City Council Work Session Transcript – 7/18/2023 Title: ATXN-1 (24hr) Channel: 1 - ATXN-1 Recorded On: 7/18/2023 6:00:00 AM Original Air Date: 7/18/2023 Transcript Generated by SnapStream ================================== Please note that the following transcript is for reference purposes and does not constitute the official record of actions taken during the meeting. For the official record of actions of the meeting, please refer to the Approved Minutes. [9:01:08 AM] good morning, everybody. It's 9:00 Mok. I am going to call to order the Austin city council for a regularly scheduled city council work session. It's Tuesday, July 18th, 2023. We are meeting at Austin city hall in the Austin city council chambers and we have a quorum of the Austin city council present members. The order that I think will go in is first we will have the briefing that is scheduled. Then we will have a number of pre-selected agenda items that we will discuss so that we can be better prepared and more efficient. On Thursday. Shea and then we will have one at one per one. Council member wishes to speak on an item that has been pulled for Thursday but wants to take the opportunity to speak. And then we will go into executive session Ann with that . But it's going to take me a minute or two to get used to [9:02:09 AM] everybody sitting in the wrong seats now. But but I'll get there. Yeah, I've got you to you may get called on all the time. All right. With that, we will go to the first item, which is the briefing, and it's an update on council resolution Ann regarding shelter capacity and navigation services. I'll recognize the manager. >> So the item is on in your backup and think Diana is going to walk us through it. And then we're will then have questions about this presentation to see how we might answer additional questions that might arise. Diana thank you. >> Good morning, mayor and council. Today we're going to be brief giving an update briefing on our community wide shelter assessment that you may recall that in August of 2022, council approved an emergency control tracts for new providers to operate the arch and southbridge [9:03:09 AM] shelter. At that time, council gave direction to perform an assessment of our emergency shelter system community wide. I think it's important to say, and you'll probably hear this echoed throughout the briefing, that the city does not control the entire shelter system. We are an owner of significant shelter facilities and a major funder, but by far not the only player, nor should we be. And so the recommendations that come out of this assessment really are about our entire shelter system. Some of them are immediately actionable by the city. Most of them require partnership with our other stakeholders in the system and potentially other funders as well. So the timing here is important because council also asked us to do this before we're solicited the emergency contracts. So we are looking forward to doing that rfp process. Yes, but we'll be [9:04:11 AM] wrapping this assessment up before moving on to that process . Yes. With learnings in hand and thinking about how we can improve the contracting process as well. There are a couple of pieces of related direction from council that really are woven into to this briefing today, but that we will be responding fully under sort of separate memo and report to council and those include a February resolution that asked staff to look at all extreme weather sheltering. That then is really be a responsibility that crosses both the homeless response system. Ann and homeland security and emergency management. You have had an interim update from haysom last month and we will be looking to provide a full update on that, I believe in November. And then next last month, there [9:05:11 AM] was a resolution that asked us to ensure that as part of our shelter assessment or in addition to the ongoing shelter assessment, we look specifically at geographic dispersion of our shelter resources. Conway compared to the unsheltered population. Ann and the location of those folks as well as providing some cost estimates for operations of shelter and capital. So as staff began to look at doing a broad assessment of our community shelter system , we really took a multi-pronged approach in terms of the information and resource research that staff undertook. Certainly looking at national best practices, evidence based practices and research, lean ING on some previous consultant reports that had been performed formed here in Austin. Specific to our homeless response system and our shelter staff spent significant time looking at peer [9:06:13 AM] cities, shelter systems. And then of course we dove into our local data coming primarily from our homeless management information system to understand how our local system is working . And finally, significant direct engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders, including people pool experiencing homelessness who are either users of shelter or may not be using shelter and have had some experience in the past. Our direct service providers and then other advocates and service providers in the space who may not be actual shelter providers. So think high level findings of our resource indicate, first of all, top line think is that we only have one shelter bed for about every five people experiencing homelessness in our community. So that of course is a major contributor to our significant [9:07:14 AM] unsheltered population. In fiscal year 22, almost 3000 individuals utilize shelter services in Austin, Ann and when we look at the beds that were online, we had an average of about a 92% utilization rate of the available beds in the community. The average shelter stay is 115 days, regardless of exit type. I will say that when we look at the data, we see some bifurcation here. People who exit shelter without out a known housing destination tend to have shorter stays. People who eventually move into housing Singh the stay, the average stay is a bit longer, which does make sense. They remain engaged in services. It takes us a while to get them housed, but typically that stay is longer than 115 days. And our experience, particularly in the city operated bridge shelters, we have seen that timeline extend Eid because the housing search [9:08:15 AM] is so difficult. And then finally, I think we have a substantial population of folks in shelter who are experiencing chronic homelessness means they have been homeless for over a year, Shaw or four times over the past three years. And importantly, are living with a disability that creates another barrier for them in terms of housing stability. So I think one of the really important things for us to be tracking as a community is what our outcomes are out of shelter. Shaw and the way that we do that is that we look at shelter exits. So all of the household needs exiting shelter over the course of a year. And the high level news here is that you know, over 50% are exiting to known permanent housing locations. Believe our math, there is about 46% or 56% excuse me, 12. We know, returned [9:09:15 AM] to the streets or they may enter an institution that could be a hospital, a nursing home or or may be facing incarcerate Ann. And so those are not the outcomes we want to see. But think importantly here, you'll see that we do have a substantial number of people where the destination is unknown. And so it's not atypical for someone to spend some time in shelter and then not return. And I think that, you know, we believe that this 31% unknown destination really is a combination of people who self-resolve and really would like to leave their shelter experience behind. And so they don't report back where their destination is. And people who are returning to homelessness, it will be an ongoing challenge for us to improve the data on this front. But that's something that we and our partners will continue to work toward to understand better what happens here. For those people where the [9:10:16 AM] destination is unknown at the time of exit. So when we talk about Austin's shelter portfolio , polio, we are talking about not just south of 900 beds in may of this year, we had 880 active beds. Luz remember that that is post closure of the downtown shelter owned by Salvation Army. But before we began Ann, the expansion of shelter beds in our existing bridge shelters for example. So we thought that was an important baseline Ann the city owns three 300 or owned at this time. 333 beds. So zo 38% of the shelter capacity. So with the remainder being owned by our private nonprofit partners, as we look at the portfolio, we see that about 47% of beds are set aside for families with children that population is about 25% of our population of people experience [9:11:16 AM] Singh homelessness. But the overrepresentation or the richer resourcing of that part of the system makes sense because obviously we really don't want children to be facing unsheltered homelessness. Luz however, when we look at the balance of single adults, one of the things that we note is that we don't have a lot of beds that are just open for any single individuals for the most part, they are defined by gender. We've got 14, 13% that are adult men only. We've got only only 1% that are available specifically for women. A significant portion in our bridge shelters that do take either gender and no other requirements. But they are set aside for the heal initiative. And so we really do see a gap in just beds that are available for folks. You know, for referral, not based on specific programs or specific populations. 12% of our beds are dedicated to a [9:12:17 AM] persons fleeing domestic violence or or other other for victims of violence and then we have, of course, other special populations like youth veterans, immigrants and refugee and some medical respite. Those are all important subpopulations. We'll talk about that a little bit more in a moment. But I think we want a balance of generally available beds and those more specified Eid programs. So we know that we had about 880 beds. And the question is how many beds does the community need in a perfect world? And for this we rely on a report that was completed in 2020 by barb poppy, an associate S that looked at our entire homeless response system and said if the system were right, size Eid and functioning sort of at peak efficiency, what would you need in each of these intervention areas based on that and adjusting for population growth since 2020, we estimate that by [9:13:19 AM] the end of 2025 we would need just over 1500 beds in the community and that for 1428 of those should be for single individuals. Ralls 91 for families with children. Now those are household, not beds. So more beds than 91. And so what that means is if we need 1428 beds for single individuals and we've got 466 right now, that that gives us a gap of almost a thousand beds that would need to be in place by the end of 2025. Again for an ideally functioning system. And think it's important also that that ideally functioning system is really predicated on having sufficient resources across the board in permanent housing, in prevention, et-cetera, so that we are decreasing the number of people who are just sitting waiting for housing or and decreasing the number of people who fall into homelessness and might need shelter services. So [9:14:23 AM] we have begun and you know, I believe it was may 12th, council received a memo from the manager talking about our efforts to expand shelter in in the short and medium term. And so we do have three projects that are already under development north bridge. We have expanded to double occupancy. That is complete. We are in the process of expanding to double occupancy in rooms at south bridge, Paige and you may know that Esperanza community is in the process of creating micro shelters at their site. As of may, they had 85 of an Ann anticipated 200 beds. So we will continue to see them expand when we look at those projects against the gap that we've identified for single individuals, we still need about 700 beds. And so I do want to note that in the face of this very significant gap, understanding that it will take [9:15:24 AM] time for additional beds to be added to the system on a permanent basis. The city has done a couple of things to provide some relief. One one is restoring capacity Katy at the downtown shelter, the formerly operated and currently owned by the Salvation Army. So council approved that on June 8th. Urban alchemy will be operating that site for approximately a year for 150 beds and then council has before it on Thursday. Shea an agenda item to stand up the marshaling yard as a temporary sheltering facility with 300 beds. When we look at the geographic dispersion of shelter, this map combines the blue dots are the locations of our shelters, both city owned and those owned by private nonprofits. And it is a heat map of where unsheltered individuals were found during the point in [9:16:25 AM] time. Count in January of 2023. Ann Eid. So you can see that our shelter resource is are concentrated in Ann sort of along the I-35 corridor in downtown and in the eastern crescent and Eid while we will in our report give more detailed analysis by by geographic area, I think that what this this visual tells us is we have a significant concentration in south Austin south of around and south of 71 and no shelter there. And we have a significant concentration along the I-30 five corridor north of 183 and in northwest Austin as well, with no shelters in those areas. And so geographic area is not certainly not the only consideration that we look at when we look at siting shelter, but as we look at expanding our permanent shelter capacity as a [9:17:27 AM] city and with our partners, this certainly needs to be one of the things that we take into consideration in the final thing I'll note here is in June, Ann echo briefed the public health committee on the point in time count and some trends that they're seeing in the numbers and Eid. One of those trends was while we still obviously have a very significant concentra Ann of individuals in central Austin and in the central business district that the that concentrate Ann has diminished. And we have seen movement into other parts of town. So we have top ten recommendations. And again as I said, there are some of these that are actionable by staff, but most of these really are going to take a number of partners and likely a number of funding sources to bring to fruition. So we're recommending that over the next two and a [9:18:30 AM] half years, the community look at adding a thousand shelter beds for single individuals because that's where the gap is. And we think that at least 80% of those should be really general population. Ann so not specified for a subpopulation for a particular program, but we do have some significant gaps for subpopulations. We have heard for some time that our our citizens in the lgbtqia community have a lot of difficulty in our existing shelters and often don't have all of their needs met. We know that we have folks with Singh significantly complex health needs that can be difficult to meet in a general shelter environment. So those are a couple, not the only subpopulation. Burns I would also add, particularly with the loss of the Salvation Army downtown specific beds for women . We would like to see in every shelter in our community be [9:19:31 AM] diversion and rapid exit program Singh and what that is, you know that we work very hard on our long term housing programs. So rapid rehousing, which is time limited but substantial support and case management and permanent supportive housing, which is not time limited. But there are many individuals, Ralls and households that come into shelter for based on a precipitating event. They do need help to get back into housing. But they may not need that to be long term. So it is really what often how this is structured is it's a pretty flexible pot of funds where case managers on site can problem solve with folks entering shelter and hopefully move them back into housing quickly, notably, we need to diversify our funding streams Luz in this space, as we look at our peer cities, I will say that Austin is investment of general fund in shelter operations is significantly higher than we see in other communities where the [9:20:33 AM] philanthropic community plays a much more significant role in the ongoing in the ongoing support of shelter. So think we have an invitation to make of our partners in the community to come shoulder to shoulder in this work to provide the capacity that's needed. And then finally, when we look at how and what we expand much of our work, engaging directly with people experiencing homelessness, this indicates Eid a preference for something other than just purely congregate shelter of everyone in one room. So actually the most preferred model was with a roommate. So in a room with a roommate, potentially 2 to 3 people with being alone in a room, being the second most favored model knell and then of course congregate less favored. So those are issues that really are going to take a lot of [9:21:34 AM] partners and funders. There are other system improves butts that we think can be achieved in close partnership with our continuum of care governance structure, which is administered by echo and has stakeholders from across the system. We believe that we need baseline written standards for shelter in our community as well as best practice recommended actions. We would like would like to see a system wide policy and process for involuntary exit of clients with some appeals process that's community wide. We want to increase opportunities for collaboration and in particular to invest in ongoing training of frontline staff in shelters. You can imagine that this is a it's a difficult job and there is substantial turnover. And so we need to be constantly investing in staff so that they're equipped to manage the shelters [9:22:36 AM] well and feel supported in that space. And finally, with echo and the continuum of care, we'd like to enhance the use of standardized performance measures. We do have some right now, but just as an example, echo has been working on for some time in partnership with hsd on a scorecard for all of our rapid rehousing programs that's shared across programs, regardless of funding. We'd like to see that for shelter. Finally, within Ann and the homeless strategy division, a couple of recommendations burns that we would like to begin to move on immediately are establishing coordinated shelter referral and access process. Right now pretty much all shelters have individual eventually have their own referral waiting list or access . So that makes it really difficult when Ann say our outreach teams host team become aware of someone with very significant needs to know to [9:23:37 AM] know we'd have to kind of call each shelter to identify where where that vacancy is. And so that also implies that we need to maximize technology and implement a bed management tool, at least for the city owned and funded shelters where, of course, we have significant influence. S we'd also like to see a common intake assessment for those shelters. Finally, as the continuum of care and echo develop written standards will be really following on that process to assess which of those standards can be incorporated into our contracting process. Luz that's been a really important way for us to provide that sort of alignment with our overall system so that we are affirming the standards that are established by echo and the always looking to ensure that that's feasible within the legal framework of our procurement [9:24:38 AM] process. Bartz et cetera. So having ended on perhaps the least interesting part of this, which is procurement, I will I will pause there and welcome any questions that you have. >> Let me let me make just some final comments on this, because I think there's not an issue that has been more prominent on the council's agenda than homelessness. When you look at what we've done over the last four years, we spent a considerable sum of money over to at least unofficially over $200 million to try to deal with the issues of people who are experiencing homelessness. And at the end of that period, we haven't decreased the amount of people experiencing homelessness. In fact, it's increased. And so what we've got to do, this course of this next fiscal year and know we're going to get into the discussion of budgets. And because I think that's the policy questions that we need to kind of wrestle with is one of the things that I would ask the council to think about as you think about this issue, very important issue for our community is to take a step [9:25:38 AM] back and think about the governance process as the city, as as an outsider looking in when was a private citizen, it looked as if the city owned this issue in its total, in its totality, when in fact, just a few short months here. It's clearly a multi-jurisdictional issue. It involves the county, it involves central health, it involves the city of Austin, it involves the veterans administration and a host of other private partners that we absolutely need to lean on to help us address the issue of homelessness. And we need metrics that then we are driving to try to achieve for the public expenditures. This these are the results that we're driving for and I hope that as we enter into that discussion during the course of the next month or so, that we can kind of focus on that because of the success of this is not an input, it's an output. And right now, as near as I can tell, the success has been measured by an appropriate Ann and that's just the beginning. It's not it's really the beginning of a long program to try to achieve results. And I just wanted to give my editorial thoughts to that. Even though I'm not supposed to be an editorial writer and answer for [9:26:39 AM] the council to ask questions. All right. >> We'll open up for questions. Councilmember pool. City manager thanks for those centering comments. >> I completely agree. We have been. I've been disappointed that the philanthropic and private sector haven't stepped up. We certainly have in the way that we had anticipated. We had certainly pressed and pushed and exhorted and advocated for their for financial support. So zo maybe in a new year we can press even harder on that. So I'm with you on that. I have two specific questions from the slides. One, on that heat map, which is a great slide. Yeah, that was it. There I'm curious if you can tell us two things about that. The type of housing at each site. And if you don't if you can't, you know, send us a memo with the information, the type of housing that is there because we have different categories of needs that we address. And if [9:27:41 AM] it's all mixed, let us know. And then the second question is how many beds, how many people are sleeping in those sites? Sure >> So this map and I'm glad you offered the opportunity for clarification is of shelter beds only. It is not of permanent housing location. So it's really just looking at shelter beds because of the number. We can certainly provide. And I do want to clarify, we will be following up both with a narrative report of the shelter assessment and a specific response to the resolution that came last month that asked us to do this work. So we'll provide some additional detail. We can certainly identify why each of those shelters with their capacity et-cetera and we have a variety Katy of units of analysis. We can utilize for the number of people. And so we'll look at that in the resolution. Did ask us to look at it by council [9:28:41 AM] district, but we also think there are other potential, even more meaningful geographic sort of levels of analysis, whether that zip code et-cetera and we can provide the point in time number that came out of the echo's report. Okay >> Thank you for that. That will be useful information on the city manager mentioned central health and I'd like to dig into that a little bit more if I could Eid or just ask the question what role central health currently plays in this work? What role do we think central health should play? What conversations are we having with central health? My thesis is that central health needs to be leading in this effort. It not the city of Austin. >> Sure. So go ahead, sir. >> Yeah. Councilmember, I think the issue of to the degree that health is part of the issue or [9:29:43 AM] part of the formula that's needed to help people escape the experience of homelessness, central health will play a critical and key role, especially for the poor and the vulnerable and there's no question that these individuals are either poor or they're vulnerable, even though it's anecdotal, because don't have statistics that can tell you the number of people, though others may have this that experienced behavioral health issues that where they need intensive therapy to help them become part of our citizenry, that can can be a full, productive citizen within our community. Those are things that central health can and should play a role in. But what I will say is that in in their defense, we've not. That's why asked us to start thinking about stepping back to find out the right role, the right lane for each agency, the city being one of them because I don't think we want to shirk our responsibilities either, but think they do play a role. And I think part of that is we need to extend at least that request for them to join all of us in trying [9:30:44 AM] to address the various components and lanes that they own or part of because of their public responsibility or their private responsibility because they're private, not for profits . And we and we'll intend to do that. >> I think that is terrific. And that would be a good aim. And hopefully a successful goal for this year and going forward. Central health has health in its name. I agree. The city of Austin should continue to do the supporting and organizing work and being actively involved, but I really would like to see a larger role played by central health. >> So I would like to give a couple of examples, which I think are promising sort of examples of the way that we can work together and things that central health has is, is has on deck. So central health has approved the issuance of certificates of obligation to create a facility for 50 respite beds. And that's essentially specialized shelter for individuals with complex health [9:31:44 AM] needs, including those who may be being discharged from local hospitals and need a place to recover. But not necessarily limited to those individuals. And they have been funding some of that from an operational standpoint for some time. So I think this is, you know, potentially that is one of these this gap of beds that we have. We're still think in the fairly early planning stages and want to work with them to understand the timeline. On the second piece is that we have in the coming months will be issuing an rfp for something called the at home initiative, which is services for permanent supportive housing. It is an evolution of a pay for success program that some of you may recall. And that the sort of important piece of that initiative is that it is multi funder. So it has the city, it has the county, it has central health as a partner as well as private partners like the saint David's foundation, Ann and the way that central health will be participating in that [9:32:45 AM] partnership is that for units, they will have mobile medical teams that are available and visit those sites so that the other you'll have a general case manager. Et cetera. But it really is an operational partnership that does lean into their expertise as as a health care funder and provider. So those aren't certainly aren't the only ways that I hope we can partner. But I think those are important early steps. >> That sounds great. Thank you. Keep us posted. Thank you. >> Thank you. I'll go. Council member Fuentes qadri and then harper-madison. Thank you. >> Thank you, miss gray and, councilmember pool. I echo your sentiments in wanting to hear more from central health and perhaps we can invite them to our next public health committee meeting to do a specialized presentation on on their efforts regarding homelessness. So just wanted to throw that out there. Miss gray, one of the items that you presented on and I just want [9:33:46 AM] to thank you for your presentation. I think you do a fantastic job with your presentation and I appreciate how you format the information and how you really cover all of the areas in which I as a council member would be looking to learn more about. So thank you for, thank you, councilmember. You talked about the gap for non referral Ralls services within within our shelter system. That is an issue colleagues that I have seen happen many times is that and you have to be on a referral list to get into one of our not only one of our shelters, but a shelter in the city. So what more can we be looking at? Or can you just elaborate on what that might look like for us as we explore options and providing an emergency shelter that is non referral based? >> Sure. >> And so I think there are a couple of pieces here. You could have walk up shelter Wright and really in some ways that is what's happening. Singh but understand that now and even when, you know, presuming we expand, we probably will have [9:34:47 AM] some frank shortage of shelter beds. And so we do need to be really strategic about how how we refer folks into shelter. Shaw and I'll just give you an example. It's not uncommon that we have street outreach teams come across people in the field that have significant vulnerabilities, whether those are health care related or related to potential victimization. Et cetera. We really we do want to move those people into shelter, if that's an appropriate placement for them. And again, this is probably what you've experienced . You then are faced with calling multiple shelters to try to understand Eid and so staff is working on this now, potential models. But let me give an example of something we have done in the past that I think was was useful. You will recall that during the heated days of covid, we had several protective lodges up and five and for a total of about 350 beds. And those were intended for people with significant [9:35:48 AM] health care vulnerabilities to covid. It was pre pre vaccine cetera. And so the idea was that it was providing a safe place for people to socially distance . There was a lot of need. And so we had a bed management team and that bed management team was sort of multi-partner. It consisted of city community care . Our clinics, particularly the health care for the homeless clinic, our community health paramedics who engaged a lot of these folks in the field, as well as echo and so I think at least for city owned properties and likely for city funded property is I think, saying we really need at least a coordinated system where, you know, as need arises, we're able to identify the best placement and know across the system where our capacity lies. >> And with that effort in mind, knowing that that is a need for us to have a coordinated system with bed management, is that something that your division [9:36:49 AM] will be working Singh on implementing, or do you need additional guidance from council or resources as we approach the budget season? >> It is one of the recommendations we have that we believe is actionable without action from council at this time. We may have some cost associated with the system, but I think we want to spend some time understanding what the recommended system is before we get to the point of resources. >> Okay. >> And the other area I wanted to hone in on is the utilization of our shelters. You know, one thing that struck me during the point in time presentation that we received from echo a few months ago was that on the day of the point in time, count the utilization rate of our emergency shelters at that time was around 70. Now, you presented, I think, a higher number than that. And so I just wanted to if you could just share like what are some of the factors? >> Yes, and thank you for that, because we would like to clarify that we also were concerned by [9:37:50 AM] that number. >> And so staff spent some significant time with echo, really combing through that data . And what we found is that we had a couple of provider tirz that had beds entirely offline. So because of funding, because they were moving Singh location. Et cetera. Those beds were not available to be filled at the time of the point in time. Count which meant that our denominator was off. So of the beds that were available to be occupied at point in time, 92% were filled. >> Okay, that's a that's an important clarification. Yes because I've been sharing back to the community. And, you know, as we invest so heavily in the marshaling yard as an emergency, temporary shelter space, I think understanding that they are big utilized quite heavily, 92. Yes, ma'am. That that is a strategy worth investing in and one that, as you've shared, that we need to expand our options, that I believe covers my questions. Thank you. [9:38:51 AM] >> Thank you. Councilmember. Councilmember qadri. Then harper-madison. Then Kelly great. >> Thank you, mayor. And then I think councilmember rinder. So some of my questions I think you've already kind of answered. So that shows you how great of a presentation you did. But I wanted to kind of touch on the underserved populations you talked about, you know, single adults, families, refugees, members of the lgbtq plus community. What resources are there currently for, for example , refugees, Wright who might have gone through so much hardship to come to this country? Now they find themselves in the predicament of homelessness. There might be a language gap. They might be suffering from a level of, you know, PTSD. You know, what resources are there for that community. And then my second question on this topic, when it comes to the lgbt community, you know, I've I've gone to several shelters in my in my time in office and I've I've seen residents of those shelters at times say, you know, some very unfortunately transphobic language towards other other members of that shelter. So are [9:39:52 AM] there any resources for our trans austinites who might find themselves unhoused? Eid so sure . >> So in terms of the refugee and immigrant population, Ann, I'll draw your attention to let me actually get to the right slide here. Casa marianella is our primary service provider that really focuses on that population. Ann and they have a combined 77 beds. So that is the resource that is that is targeted to that population. In terms of lgbtqi and particularly trans population. Ann right now, we don't have publicly funded set aside beds for the population. I am aware of at least one Ann sort of community based but very small grass roots shelter. >> Is that queer Topia? >> Yes, sir. Yeah >> And so, you know, that is run out of, I believe, a single family house or a duplex or something like that. So those [9:40:53 AM] exist. But again, within our sort of overall system and certainly receiving public support, that doesn't exist. And I think we are we're not meeting the need in terms of volume of the population. >> Got it. >> And then had a question on the, on the heat map about geographic regions. You know, I think you highlighted where folks are and how they're kind of spreading to other parts of the city. Do we know why folks are kind of dispersing? And then do we have a number of what the count looks like or like a rough estimate of sorts? >> Sure. >> So let us provide that will provide that. I think in the memo, the specific number by geographic area, but think it was a confluence of events. First of all, during the pandemic, resources were really not available in the downtown core in the same way they had been historically Jackie both the decriminalization of public camping and the reinstitution of prohibitions on public camping [9:41:55 AM] have induced movement of the population. When camping was not a misdemeanor, people came out of sort of more remote areas. And we have seen since may of 21 and guess August, September, when we really implemented those populations, move out from more visible areas. And in many cases into the woods. We have seen an increase in population, for example, in our park lands since that time. So those are two not the only, I'm sure, but two significant drivers. >> Got it. And then my last question, it's on the marshaling yard. Will the marshaling yard have any diversion services rapidexit and coordinated assessment the day that it opens ? >> Coordinated assessment is a required service under the scope of work diversion and rapid exit were not required services under the rfp. But we are talking with [9:42:56 AM] both the recommended vendor and our partners at echo who have a pot of rapid exit and diversion funds available that they have indicated they can be available to endeavor should they be approved as the operator for and they will have case management that can provide that. I think you point to coordinate Eid entry as potentially an operational challenge and the operational challenge is that it takes a while for a assessors to get credentialed Eid through our system and because endeavors has not been Ann had staff who are coordinated assessors previously . We need to work through how long it will take them. I will just commit to you that we will work both with the vendor and with, you know, we do have some city staff who are certified Eid coordinated assessors will make sure that those services are available. >> Great. Thank you. And I'm sorry, one last question, Ann [9:43:57 AM] how much funding is leftover? Do we have a number? >> How much arpa funding is leftover we currently have? I believe, 3.6 approximate Leslie. That is unencumbered. >> Got it. >> Assuming. Let me give the caveat. Assuming that marshaling yard passes on on Thursday and that's 9.14. >> Great. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Councilmember harper-madison. Then councilmember Kelly, then councilmember Ryan alter, thank you for recognizing me, mayor, and thank you for your effort that we've been doing this for several years now. >> And I don't envy your position. I know it is extraordinarily difficult and I just like to just make sure to express my gratitude for your dedication and your hard work on something that's really be a difficult task. >> Thank you're very kind, councilmember. Thank you. >> I appreciate you. I think most of my questions have been answered with the exception of [9:44:58 AM] I'm receiving some concerns from constituents about sort of a general lack of transparency, about how we're going to apply those $9 million Ann and I received a specific concern about logistics, how we're getting people to and from the marshaling yard and then what does the shelter situation look like? Are we putting people in tents? Are we see, you know, like Esperanza, for example, they're working with an organization that we found out of Boston. They do this plug in house option. I think I've introduced that to you before. And so zo, what what does the lodging look like logistically? How are we getting people to and from and Eid? How much Ken clarity can we get around how we're going to apply that $9 million tirz yes, ma'am. >> So I hear three separate questions. Want to make sure I [9:45:58 AM] answer all of them. One is about process. The second is about transportation. And the third is about sort of the format of the shelter. So we did an rfp. There is a scope of work that the vendors were required to respond to. I believe that has been provided or will be provided today through the q&a process. And so that really details Luz with quite a bit of specificity . Katy what the on site services are expected to be past that threshold expectation. Of course , a vendor can do more and bring additional services and so there was a competitive process and endeavors was the highest scoring offer in terms of the physical configuration. The marshaling yard is a large warehouse facility. So we everything Singh will be all of the beds will be interior. We [9:46:59 AM] are working with endeavors, in fact, today, even to help understand what their preferred layout is. But we will be bringing in additional resources in the form of shower trailers, bathroom trailers, Luz will make sure that there's a laundry service. And of course there will be some common areas and areas for our staff and case management services. But all within Ann, the marshaling yard built Singh proper with the exception of, again, as I mentioned, some of the hygiene trailers. And then finally we did require within the rfp acknowledging that the site is close to. But from a walking standpoint, a little bit of distance from the closest bus stop and wanting to ensure that we are good neighbors, we ask the offerors to provide a shuttle service that will operate from 8 A.M. To 8 P.M. At [9:48:00 AM] least they can propose to us what the stops are. But the expectation is that that would include sort of major transportation nodes to multiple bus stops as well as places that people might typically go for services. >> Guess as an extension of that, my question would be just about general privacy. If all the beds are in sort of a massive warehouse space, is there any sort of accommodation for offering folks some privacy ? >> So one of the options that we'll be discussing with endeavors and again, hearing their proposal is that you can use pipe and drape. There are some potential, but we are dealing with limited space Wright we have to do that. And I think that it in this instance, it was important that we meet some need of creating additional [9:49:02 AM] beds quickly. We had an unusual opportunity in terms of the marshaling yard being available again, as we look at our longer term shelter options, obviously we will be looking much more closely at what that configuration is for longer term operations. This is a congregate shelter, but we do anticipate there will be some separation. Certainly by gender and those kind of things. Appreciate that. >> And I would just like to echo my councilmember qadri sentiment around the trans community and some of the horror stories I've heard about about their experience in congregate shelter. I just hope that there's some sort of consideration around security as well. >> Absolutely. Thank you. >> Absolutely. And will add. And this contract is also still under negotiation. Ann. So nothing is finalized. But remember that council has approved the operation of the former Salvation Army site downtown Ann. One of the things that urban alchemy has talked [9:50:03 AM] about is doing something they have done quite effectively at the arch, which is using some of the previous office spaces to create additional privacy and security, particularly for people who need it. Thank you. >> Thank you, councilmember harper-madison councilmember Kelly, then councilmember Ryan holt-rabb. >> Thank you. And thank you. >> Thank you for this presentation. Ann so during on slide three, you mentioned peer cities research, and I was real glad to see the district of Columbia there. I recently took a trip with the chamber of commerce and met with DC's council chairperson, Phil Mendelson, and we spoke at length about some of the things that they've done to address homelessness in DC that have been successful. So I was wondering if maybe you could elaborate just a little bit on some of the information that you found from that peer city research that you've brought back to Austin that you found to be effective? >> Shea sure. >> And much of this will be, you know, be shared in greater detail in the narrative report. It really varies. And so, you know, no one system is perfect, [9:51:03 AM] right? But in some cases, as the strengths that we see are just sort of availability of beds, you have some communities where that are Wright to shelter, where you have almost a 1 to 1 ratio that comes with significant investment implications. As you can imagine. We see some communities where the referral process is very strong and seamless, which means that system is much more efficient. We see other community ses where for example, there's something like an ombudsman process so that if someone is exited and voluntarily from shelter and they don't agree with the decision Ann they have additional recourse. And so I don't know that I'm prepared to go sort of community by community council member, but I think plenty to learn from our peer cities and we're hoping to replicate many of those best practices. >> Thank you for elaborating on that. Just a little bit. Also on the same slide, you list those two consultant reports that were done for the city of Austin, and I noticed they were done in 2020. That's correct. And so I [9:52:04 AM] guess my concern is that you do mention, you know, we need additional shelter, space and capacity Katy. But since the reports were done in 2020, I questioned the relevance to our needs. Now, three years later, if it might be significantly more Shaw based on so much has happened, could you maybe speak to that a little bit? >> So as we look at we first of all, what we did with the poppy report, because it was a forward looking sort of it said this is your for your Wright sized system. >> It is not where we are today . We did take that and adjust for population growth while we've had a lot of fluctuation in the visibility and location of encampments, our point in time numbers have remained relatively Leslie even. But I will acknowledge this. These are models that we will need to revisit over time. It is fundamental, brutally difficult to have data analysis on a population Ann that doesn't have an address. And so we will [9:53:06 AM] continue to revisit this with our partners at echo. But think this is the most thorough analysis that had been done to date. And we think still is valid as a starting place for where we want to go in the in the short term. >> Okay. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Councilmember councilmember Ryan alter, then councilmember Allison alter. >> Thank you very much, mayor. I just want to start off with a acknowledgment of something that you said about south Austin. You know, south Austin is feeling this hard Eid if any of you you know, drive around down there and talk to anybody, it is all all in every conversation I have with somebody down there. This issue comes up, what are we doing about homelessness? Why is it getting worse? We need every [9:54:08 AM] body's help. And that's not just here on the dais. To your point , the broader community. I also want to just kind of level set for a minute, just in the vein of, you know, we if we stop talking about it, we stop talking about it. Right? The black population in our unsheltered homelessness or in our homeless community is 34, 7.3% of austinites are black. We have more hispanic homeless individuals than we do white. Yet we have 50% more white residents than we do hispanic. This as we all know this. This is no surprise. But this issue is disproportionate. Fortunately, constantly affecting the marginalized communities and that just feel like we have to keep saying it. I wanted to ask about it, [9:55:10 AM] something that the manager talked a little bit about about and that was the mental health aspect of what we're doing. Particularly around substance use treatment and what services or what partnerships do we have available other than integral care to get, whether it's mat, you know, medication assisted treatment or just other care, particularly substance use treatment, but other mental health treatments in the beds? >> Yeah. So so, let me give a couple of examples and let you know. >> Don't think this is exhaustive because we have substance abuse treatment. Of course that happens in, in other divisions within abh generally, we have a mat program within our community health paramedics who do tremendous work in the field, finding people and connecting them to medically assisted treatment. It's you know, probably not to scale. We know it's not when we look at our [9:56:11 AM] shelter beds, there is a particular provider there that focuses on substance use disorders and treatment. And that's a new entry that is not the only population they serve, but they are equipped to provide recovery services, is not detox, but treatment. It is a huge gap . And I think that this is one of those areas in which this is fundamentally a health care issue. And so we actually have some limitations on how the city can play in this space. But I absolutely think that, you know, it is not uncommon Ann, particularly as someone stabilize ISES, whether in shelter or in permanent housing, to say now I'm ready for treatment and that too often the answer is Eid. It's going to take a while to get a bed. >> Yeah, well, on in that vein and this might be more of an echo question than than you, but what kind of outcomes data do we keep in terms of our specific shelters to understand which [9:57:13 AM] shelters are, you know, excelling? If dare use you know, where where do we see success? >> Sure. So zo all any publicly funded shelter or I should say city funded shelter, echo continuum of care program that comes through echo does not fund shelter. So we are the primary right now. Public funder, although not the only one is required to participate in the homeless management information system, which is our shared database. And there are universal data elements. So we know zo how long someone was there, what the rate of involuntary exit was. Again, with the caveat that we have a substantial number of exits where we don't necessarily know what their destination was. And so we do have, I think, a solid baseline of shared data that we can utilize amongst our recommendations is that we get really specific about about what are the key indicators for these shelters and that we do just that, that we really begin to look shelter by shelter and that certainly for city owned or, you [9:58:14 AM] know, largely supported shelters where we see a gap in performance, we need to be intervening with that vendor and making sure that we're providing the best quality service we can. And when we talk about performance, is that just getting into housing or what? >> What is a I think there are there are multiple knell metrics here. >> We're certainly getting into housing, but acknowledging that the shelter providers don't aren't necessarily the permanent housing providers and that we use a prioritization system in our community, which may mean that someone is relatively low on the list. Wright for getting into housing, that's why that flexible pool of funds is so important. If someone's not going to get rapid or for some time, we want staff on site to really have some flexible funds to work with them. I think the rate of involuntary exit is really important, right? These are complex situations. People are living with complex conditions, but as much as possible, we want to keep people stable in shelter until they are [9:59:17 AM] housed. Where we see very high rates of involvement, pre exit. We're concerned about us not doing as good a job as possible all in those spaces. >> Okay. >> Which of our shelters require the a? When we talk about low barrier versus high barrier, which of our shelters are require you to have some form of detox or, or I know like at the arch, you can't use in the arch but they say, you know kind of what happens outside their doors is what happens outside their doors. What correct. >> I think that and so we think we would need to look at that. Obviously a new entry because it's a recovery space has rules. Certainly not only about not suggesting everyone has to be completely abstinent, but but you can't be under the influence on site and think that is likely [10:00:17 AM] a sort of a bar that we could have in some of the other shelters. I would want to come back to you with a full assessment of the entire list council member, if that's all right. >> Do we have I know, I've had some conversations with shelter providers as well as in the world about about who should be prioritized. Eid you know, the top of the list conversation versus the person who we might be able to get through fastest. And so keep that bed churning. I'm curious one, if you have any thoughts about that. But to is it might it behoove us to have kind of certain shelter space that we dedicate to really moving people through even if they're not at the top of the list so that we can really start, you know, making that that bed very effective? >> Sure. >> So this is a very active policy conversation. And let me give you a few perspectives. One, is that mean in some ways [10:01:17 AM] the heal initiative is just that we sort of say everybody that comes into the shelter has access to a housing resource. It may take us a while to get you housed, but you're not going to be just sitting waiting on a waiting list right. And in terms of the prioritization Ann, what I'll say is this. I think it's been important when we have a fairly robust resource Wright deep subsidy and rental assistance and robust case management, whether that is time limited to, you know, up to a year or two years or a few months or it is ongoing. In the case of permanent supportive housing that we are targeting that resource to the people who have the most barriers to stability and that but for those resources would very likely remain housed. What I think we need to do now, and I think we're beginning to see that echo has made good progress in this space, is to say rey. Yes, but if we don't also address the people who may be very sort of just very recently have entered homelessness, who have lower barriers, what we see is that [10:02:18 AM] over time their as their length of homelessness increases his so do their barriers right. You accumulate sort of, you know, trauma and other you likely have lost your job. Et cetera. So I really think that we need to be working from both ends, and that is part of what our recommendation around making sure that we have diversion and rapid exit at all shelters is just two more things. >> So one thing I noticed you didn't mention and I'm curious where this could fit in or if you recommend against you know, I'd love to know your opinion on sanctioned camping Singh as a tool in the shelter continuum. >> Right. So generally when we've, I think communicated with council around sanctioned camping, one of the things we have said is that should Eid we as a community invest in that, we really ought to be looking at something like what is happening [10:03:18 AM] at Esperanza right? That has hard sided shelters, that has adequate restroom facilities. Et cetera. That model, in my view, is basically a micro shelter. It's not just at go camp there. Right. Which is what was there previously. And we had a lot of challenges and so from my perspective, that kind of a model is certainly within the purview sort of or within the scope of the beds that we've talked about here. I think we want to be really thoughtful about you know, should a model that is not sort of a traditional shelter, single structure model, just to ensure that the services and amenities are adequate on site? >> Okay. >> Well, that that's all I have. I really appreciate your work. I kind of leave us where I started . As I talked to someone yesterday who provides services in the district, who said he has the number of people he's seen is the by far the most he's ever [10:04:22 AM] dealing with, whether it's because of the heat, you know, pulling people out of the woodwork. But the we are going to see our numbers continue to rise. And that could that doesn't necessarily mean we have more people. It could mean that they're just getting into the system, which is a positive thing. But we especially in south Austin, need your help. Thank you. >> Councilmember Allison alter, then councilmember Velasquez, thank you. >> Appreciate the presentation and all the information on the years of work here. I wanted to go back to the initial comments of the city manager about the need for us to really be bringing Singh other partners in Ann moving forward and you mentioned that in the review of other systems that we were by far doing more in terms of our financial contributions than in other places. Can you speak to that a little bit more and also [10:05:22 AM] tell us how that information is being made available? Sure. To our philanthropic potential partners, because I think that's a missing link. I think we've been leaning into this and so they assume we're going to do it and they assume that's the way it should be. And that that's the way a functioning system works when in fact, from what we've seen, it's not. So if you could speak to that, right? >> So I will say that this is largely more of an observation as we've had discussions with our partners developing sort of , say, a percentage of private funding of a shelter system would take significantly more staff time. But it's something we might be able to look at. I'm going to editorialize a little bit here about sort of how I think this how we got here. One of the pieces is that we are a young city. We have grown incredibly rapidly. Ann and while we are, I think, a prosperous city because because of our relative youth, our philanthropic sector is not as sort of don't mature or is not [10:06:23 AM] as aged, if you will, as we see in some of our other Texas cities and other large cities. And so really part of that is just a historical investment of that philanthropic sector that has developed over time. As we began to build out our shelter system, I think we just did not quite have the level of support Eckhardt early on. And so I think it's just something that it's time for us as a community to have a conversation about, because on the philanthropic side, think shelter is one of the easier ways for philanthropy and individuals to contribute to the system. I do want to be clear that we have substantial participation in other parts of our system from philanthropy, philanthropy, excuse me, and other partners, but Burt think we can work in the report or in subsequent updates to council about what we see in terms of how we compare to other communities. Because think [10:07:23 AM] you're right, we need to share that with our with our partners. >> And when we invested 100 plus million dollars of our arpa money and the broader arpa money that was not just our city specific money in to addressing homelessness. As you know, we challenged the county to do the same which they have done, although it's been more an investment in permanent supportive housing than the other services is. And then there was supposed to be another third that was private sector. And we have some individuals who've been working very hard on this with finding home. But how much money for that philanthropic side have we successfully rey towards those goals? >> So at our last report and we will have an update relatively soon, 50 million roughly, was the number for that effort. And I do want to also think it's important, you know, when we are investing funds, it takes us some time to do it with [10:08:24 AM] integrity in terms of having an rfp. Et cetera. And so in our, I think in our June briefing, one of the things that we see is that we have of substantial amounts of encumbered funds, but our of the arpa funds, we're only we were only at about 12% spent down. So those dollars are now in contracts largely being spent down. But we have not spent all of that money to date. We are in process still. >> Thank you. And that leads me to my next question, which is about the marshaling yard funding, which is coming from arpa funding. But that was not originally part of the plan. So can you speak to what we were going to fund but are not funding in order to invest in this shelter? >> I can so and this has been provided in backup as well. But very briefly, I'm going to touch on the categories that we moved funds from within the arpa investment plan. We moved $3 [10:09:26 AM] million from capital investment in permanent supportive housing , $100,000 from targeted prevention, about two and a half from rapid rehousing Singh 3.2 from a variety of supports for providers, including capacity building, three and a half from landlord engagement and move in services, furnishings. Et cetera . And then 2.4 from some other services and about 550 from Singh support, which funds a combination of city staff and outside contracts to support the process. So that's a lot. But we will have provided that in written format for council members. >> And will the convention center be paid anything to use this space and or will they contribute anything to these efforts beyond the space we do not. >> Right now, I'm looking to the manager, have an internal transfer scheduled. >> I don't believe at this point that's not contemplated. Great [10:10:26 AM] >> Thank you. And then you mentioned the rates of involuntary exit. Could you provide those numbers again? I think you may have provided that earlier. >> So I didn't have a concrete number. I think that what we can look at is across the system, we're happy to provide that and we'll ask echo to help us pull those numbers. >> Great. Thank you. And the plan for the marshaling yard is one year. Is that correct? >> Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. Excuse me. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Next up is council member Velasquez and then council member vela. >> Thank you for the recognition. Mayor pro tem. Thank you. I echo everybody's thanks on your work with the with with this this monumental task. I wanted to echo also the concerns of my colleagues that there needs to be heavy consideration paid to gender safety at the marshaling yard. And then I have a few questions . Will shelter staff be adequately trained for mental health needs and trauma services? So one of the [10:11:27 AM] requirements in the scope of work was that all staff be trained in trauma informed care , de-escalation. >> And I believe the third piece is mental health first aid. We can confirm that for you and we chatted earlier about the transportation. >> Will that also be available to transport, to resources and appointments outside of the marshaling yard? >> I think we'll have to talk with our vendor about sort of what the volume would look like . There are also other resources that can be used for that out. So you know, through medicaid. Eid. Et cetera. Sometimes we can use those. The other thing is that we can utilize Luz cap metro's access program for people living with disability as and also from an operational standpoint. Sometimes it's easier to give someone a taxi voucher or a rideshare voucher so that they can do that. So we would anticipate that would be in the budget. >> And so, you know, this is proposed as temporary. What [10:12:27 AM] steps are being envisioned for long term shelter capacity after the shelter closes? >> Correct. So we shared with you three explore Ann sort of areas that are already underway for 245 beds. That is the expansion of the move to double occupancy at the two bridge shelters as well as two ongoing expansion of Esperanza. There are other potential projects in Ann in the community that are under discussion, led largely by our nonprofit partners. I think we're just going to have to see how those mature and then Ann if and how the city is involved in those efforts. >> Okay. If the shelter stays, be open, stays open beyond the initial year, and our after our arpa dollars runs out, is the expectation Ann that the city will dip into the general fund for to fund the shelter council member may think that's the that's the question that we have not yet come to terms with. [10:13:30 AM] >> We used an enormous amount of the arpa money for this effort. The general fund. If you were to transfer all those dollars and say now that becomes a general fund responsibility, we would have a financial exercise to do about what we have to jettison so that we can afford to do this. So that will be a policy discussion that's going to happen in 25, and I'm happy to watch it from home and see how you how you deal with that. >> Thank you, Mr. City manager. One more if, if people are exited from the shelter, they'll stay in the montopolis area. What control or oversight will the city have over both the referral process and exiting or shelter eviction process? And generally, how involved will city staff be with that? >> So within the rfp and the anticipated contract, we have established, that will be in partnership with the vendor for the referral process. >> And then I would need to talk [10:14:31 AM] to staff to see whether there's anything explicit in the in the contract as currently contemplated around exit. I mean, I will say I think we want to be good partners. If someone is exited and we have the opportunity to give them transportation somewhere, we hope that would be on the on the table. But these are citizens with the right to circulate in our community. So there are some limitation to sort of what happens guiding where people go if should they leave shelter. >> And councilmember Velasquez mean, that's one of the in terms of the introductory comments about creating a governance structure that's other agencies. I think as we are going to have to grapple with funding for dealing with the people who experience homelessness, and it's to develop our lane. So what is the appropriate city of Austin lane that these are the things that we will do. And then let's work with our partners to figure out what lane they develop that they will do that all all is in unison or toward an objective. One of the things [10:15:33 AM] that the councilmember Ryan you think about that we don't spend enough we have not devoted enough attention to is what are the leading indicators for homelessness. And so when you talk to our innovation Ann department, they've got their office, they have a lot of census track data that you can look that you can delve into and you know what neighborhoods are in danger of tipping tipping over into having a people in that neighborhood begin to experience homelessness because of poverty, lack of educational attainment, the unemployment rate among certain demographics , those are all things we've got to start looking at up front, because those are investments that will pay long term dividends for us if we do that right. And that way it will keep people from being experiencing homelessness altogether. So that's the that we need to kind of look at the whole continuum and think that's going to be the exciting discussion as we really do this year. So we can lay that foundation for the for the recommendations for fiscal 25. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Councilmember Zavala. [10:16:34 AM] >> And then I was going to add myself to the end of the list. >> Very good. Councilmember Whalen, the mayor pro tem. >> I really appreciate the comments by the city manager right now on the core causes. >> Obviously a very, you know, difficult and complex question. Eid that said, in conversations that I've had around the issue, you know, people point to mental health problems, point to substance abuse. But, you know, for example, you know, west Virginia has plenty of substance abuse and mental health problems and almost no homelessness because their housing costs are so low that, you know, you can have a, you know, a $200 little spot and survive five basically with a with a roof over your head. So and I don't think it's a coincidence that, you know, we've seen housing costs continue to escalate and at the same time we've seen homelessness continue to escalate and in you know, when I was with the point in time count, another kind of personal interactions that I've had with [10:17:34 AM] folks that are experiencing homelessness is they have income . And they, some of them have jobs Luz but they, there's no way they can scratch together, you know, $1,000 of deposit and $1,000 first month's rent and the Austin energy deposit and you know, and so they're just kind of stuck in this loop. So so again, housing costs, which again, we grapple with all the time on the dais, are just just stand out to me as the number one more of the mental health problems, more than substance abuse. It's just just can't afford a place, you know, that's not what I want to say, though. But I did appreciate the comments. I just wanted to take a moment to highlight, really appreciate the presentation, but , you know, casa marianella, every time I see it on a list of kind of, you know, homeless shelters, it always kind of it, you know, it doesn't quite sit right with me. I've love casa marianella and I just wanted to mention it for those that that are not familiar with it, it's essentially an immigrant shelter for Shaw folks, refugees, people that are seeking asylum, the U.S [10:18:34 AM] immigration and customs enforcement frequently, and the border patrol as well, frequently will send folks that they're releasing, you know, a list of resources and if you're going to Austin, casa marianella is on that list. They are Shaw 77 beds. I mean, they're way over that on any given, you know , they the managers are just so generous with their time are just so good with their people and just wanted to take a moment to highlight the work that they do. You know, these are not folks that were previously homeless, but they're folks that have gotten to the United States with like literally nothing in their pockets. They provide legal services to the immigrants . They will get them a work permit. And it's I would almost consider it like a cooperative because so many of the folks that are living and staying there are cooking or cleaning or repairing. It's, it's a beautiful place. My partner, Jennifer walker gidseg and Jackie Watson. My old law partners. That was casa Marinella was our favorite nonprofit to donate to. You know, every year with the law firm, we would always support [10:19:35 AM] them as much as we possibly could. Just know that it's not a widely known nonprofit as much as others, but it's a really, really great organization and that that provides a lot of service to our community. If not for them. Don't know what folks coming from, you know, Mauritania or Cuba or wherever, you know, would would do or where they would go. It just has helped so many people just get on their feet, get stable and go on to become very productive and successful members of society. So just wanted to highlight casa Marinella, a great organization in Austin, Texas. >> Thank you. Councilmember mayor pro tem. >> Very well said. I was taking an interest to the statistic where you said people actually prefer to be in rooms with other folks. Can you talk a little bit about, why people might like that? I kind of thought someone might want their own space, but it seems like they might like the sense of community. >> Sure. I think that one of the things that does happen in unsheltered encampments is that there is community there right? Some folks, of course, may be unsheltered and live off by [10:20:36 AM] themselves, but in many cases there are communities that form . And so I think moving into the a space in which you have your own room and usually within shelter, folks aren't allowed to sort of visit between those rooms is and so people can feel isolated and so that really was the primary thing we heard. But also so there is some you know, there are communities of care where if someone is having a health issue or something, they feel a bit safer having someone who is known with them that can kind of look out for them and help them manage some of those or alert someone if help is needed. >> That's that's great to hear. And can you tell me a little bit more about when there's intake and folks have pets? Are there specific locations where unhoused individuals with pets can get linked up so that they don't have to be separated? >> So this varies shelter by shelter. I will tell you the two [10:21:36 AM] that I'm certain you know, or actually I'll say three places, I know that pets are allowed are at our two bridge shelters. We knew that was very important. If we were going to have entire encampments come in that many people wouldn't come without their pets. And there are quite a few of them. And then, of course, Esperanza allows for pets. But, you know, it is not always practical, but we just recognize that that relationship is very important to many austinites, but particularly to people who are living unsheltered. And so if we want people in shelter, we need to make accommodations as much as possible. >> I appreciate that because I think that companionship is really important as people make that transition. Can you talk a little bit about the are there any increased costs for the infrastructure, the needs of those bridge shelters, if they're going to be expanded from single occupancy to double occupancy? I know in years past we've talked about if there's any federal funding available. There are certain standards that have to be met. Can you talk a [10:22:37 AM] little bit about if there's any infrastruc ther needs for those ? >> So, so far the sort of ramp up costs in the bridge shelters has primarily been furnishings. So obviously additional beds, increased ability to secure items within the room. If you're sharing the space with someone and some privacy. So far we have not had additional infrastructure needs to the capital facility itself. And we have identified one time funds that we could use to get those those shelters set up for double occupancy. >> Wyatt's that's great to hear because I know we've seen great success with the heal initiative . I know it takes a long time to plan to get some of those individuals censused and understand their needs and to be able to actually transition folks from an encampment into having a you know, door to lock and a roof over their head. And so I appreciate all of the innovative strategies that you all have been using to try to do these as quickly as possible. I [10:23:37 AM] know folks get really eager to see a lot of, you know, heal initiatives happen faster, but the truth is they can take months of planning to really understand the needs and make sure that people are getting the services that they need once they're able to transition into housing. So really appreciate the work that you all are doing on that initiative. And while we're on the topic of giving shout outs to some of our favored it community members that are working in this space, I know we've mentioned the other ones foundation a number of times. We were fortunate to have them start in district eight and now obviously they're serving folks in their location on the east side, but they also have an innovative work program. The workforce first, which I think is a really good step in getting people into to some sort of steady income as they're capable and able to do that. And so we just we think they're great partners and appreciate anyone who's working in this space on the public, private or, you know , nonprofit or just volunteer side of this. I know there's a lot of folks working on this issue together. >> Indeed. Thank you. And I will [10:24:39 AM] mention I'm glad you mentioned heal and the bridge shelters. So we are talking generally about expansion of beds. But really critically at the bridge shelters is almost doubling the beds ought to mean we're able to really increase the pace with which we address whole encampments. And so we're really excited about seeing more encampments addressed in that way. >> Councilmember, one more question. >> I was at a conference last week and one of the seminars was about at heat ready cities and emergency shelter and the presenter mentioned Eid that in her view, the best there's a real opportunity for either homeless folks or formerly homeless folks to be the ones staffed and running. Kind of like emergency shelter operation Ralls and she said it was just a they know each other. They know [10:25:39 AM] they got the vibe. You know what I mean? They they communicate in the same language and it really just struck me as a because I mean, I know one of the reports when the auditor's report was like, you know, the parks and rec staff is that's not the population they're used to dealing with. And they were really struggling with with it. Absolutely. Thoughts on that? Yes, absolutely. >> And so in I think in this sector overall, there has been an increasing focus on hiring people with lived experience and expertise in homelessness. We do ask those questions as a scoring item in our rfp. How are you not only hearing from people and influencing your program design, but are those people represented on your staff? I want to call out a couple of examples that immediate come to mind. One is that urban alchemy employment model really leans on lived experience that's similar to the population, whether that be people who have lived experience of homelessness or, you know, many people have had substantial [10:26:40 AM] interaction with the justice system. And so their staff often have had that experience as well. And think it's been very important in establishing a positive environment at the arch , the urban league, also at south bridge is has been large Leslie staffing with peers. So there's certification of a peer specialist. Again in homelessness, someone who's experienced significant behavioral health challenges, a reentry peer. Et cetera. And so we see this throughout our system. But those are a couple of examples and something we will, I think, continue to promote. Thank you, councilman harper-madison. >> I'll be brief. Actually, it's a comment for you. I'd really like for us to eventually be able to revisit the work that you were doing on the brain health institute. I think that's going to be a critical component in moving forward in us having some longevity in our address ING our homelessness situation. >> I appreciate that and have reached with that given too long [10:27:42 AM] a statement. I've already reached out and made some contacts and even made some notes while we were talking about this today as part of a follow up. So thank you for that . All right. Well, councilmember Fuentes, thank you. >> This is a question for the city manager. >> Manager. It struck me that many of our comments today on the topic of the shelter plan Ann presentation was around the marshaling yard. It's such a big contract. I know that a lot of us have constituents who are reaching out and have shared some questions and concerns and I appreciate the info Paige which has lots of faqs on it. But when can we expect the backup material for item 111? >> So I believe back up has been provided, but there is ongoing q&a and so we've been, you know, given varying sort of target timelines from the clerk's office and will be answering those over the course of a couple of days. >> Get out what you've got and [10:28:43 AM] then do a supplemental means. Yeah yeah. If you have backup, send it out. I mean, if there's additional q&a, we can continue to add to if that's the question, we'll look at that. >> I believe the fundamental backup to be there, but we'll make sure that we're adding to it. >> Okay. And so by being there, it'll be posted to the agenda website or is that emailed via just a normal process? Okay. >> So let's talk to make sure I understand what you are not seeing there to make sure we're meeting your needs. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> All right, members that takes up the briefing. Singh. The next thing we're going to do is go to a pre-selected agenda. Items we have one, two, three, four, five agenda items where something has been pulled so that we can have a discussion after that, we will go into executive session. So just to give you an idea, we're going to go item 126 124 128 129 [10:29:43 AM] and 131 Ann I'll start with 126 that was the first one was made aware of. That's what we're doing is going in that order. So with that I will recognize council member pool. >> Thanks, mayor. I also want to thank my co-sponsors on item 126 council member Vella mayor pro tem Ellis. Councilmember qadri and mayor Watson Ann and their staff for joining me on working on this initiative and want to thank our staff assistant city manager Veronica Briseno. Director Middleton Pratt and our legal team, including Singh Trish link and Linda Garfield and brant Lloyd, who I think is still a lawyer, even though he's not still in legal, still doing good work for us on on zoning and land development issues. I [10:30:43 AM] didn't intend to talk too much about this today. Instead, I wanted to point everyone to the extensive message that I put up last night on the message board and also it goes into significant detail and it also has frequently asked questions with some photographs of the housing typekit typology that this resolution Ann would contemplate in larger numbers. So that is all on the message board. The photos give you a sense of the smaller single family homes, townhomes, cottage courts and would point to the city of Austin's Miller development. It's on the old airport site for a good examples and prototypes for what this kind of a multiplicity of typology for housing could look like. So we're in the process of kicking off this conversation. This is the beginning. I think [10:31:45 AM] some folks in the community were worried that we had already made these decisions and just remind folks that we have a very Austin process process in our city and with the city of Austin, we have a very well-established public input procedures and we will take all advantage of those over the next year. Plus when we have the conversation that we are initiating with our decisions. This week, there was another bit of misinformation that was floating out in the community that I wanted to address specifically along the lines of how the decision had already been made. And this wasn't going to be a public process and there wasn't going to be any conversations, which is not true . So another thing that's been floating out there and I talk about it in my message board post is the fact that this proposal does away with multifamily zoning and it's just flat out does not do that. It makes for potentially narrower [10:32:46 AM] lot sizes as single family Zones, does not turn them into multifamily only housing. Hope said that Wright initially or initially, you said it would do away with multifamily and you meant single family. That's right, yes. Thank you. We're not doing away with single family zoning and replacing it with multifamily Zones. What we are doing is potentially narrowing the size of the lots so that more single family homes can be built side by side in our neighborhoods, which I think will preserve the character of our neighborhood. It will certainly make opportunities for middle class homeowners to stay in our city and Eid, I hope, raise their families, which will contribute to the health of our public school system. So the name of this initiative is home, which stands for home options for middle income empowerment [10:33:46 AM] and it is targeted for middle income earners. The city has significant and numerous programs for people who are low income earners, people who make good salaries may not need assistance much from their government. As a member of the middle class for Shaw guess my entire life I feel the real need Eid to make my own way without government programs in large part. And I can do that. But I also recognize that if I were starting out today, I would not be able to buy a home in the central city and so as I consider what our options have been, the work that we've done in the past, work that I and my allies pre-pandemic worked on in the sub quorum on the land development code and ldc 2.0. The idea of three units by Wright was something that we [10:34:48 AM] talked about in our sub quorum. We wanted we discussed bringing that forward as an initiative, as a way forward. Unfortunate because of a number of different circumstances, including the Acuna lawsuit, the mayor pulled the plug on our discussions of the land development code. As you all remember, I'm trying to remember if that was in 2019 or 2018, time is weird pre-pandemic for me anymore, but at any rate, we stopped those conversations. Burns and so the concept of three by Wright for sf1, sf2 and sf3 did not go forward. But it may sound familiar to some who are listening in so this concept , I think, is we are ready for it. I think we're ready as a community to have this difficult conversation. I'm really optimistic about the impacts that this proposal can have in the future. I've been looking for ways to have gentle organ sonic density and growth in our [10:35:50 AM] inner city and I reference this chuck Marone a lot with strong towns. He was the one who talked to us. He came to the city and talked to some council members back in 2017, 2018 about how to densify gently and how to do it in ways that preserve the very character of the communities in the neighborhoods that we so value here. And this is one way to do that. It so I'll just leave that there actually talked a little bit longer than I intended to. But thank you, mayor, for letting me introduce this. >> Yes. Mayor pro tem. >> I just want to extend my appreciation to council member pool for her work on this. >> I know our offices have been discussing concepts like this together for quite a while now, and it's been great to find a partner in creative solutions to try to make sure that, you know, the average austinite can afford to buy a home. As we see with a lot of the studies that come out that a board does all the time, [10:36:51 AM] it's, you know, how much housing stock do we have on the market? How much is the cost of housing spiking due to an interest in people getting into the housing market? And there's a lot of fluid conversations around what causes that and how to solve it . But it's really important that we work together to find these innovative solutions like council member pool said this this is not a done deal. This is something that we want to kick off. We want to have the conversation Ann we absolutely want community input. You know that she has been a supporter of having robust community involvement for a very long time . And so I'm looking forward to us being able to advance this conversation. There's a lot of folks, you know, your average austinite that don't know what rent is going to be and they don't have any equity in renting. I'm a renter myself, and so I feel those pains very strongly when rent goes up. But I think it's important that we come together and we try to find workable solutions. And I think there's probably everyone on this dais has come up with some creative solution to, to try to solve this issue. And so we are [10:37:54 AM] definitely working hard on it. And and I appreciate that this is coming at a very similar time where we're set to have a public hearing and take action on bringing the three and four plex units into the same process that single family and duplex have been able to do for a long time. And so I think we're making some real meaningful change here. And appreciate all the co-sponsors that have that have chimed in to work on this with council member pool. >> Thank you, mayor pro tem. Thank you. Councilmember pool. All right. Councilmember qadri and then councilmember Ryan alter. >> Thank you, mayor. I also want to thank councilmember pool today. I also want to thank her staff and also just want to, you know, shout out all the other co-sponsors on this. Think this is one of the most impactful code initiations of this year. If passed on Thursday. I'm really excited about so many things with it. One, how small are homes on smaller lots will help everyone Ann better afford a home in Austin. From young people to first responders to older folks who want to age in place. You know, and as someone [10:38:54 AM] who loves to walk everywhere, including city hall every morning, this resolution will also promote a more walkable Austin for everyone and will help make project connect more successful. It's also important to highlight what this won't do. And I know councilmember pool touched on some of the misinformation or disinformation out there, but you know what it won't do. For example, pool. And it's a complaint I've heard is that we don't have the infrastructure for density when in fact sprawl causes more strain on our limited resources and city infrastructure, creating more compact neighborhoods allows us to use our existing infrastructure and resources more efficiently. So all I want to say, which has been said, which will probably continue to be said, thank you, councilmember pool, for your leadership on this, and I'm excited to pass this on Thursday . >> At risk of beating a dead horse here, I think this is wonderful and I want to thank you for your work. I would also like to be added as a co-sponsor, if that is all [10:39:55 AM] right. I just wanted to comment on two things that I believe the resolution covers us, but one conversation Ann I had with somebody a while ago unrelated to this was they were talking about they had a very small house in the front of their lot and they wanted to build a larger structure in the back. But the Adu rules prevented them from essentially making the front one an Adu in the back, one in the home that they were hoping to build. So I think by your inclusion of the flexibility for housing configurations is key because it's going to allow people pool to really use their lot in the most appropriate manner. And so I think that's a great element there. And then lastly, I just wanted to kind of highlight something you said about it being organic. You know, this is not for forcing everyone to go [10:40:57 AM] subdivide their lot into 2500ft S. This is allowing somebody who chooses to do that. The option to do that. And I think that's really key going forward. So that's all I have today. Thank you so much, councilmember Allison alter, then councilmember Velasquez. >> Thank you. Clearly there's a majority in support of this, but I want to be clear that I do not intend to support this proposal as drafted. And I'm particularly concerned about the significant amount of public interest we've seen on this item, largely with questions and concerns and the inability to address them in the short amount of time that we have. This departs drastically from what we did. Eid in previous iterations. Burns and I don't think that we fully understand and the consequences is, I will not be voting in favor of this and I want to be clear why this resolution as drafted goes significantly further than any permutation of our planning staff's codenext or land development code. Rewrite. This resolution states that many [10:41:58 AM] peer cities such as San Diego, Philadelphia and San Antonio zo, offer a range of more modest lot sizes. And I want to be clear that I'm entirely open to offering a range of smaller lot sizes, but to offer that option is very different than unilaterally doing what this resolution initiates, which is to simultaneously reduce the minimum lot, size and single family zoning districts to 2500ft S or less. So that existing standard sized lots can be subdivided. That's not offering option. It takes action to change the rules. For most homes in most neighborhoods at this point. This also simultaneous Leslie would allow at least three units per lot in single family zoning districts without requiring existing structures to be preserved. So this means that an existing lot of, say in a 10,000ft S could be subdivide added into four lots and knell those four lots could be subdivided into at least three units, 12 units total. So this simultaneous action means that an existing lot with 1 or 2 units won't necessarily have a gentle increment of growth. It could allow for a monumental shift without any planning. This [10:43:00 AM] could monumentally impact land speculation and exacerbate demolitions. And when you consider how we are essentially at the mercy of commercial operators and have very little ability to enforce rules, you could end up having your neighborhood explode with 12 units on an existing lot and that lot could have multiple strs. So this also calls for eliminating minimum site area and building coverage requirements and to eliminate the mcmansion ordinance's applicability to this policy. If more than one unit is built, I'm ready to make the prediction today that if the mcmansion ordinance is changed to only be limited to one unit, we have enough wealth in this town that more than a few savvy builders are going to build mcmansions under the guise of the building being more than one unit, and you may end up with a bigger house and call it a duplex or triplex. But that bigger duplex or triplex won't house any more people. It will just be bigger buildings all of these potential unintended consequences. We direct the manager to solve in 4 or 5 months at the same time that we are initiating this, we are poised to eliminate the site plan requirements. When you [10:44:01 AM] build four units or fewer elsewhere on the agenda. So that means if you have a lot today where this other proposal to move forward as drafted, it could lead to an existing lot. Having 1 or 2 units to be subdivided into lots that in total allow for 12 units because each of those newly subdivided lots have fewer than four units. You'd be able to build a total of 12 units where today you have 1 or 2 and without a site plan review. So the code amendment, where we think a site plan would still be required for, say, five units, suddenly we have a loophole where in fact, as long as you subdivide the single family lot first, as this resolution would allow for that new 12 unit project requires no site plan for what would be a significant increased scale of development within a neighborhood. Again, I have a significant amount of skepticism that these scenarios can be mitigated within 4 to 5 months time. Given all the other directives and burdens we've already placed on our staff to be working on. And we're also not directing them to solve a particular problem, we're telling them very specifically see how it has to be solved, which constrains the ability for them to come up with solutions to these unattend and [10:45:01 AM] consequences. So I just wanted to make sure to share that. I think, I hope that we will be providing folks with an opportunity to really speak to this issue. There is a lot of concern and questions that are out in the community and I think that people deserve an opportunity to have their questions answered and don't agree that simply directing it is initiating a process when the direction tells them exactly how they have to do it. >> Thank you. >> Council member. Council member Velasquez and then council member harper-madison Ann. >> I wanted to echo what councilmember qadri said. This is one of the biggest steps we're taking forward and thank you for bringing it forward. It provides a lot of flexibility, especially in my district, for getting some some of this stuff done. We I ran on housing. I ran on affordability. And I think this contributes a lot to it. I would also like to add respectfully ask to add my name as a co-sponsor. [10:46:02 AM] >> Thank you, councilmember. Councilmember harper-madison thank you for the recognition. >> I guess I'll join the train and say thank you. Councilmember pool, for bringing this forward. I also really appreciate that you brought it forward for the housing and planning committee. I look forward to us really using our committees as a vehicle for bringing items like this forward. And I, too would like to be added as a co sponsor. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. With that, councilmember Vella, just one final comment. >> Smaller lots are less expensive than bigger lots. That's just a reality of the of the housing market. You know, if you're a family on a tight budget or you buy a small car, you know, with a four cylinder engine, you know, you don't buy a, you know, F-150 extended cab. You know, our our rules basically make us buy this huge lot. And, you know, the 6000 square foot lot costs much more [10:47:03 AM] than a 3000 square foot lot. So I think this is just such an important step to take to bring back the possibility of home ownership to our middle and working class. And Eid again, appreciate councilmember Powell's efforts so much. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you. Members that will take us to item number 124 Shaw the primary sponsor of that is councilmember Ryan alter . But councilmember Kelly asked to be pulled up for question. And I'm going to recognize councilmember Kelly. Thank you very much, mayor. >> I just had one question and I believe it is for the author of the resolution Ann what is the timeline for the city manager to implement the recommendations for the comprehensive notification system and timely implementation and accountability? I've been getting quite a few questions about that from my constituent. And as many of you know, I am a co-sponsor on this item. And so I just figured I'd reach out publicly to you and ask so that [10:48:03 AM] we could make it public. >> This is a great question. You know, I think it will go through the process that the manager's puts all our amendments through . So this is not the end of the story. It's just the beginning. That's right. That's right. Well, chapter two, we'll say the auditor's from chapter one. Okay but yes, this is this is just a piece of that process. This doesn't change it today. Or I guess on Thursday. >> Right. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. And with that, I yield Eid. >> Okay. Thank you. We'll go to item number 128. The primary sponsor on that is councilmember qadri. Councilmember Kelly pulled it, I believe and want to say thank you. She pulled it so that we would see a proposed amendment so that it could be looked at two days in advance of the council meeting so that we can handle it in an efficient manner when we get to the council meeting. So since we're [10:49:03 AM] saying a lot of thank yous, I'll actually send her a card. My daughter sent you a card the other day. I know that and greatly appreciated it. Councilmember Kelly, thank you. >> So this is a resolution that I reviewed, and really wanted to ensure accountability for the project and efficiency. So my staff passed out all the amendments that we will be discussing today. This one specifically would amend line 116 to direct the city manager to conduct regular evaluations and assess of the south shore cultural district and their progress and impact, ensuring accountability and the ability to make adjustments based on community feedback and any potential changing needs. >> Councilmember qadri you want to comment or I mean, I'm just gonna I'm gonna keep the trend. >> I just want to thank councilmember Kelly and her staff for, for bringing forward this amendment, for giving us the heads up and look forward to seeing it again on the dice on on Thursday. >> Great. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Councilmember Kelly item number 129, councilmember Velasquez is the [10:50:03 AM] primary sponsor for councilmember Kelly. Pulled it again so that we might have the opportunity to see a proposed amendment in advance. And I'll recognize councilmember Kelly on the proposed amendment to item 129. >> Thank you very much, mayor. >> So amendment the amendment I'm bringing forward for 129. The language is not explicitly in the resolution as many of you know, I cover both. Williamson and Travis counties in my district, and I know that other council members might have hays county, so it directs the city manager well, it encourages the city manager excuse me. There's a very particular piece of language difference there to collaborate with neighboring jurisdictions and regional entities to develop a coordinated approach to affordable housing, leveraging resources and sharing best practices to address the broader housing crisis in our region. >> Councilmember Velasquez I also wanted to thank councilmember Kelly for bringing the amendment early, also for setting the bar for all of us wild ones that get an amendments in the very last minute. [10:51:04 AM] >> I think it is a good, good bar to set for the rest of us. Thank you. >> Thank you. Councilmember yes. Councilmember Ryan alter. >> I just have a quick question about the amendment for councilmember Kelly. If is this amendment specifically related to coordination and best practices for the smart program or for affordable housing? Rey at large? >> So if it were a perfect world, I'd love to do this for affordable housing at large, but it specifically is just for this resolution because otherwise I believe that would fall outside of our posting for the open meetings act. All right. Thank you so much. So maybe you'll see a part two sometime. Can't wait. >> All right. >> Well done. That'll take us to item number 131. The primary sponsor of item 131 is councilmember qadri. Councilmember Kelly has pulled item 131 to discuss to potential amendments. I'll recognize councilmember Kelly. >> Thank you, mayor. So my first [10:52:05 AM] amendment is really aimed at the technology and data analytics that are used to monitor and manage curb space. And it just wasn't explicitly in the resolution itself. And so I thought putting it in there would make the public aware that such technology exists. S so it says in the amendment it would amend line 34 to state the city manager is directed to explore the potential for using technology and data analytics to monitor and manage curb space, including the utilization of sensors, smart parking systems and real time information tools to improve efficiency and reduce congestion. And then my second amendment would amend line 54 to encourage the city manager to consider public safety and emergency response needs in the curb management plan, ensuring that curb space is optimized while allowing for efficient access for emergency vehicles and maintaining public safety standards. And this amendment specifically came out of me driving through my district and recognizing that some of the [10:53:07 AM] space could be utilized more effectively in a lot of places. There are there's very little to no access for emergency vehicles based on how the curbs are being managed on specific streets in my district, which is concerning if they need that emergency access. >> Thank you, councilmember. Councilmember qadri, I'll recognize you on the two proposed amendments. Yeah. >> Just want to thank councilmember Kelly and her staff for. For bringing this forward. But just wanted to kind of highlight, you know, it's and understand that staff has some short term bandwidth issues right now with other projects that we've given them. So I've asked to postpone this item until the August 31st meeting. >> Okay. >> Mayor, could I just add. Yes. Councilmember qadri, if you might consider if you have a version two, maybe adding these amendments to that, if it comes back that would be awesome. If not, I completely understand. >> Yeah. I mean, we'll look into it. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Councilmember qadri members, please note item 131 has the [10:54:09 AM] sponsor primary sponsor has asked that we pool that those are all the pre-selected agenda items that I'm aware of that anyone Ann had indicated they want to talk about at this work session. Item number 12 is an item that has been postpone Eid it will not be on the agenda on Thursday. However, councilmember Fuentes wanted to be heard at the work session on item number 12. So I want to recognize councilmember Fuentes. >> Thank you. Thank you, mayor. And I hate to break the train, but I am not giving thanks on as part of my comments on this. But actually I have a request to the city manager that we have a briefing on the service plan. The colleagues of the creation of a tourism public improvement district is a big one and it's a topic that has been long time talked about in our community and one that deserves the time and attention of this dais and the consideration of our community. This tepid is one [10:55:09 AM] that many cities have. In fact, I was in Fort Worth this past weekend watching a peso Pluma concert at and I saw my hotel bill that they have a tepid and so it's one that it's great for our city to be exploring and there needs to be that consideration for what that looks like. One thing that is clear to me as part of this conversation, Ann the previous council of 2019 2020 had a had an intent for this typekit and that included a 40% dedication towards homelessness services. And that is a need that our community has today. And if not a greater one. And I just want to note that on our council agenda for Thursday, we are slated to approve a $20 million contract for homelessness encampment cleanups and $9 million contract for Marshall yard, temporary emergency services. That is $29 million that we are poised to approve of. And this has an important [10:56:11 AM] piece in how we're able to have a dedicated revenue source towards directing homelessness, which has a tourism impact. And so I think it's important that we end importantly to note that this this typekit is a revenue source that is on visitors to our great city. So we need to ensure and for me, I want to ensure that we are dedicating as much as we can towards homelessness and that we have that conversation as a matter of public policy. And so manager formally requests a briefing on the service plan and just wanted to share my thoughts on and we'll do the briefing and the only comments I'd make and I hope and will engage with you and the entire council, as we as was noted earlier, we have a fiscal crisis that's that's looming for us in terms of homelessness that we need to resolve. >> We need to develop our own guard rail about what is appropriate for the city to fund and what other agencies need to step forward. And I would urge [10:57:11 AM] all members of council and the mayor, when revenue sources are delivered Eid it is the city council's response ability to determine all your priorities which are beyond homelessness. It's about child care. It's about parks and recreation, it's about our cultural arts. It's about our libraries. It's you have an enormous amount of resources requirement and any any resources that come in ought not to be precluded just because we've made because one council cannot commit another council. So if that discussion took place in 19, you shouldn't feel obligated to do what somebody said in 19. But we should consider all the needs of the city and determine where the priority fits or doesn't fit. And we'll have that discussion when we bring the bid forward. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Councilmember member members that yes. >> Councilmember Allison alter thank you. Wanted to add to that? I mean, I think the conversation in 2019 where, you know, how how do how do the hotel how does the hotel industry contribute via this source to community benefits, [10:58:12 AM] homelessness being the one that was cited at that point in 2019? Ann and I think there's been some changes in law et-cetera that are that are frustrating at at minimum. But think this is an important conversation that that we need to be having. You know, we just had a conversation earlier about the importance of philanthropy and the role of philanthropy in our community. But, you know, philanthropy in a lot of these other communities has a lot to do with corporate philanthropy and, you know, this is a mechanism where this could happen by so I definitely think we should be considering that. I also wanted to bring up item 92, which has to do with council procedures. I don't know that we can just I'm fine with punting it this week. We have 190 some items, but it was pulled by the city manager and I think ultimately we have to make deciding our own rules and what those look like. And I think there are some things that we did in the past that were valuable that our community is asking us to do again, that I [10:59:12 AM] think would benefit it. Public engagement. And I don't know exactly what the process is moving forward on that item, but I don't think we can keep ignoring the requests that we have to find a way for people to be able to donate time. I understand it's complicated and difficult for donating of time with the virtual speakers, but there may be a way that we can do that. For those who are showing up. And if the person who's donating is actually showing up in the room, there may be a way that we can do that. I think it was very helpful when we had an opportunity when there were several speakers to hear them at once when we were deliberating the topic, if people chose, I think it's good the way the mayor is allowing them to have the opportunity at the beginning. But I think that there's a coherence that happens when you hear people speaking specific to a time. I think that, you know, one minute on certain topics is really not enough time for people to communicate with us and that we [11:00:12 AM] need to be thinking about how we how we do that. And we've been we've been limiting that down. No matter the number of speakers that we have. So I think there's some questions that we should be asking with respect to that. And then I also I found very valuable when we had a certain number of speakers would pull something from the consent agenda. So that we would have at least a little bit more of a conversation over an item I found that was very valuable when we used to do that. And I think it allows people to have the sense that we are listening and paying attention, which is a value. But I really wanted to ask the mayor what, you know, he felt the process was moving forward on 92. I'm not sure this is something that is the city manager's purview to decide for. >> First of all, in the six months that this council has been together, no one's ever had just one minute to speak. Secondly many of the proposed [11:01:14 AM] changes that you just referenced have been allowed to be done for example, at the last meeting there had been a request from the public a number of times that instead of the applicant just having five minutes to speak, those in opposition would have five minutes to speak and that's been allowed. Another thing that you mentioned is the idea that you get to speak at the time of the item that's being discussed. What has been done in the past six months is you can speak at the time the item is being discussed, but you can also speak at 10:00 if that is better for your schedule. So this was that has been meant you referenced it in such a way that it sounded like there was an effort to limit it. But to the contrary, it is an effort to allow more flexibility for the person who wishes to be heard on the item. With that all being [11:02:15 AM] said, one of the things that had been indicated Eid when this was first brought up was that questions about or suggestions that might be made in order to make it where it would work better. Since you're talking about a multi-page document Swint that needs to have this change or that change would be that people would make suggestions on the message board . Eid which hadn't occurred. And in addition to the Ann and the word was that we had a number of changes. And so in an effort to manage Paige the agenda, as you point out, this is the first meeting Thursday will be the first meeting since a break was taken and it felt it. The agenda looks a little like everybody thought that it was the last meeting of the year. Shaw in an effort to somewhat manage that agenda, the items that we knew that it was known was going to take a long period of time as this one is anticipated since S [11:03:16 AM] the pre-work that we thought was going to be done hasn't been done. That was one that we pulled so that we would be in a position to spend a little bit more time on it before the next meeting. My anticipation, as you requested from me, is that at the next meeting we would do this and I look forward to hearing from folks about what the suggested changes are between now and then as opposed to just then on the dais. Thank you. >> And mayor, I was referring to what was in the proposal, not necessarily what the current procedures I'm sorry if it was interpreted that way. Just people have been asking about it and asking for the clarity. And because we've been deviating so much, there's a lack of clarity, which is, I think, creating confusion. And people are not understanding. And the proposal does something different than what we've been doing and didn't mean to imply that that was how you were running the meetings. But having the proposal out [11:04:17 AM] there and having the differences, I think is creating some confusion and some apprehension. And I also wanted to just mention some things that thought that we were doing in the past, pre-pandemic, that I thought were useful for us in terms of engagement. >> Well, look forward to a more thorough discussion at the time . For those that are watching and thinking you wanted to sign up on item number 92, which a number of people already have, item number 92 will be postponed . It will not be on the agenda this Thursday. So for the public that is interested in this item, you don't need to come down here to speak on this item because it will have been postponed. And is there anything before we go into executive session? Great members , the city council will now go into closed session to take up two items pursuant to section five and 51.07. One of the Texas government code. The city [11:05:17 AM] council will discuss legal issues related to item E one Ann. Texas house bill 2127 and pursuant to section. 551.07, two of the government code, the city council will discuss real estate matters related to E to the purchase exchange, lease or value of an interest in two parcels located at 1215 red river street and 606 east 12th street in Austin, Texas, also known as the healthsouth south site is there any objection to going into the executive session concerning the items that have been announced here? Singh none. The council will now go into executive session. Members of the public at the close of the executive session. The council will have no further business on the post agenda. What will happen at that time is I will come out and adjourn the meeting , but there will be no further business conducted after the [11:06:17 AM] close of the executive session. We are going into executive session. Thank you, everybody. [12:52:15 PM] City Council went into Executive Session pursuant to section 551071 of the Texas Government code to discuss legal issues related to Texas House bill 2127 It also had discussion of legal issues pursuant to section 551072 of the government code related to real estate matters that, included was about the purchase, exchange, lease or value of an interest in two parcels located at 1215 Red River Street and 606 East 12th Street in Austin, Texas know as the HealthSouth site. That executive session has been concluded and without objection the City Council of Austin, Texas was in adjournment of the work session, Which was regularly scheduled. It is 12:53 p.m. on July 18th. Thanks everybody.