* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [Government Operations Committee on August 21, 2025.]
          [00:00:16]
          GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. 
          WELCOME TO THE AUGUST GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING. 
          UM, AT, UH, I'D LIKE TO, WE'VE GOT ATTENDANCE FROM MARIO CASTILLO'S OFFICE, ALSO FROM TARSHA JACKSON, AND FROM JULIAN RAMIREZ. 
          UH, I AM FRED FLICKINGER. 
          I AM THE VICE CHAIR. 
          UH, THE CHAIR IS ON HER WAY. 
          SHE SHOULD BE HERE IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES, SO AS SOON AS SHE COMES IN, UH, SHE'LL TAKE OVER. 
          UH, OBVIOUSLY WE DO NOT HAVE A QUORUM TODAY, BUT WE DON'T PLAN ON VOTING ON ANYTHING ANYWAY, SO THAT'LL STILL WORK. 
          UM, THE FIRST, UH, PRESENTATION WE HAVE IS FROM HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS, AND AT THIS TIME, WANTED TO YIELD TO GABRIEL MACEO AND MERA VICTOR FOR THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS PRESENTATION ON THE WATER LOSS AND LEAK MANAGEMENT. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL. 
          TURN ON THE MIC. 
          WHOOPS. 
          Y'ALL CAN HEAR ME? YEAH. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          UH, DO WE HAVE THE PRESENTATION? MOVE IT LITTLE, UH, CAN YOU MOVE UP THE MIC? CAN YOU MOVE UP THE MIC MIC A LITTLE BIT? SO, OH, YEAH, I CAN MOVE IT UP. 
          CAN YOU HEAR ME? PERFECT. 
          AWESOME. 
          UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE PRESENTATION UP HERE. 
          WE, I KNOW THAT OUR, UH, PUBLIC WORKS OFFICE SENT IT. 
          I DON'T KNOW. 
          IT'S, IT'S SHOWING ON THE SCREEN, BUT IT MIGHT NOT BE SHOWING ON YOUR SCREEN. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, WELL, THAT'S OKAY. 
          I CAN, UH, LET ME GRAB MY PHONE. 
          IT'S ALL, WE CAN GIVE YOU A COPY. 
          JUST GIVE US A MOMENT. 
          I CAN GIVE YOU A COPY THAT WORKS. 
          YOU CAN HAVE THIS. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          UM, LEMME SEE THE TITLE REAL QUICK. 
          UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          UH, MY NAME IS GABRIEL MCIO. 
          I'M THE SENIOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR LEADING DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS WITHIN THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, I'M HERE WITH, UH, MIRA. 
          WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF? GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          UM, MY NAME IS MIRA VICTOR. 
          I'M WITH COROLLO ENGINEERS, AND, UH, WE ARE WORKING ON THIS PROJECT, THE PROGRAM MANAGER AS FOR THE WATERLINE LEAKS AND LOSS PROGRAM. 
          AND WE'LL BE HELPING GABE AND HIS TEAM EXECUTE THIS, IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM. 
          YEP. 
          SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR, UH, WATER LOSS AND LEAK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. 
          UH, JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OF THE AGENDA. 
          WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE, UH, WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY WITH OUR WATERLINE, UH, LEAKS LOSS PROGRAM, UH, ALL THE PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS WE'VE MADE TO DATE, UH, CURRENT OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES, AND, UH, HOW THE PROGRAM MANAGER COROLLO IS GONNA HELP US, UH, WITH OUR, OUR, OUR LEAK LOSS, UH, PROGRAM. 
          UM, OH, SORRY. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THAT WAS THE AGENDA. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AWESOME. 
          SO, JUST TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE, WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD THAT'S ON THE, UH, CITY WEBSITE. 
          IT DOES SHOW YOU WHAT OUR, UH, ACTIVE WORK ORDERS ARE AT ANY GIVEN TIME. 
          AND SO, RIGHT, UH, UH, JUST TO LET Y'ALL KNOW, BACK IN MARCH 18TH, 2025, WE HIT A HIGH OF 1,901 ACTIVE WORK ORDERS. 
          UH, THAT WAS, THAT WAS A HIGH AMOUNT. 
          UM, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY SITTING AT, WELL, AS OF AUGUST 13TH, 2025, WE'RE SITTING AT 498 ACTIVE WORK ORDERS. 
          SO IF YOU EVER WANNA SEE WHERE WE'RE AT ON THAT, YOU CAN GO TO THAT SITE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE, UH, WE'VE PROCURED ADDITIONAL, UH, RESOURCES. 
          WE HAVE FOUR NEW CONTRACTORS ON BOARD SINCE THE LAST TIME WE SPOKE ABOUT A YEAR AGO. 
          UM, WE'VE, UH, GONE THROUGH AND DEVELOPED ADVANCED ANALYTICS. 
          WE'VE DEVELOPED DASHBOARDS AND DAILY REPORTS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A PULSE ON THE CREWS, BOTH INTERNAL AND CONTRACTUAL, AND THE WORK THEY'RE DOING OUT ON THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. 
          UH, TO MANAGE OUR, OUR LEAKS. 
          WE HAVE IMPROVED OUR CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. 
          UM, WE MOVED THE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SYS, UH, UH, SORRY, THE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT IN GENERAL TO AN INTERNAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, UH, PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, UH, TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY WITH THOSE CONTRACTS. 
          AND WE HAVE MADE, UH, SEVERAL EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDING, UH, CONSOLIDATING THE RESTORATIONS GROUP INTO THE 
          [00:05:01]
DISTRIBUTION MAINTENANCE GROUP. 
          UH, AND THEN WE'VE, WE'VE ESTABLISHED A KPI OF 3% PIPE REPLACEMENT, AND WE'VE IDENTIFIED QUITE A BIT OF PIPE IN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR REPLACEMENT. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          OUR ONGOING OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES INCLUDE, UH, WE STILL HAVE A HIGH NUMBER OF LEAKS RIGHT NOW, APPROXIMATELY, UM, ANYWHERE FROM 45, SEEING THESE DAYS OF LEAKS COMING IN, UH, INTO THE SYSTEM. 
          AND THESE ARE WORK ORDERS THAT WE CREATE TO, TO, UM, REPAIR THOSE LEAKS. 
          UM, WE GET ABOUT, RIGHT NOW, ABOUT 150 TO 200 SERVICE CALLS, AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE HAVE TO GO OUT TO AND CHECK TO SEE, IS IT A VALID LEAK AND A LEAK THAT WE HAVE TO REPAIR. 
          AND SO WE GENERATE A WORK ORDER WHEN WE CONFIRM THAT THAT'S THE LEAK WE HAVE TO REPAIR. 
          SO WE'RE GETTING ABOUT, UH, A DAY IN TERMS OF LEAKS THAT WE HAVE TO REPAIR. 
          WE'RE STILL DEALING WITH, UM, INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          25% OF OUR VALVES ARE INOPERABLE. 
          THAT MAKES IT MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO ISOLATE LINES TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM THE LEAKS AND MITIGATE SOME OF THE SHUTDOWN, UH, IMPACTS, UH, FOR, FOR CUSTOMERS, UH, TAKING WATER FROM OUR LINES. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, WE'RE STILL HAVING, UH, DIFFICULTIES WITH STAFFING, UH, IN PARTICULAR EQUIPMENT OPERATORS WITH, UH, UH, GOOD EXPERIENCE OPERATING HEAVY MACHINERY LIKE, UH, LARGE EXCAVATORS, UH, TO DO COMPLICATED, UH, AND, UH, REPAIRS. 
          AND THEN, UH, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MIRA. 
          SHE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT THE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT. 
          PERFECT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, GABE. 
          UM, AGAIN, COUNCIL MEMBER MIRA VICTOR HERE WITH CORAL ENGINEERS, AND IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO BE PART OF THIS TEAM WORKING WITH, UH, HOUSTON WATER. 
          AND, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE JUST GOT ONBOARDED RECENTLY BACK IN JUNE. 
          AND SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING WITH THE CITY AND GABE'S TEAM TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES. 
          AS YOU JUST HEARD, THERE ARE SEVERAL CHALLENGES. 
          USE AND WATER HAS DONE PHENOMENAL JOB ADDRESSING SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES INTERNALLY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. 
          UM, AND WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE SUPPLEMENT THEIR TEAM TO HELP THESE MAKE A MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. 
          SO BASED ON OUR DISCUSSIONS, WE CAME UP WITH SOME SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT. 
          SO I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH THE SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES FIRST, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE LONG TERM, THE SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES BEING SO SORRY. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SORRY, I, SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          NO, THAT'S OKAY. 
          PERFECT. 
          UM, SO THE FIRST TASK THAT WE ARE PLANNING ON PERFORMING IS OPTIMIZING THE WORK ORDER SCHEDULING PROCESS, AND ALSO THE ROUTING PROCESS. 
          HOW THESE LEAKS, WHEN THE WORK ORDERS COME IN, THE LEAKS COME IN, HOW DO THOSE GET SCHEDULED, UH, WHETHER THEY ARE, UH, IN FRONT OF A HOSPITAL OR IN ANY EMERGENCY CENTER. 
          UH, WHAT, WHAT IS THE LOCATION OF THOSE LEAKS AND WHAT IS THE PROCESS OF REPAIRING THAT? SO WE ARE TRYING TO, WE ARE GOING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CITY CURRENTLY DOES, AND THEN UNDER, IF THEY UNDERSTAND IF THERE ARE ANY GAPS, UH, AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THOSE PROCESSES, UH, WE'LL ALSO HELP DEVELOP THE COST ANALYSIS FOR THE REPAIRS. 
          AS YOU HEARD FROM GABE, CURRENTLY CITY HAS BEEN HANDLING MAJORITY OF THESE REPAIRS IN HOUSE. 
          SO TO GET A BETTER IDEA, WE WILL DIG INTO THIS FINANCIAL, UM, INFORMATION AS WELL TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH IS IT COSTING THE CITY TO REPAIR THESE WATERLINE LEAKS, BOTH IN-HOUSE INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY. 
          IF YOU DO, IF THEY DO USE EXTERNAL CONTRACTORS, UH, WE'LL ALSO BE REVIEWING THE EXISTING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES THAT THE CITY HAS IN PLACE FROM STARTING FROM WHEN THE WATERLINE, UH, LEAKS ARE NOTED AND THE WORK ORDERS ARE OPEN ALL THE WAY TO THE CLOSEOUT. 
          SO TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE PROCESSES, WHAT ARE THOSE SOPS, REVIEW THEM, AND AGAIN, PROVIDE SOME, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON ANY OF THE GAPS THAT WE SEE DURING THOSE PROCESSES. 
          UH, WE'LL ALSO BE EVALUATING SOME LEAK DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES. 
          I KNOW FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE NEED TO FINISH, UH, REPAIRING ALL THE CURRENT WATERLINE LEAKS THAT ARE OUT THERE, BUT LOT OVER TIME, WE DO WANNA BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PROACTIVE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE, UH, THESE LEAKS COULD POTENTIALLY HAPPEN BASED ON THE WATER PIPE, UH, THE PIPE AGE WHERE, HOW DEEP THEY'RE BURIED, WHAT IS THE MATERIAL USED. 
          UH, SO WE WILL LOOK INTO, THERE ARE SEVERAL LEAK DETECTION TECHNOLOGIES OUT THERE, SO UNDERSTAND THOSE, EVALUATE THOSE, AND FIGURE OUT WHICH IS THE BEST FOR CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UM, WE WILL ALSO BE REVIEWING THE WATER LOSS ACCOUNTING, UH, METHODOLOGY THAT THE CITY CURRENTLY HAS IN PLACE. 
          AS YOU ALL MAY, UH, ALREADY KNOW, BACK IN 2023, CITY OF HOUSTON HAD REPORTED A WATER LOSS OF 32 BILLION GALLONS FOR THE YEAR. 
          UM, THAT WAS MASSIVE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT WAS LOST, THAT IS REVENUE THAT WAS NOT COLLECTED. 
          SO TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THE METHODOLOGY BEHIND, UH, ACCOUNTING THAT WATER LOSS, AND HOW CAN WE GET THAT MORE EFFICIENT, UH, AND ACCOUNT FOR, 
          [00:10:01]
UM, BETTER UNDERSTANDING ON THAT ENTIRE PROCESS. 
          UH, WE'LL ALSO BE PERFORMING SOME VALVE ASSESSMENTS. 
          AS YOU HEARD FROM GABE, 25% OF THE VALVES IN THE SYSTEM ARE INOPERABLE. 
          IN SOME CASES WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE THINGS HAVE GROWN UP, GROWN OVER, UH, THEY'RE UNDERGROUND. 
          UH, SO TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THESE VALVES ARE SO THAT THEY CAN BETTER ISOLATE THE SYSTEM TO REPAIR A, AN EXISTING WATER LINE. 
          SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, LONG TERM, OUR PLAN IS, UM, TO BE MORE PROACTIVE VERSUS REACTIVE. 
          SO WE WILL BE DEVELOPING A WATERLINE REPAIR PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK, UH, WHICH WILL AGAIN, LOOK INTO WHERE THE LINES ARE IN THE ENTIRE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. 
          WHAT IS THE AGE OF THE PIPE? WHERE ARE, UM, WHAT ARE THE SOIL CONDITIONS WHERE THEY WERE BURIED? HOW DEEP ARE THESE PIPES BURIED? UH, WHAT IS THE MATERIAL OF THE PIPE USED AND COME BASED ON THOSE INFORMATIONS? AND SEVERAL OTHER FACTORS COME UP WITH A FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY, UH, TO, FOR THE, FOR THE CITY TO PROACTIVELY REPAIR THESE PIPES BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY BREAK. 
          SECOND, WE'LL BE DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A REPAIR NOTIFICATION SYSTEM. 
          UM, AGAIN, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU KNOW WHEN THE, WHEN THE WORK ORDERS COME IN, UM, AND THE PIPE BREAKS, UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF CONSTITUENTS THAT MAY CALL YOU ALL, UH, AND, AND, AND THE CITY FINDS OUT THROUGH 3 1 1 CALLS OR FROM YOUR OFFICES. 
          AND OUR PLAN IS THROUGH THIS PROJECT, IS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT, UH, A NOTIFICATION SYSTEM WHEN THE CITY IS REPAIRING THOSE WATERLINE LEAKS TO, UH, HELP, UH, HELP THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, HOW LONG WILL THEY LOSE THE WATER, WHAT IS THE TIMEFRAME THAT'S EXPECTED FOR THE REPAIR, ET CETERA, SO THAT THEY ARE WELL AWARE OF THE SITUATION, SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT CENTERPOINT HAS ON THEIR OUTAGE, UM, DASHBOARD, UH, CITIES. 
          ALSO, OUR PLAN IS TO, UH, COMPLETE FINISH OUT THE SMART METER INSTALLATION, UH, OVER, OVER LONG TERM. 
          UH, AS GABE MENTIONED, THE CITY HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED REPLACING 9% OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. 
          SO HOW DO WE PROACTIVELY REPAIR THAT 9% OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE? AND THEN OVER TIME, LONG TERM, MAINTAIN THE 3% ANNUAL REPLACEMENT OF THE WATER LINES BECAUSE THESE WATER LINES ARE GETTING OLDER EVERY SINGLE DAY AS THEY MOVE ON. 
          SO MAINTAIN THAT 3% REPLACEMENT, UH, FOR THOSE PIPES SO THAT THE CITY CAN, AGAIN, BE MORE PROACTIVE VERSUS REACTIVE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          I THINK THAT IS ALL WE HAD FOR OUR PRESENTATIONS, AND WE CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU MAY HAVE. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND I'M SORRY, BUT FOR MY TARDINESS THANK YOU CO-CHAIR FOR ASSISTING ME ON THAT. 
          UM, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE, IF THAT'S OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SO FROM, UH, DISTRICT A, UH, DISTRICT B, WE HAVE A STAFF MEMBER IN PERSON, DISTRICT C COUNCIL MEMBER CUMAN IS ACTUALLY ONLINE WITH US, UM, DISTRICT E STAFF, AND THEN DISTRICT F, UH, WE HAVE REPRESENTATION FROM DISTRICT H AND IK, AND THEN, UM, UH, AT LARGE ONE. 
          AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER BURR, UM, ALCORN IS, IS PRESENT WITH US AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, SHE HAS A QUESTION. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          GABE AND MIRA, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, I'LL SAY AT THE OUTSET, WHILE WE GET A LOT OF WATER LEAK CALLS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, WE HAVE NOTICED REPAIRS GOING FASTER. 
          UM, SO I WANNA THANK EVERYONE THAT'S BEEN WORKING ON THIS IN MIRA CARO'S. 
          REPUTATION PRECEDES ITSELF. 
          WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP AND BRINGING Y'ALL'S EXPERTISE TO THE TABLE WAS THE HIGH THAT WAS NOTED FROM MARCH THE HIGHEST THIS YEAR, OR THE HIGHEST EVER. 
          UM, AND I KNOW WE SAID WE'RE SEEING ABOUT 40 TO 50 LEAKS A DAY. 
          HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO OTHER YEARS? SO WE HAVE NOTICED THAT THERE HAS BEEN A STEADY UPTICK IN THE NUMBER OF LEAKS THAT ARE COMING IN SINCE WE'VE HAD THE 2023 DROUGHT. 
          UH, AND THE REALITY IS OUR SYSTEM IS, IS ON AVERAGE 35 YEARS OLD, WHICH MEANS MOST OF IT IS RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE END OF ITS SERVICE LIFE. 
          SO WE'RE, WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING AN INCREASE AS TIME GOES ON. 
          SO THAT 40 TO 50, YOU KNOW, LEAKS A DAY, THAT IS A, A CONSIDERED, UH, PRETTY HIGH, UH, AND ABNORMAL FOR OUR SYSTEM, FOR A SYSTEM OF THIS SIZE. 
          UM, AND FOR THE SOIL TYPES THAT WE HAVE IN THE AGE OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, THAT 1901 NUMBER, THAT NUMBER IS THERE IS A HIGHER NUMBER FROM THE PAST, BUT IT IS MIRED, UH, IN POTENTIAL INACCURACIES BECAUSE OF, UH, THE SITUATION THAT OCCURRED IN 2023 WITH, 
          [00:15:01]
WITH OUR WORK ORDER SYSTEM, UH, AND, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR OKAY. 
          UH, YEAH. 
          SO JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT. 
          GOT IT. 
          BUT YEAH, THAT, THAT IS THE HIGHEST THAT WE HAVE WITH THE BEST DATA THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE. 
          GOT IT. 
          AND IS THERE A NEXUS, WE TALK ABOUT THE AGE OF THE SYSTEM, WHICH PLAYS A ROLE, BUT IS THERE ALSO A NEXUS WITH, YOU MENTIONED SEVERE DROUGHT, THEN WE'RE GOING FROM EXTREME SATURATION TO EXTREME HEAT AND DROUGHT BACK TO SATURATION. 
          IS THAT HAVING AN IMPACT? UM, AS WE SEE MORE EXTREME WEATHER? WE BELIEVE SO, YES. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THERE'S A COST TO THE REPAIRS. 
          I BELIEVE MS. VICTOR MENTIONED THIS, UM, AND THE LOSS OF WATER, WE HEARD 2020 THREE'S NUMBER, WHICH IS ASTRONOMICAL. 
          UM, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE LOSSES IN WATER AND COSTS WERE FOR 24 AND WHAT WE'RE EXPECTED THIS YEAR? WE HAVE THOSE NUMBERS, WE CAN PROVIDE THEM TO YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. 
          UM, HOW LONG IS IT TAKING ON A TO DO A REPAIR? AND CAN SOMEONE SPEAK TO THE COMPLEXITIES OF IT? UH, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, FOLKS REACH OUT TO OUR OFFICE IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT ONGOING WATER LEAKS, AND I KNOW HOW HARD THE CREWS ARE WORKING TO GET THESE RESOLVED, BUT CAN Y'ALL KIND OF EXPAND UPON HOW LONG A SINGLE REPAIR IS TAKING AND WHAT THAT ENTAILS? SURE. 
          SO WE DO TRACK THE, THE, WE HAVE A METRIC THAT WE TRACK ON HOW MANY REPAIRS WE CAN COMPLETE, UH, UNDER SEVEN DAYS. 
          THAT'S FROM THE TIME THE WORK ORDER IS CREATED UNTIL THE REPAIR IS ACTUALLY COMPLETED. 
          UH, AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE ROUGHLY AROUND 60%. 
          WE WERE MUCH LOWER, UH, UH, BEFORE THAT, LIKE BACK IN MARCH, WE WERE, UH, BELOW 50%. 
          SO, UM, UH, ONCE THE WORK ORDER IS GENERATED, UH, OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO COMPLETE THE REPAIR WITHIN SEVEN DAYS. 
          NOW HAVE THE MEETING BEGIN AT FIVE. 
          SORRY. 
          AND, AND, UH, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, SO JUST TO KIND OF RECAP THE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, AS Y'ALL KNOW, FOLKS, WHEN THEY SEE A LEAK OCCURRING, UH, THEY CALL IT INTO THREE ONE ONE, FROM 3 1 1, WE, UH, A SERVICE REQUEST IS GENERATED. 
          UH, AN INSPECTOR IS DISPATCHED TO, TO, TO THE SITE TO CHECK OUT THE LEAK AND, AND, AND CHECK WHETHER OR NOT IT IS ON THE CITY SIDE. 
          AND THEREFORE OUR RESPONSIBILITY AT THAT POINT, A WORK ORDER IS GENERATED. 
          AND, AND ONCE THAT WORK ORDER IS GENERATED, WE DO VARIOUS ACTIVITIES. 
          SOME OF THEM INCLUDE WHAT WE CALL A TEST CUT, WHERE WE GO AND CHECK TO SEE WHAT VALVES WE NEED TO OPERATE TO BE ABLE TO ISOLATE THAT LEAK AND REPAIR IT. 
          UH, UH, SO SOMETIMES YOU'LL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD CITIZENS COMPLAIN, YOU KNOW, EXPRESS CONCERNS ABOUT THOSE, THOSE TEST CUTS. 
          UH, USUALLY THEY'RE SHORTENED DURATION NO MORE THAN 30 MINUTES. 
          ONCE THE CREWS VALIDATE, UH, WHAT VALVES NEED TO BE OPERATED TO ISOLATE THE LEAK, THEY WILL THEN SCHEDULE THAT LEAK AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO COMPLETE THE REPAIR WITHIN SEVEN DAYS. 
          AND SO WHEN THEY GO ON SITE TO DO THE REPAIR, AT THAT POINT, THEY WILL SHUT THE VALVES OFF. 
          THERE WILL BE AN ISOLATION, AND TYPICALLY THAT REPAIR WILL OCCUR WITHIN FOUR TO EIGHT HOURS. 
          THAT'S ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES US TO COMPLETE THE REPAIR. 
          AND AT THAT POINT, THE VALVES WILL BE OPEN AND THE SERVICE WILL BE RESTORED. 
          GOT IT. 
          BUT WE ALSO, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, HAVE TO WORK WITH UTILITY COMPANIES SOMETIMES, WHICH CAN TAKE TIME THAT THERE'S OTHER THINGS THAT CAN PROLONG THE PROCESS. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO YEAH, DEFINITELY. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE HAVE, UM, IF WE HAVE LEAKS THAT ARE GOING TO IMPACT CRITICAL CUSTOMERS AND WE HAVE TO BE WARY OF, LIKE WHEN WE SHUT IT DOWN, WE HAVE TO SCHEDULE THAT ACCORDINGLY, UH, AND TO MEET THEIR SCHEDULE AS BEST AS POSSIBLE SO WE DON'T IMPACT THEIR OPERATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, HOSPITALS, UM, OR CLINICS. 
          AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, YES, SOMETIMES, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD, UM, A LEAK THAT WAS OCCURRING UNDER THE BELTWAY. 
          I, I BELIEVE IT WAS, IT WAS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE TOWN. 
          AND IF YOU LOOKED AT HOW LONG THAT REPAIR WORK ORDER WAS OPEN FOR, I THINK IT, IT WAS OVER 200 DAYS LAST TIME I CHECKED. 
          I'LL HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK ON THAT ONE. 
          BUT THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE WE HAD TO GET, UH, QUITE A BIT OF LEGWORK DONE. 
          IT WAS UNDER A VERY, IT WAS UNDER, UH, AN OVERPASS IN A CASING VERY, VERY DEEP. 
          AND IT REQUIRED A LOT OF PERMITS, IT REQUIRED A LOT OF COORDINATION. 
          AND SO THAT WAS ONE OF THOSE ISSUES WHERE IT, IT TOOK AN EXTRAORDINARILY AMOUNT, UH, EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF TIME TO COMPLETE THAT REPAIR. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND MADAM CHAIR, IF I COULD GO BACK IN QI JUST HAVE TWO MORE QUICK QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S, OFFICE. 
          . 
          THANKS. 
          UM, OKAY, ON SLIDE FOUR TALKS ABOUT CONTRACTS MOVE TO INTERNAL. 
          OH, THANK YOU. 
          BY THE WAY. 
          UH, CONTRACT MOVE TO INTERNAL CIP MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE. 
          SO DOES THAT SOFTWARE TRACK NOT ONLY THESE WATER LEAK REPAIRS, BUT ALSO OTHER TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE? 
          [00:20:01]
IT DOES. 
          IT TRACKS ALL, ALL OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, UH, FOR THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. 
          SO ALL, ALL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS GO IN THAT SOFTWARE, TO MY UNDERSTANDING. 
          YEAH. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          AND SO IN THE CASE, FOR EXAMPLE, OF WATER LEAK REPAIRS, UM, IS IT CORRECT THAT IT TRACKS IF THERE'S A DELAY, UH, IN REPAIRING IT EITHER BEYOND YOUR TARGET NUMBER OF DAYS OR OTHERWISE? I, I SEE. 
          NO. 
          THE, THE SOFTWARE WE USE IT TO, TO MANAGE OUR CONTRACTS, THE ACTUAL REPAIRS THAT GO AGAINST THAT CONTRACT ARE IN OUR WORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S CALLED THE INFOR PUBLIC SECTOR. 
          AND DOES THAT ALSO HAVE OTHER TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN IT? THAT SOFTWARE, THAT, THAT SOFTWARE IS ONLY USED FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER WORK MANAGEMENT, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO REPAIRS, UH, OF THE COLLECTION OR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS. OKAY. 
          SO IT'S, DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW, I ASSUME THERE'S SOME OTHER PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR OTHER TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO TRACK PROJECT MANAGEMENT, RIGHT? WELL, THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, OUR INTERNAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT WE USE FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. 
          SO THAT TRACKS DELAYS IN OTHER TYPES OF PROJECTS, IS THAT RIGHT? YES, CORRECT. 
          I SEE. 
          AND IS IT POSSIBLE, UM, SO YOUR INDUSTRY IS NOT MY INDUSTRY, BUT IN OTHER AREAS WHERE I'VE WORKED AND WE HAD, UM, TRACKING SOFTWARE, WE COULD MAKE A TEMPLATE, UH, CREATE A TEMPLATE ONCE FOR A REPORT AND IT WOULD SORT OF AUTO GENERATE, RIGHT? IT WOULD, UM, PULL UP, UP-TO-DATE INFO ANYTIME WE WANTED IT. 
          SO WE WEREN'T HAVING TO MANUALLY RECREATE A REPORT EVERY TIME WE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT PROJECTS ARE DELAYED OR WAS IT DELAYED BECAUSE THE, WE'RE MISSING A PART THAT WAS DELAYED OR RIGHT. 
          YOU COULD TRACK CERTAIN VARIABLES. 
          IS THAT THE, THE CASE IN YOUR SOFTWARE AS WELL? TO MY UNDERSTANDING, YES. 
          BUT I MYSELF DO NOT, UH, UH, I ONLY DEAL WITH, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S RELATED TO DRINKING WATER OPERATIONS. 
          SO WE CAN DEFINITELY GET WITH YOUR OFFICE AND DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, GET YOU THE RIGHT POC IN YOUR SOFTWARE. 
          DOES IT DO THAT ON THE WORK MANAGEMENT ONE? YEAH. 
          FOR THE LEAK REPAIRS, YES. 
          WE DO HAVE A LOT OF, UH, BASICALLY REAL TIME REPORTING FEATURES. 
          OKAY. 
          GENERATOR FROM THAT SOFTWARE. 
          SO TO EXPORT A REPORT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO RE SPEND A BUNCH OF TIME RECREATING THE REPORT EVERY TIME. 
          YOU CAN JUST CLICK A BUTTON. 
          IF YOU CREATED A TEMPLATE AND IT PRINTS OUT, YOU, YOU CAN DO EITHER OR. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          CAN I KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS OR DO YOU WANNA PUT ME IN THIS? I'M GONNA HAVE MY, OKAY. 
          COUNCIL BEAR FLICKINGER, JUST A COMMENT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          OBVIOUSLY THE NUMBER OF LEAKS OUTSTANDING. 
          LOOKS VERY GOOD COMPARED TO WHERE IT WAS A YEAR AGO, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. 
          I THINK Y'ALL DONE A GOOD JOB. 
          UH, I ALSO THINK IT'S BEEN VERY FORTUITOUS FOR REPAIRING THOSE LEAKS IN THE WEATHER THIS YEAR. 
          UH, WE'VE GOTTEN CONSISTENTLY RAIN EVERY THREE, FOUR DAYS IT SEEMS LIKE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN A BIT OF A TAILWIND. 
          I HOPE Y'ALL CAN KNOCK IT DOWN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN NOW. 
          'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WHO KNOWS NEXT MONTH WHAT HAPPENS IF IT DOESN'T RAIN FOR A MONTH OR WHATEVER. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. 
          WE ARE TRYING TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT TAILWIND. 
          YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR PRODUCTION HAS GONE UP, UH, BUT OUR INCOMING LEAKS HAVE GONE DOWN, UH, FOR THE TIME BEING. 
          AND SO WE ARE TRYING TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT, MAKE SURE WE STAY AHEAD OF IT AND MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO, UH, CONSISTENTLY STAY AHEAD OF IT OF ANY HEADWINDS THAT MAY COME IN THE FUTURE. 
          I, I HAVE, I'LL, I'LL LET CAME IN, BUT I'M GONNA, I HAVE ONE QUICK QUESTION. 
          UM, ON YOUR LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES, YOU HAD MENTIONED A HUNDRED PERCENT SMART METER INSTALLATION. 
          CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF TIMELINE OF WHERE YOU ARE AND HOW CLOSE WE ARE TO A HUNDRED PERCENT? WE, SO METER INSTALLATIONS ARE HANDLED BY, UH, SEPARATE SERVICE LINE CALL, UTILITY BUILDING. 
          WE'LL GET WITH THEM AND, AND GET YOU AN ANSWER ON THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          PERFECT. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          COUNCIL CAYMAN. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          VERY QUICKLY. 
          UM, ONE OF THE, GABE, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU SPOTLIGHTED WAS CHALLENGES WITH STAFFING. 
          HOW MANY STAFF HAVE WE LOST? I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF VOLUNTARY RETIREMENTS, WHICH IS A GREAT PROGRAM, BUT HOW SHORT ON STAFF ARE WE RIGHT NOW? I DON'T HAVE THAT EXACT NUMBER WITH ME AT THIS TIME. 
          UM, LET ME GET BACK TO OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, WE CAN GET THAT ANSWER TO YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          AND THEN THAT BRINGS INTO, YOU KNOW, UH, THE REALM OF HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO HAVE, UH, MS. VICTOR AND OTHERS THAT ARE ALSO STEPPING IN TO PROVIDE THEIR EXPERTISE, UM, OUTSIDE CONTRACTORS COMING ONLINE. 
          HOW LONG, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT OF FOUR ADDITIONAL CONTRACTORS. 
          HOW QUICKLY ARE THEY BEING ACTIVATED? YOU MEAN LIKE FROM THE MOMENT THAT WE AWARD A CONTRACT WITH THEM? YES. 
          UH, WE, WE HAVE THAT NOTICE TO PROCEED PRETTY MUCH WITHIN A WEEK OR TWO OF GETTING THAT CONTRACT BACK. 
          AND THEY TYPICALLY HAVE AT LEAST ONE TO THREE CREWS READILY AVAILABLE TO MOVE. 
          UH, SO PRETTY QUICKLY, LIKE WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. 
          SO WHERE ARE WE IN THAT TIMELINE? I'M SORRY, COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? YEAH, WHERE ARE WE, HAVE WE 
          [00:25:01]
SECURED ALL FOUR ADDITIONAL CONTRACTORS? ARE THERE STILL SOME THAT NEED TO COME TO COUNCIL? YEAH, YEAH. 
          CORRECT. 
          THESE ARE FOUR. 
          SO AS Y'ALL KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, WE HAD A, UH, A, AN ISSUE A COUPLE YEARS BACK AND WE ONLY ENDED UP WITH ONE CONTRACTOR, SO WE ADDED FOUR CONTRACTORS, AND THOSE ARE CONTRACTORS THAT ARE DOING WORK TODAY. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, AND MS. VICTOR, I THINK THE LAST QUESTION IS TO YOU, UNLESS THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE IN MY QUESTIONS YOU'D LIKE TO ADD TO, UM, HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE Y'ALL TO GET ALL OF THESE ASSESSMENTS GOING? WHAT IS THE TIMELINE AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT WHEN, UM, GREAT QUESTION. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          UM, SO OUR SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES, OUR PLAN IS TO COVER OUR SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES WITHIN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. 
          UM, AS YOU KNOW, THIS CONTRACT IS FOR OVER FIVE YEARS. 
          UH, BUT OUR PLAN IS FOR THE, UH, SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES TO BE HANDLED AND COMPLETED WITHIN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. 
          AND WE'LL CONTINUE BUILDING UPON THAT IF SOME THINGS COME UP. 
          BUT, UH, LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES, HOPEFULLY THE SMART METER INSTALLATION, FOR EXAMPLE, AS GABE MENTIONED, THAT'S A DIFFERENT SERVICE LINE. 
          SO WE WOULD BE WORKING WITH THEM AND SEE WHAT ASSISTANCE THEY NEED FROM US. 
          UH, BUT COMPLETING THE, UH, PRIORITIZATION FRAMEWORK FOR THE REPAIR THAT WILL BE IDEALLY BE DONE WITHIN THE NEXT, UH, 18 MONTHS OR SO, IF THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA. 
          TERRIFIC. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND ONE LAST, UH, I JUST GOT A TEXT FROM MY STAFF. 
          ONE THING, GABE, WITH THE DASHBOARD, UM, WHILE THE NUMBERS CAN BE BROKEN DOWN BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, IT DOESN'T GET MORE GRANULAR THAN THAT, SO IT'S VERY HARD FOR OUR OFFICE TO TRY AND TRACK WATER LEAKS, UM, OR LOOK AT KIND OF HOW THINGS ARE LOOKING WITHIN THE DISTRICT. 
          IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT OUR OFFICES CAN HAVE GREATER ACCESS TO THE STATUS OF WATER LEAKS, LOCATIONS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL AS WE'RE RELAYING INFORMATION TO CONSTITUENTS NOTE IT AND I'LL GIVE BACK, UH, WITH MY TEAM ON THAT. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR N NO PROBLEM. 
          THANK YOU, RAMIREZ. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO BACK ON THE STAFFING QUESTION. 
          UH, AND I REALIZE THE ANSWER MAY CHANGE BASED ON THE ANALYSIS THAT Y'ALL DO, BUT AT THIS POINT, WHAT'S THE KIND OF, HOW MANY OPEN POSITIONS ARE YOU TRYING TO FILL ANNUALLY? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? I'LL, I'LL HAVE TO GET THE NUMBERS FOR YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH, I DON'T HAVE THOSE REALLY AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW. 
          WHAT'S THE, UH, SO OUR COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE IS CONNECTED TO A NUMBER OF WORKFORCE TRAINING GROUPS. 
          SO CAN YOU BRIEFLY EXPLAIN WHAT'S THE, IS THERE A CERTIFICATION OR A TRAINING? WHAT'S THE TRAINING LOOK LIKE FOR, FOR THAT POSITION? SO, FOR THE LEAK REPAIRS, THE POSITIONS ARE USUALLY UTILITY TECHNICIANS AND EQUIPMENT TECHNICIANS. 
          UM, UTILITY TECHNICIANS, TO MY UNDERSTANDING, THEY CAN BE PRETTY MUCH, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE. 
          UH, THEIR EQUIPMENT TECHNICIAN'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. 
          UM, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH, UM, UH, OPERATING LARGE EQUIPMENT LIKE EXCAVATORS, THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          MAYBE WE CAN CIRCLE BACK AFTERWARD. 
          UM, ANOTHER QUESTION ON SLIDE THREE. 
          WELL, IT'S THE, IT'S THE ONE WITH THE CHART SLIDE THREE. 
          UM, THE ONE WITH THE CHART. 
          SO I'M CURIOUS, IT SHOWS THE, THE ACTIVE WORK ORDER IS DECLINING UNTIL SOMEWHERE, I GUESS BETWEEN JULY AND AUGUST, AND THEN INCREASING YEAH, THAT ONE, THAT SLIDE. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO CURIOUS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE LAST WHERE IT TICKS UP AGAIN? SO THAT'S A, A COMBINATION OF INCOMING LEAKS VERSUS HOW MUCH WE'RE ABLE TO PRODUCE MM-HMM . 
          SO IN THAT TIMEFRAME, UH, VERY RECENTLY BECAUSE THE TEMPERATURES WENT UP, THERE WAS A SMALL WAVE WHERE WE HAD LIKE MAYBE FIVE, FOUR OR FIVE DAYS OF A HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM KEEP THINGS RELATIVELY DRY AND, AND HOT. 
          THANKFULLY IT DIDN'T LAST LONG, BUT JUST THAT FOUR DAYS ALONE, WE DID SEE AN INCREASE IN THE INCOMING LEAKS, UH, WHERE, WHERE DAILY WE WERE GETTING MORE LEAKS IN THAN WE WERE REPAIRING. 
          SO IT'S, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, IT'S MORE ABOUT, UH, LEAKS WERE HAPPENING FASTER, CORRECT? WE WERE, BUT WE WERE STILL REPAIRING AT THE SAME YEAH, RIGHT. 
          WE WERE GETTING MORE LEAKS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. 
          CAN I STOP? THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER, HOW MANY LEAKS WERE WE ABLE TO REPAIR IN A DAY? ON A WEEKDAY? RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE HITTING ABOUT 40 TO 50, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD. 
          WE USED TO BE AT AROUND LIKE 25 TO 35, UM, ON A WEEKEND. 
          WE'RE AT ABOUT 10, UH, A DAY SATURDAY, I ASSUME VERY LIMITED STAFFING ON THE WEEKEND. 
          IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S BE MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF HOW WE, UM, SPREAD THEM OUT AND HAVE THEIR SHIFTS. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, AND, AND ALSO BECAUSE SOME, SOME VERY CRITICAL WATER LINES REQUIRE US THAT WE, WE CAN ONLY DO THOSE WORK, THAT WORK ON A, ON A WEEKEND AND, AND STAFFING. 
          DO WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FROM THE EARLY RETIREMENT? WE DID. 
          WE, WE DID SEE AN IMPACT. 
          YEAH. 
          WE DID LOSE, UH, UH, A, 
          [00:30:01]
A FEW OF, UH, INTERNAL CREWS. 
          NOW ARE THOSE POSITIONS TO BE BACKFILLED OR THEY'D BE, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF FILLING THOSE POSITIONS. 
          YES. 
          WE HAVE UTILITY TECHNICIANS AVAILABLE ONLINE. 
          OKAY. 
          FOR THE, ON THE HIRING. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SURE. 
          OKAY. 
          THIS IS A QUESTION THAT CAME IN ONLINE. 
          LET'S SEE. 
          HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO TREAT WATER COMPARED TO THE COST OF FIXING LEAKS? WE CAN GET YOU THAT NUMBER. 
          IT, IT'S NOT THAT I, I HAVE A ROUGH IDEA, BUT YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I GET YOU SOMETHING ACCURATE. 
          OKAY. 
          PERFECT. 
          YEAH. 
          BUT, BUT LET ME TRY TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD THAT. 
          SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COST OF PRODUCING WATER AGAINST THE COST OF PRODUCING LEAKS. 
          IS THERE SOMETHING YOU'RE TRYING TO GET OUTTA THAT, JUST SO I CAN UNDERSTAND? UM, IT MIGHT, IT MIGHT BE SHOWN THAT FIXING LEAKS IS PROFITABLE BY SAVING WATER TREATMENT COSTS. 
          SO WHAT WE CAN SHOW Y'ALL, UH, WE CAN GET NUMBERS ON IS, IS BASICALLY AS WE, AS WE GET BETTER AT REPAIRING LEAKS, AND AS WE, UH, GET IN MORE OF THESE PROJECTS TO REPLACE OUR PIPELINES AND THE NUMBER OF LEAKS COME IN AND COME DOWN, UH, AND THE DURATION THAT IT TAKES TO REPAIR THE LEAK, UH, IS SHORTENED, THAT IS LESS WATER LOST IN THE SYSTEM MM-HMM . 
          AND WE CAN GIVE Y'ALL A NUMBER OF LIKE, HOW MUCH WE PERCEIVE TO BE SAVING FROM THAT. 
          AND THEN, YOU KNOW, VERSUS LIKE, HOW MUCH WE'RE YEAH, WE, WE CAN, I CAN, WE CAN GET SOMETHING TO YOU ON THAT REGARD. 
          YEAH. 
          GREAT. 
          SURE. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. 
          RAMIREZ, FEEL FREE TO, THIS CAN BE MY LAST ONE, I PROMISE. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          ON SLIDE SEVEN, UH, WHERE IT HAS THE 9% OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IS OUR GOAL FOR REPLACEMENT, I GUESS, UH, AND 3% ANNUAL PIPE REPLACEMENT. 
          CAN YOU CLARIFY, FIRST OF ALL, RIGHT, NOT MY INDUSTRY. 
          WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PIPE REPLACEMENT AND A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM? AND ALSO HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THOSE VALUES? WAS THAT YEAH. 
          HOW, HOW'D YOU COME UP WITH THOSE? SO, SO THE CITY, UM, LOOKED AT THEIR ENTIRE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, THEIR ENTIRE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, AND CAME UP WITH, BASED ON WHERE THE WATERLINE LEAKS ARE CURRENTLY HAPPENING, WHERE THE AGING INFRASTRUCTURE IS, THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED 9% OF THAT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TO BE REPLACED. 
          THAT MEANS THE PIPE HAS EITHER DETERIORATED AND IT CANNOT BE REPAIRED ANYMORE, AND YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THAT PORTION OF PIPE. 
          SO THE CITY HAS IDENTIFIED 9% OF THE EXISTING DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, WHICH IS ABOUT 7,600 MILES, UH, OF PIPE IN THE CITY. 
          UH, SO 9% OF THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. 
          UM, WHEREAS 3% IS THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS GOAL, UH, TO MAINTAIN THAT REPLACEMENT EVERY YEAR SO THAT THEY CAN COVER AND REPLACE AN AGING INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT THEY ARE, UM, ATTACKING THE PROBLEM BEFORE THE WATER BREAKS OR THE LINE BREAKS ACTUALLY HAPPEN AND YOU COME AND HAVE THE ISSUE OF EVEN REPAIRING IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YEAH. 
          ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT PRESENTATION IS THE HOUSTON RAILROAD OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY DAVID WARDLOW, COLIN LEAL, AND PARIS WOODS. 
          ARE YOU ABLE TO SEE THE PRESENTATION ON THE SCREEN? YES, WE CAN SEE. 
          GREAT. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE. 
          THANK YOU FOR, UM, TRY THAT AGAIN. 
          UM, HI, MY NAME'S COLIN LOOP PULLED. 
          I'M THE CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER IN HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS. 
          UM, I'M JOINED WITH PARIS WOODS, UH, WHO HELPS IN OUR, UH, TRAFFIC ENGINEERING GROUP, UH, MANAGE RAILROAD AND, AND SCHOOL ZONE, UH, INITIATIVES. 
          UM, AND THEN DAVID WARDLOW IS ALSO WITH US TO TALK, UM, ON THE FUNDING ASPECT OF, UH, ANYTHING RAILROADS RELATED, UH, IN REGARDS TO HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UM, SO YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO FOR A BRIEF AGENDA, WE'RE GONNA KIND OF TOUCH ON RAIL SAFETY, WHERE WE ARE TODAY IN TERMS OF, UH, THE CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, WITH ANYTHING RELATED TO RAILROAD OPERATIONS, UM, SOME IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES THAT, THAT WE TRY TO IMPLEMENT, UM, SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND, UH, COMMUNICATIONS THAT GOES INTO THOSE, UH, TYPES OF PROJECTS. 
          UM, I'M GONNA TOUCH ON OUR, OUR QUIET ZONE, UH, INITIATIVE PROGRAM. 
          UM, AND THEN FINALLY WRAP UP WITH, UH, SOME FUNDING EFFORTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE IN THE WORKS RIGHT NOW. 
          SO, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO WITH OUR 
          [00:35:01]
RAIL SAFETY, UM, WE ARE DOING THE ACT GRADE CROSSINGS TO PROVIDE SAFER CROSSINGS BY UPDATING INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY, THE GRADE SEPARATION AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES, SO WE CAN PROVIDE SAFETY FOR IN INFRASTRUCTURE AROUND HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS TO ELIMINATE CONFLICTS. 
          AND WE ARE ALSO WORKING ON A RAIL SAFETY EDUCATION PROGRAM TO PROVIDE RAIL SAFETY FOR STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO HERE'S KIND OF A BIG PICTURE WHERE WE ARE TODAY. 
          UM, THE MAP TO THE RIGHT KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS ALL THE, UH, INTERACTIONS THAT OUR, UH, TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES HAVE WITH RAILROADS. 
          UM, SO YOU'LL SEE A, A NUMBER OF THOSE WHITE DOTS. 
          THOSE ARE ALL THE AT GRADE, WHICH MEANS THE, THE STREET AND THE RAILROAD ARE AT THE, AT THE SAME ELEVATION. 
          SO CARS HAVE TO CROSS OVER TRACKS, UM, ALL THOSE CROSSINGS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE OVER 700 AT GRADE RAILROAD CROSSINGS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          UM, A NUMBER OF THEM HAVE ADJACENT TRAFFIC SIGNALS THAT REQUIRE, UH, COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE RAIL, UH, TO THE TRAFFIC SIGNALS TO PROPERLY OPERATE THOSE, UH, INTERSECTIONS. 
          UM, AND AT THOSE CROSSINGS, WE'VE GOT A LOT THAT HAVE OUTDATED INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, AND MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO THERE. 
          WE DO NOT HAVE A CURRENT DEDICATED FUNDING STREAM FOR THOSE TYPES OF IMPROVEMENTS. 
          UM, AND THE PROCESS CAN TAKE A NUMBER OF YEARS TO, TO COMPLETE THE REQUIRED IMPROVEMENTS. 
          UM, AND WHAT WE SEE AT THOSE, THERE'S, THERE'S OFTEN HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR PEDESTRIANS. 
          THERE'S EITHER A LACK OF SIDEWALKS, CROSSWALKS, UH, GATES. 
          UM, ALL OF THOSE ELEMENTS ARE CURRENTLY MISSING AT A LOT OF OUR, OUR AT GRADE CROSSING THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          SO, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO FOR OUR IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES, WE PARTNER WITH RAILROAD RAILROADS FOR CROSSING UPGRADES RIGHT NOW WITH UNION PACIFIC. 
          UM, THEY CAN FUND TECHNICAL UPGRADES TO TRAIN CONTROL, TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND ACTIVATE WARNING DEVICES AT CERTAIN CROSSINGS. 
          SO THEY DO HAVE FUNDING TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT. 
          UM, ON OUR PART WITH THE CITY, WE HAVE TO DO UPGRADES TO SIDEWALKS, MEDIANS, CURBS AND PAVEMENT MARKINGS AND OTHER TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES FOR PROP PROPER CHANNELIZATION AND TRAFFIC CONTROL. 
          UM, POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY IS FOR OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO USE THEIR CDSF FUNDS TO HELP IN THAT, IN THOSE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE CITY. 
          UM, WE DO HAVE A CLEAR ZONE IMPROVEMENTS, SO ANY OBSTRUCTION OF VIEW TO ANY, UM, DRIVERS OUT THERE THAT'S GETTING CLOSE TO CROSSING, WE DO HAVE NEED TO HAVE A CLEAR ZONE. 
          SO NO OBSTRUCTION OF YOU CAN MAKE AN ACCIDENT HAPPEN COMING TOWARDS A CROSSING. 
          UM, CROSSING ENCLOSURES AND CONSOLIDATIONS ARE A GREAT SEPARATION FOR ROAD SAFETY AND WRIST MITIGATION AND ELIMINATION. 
          SO THAT'S ANOTHER STRATEGY THAT WE ARE WORKING ON. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, THE QUIET ZONE INITIATIVE, UM, INTEGRATION TO ADJACENT TRAFFIC, SIGNAL OPERATIONS, AND INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          UM, SO YEAH, THIS SLIDE KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS, UH, A POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE, UH, IN THE CITY. 
          UM, AND THAT'S BASICALLY LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY IN OUR, OUR COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK, UM, WHICH CAN HAVE A HIGH IMPACT ON, UH, THE ROAD USERS. 
          UM, SO THIS'LL KIND OF BLEND INTO, UH, UH, A PRESENTATION THAT MR. RAF'S GONNA GIVE IN A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UM, THE ROLLOUT OF THEIR, THEIR TRAIN WATCH, UM, INITIATIVE. 
          UM, BUT THIS IS KIND OF A SUPPLEMENT TO THAT. 
          SO BASICALLY IT'S, IT'S A WAY TO COMMUNICATE TO DRIVERS, UM, ALERT THEM, HEY, THERE'S A, THERE'S A TRAIN BLOCKING OR STOPPED ON A, ON A, ON A, UH, AT GRADE CROSSING, FIND A DIFFERENT WAY OR PROVIDE THEM A DIFFERENT ROUTE. 
          UM, INTEGRATE WITH OUR TRAFFIC SIGNAL NETWORK TO, UH, ADJUST TIMING ON THE FLY, UM, TO FLUSH OUT TRAFFIC IN AN, IN AN AREA. 
          THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FROM THE INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION, UH, SYSTEM STANDPOINT. 
          AND THIS WAS ALSO, UM, UH, WE, WE RECENTLY WENT THROUGH AN ITS MASTER PLAN EFFORT FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE, THE STRATEGIC, UH, MEASURES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THAT PROGRAM. 
          UM, AND THEN THIS ONE DOES REQUIRE, UM, USE OF DYNAMIC MESSAGE SIGNS. 
          SO THE DMS, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN SOME OF THOSE THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          UM, THEY ARE LARGE PIECES OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT REQUIRE FOUNDATIONS AND, UM, SIGNIFICANT DESIGN AND, AND RIGHT AWAY, UH, TO BE IMPLEMENTED PROPERLY. 
          BUT THEY ARE A USEFUL TOOL IN, IN CONVEYING REAL-TIME INFORMATION TO THE TRAVELING PUBLIC. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO WE'RE GOING TO GO INTO THE QUIET ZONES. 
          SO THIS MAP IS THE 
          [00:40:01]
PENDING QUIET ZONES FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S PENDING BECAUSE WE HAVE A LACK OF FUNDING, AND THEN THE OTHER PICTURES ARE JUST SHOWING, UM, SOME OF THE UPGRADES THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE FOR THOSE CROSSINGS TO BE A QUIET ZONE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO WE HAVE 40 REQUESTED QUIET ZONES CONSISTING OVER 154 CROSS RAIL CROSSINGS. 
          AGAIN, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, PENDING DUE TO FUNDING, QUIET STONES IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND COULD, AND CAN INCLUDE SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS. 
          UM, TYPICAL COST FOR TO IMPLEMENT CAN RANGE BETWEEN 50,000 TO 150,000 PER CROSSING. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO HERE IS A MAP, A ROADMAP OF HOW YOU REQUEST THE QUIET ZONE ALL THE WAY TO THE COMPLETION OF A QUIET ZONE. 
          SO ONE OF THE MAJOR PHASES IS THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING AGREEMENT WITH THE RAILROAD. 
          WE HAVE TO COME INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE RAILROAD COMPANY TO EVEN ESTABLISH A QUIET ZONE. 
          AND THEN AFTER THAT WE GO INTO ENGINEERING DESIGN. 
          SO THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PHASE CAN BE EASILY FROM THREE MONTHS, SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR, DEPENDING ON WHAT WE FIND IN THE FIELD. 
          UM, AND THEN THE FINAL PHASE IS THE CONTRACTOR CONSTRUCTION. 
          AFTER THE DESIGN, WE HAVE TO GO AHEAD AND START THE CONSTRUCTION FOR THE QUIET ZONE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THIS IS THE, A MAP OF THE ALREADY ESTABLISHED QUIET ZONES. 
          WE ALREADY HAVE 16 ESTABLISHED QUIET ZONES THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          WE DO MAINTAIN THEM, UM, EVERY QUARTER. 
          SO WE HAVE AN A FIELD INSPECTOR THAT GOES OUT AND MAINTAIN TO MAKE SURE THE CHANNELIZATION DEVICES ARE IN PLACE. 
          THE STRIPING IS VISIBLE AND THE SIGNAGE IS UP AND OPERATING. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
           IN THE WORKS RIGHT NOW. 
          SO, UH, GREG LONG AND MACA, UH, IS AN INITIATIVE RIGHT NOW THAT'S, UM, THEY'RE LOOKING AT GRADE SEPARATING THE, THE STREET FACILITIES OVER, OVER THE RAILROAD. 
          UM, AND THEN THE REST ARE JUST KIND OF SNIPPETS FROM, FROM THAT PLAN SET SOME OF THE CONCEPTS THAT THEY'RE, THAT THEY'RE WORK SHOPPING AROUND. 
          UM, THAT ONE'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH, WITH TDOT, UM, TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THEIR CHANGES. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN GO AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          OH, BACK ONE, SORRY, BACK TWO NOW. 
          THERE YOU GO. 
          UM, THIS ONE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE, UH, OF A PROJECT THAT'S IN THE WORK. 
          SO ANTOINE ROAD, UM, THERE'S A GREAT SEPARATION, UM, PROJECT THAT WOULD TAKE THE, THE ROAD FACILITIES OVER KNEE, OVER, OVER TOP OF THE, THE RAILROAD FACILITIES. 
          AND IT ALSO INCLUDES AN ADJACENT PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE. 
          UM, SO YEAH, YOU CAN, THIS ONE KIND OF GIVES A GOOD PICTURE OF THE, THE LENGTH THAT THESE PROJECTS ARE REQUIRED TO SPAN TO, UM, ACCOMMODATE APPROACH GRADES. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN TELL LIKE IF THERE ARE ADJACENT BUSINESSES THAT ARE RIGHT THERE THAT FORMALLY HAD ACCESS DIRECTLY TO A STREET FACILITY, THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD ESSENTIALLY LOSE THAT UNLESS THERE WERE SOME SYSTEM OF FRONTAGE ROADS IN INCORPORATED. 
          BUT IT KIND OF CHANGES THE WHOLE DYNAMIC OF THE AREA. 
          SO THOSE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER. 
          UM, SO YEAH, THEY, THEY, GREAT SEPARATIONS ARE GREAT IN, IN TERMS OF 
          [00:45:01]
THE, THE SAFETY BENEFITS THEY CAN PROVIDE, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE A LOT OF IMPACTS THAT, THAT NEED TO BE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED. 
          ALL RIGHT, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          UH, THANK YOU COLIN. 
          AGAIN. 
          DAVID WARDLOW, SENIOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH PUBLIC WORKS IN THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES SECTION. 
          UM, I'M JUST GONNA HAVE A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO COVER WHAT RESOURCES CAN BE AVAILABLE FOR THESE TYPES OF IMPROVEMENTS. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO YOUR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE MATERIAL. 
          UM, THIS FIRST SLIDE REALLY JUST KIND OF COVERS WHAT FEDERAL AND STATE RESOURCES CAN COME TO US. 
          REALLY, THEY FALL INTO TWO MAIN CATEGORIES, DISCRETIONARY PROGRAMS WHERE WE MAKE SOME TYPE OF APPLICATION AND A PROJECT IS GONNA COMPETE ON THE, THE MERITS OF THAT, UH, BASIS. 
          AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH IS GENERALLY MAKING A SELECTION ON THAT. 
          SO THAT INCLUDES PROGRAMS THROUGH THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, UH, AND THINGS THROUGH THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SECRETARY'S OFFICE. 
          UM, THIS ALSO INCLUDES, UH, REQUESTS THAT WE MAKE THROUGH OUR LEGISLATORS. 
          SO, UH, THROUGH OUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES AT THIS POINT IN TIME, UH, TO REQUEST EARMARKS, UH, IN THE APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS. 
          UM, THERE ARE ALSO FEDERAL FORMULA FUNDS THAT CAN BE USED FOR SOME OF THESE, UH, TYPES OF IMPROVEMENTS. 
          UH, THESE ARE PROGRAMS THAT COME AS ALLOCATIONS TO THE STATE OF TEXAS. 
          UM, AND THERE'S A PROCESS EITHER BY THE STATE OR WITH THE REGIONAL METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION TO MAKE CHOICES ABOUT HOW THOSE FUNDING, UH, SOURCES ARE ALLOCATED OUT. 
          SO THIS INCLUDES SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BLOCK GRANT FUNDS, AND CMAC FUNDS THAT THE MPO CONTROLS. 
          THIS INCLUDES, UH, TRANSPORTATION SETASIDE PROGRAM FUNDS THAT BOTH THE STATE AND MPO CONTROL AND, UH, HIGHWAY SAFETY PROGRAM AND SECTION ONE 30 FUNDS THAT THE STATE DIRECTS. 
          UM, AND THEN, I DON'T WANNA FORGET, UH, THE STATE HAS THIS LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION AGREED TO PUT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDING TOWARDS INVESTING IN RAILROAD GRADE SEPARATIONS. 
          HOPEFULLY THAT CONTINUES ON, JUST NOT IN JUST ONE BIENNIUM. 
          UM, BUT SO THE, THE RAILROAD GRADE SEPARATION PROJECTS GRANT PROGRAM, UH, OR SB 15, UH, 55 PROGRAMS GETTING OFF THE GROUND NOW, I THINK IT'S $250 MILLION FOR THIS FIRST BIENNIUM. 
          UH, WE'LL SEE IF THAT IS ABLE TO BE CONTINUED. 
          AND THEN WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING A COUPLE OF LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS OR RIDERS, INCLUDING IN THIS LAST YEAR'S BANUM BUDGET, UH, FOR A COUPLE OF LOCATIONS, INCLUDING THE MEMORIAL BRIDGE AT FOR MILBY, UH, HIGH SCHOOL AREA, AND, UH, TWO LOCATIONS FOR, UM, ALONG HIRSCH, UH, ROAD, UH, THAT REPRESENTATIVE, UH, THOMPSON, UH, NIA THOMPSON WAS ABLE TO, TO CARRY. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          ALRIGHT, THIS GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL SECURING FUNDING, FEDERAL FUNDING IN PARTICULAR, AND STATE FUNDING FOR, UH, RAILROAD, UH, GREAT CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS. 
          UH, SO THE HIGHLIGHT HERE IS THE WORK AT THE WEST BELT, UH, PROJECT. 
          SO IT'S TWO INTERSECTIONS, COMMERCE NAVIGATION VERY CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN AND IN THE SAMSON YORK, UH, AREA. 
          JUST A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN THE WEST BELT, UH, WE HAVE FUNDING THROUGH BOTH THE MPO, SO CMAC FUNDING AND A DISCRETIONARY GRANT AWARD THROUGH THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, UH, THROUGH THE RAILROAD CROSSING ELIMINATION PROGRAM OR RCE PROGRAM, UH, TOTALING NEARLY A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THAT PROJECT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AS COLIN MENTIONED AND SHOWED ALSO THE ANTOINE DRIVE PROJECT, UH, THAT GREAT SEPARATION IS PART OF OUR ANTOINE DRIVE CORRIDOR RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT. 
          UH, SO WE HAVE FUNDING THROUGH THE MPO TO SUPPORT THAT. 
          UH, WE HAVE, UH, SOME LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS AND NOTED FOR THE PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS AT BROADWAY, UH, NEAR MILBY HIGH SCHOOL. 
          UH, AND THEN THE TWO LOCATIONS, LONG HIRSH AT LITTLE YORK AND AT TIDWELL. 
          UH, TO GET STARTED ON THOSE, UH, LOCATIONS, I DID WANNA MAKE SURE WE NOTE THERE ARE SOME OTHER PROGRAMS, RIGHT? SO SECTION ONE 30 IS REALLY FOCUSED MORE ON THE OPERATIONAL, JUST UPGRADING THE SIGNAL EQUIPMENT, THE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S ALREADY THERE. 
          UM, THAT'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH TXDOT, UM, AND THE RAILROADS TO GO THROUGH AND DO THOSE REFRESHES. 
          UM, SO I'VE NOTED JUST SOME OF THE LOCATIONS THAT ARE MOVING THROUGH THAT PROGRAM. 
          UM, SO JUST SO YOU CAN SEE THAT. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF PARTNERS COMING ALONG. 
          I'LL BE, UM, I'LL HIT ON JUST A MOMENT, BUT, UH, HARRIS COUNTY APPLIED FOR, UH, A DISCRETIONARY GRANT THROUGH THE, UH, FRA THROUGH THE SAME RAILROAD CROSSING ELIMINATION PROGRAM TO FOCUS ON THE EAST END TRIANGLE AREA. 
          AND THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL. 
          SO THAT STUDY IS ONGOING RIGHT NOW TO LOOK AT WHAT THE BEST OPTIONS ARE GONNA BE FOR CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS, WHERE WE COULD DO GREAT SEPARATIONS AND TEE US UP FOR REQUESTS GOING FORWARD FOR THAT AREA. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND THIS IS THE, THE, THE REAL KEY HERE, AND YOU'VE GOT A COUPLE OF PRESENTATIONS COMING THAT TALK ABOUT THESE PARTNERS, RIGHT? NONE OF THIS WORKS. 
          THESE ARE BY DEFINITION, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, RIGHT? SO, UM, IT REALLY IS IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH EVERYBODY, UH, TO MOVE THEM FORWARD. 
          I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THE EFFORT THAT WE STARTED A COUPLE YEARS AGO, OR THE HOUSTON AREA RAIL TRANSFORMATION OR THE HEART. 
          THIS IS HOUSTON'S KIND OF VERSION OF WHAT YOU'VE HEARD OF COMING OUT OF THE CHICAGO PROGRAM WITH A CREATE PROGRAM. 
          AND IT'S REALLY TO BRING ALL THOSE PARTNERS TOGETHER, REACH AGREEMENT ON PRIORITIES SO THAT WE CAN BE CHASING 
          [00:50:01]
AND SECURING RESOURCES TO MAKE THE INVESTMENTS, UH, IN A VERY PROGRAMMATIC, THOUGHTFUL, THOUGHTFUL WAY AND, AND ACTUALLY MOVE THE, UH, MOVE THE NEEDLE. 
          SO WITH THAT, UH, I THINK WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU GUYS MIGHT HAVE. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAST'S OFFICE, THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, DAVID AND TEAM, GREAT PRESENTATION. 
          UM, IT'S TIMELY BECAUSE WE HAVE JUST THIS WEEK HEARD ABOUT QUIET ZONES. 
          UM, AND SO I'M CURIOUS, AND I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. 
          UM, WHAT A COUPLE OF NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE REACHED OUT TO US AND SAID THEY'VE PETITIONED THE CITY FOR A QUIET ZONE IN THEIR AREA. 
          I'LL BE HONEST, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T FULLY THINK I UNDERSTAND. 
          AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE AS AN OFFICE UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND SORT OF WHERE DOES SOMEONE COME IN AND, AND WHAT DO THEY NEED TO, TO PROVIDE IN ORDER TO PETITION THE CITY FOR A QUIET ZONE. 
          SO IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND THAT PROCESS. 
          UM, AND THEN FOR US, AS WE AS AN OFFICE RESPOND TO THOSE INQUIRIES, LIKE WHO DO WE AS A TEAM GO TO TO SAY, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU GIVE US SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION, OR IF IT'S AN APPLICATION OR, OR WHATEVER. 
          UM, BUT THEN I GUESS SPECIFICALLY FOR US, UH, AS A COUNCIL OFFICE THAT DOES UTILIZE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUNDS, UM, WHAT ARE THE, WHAT ARE THE MENU OF OPTIONS, AND THEN AT WHAT POINT DO THOSE GET DECIDED ON? UM, BECAUSE GOING FROM 50,000 TO HALF A MILLION THERE, I WOULD ASSUME THAT THERE'S A LOT THAT SORT OF GOES INTO THAT. 
          AND IS IT POSSIBLE TO SORT OF CHIP AWAY AT THAT IF LIKE, WHAT IS HALF A MILLION MEAN REALISTICALLY? AND, AND IS IT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE MULTI-YEAR OR DOES IT HAVE TO BE ALL AT ONE TIME? AND THEN I THINK MAYBE MY, MY FINAL QUESTION IS IN THE SORT OF TOTALITY OF THE LIST OF, OF REQUESTS FOR QUIET ZONES, HOW DO YOU ALL PRIORITIZE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 IF FUNDING SHOULD BECOME AVAILABLE THROUGH ONE OF THESE FEDERAL STATE PROGRAMS? SO, I KNOW I THREW A LOT AT YOU, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO HEAR ABOUT. 
          YEAH, WELL, I'LL DEFER ON THE PROCESS PIECE AND THEN I MIGHT HAVE SOME THOUGHTS FOR YOU ON THE FUNDING, SO, OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          SO, UM, ON OUR WEBSITE, ON THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING WEBSITE, THERE'S, THERE'S AN APPLICATION THAT CITIZENS CAN, CAN PUT IN. 
          UM, THOSE GO TO PARIS , UH, SHE'S THE MANAGER OF THAT PROGRAM. 
          SO SHE'D BE THE ONE THAT WOULD HAVE THE LATEST AND GREATEST ON WHERE IT'S AT IN, IN THE PROCESS. 
          UM, IN TERMS OF THE, THE REQUIRED, UM, COST, IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GO OUT WITH THE RAILROAD AND PERFORM THAT FIRST DIAGNOSTIC MEETING. 
          UM, THERE COULD BE MINIMAL TREATMENTS REQUIRED AND EVERYTHING'S IN GOOD SHAPE. 
          UM, IT COULD LOT, IT COULD NEED A LOT OF LIKE SIDEWALK WORK, CURB WORK, UH, DELINEATORS STRIPING PAINT MARKINGS, UM, SIGNAGE, THE WHOLE SHEBANG. 
          AND IT COULD ALSO NEED SIGNIFICANT, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ON THE RAILROAD SIDE AS WELL. 
          SO IT KIND OF JUST DEPENDS ON THE, ON THE CURRENT STATE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S OUT THERE. 
          UM, SO THOSE SOMETIMES CAN SNOWBALL INTO SOMETHING BIGGER. 
          UM, THE BIG, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE BIGGER CONSTRAINTS THAT WE RUN INTO TODAY ARE, A LOT OF THESE CROSSINGS HAVE VERY NARROW ROADS. 
          UM, AND TRYING TO WORK IN SOME SORT OF CHANNELIZING DEVICE WITHOUT, UH, ENCROACHING INTO THE LANE WIDTHS, IT SOMETIMES DOESN'T WORK. 
          AND YOU HAVE TO EITHER WIDEN, WIDEN THE LANES, AND THEN IT DOES BECOME A, A MORE SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT. 
          UM, BUT THOSE ARE KIND OF THE, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE, THAT WE RUN INTO. 
          UM, BUT YEAH, IN TERMS OF, UH, YEAH, THERE'S THAT ONLINE APPLICATION. 
          IT'S GOT ALL THE PROGRAM DETAILS ON IT KIND OF WALKS THROUGH WHAT, WHAT'S REQUIRED. 
          UM, AND AT THE END OF IT, IT'S, IT'S JUST A, A, A FORM THAT GETS SUBMITTED TO, TO THE TRAFFIC ENGINEERING GROUP. 
          AND, UM, WE TRY OUR BEST TO, TO FUNNEL IT THROUGH THE NECESSARY STEPS. 
          BUT THAT, THAT SLIDE, I FORGET WHICH SLIDE NUMBER IT WAS, BUT IT THAT HAD THE FLOW CHART, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE THINGS, UM, FALL. 
          SO WHEN IT GETS INITIATED, IT STARTS ITS STEP ONE AND THEN IT WORKS ITS WAY THROUGH. 
          AND ULTIMATELY WE GOTTA FIND, UM, AFTER, AFTER THE FIELD DIAGNOSTIC PIECE, WE GOTTA FIND A WAY TO, TO DESIGN THE IMPROVEMENTS AND THEN CONSTRUCT IT AS WELL. 
          SO, UH, WE PARTNER WITH OUR CONSTRUCTION, UH, SERVICE LINE, UH, TO, TO DO THE TYPES OF IMPLEMENTATIONS. 
          BUT THE CDSF PROGRAM IS A, IS A ALTERNATIVE WAY TO HELP EXPEDITE SOME OF THOSE. 
          AND IS THERE A SORT OF HIGH QUALITY VERSION OF THIS THAT WE ARE YOU YES. 
          PARIS HAS THAT. 
          YEAH, I KNOW THAT ONE GOT KIND OF BLURRED ON THE SLIDE. 
          YEAH. 
          SO MORELY TO ILLUSTRATE THAT IT'S A, A MINI STEP PROCESS, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          THAT WE UNFORTUNATELY CAN'T JUST GO OUT THERE AND DO A FEW THINGS AND TURN ON THE QUIET ZONE. 
          AND THE PIECE I WAS GONNA JUST HIGHLIGHT IS, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE, IT'S NOT JUST ONE CROSSING, RIGHT? WE CAN'T TURN ON A QUIET ZONE BECAUSE WE DID IMPROVEMENTS AT ONE CROSSING, PARTICULARLY IN MOST OF OUR PLACES. 
          SO CORRECT. 
          IT WOULD REQUIRE A CORRIDOR TREATMENT GENERALLY. 
          UM, AND THOSE ARE THE, THE KIND OF THINGS, IF IT, IF IT NEEDS, IF THERE'S 10 CROSSINGS IN THAT AREA, UM, WE WOULD HAVE TO FULLY ADDRESS ALL OF THEM BEFORE THAT IT IS IMPLEMENTED. 
          AND THEN I WILL 
          [00:55:01]
ALSO NOTE THAT EVEN IF A QUIET ZONE IS ESTABLISHED, THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE TRAINS WILL STILL SOUND THEIR HORNS IF PEDESTRIANS ARE IN THE TRACKS, UM, OR IF THERE'S AN OBSTRUCTION THAT THEY SEE THAT JUST BECAUSE THE SIGNS ARE OUT THERE DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY WILL COMPLETELY STOP, UH, SOUNDING THE HORNS. 
          UM, AND I KNOW WE'VE GOTTEN SOME COMPLAINTS ABOUT THAT. 
          IT'S LIKE, OH, IT'S A QUIET ZONE, BUT I STILL HEAR THE TRAIN. 
          IT'S LIKE, YES, THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE THAT CAN STILL HAPPEN. 
          AND ALL OF THAT SORT OF FEEDBACK WOULD BE PROVIDED TO THE, TO THE CONSTITUENT MM-HMM . 
          OR TO THE COUNCIL'S OFFICE SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T JUST DO YOUR ONE THING, IT'S, IT'S 10 ACTUALLY. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO, SO ALL THAT TYPE OF FEEDBACK WE WOULD RECEIVE, THEY WOULD RECEIVE SO THAT WE CAN GIVE A MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER TO THEIR REQUEST. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION JUST ON THAT, ON THAT SAME POINT, UM, ALL OF THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN REQUESTED, WHAT HAPPENS? DO YOU JUST GRADUALLY GO THROUGH EACH ONE OF THEM AND THEN EVALUATE A BUDGET OR WHAT NEEDS ARE, OR DO YOU GO THROUGH, I MEAN, HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? YEAH. 
          'CAUSE I GUESS I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T TOUCH ON THE PRIORITIZATION. 
          UM, IN AN IDEAL WORLD, IT WOULD BE FIRST IN, FIRST OUT, UM, AND WE WOULD ADDRESS THE ONE THAT THAT HAS HAD THE INITIAL, UH, REQUEST ON IT. 
          UM, BUT WE'RE KIND OF, YEAH, WE, WE NEED TO GET A GRASP OF WHAT IS ENTAILED FOR EACH ONE. 
          'CAUSE THEY DO, THEY CAN SPAN A LARGE CORRIDOR, UH, AND REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES. 
          AND THEN THAT'S WHEN WE WOULD HAVE TO SEE IF IT FIT WITHIN MINIMAL TREATMENTS THAT COULD BE FACILITATED THROUGH THE CDSF PROGRAM OR IF IT NEEDED A BIGGER POTENTIALLY ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCE, LIKE PARTNERING WITH TDOT AND THE RAIL, UM, GOING AFTER A GRANT, THAT KIND OF THING. 
          SO IT, IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON THE SIZE AND SCOPE THAT IT, THAT IT TURNS INTO. 
          UM, BUT THE FIRST, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT, THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE THE APPLICATION MM-HMM . 
          DO YOU FOLLOW BACK UP WITH THEM AND GIVE THEM THIS INFORMATION? UH, WE PROBABLY NEED TO BE DOING A MUCH BETTER JOB OF THAT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S, IT'S, UH, UNTIL SOMETHING MOVES THE MARK, UM, THEY WOULDN'T BE GETTING NOTIFICATION. 
          I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO, THAT WE PROBABLY SHOULD DO. 
          'CAUSE I THINK PEOPLE SAY, WELL, I PUT IT IN 10 YEARS AGO. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND THEY JUST DON'T HEAR ANY FEEDBACK FROM IT. 
          SO I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE TO KIND OF SEE, SEE HOW WE CAN GIVE THEM UPDATES ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          SO IF WE'RE SEEKING FUNDING FOR CROSSING UPGRADES, UH, GRADE SEPARATIONS, ET CETERA, DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE CITY HAS A LIST OF HERE'S OUR PRIORITY PROJECTS AND HERE'S THE CRITERIA THAT PUT THESE ON THE PRIORITY LIST OR NOT, NOT SO CLEAN LIKE THAT? YEAH. 
          SO, UH, AGAIN, PROBABLY MAYBE DEFER TO CON A LITTLE BIT ON THAT, BUT, UM, YES, THE CITY HAS GONE THROUGH, UH, SEVERAL TIMES, RIGHT? A PROCESS TO IDENTIFY WHERE THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THESE TYPE OF INVESTMENTS AND WHERE WE WOULD REALLY TRY TO, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RAILROADS KIND OF CONSIDER TO FOCUS ON FIRST. 
          UM, I'LL SAY THAT HAS GENERATED A, A COUPLE OF PRIORITY LISTS OVER TIME. 
          AND AGAIN, I KIND OF TILTING AT THE, OR LOOKING AT THE HEART PROGRAM, THAT'S KIND OF WHY WE WANT TO HAVE A REGIONAL COLLABORATION TO AGREE ON WHAT THOSE CORE INVESTMENTS NEED TO BE AND HOW WE SHOULD TAKE THEM UP IN ONE ORDER. 
          UM, I WOULD JUST NOTE SOMETIMES WE MAY GO AFTER FUNDING, NOT IN A, THE TOP LOCATION THAT WE WOULD LOVE TO GET DONE UNDER A PERFECT WORLD MAY NOT BE THE ONE WE CHASE FIRST BECAUSE OF OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES. 
          SO LIKE GRIGGS, LONG MACOW, I DON'T THINK IT'S EVER BEEN AT LIKE LITERALLY NUMBER ONE ON, ON, ON THE LIST REGIONALLY, BUT IT IS LIKE THE NUMBER ONE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO RESOLVE BECAUSE OF THE OTHER ISSUES GOING ON IN THE INVESTMENT TEXTILES, MAKING SH 35, THE ISSUES ON THE OPERATIONS FOR THE RAILROADS MOVES THAT LOCATION UP AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SEEKING GRANT SUPPORT. 
          SO THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY WHY THAT LOCATION IS, IS TOP OF MIND. 
          SO THE, THE REGIONAL COLLABORATION TO CLARIFY THIS IS A NEW COORDINATION INITIATIVE OR THIS IS WHAT FOLKS HAVE BEEN DOING FOR A WHILE? NO, SO THE, IT BUILDS OFF OF THE WORK FROM THE RAIL GULF COAST RAIL DISTRICT. 
          OKAY. 
          WHICH HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR, UH, 20 YEARS ISH. 
          RIGHT. 
          UM, AND UM, SO THE, THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING FOR A LONG TIME TO STUDY THESE CORRIDORS, COME UP WITH PLANS FOR HOW WE COULD ADDRESS THEM, THAT'S HAVE MOVED INTO HOW DO WE GO SOLICIT WORK. 
          SO THE NUMBER ONE, SO THAT FIRST PROJECT ON OUR LIST THAT WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR WEST BELT YEAH. 
          HAS COME OUT OF THAT REGIONAL COLLABORATION AND PLANNING WORK THAT THE GULF COAST RAIL DISTRICT UNDERTOOK. 
          DO YOU WANNA PUT ME BACK IN? YES. 
          JUST BE FOR BECAUSE OF TIME. 
          I'M GONNA KIND OF KEEP IT TO ONE QUESTION, IF THAT'S OKAY. 
          UM, AND I'LL PUT YOU BACK IN QUEUE, . 
          OKAY. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UM, GOING BACK TO THE QUIET ZONES, AND DAVID AT ALL, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          WHEN COUNT THE CHAIR SAYS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN REQUESTS FOR DECADES. 
          I'M REFERRING TO NOW THE 34TH STREET REQUEST FOR QUIET ZONE, WHICH HAS BEEN, I BELIEVE, A MULTI-DECADE REQUEST. 
          NOW, UM, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE 34TH STREET? I HAVE MEMOS GOING BACK TO 23, WHERE WE WERE APPLYING FOR FEDERAL FUNDING. 
          WE NOW HAVE NO CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE IN THAT AREA. 
          UM, SO WE CANNOT GET FEDERAL 
          [01:00:01]
FUNDING. 
          SO WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS? HOW MUCH I, I THINK I'D LIKE AN UPDATE, I THINK IS WHAT I'M ASKING ON 34TH STREET CORRIDOR, WHAT WE CAN DO AND IF THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO FUND THE INVESTMENTS THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO QUALIFY FOR THE QUIET ZONE. 
          UM, DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC UPDATE ON THAT ONE, OR THAT ONE'S, SO THEY WERE SECOND ON THE PRIORITY LIST AFTER THE EAST END. 
          SO BARRY JUST INDICATED THAT THEY, THEY WERE SECOND ON THE LIST. 
          SO RIGHT NOW, THE, THE ONLY ONE THAT Y'ALL HAVE SEEN AN AGREEMENT COME ACROSS THE COUNCIL'S DESK WAS FOR THE, FOR THE EAST END. 
          MM-HMM . 
          THAT ONE WAS TO, UH, FACILITATE THE FUNDING FOR THE, THE PROFESSIONAL, UH, ENGINEERING AGREEMENT WITH THE RAILROAD. 
          SO THAT'S BASICALLY STAGE ONE. 
          WE HAVEN'T MOVED PAST, UH, INTO LIKE, FORMAL ENGINEERING DESIGN YET. 
          WE'RE WORKING ON SCOPING CONTRACTORS FOR THAT. 
          UH, THE 34TH STREET ONE IS, IS IN LINE BEHIND THAT ONE. 
          UM, BUT, BUT YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA TALK ON POTENTIAL YEAH. 
          FUNDING SIDE. 
          UM, SO COUNCIL MEMBER EZ, YOU'RE I'M SURE, AWARE, WE WERE HOPEFUL THAT IN LAST YEAR'S, AND SO IN THE FY 2025, UM, APPROPRIATIONS REQUEST, THE BILL THAT CAME OUT OF COMMITTEE, UH, REALLY BOOK CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE, UM, UH, DID INCLUDE AN EARMARK FOR THAT CORRIDOR, UM, WORKING WITH, UH, UM, DISTRICT 18 FOLKS. 
          RIGHT. 
          UM, UNFORTUNATELY THAT BILL WAS NOT TAKEN UP, AND WE ENDED UP WITH A FULL YEAR CONTINUING RESOLUTION. 
          NO EARMARKS WERE IMPROVED, UH, LAST FISCAL YEAR, UH, THIS YEAR. 
          WE DO HAVE SUPPORT RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, THE BILL COMING OUT OF THE, THE COMMITTEE IN THE HOUSE, UH, TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE DOES INCLUDE SOMEBODY FOR THE EAST END QUIET ZONE, UH, HELP CARRIED BY, UH, REPRESENTATIVE GARCIA. 
          BUT WE DON'T SEE THAT, OBVIOUSLY, AS YOU MENTIONED, WITHOUT A REPRESENTATIVE THERE FOR 18, WE WERE UNABLE TO EVEN SUBMIT REQUESTS FOR THAT, FOR THAT DISTRICT. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO IF WE COULD, AND I'D LIKE TO INCLUDE, OF COURSE, DISTRICT H IN THAT 'CAUSE THAT THEY NOW REPRESENT, UM, SOME OF THIS CORRIDOR AS WELL. 
          JUST THE STATUS. 
          AND IF WE SAY NUMBER TWO, WHAT CAN WE RELAY TO RESIDENTS, WHAT CAN WE DO, UM, IN THE MEANTIME, UH, GIVEN WE HAVE NO CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, REPRESENTATIVE THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, SUBMIT THESE REQUESTS TO. 
          BUT IT'S NUMBER TWO ON THE LIST. 
          SO THANK YOU ALL. 
          I KNOW Y'ALL ARE WORKING HARD ON THIS. 
          UM, I, I GET, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, RESIDENTS ARE FRUSTRATED. 
          IT'S NOT A FIX ALL QUIET ZONES ARE NOT A FIX ALL, BUT THEY CERTAINLY WILL BRING SOME RELIEF. 
          UM, AND IT'S, IT'S WHAT WE HEAR A LOT FROM, FROM RESIDENTS IN THE AREA. 
          SO THANK YOU AGAIN. 
          THANK YOU COUNCILOR. 
          COUNCILOR FLICKINGER. 
          YES. 
          WE TALKED ABOUT THE QUIET ZONE. 
          YOU TALKED ABOUT DEPENDENCE UPON WHAT'S IN THE AREA. 
          MM-HMM . 
          CAN YOU DEFINE THE AREA? UH, IT'S BASICALLY THE, THE STREET RIGHT OF WAY CROSSING WITH THE RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY. 
          UM, THE INTERSECTIONS OF THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          I THOUGHT THERE WAS OTHER INTERSECTIONS YOU WERE REFERRING TO FOR CORRIDOR IMPLEMENTATION. 
          YES. 
          YEAH. 
          SO IT WOULD REQUIRE, UH, COORDINATION WITH, WITH THE OWNING RAILROAD, UM, TO DEFINE WHAT LIMITS THAT WE COULD ESTABLISH THAT QUIET ZONE. 
          THEY COULDN'T BE BROKEN INTO PIECES, BUT, UM, THEY WOULD DETERMINE THE, THE LIMITS. 
          OKAY. 
          THERE'S NOT A SET LIKE HALF MILE, OR? NO, NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THEY LOOK AT IT AND JUST COME UP WITH A PLAN FROM EACH INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCE? YEAH, IT, IT, IT, IT LIKELY HAS TO DEPEND ON THE, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CROSSINGS THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO, TO, OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          PARTS IT OUT, THAT KIND OF THING. 
          BUT IF YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF CROSSINGS THAT ARE WITHIN, UH, X MILE RADIUS OF IT, THEY WOULD NEED TO BE ABLE TO SOUND TO THE TRAIN HORN AT THE NEXT ONE. 
          AND THEN IF THAT OVERLAPPED THE CONCENTRIC CIRCLES, AND THEY WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO INCLUDE THAT CROSSING AS WELL. 
          SO. 
          OKAY. 
          IT'S LIKELY DEPENDENT ON THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WHEN IT COMES TO, YEAH, WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS, I KNOW, UM, WE HAD TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PUTTING SOME TYPE OF ALERTS WAY BEFORE, UH, A LOT OF THE, THE TRACKS GET STALLED WITH TRAINS MM-HMM . 
          AND, UM, THAT TYPE, THAT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY. 
          I KNOW IT ALREADY EXISTS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          ARE Y'ALL JUST KIND OF STILL VETTING IT? WE, WE ALREADY KNOW WHERE THEY SHOULD BE PLACED. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY THE FUNDING IS ALWAYS A BIG QUESTION, BUT DO YOU AT LEAST HAVE, DO YOU AT LEAST KNOW WHICH TECHNOLOGY YOU'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH? POSSIBLY, UH, THAT KIND OF WILL BLEED INTO THE PRESENTATION THAT MR. HRAF IS GONNA GIVE. 
          UM, SO THEY'RE WORKING ON ACTIVELY MONITORING SOME OF THE, THE CROSSINGS. 
          UM, BUT YEAH, THE, YEAH, THE TECHNOLOGY'S OUT THERE. 
          IT'S A SYSTEM OF VIDEO CAMERAS THAT CAN MONITOR AND ALERT A SYSTEM, WHETHER THERE'S A SLOW MOVING TRAIN OR BLOCKAGE AT THE CROSSINGS. 
          AND THEN THAT CAN TIE INTO OUR ALREADY ESTABLISHED, UH, INTELLIGENCE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. 
          UM, BUT LIKE YOU SAID, THE, THE, THE PIECE OF THE, THE ACTIVE, UM, MESSAGING SYSTEMS, THOSE REQUIRE PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AT CRITICAL POINTS, AND THAT REQUIRES FUNDING AND PLANNING AND DESIGN TO IMPLEMENT THOSE. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND THAT AND THE SIGNAGE THAT WOULD BE ON THERE. 
          I SEE. 
          LIKE, THAT'S KIND OF AN EXAMPLE MM-HMM . 
          ON THIS SLIDE, BUT IT'LL BASICALLY SAY THIS, THIS AREA IS BLOCKED, AND IT WILL GIVE A DETOUR. 
          IDEALLY IT WILL TELL WHERE THE DETOUR WOULD, WOULD BE. 
          IT, IT, YEAH. 
          THE 
          [01:05:01]
MESSAGE COULD READ, UM, BLOCK, BLOCK TRAIN ON X STREET, USE STU WOOD OR WHATEVER THE NEXT, UH, CROSSING THAT DOESN'T HAVE, UH, AN AT GRADE CROSSING THAT WOULD BE BLOCKED BY THAT SAME TRAIN. 
          BUT THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, THAT'S WITHIN THE CAPABILITIES. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT I'M SAYING IN TERMS OF PUTTING THOSE SIGN, THOSE, THOSE TYPES OF ALERTS THERE, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING ON. 
          UH, WELL, THE PIECE OF IT DOESN'T, LIKE IT WOULD REQUIRE FUNDING TO PUT THOSE SPECIFICALLY AT THOSE STRING CROSSINGS. 
          RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE NOT LOCATED STRATEGICALLY FOR THAT PURPOSE, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE VISITED IN THE FUTURE IF WE HAVE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IDENTIFIED. 
          OKAY. 
          IF THAT'S AN INITIATIVE THAT THE CITY WANTS TO FOLLOW. 
          OKAY. 
          IF THAT MAKES SENSE. 
          OKAY. 
          LAST, LAST PERSON IN THE QUEUE IS, UM, RA'S OFFICE. 
          BE BRIEF. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          ON SLIDE FIVE, UH, IT, IT SAYS UNION PACIFIC CAN FUND TECHNICAL UPGRADES AND SOME OTHER STUFF. 
          SO, NOT TO BE TOO BLUNT, BUT DO WE HAVE A DOLLAR AMOUNT WE'RE ASKING UNION PACIFIC FOR, OR WHAT'S THE CAN FUND? WHAT IS THAT? UH, LEMME SEE ABOUT THAT ONE. 
          YOU WANNA COME TALK . 
          I'M ALSO GONNA SAY THEY'RE GONNA COME JOIN YOU IN A MOMENT. 
          AND I, I MIGHT ASK THEM TOO, BUT, SO UNION PACIFIC ACTUALLY HAS A DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT IS ONLY FOR THEIR COMPANY TO COME IN AND MAKE THE UPGRADES TO THE ARMS, TO THE BELLS AND WHISTLES AT THE ACTUAL CROSSING. 
          UM, IT IS NOT TO GIVE US THE MONEY, BUT IT'S FOR THEM, THEY SAID, THIS IS THE REQUIREMENTS THAT THE CITY HAS TO DO. 
          AND ONCE YOU FIX THOSE REQUIREMENTS, THEN WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND UPGRADE ALL THE CROSSINGS. 
          GOTCHA. 
          SO WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR SOMETHING BEYOND THAT. 
          THAT'S WHAT THEIR INVESTMENT IS. 
          AND IS THERE A DOLLAR AMOUNT ON THAT, OR NO? WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S, YEAH, THEY DIDN'T DISCLOSE THAT PART. 
          BUT, AND METRO ALSO, I KNOW I HAD HEARD THAT THEY HAD A LIST OF POTENTIAL GRADE, UH, THINGS THEY WERE WORKING OR THINKING ABOUT DOING. 
          DO WE KNOW, UH, METRO IN THE PREGNANCY? I MEAN, THEY'RE, THEY'RE OFTEN A, A, SEE METRO CROSSINGS OF THESE FACILITIES HAVE SIMILAR OPERATIONAL CONCERNS, RIGHT? MM-HMM. 
          AND PREVIOUS PROJECTS HAVE SPECIFICALLY LOOKED AT BUILDING GREAT SEPARATIONS, OR LIKE THE HARRISBURG LINE. 
          WE DID BUILD A GREAT SEPARATION, BUT, SO LOCKWOOD IS PART OF THE, THE PREVIOUS UNIVERSITY CORRIDOR. 
          THERE'S STILL INTEREST IN PURSUING A GREAT SEPARATION THERE. 
          YOU KNOW HOW EMBEDDED METRO IS IN THAT SOLUTION. 
          WE WE'LL SEE, BUT WE DON'T KNOW YET. 
          CORRECT. 
          THEY'RE STILL MOVING FOR YOU. 
          AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALSO PART OF THE, UH, GREG'S LONG MACA, UH, DISCUSSION TOO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU'ALL SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE IN QUEUE, SO WE ARE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE, A UNION PACIFIC'S TRACK SAFE HOUSTON INTRODUCTION, PRESENTED BY RICHARD ZEC . 
          IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU, RICHARD. 
          THANKS FOR BEING HERE. 
          YES. 
          COME, Y'ALL HEAR ME? OKAY. 
          AND WE DO HAVE SOME ITEMS I'M GONNA BE HANDING OUT AS FAR AS, UM, OUR TRACK SAFE HOUSTON INITIATIVE SEMINAR. 
          I MEANT TO GIVE THOSE TO YOU PRIOR, BUT MAYBE IS, IS I'M SHOWING 'EM TO YOU, THEN AFTERWARDS I CAN, I CAN HAND 'EM OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FULL COMMITTEE HAS THEM. 
          SO, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          AGAIN, GOOD TO SEE MANY OF YOU WHO I KNOW I'VE WORKED WITH OVER THE YEARS. 
          UH, MY NAME IS RICHARD ZAC, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FOR UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD. 
          I AM BASED IN SPRING, TEXAS, AND MY ROLE IS TO WORK WITH CITIES, COUNTIES, AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS FOCUSED ON THE GREATER HOUSTON REGION, LARGELY THE HGAC FOOTPRINT. 
          WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY AND SHARE AN UPDATE ON OUR TRACK SAFE HOUSTON INITIATIVES. 
          I'M ALSO JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUE, A VP OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS CLINT SHAKI. 
          UH, I'D LIKE TO START OUR DISCUSSION TODAY. 
          UH, JUST ASKING THE QUESTION IS, UH, WHAT, WHAT IS TRACK SAFE HOUSTON? TRACK SAFE HOUSTON IS OUR COMMITMENT TO MAKING RAIL SAFETY VISIBLE, RESPONSIVE, AND CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY NEEDS. 
          WE'VE HEARD FROM COMMUNITIES. 
          AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO WORKING TOGETHER TO ENHANCE MOBILITY ACROSS HOUSTON AND DELIVER THE GOODS, BUSINESSES, AND CONSUMERS RELY ON. 
          WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND SO, TRACK SAFE HOUSTON. 
          IT'S A MULTIMODAL CULTURE OF SAFETY. 
          IT'S FORWARD-LOOKING, COMMUNITY INFORMED COLLABORATION TO ADVANCE INFRASTRUCTURE AND INNOVATION, IMPROVE MULTIMODAL SAFETY BY WORKING WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS, HELPING TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC VITALITY AND BUILD A CULTURE OF SHARED SAFETY. 
          TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE VISIBLE COLLABORATION, TANGIBLE AND MOBILITY SMARTER FOR EVERYONE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THIS INCLUDES, UH, PARTNERING FOR RESULTS. 
          SO FOCUSING ON THOSE CRITICAL CORRIDORS, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING THOSE LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS, UM, AND ELEVATING VISIBILITY WHEN IT COMES TO RAILROAD SAFETY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DELIVERING 
          [01:10:01]
TARGETED EDUCATION. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO WHAT ARE WE DOING? WE'VE STARTED WITH OUR BILINGUAL SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AND WHAT YOU ARE SEEING RIGHT HERE ARE SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF THOSE MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS THAT WE HAVE BEEN, UH, PUTTING OUT VIA THE UNION PACIFIC, UH, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS OR THROUGH TANGIBLE, UH, DOCUMENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN HANDING OUT, EITHER AT EVENTS THAT WE'VE, UH, BEEN ATTENDING OR OTHER, UH, OPPORTUNITIES, UH, COMMUNITY EVENTS, TOWN HALLS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          UH, SO THE HIGH VISIBILITY BILLBOARDS THAT WE'VE PUT UP, UH, CURRENTLY HAVE NINE INSTALLED, FIVE IN ENGLISH, FOUR IN SPANISH, IN THOSE CRITICAL AREAS THAT WE KNOW WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING OUR SAFETY MESSAGE OUT. 
          WE'VE ALSO BEEN HANDING OUT AND DISTRIBUTING OUR, UH, CLIFFORD AND THE RAILROAD CROSSING BOOK, WHICH I HAVE RIGHT HERE. 
          UH, WE'VE HAD OVER 1100 DISTRIBUTED, UH, 620 IN ENGLISH AND 500 IN SPANISH. 
          KNOWING THAT WE'LL CONTINUE THIS EFFORT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE EDUCATING, UM, OUR YOUNG POPULATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RAILROAD SAFETY. 
          AND I'LL GO TO OUR NEXT SLIDE, WHICH GOES INTO MORE OF OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH. 
          SO SOME OF THE PHOTOS THAT YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT HERE ARE, ARE ALMOST REAL TIME WITHIN THE LAST, UH, TWO TO THREE WEEKS. 
          UH, OUR OUTREACH, WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT ON MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THIS RAIL SAFETY INFORMATION INTO THE HANDS OF PARENTS, STUDENTS, FACULTY MEMBERS. 
          SO, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK TO SCHOOL INITIATIVES. 
          WE WERE AT OVER SEVEN DIFFERENT EVENTS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. 
          EITHER IT BE IT A BACK TO SCHOOL ORIENTATION NIGHTS, UH, HAVING OUR COLLEAGUES OUT WHO ARE OUT IN THE FIELD, SOME OF WHICH ARE THE ACTUAL TRAIN ENGINEERS, TALKING TO THE STUDENTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF TRAVERSING THOSE, UH, THOSE TRACKS SAFELY. 
          SO FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL, UH, HANDING OUT RAILROAD SAFETY INFORMATION. 
          WE WERE AT THE BROADWAY STREET CROSSING. 
          UH, I WAS THERE ON THE FIRST DAY AS WELL WITH OUR, WITH SOME OF OUR, UH, UH, COLLEAGUES, UH, HANDING THOSE DOCUMENTS AS STUDENTS WERE, WERE COMING ACROSS THE SAFETY, SAFETY INFORMATION, UH, TRACK SAFE HOUSTON INFORMATION, AS WELL AS ALWAYS EXPECT TO TRAIN. 
          UH, WE'VE GOT THE BILLBOARDS THAT WE'VE PUT UP, BUT THEN ALSO FOCUSING ON THESE KEY, UH, SCHOOLS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED WORKING WITH HISD, AND THEN KNOWING WE'VE GOT BROADER BEYOND, UH, TO GET INTO TO ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS. 
          AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT. 
          UH, SO COOK, UH, MC REYNOLDS MIDDLE SCHOOL, MILBY, UH, CHAVEZ CASHMERE LAW. 
          AND THEN THE, UH, THE MILBY SUNRISE CENTER AS WELL. 
          ADDITIONAL EFFORTS, THANK YOU. 
          ADDITIONAL EFFORTS THAT, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UH, AS WE'RE LAUNCHING OUR LAUNCHPAD HERE THAT ARE UNDERWAY, UH, IS A MICROSITE. 
          SO RIGHT NOW, IF YOU PUT IN, UH, UNION PACIFIC TRACK SAFE HOUSTON, UH, IT WILL GET YOU TO OUR UP CARE SITE. 
          WE ARE WORKING ON A DEDICATED SITE FOR TRACK SAFE HOUSTON, WHERE WE CAN, UH, SHARE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WITH SCHOOLS, WITH THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL. 
          HERE IS WHERE YOU CAN GO TO PULL A LOT OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE SHARING, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR, FOR THE HOUSTON REGION. 
          UM, UTILIZE THOSE, UH, SAFETY ELEMENTS AND THOSE SAFETY DOCUMENTS THAT WE HAVE, UH, THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PULL FROM THERE. 
          SO THAT'S, THAT, THAT IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, IS IN DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, WE WERE WORKING WITH HISD ON PUTTING A RAIL SAFETY TRAINING WEBINAR. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING BUS DRIVER TRAINING WITH HISD AS WELL. 
          AND THEN LOOKING AT ADDITIONAL BILLBOARDS EIGHT, WHICH ARE PROPOSED FOR THE FALL, UH, IN THOSE KEY AREAS OF HOUSTON THAT WE KNOW THE EAST END, UM, IS IT FIFTH WARD? ARE THERE OTHER AREAS, UH, WITHIN OUR GREATER HOUSTON AREA, WHICH WE KNOW WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THAT EDUCATION AND THOSE BILLBOARDS UP. 
          AND SO, TRACK SAFE HOUSTON IS A COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT TO SAFER MOBILITY. 
          UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN COMPLEMENT. 
          IS IT A PROGRAM THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS? YOU KNOW, TALKING WITH PARIS, LET'S FIND WAYS THAT WE CAN COLLABORATE ON THE SAFETY INITIATIVES THAT THE CITY OF HOUSTON IS PUTTING FORTH, AND HOW CAN WE COMPLIMENT EACH OTHER? UM, LOOKING TO HELP WITH IMPLO, IMPROVED MOBILITY, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT DRIVERS ARE BEING SAFE, UH, AND, AND CONNECTING TO OUR COMMUNITIES. 
          UH, WHEN WE MOVE SMARTER, WE GROW STRONGER, AND COLLABORATION WILL UNLOCK REAL AND MEANINGFUL CHANGE. 
          AND I'D, UNLESS I'LL LET TO TOUCH ON, UH, SOME OF THE DISCUSSION THAT WE JUST HAD RELATED TO OUR EFFORTS IN WORKING, UH, COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, WITH TDOT AND MANY OF OUR OTHER TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS, WHEN IT COMES TO THE IMPORTANCE OF JUST UNDERSTANDING MOBILITY AND, UH, AND GREAT SEPARATIONS AND THE REAL NEED THAT WE SEE HERE IN HOUSTON. 
          UM, SO GOING THROUGH JUST SOME OF THOSE, WHAT ARE THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT THAT WE'VE COMPLETED AND ARE CONTINUING TO WORK TOWARDS INSTALLED FENCE AND FENCING, UH, NEAR MILBY HIGH SCHOOL. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE IN THAT, THE TOP PHOTO 
          [01:15:01]
ALONG WITH THE, THE BILLBOARD THAT WE HAD PUT UP IN ADVANCE OF GOING BACK TO SCHOOL, UH, BUT THE FENCING TO HELP DIRECT PEDESTRIANS TO THE PROTECTED BROADWAY STREET CROSSING. 
          MAKING SURE THAT THE POST PEDESTRIANS KNOW THIS IS THE SAFE AREA TO CROSS OVER THE TRACKS, UM, UPGRADED, UH, WE, WE COMPLETED THE EXTENSION OF THE SIDEWALKS AT MILBY HIGH SCHOOL AS WELL, WHICH YOU SEE THERE IN THE BOTTOM, UH, PHOTO. 
          AND THEN COORDINATING WITH TXDOT, THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HISD ON PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES NEAR MILBY HIGH SCHOOL, AS WELL AS MCREYNOLDS MIDDLE SCHOOL. 
          UH, WE DID SPONSOR THE DESIGN FOR THE MCREYNOLDS MIDDLE SCHOOL PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS AND PURSU, CONTINUING TO WORK TOWARDS PURSUING CONSTRUCTION FUNDING, UH, WITH OUR LOCAL AND STATE PARTNERS. 
          UH, WE ARE ALSO CONDUCTING CROSSING SAFETY EVALUATIONS AT SCHOOLS NEAR RAILROADS AND DEVELOPING SAFE, SAFE ROUTE PLANS WITH THE HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT. 
          I SEE IF THE VIDEO IS GONNA WORK, MANERA, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, UH, IF NOT, IT'S OKAY. 
          WE, THERE WE GO. 
          THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF WHERE WE'RE AT. 
          THAT'S, UH, JACK GATES THAT WE WERE AT ON A SATURDAY, PART OF THEIR BACK TO SCHOOL INITIATIVE. 
          THIS WAS SOME OF MY, OUR COLLEAGUES THAT WERE AT WHILE WE WERE HANDING THE SAFETY INFORMATION COUNCIL MEMBER UNION SPECIFIC, AND COUNCIL MARTINEZ JOINING US, UH, TO HELP DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE SAFETY MATERIALS MIDDLE SCHOOL. 
          SO I JUST WOULD LIKE TO ECHO AGAIN, OUR, UH, APPRECIATION OF BEING ABLE TO SHARE OUR TRACK SAFE HOUSTON INITIATIVE. 
          WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF SHARING THIS INFORMATION, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE VISIBLE AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO DOING SO. 
          SO, I THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          I, I DO HAVE A QUESTION. 
          YOU MENTIONED, UM, PARTNERSHIPS IN YOUR PRESENTATION, ARE THESE PEOPLE, ARE THESE GROUPS THAT JUST SUPPORT TRACK SAFE OR ARE THESE ACTUAL ACTIVE PARTNERS IN THE, UM, IN THE INITIATIVE? SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR RIGHT NOW IS WHO CAN HELP US BE AN ACTIVE PARTNER? WHAT ARE THOSE ORGAN, WHAT ARE EITHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU ALL WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO PARTNER WITH? UM, OR ARE THERE ALREADY PROGRAMS THAT ARE, ARE ALREADY, YOU KNOW, THAT WE COULD ADD IN MM-HMM . 
          UM, OUR TRACK SAFE HOUSTON. 
          SO WHILE WE ARE THE ONES WHO LAUNCHED IT, WE UNION PACIFIC, WE WANT TO MAKE THIS A THIS UMBRELLA AND BRING IN OTHER PARTNERS AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, COUNCILOR RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, FIRST QUICK QUESTION. 
          I ASSUME, IS IT ACCURATE THAT Y'ALL HAVE, UM, YOU TRACK LEVELS OF ACCIDENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND YOU HAVE A GOAL OF THIS YEAR WE HAD THIS MANY, UM, ACCIDENTS AND NEXT YEAR WE WANNA REDUCE IT BY THIS PERCENT, OR IS THAT TRUE? DO YOU TRACK THAT TYPE OF STUFF, OR? WELL, WE DO, WE DEFINITELY HAVE SAFETY INITIATIVES, RIGHT. 
          OF, OF NOT WANTING TO SEE ANY TYPE OF INCIDENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING. 
          RIGHT. 
          UM, DO WE KEEP THE METRICS INTERNALLY OF, OF KNOWING? YES. 
          AND IS THERE INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT ONE THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT, YOU KNOW, THE FRA, UH, THE FEDERAL, FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION TOO, RIGHT? OF INFORMATION THAT THEY KEEP TRACK OF AS WELL. 
          UM, AND THAT KIND OF GETS TO THE, THE QUIET ZONE QUESTION AND WANTING 
          [01:20:01]
TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMITTEE AND, AND EVERYONE IS AWARE THAT'S A, UH, A FEDERALLY DRIVEN PROCESS, RIGHT? SO THAT INVOLVES THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, UH, ALONG WITH THE ROADWAY AUTHORITY, IN THIS CASE, THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          AND SO THE DIFFERENT, UM, ELEMENTS OF YOUR SAFETY PROGRAM, LIKE THE BOOK AND THE BILLBOARDS OH, RIGHT. 
          DO YOU TRACK SORT OF IMPACT OF THOSE STRATEGIES? IS THERE A WAY TO WE, I, I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW WITH THE, THE LAUNCH, AND SO YEAH, WE WE'RE, UH, WE'RE IN EARLY STAGES RIGHT NOW, BUT AS WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT ARE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, OF, OF STUDENTS PARENTS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION HANDS INTO, RIGHT? SAFETY INFORMATION WISE, WE'RE KEEPING THAT DATA RIGHT. 
          WE'RE TRACKING THAT. 
          WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE KNOW, UH, HOW MANY, HOW MANY STUDENTS, UH, DID WE TALK TO, HOW MANY OF THOSE THAT WE'VE, UH, WE'VE TOUCHED AND REACHED AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          LAST, LAST QUESTION. 
          UM, SO TO BE A LITTLE BIT CHEEKY. 
          UH, SO IN ADDITION TO THE, THE FUNDING THAT YOU PUT IN FOR THIS INITIATIVE AND FOR WHAT WAS JUST DISCUSSED, UM, OR SOME OF THE TECH TECHNICAL PIECES, UM, ARE YOU SUPER EXCITED FOR THE CITY TO PITCH YOU TO COLLABORATE, TO SORT OF INVEST MORE IN SOME OF THESE GREAT SEPARATIONS AND SOME OF THESE OTHER CROSSINGS? UM, I THINK WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, RIGHT? THIS IS THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR FRANCHISE. 
          WHAT HAPPENS IN HOUSTON IMPACTS EVERYTHING THROUGHOUT OUR 23 STATE NETWORK, RIGHT? SO WE ARE GONNA KINDA CONTINUE TO LOOK AT WHAT ARE THOSE COLLABORATION EFFORTS, UH, THAT WE CAN, CAN WORK TOGETHER WITH OUR TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS ON. 
          AND I THINK IF, IF HOPEFULLY TODAY YOU HAVE SEEN THE DEMONSTRATION OF OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY, THE UNDERSTANDING OF ITS IMPORTANCE AS WELL TOO. 
          THANKS, . 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, UM, WHEN YOU'RE WORKING WITH HISD AND YOU'RE DOING, ARE THESE MATERIALS, ARE THEY IN SPACES TO WHERE STUDENTS CAN PICK THEM UP, LIKE WITHIN THE HALLS OF THE SCHOOL? OR IS THIS ONLY SOMETHING THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED OUTSIDE? SO IT WILL BE MCREYNOLDS MIDDLE SCHOOL, AS AN EXAMPLE, HAS IT AT THE FRONT OFFICE, RIGHT? AND SO THESE SAFETY MATERIALS RIGHT HERE, WHICH ARE, UH, ENGLISH AND SPANISH MM-HMM . 
          UM, BETWEEN OUR TRACK STATE, HOUSTON AND OUR ALWAYS EXPECT TO TRAIN, UH, WE ARE GETTING THOSE INTO THE SCHOOLS. 
          WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED ELECTRONIC COPIES AS WELL, AND ENCOURAGED AS MANY CAMPUSES AS POSSIBLE. 
          CAN WE TRY TO, CAN WE SHARE THAT? ARE THERE OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT, UH, IN THOSE TAKE HOME FOLDERS? LIKE OUR, YOU KNOW, MY CHILDREN BRING ON THEIR, UH, MY DAUGHTER, RIGHT, HER, HER TAKE HOME FOLDER. 
          CAN WE GET THOSE IN? SO WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS HOW, AS WE MOVE INTO THE, UH, INTO THE SCHOOL YEAR, UH, THAT WE CAN GET THIS INFORMATION. 
          UH, AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO, TO, UH, EVERY MONTH LOOKING AT WHAT ARE NEW WAYS OF OPPORTUNITIES OF SEPTEMBER IS GONNA BE RAILROAD SAFETY, SAFETY WEEK. 
          THAT'S OUR OPPORTUNITY RIGHT THERE. 
          WE LOOK AT OCTOBER, BUT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 
          SO YES, WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS OF HOW CAN WE GET IT PHYSICALLY IN THE SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS OUR TEAM BEING PRESENT AT THOSE EVENTS. 
          BE IT, UH, ADDITIONAL ORIENTATION NIGHTS OR OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO COME AND SHARE THE SAFETY MESSAGE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          I DON'T SEE ANYONE ELSE IN QUEUE, SO I THINK WE'RE GOOD. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OUR NEXT PRESENTATION IS GOING TO BE HOUSTON SAFE RAILROAD CORRIDORS, PRESENTED BY JACK HRE OF HOUSTON SMART CITY PROGRAM. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. 
          NICE. 
          THIS IS THE DAY OF RAILROADS. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          ACTUALLY, I, UH, PARDON ME, UM, I KNOW I'M NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT I, I WANTED TO, UH, JUST INTRODUCE JACK, WHO'S WORKING, UH, ON BEHALF OF OUR, OUR OFFICE. 
          UM, SO THANK YOU, CHAIR PLUMMER, UH, VICE CHAIR INGER, AND ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS AND ESTEEM REP REPRESENTATIVES. 
          UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY. 
          I'M JESSE BOUNDS. 
          I'M OVER THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND PERFORMANCE, UH, AND HELPING COORDINATE SOME OF THE CITY'S RESPONSE TO, UH, RAIL SAFETY. 
          SO, UH, Y'ALL KNOW, MAYOR WHITMEYER IS NOT ONE TO EMBRACE THE STATUS QUO. 
          UH, HE WANTS TO SEE REAL AND IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS AND, AND, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO HIS NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OF PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          UH, TODAY WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS TO PUBLIC SAFETY RELATED TO, UH, RAIL CROSSINGS IN WAYS WE'RE MAKING IT EASIER FOR, FOR HOUSTONIANS AND FIRST RESPONDERS TO NAVIGATE THEIR WAY AROUND. 
          UH, RAILWAYS, UH, JOINED TODAY HERE WITH JACK HNA GRIFF, WHO HAS BEEN, UH, WORKING ON RAIL ISSUES FROM HIS DAYS, UH, AS A POLICE OFFICER, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL THOSE YEARS AGO, UH,  AT THE CITY, UH, IN HPD. 
          UM, HE ALSO WORKED IN THE, FOR THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY, AND IS NOW SERVING AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR FOR OUR OFFICE AT THE CITY. 
          UH, AND ALSO LEADING THE REGIONAL COORDINATION EFFORTS, UH, AS A MEMBER OF THE GULF COAST FREIGHT RAIL DISTRICT, UH, AMONG OTHER THINGS. 
          AND ALSO, UH, THE EAST END DISTRICT, UH, MANAGING THEIR TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE AS WELL. 
          [01:25:01]
UH, SO WITH ALL OF THAT, I WANTED TO TURN IT OVER TO JACK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          IT'S, IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING THROUGH THOSE THAT I'VE NOT MET. 
          UH, IF YOU WOULD DO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, COMING ON THE HILLS OF, UH, RICHARD AND UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD, I DO WANNA COMMEND THEIR EFFORTS IN TRYING TO MAKE THE RAILROAD CORRIDORS ALL THE RAILROAD CORRIDORS SAFE FOR HU YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          'CAUSE TEXAS DOES LEAD THE NATION IN GRAY CROSSING COLLISIONS. 
          AND HOUSTON HAS QUITE A BIT OF CROSSINGS THAT ARE PREDICTED TO HAVE A CRASH THROUGH THE FRA DATABASE. 
          UH, SO WE WANNA LOOK AT THOSE CROSSINGS, UH, AND LOOK AT THE CONDITIONS OF, OF WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTING CAUSES OF THE CROSS CRASHES, AND JUST BEYOND PEOPLE PLAYING BEAT THE TRAIN. 
          YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OTHER CONDITIONS. 
          YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MANAGE THE MOTORIST EXPECTATIONS. 
          YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRAINS ARE STOPPED FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, YOU DON'T WANT TO GET STUCK LIKE THAT AGAIN. 
          SO SOME PEOPLE WILL RISK THEIR LIVES TO TRY TO AVOID GETTING STOPPED BY A TRAIN AGAIN. 
          SO WE DEFINITELY WANNA PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE CROSSINGS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR A CRASH. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          HOUSTON ALSO LEADS THE NATION AND REPORTED STOP TRAIN EVENTS. 
          UH, WE ARE THREE TIMES MORE COMPLAINTS THAN THE HIGHEST STATE. 
          ALL THE, ALL THE CITIES COMBINED IN ILLINOIS WE'RE THREE TIMES MORE. 
          AND WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT HOUSTON, IT IS A SMALL FOOTPRINT OF, OF THE CITY, UH, SOMEWHERE WITH THEM IN ABOUT 16 SQUARE MILES SEEMS TO HAVE THE MOST STOP TRAINS. 
          AND THAT'S EAST HOUSTON, THAT'S FIFTH WARD, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO, UH, SOUTH PARK. 
          OST. 
          SOUTH UNION SEEMED TO HAVE THE MOST STOP TRAIN COMPLAINTS. 
          AND THAT WAS KIND OF OUR, OUR FOCUS FOR SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY, UH, UH, EFFORTS. 
          WE ALSO WANNA SHOW THAT HOUSTON FIRST RESPONDERS, SPECIFICALLY HFD, IS IMPACTED BY TRAINS A HUNDRED TIMES A MONTH. 
          AND THAT'S DELAY IN THEIR RESPONSE, UH, TO YOU. 
          THE COMMUNITY THAT HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO IMPACTED, NOT ONLY IN THEIR RESPONSE, BUT THEY ALSO AT TIMES HAVE TO GO INVESTIGATE THE BLOCK CROSSING COMPLAINTS. 
          SO THAT COULD BE UPWARDS OF 20 MINUTES THAT A FIRST RESPONDER IS TAKEN OUTTA SERVICE TO GO TO THIS CROSSING AND, AND TRY TO INVESTIGATE WHAT'S GOING ON. 
          SO WE WANNA WORK CLOSELY WITH THE RAILROADS AND CITY LEADERS, UH, TO TRY TO MANAGE, MANAGE THESE OCCURRENCES AND, AND RESOLVE THIS. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          TO DO THAT, WE WANTED TO LOOK AT A SAFE SYSTEM APPROACH. 
          WE WANTED DATA ANALYSIS, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS THIS HAPPENING, HOW OFTEN THIS HAPPENING? TO GET GOOD DATA, WE WANTED TO INTRODUCE TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE MOST OF THE REPORTING FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO THE CITIZENS CAN BE SUBJECTIVE. 
          IT'S BASED ON THEIR PERCEPTION. 
          SO WE WANTED GOOD DATA. 
          WE WANTED 24 7 ACCURACY AS TO WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING. 
          THEN WE ALSO WANTED TO IMPLEMENT, UH, COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION OR CONTINUITY. 
          WE ALL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER FROM THE RAILROADS TO THE CITIZENS, TO THE CITY, TO THE COUNTY, WORKING TOGETHER TO TRY TO MANAGE THESE OCCURRENCES AND IMPROVE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY AND RESPONSE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE OFFICE OF MAYOR. 
          HE, HE LIKES COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, AND TRANSPARENCY. 
          AND THIS PROGRAM WAS ALSO IMPORTANT TO HIM, BUT IT WAS ALSO WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITIES. 
          IF YOU SEE ON THE LEFT, THERE ARE SEVERAL GROUPS THAT REGULARLY MEET, UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN FORMED WITHIN THE LAST THREE YEARS. 
          UH, ONE OF THEM, THE GULF COAST RAIL DISTRICT HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE IN 20 YEARS FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS. 
          BUT ONE OF THE KEY ONES IS THE RAIL QUARTER COLLABORATIVE. 
          THAT IS ALL THE RAILROADS USED IN EMERGENCY SERVICES, PUBLIC WORKS, AND HISD MEET MONTHLY TO, AND I EXPLAIN WHAT CROSSINGS ARE ACTIVE, WHAT ARE THE CITIZENS' COMPLAINTS, WHERE ARE THE IMPACTS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND THEN HOW CAN WE RESOLVE SOME OF THOSE? AND THAT'S BEEN HELPFUL TO THE RAILROAD BECAUSE THEY'RE BETTER COMMUNICATING WHAT'S GOING ON, AND THEY'RE CHANGING SOME OF THEIR OPERATING PRACTICES. 
          THESE ARE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND COMMUNITY STAB STABILITY IN THESE HIGHLY IMPACTED AREAS. 
          UH, THE RAIL SAFETY FOCUS GROUP LED BY SENATOR ALVARADO, THAT IS A GROUP OF PRETTY MUCH GOVERNMENT STAKEHOLDERS FROM LOCAL CITY STATE, UH, HISD METRO. 
          SHE MEETS WITH THEM ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. 
          AND THAT'S KIND OF MOVING THE, THE NEEDLE TOGETHER. 
          YOU KNOW, WHO'S DOING WHAT, WHERE, HOW ARE WE, HOW ARE WE IMPROVING THINGS? IT, IT WAS ALSO VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN DRIVING, UH, THIS COLLABORATION IN THIS DISCUSSION. 
          HELPED HER AND OTHERS UP IN THE STATE CAPITOL 
          [01:30:01]
TO, WITH, UH, HOUSE BILL 1555 TO GET FUNDING BECAUSE SHE REALIZED THERE WAS KEY IN THE FUNDING. 
          SO THAT, THAT, THAT COOPERATION AND THAT COMMUNICATION WAS KEY. 
          THE RAIL SAFETY TASK FORCE THAT IS COMPRISED OF, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM EVERY COMMUNITY, FROM FIFTH WARD ALL THE WAY DOWN TO OST, SOUTH UNION IN SOUTH PARK, WE MEET MONTHLY, UH, JUST ME AND THE COMMUNITY AND SOME CITY PERSONNEL. 
          WE LET THE RAILROAD COME ON EVERY QUARTER TO, TO KIND OF INTERACT WITH US 'CAUSE WE WANT TO DO THAT. 
          BUT WE'RE TRYING TO ASSEMBLE AS ONE VOICE, ONE VOICE OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ARE, AND THEN WE ESCALATE THAT TO THE RAILROAD. 
          I DO NEED HELP IN GETTING SOUTH PARK AND OST, SOUTH UNION AND PLEASANTVILLE TO KIND OF REENGAGE. 
          THEY STARTED IN THE BEGINNING, BUT WHEN YOU'RE STARTING AT AT GROUND ZERO, WHICH WAS IN THE EAST END COMMUNITY, IT TOOK US A WHILE TO BUILD OUT. 
          AND SO THEY WEREN'T SEEING A LOT OF, PROBABLY WASN'T SEEING A LOT OF ACTIVITY IN THEIR COMMUNITY. 
          BUT WE HAVE GROWN SINCE THEN. 
          UH, WE DO KNOW WE'RE ALL INTERCONNECTED. 
          AND WHAT HAPPENS IN FIFTH WARD IMPACTS THE EAST END AND EAST END IMPACTS THE FIFTH WARD. 
          AND WHAT WE'VE ALSO NOTICED THAT SOME OF THESE CHANGES IN OPERATING PRACTICES, THE INTRODUCTION OF TECHNOLOGY, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THIS OFFICE IS DOING AND OTHERS ARE DOING IS HELPING THE OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          SO IF WE MAKE SOMETHING AND, UH, IMPROVE SOMETHING IN THE EAST END, IT HELPS FIFTH WARD 'CAUSE WE'RE ALL INTERCONNECTED. 
          UH, ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS IS THIS COMMUNICATION IS EVERYBODY HAD A CROSSING LIST. 
          EVERYBODY HAD WHAT THEIR PRIORITIES WERE. 
          SO WORKING WITH HGAC, WE'RE CREATING A CROSSING CATALOG, A 13 COUNTY CROSSING CATALOG THAT WILL HAVE, WHOSE FIRE DEPARTMENTS ARE BEING IMPACTED, WHAT CROSSINGS ARE NEXT, OR CORRIDORS ARE NEXT TO SCHOOLS. 
          SO THEY'RE PUTTING THE METRICS TO IT A WEIGHT. 
          SO WE CAN, SO YOU CAN LOOK IN YOUR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITY, YOUR DISTRICT, UH, UH, JURISDICTION, AND SEE WHAT CROSSINGS SHOULD BE PRIORITIZED. 
          AND THIS IS ALSO GONNA HELP THE GULF COAST RAIL DISTRICT THAT HAS TO LOOK REGIONALLY AT EVERYBODY'S NEEDS. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, LOOKING REGIONALLY, WORKING WITH ALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY, THIS PROGRAM IS NOT ONLY LOOKED AT HOUSTON, BUT WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE HARRIS COUNTY AREA AND FORT BEND COUNTY. 
          'CAUSE WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. 
          IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT ALL THE CROSSINGS ARE INFECTED THROUGHOUT, THROUGHOUT OTHER CITIES OR OTHER AREAS BECAUSE WHAT GOES ON IN TOMBALL, UH, A TRAIN STOPPING IN TOMBALL A TRAIN, STOPPING IN HE HEMPSTEAD, NO, NO, NO DOUBT CUTS OFF THAT ENTIRE CITY, BUT IT ALSO STOPS TRAINS IN THE HOUSTON AREA OR COULD POTENTIALLY STOP TRAINS IN THE HOUSTON AREA. 
          SO THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KIND OF KNOW, UH, WHERE EVERYBODY'S CRITICAL CROSSINGS ARE. 
          AND THESE ARE CROSSINGS TYPICALLY THAT IMPACT FIRST RESPONDERS. 
          THERE'S 107 CROSSINGS REGIONALLY THAT WE IDENTIFIED WORKING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN THESE OTHER JURISDICTIONS. 
          THERE'S, THERE'S ABOUT 69 IN THE HOUSTON AREA, UH, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND BEEN LOOKING AT OVER THE YEARS. 
          AND OUT OF THAT, WE KIND OF DRILLED DOWN TO 35. 
          AND THAT WAS, THOSE ARE THE ONES WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT AND WORKING WITH THE RAILROADS. 
          WE'RE INTRODUCING TECHNOLOGY. 
          OTHER, OTHER TYPES OF STRATEGIES GOING AT WITH THE RAILROAD QUITE A BIT TO TRY TO SEE IF WE CAN AFFECT CHANGE AND LEARN FROM THOSE CHANGES. 
          BECAUSE IF YOU CAN AFFECT CHANGE AT THESE CROSSINGS, YOU CAN REPLICATE IT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO TO GET GOOD DATA, YOU GOTTA CENTRALIZE THE DATA. 
          YOU GOT THE FRA BLOCK CROSSING DATABASE, YOU GOT THE HFD DELAYED, UH, REPORTING. 
          YOU GOT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR, THEIR COMPLAINTS, UH, CITIZEN COMPLAINTS. 
          YOU GOT 3 1 1. 
          SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO COMPILE THIS DATA INTO ONE CENTRALIZED LOCATION. 
          WE'RE WORKING TO GET 3 1 1. 
          SO YOU REPORT THE 3 1 1, IT GOES TO THE FRA. 
          SO, SO THE CITIZENS DON'T HAVE TO GO TO FIVE DIFFERENT PLACES TO TRY TO TRY TO REPORT THIS. 
          BUT WE WANT THAT DATA. 
          WE LOOK AT THE FRA DATA, WE LOOK AT THE HFD, UH, UH, UH, DELAY DATA. 
          BUT THEN THE INTRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY IS, IS VERY SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE NOW WE'RE ABLE TO PUT MEASUREMENT TO IT. 
          WE'RE ABLE TO LOOK 24 7, HOW OFTEN DID THIS HAPPEN? HOW LONG IS IT'S HAPPENING? AND WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO VALIDATE SOME OF THESE COMPLAINTS WHEN PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING TO THE FRA. 
          THE TRAIN WAS THERE FOR THREE HOURS. 
          WE CAN SAY IT WAS LESS THAN THAT OR MORE THAN THAT, WE CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON. 
          SO THE TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. 
          IT'S ALSO BEEN SIGNIFICANT HELPING THE RAILROAD UNDERSTAND WHERE THESE, UH, HIGH PROFILE LOCATIONS ARE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO WE HAD TO TECH THIS, UH, 
          [01:35:01]
TEST THIS TECHNOLOGY AND WE KIND OF SPREAD IT OUT THROUGHOUT HOUSTON AS BEST WE COULD FROM THE WEST SIDE TO THE EAST SIDE, BUT PRE PREDOMINANTLY IN THE EAST SIDE BECAUSE AS YOU HEARD EARLIER, THAT'S KIND OF GROUND ZERO FOR RAILROAD ACTIVITY. 
          IT IS IN THE COMMODITY, THE GULF COAST COMMODITY FLOW FOR UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD AND BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE RAILROAD. 
          IT'S ALSO FOUR RAILROADS OPERATE IN EAST HOUSTON AT THE SAME TIME. 
          SO WE FELT LIKE THIS WAS A GOOD SPOT TO, UH, TEST THE TECHNOLOGY. 
          BUT IF YOU LOOK, LOOK AT EAST HOUSTON, YOU HAVE THE EAST END TRAIN TRIANGLE, ALSO CALLED THE TRAIN TRAP. 
          UH, YOU HAVE THE FIFTH WARD RECTANGLE. 
          FIFTH WARD HAS UP THERE BY CLINTON AND HIRSCH, UH, AN ENGLEWOOD YARD. 
          IT FORMS KIND OF A RECTANGLE. 
          PEOPLE COULD GET TRAPPED IN THERE. 
          UH, FIRE, YOU HAVE TWO FIRE STATIONS IN THERE. 
          AND THEN YOU HAVE THE, THE SOUTH PARK JUNCTION DOWN IN SOUTH PARK, WHICH IS REALLY CALLED THE T AND O JUNCTION AND RAILROAD TERMS. AND IT'S GRIGGS AND MICALA, WHICH YOU HEARD EARLIER. 
          THESE ARE ALL HIGH POINTS OF CONGESTION THAT WE WANTED TO FOCUS OUR TECHNOLOGY ON. 
          AND WE WANTED THE TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD, UH, TWO FACTOR VALIDATION. 
          WE WANTED TO NOT ONLY DETECT WHEN IT WAS HAPPENING, BUT WE WANTED TO VALIDATE THROUGH VISUAL VALIDATION CAMERAS WHY IT WAS HAPPENING AND, AND UH, HOW IT WAS HAPPENING, I GUESS. 
          AND THEN, UH, WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE TRAINS. 
          UH, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE RAILROAD BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO SAY IT WAS THIS TRAIN AT THIS TIME, BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY IS INTERESTING. 
          IT CAN BE BUGGY. 
          SO YOU WANNA MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SEE A THREE HOUR BLOCKAGE, THREE HOUR OR 20 HOUR, WE WERE SEEING 20 HOURS THREE YEARS AGO THAT YOU HAD SOME VISUAL VALIDATION TO SAY, YEP, THAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING. 
          UH, SO IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE, WE DID THE CAMERAS WITH THE, WHAT WE CALL AUDIBLE DETECTION. 
          IT'S LISTENING AT THE, FOR THE TRAIN AND AT THE CROSSINGS. 
          THIS IS ALSO THE TECHNOLOGY WE'RE RECOMMENDING, UH, FOR A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT THAT I'LL TALK LATER ON, UH, TO GO FORWARD IN EXPANDING THE PROGRAM. 
          UH, NEXT, UH, SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, IN A NUTSHELL, THE CROSSING SENSORS DETECT, THEY DETECT WHEN A CROSSING IS ACTIVE. 
          THE CAMERAS WILL VALIDATED IF A TRAIN IS THERE, BUT THEY DETECT WHEN A TRAIN A CROSSING IS ACTIVE. 
          WE, WE PRETTY MUCH KNOW IF IT'S ACTIVE FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR. 
          YEAH, THAT'S A STOP TRAIN. 
          10 MINUTES, 15 MINUTES. 
          IT'S PROBABLY A SLOW MOVING TRAIN BASED ON THE SIDE OF USE. 
          AND IT IS. 
          SO THE, THE, THE CROSSING SENSORS DETECT IN THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND THEN FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THIS INFORMATION WITH KEY FIRE STATIONS IN FIFTH WARD AND THE EAST END AREA TO DISPLAY IT ON A MAP. 
          VERY SIMILAR TO THE TRAIN WATCH MAP THAT WAS RELEASED LAST WEEK. 
          THEY HAVE BEEN TESTING THIS EQUIPMENT AND VALIDATING IT, AND THEN THEY ALSO CAN GET IT IN THEIR VEHICLES. 
          SOME OF THE VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH THE TECHNOLOGY TO, TO SEE THE ACTIVE CROSSINGS. 
          AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE DISCOVERED THAT THEY COULD CHECK THE CROSSING BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE STATION. 
          AND BY THE TIME THEY GET TO THE STATION, A TRAIN SHOWED UP. 
          SO NOW THEY CAN CHECK IT BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE STATION AND THEN THEY CAN CHECK IT AGAIN EN ROUTE TO THEIR CALL. 
          AND IF A TRAIN SHOWS UP, THEY CAN REROUTE BEFORE THEY GET, GET STOPPED AND POTENTIALLY STUCK IN, IN TRAFFIC AND UNABLE TO TURN AROUND. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THE FIRE STATION SEES ALL, SO THEY HAVE LIVE VIDEO FEEDS IN SOME OF THE STATIONS. 
          SO THEY CAN LOOK AT WHAT THE CROSSINGS ARE DOING. 
          AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S GOTTEN PRETTY GOOD AT THIS. 
          THEY'RE, THEY'RE MORE OR LESS WHAT I CALL TRAIN WHISPERS. 
          THEY, THEY KNOW THE TRAINS, THEY CAN TELL BY THE MOVEMENT AND IF THEY NEED TO WORRY ABOUT IT OR NOT. 
          UH, I'M SHOWING THERE SOME COMPANIES BECAUSE I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THESE COMPANIES HAVE BEEN SUPPORTING THIS PROJECT AT LITTLE OR NO COST TO THE CITY. 
          IT'S BEEN A SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS. 
          ABOUT $280,000 WORTH OF PRODUCT IS OUT THERE FOR THREE TO THREE TO FOUR YEARS OF THIS TEST AT LITTLE TO NO COST TO THE CITY FOR US TO TEST BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THEIR PRODUCT CAN BE THE SOLUTION. 
          AND THEY ALSO THINK THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MATTER TO, UH, ADDRESS. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THE DELIVERABLES ARE, WE CAN LOOK AT THROUGH SENSOR VALIDATION AND, AND VEHICLE VALIDATION. 
          WE CAN CONFIRM THAT THE RAILROADS ARE DOING WHAT THEY CAN DO TO HELP REDUCE THE ISSUE. 
          THIS EXAMPLE HERE IS HIRSCH CROSSING MAY BE BLOCKED, BUT LOCKWOOD IS OPEN. 
          AND THAT WAS KIND OF THE AGREEMENT. 
          IT'S GOTTA BE GIVE AND TAKE. 
          THESE TRAINS ARE LONG, THEY GOTTA PUT 'EM SOMEWHERE. 
          SO WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE SOME GIVE AND TAKE, WHICH IS OKAY, IF YOU'RE GONNA BLOCK HIRSCH, GIVE US LOCKWOOD. 
          UH, AND THAT'S WHERE PUBLIC WORKS WAS TALKING ABOUT SOME WAY FINDING SIGNAGE OR SOME OTHER WAYS TO 
          [01:40:01]
DIRECT PEOPLE THAT JUST TO BLOCK OVER. 
          THERE'S A WAY AROUND. 
          AND WE'RE ABLE TO VALIDATE THAT THE RAILROAD IS HONORING, HONORING THESE AGREEMENTS. 
          SO KEEP IN MIND THEY ARE FEDERALLY REGULATED, SO ANYTHING THEY DO IS, IS ON AGREEMENT, IS A COURTESY TO US. 
          'CAUSE THEY'RE JUST FOLLOWING REGULATIONS. 
          SO HAVING THEM WORK IN THE COMMUNITY TO TRY TO LESSEN OUR IMPACT IS A HUGE BENEFIT. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THAT BRINGS US TO THE TRAIN WATCH. 
          THIS IS THE CONCEPT OF THE TRAIN WATCH BOARD THAT WAS LAUNCHED FRIDAY. 
          UH, IT IS WHAT WE WANTED TO BE INFORMATIVE, NOT JUST WHERE THE STOP TRAINS ARE OR THE ACT OF CROSSINGS ARE. 
          WE ALSO WANTED TO PUT IN SOME HELPFUL LINKS ON SAFETY INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT LATER. 
          UH, WE ALSO, UH, T DOT HAS A VERY NICE LINK ON WHY DO RAILROADS DO WHAT THEY DO? AND IT HAS ALL THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO HELP CITIZENS UNDERSTAND WHY DO THEY BLOW A HORN AT NIGHT? WHY DO THEY, WHY ARE THEY SO LONG? ALL THOSE LITTLE HELPFUL INFORMATIONS THAT ARE CONFUSING TO PEOPLE AND THE EMERGENCY NUMBERS TO EACH RAILROAD, UH, IF, IF YOU HAVE TO CONTACT THEM. 
          BUT THE, THE MAP IS A SIGNIFICANT ONE. 
          THIS IS, THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SEES. 
          AND WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO WITH THIS MAP WAS CONVERGE. 
          THE, THE SENSORS WE HAVE OUT THERE TESTING AND LEVERAGING THE PUBLIC WORKS TRAFFIC, CITY MANAGEMENT, TRAFFIC SYSTEM MANAGEMENT, UH, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, SORRY, LEVERAGING THAT DATA INTO ONE MAP TO HELP THE PUBLIC TO HELP THE PUBLIC UNDERSTAND WHERE THERE MAY BE AN ACTIVE CROSSING. 
          SO WE WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, WE ONLY HAVE SEVEN TEST SENSORS OUT THERE. 
          WE WERE ABLE TO PUT IN ADDITIONAL 40 TO 70 CROSSINGS, UH, IN SERVICE TO START DETECTING USING EXISTING TECHNOLOGY ALREADY OWNED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          UH, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT AS WE GROW THIS TECHNOLOGY, UH, PUBLIC WORKS WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE SOME OF THE PROJECTS THEY WANT TO DO BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA ESTABLISH THE SYSTEM. 
          ONCE WE BUILD THE SYSTEM, THEN IT WILL INTERACT WITH SOME, IT WILL INTERACT WITH THE PUBLIC WORKS, UH, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THEY WILL TALK TO EACH OTHER. 
          AND THEN THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DO ADDITIONAL THINGS TO BETTER INFORM THE PUBLIC. 
          UH, AGAIN, TECHNOLOGY. 
          ANY LAUNCH, IT'S GONNA BE BUGGY. 
          I KNOW SOME PEOPLE ARE OUT THERE CHECKING IT, HEY, THIS ISN'T WORKING. 
          BUT WE ARE, WE ARE SLOWLY FIXING THOSE BUGS. 
          UH, AND WE WANTED TO GET THINGS IN THE HAND OF THE PUBLIC. 
          'CAUSE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS. 
          SO WE WANTED TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE. 
          THE FIR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S BEEN USING THIS FOR A COUPLE YEARS, BENEFITING FROM IT. 
          NOW THE PUBLIC CAN START USING IT AND BENEFIT FROM IT. 
          AND WE, WE HOPE TO GROW THE SYSTEM. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. 
          THE CITY OF HOUSTON SECURED FEDERAL FUNDING FROM THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL PROGRAM OF $3.4 MILLION THROUGH THE HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          IT'S IN THE AGREEMENT PHASE. 
          THE, THE GRANT WAS APPROVED. 
          IT'S IN THE AGREEMENT PHASE. 
          WE'RE WAITING FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RELEASE THE FUNDS. 
          AND WHAT THAT'S GONNA DO IS, IS QUITE A BIT OF ADDITIONAL THINGS FOR THE PROGRAM. 
          ONE, IT'S GONNA ACTUALLY PUT THE SYSTEM IN PLACE. 
          UH, IT'S GOING TO ADD, UH, 32 INTERSECTION SENSORS TO AT HIGH CRASH INTERSECTIONS. 
          AND THEN IT'S GONNA ADD 25 ADDITIONAL RAILROAD CROSSINGS ON TOP OF THE ONES WE ALREADY HAVE. 
          THE IMPORTANT THING IS THE SYSTEM, ONCE THE SYSTEM GOES IN PLACE, THEN WE CAN GET BETTER DATA AND WE CAN ADD ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS TO HELP PUBLIC WORKS BETTER INFORM THE PUBLIC CA INTEGRATION TOO. 
          YES, AND IT DOES HAVE, UH, CAD INTEGRATION. 
          SO WE CAN GET THIS INFORMATION TO THE COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH, UH, PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTS THE HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          UH, WE ALSO BAKED IN SOME OTHER SERVICES SUCH AS IT'S GONNA GO OUT AND STUDY THE EXISTING PREEMPTION. 
          THESE ARE, THESE ARE, UH, SENSORS AT THE, UH, TRAFFIC SIGNALS OR INTERSECTIONS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO CHANGE WHEN A FIRE TRUCK OR A POLICE CAR IS RUNNING EMERGENCY LIGHTS AND SIRENING, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO CHANGE GREEN, BUT BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC IT CAN'T GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO CHANGE IT. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT A BETTER WAY TO DO THAT. 
          FIRE STATIONS, WHEN THEY GET A TONE, IS SUPPOSED TO CHANGE THOSE TRAFFIC SIGNALS SO THEY CAN GET OUTTA THEIR FIRE STATIONS. 
          THAT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC. 
          SO THIS, THIS FUNDING WILL ALSO ALL PAY FOR THAT. 
          IT'LL ALSO LOOK AT SOFTWARE IMPROVEMENTS. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU GOT DATA OVER HERE, DATA OVER THERE. 
          WE WANT TO CONVERGE THAT INTO A SINGLE PANE OF GLASS. 
          SO THE FIRST RESPONDERS ONLY HAVE ONE PLACE THEY NEED TO GO TO GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED. 
          AND THE VERY IMPORTANT PART IS EVERYTHING THAT WE BUILD IN THIS DATA COLLECTION AND ALERTING, OUR GOAL IS TO GET THAT INTO HOUSTON TRANS STAR AND THEN THE PUBLIC CAN CONSUME THAT. 
          [01:45:01]
AND THEN ALSO APPLE PRODUCTS. 
          AND GOOGLE PRODUCTS WILL PICK UP THAT DATA INTO YOUR MAP SERVICES, HELPING US MAKE TRAINS PART OF THE TRAFFIC CONGESTION MODEL. 
          YOU ALL GET ON YOUR PHONES TO LOOK AROUND WHAT FREEWAY I WANT TO TAKE. 
          CARS ARE ALL IN THE MODEL, BUT TRAINS ARE NOT. 
          AND WE WANNA PUT THAT IN THE MODELING. 
          SO THAT'S OUR GOALS. 
          UH, WE JUST GOTTA GET THE FUNDING RELEASED, BUT WE'RE ALMOST THERE. 
          I THINK THAT'S THE LAST SLIDE. 
          YEP. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THIS IS SO DO YOU SEE ME JUST LIKE SMILING OVER HERE? THIS IS, I KNOW YOU'RE ENCOURAGING. 
          OH MY GOSH, YOU HAVE NO IDEA. 
          THIS IS LIKE MUSIC TO MY EARS, ESPECIALLY TO COMMUNITY. 
          UM, CAN I READ OFF THOSE? THERE WERE A COUPLE OF CROSSINGS THAT I'D, UM, SUBMITTED TO PUBLIC WORKS THAT LIST. 
          YEAH. 
          NECESS. 
          YEAH, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF CROSSINGS THAT JUST THE COMMUNITY, UM, A LOT, SOME OF THE STATE REPS IN COMMUNITIES KIND OF SAID, UM, LYONS, NEAR ST. 
          ELMO, UM, LAUREN TIDE, BETWEEN MARKET AND CANDY. 
          UH, THOSE WERE THE TWO IN LIONS IN MARKET, MARKET STREET NEAR, UM, MCREYNOLDS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WE HAVE A SENSOR ON MARKET. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN HOW ABOUT LIONS? NEAR ST. 
          ELMO? LIONS? WE DO NOT HAVE SENSORS YET. 
          WE'RE WAITING FOR THE FUNDING. 
          SO WE CAN ADD THOSE SENSORS. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN, UM, AND THEN LAUREN TIDE BETWEEN MARKET AND CANDY STREET. 
          I BELIEVE THOSE ARE ON THE LIST. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE, WE ARE LOOKING NORTH AND SOUTH. 
          SO THE GOAL OF THIS WHOLE PROGRAM IS, SO A FIRE DEPARTMENT COMING FROM FIFTH WARD, A FIRE TRUCK CAN LOOK ALL THE WAY DOWN SCOTT STREET, UH, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE SUNNY SIDE, LOOKING AT THE CROSSINGS, LOOKING AT THE INTERSECTIONS TO SEE IF THAT ROUTE'S CLEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          THEN WE WANNA LOOK WEST AND EAST. 
          SO LIONS IS A BIG ONE, UH, DOWN THERE BY, UH, SIX 10 FRONTAGE ROAD AND ALL THAT. 
          IT'S BIG MARTIN, UH, MARTIN LUTHER KING BOULEVARD. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING WEST AND EAST TELEPHONE ROAD IS ANOTHER ONE. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT THEY CALL THE EMERGENCY ROUTE FLOW PATH. 
          OKAY. 
          THESE ARE HOW ONE FIRE DISTRICT USES THESE ROUTES TO GET TO ANOTHER FIRE. 
          DISTRICT. 
          FIRE TRUCKS DO NOT WANT TO GET ON THE FREEWAY UNLESS THEY HAVE TO BECAUSE ONCE YOU GET ON THE FREEWAY, SOMETIMES THEY CAN'T GET OFF. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO THEY TRY TO STAY TO THE SURFACE ROADS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. 
          AND THEY DO WHAT I CALL, THEY, THEY, THEY TRY TO DRIVE AS THE CROW FLIES IN THAT GENERAL DIRECTION BECAUSE THEY CAN'T MAKE A LOT OF TURNS. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO PICK ROADS THAT THEY NORMALLY USE FOR A STRAIGHT SHOT INTO ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THE BLOCK CROSSINGS IS ONE CROSSING IS NOT ONLY IMPACTING THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, IT'S IMPACTING OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS BECAUSE FIRE TRUCKS AND AMBULANCES CAN'T GET OUT OR CAN'T GET IN. 
          AND I, AND I, I THINK I'VE ALREADY SENT THIS, UM, BUT LIONS IN SITZ LA LOCKWOOD. 
          MM-HMM . 
          LOCKWOOD NEAR CLINTON. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WACO NEAR CLINTON. 
          PLEASANTVILLE BETWEEN MARKET AND TILIKUM. 
          YEP. 
          MCCARTY AND MARKET. 
          UM, NORTH WAYSIDE, TIDWELL AND HIRSCH, LITTLE YORK AND HIRSH. 
          AND THEN LITTLE YORK NEAR MESA. 
          I KNOW SELWOODS. 
          SO ALONG CLINTON, WE DO HAVE A SENSOR ON HIRSH. 
          WE DO HAVE ONE ON, WE HAVE A CAMERA ON LOCKWOOD. 
          I DO KNOW WE'RE LOOKING OVER IN THE PLEASANTVILLE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, 'CAUSE WE, LIKE I SAID, THE WEST AND EAST. 
          'CAUSE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT GOES DOWN MARKET, UH, INTO THE PLEASANTVILLE AREA. 
          UH, ROUND WAYSIDE I BELIEVE IT IS. 
          UH, AND THE MARKET, THAT IS A RAIL YARD. 
          SO THAT GETS VERY INTERESTING 'CAUSE THAT CROSSING WILL ALWAYS HAVE A TRAIN. 
          MM-HMM . 
          BECAUSE IT'S TWO, TWO RAILROADS OPERATING THERE AT THEIR, AT THEIR YARD. 
          SO THAT'S A VERY DIFFICULT CROSSING. 
          SO IS LIKE BRINGHURST, UH, NOT BRINGHURST, IS IT BRINGHURST? IT'S ONE OF THOSE UP THERE IN FIFTH WARD. 
          UH, I THINK IT IS BRINGHURST. 
          UH, THAT IS VERY DIFFICULT. 
          UH, BECAUSE OR GREG, I GET THOSE TWO MIXED UP. 
          UH, THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT 'CAUSE THERE'S A RAIL YARD THERE AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, THANKS FOR COMING. 
          SO WHAT CAN WE DO, WHAT ARE YOU HOPING FOR FROM COUNCIL? UH, JUST LIKE I SAID, A BETTER ENGAGEMENT FROM THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, IF YOU HAVE THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, TRY TO GET ME SOME REPRESENTATION. 
          GET ME PEOPLE I CAN WORK WITH. 
          UH, I, I LIKE WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN THEY'RE, UH, RECOMMENDED BY A COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          'CAUSE THAT'S SOMEBODY Y'ALL HAVE IDENTIFIED IN THE COMMUNITY THAT, THAT REALLY WANTS TO WORK WITH THE RAILROADS. 
          UH, IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A A TOWN HALL GROUP. 
          IT IS A GROUP TO REALLY IDENTIFY THE CONCERNS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD BEST REPRESENT THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THEN WE COMMUNICATE THOSE THROUGH THE RAILROAD. 
          AND IT, IT'S BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE. 
          I MEAN, THE CURFEW AT MCREYNOLDS AND THE CURFEW AT MILBY, UH, WAS BORN FROM THIS, FROM THIS INTERACTION. 
          UH, IT WAS TESTED AT MC UH, MCREYNOLDS. 
          UH, THAT'S, THAT'S UNPRECEDENTED FOR, FOR THEM TO HOLD TRAINS AN HOUR IN THE MORNING, AN HOUR AFTERNOON FOR THEM TO REDUCE SOME OF THEIR ACTIVITY DURING PEAK TRAFFIC 
          [01:50:01]
TIMES. 
          THEY, THEY'VE BEEN REALLY TREMENDOUS AT THAT, IS THEY'RE TRYING TO STAY OFF OF PEAK TRAFFIC TIMES. 
          UH, I'VE ALSO NOTICED TRAINS ARE GETTING QUICKER IN THE EAST END. 
          THEY'RE FLOWING FASTER, QUICKER THAN I'VE EVER SEEN. 
          UH, WHICH IS HUGE BECAUSE THE WEST END OF TOWN ALWAYS HAD FASTER TRAINS BECAUSE THERE WAS LESS JUNCTIONS, LESS CLUTTER. 
          THE EAST END WAS ALWAYS INDUSTRIALIZED. 
          BUT NOW, UH, THEIR SERVICES ARE INCREASING THERE. 
          THEIR, THEIR FLUIDITY OR VELOCITY. 
          I'VE ALSO SEEN THROUGH THIS DATA PROGRAM, WE'RE CHANGING THE EXPECTATIONS AND THE MINDSET OF THE PUBLIC BECAUSE THEY'RE STARTING, YOU KNOW, SEEING CHANGE HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT 'CAUSE IT'S SLOW MOVING. 
          BUT SHOWING THEM, YOU KNOW, NO, THE AVERAGE WAIT TIME IS 10 MINUTES THERE. 
          PEOPLE ARE NOW WAITING. 
          PEOPLE ARE NOW, OKAY, THE TRAIN WILL HOPEFULLY BE THERE 10 MINUTES. 
          WE WERE SEEING A TYPE OF, IT USED TO BE BEYOND WHAT WE CALL BEAT THE TRAIN. 
          THEY WERE BEATING WHAT WE CALL THE GHOST TRAIN. 
          THERE WASN'T EVEN A TRAIN THERE, BUT THERE WERE SO WORRIED THERE WAS GONNA BE A TRAIN THAT THEY WERE RUNNING RED LIGHTS AND SPEEDING UP AND, AND TRYING TO GET ACROSS THAT CROSSING. 
          SO WE, WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF POSITIVE, UH, IMPROVEMENT FROM THIS DATA. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCILMAN KORN. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU JACK AND JESSE AND RICHARD. 
          EVERYBODY THAT'S PRESENTED ON THE TRAINS OBVIOUSLY A BIG ISSUE IN HOUSTON. 
          I, I'M, UM, ON ONE OF THE REPS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION POLICY COUNCIL. 
          SO I KNOW TOMORROW WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT A RAILROAD CROSSING GRADE SEPARATION INITIATIVE. 
          I, I BE DID YOU TOUCH ON THAT EARLIER WHERE IT'S NOT REALLY A PRIORITIZATION, BUT WE'LL BE PICKING 10 OR THIS GROUP, THIS INITIATIVE WILL PICK 10 OF THE, OF THE CROSS OUT OF LIKE 38 CROSSINGS TO REALLY DO A DEEP DIVE INTO ARE YOU INVOLVED IN THAT EFFORT? I'M IN, IN SOME POINT UNDER THE GULF COAST RAIL DISTRICT AND ALSO REPRESENT THE EAST END DISTRICT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, I KNOW IT'S VERY IMPORTANT 'CAUSE YOU NEED TO START NOW. 
          WE NEED TO IDENTIFY THOSE CROSSINGS. 
          WE NEED TO START THE WORK NOW. 
          'CAUSE I WAS ON THE INITIAL 20 YEARS AGO, , RIGHT WHEN WE WERE GETTING SOME OF THE BRIDGES LIKE YORK AND S SAMSON AND COMMERCE AND OTHERS. 
          I WAS IN THAT TEAM 20 YEARS AGO. 
          SO THAT'S HOW LONG IT TAKES. 
          SO IT'S GOOD WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS NOW. 
          IT'S ALSO GOOD IF THOSE ARE THE FOCUS CROSSINGS FOR A SEPARATION, WHAT CAN WE DO NOW? YEAH. 
          TO, TO REALLY THE PUBLIC. 
          AND AGAIN, THIS IS IN THE EIGHT COUNTY REGION, SO IT'S NOT YEAH. 
          IT'S NOT JUST HOUSTON'S, BUT, UM, WE'LL BE THAT. 
          IT'S JUST AN INFORMATIONAL ITEM TOMORROW. 
          NO, I APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE WE'LL BE TALKING MORE ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, ALSO ABOUT SB 1555, UM, $250 MILLION FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS. 
          AND, AND IS IS HEART KIND OF THE LEADING GROUP? UM, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF FIGURING OUT WE'RE THE GOAL IS HOPEFULLY  TO GET THERE. 
          AND THAT'S WHY THROUGH THE EAST END SAFE STREETS PROJECT WE BROUGHT DOWN CHICAGO TO, TO LEARN FROM THEM AND THEIR BEST PRACTICES. 
          UH, BUT IT'S GONNA BE BEYOND JUST HARD. 
          IT'S GONNA BE EVERYBODY WORKING TOGETHER ON HARD. 
          I MEAN, TXDOT IS GONNA PAY, PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THAT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UH, BUT YEAH, THAT WOULD BE A GOAL IS TO SEE HEART, UH, HOPEFULLY HELP BETTER INFORMING AND GUIDING THESE COMMUNITIES AND MAYBE THE PROJECTS THEY SHOULD PURSUE. 
          YEAH, I SAW SOME OF THAT CHICAGO PRESENTATION, SO THAT, THAT YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF THE GOAL I GUESS. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND, AND ON, ON THE TRAIN WATCH, UM, WE'RE PUTTING THAT OUT IN A NEWSLETTER. 
          UM, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE MAINLY, HOW MANY, HOW MANY CROSSINGS ARE ARE ON TRAIN WATCH RIGHT NOW? THERE'S A TOTAL OF 70 CROSSINGS, BUT BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY'S A LITTLE BUGGY, WE WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF REDUCING IT 'CAUSE WE WANT GOOD INFORMATION COMING OUT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IT MAY BE AROUND 40 NOW. 
          OKAY. 
          UNTIL WE CAN IMPROVE THE PROGRAM. 
          SO ABOUT 40 NOW. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WITH, WITH THE IDEA OF EXPANDING. 
          BUT WILL YOU, YOU'LL, YOU'LL EXPAND OBVIOUSLY TO THE MOST DIFFICULT ONES. 
          I MEAN, I KNOW I'LL HAVE PEOPLE SAYING I WAITED FOR 10 MINUTES AT, YOU KNOW, WHY ISN'T THE ONE AT, YOU KNOW, ST. 
          PHILIPPIAN, YOU KNOW, UH, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW. 
          YEAH. 
          THE HIGH PRIORITY CROSSINGS WILL TYPICALLY GET A SENSOR AND THAT'S WHAT'S YEAH, THAT'S WHAT'S GEARED WHEN WE GET THE FUNDING, THOSE WILL GO TO THE HIGH PRIORITY, UH, CROSSINGS. 
          AND ONCE WE PUT A SENSOR IN PLACE THAT IS GOOD INFORMATION AND WE KNOW THAT WOULD BE ACCURATE AND THOSE WILL BE DISPLAYED. 
          BUT, BUT AGAIN, THOSE WON'T BE AT EVERY ONE. 
          I MEAN THERE'S TOO MANY. 
          NO. 
          SO IT'LL JUST BE ON THE ONES THAT HAVE THE LONGER WAIT TIMES. 
          IT COULD BE YES WAIT TIMES OR A THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          UH, IT COULD BE QUITE A BIT OF THINGS WE LOOK AT. 
          AND HOW ABOUT THAT TYING INTO, UH, WAYS AND GOOGLE MAPS AND ALL OF THAT. 
          SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS WAYS GOOGLE MAPS, THEY LIFT FROM TRANS STAR NOW TODAY. 
          SO AS SOON AS WE CAN GET THIS INFORMATION TO TRANS STAR, TRANS STAR HAS ACCESS TO THIS AND THEY HAVE THE MAP, BUT AGAIN, IT'S BUGGY AND THEN THEY'RE NOT COMFORTABLE RELEASING IT. 
          UH, WE DID IT TO REDUCE IT TO A CERTAIN, UH, SIZE THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BETTER SERVE THE PUBLIC TODAY. 
          AND THEN AS 
          [01:55:01]
WE IMPROVE IT, IT'LL GET, IT'LL GET MUCH BETTER. 
          SO IT'S NOT GONNA BE ON THOSE, THOSE GPS APPS FOR A WHILE. 
          UH, I DO KNOW THE SYSTEM THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TO DEMONSTRATE. 
          I CAN'T GUARANTEE WHAT WE'RE GONNA BUY, BUT WE'RE LOOKING TO DEMONSTRATE A SPECIFIC SYSTEM AS PART OF THIS GRANT. 
          THEY'RE ALREADY IN PILOT WITH GOOGLE MAPS. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          AND I THINK WE'RE KIND OF PART OF THAT PILOT SO WE COULD SEE THAT INCORPORATED IN THE NEXT YEAH, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE WITH THE SYSTEM WE'RE LOOKING AT. 
          IT SEEMS TO BE THE MOST ROBUST ONE. 
          IT ALREADY HAS CONNECTIONS TO MAPPING SERVICE. 
          IT HAS CONNECTION TO DYNAMIC MESSAGING, ADVANCED WARNING, UH, SIGNALS. 
          YOU KNOW, THE FLASHING LIGHTS DON'T GO DOWN THE STREET. 
          AND ALSO THE PILOT WITH GOOGLE MAPS. 
          SO THEY'RE VERY FORWARD THINKING. 
          AND OUR HOPES IS IF THAT'S THE SYSTEM WE CHOOSE, A LOT OF THESE MECHANISMS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE AND WE WON'T HAVE TO WAIT MUCH LONGER 'CAUSE IT'S ALREADY ACTIVE AND SOON AS WE PLUG IT IN, IT'S WORKING. 
          RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I KNOW THAT YOUR FOCUS, WHICH YOUR FOCUS IS PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT UM, ONE PIECE THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND TOO IS JUST QUALITY OF LIFE. 
          YES. 
          YOU KNOW, I MEAN THAT'S A BIG PART OF THIS CONVERSATION TOO. 
          UM, I DO BELIEVE THAT THE DYNAMIC MESSAGING SIGNS, AND MAYBE NOT EVEN THE MESSAGING JUST IN THE FLASHING LIGHTS, YOU KNOW, ONE MILE PRIOR TO THE CROSSING IS SOMETHING THAT IT WOULD BE LESS EXPENSIVE POSSIBLY TO DO. 
          YES, YES. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S MAYBE SOMETHING THAT, THAT LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT WE COULD LOOK AT IT. 
          IT IS. 
          AND WE'RE JUST WAITING ON THE SYSTEM. 
          WE DON'T WANNA GET TOO FAR AHEAD OF THE GRANT. 
          EXACTLY. 
          NO, I GET, WE DON'T NEED THE GRANT, SO WE'RE JUST KIND OF WAITING TO GET THINGS IN PLACE. 
          BUT YES, YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          THE ADVANCED WARNING SIGNALS ARE FAR LESS CHEAPER THAN A LOT OF OTHER SYSTEMS. AND I THINK FROM A QUALITY LIFE PERSPECTIVE. 
          I THINK IF PEOPLE JUST KNOW NOT TO GO DOWN THAT STREET, YES. 
          IT ALLOWS 'EM TO GET TO WORK ON TIME, GET THE DOCTOR ON TIME, KIDS FROM SCHOOL, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE. 
          I THINK THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT THE FRUSTRATION IS, AT LEAST IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT I HEAR FROM THE MOST. 
          THAT IS CORRECT. 
          I ALSO KNOW, ALONG WITH THE EASTERN DISTRICT, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS HAS BEEN, UH, TESTING WAY, FINDING SIGNAGE, HELPING PEOPLE WITH SIGNAGE, GUIDE THEM AROUND THE CROSSINGS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE SIT AT THESE CROSSINGS FOR 30 MINUTES TO AN HOUR, HAVE NO IDEA. 
          THERE'S A BRIDGE AND BLOCK OVER. 
          EXACTLY. 
          SO WE'RE TESTING THAT TYPE OF DEAL. 
          AND I KNOW PUBLIC WORKS WAS LOOKING UP THERE AROUND HIRSCH ROAD IN THE FIFTH WARD AREA AND IN THE EAST END, UH, HAS SIGNAGE UP AT LELAND AND CULLEN, TRYING TO GET PEOPLE AROUND. 
          NO, THIS IS REALLY GREAT. 
          WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          I THINK THIS IS REALLY GONNA CHANGE, UM, HOW COMMUNITIES ARE ABLE TO FUNCTION WITH TRAINS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          OUR LAST AND FINAL PRESENTATION, SAVING LIVES THROUGH RAIL SAFETY EDUCATION, PRESENTED BY JESSICA. 
          JESSICA, I'M GONNA REALLY MESS UP YOUR LAST NAME. 
          . 
          DIVORCE. 
          DIVORCE. 
          KEITH, I WOULD NOT HAVE SAID THAT. 
          UM, OF TEXAS OPERATOR LIFE SAFER. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          I THINK I'LL ROUND OUT THE RAILROAD SAFETY. 
          YES, EXACTLY. 
          FOR THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY HERE. 
          UM, FIRST, MY NAME IS JESSICA DVORSKY AND I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEXAS OPERATION LIFESAVER. 
          SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME HERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          TEXAS OPERATION LIFESAVER HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO PREVENTING COLLISIONS, INJURIES, AND FATALITIES ON AND AROUND RAILROAD TRACKS AND HIGHWAY RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS FOR OVER 50 YEARS. 
          WITH THE SUPPORT OF RAILROADS AND OUR NETWORK OF VOLUNTEERS, WE ARE COMMITTED TO SAVING LIVES THROUGH EDUCATION. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          TEXAS OPERATION LIFESAVER IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE STRONG PARTNERSHIPS ON THE NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL SHARING RAIL SAFETY EDUCATION MESSAGES. 
          SAFETY PARTNERS INCLUDE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, HIGHWAY SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS, AND AMERICA'S RAILROADS. 
          OUR SAFETY PROGRAMS INCLUDE FREE PRESENTATIONS BY AUTHORIZED VOLUNTEERS AND SCHOOLS, CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AS WELL AS SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS AND EMERGENCY FIRST RESPONDERS. 
          THESE PARTNERSHIPS MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO SHARE THE RAIL SAFETY MESSAGE FOR FREE. 
          ADDITIONALLY, MANY OF OUR MOST DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS HAVE PROFESSIONAL RAILROAD BACKGROUNDS AND BECOME SOME OF OUR MOST VOCAL ADVOCATES. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE GIVE PEOPLE THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO STAY SAFE AROUND RAILROAD PROPERTY AND RIGHTS OF WAY OUR PROGRAMS PROVIDE VALUABLE FACTS ABOUT TRAINS. 
          ILLUSTRATE HOW DRIVERS CAN SAFELY NAVIGATE HIGHWAY RAIL GRADE CROSSINGS AND REINFORCE THAT IT IS ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE TO EVER WALK ON OR USE RAILROAD TRACKS FOR RECREATION. 
          OUR VOLUNTEERS PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY EVENTS, SET UP INFORMATION TABLES, AND GIVE PRESENTATIONS TO VARIOUS GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, VOLUNTEERING WITH TEXAS OPERATION LIFESAVER GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH DIVERSE GROUPS BY EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON HOW TO BE SAFE AROUND TRACKS AND TRAINS. 
          SO I JUST WANNA POINT OUT SOME OF THE PHOTOS THAT I HAVE HERE ON THE SLIDE. 
          UM, THESE ARE HOUSTON METRO. 
          [02:00:01]
SOME OF OUR VOLUNTEERS AT HOUSTON METRO. 
          WE'VE GOT ABOUT 10 VOLUNTEERS IN HOUSTON METRO, AND THEY'RE VERY ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN ANY OF OUR MESSAGING OUT IN HOUSTON, IT'S PROBABLY COMING FROM ONE OF OUR HOUSTON METRO, UH, VOLUNTEERS. 
          UM, ADDITIONALLY, BACK IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH, WE TRAINED 15 HARRIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EMPLOYEES AS AUTHORIZED VOLUNTEERS. 
          SO THEY'RE ALREADY QUALIFIED TO GO INTO THE SCHOOLS. 
          I KNOW. 
          UM, SCHOOL SAFETY IS VERY IMPORTANT AND THEY DON'T JUST LET ANYONE, JUST ANY VOLUNTEER GO IN OFF THE STREET. 
          SO WE THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HAVE VOLUNTEERS WITHIN THE HOUSTON COUNTY, UM, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WHO CAN GO INTO THE SCHOOLS AND SHARE RAIL SAFETY INFORMATION WITH THE SCHOOL CHILDREN AND GIVE PRESENTATIONS THERE IN THE SCHOOLS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OPERATION LIFESAVER CREATES AN ASSORTMENT OF RESOURCES AND ASSETS FOR A VARIETY OF AUDIENCES TO INCLUDE PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AND EDUCATION. 
          OUTREACH ASSETS ARE USED BY PARTNERS AT IN-PERSON EVENTS LIKE COUNTY FAIRS AND BOOTHS AT FREE RAIL SAFETY PRESENTATIONS VIRTUALLY AND IN-PERSON. 
          AND LET'S NOT FORGET ABOUT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS, LIKE COMMERCIALS, WE HAVE SEVERAL OF THOSE AVAILABLE. 
          THEY'RE USED AS TRADITIONAL PAID MEDIA ORGANICALLY AND FOR SHARING ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AS WELL. 
          OPERATION LIFESAVER ALSO HAS A VIRTUAL LIBRARY OF MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, OLI.ORG, WHERE ALL OF THESE ASSETS ARE AVAILABLE TO USE FREE OF CHARGE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          HERE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF BACKUP ONE. 
          OH YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S THE RIGHT ONE. 
          UM, HERE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF WAYS THAT WE SHARE THE REAL SAFETY EDUCATION MESSAGE. 
          EVERYTHING CREATED BY OPERATION LIFESAVER IS FREE TO USE AND AVAILABLE, LIKE I SAID@OLI.ORG. 
          UM, UP HERE IN THE TOP CORNER IS OUR FIVE ALIVE. 
          THAT'S OUR SPECIALTY TRAINING FOR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS. 
          UM, WE RECENTLY TRANSFORMED THAT AND RE-RELEASED IT LAST YEAR. 
          IT'S A BRAND NEW TRAINING WE'RE VERY PROUD OF. 
          WE HAVE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR ALL KINDS OF SPECIALTY GROUPS AND, UM, MANY, MANY SOCIAL MEDIA THINGS THAT WE CAN SHARE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OPERATION LIFESAVER CREATES A VARIETY OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENT GEARED TOWARDS SPECIFIC AGE GROUPS, THEIR CAREGIVERS AND EDUCATORS. 
          HERE YOU CAN SEE A SAMPLE OF OUR RAIL SAFETY BOOK FOR EMERGING READERS THAT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE CALLED TRACKS AND TRAINS. 
          AND, UM, TRAIN SAFETY SAVVY THERE ON THE END, TAKES ON A CROSS CA TAKES CHILDREN ON A CROSS COUNTRY JOURNEY, LEARNING GIRLS SAFETY TIPS ALONG THE WAY. 
          AND TRAIN TRACK TRIVIA IS WHAT THE NAME IMPLIES. 
          AN ONLINE TRIVIA GAME FOR OLDER CHILDREN AS WELL AS ADULTS TRAIN SAFETY SAVVY INCLUDES 12 DIFFERENT TRIVIA GAMES, ONE FOR EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR WITH REAL SAFETY AND TRIVIA SHARED THROUGHOUT. 
          WE ALSO HAVE LESSON PLANS FOR EDUCATORS ON OUR WEBSITE, AS WELL AS COLORING AND ACTIVITY BOOKS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE HAVE ASSETS CREATED TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER THE MEDIA TO REPORT RESPONSIBLY REGARDING RAILROAD INCIDENTS TO INCLUDE A GREAT ANIMATED PSA AS WELL AS SOME COLLATERAL MATERIALS. 
          ONE THING THAT WE'VE NOTICED OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, AS MEDIA BEGINS TO COVER RAILROAD INCIDENTS THAT THEY'RE DOING SO ON OR VERY CLOSE TO THE TRACKS, OR THEY'RE DISCUSSING AN INCIDENT OR A TRAGEDY IN A WAY THAT MIGHT ENCOURAGE MORE ACTIVITY ON AND AROUND RAILROADS. 
          AND SO WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION FOR THE MEDIA SPECIFICALLY TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO RESPONSIBLY REPORT AROUND RAILROAD TRACKS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE HAVE EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND FREE ASSETS FOR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS AS WELL AS PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS IN ADDITION TO OUR FREE CUSTOMIZED RAIL SAFETY EDUCATION PRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING TRAINING AND E-LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUS DRIVERS AS WELL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, RAIL SAFETY WEEK. 
          THE ANNUAL OBSERVANCE OF RAIL SAFETY WEEK ACROSS NORTH AMERICA IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF PARTNERING TO SHARE THE RAIL SAFETY EDUCATION MESSAGE THIS YEAR. 
          RAIL SAFETY WEEK WILL BE OBSERVED SEPTEMBER 15TH THROUGH THE 21ST. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE BY ALL OF OUR PICTURES HERE. 
          UM, DAILY THEMES INCLUDE TRESPASSING, CROSSING, LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIRST RESPONDERS, PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, AND THIS YEAR WE'RE DOING A SPECIAL DAY FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS. 
          THIS OBSERVANCE WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT OUR PARTNERS HOLDING SAFETY BLITZES PRESENTATIONS AND SHARING REAL SAFETY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AS WELL AS OUR VOLUNTEERS BEING THE FACE OF REAL SAFETY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. 
          THE CAMPAIGN IS VISUALLY BRANDED FOR THE WEEK, WHICH INCLUDES A MONTH LONG SOCIAL CONTENT CALENDAR AS A BONUS FOR OUR PARTNERS. 
          IT'S FILLED WITH IMAGES AND TEXTS FOR A VARIETY OF SOCIAL PLATFORMS. AND THIS IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE, OLI.ORG. 
          WE HAVE A LANDING PAGE FOR IT. 
          IT'S FREE TO USE FOR ANYONE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND FINALLY, OUR RISK RAIL SAFETY TRAINING FOR FIRST RESPONDERS OR RAIL INVESTIGATION AND SAFETY COURSE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT. 
          [02:05:01]
OUR RISK COURSE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT PREPARES FIRST RESPONDERS TO USE PROPER SAFETY TECHNIQUES WHILE INVESTIGATING OR RESPONDING TO RAIL GRADE CROSSING OR COLLISION OR TRESPASSER EVENTS. 
          IN ADDITION TO MAINTAINING ON SCENE SAFETY UNIQUE TO THE RAILROAD ENVIRONMENT, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ARE GIVEN INFORMATION AND INTRODUCTIONS TO RAILROAD PERSONNEL WHEN RESPONDING TO AN INCIDENT SO THAT THEY WILL HAVE CONTACTS. 
          AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IS, UM, THIS IS ACTUALLY A RAILROAD INVESTIGATION SAFETY COURSE, A RISK COURSE THAT WE DID. 
          UM, GOSH, I WANNA SAY THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T WANNA LIE. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN, BUT, UM, IT'S AT A, WE'LL DO THE CLASSROOM PORTION AND THEN WE'LL TAKE THE OFFICERS ON SCENE IF WE CAN AND ACTUALLY PUT THEM ON A TRAIN AND TEACH THEM HOW TO BE SAFE ON AND AROUND A TRAIN. 
          AND OUR OFFICERS REALLY APPRECIATE GETTING TO BE HANDS ON THAT WAY. 
          AND UNION PACIFIC IS A GREAT PARTNER, ALWAYS ALLOWING US TO TRAIN TO, YOU KNOW, GET OUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND ALWAYS HAVING THEIR PERSONNEL COME OUT TO THE CLASSES SO THAT IF THERE IS AN INCIDENT IN THE CITY OR ANYWHERE AROUND THAT, UM, THE FIRST RESPONDERS WILL HAVE THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION. 
          VERY CLOSE. 
          UH, LAST SLIDE. 
          I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK ABOUT RAIL SAFETY EFFORTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE. 
          I KNOW WE HEARD A LOT TODAY ABOUT RAILROAD SAFETY AND I JUST WANNA SAY THAT WE WERE IN THE BACKGROUND OF ALL OF THOSE PRESENTATIONS, EVERY SAFETY BOOTH, EVERY, ALMOST EVERY, I KNOW WE'VE WORKED WITH JACK IFF FOR YEARS AND YEARS. 
          HE IS, UM, INVALUABLE. 
          IT'S WHENEVER YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RAILROAD, ESPECIALLY RAILROAD IN HOUSTON, HE'S JUST A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION. 
          AND, UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR HAVING US OUT TODAY AND LET US TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT REAL SAFETY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          COUNCILOR RAMIREZ'S OFFICE. 
          HI. 
          YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          IT WAS WONDERFUL TO HEAR MORE AND REALLY GREAT WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING. 
          I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED, UM, THAT TRAIN SAFETY WEEK IS GONNA BE COMING UP IN SEPTEMBER. 
          UM, WOULD YOU MIND MAYBE GIVING US SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN GET INVOLVED, UM, AS A COUNCIL AND KIND OF BRING OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT TO Y'ALL AS WELL? OH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          SO ON UH, OLI.ORG, THERE IS A SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR THAT HAS, UM, PHOTOGRAPHS AND DIFFERENT IMAGES THAT YOU CAN USE AS WELL AS, UM, WHAT TO SAY AND ACCORDING, ACCORDING TO EACH OF THOSE IMAGES. 
          WE ALSO HAVE VIDEOS AND PSAS THAT WE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO, TO SHARE. 
          AND IT'S AT OL I ORG. 
          I'LL SEND THAT TO YOU. 
          YES. 
          AND SO YOU CAN HAVE IT HANDY. 
          AND SO IF WE COULD SHARE THAT SAFETY INFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. 
          OKAY. 
          I DON'T HAVE ANYONE ELSE IN QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          WE DO HAVE SOME PUBLIC SPEAKERS TODAY. 
          WE'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES. 
          AND THE FIRST SPEAKER IS DOMINIC MAZAK. 
          IT NEEDS TO OCCUR. 
          AND THEN WE HAD SOME SAFETY, UM, THINGS TODAY. 
          I KNOW GREAT CROSSING SEPARATIONS IS EXPENSIVE. 
          I KNOW DOING SOMETHING LIKE THE ALAMEDA TRENCH IN LOS ANGELES, WE CANNOT DO BECAUSE OF OUR FLOODING, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO START ENCOURAGING THE RAILROADS TO HAVE HOLDING YARDS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS OF HOUSTON AND EVEN OUTSIDE OF THE TEXAS TRIANGLE TO WHERE A TRAIN DOES NOT ENTER THE TEXAS TRIANGLE OR THE HOUSTON TERMINAL WITHOUT HAVING A CLEAR SHOT TO CLEAR HOUSTON OR TO GET INTO ONE OF THE YARDS. 
          I'VE MADE THE SUGGESTION THAT HOUSTON GALVESTON AREA COUNCIL, AND I THINK FOR INSTANCE, UH, UNION PACIFIC HAS A HUGE YARD UP IN SPRING LLOYD YARD. 
          THE TRAIN DOES NOT COME INTO, INTO THAT, INTO THE HOUSTON TERMINAL UNLESS THIS GUY CLEAR SHOT THERE TO THE TERMINAL THAT YARD IS GOING TO, OR, OR CLEAR THE CITY. 
          UH, THEY ALSO HAVE A, UH, IN SAN AND I SAY EVEN HAVE A PLACE WEST OF SAN ANTONIO OR EVEN HOLD TRAINS AT CENTER RESSA YARDS IN EL PASO. 
          I THINK THE RAILROADS COULD DO A BETTER JOB DISPATCHING. 
          I THINK THEY NEED TO SPEND SOME MONEY IN SOME HOLDING YARDS MAKE AND EVEN GIVE 'EM A TAX BREAK TO DO IT BECAUSE, UH, WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER THING HITTING US. 
          IT'S A POSSIBILITY OF UNION PACIFIC ACTUALLY BUYING NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILROAD. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL KNOW THAT. 
          UH, WE ALREADY ARE, ARE UNDER WATCH FROM THE, UH, SURFBOARD, THE TRANSPORTATION SERVICE, TRANSPORTATION BOARD, 
          [02:10:01]
UH, WITH THE, UH, WHEN KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN WAS BOUGHT BY CANADIAN PACIFIC. 
          I THINK WE NEED TO, THIS GROUP NEEDS TO WATCH THOSE. 
          UH, AND HOUSTON, THE HOUSTON TERMINALS ARE UNDER THAT WATCH FOR FIVE YEARS. 
          AND I THINK THE PEOPLE IN THIS GROUP NEED TO READ THOSE, THAT THOSE REPORTS AND REPORT BACK TO WASHINGTON. 
          IF, IF THE CONGESTION GETS WORSE AND IF THIS MERGER GOES THROUGH, THEY MIGHT BE EVEN PUT MORE PRESSURE ON THIS TERMINAL. 
          AND I THINK THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THE CITY NEEDS TO LOOK AT WHEN THEY, WHEN THIS IS GOING TO THE SERVICE TRANSPORTATION BOARD, UNION PACIFIC'S GONNA HAVE TO INVEST EVEN MORE MONEY EITHER TO HAVE YARDS TO KEEP, TO, TO KEEP THE TRAINS OUTTA THE CITY OR MORE RAIL IN THE CITY TO KEEP OUR TRAINS MOVING. 
          AND I THINK TOO, MAYBE ANOTHER THING TOO IS THE RAILROAD COMPANIES HAVE WHAT THEY CALL BULLS OR RAILROAD POLICE OF THEMSELVES. 
          THEY'RE KINDA LIKE THE METRO PV, BUT FOR RAILROADS, I WONDER IF THEY COULD, COULD WATCH SOME OF THESE CROSSINGS. 
          NOT SO MUCH FOR THE TRAINS, BUT FOR PEOPLE VIOLATING THE LAWS OF GREAT CROSSINGS. 
          YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, CASE ARE GOING DOWN, THEY SLIDE THROUGH, GIVE 'EM TICKETS. 
          MAYBE WE CAN GET I THE MAYOR'S TALKING ABOUT, UH, HOUSTON PD, THE MPVI THINK WE NEED FOR RAILROAD CROSSINGS. 
          I THINK WE NEED TO GET THE RAILROAD POLICE INVOLVED. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          SO MY TIME'S OVER. 
          YES. 
          BUT WE, WE ALWAYS LOVE HAVING YOU HERE AND YOU ALWAYS GIVE GREAT SUGGESTIONS. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU MA'AM. 
          AND MR. DOMINIC, YOU CAN ALWAYS EMAIL ANY SUGGESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. 
          YOU CAN ALWAYS EMAIL OUR OFFICE AND WE'LL DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT THE, UM, THE DEPARTMENTS KNOW ABOUT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. 
          OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LAURA GALLAGHER. 
          OKAY. 
          JACK VALINSKI. 
          MS. JOTA STEVENSON. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. 
          UM, MY NAME IS JOTA STEVENSON AND I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER FIFTH WARD SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          AND I'M HERE JUST TO KIND OF EMPHASIZE SOME THINGS THAT, UM, YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD. 
          BUT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE AND HOW CRITICAL IT IS TO HAVE SOME SORT OF IMPROVEMENTS ON, UH, IN TERMS OF TRAIN SAFETY IN THE GREATER FIFTH WARD, I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN FIFTH WARD. 
          WE, I'VE KNOWN NOTHING BUT RAILROAD. 
          MY GRANDFATHER ACTUALLY RETIRED FROM SOUTHERN PACIFIC. 
          UM, AND WE HAVE LIVED WITH, UH, IN A WEB OF RAIL LINE. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, RAIL, AT LEAST FOUR, UH, RAIL LINES, CROSS LYONS AVENUE, GOING EAST AND WEST. 
          WE HAVE, UM, RAIL LINES TRAVELING NORTH AND SOUTH, THE ONE OF THE LARGEST RAIL YARDS IN THE STATE, WHICH IS THE, UH, INGLEWOOD SITS RIGHT THERE IN MY COMMUNITY. 
          IMAGINE WHAT IT'S LIKE ON A DAILY BASIS THAT A, A HUGE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE IN MY COMMUNITY DON'T DRIVE. 
          THEY'RE WALKING, THEY'RE WALK. 
          THEY HAVE, THEY HAVE WHEELCHAIRS, THEY'RE USING WALKERS OR THEY'RE JUST WALKING AND THEY COME UP ON A RAIL, A RAIL LINE WITH A TRAIN SITTING ON THE TRACK. 
          AFTER SO LONG, THEY'RE GONNA GET CREATIVE TRYING TO CROSS THAT TRACK. 
          NOW, I CAN SAY I CAN ATTEST BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE WATCHING THE RAIL LINES NOW THAT'S, THAT ARE IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          AND IN THE PAST WE HAVE HAD RAIL, RAIL, UH, TRA TRAINS SIT ON THAT TRACK FOR HOURS AND HOURS. 
          I HAVE GONE TO CHURCH AND THE SAME TRAIN IS STILL SITTING ON THE TRACK WHEN I GET BACK HOME. 
          SO WE CAN'T GO TO THE, TO THE DRUG STORES WHERE YOU HAVE YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS. 
          WE CAN'T GET TO THE ONE LARGE STORE IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS FIESTA. 
          UH, SO WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT GET CREATIVE AND SOMETIMES THEY LOSE THEIR LIVES WITH THAT CREATIVITY. 
          LAST SEPTEMBER, WE HAD A MAN TO DIE ON, ON LIONS AVENUE. 
          HE WAS A MAN ON A WALKER BECAUSE THAT TRAIN WAS ACCUSTOMED TO SITTING ON THAT TRACK FOR HOURS. 
          THAT MAN DECIDED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GO UNDER THAT TRAIN. 
          AND AS PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND DURING THAT INCIDENT, YOU HEARD ALL OF THESE STORIES. 
          IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL. 
          IT IS WHAT PEOPLE DID. 
          WE NEED EITHER 
          [02:15:01]
RAILROAD CROSSINGS FOR PEDESTRIANS, WE NEED BETTER SIGNAGE OR ALERTS TO, TO TELL PEOPLE WHERE THOSE TRAINS ARE. 
          NOW, I DIDN'T HEAR EVERYTHING THAT THAT OTHER GENTLEMAN SAID ABOUT DIFFERENT ALERTS AND STUFF, BUT IT SURE DID SOUND LIKE IT WAS SOME OF THE SOLUTIONS THAT I WOULD LIKE FOR SOME OF YOU TO STUDY AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT THEY COULD ACTUALLY WORK IN MY COMMUNITY. 
          NOW HE, I HEARD HIM MENTION MARKET STREET, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF HE MENTIONED A 4,200 BLOCK OF MARKET STREET, WHICH IS A DEADLY COLLISION WAITING TO HAPPEN. 
          I'M TELLING YOU, SOMEBODY'S GONNA DIE IN THAT BLOCK. 
          THAT PART, THAT BLOCK OF MARKET IS ONE WAY. 
          THAT PART OF MARKET. 
          PEOPLE COME DRIVE THERE, FIND A TRAIN, THEY'RE STUCK, THEY TURN AROUND AND COME OUT OF THERE. 
          IT IS A ONE WAY STREET. 
          IT IS ONE WAY LEADING ONTO I 10 WEST. 
          WE NEED HELP IF THAT BLOCK OR SOMEBODY'S GONNA DIE. 
          UM, I I I, I COULD JUST KINDA REITERATE SOME OF THE STUFF YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD. 
          I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT OR WASTE YOUR TIME. 
          BUT WE NEED SOLUTIONS. 
          WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER. 
          THE COMMUNITY NEED TO BE PART OF THAT COLLABORATION THAT CHARLIE, I SAW HIM PUT UP ON THE THING. 
          WE DIDN'T SEE THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD THERE. 
          WE DIDN'T SEE THE, THE, THE RESIDENTS ON THAT COLLABORATION BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY HAVE A FULL, UH, PROP UH, UH, PLAN UNLESS THE COMMUNITY HAVE A VOICE IN THAT PLAN. 
          SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I CAME HERE TO SAY. 
          UH, UM, IT IS REALLY CRITICAL. 
          WE NEED HELP. 
          AND I, I'M REALLY LOVING SOME OF THE THINGS I'VE HEARD, PARTICULARLY EVEN THE YOUNG LADY THAT JUST SPOKE ABOUT, UH, UH, EDUCATING CHILDREN AND ADULTS. 
          UH, I'VE LEARNED A LOT, BUT I ALSO CAME TO ALSO ADVOCATE, PLEASE HELP US. 
          PLEASE HELP US. 
          MR. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALWAYS BEING A VOICE FOR THAT COMMUNITY. 
          WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I DO SEE TRAVIS MCGEE IS HERE. 
          TRAVIS, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE SOME COMMENTS? GOOD EVENING. 
          KINDA LATE, BUT I WAS, UH, GONNA SPEAK ABOUT THE WATER ISSUES. 
          HMM. 
          WE GOOD NOW? OH YEAH. 
          I JUST WANNA SPEAK ON THE, UH, THE WATER MAIN BREAKS. 
          I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING SHE SAID ABOUT THE RAILROAD THOUGH, BUT I WON'T SPEAK ON THE WATER. 
          MAIN BREAKS IN HOUSTON, UH, THEY TAKE TOO LONG TO FIX. 
          HMM. 
          UH, AND I ACTUALLY SAT AND WATCHED A, UH, CREW THE OTHER DAY AND THEY FIXED ONE IN LESS THAN TWO HOURS. 
          BUT THE PROBLEM IS THEY GO BY THE THREE ON ONE SYSTEM AND THEY JUST FIX THAT ONE WHEN IT'S 10 OTHER WATER MAIN BREAKS ON THE SAME STREET, THAT'S A WASTE OF MANPOWER AND MONEY AND EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          AND, UH, NOT ONLY THAT, THE WATER MAIN BREAKS ONLY ONLY BREAK WHEN IT'S TOO HOT AND WHEN IT'S TOO COLD. 
          WHAT WE EXPERIENCING NOW IS ACTUALLY FROM THE FREEZE WE HAD, IT WAS HAIRLINE FRACTURES. 
          BUT NOW THAT THEY'RE HEATING UP, THEY'RE EXPANDING AND BUSTING ALL OVER AGAIN. 
          UH, WE CALLED ONE END IN DECEMBER AND IT, THEY JUST CAME OUT AND FIXED IT LIKE IN APRIL. 
          THAT'S RIDICULOUS. 
          UH, THE WATER PRESSURE IS OFF AND THEY STILL BUILDING ON TOP OF THIS PREHISTORIC INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO WE HAVE TO GET AWAY FROM EVERY, EVERYTHING CAN BE CALLED THREE ON ONE. 
          IT HAS TO START BEING PROACTIVE AND THREE ON ONE IS REACTIVE, BUT, AND THEN IT IS HARD TO TELL CONVINCE PEOPLE THAT THAT WATER MAIN BREAK DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR WATER BILL GOING UP. 
          AND THEY SEEING IT. 
          THEY SEEING IT A WHOLE RIVER GOING DOWN THE ROAD FOR OVER ALMOST A YEAR. 
          AND THE WATER, THE, UH, WATER BILLS ARE GOING UP AND WE EXPECT OUR WATER BILLS TO GO UP IF WE RUNNING A WASHING TEAR OR A CAR WASH, BUT NOT JUST A COUPLE PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE, YOU KNOW. 
          BUT, UH, WE REALLY NEED SOMETHING DONE ABOUT THAT. 
          AND IT'S, IT'S GETTING, IT'S GETTING WORSE BEFORE IT GET BETTER. 
          BUT I ACTUALLY SAW THE CREWS, WE ACTUALLY, I CALLED IN ALL 10 ON MY PACIFIC, IN MY PACIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          SO I, I KNOW. 
          AND I WATCHED THEM COME OUT AND I TIMED THEM HOUR AND A HALF, TWO HOURS TOPS. 
          THEY WAS FINISHED WITH IT. 
          AND ANYTHING IN FRONT OF THE METER BELONGS TO THE CITY. 
          ANYTHING BEHIND THE METER BELONGS TO THE RESIDENTS AND ALL OF THESE WAS THE CITIES. 
          AND THEN SOMETIME IT TAKE 'EM TOO LONG TO COME BACK AND REPLACE THE DRIVEWAYS ONCE THEY DIG THEM UP AND THEY, AND I SAW 'EM PUT THE BAMBOO OUT. 
          ALSO, I QUESTION IT. 
          I'VE BEEN AROUND CONSTRUCTION ALL MY LIFE AND I'VE NEVER SEEN NOBODY PUT BAMBOO DOWN IN PLACE OF REBAR. 
          YOU KNOW, AND HOUSTON CLIMATE, YOU CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE AS SOON AS IT GET HOT, IT'S GONNA START SHIFTING ANYWAY. 
          AND WE, WE, 
          [02:20:01]
EVEN ON CITY PROPERTY, THEY DON'T FIX THE, UH, THE WATER MAINS RIGHT AWAY. 
          AND THAT IT SIMPLY DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE. 
          SO THAT'S ALL I GOT. 
          TRAVIS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR JUST KIND OF BEING THE EARS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND LETTING US KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU MEET, WE OBVIOUSLY WANT THEM TO CALL 3 1 1, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL HERE TO HELP YOU IF YOUR LARGE MEMBERS AND YOUR DISTRICT MEMBERS. 
          SO JUST LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE WE CAN EXPEDITE SOME REPAIRS IF NECESSARY. 
          OKAY? OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. 
          THANK Y'ALL. 
          WELL, I SEE THERE'S NO ONE IN QUEUE Y'ALL. 
          THANK YOU FOR HANGING IN WITH US. 
          UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. 
          ALRIGHT.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.