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TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE[Transportation, Technology, and Infrastructure Committee on April 6, 2023.]
COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.TODAY IS THE 6TH OF APRIL, 2023.
WELCOME TO THIS MONTH'S MEETING OF THE TTI COMMITTEE, AND WE WILL GET UNDERWAY IN FIVE MINUTES.
SO IF YOU'LL BEAR WITH US, WE ARE GETTING ONLINE WELCOMING COUNCIL MEMBERS AND STAFF TO THE CHAMBER, AND WE WILL COMMENCE AT FIVE PAST THE HOUR.
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MORNING.IT'S THURSDAY THE 6TH OF APRIL, 2023.
IT'S 10:05 AM MY NAME IS DAVID ROBINSON.
I'M THE CHAIR OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE.
UH, TODAY'S MONTHLY MEETING IS, UH, PACKED.
WE'VE GOT SEVEN ITEMS ON THE AGENDA FULL OF INTEREST AND, UH, GRATEFUL THAT YOU ALL ARE PAYING ATTENTION.
UM, IN THE CHAMBERS WITH ME TODAY, WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBERS, AMY PECK AND OUR VICE CHAIR, UH, SALLY ALCORN.
WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER CARLOS CISNEROS, AND ONLINE WITH US, WE HAVE DR. CAROLYN EVANS SHABAZZ, AND WITH US ALSO ONLINE.
OUR STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER TARSHA JACKSON, COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER MARIANNE HUFFMAN.
WE HAVE STAFF FROM THE VICE MAYOR PRO TEM MARTHA CASTEX TATUM COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE KNOX, AS WELL AS COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER, AND, UH, AS WELL AS MY CHIEF OF STAFF, DIANA SDO, WHO'S WITH US HERE HELPING STEER THIS, UH, COMMITTEE.
AND, UH, THE SEVEN ITEMS THAT WE HAVE HERE TODAY ARE, UM, AS FOLLOWS.
WE WILL HEAR FROM THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ABOUT STAFF AUGMENTATION AT THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
THAT WILL BE, UH, PROVIDED BY NANCY BREWER, ALONG WITH BYRON KING, OUR BUILDING OFFICIAL FOR THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM THE, UH, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ON THEIR PROGRAM FOR GIVE WATER A BREAK.
LACEY ULRICH, OUR EVENT PLANNING AND OUT OUTREACH LEAD WILL PRESENT FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU PROFESSIONALS BEING HERE WITH US TODAY.
UM, WE'LL ALSO HEAR FROM PUBLIC WORKS ABOUT THE FISCAL YEAR 2023, WATERLINE LEAKS UNDERSTANDING, UH, THAT VENUS PRICE, THE DIRECTOR OF DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS, WILL PRESENT TO US TODAY.
AND THE LAST OF THE FOUR ITEMS FROM HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS WILL BE THE NEAR MAP AERIAL IMAGERY TECHNOLOGY, UH, NEW, UM, GIS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY.
ANTHONY POWELL, UH, FROM THAT DIVISION, THE MANAGER WILL BE PRESENTING TODAY.
AND WE HAVE THREE OTHER ITEMS. THE NEXT WILL BE FROM THE HOUSTON FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
TERRENCE YORK, OUR DIVISION MANAGER WILL BE SPEAKING ABOUT FISCAL YEAR 2024.
THE AUTOMATED FUEL SYSTEM MANAGEMENT, UH, PROGRAM, AS WELL AS, UH, FOLLOWING WILL BE FROM THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT WESTLAW LEGAL, ONLINE SERVICES AND PRINT PRODUCTS.
THAT CONTRACT WILL BE PRESENTED BY DANNY NORRIS, OUR SENIOR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY.
AND FINALLY ON THE, ON THE AGENDA TODAY WILL BE PRESENTED FROM THE HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, THE ENTERPRISE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, OR EDMS. AND THAT TODAY WITH THE CONTRACT EXTENSION, WE WILL HEAR FROM SUMMER XO AS WELL AS MY PHONE.
UH, OUR DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BOTH WITH OUR HITS DEPARTMENT.
SO WITH THAT, LET ME SAY THAT DUE TO HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS RELATED TO COVID-19, THIS MEETING WILL OFFER THE OPTIONS TO PARTICIPATE VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE OR IN PERSON.
THE LOCATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE HERE IN CITY HALL CHAMBERS AT 9 0 1 BAGBY, SECOND FLOOR OF THE HOUSTON CITY HALL, TEXAS 7 7 0 0 2.
THE MEETING IS AND WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITH RESTRICTIONS REGARDING MASKS AS APPLICABLE NOW AND ALLOWABLE ROOM CAPACITY AND A SEATING ARRANGEMENTS ARE IN PLACE.
THE DESIGNATING PRESIDING OFFICER, MYSELF OF THIS COMMITTEE IS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE CHAMBER AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 5 5 1 0.127 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, UH, APPLICABLE RULES TO A GOVERNMENT BODY THAT EXTENDS INTO THREE OR MORE COUNTIES.
ALL OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE THE OPTION TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS. SO WITH THAT, WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOUR ATTENDANCE FOR BEING HERE.
WE HAVE A, A NUMBER OF, UH, PUBLIC SPEAKERS AFTER THE PRESENTATION, AND I THINK WE HAVE THREE THAT ARE RELATED TO THE FIRST ITEM.
SO BEFORE US TODAY, WE DO HAVE, UH, BYRON KING, OUR BUILDING OFFICIAL, AS WELL AS NANCY BREWER TO SPEAK WITH US ABOUT STAFF AUGMENTATION AT THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, UM, UH, MR. KING, MS. BREWER, I WILL TURN THE FLOOR OVER TO YOU.
I'M NANCY BREWER, DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF PLAN REVIEW BUILDING CODE ENFORCEMENT AT THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
JOINING ME TODAY IS BYRON KING, BUILDING OFFICIAL.
CHRIS BUTLER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, AND CHELSEA HARVEY KETCHUM, DIVISION MANAGER OVER BUDGETING AND FINANCE AT HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER.
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NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS BEGINS ALL OF OUR PRESENTATIONS WITH A REMINDER OF OUR PURPOSE.
TOGETHER WE CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS PERFORMANCE NUMBERS AT, AT HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER FROM 2016 THROUGH 2022.
FOR THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION, I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IN THE LAST SIX YEARS, PLAN REVIEW HAS REVIEWED OVER 542,000 PLANS.
LOOKING AT THE TIME PERIOD FISCAL YEAR 2022, WE SAW AN INCREASE OF OVER 12% IN PROJECTS IN 2023.
WE ARE ESTIMATED TO INCREASE AN ADDITIONAL 8% IN PROJECTS SUBMITTED FOR REVIEW.
FROM 2020 TO 2022, WE LOST 90 STAFF MEMBERS.
17 OF THESE WERE IN BCE PLAN REVIEW.
STAFF HAVE LEFT, HAVE LEFT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS, BUT THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE LEFT FOR BETTER OPPORTUNITIES, WHICH INCLUDES A WORK FROM HOME OPTION AND MUCH HIGHER SALARIES.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IN MARCH AND APRIL OF THIS YEAR, WE HAVE LOST A TOTAL OF NINE MEMBERS AND STAFF OF STAFF MEMBERS AND PLAN REVIEW ALONE.
THE INCREASE IN NUMBERS OF PLANS SUBMITTED FOR REVIEW COMBINED WITH THE LOSS OF STAFF, HAVE CREATED THE NEED FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO EN CREATED A NEED FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO ENTER INTO A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM IN THE SPRING OF 2022.
THE MOU ALLOWED HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO UTILIZE A PORTION OF THE AIRPORT SYSTEM'S SPENDING AUTHORITY WITH ASANI CONSULTANTS FOR STAFF AUGMENTATION SERVICES.
IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS, ASANI HAS PROVIDED SIX STRUCTURAL PLAN ANALYSTS TO ASSIST WITH COMMERCIAL PLANS.
REVIEW TIMES FOR COMMERCIAL PLANS WERE REDUCED FROM 22 DAYS A YEAR AGO TO 12 DAYS IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR.
AND ACTUALLY IT'S AT 10 TODAY.
ISANI HAS REVIEWED OVER 1800 PLANS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON IN THE LAST YEAR.
HPC ISSUED AN RFP FOR OUR OWN STAFF AUGMENTATION CONTRACT IN LATE 2022.
SSA INFRASTRUCTURE LLC WAS SELECTED.
THE CONTRACT IS FOR THREE YEARS WITH TWO ONE YEAR RENEWAL OPTIONS TOTALING 17 MILLION 155,000.
STAFF SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED ON A WORK ORDER BASIS AS NEEDED AND INCLUDES FUNDING FOR THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
IN ADDITION TO STAFF AUGMENTATION VERSA, WILL PROVIDE A PLAN REVIEW EXPRESS PROGRAM.
THIS PROGRAM WILL OPERATE IN A SIMILAR MA FASHION AS OUR EXPEDITED REVIEW PROGRAM THAT'S CURRENTLY BEING, UH, HANDLED BY THE BUREAU OF VERITAS.
UNDER THIS PROGRAM, CUSTOMERS WILL PAY A FEE FOR PLANS TO BE REVIEWED WITHIN 24 HOURS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PROGRAM.
PLANS HAVE TO BE, HAVE, WILL HAVE HAD TO BE REVIEWED AT LEAST ONE TIME, AND THE NUMBER OF PLANS REVIEWED WILL BE LIMITED TO 30 PER DAY.
UNDER THIS CONTRACT, WE WILL BE ABLE TO FUND SIX FTES IN BUILDING CODE ENFORCEMENT AND THREE FTES THROUGH THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
THE HOURLY RATE FOR THE VERSA FTES IS $57 AND 69 CENTS PER HOUR COMPARED TO OUR CITY OF HOUSTON STAFF WHO HAVE AN HOURLY RATE OF $28 95 CENTS FOR SENIOR PLAN ANALYSTS AND $34 PER HOUR FOR PLAN ANALYST SUPERVISORS.
AGAIN, WE WILL ONLY UTILIZE THESE RESOURCES AS NEEDED AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO TO WORK TO HIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF.
THIS SLIDE PROVIDES A SNAPSHOT OF THE CONTRACT COST PER YEAR, INCLUDING A 2.85% MULTIPLIER EACH YEAR.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION QUESTIONS.
UH, THAT WAS A VERY SUCCINCT, UH, PRESENTATION AND I, I KNOW WE WILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND, UH, AS THE COUNCIL MEMBERS GET IN THE QUEUE, WE WILL START WITH OUR VICE CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN.
AND THANK YOU NANCY AND BYRON.
I, I, YOU KNOW, THIS IS PRETTY SOBERING.
UH, YOU KNOW, 90 PEOPLE IS LIKE A HUGE HIT.
AND I, I POINTED OUT DURING THE MONTHLY, MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT THAT WAS GIVEN THIS, THIS WEEK THAT, YOU KNOW, REVENUES WERE UP, BUT THE SPENDING WAS DOWN.
AND THAT'S JUST NOT AN AREA WHERE WE WANNA SEE SPENDING DOWN BECAUSE WE CAN'T HIRE PEOPLE.
THE WORK FROM HOME ISSUE IS AN ISSUE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALL WE CAN DO NOW.
I MEAN, THIS IS A GOOD MOVE BECAUSE WE, WE'VE GOTTA BRING PEOPLE IN TO GET, MOVE THESE PLANS THROUGH ON THE CHART ON PAGE NINE, WHERE YOU BREAK DOWN THE, THE, UH, THE NUMBER THAT WE'RE PAYING $57 AN HOUR VERSUS WHAT OUR PLAN REVIEWERS MAKE.
UM, IS THAT, IS THAT, UM, ALL IN, I MEAN, I DON'T THINK THAT'S PROBABLY AN ALL IN, IS THAT JUST
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SALARY NOT BENEFITS ON THAT FIRST LINE, 2023 COH HOUR HOURLY RATE, IS THAT STRICTLY SALARY? DOES THAT INCLUDE HEALTH BENEFITS AND PENSIONS? IT'S, IT'S JUST S SALARIES.SO IF THERE WAS A WAY THAT I COULD GET THAT NUMBER ADJUSTED, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT PAYING, YOU KNOW, VERSUS BENEFITS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT PAYING FOR THEIR BENEFITS.
SO THAT WOULD MAYBE GIVE ME A MORE REALISTIC NUMBER ON, ON WHAT OUR, UM, OURS ARE BEING PAID.
BUT I, I'M AN ADVOCATE FOR THE WORK FROM HOME IF THAT, IF OTHER, IF OTHER PLACES ARE OFFERING THAT FOR PLAN REVIEW AND THEY CAN DO THE PLAN REVIEW ON THEIR COMPUTER AT HOME.
I, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE NOT ALLOWING THAT.
IF THAT'S A WAY TO KEEP PEOPLE IN INTO, IN OUR, IN OUR SHOP, UH, TO REVIEW THESE PLANS.
SO THESE ARE PRIMARILY GOING TO BE FOR STRUCTURAL BCE REVIEWS AND FOR PLANNING.
NOW, I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A BIG LAG IN THE PLANNING AND THE PLANNING PART OF PLAN REVIEW.
THE 10 OR 12 DAYS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN TO, THAT'S ON STRUCTURAL RIGHT? ON BCE.
SO WE'RE NOT THERE ON THE PLANNING SIDE.
SO WHAT, WHAT'S THE BREAKDOWN OF HOW MUCH OF THIS IS GONNA BE FOR, I, I THINK YOU SAID SIX FTES FOR BCE AND HOW MANY FOR THREE.
THREE FOR THREE FOR PLANNING DEPARTMENT PLANNING.
SO $17 MILLION OVER THREE YEARS.
DO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF HOW, AND MAYBE IT'S IN THIS CHART OF HOW MANY PLANS THAT IS? WELL, IT'S, IT'S THREE YEARS WITH TWO ONE YEAR OPTIONS.
SO IT'S FOR A TOTAL OF FIVE YEARS.
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT NOW, BUT THAT'S, I CAN, THAT CAN GET THAT INFORMATION TOO.
I'D BE INTERESTED IN, IN KNOWING IS HOW MANY ADDITIONAL PLANS WILL GET REVIEWED WITH THIS? AND IT WON'T BE EXACT 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ALL DIFFERENT OR WHATEVER.
AND, AND THAT IT'S STILL, THEY HAVE TO GO, WHEN YOU SAY THAT, HA THEY HAVE TO BE GO THROUGH ONE SET OF PLAN REVIEWS.
THEY HAVE TO BE SUBMITTED ONCE AND BE KICKED BACK BEFORE THEY CAN, THEN THE CUSTOMER EXPEDITING THING CAN KICK IN.
IT'S, IT'S THIS, UNDER THIS CONTRACT, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO JUST BE STAFF AUGMENTATION, WHICH MEANS THEY WILL BE AS IF THEY WERE ON STAFF WITH US.
WE'LL ALLOCATE THEM WORK EVERY DAY.
IN ADDITION, WE WILL PROVIDE, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CUSTOMERS TO PAY FOR X BATTLE REVIEW.
THOSE CAN ONLY BE, THEY'LL HAVE TO HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED AT LEAST ONE TIME BEFORE WE CAN REVIEW THEM.
WE'LL GET YOU BACK IN THE QUEUE.
COUNCIL MEMBER AND, AND THANK YOU FOR THE CANDID RESPONSE.
I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE ALL INTERESTED IN FIGURING OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU.
UH, SO NEXT IN THE QUEUE IS COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AMY P THANK YOU CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN ASKED MOST OF MY QUESTIONS.
SO I JUST HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION.
UM, FOR THE PLAN REVIEW EXPRESS PROGRAM, THE NUMBER OF PLANS SUBMITTED, UM, EVERY DAY IS LIMITED TO 30.
HOW IS THAT GOING TO WORK? IS IT JUST WHOEVER GETS IN THAT QUEUE FIRST OR FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE? OKAY.
AND ARE YOU ANTICIPATING MORE THAN 30 A DAY OR IS THAT KIND OF ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE EXPECTING? CURRENTLY RES WE'RE RECEIVING H 10 A DAY.
SO LIKE 30 SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH.
I KNOW ONE OF THE TENETS OF, UH, IN, IN EMPLOYING FOLKS IS TO NOT WORK TO THE PEAK OF WHEN THE MARKET IS HOTTEST, BUT TO TRY TO THINK ABOUT WHERE THERE IS SORT OF THE NORM AND SO THAT WE'RE NOT NEEDING TO LET FOLKS GO OR OTHERWISE RELIEVE THEM OF, UH, A FULL-TIME, UH, CAREER WHEN THEY'RE WITH US IN, IN SOME OF THE VALLEYS.
UH, SO AGAIN, THIS IS AT LEAST PART ART AS, AS IT IS SCIENCE.
SO APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE TELLING US.
BUT I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES THAT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, SOME OF THE FACTS YOU'RE PRESENTING ARE, ARE QUITE SERIOUS FOR WHAT WE'RE WRESTLING WITH.
UM, NEXT IN THE QUEUE, I'M GONNA GO BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN.
THANK YOU MORE ON THE, ON THE CUSTOMER PAID, EXPEDITING.
SO THE EXPERIENCE, SO THAT'S ALL BEEN WITH BUREAU VERITAS, CORRECT? YES.
AND ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE USED IT AND HOW MUCH MONEY HAS BEEN BROUGHT IN? I MEAN, IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA, IF NOT, YOU CAN GET BACK WITH ME.
I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE, HOW MANY APPLICANTS HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THAT? WE RECEIVE ABOUT EIGHT TO 10 A DAY.
SO, AND THAT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR HER THE LAST YEAR? YEAR, YEAH.
SO THAT'S PAID FOR ITSELF THERE? CORRECT.
AND THIS WILL, THE BUREAU OF VERITAS WILL GO ON, OR IS THIS REPLACING BUREAU OF VERITAS? IT'LL, IT'LL GO ON.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THIS IN ADDITION WITH UP TO PROBABLY ANOTHER EIGHT TO 10 OR HOWEVER MANY WE GET A DAY.
UM, ANY, ANY EFFORTS TO AUGMENT STAFF IN THOSE AREAS? SO CURRENTLY
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THE BUREAU OF VERITAS IS REVIEWING EIGHT A DAY FOR STORM.SO THAT'S HELPED THEM REDUCE THEIR BACKLOG.
AND I THINK CHRIS COULD PROBABLY SPEAK TO WHETHER WE'RE, I THINK THEY'RE LOOKING AT STAFF AUGMENTATION SERVICES FOR, FOR THE OFFICE OF CITY ENGINEERS SEPARATELY.
BECAUSE, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE, THE, UH, THE COMPLAINTS THAT I GET ARE, ARE TRAFFIC STORM PLANNING LESS, BCE.
'CAUSE 'CAUSE YOU'RE AUGMENTING THAT.
SO IF WE NEED TO AUGMENT IN THOSE OTHER AREAS, I'M, I'M ALL FOR THAT TOO.
NEXT WE, WE'LL HEAR FROM STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER MIKE KNOX'S OFFICE WITH, UH, CHIEF OF STAFF JOHN MOSS.
JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS.
UM, WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE BREAKDOWN OF WORK PERFORMED BY CITY EMPLOYEES VERSUS THE PRIVATE SECTOR? THE OUTSOURCING? IS IT HALF AND HALF? THIRD, TWO THIRDS? IT'S BALLPARK.
SO WE HAVE ABOUT 15 COMMERCIAL STRUCTURAL PLAN ANALYSTS, AND WE'RE AUGMENTING THEM WITH AN ADDITIONAL FIVE CURRENTLY.
AND THIS WILL ALLOW US UP TO SIX, ABOUT A THIRD.
THESE VARIOUS APPLICATIONS OR PERMITS, UM, THE COST ARE, ARE THE COST REVIEWED OR DO THEY INCREASE EVERY YEAR? IS IT EVERY FEW YEARS? IS IT TIED TO POPULATION PLUS INFLATION? OR HOW IS THAT TREATED? THE COST OF THE PUBLIC TO PURCHASE THESE, YOU KNOW, TO APPLY FOR THESE VARIOUS PERMITS? OH, YOU YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT THE, ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT THE, THE FEES THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE ACTUALLY PAYING FOR NOW? YES, SIR.
THAT, THAT IS LOOKED AT EVERY YEAR AND IT'S INCREASED, WHICH YOU HAVE THE INDEX, WHICH IS INCREASED IN JANUARY, I BELIEVE.
SO IS IT A DIFFERENT INDEX THAN WHAT, UM, FOR THE WATER, THE POPULATION PLUS INFLATION, IS IT DIFFERENT OR DO Y'ALL USE THAT NUMBER? REPEAT THAT.
EVERY YEAR, THE COST, UM, APRIL 1ST FOR THE WATER RATES FOR THE PUBLIC IS POPULATION PLUS INFLATION.
ARE THE COSTS FOR THESE, ARE THEY, DO Y'ALL USE THE SAME NUMBERS OR IS IT SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAT Y ALL USE EVERY YEAR TO NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE, BUT I BELIEVE THAT IS DIFFERENT, SIR.
UM, I THINK THAT IS IT FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN QUEUE.
I MIGHT TAKE A MOMENT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE JUST TO, UH, MR. KING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
BUT MS. BREWER, THANK YOU FOR YOURS.
IN PARTICULAR, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY BE CREATING YET ANOTHER VACANCY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT IN THE COMING MONTH.
ARE YOU PLANNING TO RETIRE? YES, SIR.
WELL, I, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME WITH THE CITY.
YOU'VE THANK YOU'VE HAD AN INCREDIBLE CAREER AND WE'RE VERY, VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
CAN YOU, IS THIS JUST YOUR TIME OR ARE YOU BEING LURED BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR? THIS IS MY, I'M GONNA ASK YOU A PERSONAL QUESTION HERE.
WE'RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE.
WITH THAT, UH, WE'RE DONE WITH THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
UM, BUT OH MY GOSH, NANCY, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN CRYING AT MY DESK FOR LIKE, SINCE I HEARD THIS NEWS A WHILE BACK.
UH, YOU'VE BEEN, I MEAN, FROM THE PAM HOME DAYS, I'VE KNOWN NANCY BREWER AND OVER IN SIGN ADMINISTRATION AND HABITABILITY.
YOU'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE AND SO GREAT TO WORK WITH.
YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT ADDITION AT PERMITTING.
BYRON, JUST, YOU KNOW, SORRY, YOU'RE GONNA GET ALL THE CALLS NANCY USED TO GET NOW, I GUESS
UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING SO RESPONSIVE, FOR BEING A GOOD FRIEND AND FOR WORKING SO HARD FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
I MEAN, IT WILL LEAVE A HUGE HOLE AND WE'LL MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY.
AND, UH, AGAIN, UH, THANK YOU NANCY.
WE'LL MOVE ON NOW TO THE NEXT ITEM, WHICH IS, UH, GIVE WATER A BREAK.
THIS IS FROM THE
WE, WE ARE GOING TO GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, BEFORE YOU APPROACH THE PODIUM, WE DO HAVE, UH, I THINK THREE FOLKS ONLINE AS WELL AS ONE HERE IN THE PERSONS ONLINE FOR SURE.
AUDIENCE, WELL, WE, WE WILL START WITH THOSE WHO ARE ONLINE AND START WITH, UM, MS. SAMMY HUGHES.
UH, IF YOU'RE ONLINE, IF YOU COULD HIT STAR SIX TO UNMUTE AND JOIN US.
WE'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR QUESTION.
MS. HUGHES, CAN YOU HEAR US? WE THINK WE SEE YOU ONLINE.
SAMMY'S AN OLD FRIEND FROM THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE, MIKE DISH.
UM, NEXT ON LINE, UH, MIKE BERGER.
HIT STAR SIX, MIKE, OR LET US KNOW IF YOU'RE THERE.
LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN UNMUTE HITTING STAR SIX OR OTHERWISE SPEAKING UP AND
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NOT HEARING YOU.WE'LL GIVE A CALL AT THE END TO SEE IF YOU CAN GET BACK ONLINE OR TRY THIRD TRY FOR ONLINE.
UM, ARE YOU THERE, DEVIN? HITTING STAR SIX OR TRYING TO UNMUTE? I'M GONNA CHECK WITH OUR TECHNOLOGY TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY ISSUE WITH OUR INTERFACE WITH, UM, VIRTUAL CALLERS, BUT HEARING NONE, UH, OUR SPEAKER IN THE AUDIENCE IS HERE FOR A DIFFERENT ITEM ON THE AGENDA, SO I BELIEVE WITH THAT, UM, APOLOGIES IF THERE IS SOMETHING CHALLENGING TO THOSE SPEAKERS, BUT WE WILL RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT COME FROM, UH, FOLKS ATTENDING, OR ANYONE WHO HAS A QUESTION.
PLEASE, UH, LET US KNOW AT THE, AT LARGE2@HOUSTONTX.GOV EMAIL ADDRESS, AND WE WILL RESPOND TO YOU AND CIRCULATE RESPONSES FROM THE APPROPRIATE FOLKS, UH, IN THIS CASE AT THE PERMITTING CENTER, BUT EAGER TO ADDRESS THOSE QUESTIONS AS THEY ARISE.
UH, MEANWHILE, WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO THE SECOND ITEM ON THE AGENDA WITH HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
THIS IS THE GIVE WATER A BREAK, UH, PRESENTATION.
LACEY ULRICH IS THE EVENT PLANNING AND OUTREACH LEAD FOR HOUSTON WATER AND THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
LET'S GET YOUR, LET'S GET YOUR MUTE.
SO AS STATED, GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY.
I'M THE EVENT PLANNING AND OUTREACH LEAD AT HOUSTON WATER.
I'M GONNA BE PRESENTING TODAY ABOUT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS NEW WATER CONSERVATION AND DROUGHT AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.
OH, I'M WAITING ON THE SLIDES.
WE'LL BRING THAT PRESENTATION UP HERE SHORTLY.
SO, AS YOU HEARD FROM OUR PREVIOUS PRESENTER AT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, WE LIKE TO START WITH OUR PURPOSE.
TOGETHER WE CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE, AND WE DO SO BY EMBODYING OUR FIVE VALUES, RESPECT, OWNERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, INTEGRITY, AND TEAMWORK.
OUR NEW EDUCATION CAMPAIGN THAT I'M GONNA BE PRESENTING TODAY IS A KEY COMPONENT OF OUR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE OUR COMMUNICATION WITH HOUSTONIANS AND ENCOURAGE THE COMMUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER WITH US AS A TEAM TO KEEP HOUSTON VIBRANT AND FLOWING.
SO FIRST I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY THE CITY OF HOUSTON NEEDS AN OUTREACH AND EDUCATION CAMPAIGN FOR WATER CONSERVATION AND DROUGHT.
WELL, TEXAS'S POPULATION IS PROJECTED TO INCREASE 73% BY 2070.
DURING THAT TIME, OUR WATER DEMAND IS PROJECTED TO INCREASE AND OUR CURRENT SUPPLY IS PROJECTED TO DECLINE.
THE TEXAS STATE WATER PLAN PREDICTS THAT WATER CONSERVATION REPRESENTS NEARLY 30% OF THE IDENTIFIED STRATEGIES TO MEET THE WATER SUPPLY NEEDS IN 2070.
IN HOUSTON, SPECIFICALLY, THE GENERAL HOUSTON METROPOLITAN POPULATION IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE FROM 4.7 MILLION TO 6.2 MILLION BY 2070.
BY THAT SAME DECADE, 2070, HOUSTON IS PROJECTED TO HAVE A WATER NEED OR POTENTIAL SHORTAGE OF 220,772 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, WHICH IS MORE THAN THE ENTIRE VOLUME OF LAKE HOUSTON.
LUCKILY, THE REGION IS PUTTING FORTH A NUMBER OF WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THESE SHORTAGES.
THESE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES INCLUDE WATER REUSE, DESALINATION, ADDITIONAL SURFACE WATER, INTER BASIN TRANSFERS, AND CONSERVATION.
IN FACT, REGION H, WHICH IS THE WATER PLANNING GROUP FOR OUR REGION, CALLS FOR 18 TO 28% OF FUTURE ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLIES FOR OUR REGION SPECIFICALLY TO BE MET THROUGH CONSERVATION.
IN EFFORTS TO MEET THESE AGGRESSIVE GOALS, THE 2019 CITY OF HOUSTON CONSERVATION PLAN ADDED THE CREATION OF A CONSERVATION DIVISION WITHIN HOUSTON WATER.
THE CONSERVATION GROUP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN AND DEVELOPING PROGRAMMING TO HELP HOUSTON REACH ITS FIVE YEAR AND 10 YEAR CONSERVATION TARGETS.
THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN IS REVISED EVERY FIVE YEARS AS PER THE TEXAS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE.
SO IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE GRAPH ON THE LEFT, THE ORANGE DASH LINE SHOWS THE FIVE AND 10 YEAR WATER USE REDUCTION GOALS SET BY THE CITY.
IN THE 2014 CITY OF HOUSTON CONSERVATION PLAN, THE GOAL WAS TO REDUCE THE AVERAGE GALLONS PER CONNECTION PER DAY OR GPCD FROM 1 42 TO 1 44, OH,
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SORRY, 1 44 TO 1 42 WITHIN FIVE YEARS, AND 1 39 WITHIN 10 YEARS.BUT WHEN THE 2019 WATER CONSERVATION PLAN WAS RELEASED, WE HAD NOT ONLY MET, BUT EXCEEDED THOSE GOALS AND WE NEEDED TO SET A NEW BASELINE.
SO THE GRAY DASH LINE REPRESENTS THAT NEW BASELINE, THE 2019 GPCD REDUCTION GOAL FROM 1 27 TO 1 25 WITHIN FIVE YEARS, AND 1 23 WITHIN 10 YEARS.
AND THEN JUST AS A NOTE, UH, HOUSTON'S ON TRACK TO MEET THESE GOALS AND CONTINUE OUR DOWNWARD TREND WITH OUR 2022 GPCD COMING IN AROUND 116.
SO, OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN HOW THE WATER CONSERVATION GROUP ADDRESSES REDUCING RESIDENTIAL WATER CONSUMPTION.
IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, HOUSTON WATERS CONSERVATION GROUP HAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE A MULTITUDE OF EVENTS AND PROGRAMS, ALL CENTERED AROUND EDUCATING CITIZENS ABOUT HOW AND WHY TO CONSERVE WATER AND USE WATER MORE EFFICIENTLY.
PRIOR TO OUR NEW CAMPAIGN, THE CITY OF HOUSTON DIDN'T HAVE AN IN-HOUSE DROUGHT OR WATER CONSERVATION EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.
WE RELIED HEAVILY ON PARTNER CAMPAIGNS AND MATERIALS, SUCH AS THE HOUSTON RUNS ON WATER CAMPAIGN, WHICH WAS FORMED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TEXAS WATER FOUNDATION, OUR STATEWIDE FIX ALE WEEK VIRTUAL WEBINARS, WHICH ARE PART OF AN EPA WATERSENSE CAMPAIGN, AND OUR IMAGINE A DAY WITHOUT WATER CONTEST AND EVENTS, WHICH ARE A US WATER ALLIANCE CAMPAIGN.
HOWEVER, IN THE SUMMER OF LAST YEAR, HOUSTON EXPERIENCED THE SECOND HOTTEST MAY ON RECORD, FOLLOWED BY BACK TO BACK MONTHS OF THE HOTTEST JUNE AND JULY ON RECORD.
THESE EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH TEMPERATURES COUPLED WITH LOWER THAN NORMAL RAINFALL LED TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON TRIGGERING PHASE ONE OF THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2011, WE REALIZED RIGHT AWAY THAT COMMUNICATING WITH HOUSTONIANS ABOUT DROUGHT WOULD BE A CHALLENGING TASK.
HOUSTONIANS DON'T ALWAYS EXPERIENCE DROUGHT WITH THE SAME FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY THAT OTHER TEXAS CITIES DO.
OUR ACCESS TO RELIABLE SOURCES OF SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER AND HIGH AVERAGE RAINFALL CREATES A PERCEIVED SENSE OF WATER ABUNDANCE.
AND CLIMATE PROJECTIONS FROM HOUSTON ARE SHOWING THAT DROUGHTS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE FREQUENT IN OUR FUTURE.
HOUSTON CAN EXPECT INCREASES IN THE NUMBER OF HOT DAYS PER YEAR.
LENGTHENING OF OUR SUMMERS INCREASES IN THE TEMPERATURE OF THE HOTTEST DAYS EXPERIENCED EACH YEAR AND LONGER MULTI-DAY HEAT WAVES.
ANNUAL RAINFALL AVERAGES ARE EXPECTED TO STAY THE SAME, BUT WITH MORE INTENSE EXTREMES, AVERAGING FROM FIVE TO A HUNDRED INCHES OF RAIN.
THESE FACTORS COMBINED SIGNAL WERE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE MORE FREQUENT AND ACUTE DROUGHTS IN THE FUTURE IN 2022.
ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, HOUSTON'S IAH WEATHER MONITOR REPORTED 22 DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES ABOVE A HUNDRED DEGREES.
EDUCATING HOUSTONIANS ABOUT DROUGHT AND THE NEED FOR ONGOING CONSERVATION IS BECOMING A MORE AND MORE RELEVANT OR RELEVANT ENDEAVOR.
SO ENTER OUR CAMPAIGN, GIVE WATER A BREAK.
WE NEEDED TO CREATE A HOUSTON CENTRIC CAMPAIGN THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO CREATE CUSTOMIZED MATERIALS TO FIT OUR NEEDS AND MESSAGING.
WE ALSO WANTED THE CAMPAIGN TO BE VERSATILE ENOUGH THAT IT COULD BE USED FOR YEAR-ROUND WATER CONSERVATION MESSAGING.
THE CAMPAIGN FEATURES BOLD EYE-CATCHING GRAPHICS THAT ATTEMPT TO SWITCH HOUSTONIANS MINDSETS FROM WASTING BECAUSE I CAN TO CONSERVING BECAUSE I SHOULD.
THE GRAPHICS FEATURE DEPICTIONS OF OBVIOUS WATER WASTE AND HAVE A SOMEWHAT EDGY LOOK USING BLACK AND WHITE CLIP ART THAT PLAYS HOMAGE TO HOUSTON'S SPACE CITY CULTURE.
WITH THE ASTRONAUT HELMET TO CREATE THE CAMPAIGN, WE CONTRACTED THE COMPANY VERSA CREATIVE, THE DESIGN COMPANY THAT WON THE COMPETITIVE BID TO CREATE OUR SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW PREVENTION CAMPAIGN, PROTECT OUR PIPES, UH, FOR THE GIVE WATER BREAK CAMPAIGN.
VERSA WAS SELECTED THROUGH A PURCHASING CO-OP.
WE HAD A BUDGET OF JUST UNDER $50,000 TO DEVELOP THE CAMPAIGN, CREATE ALL CAMPAIGN COLLATERAL, AND IMPLEMENT ADVERTISING AND MARKETING.
WHEN DEVELOPING THE GIVE WATER A BREAK DROUGHT AWARENESS MATERIALS, WE AIM TO DO TWO THINGS.
FIRST, GET HOUSTONIANS ATTENTION AND ALERT THEM THAT THE CITY IS EXPERIENCING A DROUGHT.
AND SECOND, EDUCATE THEM ABOUT CURRENT WATERING RESTRICTIONS AND HOW TO REDUCE THEIR WATER USAGE FOR HOUSTON DURING TIMES OF DROUGHT, THE BATTLE WE FIGHT IS AGAINST PEAK WATER DEMAND.
WHEN IT'S EXTREMELY DRY AND HOT RESIDENTS WATER THEIR YARDS AT A HIGHER FREQUENCY, INCREASING THE DEMAND FOR WATER.
OUR TREATMENT PLANTS CAN ONLY PRODUCE WATER AT A SET CAPACITY.
IF THE PEAK WATER DEMAND GETS TOO CLOSE TO THAT PRODUCTION CAPACITY, THIS CAN CAUSE PRESSURE ISSUES, WHICH CAN RESULT IN BOIL WATER NOTICES.
SO EVEN IF OUR LAKES AND RESERVOIRS ARE NEARLY FULL, AND WE HAVE
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AMPLE SURFACE WATER, THE ISSUE IS ABOUT ENSURING THAT WE CAN TREAT THE WATER AS QUICKLY AS IT'S BEING USED BY THE CITIZENS BECAUSE IRRIGATION IS THE LARGEST CONTRIBUTOR TO DEMAND ISSUES DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS.MANY OF OUR DROUGHT GRAPHICS FOCUS ON IRRIGATION EDUCATION AND INFORMATION.
THE GENERAL WATER CONSERVATION MESSAGING FOR THE CAMPAIGN FEATURES THE STANDARD WATER CONSERVATION TIPS THAT WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE, BUT DELIVERED THROUGH CATCHY SLOGANS.
THE INTENT, AGAIN, IS TO GET THE VIEWER'S ATTENTION SO WE CAN ENGAGE WITH THEM, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OR INFORMATION SO YOUR X AIN'T FIXABLE.
LEAKS ARE YOUR RIDE IS FRESH ENOUGH, IT TAKES A DROP, NOT A TSUNAMI.
ADDITIONALLY, BECAUSE WE WANTED TO CREATE AN OVERARCHING AND UNIFIED LOOK AND FEEL FOR ALL OF OUR WATER CONSERVATION MESSAGING, WE'VE BEGUN TO TAKE THE GIVE WATER A BREAK BRANDING AND APPLY IT TO SOME OF OUR CURRENT PARTNER CAMPAIGNS AND SMALLER INITIATIVES.
SO FOR INSTANCE, WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THE TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION GROUP FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW ON PROMOTION OF THE WATER MY YARD APP, THE FREE APP THAT USES YOUR LOCATION, LOCAL WEATHER DATA AND EXACT SPRINKLER SYSTEM TO PROVIDE FREE WEEKLY WATERING RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT SHOWS SOME OF OUR REVAMPED SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHIC USING THE GIVE WATER BREAK STYLE.
WE ALSO HAVE A SMALLER CAMPAIGN TITLED THE WINTER SPRINKLER SHUTOFF, WHICH ENCOURAGES CITIZENS TO TURN OFF THEIR SPRINKLER SYSTEM DURING THE WINTER MONTHS WHEN GRASSO'S DORMANT AND LE NEEDS LITTLE TO NO SUPPLEMENTAL WATERING.
SO ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE WE'RE ABLE TO CREATE SOME FUN COLLATERAL, INCLUDING A VIDEO IN THE GIVE WATER BREAK BRANDING, EDUCATING ABOUT THE WINTER SPRINKLER SHUTOFF.
TO BEGIN IMPLEMENTING THE CAMPAIGN, ONE OF OUR INITIAL STRATEGIES WAS TO PILOT THE INFORMATION WAS CITY OF HOUSTON EMPLOYEES.
UH, CITY EMPLOYEES REPRESENT A LARGE, DIVERSE DEMOGRAPHIC THAT WE WOULD CONSIDER A LOW HANGING FRUIT.
WE HAVE SHARED THE CAMPAIGN MESSAGING AND GRAPHICS THROUGH EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTERS, EMAIL BLASTS, DIGITAL AND PRINT, SIGNAGE IN OFFICE BUILDINGS, GIVEAWAYS FOR THE STAFF AND PRESENTATIONS.
AS A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR FREE AND LOW COST OPTIONS TO PROMOTE OUR CAMPAIGNS.
UH, ONE OF THOSE INCLUDES, OR SOME OF THOSE INCLUDE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, BILL INSERTS, AND CUSTOMER EMAIL BLASTS THAT GO OUT TO ALL OF OUR WATER CUSTOMERS.
AND WE RECENTLY BEGAN TO UTILIZE THE INTERACTIVE DIGITAL KIOSKS THAT ARE LOCATED ALL OVER THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT SHOWS ONE OF THE KIOSKS PLAYING A DROUGHT INFORMATION VIDEO.
WE ALSO LEAN ON OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFITS, LOCAL LEADERS, COMMUNITY GROUPS, CHURCHES AND LOCAL BUSINESSES TO HELP EXPAND OUR REACH TO HOUSTON RESIDENTS.
MANY OF OUR PARTNERS HAVE HELPED TO SHARE OUR CAMPAIGNS AND THEIR COMMUNITY MEETINGS, NEWSLETTERS, AND THEIR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES.
PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA TO HELP US GET OUR CAMPAIGN INFORMATION PICKED UP AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE MEDIA.
WE'VE MADE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO CONSISTENTLY PROVIDE THEM WITH PACKAGED AND INFORMATION AND MATERIALS.
WE'VE COORDINATED MULTIPLE PRESS RELEASES, MEDIA ALERTS AND INTERVIEWS, ALL CENTERED AROUND BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LOCAL MEDIA IN 2021 TO HELP US BETTER COMMUNICATE WITH HOUSTON'S LARGE HISPANIC POPULATION, WE HIRED A PR AGENT THAT SPECIALIZES IN SPANISH SPEAKING MEDIA OUTLETS.
THEY'VE HELPED US TO BECOME MORE PLUGGED IN WITH LOCAL HISPANIC ORGANIZATIONS AND HAVE ASSISTED IN COORDINATING INTERVIEWS WITH OUTLETS LIKE UN TELEMUNDO AND OTHERS.
UH, HOUSTON IS A BIG CITY, REALLY BIG.
SO REACHING ALL OF OUR CITIZENS IS A CHALLENGE TO REALLY INCREASE THE REACH OF THE CAMPAIGN.
WE'VE RELIED HEAVILY ON MARKETING AND ADVERTISING FOR THE GIVE WATER BREAK CAMPAIGN.
WE'VE UTILIZED RADIO ADS, YOUTUBE ADS, GOOGLE BANNER ADS, AND EVEN RECENTLY WE DID A HULU ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN TARGETED AT HOUSTON ZIP CODES WITH THE LARGEST NUMBERS OF HIGH WATER USERS.
ALONG WITH ALL THE DIGITAL ADVERTISING, WE ALSO MAKE A CONSISTENT EFFORT TO BE PRESENT IN THE COMMUNITY, SHARING AND PROVIDING EDUCATION AND RESOURCES.
WE'VE ATTENDED VARIOUS COMMUNITY EVENTS SUCH AS FESTIVALS, COOK-OFFS, HOA MEETINGS, CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS, STEM FAIRS, SCHOOL EVENTS, AND MORE.
WE FOUND THAT MEETING THE COMMUNITY AT EVENTS THEY'RE ALREADY PARTICIPATING IN HAS ALLOWED US THE GREATEST REACH.
TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CAMPAIGN, WE'VE DEVELOPED AN EXTENSIVE TOOLBOX OF COLLATERAL MATERIALS THAT FIT DIFFERENT AUDIENCES, OUTLETS, AND MEDIUMS, INCLUDING DIGITAL ASSETS, LIKE EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS, BANNER ADS, WEBSITE GRAPHICS, SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS AND DIGITAL TOOLKITS, AS
[00:40:01]
WELL AS PHYSICAL ASSETS SUCH AS EDUCATIONAL TRIFOLDS, CUSTOM BOOTHING MATERIALS, A-FRAMES, POSTERS, HATS, T-SHIRTS, STICKERS, BAGS, AND YARD SIGNS.ADDITIONALLY, TO SUPPORT THE DIVERSITY FOUND IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WE'RE WORKING TO HAVE OUR OUTREACH MATERIALS TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH AND OTHER PROMINENT LANGUAGES PRESENT IN HOUSTON.
AND I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT GIVE WATER, THE GIVE WATER BREAK CAMPAIGN CAN ALREADY BE REFERRED TO AS AWARD-WINNING.
THIS YEAR, THE CAMPAIGN RECEIVED THE HIGHEST AWARD AVAILABLE, THE PLATINUM AWARD IN THE INTERNATIONAL A VA DIGITAL AWARDS COMPETITION FOR EXCELLENCE IN CONCEPT DESIGN AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATION.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE OFTEN OCCURS AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL.
SO WE AIM TO EMPOWER HOUSTON'S LEADERS TO INSPIRE THESE BEHAVIORS AT SOME, AS SOME OF THE KEY LEADERS IN YOUR DISTRICTS.
HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS IS ASKING FOR YOUR HELP TO SHARE THIS CAMPAIGN AND ITS MESSAGE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY AND ITS LEADERS.
SO, UH, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR A GIVE WATER BREAK, UH, EMAIL WITH RESOURCES AND LINKS THAT WE SHOULD BE SENDING YOU GUYS THIS WAY NEXT WEEK.
YOU CAN ALSO VISIT OUR WEBSITE, GIVE WATER BREAK.ORG FOR ACCESS TO DOWNLOADS OF THE CAMPAIGN MATERIALS.
AND YOU CAN ALSO REACH OUT TO US.
WE ALWAYS ARE INTERESTED IN DOING PRESENTATIONS.
AND THAT'S IT IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS? NO, I THINK THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, YOU GAVE THE WEBSITE.
IS THAT, UH, VIRTUALLY AN ONLINE GIFT SHOP TOO? BECAUSE SOME OF THOSE ARE
YOU GUYS LOOK GREAT, BUT I'M THINKING WE PROBABLY NEED A GIFT SHOP TO OPEN SOMEWHERE.
'CAUSE THAT'S A GREAT CAMPAIGN.
WHO IS THE FIRM THAT CAME UP WITH ALL THAT VERSA.
UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE.
LET'S GO WITH COUNCIL MEMBER CARLOS CISNEROS.
UM, I WANNA APPLAUD THIS DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THE LEADERSHIP OF PAULA PATRIK.
UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE, AND, AND THE RECOGNITION THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN TO FOR THIS, UM, THIS INTERNATIONAL AWARD.
AND, UM, IT'S, IT'S SO COMPREHENSIVE.
UM, AND AS, AS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW INTENTIONAL YOU HAVE BEEN IN, IN TARGETING, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT GROUPS, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYEES, WHICH WE KNOW MAKE A BIG PART OF THE CITY, YOU KNOW, CITY EMPLOYEES ON RESIDENTS AND, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITIES AND, UM, AND, UH, AND DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS ALL ACROSS OUR CITY.
I'M JUST WANTED TO SAY I APPRECIATE YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH ME, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH COMMITTEE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, THAT THERE'S ALSO, UM, GRANT FUNDING IN THE WORKS TO, TO INCLUDE TARGETED MATERIAL FOR, FOR, UM, CHILDREN AND YOUTH.
UM, THOSE ARE ALSO COMMUNITY LEADERS AND, UM, AND THEY OFTEN, YOU KNOW, LEAD THEIR FAMILIES IN, IN THIS KIND OF INFORMATION.
SO, UM, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, YOU KNOW, ON, ON THAT, UM, IN COMING MONTHS AS, AS YOU GET PAST THIS, YOU KNOW, THE BIG GOALS OF, OF APRIL AND EARTH DAY.
UM, BUT, UH, BUT WE'LL BE HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT TOO.
UH, WE APPRECIATE YOU ALWAYS SUPPORTING US COUNCIL MEMBER CISNEROS, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO WORK ON THAT PROJECT AS WELL.
AND, AND, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON, WHILE WE WERE, UM, UH, HIGHLIGHTING THE, THE GREAT WORK THAT SOMEONE'S DONE THAT WE MAY BE LEAVING, MAY BE LEAVING US.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO, JUST TO THANK PAULA WHO IS ON HER WAY OUT TOO, AND SHE'S BEEN SUCH AN AMAZING, YOU KNOW, INSPIRATIONAL LEADER IN THIS, IN THIS DEPARTMENT, IN THIS, THIS EFFORT.
SO, SO THANK YOU SO PAULA, FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR US, AND, YOU KNOW, BEST WISHES TO YOU, MS. PAT.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED YOU TO COME UP TO THE PODIUM,
I WAS NOT GONNA LET THAT ESCAPE US.
I ASSURE YOU PAULA HAS DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB.
SO WITH, UH, WITH ALL PRAISE DO, UM, A WORD OR TWO FROM YOU ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN AND THEN ABOUT YOUR TIME HERE AT THE CITY WITH US.
THANK YOU SO, SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR VERY KIND WORDS.
UM, I'M VERY HUMBLE AND, AND VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE WORK HERE FOR THE CITY WAS MY, MY BIGGEST DREAM AND I WAS ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.
AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THE TEAM THAT, THAT WE FORMED HERE AT THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE ROCKING AND ROLLING AND, AND DOING, MAKING THIS WORK, HONESTLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY.
AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AS WELL AND YOUR SUPPORT ALONG THE WAY.
UM, THIS CAMPAIGN, UH, IS PROBABLY A TESTAMENT OF, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WRAPS UP ALL THE, ALL THE GREAT WORK THAT, THAT THE TEAM HAS BEEN DOING.
UH, I'M, I'M VERY EXCITED THAT WE HAVE THIS BEFORE, UH, I
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LEAVE TO MY NEXT CHAPTER IN LIFE, WHICH IS ANOTHER STATE BY THE WAY.SO, SO THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING, UH, AND, UM, VERY FORTUNATE AND BLESSED.
SO I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT, THAT THE CITY HAS DONE FOR ME.
WHY DON'T YOU STAY AT THE PODIUM 'CAUSE WE HAVE ANOTHER, AT LEAST ONE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER IN Q, BUT OKAY, TO COUNCIL MEMBER CISNEROS THIS POINT, UH, THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH, UH, COMMITTEE THAT YOU'VE SPOKEN TO, THAT IS OUR NEXT GENERATION.
THAT IS OUR FUTURE AS THE MAYOR LIKES TO SAY.
AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER CISNEROS HAS BEEN SO CAPABLY LEADING FOR US ON COUNCIL.
THAT'S, UH, WHERE WE GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS, BUT THE STATISTICS THAT ARE REALLY POINTING TO THE REDUCTIONS THAT WE'VE MADE IN WATER CONSUMPTION REALLY SPEAK TO THE EXCELLENT WORK THAT WE'RE DOING AT THE CITY.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA WILL ALSO SPEAK TO LEAKS AND WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
BUT IN TERMS OF AN INSPIRING CAMPAIGN, THIS IS REALLY GREAT.
WE DO HAVE, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA PLUMMER'S, UH, STAFF, AT LEAST ONLINE, ASKING WHERE THEY CAN GET ONE OF YOUR HATS THAT WE SAW ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE,
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSUMER DEMAND IS ABOUT TO HIT IF YOU
THEY SHOULD BE ARRIVING LATER THIS MONTH WHEN WE GET SOME, WE'LL PROVIDE SOME TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THE HATS.
WE'RE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF ORDERING WHEN WE GET SOME.
WE'LL DEFINITELY SEND SOME OF YOU GUYS THIS WAY.
I LEAVE YOU GUYS IN GREAT HANS.
UH, IT'S, WE HAVE A VERY GOOD TEAM WITH LACEY RIDGE AND, AND CARLY SELTZER, WHO, IF YOU HAVEN'T MET HER, I'M SURE YOU'LL MET, YOU'LL MEET HER VERY SOON.
UH, NEXT IN THE QUEUE IS THE VICE CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND GREAT CAMPAIGN.
YEAH, WE'LL BE GETTING THAT OUT.
WE'LL BE GETTING THAT OUT IN THE NEWSLETTER WE'RE SENDING OUT TODAY.
SO THA VERY TIMELY, ALSO VERY TIMELY BECAUSE THE TOP OF THE FOLD, HOUSTON CHRONICLE LEAD STORY TODAY IS HOUSTONIANS WATER BILLS TO RISE 15%.
OF COURSE WITH THE BIGGER JUMP IN INFLATION, OUR ANNUAL INCREASE IN APRIL WENT FROM WHAT PEOPLE ARE USED TO AT ABOUT 4% TO 9.2%.
SO THIS IS VITAL INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE THAT WANNA SAVE YOUR WATER BILL IS GOING UP.
UM, THAT NOT ONLY IS THIS GREAT FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVING WATER, BUT REALLY GREAT FOR PEOPLE'S POCKETBOOKS TO COUNTER THE INCREASE THAT THEY'LL SEE ON THEIR MONTHLY BILL.
THIS IS GREAT INFORMATION TO, TO HAVE FOR CONSERVING WATER.
SO WHEN WE DID THE WATER RATE HIKE LAST YEAR, I LOOKED AT OUR BILL, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY THE AVERAGE IS 3,400 GALLONS A A MONTH, AND WE WERE WAY OVER THAT.
AND I'VE BEEN MAKING CONCERTED EFFORTS AT OUR OWN HOUSE TO CUT DOWN, AND IT'S SOMETHING EVERYBODY CAN DO.
IT HASN'T BEEN THAT DIFFICULT TO REALLY FIND WAYS TO NOT WASTE IT.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE, FOR THE PRESENTATION AND I'LL CERTAINLY BE DOING MY BEST TO GET THIS INFORMATION OUT AND ESPECIALLY, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THE WATER RATE JUMPS THAT ARE ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, IF, IF WE COULD TURN THE PRESENTATION TO PAGE SEVEN, THE, THE GRAPHIC THAT INCLUDES THE, THE IMAGE OF THE STATE, I THINK TO, FOR THE POINT THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER JUST RAISED, UM, NOT ONLY WITH OUR BILLS AND THE COST OF WATER INCREASING, UH, AND OUR POPULATION INCREASING STATISTICS THAT YOU PRESENTED TODAY, MS. ULRICH ARE IN, IN THE NEXT 50 YEARS, THE POPULATION OF HOUSTON GOING FROM 4.7 TO 6.2 MILLION.
THAT'S A THIRD OF AN INCREASE IN THE POPULATION.
UM, COUPLE OF SLIDES AHEAD ON SEVEN IF YOU WOULD, UM, SHOWING THE STATE, I GUESS THE POINT OF THIS TO EXAMINE THAT, OF COURSE, UH, HOUSTON IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF OUR STATE WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT LOOKS LIKE A PRETTY HOT AND ARID ZONE.
IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DROUGHT THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST YEAR AND 10 YEARS AGO, THE 2011 AND 12 DROUGHT IS, IS HARD FOR THE CIRCUMSTANCES, CERTAINLY RELATED TO WATER, BUT OBVIOUSLY EXPENSIVE FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY WITH PIPE RUPTURES AND THINGS THAT WE'LL HEAR ABOUT AGAIN IN A MOMENT.
BUT THIS, UM, WITH THE STATE OF THE PLANET RIGHT NOW, ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THIS.
UM, AND AGAIN, MS. PATRIARCH, PERHAPS AS YOUR FINAL PRESENTATION OF THE CITY, DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCLUDING WORDS OR THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO SAY TO LEAVE US WITH? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND, UM, HOUSTONIANS AND THIS COUNCIL THAT, YOU KNOW, THE HEAT THE CITY IS ABOUT TO, UM, EMBARK ON A ONE WATER MASTER PLAN ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UH, PLANNING PROPERLY AND SMART, UH, FOR, YOU KNOW, THESE TYPES OF, YOU KNOW, UH, CLIMATE CHANGE COMING UP.
SO, UH, BE ON THE LOOKOUT BECAUSE, UH, COMING UP IN, IN, IN MONTHS OR SO, UM,
[00:50:01]
WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, HAVING AN ITEM FOR, FOR COUNCIL TO BE ACTING ON, WHICH IS THE PHASE ONE OF THE ONE WATER MASTER PLAN.UH, AND SO, UH, THAT WILL, THAT PHASE WILL ENTAIL, UM, EH, COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND THAT WILL TAKE A YEAR OF ENGAGEMENT FOR THAT WILL PROCEED THE ACTUAL PLAN DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH IS PHASE TWO AND WILL ENTAIL THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WASTEWATER PLAN, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DRINKING WATER PLAN AND THE INTEGRATION OF THE STORM WATER PLAN, WHICH IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
SO THAT'S A HUGE, HUGE, UM, PROJECT FOR THE CITY AND FOR HOUSTON WATER THAT WILL VERY MUCH ADDRESS THIS, UM, AREA THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN, AND UH, I THINK WITH THAT WE'LL UH, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU TWO HAVE BROUGHT TO US AND WE'LL, WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ALSO FROM PUBLIC WORKS AND THE DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS.
THIS, UH, NEXT ITEM IS THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 WATERLINE LEAKS THAT WILL BE PRESENTED BY OUR DIRECTOR OF THE DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS, VENUS PRICE.
MS. PRICE, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND WE'LL QUEUE UP THAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, IF YOU'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, UM, WE WILL WAIT FOR THE SLIDES AND YOU CAN GET UNDERWAY.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS, UM, IN THE HOUSTON WATER SERVICE LINE OF HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THE TOPIC OF WATERLINE LEAKS THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS BEGINS ALL OF OUR PRESENTATIONS BY REITERATING OUR PURPOSE.
TOGETHER WE CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE AND WITH OUR FIVE TO THRIVE VALUES, I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE VALUE OF TEAMWORK TODAY BECAUSE AS YOU'LL SEE, MANAGING THE LEAGUES FOR THE CITY HAS BEEN, UM, THAT THE CITY HAS EXPERIENCED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS HAS INVOLVED A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT BY STAFF, VENDORS AND ALSO OUR CITIZENS WHO HAVE BEEN SPOTTING AND CALLING IN THE LEAKS, AND ALSO OUR LEADERSHIP AND THE ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE HOUSTON WATER PROCESS FLOWCHART AND ESTABLISHES THE CONTEXT FOR THE ITEMS WHICH WE WILL PRESENT TODAY.
THE TOPIC OF WATERLINE LEAKS IS PRESENTED IN THE DISTRIBUTION CELL IN THIS GRAPHIC.
THIS MEANS THAT THE WATER IS DISTRIBUTED FROM THE PLANTS TO THE WATER LINES IN THE RIGHT OF WAY AND EVENTUALLY IN PEOPLE'S HOMES.
THIS IS A SCREENSHOT OF THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA WITH SOME METRICS RELATED TO SPECIFICALLY WATERLINE ASSETS.
THE BLUE LINES ARE MAJOR WATER LINES THAT RUN LIKE ARTERIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
WE CALL THESE TRANSMISSION LINES.
THEY'RE 24 INCH AND DIAMETER AND LARGER.
AS FOR THE ASSETS IN ROUND NUMBERS, WE HAVE 7,600 MILES OF WATER LINES, APPROXIMATELY 170,000 VALVES.
WE PURIFY AND PUMP ON AVERAGE 146 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER ANNUALLY, AND WE SERVE 4.3 MILLION CUSTOMERS.
ON THE TOPIC OF THE WATER LINES TO DRILL DOWN A LITTLE MORE ON THE PARTICULARS OF THE ASSETS.
THESE SLIDES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT SHOW THE MAJORITY OF OUR PIPE WE SHOW TO BE PVC.
ACCORDING TO THE DATABASE, ABOUT 50% OF OUR ASSETS.
HISTORICALLY, WE'VE BELIEVED THE MAJORITY OF OUR BREAKS COME FROM CAST IRON AND AC PIPE.
HOWEVER, THE TWO MATERIALS COMBINED ARE ABOUT 32% OF OUR INVENTORY ACCORDING TO THE DATABASE.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE LOOKING INTO PERHAPS DOING AN AUDIT OF THE DATABASE IN COMBINATION WITH LOOKING AT WAYS TO IMPLEMENT MORE ROBUST PROTECTIONS THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE RIGHT OF WAY TO PROTECT THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF OUR WATERLINE ASSETS.
THESE TYPES OF PROTECTIONS COULD INCLUDE EXPANDING CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS.
LOOKING AT OUR PERMITTING PROCESS, THE GRAPHICS ON THE RIGHT SHOWS THAT WE HAVE SEVERAL FUNCTIONAL USES OF WATERLINES, THE LARGEST OF WHICH IS THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
AT 87% OF OUR INVENTORY, WE DEFINE DISTRIBUTION LINES AS 20 INCH IN DIAMETER AND LESS ACTUALLY ABOUT 85% OF OUR INVENTORY AS 12 INCH AND SMALLER.
NOW THAT WE'VE COVERED A LITTLE ABOUT WHAT WATER LINES WE HAVE, THIS SLIDE WILL HELP TELL THE STORY OF HOW WE HAVE BEEN REPLACING OLD AND UNDERSIZED AND OTHERWISE PROBLEMATIC WATERLINES.
THE SLIDE ON THE LEFT IS THE WATERLINE H CHART.
THE SLIDE ON THE RIGHT IS THE REPLACEMENT PER YEAR CHART, THE SAME ACCESS AGAIN IN MILES FROM BOTH CHARTS.
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YOU CAN SEE RIGHT ABOUT 2020 WE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED REPLACING WATER LINES FROM THE 1970S TO ABOUT THE 20 TEENS.WE DID A GOOD DEAL OF SUSTAINED REPLACEMENT.
I FIND THE CHART ON THE RIGHT AT YEARS BETWEEN 2011 AND 2013.
GIVEN TODAY'S PARALLELS, THE LAST SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT FOR OUR REGION OCCURRED IN 2011, RIGHT ON THE TAIL END OF A NOTICEABLE REDUCTION IN THE RATE OF WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS.
WE SPENT A LOT OF RESOURCES DEALING WITH LEAKS IN THOSE YEARS AND THEN RAMPED UP AGAIN FOR WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS IN 2013.
FOR US, WE'VE HAD A NOTICEABLE REDUCTION IN THE RATE OF WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS PROCEEDING THIS PAST YEAR'S DROUGHT.
HOWEVER, THANKS TO THE MUCH NEEDED RATE INCREASE, WE ARE ABLE TO GET SOME PROJECTS SCOPED, FUNDED AND UNDERWAY.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE TYPICAL TIMELINE FOR A WATER LINE THAT IS REPAIRED BY CITY STAFF.
CALLS ARE INVESTIGATED WITHIN 24 HOURS AND IF TURNED INTO A WORK ORDER, TYPICALLY THEY'RE REPAIR REPAIRED WITHIN EIGHT DAYS.
RESTORATION TAKES A LITTLE WHILE LONGER, AS THOSE ARE SEPARATE CREWS WHO DO RESTORATION.
THIS METRIC HAS BEEN DEVELOPED FOR A TYPICAL SCENARIO IN A TYPICAL YEAR.
HOWEVER, IN ATYPICAL TIMES, FOR EXAMPLE, DROUGHT, FREEZE, STAFFING ISSUES, ET CETERA, THOSE RESPONSE TIMES WILL TREND UP.
THIS GRAPHIC MAY BE A LITTLE HARD TO SEE.
IT IS A LITTLE BIT BUSY, BUT RELATES THE HISTORY OVER THE ALMOST LAST YEAR OF LEAK NUMBERS GRAPHICALLY, WHICH CAN BE VERY USEFUL TO SEE THE BIG PICTURE ALL AT ONCE.
I'LL POINT OUT SOME OF THE KEY ELEMENTS IN THE SNAPSHOT.
THE RED LINE IS THE OPEN WORK ORDERS LABELED AS PENDING AT THE END OF EVERY WEEK.
THE HIGHEST WE SAW WAS JUST NORTH OF A THOUSAND FOR THE WEEK ENDING JANUARY 20TH, 2023.
THE BLUE LINE IS THE COMPLETED REPAIRS AT THE END OF EVERY WEEK.
WHAT WE'VE SEEN SINCE MAY OF 2022 TO DATE, 14,000 NEW LEAGUE WORK ORDERS HAVE BEEN CREATED.
THAT'S AN AVERAGE OF 310 PER WEEK.
THAT IS NOT THE NUMBER OF CALLS, WHICH IS A MUCH HIGHER NUMBER.
THIS IS THE NUMBER OF CALLS THAT GET INVESTIGATED AND TURNED INTO A WORK ORDER AS A LEAK.
ACTUALLY, THAT AVERAGE OF CALCULATED JUST FROM JANUARY, 2023 TO DATE IS 360 NEW LEAKS PER WEEK.
THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE FREEZE COMPOUNDING THE ISSUE AND ALSO PERHAPS THE COMMUNICATIONS PUSH TO HAVE RESIDENTS CALL IN LEAKS, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN A VIGILANCE FOR SPOTTING AND CALLING IN STANDING WATER, WHICH IS A GOOD THING.
THE OTHER THING TO NOTE ON THIS GRAPHIC IS THE INFUSION OF EMERGENCY RESOURCES VIA EPO THAT HAVE ALLOWED THE CITY TO PIVOT EXISTING DUTIES TO RESPOND TO THE MASSIVE AND SUSTAINED EFFORT OVER THE LAST APPROXIMATE YEAR AGAINST THE DROUGHT.
THE FREEZE COID SUPPLY CHAIN ESCALATING COSTS STAFF SHORTAGES SIMULTANEOUSLY OUT OF THE FOUR ROUNDS OF EPOS, THREE OF THEM HAVE BEEN TO COUNCIL IN PAST FOR WHICH WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL.
THE LAST EPO WAS ISSUED ON MARCH 16TH AND WILL BE BEFORE COUNCIL IN SHORT ORDER.
ONE LAST PIECE OF INFORMATION TO NOTE REGARDING THE SLIDE IS THAT REGULAR PROCUREMENT OF CONTRACTS FOR LEAKS ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY AND PLAN TO BE BEFORE COUNCIL BEFORE THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
THESE ARE BIANNUAL CONTRACTS THAT DWO HAS TYPICALLY USED TO ADDRESS LEAKS.
HOWEVER, DUE TO OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE RECENT UPTICK IN ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS, WE HAVE NEARLY DOUBLED THIS BIANNUAL FUNDING FOR THESE CONTRACTS.
HOWEVER, DUE TO THE SUSTAINED COST ESCALATIONS, THESE PRICE INCREASES ARE GOING TO FALL A BIT SHORTER THAN PLANNED.
ON THE TOPIC OF EMERGENCY FUNDING, THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE EPOS WHEN EACH ROUND WAS ISSUED TO WHAT VENDOR IT WAS ISSUED.
AND THE SUMS YOU CAN SEE EACH ROUND WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LAST, HAS BEEN AN ESCALATION FOR THE FIRST ROUND OF DROUGHT IN EARLY SUMMER OF LAST YEAR.
WE MADE SOME REASONABLE ASSUMPTIONS, HOWEVER CIRCUMSTANCES CONTINUE TO COMPOUND, CAUSING US TO NEED TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE THE RESPONSE EFFORT.
THIS SLIDE IS A LOT LESS BUSY AND SHOWS, UH, WHAT IT SHOWS IS FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, WHICH IS IN ORANGE, THE LAST FISCAL YEAR IN GREEN, AND THE THREE YEAR AVERAGE, EXCLUDING THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR IN BLUE
[01:00:01]
AS CAN BE SEEN.WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN FISCAL YEAR 23 BECAUSE OF THE COMPOUNDING ETHICS EFFECTS OF THE VARIOUS COMPLICATING FACTORS THAT WE HAVE MENTIONED, THE AVERAGE DAILY OPEN LEAGUE WORK ORDERS FAR EXCEEDS THE THREE YEAR AVERAGE.
AS MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE SCOPED FOUR SEPARATE CONTRACTS OF IDENTICAL SCOPE AT 5 MILLION EACH TO BE AWARDED THIS FISCAL YEAR.
WE PREVIOUSLY HAD THREE OF THESE CONTRACTS BI-ANNUALLY, ONE CONTRACT FOR VALVES, ONE FOR FIRE HYDRANT, ONE FOR WATER LINES.
BUT WHAT WE ARE NOW DOING IS MERGING THAT SCOPE INTO VERSATILE CONTRACTS THAT CAN EACH BE CONCENTRATED PER QUADRANT OF THE CITY TO SEE IF WE CAN CAPITALIZE ON HAVING THE VENDORS DEVELOP REGIONAL EXPERTISE AND TO REDUCE DRIVE TIMES ACROSS THE APPROXIMATELY 650 SQUARE MILES OF THE CITY.
WE'VE ALSO SCOPED SEVERAL WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT PROJECTS AND WE'LL BE RELEASING THEM WITH THE NEXT ROUND OF RF QS.
WE DO HAVE ONGOING AND NEW CIP PROJECTS THAT WE WILL BE RELEASING.
WE HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING MORE PROACTIVE LEAK DETECTION PROGRAM USING SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY THAT SPOTS LEAKS BEFORE THEY SURFACE, WHICH INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS TELL US IS THE MAJORITY OF LEAKS.
WE'LL BE ASKING CONTRACT VENDORS TO HELP US CONTINUE UPDATING OUR ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION AND PERMITTING STANDARDS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE WHAT GOES INTO THE GROUND IS THE MOST ROBUST THAT IT CAN BE AND STAYS THAT WAY AS OTHER ACT ACTORS ENTER THE RIGHT OF WAY WITH THEIR OWN SPECIALTY NON-CITY LED PROJECTS SO THAT THEY HAVE TO SPEND THE SAME EFFORT AS CIP PROJECTS TO FIND OUT WHERE OUR WATER LINES ARE AND HAVE A WELL THOUGHT OUT AND CLEAR PLAN TO STAY CLEAR OF OUR ASSETS IN ORDER TO CONTINUE SCOPING THE BEST PROJECTS THAT WE CAN.
WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO LOOK AT HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION, ADD MORE PARAMETERS TO IT SO THAT AS FIELD STAFF DO WORK, THEY CAN CAPTURE INFORMATION IN A WAY THAT WILL ALLOW US TO FILTER THAT INFORMATION TO FIND TRENDS.
WE DO HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER AMY PECK IN THE QUEUE.
SO LET'S START WITH HER QUESTION.
THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, FOR YOUR, UM, WATERLINE REPAIR TIMELINE, THE GOAL OF REPAIR IN EIGHT DAYS OR LESS.
HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT'LL TAKE TO GET TO THAT POINT WITH THE LAST ROUND OF RSQS? WE'RE HOPING TO, UH, GET AHEAD OF THE ESCALATED LEAK ORDERS BY SUMMER.
SO ONCE WE, IF WE'RE HOPING TO GET BACK TO NORMAL NUMBERS BY SUMMER IS THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
AND UM, AS FAR AS THE FUTURE PROJECTS, THE PROACTIVE LEAK DETECTION, I MEAN THAT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD.
HOW, WHAT IS THE TIMELINE ON IMPLEMENTING THAT? YES, SO THAT IS ACTUALLY IN OUR PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THIS COMING FISCAL YEAR.
SO IF IT GETS APPROVED, WE WILL MOVE UNDERWAY.
UM, WE HAVE QUESTION NEXT ONLINE FROM STAFF FROM ABBY CAYMAN'S OFFICE.
I GUESS THE QUESTION WE'RE READING IN THE CHAT IS DO WE HAVE, UH, A BREAKDOWN ON THE UPDATED WATER LEAKS PER DISTRICT WATER LEAKS PER DISTRICT? IS THERE A WAY WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION? WE CAN CERTAINLY SEND THAT OUT.
YEAH, I THINK WE'D LIKE TO SEE THAT DISTRICT BY DISTRICT.
IF YOU HAVE ANY OVERALL NARRATIVE ABOUT ANY SIDE OF TOWN OR PARTS OF THE REGION THAT ARE, UH, EXPERIENCING MORE, I WOULD IMAGINE HISTORICALLY TENDS TO BE WHERE THE PIPES ARE THE OLDEST, SO CONCENTRATIONS TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE CITY AND AND WORKING OUR WAY OUT.
IS THAT A FAIR STATEMENT? WE DO HAVE HEAT MAPS THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED FOR THE WORK ORDERS.
BUT WE DO TEND TO TAKE THEM WITH A GRAIN OF SALT BECAUSE THE LEAK, THE LEAKS THAT COME IN HAVE A, A MULTITUDE OF CAUSES.
SOMETIMES THEY'RE FOUND TO BE PRIVATE LEAKS AFTER A LOT OF INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN PERFORMED ON BEHALF OF THE CITY.
SO WE DO HAVE HEAT MAPS AND WE WILL DEFINITELY SEND IT OUT.
BUT JUST WITH A GRAIN OF SALT BECAUSE NOT ALL OF THEM ARE END UP TO BE PUBLIC ASSETS.
VERY GOOD ON THE PRIVATE SIDE.
WELL, IF YOU SEND THEM TO US, WE WILL CIRCULATE THEM TO THE MEMBERSHIP.
AND, UH, TO THE POINT IN THE QUESTION THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK RAISED, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP TRACK OF THE TRENDS.
I KNOW, UH, THE VICE CHAIR, UH, JUST STEPPED OUT BEFORE SHE LEFT.
SHE WANTED TO ASK, UM, WHY, IF THERE WAS A REASON THAT CAN BE ASSERTED AT THE TIME OF DROUGHT.
YOU MENTIONED AFTER 2011, 2012 WE STOPPED INVESTING OR IT SEEMED LIKE WE HAD DECREASED IN THE REPLACEMENT.
WHAT IS THERE A REASON FOR THAT BEYOND JUST
[01:05:01]
TRACKING THE DATA? UM, SO WE HAD A REDUCTION RIGHT BEFORE THE, THE 2011.I DON'T REALLY KNOW THE REASON FOR THAT.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A BIT, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UM, THE RECENT DOWNTURN IN WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS BEFORE THE CURRENT DROUGHT WAS BECAUSE OF COVID AND BECAUSE OF OUR LACK OF OUR FUNDING, AS YOU GUYS RECALL, WE HAD TO MAKE SOME TOUGH CHOICES REGARDING WHAT TO SPEND OUR, UM, AVAILABLE FUNDING ON.
UH, NEXT QUESTION IN THE QUEUE IS CHIEF OF STAFF FROM MARIANNE HUFFMAN'S OFFICE.
THANK YOU MR. CHAIR, AND THANK YOU AS WELL.
UM, YOU MENTIONED ON SLIDE NUMBER FIVE THAT MOST OF OUR LEAKS WERE COMING FROM THE, UM, CAST IRON AND FROM THE AC PIPES.
WHAT DOES AC STAND FOR? ASBESTOS CONCRETE.
AND ARE WE ACTIVELY REPLACING THOSE ASBESTOS CONCRETE LINES? WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE USING THE HEAT MAP DATA AND SOME OF OUR TRENDING DATA AND WATER QUALITY COMPLAINTS AND VARIOUS OTHER METRICS TO TARGET WHICH LINES TO REPLACE.
SO WE'RE NOT REPLACING BY MATERIAL.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE HAVE FOUND THAT MATERIAL CAN BE A POOR INDICATOR OF WHICH WATER LINES WE NEED TO ESCALATE FOR REPLACEMENT.
SO WE USE A GREAT DEAL OF METRICS TO DECIDE WHICH ONES TO ESCALATE.
AND I, I ASSUME THE ASBESTOS CONCRETE LINES ARE THE, ARE THE OLDER LINES THAT WERE USED.
UM, SO I, I, I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING IS AGE ISN'T NECESSARILY A FACTOR.
IT'S A FACTOR, JUST NOT THE PRIMARY FACTOR.
AND, UH, DOES THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THE CONTINUED USE OF THESE LINES? WE DON'T NO LONGER USE THEM.
THEY'RE SIMPLY LEGACY LINES THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE GROUND FOR A LONG TIME.
IS WATER STILL TRAVELING THROUGH THESE LINES? YES.
AND I, I TAKE IT THAT, UH, HAVING ASBESTOS, UH, CONCRETE IS NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS TO THE PUBLIC.
AND, UM, I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY.
WE STILL HAVE, UM, WATER TRAVELING THROUGH AC PIPE.
WE NO LONGER USE AC PIPE, NOR NOR DOES THE INDUSTRY.
UH, TYPICALLY IT'S ALL PVC THAT GOES INTO, INTO NEW PIPE THESE DAYS FOR SMALLER LINES, ALL THE REPLACEMENT IS, IS TYPICALLY ALL PVC.
THERE ARE CERTAIN JOINTS THAT ARE SOMETIMES STEEL OR, UH, DUCTAL IRON.
UH, BUT WE, WE DO GO LOW BID FOR MOST OF THIS WORK.
SO THE CONTRACTORS TYPICALLY FIND THAT USING PVC FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS IS LOW.
AND PVC PERFORMS VERY WELL NATIONALLY.
I KNOW, UM, STAFF FOR OUR MAYOR PRO TEM HAS JUST BROUGHT IT TO MY ATTENTION THAT THE EPA IS RELEASED THAT TEXAS IS IN THE TOP FIVE STATES NATIONALLY FOR STATES WITH THE MOST LEAD PIPES, WHICH IS, UH, PERHAPS NOT EXACTLY PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY, BUT IT IS A RELATED FACT.
AND WE HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION FROM, UH, STAFF FROM THE MAYOR PRO TEMS OFFICE.
THANK YOU VENUS, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, SO AS MY UNDERSTANDING IS WHEN, UM, IT'S PUBLIC WORK STAFF THAT'S GOING OUT AND DOING THE INVESTIGATION, AND THEN ONCE THEY DO THE INVESTIGATION, THEY THEN CREATE THE WORK ORDER, UM, FOR WHICHEVER, UM, CONTRACTOR MIGHT HAVE, HAVE, MIGHT BE IN THE AREA OR WHATEVER.
UM, SO WHEN THEY DO THE INVESTIGATION, THE WORK ORDER GOES IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.
ONE WAY IS THAT CITY STAFF WILL REPLACE AND REPAIR THE LEAK.
ANOTHER WAY IS THAT WE USE CONTRACTORS TO REPLACE REPAIR THE LEAK.
WHAT, WHAT, UH, HOW DO Y'ALL DETERMINE WHICH ROUTE, UM, THAT GOES? THEN CITY STAFF DETERMINE THAT.
WE HAVE A ENTIRE BRANCH OF DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS CALLED SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE THAT DETERMINES BASED ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
SO ANYTHING THAT'S HIGH PRIORITY OR EMERGENCY, UM, WHAT WE CALL NEED TO GO WILL STAY AND BE DONE BY CITY STAFF.
THINGS THAT MAYBE TAKE A LONG TIME REQUIRE PERMITTING, REQUIRE A LOT OF COORDINATION.
MAYBE IT'S CROSSING TECH STOCK, MAYBE IT'S COUNTING THE RAILROAD THAT IT CAN'T BE DONE EFFICIENTLY, BUT REQUIRES A CONTRACTOR TO GO AND COORDINATE AND SITE VISITS.
THOSE THINGS WILL TYPICALLY, TYPICALLY GO TO THE CONTRACTORS.
AND THEN, UM, HOW DO YOU EXPECT, UM, OR HOW DO Y'ALL ANTICIPATE WITH TAKING OVER THE SERVICE AREA, THE GREATER NORTHEAST, UH, NORTHEAST HOUSTON SERVICE AREA NOW, UM, IMPACTING, UH, THE RESPONSE TIME FOR WATER LEAKS AND BREAKS? WE'RE, WE'RE WATCHING THAT.
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT, UM, WE'RE, WE HAVE ISSUED SEPARATE EPOS BASICALLY TO ASSESS WITH, ASSIST WITH CIA, BUT THERE HAS BEEN A, A DIVISION OF STAFF FOCUS.
UM, BUT SO FAR, I WOULD SAY WITHIN THE, THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS WE'VE BEEN WATCHING THE LEAK NUMBERS AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO STAY ON TOP OF IT AND STILL SEE A DECLINE IN THE, IN THE WORK ORDERS.
SO WE'RE HOPEFUL, UM, WE ARE VIGILANT IN WATCHING IT, AND WE WILL ASK FOR ASSISTANCE AS WE NEED TO.
UH, NEXT QUESTION COMES FROM STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER KNOX'S OFFICE.
[01:10:01]
MOS.UM, DO WE HAVE ANY ESTIMATION OF HOW MUCH WATER FROM LEAKS GOES DOWN THE DRAINS THE COST OR NUMBER OF GALLONS APPROXIMATELY? WE DO, WE DO, THAT IS A, A SEPARATE GROUP WITHIN HOUSTON WATER THAT ACTUALLY TRACKS THAT.
UM, IT'S ACTUALLY, UM, TWO SEPARATE GROUPS.
THERE'S A PLANNING GROUP THAT TRACKS THAT FOR THE CONSERVATION, UH, NUMBERS, THAT, AND THAT.
WE ALSO HAVE A, A FINANCIAL GROUP THAT TRACKS THAT.
I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS HANDY, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY GET THAT FOR YOU.
SO THE QUESTION WAS HOW MUCH WATER IN GALLONS? GALLONS OR THE COST OR BOTH, IF YOU HAVE OKAY, SURE.
PER WEEK, PER MONTH, HOWEVER Y'ALL TRACK THAT.
AND MS. PRICE, WE HAVE A SIMILAR QUESTION FROM STAFF, FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S OFFICE ASKING, IS THERE A COMPARISON FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS OF HOW MANY GALLONS OF WATER, UH, WE'VE LOST DUE TO ACTIVE LEAKS? SO THAT MIGHT BE, UM, OKAY.
AND I BELIEVE THAT IS IT FOR, UH, QUESTIONS FROM STAFF AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, VERY INFORMATIVE.
UM, WE DO THINK WE HAVE BACK IN THE QUEUE ONLINE FOR THE STAFF AUGMENTATION SECTION OF OUR AGENDA TODAY.
UM, MR. UH, MIKE BERGER, WHO WILL ASK TO GET ONLINE AND, AND UNMUTE IF HE CAN, WITH STAR SIX.
MIKE, ARE YOU THERE? WE'VE HEARD FROM, UH, IT THAT THEY FIGURED OUT THE TECHNOLOGY CHANGED.
NOW WE'RE GONNA TEST THAT THEORY.
MR. DISH BERG, ARE YOU THERE HITTING STAR SIX IF YOU CAN, TO UNMUTE IF, SAY AGAIN, NOW HE'S DROPPED OFF AND APPARENTLY NOW HE'S DROPPED OFF.
SO WE, WITH THAT AGAIN, THANK YOU MS. PRICE.
AND, UM, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR LAST PRESENTATION FOR, UH, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
TODAY WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM ANTHONY POWELL, WHO'S OUR GIS, OUR GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGER FOR HPW.
AND THIS IS TO PRESENT THE NEAR MAP AERIAL IMAGERY TECHNOLOGY.
FASCINATING NEW SOFTWARE THAT THE CITY HAS ACQUIRED.
AND, UM, I THINK IF WE CAN CALL THAT PRESENTATION UP, UH, MR. POWELL, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND SET UP THE PRESENTATION.
UM, GOOD MORNING AND THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
UM, MY NAME IS ANTHONY POWELL AND I AM MIKE BERGER.
UM, MR. POWELL, IF YOU'LL HOLD ON A MOMENT, WE SEEM TO HAVE MR. BERGER BACK.
IF YOU'VE GOT A QUESTION, WE'D LIKE TO YES.
HEY, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF THE PERMIT, UH, AUGMENTATION PROPOSAL.
UM, MY ONLY BIG CON NOT CONCERN IS I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE THIS, UH, IMPLEMENTED IN TRAFFIC ALSO.
UM, WHEN IT, WHEN IT GETS DOWN TO IT, BCE IS USUALLY PRETTY CLOSE TO THE 10 DAY GOAL TARGETS THAT THE MAYOR HAS SET, AND A LOT OF TIMES ARE UNDER THAT.
AND IT'S, UH, COUNCILMAN ALCORN SAID THE TWO BIGGEST DEPARTMENTS THAT CONSISTENTLY SEEM TO BE 20 DAYS OR MORE AND TWO MONTHS AGO WAS 30 DAYS OR MORE, WAS PLANNING AND TRAFFIC PLANNING HAS GOTTEN IT DOWN BELOW 20 RECENTLY.
BUT TRAFFIC IS STILL A CONCERN.
AND I, AND I BELIEVE THERE'S AN ISSUE OF PERSONNEL IN THAT DEPARTMENT.
AND I ALSO AGREE, AND THIS HAS JUST BEEN DISCUSSED AT PER I'M ON A PERMIT COMMITTEE FOR THE MAYOR, THAT, UM, IT'S WORKING FROM HOME IS PROBABLY A SOLUTION TO GET MORE PEOPLE.
THEY HAVE A HARD TIME HIRING PEOPLE TO WORK IN GOVERNMENT BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE ME ARE PAYING THEM MORE MONEY
SO I WOULD BE, I'M ALL IN ALL IN FAVOR OF THIS.
I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE, UH, RAIDERS AND BUILDERS ASSOCIATION, AND WE SUPPORT THIS.
WE, ANY, ANY HELP YOU CAN DO FOR PERMITTING IS IMPORTANT.
IT ALLOWS US TO GET OUR PROJECTS OUT ON TIME AND GET THINGS GOING.
YOU KNOW, TIME IS MONEY, AS THEY SAY IN THIS BUSINESS.
SO THAT, THAT WAS MY COMMENTS.
I JUST WANTED TO KNOW THAT YOU HAD THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION ON THIS PROPOSAL.
MIKE, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND FOR ALL YOUR VOLUNTEERISM OVER THE YEARS.
YOU, YOU AND I HAVE BEEN FRIENDS FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, NANCY BREWER FROM THE PERMITTING CENTER IS ONLINE, AND, UH, CHRIS BUTLER, OUR DIRECTOR FOR HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER, HAS, UH, TEXTED US THAT THE OCE HAS LOST 11 ENGINEERS SINCE JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.
AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A STAFF AUGMENTATION SPECIFICALLY FOR TRAFFIC REVIEW.
SO IN PART, THAT ADDRESSES YOUR COMMENT, BUT, UH, WE WILL TAKE THOSE TO HEART AND, UH, PROVIDE SOME FEEDBACK AS, AS WE ARE ABLE.
SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR PAYING ATTENTION.
UH, WITH THAT, WE WILL GET BACK
[01:15:01]
TO THE AGENDA AND ON, UH, MR. POWELL WITH YOU FOR THE GIS SYSTEM AND, AND YOUR PRESENTATION ABOUT THE NEAR MAP AERIAL IMAGERY TECHNOLOGY.UM, AGAIN, GOOD MORNING, UH, AND THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
MY NAME IS ANTHONY POWELL, AND I AM THE GS MANAGER FOR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS.
AND TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW WITH YOU THE NEAR MAP AERIAL IMAGERY TECHNOLOGY.
OUR HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS PURPOSE IS TOGETHER, WE CREATE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE.
AND THIS IS ACHIEVED BY US FOLLOWING OUR FIVE TO THRIVE VALUES, WHICH ARE INTEGRITY, TEAMWORK, OWNERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, AND RESPECT.
SO TODAY, I, I WILL BE PROVIDING A BRIEF EXAMPLE OF HOW THE NMAP, UM, IMAGERY TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTS OUR EFFORTS IN CREATING THAT FOUNDATION FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE.
NMAP PROVIDES DEAL SPECIAL CONTENT AS A SERVICE FOR BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
NMAP IS A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY DRIVEN BY INNOVATION.
THEY'RE OUR NEXT GEN DIGITAL CONTENT LEADER AND AERIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY.
NMAP HELPS STREAMLINE WORKFLOWS BY PROVIDING SEASONAL UPDATES TO IMAGERY AND AI DERIVED DATA SETS.
IT ALLOWS YOU TO EASILY LOCATE AREAS AND ASSESS CONDITIONS NEEDED TO SUPPORT INFORMED DECISION MAKING.
WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE A FEW PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS.
NEAR MAP IS A SUBSCRIPTION BASED SERVICE WITH FLEXIBLE OPTIONS TAILORED TO SUIT THE CITY'S NEEDS.
USERS WILL ALWAYS HAVE ACCESS TO RELIABLE AND CURRENT IMAGERY FOR BETTER DECISION MAKING.
SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE EXAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF IMAGERY THAT ARE MADE AVAILABLE.
SO YOU HAVE YOUR VERTICAL, UM, ORTHO IMAGERY THAT, UM, PRETTY MUCH LOOKS STRAIGHT DOWN.
UM, YOU HAVE YOUR PANORAMA VIEW, WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW IMAGERY AT LIKE A 45 DEGREE ANGLE.
UM, YOU HAVE OBLIQUE IMAGERY AS WELL.
UM, THEY PROVIDE, UM, 3D VIEWING.
YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO EXPORT, UM, THAT 3D INFORMATION, AND THEY ALSO PROVIDE THE AI DATA SETS.
WHAT MAKES NEAR MAP SPECIAL? THEY HAVE A PROACTIVE SURVEY PROGRAM WHERE THEY CONTINUOUSLY CAPTURE A AERIAL IMAGERY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES 365 DAYS A YEAR.
ALL IMAGERY IS LOADED INTO A WEB-BASED APPLICATION THAT IS STAMPED AND AVAILABLE WITHIN DAYS OF ITS CAPTURE.
THEY PROVIDE CURRENT IMAGERY BY FLYING LARGE URBAN AREAS UP TO THREE TIMES PER YEAR, FREQUENTLY CAPTURING SEASONAL CHANGES FOR LEAF ON AND LEAF OFF INFORMATION.
THEY HAVE A WIDE SCALE COVERAGE THAT COVERS 80% OF THE US POPULATION, INCLUDING OVER 1700 URBAN AREAS WITH OVER 300,000 SQUARE MILES CAPTURED ANNUALLY.
THEY ALSO PROVIDE CONSISTENTLY HIGH RESOLUTION DATA LIKE ORTHO, UH, ORTHO IMAGERY, O OBLIQUE IMAGERY, UM, IS, WHICH IS DELIVERED AT SUB, UH, METER RESOLUTION, MEANING YOU CAN SEE CLEARLY AND PLAN ACCURATELY BEFORE SETTING FOOT ON SITE.
AND THEY PROVIDE INSTANT ACCESS VIA THE CLOUD, WHERE YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO INSTANTLY STREAM HIGH RESOLUTION AERIAL IMAGERY FROM NEAR MAP ON ANY CONNECTED DEVICE VIA THEIR WEB PLATFORM USING A A MAP BROWSER.
UM, OR IT COULD BE INTEGRATED INTO GI S SOFTWARE, UM, UTILIZING APIS OR EASILY VIEW MEASURE AND EXPORT NEAR MAP CONTENT.
CURRENTLY WE ARE RECEIVING A AERIAL IMAGERY THROUGH OUR HOUSTON AND GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL AGREEMENT, WHICH IS CURRENTLY MANAGED THROUGH OUR CITY OF HOUSTON PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
UM, THROUGH THAT AGREEMENT, WE RECEIVE HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGERY THAT IS PROVIDED EVERY TWO AND A HALF YEARS.
UM, THE DATA THAT WE RECEIVE IS, UM, UM, DRIVEN, DELIVERABLE, HEAVY DATA DRIVEN DELIVERABLES.
UM, THEY'RE MANUALLY DELIVERED TO US, MEANING THERE IS A, A PROCESS FOR US TO DELIVER EXTERNAL DEVICES AND, AND THE DATA THEN LOADED ONTO THOSE DEVICES.
UM, ONCE WE RECEIVE THE INFORMATION THAT DATA, WE BRING THAT ON SITE AND WE HAVE
[01:20:01]
TO THEN ACCOMMODATE FOR THAT DATA, WHICH IS LARGE DATA SETS, WHICH, UM, YOU HAVE TO FACTOR IN IN COST FOR THAT.UM, AGAIN, ONCE THE DATA IS BROUGHT IN, UM, IT DOES REQUIRE SOME DATA PROCESSING TO THEN BE MADE AVAILABLE, UM, FOR USERS THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT TO UTILIZE.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, IT IS INTEGRABLE WITH THE ESRI GIS SOLUTIONS FROM AN IMPROVEMENT PERSPECTIVE, NMAP PROVIDES HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGERY THAT IS CAPTURED THREE TIMES WITHIN EACH CALENDAR YEAR.
THE AI DATA SETS THAT THEY PROVIDE, UM, THEY PROVIDE IMPERVIOUS, CUR, UM, IMPERVIOUS SURFACE DATA, LAYERS, DATA SETS.
UM, THEY PROVIDE VEGETATION BUILDING FOOTPRINTS, POOLS, CONSTRUCTION CHANGES AND MORE.
AND THAT INFORMATION IS EXTRACTED DIRECTLY FROM THE IMAGERY THAT IS TAKEN OR PROVIDED THREE TIMES A YEAR.
THE INFORMATION IS EASY TO USE.
THE, IT'S IT'S SIMPLIFIED FOR THE GENERAL USER.
UM, IT IS ACCESSIBLE THROUGH A BROWSER BASED.
UM, IT IS ALSO, IT, IT SIMPLY INTEGRATES WITH THE ALL OF THE ESRI GIS AND CAD SOLUTION AS WELL.
IT INTEGRATES WITH OUR EXISTING WORK ORDER SOLUTIONS AND, AND OTHER SOLUTIONS THAT WE HAVE.
IT PROVIDES A SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE SOLUTION, WHICH THEN, UM, REQUIRES OR, OR MINIMIZES THE NEED TO FOR ONSITE STORAGE.
AND LASTLY, THEY PROVIDE REAL-TIME ACCESS TO, UM, HISTORICAL IMAGERY.
SO WHAT YOU SEE HERE, UM, I'LL SHOW YOU A FEW SCREENSHOTS OF THE APPLICATION.
AND WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A PANORAMA VIEW OF CITY, CITY HALL AREA, UM, DOWNTOWN.
AND I BELIEVE THIS IS, UM, TAKEN FROM, UH, LAST YEAR, OCTOBER TIME PERIOD.
BUT WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS JUST KIND OF A CLEAN, UM, SIMPLE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE APPLICATION OF WHAT, UH, THE TYPICAL USER WOULD BE ABLE TO, WHAT THEY WOULD VIEW AND SEE.
THIS SCREENSHOT SHOWS YOU A CAPTURE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD, UM, UTILIZING THE VERTICAL IMAGERY.
UM, IT, IT SHOWS THE IMAGERY IN ADDITION TO, UM, PARCELS AND ALSO INCLUDING SOME ADDRESS INFORMATION.
SO THERE ARE A FEW OTHER LAYERS OR, OR DATA LA DATA SETS THAT'S AVAILABLE AS WELL THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH IN ADDITION TO THE IMAGERY.
THIS SCREENSHOT SHOWS A SIDE BY SIDE OF TWO IMAGES CAPTURED AT TWO DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS.
SO IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT THE IMAGE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE THERE, THERE APPEARS TO BE A, A WHITE LINE GOING STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE.
UM, THAT LINE ENABLES YOU THE ABILITY TO USE AS A SLIDER SO YOU CAN KIND OF SLIDE THAT TO THE LEFT AND TO THE RIGHT.
AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN DOING THAT IS ON THE IMAGE THAT'S SHOWN ON THE LEFT, UM, LEFT SIDE, THAT IMAGE WAS TAKEN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.
AND THEN THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THAT LINE IS THE SAME AREA, BUT IT WAS CAPTURED THREE MONTHS LATER IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR.
SO YOU COULD SEE THERE THAT, UH, BACK IN OCTOBER, THAT PARTICULAR LOT THERE, UH, THEY HAD TREES AND, AND, AND, UM, SHRUBS AND WHATNOT ON THE PROPERTY.
BUT AS OF JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, UM, THAT INFORMATION THAT DEBRIS AND, AND, AND, UM, UH, VEGETATION HAS BEEN CLEARED OUT AND THEY'VE ACTUALLY STARTED CONSTRUCTION.
SO HAVING THE ABILITY TO, UH, TO VIEW AND SEE CHANGE DETECTIONS LIKE THIS IS VERY HELPFUL AND BENEFICIAL TO, UH, THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
AND LASTLY, WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THE IMAGERY FROM ONE OF OUR MAJOR FLOOD EVENTS, UM, NEAR MAP WILL FLY THE AIRS IMPACTED BY AN EVENT AND MAKE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR US FOR REFERENCE.
SO YOU DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO BACK IN TIME WHENEVER THERE'S A A, AN EVENT THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN OUR AREA, UM, NEAR MAP CAPTURE CAPTURES THAT INFORMATION AND MAKES THAT AVAILABLE TO YOU.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, THIS IS, UM, UH, DOWNTOWN OUR, OUR AREA HERE.
AND I BELIEVE THAT WAS IN 20, TAKEN IN 20 17, 1 OF OUR MAJOR FLOOD EVENTS.
AND IT KIND OF GIVES YOU THE ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT THE AREA LOOKED LIKE, HOW IT WAS IMPACTED AT THAT TIME.
[01:25:01]
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.AND THIS IS A FINAL SLIDE HERE.
WE'RE JUST KIND OF SHARING WITH YOU, UM, THAT WITHIN PUBLIC WORKS, WE STARTED USING THE NIM MAP TECHNOLOGY BACK IN 2021, UM, TO KIND OF CONFIRM ITS VALUE, WHICH HAS BEEN CONFIRMED.
UM, DURING THIS TIME WE HAVE BEEN WORKING THROUGH A, A YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION, AND NOW WE'RE WANTING TO TRANSITION TO A FOUR YEAR AGREEMENT.
AND ALSO WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IS WE'VE, WE'RE ALSO FACTORING IN A 10% INCREASE THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD BE APPLIED TO ANY FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS FROM THE, FROM THE NEAR MAP.
THANK YOU MR. POWELL, VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I KNOW, UH, I'VE SEEN THIS SOFTWARE IN ACTION.
IT'S REALLY ROBUST AND TRULY EXCITING.
UM, I KNOW I'VE HEARD A QUESTION HERE, UH, FROM THE CHAIR WITH, UM, UH, CURIOSITY ABOUT WHETHER THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL BE AVAILABLE TO STAFF.
SO THERE'S ENOUGH APPLICATIONS FOR, FOR THE COUNCIL OFFICES AND OTHERS TO ENJOY IT.
IT, IT'S AVAILABLE, UM, TO ALL OF US INTERNALLY ALREADY? YES.
UM, I, I KNOW THAT IN PARTICULAR, THE FEATURE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO LOOK AT HISTORICAL, UM, IMAGES OF A SIMILAR SITE, YOU CAN SEE WHEN THINGS WERE BUILT YES.
OR AS YOU POINTED OUT, WHEN DEVASTATION HITS OR, UH, THE CHANGE OF SEASONS FOR THAT MATTER.
SO IT'S, UH, IT'S GOOD FOR A LOT OF REASONS AND, AND FOR A LOT OF STAFF RESEARCH.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
THERE ARE NO COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN Q, BUT WE WILL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT COMING TO COUNCIL, UM, AS THE REFRESHED CONTRACT.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
TODAY, WE'RE GONNA SWITCH FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS PRESENTATIONS TO THE FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, WHERE TERRENCE YORK, UH, THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
WE'LL SPEAK TO US ABOUT THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 AUTOMATED FUEL SYSTEM, UH, AND THE MANAGEMENT THEREOF.
MR. YORK, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ONLINE.
UH, WE GOT YOU LIVE AND THE FLOOR IS YOURS, SIR.
UM, AGAIN, MY NAME IS, UH, TERRA YORK.
I'M THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE FLEET DEPARTMENT, AND I OVERSEE, UM, THE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT PORTION OF OUR OPERATION.
THIS MORNING WE WILL, UH, REVIEW OUR REQUEST TO, FOR COUNCIL ACTION TO APPROVE A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR OUR AUTOMATED FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
SO THE SYSTEM THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE IN PLACE, THIS IS JUST A RENEWAL OF THE CUR, THE EXISTING AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE, UH, WHICH THE VENDOR THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY USING IS MULTI FORCE.
UM, THE COMMON NAME FOR THE DEVICE THAT WE USE TO, UM, SUPPORT THIS OPERATION IS FUEL FORCE.
UH, THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT IS TO ALLOW, UM, UM, CITY, CITY OPERATED VEHICLES TO, UH, INPUT THEIR MANUALLY TO PUT THEIR INFORMATION INTO THE FUEL FORCE SYSTEM, THUS ALLOWING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRACK AND MONITOR THE VEHICLE'S MILEAGE, UM, THAT'S BEING USED, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, THE CONTRACT THAT THE CONTRACT TERMS THAT WE'RE REQUESTING IS 1.1, UH, MILLION DOLLARS OVER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS.
UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT A THREE YEAR, UM, CONTRACT, UH, CO-OP AGREEMENT WITH TWO ONE YEAR OPTIONS.
UM, AND OF COURSE, THIS IS A SIMILAR TO THE LAST AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE A 0% MWBE PARTICIPATION, AND THIS IS FOR ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS.
SO, SO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
UH, WE CURRENTLY USE THIS AS I, UH, PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED TO TRACK ALL FUEL TRANSACTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UH, THIS IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE USE THIS, UH, TO ESTABLISH OUR, UH, PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM.
AND SO, UH, WHAT WE RELY ON OUR USERS TO COME IN AND, UM, AS THEY'RE ACCESSING THE FUEL PUMPS TO ENTER THE VEHICLE INFORMATION AS WELL AS THEIR MILEAGE INTO THE, THE SYSTEM.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IS LIKE THE FUTURE STATE OF THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM.
I KNOW THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO PILOT A, UH, A SIMILAR PROGRAM.
UH, THAT'S, THAT'S, UM, THAT WILL RUN CONCURRENTLY WITH, UH, FUEL FORCE, UH, WHERE WE WILL LOOK AT USING TRANSPONDER BECAUSE FROM TIME TO TIME WE DO EXPERIENCE ISSUES WITH DRIVERS, UM, UM, INPUTTING THE WRONG INFORMATION INTO THE, THE FUEL FORCE SYSTEM.
[01:30:01]
THE, WHAT THE TRANSPONDER SYSTEM WILL ALLOW US TO DO IS, IS ONCE VEHICLES EGRESS INTO THE FUEL, THE FUEL, UM, FUEL FORMS, UH, IT WOULD AUTOMATICALLY, UH, PICK UP THE CURRENT MILEAGE ON THE SYSTEM, AND THEN IT WOULD TRANSFER THE INFORMATION OVER TO M FIVE, WHICH IS OUR SYSTEM OF RECORD.AND USING THAT INFORMATION, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO BETTER FORECAST OUR PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE, UH, OF ALL CITY VEHICLES.
SO THIS IS SYSTEM, SYSTEM IS ACTUALLY VITAL, VITAL TO THE FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND OUR MAINTENANCE SYSTEM BECAUSE, UM, IT, IT PROVIDES FUELING FOR ALL, UH, NON-EMERGENCY AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
NEXT SLIDE TO YOUR LEFT IS A SCREENSHOT OF THE ACTUAL KIOSK THAT IS, THAT IS USED, UH, BY DRIVERS TO INPUT THAT INFORMATION INTO THE SYSTEM.
UH, THIS CONTRACT IS, IS ESSENTIALLY, UM, MORE OF A, UM, A, A SERVICE AND HARDWARE CON CONTRACT.
UM, FROM TIME TO TIME, WE WILL EXPERIENCE ISSUES WITH, UH, ONE OF THE KIOSKS GOING OFFLINE AND HAVING SOME TECHNICAL ISSUES.
SO WITH THAT, UH, THE CONTRACTOR WILL BE REQUIRED TO DISPATCH A TECHNICIAN, UH, TO PROVIDE SUPPORT, UH, IN BRINGING THE SYSTEM BACK ONLINE.
AND SO, AS A FOOTNOTE, I WANTED TO, UH, INCLUDE, UH, WHAT, UH, FLEET MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT IS DOING IN TERMS OF THE MAYOR'S CLIMATE INITIATIVE PROGRAM.
UH, AS MOST OF YOU MAY BE AWARE OF, WE HAVE A, A VERY AGGRESSIVE, UM, PROGRAM THAT SEEKS TO, UH, TRANSITION OUR, UH, INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES TO EVS BY THE YEAR 2030.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO BRIEFLY HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THE, OUR, THE MILESTONES THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED OVER THE PAST YEAR.
UM, WE'VE INSTALLED ABOUT 44 CHARGING STATIONS, UH, AT EIGHT CITY OF HOUSTON LOCATIONS, UM, THAT WERE JUST THIS YEAR ALONE, ABOUT 4,000 DIFFERENT CHARGING SESSIONS.
UH, AND WE USED ABOUT 91,000 KILOWATTS, UH, TO CHARGE THOSE VEHICLES.
UH, THE, THE BIG, THE, THE HUGE, UM, THING THAT WE WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE ARE THE AMOUNT OF COS CO2 THAT, THAT WAS, WAS SAVED BY TRANSITIONING TO A CLEANER BURNING, UH, ENERGY.
IT WAS OVER, UH, 178,000, UH, POUNDS OF CO2 THAT WERE SAVED, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT 9,124 GALLONS OF FUEL, UH, WHICH PRODUCE A COST SAVINGS OF ROUGHLY ABOUT $17,000.
UM, AND AS WE GET FARTHER INTO THIS INITIATIVE, WE HAVE PLANS TO, UH, ADD AN ADDITIONAL 104, UH, CHARGING STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY FOR PRIVATE FACING, UM, BY, BY THE, THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND THEN WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH A COUPLE OF, UM, UM, OF VENDORS TO PROVIDE SOME PRIVATE, UH, FACING, WHICH WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON THAT WILL LIKE OFFSET THAT INITIATIVE THAT, THAT WE ARE, WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE CITYWIDE.
AND OUR FINAL SLIDE, THIS IS, THIS IS THE, UH, THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO, UH, EXPAND OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
YOU SEE, UH, THE INITIAL INVESTMENT FOR, UM, THE FUEL FORCE, UH, IS ROUGHLY AROUND $204,000, UH, FOR FY, UH, 24.
AND THEN IT, THERE'S A SLIGHT INCREASE DUE TO INFLATION, UH, UNTIL, UH, 2028, WHICH GIVES US A, A GRAND TOTAL OF $1.1 MILLION OVER THE, OVER THE LIFETIME OF THAT CONTRACT.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. YORK, YOUR PRESENTATION, SUCCINCT AND, UH, CLEAR.
UH, AND FOR THAT REASON, THERE ARE NO COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN QUEUE.
WE WILL LOOK FORWARD TO THIS COMING FORWARD.
APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND EFFORT PREPARING THE INFORMATION FOR TODAY.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE SECOND TO LAST ITEM ON THE AGENDA.
TODAY IS, UH, TO BE DISCUSSED BY THE HOUSTON LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM DANNY NORRIS, UH, AS HE IS THE SENIOR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY.
AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING THE WESTLAW LEGAL ONLINE SERVICES AND PRINT PRODUCTS PRESENTATION.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH DANIELLE AND, UH, AT THE PODIUM.
I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY.
[01:35:01]
CAN YOU HEAR ME? TRY NOW.ALRIGHT, HOW Y'ALL DOING? GOOD, THANK YOU.
SO YES, I'M GOING TO BE, UH, GIVEN THE PRESENTATION FOR LEGAL.
I AM, UH, UH, SENIOR ASSISTANT, SENIOR, I'M SORRY, UH, SENIOR ASSISTANT, UH, CITY ATTORNEY NUMBER TWO.
UM, AND I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT WESTLAW.
UH, THIS IS A RENEWAL SERVICE THAT WE'RE DOING.
WE HAVE HAD WESTLAW FOR YEARS AND YEARS NOW.
UH, WE ARE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THAT, SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE UPFRONT.
UH, SO ON THE, WITH REGARDS TO THE, UH, COMPUTER, THERE'S, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THIS PERSON.
UH, TWO, TWO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THIS CONTRACT.
TWO DIFFERENT CONTRACTS ACTUALLY.
ONE IS FOR THE ONLINE MATERIAL AND ONE IS FOR THE, UH, THE PRINT MATERIAL FOR THE ONLINE MATERIAL.
UM, THE, THE BIG NUMBERS, THE, THE BIG THINGS TO, UH, TO NOTE IS THAT THIS IS A 10 YEAR CONTRACT, UH, SEVEN YEARS, UH, WITH THREE OPTION, UH, THREE OPTIONAL YEARS.
UH, THE MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNT IS 2.8 MILLION.
UH, THERE IS A ZERO, UH, UH, MWBE GOAL.
UH, AND THERE ARE, UM, THERE'S A, UH, THERE'S A FEW.
MOSTLY IT'S GONNA BE FOR LEGAL, BUT THERE'S A COUPLE OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE LOOKING TO HAVE ACCESS TO THIS, UH, TO, TO THE, UH, ONLINE, UH, UH, THE ONLINE RESOURCES AS WELL.
YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, BIG THING TO NOTE, UH, IT IS A, IS ALSO A 10 YEAR, UH, WHAT, SEVEN YEARS AND, UH, SEVEN, UH, SEVEN YEAR TERM AND THREE YEAR THREE OPTIONAL YEARS.
UH, AND IT IS A, UH, IT'S $916,000.
UM, AND THIS IS GONNA BE FOR LEGAL.
YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
ALRIGHT, SO WITH REGARDS TO, UM, WITH REGARDS TO WHAT'S IN THE ACTUAL ONLINE MATERIAL, THERE'S, UH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF, UH, PROPRIETOR DATABASES, UH, FOR, IT'S, IT'S MOSTLY, UH, CASE.
YOU THINK OF THINGS LIKE CASE LAW, UM, UM, STATUTES, UM, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, RESOURCES FOR ALL THE, UH, FOR THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING AT LEGAL MATERIAL.
UM, IT'S, IT HAS, UM, A NUMBER OF, UH, EDITORIAL, UH, UH, ENHANCEMENTS.
ALSO, THEY HAVE REFERENCE ATTORNEYS THAT ARE AVAILABLE 24 7, UH, FOR THOSE WHO ARE, UH, DOING RESEARCH AND HAVING ANY, ANY ISSUES.
THEY ALSO DO THINGS LIKE, UH, CREDIT REPORTS AND PEOPLE SEARCH, UH, PEOPLE SEARCHES THAT ARE USED FOR IN THESE MATERIALS.
WITH REGARDS TO THE, THE, UH, THE PRINT MATERIALS, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF BOOKS.
UM, A LOT OF THE STATUTE BOOKS, A LOT OF THE, UH, FORM BOOKS, A LOT OF, UH, REFERENCE BOOKS THAT ARE USED BY OUR, UH, LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
UM, MAINLY FOR, UH, THINGS LIKE LEGAL RESEARCH, UH, UH, COURT AND JURY HEARINGS.
UM, UH, THEY ALSO HAVE, UH, AND THEY'RE ALSO ABLE TO BE TABBED AND, AND USED FOR QUICK REFERENCE AS FOR OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
UH, ONE THING TO NOTE IS THE KEYSIGHT INDICATOR, WHICH IS MAINLY HOW DO YOU, UH, KEYSIGHT AND, AND WES IS MAINLY HOW THEY, THEY, UM, THEY, UH, TAKE THE WHOLE BODY OF LAW AND PUT IT INTO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES SO WE CAN ACTUALLY BREAK IT DOWN AND GO TO DIFFERENT MATERIALS A LOT QUICKER.
UH, THEY ALSO COMPARE STATUTES, UM, UH, HAVE LITIGATION ANALYSIS, UM, HAVE SOME CITATION FORMAT AND, AND PRACTICAL LAW THAT HELPS.
BASICALLY, ALL THESE TOOLS ARE TOOLS THAT MOST LAWYERS USE TO, TO HELP NAVIGATE THESE THINGS AND, AND USE AS THEY DO THINGS, UH, IN THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
WITH REGARDS TO THE VENDOR FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNFAMILIAR WEST, UH, UH, UH, THE VENDOR IS A, UH, IS THOMSON REUTERS, WHICH IS, UH, FORMERLY KNOWN AS, UH, UH, THE WEST PUBLISHING COMPANY.
UM, IT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST LE UH, LEGAL, UH, PUBLISHERS IN THE WORLD.
UH, THEY HAVE THINGS, UH, THE SOFTWARE AND THE PRINT MATERIAL.
UM, WE'VE HAD, UH, WE'VE HAD TWO DIFFERENT CONTRACTS, I'M SORRY.
UH, WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS WITH THEM OVER THE, UH, LAST YEAR'S FOR INFERIOR REFERENCE.
OUR, UH, LAST CONTRACT, OUR LAST ONLINE CONTRACT, UH, FROM 2017 TO 2023 WAS, UH, UH, LITTLE OVER $912,000, UH, FOR THE, FOR THE ONLINE MATERIAL AND 300 6360 $1,000 FOR THE PRINT MATERIAL.
AND THEN, UH, THE FOUR YEARS BEFORE THAT, FROM 2013 TO 2017, THE, UH, THE ONLINE MATERIAL WAS 551,000, UH, AND THE PRINT MATERIAL WAS 168,000.
UH, ONE OF THE REASONS WE'RE DOING A 10 YEAR CONTRACT THIS YEAR IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE A 10 YEAR CONTRACT, UH, IS TO, TO GET A MUCH BETTER, UH, RATE.
UH, TYPICALLY WE DO, UH, WE, WE'VE TYPICALLY DONE 5%, UH, BY DOING 10 YEARS, WE'RE GETTING A 2% INCREASE.
SO IT'S GONNA BE, UH, BETTER LONG TERM FOR US, UM, FOR US ON THESE PRODUCTS.
AND HERE ARE OUR NUMBERS, UH, PER YEAR FOR, UH, FOR THE ONLINE MATERIAL.
UM, IT GOES, AS YOU SEE, THEY GO
[01:40:01]
UP, UH, 2% OVER, OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.AND THERE'S A, A BUFFER IN CASE THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL USERS OR, OR, OR, OR DATABASES THAT WE MAY ACQUIRE OVER THE COURSE OF THE 10 YEARS.
AND, AND YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THAT'S THE PRINT MATERIAL.
SO, UH, ALSO GOING UP 2% A YEAR WITH A SLIGHT BUFFER IN CASE THERE'S ANY MORE, UH, MATERIAL THAT WE, WE REQUEST OVER THE COURSE OF THE 10 YEARS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. NORRIS.
AND, UM, JUST NO COUNCIL MEMBERS OR STAFF IN THE QUEUE.
SO I GUESS THE ONE QUESTION I WOULD HAVE IS, I CAN UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WOULD BE CRITICAL RESOURCE FOR OUR LEGAL DEPARTMENT, UM, BUT LIKE WITH THE OTHER PRESENTATION THIS MORNING, WONDERING WHETHER ACCESS FOR STAFF, I KNOW THERE ARE SEVERAL LAWYERS ON COUNCIL, AND OUR MAYOR OF COURSE, DID.
ARE THESE MATERIALS AVAILABLE? SHOULD THE NEED GO BEYOND THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT? WE HA WE DO HAVE, UH, WE DO HAVE A, A COUPLE OF DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE, THAT HAVE, UH, IT'S MOSTLY LEGAL, BUT WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF DEPARTMENTS WE WOULD NEED TO KNOW THOUGH.
UH, TYPICALLY, UM, TYPICALLY IT'S A MATTER OF, OF OF WHICH DEPARTMENTS.
I MEAN, WE, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BUDGETING, BUT THERE'S MOSTLY, MOSTLY IT'S LEGAL.
UH, BUT I THINK I, I THINK THERE'S HPD AND A COUPLE OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
UH, I THINK IT WE'RE GETTING ONE FROM IT THIS, THIS TIME, BUT IT JUST A MATTER OF US KNOWING TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE, WE ACCOUNT, I THINK WE HAVE 138 OR 140, UM, THAT, UH, USERS THAT ARE ACCOUNTED FOR IN THIS, ON THESE NUMBERS.
SO IF WE, IF WE WOULD HAVE OTHERS, WE WOULD NEED TO KNOW.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION THIS MORNING.
THANKS FOR PREPARING IT AND, UH, BRINGING IT FORWARD TODAY.
AND, UH, WITH THAT WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE FINAL ITEM ON THE AGENDA TODAY, UH, THAT WE'LL HEAR FROM THE HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, UH, DEPARTMENT THAT'S HITS.
AND WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM SUMMER XO, WHO'S OUR DEPUTY CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, AS WELL AS MY FUN, WHO'S OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS.
AND, UH, TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS ON ENTERPRISE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, OR THE EDMS AND THE CONTRACT EXTENSION.
LADIES, IF YOU'RE THERE ONLINE, WE'D, UM, LOVE TO SEE YOU AND, UH, UH, TAKE IT AWAY.
MY NAME IS MAI FUNG AND I'M THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER ENTERPRISE APPLICATION.
AND ALSO HERE WITH ME IS MS. SUMMERAL, THE DEPUTY CIO, OR CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER WITH THE H DIVISION.
UM, WE ARE HERE TO, UM, ASK FOR, TO AMEND THE CONTRACT AND TO EXTEND AND INCREASE THE MAXIMUM SPENDING AUTHORITY FOR IMAGE SOFT.
UM, IMAGE SOFT PROVIDES LICENSING AND MAINTENANCE SUPPORT FOR OUR ENTERPRISE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, ALSO KNOWN AS EDMS FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THIS, UH, WILL SUPPORT THE CITY'S LONG-TERM STRATEGY TO MIGRATE TO AN ELECTRONIC RECORDS AND TO REDUCE WASTE AND ASSOCIATED WITH PAPER PRINTING.
WE ARE ASKING TO RENEW AND EXTEND THE CONTRACT TO CONTINUE SERVICES, UM, WITH THE CURRENT DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AND RELATED SOLUTION, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR LICENSES AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
UM, THE SPENDING AUTHORITY REQUEST IN WITH THE ORIGINAL AMOUNT OF 4,000,208 $235,838 AND 62 CENTS, UM, ADDING $1,949,658 AND 3 CENTS WITH A TOTAL OF $6,184,996 AND 65.
THE ORIGINAL TERMS WERE FROM JUNE OF 2018 THROUGH JUNE OF 2023, THE NEW TERM, WITH AN ADDITIONAL THREE YEARS THROUGH JUNE OF 2026.
SO, IMAGE SOFT PROVIDES LICENSES AND SUPPORT FOR THE ENTERPRISE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
UM, IT'S USED TO AUTOMATE PROCESSES WITH APPROVAL, WORKFLOWS AND NOTIFICATION TO MONITOR STATUS FOR COMPLETENESS OF RECORDS.
IT'S USED TO MANAGE DOCUMENT BY ORGANIZING DIGITAL CONTENT AND ALLOWING THE USERS TO QUICKLY AND EASILY SEARCH FOR DOCUMENTS.
IT'S ALSO USED TO MANAGE DATA WITH CASE MANAGEMENT APPLICATION WITH ACCESS TO RELATED DOCUMENTATION.
SOME OF THE CURRENT USE, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY INCLUDES THE HR DEPARTMENT FOR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS RECORDS, EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL RECORDS, AS WELL AS THE PAYROLL ACTION FOR NEW HIRES, TRANSFER AND PROMOTIONS.
[01:45:01]
HOUSTON AIRPORT USES IT FOR THEIR RECORDS AND SYSTEM FOR ELECTRONIC INVOICING PROCESSING.THEY USE IT FOR WORK AREA REQUEST AND NOTIFICATION PROCESS.
THEY ALSO USE IT FOR THEIR DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT FOR THE AIRPORT SPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS. THE MUNICIPAL COURT USES THE SYSTEM TO STORE IMAGE FOR SYSTEM STORE IMAGES, UM, FOR CASE RELATED DOCUMENTATION, UM, ANY SCAN ARTIFACTS FROM THE CITIZEN TO SUPPORT THE CASE AND OR VIOLATION.
UM, THIS DOCUMENTS, IT INTERFACES WITH THE CORE OPERATIONAL SYSTEM TO STORE IMAGES AND ALL THE ORIGINAL SCAN CITATIONS.
THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT USES THE SYSTEM TO, FOR THEIR RECORDS AND MANAGEMENT.
THEY USE IT FOR THE HOME REPAIR PROGRAM.
THEY ARE MULTIFAMILY PROGRAM, THE HOMER HOME BUYER ASSISTANT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS GRANT MANAGEMENT.
THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION, UM, BROKEN DOWN BY DEPARTMENT FOR EACH OF THE FISCAL YEAR, THE, FOR FISCAL 24.
UM, THE TOTAL ASK IS $437,601 AND 90 CENTS FOR FISCAL 25 740 $9,426 AND 54 CENTS.
AND FOR FISCAL 26, UM, $763,169 AND 59 CENTS.
AND FOR A TOTAL OF $1,949,658 AND 3 CENTS.
THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. FUNG.
AND, UH, MS. SAO, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
THERE ARE NO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS IN QUEUE OR ONLINE.
SO WITH THAT, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR BRINGING YOUR PRESENTATION FORWARD AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THAT BEFORE US ON COUNCIL BEFORE LONG.
AND WITH THAT, WE HAVE COME TO THE END OF A LONG AGENDA.
WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S PATIENCE.
WE HAVE, UM, ONE, UH, MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN US VIRTUALLY EARLIER TODAY, BUT SHE HAS FORWARDED HER COMMENT, WHICH IS, UH, SOMETHING I WILL NOW READ, UH, INTO THE RECORD.
THIS IS COMING FROM MS. SAMMY HUGHES.
AND, UH, THE COMMENT IS AS FOLLOWS, UH, REGARDING THE ISSUING OF A PERMIT, AND OUR FIRST ITEM OF THE STAFF AUGMENTATION AT THE PERMITTING CENTER, PERMITS ARE ISSUED WITH NO ALL CAPS, NO CONFIRMATION OF ALL CAPS, DEED RESTRICTED NEIGHBORHOODS, AND VALIDATION OF THE AFFIDAVIT THAT THE PERSON SEEKING THE PERMIT HAS ACTUALLY CONTACTED THE DEED RESTRICTED NEIGHBORHOOD RESTRICTED ALSO BEING ALL CAPS BY PERMITTING THE PROJECTS BEFORE CONTACTING THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT IS CREATED BETWEEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE PERSON THAT HAS BEEN ISSUED, UH, THE PERMIT.
AND THAT IS, UM, THE END OF THE COMMENT.
UH, AND FOR THOSE LISTENING, I SUPPOSE THAT, UH, SPEAKS TO THE POINT THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE HAD SOMETHING IN CHECK AT THE PERMITTING CENTER THAT WE, UM, COULD LOOK INTO THE DEED RESTRICTED NATURE OF, OF PROPERTIES AS PERMITS ARE BEING, UH, ISSUED.
AND I KNOW, AGAIN, WITH OUR TEAM FROM THE PERMITTING CENTER ONLINE, WE WILL RESEARCH THAT AND RESPOND.
BUT THANK YOU FOR, UH, BEING WITH US TO ADD THAT COMMENT FOR THE DAY.
AND THEN FINALLY TODAY WE HAVE TWO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAVE JOINED US, UH, IN PERSON HERE IN THE AUDIENCE.
AND WE'LL START WITH OUR FRIEND DOMINIC MAZO, WHO IS HERE AND, UM, IS, UH, APPROACHING THE PODIUM AND IS REPRESENTING, AS IT SAYS HERE ON THE SIGN IN SHEET.
DOMINIC, WELCOME AND THANKS FOR, I'LL CHECK IN REPRESENTING YOURSELF.
ALSO, CHECK IN THE, UH, UH, THE, THE INTERNET.
SO I CONTACT, I CHECKED IN TWICE.
I DID TAKE THE 1 0 8 IN TODAY.
SO THAT'S SUB, AND I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THIS LIST REAL QUICK.
I AM A HERE IN AT THE PODIUM, UH, HOUSTON PERMITT SINGER.
I JUST CHECKED IT ON YOUR, ON MY CELL PHONE.
THERE'S NOTHING IN THE, ON THAT SITE THAT INDICATES YOU CAN GET THERE ON METRO.
I THINK ANY THING THAT, THAT THE CITY HAS, IF METRO CAN GET THERE, YOU NEED TO HAVE LINKS TO IT.
THE 82 GOES THERE, THE 85 GOES THERE, THAT FREQUENT ROUTES.
YOU HAVE THE 1 61 61 1 62 GOES THERE.
IF YOU WANT PEOPLE TO RIDE TRANSIT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SET, SET THE LEADERSHIP THERE.
I THINK THE CITY NEEDS TO LOOK AT GIVING PEOPLE A BREAK ON THEIR, MAYBE THE, THE FLOOD TAX THAT WE HAVE.
IF THEY HAVE A WATER SYSTEM THAT NEEDS STANDARDS,
[01:50:01]
I THINK WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT, AGAIN, LEADERSHIP.IF THAT CAN GET, IF THAT SAVES WATER FROM GOING INTO HER STREETS AND SAVES WATER COMING OUT OUR RESERVOIR, THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT.
UH, ALSO TO GIVE WATER A BREAK, HOW ABOUT USING THE BACK END OF METRO BUSES, TEXSTAR A COUPLE YEARS AGO, PUT PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE THE BACK END OF METRO BUSES.
WHY CAN'T THE CITY OF HOUSTON PROVIDE THAT WITH OUR, WITH, WITH THE WATER PROBLEM WORKING TOGETHER? UM, AND THE OTHER THING I I'M CONCERNED ABOUT IS, AGAIN, THE UNIVERSITY PROJECT.
AND I THINK ONE THING THAT MIGHT, AND THIS, I THINK THIS IS THE PROPER COMMUNITY, I THINK ONCE A MONTH, SOMEBODY FROM METRO AND MAYBE EVEN A BOARD MEMBER NEEDS TO COME IN HERE.
WHAT IS METRO DOING, PARTICULARLY WITH SERVICES, WITH THE UNIVERSITY PROJECT AND STUFF LIKE THAT? MOST OF METRO SERVICES IS RUNNING ON CITY RIGHT OF WAYS.
AND I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE CONSULTATION BETWEEN WHAT'S GOING ON AT METRO WITH DEAN.
YOU'VE HEARD IT PROBABLY FROM ME, AND YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD IT FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ROBERTO, THAT THERE'S BEEN A LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN METRO AND PARTICULARLY THE AREAS OF LOCKWOOD NORTH OF I 10 CORRIDOR.
UH, THERE'S BEEN NO COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN METRO AND PASSENGERS LIKE ME WHO KNOW THE SYSTEM.
NONE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HAVE WRITTEN THE 25 OR THE 80 FROM EDLO ALL THE WAY TO THE FIELD TRANSIT CENTER.
I I, I THINK THE PROBLEM HERE IS LINE FROM COOL, HEY LUKE, WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE.
AND, AND TWO, THERE'S BEEN NO EMAIL BLASTS.
YOU KNOW, EVEN THE SHEET YOU HAD RIGHT HERE, YOU GET OUR EMAIL ADDRESS, YOU GET OUR OUR PHONE NUMBERS.
WHY NOT TEXT MESSAGING? WHY NOT AN EMAIL BLAST TO, TO PEOPLE THAT SIGN UP THAT PEOPLE KNOW.
ALSO, TOO, WITH THIS, WITH THESE THING WITH THE UNIVERSITY LINE, THERE'S BEEN NO COLLATERAL ON BUSES, ON PLATFORMS, AT TRANSIT CENTERS, WHATEVER.
UH, THERE'S BEEN NO COMMUNITY MEETINGS USING, UH, METRO'S, UH, DISCOVERY BUSES AT TRANSIT CENTERS WHERE PEOPLE, THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO STAKE FOR A WHOLE MEETING, BUT THEY CAN, PEOPLE CAN COME OFF A TRANSIT, GO TO A MEETING ON A BUS, GET SOME INFORMATION, GET SOME FEEDBACK, AND KEEP GOING.
SO I THINK THERE'S, THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE PUBLIC INPUT AND THE, THEY'RE NOT DOING A GOOD JOB OF IT.
THANK YOU MR. MAZA FOR THAT COMMENT.
I, UH, YOU ANTICIPATE US, WE'RE ACTUALLY, UH, PREPARING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS TO HAVE, UH, METRO SPEAK TO THE TTI COMMITTEE.
AND I THINK YOU'RE, YOU'RE MAKING SOME EXCELLENT POINTS TODAY.
SO WITH THAT AND MY, UM, AS YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP WITH THE EIGHT COUNTY TRANSPORTATION YEAH, POLICY COUNCIL, WE'RE GONNA DO THE BEST WE CAN TO GET THE UNIVERSITY LINE UNDERSTOOD BY THE PUBLIC AS IT'S COMING ONLINE.
THERE, THERE WAS A VOTE AT THE METRO BOARD YESTERDAY.
I WAS THERE YESTERDAY AND COUNCIL MEMBER GALLEGOS WAS THERE.
ROBERTO, AS YOU REFER, I SAW HIM.
SO, UH, APPRECIATE YOUR ADVOCACY, THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
AND WITH THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SPEAKER.
UM, AND NEXT IN OUR FINAL SPEAKER TODAY IS OUR FRIEND DOUG SMITH FROM THE WEST SIDE, SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE BEST SIDE COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS MONIKER.
UH, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WATCH THESE COMMITTEE HEARINGS, UH, ON HTV.
OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE VERY FEW PEOPLE HERE IN PERSON, UH, BUT THIS IS WHERE YOU REALLY LEARN WHAT IS GOING ON AT THE CITY.
AND I'M WAITING FOR THE NETFLIX CONTRACT, DOUG
UH, ANYWAY, I LEARNED A LOT TODAY AND I SAW THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS ON THE AGENDA AND THAT'S THE REASON I DECIDED TO COME APPRECIATE IT.
A COUPLE THINGS THAT POPPED UP IN THE LAST PRESENTATION, AND I'M SURE THERE'S A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS.
THEY SHOW FISCAL 24 GOING FROM $437,000 TO ALMOST DOUBLE THE $749,000.
WHY, UH, DOES THAT DOUBLE? UH, THAT'S A QUESTION THAT I HAVE.
UH, AND THEN, UH, BACK TO MY POINT, YOU LEARN SO MUCH.
THE PRESENTATION ON GIVE WATER A BREAK WAS FANTASTIC AND THAT DESERVES BEING SEEN AT SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS AND SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE AND ANY OTHER PLACE THAT IT CAN GO.
AND I'M SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW IT'S AVAILABLE.
AND FINALLY, UM, I'VE ASKED YOU THIS BEFORE AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE STATUS IS, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE A PRESENTATION HERE BY CAROL HADDOCK OF THE STATUS OF D-D-S-R-F.
SHE DID A GREAT PRESENTATION, I DON'T KNOW, THREE OR FOUR YEARS AGO, AND I THINK IT'S TIME TO POSSIBLY UPDATE THAT.
AND I WAS WONDERING WHERE THAT STOOD.
WE, I KNOW I'VE, UH, HEARD YOU ASK THAT QUESTION BEFORE AND WE'VE GOT, UM, DIRECTOR HADDOCK AWARE OF THAT.
AND COMING FORWARD, I'LL TURN TO MY CHIEF TO SEE IF WE HAVE A, A DIRECT ANSWER.
BUT I KNOW, UM, WE WILL GET BACK TO YOU, DOUG, WITH A SPECIFIC ABOUT THE TIMELINE OF THAT COMING FORWARD
[01:55:01]
AND, UM, BUDGET WORKSHOPS AND, AND WE WILL HEAR ABOUT IT IN THE BUDGET WORKSHOPS FOR SURE, UM, IN, IN THE NEXT MONTH.SO STAY TUNED 'CAUSE IT'S COMING SOON.
WE'RE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR YOUR BEING HERE AND PAYING ATTENTION.
AND SINCE YOU LIKED THE, UH, PRESENTATION ON WATER, HOLD ON WHILE AFTER THE MEETING AND I'LL BRING YOU A STICKER.
AND, AND BLING IS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE WHO COME TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBER FOR THIS MEETING.
THIS IS THE TTI, UH, COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, UH, APRIL, EXCUSE ME, IN 2023.
AND OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON STAR WARS DAY.
MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU IN, UM, IN A LITTLE OVER A, A MONTH NOW.
AND, UM, WE WILL SEE YOU NEXT MONTH.
AND WITH THAT, UH, WE ARE ADJOURNED.