT LOCUS OF EXPERTISE, WHERE, UM, WHEN WE, UH, FIND A NEED, WE'RE ABLE TO SOURCE THE BEST EXPERTS IN THE INDUSTRY NATIONWIDE AND BRING THEM INTO WORK WITH US.
UH, BARR, PAPI, AND ASSOCIATES, AND MATT DOHERTY ARE TWO CONSULTANTS THAT HAVE BEEN WITH US RECENTLY AND HAVE DONE, UM, AMAZING WORKFORCE AND REALLY HELPED US, PARTICULARLY DURING THE COVID CRISIS.
YOU MAY ALSO REMEMBER THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS CAME IN AND WORK, WORK WITH US TO, UM, LOOK AT OUR, OUR S UH, SHELTER STRATEGIES AND HOW EFFECTIVE THEY ARE.
THE SECOND PIECE IS THAT CROSS DEPARTMENTAL SUPPORT, THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT IS BEING DONE WITHIN THE CITY ACROSS SO MANY DEPARTMENTS IS, IS STUNNING.
AND, UH, IT TAKES QUITE A BIT OF EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL AWARE OF WHAT WE ARE, UM, EVERYONE IS DOING AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR EFFORTS COMPLIMENT ONE ANOTHER.
AND I THINK IMPORTANTLY ENSURING THAT ACROSS ALL OF THE DIFFERENT MANIFESTATIONS OF OUR WORK AROUND THIS ISSUE, WE ARE EMBODYING OUR VALUES AROUND WHAT OUR GOALS ARE, HOW WE, UM, TREAT AND RESPECT PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, ET CETERA.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE EITHER PROVIDING DIRECT SERVICES OR WORKING IN THE PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT AREA, OF COURSE, WE WILL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH COMMUNICATIONS FUNCTION AND WITH THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE ON ISSUES RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS.
FINALLY, THERE IS A SO MUCH WORK TO BE DONE WITHIN THE CITY, BUT WE HAVE SO MANY RELATIONSHIPS, UH, EXTERNALLY FACING IN THE COMMUNITY.
PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIP FOR MY DIVISION WILL BE THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH ECHO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER HOLDING ONE ANOTHER ACCOUNTABLE AND NOT DUPLICATING EFFORT.
UH, AND THEN THERE WILL BE, UM, MANY COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS THAT SOME PERMANENT AND SOME THAT WILL BE TIME LIMITED.
WE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN WORKING WITH A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, UM, THAT, UH, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, UH, NURIA RIVERA VENDOR MINE HAS PUT TOGETHER FOR US TO REALLY WORK CLOSELY WITH THE LEADERS OF THE PRIMARY NON-PROFIT SERVICE PROVIDERS AND ECHO.
AND THEN WE ALSO SEE A KEY ROLE FOR US IN THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL.
UM, BOTH WHEN NEIGHBORS ARE EXPERIENCING CHALLENGES IN THEIR, IN THEIR AREAS, OR WHEN WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING AN ASSET, UH, INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD TO BUILD PERMANENT HOUSING, OR TO LOOK AT NEW STRATEGIES THAT WE MIGHT DEPLOY IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS TO
[00:40:01]
REALLY DEVELOP THOSE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE CITIZENS THEMSELVES.LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE AHEAD.
THIS IS A GRAPHIC THAT I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO IN DETAIL, BUT IT WILL BE FAMILIAR TO MOST OF YOU.
IT IS A FRAMEWORK THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US THROUGH THE INVESTING FOR RESULTS REPORT, UH, THAT WAS, UH, DEVELOPED BY BOB POPPY AND ASSOCIATES.
AND I THINK IT HAS PROVIDED US WITH A USEFUL FRAMEWORK FOR THINKING ABOUT THE CATEGORIES OF, OF EFFORT THAT WE HAVE AROUND THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS.
SO I'M GONNA LEAVE ASIDE THE REDUCING INFLOW FOR THE MOMENT.
A CRISIS RESPONSE IS REALLY ABOUT MEETING THAT NEED, WHERE IT EXISTS IN THE MOMENT OF HOMELESSNESS.
SO OUR SHELTER WORK, OUR OUTREACH WORK, UM, ENSURING THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY HOMELESS HAVE ACCESS TO CRITICAL HEALTH, UH, HEALTH SERVICES, ET CETERA.
AND THEN THE HOUSING STABILIZATION PIECE, WHICH IS REALLY ABOUT GETTING THE HOUSING SERVICES, THE HOUSING STOCK AND THE HOUSING SUBSIDIES TO THE PEOPLE THAT NEED IT, UH, TO END THEIR HOMELESSNESS AND TO PROVIDE THEM THE SUPPORT THAT THEY'LL NEED TO, UH, REMAIN STABLY HOUSED.
FINALLY, THE THIRD PIECE HERE IS THE PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT, WHICH COMPRISES ALL OF THE WORK WE DO, UM, THAT IS NOT REALLY THIS DIRECT SERVICE PIECE THAT IMPACTS HOW WE ALL EXPERIENCE OUR CITY.
UM, THE ABILITY OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS TO ACCESS RESOURCES IN THE PUBLIC SPACE, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE OTHER CITIZENS.
AND SO THIS TOUCHES ON ALL OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY STRATEGIES, AS WELL AS THE CLEANUP EFFORTS WE HAVE, ET CETERA, IN THOSE PUBLIC SPACES USING THAT SAME FRAMEWORK, IF WE'LL MOVE FORWARD, WOULD YOU JUST TOUCH ON A FEW AREAS, UM, OF PRIMARY ACTIVITY IN THE CITY, IN THESE THREE CATEGORIES? SO OF COURSE THE CITY OWNS THE ARCH AND HAS A CONTRACT WITH FRONT STEPS TO, TO, UM, TO RUN THE SHELTER THERE.
WE HAVE HOMELESS OUTREACH STREET TEAMS, WHICH ARE COMPRISED OF AN APD OFFICER, UM, INTEGRAL CARE, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, UH, PROFESSIONAL, AND OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS THAT ARE IN THE ENCAMPMENTS TALKING TO FOLKS EVERY DAY, UM, ADDRESSING CRITICAL, UH, ACUTE NEEDS AND MAKING REFERRALS TO CONNECT THEM TO SERVICES.
WE FUND, UH, INTERVAL CARES PATH PROGRAM, WHICH IS ANOTHER OUTREACH EFFORT.
AND THEN THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT ALSO PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE HERE IN TERMS OF INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE WHO WALK IN, UM, LOOKING TO ACCESS SERVICES, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY ARE TERMING, TRIAGED, CASE MANAGEMENT, HELPING PEOPLE MAKE THAT CONTACT FROM, UM, FROM THE STREET.
THEY ALSO COORDINATE THE AUSTIN HOMELESS ADVISORY COUNCIL, WHICH IS A CRITICAL BODY FOR US, MADE UP OF PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE OF HOMELESSNESS, SO THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE REAL EXPERTISE ON THE MATTER.
WE EVEN HAVE SPECIALISTS ON AUSTIN, PUBLIC LIBRARY, STAFF WHO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH OUR NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS FREQUENTLY.
AND SO APL HAS, UH, MADE THE COMMITMENT TO HAVE SOME SPECIALIZED STAFF TO WORK WITH THOSE LIBRARY CUSTOMERS.
THE CORE THEN OF ENDING HOMELESSNESS, UM, IS EXPRESSED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, BOTH THROUGH A WIDE ARRAY OF CONTRACTS THAT THE CITY HOLDS WITH NONPROFIT SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SOME DIRECT SERVICES WITHIN AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH, PROBABLY THE TWO LARGEST REHOUSING, UH, TYPES OF CONTRACTS ARE RAPID REHOUSING EXPRESS, LARGELY THROUGH OUR BEST SINGLE SOURCE PLUS PROGRAM AND OUR PSH SERVICE CONTRACTS.
WE ALSO THROUGH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, FOCUS ON DEVELOPING HOUSING, UH, THAT WE NEED THAT IS LOW BARRIER ENOUGH FOR PEOPLE EXITING HOMELESS, UH, TO QUALIFY FOR A, AND WE UTILIZE NOT ONLY OUR GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND DOLLARS THERE, BUT ALSO SOME OF THE FEDERAL FUNDS HOME CDBG, ET CETERA, WITHIN THE HOUSING AND PLANNING.
AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALSO SET ASIDE SOME GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS SPECIFICALLY FOR ACQUISITION OF HOTELS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A NEW PROGRAM WITHIN HOUSING AND PLANNING, WHICH IS A HOUS, A LOCAL HOUSING
[00:45:01]
VOUCHER PROGRAM.I'LL SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IN A MINUTE, WHICH IS A REALLY INNOVATIVE WAY FOR US TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN OPERATE THESE, UH, THESE DEVELOPMENTS LONG-TERM, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT, UH, ALSO PROVIDE SOME OF THESE LONGER TERM, UH, SERVICES IN TERMS OF INTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT.
AND THEY ACTUALLY CONTRACT OUT WITH OTHER NONPROFIT SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR HOUSING, SOME OF THEIR CLIENTS, UH, WHO NEED THAT SUPPORT TO MAINTAIN HOUSING STABILITY.
I, I'M NOT GOING TO TALK A LOT ABOUT ADDITIONAL PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT, UH, ACTIVITIES I'VE TOUCHED ON MOST OF THAT.
I THINK A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE THAT, UH, PERHAPS MERIT SPECIAL MENTION ARE OUR VIOLET BAG PROGRAM, WHICH DISTRIBUTES, UM, BOTH TRASH BAGS AND, UH, TRASH BINS TO ENCAMPMENTS ACROSS THE CITY TO SUPPORT THE COLLECTION OF REFUSE AND, UM, SAFETY AND HYGIENE IN THOSE SPACES AND A RELATIVELY NEW PROGRAM, WHICH IS THE VIOLET KEEP SAFE PERSONAL STORAGE PROGRAM, WHICH PROVIDES WHAT ARE ESSENTIALLY IDENTICAL TO A LARGE TRASH BINS, WHICH ARE LOCKABLE AND PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS CAN STORE THEIR ITEMS THERE WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT CARRYING THEM ON THEIR PERSON OR LEAVING THEM UNPROTECTED LET'S MOVE FORWARD.
AS YOU WELL KNOW, MUCH OF THE LAST YEAR FOR ALL OF THE CITY HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON OUR RESPONSE TO COVID-19.
THAT HAS CERTAINLY BEEN TRUE, UH, IN THE HOMELESS SERVICE DIVISION AND IN ITS, UM, ITS RELATED AND, UH, PARTNER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY.
WE HAVE EXPANDED ACCESS TO FOOD AND TO HYGIENE, UH, RESOURCES WITHIN ENCAMPMENTS.
WE HAVE OPENED FIVE PROTECTIVE LODGES, WHICH ARE SITES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HIGH RISK UNDER THE CDC GUIDELINES FOR POOR OUTCOMES, SHOULD THEY CONTRACT COVID-19 AND THOSE FIVE HOTELS HAVE A TOTAL CAPACITY OF ABOUT 300 ROOMS. OUR CURRENT CENSUS IS, UH, ABOUT 240, AND WE HAD BEGUN TO DECOMMISSION, UM, AS WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO NEED TO DO AT THE END OF LAST YEAR.
SO THE CENSUS HAS HAD DROPPED, BUT WE ARE NOW CLEANING AND PREPARING ROOMS AND MOVING, UH, GUESTS IN DAILY.
AND THEN I THINK THE REALLY EXCITING PIECE OF THAT OVERALL EFFORT IS THAT OF, UM, GUESTS WHO HAVE BEEN AT THE PROTECTIVE LODGES, WE HAVE REHOUSED 149 RATHER THAN HAVING THEM EXIT INTO HOMELESSNESS.
THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT HAS RESPONDED NOT ONLY BY DOING VIRTUAL DOCKET DOCKETS AND HAVING MORE WALK-IN SERVICES, BUT THEY HAVE PITCHED INTO STAFF, THE PRO LODGES AND PROVIDE ON SITE CASE MANAGEMENT THERE.
AND WE'LL BE PROVIDING SOME OF THE RAPID REHOUSING SERVICES THAT WE, UM, ARE ABLE TO EXPAND BECAUSE OF SOME ADDITIONAL HUD EMERGENCY SOLUTION GRANT FUNDS.
WE BETWEEN THE MONIES THAT THE CITY HAS RECEIVED AND SOME DOLLARS THAT TDH CA HAS PASSED THROUGH TO LOCAL PROVIDERS, WE ANTICIPATE BEING ABLE TO HOUSE 550 ADDITIONAL HOUSEHOLDS BY THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 22, WHICH IS HUGE.
AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT WE'RE ABLE TO ALSO FOCUS THOSE RESOURCES ON THOSE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE, UM, IN TERMS OF THEIR HEALTH RISKS, SHOULD THEY BE INFECTED WITH COVID-19 SOMETHING THAT IS NOT A CITY RESOURCE SOURCE, BUT WE ARE PARTNERING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR IS THAT HAKA WAS ABLE TO APPLY FOR AND RECEIVE A HUNDRED MAINSTREAM VOUCHERS, WHICH ESSENTIALLY MIRROR HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS.
UH, SO THOSE ARE LONG-TERM PERMANENT SUBSIDIES FOR VERY LOW-INCOME PEOPLE, AND THEY WILL BE PRIORITIZED ALSO FOR PRO LODGE GUESTS.
FINALLY, WHILE THIS IS NOT SPECIFIC TO PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UH, HOUSING AND PLANNING HAS DEDICATED SUBSTANTIAL RESOURCES TO RENT SUPPORTS AND EVENT EVICTION PREVENTION SO THAT WE CAN, UM, STEM THE TIDE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING SEVERE, UH, W RENT BURDENS, UM, OR ARREARS IN THE FACE OF JOB LOSS, UH, DUE TO THE PANDEMIC
[00:50:02]
LET'S MOVE FORWARD.THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING SLIDE FROM MY PERSPECTIVE.
I THINK THAT SOME OF THE PIECES THAT I WANT TO EXPRESS TODAY AS I LOOK FORWARD TO OUR WORK IN THE COMING MONTHS ARE A, UM, ITEMS THAT I THINK WE ARE IMPLEMENTING AND ARE GAINING, UM, GAINING MOMENTUM ON, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN TO SOME DEGREE IN PLAY FOR SOME TIME PIECES, THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY PLANNING.
AND THEN THE PRIORITY NEXT STEPS THAT WE KNOW ARE GOING TO BE REALLY CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESS.
MOVING FORWARD, WE WILL, UH, IN A WHILE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS THE ACQUISITION OF TWO ADDITIONAL HOTELS.
THE COUNCIL INITIALLY SET A GOAL OF 300 UNITS ACQUIRED FOR CONVERSION TO EITHER BRIDGE HOUSING OR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
SHOULD WE ACQUIRE THE TWO HOTELS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA FOR WEDNESDAY? UH, WE WILL BE AT, OR NEAR THAT TARGET.
AND I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE AND TO EXPAND THAT STRATEGY, PARTICULARLY IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE AND THE CURRENT MARKET.
SO WE'D LIKE TO PUSH FORWARD ON THAT.
I MENTIONED THAT 550 HOUSEHOLDS THAT WE EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO REHOUSE WITH THE ESG DOLLARS WE HAVE STARTED, UH, THAT WORK REALLY JUST IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, UM, OF, OF 2020.
AND SO OUR PICKING UP SPEED THERE AND THINK THAT WE WILL SEE A REAL IMPACT IN THE COMING MONTHS IN TERMS OF INJURIES, SHORING THAT WE ARE GETTING NOT ONLY THE HOTEL ACQUISITION AND CONVERSION WORK MOVING, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT THE PIPELINE OF OUR CONVENTIONAL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, A SPIRIT RUTLAND, WHICH WILL PROVIDE US WITH 170 UNITS, A VERY AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AND AT LEAST, UH, 44 UNITS OF PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.
WE DRAWN TOGETHER A WORKING GROUP THAT INCLUDES THE HOMELESS STRATEGY, DIVISION HOUSING AND PLANNING, AS WELL AS BOTH LOCAL HOUSING AUTHORITIES TO LOOK AT DEALS AS THEY EMERGE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, THAT ARE PRESENTED TO EACH OF US IN OUR DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS.
AND SO THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY COMMUNICATING ABOUT WHAT A PROJECT MIGHT NEED, HOW WE MIGHT EXPLORE, MAKING IT MORE FEASIBLE OR HOW WE MIGHT SUPPORT THAT WORK.
AND THEN FINALLY HOUSING AND PLANNINGS LOCAL HOUSING VOUCHER PROGRAM IS USING $3.6 MILLION ANNUALLY IN HOUSING TRUST FUNDS, UH, MONIES.
AND THE FIRST, UH, COMMITMENT THAT THEY HAVE MADE IS TO A SPARROW RUTLAND.
AND WE HAVE STRUCTURED THAT TO MIRROR PROJECT-BASED VOUCHERS FROM, UH, OUR LOCAL HOUSING AUTHORITIES.
AND WE THINK THAT THIS IS REALLY GOING TO EXPAND OUR ABILITY TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE PSH OVER TIME.
SO THERE ARE SOME PIECES THAT ARE IN PLANNING OR IN THE CONTRACTING PROCESS, BUT HAVE NOT HIT THE GROUND YET.
APH HAS APPROVED THE EXPANSION OF INTERVAL CARES PATH OUTREACH TEAM.
AND SO THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, BEGINNING THE HIRING, UM, PROCESS WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATION.
WE HOPE THAT WE WOULD SEE THOSE FOLKS ON THE GROUND SOON, UH, FOR ROADWAY IN, WE HAVE RECEIVED A PROPOSAL FOR AN OPERATOR OF THE HOTEL LONG-TERM THAT WOULD PRESUMABLY BE WHEN IT CONVERTED FROM PRO LODGE TO USE AS BRIDGE HOUSING OR SHELTER.
BUT WE ARE CLOSER TO BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT FACILITY AS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD MAKE CHOICES ABOUT IN TERMS OF WHETHER WE KEEP IT, UH, AS PART OF THE COVID-19 RESPONSE OR MOVE IT INTO A MORE GENERAL BREECH HOUSING ROLE.
UH, THE, HOW WAS SERVICE DIVISION AND ECHO HAVE BEEN SITTING DOWN REGULARLY TO WORK THROUGH OUR RESPECTIVE ROLES.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE ARE ATTACHED SO CLOSELY IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY WORK, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HEARD VERY CLEARLY FROM THE INVESTING FOR RESULTS, UM, REPORT WAS THAT WE NEEDED TO SPEND SOME INTENTIONAL TIME DETERMINING WHO WAS LEAD IN PARTICULAR AREAS AND HOW THE OTHER ENTITY OR ENTITIES WOULD SUPPORT.
SO THAT DISCUSSION, I THINK, HAS BEEN VERY FRUITFUL ALREADY.
AND OUR INTENT IS THAT THAT WOULD RESULT IN A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD GUIDE THE OVERALL RELATIONSHIP.
IN ADDITION TO THE CONTRACT THAT THE CITY HAS FUNDING
[00:55:01]
ECHOS ACTIVITIES.FINALLY, WE HAVE, UH, RECONVENED, THE VARIOUS FUNDERS THAT HAD COMMITTED TO THE PAY FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE.
UM, WE DO NOT AT PRESENT THINK THAT THE PAY FOR SUCCESS STRUCTURE IS WHAT WE WILL UTILIZE, BUT MOST OF THOSE FUNDERS REMAIN VERY COMMITTED AND WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN, UM, DESIGN A COLLABORATIVE THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO PARTICIPATE.
AND FOR US TO REALLY MODEL HOW WE HAVE MANY PARTNERS AT THE TABLE SUPPORTING THIS WORK THAT IS SO IMPORTANT ACROSS GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND PRIVATE SECTOR ALIKE.
FINALLY, IN TERMS OF WHAT'S IMMEDIATELY, UH, NEXT ON OUR PLATE, UH, SPENCER MAY HAVE MENTIONED IN THE MAYOR WILL PROBABLY TALK ABOUT A, UH, PLANNED, UH, SUMMIT FOR FEBRUARY.
HE INTENDED FOR THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, NOT JUST THE CITY TO SIT DOWN AND TAKE A HARD LOOK AT WHAT IT IS WE NEED TO DO TO EXPAND CAPACITY IN SHELTER IN RAPID REHOUSING AND PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND POTENTIALLY IN SOME OTHER AREAS, BUT THAT WE SET SET HARD NUMBER GOALS THAT WE IDENTIFY TIMELINES, WE, UM, ASSIGN ACCOUNTABILITY AND THAT WE ALL AGREE THAT WE ARE COLLECTIVELY COMMITTED TO REACHING THOSE GOALS.
I SEE IT AS OUR CHARGE TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL AND ARTICULATE FOR YOU WHAT AND HOW WE THINK WE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THOSE GOALS.
SO THAT NOT ONLY ARE WE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BOTH OTHER JURISDICTIONS AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT COUNCIL AND LEADERSHIP ALSO HAVE CLEAR METRICS BY WHICH TO HOLD MY DIVISION ACCOUNTABLE, UH, HAND IN HAND WITH THAT, I THINK, UM, IS GOING TO BE A PROCESS BY WHICH WE BRING FORTH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND HOW WE PROGRAM OUR FUNDING GOING FORWARD.
WE DO HAVE SOME NEW FISCAL YEAR, $21 AVAILABLE, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THAT MONEY INTO THE COMMUNITY QUICKLY, OR WE'RE ALSO VERY STRATEGIC ABOUT HOW WE TARGET IT.
THE NEXT PIECE, THE NEXT TWO PIECES OF COURSE ARE VERY RELATED.
AND THAT IS ABOUT HOW WE MORE INTENTIONALLY, UM, CREATE CONNECTIONS WITH OUR UNSHELTERED POPULATION AND HOUSING RESOURCES, HOW WE PROACTIVELY WORK WITH THOSE LIVING UNSHELTERED IN ENCAMPMENTS AND NOT JUST DO OUTREACH, BUT DETERMINE HOW WE CAN MOST EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY MOVE THEM INTO HOUSING.
AND ALSO THAT WE, AS A COMMUNITY OVERALL HAVE A CONSISTENT POLICIES AROUND PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT.
UM, AND, AND THAT RANGES FROM NOT ONLY WHICH SPACES ARE AVAILABLE FOR USE, BUT UNDER WHAT STIRPES CIRCUMSTANCES, HOW PUBLIC SAFETY INTERACTS WITH BOTH PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS, ET CETERA.
AND SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT THAT IS VERY PRESSING AND SOMETHING THAT IS INCUMBENT UPON US, UH, TO RESPOND TO FINALLY, ONE OF THE PIECES THAT WAS CALLED OUT IN THE INVESTING FOR RESULTS REPORT WAS A RECOMMENDATION THAT APH AND HSD LOOK AT THE PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING PROCESS AND TOOLS AROUND OUR HOMELESS SERVICES.
SO THAT I BELIEVE WILL BE A SLIGHTLY LONGER PROCESS BECAUSE WE NEED TO DO SOME DEEP ANALYSIS AND FIGURE OUT REALLY WHAT THE APPROPRIATE TOOLS ARE, TIMING, UM, AND CRITERIA.
BUT THAT IS CERTAINLY ON OUR, UM, ON OUR DASHBOARD IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE BEGINNING TO WORK ON QUITE SOON.
SO THAT IS THE SUMMARY OF WHERE I THINK WE ARE NOW.
AND I WOULD WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS.
AND JUST, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON BOARD AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS AREA AND THE VAST AMOUNT OF EXPERTISE THAT YOU BRING TO THIS WORK.
UH, THE HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING, UH, MENTALITY THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HAD THESE FEW WEEKS, UH, THIS VERY EVIDENCE, AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO PROVIDE THIS OVERVIEW TO THE COUNCIL TODAY, UH, WITH THAT MAYOR, WE'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU FOR QUESTIONS FROM YOU AND THE COUNCIL COLLEAGUES.
WHEN WE STARTED THIS MORNING, WE HAD
[01:00:01]
TALKED ABOUT POTENTIALLY TAKING A BREAK AT THIS POINT, GOING INTO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.I THINK WE MOVED THROUGH THE CALENDAR HERE MORE RAPIDLY THAN WE THOUGHT.
UH, SO I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY ASK QUESTIONS NOW GETTING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION NO LATER THAN 11.
UH, BUT LET'S SAY, UH, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED SO THAT WE GET THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AND I, I, I WOULD JUST SUGGEST THAT GETTING INTO IT LIKE A SESSION AT 11 REALLY, REALLY LIMITS OUR TALK FOR AN EXECUTIVE SESSION BECAUSE IT'S ONLY AN HOUR.
AND, AND I WOULD PREFER THAT WE GET INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION ON 10 30.
CAUSE I THINK IT'S GOING TO CUT US SHORT ON THAT CONVERSATION IF, IF THAT'S, UH, THAT'S JUST MY SUGGESTION.
WELL, WE COULD TAKE THE BREAK AND HAVE THE EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE MOTEL AND THEN COME RIGHT BACK OUT TO DO QUESTIONS.
UH, IF PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO DO THAT, WE HAVE STAFF HERE AND MAY VERY WELL BE THAT SOME OF THE STAFF JOINING US IN THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION, ARGUMENT DISCUSSION, I'M NOT SURE.
DO YOU ALL WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS NOW ABOUT, UH, THE HOMELESSNESS GENERALLY? OR DO YOU WANT TO PAUSE AND GO INTO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE ISSUE OF, UH, THE MOTEL STRATEGY? LESLIE, I'M HAPPY TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD YEAR OF OUR TIME.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND DO THAT MANAGER AND THEN WE'LL COME RIGHT BACK OUT.
[Executive Session (Part 1 of 2)]
NOW GOING INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE OUT ONE ITEM PURSUANT TO FIVE, FIVE, ONE OH SEVEN, ONE OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE, I'M SORRY, PURSUANT TO FIVE, FIVE, ONE OH SEVEN TO NOW THE GOVERNMENT CODE WE'RE GOING TO DISCUSS REAL ESTATE MATTERS RELATED TO THE PURCHASE EXCHANGE, LEASE OR VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY FOR THE MOTEL CONVERSION STRATEGY.WITHOUT OBJECTION HERE AT 10 OH FIVE, WE'LL MOVE OVER TO THAT CHANNEL.
AFTER WE'RE DONE DISCUSSING THE MOTEL STRATEGY, WE'LL, WE'LL COME BACK OUT, UH, AND, AND ASK, UH, DIANA OR, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, HAYDEN, UH, OR OTHERS QUESTIONS.
WE JUST MIGHT TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO SWITCH OVER.
SO IT, UH, BASICALLY 10 AFTER.
LET'S SEE IF WE CAN BE IN THE EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, AREA.
[B3. Update on homelessness related issues. (Staff update) (Part 2 of 2)]
UM, ITEM THREE, IT IS 10 49 HERE ON JANUARY 25TH, 2021.WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR COUNCIL WORK SESSION.
WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE IN THE, UM, UH, QUESTIONS WITH RESPECT TO, UH, THE, THE HOMELESSNESS BRIEFING.
DO WE HAVE, UH, DIANA WITH US? SHE AND DIRECTOR HAYDEN ARE BEING MOVED OVER.
UH, COLLEAGUES, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET THROUGH THE Q AND A, UH, UM, THIS BRIEFING.
UH, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR DIANA? YES.
AND THANK YOU DIANA, FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO, TO MAKE THESE PRO LODGES WORK.
I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAD RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS THAT I SENT YOU LAST WEEK.
I KNOW THERE WERE QUITE A FEW, BUT IF WE COULD REVIEW THOSE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP SO FAR ABOUT ITEM 31 IN PARTICULAR.
AND SO SOME OF THESE, I THINK I'M NOT SURE.
I KNOW ALEX HAD ANSWERED SOME OF THEM, SO I'M NOT CERTAIN WHICH ONES HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMMUNICATED COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT WE CAN GO ONE BY ONE, UM, AND, AND ANSWER ALL OF THEM.
THE FIRST QUESTION IS ABOUT ANY MEANINGFUL INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF THE HOTEL.
AND SO I THINK WE MOSTLY TOUCHED ON THIS IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFICULTY OF COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS BEFORE THERE IS SITE CONTROL OF THE PROPERTY.
BUT, UM, OUR INTENT THEN IS THAT WE WILL, UM, BOTH IDENTIFY EXPLICITLY ANY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACTS, UM, ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE WHO ARE IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT AND WORK WITH COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICES ON THIS, AND ANY OTHER HOTEL TO IDENTIFY, UM, STAKEHOLDERS.
YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE WE REACH OUT TO THANK YOU.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT KNOWN THAT THE ANDERSON MILL LIMITED DISTRICT HAS REACHED OUT TO MY OFFICE AND THEY ARE
[01:05:01]
CURRENTLY STRONGLY OPPOSING OKAY.AND IT WOULD ALSO BE PRUDENT FOR US TO REACH OUT TO THE CON PARK PLACE, UM, WHICH ARE SMALL RESIDENTIAL TOWNHOMES IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE HOTEL.
THE, THE SECOND QUESTION WAS REGARDING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEARBY AND A CONCERN THAT THERE WASN'T ANY MEANINGFUL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WITHIN PROXIMITY.
AND SO, UM, THERE ARE THREE AREAS I THINK ARE IMPORTANT HERE.
THE NEAREST BUS STOPS ARE, UM, QUITE SEVEN AND 0.8 MILES AWAY.
UM, HOWEVER, IT IS QUITE CLOSE TO THE LAKE LINE METRO STATION AS A PRIMARY, UM, TRANSIT HUB, BUT WE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SOLVE FOR THAT, UM, SORT OF LAST MILE TRANSPORTATION, IF YOU WILL.
WE HAVE HAD, IN OTHER CASES, SOME, UH, SUCCESS WORKING WITH CAPITAL METRO TO SEE IF WE CAN MOVE A BUS STATION, UH, CLOSER TO THE PROPERTY.
UH, HOWEVER, UM, WE ALSO IN OTHER PROPERTIES HAVE HAD A VAN ONSITE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO STAFF, TO TRANSPORT TENANTS, EITHER TO A TRANSPORTATION NODE OR TO COMMON, UM, SITES THAT THEY NEED TO USE FOR ERRANDS, GROCERIES, ET CETERA.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN TOLD THAT BECAUSE PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING IS RESERVED FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE CHRONICALLY HOMELESS AND THEREFORE BY DEFINITION ARE LIVING WITH A DISABILITY IT'S FAIRLY FREQUENT THAT, UM, THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE MEDICAID BENEFITS, WHICH ALSO COVER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR THEM, PARTICULARLY AS RELATES TO THEIR, UM, THEIR MEDICAL NEEDS.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE PARK AND RIDE FOR THE LAKELINE MALL AREA IS 2.1 MILES AWAY, WHICH EQUATES TO A 41 MINUTE WALK AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO PASS OVER THROUGH SOME VERY BUSY INTERSECTIONS AND THOROUGHFARES.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE WILL BE AN OPTION OF PUTTING ANOTHER BUS STOP ON SITE OR PROVIDING THAT VAN TRANSPORTATION, RIGHT.
NOT ANTICIPATE THAT PEOPLE WALK TO THAT SITE.
UM, AS OUR PRIMARY MEANS OF ARRIVING, THERE WAS A QUESTION AROUND WHAT SERVICES WOULD BE BROUGHT ON SITE.
UM, A, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS INDIGENT HEALTHCARE IN CEDAR PARK.
UM, THAT WAS A VA CLINIC, UM, WITH, UH, WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES.
SO THE WAY WE WOULD TYPICALLY SEE THIS WORK IN A PROPERTY LIKE THIS IS THAT CASE MANAGEMENT IS ONSITE.
SO THERE ARE STAFF, UM, THERE, AND THEY ARE PROVIDING SOCIAL SERVICES.
AND IN SOME CASES, OUTPATIENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, UH, REALLY JUST IN TERMS OF THAT INTENSIVE, INTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT.
UM, SO THEY'RE WORKING DAY TO DAY WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO HELP THEM MAINTAIN THEIR HOUSING STABILITY, BUT ALSO REALLY CONNECTING THEM WITH SERVICES.
AGAIN, WE WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT A VAN, UM, WOULD BE ONE OF THE MOST COMMON UTILIZATION USES OF THAT WOULD BE FOR ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE.
UH, IT WOULD SEEM LIKELY THAT THE PRIMARY CARE, UM, OF CHOICE FOR MOST OF THESE FOLKS WOULD BE OUR COMMUNITY CARE CLINICS.
AND WE CAN FIND OUT WHERE THE CLOSEST, UH, COMMUNITY CARE CLINIC IS FOR EACH OF THOSE, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER, UM, OTHER CLINICS THAT COULD BE RELEVANT.
I'M CURIOUS THE SERVICES THAT ARE ON SITE BY HAVING THEM ONSITE, IS IT EFFECTING THE UTILIZATION OF SOME OF THE ROOMS AVAILABLE? YES.
SO, UH, IN MOST CASES, AS WE LOOK AT THESE TWO HOTELS, THEY ARE CURRENTLY 83 ROOMS AND 65 ROOMS. WE ASSUME THAT DEPENDING ON THE CURRENT CONFIGURATION OF THE BUILDING, WE WOULD GIVE OVER SOME NUMBER OF ROOMS TO OFFICES AND, OR ADDITIONAL COMMON SPACES.
THE, UM, PECAN PARK PROPERTY ACTUALLY HAS, UH, MORE COMMON SPACE AND MORE OFFICES.
SO WE MIGHT ONLY LOSE THREE OR FOUR UNITS, UM, FOR THAT PROPERTY.
THE, UH, THE PROPERTY ON BURNET HAS SUBSTANTIALLY LESS.
AND SO WE THINK THAT WE'D PROBABLY TAKE FIVE ROOMS OR MORE TO CREATE SOME OF THAT SPACE.
THERE WAS A QUESTION, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER REGARDING THE, THE PROXIMITY OF THE
[01:10:01]
NEAREST GROCERY STORE, UM, WHICH, UH, I BELIEVE ALEX HAS, UH, CONFIRMED IS THERE ARE HEB AND WALMART SUPER CENTER AT 1.1 MILE AND ONE MILE AWAY.UM, WE HAVE NOT DONE ANY FORMAL, UH, TRAFFIC STUDY, UH, AND THERE ARE PEDESTRIAN PROTECTED INTERSECTIONS AT THOSE UNDERPASSES, BUT AGAIN, UM, WOULD ANTICIPATE WORKING TO ENSURE THAT, UM, THERE ARE SOME ALTERNATIVES TO SIMPLY WALKING YOU.
THEN THERE WAS A QUESTION REGARDING THE IMPACT FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES.
I DO NOT KNOW THE RE CURRENTLY THE RESPONSE TIME TO THAT AREA, ALEX HAS REACHED OUT, UM, TO ASCERTAIN THAT FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, THERE ARE NOT ONSITE COMMUNITY PARAMEDICS.
THAT'S NOT TYPICALLY NECESSARY FOR THESE PROPERTIES, BUT, UH, STAFF ARE THERE IN CASE ANYTHING WOULD EMERGE FROM A HEALTH PERSPECTIVE.
UH, THEY ARE WELL-TRAINED IN THAT SORT OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT, UH, CONNECTING WITH, UH, EMERGENCY IF THAT IS NECESSARY.
HEY, DIANA, TO ADD TO THAT, I DID HEAR BACK FROM AFD AND LET ME KNOW THAT, UM, THIS FIRE STATION 34 IS ONE OH THREE MILES AWAY.
AND THE RESPONSE TIME IS, UH, AT SEVEN MINUTES OR LESS, WHICH IS WELL WITHIN THEIR GOAL OF, UH, HAVING AN EIGHT MINUTE RESPONSE TIME.
THANK YOU FOR THAT REAL QUICK, DIANA, I WAS HOPING THAT MAYBE YOU COULD TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WELL-TRAINED MEANT.
IS THERE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF BLS TRAINING THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS ON SITE HAVE THAT WE COULD BE AWARE OF? SO LET'S LOOK INTO THAT.
I WOULD EXPECT THAT TO BE THE CASE, BUT I SHOULDN'T SPEAK FOR OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS.
ALL OF, UM, THE CASE MANAGERS ARE TYPICALLY, UM, CREDENTIALED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
AND SO WE CAN TALK TO THE SERVICE PROVIDERS ABOUT WHAT THAT IS AND GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT FRONT.
THE SUBSEQUENT QUESTION IS AROUND THE INPUT FROM BUSINESS OWNERS.
UM, WE, UM, I THINK ALEX AND I BOTH COMMUNICATED WITH, UM, A REPRESENTATIVE OF ONE OF THE NEARBY, UH, BUSINESSES LAST WEEK.
WE HAD, UM, WENT BACK AND FORTH A BIT, UM, VIA EMAIL.
AND I HAVE ASKED THIS WEEK THAT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST FOLLOW UP AND PERHAPS SET A MEETING BECAUSE THAT WAS ALL FAIRLY, UM, YOU KNOW, QUICK CONVERSATION BACK AND FORTH, UH, PREVIOUS USE OF MAT.
AND AGAIN, THEN WE WOULD, IF YOU HAVE HAD FOLKS EXPLICITLY REACH OUT TO YOU, WE WERE AVAILABLE TO SIT DOWN AND SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT THE PROJECT.
I DO HAVE PLANS TO CONNECT US ALL TOGETHER WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THEN AS WELL AS THE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY, I WILL SAY THOUGH THAT RIGHT NOW, WITH THE OVER SOUNDING EMAILS AND CALLS THAT WE'RE GETTING IN FEEDBACK REGARDING NOT WANTING THIS AND THE COMMUNITY WHILE THERE IS A NEED.
AND I EXPRESSLY SEE THAT NEED, I WOULD NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS PURCHASE UNTIL WE'RE ABLE TO GET THAT EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO MY RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNCIL IS GOING TO BE TO POSTPONE ON WEDNESDAY.
I JUST WANTED TO GET THAT OUT THERE.
AND THEN ALSO, ALEX, IF YOU COULD CONFIRM FOR THE REST OF THE COUNCIL, THAT THERE WILL BE NO PROBLEM WITH POSTPONING AS FAR AS THE NEGOTIATIONS GO.
UH, YEAH, SINCE OUR, I DIDN'T SAY MY NAME, UH, ALEX GALE, UH, OFFICER FOR THE OPPOSITE BILL STATE SERVICES, UH, YES.
WE DID, UM, TALK WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER AND WE THINK, UH, OUR NEGOTIATIONS WOULD STILL BE OKAY IF, IF THIS ITEM WAS POSTPONED WAS POSTPONED.
UM, SO THE, THE FIRST MEETING IN FEBRUARY, UH, POTENTIALLY THAT SECOND MEETING IN FEBRUARY AS WELL.
UM, BUT WE, WE THINK WE WOULD BE OKAY WITH THAT AS FAR AS OUR NEGOTIATIONS.
CAN I, DAN COLLEAGUES, I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I GOT A CALL FROM, UH, A WILLIAMSON COUNTY COMMISSIONER, UH, CYNTHIA LONG, UH, WHO IS THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER IN THIS AREA? UH, ALSO, UH, SHE WAS ASKING FOR POSTPONEMENT OF CONSIDERATION OF, OF 31, UM, AND, AND RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT THIS HAPPENING IN HER PRECINCT, UH, WITHOUT ADVANCED NOTICE TO, UH, TO, TO HER, TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT, UH, I TALKED TO HER ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY IN A REAL ESTATE
[01:15:01]
TRANSACTION.I, AND IN MAKING THESE ISSUES, UM, UH, PUBLIC, UH, BEFORE PROPERTIES ARE, ARE, ARE TIED UP.
UM, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THAT, THAT HER CONCERN AND INTEREST, UM, UH, REMAINED.
AND I SAID, I WOULD CONVEY THAT TO THE, TO THE COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASAR, CORRECT.
JUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF, OF EVERYBODY, UM, OF DISCUSSING THIS BEFORE OUR VOTE IN A COUPLE OF DAYS, YOU KNOW, I CERTAINLY, UH, RESPECT AND UNDERSTAND EVERYONE'S ABILITY TO VOTE THE WAY THAT THEY, UH, FEEL MOST COMFORTABLE.
AND, UH, AND WE'VE HEARD AND RECEIVED SIMILAR EMAILS ON SOME OF THESE HOTELS, INCLUDING THE HOTELS WE PURCHASED IN DISTRICT THREE, AND THEN DISTRICT FOUR, I THINK IT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION TO PURCHASE THOSE IN DISTRICT THREE AND DISTRICT FOUR.
AND, AND I FEEL CONFIDENT VOTING FOR BOTH OF THESE HOTELS, UH, ON THURSDAY.
UH, OF COURSE WE'LL RESPECT TO THE WILL OF THE MAJORITY.
UH, I'M GLAD TO HEAR AND THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO COMMUNICATE TO THE PROPERTY OWNER, UH, THAT IF THIS DOES GET POSTPONE, THAT IT WON'T THROW IT OFF TRACK.
UM, BUT I FEEL JUST AS COMFORTABLE VOTING YES, ON WEDNESDAY AS I WOULD A WEEK LATER, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, OF THE URGENCY OF THE WORK.
UM, AND BECAUSE THIS CREATES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PULL, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, NEARLY 150 PEOPLE OFF THE STREETS, AND THEN OVER THE YEARS OF OWNING THESE PROPERTIES, UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PULL HUNDREDS MORE.
SO I I'M, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE STAFF WORKING DILIGENTLY TO BRING THESE FORWARD.
I APPRECIATE THE SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR STEPPING UP AND OFFERING THESE FORWARD OFFERING TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES.
I APPRECIATE THE COUNCIL FOR TAKING THE BOLD STEP OF RE-INVESTING DOLLARS AWAY FROM JUST A POLICING APPROACH TO A HOUSING APPROACH.
UM, THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN GET THESE, UM, HOTELS RUNNING IS BECAUSE OF THE REALLOCATION WE DID IN THE BUDGET WHERE PURCHASING THE HOTELS, USING THE HOUSING BOND, BUT WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO ACTUALLY PURCHASE AND RUN THEM BECAUSE OF THE BUDGET THAT WE PASSED.
SO I THINK BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SO MANY MONTHS OF WORK AND IT'S SO HIGH PRIORITY, YOU FEEL CONFIDENT VOTING YES.
UM, I WANTED TO JUST MENTION THAT ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE ITEM THAT'S FOR THE HOTEL PURCHASE IN DISTRICT SEVEN WE'LL MOVE FORWARD ON WEDNESDAY IS BECAUSE WE DID HAVE THE TIME, UM, SINCE I HAVE SIGNED THE COUNCIL AND KNEW ABOUT IT COMING AND STAFF HAD ADVISED MY OFFICE ABOUT IT.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY OVER A NUMBER OF WEEKS, UM, THIS MONTH AND BEFORE PEOPLE WERE SWORN IN, UH, THE FIRST PART OF JANUARY AND TRYING TO GET THEIR SEA LEGS.
SO I RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, OUR NEW, OUR NEW COLLEAGUE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY IS, IS TRYING REAL HARD TO, UM, REPRESENT HER COMMUNITY AND BE THEIR VOICE, AND TO GET THEM THE NECESSARY, ACCURATE INFORMATION SO THAT THEY HAVE A FULLER APPRECIATION OF, OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND TO THAT EXTENT, I, I RESPECT HER REQUEST FOR THE POSTPONEMENT ON ITEM 31 AND WOULD, WOULD SUPPORT THAT.
AND OF COURSE OUR STAFF CAN TELL US IF THE ONE WEEK DELAY, UM, AND ALSO, UH, MCKENZIE, YOU, YOU SHOULD TELL US IF A ONE WEEK DELAY WOULD HELP OR IF WE WOULD NEED TO PUSH IT TO FEBRUARY 18.
I AGREED WITH MY OTHER DYESS COLLEAGUES THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US COMPLETE THESE PURCHASES, BUT I THINK THERE IS ROOM WITHIN OUR TIMEFRAMES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED AND THAT YOU GIVE, BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO REPRESENT US ROBUSTLY.
AS YOU DESIRE WITH THE FOLKS HERE HAVE PUT YOU IN OFFICE COLLEAGUES, KATHY.
I HAD, UM, I DON'T WANT TO DO I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT MORE, GENERALLY LESS IN THIS PRESENTATION, BUT I DON'T WANT TO CUT SHORT YOUR MICROPHONE CLOSER TO HERE.
UM, I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GENERAL HOMELESSNESS PRESENTATION.
IS IT APPROPRIATE TO LUNCH INTO THOSE NOW, OR ARE WE STILL DISCUSSING THE HOTEL MOTEL? LET'S COMPLETE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE HOTELS.
ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE HOTELS MCKINLEY? YES.
I WANTED TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER POOL FOR HER SUPPORT AND POSTPONEMENT OF THIS ISSUE.
AND I WANTED TO CLARIFY SOME OF WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER CASAR SAID.
I'M NOT IN OPPOSITION OF THIS HOTEL BEING PURCHASED.
MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE WORK THAT WILL BE DONE THERE IS VERY IMPORTANT AND VITAL TO OUR NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.
AND WE DO NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FINDING PLACES FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS TO GO.
MY CONCERN IS THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO HAVE MEANINGFUL INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND THIS HOTEL IN PARTICULAR
[01:20:01]
BACKS UP DIRECTLY TO SINGLE FAMILY, RESIDENTIAL HOMES.AND I BELIEVE THAT THEIR INPUT SHOULD BE TAKEN.
WE SHOULD USE IT AS AN EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT OUR PLAN FOR THIS USE OF THIS PROPERTY IS.
AND, YOU KNOW, UH, I AGREE THAT, UH, WE SHOULD HAVE, UH, UH, REACH OUT TO NEIGHBORHOOD I A ROADWAY AND THAT I, UH, APPROVED AND SUPPORTED WAS ALSO BROUGHT UP AGAINST THE NEIGHBORHOOD THERE.
AND THERE WAS A LOT OF CONCERNS, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY SAW THAT YOUR IMPROVEMENT THAT WENT ON IN THAT NOTE WITH THAT HOTEL, UH, WAS SO GOOD, SO GREAT BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE THAT PARTICULAR PLACE, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE ONE IN DISTRICT SIX, BUT IT, IT, IT WAS USED AS A, UH, UH, A PLACE WHERE THEY RAN PROSTITUTION.
UH, THEY HAD A LOT OF DRUG SALES THERE.
AND THEN WHAT WE DID WAS THAT WE IMPROVED THAT WHOLE AREA THERE BECAUSE WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT EVEN IN THAT KIND OF BUSINESS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO HELP OUR HOMELESS POPULATION AND GET THEM OFF THE STREET.
AND, UH, SO, UH, YOU CAN ALSO LOOK INTO WHAT THE RODEWAY INN AND HOW IT HELPED THE NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND THERE.
AND THAT'D BE ONE OF THE AREAS THAT YOU CAN ALSO TAKE BACK TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND SAY, LET'S TAKE A LOOK, GREAT CLOSE, LOOK AT WHAT HOUSES, HOTEL OR HOTEL IS BEING USED AND WHAT KIND OF IMPROVEMENT ARE WE GOING TO HAVE THERE, BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOMEONE THERE AT THE DOOR THAT'S CONTROLLING EVERYTHING AND LETTING PEOPLE IN AND OUT.
SO, UH, IT, IT IT'S SOMETIMES BECOMES A BLESSING WHEN YOU BUY THESE PLACES.
AND, UM, I JUST HAD A QUESTION FOR COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, IF SHE HAD A THOUGHT IN MIND ON HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL TIME SHE WAS THINKING OF IN TERMS OF TALKING WITH HER COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT I THINK A WEEK WOULD GIVE US PLENTY OF TIME TO HOLD SEVERAL TIMES.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DOGS, AND THEN WE COULD MOVE FORWARD.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS ITEM? OKAY, KATHY, LET ME TURN IT OVER TO YOU TO MORE GENERAL QUESTIONS ON HOMELESSNESS.
UM, TO HAVE YOU AT THE HELM OF THIS WORK, THIS IS, UH, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.
I HAD A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.
UM, I HAD SEEN THE NEWS, UH, I THINK IT WAS FROM THE NATIONAL HOUSING COALITION.
THEY, THEY HIGHLIGHTED THE FACT THAT FEMA HAS NOW, UM, UNDER THE EXECUTIVE ORDER.
WELL, UNDER WHATEVER SHIFTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATION CHANGED FROM A REIMBURSEMENT RATE OF 75% TO 100% FOR, UM, THINGS SUCH AS THE PRO LODGE.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OR AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE MAY HAVE BUDGETED FOR OUR, THE CITY'S PORTION OF THAT 25% OF THE PRO LODGE? I DO NOT COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE DOLLARS ARE, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING RUNNING THROUGH EOC CURRENTLY, AND VELA HAS BEEN TRACKING THAT CLOSELY SO WE CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
SORRY TO ASK SUCH A SPECIFIC QUESTION.
I'M JUST SAYING, I GUESS I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, A PRETTY GREAT CHANGE.
AND I THINK THAT FREES UP SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW, WE HAD A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE THAT THE PROLOGIS CAPACITY I'M, I'M STRUGGLING A BIT WITH ARE TWO NUMBERS.
I'M NOT CLEAR ON ONE IS IT SOUNDED LIKE IN ONE OF OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS, I THOUGHT I HAD HEARD THAT THE PRO LODGES WERE AT CAPACITY FROM TODAY'S PRESENTATION.
SO DIANE, CAN YOU ADDRESS, ADDRESS THE ADDITIONAL BEDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, UM, AND HOW, HOW STAFF INTEND TO USE THOSE.
SO, UH, WHY DO YOU KNOW IS THAT IT HAS BEEN, UM, A MOVING NUMBER FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
WE, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DECOMMISSION THE PRO LODGES, WE BEGAN TO LAST PEOPLE EXITED TO NOT REFILL THOSE ROOMS AND THEN CHANGE COURSE WHEN WE, UH, DECIDED THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE A PRUDENT TO KEEP THEM OPEN.
UM, SO SOME OF THOSE ROOMS THEN ARE UNOCCUPIED, BUT DID NEED CLEANED OR REPAIRED.
WE ALSO HAVE HAD A, UM, A TRAUNCH OF ROOMS AT THE ROADWAY THAT WAS NOT OCCUPIED BECAUSE OF RENOVATIONS THAT WERE HAPPENING THERE.
[01:25:01]
BACK TO STAFF BECAUSE TRULY THOSE NUMBERS ARE CHANGING DAILY, AND WE CAN COME BACK WITH, UH, AN ACCURATE ACCOUNTING OF JUST HOW MANY ROOMS THERE ARE, HOW MANY HAVE, UH, HUMANS IN THEM AND HOW MANY ARE ACTUALLY AVAILABLE FOR OCCUPANCY AT THIS TIME.WOULD THE INTENTION BE ASSUMING THEY ARE READY TO BE USED AND NOT IN NEED OF RENOVATION? IS THE INTENTION TO FILL THOSE? YEAH, I BELIEVE SO.
I BELIEVE THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED MOVING PEOPLE ON.
AND THEN I BELIEVE, AND WHAT'S ONE OF THE WONDERFUL REASONS WHY SOME OF THOSE ARE VACANT IS THAT INDIVIDUAL INTO PERMANENT HOUSING.
UM, AND I THOUGHT I'D KIND OF HEARD A HIGHER NUMBER FOR THAT, BUT IS THE, IS THIS THE MOST OFFICIAL COUNT AT THIS 0.1 49? THAT WAS IN YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY? YES.
THAT'S THE NUMBER THAT I RECEIVED, I THINK YESTERDAY, WELL, THANKS TO STAFF AND OUR PARTNERS WHO HAVE, WHO HAVE HELPED MAKE THAT POSSIBLE.
AND THEN, AND THEN, UM, WHEN THAT MAY TAKE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, BUT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, THANKS FOR HIGHLIGHTING OUR PUBLIC HYBRID, OUR PUBLIC LIBRARY EFFORTS.
I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE MANY EFFORTS THAT THE CITY IS ENGAGED IN THAT THE PUBLIC ISN'T ALWAYS AWARE OF.
UM, I KNOW SOME DOWNTOWN RESIDENTS ONE DAY GAVE ME A LIST OF IDEAS AND MOST OF, MOST OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY IN PROGRESS TO ONE EXTENT OR ANOTHER.
AND ONE WAS THE IDEA OF HAVING ONSITE INDIVIDUALS TO HELP, UM, AT THE, AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY TO INTERACT AND TO PROVIDE, TO BE A RESOURCE AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
AT ONE POINT WE HAD SOME GRADUATE CLASSES OR SOME SOCIAL WORKERS IN TRAINING WHO WERE A PART OF THAT INITIATIVE AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
AND I WONDERED IF YOU COULD, AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, NOW, IF YOU COULD GET BACK TO US ON WHETHER ANY OF THOSE EFFORTS, UM, ARE STILL ARE STILL, UM, WHETHER THOSE RELATIONSHIPS STILL EXIST AND COULD BE, COULD BE IMPLEMENTED ONCE WE'RE BACK IN, UH, IN A FULL, IN FULL PUBLIC, UM, MODE AT OUR LIST.
CAUSE I THINK THAT WAS A REALLY GREAT, EXCUSE ME, ONE SEC.
UM, A REALLY GREAT, THEY DID BOTH FOR THOSE STUDENTS, BUT ALSO FOR THE CITY TO WORK WITH THEM.
AND THEN I, I WOULD, UM, MY LAST QUESTION IS, IS MAYBE GOING TO TAKE A BIT MORE RESPONSE, BUT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW YOU AND I, AND SOME OTHER COLLEAGUES HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE SITUATION, UM, IN SOME OF THOSE PUBLIC SPACES AND IN PARTICULAR, THE, THE GROWING NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS CAMPING ON PARKLAND, ESPECIALLY DOWN AT THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL.
OH, WE'RE ON, UM, THEN IT PLACE.
AND SO SORRY WE HAVE SCHOOL GOING ON HERE AS WELL.
UM, COULD YOU PLEASE ADDRESS, UH, WHY INDIVIDUAL, WHAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IS DOING WITH REGARD TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ON OUR PARKLAND, UM, AT THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL AND, AND WHETHER YOU AND STAFF ARE WORKING ON KIND OF A LONGER TERM SOLUTION, WE ARE, AS YOU ARE AWARE, RECEIVING LOTS OF INFORMATION FROM, OR LOTS OF QUESTIONS FROM CONSTITUENTS ABOUT, ABOUT, UM, THE ENCAMPMENTS DOWN AT THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL AND WHAT THE, WHAT THE, WHY THEY WERE BEING ALLOWED TO REMAIN AND KIND OF WHAT THE LONGER TERM STRATEGY IS WITH REGARD TO.
SO WE ARE CERTAINLY HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER AND KIMBERLY MCNEALY AND PAID BE AVAILABLE.
I KNOW SHE WAS AT LEAST GOING TO BE LISTENING IN, UM, AND I'M, I DON'T THINK I'M IN A POSITION TO GIVE YOU ANY ONE ANSWER THERE WE ARE, OF COURSE, DEALING WITH A LOT OF TENSIONS IN SO FAR AS, UM, WE HAVE CDC GUIDELINES THAT SUGGEST WE NOT MOVE ENCAMPMENTS AT PRESENT.
AND AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE LARGELY BEEN FOLLOWING THOSE EXCEPT IN CASES OF EXPLICIT, UH, DANGEROUS TO HEALTH OR SAFETY.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, HARD HAS WANTED TO BE SENSITIVE TO, UM, WHETHER THEY CAN ACTUALLY DIRECT SOMEONE TO ANOTHER PLACE TO BE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF KIMBERLY IS ON THIS AFTERNOON AND WE CAN CERTAINLY COME BACK TO YOU, BUT IT IS A CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY HAVING ABOUT, UM, WHAT A REASONABLE RESPONSE IS IN A SITUATION WHICH, UM, WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY ABLE TO GIVE THE MANAGERS OF OUR PUBLIC SPACES, THE KIND OF RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED IN ORDER TO, UM, IN THIS CASE TO ENFORCE THAT ORDINANCE IN SUCH A WAY THAT FEELS USEFUL AND, UM, AND ACTUALLY CHANGES ANYTHING BECAUSE THE CENSUS THAT PEOPLE WOULD JUST MOVE, YOU KNOW, A FEW FEET AWAY.
I THINK TOO, IF, IF YOU WOULD JUST, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC'S BENEFIT, EXPLAIN THE CDC, THE RATIONALE FOR THE CDC GUIDANCE.
[01:30:01]
GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THAT WE SHOULD NOT, UM, THAT MUNICIPALITIES AND GOVERNMENTS IN GENERAL SHOULD NOT BE CLEARING CAMP SITES.UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE THERE WHO ARE TYPICALLY INTERACTING IN A SMALL, UM, SOCIAL GROUP, MUCH LIKE A BUBBLE OR A POD THAT, UM, THAT WE MIGHT HAVE WITH OUR NEIGHBORS AND THAT WHEN THEY ARE FORCED TO CLEAR, UM, A PARTICULAR AREA, IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THEY THEN WOULD MOVE ON, FIND OTHER PLACES TO BE, AND QUITE LIKELY INTERACT WITH NEW INTERVIEW INDIVIDUALS IN CLOSE QUARTERS.
SO THERE IS A CONCERN ABOUT THE LIKELIHOOD OF TRANSMISSION THERE, AND IT IS, UM, INTENSIFIED BECAUSE OF THE, UH, COMMON, UH, CHRONIC HEALTH ISSUES THAT ARE OUR NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS LIVE WITH, WHICH MAKES THEM MORE VULNERABLE TO THE VIRUS.
SO COUNCIL MEMBERS, THIS IS KIMBERLY MCNEALY FROM PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
UM, DIANA DID JUST EXPLAIN TO YOU, I DO WANT TO ALSO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT HAS VISITED A NUMBER OF ENCAMPMENTS, UM, IN PART ON PARKLAND AND ADVISED INDIVIDUALS THAT THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED TO BE ON PARKLAND RIGHTS.
SO WE ADVISE INDIVIDUALS OF WHAT THE CURRENT ORDINANCE SAYS.
WE ASK THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO BEGIN, UM, MAKING PLANS OR CONSIDERING WHAT ALTERNATIVES THEY MAY HAVE, UM, TO BEING ON PARK PLAN.
WE ALSO DO, UH, CONNECT OR DO OUR BEST TO CONNECT THOSE INDIVIDUALS WITH OUR OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS LIKE INTEGRAL CARE, LIKE HOST, UM, LIKE PATH, THOSE ENTITIES THAT HELP PROVIDE, UM, CERTAIN RESOURCES THAT THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT DOES NOT HAVE.
WE ALSO TRIED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT LEAVE, NO TRACE, WHICH IS, UM, HOW TO BE, UM, ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE IN THE SPACE IN WHICH YOU ARE CURRENTLY, UM, RESIDING.
AND, AND WE ALSO, UM, HELP INDIVIDUALS UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S GOING TO COME A TIME WHEN THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO REMAIN IN THAT SPACE.
AND JUST TO CONCUR WITH WHAT DIANA SAID ARE OUR CHALLENGE AT THIS TIME FOR SOME OF THOSE LOCATIONS IS, UM, W WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE IS TO ASK PEOPLE TO, UM, TO RELOCATE TO, AS WE ARE.
WE FEAR THAT IF WE ASK THEM TO RELOCATE, THEY'LL, THEY'LL SELECT ANOTHER LOCATION THAT IS NEITHER, UM, ISN'T IT JUST NOT THE MOST APPROPRIATE LOCATION, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO RELOCATE THOSE INDIVIDUALS AGAIN.
SO, UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH, WITH, UM, DIANA'S OFFICE EVEN BEFORE DIANA CAME ON BOARD AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO SO AND WERE, UM, VERY AWARE OF THE SPACE, UM, OF THE SPACES THAT ARE OF CONCERN TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO ADJUST THOSE SYSTEMATICALLY.
OKAY, CATHERINE, JUST BY WAY OF MENTIONED, I TALKED TO RALPH, UH, ABOUT THE, UH, UH, ADMINISTRATION'S, UH, A LETTER, UH, ASKING OR SAYING THAT THE, A FEMA, UH, IMBURSEMENT SHOULD BE A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR THE NON, FOR THE NON CONGREGATE SHELTERING.
UM, AND HE POINTED OUT TO ME THAT THAT WAS REALLY GOOD NEWS, BUT THAT IT WAS A LETTER, NOT EVEN AN EXECUTIVE ORDER, AND IT CONTAINED A PROVISION THAT SAID CONSISTENT WITH LAW.
SO IT DOESN'T SUGGEST A CHANGE IN THE LAW, BUT TO THE DEGREE THAT IT IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT OUR INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THE EXISTING LAW IS, THE HOPE IS, IS THAT THAT'S GOING TO HELP US WITH FEMA, BUT STILL AN UNDECIDED ISSUE AT THIS POINT.
SO OUR STAFF'S LOBBYING EFFORTS IN THAT RESOLUTION CONTINUE.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S NOT A CLEAN ESTABLISHMENT OF THE POLICY.
THANKS FOR THAT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT.
I WANT TO, UM, FOLLOW UP ON THE CONCERNS RAISED BY COUNCIL MEMBER.
TOBO IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY.
AND FIRST I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, THE POSITIVE NEWS THAT, UM, DIANA IS CONVEYING WITH RESPECT TO OUR HOTEL ACQUISITION AND CONVERSION STRATEGY, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE WHOLE HOTELS ACROSS THESE NEXT COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEETINGS,
[01:35:01]
THAT WILL BE AT, OR NEAR OUR ORIGINAL TARGET OF THE 300 ROOMS, UM, YOU KNOW, AND JUST, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE SET OUT WITH THIS STRATEGY AND WE SET OUR NUMBERS, WE WERE NOT, UM, IN COVID AND THERE, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE SEE, UM, IN LIGHT OF THAT.AND I THINK THAT'S POSITIVE ALSO WONDER, ACKNOWLEDGE, UM, THE ESG FUNDING AND THE RAPID REHOUSING POSSIBILITIES FOR 550 HOUSEHOLDS BY END OF FISCAL YEAR 22.
I THINK THAT'S ALL REALLY GOOD NEWS.
HOWEVER, UM, WHEN WE GO AND WE LOOK AT THE NUMBERS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO ADDRESS, JUST IF WE DID A SNAPSHOT OF TIME, YOU HAVE IT, WE ARE SAYING WE HAVE 1,574 UNSHELTERED A NIGHT, UM, AND THOSE NUMBERS DON'T GET EVEN ALL THOSE PEOPLE IN ONE NIGHT OFF.
AND WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE 9,000 EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS EACH YEAR THAT WE ALSO HAVE TO, TO WORRY ABOUT.
SO, UM, WE'RE NOT YET THERE AND MEETING THE NEED, UM, FOR HOUSING.
AND FOR A LONG TIME, WE HAVE, UM, CHOSEN TO EMPHASIZE THE LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS THAT WE BELIEVE ARE BETTER SOLUTIONS AND HAVE NOT SERIOUSLY TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION TEMPORARY OPTIONS.
UM, AND SO I WANTED TO SPEAK TO THIS QUESTION OF WHETHER WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING DESIGNATED CAMPING AREAS AND WHAT IS THE PROCESS AND WHERE DOES THAT FIT INTO THE PLAN? UM, THE, THE CAMPING AND PARKING THAT WE ARE IN PARKS THAT WE ARE SEEING IS NEW CAMPS.
UM, THESE ARE NOT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE NEW CAMPS THAT ARE BEING FORMED AS OPPOSED TO MOVING CAMPS THAT ARE ESTABLISHED FOR MANY MONTHS.
UM, AND I THINK, I THINK WE MIGHT ALL AGREE THAT WHERE SOME OF THAT CAMPING IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IS NOT WHERE HE WOULD DESIGNATED IF WE HAD TO DESIGNATE IT, BUT IT IS DEFAULT A DESIGNATED CAMPING AREA.
UM, AND THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER APPROACH.
SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT THE OPTIONS ARE AND HOW STAFF IS THINKING ABOUT THAT AND WHERE THAT FITS AND HOW THINKING MAY HAVE EVOLVED NOW THAT WE'VE MOVED BEYOND, UM, THE INITIAL FORAYS INTO THIS PROCESS? SO, FIRST OF ALL, I DO WANT TO SAY THAT I THINK THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY IS GOING TO BE REALLY CRITICAL, NOT JUST FROM THE DIVISION STANDPOINT, BUT FROM THE COMMUNITY STANDPOINT AND COMING TOGETHER AND THINKING ABOUT, UM, NOT ONLY WHAT TYPES OF INTERVENTIONS WE NEED, BUT HOW MUCH TO ACTUALLY MAKE A CHANGE IN TERMS OF THE, A, THE UNSHELTERED NUMBERS THAT WE ARE SEEING RIGHT NOW, BUT NOT JUST MOVING THOSE FOLKS INTO SHELTER OR INTO MORE PALATABLE CAMPING SPACES, BUT UNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAVE A ROAD TO PERMANENT HOUSING FOR THEM.
UM, I, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, NOTHING IS OFF THE TABLE AT PRESENT, RIGHT? SO LONG AS WE ARE HOLDING TO OUR VALUES ABOUT, UM, RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF THESE, UM, NEIGHBORS AND THAT OUR, OUR INTENT IS TO PROVIDE HOUSING.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE COST, THE TIMELINE, RIGHT, AND THE ADEQUACY OF ANY NUMBER OF SHELTER, UM, UH, OPTIONS, IF YOU WILL, THAT DOES NOT EXCLUDE, UM, UH, SANCTION CAMP ROUNDS.
I THINK THAT, THAT, UM, CLEARLY TYPICALLY WOULD PROFILE PROVIDE, UM, FACILITIES THAT WERE NOT AS COMPLETE AS YOU WOULD SEE IN A STRUCTURE, RIGHT, OR A, OR A SERIES OF SMALL, UM, NON CONGREGATE CONGREGATIONAL SHELTERS.
BUT, UM, I, I THINK IT'S ON THE TABLE.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH STAFF, WE CAN LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE OPTIONS AND COME BACK TO YOU WITH, UM, AT LEAST INITIALLY WHAT WE BELIEVE THE PROS AND CONS OF THOSE ARE, UM, WITH AN EYE TOWARD IDENTIFYING MORE CONCRETE STRATEGY.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET THAT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS.
I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW AT THIS POINT IN TIME WHERE WE STAND WITH THAT, I, I UNDERSTAND, UM, THE ADVICE THAT WAS GIVEN AT A MUCH EARLIER STAGE.
UM, BUT I THINK WE WERE AT A DIFFERENT POINT IN TIME, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE REASSESS.
UM, AND I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT WHEN I TALK ABOUT A DESIGNATED CAMPING, IT COULD CERTAINLY INCLUDE THE, UM, THE POP-UP SHELTERS, THE, I FORGET WHAT YOU, THE INDIVIDUAL STRUCTURES, UM, SO THAT IT'S NON CONGREGATE.
UM, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THAT COULD BE STRUCTURED AND HOW THAT, THAT COULD LOOK.
[01:40:01]
COMPLETELY WITH THE, THE GOAL OF THAT.THE GOAL IS TO GET PEOPLE TO HOUSING, UM, BUT WHERE PEOPLE AND HOW PEOPLE ARE CAMPING RIGHT NOW DOES NOT, UM, SEEM PARTICULARLY HUMANE.
AND WE, I JUST, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER WE CAN GET TO THAT OTHER PLACE QUICK ENOUGH, OR IF WE NEED TO PUT SOME TEMPORARY, UM, STEPS IN PLACE ALONG THE WAY.
AND WE HAVE TO OPENLY, UM, CONFRONT THAT AND HAVE THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE.
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE CONCLUSION WILL BE THAT THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, THAT WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND THAT WE ARE ABLE TO CONSIDER THAT AS ONE OF THE STEPS, ONE OF THE MANY STEPS THAT WE MIGHT TAKE.
UM, AND PARTICULARLY IF WE ARE GOING TO ADDRESS THE CAMPING IN THE PARKS, WHICH IS NOT ALLOWED RIGHT NOW, UM, WE, WE NEED TO, WE REALLY DO NEED TO THINK ABOUT, UM, IF THERE'S A BETTER ALTERNATIVE, THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IS UNDER, IS, YOU KNOW, DOES NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES DOES NOT HAVE ANY PLACE TO MOVE PEOPLE TO.
AND THOSE ARE REALLY VERY VALID, UM, CONCERNS.
UM, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO BE CREATIVE ABOUT WHAT THE SOLUTION IS AND BE OPEN AND HONEST THAT WE HAVE THAT PROBLEM AND FIND A WAY FORWARD, UM, FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, SO THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE SUPPORT FOR THE END GOAL OF HOUSING, EVERYONE.
AND, UM, THANK YOU, COUNCIL ALTAR.
I THINK THAT, UH, YOUR COMMENTS AND ALSO COUNCIL MEMBER TOGO'S COMMENTS ARE, ARE, UM, ARE WELL SAID, AND I APPRECIATE, UH, HEARING THOSE.
AND SO THE ONLY THING I WOULD JUST ADD TO, UH, THE COMMENTS SO FAR AS, UM, I, I JUST WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU THE NON CONGREGATE ASPECT OF IT.
I THINK THAT, THAT, UM, CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN WHETHER A DESIGNATED SHELTER AREA IS, IS SAFE AND APPROPRIATE FOR SOMEONE BECAUSE THE ABILITY TO PUT IN PLACE, UM, THOSE, UH, PALLET HOMES OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL THEM, THE NON CONGREGATE, UH, APPROACH TO SHELTER REALLY PROVIDES SOME PRIVACY TO PEOPLE AND GIVES THEM THEIR OWN SPACE AND CAN ALSO GIVE THEM BETTER SHELTER THAN THEY HAVE AN INTENT RIGHT NOW, UH, FROM THE, UH, FROM THE WEATHER AND FROM OTHER THINGS.
AND SO I, I KNOW THAT, UH, I KNOW THAT, UM, ASKRAY WILL LOOK AT THAT ASPECT OF IT TOO, AS, UM, AS THEY'RE EXAMINING, UM, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR, AS THEY'RE EXAMINING THE POSSIBILITIES THERE.
I ALSO KNOW THAT THERE ARE EFFORTS GOING ON AT THE ESPERANZA COMMUNITY, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, TO EMPLOY THOSE KINDS OF, UM, THOSE KINDS OF, UM, UH, NON CONGREGATE SHELTER OPPORTUNITIES LIKE PALLET HOMES OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO, ANYWAY, I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT WE RECEIVED BACK FROM STAFF ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE I DO SHARE THE CONCERN ABOUT WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING IN THE PARKS.
WE HAVE SOME PARKS AREAS AND GREENBELT AREAS, UH, IN DISTRICT FIVE ALSO.
I WANT TO JUST, UH, ADD MY VOICE TO, UH, SOME OF THE OTHER SENTIMENT THAT'S BEEN EXPRESSED.
UH, I KNOW THAT, UM, UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS IS A TOPIC THAT'S BEING DISCUSSED, UM, UH, WITH GREAT URGENCY, UH, AS IT HAS BEEN IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, I THINK THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT WE NEED, WE NEED TO HAVE THAT, THAT, UH, IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE THAT TELLS US OVER TIME, UH, HOW LONG IT'S GONNA TAKE TO GET THIS DONE AND WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN.
I HAD BENCHMARKS ALONG THE WAY SO THAT PEOPLE CAN MEASURE PROGRESS.
UH, BUT I ALSO AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES THAT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING WITH GREATER URGENCY ON THE IMMEDIACY OF THE, THE CHALLENGE THAT THE COMMUNITY FACES.
UH, AND I'M ENCOURAGED TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, THE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS IN THAT REGARD.
UM, I THINK IT'S SIGNIFICANT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FIRST LOOKED AT THIS, THAT WE HAD PRETTY MUCH TAKEN OFF THE TABLE, UM, UM, DESIGNATED CAMPING AREAS, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT IS, THAT IS, UH, GENERALLY, UH, UH, DESIRABLE, UH, AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE, UH, AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, THE NEED FOR RAPID, UH, HOUSING, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT MAY VERY WELL, UM, UH, TRUMP THAT, UH, SO, UH, I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION, THE INVESTIGATIONS GOING ON IN THAT AREA.
CAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO DO BOTH THINGS, THE LONGTERM PLAN, AS WELL AS, UH, DLA MORE, I THINK IT'S REAL SIGNIFICANT FOR ME.
UH, GOING BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IN THE PAST IS NOT THE, THE
[01:45:01]
RIGHT SOLUTION, UH, BECAUSE ALL THAT DOES IS HIDE PEOPLE, EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS.THE CHALLENGE GROWS, UH, UNTIL IT BECOMES A SCALE, WE CAN'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
WE STILL HAVE A SCALE THAT WE CAN'T, UH, AND I'M ENCOURAGED WITH ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE BEING TEED UP, UM, UH, BOTH WITHIN THE CITY AND OUTSIDE THE CITY, UH, TO, TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE SHOULDN'T GO BACK CAUSE THAT'S NOT A GOOD CHOICE, BUT WE NEED TO, TO CONTINUE WITH THIS WORK AND DO BETTER THAN, UM, UH, THAN, THAN, THAN WE ARE NOW, UH, FOR THE DISCUSSION.
UH, NATASHA, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT MY, MY CONSTITUENTS KNOW, UM, IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, IF I'M NOT CONTRIBUTING TO THE DIALOGUE, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT BECAUSE IT'S, UH, IT'S NOT IMPORTANT.
IT'S ALSO, CERTAINLY NOT BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HEARD YOUR CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS.
WE ARE ASKING MANY, MANY QUESTIONS AND EXPLORING ALL THE POSSIBILITIES, UM, BEHIND THE SCENES AND WITH OUR COLLEAGUES.
UM, AND I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS IN THIS SETTING THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU'RE NOT BEING REPRESENTED AS FAR AS THE SUBJECT MATTERS CONCERNED.
CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE HOUSING, THE HOMELESS PLANNING SUMMIT THAT WE'RE PLANNING FOR FEBRUARY AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY CAN EXPECT WITH THAT SUMMIT AND KIND OF THE FORMAT, IF THAT'S FIGURED OUT JUST YET YOU'RE MUTED? WELL, THE CITY IS NOT ACTUALLY THE CONVENER OF THAT SUMMIT.
IT IS BEING CONVENED BY, UM, A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY FOLKS, INCLUDING THE DAA AND ECHO AND, UM, MAY OR MAY BE ABLE TO SPEAK MORE BROADLY TO SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE PUTTING THAT TOGETHER WITH THE IDEA BEING THAT, UM, WE REALLY COME TO SOME CONCRETE GOALS THAT WE SHARE AS A COMMUNITY, UM, AND HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE.
IT IS NOT A, UH, FRAMED AS A LONG, UH, PLANNING SESSION, BUT RATHER TAKING THE ACTION PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS THAT ECHO, UH, RELEASED, I BELIEVE IN 2018 AND PERHAPS UPDATED IN 2019, BUT TAKING THOSE STRATEGIES AND ATTACHING, UM, METRICS TO THEM.
SO THE NUMBER OF UNITS OF HOUSING, SHELTER, BEDS, ET CETERA, THAT WE WANT TO PRODUCE.
AND I REALLY DON'T WANT TO GET OUT IN FRONT OF THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE ORGANIZING IT.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT THEY'RE AT A PLACE YET TO REALLY, UH, TALK ABOUT WHAT THEIR KIND OF VISION IS.
I SHARE THE SAME VISION THAT DIANA HAS.
WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT IT IS THAT THAT COMES FROM THOSE FOLKS.
UH, BUT I THINK THAT THEY'RE STILL AT A KIND OF A PREMATURE PLACE DISCUSSING IT.
UH, HOPEFULLY THEY CAN BRING SOMETHING TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE LAST SLIDE OF THE LOOKING FORWARD, UM, AND JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THE REALLY IMPORTANT WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, UM, TO DEFINE THE ROLES OF THE CITY AND ECHO, UM, AND THE OTHER PARTNERS.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD IS THAT, UM, THE CITY HAS BEEN TRYING TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE ON THIS.
UM, AND I THINK WHAT WE'VE SEEN FROM LESSONS FROM OTHER CITIES, UM, WITH MORE SUCCESSFUL RESPONSES IS THAT THERE A BETTER, A BETTER DEFINITION OF THE ROLES, UM, HELPS EVERYONE TO BE STRATEGIC AND FOCUS THEIR EFFORTS WHERE, UM, THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS CAN BE MOST EFFECTIVE.
UM, I WANTED TO BRING THAT IN WITH THE MEMO, UM, FROM JANUARY 20TH THAT WE RECEIVED FROM MR. GAIL AND MS. GRAY.
AND I'M NOT SURE WHICH OF YOU WOULD BE THE BEST TO ANSWER THIS.
UM, BUT THERE'S A PORTION, UM, TOWARDS THE END OF THE MEMO PART, UM, THAT MEANT REFERENCES THAT COMMUNITY PARTNERS HAVE INDICATED THAT THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL PHILANTHROPIC INTEREST IN SUPPORTING THE HOTEL CONVERSION STRATEGY.
UM, WE'RE SOMEONE WITH MEANS INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE MOTEL CONVERSION STRATEGY.
CAN YOU PLEASE, UM, PROVIDE GREATER DETAIL ABOUT WHAT THAT ROLE WOULD BE? UM, YOU KNOW, CAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ECHO AND THE CITY THAT NEEDED TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS SOLUTION, THERE'S ALL THE NONPROFITS.
UM, BUT THE BUSINESS AND PHILANTHROPIC SECTOR, UM, ALSO WE NEED THEM TO STEP UP IF WE'RE GOING TO FIND THE RESOURCES AND THE WILL TO DO THIS.
[01:50:01]
UM, VERY SPECIFICALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE MOTEL CONVERSION STRATEGY, CAN YOU SPEAK TO SOME OF THOSE PHILANTHROPIC OPPORTUNITIES AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? SURE.SO, UM, I WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE ANY NUMBER OF WAYS TO BECOME INVOLVED, UH, IN THE HOTEL CONVERSION STRATEGY.
IN, IN THE CASE OF THESE TWO PARTICULAR HOTELS, UM, ONE OF THE MOST OBVIOUS PLACES MIGHT BE TO CONTRIBUTE, UM, DOLLARS TOWARD THE RENOVATION COSTS.
SO THE CITY IS COMING IN, UM, IF APPROVED WOULD ACQUIRE THE PROPERTIES AND THEN WOULD BE LOOKING TO, UM, ESTABLISH SUSTAINABLE OPERATING FUNDS FOR THE SERVICE PROVIDERS, AS WELL AS THE SERVICE DOLLARS, THEY ALWAYS NEED SUPPLEMENTARY, UM, FUNDING, UH, TO ENRICH THOSE SERVICES.
BUT ONE THING THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS, UM, THE PRIVATE SECTOR COMING IN TO HELP, UM, BRING THESE BUILDINGS TO RIGHT WHERE THEY NEED TO BE, TO BE TURNED INTO FOLKS LONG-TERM HOMES, AND THAT WILL, UH, BOTH, UH, MAKE BEST USE OF THE CITY'S DOLLARS.
AND, UM, IT WILL MOVE THE PROCESS ALONG MORE QUICKLY BECAUSE AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IF WE GO THROUGH A PROCESS FOR ADDITIONAL DOLLARS FOR RENOVATION, THERE IS A TIME COST THERE AS WELL.
SO THE MEMO THAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO HAS, UH, TWO LETTERS OF INTEREST ATTACHED TO IT FROM OUR TWO NONPROFITS THAT HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST.
AND I AM CERTAIN THAT THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN CONTRIBUTING TO THAT EFFORT.
SO WOULD THAT BE THE APPROPRIATE AVENUE WOULD BE FOR SOMEONE TO REACH OUT TO, UM, INTEGRAL CARE AND CARTUS, OR IS IT, IS THERE NO.
WHO IS IT THAT SOMEBODY TALKS TO FEELS LIKE THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT? WE ARE HAPPY TO SPEAK WITH FOLKS.
I'M SURE IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN OR HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ECHO, THEY CAN DIRECT THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT, UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY GET THEM CONNECTED WITH, UM, OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE FIELD TO CONTRIBUTE, CONTRIBUTE TO THE EFFORT.
AND ONCE WE WERE TO MAKE THOSE RENOVATIONS, ARE THERE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT WE'RE THEN IN A POSITION TO PULL DOWN FOR ONGOING COSTS AS PART OF THIS? SO THE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT WE WOULD LIKELY TARGET FIRST WOULD BE, UM, THE POSSIBILITY OF PROJECT-BASED VOUCHERS VIA OUR LOCAL HOUSING AUTHORITY.
SO WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THE PROPERTY, THE RESOURCES IT NEEDS TO, TO OPERATE, BUT THEN, UM, ONCE OPERATING, WE BELIEVE, OR EVEN ONCE WE HAVE SITE CONTROL, WE COULD CONCEIVABLY APPLY FOR FEDERAL DOLLARS TO PROVIDE THE OPERATING SUBSIDIES, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS THE, THE RENT FOR THE BUILDING.
AND CERTAINLY IF WE SEE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL DOLLARS ON THE SERVICE SIDE, WE WOULD PURSUE THOSE AS WELL.
UM, ABSOLUTELY LOOKING FOR EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE CAN TO BRING THE CITY DOLLARS IN, TO SECURE THE PROJECT, TO SOLIDIFY IT SO THAT THEN WE CAN, UM, CAPITALIZE ON THOSE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES, BUT AS A PHILANTHROPIC INVESTMENT THAN, UM, IT'S REALLY SET UP THAT IT WOULD ENABLE LEVERAGING POTENTIALLY OBVIOUSLY THE, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, BUT, UM, THERE, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SET THE STAGE FOR IT TO BE IF NOT FULLY SELF-SUSTAINING, BUT A LARGE PORTION OF ITSELF SUSTAINING ONCE YOU MAKE THE RENOVATIONS THAT ALLOW YOU, UM, TO BE ELIGIBLE.
I JUST THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE REAL OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR PHILANTHROPIC INVOLVEMENT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
UM, AND THE SOONER THAT WE CAN GET THESE MOTELS CONVERTED AND UP AND RUNNING AND MOVING FORWARD, UM, THE BIGGER DENT THAT WE CAN MAKE AND THAT WE CAN, UM, DEMONSTRATE HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN OTHER CITIES, UM, THAT THIS MOTEL CONVERSION APPROACH IS THE COST-EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT WAY OF MOVING FORWARD.
UM, IT'S BEEN COMPLICATED BY COVID, BUT IT IS NONETHELESS, UM, MUCH MORE COST-EFFECTIVE THAN TRYING TO BUILD HOUSING, UM, FROM SCRATCH, UM, IN TERMS OF THE TIMELINE, UM, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THESE BEING LOCATED IN AREAS THAT WE MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE BE ABLE TO, TO BUILD.
I, THEN, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WE HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING FROM, UH, FROM THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ABOUT COMMUNITY FIRST, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WAIVED, UH, OVER $3 MILLION
[01:55:01]
FEEDS FOR THEM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE A HUNDRED UNITS BILL.AND ALSO THAT I WAS GOING TO HOUSE 400 PEOPLE, 200 A UNIT FOR A SINGLE FAMILY.
I'M A SINGLE PERSON AND A 100 UNITS FOR MARRIED COUPLES.
CAN YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE ON THAT? OR IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION, IF YOU CAN GET IT, GET IT TO US LATER ON.
SO, YOU KNOW, I CAN GIVE YOU MY GENERAL UNDERSTANDING, BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY WANT TO GET BACK TO YOU WITH MORE GRANULAR DETAIL.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UM, COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE HAS LAUNCHED THAT PHASE TWO AND THAT THEY HAVE BEGUN HOUSING.
UM, THE FIRST RESIDENTS OF THAT SECOND PHASE, WHICH IS I BELIEVE BETWEEN TWO 25 AND TWO 50 ADDITIONAL HOMES, UH, BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY TOUCH BASE WITH THEM AND WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU WITH, UH, AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, ALSO IS, UH, DO Y'ALL DOCUMENT THAT IF THAT ON YOUR DASHBOARD, WHEN YOU HOUSE, WHEN THEY ACTUALLY GET PEOPLE OFF THE STREET INTO THOSE UNITS.
SO I AM NOT CERTAIN ABOUT THAT BECAUSE COMMUNITY FIRST VILLAGE IS SUCH A UNIQUE MODEL.
AND IN SO FAR AS THEY USE, UM, PREDOMINANTLY PRIVATE DOLLARS, THEY ARE NOT WOVEN INTO ALL OF THE DATASETS IN QUITE THE SAME WAY AS SOME OF OUR OTHER PARTNERS.
BUT, UM, BUT I NEED TO UNDERSTAND JUST WHAT THE REALITY IS AND WE CAN LIKE, YEAH, CAUSE IT'LL BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT THAT SO THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, AREN'T GETTING PEOPLE OFF THE STREET.
AND I, I SAW THAT YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD 147 PERMANENT HOUSING THAT YOU, YOU PROVIDE LAST YEAR.
UH, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST WONDER IF, UH, WHERE THERE, THOSE UNITS NOT CONSIDERED AS COMMUNITY FIRST.
I MEAN, JUST, IT JUST THAT WE MIGHT BE HOUSING A LOT MORE OTHER MORE PEOPLE THEN WHEN THEN YOU'RE DOCUMENTED.
SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT NOW THAT THAT INFORMATION GETS OUT, THAT WE ARE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT, OR, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, UH, I THINK WHAT HAPPENED IN ALSO IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY IS GETTING FRUSTRATED CAUSE IT KEEPS SINGING THESE CAMPSITES AND THEY KEEP GROWING.
AND, AND WHAT, WHAT W I FEEL LIKE WE ACTUALLY ARE ACCOMPLISHING QUIT, PUTTING PEOPLE, WE'RE LETTING PEOPLE JUST COME BACK AND THEN FEEL BAD PLACE FOR PEOPLE BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID ANY TIME PERIOD, THEY WERE SORT OF CLOSE TO 9,000 PEOPLE, OR THEY'RE EXPERIENCING HOMELESS.
AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION OF WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE AND, UH, ARE THEY LOSING THEIR HOUSE BECAUSE OF THE PARENT AMERICAN, THEY CAN'T GET WORK OR, UH, YOU KNOW, CAUSE WE ARE GETTING PEOPLE OFF THE STREET, THERE SEEM TO BE A LOT MORE.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THESE PEOPLE ARE THAT ARE LOSING THEIR HOMES OR PEOPLE THAT CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY THE RENT.
SO, AND BECAUSE OF THEIR, THEIR, UH, BACKGROUND AND, YOU KNOW, SOME MIGHT BE, UH, YOU KNOW, BEEN CHICKEN IN THE PAST FOR SLEEPING ON THE STREETS AND NOW THEY CAN'T GET A PLACE TO, TO MOVE INTO.
SO IT'D BE VERY INTERESTING FOR ME KNOWING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE ON THE STATE LEVEL.
AND THEN AS CITIZENS HERE AT DOS FOR THAT PETITION TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES OR ARE GOING TO BE COMING UP PRETTY SOON.
SO WITH THE SESSION GOING ON AND ALL THAT, WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING THAT COMES DOWN ON US.
COLLEAGUES, KATHY, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK, LAST POINTS, DIANA YOU'RE AT, AT ONE POINT IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU TALKED ABOUT, I THINK THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS THAT THE CITY IS PROPOSING TO HOUSE OR THE, OR, AND HAS THE GOAL OF HOUSING, UM, I'M SORRY THAT I DON'T HAVE ALL, I DON'T HAVE IT YET PRINTED OUT THE PRESENTATION.
I KNOW YOU'VE MADE IT AVAILABLE AND IT'S NOT ANY LONGER ON THE SCREEN, BUT DOES YOUR PRESENTATION ALSO TALK ABOUT, WELL, ONE, I JUST WANT YOU TO SPEAK FOR A MOMENT TO THE FACT THAT, THAT THE CITY'S EFFORTS ARE JUST ONE PIECE OF A MUCH BROADER, UM, COMMUNITY EFFORT.
SO THOSE NUMBERS AREN'T REALLY REFLECTIVE OF THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS EACH YEAR THAT ARE BEING HOUSED AND ARE EXITING HOMELESSNESS THROUGH THE WORK OF OUR PARTNERS, SOME OF WHOM, UM, WE HELP SUPPORT THROUGH OUR CITY DOLLARS.
SO IF YOU COULD JUST SPEAK TO THAT POINT FOR A SEC, FOR A MINUTE, I WOULDN'T WANT ANYONE TO COME AWAY WITH, UM, A FEELING THAT, YOU KNOW, 500 OR THE CITY'S EFFORTS, OR ARE ALL THAT'S
[02:00:01]
GOING ON WITH REGARD TO GETTING INDIVIDUAL, OUR NEIGHBORS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING HOUSING HOMELESSNESS INTO PERMANENT HOUSING.AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS SUPPORT.
I KNOW I'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH, UM, STAFF AND WITH THE MANAGERS AND SEVERAL OF MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT THIS IDEA OF REVISITING DESIGNATED CAMPING AREAS, UM, AS AN AND LEARNING FROM SOME OF THOSE CONSULTANTS THAT HAVE, HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH WHAT HAS WORKED AND WHAT HASN'T WORKED.
AND SO JUST WANT TO ADD MY VOICE TO THAT OTHER COLLEAGUES AND I'LL, UM, I KNOW SEVERAL OF US HAVE TALKED ABOUT, ABOUT WHETHER, UM, IT IS NECESSARY OR USEFUL TO PROVIDE AN IFC WITH SOME TIMELINE FOR THAT CONVERSATION.
AND SO I'LL BE CONTINUING THAT OVER THE NEXT NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS TO FIGURE OUT IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL IN, IN SETTING THAT CONVERSATION UP FOR THE, FOR OUR COUNCIL.
AND, UM, AS I ANSWER COUNCIL MEMBER, STOP ME, IF IT SOUNDS LIKE I HAVE NOT UNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION FULLY.
UM, WHAT I WILL SAY IS THAT YES, AS A COMMUNITY, WE, WE TEND TO LOOK AT HOW MANY FOLKS ARE HOUSED OVERALL.
AND THOSE PROGRAMS ARE FUNDED THROUGH A VARIETY OF SOURCES.
AND JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, UM, I WAS ABLE TO WORK WITH THE CITY IN THOSE FIRST TWO PSH GOALS THAT WERE SET BACK IN 2010 AND 2014, I THINK.
AND WE SAT AROUND A TABLE AND THESE WERE FAIRLY SMALL GOALS AT THE TIME, UM, 300 UNITS, 400 UNITS OF PSH AND PUTTING TOGETHER THAT PUZZLE OF HOW WE WERE GOING TO GET TO THOSE MANY UNITS WITH THOSE KINDS OF RESOURCES, YOU KNOW, REALLY INVOLVED PROBABLY 15 FOUNDERS IN WAYS FOR DIFFERENT PROJECTS.
SO ONE OF THE REASONS I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE TALK ABOUT HAVING A COMMUNITY GOAL, IDEALLY, A SHARED GOAL OR GOALS IS THAT REALLY THEY'RE GOING TO BE VERY RARELY CASES IN WHICH THE CITY GOES AND THE CITY ITSELF ALONE CREATES HOUSING OR HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? ALMOST ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE GOING TO BE LAYERED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
AND SO WE CAN SPEAK TO RESOURCES THAT ARE FLOWING THROUGH THE CITY.
AND THAT'S PERHAPS WHAT YOU WERE ALLUDING TO WITH THE 500, UM, UNITS OR, OR SLOTS OF RAPID.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT THAT IS ACTUALLY A COMBINATION OF ESG.
MONEY'S FLOWING THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ESG MONIES THAT WERE PASSED TO AUSTIN, UH, THROUGH TDH CA WITH THE INPUT OF ECHO.
SO I WANT TO HELP COUNCIL UNDERSTAND WHAT WE SPECIFICALLY ARE DOING IN TERMS OF THE MECHANICS OF WHAT'S PASSING THROUGH THE CITY, BUT ALSO ABSOLUTELY BE VERY COGNIZANT OF THAT OVERALL ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE ARE VERY MUCH INTERWOVEN WITH OUR CARS.
I THINK THIS MAY BE DIANA A QUESTION FOR LATER, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GET AN IDEA ABOUT ANY COORDINATION OR THE MECHANICS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO DEVELOP TO TRY TO GET OUR ARMS AROUND MORE OF A COORDINATED, REGIONAL RESPONSE TO HOMELESSNESS.
I THINK WE FIND THAT AUSTIN WILL GET TO THE LIMIT OF WHAT WE CAN DO AS AN INDIVIDUAL, BUT THAT IS WHY I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL THE SURROUNDING AREAS IN THE SSA AND MAYBE ADVANCE THAT CONVERSATION WITH NOTLEY.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD IN, AS IT SEEMS LIKE WE WERE MAYBE CLOSER TO WRAPPING UP THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, I AGREE WITH A LOT OF THE SENTIMENTS OF MY COLLEAGUES, UM, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE, UH, DISCUSSION OF DESIGNATED SITES.
I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, AS HAS BEEN STATED, WE HAD THOUGHT EARLIER, YOU KNOW, THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY THE WAY TO GO.
I THINK THAT WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THESE ENCAMPMENTS, UM, MORE CLOSE TO PUBLIC SPACES, START TO VERGE ON THE HEADCOUNT THAT WE MIGHT SEE IN A SMALLER DESIGNATED CAMPSITE.
SO I'M KIND OF INTERESTED AS THIS HAS BEEN EVOLVING OVER THE LAST, UM, SEVERAL MONTHS TO KIND OF LOOK AT WE'RE ALREADY SEEING PEOPLE ORGANIZING AND SPACES, UM, YOU KNOW, SHARING SPACE TOGETHER.
AND WITH THE ADDITION OF THE PALLET SHELTER CONVERSATION, I'M REALLY INTRIGUED BY HOW THAT MIGHT BE ADVANTAGEOUS TO A SITUATION WHERE WE MIGHT LOOK AT DOING A MORE DESIGNATED CAMPSITE, WHERE THEN YOU HAVE A LITTLE MORE STRUCTURE TO HOW MANY SPACES ARE SAFELY BEING PROVIDED FOR PEOPLE WHEN YOU MIGHT NEED TO MOVE THEM OR RELOCATE THEM SO THAT PEOPLE IN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THAT FIRST STEP, UM, OUT OF UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS.
UM, I WAS ABLE TO TOUR THE OTHER ONE'S FOUNDATION
[02:05:01]
OPERATING OVER AT CAMPUS SPERANZA AND SEEING SOME OF THE WORK THEY ARE DOING.UM, THEY ALSO HAVE THE WORKFORCE FIRST PROGRAM THAT THEY OPERATE, UM, WHICH I BELIEVE THAT CONTRACT MAY BE COMING BACK FOR RENEWAL OR ADDITIONAL FUNDING THIS WEEK.
I KNOW IT'S THROUGH FAMILY ELDERCARE.
AND SO WE'RE STILL LOOKING INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS OF WHAT THAT CONTRACTING LOOKS LIKE.
SO I NEED TO GO BACK AND VERIFY THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK AS THIS EVOLVES AND AS WE FIND WHAT WORKS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND DIFFERENT WAYS, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND SUCCESSES.
I THINK THAT THERE IS A LITTLE MORE, UM, TOOLS THAT WE HAVE TO UTILIZE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING ANY AND ALL OPTIONS THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
UM, FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, DURING A PANDEMIC, WHICH I KNOW MUST BE SO DIFFICULT.
UM, BUT I ALSO KNOW WITH THE QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE, UM, CAMPING THAT'S GOING ON IN PARK SPACES, I KNOW THAT OUR ORDINANCES CURRENTLY DO SPECIFY THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, PARKS WITHOUT A CAMPING REGISTRATION, WITHOUT A PERMIT PROCESS FOR CAMPING OR SOMETHING THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN WHAT IS CURRENTLY ALLOWED UNDER OUR CODE.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT IF THE CDC IS SAYING IT'S BETTER NOT TO MOVE PEOPLE, UH, FOR RISK OF THEM INADVERTENTLY BECOMING INFECTED OR INFECTING OTHERS, THAT'S CERTAINLY A CONCERN THAT, THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO.
UM, BUT I KNOW THAT WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC USING TRAILS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, RECREATION, TRANSPORTATION, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO GET OUT AND GET SOME, SOME FRESH AIR FOR THEMSELVES AS THEY ARE DOING THEIR OWN SOCIAL DISTANCING, UM, THAT WE MAY INADVERTENTLY BE CREATING A SITUATION WHERE THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS ACCIDENTALLY INFECTING OTHER PEOPLE AND VICE VERSA.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.
I WASN'T REALLY AWARE OF THE KIND OF FEDERAL GUIDELINES AROUND HOW, HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE IN ENCAMPMENTS ARE, ARE SAFE DURING THIS TIME.
UM, BUT I AM INTERESTED IN THAT CONVERSATION AROUND TRYING NOT TO MOVE THEM, BUT ALSO KNOWING THEM, THEY INADVERTENTLY BE IN A SPACE WHERE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND WEARING MASKS ARE ENTERING THAT SPACE.
AND SO I THINK IT'S AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.
THAT'S, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY INVOLVED, YOU KNOW, EVOLVING ALONG THE WAY.
UM, BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT OVER THE COURSE OF THIS MORNING.
AND, UM, I'M CURIOUS TO SEE WHERE, WHERE WE HEAD FROM FROM HERE.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE ON BOARD.
UH, I'M GOING TO NEED TO LEAVE, UH, KATHY, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN TAKE OVER THE, THE, THE CHAIR.
UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER COLLEAGUES THAT ARE LEAVING AT NOON.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO COME BACK.
UH, SOMEONE SAID AT THE CHAT METRO MEETING, SOMEONE CHECKS AND SAID IT SHOULD BE A COUPLE OF HOURS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO, TO RECONVENE AND SAY LIKE TWO 15 OR TWO 30 OR SOMETHING, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UH, WHEN WE WOULD ALL BE BACK AGAIN.
UH, BUT I WILL LEAVE THAT TO YOU GUYS TO, TO DECIDE KATHY, CAN I GIVE YOU THE, THE CHAIR? THANK YOU, MAYOR.
AND I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST THAT IF WE, IF WE CAN, WE TRY TO HIT THE OTHER ITEMS ON THE POLLED LIST, UM, BEFORE WE, BEFORE WE BREAK.
SO I GUESS THE FIRST QUESTION THE MAYOR HAD ASKED WAS ABOUT, UM, CAP METRO.
DO YOU HAVE, UH, AN ESTIMATE OF WHEN YOU MIGHT BE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER? WELL, IT'S IT'S, I DON'T KNOW.
SEE WHAT WOULD COUNCIL MEMBER RENTERIA THINGS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE I DON'T KNOW THAT WE COULD PREDICT BEFORE THREE, THINK YOU GOT, REMEMBER, DO YOU HAVE AN ESTIMATE? UH, HOLD ON.
I JUST TALKED TO ED AND, UH, I THINK THEY'RE GONNA RE CONVENED A MEETING AT 1230 AND DO YOU KNOW, TOTALLY HEARING IT 12, AS YOU KNOW, WE OFTEN DON'T HAVE MUCH IN TERMS OF PARTICIPATION THERE, BUT THE MEETING CONVENES AT 1230.
I, I, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE THAT MUCH TO DISCUSS WHERE WE ARE GOING TO BE ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR VICE CHAIR AND COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO I REALLY DON'T HAVE AN IDEA HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO LAST.
[A. Pre-Selected Agenda Items]
THAT WE, WE TRY TO TAKE THE OTHER PULLED ITEMS. I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD JUST QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM.SO MAYBE WE CAN GET THROUGH THE OTHER, THE OTHER PULLED ITEMS. I PROBABLY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HELL SOUTH.
SO LET'S SEE HOW MANY OF YOURS WE CAN HIT BEFORE WE LOSE SOME OF OUR COLLEAGUES.
AND THEN WHY DON'T WE PLAN AT TWO O'CLOCK TO FINISH UP THE PULLED ITEMS AND THEN GO INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT IF YOU GUYS AREN'T BACK, WHAT, WHAT TO DO NEXT? DOES THAT SOUND REASONABLE
[02:10:01]
COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR? UM, I JUST WANTED TO ASK ONE THING FOR MS. GRAY AS FOLLOW-UP, AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO ANSWER IT NOW, BUT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT IS HAVEN FOR HOPE, AND WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, MUCH EARLIER IN OUR CONVERSATIONS OVER HOMELESSNESS, WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHY, UM, OUR CONSULTANTS AND OUR STAFF FELT LIKE THAT WAS NOT THE APPROPRIATE MODEL.UM, I THINK FOR THE CONVERSATION AND THE COMMUNITY, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO, UM, COMMUNICATE, UM, WHY WE ARE NOT ADOPTING THAT MODEL AND WHAT THE REASONS ARE.
UM, SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S COMING FROM AN INFORMED PLACE, UM, AS WE'RE RESPONDING BECAUSE WE, WE CONTINUALLY GET THAT QUESTION AND I THINK WE WOULD BENEFIT FROM SOME BROADER EDUCATION ABOUT, UM, SOME OF THE CHOICES.
SO WHY DON'T WE HAVE THAT BE THE PLAN COUNCIL MEMBERS ON CAP METRO.
I KNOW WE'LL BE LOSING YOU HERE QUICKLY, BUT, UH, LET'S, LET'S TACKLE THE PULLED ITEMS AND LET'S PLAN ON COMING BACK AT TWO O'CLOCK AND CHECKING IN TOGETHER, AND THEN WE'LL FIGURE OUT IF WE NEED TO DELAY AT THAT POINT TO WAIT FOR THE REST OF OUR COLLEAGUES, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, WHY DON'T WE LOOK? IT LOOKS LIKE, I BELIEVE THAT WE'VE COMPLETED 31.
IS THAT YOUR SENSE OF IT TOO? UM, DO LET'S GO AHEAD AND JUMP INTO HOW ABOUT ITEM 24? THAT LOOKS LIKE THE QUICKEST AND THE OTHER THREE WILL TAKE THE SAME STAFF.
SO LET'S SEE IF WE CAN TAKE NUMBER 24 UP QUICKLY.
UM, IS THE STAFF HERE FOR THAT GOOD QUESTION AND, AND CITY MANAGER? I THINK MY PROPOSED ORDER WOULD BE 24 AND THEN 14, 16 AND 27.
IF WE HAVEN'T ALREADY ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS.
COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY ON 27, 27.
SO CITY MANAGER, 24, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE UP A THIRD, 14 AND 16.
AND WE DO HAVE STAFFING, UH, DIRECTOR WEEKS IS HERE TO ANSWER FOR QUESTIONS FOR NUMBER 24.
AND WE'LL JUST BE MOVED OVER IN A SECOND.
SO WOULD YOU LIKE FOR ME TO ASK THE QUESTION I'M 24 NOW? YEP.
SO I WAS WONDERING IF WE HAD ANY OTHER SCHOOLS THAT CURRENTLY PARTICIPATE IN A SIMILAR PROGRAM BECAUSE I'M CONCERNED ABOUT EQUITY ACROSS CHARTER AND PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS, HAVING ACCESS TO OUR LIBRARIES.
MY THOUGHTS ON THAT ARE THAT IT WOULD BE A GREAT PROGRAM AND THAT WE SHOULD INCLUDE AS MANY DIFFERENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS AS POSSIBLE INSTEAD OF JUST SHOWING FAVORITISM TOWARDS ONE.
I SEE YOU ON THE, CAN YOU ANSWER THE COUNCIL MEMBERS QUESTIONS PLEASE? MANAGER? I, I'M NOT SURE IF I'M REMEMBERING THIS CORRECTLY.
AISD HAS, THIS HAS THIS PROGRAM AND HAS FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND I BELIEVE DEL VALLEY ALSO DOES, AM I COUNCIL MEMBER OF FIVE DAYS? I SEE YOU SAYING THAT THAT'S CORRECT.
SO THOSE ARE AT LEAST TWO DISTRICTS THAT, THAT HAVE THE CARDS, AH, DIRECTOR WEEKS.
I SEE YOU NOW, DO YOU WANT THE COUNCIL MEMBER TO REPEAT HER QUESTION? NO, I GOT IT.
ROOSEVELT WASTE LIBRARIES, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, YOUR EX.
HAVING TROUBLE HEARING YOU, IF YOU COULD, IF YOU COULD, UM, JUST GET A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE MICROPHONE.
CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME NOW, UH, CUSTOMER TO TELL YOU EXACTLY RIGHT.
I'LL GO IS TO HAVE EVERY STUDENT IN, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY TO HAVE LIBRARY CARDS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE DEL VALLEY AND AISD AS A PARTNER IN GETTING LIBRARY CARDS.
AND SO OUR GOAL IS TO TAKE, TAKE THESE A SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CHARTER SCHOOL ONE BY ONE.
UM, AND LATER ON, UH, LIBRARY COMMISSION IS GOING TO, UH, SET A PROPOSAL RECOMMENDATION THAT WE INCLUDE ALL THE SCHOOLS THAT THAT'S WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, SO THAT WE DON'T LOSE ANY OF OUR STUDENTS, UM, AS FAR AS, UM, GETTING THEM LIBRARY CARDS AND HAVING ACCESS TO OUR RESOURCES.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE HARD WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO LIBRARY CARDS.
YOU DID MENTION THAT IT WAS FOR ALL SCHOOLS IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
DOES THAT INCLUDE SOME OF THE SCHOOLS IN ROUND ROCK ISD THAT ARE IN TRAVIS COUNTY AS WELL? THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THE CHARTER WILL NOT ALLOW US
[02:15:01]
TO DO IS THAT IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE OF THE ETJ, UH, THAT YOU CAN'T DO THAT.AND SO IT WILL TAKE AN ACT BY COUNCIL TO, UH, MAKE THOSE CHANGES SO THAT WE CAN INCLUDE THOSE SCHOOL DISTRICT WITHIN WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND, UM, UH, OUTSIDE OF TRAVIS COUNTY.
WE DO HAVE SOMEONE THAT GUYS DO SCHOOLS THAT ARE LOCATED IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND SO THAT'S JUST A FURTHER CLARIFY.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE GOT IS THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE SOME SCHOOLS WITHIN, THAT HAS AUSTIN ADDRESSES.
UH, WE DON'T WANT TO, UH, HAVE SOME KIDS AS PART OF THE SCHOOL, GET LIBRARY CARDS AND OTHERS NOT GETTING LIBRARY CARDS.
AND SO IF WE CAN'T, WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM ALL LIBRARY COSTS VERSUS JUST SOME OF THOSE CLASSES OR STUDENTS.
THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION THERE.
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THIS, THIS WHOLE PROGRAM ROLLOUT AND THE POSITIVE EFFECT IT HAS ON OUR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
UM, NUMBER 14, THIS IS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
HOPEFULLY THEY'RE ON THE CALL AS WELL, OR COULD WE PULL THEM OVER, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO BIND 14 AND 16 INTO THAT? SO LET'S ADDRESS THEM BOTH AT ONCE.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE STAFF, WHAT YOUR QUESTION.
THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR QUESTIONS.
MY CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS WERE WE DETERMINE HOW EACH ORGANIZATION PROVIDES THE OVERSIGHT, WHAT SORT OF OVERSIGHT THEY ARE PROVIDING AND WHY THESE PROGRAMS AREN'T BEING MANAGED DIRECTLY BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UH, ITEMS 14 AND 15 WERE PROGRAMS THAT WERE APPROVED BY COUNCIL AS PART OF THE CARES SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
AND SO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, FIRST OF ALL, SO THERE'LL BE A WHOLE RAB, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ITEMS, 14 AND 15.
WE'RE PART OF THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A SPENDING FRAMEWORK FROM THE CURES FUNDING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT PROCURED A THIRD PARTY SERVICES TO EXECUTE GUIDELINES APPROVED BY COUNCIL.
AND SO WE MONITOR THE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE WITH A BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU CIAO IN UNITED WAY, BUT THEY EXECUTE OUR GUIDELINES.
SO AS A FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO THAT, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR WORK IN PROVIDING THAT, THAT FEEDBACK AND BACKGROUND, WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CREATE MORE TRANSPARENCY AMONGST THE CITY IN REGARDS TO THESE PROGRAMS AND HOW THINGS ARE DISTRIBUTED TO THROUGH THE CARES ACT.
CURRENTLY, WE HAVE A DASHBOARD ON ATX RECOVERS.COM FOR ALL OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WERE, UM, EXECUTED OR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
EACH DASHBOARD INCLUDES DATA ON WHO APPLIED THE DISTRICTS, THE ECONOMIC, UH, ETHNIC BREAKDOWN, ET CETERA, AS WELL AS WHO RECEIVE THE FUNDS.
SO THE FIRST PAGE OF THE DASHBOARD SHOWS APPLICATIONS AND THEN THE LAST PAGE SHOWS AWARDS, AND THAT WE HAVE DASHBOARDS FOR ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS, COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? I DO NOT AT THIS TIME.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS AS WELL.
I WAS GOING TO, UM, JUST ASK DIRECTOR HALT, RAB, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF HOLT RAB.
UM, YOUR OFFICE HAD PROVIDED MINE WITH SOME INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THOSE CHARGES BREAK DOWN TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU.
AND IF WE COULD TREAT THAT AS A QUESTION FOR THE Q AND A, THAT MIGHT, THAT MIGHT ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I KNOW I'M GETTING FROM CONSTITUENTS.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, MAYBE AS WELL, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, UH, THANKS, KATHY, UH, TO OUR STAFF.
IF YOU COULD GIVE US A LITTLE MORE BACKGROUND ON WHY THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU WAS SELECTED TO BE YES.
UM, WE ACTUALLY, THROUGH OUR PROCUREMENT PROCESS, INVITED 11 VENDORS FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO INTERVIEW WITH A THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR, SEVEN OF THE 11.
AND WE LOOKED FOR THEIR CAPACITY IN TERMS OF OUTREACH, UM, INTAKE, CASE MANAGEMENT, ET CETERA.
AND THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU CAME OUT AHEAD, UH, TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES ALONG WITH THE SPEED, WE WERE INSTRUCTED TO DEPLOY THESE FUNDS QUICKLY, AND THEY WERE ABLE
[02:20:01]
TO DO THAT AND WE CAN PROVIDE THE Q AND A FROM DECEMBER 3RD COUNSEL.WE CAN SEND THAT BACK OUT BECAUSE THAT INCLUDED THE BREAKDOWN OF THAT ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.
THE TOTAL AMOUNT ARE DISPERSED, ET CETERA, THAT WE'LL GET THAT BACK OUT.
UM, I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE FEE FOR THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU IS UNDER 3.5%, UM, FOR THIS, WHICH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, A VERY, UM, LOW RATE COMPARED TO, TO WHAT WE OFTEN SEE FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THIS.
UM, I DID HAVE A CLARIFICATION THAT I WANTED TO GET.
UM, SO THERE, THERE WAS A COUPLE OF FUNDING SOURCES.
ONE IS THE CARES ACT FUNDING OF THE 2 MILLION, 190,525, WHICH I BELIEVE WAS, UM, DETAILED RECENTLY IN A MEMO FROM ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF HOW THEY WERE HANDLING SOME OF THE BALANCE OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK FUNDING.
UM, THEN IT ALSO LISTS, UM, THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AND THAT'S 2,500,000.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THAT FUNDING SOURCE, UM, AND HOW THAT ENDED UP IN THIS BUCKET? YES.
UM, IN DECEMBER THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, EXCUSE ME ON THEIR NAME, UH, RECEIVED NOTIFICATIONS THAT THEY WILL BE RECEIVING ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT.
THEY HELD, UM, OUTREACH THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, GET FEEDBACK.
AND THE COUNCIL APPROVED THIS FIRST MINT, SOME WENT TO RENTAL AND A PORTION WENT TO A SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM.
AND SO WHAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO IS MOVE DOWN THE LIST OF APPLICANTS.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, WE RECEIVED A TOTAL OF $120 MILLION IN REQUESTS AND THE ORIGINAL SPENDING FRAMEWORK HAD ABOUT 16.5 MILLION.
AND SO, UM, WE ANTICIPATE THOSE FUNDS FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMING, UH, SOMETIME THIS MONTH AND WE WILL DISCUSS, UM, THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU WOULD DISPERSE THOSE FUNDS.
SO WE WERE, WE PASSED A, UH, ITEM THAT HAD THAT PIECE OF IT AS PART OF, AND NOW THIS IS JUST WHERE IT'S GETTING SPENT.
THAT'S JUST GOING TO REMEMBER WHERE WE HAD ALLOCATED.
FURTHER QUESTIONS ON EITHER 14 OR 16.
SO I THINK THAT LEADS US BACK TO 10 AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
YOU HAD PULLED THAT THAT'S THE ADDITIONAL ITEM, UH, THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE RENOVATION ON PRODUCTION.
AND MY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS WERE WHAT TYPE OF RENOVATIONS WERE BEING COMPLETED, UM, UNDERSTANDING MORE OF WHAT THE PURPOSE THAT WOULD BE AN IF THE PROPERTY WAS ABLE TO BE USED UTILIZED BEFORE THE RENOVATIONS, WHICH IS ONE OF THE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S NEEDING TO BE DONE ON THE PROPERTY PRIOR TO, WELL, CURRENTLY WITH THE RENOVATIONS.
UM, ALEX KALE, I SEE ON THE LINE, ALEX, ARE YOU ABLE TO ADDRESS IT? YES, I BELIEVE SO.
UH, ALEX SCALE OFFICER FOR THE OPPOSITE OF REAL ESTATE, AND I BELIEVE, UH, WE HAVE ROLANDO FERNANDEZ WITH CAPITAL CONTRACTING ON HERE AS WELL.
UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS FOR IS THERE FOR SAME COSTS, UH, WHEN DOING THE RENOVATIONS AND REPAIRING, REPLACING SOME OF THE FLOORING THERE THAT NEEDED TO BE LEVELED.
AND SO THIS ACTION WAS JUST INCREASING THAT CONTRACT WITH, UH, THE GROUP TO, UH, BE USED TOWARDS THOSE UNFORESEEN COSTS.
AND YES, WE ARE CURRENTLY USING THE ROADWAY IN AS A PROTECTIVE LODGE.
UM, BUT DUE TO SOME OF THE, WE ARE DOING RENOVATIONS FOUR BY FOUR.
AND I THINK, UM,
SO THERE ARE SOME ROOMS THAT WE WEREN'T USING, UH, WHILE WE WERE DOING SOME OF THE RENOVATIONS, BUT THE OTHER AREAS OF THE PROPERTY ARE STILL BEING UTILIZED.
AND I SEE ROSIE IS ON AS WELL FROM A HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT AND FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO BE HERE, THAT WAS ALL MY QUESTIONS FOR THAT AGENDA ITEM NUMBER.
SO WE ROLLED NEED TO RETURN ANYWAY FOR OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION.
AND SO I'LL HOLD MY HEALTH SOUTH CONVERSATION FOR THAT TIME.
AND MORGAN, IS IT POSSIBLE TO, TO, UM, AGREE TO RECESS UNTIL TWO? AND THEN IF WE GET WORD FROM OUR CAPITAL METRO COLLEAGUES, THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE BACK BY TWO TO POST ON THE MESSAGE BOARD A DIFFERENT TIME, OR WOULD IT BE BETTER FOR US TO RECONVENE AT TWO
[02:25:01]
AND THEN AGREE TO RECESS A LITTLE LONGER, YOU CAN USE THE MESSAGE REPORT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT, BUT, UM, AND TELL THE PUBLIC WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, I THINK WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THAT.WELL, WHY DON'T WE JUST, UM, NOW RECESS UNTIL TWO O'CLOCK AND WE'LL COME BACK AT TWO AND IF NEED BE POSTPONED IT A LITTLE LONGER.
I SEE COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MEDICINE'S HAND AND MEMBER LSS COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MEDICINE, THAT WAS A FAILED ATTEMPT AT A WAVE COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
WERE YOU ALSO WAVING OR DID YOU HAVE, THAT WAS A REAL HANDS UP? UM, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY WHAT WAS LEFT ON OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY.
DID WE HAVE ANY MORE BRIEFINGS OR IS IT JUST, UM, DO WE HAVE ONE MORE POLL ITEM THAT WE'LL BE COVERING? SO I KNOW WE HAVE ONE POLL DIATOM AND WE HAVE ONE X WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM, CITY MANAGER.
DO WE ALSO HAVE A BRIEFING? WE DO.
WE HAVE THE BRIEFING FROM OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ON THE EQUITABLE CHAMBER FUNDING, AND WE WERE PREPARED TO GIVE THAT AS WELL.
AND, AND DO WE HAVE JUST ONE EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM LIST? JUST ONE REMAINING.
SO I'LL, I'LL DISCUSS WITH THE MAYOR, BUT MY PROPOSAL WOULD BE THAT WE COME BACK, UM, HAVE OUR COUNCIL MEMBER ALSO, DID YOU HAVE A THOUGHT, I, I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHICH EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM IT WAS.
IT'S ON THE PETITIONS, THE CITIZEN INITIATED PETITIONS, MY GUESS IS THAT THAT'S PROBABLY THE LENGTHIEST OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TODAY.
AND SO COLLEAGUES, UNLESS ANYONE HAS A SUGGESTED PATH FORWARD, I WOULD SUGGEST TO THE MAYOR THAT WE, THAT WE TAKE UP THE HEALTH SOUTH ITEM AND THEN THE STAFF BRIEFING, AND THEN GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
DOES THAT SOUND REASONABLE CITY MANAGER BASED ON WHAT YOU KNOW OF THAT PRESENTATION.
SO I'LL SEE YOU ALL BACK AT TWO O'CLOCK.
UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND RECONVENE THE WORK SESSION TODAY, JANUARY 25TH, 2021.
WE HAVE THREE THINGS LEFT TO DISCUSS COLLEAGUES HEALTH, SOUTH, THE, UH, EQUITABLE CHAMBER, A BRIEFING, UH, AND THEN THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UH, WE STILL HAVE, UH, THREE MEMBERS THAT ARE AT THE CAP METRO MEETING.
UH, SO THEY'RE NOT WITH US, UM, UH, AND EXPRESSED THE DESIRE TO BE PART OF ANY EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE MAY, UH, ELECTION.
SO WE CAN DEAL WITH THAT QUESTION AFTER WE HAVE FOR PATHWAYS FIRST TO KATHY, DO YOU WANT TO, YOU PULL, UH, THE HEALTH SOUTH? I DID.
UM, BACK IN DECEMBER, I POSTED A LI UM, A LIST ON THE MESSAGE BOARD OF SOME OF THE AMENDMENTS THAT I INTENDED TO BRING FORWARD.
AND I WANTED TO GIVE MY COLLEAGUES A HEADS UP THAT WE MADE A COUPLE CHANGES, UM, ON TO THAT.
BUT IN ESSENCE, I THINK MY STAFF MEMBERS ARE JUST, I'M JUST ABOUT TO POST THE DRAFT MESSAGE, THE DRAFT MOTION SHEET TO THE MESSAGE BOARD, SO THAT THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE.
AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT WILL LOOK LIKE AS A MOTION THAT I INTERPRET BRING FORWARD ON THURSDAY.
UM, I HAVE JUST A COUPLE MORE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT IT, BUT, UM, THE, I DID WANT TO RAISE ONE.
I WANTED TO JUST ASK FOR FEEDBACK WERE ITEMS ON THERE THAT PEOPLE WANTED TO DISCUSS, OR THAT THEY HAD CONCERNS ABOUT.
I WANTED THIS TO BE A PLACE WHERE WE COULD DO THAT TO GIVE, UM, TO GIVE US ALL A CHANCE TO THINK ABOUT IT OR TO GET MORE INFORMATION, BUT ALSO, UM, THERE IS AN ELEMENT I BROUGHT FORWARD ON IN MY MESSAGE BOARD POSTS THAT THAT WILL NOT BE IN THE MOTION SHEET GOING FORWARD.
UH, THAT I, I THINK PARTICULARLY I WANTED TO MAKE SURE A COUNCIL MEMBER AND TEREA HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD IN THAT CONVERSATION THAT WAS AROUND THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT.
BUT I REALLY, I JUST PULLED IT TO SAY, WE'VE TRANSFORMED THAT INTO EMOTION SHEET, HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE PIECE THAT IS ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT I'M GOING TO PROPOSE WE TAKE GOING FORWARD, BUT ALSO JUST TO OPEN IT UP FOR A QUESTION FOR A CONVERSATION AMONG COUNCIL ABOUT OFFICE SPACE GENERALLY, UM, AND TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I DID PULL BACK ON THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT PIECE.
AND I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THAT FOR THIS TOO.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S ABOUT TO BE POSTED THE DRAFT.
THERE'LL BE A COUPLE OF CHANGES BEFORE THURSDAY, BUT IT'S IN THE MAIN WHAT I, WHAT I INTEND TO BRING FORWARD.
AND CERTAINLY IF PEOPLE HAVE THOUGHTS ON, THEY HAVE A CHANCE TO SEE THE MESSAGE BOARD POST, TO BE ABLE TO POST PRIOR TO THE MEETINGS SO THAT THERE'S SOME, UH, DISCLOSURE THERE THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE HELPFUL AS WELL.
IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO BRING UP DIRECTLY HERE AS PART OF THE WORK SESSION MAYOR? I, I THINK I'LL JUST OFFER A FEW COMMENTS OF GENERALLY WHAT I'M HOPING TO ACHIEVE WITH THE MOTION.
AND THAT IS TO, WE'VE TALKED WITH STAFF ABOUT
[02:30:01]
A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS.THE OPTION THAT WE'RE PROPOSING THAT I'M PROPOSING ON THURSDAY IS, I MEAN, WEDNESDAY IS THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH NEGOTIATING WITH ASPEN HEIGHTS, WHICH IS THE STAFF RECOMMENDED PROPOSAL THAT WE NEGOTIATE WITH THEM FOR A LEASE AND REDEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE, INCLUDING THE TERMS THAT WERE IN MY MESSAGE BOARD POST, AND POSSIBLY A FEW OTHERS.
UM, AND THE GENERAL INTENT HERE IS TO MAKE WE'VE GOT A DECENT PROPOSAL BEFORE US.
UM, BUT TO REALLY PUSH ON THE ITEMS I'VE INCLUDED ARE THOSE THAT HAVE COME FORWARD FROM STAKEHOLDERS OR, OR THAT I'VE BROUGHT FORWARD THAT ARE REALLY ATTEMPTING TO ACHIEVE MORE COMMUNITY BENNET, NOT TRACT OF CITY-OWNED LAND.
THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST BIG REDEVELOPMENTS, THE ONLY REALLY BIG REDEVELOPMENT THAT OUR COUNCIL HAS UNDERTAKEN.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE SET, UH, A HIGH STANDARD FOR HOW WE'RE GOING TO USE OUR CITY OWN TRACKS TO ACHIEVE BENEFITS THAT, THAT THE MARKET IS NOT PROVIDING.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SHIFTED FROM THE TIME THAT THE RFP CAME OUT TO NOW IS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO INTERROGATE AND GET SOME CHANGES MADE TO THE FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE NETTED ABOUT FIVE TO $6 MILLION OF EXTRA VALUE.
UM, YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE SEEING, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT VALUE RETURNED TO US IN THE FORM OF MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THERE ARE OTHER BENT BENEFITS THAT I BELIEVE WE SHOULD EMBED WITHIN THIS DEVELOPMENT LIKE CHILDCARE AND SOME OTHER PROVISIONS.
AND SO I'M REALLY, I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE PROJECT AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE DEVELOPER, BUT AGAIN, I THINK, I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY EMBED MORE COMMUNITY VALUE IN THIS, IN THIS PROPOSAL.
AND I HOPE WE CAN GET THERE, UM, THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE ELEMENTS THAT THAT I'VE IDENTIFIED AND THOSE THAT OTHERS MIGHT WANT TO ADD.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF, SOME OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING THEM POTENTIALLY TO SCALE BACK ON, LIKE POTENTIALLY OFFICE MIGHT COME AT A COST AND, AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I THINK IT'S STILL WORTH DOING AGAIN BECAUSE WE KNOW THE MARKET'S NOT PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THIS LOCATION, AND THAT IS A MUCH NEEDED US, A MUCH NEEDED BENEFIT.
ANYBODY WANT TO COMMENT ON THIS FURTHER? CERTAINLY IT'D BE HELPFUL TO GO ON THE MESSAGE BOARD WHEN YOU SEE IT.
[B2. Multi-Ethnic Chamber Alliance Equitable Chamber Funding Model. (Staff Briefing)]
US THROUGH THEM, THE BRIEFING ON THE CHAMBER STUFF.AND GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UH, AS YOU KNOW, THE, IN RESPONSE TO A COUNCIL DIRECTION THAT WE RECEIVED VIA A BUDGET WRITER, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT STAFF HAS WORKED TO DEVELOP AN EQUITABLE FUNDING MODEL FOR THE MINORITY CHAMBER CONTRACTS AND STAFF WILL REVIEW THAT MODEL TODAY.
UH, IT WILL ALSO BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCIL TO PROVIDE FURTHER SPECIFIC DIRECTION VIA A RESOLUTION THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED BY COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 4TH.
AND THAT HAS BEEN POSTED TO THE AGENDA.
BUT AT THIS TIME, I'LL TURN THAT OVER TO OUR CHIEF ECONOMIC RECOVERY OFFICER AND EDD DIRECTOR OF VERONICA PERSONNEL, DIRECTOR PACINO.
GOOD AFTERNOON, MARIN COUNCIL.
WE ARE RESPONDING TO A BUDGET WRITER THAT WAS APPROVED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO TO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW WE'RE FUNDING OUR MECCA CHAMBERS OR MULTI-ETHNIC CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE.
WE HAVE ENLISTED THE HELP OF A CONSULTANT, UH WHO'S WITH US TODAY AND, UH, PRESENTED THAT FINAL REPORT TO COUNCIL ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND IN WRITTEN FORM.
WE ARE NOW AT A POINT WHERE IN DECEMBER OF THIS PAST YEAR, UH, WE APPROVED OUR CONTRACTS FOR THESE CHAMBERS FOR ANOTHER YEAR, BUT COMMITTED TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL WITH A PRESENTATION.
AND THAT IS WHERE WE'RE HERE TODAY.
SO IF WE CAN GO AHEAD AND PULL UP THE PRESENTATION AND THAT THIS PLAN IS THAT'S BEING PULLED UP, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO DUSTY MCCORMICK, WHO IS OUR MANAGER OF THESE CONTRACTS.
HE WILL INTRODUCE IT AND THEN KICK IT OVER TO OUR CONSULTANT WORK, WHO WILL TALK ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT.
DUSTY GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER, DIRECTOR OF STAFF.
I AM THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE MULTI-ETHNIC CHAMBER ALLIANCE PROJECT.
UM, I'VE GOOD TO BE HERE TODAY.
WANT TO START OUT BY, UM, SAYING THAT, UH, WE HAVE A CONSULTANT MR. JEREMY BARK, WHO HAS BEEN WORKING WITH US FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS TO HELP CRAFT THIS PARTICULAR, UH, FUNDING MODEL.
AND SO I'LL START OFF WITH, UH, REVIEWING THE HISTORY AND THE STIR, JEREMY BART WILL COME IN BEHIND ME AND ADDRESS THE FUNDING MODEL AND EXPLAINED THAT GOING FORWARD.
OUR HISTORY STARTS OUT IN 2011, THE CHAMBER CONTRACTS TOTALING $285,416
[02:35:02]
WERE TRANSFERRED FROM THE AUSTIN CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU TO THE DEPARTMENT AND WERE RESTRUCTURED WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.FOLKS CAME TO US IN THE FOLLOWING AMOUNTS, THE GREATER AUSTIN HISPANIC CHAMBER, 125,000
THEN LATER ON THE AUSTIN GAY AND LESBIAN CHAMBER THAT SHADED CONTRACT AT 10,416, SUBSEQUENT TO THAT, UH, THE TEXAS ASIAN AND THE AUSTIN ASIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COMBINED THOSE ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEY NOW HAVE ONE CHAMBER REPRESENTING THEM CALLED THE GREATER AUSTIN CHAMBER, A REAL AWESOME ASIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
2014, WENT TO AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OR BUILDING OWNERS.
THE OPPORTUNITY COST CONTRACT CAME TO US AT THE AMOUNT OF $350,000.
AND THEN IN 2018, THE CURE IN 1955, WHICH IS NOW KNOWN AS WHAT THE ONE 11, THIS IS WHEN THE COUNCIL GAVE US A BUDGET RATHER THAN PROVIDED, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, UH, SORT OF TO BRING BACK METHOD.
SO WE FUND THE CHAMBERS, INCLUDING SMALL BUSINESSES WITH THEIR OWN.
THEN AS AIBA WAS ACCEPTED WITH OUT, OBJECTION, TRANSFER OVER TO JEREMY.
AND SO HE CAN PROCEED FROM HERE.
SO MOVING ON TO THE INITIAL FEEDBACK AND IMPROVEMENTS, THE EQUITABLE CHAMBER FUNDING MODEL WAS INITIALLY DELIVERED TO COUNCIL IN OCTOBER OF 2019.
AND WE TOOK THE TIME TO MEET WITH A HANDFUL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS, AS WELL AS THE BECCA CHAMBERS AT THAT TIME.
AND SO MOVING FORWARD IN RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK FROM COUNCIL AND THE MECCA CHAMBERS, WE MADE THE FOLLOWING UPDATES TO BOTH THE REPORT AND THE CONTRACTS.
AND SO THE CHAMBER CONTRACTS WERE ALL EXTENDED FOR ONE YEAR.
AND THIS WAS TO SERVE AS A TRANSITION HERE, AND THE CONTRACTS WERE RESTRUCTURED TO ALIGN WITH EDD, OTHER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS.
WE ALSO UPDATED SCOPE OF WORK TO INCLUDE FOUR MAIN AREAS, INCLUDING BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, CHAMBER, SPECIFIC INITIATIVES, AS WELL AS CAPACITY BUILDING.
WE ALSO MADE SURE THAT THERE WERE PERFORMANCE-BASED DELIVERABLES AND WE ADDED A MONTHLY RECORDING REQUIREMENT.
UM, AND WITH REGARDS TO THE REPORT, WE UPDATED SOME OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AS WELL AS FORMS OF ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION, AS WELL AS MODEL ADJUSTMENTS, SCENARIOS IN THE REPORT.
AND SO GOING BACK TO THE BEGINNING, THE PROJECT GOAL AT THE OUTSET WAS TO DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY TO ALLOCATE CITY OF AUSTIN FUNDS, TO LOCAL NONPROFIT BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT WOULD RESULT IN AN EQUITABLE ALLOCATION AND PROVIDE A MECHANISM TO ENGAGE AND DO ORGANIZATION.
AND SO TO START, UM, THERE IS NO INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR DEVELOPING AN EQUITABLE ALLOCATION.
SO FOR THIS PROJECT, AN EQUITABLE ALLOCATION CONSIDERED THE TARGET POPULATION AT EACH FUNDED ORGANIZATION REPRESENTED.
AND WE AIMED TO IDENTIFY THOSE CRITICAL FACTORS THAT WOULD COMPRISE EQUITY, PARTICULARLY FROM AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE LOOKED AT WERE THE COUNCIL TRANSCRIPTS THAT CREATED THE BUDGET RIDER, AS WELL AS WATCHING THE MEETINGS, UM, WHICH CENTERED AROUND A MECCA FUNDING MODEL.
UH, WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, THIS NEW AT THE TIME, STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVE, UM, STRATEGIC DIRECTION, 2023, AND HOW THAT WOULD OVERLAY WITH THESE CONTRACTS IN THE MODEL.
AND WE ALSO WORKED WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE TO ADD DEFINITIONS, PARTICULARLY TO EQUITABLE FUNDING, UM, REALLY TO PROVIDE THAT INITIAL DIRECTION.
AND SO WE HELD A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WHERE WE MET WITH ALL OF THE CHAMBERS AND THEIR BOARD, UH, MEMBERS IN GROUP FORMAT.
AND I ALSO MET WITH EACH OF THEM ONE-ON-ONE WE ALSO PRODUCED A SELF-ASSESSMENT TO GAIN A WRITTEN UNDERSTANDING OF EACH ORGANIZATION AND PARTICULARLY THE ISSUES AND NEEDS THAT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES FACE.
WE ALSO PERFORMED, UH, NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES, RESEARCH, REACHING OUT TO DOZENS OF CITIES TO IDENTIFY WHAT THEY'RE DOING WITH REGARDS TO EQUITABLE FUNDING CONTRACT AND CLICKABLE CHAMBERS.
AND FINALLY, WE COLLECTED DATA FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU, AS WELL AS OTHER RESEARCH REPORTS, FURTHER DEFINE THOSE RECOMMENDED FACTORS THAT WE'RE GOING TO COMPRISE OUR EQUITABLE FUNDING MODEL.
AND SO WHAT WE'LL RUN THROUGH NOW IS THOSE PARTICULAR FACTORS THAT, UM, CREATE THE MODEL NEXT SLIDE.
AND SO THE FIRST FACTOR IS RACE AND ETHNICITY.
AND SO THE SD 23 DEFINITION IS TO ADVANCE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS LEADING WITH A LENS OF RACIAL EQUITY AND FEELING RACE IS THE PRIMARY PREDICTOR OF OUTCOMES.
[02:40:01]
TO RECOGNIZE, UNDERSTAND AND ADDRESS RACISM AT VARIOUS LEVELS.THE SECOND FACTOR WAS POPULATION AND THIS CAME FROM BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH.
AND WHEN I SPOKE WITH THE CITY OF PORTLAND, UM, THEY'VE BEEN USING AN EQUITABLE FUNDING MODEL FOR ITS, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVES FOR ABOUT A DECADE NOW.
AND THEY RECOMMENDED USING A PER PERSON MEASURE BASED ON THEIR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES.
THE THIRD FACTOR IS EDUCATION AND INCOME AND THE CORRELATION BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME, PARTICULARLY BY RACE AND ETHNICITY AND THE DIFFERENCES THAT EXIST THERE.
UM, ESPECIALLY IN COMPARISON TO THE AVERAGE AUSTIN EDUCATED EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, AN AVERAGE AUSTIN HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
NEXT SLIDE, THE FOURTH FACTOR THAT CAME UP WAS ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION AND THE WAY THAT IT'S EXPERIENCED ACROSS EACH OF THE POPULATIONS THAT THE NAKED CHAMBERS REPRESENT AND RESEARCH SHOWS THAT ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION IN ANY FORM IS DETRIMENTAL.
OBVIOUSLY THOSE THAT ARE BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AS WELL AS THE EMPLOYERS AND MARKETS THAT ARE LOOKING TO MAXIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY, THE FIFTH FACTOR IS CAPACITY BUILDING.
AND IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT ONE IN THE CITY, ESPECIALLY TO UNDERSTAND WITH OUR LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP, UM, IN FUNDING, THESE ORGANIZATIONS, HOW ARE WE HELPING THESE ORGANIZATIONS GROW? UM, IT'S ALSO DETERMINED THAT THIS IS CAPACITY BUILDING IS VITAL TO GROWING THESE ORGANIZATIONS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE EQUITABLE OUTCOMES.
AND SO ON AVERAGE, ACROSS THE SEVEN CHAMBERS AT THE CITY FUNDS WE'RE FUNDING ON AVERAGE, APPROXIMATELY 33% OF THEIR TOTAL OPERATING BUDGETS.
AND SO THERE'S THREE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE FUND WHERE IT'S GREATER THAN THAT AMOUNT.
AND IN TWO OF THE INSTANCES, WE'RE ACTUALLY FUNDING OVER 50% OF THEIR OPERATING BUDGET.
AND ULTIMATELY THIS IS NOT A BENEFIT EITHER THE CITY OR THE ORGANIZATIONS THEMSELVES AS AN ORGANIZATION, DON'T WANT TO BE DEPENDENT ON ONE REVENUE SOURCE, UM, TO THAT EXTENT.
AND SO THOSE WERE THE FIVE FACTORS THAT CAME FROM THE PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED PROCESS.
AND WE'LL RUN THROUGH WHAT THE MODEL LOOKS LIKE NOW.
AND SO THIS IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE BASE EQUITABLE FUNDING MODEL.
THIS IS WHERE THE MODEL STARTS.
AND SO AT THE TOP, YOU'LL SEE THE RCA THAT WAS BROUGHT BEFORE, BACK IN DECEMBER, 2020, IT WAS FOR A 1.15 MILLION TOTAL BUDGET, UH, FOR THE SAKE OF THE REPORT, THE EDD TOTAL CHAMBER CONTRACT BUDGET IS 1.2, 2 MILLION.
AND SO AS YOU LOOK AT THE CHART HERE, YOU'LL SEE AT THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CHART IN YELLOW, THE GREATER AUSTIN, BLACK, HISPANIC, ASIAN, AND LGBT CHAMBERS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MODEL AND ON THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE AIBA OXYGEN DEPENDENT BUSINESS ALLIANCE, THE GREATER AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WHICH HAS OPPORTUNITY AUSTIN AND THE AUSTIN YOUNG CHAMBER.
AND SO WHAT THIS REALLY SIGNIFIES IS TWO SIDES OF THE MODEL.
AND THE LEFT SIDE IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE EQUITY SIDE, THE EQUITY BUDGET IN THE MODEL AND THE RIGHT IS THE NON-EQUITY BUDGET.
AND THE WAY THAT THIS WAS DETERMINED WAS, UM, VERBATIM FROM THE WRITTEN CHAMBER ASSESSMENTS FROM OUR ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WHERE THE ORGANIZATIONS ON THE LEFT, WHICH ARE THE MECCA CHAMBERS, UM, SAID THAT A PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THEIR MISSION IS TO ADDRESS EQUITABLE OUTCOMES AND THE ORGANIZATIONS TO THE RIGHT, UM, SO THAT THEIR MISSION WAS, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT PRIMARY FUNCTION.
THEIR MISSION WAS NOT TO ADDRESS LIKE THE WELCOMES.
AND SO AS YOU LOOK TO THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT AMOUNTS.
UM, AND LOOKING BACK TO THE TOP LEFT, YOU'LL SEE THE SEVEN 39, SEVEN 50, AND THEN ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CHART, YOU'LL SEE THE SEVEN 39, SEVEN 50, AND WE'LL SEE THE 61%.
AND SO VERY SIMPLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THE EQUITY SIDE OF THE BUDGET HAS A TOTAL ALLOCATION OF SEVEN 39, SEVEN 50.
AND THAT IS 61% OF THE TOTAL CHAMBER BUDGET.
AND ON THE RIGHT, THE NON-EQUITY BUDGET IS FOUR 81, 100.
SO LOOKING AT THE CHART FROM A MACRO PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE THE LEFT SIDE, THE EQUITY BUDGET AND THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE NON-EQUITY BUDGET, AND THAT'S OUR STARTING POINT.
AND SO THE BOTTOM LEFT, YOU'LL SEE THE EQUITY FACTORS THAT WE JUST DESCRIBED.
WE'VE RACE AND ETHNICITY, POPULATION, EDUCATION, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION, AND CAPACITY BUILDING.
AND SO EACH OF THESE FACTORS IS WEIGHTED EQUALLY AND YOU'LL SEE TO THE RIGHT OF THAT.
AND THAT IS THE 20, SO EACH 20% ALLOCATION IS OF THE SEVEN 39, SEVEN 50.
SO EACH FACTOR GETS AN ALLOCATION OF ONE 47, NINE 50, AND THEN BASED ON THE DATA THAT WE PROVIDE ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE IT'S ALLOCATED, UM, BASED ON APPLE APPLICABILITY, EXCEPT FOR POPULATION, WHICH IS A SIMPLE QUANTITATIVE, UM, RATIO WHERE IT'S BASED ON THE POPULATION FIGURES, AND THEN IT IS ADDED AT THE BOTTOM THERE.
[02:45:01]
EQUITABLE FUNDING MODEL.IT CAN BE ADJUSTED IN THREE SPECIFIC WAYS.
UM, SO THERE ARE THREE, THERE ARE THREE WAYS IN WHICH IT CAN BE ADJUSTED IF YOU COULD ACTUALLY GO BACK TO THE CHART MIGHT BE MISSING AS WELL.
UM, SO THE THREE SPECIFIC WAYS THAT IT COULD BE ADJUSTED IS THAT THERE, YOU COULD CHANGE A FACTOR ON IT.
YOU COULD ADD A NEW FACTOR WAS THERE'S AN EXAMPLE IN THE REPORT THAT HAS BEEN ADDED.
YOU COULD REMOVE ONE OF THE FACTORS OR YOU COULD AMEND ONE OF THE FACTORS THAT'S ON THERE.
AND SO THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THE FACTORS COULD THEN BE ADJUSTED.
YOU CAN ALSO SHIFT BUDGETS FROM THE EQUITY SIDE OF THE BUDGET AND THE NON-EQUITY SIDE OF THE BUDGET BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN.
SO WHERE DO YOU HAVE THE SEVEN 39, SEVEN 50 AND THE FOUR 81, 100 FUNDS CAN BE SHIFTED FROM AN EQUITY SIDE OF THE BUDGET, THE NON-EQUITY SIDE OF THE BUDGET TO CHANGE THE, THAT WE ARE DISTRIBUTING TOWARDS EQUITY.
AND THE THIRD WAY THAT IT CAN BE ADJUSTED IS BY, UM, ADDING A NEW ORGANIZATIONS, YOU CAN ADD EITHER A NEW EQUITY ORGANIZATION TO THAT SIDE OF THE BUDGET OR A NON EQUITY SIDE ON THE OTHER SIDE.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE THREE MAIN WAYS THAT IT COULD BE ADJUSTED AND YOU CAN SIT HERE.
SO MOVING FORWARD IN OCTOBER, AND THEN DECEMBER 10, 2020 COUNCIL APPROVE THE FOLLOWING 2021, 2022 CHAMBER CONTRACT AMOUNTS.
AND SO FOR THE GREATER AUSTIN HISPANIC CHAMBER, IT WAS TWO 52 EIGHT EIGHT TWO FOR THE GREATER AUSTIN BLACK CHAMBER.
IT WAS TWO 37 97, BUT A GREATER AUSTIN FUSION CHAMBER.
IT WAS TWO OH TWO, 500 FOR THE AUSTIN LGBT CHAMBER IT ONE 53, SEVEN 50 FOR THE GREATER AUSTIN EDC OPPORTUNITY, AUSTIN.
IT WAS 350,000 FOR THE AUSTIN YOUNG CHAMBER, WHICH IS DIVIDED BETWEEN EDD AS WELL AS AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
AND WAS THAT A, PASS IT BACK TO VERONICA FOR THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE, UH, WE, UH, AS A SUMMARY OF WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING AS A PART OF THIS REPORT, I WOULD NOTE THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME CERTAINLY THAT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAS DEVISED A WAY TO, UH, TO QUANTIFY EQUITY IN TERMS OF OUR CONTRACTING MECHANISMS. SO I WERE A CONFIDENT IN THE REPORT THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED, AND WE ARE RECOMMENDING ADOPTION.
WE'LL BE BRINGING AN ACTION ITEM FOR COUNCIL'S CONSIDERATION AT YOUR FEBRUARY 4TH MEETING, UH, THAT HAS A RESOLUTION THAT ADOPTS THE EQUITABLE, EQUITABLE CHAMBER FUNDING REPORT AND ITS FINDINGS, UM, ANY FURTHER COUNCIL DIRECTION, INCLUDING ANY SPECIFIC CHANGES TO THE MODEL AND THE METHODOLOGY FOR CONTRACTING, UH, CAN BE MADE AT THAT TIME, BUT WE WILL BE BRINGING THAT FORWARD FOR CONSIDERATION, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
AND I SHOULD NOTE THAT WE'RE JOINED HERE WITH, UH, THE EXECUTIVE TEAM WITH EDD.
SO THERE'LL BE A HOT ROD WAS ON THE CALL AS WELL AS
UM, THIS WORK ORIGINATED FROM A BUDGET RIDER THAT I PUT FORWARD.
UM, SO I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT WENT INTO IT.
UM, AND, UM, THE THOUGHT, UM, I DO HAVE A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS THAT, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO RUN THROUGH.
AND SOME OF THEM ALSO, PERHAPS WE'LL HAVE A MEETING BEFORE THE FOURTH.
LIKE, CAN YOU CLARIFY IN THE, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE ITEM ITSELF.
UM, ARE YOU PUTTING FORWARD THE BASE MODEL OR THE EXAMPLE WITH THE INTERSECTIONALITY, UM, AS THE BASE OR AS THE, WHEN YOU SAY WE'RE ADOPTING THE FUNDING MODEL, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IS THE FUNDING MODEL GIVEN THAT YOU GAVE US VARIATIONS OF THAT COUNCIL MEMBER BASE MODEL? OKAY.
UM, JUST SAY IT AGAIN, YOU'RE A FAINT, WE ARE PUTTING FORTH THE BASE MOM.
SO, UM, MY, MY FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGE, AND THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN STRUGGLING WITH, UM, THE WHOLE TIME THAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS IS THAT ORIGINALLY, UM, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UM, EQUITABLE FUNDING BASED ON DELIVERABLES.
UM, AND AS YOU'LL KNOW, NONE OF THIS FUNDING MODEL IS
[02:50:01]
CONNECTED TO DELIVERABLES.UM, AND I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE MAKING A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CONTRACT AND THE DELIVERABLES, UM, BUT I'M AND THE FUNDING MODEL.
UM, BUT I'M, I'M STILL HAVING A CHALLENGE WITH UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW, PART OF THIS WAS TO FUND FOLKS BASED ON THEIR PERFORMANCE.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE ADDITION OF THE CAPACITY FACTOR.
I THINK THAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE ORGANIZATIONS, BUT I LIKE TO HAVE YOU ELABORATE ON HOW DELIVERABLES OUTCOMES OR KPIS OR METRICS ARE FACTORED INTO THE FUNDING MODEL.
UM, BECAUSE OUR CONVERSATION WAS NOT JUST ABOUT EQUITABLY FUNDING, IT, IT WAS ALSO ABOUT USING METRICS, UM, AND THERE WAS PERFORMANCE METRICS IN PARTICULAR.
UM, SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT PLEASE? ABSOLUTELY.
AND SO THIS WAS PART OF OUR LAST DISCUSSION WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE END AND PART OF THIS IS HOW WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THIS GOES BACK TO THE DEFINITION OF EQUITY AND WHAT EQUITABLE FUNDING MEANS ULTIMATELY.
AND SO YOU'RE TAKING YOU CAN'T TREAT ALL OF THESE COMMUNITIES AS EQUAL.
AND SO WITH PERFORMANCE MEASURES, YOU HAVE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE DIFFERENT SIZES, DIFFERENT NEEDS, DIFFERENT ECONOMIC OUTCOMES.
AND SO PART OF THE ISSUE WITH ADDRESSING IT THAT WAY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO WHEN YOU HAVE CERTAIN COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T HAVE THE SAME SIZE AND POPULATION SAME, YOU KNOW, AND ESPECIALLY FROM A BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU DEVELOP A PERFORMANCE MEASURE THAT IS QUANTITATIVELY OBJECTIVE THAT APPLIES TO COMMUNITIES FACE DIFFERENT SITUATIONS IN DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES.
THESE ARE FUNDAMENTALLY, YOU KNOW, BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS AND THERE IS A PERFORMANCE ELEMENT.
UM, AND THERE WAS STILL A FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ASK WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THE CHAMBER FUNDING ABOUT WHAT WAS BEING DELIVERED, UM, TO THE CITY FOR OUR MONEY AND HOW THAT WAS.
UM, AND SO AGAIN, I, I'M STILL, I'M STILL FINDING IT TROUBLING THAT THE MODEL DOES NOT FACTOR PERFORMANCE IN AT ALL.
UM, AND I WILL KEEP HAVING THAT CONVERSATION AND, AND, AND THINK THAT THROUGH A LITTLE BIT MORE, CAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET AN ANSWER TODAY, THEN I'M GOING TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH, UM, CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW IT WAS BETTER ADDRESSED IN THE CONTRACTS? BECAUSE THERE WAS A PORTION OF THIS, THAT IT WAS A FUNCTION OF THE CONTRACTS AND, AND VAGARIES OF THE CONTRACTS THAT WERE MAKING, UM, RAISING SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DELIVERABLES AND WHAT WAS BEING RENUMERATED AND WHAT WASN'T ACROSS THE DIFFERENT CHAMBERS.
RIGHT? AND SO WE'VE CHANGED THE DELIVERABLES IN THE CONTRACT DURING THE TRANSITION HERE THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
AND SO THEY HAVE A MONTHLY REPORTING REQUIREMENT AND THEY HAVE TO MEET CERTAIN PERFORMANCE STANDARDS IN THAT CONTRACT NOW IN ORDER TO BE PAID.
SO IT'S A PAY PER SERVICE MODEL WHERE THEY HAVE TO ACHIEVE AND SET UP CERTAIN DELIVERABLES OUT OF A PERFORMANCE BASED, BASED ON BOTH THE EDD GOALS AND HOW IT ALIGNED WITH SD 23 AND ALL THE METRICS THAT EDD IS COLLECTING WITH REGARDS TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVES.
SO THAT'S A NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES THAT THEY'RE CONNECTING WITH.
THAT'S ALSO NOT THROUGH A VARIETY OF WAYS, INCLUDING OUTREACH EVENTS, THEY ARE PROMOTING CITY COVID RESPONSE, UH, PROGRAMS TO THEIR COMMUNITIES.
THEY ARE WORKING WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS TO PROVIDE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES.
THEY ALSO HAVE EACH HAVE COMMUNITY SPECIFIC, UM, NEEDS THAT THEY'RE ADDRESSING.
AND SO THEY HAVE, WE'RE HAPPY TO SEND THE CONTRACTS TO YOU IF WE HAVEN'T SENT THEM ALREADY.
UM, AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF UPDATING THEM AGAIN FOR THIS NEXT YEAR AS WELL.
UM, SO NOW IS A GOOD TIME IF YOU'D WANT TO REVIEW THOSE, HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.
SO I WOULD, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THOSE SENT TO ME.
SO WHAT I'M UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE HAVE THE FUNDING MODEL AND WE HAVE THE CONTRACTS AND THE FUNDING MODEL IS BEING USED TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH MONEY WE SHOULD BE INVESTING IN EACH OF THE CHAMBERS THAT FALL INTO THIS EQUITY CATEGORY, UM, BEING ELIGIBLE FOR EQUITY PORTION OF OUR CHAMBER BUDGET.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE CONTRACTS THAT HAVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES AS PART OF THAT.
HOW DO THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES VARY ACROSS THE CONTRACTS? THE PERFORMANCE MEASURES DON'T VARY AS MUCH ACROSS THE CONTRACTS, BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE WE TALK ABOUT ALIGNING WITH OTHER EDD.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE CONTRACTS IS ON A BILLABLE HOUR, BUT YOUR OVERALL CORRECT, BECAUSE
[02:55:01]
AGAIN, THIS IS WHAT, AND THIS GOES BACK TO THE VERY BEGINNING OF WHAT IS EQUITABLE FUNDING.IT'S WHAT ARE THE WAYS WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS COMMUNITY SPECIFIC NEEDS? AND SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE DETERMINING THE AMOUNTS ULTIMATELY TO DETERMINE THE CONTRACT AMOUNTS, BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS COMMUNITY NEEDS BASED ON THE FACTORS THAT WE DESCRIBED.
AND SO WITHIN THAT, WE'RE SETTING UP, WE SET UP THE STRUCTURE OF A BILLABLE HOUR CONTRACT.
THAT'S HOW EDD IS OTHER CONTRACTS ARE STRUCTURED.
UM, AND SO THEN YES, THERE ARE PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND DELIVERABLES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH COMMUNITY.
UM, THEY'RE NOT ALL THE SAME BECAUSE EACH HAVE EACH HAS A DIFFERENT COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.
ONE OF, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE FACTORED IN HERE IS LANGUAGE, UM, ACCESS REQUIREMENTS.
SO, UM, A COUPLE OF THE CHAMBERS HAVE, UM, TO PROVIDE SERVICES IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, UM, AND THAT INCREASES COSTS AND, AND ADDS A LAYER OF COMPLEXITY.
SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THE ASIAN, UH, CHAMBER IN PARTICULAR HAS TO PROVIDE THESE SERVICES IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
HISPANIC CHAMBER ALSO HAS TO PROVIDE LANGUAGE ACCESS.
UM, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT MIGHT BE AN ADDITIONAL FACTOR THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO ADD, UM, TO THE MODEL.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY, THIS WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON WITH MARINA FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
NOW, WE, IN BOTH OF THEIR CONTRACTS, BOTH THE GREAT AUSTIN HISPANIC CHAMBER AND THE GREAT AUSTIN ASIAN CHAMBER, THEY HAVE ALLOCATIONS FOR, UM, TRANSLATION SERVICES.
AND IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT I'VE WORKED AT THE DEPARTMENT, PARTICULARLY BEFORE COVID TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR, UM, MATERIALS THAT EDD IS PUTTING OUT ARE AVAILABLE IN SPANISH MANDARIN.
UM, I BELIEVE KOREAN AND VIETNAMESE.
AND SO ALL OF THE LANGUAGE THAT MARINA HAS BEEN ASKING FOR THE CITY HAS BEEN ADDRESSING AS WELL AS UNDER THAT CHAMBER SPECIFIC, UM, ELEMENT THEY'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS.
AND SO, AND LANGUAGE TRANSLATION IS A FORM OF ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION AND IT'S LISTED IN THE REPORT AS WELL.
WHAT IS THE ARGUMENT FOR HAVING IT IN THE CONTRACT AND NOT IN THE FUNDING MODEL, BECAUSE PRESUMABLY TO DELIVER EVERYTHING ELSE, YOU NEED TO HAVE MORE FUNDING IF YOU HAVE THE LANGUAGE CHALLENGES.
UM, IT SEEMS TO ME, IT PERHAPS OUGHT TO BE IN BOTH PLACES, I SUPPOSE.
UH, THAT'S ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT ANSWER FOR THAT QUESTION, BESIDES WE ATTEMPTED TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS.
AND YES, THERE ARE ITERATIONS OF ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION THAT IS UNIQUE TO EACH COMMUNITY AND INHERENTLY AN, AN EQUITABLE FUNDING MODEL.
OUR GOAL WAS TO MAKE IT AS QUANTITATIVELY OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE.
SO WHILE YES, THERE ARE EXAMPLES THAT COULD BE BROUGHT UP FOR EVERY SINGLE ORGANIZATION IN HERE THAT ARE UNIQUE TO IT.
SO WHILE YES, THE MARINA AND THE GREAT ROSS NATION CHAMBERS MADE IT APPARENT THAT LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATION IS PART OF THEM.
EACH OF THE OTHER CHAMBERS HAS SPECIFIC THINGS THAT ARE UNIQUE TO THEM AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WE COULD THAT'S, AND THAT'S WHY WE CREATED THE ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION FACTOR BECAUSE EACH COMMUNITY FACES SPECIFIC ISSUES THAT IMPACT, UM, THEIR ECONOMIC OUTCOMES WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
AND THAT'S WHY THE ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION FACTOR WAS CREATED IN THE WAY THAT IT WAS WHAT'S A MILLION.
SO THAT'S WHY LANGUAGE DISCRIMINATION IS A FORM OF ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION.
IT'S IN THE REPORT AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHERS, WHICH YOU CAN LOOK THROUGH, WHICH EACH ORGANIZATION IS ALLOWED TO BEING QUITE FRANKLY, TO HAVE THE, A PART OF THE MODEL.
AND SO WE CREATED A CATCH ALL FOR THESE UNIQUE SCENARIOS, WHICH ARE INHERENTLY QUALITATIVE IN NATURE.
THAT'S A HELPFUL CLARIFICATION.
I'LL GO BACK AND LOOK AT THIS SECTION OF THE REPORT WHERE YOU DEFINE THAT AND, AND SEE, IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THERE'S STILL SOME ISSUES.
UM, BACK IN NOVEMBER, I HIGHLIGHTED SOME OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS FROM THE ASIAN CHAMBER, UM, AND I HAVE NOT BEEN INVOLVED IN A FORUM WHERE YOU ADDRESS THOSE.
HAVE YOU ADDRESSED THOSE CONCERNS AND QUESTIONS? EVERY QUESTION THAT YOUR OFFICE HAS SENT, WE HAVE SENT BACK WRITTEN RESPONSES TOO.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THOSE WRITTEN RESPONSES.
I MAY HAVE GOTTEN THEM AND MISS THEM AND IN ALL OF THE EMAIL.
UM, AND I THINK WE WOULD PROBABLY, WE, WE MAY WANT TO SET UP A MEETING, UM, PERHAPS ON FRIDAY, IF WE CAN MAKE IT WORK WITH THEM, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ALL BE HEARING THE SAME, UM, INFORMATION AND AVOID A GAME OF TELEPHONE CONTINUING.
UM, THEN THE OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, THERE'S
[03:00:01]
CONTRACT PIECE WHERE YOU'RE RECOMMENDING THAT THEY ADD FIVE OH ONE C3 STATUS IN SOME WAY, UM, WHEN THEY ARE ALL ALREADY FIVE OH ONE C SIX ORGANIZATIONS, UM, WHICH ALLOWS THEM ALREADY TO SOLELY TO, TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES TO THE CITY.UM, WHEREAS HAVING TO DO THAT EXTRA STEP ADDS COMPLEXITY IF THAT'S NOT PART OF THEIR MODEL.
UM, SO I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT PIECE AND THAT RECOMMENDATION BETTER.
THIS GOES BACK TO CAPACITY BUILDING.
I'M A FUNCTION OF MY CONTRACT WITH THE CITY HAS BEEN HELPED EACH OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS GROW.
SO THAT WAY THEY'RE NOT AS DEPENDENT ON CITY FUNDING.
UM, AND SO A FIVE OH ONE C3 IS A CHAMBER FOUNDATION, WHICH FROM A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE FOR THE ORGANIZATIONS ALLOWS YOU TO GO TOWARDS CORPORATE AND LARGER FUNDING, WHICH IS A TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
AND SO IT IS A PROVEN, UM, WAY TO GET ACCESS TO FUNDS THAT A FIVE OH ONE C6 DOES NOT HAVE THAT TAX DEDUCTED ABILITY.
AND SO THE RAYNAUD'S HISPANIC CHAMBER HAS A FIVE OH ONE C THEORY IN THE TIME SINCE I'VE STARTED, THE AUSTIN, LGBT CHAMBER HAS ESTABLISHED ONE AND IS ALREADY USING IT TO BRING IN FUNDS B AND THE GREATER AUSTIN BLACK CHAMBER HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED THERE AS WELL.
AND SO THIS IS PURELY FROM A CAPACITY BUILDING, DOES BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, BEST PRACTICE OR CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND RAISING FUNDS NATIONALLY I'VE WORKED AND HELPED A NUMBER OF OTHER CHAMBERS DO THIS.
SO, SO THIS IS, BUT HOW IS THAT OPERATIONALIZED IN THE MODEL? IS THAT A REQUIREMENT? IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT THE OTHER ONES HAVE BEGUN THAT PROCESS AND THAT THIS PROCESS IS ALLOWING THEM TO SEE NEW FUNDING MODELS.
UM, BUT HOW TO, HOW HAS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT READ AS IF IT WAS A REQUIREMENT IN THE CONTRACT, AS OPPOSED TO A SUGGESTION FOR CAPACITY BUILDING.
AND THAT WAS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND.
AND THIS WAS, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE CONFUSION.
IT WAS A CONTRACT RECOMMENDATION IN THE REPORT.
IT'S JUST A CONSULTANT RECOMMENDATION AS A FUNCTION OF THE CITY, WANTING ME TO PERSONALLY WORK ON CAPACITY BUILDING WITH THE ORGANIZATION.
SO IT SHOULD BE INTERPRETED AS A RECOMMENDATION OF HOW TO BUILD CAPACITY, NOT SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE REQUIRED TO HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THE CITY, BECAUSE YOU COULD HAVE A NEW ORGANIZATION COME IN AND THEY MAY NOT BE READY TO DO THAT PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, UM, OR IT MAY NOT FIT WITH WHERE THEY'RE AT FOR A GIVEN YEAR YET.
UM, IT DOESN'T PRECLUDE THEM FROM GETTING MONEY IF THEY DON'T HAVE THAT.
I THINK THIS WAS, AND THIS WAS PART OF THE CONVERSATION WITH THE GREATER AUTOMATION CHAMBER.
THEY WERE LOOKING AT A FISCAL SPONSORSHIP BECAUSE THAT'S A WAY TO GET ACCESS TO A FIVE OH ONE C3 WITHOUT HAVING TO ESTABLISH AN ORGANIZATION.
UM, BUT ULTIMATELY THEY'D BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN IDENTIFYING A FISCAL SPONSOR.
SO THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS TO DO IT.
UM, AND, BUT ULTIMATELY IT IS UP TO THEIR ORGANIZATION.
I'M MAKING A RECOMMENDATION ALL THE WAY AND IT'S UP TO THEM, WHETHER IT FITS THEIR MODEL OR NOT.
I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE IN ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS AND COLLEAGUES.
I WILL, UM, HOPEFULLY GET THAT INFORMATION WITH THE RESPONSES FROM THE ASIAN CHAMBERS AND THE CONTRACTS.
AND, UM, WE'LL DO MY BEST TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW THAT IN TIME, UM, FOR NEXT WEEK.
BUT SINCE WE ONLY HAVE ONE WEEK, I DON'T KNOW.
SO I MAY NEED TO ASK FOR SOME ADDITIONAL TIME, UM, IF I'M NOT ABLE TO GET THAT MEETING SET UP, UM, AND THE MATERIAL REVIEWED A, IN A TIMELY MANNER, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH MATERIAL IT IS.
THAT ACTUALLY BROUGHT ABOUT A QUESTION FOR ME THAT ONE OF MY CONSTITUENTS ASKED BEFORE TO ME UNTIL JUST NOW WITH THAT LINE OF QUESTIONING.
SO I'M GOING TO FOLLOW UP WITH, CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE DONE AN EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF, UH, RESEARCH AND, AND ASKING QUESTIONS HERE.
SO THE QUESTION WAS AROUND LANGUAGE BARRIERS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY, UM, BECAUSE THE TRANSLATION SERVICES ARE NOT CONSIDERED FOR THE GREATER AUSTIN BLACK CHAMBER, UM, FOR, FOR FOLKS WHO NEED TRANSLATION SERVICES ALSO.
SO I, I, I'M INTERESTED IN BEING ABLE TO PICK YOUR BRAIN AROUND WHAT IT IS THAT YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO GLEAN FROM THE CONVERSATIONS YOU'VE HAD AROUND THAT.
COLLEAGUES, ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS PRESENTATION? ALL RIGHT.
I THINK WE'RE DONE STUFF THAT YOU, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD THAT YOU WANTED TO ANSWER DUSTY? WAS THERE MORE DIRECTION ON ANYTHING THAT YOU DIDN'T GET THAT YOU WANT? NO, SIR.
[03:05:01]
LINER MEREDITH TELL US ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, I DID WANT TO POINT OUT OF COURSE, THAT WE HAVE THE RESOLUTION COUNCIL MEETING.AND SO THIS IS PROPER CAPABLE FOR COUNCIL OF COURSE, TO GET THAT RESPIRATION AND PROVIDE CHANGE.
AND IF I COULD ADD A MIRROR IN RELATION TO THE QUESTIONS THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR HAD ABOUT THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED BACK UP WHEN THE ITEM COMES FORWARD FOR CONSIDERATION, OKAY.
SHOW THAT THERE IS A SPECIFIC, THERE WAS OUTSTANDING FROM THE CONVERSATIONS YOU WERE HAVING, THAT YOU WANTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
SO I THINK THAT, THANK YOU GUYS.
UM, SO THE ONLY THING THAT WE HAVE LEFT IS THE EXECUTIVE SESSION ITEM, KATHY YOU'RE RIGHT.
THERE WAS, UH, SOMETHING I WANTED TO ASK THE MANAGER ABOUT BEFORE AND, AND TO MAKE MY COLLEAGUES AWARE OF.
UM, SO I HAVE AN IFC ON THE AGENDA REGARDING, UM, SOME, AN INITIATIVE WITH THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN ALLIANCE FOUNDATION.
AND WE GOT BACK SOME UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT THE COST OF THE BANNERS.
AND SO THE POSTING LANGUAGE, AND THIS IS REALLY A QUESTION FOR THE MANAGER AND FOR OUR CITY ATTORNEY, THE POSTING LANGUAGE IS NOW STRUCTURED IN SUCH A WAY TO WAVE, TO WAVE AN AMOUNT THAT'S NOT ACCURATE.
WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO WAVE, WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO WAIVE AN ADDITIONAL COST.
AND SO MY, MY QUESTION REALLY TO THE MANAGER IS I WANTED TO KEEP IT ON THIS WEEK'S AGENDA AND MAYBE JUST PROVIDE DIRECTION FROM THE DIOCESE TO RETURN WITH, TO ASK STAFF, TO RETURN WITH AN AMENDMENT, UM, REFLECTING THAT ADDITIONAL WAIVER, BUT WANTED TO JUST ASK YOU WHAT YOUR PREFERENCE WAS.
IF YOU'D RATHER WE PULL IT DOWN AND REPOST FOR NEXT WEEK ON THE AGENDA WITH THE CORRECT AMOUNT, OR JUST HANDLE IT IN THE WAY I'VE SUGGESTED.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER I'LL DEFER TO OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT, BUT I THINK WE COULD KEEP IT ON AND THEN JUST WORK WITH YOU TO HAVE THAT FURTHER CLARIFICATION AND WHAT OTHER DIFFERENT DIRECTION WE WOULD NEED ON THE DIOCESE.
YOU CAN DO IT THIS WEEK AND THEN BRING ANOTHER IFC FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK WITH THREE, WITH THE EXTRA AMOUNT, IF THAT WORKS FOR YOUR COUNSELORS, IF THAT'S THE WAY WE WOULD NEED TO HANDLE IT, MY GUESS IS THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BETTER JUST TO POSTPONE IT, REVISE THE AMOUNT AND BRING IT BACK.
I WAS HOPING THAT WE COULD JUST LEAVE IT ON, PASS IT AND ASK THE MANAGER TO COME BACK WITH WHATEVER ACTION IS NECESSARY ON THE AGENDA.
BUT IF YOU ALL WANT TO JUST LET US KNOW WHAT'S THE BETTER, BUT COLLEAGUES.
I KNOW SOME OF, I APOLOGIZE TO THE CO-SPONSORS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REACH OUT AND LET YOU KNOW THAT, BUT THERE IS A WE'RE JUST, AS I SAID, GOT SOME DIFFERENT INFORMATION, SO WE'LL NEED TO ARISE OR REVISE THE AMOUNT THAT WE WOULD BE WAIVING.
HOW WAS IT? I WANTED TO RAISE SOMETHING.
UH, I SUPPORT THAT KATHY AND WHATEVER WOULD MAKE IT THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK INVOLVED, I THINK IS WHAT WE'RE SHOOTING FOR HERE.
YES, ALLISON, UM, I WANTED TO JUST, UM, SURFACE SOMETHING, UM, FOR THE CITY MANAGER AND THE MAYOR.
UM, WE'VE BEEN HEARING INCREASINGLY FROM CONSTITUENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS, NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE CITY, UM, THAT THEY'RE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE VIRTUAL FORMAT FOR OUR ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS, UM, AND THAT THEY ARE FINDING THAT, UM, THE PROCESS, UM, IS NOT ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD IN A COMFORTABLE WAY BECAUSE OF THE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE CASE AND WHEN THEY'RE SPEAKING AND THE INABILITY FOR THEM TO RESPOND TO, UM, THE APPLICANT AND WHAT THE APPLICANT ASSERTS.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO FLAG THAT BROADER QUESTION AND ASK THE CLERK TO COME BACK WITH SOME OPTIONS AND SEE IF THERE, NOW THAT WE HAVE, UM, MORE EXPERIENCE UNDER FOOT WITH THE VIRTUAL SETUP, UM, OVERALL ACROSS THE CITY AND, YOU KNOW, IN LIGHT OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, BEING ABLE TO ADJUST THEIR PROCESSES, IF WE CAN COME BACK WITH SOME OPTIONS AND BEGIN EXPERIMENTING WITH WAYS TO IMPROVE THAT SYSTEM, I THINK THAT'S REASONABLE.
UH, WE DID IT THIS WAY AS YOU KNOW, CAUSE THE SYSTEM WAS TO, IF THE CLERK AND ACCOMMODATE THAT THE COMMISSIONERS THAT'D BE GREAT MANAGER.
CAN JEN, CAN YOU HAVE STAFF COME BACK WITH AN OPTION FOR FUNCTIONALITY? THE MORE APPROXIMATELY WHAT WE USED TO DO? YEAH.
MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALSO, THANK YOU FOR FLAGGING THAT AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE AND WITH LEGAL ON JUST WHAT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN BRING BACK TO COUNCIL WOULD BE.
AND I HAD ALREADY JUST, JUST SO YOU KNOW, I ALREADY FLAGGED THIS WITH MS. GOODALL AND, AND SHE'S AMENABLE TO WORKING ON IT.
[03:10:01]
I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE CLERK STAFF IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON MULTIPLE PETITIONS, UH, WHICH TAKES A LOT OF TIME IN THE MEDIA, YOU KNOW, NEXT WEEK OR TWO.UM, BUT YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THIS INVOLVES SOME ITERATIONS THAT MIGHT BE INTRODUCED TO EXPERIMENT, UM, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT START, I THINK.
AND MAYBE THERE'S A WAY TO DO IT IN A KIND OF A HYBRID FORMAT SO THAT SOMEBODY THAT DIDN'T WANT TO BE WAITING AND WATCHING A COUNCIL MEETING FOR HOURS, NOT KNOWING WHEN THEY WERE GOING TO GET CALLED.
MAYBE THERE'S A HYBRID THAT LETS PEOPLE SPEAK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
IF THEY WANT TO KNOW THEY CAN SPEAK AND THEN BE DONE SPEAKING, AS I'VE HEARD BOTH, IT GIVES PEOPLE A CHANCE NOT TO SPEAK.
AND I'VE ALSO HEARD THAT IT ACTUALLY GIVES THEM A CHANCE TO, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT WAITING FOR US TO WORK OUR WAY THROUGH AN AGENDA.
DO WE KNOW WHERE OUR COLLEAGUES ARE? THEY ARE MOVING TOWARD CONCLUSION.
UM, BUT THE LATEST I HEARD WAS PROBABLY NOT BEFORE THREE 30.
SO IT SOUNDED LIKE MAYBE IF WE RECONVENED AROUND THREE 45, WE COULD MAYBE GET SOME, WE COULD HAVE THEM WITH US FOR THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THAT WOULD AT LEAST ALLOW US TO GET SOME, SOME WORK UNDERWAY.
AND DOES THAT WORK? WE CAN CERTAINLY BRING THIS UP ON FRIDAY.
I MEAN, WEDNESDAY AS WELL, I THINK, IS IT POSTED FOR US TO BE ABLE TO BRING IT UP ON WEDNESDAY UNLESS IT'S POSTED FOR BOTH DAYS.
DO YOU GUYS WANT TO TAKE A BREAK TILL THREE 45? OKAY.
[Executive Session (Part 2 of 2)]
WILL GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP, UM, PURSUANT TO FIVE, FIVE, ONE OH SEVEN ONE.THEY GO MATTERS RELATED TO THE MAY, 2021 ELECTION.
I WILL CONVENE THAT MEETING AT THREE 45.
UM, IT IS, UH, TWO 50 RIGHT NOW WITHOUT OBJECTION.
I'LL SEE YOU GUYS AND EXECUTIVES, MARY MAYOR A MINUTE.
I JUST GOT LATE BREAKING NEWS THAT THEY MAY END BY THREE 30.
MAYBE WE BETTER TO STICK WITH THREE 45, STICK TO THREE 40.
UM, WE'LL DO THAT EXECUTIVE SESSION.
UH, WE WILL NOT NEED TO COME BACK OUT TO THE GENERAL SESSION.
I'LL JUST DO THAT TO CLOSE OUT THE MEETING.
SO I'LL SEE YOU GUYS THREE 45 IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
THIS MEETING IS IN RECESS TILL THAT YES WE ARE.
WE ARE OUT OF CLOSED SESSION AND CLOSED SESSION.
WE DISCUSS LEGAL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM E AT AN EARLIER SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.
EARLIER TODAY, WE HAD DISCUSSED REAL ESTATE MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM THREE.
IT'S ALL THE BUSINESS THAT WE HAVE BEFORE US TODAY'S WORK SESSION.
SO AT FIVE OH ONE, I AM ADJOURNING, UH, THE WORK SESSION YOU'RE ON JANUARY 25TH, 21.