Apr 12, 2023 Public Health Committee

READY TO

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VANESSA FUENTES, PROUD TO SERVE AS CHAIR OF OUR PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE, AND IT IS 10:02 AM ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12TH, AND I'M PROUD

[CALL TO ORDER]

WE ARE IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, AND I AM JOINED BY OUR VICE CHAIR OF VELAZQUEZ AND MAYOR WATSON, I, AND ALSO COUNCIL MEMBER CHIEF VELA.

UM, AND THEN WE ALSO RECEIVED NOTIFICATION THAT OUR OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER MACKENZIE KELLY, IS NOT ABLE TO MAKE THIS MEETING.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO TODAY'S CONVERSATIONS AND UPDATES.

AS YOU CAN SEE ON OUR AGENDA, THIS IS A LIGHTER AGENDA.

WE ONLY HAVE TWO, UH, UPDATES.

ONE WILL BE A BRIEFING FROM RICHARD MIGUEL WITH THE AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY ON THE WINTER STORM DEBRIS CLEANUP, AND THEN A BRIEFING FROM DIANA GRAY, OUR HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY OFFICER.

AND THEN THE, AT THE END OF THE MEETING, WE'LL HAVE TIME TO BRAINSTORM AND DISCUSS ANY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE MEETING TOPICS.

I WANNA THANK OUR PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF, JUANITA JACKSON, AND DIRECTOR STIR FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK IN MAKING THIS COMMITTEE A SEAMLESS PROCESS TO, TO MANAGE AND TO LEAD.

SO, UH, NOW I'M GONNA SEE IF WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TO, TO TESTIFY.

THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS SIGNED UP TODAY.

ALRIGHTY.

THANK YOU.

UH, NEXT ITEM

[1. Approve the minutes of the Public Health Committee meeting on March 8, 2023.]

MINUTES FOR ITEM ONE.

CAN I GET A MOTION? THANK YOU.

VICE CHAIR OF ALASKA, SECONDED BY CHIEF VELA.

ANY OBJECTION TO APPROVAL OF OUR MEETING MINUTES? SEEING NONE, THE MEETING MINUTES FOR MARCH 8TH, 2023 AS PRESENTED PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

NEXT UP, WE'LL MOVE TO OUR NEXT ITEM, RICHARD

[2. Briefing from Richard McHale, Interim Director of Austin Resource Recovery on the recent winter storm debris clean up]

UH, BEFORE MEETING, BEFORE MOVING TO ITEM TWO, I WANT TO INVITE DIRECTOR STIRK, WHO OVERSEES AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, TO SHARE BRIEFLY A FEW WORDS ON THE IMPACT OF THE STORM DEBRIS CLEANUP AND HOW IT RELATES TO PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR MAYOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU THIS MORNING.

ADRIAN STIR, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.

UM, AS THIS COMMITTEE IS WELL AWARE, PUBLIC HEALTH IS ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF PROTECTING AND IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE AND THEIR COMMUNITIES, OR MORE SIMPLY POPULATION HEALTH.

UM, WE'RE OFTEN MOST KNOWN FOR BEING OUT THERE TO COMBAT INFECTIOUS DISEASE OR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE, FOODBORNE ILLNESSES, BUT ALSO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.

THESE CAN BE CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND AS WE'LL TALK ABOUT TODAY, PHYSICAL WINTER STORM.

MARA HAD, UH, MANY DEVASTATING EFFECTS ON OUR COMMUNITY, AND I THANK THE, UH, CHAIR FOR REMINDING US OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS OF THAT STORM, NOT ONLY DUE TO THE EXTREME WEATHER, BUT TO THE EXTREME AMOUNT OF DEBRIS THAT WAS CAUSED BY THE STORM.

AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR OUR PARTNERS AT A A R.

THEY ARE, UM, HONORARY PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN DOING THIS WORK AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR CITY WAS CLEANED UP.

THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE LEANING TREES AND HANGING LIMBS, POSING THE THREAT TO, UM, DELAYS IN GETTING PEOPLE'S POWER BACK ON.

UM, WE SAW THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF DEBRIS IN THE ROADWAYS AND EGRESSES KEEPING, AND THAT COULD POTENTIALLY KEEP PUBLIC SAFETY PROFESSIONALS FROM ACCESSING PEOPLE IN NEED.

UM, THE DEBRIS IN OUR WATERWAYS REDUCE WATER FLOW VELOCITY AND THREATENS FUTURE FLOODING IN LOW WATER CROSSING AREAS.

AND THIS, UM, CONTRIBUTES TO MOSQUITO BREEDING.

WE'RE ALMOST ON THAT SEASON.

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT PUBLIC HEALTH IS OFTEN IN THE FIELD ABOUT.

UM, AND THEN THE DAMAGING, UH, UH, TO STRUCTURES AND POWER LINES, THREATENING SAFETY TO RESIDENTS AND CHILDREN ON THEIR WAY TO SCHOOL AND LA.

AND THEN LASTLY, THE THING WE DON'T THINK ABOUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH IS ALL OF THE, UM, DEBRIS COVER THAT, UM, MAKES NICE LITTLE HOMES FOR RODENTS AND SNAKES AND OTHER PREDATORY ANIMALS THAT POSE A THREAT TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH.

AND SO, AGAIN, I I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MR. MIHAIL TO TALK ABOUT THE VALIANT EFFORTS THAT THEY HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY STAYS SAFE.

DIRECTOR MIHAIL, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR STROP, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR WORDS ON MAKING THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN STORM DEBRIS CLEANUP AND PUBLIC HEALTH.

ALSO, WANNA WELCOME OUR COLLEAGUE, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTERED FOR JOINING US FOR TODAY'S PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE MEETING.

THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT.

UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, UH, CHAIR, MAYOR, COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

I'M, MY NAME IS RICHARD MIHA.

I'M THE ACTING DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

AND I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR EFFORTS, UH, WITH THE RECOVERY RESPONSE FROM OUR DEPARTMENT.

UM, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE MAIN

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UM, I'D LIKE TO THANK OUR, OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT, OUR WATERSHED, PUBLIC WORKS, UM, HARD.

THESE ARE ALL DEPARTMENTS THAT, UH, HELPED US, UH, WITH THE COLLECTION, KEPT OUR TRUCKS ON THE ROAD, AND WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT, AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR OTHER PARTNERS, UM, WHICH, UH, AND PRIOR COUNCILS AS WELL, BECAUSE PRIOR COUNCILS, UM, WERE, UH, EFFECTIVE IN GETTING US NEW CONTRACTS, WHICH PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THIS RECOVERY.

UM, OUR EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN LONG, UH, WITH DISASTERS.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY OF DISASTERS HAS, UH, INCREASED OVER THE YEARS.

UH, THE SILVER LINING TO THAT IS, IS WE'VE GOT A LOT OF TRAINING.

UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE.

WE'VE RUN INTO SITUATIONS THAT, UH, WE HAVE NEVER RUN INTO BEFORE.

EVERY STORM IS UNIQUE.

UH, SO WE TRY TO LEARN FROM THOSE EVENTS.

ARR HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN, OBVIOUSLY, PRIOR EVENTS IN THIS COMMUNITY.

WE'VE HAD NUMEROUS FLOODS, UH, MEMORIAL DAY FLOODS, HALLOWEEN FLOODS.

UM, WE'VE ALSO PARTICIPATED IN OTHER COMMUNITIES RECOVERY EFFORTS.

UH, WE SENT CREWS TO HOUSTON TO HELP OUT WITH RITA, UH, HURRICANE RITA AND HURRICANE HARVEY.

AND IT'S AT THESE TYPE OF, UH, EVENTS WHERE WE REALLY PICK UP A LOT OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE ARE ABLE TO APPLY WHEN WE COME BACK TO THIS COMMUNITY.

SO, UM, I THINK YOU'LL SEE THE DIVIDENDS OF THAT PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, UM, RESULTED IN, IN SOME, UH, ASTOUNDING EFFORTS, UH, DURING THIS EVENT.

UH, SO WHAT I WILL DO IS WE'LL START OFF WITH A, WITH A TIMELINE.

I THINK MOST OF US WERE AROUND AT THIS TIME AND KIND OF HAVE A GENERAL IDEA, UH, OF THE TIMELINE.

WE WERE VERY, UH, PROACTIVE IN GETTING, UH, NOTIFICATION TO OUR DEBRIS CONTRACTORS WHEN WE DID, UH, HER, UH, WINTER STORM URI.

UH, WE LEARNED A LOT OF LESSONS FROM THAT.

UM, PARTICULARLY AS IT INVOLVED OUR CONTRACTS FOR DEBRIS MONITORING AND DEBRIS, UH, CO UH, COLLECTION.

UH, WE FELT THAT WE WOULD BE BETTER SERVED WITH A MORE ROBUST, UH, DEBRIS CONTRACTOR, UH, CONTRACT.

SO INSTEAD OF THE ONE CONTRACTOR THAT WE HAD AT THAT TIME, WE ACTUALLY MOVED TO HAVE THREE CONTRACTORS, UH, FOR THIS EVENT.

OUR CONCERN WAS, WE DID NOT NECESSARILY KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE.

UH, WE KNEW CENTRAL TEXAS WAS GONNA GET HIT, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW HOW FAR SOUTH, UH, WHETHER THIS WOULD GO TO SAN ANTONIO AND NORTH TO WACO.

SO ONE OF OUR CONCERNS EARLY ON WAS THAT WE WERE GONNA BE COMPETING WITH OTHER ENTITIES TO GET OUR, UH, RESOURCES HERE.

SO WE WERE VERY QUICK TO MAKE THOSE PHONE CALLS TO, UH, UH, FEBRUARY 1ST.

WE BASICALLY PUT THEM ON STANDBY STATUS, UH, IF YOU WILL.

WE KIND OF PUT OUR, UH, KIND OF RESERVED OUR SPOT, IF YOU WILL, BEFORE OTHERS CALLED.

UM, BUT THIS WAS, THIS CONCERN WAS NOT AN ISSUE IN THIS CASE BECAUSE THE DAMAGE WAS RELATIVELY LOCALIZED BY MAJORITY OF IT WAS THE HOUSTON, UH, EXCUSE ME, THE AUSTIN AREA, UH, NORTH OF SAN ANTONIO WAS THE EXTENT TO THE SOUTH AND, UH, FARTHER NORTH WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND TO THE SOUTH OF THE WACO AREA.

SO NOT AS, AS LARGE AREA AS WE CONCERNED.

THE OTHER ISSUE THAT HELPED US OUT WAS, WHILE WE HAD CONTRACTS IN PLACE, MOST OF THE OTHER ENTITIES DID NOT HAVE CONTRACTS IN PLACE, SO THERE WAS NO, UH, NO, UH, ISSUE OF HAVING TO COMPETE AGAINST THEM BECAUSE THEY HAD TO START THE PROCESS FROM THE, THE BEGINNING.

SO, UH, IN THAT SENSE, WE WERE FORTUNATE.

UM, WE DID HAVE TO SUSPEND SERVICES EARLY ON DURING THIS STORM.

OUR REGULAR COLLECTION SERVICES, THE ICE ON THE ROADS, UH, REQUIRED US TO SHUT DOWN OPERATIONS EARLY, UH, ON ONE DAY.

AND THEN WE HAD A DELAYED OPERATIONS, UH, STARTING LATER.

SO THERE WAS SOME IMPACTS TO OUR REGULAR OPERATIONS AS WELL.

UM, BUT PART OF THE REASON WE DID THIS WAS TO GET THE CONTRACTOR IN PLACE.

UM, THIS SLIDE HERE, I THINK REALLY SHOWS THE, THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH.

THIS COMPARES OUR EFFORTS WITH OTHER EVENTS, UH, OTHER FLOODS THAT WE HAVE DEALT WITH, UM, PRIOR TO THIS EVENT, WINTER STORM URI WAS OUR BIGGEST EVENT AS FAR AS TONNAGE.

UM, THIS EVENT ALSO WAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

WE KIND OF FLIPPED THE SWITCH ON HOW WE HANDLE EVENTS PRIOR TO THIS, UM, AN EVENT.

BASICALLY, THE CITY STAFF WOULD HANDLE THE BULK OF MATERIAL, AND WE WOULD HAVE CONTRACTORS SUPPLEMENT OUR WORKFORCE TO HELP US OUT IN THIS SITUATION.

THAT WAS NOT AN OPTION.

WE CAN DO MAINTAINING REGULAR OPERATIONS, WE CAN DO ABOUT A HUNDRED TONS PER DAY IF WE SUSPEND OUR BULK, UH, AND BRUSH OPERATIONS AND STRICTLY PICK UP DEBRIS.

UM, YOU CAN SEE WITH THAT, UH, THE TONNAGE THERE WOULD'VE TAKEN US ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF YEARS WORKING EVERY DAY, UH, TO DO THAT JUST BY OURSELVES.

SO THIS EVENT IS WHERE WE REALLY FLIP THE, THE SCENARIO WHERE WE REALLY HAVE THE CONTRACTORS DOING THE BULK OF THE WORK, AND WE RELIED MORE ON TRYING TO MAINTAIN OUR REGULAR CURBSIDE SERVICES, WHICH WAS A CHALLENGE AS WELL.

WE STILL HAD

[00:10:01]

SO WE DID EXPERIENCE DELAYS THERE AS WELL, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS, AS, UH, IF WE HAD HANDLED THE STORM COLLECTION BY OURSELVES.

UM, THE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID EXPERIENCE TOO, YOU SAW THAT LARGE AMOUNT OF VOLUME.

UH, I DID HAVE A OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH THE DIRECTOR IN CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, DIRECTOR NEWMAN, UH, WITH THEIR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.

HE RELAYED TO ME THAT THEY WERE EXPERIENCING, UH, MATERIAL COMING FROM THE AUSTIN AREA TO THEIR FACILITIES IN SAN ANTONIO AS WELL.

AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS TO THE AMOUNT OF, UH, RESOURCES THAT THIS EVENT TOOK UP.

UH, THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH, UH, CONTRACTORS IN THIS AREA TO, TO MOVE THE MATERIAL, UM, FROM THOSE THAT DID NOT HAVE CITY SERVICES.

SO THOSE PRIVATE COMPANIES, THOSE AREAS THAT WERE, UH, THAT A R DID NOT SERVICE, HAD TO GET SERVICES.

SO A LOT OF CREWS ENDED UP COMING UP FROM OTHER CITIES.

UM, SO SAN ANTONIO, UH, THOSE FOLKS WOULD COME UP.

THEY'D WORK, THEY'D USE LOCAL FACILITIES TO DISPOSE OF WHAT THEY COLLECTED, BUT THAT LAST LOAD OF THE DAY, THEY WOULD END UP TAKING BACK TO SAN ANTONIO AND DUMP IT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING BEFORE THEY HEADED BACK UP.

TOSSED.

AND SO VERY WIDESPREAD DAMAGE, SAN ANTONIO DIDN'T HAVE NEAR THE DAMAGE WE DID.

MOST OF THEIR DAMAGE WAS NORTH OF THE CITY AND NORTHERN BAYER COUNTY.

UM, SO THEY DID SEE A LITTLE BIT OF CEDAR COMING IN FROM THAT, BUT NOT TO THE EXTENT THAT WE SAW.

UM, SO THIS, THIS, UH, SLIDE HERE SHOWS WHAT WE WERE DOING AS FAR AS TONNAGE WE COLLECTED PER DAY.

YOU CAN SEE THERE AROUND THE FEBRUARY 25TH, WE HIT OUR PEAK OF OVER AROUND 6,000 TONS PER DAY, WHICH IS AN INCREDIBLE NUMBER.

UH, AS FAR AS, UH, RECOVERY RESPONSE, UH, WE HAVE THREE, UH, NOTATIONS ON THERE.

THIS IS THE CIRCLE C OLD MAIN AND PALM ROAD.

THESE WERE DEBRIS MANAGEMENT SITES THAT WE WENT AHEAD AND, UH, WORKED WITH OUR CONTRACTORS TO STAND UP.

EACH CONTRACTOR HAD A SECTION OF THE CITY THAT THEY, UH, WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, ROUGHLY AN AREA.

THE SOUTH AREA WAS ROUGHLY SOUTH OF THE BEN WHITE.

THE CENTRAL AREA WAS BASICALLY BEN WHITE TO THE 2222 AREA.

AND THEN, UH, NORTH OF 22, 22 WAS THE FINAL ZONE.

SO, UM, PRIOR TO THESE SITES BEING OPERATED, THESE HAULERS HAD TO COLLECT MATERIAL AND THEN HAUL THAT MATERIAL STRAIGHT TO HORNSBY BEN, TO THE BIOSOLIDS FACILITY THERE, WHERE THAT MATERIAL WOULD BE MIXED WITH THE BIOSOLIDS TO CREATE DILLA DIRT.

UM, THAT'S A LOT OF WINDSHIELD TIME, AND WE REALLY NEED THESE FOLKS ON THE, ON THE ROUTES.

UM, SO WE WORKED WITH THEM TO, UH, AND, AND OUR, UH, PARKS, UH, DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH SITES AT, UH, CIRCLE C, OLD MAINER AND BALM ROAD.

THESE ARE ALL THREE PAR PROPERTIES.

UH, SO THESE SITES WERE USED AS TEMPORARY DEBRIS SITES.

UH, MATERIAL WILL BE BROUGHT THERE.

THE CONTRACTORS WOULD THEN REDUCE THAT MATERIAL THROUGH CHIPPERS AND THEN HAUL THAT CHIPPED MATERIAL TO HORNSBY BEEN WHERE IT THEN, UH, STOCKPILED TO EVENTUALLY BE USED, UH, FOR DILLOW DIRT.

SO IT, UH, IT HELPED US GET THE MATERIAL OFF THE GROUND A LOT QUICKER, UM, THAN WE, IT TYPICALLY WOULD'VE HAD WE HAULED STRAIGHT TO HORNSBY.

BEEN BEEN, UM, AS FAR AS COMMUNICATIONS, WE WERE VERY PROACTIVE ABOUT GETTING THE MESSAGING OUT.

WE U UTILIZED MULTIPLE METHODS TO DO THAT.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESS RELEASES.

I KNOW I DID SEVERAL, UH, NEWS CONFERENCES, UH, AND MEDIA INTERVIEWS.

WE HAVE A RECOLLECT SERVICE, WHICH IS AN APP FOR OUR CUSTOMERS THAT CAN OPT IN TO GET NOTIFICATIONS ABOUT ANY DELAYS IN SERVICE OR ANY MESSAGING THAT WE WANT TO GET OUT.

I THINK WE HAVE A, UM, I WANNA SAY ABOUT 40,000 FOLKS THAT HAVE SIGNED UP FOR THAT.

SO THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THOSE MESSAGES.

WE DID SOME UPDATES TO OUR WEBPAGE.

UH, WE WERE MENTIONED IN THE MEDIA, NOT NECESSARILY INTERVIEWS AT WE AY, BUT OTHERS THAT MENTIONED OUR DEPARTMENT AND OUR SERVICES, AND THEN OUR COMMUNICATIONS TO, UH, TO STAFF.

UM, UH, ONE OF THE ISSUES, UM, THAT WE, WE HEARD ABOUT WAS THE MAP THAT WE CREATED.

UM, THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME A R R HAD EVER USED A MAP, UH, TO DESCRIBE OUR PROGRESS AS FAR AS, UH, UH, CLEANUP GOES.

UM, THIS WAS A HA A MAP THAT WAS CREATED IN-HOUSE BY ARR STAFF.

THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WENT OUT AND PURCHASED.

UM, OUR FOLKS WORKED TIRELESSLY TO GET A SYSTEM SET UP, UH, TO BE ABLE TO CONVEY THE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC.

UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS FAR FROM PERFECT, BUT I THINK IT'S A GOOD TOOL.

UM, HAVING BEEN A GEOGRAPHY MAJOR, I, UH, AND, AND THIS TELLS YOU HOW OLD I AM, ACTUALLY, MY, UH, CONCENTRATION WAS CARTOGRAPHY IN SCHOOL.

SO, SO, UH, THE MAPPING, UH, ACTUALLY I WAS VERY INTERESTED IN THAT AND, AND I REALLY PUSHED TO GET THAT OUT.

UM, STAFF, WE DEBATED INTERNALLY, WHETHER IT WAS READY.

I I WANTED TO GET

[00:15:01]

SO I, I, I HOLD MYSELF ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY FLAWS IN THAT.

I THINK THE MAP IS A GREAT TOOL, BUT WITH ANY TOOL, WHETHER IT BE CARTOGRAPHY OR GIS, YOU KNOW, WHAT MATTERS IS THE INFORMATION THAT GOES INTO IT.

UM, SO THE TOOL WORKS.

WE JUST NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF GETTING THAT INFORMATION CORRECT.

AND ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE SAW IS WHAT WE DID IS WE RELIED ON THE CONTRACTORS TO LET US KNOW WHEN THEY HAD COMPLETED, UH, SECTION OF THE CITY, AND THEY WOULD RELAY THAT INFORMATION TO US ON A DAILY BASIS.

WE WOULD MAKE THOSE CHANGES IN THE MAP.

UH, SOON AFTER MAKING THOSE CHANGES THAT WE HAD A FIRST PASS COMPLETE IN AN AREA, THAT'S WHEN PHONE CALLS STARTED COMING IN AND SAID, UH, NO, YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED YOUR FIRST PASS.

I STILL HAVE MATERIAL OUT.

SO WE HAD TO GO BACK AND DO SOME, UH, UH, DEEPER DIVES INTO THOSE AND KIND OF SEE WHAT THE ISSUES WERE.

AND WE, WE CAME UP WITH A RANGE OF ISSUES OF WHY THESE PROBLEMS WERE COMING UP.

AND I, I JUST WANNA MENTION A FEW OF THEM HERE.

SO, WHAT WE HAD ASKED THE CONTRACTORS TO DO IS TO, IF THERE WAS ANY STOPS THAT THEY COULDN'T GET TO, TO GO AHEAD AND TAG THOSE, LET CUSTOMERS KNOW AND GIVE US A NOTIFICATION, UH, SO THAT WE WERE AWARE IN, IN CERTAIN CASES, WE WOULD GO OUT AND HANDLE THOSE.

UM, SO SITUATIONS WHERE THEY WOULD SKIP A, A STOP INCLUDED IF THE STOP WAS, UH, WHAT WE WOULD CALL AN IMPROPER SET OUT.

SO WE HAVE GUIDELINES AT A R R THAT WE ASK OUR CUSTOMERS TO FOLLOW DURING THIS EVENT.

WE RELAXED THEM.

WE ASKED FOLKS TO FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES, BUT DUE TO THE SEVERITY OF THE EVENT, WE FELT, UH, THAT WE COULD RELAX THOSE AND WE WOULD PICK 'EM UP.

BUT THERE WERE CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE AN IMPROPER SET OUT COULD NOT BE COLLECTED.

UM, THERE WERE, UH, ISSUES WHERE DEBRIS WAS PUT ON TOP OF, UH, OF, UH, FIRE HYDRANTS.

UM, THOSE ARE SITUATIONS WHERE WE WOULD TAG AND WE WOULD ASK THE CUSTOMER TO, TO, UH, FIX THAT SET OUT BEFORE WE GO BACK AND COLLECT.

THERE WERE SITUATIONS IN SOME OF THE CUL-DE-SACS THAT THE AREA WAS TOO SMALL TO GET INTO WITH THE LARGE HAULER TRUCKS.

SO THEY WOULD SKIP THOSE AND CALL ANOTHER PERSON ON THEIR TEAM, UH, TO GET THOSE.

BUT THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAPPEN THAT DAY.

SO THAT COULD HAPPEN THE NEXT DAY OR SOMETIME DAYS LATER.

SO, UH, MANY FOLKS THOUGHT, WELL, THAT MATERIAL'S BEING MISSED.

I'VE BEEN MISSED.

UM, WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO GONNA LOOK AT SOME OF THE LANGUAGE THAT WE USE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FIRST PASSES.

UM, OUR DIRECTOR, UM, UH, DIRECTOR SNIPES, MADE MENTION THAT FOLKS HAD CHANGED OUR TERMINOLOGY OF FIRST PASS, UM, FROM A, FROM A VERB TO A NOUN.

SO EVERYONE WANTED THEIR PASS.

SO EVEN IF WE HAD GONE DOWN THEIR STREET ON A FIRST PASS AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEIR STUFF OUT IN TIME, THEY WANTED US TO COME BACK THE NEXT DAY SO THEY COULD GET THEIR FIRST PASS COLLECTED.

SO WE HAD TO REMIND THEM THAT WE WOULD BE BACK, BUT BECAUSE OF THE VOLUME AND, AND IN ORDER TO OPERATE AS EFFICIENTLY AS WE COULD, UH, WE COULDN'T GO BACK RIGHT THEN, BUT WE WOULD BE BACK.

UM, AND WHICH WE HAVE, UM, SOME OF THE SET OUTS WERE PUT UNDER TREES WHERE OUR CRANE TRUCKS COULDN'T GET TO THEM.

SO THOSE, AGAIN, WAS A, AN INSTANCE WHERE WE HAD TO HAVE OTHER CREWS GO IN THERE OR HAVE THE CUSTOMERS MOVE THOSE MATERIALS.

UM, SOME CUSTOMERS HAD SOME DEBRIS TO THE HOUSE OR FENCES, AND THAT MATERIAL WAS MIXED IN THAT.

UM, SO THOSE ARE LOADS THAT THE CONTRACTOR COULD NOT TAKE AS WELL, BECAUSE THE FACILITY THAT ACCEPTED THAT MATERIAL ONLY ACCEPTED ORGANIC WASTE AND NOT, UH, UH, UH, NONT ACCESSIBLE DEBRIS.

UM, SO THOSE ARE SOME ISSUES WE HAD.

WE ALSO SAW TYPICAL ISSUES THAT WE SEE DURING REGULAR OPERATIONS, UM, WHERE, UH, WE WILL GO AND WE'LL BE COLLECTING, AND THEN WE WILL BREAK OFF TO GO DUMP THAT MATERIAL SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO THE ROUTE WHEN THE DRIVER MAY GO BACK TO A DIFFERENT PART OF THE ROUTE, NOT NECESSARILY THE NEXT HOUSE THAT WAS IN LINE.

SO THAT WAS CONFUSING FOR CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY SEE A TRUCK WORKING ON A STREET, COMING ALL THE WAY UP TO THEIR HOUSE AND THEN LEAVING AND NOT COMING BACK.

SO THESE ARE LITTLE THINGS THAT WE WORK TO ADDRESS.

UM, AND THEN THESE ARE THINGS THAT, UM, THAT WE, THAT WE'RE LEARNED FROM, UH, DURING THIS EVENT.

UM, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A, OBVIOUSLY A VERY, A MAJOR EVENT IN THE, NOT ONLY THE VOLUME IN THE MATERIAL, BUT THE SIZE OF THE AREA THAT WE HAD TO WORK IN.

AUSTIN'S ABOUT 320 SQUARE MILES.

SO THAT WAS A LOT OF GROUND TO COVER.

SO, UH, JUST THIS WEEK WE'VE STARTED OUR THIRD PASS, UM, THAT STARTED, I BELIEVE, UH, MONDAY, UH, WITH SOME CREWS GETTING BACK INTO TOWN.

UH, MONDAY, THEY, UH, EXCUSE ME, YESTERDAY THEY ACTUALLY STARTED COLLECTING MATERIAL AGAIN.

OUR DEBRIS MONITOR, UH, HAS ESTIMATED AROUND A LITTLE OVER A THOUSAND STOPS STILL LEFT.

UH, WE'VE TALKED WITH OUR CONTRACTORS AND WE ARE, UM, CONFIDENT THAT WE COULD HAVE THAT FINISHED UP WITHIN THE NEXT 10 DAYS.

SO, MOVING VERY QUICKLY ON THAT, WE'D LIKE TO MOVE BEYOND THIS AND GET BACK TO REGULAR.

ONCE THAT THIRD PASSES DONE, WE WILL LEASE OUR CONTRACTORS AND ANY FUTURE MATERIAL THAT COMES OUT THAT MAY STILL BE IN TREES OR, UH, FOLKS MAY NOT HAVE GOT TO THE CURB, UM, THEY WOULD HAVE TO CALL IN THE THREE 11 FOR US TO, UH, COLLECT.

AND WE WILL DO THAT, UM, THROUGH JUNE.

WE'LL BE COLLECTING MATERIAL STILL.

[00:20:03]

SO FOR, FOR FREEMA REIMBURSEMENT PROP, UH, PURPOSES, UM, WE HAD OUR THREE DEBRIS CONTRACTORS ON BOARD.

WE ALSO HIRED A DEBRIS MONITOR.

SO THE DEBRIS MONITORS JOB IS TO BASICALLY HAVE A PERSON AT, WITH EVERY CREW, DOCUMENTING EVERYTHING THEY DO, HOW MANY TIMES THAT BUCKET TOUCHES THE GROUND PICTURES OF THE SITE, UH, ANY INFORMATION, UM, THAT THEY FEEL IS PERTINENT THAT FEMA WOULD NEED.

THEY'RE COLLECTING THAT INFORMATION.

SO THEY HELPED US TO DO THAT.

WHEN WE GOT TO, TO GATED COMMUNITIES, THERE WAS AN ISSUE BECAUSE THOSE ARE, UH, PRIVATE ROADS IN THERE.

AND THAT PRESENTED A LITTLE BIT OF A, UH, AN ISSUE, UH, IN US BEING ABLE TO GET FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS.

SO IF WE WANTED TO GET FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS, WE HAD TO FOLLOW, UM, SOME OTHER STRATEGIES, UH, FOR THOSE AREAS.

WE HAD TO DO A PRE-ASSESSMENT OF THE AREA, TAKE A LOOK, DO SOME DOCUMENTATION.

WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAD RIGHTS OF RELEASES, UM, FROM THOSE, UH, HOMEOWNER GROUPS IN ORDER TO GET ON THOSE PROPERTIES.

CUZ THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS THAT FEMA WOULD WANT TO SEE, UH, THAT WE HAD PERMISSION TO GO ON TO THOSE AREAS.

SO THAT TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.

WE DID, UM, WORK TOWARD THAT.

WE STILL HAVE SOME MORE WORK TO DO AT THAT.

THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE, UH, THE RIGHTS OF ENTRY DID NOT COME IN A TIMELY MANNER, BUT WE WENT AHEAD AND COLLECT THOSE ANYWAY.

AND THOSE WILL JUST BE COST THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, ABSORBS DURING THIS STORM, AS THOSE MAY NOT BE REIMBURSABLE, IF FEMA DECIDES, UM, UH, AGAINST THAT.

SO WE'RE WORKING ON THOSE.

UM, WE SEE THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE EVER HAD A FEMA TYPE EVENT THAT IMPACTED GATED COMMUNITIES.

A LOT OF OUR EVENTS HAVE BEEN MORE LOCALIZED AS FAR AS FLOODING.

UM, BUT WE'VE NEVER REALLY HAD SOMETHING IN A GATED COMMUNITY LIKE THIS.

SO THIS WAS SOMETHING NEW.

AND THAT'S WHY I SAY ALL THESE EVENTS ARE UNIQUE AND WE LEARNED SOMETHING FROM EACH ONE.

UM, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE LEARNED FOR THIS ONE, AND THIS WON'T BE A PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE.

UH, THREE 11, I, I'D LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO MY FRIENDS.

AT THREE 11, WE, UH, THEY HAD A LOT OF CALLS COMING IN, UH, SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD BETWEEN PHONE CALLS AND ONLINE, UM, AROUND 43,000, UH, SERVICE REQUESTS.

SOME OF THOSE WERE DUPLICATES, SO WE REMOVED THOSE OUT.

SO IT'S ABOUT 38,000 OVERALL.

SO AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF CALLS.

UM, WE ASKED OUR RESIDENTS TO CALL TO LET US KNOW IF THEY'RE, UH, IF THEY HAD DAMAGE IN THE AREAS.

WE PRETTY MUCH KNEW THE AREAS, BUT WE WANTED TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF THE, THE QUANTITY OF THE DAMAGE.

HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT AS FAR AS THE, THE TOTAL IMPACT.

SO, UH, FOLKS DID CALL IN.

UH, IT WAS GOOD INFORMATION THAT WE GOT.

UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, THREE COUNCIL DISTRICTS PRODUCED NEARLY HALF OF THE DEBRIS, AND THOSE WERE COUNCIL DISTRICT'S, 10, EIGHT, AND SIX.

UM, THE, THE BOTTOM THREE AS FAR AS THE MEMBER SERVICE ORDERS GENERATED WERE, UH, COUNCIL'S TWO, THREE, AND NINE.

UH, NOW WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME AREAS OF THE CITY, UM, THAT HAVE PERHAPS BEEN UP UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE PAST.

IT MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO THE SEA THAT THEY HAD ISSUES.

SO WE SENT OUT STAFF INTO THOSE AREAS, UH, TO KIND OF SERVE AS THEIR OMBUDSMAN AND, AND LOOK AT THOSE AREAS AND REPORT BACK.

SO WE HAD A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE AREAS AS WELL.

SO, UH, SO WE USE THAT INFORMATION TO, UM, KIND OF DETERMINE OUR WORKLOAD.

AS FAR AS CLOSING THE SERVICE ORDERS, WE'VE CLOSED ABOUT 8,000 SO FAR.

WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS.

UH, WE WILL HAVE TO SEND A SUPERVISOR OUT JUST TO VERIFY THIS STUDY HAS BEEN COLLECTED AS ENCLOSED OUT.

SO IT'S A LOT OF WORK.

SO WE'RE GONNA BE, UM, TALKING WITH, UH, THREE 11 STAFF TO SEE IF THERE'S PERHAPS A SIMPLER WAY TO DO THE CLOSEOUTS.

UH, IN THE PAST WE USED TO DO KIND OF A BLANKET CLOSEOUT ON SERVICE ORDERS.

UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT COULD PRESENT SOME ISSUES IN THIS CASE WHERE I GUESS IF THEIR MATERIALS STILL ADDED, WOULD LEAD TO AN ESCALATION.

UM, SO WE'RE GONNA SEE WHAT THE BEST WAY TO CLOSE THOSE SERVICE ORDERS OUT, BECAUSE IT'S TAKING A LOT OF STAFF TIME TO HAVE TO CLOSE THOSE OUT INDIVIDUALLY.

GIVE MR. MIEL, THIS IS REALLY GOOD INFORMATION, BUT I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT, YOU PROBABLY HAVE ABOUT FIVE, 10 MINUTES LEFT ON THE PRESENTATION.

OH, I'M SORRY.

ANY QUESTIONS? SURE.

I HAD A TIMEFRAME, I'M SORRY.

UM, AGAIN, TO HOW WE PRIORITIZED.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WERE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT WAS MAKING SURE THAT EVERY DISTRICT STARTED AT THE SAME TIME, OR AT LEAST VERY CLOSE AT THE SAME TIME.

SO EACH DISTRICT, UH, THERE WAS ABOUT, MAYBE THEY ALL STARTED IN THAT, IN THAT FIRST WEEK, SOME STARTED A FEW DAYS LATER THAN OTHERS, ONLY BECAUSE THEY WERE DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS AND OUR CONTRACTORS HAD

[00:25:01]

UH, A LOT OF THE STAFF HAD BEEN WORKING, UH, CLEANING UP STILL FROM HURRICANE ION, UH, EXCUSE ME, IAN IN, UH, IN FLORIDA.

UH, SO THOSE CREWS WERE BROUGHT OVER TO HELP OUT WITH THE COLLECTION.

UM, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, LOOKED AT THE SERVICE ORDER NUMBERS AND SAW THE VOLUME OUT ON THE WEST PART, UH, OF THE CITY AND THE ISSUES THAT THAT CREATED.

NOW THIS PICTURE HERE KIND OF SHOWS YOU SOME OF THE CURB LINES THAT ARE JUST TOTALLY COVERED WITH BRUSH.

UH, THIS CREATED SOME TRAFFIC ISSUES.

UM, IN ONE, UH, SITUATION, A STOP SIGN HAD BEEN COVERED UP THE DEBRIS SO THAT YOU COULDN'T SEE THE STOP SIGN.

SO WE, UH, AS A MATTER OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH, WE WENT AHEAD AND PUT MORE RESOURCES TOWARDS THESE AREAS TO GET THOSE MATERIAL OFF THE STREET TO AVOID ANY TYPE OF ACCIDENTS OR ADDITIONAL FIRE DAMAGE.

UH, AND THIS IS A PICTURE OF OUR CIRCLE C DEBRIS SITE, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT GENTLEMAN THERE IN THE, THE ORANGE SHIRT.

AND IT'S JUST A SCALE OF IT.

UM, I'VE HEARD PEOPLE CALL IT MOUNT CIRCLE C.

UM, SO, BUT IT IS NOW GONE.

WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF RESTORING ALL THE DEBRIS MANAGEMENT SITES TO THE PRIOR CONDITION, OR IN SOME CASES EVEN A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

UM, SO THAT WORK IS ONGOING.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. MIHAIL.

AND I JUST WANNA SHARE MY GRATITUDE TO AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

I THINK THIS DEPARTMENT WAS AN EXA, A SHINING EXAMPLE OF HOW TO RESPOND IN A DISASTER.

AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU LAID OUT THE THINKING OF SWITCHING, UM, THE ORDER OF OPERATIONS AND GETTING THE CONTRACTORS OUT TO HELP, UH, ON THE FRONT END, UH, WITH THE DEBRIS PICKUP SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN REGULAR OPERATIONS AND INTO THAT KIND OF THINKING THAT I THINK REALLY, UH, HAS PUT US IN A, IN A, A VERY GOOD PLACE.

UM, LOVE THAT.

WE HAVE STARTED OUR THIRD PASS, AND, AND CERTAINLY, UH, I THINK TODAY'S UPDATE IS REALLY RELEVANT TO MANY OF THE CONSTITUENT CASES, UH, THAT WE'RE GETTING.

AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THAT FOR, I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE I'M CONSTANTLY IN A THREE 11 EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN IN MY DISTRICT.

I'M SHARING WITH MY COMMUNITY, LIKE, HEY, REPORT EVERYTHING ON THREE 11.

UH, SO WE CAN'T SOLELY RELY ON WHERE THE REPORTS ARE COMING IN BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THERE IS A DISPARITY ON SERVICE REQUESTS, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR EAST SIDE COMMUNITIES.

COLLEAGUES, UH, QUESTIONS.

YES, MAYOR, I JUST WANNA REINFORCE WHAT THE CHAIRWOMAN JUST SAID ABOUT A SHINING EXAMPLE OF HOW TO RESPOND.

AND I, I GOT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME TO GO OUT WITH YOU AND, UH, DIRECTOR SNIPES AND, AND ACTUALLY WITNESS, UH, ASPECTS OF THIS.

AND IT, IT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE.

AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THE HOW DO WE LEARN MORE AND, AND APPLY THAT, UH, AS PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION.

SO, SO THANKS ON, ON, ON.

OVERALL, THANKS ON THE WHOLE APPROACH.

SO YEAH, DETECTIVE, I DO APPRECIATE THAT.

BUT, UH, SPOIL ALERT, OUR NEXUS STORM.

WE WILL HAVE ISSUES, BUT THEY WON'T BE THE SAME ISSUES.

AND WE WILL LEARN FROM THOSE, THOUGH.

WE'RE ALWAYS PREPARING FOR THE NEXT ONE, RIGHT? SO THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT'S TRUE.

AND, BUT, BUT THE IDEA THAT IT WAS SO PROACTIVE, I THINK IS WHAT'S MEANINGFUL HERE.

SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

YES.

AND, AND I, I JUST AGAIN, ECHO MY, UH, COLLEAGUE'S COMMENTS AND JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT THE, UH, THE MAP WAS VERY HELPFUL, UH, IN MY, UH, COMMUNICATIONS WITH, UH, CONSTITUENTS.

UH, I WOULD REFER THEM TO THE MAP AND, UH, IT WOULD BE UPDATED AND THEY WOULD KIND OF HAVE AN IDEA, OH, THERE IS GONNA BE A SECOND PASS.

SO THEY COULD AT LEAST SEE THAT IT WAS, IT WAS VERY REASSURING.

IT WAS VERY HELPFUL.

IT HELPED KEEP, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE PATIENT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS HELP COMING DOWN THE ROAD.

SO, UH, AGAIN, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU.

AND, AND THAT JUST MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO DIRECT A CONSTITUENTS TO A RESOURCE THAT WILL SERVE AS A GUIDE.

SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO JUST CALL US AND BE LIKE, WHEN'S IT GONNA COME? WHEN'S IT GONNA COME? WHEN'S IT GONNA COME? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A MATTER.

SO AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.

THANK YOU FOR THOSE WORDS.

AND OUR NEXT ITERATION WILL BE MUCH MORE ROBUST.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL RIGHTY, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

GREAT, GREAT PRESENTATION.

OKAY, COLLEAGUES, WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM,

[3. Briefing from Dianna Grey, Homeless Strategy Officer and discuss issues related to persons experiencing homelessness.]

THIS IS ITEM NUMBER THREE.

SO IF WE CAN HAVE DIANA GRAY JOINING US FOR OUR, FOR OUR REGULAR UPDATE.

GOOD MORNING CHAIR FUENTES COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

DIANA GRAY, UH, HOMELESS STRATEGY STRATEGY OFFICER, UH, WITHIN AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.

SO, UM, UM, EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS MORNING, A FEW UPDATES, UM, AROUND HOMELESSNESS.

IF WE CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, SO WE'LL BE TALKING, I THINK PROBABLY TOP OF, UM, OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS' MIND IS STATUS OF THE SALVATION ARMY CLOSURE.

SO

[00:30:01]

UM, SPEAKING TO THE ARPA INVESTMENT PLAN AND WHERE WE ARE ON SPENDING AND COMMITMENTS OF THE 106.7 MILLION OF ARPA COMMITTED TO HOMELESSNESS, UH, WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK BRIEFLY TO SOME WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, UH, IN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING WITHIN THE HOMELESS RESPONSE SYSTEM.

AND THEN GIVE A PREVIEW OF UPCOMING ITEMS, UM, FOR THE COMMITTEE, UH, AND ITS CONSIDERATION AS IT TALKS ABOUT FUTURE AGENDAS.

SO, AS OF, UH, FEBRUARY 17TH, WHICH WAS THE DAY THAT THE SALVATION ARMY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD BE CLOSING THE DOWNTOWN SHELTER, THERE WERE 97 CLIENTS THERE.

UH, AS YOU LIKELY RECALL, THE INITIAL DATE FOR CLOSURE, UH, WAS MARCH 15TH.

UH, WE ASKED.

AND, UM, A SALVATION ARMY AGREED TO EXTEND, UH, FOR ANOTHER MONTH, SUCH THAT THE ANTICIPATED CLOSURE DATE IS APRIL 15TH.

I DO HAVE NUMBERS UPDATED AS OF THIS MORNING.

UH, TODAY THERE ARE THREE CLIENTS LEFT AT THE DOWNTOWN SHELTER.

UH, WE EXPECT THOSE THREE INDIVIDUALS TO BE RELOCATED TO THE NORTH BRIDGE SHELTER OVER THE COURSE OF TODAY AND TOMORROW.

UM, SO THAT WE WILL NOT HAVE ANYONE REMAINING THERE AND BE ABLE TO, TO CLOSE ON, UH, THE 15TH, UH, WITHOUT HAVING TO EXIT ANYONE TO THE STREETS.

UH, IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO, AS OF, UH, THE FIFTH, WHICH WAS WHEN WE PRODUCED THIS PRESENTATION, THIS IS A BREAKDOWN OF THE LOCATION OF INDIVIDUALS, UH, THAT HAD EXITED SHELTER.

UM, THERE WERE SOME FOLKS WHO LEFT SHELTER WITHOUT A KNOWN LOCATION OR, UM, TWO KNOWN UNSHELTERED HOMELESSNESS.

UH, I WILL TELL YOU THAT WITH THE UPDATED NUMBERS, WE ARE NOW AT 17 INDIVIDUALS AND ROUGHLY 17%, UH, OF THOSE FOLKS.

THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THOSE FOLKS ARE UNSHELTERED.

THEY MAY HAVE GONE, UH, TO HOUSING TO, UH, FRIENDS OR FAMILY, OR TO OTHER LOCATIONS.

UH, BUT JUST TO GIVE A SENSE OF HOW, UH, WE INTEND TO, UM, AND HOPE TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE INDIVIDUALS.

WE HAVE A BY NAME LIFTS, SO WE KNOW WHO THOSE FOLKS ARE, UH, FROM OUR HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM.

AND FOR AT LEAST 30 DAYS, WE WILL RETAIN AN INVITATION TO SHELTER, UH, FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS.

UH, WE WILL, UH, ISSUE A, UH, UH, WHAT WE CALL A BOLO, UM, FROM, UH, THE JUSTICE, JUSTICE WORLD WILL BE ON THE LOOKOUT TO OUR OUTREACH TEAMS, UH, SUCH THAT THEY CAN CONTACT US, AND WE WILL FACILITATE A PLACEMENT DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.

SO, AS YOU SEE HERE, A COMBINATION OF, UM, SOME EXITS TO PERMANENT HOUSING, UH, OTHER TRANSFERS TO, UM, TO OTHER SHELTER FACILITIES, UH, SOME FRIEND AND FAMILY RELOCATION, UH, OR FOLKS WHO, UH, DID HAVE RESOURCES TO SELF-FUND A HOTEL STAY WHILE THEY STABILIZED AND FOUND, UH, ADDITIONAL HOUSING.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO THIS WORK HAPPENS IN THE CONTEXT OF A BROADER ASSESSMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY SHELTER SYSTEM, UH, THAT WAS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL IN AUGUST OF LAST YEAR.

YOU MAY RECALL, AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF APPROVING EMERGENCY CONTRACTS FOR THE ARCH AND THE SOUTH BRIDGE SHELTER COUNCIL, UH, REQUESTED THAT WE UNDERTAKE A BROAD ASSESSMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY SHELTER SYSTEM.

UH, WE ARE FIRST LOOKING AT YEAR ROUND, UM, GENERAL, GENERAL HOMELESS SHELTER SYSTEM, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL FOLLOW ON PLANNING LOOKING AT INCLEMENT WEATHER SHELTERS.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WILL FOCUS ON THE OVERALL BED CAPACITY THAT WE LIKELY NEED, UH, POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS TO SERVICE QUALITY.

AND SPECIFICALLY, WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO LOOK AT WAYS THAT WE MIGHT LOOK AT OUR CITY CONTRACTS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE, UM, AND INFORMATION FLOW ABOUT THE CURRENT, UM, AND ONGOING OPERATIONS OF SHELTERS.

UH, SO RATHER THAN IN A DETAILED SHELTER PLAN, THE DIRECTION WAS TO CREATE A VISION AND THE PRIORITIES, UH, FOR HOW WE MOVE FORWARD IN EXPANDING AND IMPROVING OUR SHELTER SYSTEM, UH, WITH INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS TO BE, UH, TO BE IDENTIFIED AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

IMPORTANTLY, WE WERE ASKED TO COMPLETE THIS ASSESSMENT BEFORE WE RES ELICITED THE EMERGENCY CONTRACTS AT THE ARCH AND, UH, SOUTHBRIDGE SHELTER.

THOSE CONTRACTS ARE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED TO END, UH, AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

AND SO THERE IS A, A TIME CRUNCH HERE, AND WE'RE LOOKING TO BRING OUR INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL NEXT MONTH, UH, WITH SOME FINALIZED AND REFINED RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, LIKELY IN THE FOLLOWING MONTH.

UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT WHETHER,

[00:35:01]

UH, SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE IN THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND, AND RESEARCH PROCESS, IF WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.

UH, AND WANTED TO SPEAK A BIT TO OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, WORK ON THIS FRONT, WHICH WAS A PIECE OF WHAT COUNCIL ASKED US SPECIFICALLY TO DO.

UM, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STAFF, UH, SPECIFICALLY CHARLES LUEN, WHO'S WITH US TODAY, UH, AT REALLY LOOKING AT A, A MULTI-LEVEL, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UH, AND REALLY WITH A FOCUS ON PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND HAVE USED, UM, ARE USING OR HAVE USED THESE SERVICES IN THE PAST.

AND SO OUR EARLY ENGAGEMENT HAS REALLY FOCUSED, UH, ON, UH, CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND ARE USING SHELTER, OR HAVE IN THE, IN THE PAST, UH, HAVE DONE A NUMBER OF FOCUS GROUPS, UH, UH, AS WELL AS SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OF ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS.

UH, SOME OF THAT IS CONTINUING, BUT IT IS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE AT THIS TIME.

OUR NEXT PHASE, WHICH IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY, IS ENGAGING WITH OUR SERVICE PROVIDER PARTNERS, UH, ABOUT THEIR OPERATIONS IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, THE WAYS THAT THE CITY, UH, CAN IMPROVE ITS SUPPORT OF OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS.

AND THEN FINALLY, WE'LL BE MOVING INTO A, A PHASE THAT INVITES BROADER SERVICE PROVIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO MAY NOT HAVE A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY AS WELL AS ADVOCATES.

SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULING THAT NOW.

SO WE HAVE A COMMITMENT TO UPDATE COUNCIL QUARTERLY ON THE PROGRESS OF FINDING HOME ATX, UM, FUNDRAISING, AS WELL AS OUR, UH, COMMITMENT AND EXPENDITURE OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT FUNDS.

WE INCLUDED THAT AS PART OF OUR LAST UPDATE, BUT I DID WANNA GIVE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TODAY THAT LOOKS AT WHERE WE ARE ON THE ALMOST 107 MILLION OF, UH, OF ARPA FUNDING.

UM, WE HAVE SPENT A RELATIVELY MODEST AMOUNT OF FUNDS THUS FAR, AND THAT IS BECAUSE THE VAST MAJORITY OF CONTRACTING THAT OCCURRED, UM, UH, THOSE CONTRACTS WERE EXECUTED AROUND THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

UH, AND SO PROJECTS HAVE BEEN RAMPING UP, UM, AND, AND JUST BEGINNING TO SUBMIT THOSE DRAWS ON THE CONTRACTS.

WE EXPECT TO SEE THIS, UH, INCREASE RAPIDLY OVER THE COMING MONTHS.

AND THEN WE DO HAVE A ADDITIONAL ENCUMBRANCES OR AUTHORIZED RENEWALS OF THOSE CONTRACTS THAT VALUE 64.6 MILLION.

UM, AS OF, UH, JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, OUR BALANCE WAS 31.3 MILLION.

I DO WANNA NOTE THAT THAT INCLUDES 11.4 MILLION OF HOME ARPA MONIES THAT HAVE SPECIFIC LIMITATIONS, UH, ON THEIR POTENTIAL EXPENDITURES, AND THAT WE HAVE JUST RECEIVED, UM, AT LEAST VERBAL, UH, APPROVAL FROM HUD TO SPEND.

I'M NOT POSITIVE WHETHER WE HAVE, UH, RECEIVED FORMAL APPROVAL TO GO AHEAD AND COMMIT THOSE FUNDS, BUT WE HAVE BEEN IN SOMETHING OF A, A, A, A WAITING PATTERN ON A HOLDING PATTERN, EXCUSE ME, ON THOSE FUNDS.

SO AN ADDITIONAL 20 MILLION TO COMMIT THOSE ARE IN THE INVESTMENT PLAN.

SO WE DO HAVE PLANNED INVESTMENTS THERE, BUT THEY ARE NOT YET COMMITTED IN APPROVED CONTRACTS.

UH, SO I THINK THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.

WE HAVE, UM, COMMITTED TO COUNCIL THAT WE WOULD, UH, PERIODICALLY COME WITH ANY POTENTIAL REALLOCATION OR RECOMMENDED REALLOCATIONS OF FUNDING WITHIN THE OVERALL INVESTMENT PLAN.

UH, AND NOW AS WE MOVE INTO SORT OF A MORE MATURE EVOLUTION OF THE EFFORTS, WOULD EXPECT THAT THAT MAY COME, UH, IN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE MONTHS.

NEXT SLIDE.

FINALLY, I WANNA GIVE AN UPDATE ON A CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE, WHICH REALLY IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR, UM, ALL OUR OVERALL EFFORTS UNDER FINDING HOME ATX AND WITHIN THE ARPA INVESTMENT.

UH, AS WE HAVE, UH, RESOURCED OUR SYSTEMS SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, MORE ROBUSTLY WITH ARPA FUNDS AND THROUGH SOME, UM, INCREASED CITY GENERAL FUND, WE KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN A STRUGGLE FOR OUR EXISTING PORTFOLIO OF, UM, IF YOU WILL, LEGACY PROVIDERS TO EXPAND AS RAPIDLY AS NEEDED.

ADDITIONALLY, WITH OUR FOCUS ON EQUITY, UH, IN SERVICE DELIVERY, UH, WE RECOGNIZE THAT SOME OF OUR BIPO LED ORGANIZATIONS HAVE NOT TRADITIONALLY BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS CITY FUNDING BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE

[00:40:01]

AND SO WANTED TO USE A PORTION OF THIS, UH, THESE DOLLARS TO REALLY WORK WITH SOME OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE, HAVE BEEN PROVIDING SERVICES IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, OFTEN SUBSTANTIALLY VOLUNTEER DRIVEN, BUT WITHOUT, UH, FORMAL SUPPORT FROM THE CITY.

SO WE HAVE INITIATED A PROCESS, A SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM, UH, AN ACCELERATOR PROGRAM, UH, WHERE WE HAVE ENGAGED WITH 21 AWARDEES, UM, HAVE THUS FAR WORKED WITH THEM TO COMPLETE NEEDS ASSESSMENTS, UH, AND ARE NOW MOVING INTO A PERIOD OF AN ACCELERATOR PROCESS, WHICH KICKS OFF, UH, IN, UH, ABOUT TWO WEEKS.

UH, AS WELL AS THE ABILITY FOR THESE ORGANIZATIONS TO SUBMIT, UH, DIRECT REQUESTS FOR, UM, I BELIEVE UP TO $35,000 OF DIRECT SUPPORT FOR VERY CONCRETE CAPACITY BUILDING NEEDS, WHETHER THAT BE, UM, DEVELOPING THEIR FINANCIAL TRACKING SYSTEMS, UH, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THE HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, OR, UH, CONTRACTING WITH, UH, DEVELOPMENT STAFF TO HELP THEM DIVERSIFY THEIR FUNDING, UM, THEIR FUNDING, UH, PORTFOLIO.

AND SO, AGAIN, THE ACCELERATOR STARTS IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS RUNS, UM, FOR ABOUT 10 WEEKS, UM, AND LOOK FORWARD TO SHOWCASING THE WORK OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS.

UH, UM, AT THE, THE CULMINATION OF THE ACCELERATOR IN TERMS OF, UH, ISSUES THAT ARE ON THE HORIZON AND WE EXPECT TO BRING, BEFORE THE COMMITTEE, WE HAVE CLOSED AN RFP FOR TARGETED HOMELESS PREVENTION OF TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.

THE, UH, EVALUATION OF THOSE, UH, THOSE PROPOSALS IS NEARING COMPLETION, AND SO WOULD ANTICIPATE THAT NEXT, UH, COMMITTEE MEETING.

WE WOULD HAVE THE PROPOSED AWARDEES, UH, FOR THE COMMITTEE.

FINALLY, AS I MENTIONED, OR, UH, AT NEXT, AS I MENTIONED, UH, NEXT MONTH WE HOPE TO HAVE AT LEAST OUR PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND OUR OVERALL, UH, SHELTER PLANNING EFFORT.

UH, AGAIN, WE'LL BE BRINGING FORWARD, UH, PROPOSED REALLOCATION OF SOME OF THE REMAINING ARPA FUNDS, AND HAVE ADDITIONALLY HAD SOME QUESTIONS AND INTEREST AROUND THE PROGRESS OF OUR, UM, HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PIPELINE.

SO LOOK FORWARD TO UPDATING THE COMMITTEE ON THOSE BRICK AND MORTAR UNITS THAT ARE, UH, EXPECTED TO COME ONLINE WITHIN BOTH THE COMING MONTHS AND THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

UH, AND AND FINALLY HERE, WE DO HAVE A RESOLUTION RELATED TO ENSURING THAT OUR, OUR, UH, PROVIDERS IN THE HOMELESS SERVICE SPACE, UH, HAVE, UH, ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND TRAINING AROUND IDENTIFYING AND RESPONDING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

UH, WE ARE WORKING WITH PARTNERS NOW TO, UH, DEVELOP THE RESPONSE TO THAT RESOLUTION, UH, AND PROVIDE SOME MODEST FUNDING TO CARRY IT OUT AND, AND LOOK FORWARD TO UPDATING THE COUNTS, THE, THE COMMITTEE SOON.

WITH THAT, I'LL CLOSE AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU.

THAT WAS SUPER INFORMATIVE.

I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

UH, ONE OF THE INITIAL QUESTIONS I HAVE, MS. GRAY, IS, YOU KNOW, I OFTEN SHARE WITH OUR COMMUNITY THAT THIS IS THE YEAR THAT THAT 68 MILLION TRANCHE OF ALLOCATED OR COMMITTED, UM, DOLLARS WILL, WILL ACTUALLY SEE INTO FRUITION.

CUZ WE HAVE NOT, YOU KNOW, UP UNTIL THIS POINT WE'VE ONLY SPENT, I THINK YOU SAID 7 MILLION, UM, AND OR 10 MILLION.