City Council Meeting Transcript - 08/30/2012

,,

o I'm

going to call to order this

special meeting of the

austin city council on

august 30, 2012, 10:04 a.m.



301 West second street,

austin, texas.



Council will now take up

item 1 to conduct public

hearing and receive public

comment on the city of

 2012-2013

proposed budget.



Council also held a hearing

on the proposed budget on

august 23, 2012.



Council will close the

public comment on the

proposed budget at the end

of this meeting.



We're scheduled to adopt the

budget on september 10,

2012.



If council does not adopt

the budget on september 10,

we will continue on

september 11 and

september 12 if necessary.



So now first we'll go to our

speakers.



This public hearing, is

first speaker is tricia

castillo.



Tricia castillo.



Okay.



Either, closest one.



And you have three minutes.



>> My name is tricia

castillo and I'm

representing dove springs, a

community of about 50,000

people along with a major

route to the airport.



78744 Has outstripped austin

in crime and the population

changes.



Crime has surged 61% from

2001 to 2011 and the

population has jumped.



We're asking for help in

improving the safety and





[00:02:00]





health of our area.



Go into the safety issue,

we're asking the police

department to budget a

sufficient staff for a

visible presence in 78744.



Around the clock.



For also prompt support for

our growing neighborhood

watch effort.



We're asking also for a

storefront 787 -- in 78744

to be present.



I guess we're asking for

also to have bike patrol

officers and vehicle patrol

officers.



So as a deterrent for the

crime in the 78744 region.



One-third of our population

is 18 and under so the dove

springs recreation center is

a key part of engaging youth

in constructive activities

to reduce crime and improve

health.



78744 Has the highest

juvenile obesity rate in

austin and we're asking that

the parks department, parks

and recreation department

budget be sufficient to fund

the dove springs recreation

center with adequate staff

to supervise safe, organized

activities, providing

toddler-parent activities,

to provide broader weekend

hours of operation and to

prevent sufficient --

significantly reduce

participation fees for

organized activities.



Currently some fees run $120

per child for six-week

activities and the former

fee -- and formerly karate

is charging $20 a person per

month and families with

multiple children are unable

to afford this.



Our proposed -- the proposed

bond package includes about

5 million for the 78744





[00:04:00]





area.



Thank you for including us

in the bond package.



The original list of items

for 78744 total $30 million

out of the initial

800 million in possible

items.



We have received its

proportionate share, 78744

would have over $15 million

in improvements in the final

bond package.



We ask that you increase

operating budget funding for

police and recreation in our

community.



[Buzzer sounding]

thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Thank you.



Next speaker is michelle

silvera.



And while you are coming up,

I should mention that

councilmembers martinez and

spelman will be out today.



Don't expect them to be

here.



Councilmember martinez is

out on paternal leave and

councimember spelman is out

on medical leave.



You have three minutes.



>> My name is michelle

silvera and I'm a resident

of dove springs community.



I'm also a single working

mother of three young

children and also licensed

community health worker in

the dove springs community.



I've come today to ask you

to help improve the safety

of my community.



I utilize the recreation

center a great deal.



My family spends three to

four nights a week there and

my children participate in a

wide variety of sports

there, basketball, football,

dancing, karate.



I cannot afford to put my

children in these sports

otherwise.



Aisd rates on outrageous and

simply cannot afford it

without the recreation

center.



I have noticed an increase

in fees as well.



When my children are at

practice, safety is a huge

concern for me so I stay

there and I watch them.



Me and my son, we run the

trail.



There's smoking and drinking

the area, we have to remove

beer bottles daily.



I've never seen police

patrol the area.



I've seen them called when

there is an incident.



I feel our police department

needs funding.



They need to be more

proactive and not reactive





[00:06:01]





in our area.



The hours of the recreation

center is also concern for

me.



The current hours are monday

00 to

9:00.



School does not release

until 2:45.



On friday their areas a

10:00 a.m. to 6:00.



School does not release

until 2:45.



High school doesn't get out

00 and junior high

until 3:30.



That will give them about an

hour of recreation center

time on fridays.



00 to

00 and they are closed all

day on sunday.



These hours do not fit our

community's needs.



They fit the employees

needs, but not our

community.



With our community being a

third of the population

under 18, I feel there's a

need for a positive, safe

environment for them to

spend their evenings at

especially on friday and

saturday night.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Thank you.



Councilmember tovo has a

question for you.



>> Tovo: That's okay.



I just really wanted to

thank you for being here and

your neighbor and to let you

know we've heard from some

our other neighbors about

these issues and you've

raised very good points.



One of the questions, I'll

give staff a heads up,

whether adjusting -- at a

minimum whether we can

adjust some of the hours or

whether the parks department

could adjust some of the

hours at the rec center to

get more coverage on the

weekends and you may know

this already, but I know

that one of the neighbors

from dove springs yesterday

informed us that chief

acevedo is planning to come

down to the next

neighborhood planning team

meeting to hear of your

concerns and brainstorm

about public safety in that

area.



So thanks so much for

raising these really

critical concerns and for

being involved in your

community.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Julio gonzalez.





[00:08:04]





 mayor

and members of council.



Today I'm speaking to you as

a member of open austin

which is austin's leading

organization for the

promotion of open data, open

government and civic

innovations through civic

software.



I'm coming to address a

request we have provided to

you for $320,000 towards the

creation of office of civic

innovation.



This office of civic

innovation is part of

continuing the leadership

that you have already shown

through efforts of this past

december's resolution of

open government passing from

your body as well as by

efforts from city staff and

the austin community to use

things such as the city of

austin data portal.



There are three specific

reasons why we think this is

a good idea.



The first reason has to do

with the activity that the

office would unleash through

both civic software

applications such as eclipse

fixed, new applications as

well reducing costs.



Many of the requests that

you have to deal with are

for things of public

information as well as

taking up of staff time and

potentially be a better

addressed to software.



And third and perhaps most

importantly happy residents

and voters who will feel

engaged by the tools that

can be unleashed by provide

data.



Why do we need to do this

now?



We have already spent a good

year, year and a half trying

to figure out if there is an

energized community for open

data, open government and

software development in

austin.



There is.



We've spent that time trying

to figure out if there's

interest within the city

staff.



There is.



But now we need the

resources to invest.



The proposal in front of you

is a modest allocation of

resources based on proven

models in austin and san

francisco and I hope you

will give it your full

consideration.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Councilmember morrison.





[00:10:00]





>> Thank you for coming down

and we had good discussion

about this yesterday when we

were talking about the

online campaign finance

database.



I've had conversations with

the city manager and perhaps

others have about this very

issue and so I guess what i

would like to see is if we

can arrange a meeting in the

next couple of days to speak

with staff and yourself to

see if there's some way to

at least get a start in

moving down this path.



>> I think that's very

promising.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: City

manager.



>> Councilmember, I think

that doug matthews on our

staff has already been

engaged with julio and

others on this matter.



Sent you a memo regarding

efforts we've had underway

for I think over a year in

this regard.



I think that what julio is

talking about further

expands the scope of where

our conversation originally

began and in fact we've

changed our vernacular from

sort of a public sector r

and d function to

innovations office and so

we've done quite a bit of

work along those lines.



I'd like to ask ray, who is

behind julio, to come forth

quickly and talk about those

efforts, but we would very

much like to continue our

engagement with them.



>> Mayor and council, ray

berea, city manager's

office.



We've been engaged in

discussion well over a year

and city manager challenged

city staff to begin thinking

about creation of a research

and development fund that

would provide micro grants

to city departments for

ideas that would improve

service delivery to austin

residents.



That began the discussion

again, that began a little

over a year ago.



And the staff started

researching the idea looking

at what other cities were

doing, we were finding they

were sort of surrounding

themselves around an

innovation office concept

and that's what we were

starting to look at as well.





[00:12:02]





So back in 2011, as you

know, we were working with

code for america and during

the code for america summit

we had an opportunity to

visit with some of their

innovation leaders in

boston, san francisco,

chicago and new york.



And have been discussing

with them about how to

implement, first it was a

research and development

program, but then realizing

everyone was looking at an

innovation office.



And so the city manager's

office expressed that

interest in that kind of a

program and so even earlier

this year we were working

with doug matthews and

robert good in trying to

create that concept.



We're hoping as we look at

best practices around other

cities as to how we can

bring that and implement

that here at city of austin.



>> [Inaudible] associates

will enhance our efforts and

we look forward to

continuing the dialogue and

the work.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: So

just a quick question.



Is it your intent to

implement this innovation

program within the framework

of the existing proposed

budget?



>> Well, you know, we hadn't

gotten far enough along

to -- to really focus on the

cost side of it, how much it

would cost and that's why we

didn't incorporate anything

into our proposed budget for

13.



So as we refine our

efforts -- and again, in

conjunction with julio and

others, we will likely come

back to council with a

recommendation on funding

and how we would like to go

forward.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: But

you are not anticipating any

effect on the current

proposed budget that we're

getting ready to consider on

september 10.



>> No, not at this time.



Our recommendation is what

it is at the present time.



But in the course of 13 we

may come back and talk to

you about it more.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Thank you.



Jeff rosenthal.





[00:14:05]





>> Thank you, mayor,

councilmembers.



I am chip rosenthal, vice

chair of the technology and

communication commission and

I would like to speak

briefly on two points that

have come before the

commission.



One is a recommendation that

funding for the austin free

net contract be increased by

$36,330.



These funds would allow free

net to maintain operations

of 60 community technology

centers that they've been

able to set up under their

detah grant and we would

like to see these continue.



You will be hearing from

juanita bud in a minute who

will talk more about that.



I would also like to address

the innovation office

proposal and I will try not

to be redundant with julio's

comments.



I think it's important he

hit not only the innovation

aspect but also the cost

savings that cities might

see such that this work

would pay for itself.



What I would like to -- oh,

also I want to recognize

city manager's point that in

discussion with ray berea,

doug matthews that I think

that a lot of our concerns

have impact the process and

we're starting to see that

reflected this the thinking.



But I would like to give

some urgency to the notion

of bringing in someone to

act as an innovation offer.



THAT IS ONE OF THE FTEs IN

The plan.



The best practice of every

suful innovation effort

does have a strong leader in

place and I think it's the

sort of thing we could bring

this person in to boot strap

the process and create a

successful innovation

effort.



When the commission spoke





[00:16:00]





with the boston new urban

mechanics office, one of the

interesting things they've

told is they've never had an

announcement that we've got

a innovation office.



They did not do what's

called a big bang effort.



They had people in the city

on staff working the

relationships, doing the

outreach to other city

employees and more

importantly the outreach to

the community to help with

the support and development

of these innovation apps.



I think the success in

innovation effort depends on

getting this key person in

to get that outreach going.



This person could a agile

development form develop the

plan.



Finally to add another log

on your fire, we have a

fellowship with code for

america that's coming to an

end in december, and I think

it's very important that the

city have a plan to

transition, to pick up all

the good work that they've

done.



Not just the code and app

but the information they

have gathered.



I see this as something

chief innovation officer

could do.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Thank you.



Juanita bud.



Mayor pro tem cole.



>> Cole: Let me ask a

question.



Thank you for your service

and all the work you've done

to bring this forward.



Help me understand what the

six free technical centers.



Where are they located?



 bud is the executive

director of austin free net

and I would like to defer to

her if that would be okay.



>> Cole: Yes.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: You

have three minutes.



>> Good morning.



Thank you for your time and

attention.



My name is juanita bud,

executive director for

austin free net and austin

free net provides internet





[00:18:02]





access and technology and

currently we have 21 site

we're providing services

for.



The six sites I'm asking

additional extended funding

are the arch center,

trinity, the dewitty center

which provides mainly job --

job support for the

community.



We know that our nation is a

global entity needing

computer access and

training, and according to

the research, 80% of fortune

500 companies now require

employees to apply online.



Even our city of austin

require employees to apply

online.



And if people don't have

access or understand how to

do that, then we create a

huge economic gap.



Austin free net serves

roughly 10,000 people a

month in training them on

internet access and job

applications.



And if we look at that and

expand it over a 10-month

period, we could have a

$36 million impact right

here in the community.



So this -- this project is

essential to the success and

mobilization of our economic

growth.



I want to specifically -- we

are also trying to expand

into other areas.



We currently are serving the

east austin area, the six

sites are the arts center,

casa mar I want nela, a esl

class and job service

community at the witt

center, spring terrace and

trinity.



We want to expand to dove

springs and would beer

villain montopolis.



To ensure the viability of

their communities as well.





[00:20:00]





>> Cole: I'm sorry, i

didn't catch your last name.



>> Budd, b-u-d-d.



>> Cole: You said there

were six additional centers

but I was unclear whether

that included --



>> the six center we want to

expand to the other three

areas.



>> Cole: Okay.



And the estimated cost of

your doing that is how much

is this.



>> We have a resolution from

the -- the terra commission

for 36,000 -- $36,330, which

is gap, it's a gap coverage

from us for july through

september at the end of the

fiscal year, and there is

also a second resolution

that -- that is 100 and --

161,000 that is for the

expansion of the additional

sites.



>> Cole: Okay.



Can you give us a profile of

your typical client?



I know you just said you

serve 10,000 people.



>> Yes, I can.



Predominantly low-income,

less than $15,000 annual

income a month.



Some of these are

underemployed or unemployed

citizens.



Some of them are displaced

middle managers who are

displaced out of their

middle manager jobs.



They don't have the computer

skills.



They are used to having

administrative assistants

and they need to use a

computer, they also use our

facility.



>> Cole: What type of

training do you provide

besides internet?



>> Online applications,

particularly the city of

austin job applications.



We teach people how to

search for information for

essential service programs.



I'm going to be a part of

your texas benefit with the





[00:22:02]





health and human services

agencies to provide another

venue and access for people

in the community to have

those services provided.



>> Cole: Thank you,

ms. budd.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

April rose.



>> Thank you.



>> Good morning, mayor and

council.



My name is april rose and

I'm the executive director

of tree folk.



I also live in austin and

feel very blessed to own a

home on a tree lined street.



The trees that are on my

street and in my

neighborhood park are a very

big part of why we live in

78757 and we know our

neighbors and why we walk on

a tree lined street to

brentwood park.



IN THE 1950s WHEN MY

Neighborhood was developed,

there were no trees.



It was a cotton farm.



Thank goodness for the

foresight of people who

planted trees that we enjoy

today.



Today I would like to ask

for fund for the forestry

program.



Trees are green

infrastructure and like

streets waterlines, sewer

lines and sidewalks they

need to be proactively

managed.



Currently our public trees

are a once every 90 year

inspection cycle.



Is that really good enough?



I they we could do a little

bit better.



The drought and heat of last

year killed 10% of our tree

canopy.



We need to replant those

trees, remove the hazardous

dead and dying tries and

take better care of existing

trees so we can realize the

green city that we would

like to be.



Thank you for your

attention.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Thank you.



tom McDill.





[00:24:04]





>> Good morning, mayor and

members of the council.



MY NAME IS tom McDill, I'm

a consulting engineer here

in austin and I came down to

talk in citizens

communication about

something else.



I thought I don't even know

how to take my name off the

list so I would like to say,

number one, I'm strongly in

favor of the trees in austin

and I would hope that in

their game plan that they do

have a forest fire

consideration.



Another thing that I would

like to at least bring up is

how impressed I am with the

economic and redevelopment

office that's operating here

in austin and the show that

they put on the last couple

of days about the f1

program.



Everybody who walked away

from that was amazed what

was going on and how the

city produced what they did.



The information was

spectacular.



That's all I have.



Thank you very much.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: Bob

nix.



Bob nix and several people

donating time.



Greg pope.



Is greg here?



How about fremal amean?



Paula buff.



Greg pope.



So you have 12 minutes.



12 Minutes.



Paul signed up twice but you

really can't do that.



>> You can't get like a

minute for that?



Good try.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: You

get a gold star for that.



>> Okay.



, Mayor, mayor pro tem,





[00:26:00]





council, thanks for hearing

me today.



I'm trying to figure out a

new and exciting way to talk

to you about wild land fire

fighting.



I've been visiting with you

and testifying.



Could you play the first

video, please?



This first video, we'll play

about two minutes of it, is

a video from the fires in

colorado this year.



When I look at this video,

the first time I saw it i

manualed myself in central

austin looking west

manualing what it would look

like west of austin when we

have a big one, which will

happen.



It will be cued up here in

just a second.



This -- as you look at this

video, we'll play about two

minutes of this.



They are going to pan out.



It's quite a bit bigger than

this.



Occasionally you will see a

black cloud of smoke and

that's another house going

up.



Look at the topography and

look at the fuels and think

about how that compares to

west austin.



The topography is fairly

similar, maybe a little more

rolling than the hills in

this video, but the fuels

are more sparse and not as

combustible.



This was a 1800-acre fire

that happened close to an

urban area.



Colorado springs.



And destroyed 350 homes.



This is actually small in

nature.



It could have been a lot

bigger.



So anyway, you can see the

smoke, you can see how it's

progressing, and like I said

look at the smoke and see

how it's being driven by the

wind.



It's not even that hard of a

wind that particular day and

they've had immense

problems.



You can imagine the economic

and social impact if this

was to happen in west

austin.



There is no reason to think

you couldn't translate this

same scenario into austin.



If the video worked, it

would be a lot more

compelling, but, you know.





[00:28:00]





But since it's not, I'm

going to go ahead and move

on.



I'll send a link to you all

later on.



If we could go back to the

power point, please.



Which should be up soon.



I want to talk in the power

point is history where we've

been the last year.



Go ahead to the next slide,

please.



Since pinnacle fire at oak

hill, we burned over

100 acres, that's what we

used to think the big one

was.



In one of my first press

statements I said this is

not the big one.



This is 100-acre fire.



They get a lot bigger and we

have the potential for

something much greater.



By october of 2011, later

that year, over 600

wildfires raged across the

state of texas and scorched

nearly 40,000 acres.



We've heard of many steiner

ranch and others, bastrop,

which is the largest loss of

homes of any fire in history

in the united states, but

what we didn't hear is the

50, 60, 100 smaller fires

that happened put out by

responding austin

firefighters well equipped

and able to get there soon

which is really important.



I visit with a group of

citizens in the oak hill

area that had one of those

smaller fires and we had a

coffee and invited the

firefighters, they were

amazed at the response.



Most of the wildfires happen

within two miles of a

community.



When we think of wild lands

we think of this remote

area.



That's not what's happening

nationally or texas and we

know about the fires in and

around austin.



Next slide, please.



Nearly 15 months ago, really

as soon as the pinnacle fire

ended, the public safety

commission should be highly

commended much they went to

work, rolled up their

sleeves, started bringing

inexperts and it was too early

in that budget year to make

recommendation, but over

that 15-month period they





[00:30:01]





talked about wild land need,

investments need to be made

particularly in the area of

fuel mitigation.



Next slide, please.



The date -- next slide.



The date zero, zero of these

investments are in the

current budget.



Now, one thing I do want to

say that I'm very thankful

council having the wisdom to

do is the safer grant.



When I was president-elect i

came to council and said

this is something we should

apply for.



We looked at the

qualifications and you guys

approved that and we're

very, very thankful for

that.



That investment has been

made this current year.



Not with current year's

money because it's a grant

but it has been made this

current year.



What I'm talking about is

360 fire station or the wild

land division.



There's not investments in

that.



Next slide, please.



The wild land division is --

let's see if we can play

video 7.



If we can't, I'll just speak

to it.



What the wild land vision

advocates for is a holistic

fuel mitigation program.



There's only two ways to

affect risk in wild lands.



One is initial attack and in

most areas of the city,

especially the safer grant,

I feel we're well suited up

for that.



The other is fuel

mitigation.



This isn't a debatable item

and every expert will say

the same thing.



Currently we do not have a

fuel mitigation program in

austin.



A lot of cities are behind

the curve on that, but

nothing what we can do and

what we can do to reduce the

risk it's imperative we put

a fully functional fuel

mitigation program in place.



Full year funding of

$2 million.



After your funding of a

million.



I realize that's a lot of

money and it's baffling

we're at this part of the

budget process and it's not

funded, but it very





[00:32:00]





important we find the

funding for this.



Can you play the video?



Stop it for a second.



This is the may 7th

meeting right before the

recommendations came up from

public safety commission

meeting of council where

we're talking -- we have a

panel of experts you can see

there.



I'm up there to make some

comments which I'm going the

play because nothing more

compelling than watching me

on video.



What I want to say is in may

we really were talking about

this stuff.



You hear me talk about fuel

mitigation division, why

it's important and why

sustainability in the

program is so important.



Go ahead, please.



>> Talk about a couple

things.



When we first started

talking about wild lands,

one of the recurring themes

let's make sure this isn't

just something we have

interest in and dies and

goes away.



I talked about it several

times over my career.



I've seen wild land efforts

flourish and become really

big and then fade.



I've seen that go up and

down throughout the years.



THIS THE LATE 90s WE HAD A

130, 190 Class and it was a

40-hour class and everybody

was excited and we knew it

was -- and it waned.



Some of the efforts around

worry.



There was continuum of

improvement.



There were lots of times it

weighed and flowed up and

down and I think

sustainability is a theme i

want to talk about now and

make sure we keep these good

efforts going.



We have a lot of attention

on the subject.



It obvious there's a lot of

energy in this room working

towards it.



And we have to figure out a

way and we have to figure

out a way, I guess I'm

thinking more strategically,

to make sure these efforts

are sustained.



One thing I didn't see

[inaudible] towards it and

we have to figure out a way,

to make sure these efforts

are sustained.



One thing I didn't see in

this emergency service

[inaudible] and I'm sure you

guys have considered it, I'm

sure you don't have





[00:34:00]





everything on this list,

it's not inclusive, but we

need a wild land division

with and consolidate

some of the expertise within

the division.



We learned now what water

and wastewater utility does,

and we need that expertise

consolidated within an

agency responding to the

emergencies.



I think that will help

sustain it.



That's kind of way we've

done it with afd.



IN THE 70s WE GOT E.M.S.



 division to

some extent.



IN THE 80s HAZ-MAT BECAME

The new discipline.



We had a haz-mat division.



Special operations same

thing.



Special operations division.



Weapons of mass destruction.



Now, if we want to sustain

this and make sure if we're

looking at this last chart,

if we start seeing years

where it doesn't add up like

in 2011, the interest starts

waning again, chief evans

and chief kirk have done a

great job of keeping these

programs going and starting

new programs last year, but

they can't do that the next

five or six years.



There needs to be a division

that continues on this great

work and makes sure it keeps

going because it's that

important.



So I really believe we need

to have a wild land

division, we need to start

working towards that while

the interest is still great,

while we have all these

experts in the room and

start consolidating not just

our resources but the city

resources to make sure we go

forward and continue that

effort.



Another thing I think is has

been touched on by many

expert and almost seems

redundant, but we need a

holistic fuel mitigation

program.



When you see all these red

dots, you don't see

jurisdictional lines.



Other sites we can do it

correctly, others we can't.



That has to be solved.



I think a few months ago

when water and waste was

given a presentation on the

mitigation efforts, it was 5

or 10% of the risk area.





[00:36:00]





That's not good enough.



And I realize it's very

complex, but we have to put

our efforts into codes or

legislative actions or

whatever it takes so we can

go across those boundary

lines and mitigate fuels at

that level.



Otherwise we're looking at

desolate land with no trees

in the northwest some day.



You talk about you lived

under a fire bomb, I don't

think anybody said it as

well, that's what it is.



If we can't get serious

about it now and deal with

that we'll all be scratching

our heads why we don't do it

later on.



That's probably the hardest

long-term problem.



Staffing.



>> You can stop the video.



The wild land division

program that was built out

handles all levels of what

we talked about in that

video.



It has a million dollars

dedicated a year to future fuel

mitigation.



The number came out of my

head.



But a million dollars, the

more you invest in fuel

mitigation, it's like buying

gold.



When you buy another ounce

of gold, you've got that

much more.



When you put a million

dollars into mitigation you

get a million dollars of

measurable progress.



It doesn't have to be that

number but it need to be

sizable enough over 5 or 10

years recollect measurably

reduce the risk in a

meaningful way.



The staffing includes an

ecologist, a burn boss so we

can get prescribed persons.



Regional issues, legislative

issues and all the

complexities of working with

all the stakeholders to make

sure it's done right.



I think some people picture

we're going to go in and

slash down trees.



That's not what a fuel

mitigation program is about.



It's about getting the

stakeholders and reducing

the risk in a responsible

and meaningful fashion.



There's ways you can satisfy

all the stakeholders in that

endeavor.



[Buzzer sounding]





[00:38:00]





but it has to be some --

does that mean I'm done on

time?



>> Mayor Leffingwell: Yes,

sir.



>> I am done on time.



I will go to the end.



I'm baffled it's not in yet.



I've been asked how we find

the money and I don't know.



If you guys have some

assignments, I would be

happy to do it, but it's so

important it need to be

accomplished.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: All

right.



Councilmember tovo.



>> Tovo: I have a few

questions for you.



You have presented some of

our offices with a proposal

and I wonder if you could

just outline some of those

differences between your

proposal and what is

currently this the budget i

know you've highlighted a

key line and that's the fuel

mitigation budget.



>> Could I put up the slide

of the spread sheet?



Last wednesday at the

budget -- thank you for the

question.



Last wednesday at the budget

workshop there was a

proposal -- it will be next

slide, I think.



Yeah.



You see phase 1, $350

funding for phase 1.



That the chief proposed and

the phase 2 brings it up to

the same level as the

proposal that I talked to

you all about.



Phase 1, although it gets us

in the door in planning,

which is certainly better

than nothing, does -- as you

can see in the fuel

mitigation line item, it

really does very little to

nothing to actually mitigate

a stick of fuel.



And so although the planning

is important and it needs to

be done, we have identified

areas now that we can start

working on.



And so we need to -- I would

like to see us start that as

soon as possible.



So if you go over to the

half year funding at the end

of the column, it shows

basically the same personnel

in phase 1, plus the uniform

personnel, plus a half year

funding to actually start

working toward doing some

meaningful fuel mitigation.



The two plans are congruent.





[00:40:01]





It just the chief's plan

breaks out a planning phase

and is a little cheaperment

I'm saying let's go ahead

and get it fully staffed and

put some money there so we

can start working there.



>> Tovo: And the half year

funding is sort of the plan

b.



If the -- if your proposal

couldn't be accomplished,

then a half year funding

would --



>> I think the half year

funding is really all I'm

asking for at this point

because I think by the time

you do some gearing up it

will be about half year.



I think that's reasonable

and if we could find that

level of funding, I think we

could stand shoulder to

shoulder and say we have

done something about this,

we do have a premier program

started and we will see

measurable results over

time.



>> Tovo: Thanks for

explaining that.



In essence what you have

done is proposed front

loading, shifting from phase

2, some of the items from

phase 2 to phase 1 with the

understanding the planning

would take some time and

there would be about half a

year to get involved in some

of that fuel mitigation.



>> That's correct.



It's interesting because the

phase 1, phase 2 program was

the tire chiefs and when we

laid them side by side and

with a small amount of

manipulation they were

congruent.



And the reason is they would

make sense to anybody trying

to reduce risk at that level

that you are going to build

a lot of programs similar to

this.



One thing I forgot to

mention.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: You

have a late donor of another

three minutes and you've

already used 30 seconds.



You got two minutes and 30

seconds more if you would

like.



>> Okay.



Any other questions to

extend my time?



I'm just kidding.



What I want to use my time

to talk about one thing is

how much the fire department

has done.



I had a slide that was so

long and list that you

couldn't read the font it

was so long.



The fire department and

council, you've done a

tremendous amount, I'm not

trying to imply nothing has

been done.





[00:42:00]





With current resources and

with current funding within

the fire department, there's

been 4,000 door hangers put

out, over 100 community

meetings made and reached

out to the public.



Mayor, you've last two

years, you've hosted the

symposium on wild land fires

where you brought in

stakeholders and some of

these from around the state

in.



I was at the last one.



You started the ready, set

go program.



I don't want to imply

nothing has been done, but i

want to be very clear there

has been no substantive

investment this career in

probably the most important

area which is fuel

mitigation.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Yeah, and I would just like

to add I totally agree with

you.



I think that is a primary

issue is fuel mitigation.



But when I think about that,

it's not just finding the

money to do it.



You know, hiring the people,

getting the equipment

together and doing it.



It's also a huge political

issue involving overlapping

jurisdictions, the city, the

county, other cities

within -- other small

incorporate cities, even the

federal government when you

start talking about our

preserve land.



This is something we need to

start right away, if nothing

else how to solve the

political problems to go

forward with fuel

mitigation.



That I think is the key to

making anything work.



You can put 5,000 pieces of

equipment, 5,000 firemen out

there, if you've got the

open space, the wild lands

like we have now, you are

not going to make much

progress.



Councilmember morrison.



>> Morrison: I wanted to

build on what you said and

that in terms of getting the

fuel mitigation process

going, and one thing that we

talked about, bob, we

have -- I think you talked

about stakeholders.



We have internal

stakeholders and other

departments that are

interested in trees and i

think that being able to

leverage anchored nature and cord that it





[00:44:02]





that could be helpful to

other departments and we

need to understand funding

we put into fuel mitigation

is going to address some

other issues and making sure

that the water utility and

the parks department are at

the table.



>> I agree.



I think a level of

coordination would make the

effort a lot better and

right now there's a little

bit of disjointedness.



A speaker earlier who spoke

about touching trees and we

spoke about how we could use

some of the funds for that

program.



I think there's a lot of

gains we could make, but it

is going to take money.



And we're really good at

talking, but at this point

it's going to take a little

money to get it going.



>> Morrison: And I think

your point is we need

nontrivial amount of money

to get it going and for the

half year putting some chunk

of m opposed to the

$5,000 that's in the phase 1

proposal, I think your point

is that's really important.



>> We discussed that also.



We moved the $500,000 down

to $250,000.



It's still a substantive

amount.



We're still gearing up so

that might be enough the

first year and we're fully

going on second year so

there's no delay or lag

time.



I would agree.



>> Morrison: And I would

be remiss if I didn't

include and make sure we

mention in the stakeholders

there's a the look of people

in this town that know a lot

about trees and care about

trees and speak out about

trees.



We would want them at the

table too.



>> Absolutely.



This isn't about taking away

people's sense of community

and the loveliness of the

trees.



It's about making sure they

stay where they are.



And there need to be common

sense measures done to

ensure that.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: Just

one parting comment.



As you and I have scud, if

this is done right, this

fuel mitigation thing is

done right, it will be a

benefit to the good trees.



It will be a benefit, not a





[00:46:02]





total liability.



That's going to require

working with a the look of

expertise as councilmember

morrison said.



>> Absolutely.



Thank you for your time.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: Jim,

are you ready?



Got your donors here.



Sara holland.



Sara hoover.



Lorita mersatoonie.



Jim, you have up to 15

minute.



>> I hope I don't use all 15

minutes, but I had a lot of

people who were interested

in the topic and in fact

[inaudible] earlier signed

up but they had to leave so

we had to bring in some

other folks.



We've got everybody here

now.



I am the head of the

environmental defense fund

texas office and also the

president -- I mean the vice

president for energy for the

national organization.



But I'm here today on behalf

of the clean air force whose

board I sit.



I guess I've talked with

every councilmember about

that in the last several

months.



But there was some new

things have happened I think

I need to bring to your

attention and our board was

very concerned and I was the

one selected to come see you

today.



We have a broad range of

folks on the board is a key

aspect of the clean air

force.



Koch brothers and edf are

not on many things together

but one they think we agree

on is clean air is vital for

this community.



Last week san antonio passed

the threshold in their air

quality.



They are now in violation of

federal standards and will

be designated nonattainment

under the existing standard.



And there are lots of

reasons why, but san antonio

has not done the things that

austin has done, the austin





[00:48:00]





region has done.



They have a regional effort,

voluntary action early to

avoid some of the emissions

that we have done in our

community.



What san antonio now has to

face is restrictions on its

transportation planning, new

industry will have to do

some off set, and they will

be required to do a plan to

be approved by the federal

government.



Austin still has time to

avoid that process -- that

situation.



Frankly, we've got to have a

little luck with earth with.



There's pollution coming in

from outside the region we

can't control, but we can

control things in these five

counties that are covered in

our smsa and are part of the

clean air force's area.



The clean air force is a

unique regional entity.



It has board representation

from public and private

folks.



It has representation from

all five communities.



It has businesses and

nonprofits on there and we

are doing some unique

things.



We go back to 1993 when

basically the city started

this regional effort.



That's when bear watson was

in office.



Brought together folks to

try to bring nonattainment

and we've been successful.



We have done some special

things here.



We have a regional planning

effort.



We see our ideas, we have a

technical advisory group.



We've undertaken clean and

voluntary action such as the

clean pair partners where 59

businesses are not legally

bound but voluntarily

reducing their emissions

already.



That's making a big

difference here.



We've also done a number of

other voluntary efforts like

reducing emission from





[00:50:00]





school buses and reducing

idling in the reason.



I could go on but I don't

want to take all o your

time.



The city has been given

$90,000 since 1993.



Never been asked for more.



That is a fairly large

amount of money she but it's

a good buy for the city.



That $90,000 leverages money

from the other governments

in the region and that's the

government money leverages

private money.



In essence, what you get for

your $90,000 is a $360,000

operation focused on

regional air pollution with

hundred of hours of

volunteers and leveraging

action by private businesses

and governments across the

region.



I talked with staff again

this morning to make sure i

knew exactly where things

were.



The answer not clear.



There's several different

proposals, but the leading

proposal right now that come

to staff to you would be to

cut the budget, cut the

$90,000 down to $10,000.



And then to use that money

for something else.



Not quite clear what that

would be.



It might be put into an

 that we could bid

upon.



I think we would probably

win except the problem is if

every government did

R.F.P.s, FRANKLY IT WOULD

Be chaos for a regional

group.



The idea we would have to do

a bid for caldwell county

and bastrop county and

travis county and the city

of round rock would be very

hard to do and you can't

count on whether you would

win every one of those

contracts.



The other thing, of course,

is other proposals to put

the money into efforts for

the city to do.



There is a resolution that

the city had about other

things it could do for air

quality.



I don't want to disparage





[00:52:00]





any of these ideas, but let

me say at a time when

san antonio has already gone

into nonattainment, the

austin area is one part per

billion from crossing over,

we need action.



The city of austin cannot

solve the problem alone.



A lot of pollution comes in

from caldwell county, oil

and gas operations, cars

driven in from hays and

williamson county and we

need everybody working

together.



Your money leverages those

governments and those

businesses working.



So what I ask you to do, and

again, I don't know exactly

what the proposal is, but

please consider fully

funding the organization.



Frankly, if we were to lose

$80,000, we would have to

lay off at least some staff.



We might even have to close

our doors, but it's a very

bad timing to cut a regional

air pollution organization

at a time when we have

little room to spare.



I'll be happy to take your

questions.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Councilmember morrison.



>> Morrison: I guess I'm

not quite clear where we

are, what is in the proposed

budget that's in front of us

right now?



45 i

was having yet another

conversation.



Staff has not yet decided

what they are going to come

to you with, but the -- the

leading proposal is to have

a $10,000 membership to the

clean air force.



The other 80,000 would be

put someplace else.



It might be put into a

contract to be bid over the

next many months.



>> Morrison: Right, but

let me stop you there

because my real question is

we have a budget that is in

front of us as the proposed

budget.



Do you know what is in there

for the clean air force?



>> I think there's $90,000

for clean air and it's not





[00:54:01]





specified how they divide it

up.



To be determined in the

next -- between now and the

10th with more

specificity.



>> Morrison: Okay.



>> That's what I understand.



Could I suggest the budget

officer is right behind you.



>> I would love to know the

answer to that.



>> Morrison: Thank you,

mayor.



I'm just trying to -- maybe

you don't know off the top

of your head.



If you could get back to us

and let us know where we

stand.



>> I can tell you off the

top of my head I'm not aware

of any cuts to this program,

but it may be it's not

designated [inaudible] there

may be an r.f.p. process.



We will certainly respond to

the budget question on the

topic.



>> Morrison: Thank you.



>> I'm sorry I don't know

more.



I literally asked the

sustainability officer this

morning and she said they

were still working on it.



>> Morrison: Okay.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Thank you.



>> Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: Paul

saldana.



Donating time is julio

trevino.



Paul, you have six minutes.



>> Good morning, mayor and

councilmembers.



Thanks for the opportunity.



I wanted to say

congratulations to

councilmember martinez on

the birth of diego.



I'm hear speaking on the

minority trade association

and shirley has a handout

for you.



The first four pages are

basically statistical

information on how texas and

central texas in particular

has continued to benefit

from the amount of

construction that we've had

in the area.



Nationally the u.s.



Construction industry

provides an annual revenue

7 trillion and the

number of construction

 is

about 730,000.



The additional two or three

pages talks specifically





[00:56:01]





about how construction

industry has had a

particular impact in austin,

particularly in the

percentage of growth rate.



Austin continues to be

ranked in the top 10.



I think right now for the

last month data we are

ranked number 8 as relates

to employment growth rate,

and a lot of that is

contributed to the amount of

construction in the

industry.



If I could get you to go to

the last three pages, one of

the things I also want to

say is that the construction

industry is the second most

dangerous industry to coal

mining.



In fact, every day in

construction three people

die and two of those three

people who die in

construction are hispanic

contractors.



The very people that we

serve.



So I'm hear to speak on

behalf of our minority trade

associations.



I know some of you have seen

a lot of this information

over the last six months,

but we are respectfully

requesting a budget

increase.



The total number, the budget

increase for all of the

minority trade associations

is increase of $388,000

combined.



I believe what's in your

budget, what's in the city

manager proposal is increase

current funding from $45,000

to 50 -- excuse me, to

$50,000.



And from what I understand,

there was another contract

with the community

mentorship protest underage

which is no longer in

existence, that contract was

$28,000.



So the city manager's

recommendation is increase

each of the minority trade

association budget by

$5,000.



We understand it a tough

budget.



Clearly there's a lot of

need to serve our community,

but our point is that -- in

last six months in

particular, we pointed out

there's been a disparity in

the funding.



There's also disparity as

relates to where each of the

service providers receive





[00:58:01]





funding.



Some of us have received

through community

development block brandt,

others from austin energy.



I think you heard austin

energy funds 90% of egrso.



Most providers receive

austin from austin energy.



Our trade associations do

not.



We are currently under the

budget under smbr.



The last page of the packet

that you have is basically a

resolution that the

 advisory

committee pass back on

APRIL 19th.



And I'd like to officially

read that into the record.



Their specific

recommendation was an

acknowledgement there is a

disparity in funding among

the service providers and

that there should be

increase in funding for the

minority trade association

contractors paid on a

graduated scale of yearly

increases throughout the

life of the service

agreement with the

agreements having a minimum

term of three years with

one-year option.



Those basically, that

structure mirrors the

structure of the minority

trade associations and other

service providers.



We are not asking for

special treatment.



We have been working through

this process for the last

six months.



As I mentioned, this

resolution was adopted by

 advisory

committee six months ago yet

hasn't madeity way to full

council.



For the last two weeks, the

advisory committee's meeting

has been canceled because we

have not been able to meet

quorum.



Based on your budget

adoption schedule -- we're

scheduled to meeting the

second day of your second

reading and you may be done

with budget by then.



That's why we're here today

to appeal directly to you.



I think we're open to

finding a happy medium

somewhere, but I think based

on the services that we

provide and the opportunity

to ensure that our members

are benefiting from all the

economic development

opportunities here is

something that's very

important to us.



One specific example that i

want to point out, i

mentioned that the

construction industry is the

second most dangerous

industry to mining and,

again, three deaths occur

every day and two of those

are hispanic contractors.



We used to provide osha

safety training every

quarter, but the need and

demand has increased we

provide it every month and

provide it in english and

spanish.



That's one example of where

we feel that we can partner

with the city to ensure that

as the increase in the

construction boom continues

in austin, that the workers

who are going to work every

day have that safety

training available to them.



So I appreciate your

consideration.



We'll be happy to answer any

questions.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Thank you.



Aletta banks.



After that carol hadnot.



>> Mayor, councilmembers,

aletta banks with the

alliance of minority trade

association representing the

asian, black and hispanic

contractors.



And I spoke last week about

the budget issue and i

wanted to -- I wanted to

point out that our contract

currently under the city,

the program that we're

running is really outdated.



It's 10 years old.



And it focuses on the

certification outreach.



And then the [inaudible].



If you compare the programs

like teaching someone from a

to z what we have is a and z

and there's something in

between that's missing.



In 2010 we did a survey and

I shared this with city

staff and advisory boards

and subcommittee with the

minority or the

 programs that

a survey found a the look of

them felt they were left

hanging.



They got certified and then

they didn't know what to do

next.



And so there is definitely a

need to help them through

the whole process.



We know that's not an easy

process to bid the

government's projects.



There are a the look of

technical issues,

regulations they need to

understand and then

documentation.



We're -- we're here to help

them through the project,

through the process.



And I feel like the city has

a very wonderfully written

ordinance, the m.b.e./w.b.e.



Program is such a beautiful

ordinance, but if we're

going to show everyone we're

serious about this ordinance

and invite minority

contractors to participate

we need to show them by

action and not just say

here's ordinance, here's the

program and go figure it out

yourself.



They need to know that,

okay, we are serious about

their participation.



I know minority groups are a

small group of people.



It's not 100,000 people in

the city.



But we want to show the city

and the citizens that we

care about these people.



We want to help them.



We want to participate.



And by funding -- by

continuously underfunding

our organizations and, you

know, what does it tell

people.



It just like we want you to

know that, you know, we --

you know, we've some money

to help you know to get

certified.



But the rest we can't really

help you and that's not

really [inaudible]

participation.



That's what we're asking you

to maybe have a stand to

show the minority groups

that we're serious about the

ordinance.



Thank you very much for

listening.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Mayor pro tem.



>> Cole: I'm looking at

the side by side comparison

of the minority chambers and

I see the hispanic

organization and your

organization, the asian

contractors association, all

receive $45,000 each.



And I thought I hea

 saldano gave a number of

388,000.



I'm trying to figure out if

that is an increase to the

overall totals of 45,000

each or how is that request

supposed to be allocated?



>> It's in addition to the

current funding.



Like our organization is

asking for the equivalent of

your funding the asian

chamber of commerce.



The black contractors the

same and the hispanics.



That's how we came up with

the amount because we were

always being underfunded

compared to other

organizations.



They were continuously

getting funding every year

in a substantial amount,

where we were left behind

singularly and I don't know

why, but --



>> Cole: That's the 10

years old part.



>> Yeah, 10 years we've

never gotten any increase.



But a you will the chambers

of commerce got, you know,

that much amount.



>> Cole: Okay.



Thank you.



>> Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Carol hadnot.



>> Good morning, mayor and

councilmembers.



My name is carol hadnot.



I represent the austin area

black contractors

association on the minority

trade association alliance.



Paul and aletta have pretty

much covered what we are

requesting, but what I would

like to share with you is

the things that we do.



We have developed still sets

for these contractors to do

business.



This is a very competitive

marketplace.



And it's changed.



It used based on

brawn, muscle.



Now it's based on brain.



So you have to have the

skill sets like computer

skill sets because you just

get a set of plans and

specs.



Now you take your ipod and

you can go out in the field

and use that toed your cost

estimates or do your change

orders for respond to

addendums to the contract.



So many of the things that

we've done we are able to

get volunteers to help us.



The city now to do business

in the instruction industry,

you must have osha training.



We did not have the funds

nor did our contractors to

provide that training.



So two of the major

contractors, prime

contractors in the city

provide that training.



But that's just on a

volunteer basis where we got

the 10-hour training and the

30-hour training.



Then the city came up with

the new emission regulation.



And so public works came

out, and so many of our

firms had to do retrofit in

order the participate.



Especially the ones in

trucking, landscaping and

some of our site people.



The other thing how to read

and interpret construction

contracts.



We're thought shade tree

lawyers so we can't provide

that information.



We need lawyers who have

expertise in business and

contract law.



To help us not to go into a

court, but to help them

understand the terms and

conditions of their

contracts so that we don't

always have to be in a

mediation process about

payment, quality of work and

all the other different

things that you have to do

under those contracts.



The other thing is we have a

lot of pavement issues and

this will help us to

understand about the sbpay

reporting and about how to

manage our contract payments

and collections.



And in the past we have done

many of these things because

we've had the funding but

now it's on a hit and miss

basis and we can't operate

in this competitive

marketplace in those types

of conditions.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Mayor pro tem.



>> Cole: I'm looking at

the resolution from the

 committee, and

I notice that the language

recommends an increase in

funding for the minority

trade contractors

associations based on a

graduated scale of yearly

increases.



>> Well, what we requested,

I know the asian contractors

association requested

$120,000.



We requested 180,000 and the

hispanic contractors

association requested

23,000.



So that's what we were

requesting.



>> Cole: So when it talks

about graduated scale, you

are really in comparison to

each other, not so much

different from --



>> right, we're not on the

same level in terms of the

service that we provide.



We provide different

services.



Some are similar, but many

respects are not.



Like the hispanic

contractors do a lot of leed

training and osha training.



We don't do that.



You know, we do company

profile resumes.



You know, we have to do

things within the context of

our budget.



And you know, we have a

website that we produce a

weekly bid brief, and we

have from 1400 to 2400 hits

a week on that website,

people trying to find out,

you know, bid opportunities,

who is a potential prime

bidders and all the other

kinds of information like

what are the bid results so

they can check and see if

they were on that contract.



So there are different

things that we provide.



>> Cole: One of the things

I've noticed when you have

come before the advisory

committee or before

 or at

councilmembers that all the

contractor associations come

together.



And I have just noticed that

and been very impressed

would that so it made me

think there was a lot of

collaboration.



>> It is.



It is a lot of

collaboration.



It better to be as one than

to be as three.



And we have learned that

over time that we have to

work together and so that's

what we're striving to do.



>> Cole: Thank you.



[One moment, please, for

change in captioners],,



>> only a small percentage

actually goes forward with

getting certified.



The remainder look at the

specs and plans that are

related to projects, city

projects, and it's very

intimidating to look and

open a book for the first

ti a spec book, and try

to figure out how to bid,

where to go, what the city

procedures are, and so part

of the monies that we're

interested in getting for

our association, for all of

our associations is to help

our contractors navigate all

the documentation that goes

with city proje and so

the money will be well-spent

because this is probably the

most intimidating thing that

many qualified contractors

can actually access, and if

they can't access those,

then they're not really

participating in the city as

citizens, tax-paying

citizens.



There are other areas that

we can use the monies for,

for plan reading.



We launched a pilot program

last year for leed training,

and many of our contractors

know what green building is

generally about, but when it

gets down to the specifics,

the documentation, all the

knowledge that they have to

have, they don't know what

an nsds is, these are all

aspects about being a

contractor in today's city

and today's construction

environment that they can't

really access unless they

have a little bit of

training.



And many of our city

projects, in fact, all of

them -- many of them are

leed qualified, and so i

have never heard of another

organization anywhere, no

other service provider in

the city of austin that

provides any kind of leed

training for subcontractors

so that they understand how

to work with general

contractors, they understand

what is involved in the leed

project.



So this money will be

well-spent and we really

appreciation your

consideration on this item.



 thank

you.



I don't understand what an

msds is either, so --

[laughter]

john davis?



>> Good morning.



Thank you for your time.



I would just like to say

regarding this proposed

budget there will be no

increases in the city energy

rates.



Looking at the comprehensive

annual financial report for

last year, there was

$300 million for austin

energy, $266 million of net

cash provided by operating

activities.



That's minus the cost to

suppliers and employees.



Based on this year's city

auditor report showing that

austin energy intends to

raise rates to increase the

amount of money in reserve

funds totaling

$400 million is inexcusable.



Dear mayor, council members

and citizens, over the last

six months I have reviewed

the comprehensive annual

financial report, several

auditor reports and many

articles regarding the

financial situation in our

city.



I have concluded that there

is corruption involved with

the proposed tax rate and

fee rate increases.



The city has over

$500 million of reserve cash

off the budget that it does

not want the normal citizens

to know about.



I am here to let them know.



It is incomprehensible that

you would dare even think to

charge to climb mount

bonnell or have citizens go

to zilkerer park and pay for

parking.



I know for a fact that the

city is bloated with

inefficient and waste.



Before you force the average

hardworking citizen to pay

more, why don't you use

less?



We can no longer tolerate

this kind of abusive power.



You know for a fact it is to

increase this reserve.



There is over $80 million in

the rate stabilization fund

for austin energy customers

yet you will not use it.



Instead you want to raise

rates to add more money to a

reserve fund intended to

avoid rate increases.



Ludicrous, criminal,

disgusting.



Many of you public servants

are overpaid and out of

touch with the struggling

families in this city and

cities across this nation.



Wake up and do what is right

or else expect to lose the

next elections.



How much cash does the city

have in reserve?



700 Million?



A billion?



Why do you need more?



It was just announced this

morning, we have

$6 million more from sales

tax revenue than expected,

yet you want more.



Give money to the fire

department, save us from

burning down when we have

the next wildfire.



Give money to the poor

communities that are

underfunded,

underappreciated and abused.



Use money the right way.



Thank you.



>> Next speaker is cyrus

reed.



Following cyrus reed is

richard craig.



>> Thank you, mayor, council

members.



I want to talk about two

issues.



One is I wanted to reiterate

something that jim moriston

brought up this morning,

which is how important that

clean air force is for

central texas, and just to

point out, that's an

organization that's funded

both by private -- austin

city money but also money

from the other

municipalities.



So it's a good use of our

money to make sure we

maintain at least $90,000 to

help support that and

hopefully you can get the

details.



I want to speak briefly

about the austin energy

budget and specifically

about the money -- amount of

money that's being earmarked

for the conservation

incentives, the incentive

for energy efficiency and

solar.



The proposed budget has

about $16 million in it for

incentives for energy

efficiency and solar.



That's roughly the same

amount that was in the

budget last I didn't

remember.



I'm here to tell you that i

think you should put some

more money into that fund.



And the two programs where i

think we need to increase

the money by a little is in

the solar rebate and

incentive portion of it as

well as the low-income

weatherization.



I was on the generation task

force.



One of our recommendations

was that we continue to fund

low income weatherization at

the same amounts that were

being funded through the

stimulus package.



This is going to help a lot

of those residents as we

increase -- or as we've

agreed to increase our rates

on austin energy customers,

putting a little bit more

money into energy efficiency

and particularly low income

weatherization will be

helpful.



We're suggesting about

2 million more in that line

item.



And then also increasing the

amount of money in the solar

rebates.



There is an ongoing solar

committee that's looking at

that, and they've come up

with a recommendation for

2013 of a tot allotment of

funding for solar of

10 million.



That's not actually spent in

2013.



Some of it is through

long-term incentives, so the

actual amount needed in 2013

is probably less than

10 million.



I'm not sure the exact

amount that's needed, but

some increase we believe is

needed to set us on course

for both the efficiency

goals and the solar goals

that you all have adopted.



So I would just ask for your

consideration.



I know austin energy's

position is they're able to

adjust their budgets and

then pay for it in future

years.



I still think it's a good

idea to actually put in the

budget what you intend to

spend for that year rather

than hoping that we'll be

able to, you know, adjust it

later in the year.



So I would call for more

funding, particularly for

those two programs, and i

appreciate it.



Thank you.



>> Richard craig.



Following richard is dan van

treek.



>> Good morning mayor,

council.



I'm richard craig with the

peas park conservancy.



It's by been my privilege to

work with the parks

department and forestry

department on the

restoration of peas park.



We've planted over 500 trees

there.



These folks are wonderful

public servants.



They're dedicated, they love

our parks, and they really

are hard workers, but

there's only one problem.



There are not enough of

them.



And I think I've seen

firsthand what the lack of

resources have done to our

parks and our urban forest.



1998 The parks department

had 233 maintenance workers.



They were responsible for, i

think, roughly 14,000 acres.



Today it's 210.



I think in the current

proposed budget they call

for four more maintenance

workers, which is a good

start, but at the 210 level

I think each worker is

responsible for roughly

90 acres of parkland.



The situation is even worse

in the forestry department.



In 1992 they had 28

employees who were

responsible for 6,000 acres,

roughly.



Today they have 24

foresters, and they're

responsible for 19,500.



This means that each

forester in theory is

responsible for 12,500

trees, and, you know, that's

 they're

not going to get to it.



I think april rhodes

referred earlier that

they're on a 99 year

schedule to see every tree

in austin and give it care.



We've already lost about 10%

of our trees in the current

drought.



We don't want to wait until

we've lost 30% of our trees

or more until we hire an

additional forester.



We need -- we need their

help.



We don't want to wait until

someone is injured because

they have a backlog of over

4,000 work orders that they

can't get to.



I think everybody remembers

the incident at barton

springs a few years ago when

a tree branch fell on

somebody and was badly

injured.



Hiring additional foresters

now is in a way almost like

an insurance policy against

some future lawsuit.



And there was discussion

earlier about the wildfire

danger in austin/travis

county.



Additional foresters would

contribute to the mitigation

of that problem, if they can

remove the dead fuel that is

waiting in queue to be taken

out.



According to the trust for

public land, that's a think

tank in washington, d.c.



That collects statistics on

parks nationwide, austin is

in the bottom one-third of

all the major cities in the

united states in what we

spend per capita on park

maintenance, and that's not

where we want to be, I know,

that's not where any of us

want to be as a city.



We think of ourselves as an

environmental city, a green

city.



We only spend $43 per capita

according to the study, and

cities like akron, ohio and

corpus christi spend more.



>> Thank you.



Dan van treek.



>> Good morning, my name is

dan van treek.



I appreciate your time here.



I'm today on behalf of

austin parks.



I spend a lot of time in the

parks.



I spend a lot of volunteer

time in the parks, and have

noticed that in the past few

years we are starting to

fall behind on our tree

canopy especially.



I agree with ricrd and

what he's saying.



And austin, we're a green

city and we love our trees.



There's no question.



People here are passionate

about their trees.



But it appears to me that

we're quickly slipping in

what we think we are.



Looking at the statistical

information on a national

scale and just walking

around the parks, take a

look at the parks downtown.



For one reason or another

they're closed up, they're

dying.



Take a look at garrison park

on the south side, fields

are dying and they're

just -- the trees are being

taken away.



The urban forestry program

is in a complete reaction

mode, and what I am asking

is for you to explore the

possibility of additional

funding for the parks

department and the urban

forestry department so that

we can continue to say that

we're green and we like our

trees.



And I could get into the

statistics and I think you

all are probably -- some of

you have seen them, but

that's all I'm asking for

today is to just -- for you

to sit there and look and

say, hey, we need to do

better.



Thank you.



>> Thank you.



Paul robbins.



Following paul robbins is

melvin white.



>> Good morning.



I want to again protest the

high water cost of the

austin water utility.



Given the detailed,

agonizing process the

council went through to vet

the austin energy increase

earlier this year, the water

utility increases have been

relatively unscrutinized.



Look at the comparison.



For austin energy council

set a goal of no more than a

2% increase per year.



For austin water there is a

5% this

year alone.



For austin energy there's

been a 7% rise in rates in

18 years.



For austin water there's

been a 109% rise in 13

years.



For austin energy the policy

is to scrub the budget to

lower or mitigate the next

rate increase, the stated

goal of several council

members was a 5% reduction.



No budget scrub has been

asked of the austin water

utility.



For austin energy the stated

policy is to cap the general

fund transfer for an interim

period.



For austin water the

transfer is increased.



For austin water the goal is

to set rates no higher than

50% of the utilities in

texas.



For austin water we have the

highest cost of the top ten

texas cities.



For austin energy, it's

pretty much spent its

conservation budget this

year.



For austin water utility it

has woefully underspent its

allocated budget by about

33%.



For austin energy council

held somewhere between 12

and 15 work sessions on ways

to understand and lower

electric rates.



For austin water no work

sessions have been held on

ways to lower costs.



The austin water utility has

a budget of about half a

billion a year.



I would like council to

develop a five-year goal to

lower water utility costs

and improve services by a

stated percentage.



Austin has the highest

combined water/wastewater

cost of the top ten texas

cities.



This utility can no longer

fly under the radar and get

routine annual rate

increases.



Thank you.



>> Thank you, mr. robbins.



Next we have melvin white.



 white, you have three

minutes.



>> Thank you.



Good morning, mayor --

mayor's absence and council.



My name is melvin white.



I serve on the community

technology and

telecommunications

committee, and I serve at

the pleasure of mayor pro

tem cole.



I'm here in support of two

resolutions that were

submitted by our commission.



The first was the open

government.



I think that it's a great

opportunity to create

transparency in our

government, and I think it

really creates dialogue

between the public sector as

well as government.



Secondly, I wanted to talk

about the austin free-net.



The $31,000 in the

resolution was primarily for

gap funding.



Austin free-net supported a

broadband technology

opportunities program for

the last three years of

consortium and they've gone

from doing 48 hours of

training to right at about

1800 hours of training per

month.



And the way I believe this

grant operates is they

actually get computers that

they're able to disburse

throughout the city in

strategic areas, and I think

that that's a great way to

leverage resources as it

relates to the hardware.



So the relationship we

suggested and challenge

them, and I think they

talked about, to see how

they expand technology into

churches and into locations

where there is not

technology, to where they

could provide the actual

training.



They also provide a-plus

net-plus server training as

well, and I would hope that

the city, from a commission

standpoint, would see how

they're able to leverage

this infrastructure, whether

it be the -- I heard the --

the minority contractor mbe

contractors.



If they're able to provide

training for those

organizations as well as

other community-based

organizations that does not

,

I think it creates a great

platform, and I think austin austin

free-net has been a long

time relationship with the

city and the small counters,

but they've taken a step to

the next level and their

contract is running out in

july.



So the 31,000 was for gap

funding for september -- i

believe september and

october, but I think next

year we hope to come back

with a different resolution

to support austin free ned

expanded into the -- free

net into the dove springs

and elsewhere.



The 31,000 to my

understanding is not for the

dove springs and the other

areas, only to create a gap

funding for a two-month

window, but hopefully that

they're able to expand into

other communities via

churches and other

organizations, because i

think that it's a great

opportunity to leverage the

infrastructure and the

assets that they've been

able to provide.



I want to thank you for the

opportunity, but definitely

in support of both of those

two resolutions that you

have.



>> Cole: thank you.



 karen

hadden.



Council member morrison.



 I want to thank

you for coming down and i

want to highlight one thing

 bud, I think her

name is, the executive

director, mentioned, that

slipped by quickly and that

is that austin -- they're

partnering with the benefits

bank of texas which will

allow more folks leverage

the benefits that they're

eligible for, like snap and

all.



So that's -- I think that's

important to keep in mind,

that free net is going to be

a real important partner in

that regard too.



>> Thank you.



>> Mayor leffingwell: okay.



Go ahead.



>> Good morning, mayor and

council.



I'm karen hadden.



I'm the director of the

sustainable energy and

economic development or seed

coalition ann I'm a board

director of solar austin and

I'm speaking in that

capacity too.



Solar austin is a group of

people working together,

includes solar installers

and solar energy advocates,

and when the austin energy

rates were being debated,

this group came forward and

said, you know, we're really

looking for some budget

increases so we can do what

needs to be done for the

city of austin and provide

jobs and put solar on

rooftops and make our

energy -- or our air cleaner

all at the same time.



The group was asked to wait

and to raise this issue

during the budget process,

and so it is appropriate to

do so now.



The current budget proposal

is roughly $4 million, but

by the end of this fiscal

year there will have been

6 million spent, so the

programs are not only fully

subscribed, they're actually

oversubscribed.



There is a great deal of

demand for the solar

programs.



They're very successful and

very popular.



The solar industry is

growing and has grown over

the years with now some 600

local jobs, and they can

still continue to grow,

especially if we put the

programs in place that will

allow that to happen.



Solar austin supports the

budget recommendation that

was made by the local solar

advisory committee working

together with austin energy.



That recommendation was for

$10 million for local

residential and commercial

solar projects, and it's

expected that that will

result in the generation of

about 10 megawatts of

locally distributed energy

generation, will help meet

peak energy demand needs and

again reduce air pollution.



So it's a wise investment.



With the rebate amounts

falling, likely to fall as

the cost of solar panels

fall, this money is going to

go even further, which is

another reason why it's a

wise investment, and also

with the production tax

credit, probably going to

expire in 2016, now is the

time for especially some of

the commercial projects to

get put in place, the larger

ones.



Let's do that.



Let's move forward and we're

going to have affordable

energy for a long time.



I'd also like to concur --

so again, I'd like to urge

you to support a

$10 million budget

allocation as per

recommendations of the local

solar advisory committee,

and also would like to

concur with cyrus reed.



Earlier you spoke about the

need to also increase

efficiency, funding.



It's the most affordable way

that we can meet our energy

needs, especially as peak

demand becomes an issue, and

I'd also like to say that

we -- for seed coalition

that we support the clean

air task forth budget as

well.



Thank you.



 thank

you.



Those are all the speakers

that I have signed up that

would like to speak in this

public hearing.



Is there anyone who has

signed up to speak and i

haven't called your name?



In that case I'll entertain

a motion to close the public

comment part of the budget

hearing and schedule

adoption of the budget for

september 10 to be continued

on september 11 and 12, if

necessary.



>> Cole: so moved.



 mayor

pro tem so moves.



Second by council member

morrison.



Further discussion?



All in favor say aye.



>> Aye.



>> Mayor leffingwell: aye.



Opposed say no.



Passes on a vote of 5-0 with

council member martinez and

spelman off the dais.



We have one more item

remaining.



I understand there's a

desire -- there's certainly

a desire on my part to go

into executive session

before we take this item up.



>> [Inaudible]

 oh,

I'm jumping ahead of myself

a little bit here.



Disregard that.



We'll now take up agenda

item 2 to conduct the second

and last of two public

hearings and receive

comments on the proposed

maximum property tax rate of

5 cents per

$100 valuation for

2012-2015.



That would require a roll

backs.



It will adopted here in

council chambers on

00 after

the council adopts the

 earlier we didn't

have any speakers on this

item.



Let me double-check here.



We now have one speaker

signed up, jack kurflin.



Not wishing to speak.



Okay.



In that case is there a

motion to close this second

and final public hearing on

the city's proposed maximum

property tax rate?



So moved by council member

morrison, second by council

member riley.



All in favor say aye.



>> Aye.



>> Mayor leffingwell: aye.



Opposed say no.



Passes on a vote of 5-0 with

council member martinez and

spelman off the dais in this

final hearing on the

proposed maximum tax rate is

closed.



Council will vote to adopt

the actual property tax rate

for next fiscal year on

monday, september 10 in the

council chambers, 301 west

2nd street after council

adopts the budget.



So now without objection the

council will go into closed

session to take up one item

pursuant to section 551 #

.071 of the government code.



The council will consult

with legal counsel regarding

the following item, item 3,

discuss legal issues related

to rio de vida municipal

utility d,,



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

We're out of closed session.



We took up and discussed

legal issues related to item

number 3 and we'll now take

up item number 3.



Postponed from the last

meeting.



And there are no speakers

signed up.



So I'll entertain a motion.



Or discussion.



Mayor pro tem.



>> Cole: Yes, I'd like to

ask one of the lawyers to

come up briefly to discuss

just a couple of items.



,,,,



>> sharon smith with the law

department.



>> Cole: Thank you,

 smith, I'm glad you are

here.



Can you briefly lay out what

the extension that's on our

agenda with respect to the

m.u.d. agreement does?



>> It allows the -- it

provides the city's consent

to the district through

SEPTEMBER 1st, 2013.



With the possibility of

extending that to

SEPTEMBER 1st, 2014.



>> Cole: Okay.



Does it in any way impact

the council's ability to

make an adjustment to the

agreement at that subsequent

date?



>> If you are speaking about

the permanent consent

agreement, what the

ordinance envisions is that

the city manager and staff

would negotiate a permanent

consent agreement much like

you all had for pilot knob

and southeast travis county

 and that would come

before council for

consideration and at that

time you could propose

whatever amendments that you

wish.



But that's what would be the

ultimate document that would

be governing an ongoing

m.u.d.



>> Cole: Okay, help me

understand because the item

before us is the interim

consent agreement.



What relationship did that

have to the permanent

consent agreement?



>> The interim consent

agreement -- you actually

could provide for a 2013

date just by adopting an

ordinance instead of an

interim consent agreement,

but the interim consent

agreement continues

additional protections that

would be cumbersome to

include in an ordinance and

number 2 we wanted it in a

consent agreement so it

would be signed by a

developer.



And so the consent agreement

provides for numerous

opportunities to terminate

and so those kinds of

protective provisions are in

the interim consent

agreement.



When the -- and if that is

approved and staff goes

ahead and negotiates a

permanent consent agreement,

that would look like the

traditional consent

agreement that you are used

to looking at and that would

supersede the interim

consent agreement.



>> Cole: What I'm trying

to ensure there are no final

actions being taken today

with respect to the I guess

meat and potatoes, for

better word, of the

agreement suc the

composition of the m.u.d.



Board, the debt issuance,

the superiority requirements

we would normry require in a

m.u.d.



>> None of those are covered

by agreement and they

wouldn't be addressed until

negotiations and there would

be board and commission

review and then council

review.



>> Cole: So this would go

through the same process of

boards and commissions

review and come back to

council.



This is only asking for an

extension of time.



>> Yes, it's consenting to

the district for a year.



>> Cole: Okay.



Now, help us understand why

we would -- you are

recommending this in terms

of what may potentially

happen with tceq.



>> If the council does not

approve a consent to this

DISTRICT BY SEPTEMBER 1st,

2012, Then this legislation

will be void.



And at that time two

options, one is that the

legislation, similar

legislation could be

reintroduced either if that

didn't happen or the

legislation weren't passed,

the other thing that could

happen would be that the

property owner could go to

tceq for a tceq created

m.u.d.



If tceq approved that kind

 and y'all's

policy, the city's m.u.d.



Policy provides that you all

would protest such an

action, but if tceq

ultimately created the

, then that would just

 and it

wouldn't contain the kind of

provisions that you all have

wanted to include in your

consent agreements related

to the requirements in your

m.u.d. policy.



Affordable housing, parks,

all sorts of attributes to

your development that you

, city

service for water and

wastewater and so on.



So none of those things

would the city have

leveraged to have included

 that was

approved by tceq.



>> Cole: So confirm with

me that by executing this

consent agreement today we

avoid the pitfalls that

could happen at both the

legislature and tceq in

terms of stripping our

authority for the things we

like to have like affordable

housing, parks, governance

issues, et cetera.



>> Right.



This would perpetuate that

authority that we have under

the legislation that gives

us the ability to put

conditions on our consent

like those that you

mentioned.



>> Cole: Okay.



Can you lay -- can you

explain a little bit about

the water issues in

connection with this

agreement.



>> The property owned by txi

is partly in the certificate

active indicated southwest

water company and partly not

and it's within the city

service area on the western

side of 130.



And so one of your m.u.d.



Policy, your requirements is

that the property be

entirely served by the city

of austin.



And southwest water

company's perspective is

that even if the property

owner were able to get the

proper released from

southwest water company,

ccn, that due to an old

settlement agreement that we

entered into with southwest

water company around getting

our ccm in the early

2,000s, THEIR CONTENTION

Is that settlement agreement

and language in there

prevents the city of austin

from ever serving this

property, even if the

property owners are released

from southwest water

company.



And so we are currently in

litigation seeking to have

that question resolved.



>> Cole: So we have a

policy where we want to

provide water to the entire

service area.



And I'm assuming that's

because of potential

financial implications and

environmental

considerations.



>> That's correct.



>> Cole: And if we do not

consent to this agreement we

have certainly not put

ourselves in any better

position with our lawsuit

and may have weakened that

position.



>> I would say that would be

correct.



You might want to speak to

[inaudible] about it a

little more, our litigator,

but that would be my take.



>> Cole: Demetrie, can you

answer that question real

quick?



>> The question was -- I'm

sorry.



Could you repeat that?



>> Cole: Why are we in

litigation about the water

issues.



>> Exactly what sharon smith

told you, it's about the

settlement agreement and we

have a different opinion

what that means in southwest

water corporation so we're

trying to have that resolved

to determine if we can

provide service to the

entire area even if and when

txi is released from

southwest water service

area.



>> Cole: So continuing

with the consent agreement

could help us in our

argument in the existing

lawsuit --



>> mayor pro tem, I think i

may be getting a little bit

uncomfortable with the line

of conversation with maybe

our strategy for the

lawsuit.



We're happy to go back into

executive session, maybe go

back over that at bit more.



>> Cole: Okay.



I understand.



Thank you for working so

hard on the lawsuit and i

certainly do not want to

give away our strategy in

the lawsuit so let me follow

up with sharon on one last

question about the consent

agreement.



So our primary interest in

potentially approving this

consent agreement is to

maintain our authority over

the property and our

superiority interest.



>> Correct.



>> Cole: Okay.



Mayor, I move approval.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Mayor pro tem cole moves to

close the public hearing and

approve on all three

readings, seconded by

councilmember rile

councilmember tovo.



>> Tovo: The agreement we

have before us in no way

grants approval to a

 in this

area.



>> It grants approval for

one year.



>> Tovo: But they cannot

proceed in terms of

developing the property

without proceeding on to do

a permanent consent

agreement.



>> That is correct.



The district is not the

property owner in any case,

the district's functions are

to finance infrastructure

and services.



The developer or the

property owner, txi, would

be the -- would be applying

for any development and our

agreement, what the city's

typical processes are, if a

delopment application is

filed and then we annex.



As far as the district is

concerned, no.



>> Tovo: So there's a

requirement that the

district continue on, get

the permanent consent

agreement in place before --

and as I think we discussed

in the executive session it

would take a proactive

action by the council to do

so.



>> To come back again and

approve a consent agreement,

that's right.



>> Tovo: Once it's gone

through the boards and

commissions process.



I know we had several

representatives earlier from

txi.



I wonder if any of them

might want to just confirm

for the council that that is

their expectation as well.



>> On behalf of txi, that is

our expectation.



It's our expectation that we

will have to come back

before all of the boards and

all of the applicable boards

and commission and to

council to reach an

agreement on a permanent

consent agreement and to be

able to go forward with the

development as proposed.



>> Tovo: And that

permanent consent agreement

would include -- would be

along the lines of what we

saw from pilot knob and the

, they would be

extensive descriptions of

the superiority of the

development and various

provisions with regard to

open space and affordable

housing and other potential

elements and inclusions.



>> Yes, that's correct.



We will have to present at

the board and commissions

and ultimately at council

all of the various

superiority elements and the

tier 2 elements of the

 that we are proposing

to meet and it will contain

all of those elements for

your review and for council

to determine whether they

approve.



>> Tovo: Thank you.



Miss smith, one additional

question.



I think you may have

mentioned this in your

comments with mayor pro tem,

but if we -- if the city of

austin cannot serve this

municipal utility district,

can serve all of it with

water service, we will

not -- according to council

policy, this would not

become -- the city would not

enter into permanent consent

agreement; is that correct?



>> That's what your policy

says, that's correct.



That would follow through to

your consideration of

permanent consent agreement.



>> Tovo: And the interim

consent agreement before us

includes the ability for --

for the city to terminate --

to terminate this interim

consent agreement without

cause.



>> That's correct,

unilaterally with 30 days

notice.



>> Tovo: Why is that 30

days notice in there is

this.



>> Pause because the other

party needs to have an

opportunity to know what we

do and if they did the same

would have to tell us so if

there were some sort of

miscommunication that it

occurred or some our

misunderstanding that we

would have an opportunity to

talk about that before we

had taken an irrevocable

action.



>> Tovo: All right.



Thank you.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Councilmember morrison.



>> Tovo: May I ask one

more.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: Go

ahead.



>> Tovo: You talked about

the ability to extend one

more time next year.



>> Yes.



>> Tovo: Who will make

that decision?



Will that also come

before --



>> yes.



>> Tovo: It would come

before council, it wouldn't

be an administrative

extension?



>> No.



>> Mayor Leffingwell:

Councilmember morrison.



>> Morrison: Thank you,

sharon.



I wonder -- we've talked

some about the benefit to

the city of having this kind

 as opposed to a

regular tceq m.u.d.



Could you talk a little bit

also about the benefits to

the developer of -- that

would go to the developer

under this kind of

 as

?



>> Yes.



There are a number of

benefits to a developer

 and the

one that I have mentioned

several times are the

opportunity to have grading

and topographical

improvements being paid for

 financing

because it's not a typical

piece of property out there

because a large part of it

is a quarry.



So that's an unusual kind of

provision to be included in

a special district for them

to use financing for that.



In addition to that, the

district also would have the

authority to finance road

improvements.



It contains a provision for

higher percentage of park

reimbursements than is

 under

the standard water code

provisions for their

authority.



It allows for an economic

development activities that

are -- we call 380

agreements.



And further on in the

district bill, a couple more

about I think hotel-motel

tax -- hotel occupancy tax,

excuse me, is in there and

those are the primary ones

that come to mind off the

top of my head.



>> Morrison: Okay.



Thank you.



So there are -- so it's not

just the city pushing --

that would push this that it

would have been going hand

in and originally the city

and developer to support

this legislation.



>> Yes.



>> Morrison: And then also

in the agreement could you

also address there's one

section that had been

highlighted, section 4.09.



B.



Where it states the city

agrees to cooperate with the

developer in connection with

any waivers or approval, the

developer may desire from

travis county in order to

avoid the duplication of

processes or services in

connection with development

of the land.



Could you talk about where

that came from and how

necessary that is?



>> Yes.



This is sort of a place

holder if there's any

activity that needed to

occur that would not be in

violation of the consent

agreement that would sort of

cover a generally boiler

plate kind of provision so

if there were some

unforeseen circumstance that

we would not obstruct that

and neither would the

developer.



It's not necessary to the

agreement.



I am fairly certain the

developer would be willing

to give it up and from the

city's perspective it's not

necessary to stay in there.



So if you all want to move

the remove that, it wouldn't

present an impediment for

the city.



>> Morrison: I appreciate

that because it's very open

ended and obviously there's

such a plethora of issues

that get raised for folks

when it comes to issues that

go on with permits with the

county.



Thank you, miss smith.



That's all.



I did want to make some

comments about this motion

and my position on the

motion.



We did have the

opportunity -- I did have

the opportunity to get some

information, initial

information about what was

proposed, what was going to

be proposed in this m.u.d.



In terms of the development

and that it, you know, looks

like a lot of really

terrific things in terms of

open space and things that

were being planned.



I do think that unfortunate

timing that we're at very

last minute, that we didn't

get to think through this

several months ago.



I think that we could have

and I think that we could

have, but we are here having

to make this decision.



I did want to highlight that

having a legislative m.u.d.



Benefits both the city and

the developer.



And so what I've been really

focusing on and haven't been

able to shake is because

this is a different kind of

 that we don't have

that much experience with,

but definitely we've never

had any experience with nor

has there been a situation

where we've done -- where

there has been something

like an interim consent

agreement, my main focus and

interest and the reason I've

been asking questions and

trying to play through this

has been to look at the risk

of the city losing any of

its leverage in terms of

being able to promote

through a permanent consent

agreement a really superior

development.



And wve certainly -- i

know that folks come to

us -- that folks come to the

table with all intentions --

with all good intentions,

but there are so many -- i

am still uncomfortable that

there are potential

challenges that could

eventually through who knows

what scenarios weaken the

protections that we have and

the interest that we have at

this point.



I do think obviously that

needs to be weighed off with

the scenario of this not

passing today.



And let me just say I am

really sorry that we don't

have seven people on the

dais right now because it

makes it for a very unusual

situation.



And I do think that, you

know, if this does not pass,

this scenario -- if there

continues to be a common

interest between the city

and the developer to support

additional legislation

that's similar to what's in

there now if this actually

sunsets.



I think there clearly would

be common interest,

potential for common

interest and that that could

go forward.



So I weigh that off against

my concerns about the loss

of protections.



And as I said, I really wish

there were seven people on

the dais.



And I have given this a lot

of thought, asked a lot of

questions aen really just

tried to sit back and figure

out what I really think is

the in the best interest of

the city in this very

difficult decision.



And where I come down is

that I just cannot support

this motion at this time.



>> Mayor Leffingwell: Any

further discussion?



All in favor of the motion

say aye.



Opposed say no.



Motion passes on first

reading only a vote of 4-1

with councilmember morrison

voting no and councilmember

martinez and spelman off the

dais.



It is unlikely that we will

address this item again

seeing that the expiration

date for this authority

expires the day after

tomorrow so I would assume

that the initiative is

effectively dead as of this

point.



Those are all the items on

the agenda.



Without objection we're

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