[1. Open Meeting.]
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TODAY IS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH, 2024.
AND THE TIME IS 6:03 PM AND THIS IS THE BRIEFING WORKSHOP WITH LEANDER CITY
[2. Roll Call.]
COUNCIL.PLEASE CALL ROLE COUNCILMAN MCC.
HERE, MAYOR PROTE, ESME MATH LONGORIA.
COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID MCDONALD HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER NICOLE THOMPSON.
PRESENT, COUNCIL MEMBER CHRIS HERNEY.
[3. Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority pipeline replacement project and water conservation plan update.]
HERE.ITEM NUMBER THREE, BREY CREEK REGIONAL UTILITY AUTHORITY PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT AND WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.
UPDATE WITH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE, GRIMS BOW.
UH, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNCIL.
DAN GRIMS, BO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE CITY OF DANDER.
UM, SO, UH, IT'LL ACTUALLY BE MYSELF AND, UH, UH, MR. NEW, UH, TALKING ABOUT THIS.
HE HAS A LOT MORE, SO THAT'S GOOD.
UH, THIS, BASICALLY THE FEW SLIDES I HAVE IS JUST A REMINDER OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE STARTING FEBRUARY 28TH, WHICH IS THE REPAIR, THE PERMANENT REPAIR, UM, OR IN THIS CASE, REPLACEMENT OF THE LINE, UH, FOR THE, UH, RAW WATER WALL, WATER LINE FOR THE B-C-R-U-A.
AND SO, UH, THIS IS A REMINDER.
THE PICTURE YOU SEE IN THE TOP RIGHT IS THE, UH, BARGE PUTTING IN THE, UM, UM, SUPPORT MECHANISMS FOR THE PIPE.
THEY'RE ALL ACTUALLY ALL IN NOW, SO ALL THE SUPPORTS ARE IN, AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN LAYING PIPE.
AND, UM, I WOULD GUESS BASED ON THE AMOUNT THEY'RE LAYING, THEY'RE PROBABLY AROUND A, HAVE PUT IN 15, UM, PIPE SECTIONS OF THE 58, AND THEY'RE PUTTING IN ABOUT THREE A DAY.
SO, UM, THEY SHOULD BE REALLY CLOSE TO FINISHING THAT UP ON THE 28TH, UM, TO FACILITATE THE SHUTDOWN AND THEN THE ACTUAL CONNECTION, THE TWO ENDS TO THE ACTUAL PIPE SO WE CAN GET RID OF THE BAD SECTION.
UM, THE BOTTOM ONE IS, AGAIN, IT'S A MOCKUP, UM, OF WHAT, OF, OF THE, UH, CONTRACTORS MAKING SURE THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO ALL PIECE PARTS GO TOGETHER.
BUT IT'S A GOOD VISUALIZATION OF HOW LARGE, UM, THE PIPE IS.
DUCTILE IRON, EACH STICK PROBABLY WEIGHS 2,500 POUNDS.
UM, UH, AGAIN, AS A REMINDER, AND WE'RE REPLACING THIS SECTION RIGHT HERE.
AND AGAIN, THEY LAID ALL, UM, ALL THE, UH, UM, UH, SUPPORTS, UH, FOR THE PIPE IN THAT SECTION.
UM, WHAT THE TIES, WHAT THE TIE-INS ARE, ARE RIGHT HERE AND HERE, WHERE THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO TIE IN THE, THE NEW PIPE, UH, TO THE CURRENT PIPE THAT'S IN THE, IN, IN PLACE.
UM, AGAIN, UH, WHILE WE'RE IN STAGE FOUR IS 'CAUSE WE'RE GOING FROM 24 TO 9 MILLION GALLONS A DAY, UM, DURING THIS PERIOD OF, OF, UH, PHASE FOUR, WHICH IS STARTED ON THE 12TH.
AND WE WILL GO THROUGH THE, UH, FIRST OF, UH, APRIL AS IF WE SEE IT RIGHT NOW.
AND WITH THAT SAID, UM, UH, WE, WE JUST HAD A, A MEETING ON IT.
AND AGAIN, EVERYTHING IS, UM, UM, MOVING FORWARD, UM, THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO, UM, TO INCLUDE DURING THE SHUTDOWN.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IS TYING THE 7 78 INCH TRANSITION LINE, WHICH IS NEW TO THE PHASE, PHASE TWO DEEP WATER INTAKE, UM, TO OUR SYSTEM THAT'S CURRENTLY IN PLACE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO SHUT DOWN AGAIN IN TWO YEARS.
SO IF WE DO IT NOW, WE WANT THE SHUT DOWN IN TWO YEARS, UM, TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION, BECAUSE YOU'D HAVE TO SHUT DOWN THE WHOLE BCRA AGAIN TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION.
'CAUSE SOMEONE ACTUALLY HAS TO GO IN THE PIPE TO CUT OUT THE BULKHEAD THAT'S CURRENTLY IN THERE ONCE WE GET THE PIPE CONNECTED.
SO IT HAS TO BE SHUT DOWN FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.
BUT I THINK IF WE'RE STRUGGLING NOW WITH 9 MILLION WITH IT, WE'LL HAVE 12 THEN, BUT MORE PEOPLE AND, AND SO FORTH IN TWO, TWO AND A HALF YEARS.
SO IF WE CAN NOT HAVE TO PREVENT SHUTTING DOWN IN THE FUTURE, UM, HOW, HOW, HOW GOOD WOULD THAT BE? AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE PLAN TO HAVE ALL THOSE PIECES, PARTS IN PLACE SO WE DON'T HAVE TO SHUT DOWN.
UM, AND THEN SOME OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IS THE, THE PLAN'S GONNA BE DOING SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MAINTENANCE DURING THAT SHUTDOWN, UM, WHICH IS, UM, WHICH WOULD BE GREAT.
AND THEN WE'RE DOING SOME, UH, CONNECTIONS DURING THE SHUTDOWN THAT'LL HELP WITH THE, UH, PHASE ONE OF THE, UH, CONTROL VALVE CONNECTIONS, UH, THAT WE HAVE GOING ON.
SO, WITH THAT SAID, ANY, ANY QUESTIONS, COUNSEL? JUST THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR BEING PROACTIVE AND THINKING ABOUT THE THINGS WE CAN DO NOW.
WIDE SHUT DOWN, ALL THE MAINTENANCE, CONNECTING THAT ADDITIONAL PIPE.
SO, WELL, THAT'S A TEAM EFFORT.
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SMART PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING IT RIGHT NOW.SO THAT CONNECTION THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IN THE FUTURE, THAT IS TO CONNECT THE DEEP WATER INTAKE, CORRECT? YES.
AND I HADN'T EVEN THOUGHT THAT FAR AHEAD TO ABOUT THE CONNECTION AND, AND THE SHUTDOWN THAT WOULD BE INVOLVED.
SO HOW MUCH TIME IS THAT SAVING US IN THE FUTURE, APPROXIMATELY? I MEAN, WOULD THAT BE LIKE A WEEK? I MEAN, I DON'T DUNNO HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE TO THE, TO SHUT IT DOWN, BUT JUST APPROXIMATELY JUST, YOU MIGHT, YOU MIGHT'VE HEARD IT, BUT I WOULD GUESS OKAY.
SO IT WOULD'VE BEEN A, IT'S STILL A, A SHUTDOWN OF A WEEK THAT WE WOULD'VE HAD TO GO TO PHASE FOUR AGAIN.
'CAUSE AGAIN, WE HAVE TO DO IT TWO WEEKS BEFORE MM-HMM.
AND THEN WE USUALLY PUT SOME BUFFER ON THAT.
SO IF WE SAY A WEEK, PROBABLY A WEEK AND A HALF, MAYBE TWO.
SO IT COULD HAVE BEEN THE TWO WEEKS BEFORE AND THEN A WEEK THERE.
THAT'S A MONTH WOULD'VE BEEN FOR WEEKS WORK, PROBABLY ABOUT A MONTH OF A SHUTDOWN THAT WE'RE AVOIDING IN, IN, IN THE FUTURE IN, IN TWO YEARS OR SO.
WHOEVER'S HERE AT THAT TIME, REMEMBER AND SAY THANK YOU TO THESE GUYS FOR DOING THAT AND NOT SHUTTING DOWN
UM, DAN'S TALKED ABOUT THE WORK THAT'S GONNA BE DONE.
UM, I KNOW COUNCIL'S VERY WELL AWARE OF, OF THE TYPE OF WORK AND, AND THE SCALE OF IT.
I KNOW OUR RESIDENTS ARE, ARE JUST NOW CONTINUING TO REALLY LEARN ABOUT IT, ABSORB THAT INFORMATION.
SO WE ARE THE PIO TEAM, AND I KNOW STAFF FROM EVERY DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE CALLING EVERY DEPARTMENT, UH, WITH QUESTIONS SOMETIMES.
UM, WE'RE PUTTING OURSELVES IN A POSITION TO TRY AND INFORM THEM BIT BY BIT DAY BY DAY.
SO I WANNA TALK THROUGH, UM, THREE DIFFERENT PHASES OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH WATER CONSERVATION COMMUNICATIONS RIGHT NOW.
THE HERE AND NOW IS PHASE FOUR.
PHASE FOUR IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL FROM WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER JUST EVERGREEN, UH, CONSERVATION COMMUNICATIONS.
UH, AND EVEN THE SUMMER'S NOT REALLY GONNA BE QUITE LIKE THAT, BUT WE THINK BEYOND 2024, AS WE'RE ASSEMBLING TEAMS, I KNOW WE'VE ADDED PEOPLE EVEN SINCE LAST YEAR TO OUR COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS.
THAT IS GONNA BE A REAL HELP TO US BEING STRATEGIC WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS.
AND WE'LL COVER SOME OF THAT HERE.
UM, FIRST OFF, EMERGENCY ALERTS ON FEBRUARY 12TH, MONDAY, WE DID OUR MASS NOTIFICATION, UH, ANNOUNCING THE ACTIVATION OF PHASE FOUR.
UM, I, I HOPE, AND I'M SURE EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER RECEIVES SOME FORM OF THAT, WHETHER IT'S EMAIL, TEXT, PHONE, OR ALL THREE, UH, LIKE I DID, BECAUSE I WANNA TEST IT.
UM, THIS, WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU HERE, BECAUSE WE PREPARED THIS PRIOR TO, UH, MONDAY'S COMMUNICATION.
WE USE A SYSTEM CALLED EVERBRIDGE.
IT IS A CAP COG, REGIONAL MASS NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, LOTS OF BELLS AND WHISTLES, LOTS OF CAPABILITIES, AND ALLOWS US TO, TO HIT, UH, THIS TIME OVER 64,000 CONTACTS THAT WE HIT ON MONDAY.
UM, NOW I'D SAY ABOUT THE SYSTEM KIND OF GAVE US SOME FEEDBACK AND SAID ABOUT 3000 OF THOSE WERE UNREACHABLE.
SO WHAT WE TEND TO DO WITH THAT KIND OF COMMUNICATION IS WE CONTINUE TO PUSH FOLKS THAT EVEN IF THEY'RE SIGNED UP FOR WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS, GO AND CHECK YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND UPDATE IT.
AND, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE GOTTEN TOO MANY RESPONSES OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE MOVED OUT THAT ARE STILL SIGNED UP, THAT WHERE IT'S NOT RELEVANT MESSAGING FOR THEM.
BUT, UM, WE DID GET A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK THAT PEOPLE WERE AT LEAST RECEIVING THOSE MESSAGES.
SO WE DO THINK THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR WHEN WE TRANSITION TO THESE HIGHER STAGES OF CONSERVATION.
SO 64,000 CONTACTS, VERY EFFECTIVE.
TEXT, EMAIL, UH, VOICEMAIL, UM, IT WENT REALLY WELL.
WE'LL, WE ANTICIPATE DOING THIS.
IF THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WHERE WE, UH, IF WE HAVE SOME SORT OF INCIDENT HAPPEN WHERE WE HAVE TO GO INTO ANOTHER PHASE, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERE IN A LITTLE BIT, UM, THEN WE WOULD USE THIS SYSTEM.
WE DON'T ANTICIPATE DOING ANOTHER MASS NOTIFICATION, UH, ABOUT PHASE FOUR UNTIL FEBRUARY 28TH.
WE ARE USING OUR OTHER COMMUNICATION TOOLS TO, UM, SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC DAILY.
BUT THIS IS ONE WE WANNA KIND OF SAVE FOR, FOR REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, NOTIFICATIONS TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ARE, ARE SEEING THAT AND ALERTED TO THAT MESSAGE BOARDS AT CITY GATEWAYS, WE FOUND, UH, THAT THE PUBLIC HAS RESPONDED VERY WELL TO THESE AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE CONTINUED THIS FROM WHAT WE DID IN SEPTEMBER 22.
WE HAVE 12 DIFFERENT DIGITAL MESSAGE BOARDS OUT IN RIGHTS OF WAY IN OUR GATEWAY AREAS, MAJOR INTERSECTIONS.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THOSE LOCATIONS IN THE MAP.
THE TWO BLACK BOXES SHOW OUR, UM, THE ACTUAL MESSAGE.
YOU OBVIOUSLY, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE IT IN THE PICTURE, BUT THE ACTUAL MESSAGE IS THIS, NO OUTDOOR WATERING INFO.
WE'D LIKE TO DO A LOT MORE, BUT THERE ARE LIMITATIONS TO THE, THE TEXT AND THE CHARACTERS ON, ON THOSE SIGNS.
SO, UH, IT DOES HAVE TO BE MINIMIZED.
WE FOUND THIS WORKED THE LAST TIME.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO IT.
UH, THESE WILL STAY UP THROUGHOUT THE DURATION AND PROBABLY, UM, MAYBE TWO OR THREE OR FOUR DAYS BEYOND, UH, THE
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TRANSITION BACK TO PHASE TWO.WE'LL CHANGE THAT MESSAGING TO REFLECT PHASE TWO INSTEAD SO THAT IF PEOPLE ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT IT, WE HOPE THEY ARE, THAT THEY'RE NOTIFIED THAT WAY AS WELL.
OF THE, OF THE TRANSITION DOWN, UM, SIGNS, TAGS, AND MAILERS.
THESE ARE HITTING MAILBOXES FRONT DOORS.
UM, THE GRAPHIC ON THE RIGHT, UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS AND SHOWN THIS TO YOU BEFORE.
I WOULD SAY RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY, WE ISSUED THESE TO ALL RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS IN LEANDER, UM, HITTING I THINK CLOSE TO 28 OR 29,000 MAILBOXES.
UM, PROPERTY OWNERS, ANYONE THAT'S LISTED ON OUR, UH, WATER UTILITY ACCOUNT, THEY RECEIVED THIS MAILER.
UM, WE DID GET, UH, QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THE REPAIR, WHICH PROMPTED US TO ADD MORE INFORMATION TO THE WEBPAGE, WHICH WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO EVERY DAY.
THE GRAPHIC ON YOUR LEFT IS, WE CALL THESE YARD SIGNS OR BANDIT SIGNS.
WE HAVE DONE THESE AT THE GATEWAYS OF EVERY ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD IN LEANDER.
AND OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM DID AN AMAZING JOB THE SAME MORNING ON MONDAY MORNING WHEN THEY PUT UP AND ACTIVATED THE DIGITAL SIGNS.
THEY WENT OUT AND INSTALLED THESE, THESE YARD SIGNS IN FRONT OF EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD GATEWAY ENTRANCE.
THEY, WE DO GET A GOOD RESPONSE, ESPECIALLY FROM FOLKS WHO THEY'RE NOT EVEN DRIVING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY'RE WALKING ALONG THE SIDEWALK.
WE, WE HAVE PUT THOSE IN THE RIGHTS OF WAY.
AND I KNOW SOME NEIGHBORHOODS KIND OF MOVING THOSE AROUND.
UM, 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT SURE THAT WE'RE THE ONES PUTTING THEM IN, BUT THEY ARE STAYING UP.
UM, AND WE'RE GONNA KEEP MONITORING THAT THEY STAY UP.
IF WE SEE SOME THAT ARE DOWN, WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO, UH, ASSESS AND PROVIDE SOME MAINTENANCE ON THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE NOTIFIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE, UH, DOOR TAGS.
THESE GO ALONG WITH OUR COURTESY NOTICES.
UM, AND AGAIN, OUR, OUR PHASE FOUR ENFORCEMENT HAS, UH, FIRST TIME VIOLATION IS A COURTESY NOTICE.
YOU WOULD TYPICALLY RECEIVE THIS DOOR TAG ALONG WITH SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONFIRMING THAT AN A VIOLATION WAS OBSERVED.
IF, UM, A SECOND OBSERVATION OR A SECOND VIOLATION IS OBSERVED BY CODE ENFORCEMENT OR BY OUR PUBLIC WORKS TEAM, THEY WOULD RECEIVE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT DOOR TAG AND, AND NOTIFICATION INFORMATION.
BUT TYPICALLY, UH, EVEN UP TO THIS POINT PRIOR TO PHASE FOUR, WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING THESE WHEN WE'VE OBSERVED, UH, WATERING ON OFF DAYS OR WE, OR ANY OTHER VIOLATIONS, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE GETTING THOSE IN PREPARATION FOR PHASE FOUR, OUR WEBSITE, OUR NEW WEBSITE PAGE.
UM, THIS PAGE WE ESTABLISHED, UM, AS SOON AS WE KNEW THE, THE DATES, THE PLAN DATES.
FEBRUARY 28TH IS THE START DATE FOR OUR PIPELINE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT.
WE, UM, WE PUT TOGETHER A LOT OF LINKS AND CONSOLIDATED SOME OF THE INFORMATION.
WHAT YOU SEE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, UM, ARE SOME OF THE TABS, RATHER THAN HAVE THIS PAGE BE A MILE LONG, WE'VE KIND OF CONSOLIDATED THAT INTO CATEGORIES, UH, PARTICULARLY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO ADD TO THAT.
WE'VE ADDED ONE MORE SINCE THE TIME THAT I SCREENSHOTTED THIS FOR THE PRESENTATION, WHICH IS PERMITS DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION.
SO A LOT OF WHAT WAS REFLECTED IN THE RESOLUTION THAT WE PRESENTED TO YOU AT THE LAST MEETING, UM, SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS IN OUR PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH THOSE CHANGES ARE REFLECTED IN THAT ADDITIONAL TAB.
SO YOU'LL FIND THAT ON THE REPAIR PAGE AS WELL AS OUR COMMANDER TX.GOV/WATER, OUR PHASE WATER CONSERVATION PAGE OVER HERE ON THE RIGHT, THESE, UM, WE CALL 'EM WATER USE TRACKERS.
THESE LITTLE GRAPHICS WE'LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE EVERY SINGLE DAY.
YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THAT OR ANYONE WOULD SEE THAT, UH, IF THEY'RE ACCESSING THIS REPAIR PAGE LOOKING FOR UPDATES OR A PHASE FOUR PAGE, WE'LL CONTINUE TO POST THE MOST CURRENT VERSION, WHICH SHOWS THE DAY PRIOR'S USE.
AND WE TRY TO COUPLE THAT WITH SOME ADDITIONAL MESSAGING, WHETHER IT'S, DID YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE WORKING ON CAPITAL PROJECTS? DID YOU KNOW THAT, UM, THESE ARE OUR PHASE FOUR RULES? DID YOU KNOW ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION WE THINK ARE RELEVANT FOR PEOPLE TO, TO UNDERSTAND ALONG WITH JUST FOLLOWING HOW MUCH WATER WE'RE USING AS A CITY.
WE DID, AGAIN, WE GOT A POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM PEOPLE SAYING, ALL RIGHT, I FEEL LIKE I KNOW, I FEEL LIKE I KNOW WHERE WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY.
AND IT HELPS THEM COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS TOO.
SO IT'S BEEN A, A USEFUL TOOL.
UM, MEDIA, LOCAL MEDIA AWARENESS, UH, NOT ONLY WITH OUR MASS NOTIFICATIONS HITTING FOLKS DIRECTLY, WE'RE, UM, TY HAS DONE A GREAT JOB, UM, UTILIZING HIS MEDIA CONTACTS AND CONTACT GROUPS TO REACH OUR TRADITIONAL MEDIA.
IT'S PRINT, BROADCAST, UH, EVEN RADIO.
UM, WHAT WE'RE SHOWING HERE ARE JUST SOME OF THE, UM, A FEW OF THE MEDIA HEADLINES THAT WE PULLED FROM THEIR WEBSITES, BUT ALSO KNEW THAT THEY WERE DOING EVENING, UH, ADDITIONS AND EVENING SEGMENTS ON OUR PHASE FOUR TRANSITION.
THEY WERE DID SOME OF THE WEEK PRIOR.
AND I THINK WE WILL KEEP MONITORING FOLLOW UPS FROM MEDIA AND PROVIDE AS MANY UPDATES AS WE CAN.
UM, WE DO, WE DID GET A LOT OF COVERAGE THAT WE EXPECTED.
WE'RE GONNA TRY TO TOUCH BASE WITH AUSTIN AMERICAN STATES WHEN WE HAVEN'T HEARD MUCH FROM THEM LATELY.
SO THAT'S WHEN WE'LL FOLLOW UP ON, AND COMMUNITY IMPACT IS DOING A COVER STORY ON OUR, UH, WATER CONSERVATION
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CURRENT SITUATION.SO I WOULD EXPECT THAT TO HIT, IF NOT FRIDAY, UH, FIRST THING MONDAY.
SO WE'LL SHARE COPIES OF THAT WITH COUNCIL WHEN WE DO RECEIVE THOSE PRINT COPIES.
UM, WHOLE LOT OF OTHER THINGS.
AND WHAT, WHAT I'M, UH, KIND OF COVERING HERE, UM, IS A LOT OF THE ENGAGEMENT, THE NON-TRADITIONAL ENGAGEMENT THAT WE'RE DOING STRICTLY FOR PHASE FOUR, TYPICALLY NOT SOMETHING WE DO, UM, SORT OF ON AN ONGOING BASIS, BUT THINGS THAT WE'RE TAKING AN EXTRA EFFORT TO BE IN FRONT OF PEOPLE TO TALK WITH THEM.
ONE-ON-ONE FACE TO FACE, OUR WATER CONSERVATION FORUM WAS, UM, UM, ONE THAT OUR WATER CONSERVATION MANAGER, BILL TEETER PUT TOGETHER, BROUGHT IN LCRA TO COME SPEAK ON THAT.
DID A GREAT JOB OF GATHERING A STAFF GROUP TO SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO HOA REPRESENTATIVES, LANDSCAPE VENDORS, UH, IRRIGATION VENDORS WHO GAVE US SOME REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK.
UM, THEY, WHEN WE PRESENTED PHASE FOUR INFORMATION TO THEM, WE TALKED A LOT OF LONG RANGE WATER CONSERVATION AS WELL.
BUT IT GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF GET SOME INTERACTION WITH A LOT OF THESE VENDORS THAT DO SERVICE, UM, APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND HOAS AND LEANER AND SERVICE OTHER JURISDICTIONS, REALLY, UM, BRINGING TO ATTENTION WHAT OUR PARTICULAR NEEDS ARE IN LEANER AND HOW THEY CAN HELP AND SUPPORT US.
UM, THE POSTER ON THE RIGHT, YOU'VE SEEN THESE, SOME PROBABLY SEEN THESE WALKING INTO THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS.
THESE ARE POSTED ON EVERY CITY, CITY FRONT DOOR.
UM, AND THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EFFORT, ANOTHER EFFORT TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR FOLKS THAT AREN'T FOLLOWING ANYTHING, ANY COMMUNIC COMMUNICATION CHANNEL WE HAVE, IF THEY'RE WALKING IN TO DO BUSINESS, THEY'RE GONNA SEE THAT BEFORE THEY OPEN THE DOOR WALKING INTO A CITY FACILITY.
IT'S JUST ANOTHER, UH, MESSAGING TOOL FOR US.
UM, COUNCIL RESOLUTION, WE'RE TALKING WITH LEANDER, ISD.
THEY'VE BEEN VERY, VERY GOOD, VERY ENGAGED WITH US IN HELPING SUPPORT OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS, EVEN TO THE DETRIMENT OF SOME THINGS WHERE THEY'RE HAVING TO, UM, UH, FACILITATE SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THAT EFFORT.
THEY'VE BEEN REALLY STRONG, SO GOOD PARTNER THERE.
HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION, WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH THEM ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE PROVIDED UPDATES ON THE EIGHTH.
WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THEM.
IN FACT, EVEN AT OTHER MEETINGS AT OUR PARKLAND DEDICATION UPDATE THAT WE, WE PROVIDED TO THEM EARLIER IN THE WEEK, WE GAVE THEM SOME INFORMATION ABOUT PHASE FOUR AND TALKED TO 'EM A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
THE COMMUNITY EXPO, THE CHAMBER'S HOSTING A, A JOB FAIR TOMORROW.
AND WE'LL HAVE, UM, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER, LINDY MATTHEWS AND BILL TEETER, THEY'RE GONNA BE THERE STRICTLY TO TALK ABOUT CONSERVATION AND TO SHARE PHASE FOUR INFORMATION WITH THE FOLKS THAT NOT ONLY PARTICIPATE, BUT THE VENDORS IN THOSE BOOTHS AS WELL.
AND WE'VE ALREADY GOT, UM, OUR LITTLE RED TEARDROP GRAPHIC IN ALL OF THE BAGS THAT ARE GONNA BE DISTRIBUTED AND GETTING SOME, UH, GOOD FEEDBACK FROM THE CHAMBER AS THEY HEAR THINGS FROM THEIR MEMBERSHIP.
IF THERE'S QUESTIONS WE CAN ANSWER, THEY'RE A GOOD VEHICLE FOR US TO, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
BOARD MEETINGS ALL THIS MONTH, WE'VE MADE SURE TO INCLUDE FROM OUR STAFF LIAISONS PHASE FOUR MESSAGING WITH THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UM, AND HAVE ENGAGED THEM ON CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHERE WE ARE IN OUR WATER SITUATION RELATED TO PHASE FOUR.
BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS WITH THEM, QUESTIONS WE'RE ANSWERING WITH RESIDENTS EVERY DAY.
I THINK THAT'S BEEN ACTUALLY VERY POSITIVE AND BEEN TRYING TO, OKAY, SO HOW DOES THIS REFLECT WITH THE ARTS COMMISSION? HOW DOES THIS REFLECT WITH, UH, PLANNING AND ZONING? HOW DOES THIS REFLECT WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? SO, GOOD CONVERSATIONS, AND WE'RE ENCOURAGING ALL OF OUR BOARDS AND AND COMMISSION MEMBERS TO SHARE THAT WITH THEIR NETWORKS.
UM, AGAIN, HITTING AS MANY AVENUES AS WE CAN.
UM, OUR ENGAGEMENT MANAGER, LINDY, HAS REACHED OUT TO HER HOA CONTACTS TO SET UP MEETINGS IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH.
NOT ONLY TALK ABOUT PHASE FOUR, BUT REALLY TO FOCUS ON SUMMER OF 2024.
UM, FOR SOME, THEY SAID THEY, THEY'RE NOT MEETING AGAIN PROBABLY UNTIL EARLY APRIL.
SO WE'RE GETTING ON THOSE CALENDARS AS WELL.
IF WE'RE NOT GONNA HIT PHASE FOUR WINDOW, WE'RE GONNA HIT THAT SUMMER 2024 WINDOW.
SO TRYING TO HAVE A, UH, IN PERSON.
AND SOME OF 'EM ARE VIRTUAL OR VIRTUAL PRESENCE WITH THOSE BOARD MEMBERS, WITH THOSE REPRESENTATIVES TO AT LEAST ANSWER QUESTIONS IF NOTHING ELSE.
WE DID HAVE SOME LOCAL NURSERIES.
NOT ALL, BUT SOME HAVE AGREED TO ALLOW THIS, UM, THIS PARTICULAR SIGNAGE RIGHT HERE POSTED, UM, NEAR, UH, THEIR, UH, ENTRANCE AREA SO THAT FOLKS, THAT LEANER CUSTOMERS THAT MAY BE SHOPPING THOSE NURSERIES ARE NOTIFIED.
IT IS PART OF OUR COMMUNICATION TO RESIDENTS THAT CONTACT US.
AND I KNOW OUR UTILITY BUILDING OFFICE PRESENTS THIS AS WELL.
WE'RE ASKING TO DELAY, DELAY PLANTINGS, DELAY LANDSCAPE UPGRADES, THINGS THEY MIGHT TYPICALLY DO IN THE MARCH TIMEFRAME.
WE'RE NOT ASKING YOU NOT TO DO IT ALL, BUT DELAY.
GIVE US A CHANCE TO GET OUT OF OUR, OUR PLANNED, UH, REPAIR TIMEFRAME AND FOCUS ON APRIL MID-APRIL, PRIMARILY EMAIL NOTICES TO HOA MANAGERS, CONTRACTORS.
UH, WE'LL BE MEETING, UH, AS A STAFF GROUP TO DISCUSS, UM, SOME OTHER THINGS THAT I KNOW ARE, UM, OUR BUILDING INSPECTORS, CONTRACTS, CONSTRUCTION INSPECTORS, AND OUR PERMIT TECHS.
WHAT KIND OF ENGAGEMENT THEY'VE BEEN GETTING JUST IN THIS WEEK, UH, WITH FOLKS THAT THEY DEAL WITH, CLIENTS THAT THEY
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HAVE, AND FOLKS THAT ARE ON OUR DEVELOPMENT HUB WHO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT PHASE FOUR.THAT MESSAGING IS BEING COMMUNICATED THROUGH OUR HUB PLATFORM AS WELL.
AND EVERY CHANCE WE GET, OUR TECHS ARE COMMUNICATING THAT.
SO WE'RE GONNA ENGAGE THEM AS A STAFF GROUP AND IDENTIFY IF THERE'S OTHER WAYS WE CAN COMMUNICATE TO THOSE GROUPS THAT ARE DOING DEVELOPMENT WORK IN THE CITY.
WE'RE GONNA, UM, PROBABLY HAVE SOME NEW MESSAGING FOR THEM NEXT WEEK IF IT'S NEEDED.
UM, BILL TEETER, AGAIN, I'LL, I'LL, I'LL PRAISE WHAT HE'S DOING.
HE IS BEING OUR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS MAN, CONTACTING OUR TIER THREE USERS.
I MEAN, THESE ARE ONES WE PRESENTED TO YOU BEFORE.
THEIR AVERAGE USE IS ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, 80,000 TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND GALLONS, UH, IN A MONTH.
YOU KNOW, THE TIER ONE USER AVERAGE IS ANYWHERE FROM EIGHT TO 10,000.
SO THESE ARE OUR HIGH, HIGH, HIGH USERS.
IF WE TARGET THEM AND GET ANY DROP, UM, IN USAGE, OR AT LEAST RAISE THEIR AWARENESS ABOUT THE USES THAT THEY HAVE, WE WILL ACHIEVE 10 TIMES WHAT WE WOULD ACHIEVE TRYING TO, TO REACH MANY, MANY, MANY TIER ONE USERS.
SO HE IS STRATEGICALLY TARGETING AND, UH, MAKING PHONE CALLS, PERSONAL PHONE CALLS, UH, ANSWERING VOICEMAILS, LEAVING VOICEMAILS AND EMAILS, AND HAS SEEN SOME SUCCESS IN DOING THAT.
UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
WE'RE GONNA WORK OUR WAY DOWN TIER THREE UNTIL WE GET TO TIER TWO.
UH, TRYING TO CONTACT EACH ONE AND INFORM THEM OF OUR EFFORTS.
AND THEN VIDEO UPDATES FROM THE MAYOR, UH, I KNOW TY'S WORKED ON, AND WE WILL BE HOPEFULLY PUBLISHING OUR FIRST, UH, LITTLE VIDEO, UH, FIRST PERSON COMMUNICATION FROM THE MAYOR TO THE PUBLIC, MAYBE TOMORROW WE'RE FINALIZING THAT.
WE HOPE TO DO THAT MAYBE WEEKLY, UM, TO JUST HAVE THAT LITTLE PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH, WITH OUR PUBLIC WHEN WE PUSHING THOSE OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
HAVE YOU GUYS RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM THOSE TIER THREE CUSTOMERS? OR IT'S JUST LEAVING, UM, VOICEMAILS? YEAH, COME ON UP, BILL.
I'LL, I'LL LET BILL TALK, TALK ABOUT THAT.
I'D LIKE TO HEAR 'CAUSE A LOT OF DIFFERENT RESPONSES OKAY.
FOR THE ONES THAT HAVE RESPONDED, BUT YEAH, HE'S DEFINITELY GOT SOME GOOD NUGGETS OF HIM.
UM, YEAH, UM, I, UH, RIGHT ABOUT THE START OF JANUARY, I BEGAN CALLING OUT OUR HIGHEST USERS AND, UM, UH, I THINK WE CONTACTED 52 CUSTOMERS.
UM, SO THEY WENT DOWN, WELL, THE HIGHEST USERS REALLY, THE ONES THAT WERE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND WERE ABOUT 10 OF THOSE.
AND THEN THERE WAS A LOT THAT WERE IN THE NINETIES AND EIGHTIES BELOW THEM.
UM, AND, UM, SO LIKE I SAID, ABOUT 52 CUSTOMERS, AND I'VE FORGOTTEN SOME FOLLOW UP READINGS OR FOLLOW UP METER READS FOR ABOUT HALF OF 'EM.
AND WE DID ACTUALLY GET REDUCTIONS OF ABOUT 1.4 MILLION GALLONS AMONG THAT GROUP IN THE METER READS.
NOW, SOME OF THEM DIDN'T RESPOND TO ME.
SOME OF 'EM HAD FOUND THE PROBLEM, SOME OF 'EM HAD NOT.
SOME, I'M NOT SURE, YOU KNOW, I CAN REALLY CLAIM THAT I'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ALL BECAUSE WE CONTACTED THEM.
BUT I KNOW THE, THE VERY TOP USERS, THE ONES THAT WERE ALMOST ALL OF 'EM USING MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND, ONE OF 'EM WASN'T LIKE HALF A MILLION.
UM, I DID NOT GET RESPONSES FROM SEVEN OF THOSE, BUT THEY HAD VERY HIGH USAGE, THE SAME KIND OF USAGE FOR, YOU KNOW, SIX FIGURE USAGE FOR LIKE FOUR MONTHS BEFORE AND AFTER I CONTACTED THEM.
MIRACULOUSLY, THEY WERE WAY DOWN.
SO, UM, SO I THINK WE'RE DOING SOME GOOD THERE.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE THINGS SHOOK OUT, UM, PROBLEMS THAT PEOPLE WERE HAVING THAT WHEN I WAS ABLE TO TALK TO PEOPLE, THERE WAS IRRIGATION SETTINGS.
SOME OF THEM, UH, ALLOWED ME TO COME AND DO IRRIGATION EVALUATIONS, ABOUT FIVE OF THOSE.
AND, UM, OTHER, OTHER PROBLEMS WERE IRRIGATION LEAKS.
UM, THERE WAS THREE POOL PROBLEMS. UH, TWO OF 'EM WERE JAMMED AUTO FILLS.
ONE OF 'EM WAS JUST A, A JUST A, A POOL LEAK AND THEN PIPE LEAKS.
THERE WERE, UH, ONE BUILDER HAD A TOILET TOILET MECHANISM PROBLEM IN A HOUSE THAT RAN FOR 86,000 GALLONS OVER THE MONTH.
UM, AND THERE WERE TWO OTHER BUILDERS WITH VERY HIGH USE IN THE 70,000 RANGE FROM IRRIGATION.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I RAN INTO, SO THANK YOU.
SO, AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO, TO SUCCESSFULLY GET THROUGH THIS PHASE FOUR PERIOD.
BUT IN THE PROCESS, SOME OF THESE ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING, LIKE BILL'S EFFORTS, UM, WE'RE GATHERING INFO, WE'RE LEARNING, UM, WE'RE IDENTIFYING THINGS THAT MAY BE TRENDS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS, AGAIN, STRATEGICALLY IN THE LONGER TERM FOR THE SUMMER.
UM, ON THE ENFORCEMENT SIDE, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID IN SEPTEMBER OF 22 WHEN WE, WHEN WE HAD OUR, OUR LAST PLANNED OUTAGE.
UH, LIKE THIS, WE HAVE A TASK FORCE NOT ONLY OF CODE ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL, BUT PUBLIC WORK STAFF AND, AND I BELIEVE SOME UTILITY BILLING STAFF AS WELL.
UM, THEY ARE SETTING UP, UM, ENFORCEMENT,
[00:25:01]
UM, TEAMS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY IN DIFFERENT AREAS THROUGHOUT THE WEEK TO OBSERVE PRIMARILY, UH, IRRIGATION OR LEAKS OR RUNOFF, UM, VISUALLY OBSERVING THOSE POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS.AND THEN, UM, DOCUMENTING THAT AND THEN REACHING OUT TO THE CUSTOMER.
IF IT'S A COURTESY NOTICE, IT'S A COURTESY NOTICE, AND WE'LL HAVE A PACK OF INFORMATION WE FOLLOW UP ON.
THOSE WILL CONTINUE TO BE DOCUMENTED.
WE INTEND TO PROVIDE COUNSEL, UM, WITH AN UPDATE SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE RIGHT AND ON THE LEFT WITH THE TABLE.
UM, IDENTIFYING OBSERVE VIOLATIONS.
WITH THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING THIS WEEK, IT'S PRIMARILY BUSINESS HOURS.
WE'RE TRAINING OUR PUBLIC WORK STAFF TEAM AND ENLARGING THAT STAFF TEAM WITH THE TOOLS, THE SURVEY 1, 2, 3 TOOL THAT WE USE.
AND THEN NEXT WEEK WE'LL BE DOING MORE OF THE TRADITIONAL ENFORCEMENT AND IDENTIFYING THOSE VIOLATIONS AND DOCUMENTING THOSE AS FOR WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER FIRST VIOLATIONS.
SO, UM, WE, SINCE THIS PERIOD OF PHASE FOUR IS GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN THE LAST ONE, YOU MIGHT EXPECT TO SEE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS WHERE WE GET THROUGH THE FIRST WEEK, MAYBE WEEK AND A HALF, UM, TALLYING UP THOSE FIRST VIOLATIONS, AND THEN POTENTIALLY WE START ISSUING SECOND VIOLATIONS.
UM, WE ARE COMMUNICATING IN EVERY, UM, EVERY ENGAGEMENT THAT WE HAVE WITH PROPERTY OWNERS THAT RECEIVE A, A COURTESY NOTICE THAT THE NEXT VIOLATION IS SUBJECT TO A THOUSAND DOLLARS PENALTY.
UM, THAT IS PART OF OUR REGULAR COMMUNICATION AND CODE ENFORCEMENT DOCUMENTS THAT VERY WELL CONTINGENCY PLANNING.
A LOT OF, UM, RESIDENTS, UM, ARE ASKING, CONTINUE TO ASK, OKAY, WELL WHAT HAPPENS IF THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT? RIGHT? NOT ONLY IF THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT BECAUSE WE'RE OVERUSING OR WE'RE EXCEEDING OUR CAPACITY OF 9 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY.
WHAT HAPPENS IF SANDY CREEK FAILS? UM, AND OUR OEM TEAM, UH, WE'VE GOT SOME FOLKS REPRESENTED NOT ONLY BY OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, OEM WITH AUBREY, BUT EVEN A, A STATE REP THAT'S, THAT'S HERE AS WELL.
THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF REALLY IDENTIFYING THE RESOURCES, NOT ONLY AT THE STATE LEVEL, REGIONAL LEVEL, LOCAL LEVEL.
UH, WE'RE LINING THOSE THINGS UP JUST JUST AS A CONTINGENCY SO THAT IF WE GET TO A POINT WHERE WE DO EXCEED 9 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY, AGAIN, THIS MAY BE A PERIOD OF TWO OR THREE DAYS.
IF IT'S CLOSE TO 9 MILLION GALLONS, IF IT ENDS UP GOING WILD, 11, 12 MILLION GALLONS, IT WOULD HAPPEN A LOT QUICKER.
THAT LOW WATER PRESSURE WOULD, WOULD RESULT IN A BLOW WATER NOTICE CITYWIDE.
UM, WE DO HAVE VARIOUS PRESSURE PLANES AND SOME, YOU KNOW, MAY BE DRIBBLING, SOME MAY BE JUST LOW PRESSURE, BUT WE WOULD ISSUE CITYWIDE BLOW WATER NOTICE IN THAT INSTANCE.
SO, UM, YEAH, YEAH, PROLONGED RECOVERY.
AND, AND I THINK DAN CAN SPEAK TO SOME OF THE TECHNICALITY OF THIS PROLONGED RECOVERY.
IF WE, IF WE DO, UM, IN, IF WE DO HAVE A LOW PRESSURE SITUATION IN OUR SYSTEM, DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AGAIN, THERE'S A LOT OF VARIABLES INVOLVED.
IF THERE'S A LONG RECOVERY, IF IT TAKES THREE, FOUR DAYS, POTENTIALLY MORE TO RECOVER, THEN WE HAVE CUSTOMERS THAT POTENTIALLY ARE WITHOUT WATER, NO WATER, MORE CUSTOMERS EVEN.
THAT COULD BE A SITUATION WHERE WE ENGAGE NOW OUR STATE RESOURCES AND HAVE, UM, OTHER PARTNERS AND POTENTIALLY POINTS OF WATER DISTRIBUTION ESTABLISHED.
WE ARE ENGAGING THE FOLKS THAT ARE IN CHARGE OF THOSE SITES AND ARE WORKING THROUGH PLANS ON HOW THAT WOULD, HOW THAT ENGAGEMENT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE HAVE TO ACTIVATE THOSE THINGS.
WORST CASE OF ALL SCENARIOS IS SANDY CREEK, UM, UH, ENCOUNTER SOME TYPE OF FAILURE.
AND I THINK DAN ABSOLUTELY CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING TO PREVENT AND MITIGATE THAT.
THAT WOULD BE ALL CUSTOMERS REALLY BEING OUT OF WATER.
WE DON'T HAVE A WAY TO TREAT OR PROVIDE WATER.
THAT WOULD BE WORST CASE SCENARIO.
WE'RE NOT GONNA FOCUS ON THAT.
BUT I WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO THE COUNCIL THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THESE POTENTIAL CONTINGENCIES AND WHAT WE WOULD NEED TO DO AS STAFF AS A CITY TO BE PREPARED TO DEAL WITH THOSE PROBLEMS. AGAIN, WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO AVOID THAT.
WE DON'T EXPECT THAT, BUT WE ARE PLANNING FOR IT.
AND OUR, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, PRETTY MUCH EVERY STAFF DEPARTMENT IS ENGAGED IN, IN THIS PLANNING EFFORT.
AND IT'S, IT'S LED BY OUR OEM AND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT.
BUT, UH, PLEASE NOTE, EVERY STAFF PERSON IS, IS ABSOLUTELY AWARE AND, AND WORKING TO, UH, TO PREPARE JUST IN CASE, UH, SOMETHING HAPPENS BUT DIDN'T WANNA TALK A LITTLE MORE.
UM, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO TALK ABOUT THE RISK.
UM, 'CAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT PLANNING FOR THE RISK, THEN YOU'RE NOT READY.
I WILL REMIND THE COUNCIL AND THE PUBLIC THAT SANDY CREEK TECHNICALLY HAS ONLY GONE DOWN ONE TIME, AND THAT WAS DURING A MAJOR WINTER STORM, AND THAT WAS DUE TO TWO TRANSFORMERS NOT WORKING.
AND SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS THAT EVEN THOUGH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE RISK, THE RISK IS, IS LOW.
AND SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE, UM, UPGRADED A DUAL FEED.
PEC IS HARD IN THEIR SYSTEMS. THEY'VE REPLACED TRANSFORMERS.
[00:30:01]
DONE, UM, ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE ON THE PLANT, UM, UPDATED, UPGRADED THE SCADA.UM, THE STAFF IS READY, UM, FOR THIS SHUTDOWN LIKE WE DID THE LAST TIME.
UM, SO I, I WANT TO JUST REMIND PEOPLE THAT WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN VERY PROACTIVE ON THE NOT HAPPENING PART.
UM, BUT WE ARE PLANNING FOR IF IT HAPPENS PART.
SO JUST, JUST WANNA MAKE EVERYBODY AWARE.
DON'T, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RISK IS ALWAYS THERE.
I MEAN, YOU COULD HAVE A TORNADO OR LINING OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING REALLY BAD, BUT IT TOOK A MAJOR STORM TO SHUT DOWN THE WATER PLANT THE LAST TIME.
UM, BEFORE I MOVE ON, DOES COUNSEL HAVE ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, OUR CONTINGENCY PLANNING? NO, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.
OKAY, I'LL JUMP RIGHT INTO TO SUMMER.
SO, UM, OUR GOAL IS TO SMOOTH SAIL THROUGH THIS, UH, PHASE FOUR, TRANSITION BACK TO PHASE TWO AND START PREPARING A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR, UM, WHAT MAY BE A LONG HOT SUMMER.
I HOPE IT'S NOT, BUT, UM, WE'VE TALKED, UH, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT OUR ONGOING ACTIVITIES ARE GOING INTO THIS.
WE ARE MONITORING USAGE, UH, FOR A POSSIBLE PHASE THREE ESCALATION.
IF WE GET TO FOLKS REALLY USING, UM, UH, IRRIGATION AND, AND KIND OF PUSHING THAT ENVELOPE WITH PHASE TWO, EVEN POTENTIALLY BY THE END OF MAY OR BEGINNING OF JUNE, WE WILL MONITOR THAT AND, AND CONSIDER POTENTIALLY PHASE THREE JUST SO THAT WE'RE NOT, UM, PUSHING THAT BEYOND OUR LIMITS GOING INTO THE SUMMER.
UM, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S CONSISTENT 100 DEGREE DAYS LIKE WE'VE HAD, UM, IN THE PAST.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THE PUBLIC ON THAT STATUS.
WE THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE CAN CONTINUE TO USE THE WATER USE TRACKER.
UM, WE MAY LOOK AT MAYBE A LITTLE DIFFERENT WAYS TO COMMUNICATE THAT SO IT DOESN'T BECOME STALE IN OUR COMMUNICATION GOING THROUGH THE WHOLE SUMMER OF THAT.
I THINK OVER TIME PEOPLE TEND TO IGNORE THOSE THINGS IF THEY DON'T CHANGE AND THEY'RE NOT FRESH.
UM, WE'LL CONTINUE WITH THE CITYWIDE ENFORCEMENT.
UM, MUCH OF WHAT WE SHOWED HERE, UM, WE'LL BE DONE ON A MUCH BROADER SCALE.
UM, WE, AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO HIT THE WHOLE CITY, BUT YOU CAN SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS SOUTHWEST SECTOR SECTOR, THIS NORTHEAST SECTOR, THOSE, UH, THOSE TEND TO BE HOTSPOTS.
WE'LL MONITOR THOSE, BUT WE WANT TO BE, WE WANT TO HAVE GOOD COVERAGE AND MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT MISSING ANYTHING.
THIS, UH, THIS TWO WEEK, WHAT WE CALL BUFFER PERIOD, UH, BEFORE WE ACTUALLY START THE REPAIR, IS GIVING US A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO GATHER INFORMATION AND, AND SORT OF IN A SAFE ZONE CONTEMPLATE POTENTIAL STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS, UH, ISSUES EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE NOT ISSUES AT THIS POINT.
UM, AGAIN, BILL'S GONNA CONTINUE AND WE'LL, WE, WE WILL ASSIST WHEN NECESSARY, CONTINUE CONTACTING THOSE HIGH USERS, WORK OUR WAY DOWN THE LIST.
UM, AND, AND EACH, EACH ONE HE'S CONTACTED HAS HAD A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ISSUE.
IT GIVES US A, A, A BIGGER PICTURE ON MAYBE WHAT OUR COMMUNICATION SHOULD ADDRESS.
LEAKING POOL SYSTEMS, LEAKING IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, HEY, RUNNING TOILET BIG ONE.
YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF BLENDING THAT IN POTENTIALLY WITH A MESSAGE THAT'S 20 TIPS LONG, WE FOCUS ON JUST ONE OF THOSE.
AND, AND THOSE, UH, CAN COME FROM THE DATA THAT HE'S COLLECTING FOR US.
IRRIGATION SYSTEM CHECKS, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WE WERE PRESENTING TO COUNCIL ON OUR PILOT PROGRAM, OUR IRRIGATION CHECKS THAT WE'VE DONE WITH THIRD PARTY VENDORS ON A LITTLE BIT SMALLER SCALE.
WE'RE REQUESTING CUSTOMERS, IF THEY ASKED TO, UM, IF THEY WANT US TO PROVIDE THOSE IRRIGATION CHECKS, BILL IS HELPING FACILITATE THAT.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THAT AND DOING SOME MAJOR, MAJOR WORK.
UM, AND ISAAC'S LED SOME OF THESE DISCUSSIONS WITH OUR PARTNERS, TALKING ABOUT LONG RANGE SOLUTIONS, THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING THIS SUMMER.
SO OUR WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS AND OUR BC AREA PARTNERS ARE PART OF THAT.
BUT WE'RE ENGAGING THE HOA GROUPS AND OUR SD OUR, OUR CONTRACTORS, OUR DEVELOPERS CONTINUING TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND SEEK THEIR FEEDBACK TOO.
THEIR SUGGESTIONS AND THEIR INPUT IS, HAS BEEN HELPFUL TO HELP US KIND OF SHAPE THOSE COMMUNICATIONS.
SOME NEW ACTIVITIES WE WILL WE'LL BE DOING.
AND I THINK, UH, TY AND BILL ARE A GOOD TEAM ON THIS.
UM, INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS, WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO MANAGE YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
WE DO HAVE AN IDEA ON SOME OF THE MORE COMMON MANUFACTURERS OF THOSE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. SO WE'RE GONNA FOCUS ON THOSE AS, AS FIRST TAKES ON INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS AND START SHARING THAT WITH THE COMMUNITY AND SEE WHAT FEEDBACK WE GET.
I ANTICIPATE IF THERE'S ENOUGH INTEREST, WE MAY GET REQUESTS FOR, HEY, CAN YOU FOCUS ON THIS PARTICULAR BRAND OR THIS PARTICULAR MODEL? AND WE'LL DO THAT AS WELL.
UM, WE HAVE GOTTEN POSITIVE FEEDBACK, EVEN JUST IN THE COUPLE OF MESSAGING, UM, POSTS THAT WE'VE DONE JUST OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS ON MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.
I KNOW WE PRESENT TO THE COUNCIL, WE COVER ALL OF OUR PROJECTS AND THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS GOING ON, AND COUNCIL KNOWS THAT, THAT
[00:35:01]
THESE WATER PROJECTS ARE MASSIVE IN SCALE, EVEN THOUGH WE COMMUNICATE SOME OF THAT TO THE PUBLIC, WE, WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO DEN NOW ZERO IN ON INDEPENDENT PROJECTS AND GIVE CUSTOMERS A SENSE OF, WELL, HOW DOES THAT IMPROVE OUR SYSTEM? LIKE, WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN? ELEVATED STORAGE TANK, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? HOW DOES IT HELP OUR SYSTEM? WHAT DOES, WHAT DOES DOWNTOWN FIRE FLOWS.THERE'S NOT EVEN WATER IN THAT HEADLINE.
WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN FOR OUR WATER SYSTEM? SO WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA EXPAND ON SOME OF THE EXISTING PROJECTS AND THEN TALK OF COURSE ABOUT PHASE, UH, DEEP WATER INTAKE PHASE TWO, BUT FOCUS REALLY ON SOME OF THE DETAILS OF WHAT, WHAT IT MEANS WHEN WE, UM, ARE SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON EXPANDING WATER LINES.
HOW DOES IT HELP OUR SYSTEM AND WHAT DOES IT DO? UH, MEDIA TOURS.
THIS WAS SOMETHING, UH, TY BROUGHT UP AND I, I THINK IT'S A FANTASTIC IDEA.
INVITING MEDIA TO, TO TOUR DEEP WATER INTAKE.
IT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF PLANNING.
WE DON'T WANT TO INTERRUPT THEIR WORK, BUT WE WANT MEDIA TO SEE IT.
WE WANT THEM TO KNOW THE SCALE OF IT.
I THINK EVERY ONE OF US THAT HAS GONE OUT THERE HAS HAD IN THEIR MIND WHAT THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD SEE, AND THEN THEY GET OUT THERE AND GO, OH, THIS IS MUCH BIGGER AND THIS IS MUCH DEEPER, UH, A PROJECT THAN I ANTICIPATED.
WE WANT MEDIA TO GET THAT SENSE AS WELL SO THAT THEY'RE MORE INCLINED TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND OUR EFFORTS AND, AND MAKE THE PUBLIC AWARE OF IT TOO.
SO WE'RE GONNA TRY AND ENGAGE MEDIA AND SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
WE'RE STILL BUILDING THAT PLAN, UH, AND TIDE'S DOING A GREAT JOB ON THAT.
BUT WE'LL DO THAT AND, AND, AND WORK WITH SAM, UH, AND OUR, OUR ENGINEERING TEAM AND, AND GINA ON MAYBE EVEN DOING SOME OF THAT AT THE BRA PLANT AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE NEW THINGS.
HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN, WE DON'T WANNA BE TOO CHEEKY, WE DON'T WANNA BE TOO DRY OR TOO SERIOUS.
THIS IS ONE WE'RE KIND OF ZEROED IN ON AND CERTAINLY WELCOME COUNCIL FEEDBACK ON THIS, BUT WATER WELLNESS, YOU KNOW, STRIKING KIND OF A, A PARALLEL WITH HEALTH AND WELLNESS AND WELLNESS CHECKS.
UM, THERE'S A LOT OF DIRECTIONS WE CAN GO WITH THIS.
WE'VE PROVIDED KIND OF SOME, SOME MESSAGING HEADLINES THERE AS, AS SAMPLES, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING WE MIGHT INITIATE AFTER WE GET OUT OF PHASE FOUR TO START WORKING INTO SOME SUMMER COMMUNICATIONS AND, UH, DEVELOP SOME GRAPHICS TO KIND OF COINCIDE WITH THIS.
BUT THIS IS SOMETHING YOU MIGHT, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THIS AND SEEING IF THIS IS A, A THEME THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH, BUT WANTED TO SHARE THAT WITH YOU THAT WE ARE WORKING ON SOME MESSAGING THEMES, SO THAT'S NOT JUST DRY COMMUNICATIONS THAT PEOPLE TEND TO IGNORE.
WE WANT IT TO BE, UM, ATTRACTIVE.
UM, AGAIN, WE MENTIONED CONTINGENCIES IN PHASE FOUR.
I WANNA BRING THAT UP HERE BECAUSE IT COULD CHANGE OUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN IN AN INSTANT.
UM, THE CONTRACT FOR A MI, WE ANTICIPATE, UH, ALL THINGS GOING WELL THAT TO BE AWARDED BY JUNE, 2024.
AT THAT POINT, WE WILL START THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING A MI AND, AND, AND SUPPORTING THE COMMUNICATION EFFORTS TO DO THAT.
UM, WE WILL DO THAT IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR EVERYDAY WATER CONSERVATION MESSAGING, BUT ONCE THAT STARTS, UH, WE KNOW WHAT BENEFIT A MI WILL HAVE, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL BE EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THAT BENEFIT AS WELL AND HOW IT CONTRIBUTES TO WATER CONSERVATION, LCRA LAKE LEVELS.
UH, WE'VE TALKED WITH COUNCIL BEFORE AND WE'RE BEGINNING TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THAT LCRA COMMUNICATION WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AND OUR PUBLIC ABOUT LAKE LEVELS AND WHAT LCRA IS DOING TO MONITOR THIS SUMMER.
IT'S ABSOLUTELY HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH OUR, UH, TENTATIVE PLANS FOR THE EMERGENCY BARGE.
UH, I DID WANNA MENTION THAT CEDAR PARK DID APPROVE A RESOLUTION ON FEBRUARY 8TH TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT AND GET THAT CONSTRUCTION GOING.
UM, DAN AND GINA CAN CERTAINLY COME TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW, BUT AGAIN, THINGS TODAY ARE POINTING TOWARDS US NEEDING THAT BARGE POTENTIALLY BY THE END OF AUGUST, BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER.
AND YOU KNOW, THAT THAT COULD PUT US IN A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME OF COMMUNICATIONS, RIGHT? UH, RIGHT BACK INTO POTENTIALLY A PHASE FOUR SITUATION.
SO, UM, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT MAYBE BEING THE FIRST PART OF THE MID PART OF SUMMER, IT COULD CERTAINLY BE THE, THE TAIL END OF IT.
SO, UM, WE ARE WORKING ON SOME OF THAT AS WELL.
WE, WE ANTICIPATE BEING, UH, WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN PHASE FOUR.
NOW, IF WE GET TO, AT THE POINT, UH, WHERE WE NEED THE EMERGENCY BARGE, WE'LL BE PULLING OUT SOME OF THOSE SAME TOOLS AND STRATEGY.
SO WE WANT THE PUBLIC TO BE AWARE OF THAT POSSIBILITY AS WELL.
THAT WILL BE PART OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS.
AND THEN, UM, JUST LETTING THE PUBLIC KNOW WHENEVER WE FINISH PROJECTS.
THIS, UH, PHOTO HERE AT THE BOTTOM, THIS IS CURRENT PROGRESS, PROBABLY IT'S ONLY A FEW DAYS OLD CURRENT PROGRESS OF THE SAN GABRIEL ELEVATED STORAGE TANK.
MAYBE, UH, NEXT, UH, NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'RE LOOKING AT ALMOST COMPLETION OF THAT PROJECT.
SO WHEN WE DO WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.
WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW THAT WE ARE FINISHING SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE REALLY PROVIDING BENEFIT TO OUR WATER SYSTEM.
[00:40:01]
ABOUT WHAT OUR CHALLENGES ARE.WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHEN WE HAVE THESE SUCCESSES THAT ARE IMPROVING OUR SYSTEM.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THESE ACTIVITIES? YES, I'M SORRY.
UM, ARE YOU SAYING THE E EMERGENCY BARGE CONSTRUCTION IS STARTING IN SUMMER OR ARE THEY EXPECTED TO COMPLETE? I'LL THEN TALK ABOUT THAT TIMELINE.
WE ACTUALLY HAD THE, UH, PRE-CON PRE-CONSTRUCTION MEETING TODAY.
G AND I ATTENDED IT, SO THEY HAVE A NOTICE TO PROCEED.
UM, SO YES, THE, UH, CONSTRUCTION OF THE EMERGENCY BARGE IS GONNA START.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY GONNA, IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, UH, REMOVE ALL THE, UH, BARGES AND EQUIPMENT FROM THE SANDY CREEK AND TAKE IT TO THE MARINA AND START CONSTRUCTION.
SO IS THAT A COMPLETION IN THE SUMMER? IT WILL BE.
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION, UM, I THINK THE END OF JUNE TIMEFRAME.
UM, ESSENTIALLY IT'S, THEY'RE LOOKING AT 180 DAYS.
I THINK THE CONTRACT IS WRITTEN FOR 180 DAYS FOR COMPLETION OF SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.
IS IT STILL BEING DONE IN, IN PHASES, JUST IN CASE THERE WAS LIKE A MONSOON OF WATER THAT FILLS UP THE ENTIRE YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T.
PROBABLY NOT AT THIS POINT, BUT, RIGHT.
UM, YES, IT, I MEAN, IT, IT HAS THE POTENTIAL THAT IT, IT COULD, IT COULD STOP AT, AT SOME POINT.
AND THEN WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION TODAY, WHAT HAPPENS IF THE LAKE STAYS AT, 'CAUSE WE CAN'T LAUNCH IT UNTIL THE LAKE'S AT SIX 30, AND THERE'S SOME REASONS FOR THAT CONTRACTUALLY 'CAUSE OF EASEMENTS AND OTHER THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS.
UM, BUT, BUT THERE'S SO MANY VARIABLES.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST, I, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE DISCUSSION WE HAD EVEN WITH TODAY WITH THE CONTRACTORS, THE ENGINEER, CEDAR PARK, WHO, CEDAR PARK, BY THE WAY, IS THE ONE WHO'S RUNNING, UM, THE CONTRACT.
SO, UM, WE'LL, WE'RE CERTAINLY INVOLVED AND WE'LL BE REVIEWING AND, AND ATTENDING EVERYTHING.
BUT, UM, THEY HAVE THE LEAD ON IT.
AND OF COURSE THEY'VE DONE IT ONCE BEFORE BACK IN 2013 AT THE NOD 2013, BUT THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY HAVE TO INITIATE IT.
UM, BUT IT WAS ALL BUILT, READY TO GO.
AND THEN THE MONSOON HAPPENED.
OH, SO YEAH, I, I, I'VE STATED THIS BEFORE, BUT IT'S GOOD TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT THE CAPACITY TO THE BARGE IS, IS 30 MILLION GALLONS AND 21 GOES TO CEDAR PARK AND, UM, LEANDER GETS NINE OF THAT.
SO, UM, IF WE DO HAVE TO USE THE EMERGENCY BARGE IN THE AUGUST SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME, WE WILL BE AT 9 MILLION GALLONS, NOT EVEN RELATED TO THE PLANT.
IS THIS RELATED TO THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT CAN BE PUMPED FROM THE EMERGENCY BARGE? GREAT.
I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AS A LONG-TERM PLAN TO HELP INCREASE THE CAPACITY, UH, FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
IS THAT, REMIND ME, IS THAT OUR FIRST, THAT'S NOT THE FIRST ELEVATED STORAGE.
WE, HOW DO WE HAVE, WE HAVE, UM, WELL WE GOT FOUR THREE AND THEN THIS WILL BE THE FOURTH CRYSTAL.
YEAH, WELL, THIS WILL BE THE FOURTH ONE.
SO THAT TOTAL CAPACITY, HOW DARE I ASK, HOW DOES THAT FIT INTO THE 9 MILLION? SO IS THAT, THAT'S KIND OF, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT SYSTEM WIDE.
EACH OF THE ELEVATED STORAGE TANKS ARE ONE AND A QUARTER MILLION GALLONS.
IT'S NOT SO MUCH THEY HOLD, BUT THE SECOND PURPOSE OF ELEVATED STORAGE TANK IS TO PROVIDE PRESSURE TO THAT PRESSURE PLANE TO HELP, UM, MAINTAIN STABILITY PRESSURE.
AND IT'S IN THE SAME CORRIDOR, RONALD REAGAN, UM, WITH THE KAUFMAN LOOP ELEVATED STORAGE TANK.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE TWO THAT'LL BE ON THAT CIRCUIT IN THAT AREA.
SO WE, WE DO NOT, NOR SHOULD WE COUNT THE ELEVATED STORAGE IN WITH THAT 9 MILLION.
THE 9 MILLION YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS WITH THE EMERGENCY BARGE.
BACK, BACK TO THE, THE 9 MILLION A DAY.
9 MILLION A DAY, THE CURRENT SITUATION, WHAT THE ELEVATED STORAGE TANKS AND GROUND STORAGE TANKS DO FOR YOU, GROUND STORAGE TANKS.
TCEQ REQUIRES SO MUCH GROUND STORAGE AND ELEVATED STORAGE CAPACITY.
AND THE REASON IS, UM, IF THE, IF THERE'S A TEMPORARY SHUTDOWN OF THE PLANT MM-HMM.
SO AGAIN, THAT 9 MILLION THAT WE'RE UNDER RIGHT NOW, THE 9 MILLION UNDER THAT IS NO, WE DON'T COUNT.
NOR SHOULD WE COUNT, CONSIDER THAT PART OF THE 9 MILLION.
SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY JUST, IT'S PRESSURE.
IT, WE DON'T REALLY COUNT IT AS CAPACITY.
IT'S EXCESS CAPACITY IN CASE YOU HAVE A WATER BREAK OR SOMETHING.
AND IT COVERS THAT, THAT PEAK SITUATION.
'CAUSE IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE GROUND STORAGE OR ELEVATED STORAGE TANK, WHICH DOES TWO THINGS MM-HMM.
BUT THIS ALLOWS THE, THE, THE BREAK TO BE ISOLATED AND THIS WATER ALLOWS THAT TO, TO A BREAK TO OCCUR AND NOT LOSE
[00:45:01]
THE SYSTEM UNTIL IT'S ISOLATED.THAT JUST HELPS PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE SHORT TERMS. BUT IT'S NOT, THE 9 MILLION IS NOT, THIS IS NOT COUNTED IN YEAH.
THAT WE HAVE TO STAY BELOW THE 9 MILLION.
THAT'S THE ACTUAL TREATMENT CAPACITY OF THE PLANT.
ALL THE ELEVATED SOURCE TANKS AND GROUND SOURCING TANKS HELP WITH, UM, MANAGING THE PEAKS.
AND IF WE HAVE EMERGENCY SITUATIONS MM-HMM.
I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION BECAUSE IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT UNLIKE QUESTIONS WE GET FROM RESIDENTS AND WE, WE, WE DO GET INTO A MODE WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE SLINGING ALL KINDS OF LINGO UP HERE AND DROP IN, YOU KNOW, 1.5 MILLION GALLONS, BUT, AND, AND PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT, THE, AND THE 9 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY.
UH, CERTAINLY IT GIVES US AN IDEA ON, ON FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS EVEN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS.
IT MEANS HOW MUCH WATER SANDY CREEK CAN LITERALLY PUSH OUT IF IT'S MAX, IF IT'S MAXED OUT GOING 24 7, HOW MUCH IT CAN PUSH OUT IN A DAY THAT SUPPORTS OUR COMMUNITY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS? NO.
BEYOND 2024, UM, WHEN WE WERE SHARING THIS TYPE OF CHART AND WE'VE, IT, IT'S BEEN MODIFIED AS WE'VE HAD SOME ACTUAL DATA TO, TO COUPLE WITH IT.
WE TALKED ABOUT 2024 BEING A VERY CRITICAL, ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL TIMES IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND, AND I'LL, I'LL REITERATE THAT THESE, THESE GREEN BARS HERE WERE ESTIMATES DONE BASED ON PROJECTED PEAK DAYS, UH, OF THE HIGHEST USAGE.
UH, SO WE'VE GOT, UH, SEVEN 50 GALLONS PER DAY DEMAND PER CONNECTION.
AGAIN, WE ASSUMED, UH, WITH THOSE ESTIMATES THAT THERE WOULD BE LITTLE OR NO CONSERVATION MEASURES.
THIS WAS, UM, YOU FIRST SAW THIS BACK IN 2021, UM, I THINK OCTOBER OF 2021.
AND SINCE THEN, THAT HAS BEEN OUR BAROMETER FOR, UM, VERY AGGRESSIVE, I THINK CONSERVATION MESSAGING.
UH, SIMILAR STRATEGIC ACTIONS THAT COUNCIL HAS TAKEN AS PART OF OUR, UH, BROADER WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T GET TO THIS POINT.
THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE STARING DOWN.
WHAT YOU CAN SEE FROM OUR ACTUAL NUMBERS, OUR ACTUAL PEAK DAYS IS THAT WE'VE BEEN, UM, ACHIEVING, UH, LOWER THAN THOSE PEAK DAYS EACH, EACH OF THE LAST, UH, FOUR SUMMERS.
I KNOW WE'VE GOT 2020 ON HERE, BUT EACH OF THE LAST FOUR SUMMERS, THEY'VE ALL BEEN A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
BUT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT THROUGH A LOT OF THE ACTIONS WE'RE TAKING.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO ADD TO THAT, YOU KNOW, TIERED RATES, UH, THE WATER RESOLUTION, UM, OUR, OUR WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN, OUR CONSERVATION MESSAGING, UH, BILL TEETER'S EFFORTS, UH, TYLER LINDY'S EFFORTS, ALL THOSE THINGS.
OUR CODE ENFORCEMENT PUBLIC WORKS TEAM, ALL THOSE THINGS CONTRIBUTE TO THIS.
BUT, UM, BEYOND 2024, UH, IT'S NOT THE END OF THE ROAD FOR LAND.
WE'VE STILL GOT THIS, UH, THREE, UH, THREE TO FOUR YEAR TIME PERIOD WHERE WE HAVE STILL ONGOING CONSTRUCTION OF THE DEEP WATER INTAKE.
THAT IS, UH, OUR BIGGEST PROJECT.
AND THAT WILL BE OUR BIGGEST, UH, OH, HERE COMES DAN
THAT WILL BE OUR, OUR, OUR BIGGEST SUPPORT FOR THIS EFFORT.
BUT, UM, AND AGAIN, REASONS WHY WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PUBLIC, ALL THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT ARE SUPPORTING OUR SYSTEM, UM, WE DON'T WANT TO DISCOUNT THOSE TWO BECAUSE IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER.
WE'VE MADE MAJOR INROADS EVEN SINCE 2020 TO MAKE CONNECTIONS SO THAT ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS SUPPORTS, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR WEST SIDE SUPPORTS OUR EAST SIDE AND BCRA AND, AND SANDY CREEK CAN WORK IN TANDEM TO SUPPORT THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
AND WE'VE MADE MANY, MANY IMPROVEMENTS TO DO THAT SO THAT WE ARE MITIGATING POTENTIAL, UH, FAILURES AND, AND SETBACKS IN OUR SYSTEM.
I'VE ALWAYS KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THE END GAME.
YOU KNOW, THE END GAME WAS PHASE TWO A AND SO, SO, SO, SO PART OF THE END GAME, WHICH I THINK WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR EYE ON THE BALL, RIGHT? WE'RE DOING A LOT, IS IN BETWEEN AND PEOPLE, MIKE'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
THE COMMUNICATION IS SO VITAL.
THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
I I JUST, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK ABOUT IT BECAUSE I TALK WATER ALL DAY.
THE END GAME IS THIS, UM, WHOOPS, RIGHT HERE.
THAT'S OUR, WHEN WE GET TO PHASE TWO A ON, THAT'S OUR 44 MILLION GALLONS A DAY THAT WE'RE GONNA GET BETWEEN THE B-C-R-U-A AND SANDY CREEK WHEN EVERYTHING IS BUILT OUT.
AND, AND WHAT YOU SEE THERE IS EVEN AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME WITH NO CONSERVATION, NO ONE DOING ANYTHING, JUST, YOU KNOW, GOING WILD TO TOWN AND USING ALL THE WATER THEY WANT.
WE STILL HAVE A GAP OF 4 MILLION GALLONS A DAY.
NOW IF WE DO THIS CONSERVATION, AND IT'S AMAZING THAT YOU SEE HERE TO HERE, IT WASN'T MUCH OF A JUMP.
UM, 'CAUSE I THINK WE'RE REALLY GETTING THE MESSAGES OUT NOW.
WE'RE HOPING THIS SUMMER WILL BE RIGHT
[00:50:01]
THERE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT, RIGHT THERE.IF WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT, THAT GAP HERE WILL, WILL BE CLOSER TO 7 MILLION GALLONS OR 8 MILLION GALLONS.
AND THEN YOU HAVE A COMPANY COME IN WITH WANTING A MILLION OR 2 MILLION GALLONS A DAY, A LIGHT INDUSTRIAL OR SOMETHING, AND THE CITY WILL HAVE IT.
AND, AND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GET IN 2027 IS THAT THAT GAP THROUGH CONSERVATION ONE WAY TRYING TO SAVE MONEY, AND THEN THE BUILDING OUT OF THE, OF THE SYSTEMS THAT WE NEED TO FACILITATE GETTING THAT 44 MILLION.
WE HAVE ADDITIONAL WATER PAST THAT, WHICH WE'VE DISCUSSED THROUGH THE BCRA FOR A TOTAL OF 62.
BUT WHAT A MILESTONE THAT'LL BE RIGHT THERE.
SO I JUST WANNA REMIND PEOPLE WHERE, WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE END GAME.
AND THEN, UM, AGAIN, BEYOND 2024, WE'RE CONTINUING TO GET A LITTLE MORE EFFICIENT, UH, A LITTLE MORE STRATEGIC WITH HOW WE ENFORCE.
AGAIN, THIS IS ABSENT A MI TECHNOLOGY.
UM, YOU KNOW, BEYOND 2024, WE ANTICIPATE, I DON'T WANNA PUT A TIGHT TIMEFRAME ON IT 'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW FOR CERTAIN YET, BUT TWO, THREE YEARS FROM NOW WE'LL HAVE A MI TECHNOLOGY THAT'S A GAME CHANGER FOR HOW WE MONITOR OUR SYSTEM, FOR HOW POTENTIALLY WE COMMUNICATE WITH RESIDENTS, CUSTOMERS AND HOW POTENTIALLY WE ENFORCE, UH, VIOLATIONS.
SO THAT IS A HUGE, UH, IMPACT.
YOU SEE THAT AS, AS SOMETHING I HIGHLIGHTED AT THE BOTTOM PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON A MI, BUT JUST A MI IN AND OF ITSELF CAN REALLY CHANGE HOW WE, UH, TREAT OUR WATER SYSTEM, MANAGE OUR WATER SYSTEM AND, AND ENFORCE IT.
SO, UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO IRRIGATION CHECKS, WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS, ESTABLISH CONVERSATIONS, BUILD ON CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING NOW ABOUT POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE SUPPLY OPTIONS.
UM, REALLY I WOULD SAY WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO RAMP UP OUR VIDEO PRODUCTION AND HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AND RESIDENTS WITH VIDEO.
UM, WE ARE, WE ARE PLANNING THOSE NOW WE'RE STARTING KIND OF BABY STEPS ON THAT, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THAT.
UM, I DIDN'T FOCUS, UH, A LITTLE BIT.
WE, WATER CONSERVATION POLICIES WILL CONTINUE TO UPDATE AND BRING TO COUNCIL CHANGES THAT WE FEEL CAN HELP BOLSTER OUR WATER CONSERVATION DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN AND WORK WITH OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TEAM AND ROBIN, ALL HER FOLKS ON ANY CHANGES ON THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE THAT HELP MITIGATE THIS.
UM, AND WE BROUGHT THAT TO YOU, UH, MANY TIMES OVER THE LAST, UH, I'D SAY 18 MONTHS.
BUT IT'S ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS.
THERE'S ALWAYS MORE WE CAN DO.
AND I THINK THE LONG RANGE PLANNING IS, IS REALLY PART OF THIS BEYOND 2024 EFFORT.
UM, I PUT DOWN THERE, I DON'T WANT TO IGNORE THAT ADDITIONAL B AREA SHUTDOWNS.
I THINK DAN DID MENTION TO THAT TO YOU.
UH, WE'RE NOT HERE COMMUNICATING THAT THIS IS THE LAST EVER PLANNED OUTAGE OR SHUTDOWN, AND WE WOULD HAVE IT A FACILITY, UH, LIKE BCRA OR EVEN SANDY CREEK.
WE DON'T KNOW IF SOMETHING COULD HAPPEN THAT WOULD CREATE THAT.
UM, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT STAFF IS PLANNING FOR THOSE, JUST LIKE WE SHOWED OUR CONTINGENCY ACTIVITIES AND EFFORTS.
WE WILL PLAN FOR THINGS THAT HAPPEN AND WE HAVE, UH, RESOURCES THAT WE ARE STAGING TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T PUT OURSELVES IN A TOUGH SITUATION THAT WE'RE NOT PLANNED FOR.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, COUNSEL.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UM, FOR EVERYBODY WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN ALL OF THE SHUTDOWN, ALL OF THE MEETINGS, ALL OF THE PLANNING AND, AND ALL OF THIS PRESENTATION TONIGHT.
UM, WITH THAT, WE ARE GOING TO ADJOURN THE BRIEFING WORKSHOP.
PLEASE BE BACK AT SEVEN O'CLOCK FOR OUR REGULAR MEETING.
[4. Open Meeting, Invocation and Pledges of Allegiance.]
GOOD.TODAY IS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH, 2024, AND THE TIME IS 7:05 PM AND THIS IS THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE LEANDER CITY COUNCIL, RABBI CANTOR MARIE BECHER OF REFORMED JUDAISM, AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF CANTOR.
WE'LL BE PROVIDING OUR INVOCATION THIS EVENING FOLLOWING THE INVOCATION.
PLEASE REMAIN STANDING FOR THE PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE.
YOU ARE THE GOD OF THE WEALTHY AND THE POOR GOD OF THE DOWN TRODDEN AND THE PROTECTOR GOD OF BELIEVERS, AND OF THOSE THAT DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE SCRIPTURES.
IT IS WRITTEN THAT CITIZENS OUGHT TO OBEY THE GOVERNING AUTHORITIES SINCE OUR CREATOR ESTABLISHED THOSE VERY AUTHORITIES TO PROMOTE PEACE AND ORDER AND JUSTICE.
THEREFORE, WE PRAY FOR OUR CITY OFFICIALS, IN PARTICULAR FOR THIS ASSEMBLED COUNCIL.
WE COME TOGETHER THIS EVENING IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER, PRAYING FOR THE CITY COUNCIL AND OFFICIALS.
[00:55:01]
WE REALIZE THAT WITHOUT LAW THERE IS NO FREEDOM.IN EACH GENERATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL, YOU ARE CHALLENGED TO PURSUE PEACE, TO HELP THE WIDOW AND THE ORPHAN, TO HELP THOSE WITH LIMBS THAT CANNOT WALK WITH EYES AND EARS THAT CANNOT SEE AND HEAR.
ALL OF YOU HERE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO PRAY TOGETHER AND WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF ALL.
SO WE ASK YOU, LORD, TO CONTINUE TO GRANT YOUR WISDOM AND FORBEARANCE TO THEM.
MAY OUR COUNCIL GOVERN OUR CITY WITH JUSTICE AND COMPASSION.
THERE ARE BEAUTIFUL WORDS WRITTEN DECADES AGO BY A GREAT, GREAT MAN, ST.
LORD, MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF THY PEACE WHERE THERE IS HATRED.
LET ME SOW CHARITY WHERE THERE IS INJURY.
PARDON? AND WHERE THERE IS DARKNESS, LIGHT, THE PEOPLE THAT YOU SERVE HAVE ENTRUSTED THEIR WAY OF LIFE, THEIR FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES, THEIR VERY DREAMS. TO ALL OF YOU HERE, WHAT AN INTIMIDATING RESPONSIBILITY YOU ARE GIVEN YOU ARE CHARGED WITH AND HAVE BEEN TRUSTED TO CHOOSE GOOD OVER EVIL, CONQUERED OVER FRICTION.
ALL THE WHILE WE PRAY, GOD GUIDES YOU IN YOUR DECISIONS.
FOR ALL OF US ARE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.
WE PRAY THAT THIS GLORIOUS CITY OF LEANER CONTINUES TO BLOSSOM AND FLOURISH.
AND WE GIVE THANKS, LORD, THAT WE LIVE HERE.
WE GIVE OUR THANKS FOR THOSE THAT HAVE SERVED THIS COMMUNITY.
SO WE THANK YOU, GOD, FOR THE BLESSED FREEDOM OF OUR LAND TO GO WHERE WE WISH, WITH WHOM WE WISH.
WE PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY, BOTH SERVING AND RETIRED AS OUR COUNTRY COUNTS ON HER VERY EXISTENCE BECAUSE OF THEIR SACRIFICE.
WE GIVE THANKS AND PRAY FOR OUR POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. WE REALIZE THAT WITHOUT THEM WORKING TO KEEP US SAFE, ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL FREEDOMS WE ENJOY WOULD BE GONE.
PLEASE LORD, PROTECT OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND KEEP THEM SAFE UNDER YOUR WINGS OF PEACE.
AND WE ALWAYS REMEMBER AND HONOR BOTH MILITARY AND FIRST RESPONDERS WHO HAVE PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE SO THAT WE MAY LIVE.
THEIRS IS A DEBT WE CAN NEVER REPAY, BUT WE KNOW THAT THE LORD SHIELDS THEM UNDER HIS WINGS IN THE HEAVENS FOR ETERNITY.
AND IT WAS LASTLY WRITTEN LONG AGO.
I BELIEVE IN THE SUN EVEN WHEN IT IS NOT SHINING.
I BELIEVE IN LOVE, EVEN WHEN FEELING IT NOT.
AND I BELIEVE IN GOD WHEN GOD IS SILENT.
THERE MAY BE TIMES WHEN YOU PRAY TO GOD FOR ANSWERS AND HEAR NOT A REPLY.
ALWAYS KNOW THAT GOD IS WITH YOU AND EACH DECISION YOU MAKE.
AND I CLOSE FROM THE BOOK OF NUMBERS, IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE, AND THEN IN ENGLISH, MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU.
AND MAY THE LIGHT OF GOD'S COUNT AND SHINED DOWN FROM THE HEAVENS UPON YOU.
AND WHEN THE LORD LOOKS DOWN FROM THE HEAVENS UPON ALL OF US, MAY HE GRANT US PEACE.
AND WE PRAY IN THE NAME OF THE LORD TOGETHER.
WHO OTHER UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL ELER TEXAS.
FLAG CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEXAS ONE UN LORD, HEALING AND INDIVISIBLE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, RABBI CANOR.
[5. Roll Call.]
ALL RIGHT, ITEM NUMBER FIVE, CITY SECRETARY CRABTREE, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL ROLL COUNCIL MEMBER CATHERINE BATTALION PARKER.HERE, MAYOR PRO TE ESMI, MATTHEW LONGORIA.
HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVID MCDONALD HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER NICOLE THOMPSON.
PRESENT COUNCIL MEMBER CHRIS SNICK.
HERE, COUNCIL MEMBER BECKY ROSS.
THE COUNCIL IS ELIGIBLE TO DO BUSINESS.
[6. Public comments on items not listed in the agenda.
Public comments on items listed in the agenda will be heard at the time each item is discussed.
[All comments are limited to no more than 3 minutes (6 minutes if translation is needed) per individual.]]
FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA, I WILL CALL ON SPEAKERS PRIOR TO THE DISCUSSION OF THE AGENDA ITEM AND DURING THE PUBLIC HEARING, INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE SUBMITTED COMMENTS VIA THE WEBSITE WILL ONLY HAVE POSITIONS READ INTO THE RECORD.
ANY WRITTEN COMMENTS HAVE BEEN SHARED WITH THE COUNCIL WILL BE MADE A PART OF THE OFFICIAL RECORD.
FIRST STEP, WE HAVE CHRIS KING AND JEAN DAVENPORT WITH THE VFW.
[01:00:01]
GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, FELLOW VETERANS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.I STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY AS A PROUD REPRESENTATIVE OF THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS, ROBERT JOHN LEHMAN.
POST TEN FOUR TWO SEVEN, AN ORGANIZATION DEEPLY COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING OUR VETERANS AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE WELLBEING OF OUR COMMUNITY.
TODAY I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU WHY THE BFW IS MAKING THIS DONATION TO THE CITY COMMUNITY SERVICE DIVISION AND WHY WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS A CAUSE WORTH SUPPORTING.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, LEMME EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO THE CITY COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION FOR THEIR TIRELESS EFFORTS IN ENHANCING THE QUALITY LIFE OF OUR CITIZENS.
THEY HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF ADDRESSING VARIOUS COMMUNITY NERDS NEEDS FOR PROMOTING EDUCATION, HEALTH, SAFETY, AND OVERALL WELLBEING.
THEIR COMMITMENT ALIGNS CLOSELY WITH THE VALUES THAT WE AS VETERANS HOLD DEAR SERVICE, SACRIFICE AND DEDICATION TO THE GREATER GOOD.
THE VFW RECOGNIZES THE VITAL ROAD THAT THE COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION PLAY IN CREATING A STRONG AND RESILIENT SOCIETY.
AS VETERANS, WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORTING NOT ONLY OUR FELLOW SERVICE MEMBERS, BUT ALSO THE COMMUNITIES WE RETURN TO.
OUR DUTY DOESN'T END ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
IT EXTENDS TO ENSURING THE HOME FRONT IS A PLACE WHERE EVERY CITIZEN CAN THRIVE.
BY DONATING TO THE CITY'S COMMUNITY SERVICE DIVISION OF THE LEANDER PD, WE AIM TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT THE LIVES OF OUR FELLOW CITIZENS.
WHETHER IT'S PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OR CREATING SAFE PLACES FOR ONLINE TRANSACTIONS, OR PROMOTING, PROMOTING PUBLIC SAFETY, THESE SERVICES ADDRESS FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE WELLBEING OF OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
IN CONCLUSION, THE VFW IS PROUD TO STAND SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE CITY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE DIVISION IN THEIR NO NOBLE PURSUIT OF BUILDING A STRONGER AND MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITY.
WE HOPE THAT OUR CONTRIBUTION WILL SERVE AS A CATALYST FOR A POSITIVE CHANGE, FOSTERING A SPIRIT OF UNITY AND COLLABORATION THAT DEFINES THE VERY ESSENCE OF OUR GREAT NATION.
AND MAY WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY AND THE WELLBEING OF ALL ITS RESIDENTS.
COME ON OVER TO THE MICROPHONE.
WE WANT ALL THE LEANDER TO HEAR ABOUT THIS.
WE'RE GONNA COME DOWN AND DO A PHOTO WITH YOU.
HUH? IF YOU'RE READY, WE'RE GONNA DO A PHOTO WITH YOU.
OH, HE GAVE IT TO HIM EARLIER.
ON BEHALF OF THE CITY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR RECOGNIZING THE INCREDIBLE WORK THAT VICTIM SERVICES IS DOING.
I SAY SOMETHING QUICK, GO FOR IT.
SO I WAS LOOKING FOR MY OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, SPEAK, BUT I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FROM THE LEAN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ONE, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT WORK YOU DO IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE A LOT OF VETERANS IN THIS COMMUNITY, AND I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR CARING FOR THEM, SERVING THEM, AND HELPING THEIR LIVES BE BETTER.
THAT THAT CHECK WILL GO INTO GOOD USE WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND, UH, JUST REST ASSURED THAT WE WILL DO GOOD THINGS WITH IT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND WE APPRECIATE ANY HELP.
ALL RIGHT, UP NEXT WE HAVE PIPER NELSON.
MS. NELSON, PLEASE GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
MY NAME IS PIPER STA NELSON, AND, UM, I LIVE IN AUSTIN.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED? THAT'S OKAY.
UM, BUT THE REASON THAT I'M HERE IS I AM THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED I LIVE HERE.
I GIVE HERE AND OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER SOMETHING CALLED, UM, AMPLIFY AUSTIN DAY, WHICH IS A 24 HOUR DAY OF GIVING.
UM, AND OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS, THIS DAY HAS RAISED OVER $102 MILLION FOR ORGANIZATIONS IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICED IS THAT GIVING IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY HAS REALLY BEEN EXPLODING.
IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE.
AND ACTUALLY WE'VE SEEN IT TONIGHT, HAVEN'T WE? EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITY AND GIVING AND IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.
SO THIS YEAR, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING
[01:05:01]
IS WE'RE CREATING A PARALLEL AMPLIFY WILCO DAY.WE'VE JUST SEEN HOW INCREDIBLE THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, BUT ALSO HOW INCREDIBLE THE GIVING IS IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
AND SO, UM, IN RECOGNITION OF, OF THAT AND ALL THE AMAZING NONPROFITS WORKING IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, UM, ON MARCH 6TH AND SEVENTH, WE'RE GOING TO ENCOURAGE CENTRAL TEXANS IN PARTICULAR, UM, FOLKS OF WILCO TO GIVE BACK TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY NONPROFITS.
YOU HAVE INCREDIBLE GROUPS HERE LIKE THE LEANDER ISD EDUCATION EXCELLENCE FOUNDATION, AND THE CENTRAL TEXAS SPCA, RIGHT? RIGHT HERE IN LEANDER.
UM, SO I'M HERE TONIGHT FOR THREE REASONS.
ONE IS WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERY NONPROFIT IN LEANDER KNOWS THAT THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN AMPLIFY WILCO DAY.
AND SO IF THEY'RE INTERESTED, THEY CAN GO TO, I LIVE HERE, I GIVE HERE.ORG AND SIGN UP TO BE A PART OF AMPLIFY WILCO DAY.
THE SECOND REASON THAT I'M HERE, ACTUALLY YOU ALL HAVE GENEROUSLY ALREADY HELPED WITH.
UM, IT'S TO ASK WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN GET BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS IN THIS COMMUNITY INVOLVED, UM, BY GIVING MONEY, BY GETTING THEIR EMPLOYEES TO GIVE, BY GETTING INVOLVED IN SUPPORTING, UM, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, UH, NONPROFITS.
BUT THE THIRD REASON GENERALLY THAT I COME TO THESE THINGS IS TO ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ASK YOU TO MAYBE EVEN DO A PROCLAMATION.
YOU'VE ALREADY DONE A PROCLAMATION ABOUT AMPLIFY OR ABOUT AMPLIFY WILCO DAY.
SO NOW WHAT I'M ASKING FOR IS, CAN I JUST GET A PICTURE, UH, WHICH SEEMS EVEN EASIER.
SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR THE PROCLAMATION.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO FOR CREATING SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND SUPPORTIVE AND GIVING COMMUNITY.
UM, WE CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT LEANDER AND YOUR NONPROFITS AND YOUR COMMUNITY DOES AROUND AMPLIFY WILCO DAY THIS YEAR, MARCH 6TH AND SEVENTH.
THERE'S NOBODY ELSE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ON THE AGENDA.
WAS THERE ANYBODY ELSE WHO WANTED TO SPEAK ON SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ON THE AGENDA?
[7. Proclamations/Recognitions/Visitors
]
WE DO HAVE A PROCLAMATION, UH, READY TO GIVE TONIGHT FOR AMERICAN HEART MONTH.
I MAY GO AHEAD AND READ IT OUT, AND IF OUR, UH, SPEAKERS WANNA COME FORWARD WHILE I'M READING IT, COME RIGHT ON UP TO THE MIC.
WHEREAS PRESIDENT LYNDON B JOHNSON ISSUED THE FIRST PROCLAMATION DECLARING FEBRUARY AMERICAN HEART MONTH IN 1964.
AND WHEREAS HEART DISEASE IS A LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.
AND WHEREAS APPROXIMATELY EVERY 40 SECONDS SOMEONE IN THE UNITED STATES WILL HAVE A HEART ATTACK AND A HEART DISEASE AND STROKE KILL MORE PEOPLE THAN ALL FORMS OF CANCER COMBINED.
AND WHEREAS RESEARCH HAS IDENTIFIED SEVERAL CRITICAL RISK FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO HEART DISEASE, INCLUDING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL, PHYSICAL INACTIVITY BEING OVERWEIGHT, HIGH SODIUM INTAKE, SMOKING, AGE, AND FAMILY HISTORY.
AND WHEREAS WHILE SOME RISK FACTORS ARE UNCHANGEABLE, MOST ARE AVOIDABLE WITH BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES.
AND WHEREAS AMERICAN HEART MONTH REINFORCES THE IMPORTANCE OF HEART HEALTH AND SERVES AS A REMINDER TO GET FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND COMMUNITIES INVOLVED IN TAKING THE NECESSARY MEASURES TO LEAD A HEART HEALTHY LIFESTYLE.
NOW, THEREFORE, I MAYOR CHRISTINE GILE DO HEREBY PROCLAIM FEBRUARY, 2024 AS AMERICAN HEART MONTH IN THE CITY OF LEANDER AND URGE ALL INDIVIDUALS TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR HEALTH AND SUPPORT AND MOTIVATE FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH AND WITNESS THEREOF.
I HAVE HEARING TO SET MY HAND AND CAUSE THE SEAL OF THE CITY OF LEANDER TO BE AFFIXED ON FEBRUARY 15TH, 2024.
GOOD EVENING,
PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR DELILAH AND, AND CITY COUNCIL.
MY NAME'S, UH, RUSS WILLIAMS. I'M THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR TEXAS CHILDREN'S HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO BE HERE AND, UH, AND, AND, AND BE PART OF THE RECOGNITION OF THIS PROCLAMATION.
UH, WE ARE OPENING A BRAND NEW FACILITY JUST SOUTH OF HERE.
UH, WE OPENED OUR AMBULATORY PRACTICE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND WE'LL OPEN FULL SERVICES INCLUDING, UM, A FULL ARRAY OF CARDIAC SERVICES, UH, ON TUESDAY, UH, BUT HAVE BEEN BUILDING HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS SINCE 2018.
OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, 30,000 CHILDREN FROM CENTRAL TEXAS HAVE HAD TO LEAVE
[01:10:01]
AND GO SEEK SERVICES IN HOUSTON AT TEXAS CHILDREN'S.THAT DOESN'T COUNT THE KIDS THAT HAD TO GO TO SAN ANTONIO OR DALLAS.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT DOESN'T COUNT THE KIDS THAT DON'T HAVE THE MEANS TO GO ANYWHERE TO SEEK ADDITIONAL CARE.
UH, SO WE'RE VERY, VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO BE HERE, UH, TO BE ABLE TO BRING ACCESS TO LIFE, CHANGING CARE TO THE CHILDREN OF LEANDER, THE CHILDREN OF CENTRAL TEXAS.
UH, AND IT REALLY WILL BE, UM, TRULY A, A FULL SERVICE, UH, FULL SERVICE FACILITY.
UH, LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE WITH ME TONIGHT, UH, A LEANDER RESIDENT, UH, HUDSON.
AND GO AHEAD AND STAND UP
UM, SO HUDSON IS NOT ONLY A MEMBER OF THE LEANDER FAMILY, BUT ALSO A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS CHILDREN'S FAMILY.
HE ATTENDED A HEART SCREENING, UH, THAT WAS DONE BY TEXAS CHILDREN'S AND WAS DIAGNOSED WITH WOLF PARKINSON WHITE, UH, UH, UH, IF UNTREATED, UH, CAN LEAD TO A VERY RAPID AND UNTIMELY DEATH.
LUCKILY, WE WERE ABLE TO DIAGNOSE HUDSON.
HE DID HAVE TO TRAVEL TO HOUSTON, UH, TO HAVE THE SURGERY THAT WOULD REPAIR THAT DEFECT.
AND HE WAS BACK ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD ONE WEEK AFTER THAT SURGERY.
LUCKILY, HE DOESN'T HAVE TO NOW DRIVE THE 165 MILES ONE WAY TO BE ABLE TO SEEK HIS FOLLOW-UP CARE, BUT HE'LL BE ABLE TO DO THAT HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS AND IN THE FUTURE, UH, CHILDREN AND, AND, UH, YOUNG ADULTS IN NEED OF THAT SAME PROCEDURE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT PROCEDURE.
UM, AT TEXAS CHILDREN'S HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, VERY, VERY GRATEFUL, UH, TO HUDSON AND HIS FAMILY.
AND HONOR AND RECOGNITION OF, OF FEBRUARY IS HEART MONTH.
IT'S A SPECIAL MONTH FOR ALL OF US.
NOT ONLY IS IT HEART MONTH, UM, UH, BUT IT'S ALSO THE OPENING OF OUR FACILITY AND OUR SERVICES HERE.
AND ACTUALLY MARKS THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF TEXAS CHILDREN'S.
THE FIRST PATIENT WAS SEEN ON FEBRUARY 1ST, 1954.
UH, AND I'VE BEEN DOING WONDERFUL THINGS, UH, SINCE.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING US CELEBRATE HEART MONTH, TO CELEBRATE HUDSON AND TO CELEBRATE TEXAS CHILDREN'S HERE IN NORTH AUSTIN.
AND I JUST WANNA THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR OPENING SO CLOSE LEANDER, THIS IS, UM, GOING TO IMPACT SO MANY LIVES, INCLUDING HUDSON'S.
AND, UM, I'M GLAD THAT WE HAVE Y'ALL HERE.
AND, UH, IF, IF THIS IS SOMETHING NEAR AND DEAR TO YOUR HEART, NO PUN INTENDED, FEEL FREE TO JOIN US FOR THE PHOTO TONIGHT.
GOTTA BE IN THE THANK Y'ALL AGAIN.
[8. Leander History]
MOVE INTO ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, LEANDER HISTORY.WE HAVE HISTORIC PRESERVATION, COMMISSIONER KAT HOWELL.
SO, UM, EVERY OTHER YEAR RECENTLY, WE HAVE A SNOW DAY IN FEBRUARY.
SO, UH, THIS YEAR, FORTUNATELY WE DO NOT HAVE ANY SNOW OR ICE, ALTHOUGH EARLIER TODAY I WAS STILL CUTTING DOWN LIMBS FROM LAST YEAR.
I'M JUST SHARING A FEW PICTURES WITH OUR SNOW DAYS FOR THE, UH, ABOUT A HUNDRED YEARS OLD HERE.
UH, THE FIRST ONE HERE IS, UH, MR. BOBBY BRYSON, WHO IS, UH, HIS HEALTH IS DECLINING RIGHT NOW.
UM, HE IS OUR OLDEST RESIDENT, BUT, UM, YOU CAN STILL GET AHOLD OF HIM AND SEE HIM EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
BUT THIS WAS WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG BOY THERE.
AND THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS THE SAME PHOTOGRAPHER, SAME DAY, ALMOST THE SAME MOMENT.
BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK UP, UM, WELL, NO POINTY.
RIGHT THERE IS A HORSE, RIGHT THERE IS THE SAME HORSE.
NOW, BOBBY'S NOT THERE, BUT THERE'S A COW
THERE'S ALSO A BLACK HORSE RIGHT THERE.
BUT YEAH, THE COW, UM, WE USED TO HAVE, EVERYONE HAD THEIR OWN MILK COW.
SO, UM, THE COW JUST DECIDED TO GO PLAY
[01:15:01]
IN THE SNOW TOO.'CAUSE THEY WERE ALL ROAMING AROUND HERE TOO.
WE ALSO HAD WILD HORSES WALKING AROUND STILL AT THAT, THAT ERA.
AND THEN HERE IS A PICTURE, UM, TWO PICTURES THAT, THAT'S THE DAVIS HOUSE RIGHT THERE IN THE, YEAH, THIS IS THE DAVIS HOUSE, WHICH AT THE TIME IT WAS THE STOCKTON HOUSE, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE, THE CHILD IS ONE OF THE STOCKTON'S.
AND THAT WAS THE SAME SNOW DAY.
AND THAT'S LAURA PUGH, WHO IS MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.
UH, THEY CALLED HER MISS LAURA.
SHE WAS, UH, ONE OF THE TEACHERS HERE.
AND THEN THAT'S THE SAME PLACE, SAME ANGLE THERE WITH THE SAME HOUSE, BUT IT WAS IN THE SPRINGTIME.
SO, UH, I'M, I THINK THE PHOTOGRAPHER THAT TOOK THESE PICTURES WAS GEORGE MASON, BUT I'M NOT POSITIVE, BUT HE WAS KNOWN FOR TAKING PICTURES AND HAVING A CAMERA.
AND HE, HE WAS A BACHELOR, SO HE ENJOYED GOING AROUND AND TAKING EVERYBODY'S PICTURE.
THERE'S A, UM, JERRY STOCKTON, A PICTURE OF HER HOUSE, AND, UH, MS. LAURA.
AND THEY WERE TEACHERS AT THE SCHOOL.
AND THIS WAS A SCHOOL DAY, THAT WAS THAT SAME DAY IN 1922.
YOU SEE A PATTERN HERE WITH ALL THESE PICTURES.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH SNOW THERE WAS.
UH, I, I TALKED WITH, UM, SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE AT THAT TIME, AND THEY SAID IT WAS JUST A, A, A WONDERFUL DAY.
AND I KNOW I MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, WE USED TO GET A LOT OF SNOW IN THAT ERA.
IT SNOWED EIGHT OR 10 TIMES A YEAR BACK IN THAT, IN THAT TIME TIMEFRAME.
WHO KNEW? AND THEN, UM, HERE IS THE JC WALLACE HOUSE IN 1927 IN THE PICTURES FROM DR.
STILES GAVE ME A LITTLE MORE HISTORY ABOUT THIS.
THE HOUSE WAS BUILT BY DR. ROBERTS ROBERTS, IS THAT CORRECT? FRANK ROBERTSON, ROBERT'S SON.
AND, UM, HE LIVED THERE UNTIL HIS DEATH.
HE ALSO, THAT'S WHERE HE, UM, THAT WAS HIS MEDICAL PRACTICE THERE.
THIS HOUSE WAS ACROSS FROM CASH WAY.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, UM, AND I EXPERIENCED THIS AS WELL, UM, AFTER MRS. STILES PASSED AWAY, WE HAD PEOPLE, HOMELESS PEOPLE TRYING TO MOVE INTO THAT HOUSE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.
I EXPERIENCED THAT AS WELL IN MY HOUSE.
STILES HAD THE HOUSE DECONSTRUCTED, AND THEN THAT LEADS US.
UH, AND THE FENCE WAS BEAUTIFUL.
UH, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL FENCE THAT LEADS US TO OUR MOST FAMOUS PICTURE FROM LEANDER.
AND THAT IS MISS LAURA AND, UM, JERRY STOCKTON WITH A COUPLE OF STUDENTS AND OUT IN FRONT OF THE DEPOT.
AND THE REASON I'M, THIS IS THE PICTURE I'M CLOSING WITH, AND WE'VE ALL SEEN THIS PICTURE.
IT'S, IT'S, UH, IT'S BEEN OUT AND ABOUT SEVERAL DIFFERENT TIMES, AND SOMEHOW PEOPLE JUST HAVE USED IT WITHOUT PERMISSION, WHICH GO FIGURE, UH, MIGHTY FINE HAS IT DOWN, DOWN IN CEDAR PARK.
UM, BUT THE HISTORICAL PRESERVATION COMMISSION SENT THIS PICTURE OUT ON THE DAY THAT WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF SNOW HERE.
AND WHEN ALL WAS SAID AND DONE AND IT WAS SHARED AND WENT OUT AND EVERYTHING, WE HAD 90,000 HITS.
SO, UH, THAT PICTURE RESONATES WITH EVERYONE FOR WHATEVER REASON.
UM, BUT IT, IT'S, IT HAS BECOME THE MOST FAMOUS PICTURE OF LEANDER AND IT'S MM-HMM,
IT HAS SNOW, IT HAS THE DEPOT, AND IT HAS TEACHERS AND CHILDREN.
I MEAN, WHAT ELSE CAN YOU ASK FOR? AND A MAN IN THE BACKGROUND.
SO, AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE THIS EVENING.
[9. Receive presentation from Don Tracy regarding Central Texas Learning Festival.]
ITEM NUMBER NINE, WE'RE GONNA RECEIVE A PRESENTATION FROM DON TRACY REGARDING THE CENTRAL TEXAS LEARNING FESTIVAL.UH, DO I GET TO USE THIS? MM-HMM,
UH, WELL, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING.
IN MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE, I SERVE AS DIRECTOR FOR CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND ALSO AS INTERIM DEAN FOR OUR CONTINUING EDUCATION DIVISION AND YOUR HONOR, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
AND I'M A NEW LI MINTED MEMBER OF THE ECONOMIC, UH, DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE HERE IN LEANDER.
SO WE HAD OUR FIRST MEETING THIS WEEK, AS A MATTER OF FACT.
UM, JUST BY WAY OF CONTEXT BEFORE WE, UH, DIVE INTO THIS, I'VE BEEN HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, ENGAGED IN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UH, EFFORTS FOR ABOUT 25 YEARS.
UM, I'VE DONE THAT BOTH, UH, THROUGH PUBLIC SERVICE ON THE CITY COUNCIL IN CEDAR PARK, WHERE I SERVED SEVERAL TERMS THERE.
UM, I'VE ALSO DONE IT THROUGH MY WORK AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
I'M IN MY, WELL SOON, IT WILL BE IN MY 15TH YEAR, UH, THERE AT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
UM, I'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO, UM, UH, LEND MY EDUCATOR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATIONS REGIONALLY THROUGH CAP COG AND SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
[01:20:01]
SO I'VE BEEN DOING THIS COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STUFF FOR QUITE A WHILE.AND SO THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TONIGHT COME FROM SOME OF THAT EXPERIENCE.
AND I, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU THAT CONTEXT.
SO, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UH, WE AT, AT THE COLLEGE, WE MADE A DECISION TO GET OUTSIDE OF THE CAMPUS.
IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO DO THAT, UM, BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY IN OUR COMMUNITIES, FOR WHATEVER REASON, AREN'T ACCESSING TRADITIONAL PATHWAYS INTO HIGHER EDUCATION, LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL, NOT GOING ON INTO COLLEGE, ATTEMPTING COLLEGE, NOT COMPLETING COLLEGE, NEVER COMPLETING ANYTHING.
AND SO WE HAD TO FIND WAYS TO BETTER CONNECT.
AND SO, UM, BACKGROUND ON THE LEARNING FESTIVAL, WE HAD TWO GOALS IN MIND WHEN WE STARTED THAT WORK.
NUMBER ONE WAS FIND WAYS TO GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY SO THAT WE COULD BETTER CONNECT WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO DON'T SEE US AS A RESOURCE WHO, FOR WHATEVER REASON, ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCESS US AS A RESOURCE.
WELL, THAT HAS RESULTED IN, UM, 65 PLUS DIFFERENT PARTNERSHIPS OVER THE LAST SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS.
AND THROUGH THOSE PARTNERSHIPS, WE'VE CONNECTED WITH THOSE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT DON'T SEE US AS A RESOURCE.
AND WE'VE BROUGHT BASIC EDUCATION AND SKILLED TRADES AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN OUT THERE.
SO, GOAL NUMBER ONE WAS TO DEVELOP A MODEL FOR GETTING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE IMPACTED THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS OVER THE LAST SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
PROBABLY WHAT WE'RE MOST WELL KNOWN FOR IS OUR PARKING LOT WELDING.
UH, WE ACTUALLY RUN FULL BLOWN WELDING CLASSES IN PARKING LOTS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
AND IT'S A, IT'S A WAY FOR US TO REALLY GET OUT INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE.
GOAL NUMBER ONE, GOAL NUMBER TWO, THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE WOULD DEVELOP OVER TIME, LET'S IDENTIFY WAYS TO BUILD A CULTURE OF LEARNING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
NOW, 25 YEARS OF WORKFORCE, ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TELLS ME THAT HAVING AN ENGAGED AND LEARNING COMMUNITY LEADS TO A STRONGER, MORE VIBRANT, MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITY.
FOR THOSE OF US THAT ARE INTERESTED IN ATTRACTING EMPLOYERS AND RETAINING EMPLOYERS, IT GIVES US A STRONGER WORKFORCE.
FOR THOSE OF US THAT ARE INTERESTED IN HAVING HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR COMMUNITY, IT GIVES US A HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE IF YOU HAVE A MORE EDUCATED, UH, ENGAGED AND LEARNING COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, ABOUT SIX, EIGHT WEEKS AGO, WE STARTED MARCHING AROUND AND WE STARTED TALKING TO SOME OF THE PARTNERS THAT WE HAD HAVE ENGAGED WITH OVER THE LAST SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS.
WE'VE CONNECTED WITH 85 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, SINCE RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
AND WE'VE ENGAGED THEM AROUND THIS IDEA OF BUILDING A CULTURE OF LEARNING AND WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
SO I WANNA GIVE YOU JUST BRIEFLY, UH, WHAT OUR VISION IS.
EVERYBODY HAS TO, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU DECLARE, OKAY, WE, WE WANT TO BE IN THE FUTURE.
WELL, CENTRAL TEXAS IS, IT WILL BE.
IT IS A VIBRANT CULTURE OF LEARNING THAT SUPPORTS STRONGER COMMUNITIES AND GREATER ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.
OUR MISSION IS TO FOSTER THIS CULTURE OF LEARNING, UH, THROUGH FORMAL AND INFORMAL LEARNING.
LEARNING HAPPENS IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
I'LL TELL YOU A FEW EXAMPLES IN A SECOND.
FROM THE, UH, FROM THE FESTIVAL.
SO THROUGH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, UH, WE'RE HOPING TO CREATE A NETWORK OF FOLKS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WORKING TOGETHER.
THIS IS NOT AN A CC INITIATIVE, IT'S AN US INITIATIVE.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
IT'S NOT ABOUT AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROMOTING IT.
IT'S ABOUT US COLLECTIVELY WORKING TOGETHER.
THOSE OF US THAT BELIEVE THAT LEARNING IS CENTRAL TO THE VIBRANT COMMUNITY.
SO WORKING TOGETHER TO DETERMINE WHERE THE GAPS MAY BE.
HOW DO WE FILL THOSE GAPS? HOW DO WE TOGETHER CONNECT MORE PEOPLE TO MORE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY, NOT JUST AT THE FESTIVAL, BUT ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
SO, TO DO THIS, AND I, I'VE KIND OF SKIPPED OVER A COUPLE OF THINGS THERE.
I'LL COME BACK TO IN A SECOND TO DO THIS.
UM, WE'VE STARTED WORKING ON TOGETHER WITH ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PARTNERS, A LEARNING FESTIVAL THAT WE INTEND TO HOLD MARCH 4TH THROUGH MARCH 9TH COMING UP.
THOSE DATES ARE CHOSEN DELIBERATELY.
THOSE DATES ALSO ALIGN WITH SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.
EDU SOUTH BY EDU BRINGS IN 15 TO 20,000 EDUCATORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND ALL OVER THE COUNTRY EVERY YEAR TO COME TOGETHER AND TO SHARE EXPERIENCES AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.
IT'S ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UH, RALLY TOGETHER AROUND LEARNING AS A CENTRAL COMPONENT, BUILDING A MORE VIBRANT COMMUNITY.
SO WHAT DO THESE LEARNING EXPERIENCES LOOK LIKE? YOU KNOW, I DELIBERATELY DIDN'T WEAR MY A CC SWEATSHIRT TONIGHT FOR YOU GUYS, RIGHT? UM, BECAUSE IF I CAME IN AND I SAID, I'M FROM A CC, YOU MIGHT HAVE IN
[01:25:01]
MIND, WELL, THAT'S DON GONNA STAND IN FRONT OF ME AND LECTURE AT ME FOR TWO HOURS ON CHEMISTRY OR SOMETHING.RIGHT? YOU HAVE A SORT OF AN IDEA OF WHAT LEARNING LOOKS LIKE IF I SAY I'M FROM A CC WELL, ONE OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT WILL BE A PART OF THE FESTIVAL, THERE'S A LADY THAT'S GONNA TEACH INDIVIDUALS IN A LAUNDROMAT, THE MECHANICS OF DOING YOUR LAUNDRY.
WE HAVE A UKULELE CLASS THAT'S A PART OF THE FESTIVAL.
WE HAVE A JAPANESE CULTURE PRESENTATION FROM, UM, THE JAPANESE SISTER CITY WITH AUSTIN THAT'S GONNA DO A PRESENTATION.
WE HAVE INFORMATION SESSIONS THAT ARE BEING DONE BY GOODWILL OF CENTRAL TEXAS BEING DONE BY AUSTIN VOICES.
UM, WE HAVE ART EXHIBITS AT, UM, THE LIBRARIES ROUND ROCK AND IN GEORGETOWN THAT ARE A PART OF IT.
UM, ONE OF OUR, UH, ONE OF Y'ALL'S COLLEAGUES ON A DIFFERENT COUNCIL HAS EVEN PROMISED AN ART WALK NEXT TO THE REC CENTER IN CEDAR PARK.
UH, SO LEARNING EXPERIENCES ARE, ARE, UH, CAN HAPPEN IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS AND IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT, UH, SETTINGS.
NOT JUST A CLASSROOM WITH SOMEONE LIKE ME STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU LECTURING AT YOU.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO THE IDEA BEHIND THE FESTIVAL IS ALL OF US COLLECTIVELY ENGAGING WITH AND CELEBRATING LEARNING IN ALL OF ITS FORBES.
SO AS WE STARTED THIS WORK, WE, WE WANTED TO BUILD ON WHAT ALREADY EXISTS.
IT'S NOT ABOUT CREATING SOMETHING NEW, BUT IT'S ABOUT MULTIPLYING THE IMPACT THAT EACH OF US IN OUR DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS HAS.
AND SO, WHAT KINDS OF THINGS ARE ALREADY SCHEDULED? UM, I WAS IN SAN MARCO THIS MORNING, AND THE LIBRARY DOWN THERE HANDED ME A STACK OF 30, 40 DIFFERENT EVENTS THAT ARE GONNA BE A PART OF THE FESTIVAL JUST THERE AT THE LIBRARY DURING THAT WEEK.
THESE ARE EVENTS THAT WERE ALREADY SCHEDULED, OR THEY'RE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT THEY DO NORMALLY, AND THEY DELIBERATELY SCHEDULED THEM DURING THAT, UH, WEEK.
THERE'S ALSO SOME EVENTS THAT NONPROFIT PARTNERS ARE USING LIBRARY SPACE TO BRING TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THERE'S ONE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THERE IN SAN MARCUS THAT'S GONNA BE DOING THE HISTORY OF THE STETHOSCOPE.
AND IT'S A WAY TO ENGAGE, UH, INDIVIDUALS AROUND HEALTHCARE TRAINING.
AND THEN WE ALSO ASK, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF EVENTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY? WELL, GUESS WHAT? ALL OF THOSE 85 DIFFERENT PARTNERS SERVE DIFFERENT SEGMENTS OF THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY SERVE THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AND THEY COMMUNICATE IN DIFFERENT WAYS WITH THEM.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU PUT ALL 85 TOGETHER CELEBRATING LEARNING TOGETHER.
IT IS A MULTIPLIER EFFECT THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.
AND WHO ELSE SHOULD BE INVOLVED? SO JUST IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, WE'VE GOTTEN CONNECTED WITH OTHER PARTNERS THAT DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE WERE DOING, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA BE A PART OF THE FESTIVAL.
AND SO WE, WE'VE BEEN ASKING THESE BASIC QUESTIONS OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS OR SO.
WE CREATED A, A SUBMISSION FORM FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE, UH, EVENTS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO, UH, TO HAVE IN THE, IN THE FESTIVAL.
I WON'T RUN YOU THROUGH THE WHOLE THING, BUT IT'S AN EASY WAY FOR PEOPLE TO GIVE US THE INFORMATION ON THEIR SESSION AND INTEGRATE IT INTO THE, INTO THE, UH, THE FESTIVAL.
UM, WE'VE ALSO CREATED A WEBSITE.
I DON'T THINK IT'S PART OF THIS, UH, HERE, BUT WE'VE CREATED A WEBSITE, A LANDING PAGE FOR ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT EVENTS.
IT PARTNERS LOGO, IT'S OURS, RIGHT? AND SO ALL OF THE EVENTS ARE LISTED THERE, AND THIS WEEK WE'RE STARTING TO GET MORE AND MORE OF THE EVENTS IN AND WE'LL GET THEM ON THE WEBSITE.
UM, WE'RE PUSHING OUT THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, THROUGH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CHANNELS THAT I TALKED ABOUT WITH THE 85 DIFFERENT PARTNERS.
UM, SOME GO AROUND AND KNOCK ON DOORS LIKE WE DO.
UM, WE GO TO CHURCHES AND WE TALK TO CONGREGATIONS, UH, THROUGH PA UH, PASTORS WHO ARE PARTNERS.
UM, SO THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THE COMMUNICATION HAPPENS.
THERE'S OUR LOGO AND OUR, OUR TAGLINE IS LEARNING TOGETHER.
LEARNING IS NOT A A SOLO SPORT, IT'S A TEAM SPORT.
AND THOSE OF US THAT ARE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND CARE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY, IT'S ABOUT US COMING TOGETHER AND ENSURING THAT OUR KIDS AND OUR BIG ONES HAVE ACCESS TO, AND THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE WITH LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGHOUT THEIR LIFE.
SO WE'VE ALREADY STARTED PUSHING OUT, UM, MARKETING COLLATERAL TO, UH, TO OUR PARTNERS.
UM, THIS WEEK, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS OF MEETING WITH DIFFERENT PARTNERS.
SO WE HAD, WE HAD MEETINGS ON TUESDAY, UH, WITH NORTHERN PARTNERS.
SO YOU GUYS, UM, UH, FROM THE PEGGY FROM THE LIBRARY HERE, SHE ATTENDED OUR MEETING.
WE HAD, WE WERE AT THE ROUND ROCK LIBRARY.
WE HAD GEORGETOWN LIBRARY THERE WHERE WE HAD CEDAR
[01:30:01]
PARK LIBRARY THERE.UM, WE HAD, UM, UH, ANOTHER NONPROFIT FROM GEORGETOWN THAT WAS THERE, UM, IN PREVIOUS MEETINGS, TEXAS A AND M ENGINEERING EXTENSION WAS THERE.
ALL OF THESE FOLKS ARE GONNA BE ADDING LEARNING EXPERIENCES, UH, TO THE FESTIVAL.
SO WE'RE WRAPPING UP OUR PLANNING PROCESS THIS WEEK, AND THEN FESTIVAL LAUNCH LAUNCHES ON MARCH 4TH.
SO IT'S BEEN, UH, AN INTERESTING LEARNING EXPERIENCE, UH, FOR US.
UM, WE'VE, WE'VE ENGAGED WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS, UM, WHO, UH, ALL HAVE GOTTEN JAZZED AND EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING.
AND WE ALL SEE A COLLECTIVE BENEFIT IN COMING TOGETHER AND PROMOTING LEARNING IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS FOR ME? COUNSEL, ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. TRACY, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT, UH, WHAT OUR LIBRARY DOES WITH Y'ALL AND, AND HOW WE CROSS PROMOTE OUR PROGRAMS. I THINK IT'S GONNA BE GREAT.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE FANTASTIC.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
[10. Update on grant writing services.]
I AM NUMBER 10, UPDATE ON GRANT WRITING SERVICES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE POWERS.AT YOUR LAST MEETING, YOU ASKED FOR AN UPDATE ON WHERE CITY STAFF IS WITH, UH, THIS REQUEST TO, UH, LOOK INTO AND PURSUE GRANT WRITING SERVICES, UM, UH, AT THE, AT THE CITY LEVEL.
SO, UH, IN NOVEMBER OF THIS, UH, TWO MONTHS AGO, THREE MONTHS AGO, CITY STAFF MET WITH, UH, OR BEGAN CONVERSATIONS WITH A, UH, LOCAL GRANT SERVICES CONSULTANT IN THE AREA TO SEE WHAT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE CITY TO DEVELOP A MORE PROACTIVE APPROACH TO SEEKING GRANTS.
AND IN PARTICULAR, STAFF WAS INTERESTED IN, UM, A HYBRID APPROACH, IF YOU WILL, WHERE WE HAVE A, UH, PROFESSIONAL, UH, RELATIONSHIP ON AN ONGOING BASIS WITH A GRANT, UM, SERVICES CONSULTANT THAT COULD HELP THE CITY STAFF IDENTIFY GRANT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE OUT THERE.
AND THEN IF THEY ALIGNED WITH, UH, OUR NEEDS AND OUR PRIORITIES, THAT WE WOULD THEN, UH, ENGAGE THAT CONSULTANT TO HELP US WRITE THE GRANT, IF THAT'S, UH, WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WAS NEEDED.
AND THEN, UM, THAT CONSULTANT WOULD HELP ADMINISTER THE GRANT.
UH, AGAIN, DEPENDING ON THE GRANT, UH, EVERYTHING IS SUBJECT TO, UH, SIMPLE TO COMPLEX, JUST AS, AS AN ASIDE, BUT I WANTED TO MENTION IT HERE.
IT'S, IT'S NOT PART OF THE, THE LARGER DISCUSSION TONIGHT, UH, FROM STAFF'S POINT, BUT THIS, THIS CITY IS, UH, WHAT'S KNOWN AS AN ENTITLEMENT CITY.
WE WERE POPULATION OVER 50,000 POPULATION AND UNDER FEDERAL, UH, CDBG GUIDELINES, THAT MAKES YOU AN ENTITLEMENT CITY.
SO IF THE CITY AT SOME POINT WANTED TO STAND UP ITS OWN CDBG PROGRAM, IT, IT COULD.
SO, UM, BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT, THAT WE BRIEFLY TALKED ABOUT THAT WITH THE GRANT CONS, UH, CONSULTANT.
UM, THEN WE GET TO A LITTLE WRINKLE IN THE CONVERSATION WITH THE CONSULTANT, UH, THAT WE, AT LEAST I WASN'T EXPECTING.
UM, BUT ACCORDING TO THE CONSULTANT, UH, WE WERE TOLD THAT, UM, UH, RECENTLY, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S RECENTLY IN THE LAST YEAR OR RECENTLY IN THE LAST THREE TO FIVE YEARS, BUT THE, THE, UH, FEDERAL AGENCIES HAVE BEEN INTERPRETING THE GRANT, UM, REGULATIONS THAT THEY OPERATE UNDER TO, UH, TO MEAN THAT CONSULTANTS WHO AREN'T ALREADY UNDER CONTRACT WITH AN APPLICANT CAN'T ASSIST YOU WITH, UH, WRITING THAT APPLICATION AND THEN BE HIRED TO ADMINISTER IT.
THEY, THEY, UH, THEY HAVEN'T CHANGED ANY RULES, BUT, UH, WE WERE TOLD THAT THEY'RE INTERPRETING EXISTING RULES TO SAY THAT THAT'S A CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
SO, UM, YOU CAN'T HAVE A PROFESSIONAL AT NO COST AND THERE ARE NO OBLIGATION TO THE CITY HELP YOU.
AND THEN IF YOU GET THE GRANT HELP YOU ADMINISTER IT.
BUT THE WRINKLE IS, AND IT TOOK ME A LITTLE WHILE TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT THE CONSULTANT WAS TELLING US, BUT YOU CAN ENGAGE THAT PROFESSIONAL TO HELP YOU WRITE THAT GRANT.
AND THEN, UH, UH, AS LONG AS THAT WAS ON THE UP AND UP AND FOLLOWED YOUR NORMAL, UH, PROCUREMENT PROCESSES FOR ENGAGING PROFESSIONAL, UH, SERVICES, THEN, THEN YOU COULD DO THAT.
SO, UM, MAYBE TOUCH ON THAT A A LITTLE BIT, UH, MORE IN THIS, THIS NEXT SLIDE.
[01:35:01]
AS WE HAD FURTHER CONVERSATIONS WITH THIS CONSULTANT, AND THIS ISN'T IN NO WAY MEANT TO BE THAT WE ARE BOUND TO, UH, THE, THE FIRM THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO, BUT THEY CERTAINLY HAVE LOTS OF EXPERIENCES.SO IT WAS A, A WELL TO GO TO, TO, FOR US TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT, UH, WHAT OPTIONS AND, UH, WE CAN MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE FOR.
BUT WHERE WE ARE TODAY, WE SEE THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS.
NOW, THE GOOD NEWS IS BOTH OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE.
THERE'S, THEY'RE NOT EXCLUSIVE.
UM, DEPENDING ON THE, THE DIRECTION THE CITY WANTS TO GO, WE COULD DO BOTH OPTIONS ONE AND TWO OR JUST ONE OR TWO.
BUT, SO THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT, UH, THESE AREN'T EXCLUSIVE, BUT OPTION ONE WOULD BE FOR THOSE GRANTS THAT THE FEDERAL AGENCIES, UM, APPLY THE PRE-PRO PROCUREMENT RULE.
THAT'S HARD FOR ME TO SAY, SO I'M NOT GONNA SAY IT MANY TIMES.
BUT, UM, THAT'S, AND THAT'S A TERM THAT THE CONSULTANTS ARE USING.
IT'S NOT IN THE FEDERAL REGS, BUT IT IT MEANS THAT FOR THOSE GRANTS WHERE YOU CAN'T HAVE OUTSIDE HELP WRITE THE GRANT THAT YOU DON'T HAVE A CONTRACT WITH, AND THEN IF YOU GET THAT GRANT, HIRE THEM TO ADMINISTER IT.
SO WHERE THOSE GRANTS, UM, WHERE THIS APPLIES WITH THOSE GRANTS, UH, THE, THE CITY STILL COULD DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP, A PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A, A CONSULTANT OR, OR PLURAL CONSULTANTS SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND AND THE CITY'S NEEDS AND PRIORITIES.
AND THEN AS THOSE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, UM, MATERIALIZE, LET'S SAY THERE'S A A AND WE SEE IT ALL THE TIME, THERE'S A, A NOTICE OF, UH, APPLICATIONS ARE REQUESTED.
AND SO IF THERE IS ENOUGH TIME AND, AND TIME BEING 30 TO 45 DAYS BEFORE THE APPLICATION IS DUE, THE CITY COULD GO THROUGH ITS NORMAL PROCUREMENT PROCESS TO, UH, SOLICIT PROPOSALS, UH, FOR, UH, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, ENGAGE A CONSULTANT, THAT CONSULTANT, AND THEN START WORKING ON THE APPLICATION AND GET IT SUBMITTED.
SO IT'S A LITTLE CLUNKY, BUT IF THAT'S WHAT HAS TO BE DONE, THAT'S WHAT HAS TO BE DONE.
I ALSO WANNA SAY THAT NOT EVERY GRANT THAT IS OUT THERE REQUIRES OUTSIDE ASSISTANCE.
UM, I MEAN, MANY DO, UH, BUT, UH, THERE'S A LOT OF SMART FOLKS ON STAFF.
SO IF THERE, THE DEADLINE WAS SUCH THAT WE, UM, COULD NOT GO THROUGH THE PROCESS TO, TO GET PROFESSIONAL HELP TO THEN, UH, IF IT WAS A PRIORITY, THEN THE CITY WOULD, UH, PULL TOGETHER AND, AND SCRAMBLE TO GET THE APPLICATION IN.
UM, THEN IF THE GRANT IS AWARDED AND, UH, WE HAD, UH, SECURED THAT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, UH, CONTRACT, UM, UNDER OUR NORMAL PROCESS, WE COULD THEN CONTINUE THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT CONSULTANT TO HELP ADMINISTER THE GRANT.
UH, AND ADMINISTRATION COULD ENCOMPASS ALL SORTS OF THINGS, WHETHER IT'S, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE, THE CITY STAFF IS COMPLIANT WITH ALL THE MYRIAD, UM, UH, FEDERAL LAWS THAT PERTAIN TO, UH, EXPENDING FEDERAL FUNDS.
OPTION TWO IS, UM, MAYBE WHAT WE THOUGHT, OR I THOUGHT WAS AVAILABLE BEFORE WE LEARNED THIS, A CONCEPT OF PRECUREMENT.
BUT, UH, WE, WE COULD ENGAGE A PROFESSIONAL, UM, UH, CONSULTANT TO, UH, AGAIN, UNDERSTAND THE CITY'S PRIORITIES, UNDERSTAND THE CITY'S NEEDS, UH, HELP IDENTIFY GRANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OR THINGS THAT WE CAN PURSUE.
AND FOR THOSE GRANTS THAT DON'T HAVE THIS FEDERAL, UM, UM, REGULATION APPLIED TO IT, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD DO IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY THAT USED TO BE DONE, UM, WHERE THEY, THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY DO ALL THE WORK IN CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY TO WRITE THE APPLICATION.
AND IF IT GETS FUNDED, THEN THEY WOULD, UH, BE HIRED TO BY THE CITY TO ADMINISTER THE GRANT.
SO THERE ARE, IT'S NOT EVERY GRANT THAT FALLS UNDER THIS PRE-PRO PROCUREMENT RULE.
UH, THE CONSULTANT TOLD US THERE ARE, THERE ARE, UH, SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE, AT THE STATE LEVEL, AND CERTAINLY THERE ARE OTHER, UM, OTHER GRANTS, UH, OTHER THAN, UH, THE FEDERAL AND EVEN SOME OF THE FEDERAL GRANTS
[01:40:01]
DON'T, HAVE, HAVEN'T APPLIED THAT RULE, BUT WE WERE TOLD BY AND BY AND LARGE JUST PLAN ON IT.SO THOSE ARE TWO OPTIONS THAT THE, UM, STAFF WOULD BE READY TO, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH PURSUING.
AND, UM, IF, UH, IF, IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION EITHER NOW OR IN THE NEAR TERM, THEN WE WOULD, UH, WE WOULD START MOVING ON BOTH, UH, UM, SIMULTANEOUSLY.
AND THEN, UH, LASTLY THAT DURING THIS PROCESS, YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY WE WOULD, UH, WORK WITH CITY COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND IN TERMS OF, UH, MAYBE PRIORITIES OR, UM, EVEN, UM, IN ADDITION TO PRIORITIES, THERE'S JUST THE WHOLE PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, DOES COUNCIL WANT TO KNOW IN ADVANCE WHAT THE STAFF IS, IS LOOKING AT? DOES COUNCIL WANT TO REVIEW THE APPLICATION BEFORE IT'S SUBMITTED? ALL THOSE THINGS CAN BE WORKED OUT IN TO, IN TERMS OF A APPLICATION POLICY THAT WE WOULD BRING BACK TO, TO COUNSEL, SO THAT BOTH STAFF THE CONSULTANT AND, AND, UH, YOU ARE ON THE SAME PAGE AND WE CAN, UH, MOVE FORWARD.
SO THAT IS WHERE WE ARE AT AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, SO HOW COMMON IS THIS PRE-PRO PROCUREMENT? YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT IS A HARD WORD.
UM, HOW COMMON IS THAT RULE? UH, WE WERE TOLD IT'S VERY COMMON.
UM, SO THE, AT THE, WHERE IT'S NOT IS THE EXCEPTION.
UM, AND THEN THE OPTIONS THAT YOU GAVE HERE, THAT'S HOW THESE GRANT WRITERS ARE TYPICALLY OPERATING CURRENTLY, LIKE IT'S WORKING ELSEWHERE.
I'M GUESSING WE DIDN'T MAKE THAT UP, LIKE THEY PRESENTED THAT TO US AS THIS IS WHAT WE DO IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.
AND SO THEN WOULD WE BE UNDER THIS MODEL? WOULD WE BE PAYING UPFRONT FOR THEM TO FIND AND WRITE THE GRANTS? BECAUSE I THINK THE YIELD MODEL WAS YOU PAY IF YOU MM-HMM.
SO, UH, UH, NO, THE, THE, UM, AS LONG AS YOU ENGAGE THEM THROUGH YOUR NORMAL PROCUREMENT PROCESS IN TERMS OF, AND THAT, THAT MAY DEPEND ON, UH, WHAT STATE YOU'RE IN AND ALSO, UH, MAYBE YOUR OWN LOCAL POLICY.
BUT, UM, IF WE PUT OUT AN RF, UH, P REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR X GRANT AND, UH, TWO WEEKS IN THE PAPER AND THEN GOT, UH, RESPONSES AND THEN SELECTED THE MOST QUALIFIED, UH, THE COMPENSATION COULD BE CONTINGENT UPON SUCCESSFUL AWARD OF, UH, OF THAT GRANT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WERE TOLD THAT THAT, THAT THAT PART IS STILL COMMON.
WE JUST HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCEDURE TO MAKE IT, AND I DON'T WANT TO, UH, SPEAK NEGATIVELY ON, ON, ON ANY PROCESS, BUT THE WAY IT WAS COMMUNICATED IS, IS THAT THERE'S, UM, THE INTENT IS TO, TO KEEP CONFLICTS OF INTEREST OUT OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND IF YOU HAVE SOMEBODY THAT'S YOU DON'T HAVE A FORMAL RELATIONSHIP WITH, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE WERE TOLD IS, IS NOW THE NEW WE LANDSCAPE FOR FEDERAL GRANTS.
BUT THE CONSULTANTS OBVIOUSLY ARE STILL IN THE BUSINESS AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE, IT IS JUST A WORKAROUND.
COUNSEL, ANYTHING ELSE? WELL, I GUESS PART OF MY QUESTION WITH THE GRANT WRITING IS, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY I GUESS TO, TO STAFF'S TIME IS TRYING TO PURSUE THE ONES THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR THE CITY, BUT ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO DE, 'CAUSE I'D IMAGINE THAT'S A BIG TIME COMMITMENT AND FIGURING OUT.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE I WAS KIND OF COMING FROM, FROM THE GRANT WRITING STANDPOINT, IS NOT ONLY ACTUALLY WRITING THE GRANT, BUT BE ABLE TO ACTIVELY PURSUE THOSE ALTERNATIVE FUNDING MECHANISMS THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE FOR THE CITY ALSO.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF ANY THOUGHTS BEEN GIVEN TO THAT ASPECT OF IT, BUT THEN WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY WITH SOME OF THE TRANSPORTATION ORIENTED FEDERAL FUNDS GRANT WRITING THROUGH OUR CAP METRO PARTNERSHIP.
AND I KNOW I HAD A CONVERSATION LAST WEEK, WEEK BEFORE WITH OUR LIAISON THERE, AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN AGENDA ITEM FOR OUR UPCO MEETING TOO, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT AVENUE SPECIFIC TO TRANSPORTATION, BUT STILL WOULD, COULD POSSIBLY RELIEVE SOME GENERAL FUND MONEY FOR OTHER PROJECTS.
[01:45:01]
CONFUSED ANYTHING, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS APPROACH WOULD NOT EXCLUDE ANYTHING THAT THE BECAME AVAILABLE EITHER, UH, BY CITY STAFF EFFORTS OR, OR OTHER MEANS.I MEAN, IT WOULD JUST BE, UH, A MORE, UH, INSTITUTIONALIZED APPROACH TO, TO, UH, SCOURING THE LANDSCAPE FOR GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.
BUT IF, UH, ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS KNEW OF A GRANT THROUGH THEIR, YOU KNOW, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND APPROACHED THE CITY MANAGER AND SAID, HEY, WE WANT TO APPLY FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, IT'S A NEED, IT'S A, AND UM, WE DON'T HAVE FUNDS OTHERWISE, AND THEY CAN JUMP ON IT.
WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH A, YOU KNOW, BUREAUCRATIC PROCESS TO GET PROFESSIONAL HELP THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED.
SO I DUNNO IF THAT'S WHERE YOU WERE QUESTIONING ANYTHING ELSE.
UH, MATTER MEMBER, MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, WE LOOK AT THIS AS A WAY TO AUGMENT, UH, AND ADD TO, UH, WHAT CITY STAFF WOULD DO SO THAT IT WOULD STAFF.
WE DON'T, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF STAFF, WE WOULDN'T HAVE A LOT OF STAFF TO NECESSARILY ENGAGE IN SOME OF THESE GRANT SEARCHES.
THE OTHER THING, PROBABLY MOST CRITICAL THING IS, UH, LET ME BACKTRACK JUST A LITTLE BIT.
YOU'VE GOT THE SEEKING, IDENTIFYING THE GRANT, YOU GOT APPLYING AND, AND BEING COMPETITIVE IN THE GRANT PROCESS, ADMINISTERING AND OR REPORTING AND SEEKING COMPLIANCE.
AND THERE'S A, A NUMBER OF ELEMENTS WITH GRANTS DEPENDING ON WHAT GRANT YOU HAVE.
SO WE TALKED WITH A FIRM THAT WAS LARGE ENOUGH THAT HAD ENOUGH CAPACITY TO HANDLE A MYRIAD OF THOSE, UH, COMPONENTS OF GRANTS.
AND, AND, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE CITY'S GOALS ARE, HOW THOSE, UH, FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES ALIGN WITH THE GOALS THAT WOULD COME FROM COUNCIL, UH, AND THEN, UH, BE IDENTIFIED BY STAFF, THEN THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD LOOK AT SEEKING THE GRANT.
YOU DON'T WANT GRANTS WAGGING THE ORGANIZATION.
UH, YOU WANT THEM TO BE AN, UH, ACCESSORY TO THE ORGANIZATION.
SO, UM, WE LOOKED AT IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXTEND, UH, STAFF'S REACH, IF YOU WILL, WITHOUT ADDING MORE STAFF OR ADDING MORE, A WHOLE LOT MORE WORK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
UH, I DO WANT TO COMMEND ROBERT FOR STICKING WITH THIS.
'CAUSE IT SEEMED LIKE A LOW HANGING FRUIT WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, AND WE TALKED IN NOVEMBER, THIS'LL BE EASY, THIS'LL BE A PIECE OF CAKE.
AND THEN WE GOT HANDED THAT LITTLE PROVISO THERE.
AND, AND SO WE HAD TO SPEND SOME TIME KIND OF THINKING THAT OUT.
AND WHILE GOING THROUGH THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR ONE OR TWO OR THREE GRANTS IS A LITTLE CUMBERSOME, IF THE SELECTION IS CORRECT AND, AND THE PROCESS IS RIGHT, UH, IT IT SHOULD JUST BE ANOTHER STEP AND NOT NECESSARILY A WHOLE LOT MORE MONEY INVOLVED IN THAT PROCESS.
I, I MEAN, IF THIS IS THE WAY FORWARD, THEN THIS IS, THIS IS THE WAY FORWARD.
UM, SO I HAVE, I HAVE FAITH IN THAT.
UM, IS IT POSSIBLE THOUGH, TO GET JUST A COUNCIL MEMO, JUST BULLET POINTING A COUPLE OF CITIES WHERE IT'S BEING DONE LIKE THIS SO WE CAN KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? LIKE WHAT KIND OF GRANTS ARE THEY GETTING? WHAT DO THOSE RFPS LOOK LIKE? I JUST, I WANNA WRAP MY BRAIN AROUND THIS A LITTLE MORE.
AND THIS IS NOT AN ACTION ITEM, SO CORRECT.
[ CONSENT AGENDA: ACTION]
ALL RIGHT, COUNSEL, YOU'LL NOW CONSIDER CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS 11 THROUGH 25.THIS IS A COUNCIL ITEM, MOTION TO APPROVE SECOND MOTION, AND A SECOND, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES IS UNANIMOUSLY PUBLIC HEARINGS.
ITEM NUMBER 26 WAS POSTPONED BY THE APPLICANT
[27. Discuss and consider action on the Second Reading of an Ordinance regarding Zoning Case Z-23-0093 to amend the current zoning of LC-2-B (Local Commercial) to adopt the Bagdad Plaza Market Minor PUD (Planned Unit Development) with the base zoning district of LC-2-A (Local Commercial) and Development Agreement Case DA-23-0015 on one (1) parcel of land approximately 2.81 acres ± in size, more particularly described by Williamson Central Appraisal District Parcel R594078; and legally described as Lot 1, Block A of the Bagdad Plaza LLC Subdivision, Leander Williamson County, Texas. ]
INTO OUR REGULAR AGENDA.ITEM NUMBER 27, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON THE SECOND READING OF AN ORDINANCE REGARDING ZONING CASE Z DASH 23 DASH 0 9 3.
TO AMEND THE CURRENT ZONING OF LC DASH TWO DASH B LOCAL COMMERCIAL TO ADOPT THE BAGHDAD PLAZA MARKET, MINOR PUD PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT WITH THE BASE ZONING DISTRICT OF LC TWO, A LOCAL COMMERCIAL AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT CASE DA DASH 23 DASH ZERO 15 ON ONE PARCEL OF LAND, APPROXIMATELY 2.81 ACRES, PLUS OR MINUS IN SIZE AS STATED ON THE POSTED AGENDA.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, GRIFFIN.
THIS IS THE SECOND READING OF THE ORDINANCE FOR THE BAGHDAD PLAZA MARKET MINOR PUD.
UM, THIS REQUEST WAS REVIEWED BY THE CITY COUNCIL DURING THE JANUARY 18TH MEETING.
DURING THAT MEETING, THE COUNCIL, UM, APPROVED THE REQUEST WITH, UH, THE CONDITION THAT WE ADDED A PROHIBITION OF, UH, VAPES VAPE SHOPS, WHICH INCLUDE SELLING VAPING PRODUCTS.
UM, WE DID PROVIDE A RED LINE THAT SHOWS THAT EDIT.
UM, THE COUNCIL ALSO REQUESTED LANGUAGE REQUIRING COST PARTICIPATION, A PEDESTRIAN BE A PEDESTRIAN BEACON.
UM, THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT HAS REVIEWED THE PEDESTRIAN BEACON AND THEY HAVE, UM, SEVERAL CONCERNS ABOUT REQUIRING IT AT THE ZONING STAGE.
UM, WHEN THE APPLICANT COMES IN WITH A SITE DEVELOPMENT PERMIT, THAT'S WHEN WE'LL DO A TIA AND UM, ADDRESS THE
[01:50:01]
TRAFFIC CONCERNS.UM, I'M GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND, UH, DAN GRIMSBY KNOWS A LOT ABOUT PEDESTRIAN BEACONS, SO YOU CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE BEACONS.
UM, SO WE ONLY HAVE A FEW IN TOWN AND THEY'VE SORT OF POPPED UP, UM, AFTER THE FACT, NOT FROM A TIA, I DON'T BELIEVE.
AND SO I'M CURIOUS, IS THAT SOMETHING, IF WE WANTED TO LOOK AT SORT OF MANDATING THEM AROUND PLACES LIKE PARKS AND SCHOOLS, WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD NEED TO PUT INTO AN ORDINANCE, OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? IS, OR IS IT JUST ALWAYS SOME SORT OF REACTIONARY THING AND WE LOOK AT THE QUALIFICATIONS AND THE WARRANTS AND ALL THAT? SORRY.
YEAH, YOU WOULD, YOU WOULD AT LEAST WANNA DO THE DUE DILIGENCE TO SEE THE WARRANT.
I WOULD SAY I'M NOT A LAWYER, AND I WOULD SAY YOU COULD BE MORE RESTRICTIVE IF YOU WANTED TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, BUT, UM, YOU CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO HAVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF PUTTING IT THERE.
AND THEN YOU CAUSE OTHER CONCERNS WITH TRAFFIC OR PEDESTRIANS.
AND SOMETIMES THE BEST INTENTIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE BEST INTENTIONS.
SO, UM, THE, THE PROBLEM WITH THIS PARTICULAR CORNER WAS THE LITERALLY THE HIGHWAY STRUCTURE THAT'S CURRENTLY IN PLACE AND IT WOULD NEED, UM, SOME ENGINEERING, UM, RIGHT, PERFECT.
UH, THE DITCH, RIGHT? WE HAVE CONCRETE LINE DITCHES WITH THE, UM, AND FOREST HIGHWAY, UH, RAILS GOING AROUND, RIGHT? SO THE PUT A CROSSWALK, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU DON'T HAVE THE SPACE HERE, OBVIOUSLY, BUT IF WE HAD TO PUT IT THROUGH HERE, THEN WE'D HAVE TO CREATE A BRIDGE AND, UM, UM, ENGINEER THE WHOLE, YOU KNOW, TURNING THERE.
AND IT MIGHT REQUIRE SOME KIND OF QUEUING TO ENSURE THAT THE PROTECTION CAN GET ACROSS AND RIGHT.
SO, UM, SO EACH, EACH KIND OF ONE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
AND THEN THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FULL FLEDGED STOP SIGN BEACON THAT YOU SEE AT SOME OF THE SCHOOLS BY JUST THE FLASHING ONE, MAYBE BY A POOL OR SOMETHING.
'CAUSE WE ESTABLISHED A COUPLE OF THOSE, UM, ONE BY A LIBRARIAN, ONE BY THE POOL.
AND THOSE ARE DIFFERENT BECAUSE, UM, THEY DON'T ACTIVATE UNTIL SOMEONE PUSHES THE BUTTON AND THEN THEY ACTIVATE.
THIS ONE WOULD BE SIMILAR, BUT THEY'RE USUALLY LARGER.
OH, UM, THEY, THEY, THEY CROSS OVER AND, AND THEY'RE QUITE LARGE.
UM, SO IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING KIND OF LOOKING FOR.
BUT I WAS GLAD WE HAD THIS AND THIS ONE.
AND THEN WE CAN MOVE IT ON EITHER SIDE, BUT THEN YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, UH, AND AGAIN, YOU STILL HAVE TO BUILD A BRIDGE AND SIDEWALKS AND A DA AND ALL THAT ENTAILS, SO, RIGHT.
UM, I, I THINK THE TIA SHOULD FIRST SEE IF IT'S WARRANTED, AND THEN IF IT IS, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN AND HOW DO WE ENGINEER ONE AND SO FORTH.
COUNSEL, I JUST APPRECIATE THE EXTRA DUE DILIGENCE FOR THIS, UM, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IT LAST TIME AND JUST THE UPDATES AND ALL THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS DID SO I CAN MAKE A BETTER DECISION.
ANYTHING ELSE? WHAT'S THAT? IT'S AN ACTION ITEM, RIGHT? IT IS AN ACTION ITEM.
UH, SO I WILL MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE WITH THE CHANGE THAT WAS MADE FOR VAPE SHOPS AND WITHOUT THE CHANGE FOR BEACONS.
ANYTHING FURTHER? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASS AND AGAINST PASSES.
[28. Discuss and consider action regarding Ordinance Case OR-24-0013 to amend the Noise Ordinance to adopt updates to the ordinance, and to provide for related matters; Williamson and Travis Counties, Texas. ]
ITEM 28, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION REGARDING ORDINANCE CASE OR DASH 24 DASH ZERO THREE TO AMEND THE NOISE ORDINANCE TO ADOPT UPDATES TO THE ORDINANCE AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.WILLIAMSON AND TRAVIS COUNTIES, TEXAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
UM, SO TONIGHT WE'RE PRESENTING A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT OVERALL TO THE, THE NOISE ORDINANCE.
UM, WE CONDUCTED A WORKSHOP IN NOVEMBER, AND FROM THAT WORKSHOP WE CREATED SOME RED LINE CHANGES THAT ARE IN YOUR PACKET.
UM, WE ADDED SOME DEFINITIONS TO ADD CLARITY TO THE ORDINANCE AND HELP WITH ENFORCEMENT.
UM, WE MODIFIED THE SOUND LEVELS.
UM, WE NOW ARE CLOSER IN LINE WITH OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES, UM, AS WELL AS CITIES IN THE THE DALLAS AREA.
UM, WE ALSO UPDATED PROVISIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION, DEMOLITION AND, AND MAINTENANCE WORK, AND PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS WHERE STAFF CAN, UM, GRANT ALLOWANCES FOR, UM, CONCRETE PORES OUTSIDE OF THE HOURS.
AND WE SET UP A FRAMEWORK, UM, WHERE THEY HAVE TO HANG THE DOOR TAGS AND PROVIDE NOTICE TO THE NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND THEN THERE'S STILL APPEAL PROCESS TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND, UM, I AM GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORDINANCE REVISIONS.
UM, I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU BECAUSE HAVING THE, UM, PIECES
[01:55:01]
IN HERE ABOUT HOW SOUND, UH, DISSIPATES AS IT TRAVELS MADE IT MAKE A WHOLE LOT MORE SENSE THAN, THAN WHEN WE HAD THE WORKSHOP AND WE WERE LIKE, WAIT, YOU CAN'T RUN A LAWNMOWER.UM, I WAS CONCERNED THAT THE DAYTIME VOLUME FOR LIKE INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL ZONES WAS MAYBE NOT HIGH ENOUGH, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT THAT IS THE CASE.
FOR COMMERCIAL MIXED JUICE, IT'S 70 DBA DURING THE DAY.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? YEAH.
DO YOU THINK IT SHOULD BE HIGHER THAN THAT? UM, JUST IN SEARCHING SOME OTHER CITIES, IT LOOKED LIKE A LOT OF THEM ARE 80, LIKE WHAT OUR ORDINANCE WAS.
BUT I DON'T, I WONDER IF ANYBODY ELSE ON COUNCIL HAS ANY INPUT THERE.
WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING? SO ON OTHER CITIES' ORDINANCES, IT WAS 80 FOR THE REFERRING TO WHICH, WHICH PAGE? DAYTIME.
DAYTIME HOURS FOR INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF OUTDOOR MANUFACTURING.
I WAS THINK THAT WOULD BE WHEN YOU WOULD SEE THE HIGHER NOISE LEVELS.
AND I'M INCLINED TO SAY, GO WITH IT AS IS AND SEE IF IT BECOMES A PROBLEM LATER.
IT'S USUALLY WHEN IT'S A RESIDENT NEXT DOOR RIGHT.
TO ONE WHERE YOU GET THAT KIND OF FEEDBACK.
SO ANYTHING ELSE, COUNSEL? YEAH, I MEAN, RANDY, DO YOU SEE ANY PROBLEM WITH THAT AS FAR AS THE TYPES OF PLACES THAT ARE, COULD POTENTIALLY COME TO OUR STUDY? DO YOU SEE THAT AS A DETERRENT? OKAY.
I THINK I, I THINK I KNOW THE ANSWER ON PAGE FOUR.
OH, UH, 4 0 3, UM, THE TOP TWO LINES, I MEAN, WHERE IT REFERS TO DISTRICT, THE LEVEL FOR THE DISTRICT, YOU'RE, THAT'S JUST REFERRING TO RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT, NOT, NOT A DISTRICT WITHIN THE CITY.
SO YOU SAID ON PAGE 4 0 3? YES.
AND WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT AGAIN? AND I'M JUST, I WAS KIND OF SKIMMED OVER THE REST OF IT, BUT I, I FOCUSED ON, UM, LIKE GENERATORS AND DISTRICTS, UM, POWER OUTAGE GENERATORS MAY RUN ABOVE BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
BUT IT, IT REFERS TO, FOR THE DISTRICT TO HANDLE THE EMERGENCY SITUATION.
YOU'RE NOT REFERRING TO A DISTRICT WITHIN THE CITY, BUT A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT.
IT JUST, IT SOUNDED LIKE A, I UNDERSTAND.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[29. Discuss and consider action on a Resolution directing publication of Notice of Public Hearing and Intention to Issue Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation for water and wastewater utility improvements.]
ITEM 29, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON A RESOLUTION DIRECTING PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND INTENTION TO ISSUE COMBINATION TAX AND REVENUE, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE POWERS.UH, THIS ITEM IS SIMILAR TO THE NEXT TWO, BUT, UH, THIS ONE SPECIFICALLY, UH, RELATES TO THE POTENTIAL ISSUANCE OF DEBT AND TO BE PAID FOR, UH, THROUGH THE UTILITY SYSTEM.
IT'S A FOLLOW UP TO OUR DISCUSSION WITH YOU REGARDING THE A MI SYSTEM, UH, THAT IS NOW OUT FOR OR OUT FOR BID, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT, UH, MR. GRIMS BOW DISCUSSED, UH, IN THE CIP UPDATE.
UH, NAMELY THE, UM, UH, ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO FULLY BUILD OUT THE BAGHDAD, BAGHDAD, TERMINUS AND PUMP STATION GROUND STORAGE TANK, UH, PROJECT, UH, THAT IS PARTIALLY FUNDED IN THE CURRENT BUDGET, BUT ADDITIONAL FUNDS ARE NEEDED TO, UH, COMPLETE ALL OF THE IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, THE THIRD PROJECT, UH, FOR, UH, ESTIMATED AT THREE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF THE TOTAL 23 AND A HALF IS RELATED TO THE CITY OF LEANDER SHARE FOR THE B-C-R-U-A, UH, DESIGN OF PHASE TWO A.
AND, UH, AS, UH, DAN HAS MENTIONED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, PHASE TWO A IS THE NEXT BIG, UH, UH, EXPANSION OF CAPACITY.
SO VERY IMPORTANT TO US TO, TO KEEP THAT BALL MOVING AND, UH, UH, BE ABLE TO FUND OUR SHARE OF THE DESIGN OF THAT, THAT PROJECT.
SO, ALL TOLD THE AMOUNT, THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT IN THIS RESOLUTION IS $23.5 MILLION.
UH, IT DOES, UM, SET THE DATE OF THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE SECOND MEETING IN MAY, MAY 16TH, UH, 2024.
AND, UM, I, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT IF, UH, IF THE CITY IS TO ISSUE ANY DEBT, UH, THAT IS POTENTIALLY PAID WITH, UH, TAXES THAT ARE, UM, NOT VOTED ON BY THE VOTERS, THEN UH, THE VOTERS ARE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING.
[02:00:01]
SO THIS IS THE STEP TO START THAT, THAT PROCESS.SO, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY, ANY QUESTIONS.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RESOLUTION.
I'LL SECOND ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES IS UNANIMOUSLY.
[30. Discuss and consider action on Resolution directing publication of Notice of Public Hearing and Intention to Issue Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation (transportation-related improvements).]
ITEM NUMBER 30, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON RESOLUTION DIRECTING PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND INTENTION TO ISSUE COMBINATION TAX AND REVENUE CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION FOR TRANSPORTATION RELATED IMPROVEMENTS.EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE POWERS, WELCOME BACK.
UH, THIS, UH, ALSO FOLLOWS, UH, FROM THE, UM, UPDATE ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS THAT MR. GRAU AND HIS TEAM, UH, PROVIDED TO COUNSEL, UH, RECENTLY.
NOTABLY THIS, UM, FUNDING REQUEST IS THE ISSUANCE OF $10 MILLION IN, UH, TRANSPORTATION RELATED CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION.
AND THE PROJECT THAT IS, UM, UH, IDENTIFIED IS THE SAN GABRIEL, UH, PARKWAY EXTENSION PHASE TWO.
AND WHICH, UH, AS, UH, MR. GRIMS BOW MENTIONED, UH, EARLIER, THE DESIGN, UH, FOR THAT EXTENSION IS, UM, IS ALREADY DONE.
SO IT, IT, IT JUST NEEDS FUNDING TO PUT IT OUT TO BID.
UM, IT IS A DESIGN AS A INITIAL TWO LANE, UH, CONNECTION BETWEEN EXISTING SAN GABRIEL PARKWAY EAST TO, UH, REAGAN.
AND, UM, UH, AND I, I FAILED TO MENTION ON THE PREVIOUS ITEM, BUT THE, IT ALSO APPLIES TO THIS ITEM THAT THESE RESOLUTIONS ARE WR WRITTEN GENERICALLY, SO THAT, UM, UH, IF THERE ARE OTHER, FOR THIS POINT IN PARTICULAR, IF THERE ARE OTHER TRANSPORTATION RELATED PROJECTS THAT, UH, COME UP, UH, ONCE THE FUNDS ARE ARE IN HAND, THEN THOSE CAN BE USED.
UM, UM, BUT THE PRIMARY REASON FOR THIS IS THE ESTIMATED AMOUNT NEEDED TO, UH, BUILD THAT SAN GABRIEL PHASE TWO, IF THEY WERE USED FOR OTHER PROJECTS, WOULD THAT BECOME BEFORE COUNSEL BEFORE THEY'RE ISSUED, BEFORE IT'S APPROVED FOR APPROVAL? UH, YES.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE MS ONE SECOND MOTION, AND SECOND, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[31. Discuss and consider action on a Resolution directing publication of Notice of Public Hearing and Intention to Issue Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation for Refunding Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2015.]
ITEM NUMBER 31, THERE WAS A SCRIVENER'S ERROR.THERE WERE TOO MANY WORDS IN THE AGENDA POSTING, SO IT SHOULD READ, DISCUSS, AND CONSIDER ACTION ON A RESOLUTION DIRECTING PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND INTENTION TO ISSUE BONDS, OH, SORRY, REFUNDING BONDS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE POWERS.
UH, THIS, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO REFUND OR REFINANCE EXISTING DEBT, UM, IS RELATED TO, UM, CERTIFICATES OF OBLIGATION THAT THE CITY OF LEANDER ISSUED IN 2015.
THAT THAT ISSUANCE WAS, UM, UH, $24 MILLION.
AND THE, THE LARGEST PROJECT THAT WAS BUILT IN WITH THOSE FUNDS WAS HERO WAY WEST EXPANSION.
BUT, UM, THERE IS A PROVISION IN THE, THE, UH, THOSE BONDS THAT AT A CERTAIN DATE, WHICH WE ARE APPROACHING, THEN THE CITY CAN REFINANCE, REFINANCE THAT DEBT.
SO, UH, THIS HAPPENS FREQUENTLY, UH, WHEN THE, THE MARKET IS SUCH WHERE YOU CAN ACHIEVE SAVINGS BY DOING A REFINANCE.
UM, THE OUTSTANDING DEBT ON THESE BONDS IS 16.335 MILLION.
SO, UM, IF APPROVED, WE WOULD WORK WITH OUR, UH, FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND CONSULTANTS TO, UM, UH, INCLUDE THIS IN THE, UM, UM, THE OTHER TWO, UM, UH, MARKET, UH, UH, BONDS.
AND HOPEFULLY THE MARKET WILL, UM, COOPERATE AND WE WILL ACHIEVE SOME SAVINGS ON THE, UH, DEBT SERVICE.
THESE ARE TAX SUPPORTED DEBT, SO PRELIMINARILY, THE ESTIMATE IS A SAVINGS OF OVER THE LIFE OF THE, OF THE DEBT $2.1 MILLION.
SO, UH, THAT WOULD BE, UH, A NICE, UH, UH, A NICE SAVINGS FOR THE, UH, DEBT SERVICE FUND.
MOTION TO APPROVE SECOND MOTION.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[32. Discuss and consider action on accepting the Strategic Planning Session final report held on January 26, 2024 and adopting Council Core Values.]
I'M NUMBER 32, DISCUSS AND CONSIDER ACTION ON ACCEPTING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION, FINAL REPORT HELD ON JANUARY 26TH, 2024, AND ADOPTING COUNCIL CORE VALUES COUNCIL.HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY HAD TIME TO REVIEW THIS IN YOUR PACKET.
AS A REMINDER, OUR COUNCIL CORE VALUES WERE OPERATE WITH HONESTY AND TRANSPARENCY.
BE RESPECTFUL, BE EMPATHETIC, BE INFORMED AND ACTIVELY LISTEN.
[02:05:01]
STAFF'S CORE VALUES WERE INTEGRITY, TRANSPARENCY, CUSTOMER SERVICE, ACCOUNTABILITY, COMMUNICATION, AND INNOVATION.I THINK THOSE ALIGN VERY WELL.
UM, DOES ANYBODY WANT TO DISCUSS IT BEFORE WE ACCEPT IT? MOTION TO APPROVE.
UH, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY, AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A COMMENT ON THAT.
ON BEHALF OF COUNCIL, I THINK I CAN SAY THIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF OUR STAFF THAT PARTICIPATED IN THAT.
UM, I THINK THERE WAS SOME REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION AND I THINK THAT WE, UM, WE BUILT A PRETTY GOOD TEAM OUT OF THAT.
AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF THIS TO COME
[33. Council Member Future Agenda Items [Any deliberation of or decision about the subject of the inquiry shall be limited to a proposal to place the subject on the agenda for a subsequent meeting.]]
ONTO ITEM NUMBER 33, COUNCIL MEMBER FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ANY DELIBERATION OF OR DECISION ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF THE INQUIRY SHALL BE LIMITED TO A PROPOSAL TO PLACE THE SUBJECT ON THE AGENDA FOR A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.[34. Council Member Closing Statements.]
ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE ITEM NUMBER 34, COUNCIL MEMBER CLOSING COMMENTS, PLEASE.ONE, WELL, KAT DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT.
SHE WAS ALL ABOUT THE SNOW TODAY, SO I JUST HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY.
WE'LL COME AND GO BEFORE WE SEE YOU AGAIN.
UM, AND JUST A, A FINAL REMINDER OF OLD NOT OLD TOWN FESTIVAL.
WELL, I'M GETTING WAY AHEAD MYSELF,
I REALLY THINK IT KICKS OFF AT FOUR, BUT IT WILL, WE'LL START AT THREE O'CLOCK TO EIGHT O'CLOCK TOMORROW AT, UH, THE PAC CENTER, AND THAT IS THE CHAMBER EVENT.
WE HAVE THE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL OPENING DAY CEREMONY FEBRUARY 24TH, SO THAT WILL ALSO BE BEFORE THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL.
SO HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS OUT THERE.
WE NEED TO PRACTICE THROWING OUT THE FIRST PITCH.
I KNOW SHE'S NOT WATCHING, BUT A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER AMANDA.
AW, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA, PLEASE.
SO I'M GONNA MISS MY FIRST BASEBALL OPENING DAY CEREMONIES, AND IT, IT'S TOTALLY, YEAH, BECAUSE I'M GONNA BE COACHING A FOOTBALL GAME,
BUT JUST HOPE EVERYBODY HAS A GREAT TIME.
THIS IS AN EXCITING TIME OF YEAR, UH, FOR EVERYBODY.
UH, THANK YOU FOR, FOR STAFF AGAIN, FOR WHAT WE JUST TALKED ABOUT WITH, UH, WITH OUR GET TOGETHER, UH, A COUPLE FRIDAYS AGO.
AND, UM, IT'S JUST BEEN, IT'S, IT'S BEEN REALLY AWESOME.
AND I THINK TODAY, UH, AS WE'RE GETTING READY AND GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE'RE TRYING TO, TO MOVE THE CITY FORWARD.
UM, I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED FOR THE UPCOMING MONTHS AND THE UPCOMING YEARS FOR OUR CITY RIGHT NOW.
AND THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK, WORK.
HE'S GONNA GIVE THE KIDS THE HIGH FIVES, RIGHT? MY KIDS WERE LIKE, WELL, MY KIDS' HANDS WILL BE A LITTLE LESS RED
AND, UH, AS ALWAYS, WE LIKE TO SUPPORT LOCAL WITH COUNCIL.
WE APPRECIATE ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS SUPPORTING LOCAL.
TONIGHT WE PICKED UP DINNER FROM HARDIN'S.
REMEMBER WHEN YOU ARE OUT AND ABOUT HAVING YOUR MONEY CIRCULATING IN LEAN OR KEEPS PEOPLE EMPLOYED, IT KEEPS PAYING FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT WE TALK ABOUT EVERY NIGHT.
AND THEN ALSO JUST HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO IS CONSERVING WATER, TURNING OFF THOSE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, UM, TAKING SHORT, SHORTER SHOWERS IF YOU ARE SO INCLINED.
UM, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF OUR STAFF THAT HAS BEEN WORKING CONSTANTLY TO, UM, HELP SPREAD THE WORD AND JUST ANSWER EVERYBODY'S QUESTIONS AND, UH, WE JUST APPRECIATE ALL OF Y'ALL.
[35. Convene into Executive Session pursuant to:
Reconvene into open session to take any action deemed appropriate in the City Council’s discretion regarding:
]
WE'RE GONNA CONVENE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION PURSUANT TO NUMBER ONE, SECTION 5 51 0.071 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE AND RULE 1.05, TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT TO CONSULT WITH LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT BETWEEN NORTHLINE LEANDER DEVELOPMENT COMPANY AND THE CITY OF LEANDER AND DUC CONTRACTORS, NORTHLINE PHASE ONE AND RELATED PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE BONDS.
AND NUMBER TWO, SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE AND SECTION 1.05, TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT TO CONSULT WITH LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING LAKEWOOD PARK PROJECT.
AND NUMBER THREE HAS BEEN PULLED FROM THE AGENDA.
AND NUMBER FOUR, SECTION 5 5 1 0.071 AND 5 5 1 0 8 7, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 1.05, TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT TO DELIBERATE THE PROPOSED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES FOR ONE OR MORE BUSINESS PROSPECTS THAT THE GOVERNMENTAL BODY SEEKS TO HAVE, LOCATE, STAY, OR EXPAND IN OR NEAR THE TERRITORY OF THE GOVERNMENTAL BODY IS CONDUCTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING PROJECT EDA DASH 24 DASH ZERO ONE AND LEANDER SPRINGS AND SECTION 5 5 1 0 7 1 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE AND RULE 1.05.
TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT TO CONSULT WITH LEGAL COUNSEL REGARDING NORTHLINE P DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT AND REIMBURSEMENTS.
AND NUMBER SIX, SECTION 5 5 1 0 7 4 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE TO DISCUSS OR DELIBERATE THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND DUTIES OF A PUBLIC OFFICER, EMPLOYEE, CITY MANAGER SEARCH AND SECTION 5 5 1 0.074 TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE TO DISCUSS INTERIM CITY MANAGER ASSIGNMENTS AND DUTIES.
[02:10:18]
ALL RIGHT, I'M ALWAYS ALL RIGHT, WE ARE GOING TO RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION AT NINE.9:47 PM UH, TO TAKE ANY ACTION DEEMED APPROPRIATE IN THE CITY COUNCIL'S DISCRETION REGARDING NUMBER ONE, CITY OF LEANDER AND DCI CONTRACTORS, NORTHLINE, PHASE ONE AND RELATED PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE BONDS.
MAYOR PRO TEM, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO.
ACTION NUMBER TWO, LAKEWOOD PARK PROJECT MAYOR PRO TEM, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO.
NUMBER THREE, PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION DOCKET WAS PULLED FROM THE AGENDA.
NUMBER FOUR, PROJECT EDA DASH 24 DASH 0 0 1.
AND LEANDER SPRINGS MAYOR PRO TEM, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO.
ACTION NUMBER FIVE, NORTHLINE PUD, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT AND REIMBURSEMENTS MAYOR PRO TEM, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO.
ACTION NUMBER SIX, CITY MANAGER, SEARCH MAYOR PER TEM, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO.
ACTION NUMBER SEVEN, INTERIM CITY MANAGER, ASSIGNMENT AND DUTIES, MAYOR PRO TEM, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION? NO ACTION WITH THAT.
WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 9:48 PM GOODNIGHT.