* 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.
           
          [Joint Economic Development & Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee on August 26, 2025.]
          [00:00:11]
PUBLIC. 
          I'M MAYOR PRO TIM. 
          MARTHA CASTEX TATUM, THE CHAIR OF OUR CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE. 
          I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AND LIKE TO WELCOME ALL OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE. 
          UM, COUNCIL, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER MARIO CASTILLO IS HERE. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, JOAQUIN MARTINEZ, UH, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM AMY PECK, COUNCIL MEMBER JULIAN RAMIREZ IS HERE. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ABBY CAYMAN IS HERE. 
          AND WE ALSO HAVE STAFF FROM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER OFFICE STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER JACKSON'S OFFICE, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POLLARD'S OFFICE, AND ALSO STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER'S OFFICE. 
          IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC COMMENTS, THERE IS A SIGN IN SHEET AT THE FRONT TABLE. 
          UM, TODAY'S AGENDA, UH, WE WILL HAVE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CIP PROCESS, UM, AND THAT WILL BE DONE BY OUR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, MELISSA DEBOWSKI, UH, DAVID WARDLOW AND RICHARD VELA. 
          UM, WE WILL REVIEW OUR CIP AMENDMENTS, UH, RELATED TO OUR CIP PROCESS, THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DDSR FUND BALANCE, UM, THAT WAS SUBMITTED BY JULIAN RAMIREZ AND ALSO, UH, VICE MAYOR PRO, TIM AMY PECK. 
          AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION AND A CALL FOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE CIP PROCESS. 
          AND THAT DISCUSSION WILL BE HELD, UM, BY ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          SO AT THIS TIME, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO COUNCIL MEMBER SALLY ALCORN, WHO WILL DISCUSS OUR MEETING RULES. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          MAYOR, PRO TEM, AND, UM, COLLEAGUES. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS MEETING FOR A WHILE, SINCE THE CIP, THERE WERE SOME AMENDMENTS OFFERED, AND THOSE AMENDMENTS KIND OF SPURRED A CONVERSATION OF HOW WE WILL HAVE A MORE MEANINGFUL CIP PROCESS, HOW WE CAN HAVE A PROCESS WHERE THE, THE AND, AND PROJECTS THAT A-C-I-P-A DOCUMENT THAT COMES OUT OF THIS THAT PEOPLE CAN RELY ON. 
          I KNOW THINGS HAPPEN AND THINGS HAVE TO BE MOVED AROUND, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THIS PROCESS. 
          SO THIS IS JUST THE FIRST OF WHAT I'M SEEING AS BEING. 
          THERE WILL BE SOME SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS. 
          WE'LL HEAR ABOUT THESE AMENDMENTS TODAY, AND THEN WE WILL, COUNCIL MEMBERS WILL OFFER, ALSO OFFER THEIR SUGGESTIONS ON HOW WE MIGHT IMPROVE THE PROCESS. 
          I THINK THE DEPARTMENTS WILL TOO. 
          AND THEN WE SEE SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS WHERE WE COULD ACTUALLY TAKE A VOTE ON RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ADMINISTRATION, UM, FOR CHANGES TO THE CIP PROCESS. 
          SO WE'LL BE TAKING UP SOME OF THE AMENDMENTS. 
          THE ONE ON THE D-D-S-R-F FUND BALANCE WILL ACTUALLY BE, IS ACTUALLY MOVED TO THE, TO THE SEPTEMBER 2ND MEETING. 
          BUT, UM, BUT THE ONES THAT WERE RELATED, THAT COUNCIL MEMBER PECK DID ABOUT DISTRIBUTING, UH, EQUALLY, UH, DOLLARS AND THE ONES THAT COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ HAD ABOUT, UH, COMMUNICATIONS AND, AND SPECIFIC, UH, ITEMS WITHIN PROJECTS THAT WILL CHANGE AND OTHER THINGS. 
          WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT AT THIS MEETING. 
          UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF THE DEAL. 
          UM, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR WANTS US TO WORK AT THESE COMMITTEES. 
          HE WANTS OUR COMMITTEES TO, HE'S USED TO THE STATE AND USED TO THE, THE COMMITTEES KIND OF DOING THE WORK AND COMING UP WITH THINGS. 
          SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE SEEING THIS JOINT COMMITTEE WORK, THAT WE'LL ACTUALLY BE SEEING SOME IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, TURN INTO ACTUAL ACTION ITEMS ON THE CIP PROCESS. 
          OKAY. 
          WE WILL MOVE INTO OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM. 
          UH, AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME FINANCE DIRECTOR MELISSA DEBOWSKI. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU THAT, THANK YOU. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          UM, SO MANY OF THE SLIDES YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN MY SECTION OF THE PRESENTATION, UH, ARE GOING TO REMIND YOU OF THE SLIDES THAT WE HAD AT THE TIME OF THE, UH, CIP, UH, BEING PROPOSED. 
          SO I'LL JUST KIND OF GO OVER BACKGROUND OF THE CIP AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO ALL THE, THE FUND MATERIAL FROM OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, SO TO REMIND EVERYONE AS AN OVERVIEW, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN IS A ROLLING FIVE YEAR PLAN OF PROJECTED PROJECTS. 
          THE PLAN IS A LIVE DOCUMENT AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, FUNDING CONSTRAINTS, UH, BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS, SHIFTING PRIORITIES, UH, SCHEDULING, AS WELL AS CITIZEN INPUT. 
          UH, THE CIP IS BROKEN INTO FOUR DIFFERENT COMPONENTS SECTIONS, UH, WHICH ARE ROUGHLY DIVIDED UP, UH, BASED ON THE FUNDING SOURCES FOR EACH OF THOSE COMPONENTS. 
          SO THE FIRST COMPONENT IS THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 
          UH, WE ALSO HAVE THE, UH, BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD, WHICH IS, UH, FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE REBUILD HOUSTON, THE ENTERPRISE FUND PROGRAM, WHICH IS THE WATER AND WASTEWATER, UH, UTILITY SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM. 
          AND THEN THE COMPONENT UNITS. 
          AND THE PURPOSE OF THE CIP IS TO BE AS COST EFFECTIVE AS POSSIBLE IN MEETING THE CITY'S 
          [00:05:01]
GOALS TO SERVE THE HOUSTONIANS. 
          AND, UH, WE HAVE ALL THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PROJECTS IN ONE DOCUMENT THAT'S PROPOSED AND ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL SO THAT WE CAN IMPROVE ON THE TRANSPARENCY BY PROVIDING VISIBILITY ON CITYWIDE NEEDS. 
          HISTORICALLY, PROBABLY, UM, ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, THERE WERE DIFFERENT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS. 
          ONE FOR FACILITIES, ONE FOR IT FLEET WAS A DIFFERENT PLAN. 
          SO ABOUT A DECADE AGO OR MORE, WE BROUGHT THOSE ALL INTO ONE PLAN. 
          UM, AND THEN, OF COURSE, HAVE THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, THE WEBSITE, UM, AND WE'LL GET MORE INTO THE TIMELINE AND THE STEPS WITH IMPROVING THE TRANSPARENCY IN THE COMING SLIDES. 
          SO, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, AS FAR AS THE PROCESS, UH, WE DO AIM TO LOCK IN THE EXISTING PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE EXISTING CIP, AND WE DO TRY TO PRIORITIZE FUNDING FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE CIP, UH, WHICH GENERALLY WOULD INCLUDE COST ESCALATIONS TO EXISTING PROJECTS. 
          AS WE'VE SEEN, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UM, COVID COMING OUT OF COVID COST ESCALATIONS HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT AT THE SAME TIME THAT OUR REVENUE SOURCES HAVE BEEN CONSTRAINED. 
          SO WE ARE HAVING TO PRIORITIZE WHICH PROJECTS ARE THE MOST CRITICAL, AND, UM, PUT FUNDING TO THOSE PROJECTS, UM, AS WE CAN. 
          SO IN ORDER TO PRIORITIZE THE MOST URGENT PROJECTS, UH, THE CLIENT DEPARTMENTS AT THE CITY, UH, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE, UM, ANYTHING FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIRE, ANY OF THE DEPARTMENTS, UM, THAT HAVE, UH, FACILITY EQUIPMENT OR VEHICLE NEEDS, UH, PUT TOGETHER A LIST OF REQUESTS FOR THEIR, UM, PROJECTS THAT THEY'RE REQUESTING TO BE FUNDED. 
          UH, THEY THEN PRIORITIZE THOSE PROJECTS BASED ON THEIR NEEDS THAT THEY SEE AS A DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL. 
          THEN, UM, WE ASK THE CENTRAL SERVICE AREA DEPARTMENTS TO DO A CITYWIDE PRIORITIZATION LIST FOR THOSE SPECIFIC CATEGORIES. 
          SO THAT WOULD BE THE FLEET DIRECTOR, THE IT DIRECTOR, AND THEN THE GENERAL SERVICES DIRECTOR PRIORITIZING WHAT THEY SEE AS A CITYWIDE NEED FOR ALL OF THE FACILITIES, PROJECTS, CITYWIDE, ALL OF THE IT PROJECTS CITYWIDE AND ALL OF THE FLEET NEEDS CITYWIDE. 
          AND THEN WE COMPILE ALL THOSE PROJECTS TOGETHER BASED ON THE AVAILABLE FUNDING, UH, BOTH THE EXISTING PROJECTS AND THE NEW REQUESTS THAT WE CAN AFFORD TO ADD TO THE PLAN. 
          AND WE PUT THEM TOGETHER TO BE PROPOSED TO THIS BODY FOR, UH, ADOPTION. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL GO OVER, UH, THE DETAILS OF THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF THE CIP. 
          JUST TO REMIND EVERYONE IN THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, THIS IS WHERE THE GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS ARE FUNDED. 
          THIS INCLUDES THE FIRE, UH, GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH WOULD COVER THIS BUILDING IN THE ANNEX, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, HOUSING NEEDS, LIBRARY, PARKS, POLICE, AND SOLID WASTE. 
          THE NEXT MAJOR CATEGORY IS THE BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD, FORMERLY KNOWN AS REBUILD HOUSTON. 
          AND THIS IS WHERE THE STORM DRAINAGE AND STREET INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, PROJECTS ARE LOCATED. 
          THE ENTERPRISE FUND PROGRAM, AND THESE ARE ENTERPRISE FUNDS. 
          THEY'RE CLOSED FINANCIAL SYSTEMS CLOSED FROM THE REST OF THE, UM, FINANCING OF THE CITY, AND THAT INCLUDES THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM, WATER AND WASTEWATER, AND THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM. 
          AND WHEN WE SAY ENTERPRISE FUNDED, BASICALLY WHAT WE MEAN HERE IS WHEN WE SAY, OKAY, WELL, HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM, THEY HAVE THEIR CIP. 
          IF WE WANNA ADD A NEW, UH, CIP PROJECT ONTO THE BOOK, LET'S SAY, FOR STREETS AND DRAINAGE, WE CAN'T NECESSARILY CANCEL AN AIRPORT PROJECT AND USE THAT FUNDING, UM, ON A STREETS AND DRAINAGE PROJECT BECAUSE WE'RE GOVERNED BY, UM, IN THE AIRPORT'S CASE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FAA GUIDELINES, AS WELL AS BOND COVENANTS AND ORDINANCES, UH, THAT THOSE FUNDING SOURCES HAVE TO, UM, REMAIN SEPARATE. 
          THE LAST SECTION IS THE COMPONENT UNIT SECTION OF THE CIP. 
          AND THIS, UM, KIND OF, UH, IS, UM, IS A MIXTURE OF SOME OF THE DIFFERENT COMPONENT UNITS AT THE CITY, INCLUDING THE HOUSTON PARKS BOARD, HOUSTON FIRST CORPORATION, HOUSTON ZOO, AND THEN ALL OF THET CIP PROJECTS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS SECTION OF THE CIP. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, FOR FUNDING SOURCES, THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM IS PRIMARILY SUPPORTED BY THE GENERAL FUND, UH, WHICH GOES TO PAY DEBT SERVICE THROUGH PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT OR GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS. 
          UH, WE ALSO LEVERAGE COMMUNITY DONATIONS, CONTRIBUTIONS, AND GRANTS. 
          UM, USUALLY THERE'S SOME, UH, MATCHING COMPONENT ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, BUT WE DO LEVERAGE THE OUTSIDE FUNDING. 
          NEXT WE HAVE THE BUILD HOUSTON FORWARD, FORMERLY KNOWN AS REBUILD HOUSTON. 
          AND THAT, UH, THAT IS SUPPORTED BY REVENUE FROM THE DRAINAGE UTILITY CHARGE DEVELOPER IMPACT FEE AT VALOREM TAXES, UH, THE 11.80 CENT, UM, PORTION OF THE TAXES. 
          AND THEN THERE ALSO IS GONNA BE, UM, GRANTS AND COLLABORATION WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES SUCH AS METRO HARRIS, COUNTY T UH, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, UM, HUD AND FEMA UNDER THE ENTERPRISE FUND PROGRAM, THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM REVENUES, WHICH ARE FROM THE WATER CUSTOMERS GO TO PAY FOR THOSE PROJECTS. 
          UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, SOME GRANT SOURCES WITH THAT AS WELL. 
          AND FOR THE HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEM, THAT'S SUPPORTED BY REVENUES FROM THE AIRLINE, UM, UH, AIRLINE FEES, PARKING FEES, AND, UM, FEDERAL GRANTS UNDER THE COMPONENT UNIT SECTION, THE TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE PROJECTS ARE 
          [00:10:01]
SUPPORTED BY TAX INCREMENTS. 
          UH, AND THEN THE ZOO, UH, HAS THEIR, THEIR SELF-SUPPORTING REVENUES. 
          AND HOUSTON FIRST, UM, REVENUES COVER THEIR CIP SLIDE SIX GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF THE OVERALL SIZE OF THE CIP. 
          SO WE'RE JUST GONNA STAY FOCUSED ON THE RIGHT COLUMNS FOR THE FY 26 THROUGH 30, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE CIP. 
          OUR CIP IS ESTIMATED TO BE $16.7 BILLION ACROSS ALL FUNDING SOURCES, UH, WITH THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS, UM, CONSUMING THE MAJORITY OF THAT, AS YOU SEE, UM, FOCUS MOSTLY IN THE COMBINED UTILITY SYSTEM AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE, UH, EPA CONSENT DECREE AS WELL AS THE, UM, EXPANSION OF THE EAST PLANT OR SOME OF THE MAJOR DRIVERS, UM, IN THAT CATEGORY. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU SEE A YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON OF THE FIVE YEAR TOTAL OF THE CIP. 
          UM, YOU SEE IT HAS GROWN OVER TIME. 
          UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AT THE CITY AND A LOT OF CRITICAL NEEDS AT THE CITY, WHICH YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT, UM, FROM BOTH THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT. 
          SO, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SECTION, UM, THE CIP PREPARATION PROCESS. 
          UM, SO THIS, THIS IS A LITTLE BIT HARD TO READ ON THIS SLIDE, I THINK, BUT IT KIND OF REFLECTS IN A, IN A FLOW CHART FORMAT. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, REFLECTS IN A FLOW CHART FORMAT. 
          UM, WHAT I SPOKE ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING, WHEN WE GET THE, UM, WE START LOOKING BASICALLY BASED AT THE CURRENT FIVE YEAR CIP AS IT STANDS, THE PROJECTS ON THE BOOK. 
          UM, WE THEN WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENTS TO GET THEIR, UH, REQUESTS, UM, FOR ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDED, UH, INCLUDING WORKING WITH THE ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS, UM, SUCH AS PUBLIC WORKS AND THE AIRPORT SYSTEM. 
          THEN THOSE DEPARTMENTS DEVELOP THEIR PROPOSED REQUESTS, SUBMITTING THEM TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, WHERE WE COMPILE THE REQUESTS AND REVIEW THE DRAFT. 
          CIP WITH THE MAYOR. 
          IF THE MAYOR APPROVES IT GETS SENT TO THE BUDGET OF FISCAL AFFAIRS, UH, COMMITTEE. 
          WE USUALLY CALL A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING AT THE BEGINNING OF JUNE, UH, FOR A REVIEW BY CITY COUNCIL. 
          UH, IF CITY COUNCIL APPROVES OR AMENDS THE CIP, UM, ULTIMATELY THE CIP GETS ADOPTED, SOMETIMES BEING, UM, SOME OF THOSE ARROWS THAT SAY NO, MEAN, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, FURTHER INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE AMENDMENTS, UM, OR ADDITIONAL, UM, NEEDS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED BEFORE THE CIP IS ADOPTED. 
          ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS THE GENERAL TIMELINE, UH, THAT THOSE STEPS FOLLOW IN DECEMBER, UH, CIP KICKOFF MEETINGS BEGIN. 
          AND THESE ARE INTERNAL MEETINGS TYPICALLY BETWEEN, UM, US AND THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, SORT OF LETTING THEM KNOW OF THE TIMELINE, UM, THE EXPECTATIONS AND THE FORMAT THAT THEIR REQUEST SHOULD TAKE. 
          UM, THIS IS KIND OF INTERNAL, UM, UH, INTERNAL SAUSAGE MAKING, I GUESS, FOR LACK OF BETTER TERM. 
          UH, WE THEN RECEIVE THOSE REQUESTS IN THE FEBRUARY TIMEFRAME. 
          THEY'RE DUE TO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENTS, SO THAT WE CAN REVIEW AND EVALUATE THE COST ESTIMATES AND, UM, GET THE, UH, THE PRIORITIES OF THE DEPARTMENTS, UM, IN ORDER RANKING ONE THROUGH HOWEVER MANY REQUESTS THEY HAVE IN MARCH. 
          THEN THROUGHOUT MARCH AND APRIL, UH, WE REVIEW THOSE, UH, REQUESTS WITH THE MAYOR AND THE ADMINISTRATION FOR THEIR, UH, REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION, AND ULTIMATELY COMPILE THOSE, UM, THE PROOF PROJECTS INTO THE PROPOSED CIP IN JUNE, WHERE WE UPLOAD IT TO OUR INTERNAL SHAREPOINT SITE SO THAT CITY COUNCIL AND, UM, THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND STAFF CAN SEE THE PROPOSED CIP, UM, BEFORE IT GETS PROPOSED THE FOLLOWING WEEK, USUALLY IN THE FIRST OR SECOND WEEK OF JUNE TO THE BUDGET AND FISCAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE. 
          AND THEN BY THE END OF JUNE IS WHEN WE ASK FOR COUNCIL ACTION ON THE PROPOSED CIP, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THAT IN PLACE BEFORE THE START OF THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. 
          AND THEN IT'S NOT, UM, ON THIS TIMELINE. 
          BUT, UH, JUST TO GO OVER WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE CIP IS ADOPTED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ON EVERY COUNCIL SESSION, YOU'LL SEE APPROPRIATING X DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR X PROJECT FROM X FUND. 
          EVERY TIME YOU SEE AN RCA REQUESTING THOSE APPROPRIATIONS FOR THOSE PROJECTS OR APPROVAL ON A CONTRACT THAT'S USING A CIP RELATED FUND, THOSE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE PLANNED FOR IN THE CIP. 
          SO THE CIP IS A PLAN DOCUMENT, IT'S LIVING, BUT AS WE BRING THOSE RCAS TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THAT'S WHEN THE DOLLARS ARE ACTUALLY TRULY APPROPRIATED FOR THOSE PROJECTS, UM, AND OF COURSE CONSIDERED, UH, ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AT THAT TIME. 
          OKAY, I THINK I'LL TURN IT OVER NOW TO, UM, DAVID WARDLOW FOR THE HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS PORTION OF THE SLIDES. 
          HELLO, DAVID? HELLO. 
          ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, MELISSA. 
          SEE IF I CAN GET THE CHAIR TO WORK FIRST. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS APPRECIATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY. 
          AGAIN, JUST TO START OFF, HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS IS COMMITTED TO ENSURING OUR CAPITAL INVESTMENTS ADDRESS OUR MOST PRESSING INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGES AND WORKING WITH YOU, UH, ENSURE WE DO SO IN A MANNER TO DEVELOP THOSE PROJECTS AND IMPLEMENT THOSE PROJECTS THAT TRULY POSITION US TO PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION, UH, FOR HOUSTON TO THRIVE. 
          UM, I HAVE A FEW REMARKS ON THE CIP 
          [00:15:01]
PROCESS THAT I THINK WILL BE RELEVANT TO YOUR DISCUSSION TODAY, UH, AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE DIALOGUE, UH, AFTER OUR PRESENTATION. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          WE'RE ASKED TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS. 
          UM, AS YOU ALL ARE PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH ENGAGE HOUSTON IS OUR PRIMARY PLATFORM FOR KEEPING HOUSTONIANS ENGAGED IN OUR WORK. 
          UH, WE UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION AND SHARE IT, UH, WITH THE DELAY IN GETTING THAT SITE BACK UP. 
          UM, BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO GET IT REFRESHED IN A WAY THAT ACCURATELY COMMUNICATED CURRENT PROJECT INFORMATION SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S GOING ON. 
          UM, YOU CAN USE THE SITE TO SEARCH FOR PROJECT INFORMATION, UH, REGISTER FOR UPDATES SO THEY GET PUSHED OUT TO YOU. 
          YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO SEARCHING FOR 'EM EVERY TIME AND PARTICIPATE IN ORGANIZED PUBLIC MEETINGS RIGHT THROUGH THAT PLATFORM. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          WE UNDERSTAND, UM, AND REALLY DEEPLY APPRECIATE, UM, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WORK WE DO TO IMPROVE OUR SYSTEM, UH, TO MAKE INVESTMENTS IN IT DOES IMPACT PEOPLE'S DAILY LIVES, UM, AND IT CHANGES HOW THEY INTERACT WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE INCORPORATE OPPORTUNITIES TO THE PUBLIC TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE WORK WE'RE DOING TO INFORM HOW THOSE PROJECTS ARE BEING DEVELOPED, UH, DURING THE DESIGN PROCESS AND ALSO PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION, SO THEY KNOW HOW AND WHEN WE'RE GONNA BE OUT THERE, HOW THEY CAN MAKE ADJUSTMENTS SO THAT HOPEFULLY WE'RE AS MINIMAL A DISTURBANCE TO THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES AS POSSIBLE. 
          UM, WE ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL OUTREACH DEPENDING ON THE PROJECT, DEPENDING WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT, UH, TO, UH, INCORPORATE PUBLIC FEEDBACK. 
          SO, LIKE THE BISSONNET STREET, UH, SAFE STREETS FOR ALL PROJECT, UH, WE WENT OUT DURING THE DESIGN CONCEPT REPORT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTOOD THE PUBLIC'S NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS, UH, SO THAT AS WE COME THROUGH WITH THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, UH, EVERYTHING FLOWS SMOOTHLY. 
          WE'RE ON A CONSOLIDATED TIMELINE FOR, FOR THAT GRANT FUNDED PROJECT. 
          SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT GOES SMOOTHLY. 
          UM, THIS ALSO INCLUDES REQUESTS, COUNCIL MEMBERS MIGHT MAKE FOR US TO PARTICIPATE IN EVENTS THEY MIGHT HAVE, UH, OR OTHER, OR OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          UH, AND OBVIOUSLY, AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE NEXT WEEK, UM, OUR CAPACITY FOR INVESTMENT IS NOT UNLIMITED, RIGHT? SO IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE MAKE DECISIONS ON HOW TO SPEND THOSE SCARCE RESOURCES, UH, BASED ON THE BEST AVAILABLE DATA. 
          AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST IN EVERYDAY COUNTS, BUT IT'S IN EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF HOW WE DO THIS AT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS. 
          UM, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR, WE'VE BEEN PRESENTING ON THE, UH, STORMWATER MASTER PLAN AND OUTGROWTH OF THAT IS THIS, UM, ABILITY TO PRODUCE FLOOD RISK INDEX, RIGHT? SO BASED ON THOSE 2D MODELS CITYWIDE, UH, WHERE WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE, UH, STORMWATER IS GOING, UH, WE CAN INCORPORATE OTHER, UH, DATA, UH, INTO THAT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S ACTUALLY IMPACTING OUR RESIDENTS AND HOW THEY LIVE, UH, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT AREAS ARE MOST AT RISK. 
          SO THAT'S THE FLOOD RISK INDEX WITH THOSE LITTLE HEXAGONS THAT YOU'VE, I THINK, SEEN AND BEEN PRESENTED TO BEFORE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          WITH REGARD TO OUR STREET NETWORK, AND THIS IS A TOP CONVERSATION, I THINK, AROUND THE CITY, ABOUT THE CONDITION OF OUR STREETS. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE COMBINE NOT JUST WHAT THE PAVEMENT CONDITION INDEX OR THE INTERNATIONAL RIDE INDEX, I THINK I GOT THAT RIGHT, THE IRI, THE RIDE, HOW IT WORKS. 
          UM, WE USE OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HOW FREQUENTLY THE, THE FACILITIES BEING USED, WHAT SAFETY ISSUES WE SEE TO MAKE THE BEST POSSIBLE DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE TO PUT OUR REHABILITATION DOLLARS IN PARTICULAR, BUT ALSO WHERE WE TEE UP POTENTIAL AREAS FOR MAJOR RECONSTRUCTION, UH, OR SAFETY INTERSECTION PROJECTS. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          PIVOTING TO THE UTILITY ON THE DRINKING WATER SIDE, UH, YOU PERCEIVED A PRESENTATION LAST WEEK ABOUT THE EFFORTS WE'RE MAKING FOR, UH, LEAK REDUCTION IN OUR, OUR, OUR CONTRACT WITH COROLLO. 
          UM, BUT BEYOND THAT, ON THE LONGER TERM, UH, STRATEGY FOR HOW WE ORGANIZE OUR INVESTMENTS TO IMPROVE THE, THE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND AVOID LEAKS IN THE FUTURE, WE ARE LEVERAGING, UM, IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ADVANCED ANALYTICS TO PREDICT WHERE, WHICH LINE SEGMENTS ARE GONNA BE THE MOST CRITICAL FOR US TO INVEST IN OVER THE NEXT 10 PLUS YEARS. 
          SO, UH, THAT IS GOING NOT JUST INTO THE SHORT TERM SIDE OF IT, BUT INTO THE LONG TERM PLANNING AND WHERE WE PUT MAJOR DOLLARS FOR CAPITAL REPLACEMENT. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SIMILARLY, IN WASTEWATER, WE'RE DOING A SIMILAR THING, RIGHT? WE DON'T HAVE COMPLETE PERFECT INFORMATION EVERYWHERE, UH, BUT WE CAN, WITH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, USE THE INFORMATION WE DO HAVE, UH, TO BETTER PREDICT WHERE WE ARE GOING TO EXPERIENCE ISSUES FROM UNS SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS, WHETHER THAT'S A CONDITION, AGE, NEED TO REPLACEMENT ISSUE, OR WHERE WE'RE EXPERIENCING CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS. 
          SO THIS HAS REALLY HELPED US PIVOT HOW WE PACKAGE PROJECTS UP AND BEST POSITION OURSELVES FOR, UH, MAKING THE MOST OUT OF THE, THE LIMITED DOLLARS WE'VE GOT. 
          UM, RIGHT. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          PLEASE. 
          ALSO 
          [00:20:01]
WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT FOR JUST A MOMENT, UM, THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY PARTNERING WITH YOU, PARTICULARLY THE COUNCIL, UH, DISTRICT MEMBERS, UH, TO MAKE SPECIFIC PROJECT SELECTIONS TO DIRECT WHERE INDIVIDUAL DOLLARS GO, WHAT PROJECTS DO ADVANCE IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL, UH, SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES. 
          SO, THROUGH THE COUNCIL DISTRICT SERVICE FUND PROGRAM, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S HALF A MILLION DOLLARS EVERY YEAR FOR EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT, UH, FROM THE PUBLIC WORK SIDE OF THE FENCE, BUT WE CAN ACTUALLY ALSO LEVERAGE THE, THE GENERAL FUND DOLLARS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ALLOCATED TO CDSF TO FURTHER THAT WHERE IT MAKES SENSE, UM, THROUGH THE SWAT PROGRAM, LITTLE UNDER 2 MILLION A YEAR AS THE BASE LEVEL, DEPENDING ON WHERE AMENDMENTS FALL EACH YEAR, UH, TO MAKE INVESTMENTS ON THOSE CRITICAL, UM, STORM WATER INVESTMENTS THAT CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN HAVING A PROG A SYSTEM FUNCTION PROPERLY, RIGHT? SO NOT COMPLETE REPLACEMENT, UH, BUT WHERE WE CAN MAKE THE LITTLE THINGS HAPPEN THAT, THAT MAKE A, A BIGGER OUTSIZED IMPACT. 
          UM, AND THEN SIMILAR ON THE PAVEMENT REHABILITATION PROGRAM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE CONTINUOUSLY LOOKED AT, REVISITED, UM, QUITE FRANKLY, BEEN PUTTING MORE RESOURCES TOWARDS OVER THE YEARS. 
          UH, AND LATELY WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING WITH YOU TO SELECT, I THINK, TWO LANE MILES, UH, EVERY YEAR, UH, WHERE YOU CAN DIRECTLY ADDRESS NEEDS THAT YOU SEE AND ARE HEARING FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS. 
          UH, I'VE BEEN, QUITE FRANKLY, HAVE THE PLEASURE, UH, OF, OF THE DIRECTORS ASKED ME TO SHARE WITH YOU THE STARTING THIS YEAR. 
          UH, WE'LL PARTNER WITH YOU TO SELECT FIVE LANE MILES FOR LOCAL STREETS SPECIFICALLY, UH, SO THAT YOU CAN YES, HELP DIRECT US TOWARDS WHERE YOU SEE THE MOST ACUTE ISSUES COMING UP, UH, WITHIN YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS IN PARTICULAR. 
          AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH YOU ON THE COLLECTORS AND THE THOROUGHFARES AND STUFF TOO. 
          BUT VERY SPECIFICALLY, WE WANNA MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE TOOLS TO ADDRESS ISSUES YOU SEE COMING UP IN YOUR, UM, IN YOUR SUBDIVISIONS, IN, IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS. 
          AND WITH THAT, THAT'S REALLY THE KEY PARTS OF, OF MY SLIDES. 
          I THINK GENERAL SERVICES DIVISION IS GONNA COME UP, AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO THE, THE BACK AND FORTH Q AND A. 
          THANKS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT, MR. VELA, WE ARE READY TO HEAR FROM YOU. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. 
          I KNOW THAT, UH, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, UH, TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC AND TO SEE WHERE ALL OUR DOORS ARE GOING. 
          SO, UH, UH, REAL ESTATE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. 
          WE RENOVATE BUILDINGS, WE, UH, BUILD BUILDINGS FROM GROUND UP. 
          UH, UM, OUR FIRST SLIDE IS REGARD IS ON PAGE 30, SLIDE 30. 
          IT'S ABOUT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. 
          HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? SO, UH, OUR ENGAGEMENT IS USUALLY IS FOR, IS REGARDING PUBLIC FACING PROJECTS. 
          SO COMMUNITY CENTERS, MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS, LIBRARIES, PARKS, DEVELOPMENT. 
          THAT'S WHERE WE ENGAGE THE PUBLIC, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE PUBLIC, UH, USUALLY RESIDES. 
          AND HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE PUBLIC? UH, WE BEGIN EARLY DURING PRE-DESIGN. 
          WE MEET, UH, WE HAVE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS AS, AS WELL AS WITH THE DEPARTMENTS. 
          AND THEN DURING THE CONTINUING THROUGH DESIGN PROGRAMMING AND, AND DESIGN DEVELOPMENT, UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER MEETINGS WITH THE PUBLIC. 
          AND THEN, UH, GSD PROVIDES MONTHLY UPDATES TO DEPARTMENTS, UM, TO OUR CLIENT DEPARTMENTS. 
          OUR CLIENT DEPARTMENTS PROVIDE PUBLIC UPDATES, UH, EITHER, UH, ON THE CITY WEBSITE OR THROUGH THEIR PROGRAMS, IF IT'S THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, UH, FACILITIES CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT. 
          SO IN 2022, WE EMBARKED ON OUR SECOND, UH, FACILITIES CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT, WHICH IS, UH, REALLY, UH, UM, A, UH, STUDY OF OUR PORTFOLIO. 
          NOW, WHAT DO WE OWN? WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OF EACH BUILDING? WHAT'S THE COST TO KEEP THEM RUNNING? AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE PREVENTATIVE AND FUTURE, RIGHT? AND THEN WHAT COMES FIRST? HOW DO WE PRIORITIZE OUR BUILDINGS? AND I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THIS. 
          UH, UM, WE MANAGE AROUND 354 BUILDINGS FOR, UM, GENERAL GOVERNMENT, ALL THESE DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS, H-P-D-H-F-D, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, LIBRARY, AND SOLID WASTE. 
          WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 7 MILLION SQUARE FEET. 
          OUR AVERAGE AGE IS 39 YEARS OLD. 
          UM, OUR CURRENT, UH, REPLACEMENT VALUE THAT IS OF BUILDINGS WITHOUT LAND IS 3.5 BILLION. 
          UM, IN 2012, WHEN WE HAD OUR FIRST FCA, THAT, UH, THAT, UH, THE CURRENT REPLACEMENT WAS AROUND 2.2 BILLION. 
          SO THAT INCREASED BY ALMOST A BILLION DOLLARS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, HOW DO WE MEASURE HOW A BUILDING IS PERFORMING? AND USUALLY THAT'S DONE THROUGH AN FCI, IT'S, UH, REFERRED TO AS THE FACILITY CONDITION CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT. 
          AND WHAT IS AN FCI? SO BASICALLY, IT'S, UH, WHAT'S THE NEEDS? HOW MUCH MONEY IS IT, IS IT GONNA COST TO RENOVATE A BUILDING TO BRING UP THE SYSTEMS, THE ENVELOPE, THE, UH, ROOF AND DIVIDE THAT BY ITS CURRENT REPLACEMENT? AND IT COMES UP WITH A PERCENTAGE. 
          [00:25:01]
THE LOWER PERCENTAGE, THE BETTER IT IS, THE HIGHER PERCENTAGE, THE WORSE IT IS. 
          SO IN OUR CASE, UH, UM, UH, INDUSTRY STANDARDS SAYS THAT, UH, FOR AN INSTITUTION BUILDING, AND IT'S USUALLY AT AN ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, THE TARGET SHOULD BE AROUND 20%. 
          SO WE ARE CURRENTLY AT 40%. 
          THAT IS DOUBLE THE AMOUNT. 
          UM, UH, SO, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, IT HAS A, UH, WE ARE AT, UH, 40%, WHICH MAKES IT FAIR GOING INTO POOR. 
          OUR NEXT SLIDE, IF I, I, I AM GETTING TEXTS THAT, THAT, THIS WE CAN'T HEAR ONLINE. 
          UM, SO WE MIGHT WANNA CHECK THAT WITH HTV. 
          I'VE, I'VE GOTTEN A TEXT FROM ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES THAT CAN'T HEAR ONLINE, I GUESS, ON TEAMS. OH, THE VOLUME IS BACK. 
          SORRY TO INTERRUPT. 
          FREE, PLEASE PROCEED. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO THE NEXT SLIDE ON SLIDE, UH, 33, UM, WE'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU WHAT THE, UH, DEFERRED CAPITAL INVESTMENT LOOKS LIKE AS OF TODAY, RIGHT? SO, FIVE YEAR, THE FIVE YEAR NEED IS, UH, WE'RE AT 40%. 
          THE FIVE YEAR NEED IS $1.4 BILLION. 
          THAT'S HOW MUCH WE NEED, UM, TO REDUCE THAT FCI OVER 10 YEARS, THAT WOULD INCREASE TO 51%. 
          SO 51% MEANS WE'RE GONNA BE IN THE POOR CONDITION. 
          AND JUST TO GIVE YOU TO RELAY WHAT FUNDING WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO CIP AND MRR, UM, CIP FUNDS AND MRR COMBINED ON A YEARLY BASIS, WE GET $52 MILLION. 
          SO OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS, WE'LL BE RECEIVING 260 $62 MILLION. 
          AND THAT'S BROKEN DOWN IN, UM, IN 103 $83 MILLION OF CIP MONEY. 
          AND, UH, IT'S BROKEN DOWN INTO, UM, $79 MILLION OF MRR FUNDS COMBINING THE BOAT, WE'RE LOOKING AT $262 MILLION. 
          RIGHT? SO WHAT ARE MRR FUNDS? SO, MRR FUNDS ARE GIVEN TO US, UH, FROM THE, FROM THE GENERAL FUND, THE GENERAL EVERY YEAR. 
          AND IT'S, UH, FOR MAINTENANCE, RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT, IT EXCLUDES ALL SECURITY BUDGET. 
          UM, AND, UH, ALTHOUGH, UH, UM, GSD GETS AROUND 37 MILLION, ONLY 55% IS USED TOWARDS THE, UH, FCA. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS REALLY, UH, A GRAPH SHOWING US, UH, WHERE WE ARE, WHERE WE CAN GO AND WHAT'S REALITY. 
          AND, UH, I WILL SHOW YOU THAT, UH, THAT THE BLUE LINE AT THE VERY TOP IS THE REALITY, RIGHT? WITH THE FUNDING THAT WE'RE GETTING, WHICH IS, UH, $150 MILLION SHORT ON A YEARLY BASIS, WE WILL GO FROM, UH, BEING, UH, 0.4 40% TO 80%. 
          SO THE BASELINE, WHICH IS THE HORIZONTAL LINE THAT SHOWS YOU WHERE WE ARE AT 40%, UM, FCI, THAT'S, UH, UM, THAT'S, UH, HOW MUCH, UM, HOW, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT NUMBER WE ARE AT, AT THIS TIME. 
          IF WE GO TO, UH, THE GRAPH THAT IS GREEN, THAT IS, THAT MEANS THAT WE GET 3%. 
          IF WE GET 3%, THAT'S APPROXIMATELY $110 MILLION A YEAR. 
          SO REMEMBER, WE'RE ONLY GETTING $50 MILLION A YEAR, RIGHT? UM, NOW LET'S SAY WE GO TO, UH, WE WANNA REDUCE, UH, WE WANNA REDUCE OUR FCI FROM 40% TO 20% TO BE WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS ACROSS, UH, THE NATION, RIGHT? UH, SO, UH, THE RED GRAPH SHOWS US THAT, UH, UM, TO REDUCE IT TO 20%, WE WILL REQUIRE $200 MILLION ON A YEARLY BASIS FOR THE NEXT, UH, 10 YEARS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, UH, I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN IT COMES TO CIP, UH, WE DO RENOVATE BUILDINGS. 
          WE DO, UH, DO NEW CONSTRUCTION, BUT ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY IS GOING TOWARDS, UH, F-C-F-C-F-C-I REDUCTION. 
          THE NEXT SLIDE IS ABOUT CITY FACILITIES MASTER PLAN, RIGHT? THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING, WE'RE TRYING TO PRIORITIZE. 
          SO, UH, WITH THE HELP OF FINANCE, THE NEW ADMINISTRATION, WE ARE ABLE TO, UH, SECURE A, UH, A MASS A, A, A CONTRACT, UH, UM, THAT WILL BE, UH, UM, I'M GOING TO COUNCIL VERY SOON. 
          AND IT'S, IT'S REGARDING, UH, DOING A FACILITIES MASTER PLAN FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          SO THIS, UH, THIS, THIS FACILITY CREATES STANDARDS. 
          FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE GONNA CREATE STANDARDS ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ALL OUR BUILDINGS. 
          IF IT'S HELD, IF IT'S POLICE, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BUILDING SYSTEMS, MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, ROOF SYSTEMS, THAT'S 
          [00:30:01]
GONNA BE VERY HELPFUL. 
          AND THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE NEXT, UH, SIX MONTHS. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO, UH, SO WHAT IS, UH, THE MASTER PLAN? SO THE MASTER PLAN IS, UH, ADDRESSING FUTURE NEEDS OF FIRE, GENERAL SERVICES, HEALTH LIBRARY, COURTS, POLICE, UM, ALL THE BUILDINGS THAT WE MANAGE, RIGHT? UM, IT WILL HELP US, UH, PRIORITIZE, UH, UM, FOR, UM, UM, FOR THE FIVE YEAR AND A 10 YEAR, 20 YEAR, AND A 10 AND A 30 YEAR BASED, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, FUTURE. 
          UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT, UH, SERVICE DELIVERIES MODEL, LOOKING AT, UH, AT, AT THE SERVICE WE'RE DELIVERING TODAY, RIGHT? HOW, HOW, WHAT ARE WE DELIVERING TODAY? AND WHAT COULD, WHAT CAN THEY BE IN THE FUTURE? WE'RE LOOKING AT LAND ACROSS THE CITY. 
          HOW MUCH LAND DO WE HAVE? CAN LAND BE UTILIZED FOR, UH, DIFFERENT NEEDS FOR CONSOLIDATIONS? WE'RE LOOKING ALSO AT A FINANCIAL PLAN, RIGHT? SO THE REALITY THE CITY IS, UH, IS, UH, IS LAND RICH, BUT PERHAPS, UH, NOT AS LIQUID AS IT SHOULD BE, RIGHT? SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, IS THERE OPPORTUNITIES TO CONSOLIDATE, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE A LIFT NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER LIKE SUNNYSIDE? SO THESE THINGS ARE GONNA BE ALL LOOKED UPON ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          OUR TIMEFRAME IS, UH, THAT PHASE ONE WILL BE DONE BETWEEN SEPTEMBER OF, UH, THIS YEAR TILL APRIL OF 2026. 
          AND THEN PHASE TWO WILL BE, UH, NOVEMBER, 2025 TO MARCH OF 2027. 
          UM, OUR PHASE TWO IS, UH, GOING OVER EXISTING AND FUTURE FACILITIES AND SPACE IMPROVEMENTS, RIGHT? SO PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS DO WE EXPECT TO COME OUT OF THIS REPORT? SO, UH, A ROOF LINE ANALYSIS. 
          I KNOW THE ADMINISTRATION STARTED DOING THIS EARLIER ON, AND WE SAID, UH, WE, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE OUR, UH, OUR CONSULTANT HELP US TO DO A ROOF ANALYSIS ACROSS THE BOARD. 
          YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE EFFICIENCIES OF SERVICES DELIVERED? IS THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSOLIDATIONS, FUTURE CONSOLIDATIONS? UM, PARKS HAS LAND, HEALTH HAS LAND. 
          WE, WE KNOW THAT, UH, UM, WE HAVE LAND ACROSS THE CITY AND DIFFERENT, UH, SERVICES PROVIDED ACROSS THE CITY. 
          UM, ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERHAPS A FEW CONSOLIDATIONS? THERE'S CONSOLIDATIONS. 
          CAN WE HAVE BUILDING CLOSURES? CAN WE CLOSE BUILDINGS? RIGHT? CAN WE SELL THAT LAND? AND THEN, UH, HOW DO WE REPURPOSE CURRENT FACILITY PORTFOLIO TO SUPPORT THE CITY'S VISION AND SERVICE DELIVERY? AND, UH, ULTIMATELY WE JUST HAD A MEETING WITH, UH, UH, DIRECTOR OF, UM, MOBILITY. 
          AND, UH, IT'S A DA, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT ALL OUR BUILDINGS ARE A DA COMPLIANT. 
          AND AT THE END, UH, WE'D LIKE TO CONTINUE INCORPORATING THE EST AND Y'S RECOMMENDATION. 
          SO, UH, WE'LL SEE WHAT THE FACILITY NEEDS BASED ON ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BACK TO YOU, MELISSA. 
          MM-HMM . 
          THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATIONS. 
          WE DO HAVE A COUNCIL MEMBER IN QUEUE. 
          WE'LL START WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN. 
          THANK YOU TO BOTH OF OUR CHAIRS. 
          UM, I HAD SEVERAL QUESTIONS, UH, FOR FINANCE, PUBLIC WORKS AND GSD. 
          I'LL JUST GO QUICKLY IN ORDER. 
          UM, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE CIP TIMELINE, AND USUALLY TRADITIONALLY THAT'S BROUGHT IN JUNE AFTER WE PASS THE BUDGET. 
          UM, YOU AND I HAVE SPOKEN, AND I'VE SAID THIS PUBLICLY, I BELIEVE THAT THE CITY SHOULD BE ON, UM, A A DIFFERENT FISCAL YEAR SCHEDULE AS IT PERTAINS TO THE BUDGET. 
          IF WE ARE ABLE TO MOVE THAT FISCAL YEAR BUDGET TO ALIGN WITH, UH, MORE COMMON PRACTICES, WOULD THE CIP TIMELINE ALSO NEED TO MOVE? YES. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          I THINK IT WOULD, UH, NEED TO FOLLOW THE SAME FISCAL YEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          AND AS IT PERTAINS, AND THIS MAY NOT BE A QUESTION TO YOU, THIS MAY BE PUBLIC WORKS. 
          UM, IT, FOR THOSE OF US IN OUR SECOND TERM, Y'ALL WILL RECALL THERE WAS AN ATTEMPT AND THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT TO REALIGN THE PUBLIC INPUT TIMELINE FOR THE CIP TO INCORPORATE PUBLIC COMMENT BEFORE WE GET TO THE OFFICIAL LIST, SO THAT THOSE TWEAKS AND CHANGES CAN BE, UH, INCORPORATED AND PUBLIC FEEDBACK CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO WHAT IS PRESENTED TO THIS BODY. 
          HAS THAT BEEN CONSIDERED, OR IS THAT BEING PLANNED FOR? UH, ARE WE GOING TO TRY TO ATTEMPT THAT AGAIN? EXCUSE ME. 
          SO, ON MY END, AS FAR AS WHAT I KNOW, WE HAVE HAD, UM, SOME INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS ON THAT. 
          UM, AS FAR AS, UM, HOW WE COULD INCORPORATE THAT ON A BETTER TIMING. 
          I KNOW HISTORICALLY, UM, THE PAST PRACTICE HAD BEEN TO HAVE THOSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS IN THE SPRING, WHICH WAS REALLY KIND OF, UM, I WANNA SAY A LITTLE BIT TOO LATE IN THE GAME TO GET THE INPUT TO PUT INTO THE PROPOSED CIP. 
          [00:35:01]
I KNOW THAT WE'VE, UM, INTERNALLY TALKED ABOUT SOME, UM, WAYS TO IMPROVE THE FORMAT OF THAT, UH, THOSE COMMUNITY MEETINGS. 
          I KNOW IN THE PAST WE'VE HAD THEM IN EACH DISTRICT, UM, WE'VE TALKED INTERNALLY ABOUT THE IDEA OF GOING TO, UH, MAYBE DIVIDE THE CITY INTO QUADRANTS, HAVING SOME MORE VIRTUAL OPTIONS, UM, WEEKEND OPTIONS LIKE WE HAD WITH THE, UM, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ON THE BUDGET, UH, WORKSHOP THAT CHAIR ELKHORN AND, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO, UH, CO-CHAIR CASTILLO, UM, HELPED WITH ON THE BUDGET SIDE. 
          SO THOSE ARE THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INTERNALLY. 
          AND, UM, DEFINITELY WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON THAT. 
          TERRIFIC. 
          UH, WE'D LOVE AN UPDATE WHEN AVAILABLE. 
          UM, 'CAUSE AS YOU SAID, RIGHT, IT'S, WE WOULD HEAR FROM RESIDENTS, EITHER THEY LIKED IT OR THEY DIDN'T LIKE IT, IT WAS TOO LATE TO MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS WHEN THERE WERE SOME REALLY VALID POINTS THAT RESIDENTS WOULD BRING UP. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UH, THAT I THINK WE CAN CERTAINLY TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION. 
          I KNOW PUBLIC WORKS AND THE CITY WANT TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, UM, FOR PUBLIC WORKS. 
          UH, ONE, THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN AND ALL OF THE THINGS Y'ALL ARE DOING. 
          I GEEKED OUT OVER THIS VERY EARLY ON, AND WE MET, UH, AND SUBMITTED, WE'RE NOW AS A DISTRICT GOING TO BE BASING OUR SWAT RECOMMENDATIONS AND EVEN SOME OF OUR CDF METRO INVESTMENTS BASED ON THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN. 
          UM, AND I KNOW WE'RE MEETING ON THAT SOON, BUT HOPEFULLY WE CAN BE IMPLEMENTING THOSE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE NOW THAT WE DO HAVE THE DATA. 
          BUT IT'S A REALLY EXCITING TOOL FOR THE CITY. 
          UM, ONE OTHER QUESTION, AND THEN I'M HAPPY TO GO BACK IN QUEUE. 
          UM, MR. WARDLOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT WE'RE GONNA, AS DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS GET FIVE LANE MILES FOR LOCAL THOROUGH AFFAIRS. 
          DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE ELIMINATING THE ALLOCATION FOR MAJOR THOROUGH AFFAIRS OR DIRECTOR? EXCUSE ME. 
          NO, THAT'S A WONDERFUL QUESTION. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW, THE OVERALL CONDITION OF STREETS ACROSS HOUSTON IN AND OF ITSELF, IF YOU REALLY BROKE IT DOWN INTO POOR, MODERATE, FAIR, AND GOOD, YOU COULD ALMOST DIVIDE ALL OF OUR STREETS UP INTO EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES EQUALLY, WHICH MEANS THAT HALF OF OUR STREETS ARE IN MODERATE OR WORSE CONDITION. 
          UM, TO THAT END, WE'VE BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE IN OUR GOALS. 
          PREVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, STREET REHAB KIND OF CONSISTED OF AROUND 350 TOTAL LANE MILES FOR AN ENTIRE FISCAL YEAR. 
          WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO PUSH, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS DURING THE BUDGET PRESENTATION OF, OF, UH, ACHIEVING A THOUSAND LANE MILES PER YEAR, WHICH MEANS THAT IF WE WERE ABLE TO DO IT AND WERE CONSISTENT OVER THE NEXT SIX YEARS, WE WOULD, WE WOULD REALLY REHABILITATE NEARLY HALF OF ALL OF OUR ROADS. 
          SO THAT'S THE ULTIMATE GOAL. 
          WHAT WE WANTED TO DO FOR COUNCIL DISTRICTS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO FOCUS ON AREAS THAT WE KNOW LESS ABOUT, WHICH ARE GONNA BE YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          WHILE WE ARE GONNA TAKE THE ONUS AND THE FOCUS ON THOSE AREAS, WE KNOW MORE ABOUT, WHICH ARE THE MA MAJOR THOROUGHFARES AND COLLECTORS, MEANING THAT WE'RE GOING TO, WE'RE ABSOLUTELY GONNA TAKE CARE OF THEM AND TAKE CARE OF 'EM THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, BUT YOU HAVE GREATER, UH, CONTROL AND ABILITY TO LET US KNOW WHERE THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS NEED A LOT OF ATTENTION. 
          AND FIVE LANE MILES WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOODS IS REALLY GOING TO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS. 
          AND THEN WE TAKE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH METRO AND TDOT AND OTHERS TO HELP FOCUS ON THOSE LARGE ROADS THAT ARE, FRANKLY, A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE. 
          IT'S A LOT MORE AREA, BUT IT ALLOWS US TO LEVERAGE BIGGER CONTRACTS TO MOVE THROUGH QUICKER AND MORE EFFECTIVELY. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I WOULD JUST FLAG AS WE SHIFT TO THIS, OR POSSIBLY SHIFT TO THIS IS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN DISTRICT C, WE'VE ALLOCATED FOR NOT NECESSARILY A MAJOR, UH, LARGE THROW BEAR LIKE WESTHEIMER, BUT THERE'S SOME OF THOSE OTHER VERY HEAVILY USED STREETS. 
          AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT THOUGH, IN WORKING WITH YOU ALL IN OUR OFFICE, WE'RE ABLE TO ADD IN THE DRAINAGE COMPONENT AND UPSIZE OUR INLETS AND INCORPORATE ALL OF THAT. 
          AND I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT LOSING THAT ASPECT IF IT'S JUST A, WE'RE GONNA TAKE CARE OF IT, UM, THROUGH METRO AND OTHERS. 
          WE'RE NOT ALWAYS IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS SAYING, NO, NO, NO, WE NEED TO LOOK AT, YEAH, UPSIZING THOSE INLETS AS WELL. 
          NO, YOU'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT SPOT ON. 
          AND I THINK THIS WILL GO, FRANKLY, TO OUR LARGER DISCUSSION IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, ACTUALLY, WHICH IS, UH, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE WHERE IT COMES TO THE CIP AND OUR REGULAR BUDGET IS THE 25% CAP, UM, JUST A REGULAR OLD REHAB MILL AND OVERLAY, IF WE HIT IT AND WALKED AWAY, REALLY IS MAINTENANCE. 
          AND THAT FITS INTO THAT 25%. 
          UM, WE HAVE WAY MORE THAN 25% WORTH OF MAINTENANCE THAT WE NEED TO DO, WHICH MEANS THAT IN ORDER TO DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY, UM, WE DO RIGHT BY OUR CITIZENS AND WE HAVE BIGGER PROJECTS. 
          AND SO IT'S NOT JUST A MILL AND OVERLAY. 
          YOU'RE GOING TO GET BETTER INLETS, YOU'RE GONNA GET, UH, THICK SIDEWALKS AND ALL OF THE OTHER COMPONENTS THAT GO WITH IT, WHERE WE CAN WORK WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF WHAT THE CHARTER SAYS AND THE LAW SAYS ON HOW WE CAN SPEND THAT MONEY. 
          BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE TAKE CARE 
          [00:40:01]
OF THAT TOO. 
          WE HAVE NO INTEREST IN LOSING THOSE COMPONENTS. 
          WE WANT TO DO BIGGER, BETTER PROJECTS AS MUCH AS WE CAN, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT 25% CONSTRAINT WE HAVE MAKES IT DIFFICULT SOMETIMES. 
          SO WE'VE GOTTA BE CREATIVE ON OUR SIDE. 
          OKAY. 
          BACK IN QUEUE, PLEASE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, AND THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THE WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS PRESENTATION. 
          IT'S, IT'S VERY INFORMATIVE AND VERY HELPFUL AND APPRECIATE HAVING IT. 
          UH, I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ENGAGEMENT. 
          UM, LOOKING AT THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR THE CIP THAT WE JUST ADOPTED, AND, UM, DIRECTOR DEBOWSKI, YOU, YOU, YOU REFERRED TO IT. 
          UM, IT SAYS, PUBLIC MEETINGS ARE ALSO HELD ANNUALLY IN EACH COUNT, CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT TO PROVIDE CITIZENS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON THE PROCESS AND RECOMMEND PROJECTS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN THAT THAT DID NOT OCCUR. 
          AND THIS IS ISN'T NECESSARILY FOR YOU DIRECTOR, UH, ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO TAKE THIS, THAT THAT DID NOT OCCUR LAST YEAR, DID IT, MEETINGS WITHIN THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS LAST YEAR. 
          THERE WEREN'T THE OVERALL INDIVIDUAL CIP, UM, TOWN HALLS, AS YOU WOULD CALL IT. 
          BUT AS PUBLIC WORKS MENTIONED, AND AS, UM, UM, GSD MENTIONED, THERE ARE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UH, MORE BASED ON SOME OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS AND INPUTS. 
          AND, UM, AS, UM, MR. WARDLOW MENTIONED, UM, CITY STAFF DOES ALSO GO OUT AT THE REQUEST OF COUNCIL MEMBERS WHEN THEY HAVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS. 
          UM, SO THERE IS STILL THAT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PIECE. 
          UM, ALTHOUGH WE HAVEN'T DONE THOSE, UM, TRADITIONAL, UM, TOWNHOUSES LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER CAME AND MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN HAVING SOME INTERNAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW THAT CAN BE, UH, BROUGHT BACK TO BE MOST USEFUL FOR THE CONSTITUENTS. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          AND WHEN, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THAT WE ACTUALLY DID THOSE? WAS IT 23 OR BEFORE THAT DISTRICT REDISTRICTING BY DISTRICT? I'M SORRY? REDISTRICTING. 
          REDISTRICTING. 
          AND WHEN WAS THAT? 21, 21, 22. 
          2022 OR 23, 22. 
          21 OR 22. 
          SO, SO WE HAVEN'T DONE THEM IN A WHILE. 
          UH, IN, THIS IS STILL IN THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. 
          UH, I APPRECIATE ENGAGED HOUSTON AND THE EFFORTS THAT HAVE GONE INTO THAT, THAT WEBSITE. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION ON IT, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          UM, BUT THAT'S SORT OF VOLUNTARY, UH, BY PUBLIC WORKS, IS IT NOT? UH, DO YOU MEAN VOLUNTARY AS IN LIKE, WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A WEBSITE OR HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION BETTER COR CORRECT. 
          UM, THERE'S NOTHING IN AN ORDINANCE THAT SAYS, HEY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A WEBSITE WHERE YOU HAVE THIS INFORMATION ON IT. 
          NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF, NO. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO I, I KNOW WE STRIVE TO, TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC ON OUR FACILITIES. 
          UM, AND, UH, DIRECTIVE VELA, YOU, YOU MENTIONED THIS, AND IT'S IN YOUR SLIDES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO LIBRARIES AND MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS, HIGH PRIORITY PUBLIC FACING PROJECTS. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, RECENTLY HAD A MEETING REGARDING, UH, ONE OF THE LIBRARY RESEARCH CENTERS. 
          AND, UM, GOING BACK TO LAST YEAR, THE RFQ, UH, INCLUDED A, A VERY DEFINITE, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PUBLIC INPUT, UH, COMPONENT TO IT. 
          WHEN WE HAD THIS MEETING LAST WEEK, UM, SHE RING THAT BELL, IT INCLUDED THE ARCHITECT, UH, THE DESIGN FIRM ON IT, AND, AND THEY SAID, UM, WELCOME PUBLIC INPUT, BUT WE NEED IT IN THE NEXT 10 DAYS, OR THE TIMELINE'S GONNA BE OFF. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ AND COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO WERE IN ON THE CALL AND WE ALL AGREED, YOU KNOW, 10 DAYS IS NOT LONG ENOUGH TO, TO GET A MEETING TOGETHER AND TO ALERT THE PUBLIC SO THAT THEY COME OUT AND, AND GIVE, UH, ENGAGEMENT. 
          SO IS IS THERE, IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO, TO IMPROVE THAT AND TO SET MORE REASONABLE TIMELINES OR, OR WHATEVER TO MAKE SURE WE GET THE ENGAGEMENT WE NEED? YES. 
          UM, ABSOLUTELY. 
          THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. 
          YES. 
          UM, USUALLY, UH, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND WE USUALLY ENGAGE THEM WAY BEFORE THAT. 
          SO IN THIS CASE, WE COULD HAVE DEFINITELY IN THE FUTURE GET WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS EARLIER AND PLAN IT TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE. 
          UM, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING THAT, UH, 10 MONTH, UH, TURN, 10, 10 DAY TURNAROUND. 
          I THINK THAT WOULD BE A LOT BETTER. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          CORRECT. 
          I'LL GO BACK IN THE QUEUE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER THOMAS. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UH, MY, UH, QUESTIONS FROM MR. VELA. 
          DON'T YOU GO NOWHERE. 
          . 
          AH, GOT YOU. 
          UM, SO THANK YOU FOR, I, I WAS ABLE TO, UM, CATCH SOME IN THE OFFICE, UM, ABOUT THE CIP PROCESS. 
          IN FISCAL 24. 
          WE HAD A MILLION DOLLAR GENERATOR 
          [00:45:01]
FOR THE ALE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER THERE. 
          UM, AND NOW WE'RE GOING IN THE FISCAL 26. 
          AND SO DO WE HAVE AN UPDATE ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT GENERATOR? YES. 
          UH, SO THE GENERATOR, TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD, RICHARD? YES, IT'S ALL, IT'S ALL GOOD. 
          THE GENERATOR IS IN DESIGN AND, UH, AND IT WON'T BE DONE FOR, UH, THIS, THIS YEAR, BUT IT WILL DEFINITELY BE DONE FOR NEXT YEAR. 
          WE'RE GOING WITH A MUCH BIG GENERATOR FOR THE ENTIRE FACILITY AND IT'S A SEVEN, $800,000 PROJECT. 
          SO YEAH, WE'RE GOING FORWARD WITH THAT GENERATOR. 
          OKAY. 
          I'LL BE SURE TO LET DOUG SMITH KNOW. 
          YES, YES. 
          UH, AS HE HAS EMAILED ME THERE. 
          GO DOUG. 
          SEE, LOOK, I'M WORKING FOR YOU, DOUG. 
          UM, I, WONDERFUL. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          MY JOB'S COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN YOU VERY QUICKLY, UM, FOR GSD LEE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WHAT I WANNA, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT PUBLIC INPUT, YOU ALL WITH PARKS DEPARTMENT, UM, AND OTHERS HAVE DONE A OUTSTANDING JOB ON WEST GRAY MULTI-SERVICE CENTER. 
          SO I WANNA SAY THAT AT THE OUTSET, TAKING THE MODEL OF A LEAF BUILDING UPON THAT AND CONTINUING, UM, WE HAD AN IMPORTANT PRESENTATION WHERE WE HEARD, UH, NOT ONLY ON SIX 11 WALKER, BUT HPD DOWNTOWN AND THE STATUS OF THAT BUILDING, WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, UM, IN THE FCA IS THE CITYWIDE ASSESSMENTS. 
          UM, I, I SAID THIS DURING THAT COUNCIL MEETING, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL, WHILE SOME OF THAT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE MADE PUBLIC, UM, FOR US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS TO BE BRIEFED AND UNDERSTAND THE VARIOUS FACILITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AND THOSE SCORES, UM, MANY OF THOSE, AT LEAST AS A DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER, IMPACT OUR DISTRICT AND THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE. 
          AND THEY ARE IN DIRE NEED, UM, OF REHABILITATION AND INVESTMENT. 
          AND THAT'S, AGAIN, I ALWAYS SAY NOT A REFLECTION ON GSD, THAT'S A REFLECTION ON THE CITY BUDGET. 
          AND YOU ALL HAVE BEEN SOUNDING THE ALARM AND DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO HOLD EVERYTHING TOGETHER. 
          BUT IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE IT MADE AVAILABLE TO COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REVIEW AND TO UNDERSTAND REALLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT CITYWIDE WHEN IT COMES TO THESE FACILITIES? YES. 
          UH, UM, GOOD QUESTION. 
          I THINK IT'S, UH, WE'D BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HOST SOMETHING AT OUR DEPARTMENT WHERE WE CAN GO OVER AND, UH, TALK ABOUT DEPARTMENTS AND FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU, WE BRING UP, YOU BRING UP A GOOD QUESTION WHEN WE SAY, UH, UM, IS 40 FCI, RIGHT? THAT'S FOR THE, FOR THE ENTIRE CITY. 
          AND THAT'S, UH, BEING IN THE, UH, FAIR CONDITION. 
          BUT THE REALITY, IF YOU LOOK AT HPD OR HFD, IT'LL BE IN THE 50% IF YOU LOOK AT THEM. 
          SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, YEAH. 
          IF YOU GO AND, UH, COMPARTMENTALIZE EACH DEPARTMENT, WE COULD GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF WHAT, AND OR WE CAN MAKE IT BY DISTRICT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT THE FCI LOOKS LIKE. 
          I, I APPRECIATE IT. 
          'CAUSE AGAIN, I THINK IT WAS COUNCIL MEMBER PECK THAT ASKED THE QUESTION DURING THE BUDGET, IF WE DO NOT START INVESTING THE WAY THAT WE NEED TO, IT BALLOONS, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, YOU'LL REMEMBER THE NUMBER. 
          I, I DON'T OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT IT, IT'S ASTRONOMICAL. 
          IT IS THAT IT BALLOONS TO, AND THAT LIABILITY, I MEAN, DIRECTOR DKI, YOU MAY, YOU'VE PROBABLY GOT THE NUMBER MEMORIZED OF HOW MUCH IT BALLOONS TO IF WE DO NOT ADDRESS THIS WITHIN X NUMBER OF YEARS. 
          SURE. 
          YEAH. 
          I THINK, UM, GSD MENTIONED IN THEIR PRESENTATION THAT, UM, COULD BE UP TO 1.8 BILLION, UH, AFTER 10 YEARS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ON THE, IN THAT SAME DISCUSSION, IF YOU COULD PULL UP THE SLIDE WITH THE FUNDING SLASH FCI REPORT, THE GRAPH. 
          I WANNA MAKE SURE I'M READING THAT RIGHT. 
          UM, RICHARD, DO YOU BASICALLY YOU HAVE TO, WE HAVE TO GET TO THAT 20% THAT WE, WHERE WE WANNA BE. 
          WE HAVE TO BE SPENDING THE RED BAR. 
          I MEAN, EXPLAIN HOW. 
          CORRECT, YES. 
          THE RED BAR, WE HAVE TO BE SPENDING THE AMOUNT IN THE RED BAR TO GET CORRECT EVERY YEAR. 
          AND IF YOU KIND OF, IF YOU DO AN AVERAGE THAT'S AROUND $200 MILLION A YEAR, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE SPENDING $50 MILLION A YEAR, WHICH IS JUST, YOU KNOW, REALLY PUT YEAH, WE'RE SPENDING 50, WE NEED 200 TO GET TO THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IF WE SPEND, AND IF WE KEEP SPENDING THE 50, WHICH BAR IS THAT? SO YOU'LL SEE THAT THAT'S THE BLUE BAR. 
          THE LIGHT BLUE. 
          THE LIGHT BLUE, OKAY. 
          SO THEN WE GET UP TO 80 AND ALL OUR BUILDINGS ARE FALLING APART. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. 
          WELL, THAT, THAT'S WHY THIS, THIS, UH, MASTER PLAN THING IS REALLY KEY. 
          'CAUSE WE DON'T NEED PROBABLY ALL THESE BUILDINGS AND WE DON'T NEED PROBABLY ALL THIS LAND, YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S, WE'LL REALLY BE LOOKING FORWARD TO PERIODIC UPDATES ON THAT MASTER PLAN. 
          AND, AND YOU KNOW, AFTER, UH, DIRECTORS TALKED ABOUT SIX 11 WALKER, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT A LOT ON, IN OUR HEAD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE NEEDS THAT ARE, THAT ARE COMING. 
          SO, UM, 
          [00:50:01]
THAT'S PRETTY MUCH SOUNDING THE ALARM. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THIS. 
          THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL ON WHAT KIND OF, WHERE WE SHOULD BE SPENDING. 
          WHEN YOU SAY FCI SPECIFIC FUNDING, IS THAT MEAN KIND OF LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING? THAT'S CORRECT. 
          BECAUSE OKAY. 
          THE WAY WE'RE DOING IT NOW, KIND OF WHATEVER COMES RIGHT BEFORE US, CORRECT. 
          $36 MILLION THAT WE GET FROM THE CIP ON A YEARLY BASIS, WHICH GOES INTO RENOVATIONS, AND WE SEPARATED WHAT'S FOR BUILDING SYSTEMS, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          THAT IS FCA AND $15 MILLION FROM MRR FUNDS, RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          I DO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I WOULD, I DO WANNA ADD, UH, RANDY SAID, HEY, MAKE SURE THAT, UH, UH, UH, THAT YOU TELL HIM THAT SIX 11 WORKERS IS NOT PART OF THAT, RIGHT? SO PUBLIC WORKS, UH, IS NOT PART OF THIS C SO THIS IS BASICALLY OH, THAT'S RIGHT. 
          BUILDINGS THAT WE MANAGE. 
          SO THAT WHOLE OTHER, WHAT WAS THAT NUMBER, RANDY, ON WHAT WAS NEEDED? IT WAS LIKE 600 MILLION OR SOMETHING. 
          YEAH. 
          BETWEEN, BETWEEN WALKER AND TRAVIS TOGETHER, IT WAS JUST SHY OF 700 MILLION. 
          YEAH. 
          BUT, UH, AND THE REASON I ASKED RICHARD TO BRING THIS UP, UH, YOU KNOW, SIX 11 WALKER IS JUST ONE OF MY FACILITIES. 
          IF YOU EVEN EXCLUDE MY WATER PLANTS, JUST THE REGULAR FACILITIES, I STILL HAVE ANOTHER 200 ACROSS THE CITY. 
          SOME OF THOSE ARE LARGER FACILITIES. 
          SO THIS IS JUST FOR THE NONPUBLIC WORKS BUILDINGS. 
          SO BASICALLY GSD OH, THAT, THAT MAKES ME SLEEP A LITTLE EASIER. 
          IT'S MUCH WORSE. 
          DO WE HAVE THE TOTAL FOR BOTH? I DON'T, DON'T HAVE IT HERE. 
          WE, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT ASSESSMENT. 
          OKAY. 
          WE'VE NEVER CONDUCTED ONE GSD IS CURRENTLY WITH, BUT WE'RE CURRENTLY UNDERGO A, WE JUST REALLY WANT THAT NUMBER SO WE CAN MILL OVER IT. 
          , COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UM, QUESTION, DO WE HAVE A MASTER PLAN ON OUR ROADS, BRIDGES, DRAINAGE, INFRASTRUCTURE? AND IF SO, WHAT DOES THAT NUMBER TELL ME, TELL ME WHAT YOU MEAN BY MASTER PLAN. 
          WELL, JUST HOW BADLY ALL THAT PART ALL THAT IS. 
          , IT'S A LOT. 
          AND HOW MUCH IT'LL COST IT ALL. 
          UM, NO, I, I COULDN'T TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT THAT NUMBER IS. 
          UM, WE HAVE VARIOUS INDICES IN EACH OF THOSE THINGS THAT KIND OF GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHERE WE STAND. 
          FOR INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW, IF YOU REMEMBER, 32 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER THAT WE LOSE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, ROUGHLY TWO THIRDS OF THAT'S COMING FROM ABOUT 6% OF OUR PIPE. 
          YOU KNOW, THAT 6% OF THE PIPE, YOU KNOW, WE ESTIMATE THE VALUE OF EACH ONE PERCENTAGE TO BE ABOUT $150 MILLION. 
          SO, UH, MORE THAN HALF OF THE NETWORK IS AT OR ABOUT TO EXCEED ITS EXPECTED SERVICE LIFE. 
          I MEAN, THE NUMBERS ARE REALLY, FRANKLY, THEY'RE ASTRONOMICAL ALL ACROSS THE BOARD. 
          NOW, THAT DOES NOT MEAN, AND, AND MY POINT IS, AS I SEE EVERYONE GETTING A LITTLE NERVOUS, RIGHT? , IT'S, IT'S NOT TO INCITE PANIC THERE BECAUSE, UH, WE ARE TACKLING THESE THINGS NOW IN A VERY SYSTEMATIC WAY. 
          WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT FIRST 6% OF THE PIPE, FOR INSTANCE, WE'VE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE, RIGHT? SO WE KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO GO AND WHERE WE NEED TO START TRIAGING AND WHAT WE NEED TO HIT. 
          AND WE KNOW WE HAVE TO RAMP THIS UP. 
          SO WHEN I SAY, HEY, I WANNA DO A THOUSAND LANE MILES, UM, I'LL BE FRANK WITH YOU, THIS IS GONNA BE AN, AN ASTRONOMICAL UNDERTAKING FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO TRY AND DO THAT. 
          WE'VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING REMOTELY CLOSE. 
          I'LL CHALLENGE THAT. 
          NO MUNICIPALITY IN THE COUNTRY HAS EVER DONE THAT MUCH IN A SINGLE YEAR. 
          REMEMBER, OUR ROAD NETWORK IS LARGER THAN A THIRD OF ALL STATE DOTS OUT THERE. 
          WE HAVE A LOT OF ROADWAY THAT WE HAVE TO COVER. 
          SO IT'S A, IT'S A HUGE UNDERTAKING, BUT WE ARE DEVELOPING THOSE PLANS. 
          I KNOW WE'RE THE FIRST THOUSAND LANE MILES WE'RE GONNA TACKLE ARE AT, FOR INSTANCE, WE KNOW WHERE THOSE WATER PIPELINES ARE. 
          WE'VE GOT A STORMWATER MASTER PLAN THAT TELLS US WHERE WE'RE FLOODING IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND WHERE WE NEED TO START PUTTING THOSE RESOURCES. 
          BUT IT WILL TAKE TIME TO PUT TOGETHER COMPREHENSIVE PLANS ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. 
          WE'RE WORKING ON IT NOW. 
          UM, I DON'T HAVE AN ETA, BUT, BUT WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK WITH EACH OF YOUR OFFICES AND, AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. 
          YOU KNOW, I WANNA TALK ABOUT COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S QUESTION ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT EARLIER, RIGHT? ONE THING THAT WE'VE GOTTA BE AWARE OF IS AS WE VISIT WITH OUR FOLKS AND WE TALK ABOUT WHAT THE NEEDS ARE, THAT WE'RE ALSO NOT WRITING CHECKS THAT WE CAN'T CASH LATER ON MM-HMM . 
          RIGHT? BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE'LL SAY, YEAH, I SEE YOU'VE GOT A NEED HERE. 
          AND I DON'T WANNA NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THAT'S A PROMISE THAT WE'RE GONNA GO FIX IT TOMORROW. 
          BECAUSE THE REALITY IS WITH AS MUCH PROBLEMS AS WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH, IT MAY BE MUCH FURTHER DOWN THE LIST THAN SOMEONE WANTS TO HEAR. 
          AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER, THAT'S WHY I LOVE YOUR QUESTION ABOUT DO WE HAVE A MASTER PLAN? THAT'S WHY WE'RE PUTTING ONE TOGETHER. 
          WE'VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN START PRIORITIZING THESE THINGS AND WHERE IT'S GONNA GO, BECAUSE THE POT OF MONEY ISN'T, IT'S NOT GROWING EXPONENTIALLY, RIGHT? GETS A LITTLE BIT BIGGER EACH YEAR, WHICH ALSO MEANS THAT THE BUDGET CHALLENGES GET A LITTLE BIT BIGGER EACH YEAR AS WELL. 
          AND, UH, 
          [00:55:02]
WE'RE UP FOR IT, BUT IT'LL BE HARD. 
          CAN I JUST ASK A CHAIR? CAN I ASK A REAL QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION? YEAH. 
          IF WE CAN BE SUCCINCT, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A WHOLE NOTHER SECTION OF THE AGENDA. 
          SO YES. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, I JUST FORGOT MY THOUGHT. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          AND SENIOR MOMENT. 
          SEE, YOU DID TOO, . 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, GET BACK IN THE QUEUE. 
          I'LL COME BACK. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          LAST QUESTION. 
          UM, DURING THE DISCUSSION ON THE LAST CIP THERE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU GET INTO THE LATTER PART OF IT YEARS FOUR AND FIVE, AND IT'S LARGELY ASPIRATIONAL, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU HAVE PROJECTIONS AND COST ES ESCALATIONS AND THINGS CHANGE. 
          AND I THINK EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS THAT. 
          SO, UH, GIVEN THAT FOUR AND FIVE ARE WAY LESS ACCURATE THAN, UH, THE FIRST YEAR CERTAINLY, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET THAT WE'VE JUST PASSED, UH, IN YEARS TWO AND THREE, I, I'D LIKE TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS PRO AND CON MOVING FROM LET'S SAY A FIVE YEAR PROCESS TO A THREE YEAR PROCESS THAT'S MORE REALISTIC. 
          UM, I KNOW THAT THE, THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THAT'S WHERE I WORKED BEFORE I CAME TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          THEY ACTUALLY DID A 10 YEAR CIP EVERY OTHER YEAR. 
          UM, SO I, I TOTALLY HEAR YOUR POINT ON IT IS ASPIRATIONAL. 
          ONCE YOU GET TO THOSE OUT YEARS COST ESTIMATES, CHANGE, NEEDS CHANGE. 
          UM, PARTICULARLY AS YOU KNOW, WE PUT A PROJECT IN THE CIP BOOK, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE DEPARTMENTS, THE CONSTITUENTS SEE THAT THERE, AND THEY HAVE AN EXPECTATION THAT THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. 
          UM, AND IT DOES MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT? UM, I WOULD SAY THAT AT LEAST INTERNALLY, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ABSOLUTELY PLAN ON A FIVE YEAR TIMEFRAME. 
          I KNOW THE AIRPORT MAINTAINS A LONGER CIP THAN THAT, UM, PUBLIC WORKS. 
          I KNOW, YOU KNOW, ON THE INTERNAL SIDE HAS THAT AS WELL. 
          UM, I, I HEAR YOUR CONCERN. 
          THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN, UM, LOOK AT, SEE WHAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS ARE DOING. 
          BUT I THINK IN WHAT I'VE SEEN IN OTHER AREAS, IT USUALLY IS A, A EVEN A LONGER TIMEFRAME AS FAR AS A MASTER PLAN. 
          OKAY. 
          I DON'T KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS. 
          RIGHT. 
          I, AND I, I AGREE WITH DIRECTOR KY ON THIS. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S IMPORTANT IS EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THOSE THINGS ARE ASPIRATIONAL, WE'VE GOTTA BE IN A POSITION TO PLAN FOR THEM ACCORDINGLY. 
          BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I THINK WE NEED TO START RESERVING SOME FLEXIBILITY FOR CHANGES THAT MAY COME THAT ARE RELEVANT TO IT. 
          UH, ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY, FOR INSTANCE, I MEAN, MANY PEOPLE WON'T LIKE TO HEAR IT, BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE BUILD BETTER ASPHALT ROADS NOW THAN WE BUILD CONCRETE ROADS AND THEY WILL LAST LONGER. 
          THEY'RE ABLE TO BE BETTER MAINTAINED DUE TO ALL SORTS OF VARIETY OF CIRCUMSTANCE. 
          'CAUSE THERE'S BETTER TECHNOLOGY NOW THAN WE HAD 10 YEARS AGO WHEN IT COMES TO OUR ASPHALT ROADS. 
          UM, BEING ABLE TO EVEN INTRODUCE A COMPOSITE ROAD, FOR INSTANCE, IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS, COULD DRAMATICALLY DECREASE THE COST OF WHAT WE'RE SPENDING THERE. 
          SO IF WE HAVE A FIVE YEAR CIP AND YOU'VE GOT A $35 MILLION PROJECT FIVE YEARS OUT, BUT WE DISCOVER SOME THINGS ALONG THE WAY THAT REDUCES THAT COST BY HALF. 
          BUT IT REQUIRES US TO CHANGE OUR MINDSET FROM, OH, I WAS GONNA GET A FULL RECONSTRUCTED CONCRETE TO NOW I'M GOING TO GET A COMPOSITE THAT ALLOWS FOR IMPROVED DRAINAGE AND THIS AND THAT FOR 15 MILLION. 
          THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S DEFINITELY IN THE CITY'S BEST INTEREST. 
          AND SO, SO I DON'T HAVE A, A HARD YAY OR NAY, BUT I WOULD SAY I'D LOVE TO HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO REVISIT THESE THINGS BECAUSE WHEN WE MAKE LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS, SOMETIMES WE ARE MAYBE PENNY SMART, BUT DOLLAR FOOLISH. 
          APPRECIATE THAT. 
          CAN I FINISH UP? GOOD POINT, MADAM CHAIR, OR DO YOU WANT ME BACK IN THE QUEUE? GO AHEAD. 
          OKAY. 
          AND JUST, UH, AND CERTAINLY LET'S ENGAGE IN THE LONG TERM PLANNING THAT'S, THAT'S NECESSARY, THAT'S ESSENTIAL. 
          BUT PERHAPS WHAT'S PRESENTED TO COUNCIL, MAYBE IT SHOULD ONLY BE THREE YEARS, IF YEARS FOUR AND FIVE ARE, WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA MAKE A LOT OF CHANGES. 
          SO JUST A THOUGHT. 
          SURE. 
          WE COULD DEFINITELY EXPLORE THAT. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER, KAMAN DIRECTOR, YOU HIT ON MY QUESTION ABOUT ASPHALT VERSUS CONCRETE, BECAUSE AGAIN, IF WE'RE GO DOING ALL THESE OVERLAYS, THAT'S GREAT, BUT WE'RE PUTTING MONEY IN AND DOES IT LAST AS LONG MM-HMM . 
          UM, SO WOULD LOVE MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THAT NEW TECHNOLOGY. 
          UM, THE ONE QUESTION I HAD, BECAUSE USING AI IN THE PREDICTIVE, UH, TECHNOLOGY AS IT RELATES TO SEWAGE, I BELIEVE, UH, DAVID HAD SAID VERY EXCITING. 
          CAN YOU PLEASE REMIND US WITH THE FLOOD RISK INDEX AND THE STORMWATER MASTER PLAN, THINGS LIKE THAT, IS THAT A CAPTION? IS THAT CAPTURING IT IN TIME? OR ARE THOSE RISKS BEING ASSESSED AGAIN WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, EXTREME INCREASING WEATHER? HAVE WE PREDICTED FOR THAT TO IDENTIFY THIS IS WHAT THE NEED IS GOING TO BE IN THESE AREAS POTENTIALLY IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS, INCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE, BIO EROSION? YEAH. 
          RIGHT. 
          THAT'S A, THAT'S A HUGE ISSUE THAT WE HAVEN'T YEAH. 
          GOTTEN 
          [01:00:01]
TO REALLY YET. 
          YEAH, NO, THAT'S A WONDERFUL QUESTION. 
          YOU KNOW, AS THE MODELS ARE DEVELOPED, THEY OBVIOUSLY RELY ON THE DATA AVAILABLE TO US AT THE TIME. 
          THAT DATA, THOUGH, IS AS, UH, CURRENT AS IT CAN POSSIBLY BE, WHICH IS SUGGESTED WHAT THOSE CHANGES HAVE LOOKED LIKE. 
          AND SO THE MODELS TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHERE YOU START SEEING TREND LINES, RIGHT? AND HOW THAT GOES. 
          BUT THE BEAUTY OF THESE MODELS IS ALSO, IT ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE TO INPUT DATA INTO IT. 
          SO IT'S ONGOING AND IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING. 
          OBVIOUSLY, WHAT WE DON'T WANNA DO IS WE WANNA SAY, OH, WE'VE GOT A STORMWATER MASTER PLAN. 
          THIS IS WHAT WE'RE STUCK WITH FOR THE NEXT 10, 15, 20 YEARS. 
          WE WANNA SAY WE'VE GOT A MASTER PLAN THAT ALLOWS FOR US TO GO AND TAKE DATA THAT'S COMING INTO US NOW AS WE'VE MADE IMPROVEMENTS HERE THAT NOW STARTS TO REMOVE SOME OF THESE HEXAGONAL SHAPES THAT WE'VE KIND OF DIVIDED EVERYTHING UP INTO TO SAY THAT NOW THE NEEDS ARE GONNA BE SHIFTED OVER ONTO THE OTHER SIDE AS WELL. 
          SO, SORRY, IS IT PREDICTIVE IN TERMS OF WEATHER MODELING AS WELL, OR, IT'S OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER PLUMMER. 
          JUST REALLY QUICK, HOW DID Y'ALL DETERMINE THAT 6% OF AREAS THAT NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED RIGHT NOW? THE EASIEST WAY IS YOU LOOK AT HOW MUCH WORK WE'VE HAD TO DO IN THOSE SPOTS. 
          OKAY, SO THESE ARE, THESE ARE 6% OF THE LINES WHERE WE SEE CONSTANT LEAKS, RIGHT? IF YOU FIX A LEAK HERE, AND THEN YOU GOTTA MOVE A HUNDRED FEET DOWN THE ROAD IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS BECAUSE A NEW ONES SPRUNG. 
          UM, AND THEN YOU TAKE THOSE ASSESSMENTS AND YOU COMBINE IT WITH YOUR CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF THE PIPELINE. 
          SO WHAT TYPE OF MATERIAL IS IT? UH, HOW LONG AGO WAS IT INSTALLED EVEN? WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL CAPACITY? AND WHAT DID THE FLOWS LOOK LIKE THROUGH IT? ALL OF THAT HELPED US UNDERSTAND WHERE THE 6% WERE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN WHEN YOU MAKE THOSE REPAIRS, ARE Y'ALL MAKING, AND I DON'T MEAN THIS IN A, IN A NEGATIVE WAY, BUT ARE THEY TEMPORARY FIXES OR ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING IN AND ACTUALLY FIXING THE PROBLEM WHEN YOU'RE OPENING IT UP? SO, IF YOU REMEMBER, WHEN WE PRESENTED THE BUDGET, OUR ASPIRATIONAL GOAL THIS YEAR IS TO REPLACE 3% OF THE PIPE. 
          UH, A MATURE UTILITY OUGHT TO BE REPLACING BETWEEN TWO TO 3% ANNUALLY EVERY YEAR. 
          THE PROBLEM WITH HOUSTON IS WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT 3% OF OUR PIPE, WE'RE TALKING 3% OF 7,600 MILES. 
          OKAY? SO IT'S, IT'S A HUGE STRETCH, WHICH IS WHY IN THE HISTORY OF THIS CITY, WE HAVE ONLY ONCE, ONE TIME IN ONE YEAR EVER REPLACED 3% OR GREATER. 
          IT'S ONLY EVER HAPPENED ONCE. 
          MOST YEARS WE DON'T EVEN PRESENT, UH, REPLACE A FULL PERCENTAGE OR EVEN A FULL HALF PERCENTAGE. 
          SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY, THE LEAKS THAT WE HAVE NOW, AND THE REASON WHY A LOT OF REPAIRS ARE TEMPORARY, IS BECAUSE THE VOLUME OF IT IS THE RESULT OF LONG-TERM DEFERRED OR FRANKLY, NEGLECTED REPAIRS. 
          AND WE NEED TO BE IN THE BUSINESS NOW OF REPLACING WHOLESALE STICKS OF PIPE WITH THE RIGHT TYPES OF MATERIALS AT THE RIGHT DEPTHS AND THE RIGHT CONDITIONS THAT ALLOW US TO GET OUT OF THAT GAME FOR THE LONG TERM. 
          THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION SAYS SOMETHING LIKE, UM, A UTILITY LIKE OURS WITH THE NUMBER OF PIPES, UH, MILES OF PIPELINE WE HAVE, LIKE, WE SHOULD BE DEALING WITH ON AVERAGE, LIKE MAYBE 40 LEAKS A MONTH. 
          LIKE WE'RE GETTING 40 LEAKS A DAY IN THE REGULAR SEASON. 
          SO WE'VE GOT A LONG WAYS TO GO, BUT WE GOT A PLAN. 
          WE GOT IT. 
          PERFECT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU, SIR. 
          COLLEAGUES, NOW WE WILL MOVE TO THE AMENDMENTS. 
          UH, WE DID HAVE SOME, UH, AMENDMENTS OFFERED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, RAMIREZ AND PECK PRESENTED DURING THE CIP PROCESS. 
          WE'VE BEEN TALKING A LOT. 
          WE'VE HEARD FROM THE DEPARTMENTS NOW ABOUT THEIR PROCESS TO PUT THE CIP TOGETHER AND HOW THEY PRIORITIZE THEM. 
          AND NOW IT'S KIND OF OUR TURN TO TALK ABOUT IDEAS THAT, UH, THAT WERE BROUGHT UP DURING THE CIP PROCESS. 
          AND AFTERWARDS, IF WE HAVE ADDITIONAL IDEAS, AND A LOT OF THESE HAVE TO DO WITH PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, OF COURSE, 'CAUSE THAT'S OUR JOB, UM, TO ENGAGE WITH THE PUBLIC ABOUT ALL THIS. 
          SO I WILL PASS IT TO, WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S, CIP AMENDMENT 1 0 1, THEN HE'LL DO 1 0 2 AND 1 0 3, AND THEN WE'LL DO PECK AMENDMENT 6 0 4, AND THEN SHE HAS AN ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT. 
          WE'LL BRING UP A, THE SEPTEMBER 2ND, BFA MEETING. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          AND LET ME SAY AT THE OUTSET, UM, THE REASON FOR OFFERING THESE AMENDMENTS WAS NOT ANY SORT OF COMMENT ON THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION AND ITS LEADERSHIP, NOR WAS IT REALLY A COMMENT ON THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION AND, AND ITS LEADERSHIP. 
          THIS IS ABOUT ARMING COUNCIL MEMBERS, THIS COUNCILS THIS, AND FUTURE COUNCILS WITH INFORMATION SO THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN DO THEIR JOB IN A BETTER WAY. 
          IN A STRONG MAYOR, LITTLE M FORM OF GOVERNMENT AND A RELATIVELY WEAK COUNCIL, IT BECOMES IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WE CAN DO OUR JOBS OF REPRESENTING OUR CONSTITUENTS, AND PARTICULARLY OUR DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          AND THAT'S REALLY THE SPIRIT IN WHICH THIS WAS OFFERED. 
          SO IF WE CAN GO, UH, TO AMENDMENT 1 0 1, THIS IMPOSES A, AN OBLIGATION ON THE ADMINISTRATION TO PROVIDE EACH COUNCIL MEMBER A MONTHLY REPORT IDENTIFYING SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN INFRASTRUCTURES THAT USE CITY 
          [01:05:01]
FUNDS. 
          AND YOU SEE LAID OUT THERE THE, UH, QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT WOULD, UH, COUNCIL WOULD BE REQUIRED TO, UH, BE INFORMED ABOUT. 
          AND, UH, THEN AT THE BOTTOM, UH, THE TYPES OF INFORMATION THAT, UH, WOULD BE MANDATED, INCLUDING WHERE EACH PROJECT IS LOCATED, WHICH, WHAT COUNCIL DISTRICT OR DISTRICTS, THE ESTIMATED COST, AND A DESCRIPTIVE NOTE ABOUT THE REASON FOR THE DELAY, UH, CANCELLATION REDESIGN OR ALTERATION AND SCOPE. 
          OBVIOUSLY, THERE ARE, UH, LEGITIMATE REASONS WHY CHANGES ARE MADE REQUIRED AND AND SO FORTH. 
          WE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, IF WE'RE GIVEN THAT INFORMATION. 
          AND ALTHOUGH IT HASN'T BEEN A PROBLEM AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED IN THIS ADMINISTRATION, IN A STRONG MAYOR FORM OF GOVERNMENT, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR, UH, A MAYOR TO, TO ACT. 
          UM, SO AS TO PUNISH DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS OR ANY COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THEIR OPPOSITION TO, UH, WHAT, WHAT THAT PARTICULAR MAYOR WANTS TO DO. 
          IT'S POSSIBLE, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S HAPPENED, UH, UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION OR, OR ANY OTHER, BUT, UH, IT IS POSSIBLE. 
          AND SO THIS IS, UH, A WAY TO ARM COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH INFORMATION IN ORDER TO DO THEIR JOBS BETTER. 
          THAT'S 1 0 1. 
          THAT'S OH TWO ALLOWS THREE OR MORE COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          AND THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH PROP A THAT WAS JUST, UH, ADOPTED, UH, BY THE VOTERS, OR AT LEAST IT WAS IN, IN 23, TO OBJECT TO THE DELAY CANCELLATION REDESIGN OR ALTERATION AND SCOPE, UH, WITHIN 10 DAYS, UH, IN WRITING WITH THE CITY SECRETARY. 
          AND TO HAVE THAT ITEM PLACED ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA FOR CONSIDERATION, UH, COUNCIL WOULD THEN VOTE TO APPROVE OR DENY, UH, THE ITEM. 
          AND SO, HERE AGAIN, THIS WOULD REQUIRE THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO AGREE THAT THIS IS AN ITEM THAT SHOULD BE BROUGHT BACK TO COUNCIL FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION. 
          UM, AND THEN 1 0 3 WOULD ALLOW A COUNCIL MEMBER TO REQUEST A PUBLIC HEARING TO ALLOW FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AT WHICH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC COULD COME DOWN AND EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS ON A GIVEN CHANGE, SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN AN INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, PROJECT. 
          THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO DELAY ANY PARTICULAR PROJECT, BUT MERELY TO GIVE THE PUBLIC THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT. 
          UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, OUR OUR CITY DEPARTMENTS AT THIS TIME HAVE, HAVE THE BEST INTENTIONS, UH, AND, AND OPERATE IN VERY DIFFICULT JOBS. 
          UM, AND THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THINGS ARE DONE WITHOUT THE PUBLIC FEELING THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE COMMENT AND THIS AMENDMENT WOULD, WOULD PROVIDE THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, DO WE, HOLD ON. 
          WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          DO YOU WANT, UM, VICE MAYOR PRO TE PECK TO MAKE HER HER, UM, LAY OUT HERS FIRST AND THEN WE'LL GO TO QUESTIONS. 
          I DEFER TO THE CHAIRS, HOWEVER YOU WANNA DEAL WITH IT. 
          VICE, VICE MAYOR PRO TE PAC. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO MY AMENDMENT, UM, 6.04 IS A WORKING GROUP BE ESTABLISHED TO EVALUATE THE CIP PROCESS TO DETERMINE A FAIR WAY OF ALLOCATING STORM DRAINAGE AND STREET AND TRAFFIC FUNDING BASED ON DATA. 
          UM, IN YEARS PAST DISTRICT A RECEIVED, ESPECIALLY FOR STORM DRAINAGE PROJECTS, UM, A LOT LESS OF THE ALLOCATION THAN MOST OTHER COUNCIL DISTRICTS. 
          RIGHT NOW, THAT'S NOT THE CASE. 
          SO I ALMOST DON'T LIKE THIS AMENDMENT ANYMORE. 
          NO, I'M JUST KIDDING. 
          UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD TO FIGHT VERY HARD FOR ANY OF THESE DOLLARS TO COME TO DISTRICT A AND, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE SOME DISTRICTS HISTORICALLY GET MORE PROJECTS THAN OTHERS WHEN THERE'S NEEDS IN EVERY COUNCIL DISTRICT. 
          AND I'M NOT SURE THAT AN EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF THE MONEY IS NECESSARILY THE MOST FAIR WAY OF DOING IT, BECAUSE EVERY DISTRICT HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS AND SOME DISTRICTS FLOOD MORE THAN OTHERS. 
          BUT THERE HAS TO BE SOME FORMULA OR SOME FAIR WAY OF ALLOCATING THIS MONEY WHERE THE NEEDS OF EACH DISTRICT, UM, ARE BEING MET. 
          AND I REALIZE THAT FLOODING DOESN'T START AND STOP AT DISTRICT BOUNDARY LINES, BUT THERE SHOULD BE SOME WAY OF SAYING HERE, YOU KNOW, ARE THE AREAS OF EACH DISTRICT THAT FLOOD THE MOST, AND HOW DO WE FIND A PROCESS THAT FAIRLY ADDRESSES THOSE NEEDS IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT? THANK YOU. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          UM, FIRST RELATED TO RAMIR, IF I MAY, UH, RELATED TO RAMIREZ'S, UH, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS, UM, I WANNA THANK, THANK 
          [01:10:01]
YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ FOR WORKING WITH DISTRICT OFFICES ON THIS ITEM, UM, AND TAKING FEEDBACK. 
          I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE SPOKEN AT LENGTH ABOUT THIS, UM, VERY EARLY ON. 
          UH, I HAD TWO QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE LANGUAGE, NOT TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT. 
          UM, BUT AS IT PERTAINS TO USING CITY FUNDS, I HAVE A QUESTION AS TO WHAT IS DEFINED AS CITY FUNDS. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, THERE CAN BE METRO FUNDS. 
          WE'RE TAKING IN, THERE'S FEDERAL GRANTS, AND WE HAVE HAD CHANGES RELATED TO FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING. 
          SO HOW ARE WE DEFINING WHAT IS TECHNICALLY CITY FUNDS? UH, AND I'LL, I'LL PAUSE AND SURE. 
          MY THINKING, THERE WAS FUNDS THAT HAVE COME INTO THE CITY'S POSSESSION THAT WOULD INCLUDE, UH, OBVIOUSLY T FUNDS, UH, COULD INCLUDE FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND, UM, METRO FUNDS. 
          I, I, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT, UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WILLING TO, UH, TAKE FEEDBACK ON THAT. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          SO IT'S NOT TRADITIONALLY AS WE THINK OF CITY DOLLARS AS WHAT IS WITHIN OUR, OUR TAX REVENUE, IT IS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN CALL IT REVENUE POINT. 
          IT WOULD, IT WOULD INCLUDE TAX, TAX REVENUE, BUT NOT JUST THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          UM, SO JUST WANNA FLUSH THAT OUT MORE AND MAKE SURE IF THIS IS TO MOVE FORWARD, WE HAVE A, A BROAD DEFINITION OF WHAT THAT IS. 
          UM, AND THEN UNDER 1.02, UM, RECOGNIZING, RIGHT, WE HAVE THE STRONGEST FORM OF MAYORAL GOVERNMENT IN THE COUNTRY. 
          UM, AND THAT IS BY DESIGN WHERE DEPARTMENTS ANSWER DIRECTLY TO THE MAYOR. 
          UH, WE HAVE GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS, AND I WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT, BUT SHOULD SOMETHING BE PASSED AT COUNCIL, UM, TO SAY, NO, WE'RE KEEPING TO THE ORIGINAL PLAN, OR THIS IS HOW WE WANT TO SEE THIS. 
          UH, ARE THE DEPARTMENTS REQUIRED TO ACT IN GOOD FAITH TO MOVE THAT PROJECT FORWARD? HOW DOES THAT WORK GIVEN THE MAYORS THE ONE OPERATING THESE DEPARTMENTS? WELL, UM, THE CODE DOES GIVE, UM, COUNSEL, UH, SOME POWER TO SAY, UH, TO, TO DIRECT THE WAYS IN WHICH OUR DEPARTMENTS MIGHT WORK. 
          AND SO I THINK THIS, UH, WOULD FALL UNDER THAT, THAT CATEGORY. 
          OBVIOUSLY, WE WOULD, WE WOULD WANT THE DEPARTMENTS TO ACT IN GOOD FAITH TO CARRY OUT WHATEVER, UM, ORDINANCES WERE ADOPTED BY COUNCIL. 
          I, I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION. 
          YES, SIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND AGAIN, I, I DO WANNA THANK YOU FOR WORKING SO COLLABORATIVELY ON THIS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. 
          UM, AS IT PERTAINS TO THE CIP AND I, I FULLY SUPPORT THE INTENT OF THIS AND THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE REVIEWING THAT WHAT I HAVE FOR DISTRICT C FOR EXAMPLE, WE MAY NOT GET AS MUCH ON THE CIP, BUT THERE MAY BE ANOTHER BUCKET OF DOLLARS FOR WHICH WE'RE GETTING A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT INTO THE DISTRICT THAT'S NOT JUST CIP. 
          RIGHT? UM, DO YOU ENVISION WITH THIS, THAT THERE'S A, IS THERE A HOLISTIC WAY IN WHICH WE CAN LOOK AT FUNDING SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE CIP, BUT HERE'S HOW MUCH IS GOING INTO THIS DISTRICT, SO TO SPEAK? YEAH, I THINK THAT ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO BE A COMPONENT, UM, ON THAT, BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UM, GRANT FUNDING FUNDING FROM OTHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, AND ESPECIALLY THE TS FUNDING TOO, THAT IS A BIG COMPONENT TO IT AS WELL, THAT IF YOU ADD INTS UM, DOLLARS, THEN IT, IT DEFINITELY TIPS THE SCALE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH EVEN DISTRICT A IS GETTING COMPARED TO OTHER COUNCIL DISTRICTS. 
          AND THEN WE MOVE WAY DOWN ON THAT LIST. 
          AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT THAT NEEDS TO BE A COMPONENT AND, UM, IN LOOKING AT FAIR WAYS OF JUST MAKING SURE THAT THE NEEDS ARE MET OF EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT. 
          SO WHETHER THAT'S SPECIFIC DOLLAR AMOUNTS THAT'S DISTRIBUTED, OR JUST MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A PROJECT MOVING FORWARD IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT EVERY FISCAL YEAR. 
          I THINK THAT THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS, UM, A FAIR PROCESS RATHER THAN JUST, YOU KNOW, I SCREAMED THE LOUDEST, SO I'M GONNA GET THIS PROJECT THIS YEAR, WHICH HAS, I'M NOT, RIGHT NOW. 
          IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE THAT, THAT IT, IT PUBLIC WORKS IS OPERATING WHO ARE SAYING SCREAM THAT, GO AHEAD. 
          SCREAMING ME. 
          I, I HAVE BEEN , UM, . 
          UM, SO IT'S NOT OPERATING THAT WAY RIGHT NOW, BUT IN THE PAST IT SEEMED TO BE, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IT CAME UP TO COUNCIL PUBLIC SESSION OR IF, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR WHATEVER FACTORS WERE BEING LOOKED AT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE IN THE FUTURE THAT, THAT IT DOESN'T GO BACK TO THAT PROCESS. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE DISCUSSIONS ON IT AND HOW WE DO THAT. 
          'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA PUT SOMETHING OUT THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, DISTRICT A GOT THE MOST IN CIP AND EVERYONE'S SAYING, WELL, WHY NOT OUR DISTRICTS, WHEN REALLY ANOTHER DISTRICT OR AREA MAY ACTUALLY BE GETTING A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT IN FLOOD MITIGATION. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ ON 1.01 ON THE REPORTING. 
          [01:15:02]
SO WITH ENGAGE HOUSTON, AND I KNOW WE'VE, THAT WAS DOWN FOR A WHILE AND EVERYTHING IS, IS THAT NOT A SUFFICIENT UPDATE ON THE PROJECTS TO, ACCORDING TO DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS, EVERYBODY? YES. 
          NO, I, I APPRECIATE, UH, THE EFFORTS TO PUT THAT WEBSITE TOGETHER. 
          HOWEVER, I'D LIKE FOR COUNCIL TO ESTABLISH A FLOOR, IF YOU WILL, A, A BARE MINIMUM OF WHAT NEEDS TO PROVI BE PROVIDED TO EACH COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          AND THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF DATA OUT THERE. 
          UH, SOMETIMES IT'S NOT ALL THAT EASY TO FIND, I DON'T THINK IT'S ASKING TOO MUCH FOR THE ADMINISTRATION TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC SET OF DATA TO EACH COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN, CAN, CAN USE IT, YOU KNOW, TO DO THEIR JOBS. 
          SO I DON'T, I, I APPRECIATE, UH, ENGAGE HOUSTON, BUT THAT, THAT IS, IS, IS DONE THROUGH THE, THE GOOD INTENTIONS OF, OF OUR CURRENT LEADERSHIP. 
          BUT THERE'S NOTHING TO SAY THAT IT CAN'T GO AWAY, YOU KNOW, UH, EITHER UNDER THIS, THIS TERM OR SOME OTHER LEADERSHIP, THERE'S NOTHING IN AN ORDINANCE, UH, PRESCRIBING THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT EXISTS AND PROVIDE INFORMATION TO COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          YES. 
          I, I, I UNDERSTAND. 
          AND I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT PUTTING ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, BURDEN ON, ON PUBLIC WORKS THAT IF, IF IT'S SOMETHING SIMPLE OR A FORM OR THE, WE NEED TO KNOW THESE THREE THINGS OR FOUR THINGS THAT AREN'T ON ENGAGED HOUSTON OR WHATEVER. 
          I GET THAT. 
          I DO LIKE THE REPORTING ON DELAY, CANCELLATION REDESIGN, OR ALTERATION IN SCOPE. 
          I DO, I DO LIKE THAT A LOT AS, AS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD THINK THAT THE DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD EXPECT, UH, TO GET YOU GET IF YOU ARE TO GET, I GUESS IT'S VER I GUESS IT VARIES FROM OFFICE TO OFFICE, BUT, UM, BUT THANK YOU. 
          I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE. 
          AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER PECK ON, ON YOURS. 
          I, I LIKE, BUT, AND I THINK YOU'RE TALKING JUST, YOU'RE JUST TALKING STREETS AND DRAINAGE, BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE THE MASTER PLAN, I MEAN, I, I KNOW THAT THAT'S GONNA DIRECT, DIRECT PROJECTS THAT MIGHT NOT BE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, E AND I KNOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE CAREFUL TO SAY NOT EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED, BUT, AND, AND YOU'RE NOT SAYING, YOU'RE SAYING YOU WANT A WORKING GROUP. 
          AND WHO WOULD THAT WORKING GROUP BE? LIKE, WHAT, WHO WOULD, WHO ARE YOU ENVISIONING ON THAT? YEAH, I THINK THAT IT SHOULD INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, PUBLIC WORKS ENGINEERS, UM, TO FIGURE OUT SOME KIND OF FORMULA THERE. 
          UM, AND YES, I THINK THE STORM WATER PLAN DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE A COMPONENT OF IT. 
          WE SHOULDN'T JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO JUST DO PROJECTS JUST BECAUSE THE COUNCIL MEMBER THINKS IT'S IMPORTANT. 
          WE ACTUALLY NEED TO DO IT BASED ON DATA, BASED ON THAT PLAN. 
          UM, BUT JUST FIND A WAY TO MAKE SURE THE NEEDS ARE BEING MET OF EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT IN EVERY FISCAL YEAR. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN ON THE RAMIREZ TWO, AND THAT IS, THAT WOULD COME, THAT'S LIKE IF THERE'S THREE OR MORE COUNCIL MEMBERS OBJECT, YOU GET THE REPORT ON THE DELAY CANCELLATION REDESIGN ALTERATION, AND THEN IF YOU'RE NOT, IF YOU WANT COUNCIL TO, HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? EXACTLY, THEN YOU WOULD GO GET THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO, TO OBJECT BASICALLY, AND THEN PUT THAT DELAY CANCELLATION REDESIGN, OR ALTERATION ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA? CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION. 
          OKAY. 
          I FEEL LIKE THERE'S GONNA BE FIGHTS. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR, UM, DIRECTOR MACKEY ON RAMIREZ, CIP AMENDMENT 1.01. 
          I, I THINK THAT A MONTHLY BASIS MAY BE A LITTLE CUMBERSOME, ESPECIALLY ON THE BIG PROJECTS, UM, WHERE THERE'S NOT VERY MUCH TO REPORT MONTHLY. 
          UM, TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL. 
          YES, I, I AGREE. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF MOVEMENT MONTH OVER MONTH ON THE LIST OF PROJECTS, AND THE LIST IS, IS PRETTY EXTENSIVE, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I DO APPRECIATE THE QUESTION ABOUT ENGAGE HOUSTON AND WHETHER THAT'S PROVIDING, BECAUSE ALL OF THE PROJECTS ULTIMATELY ARE LISTED ON ENGAGE HOUSTON. 
          UM, SO I CAN APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER THE THOUGHT THAT MAYBE IN THE FUTURE IF SOMEONE DECIDED THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT, OKAY. 
          BUT WE'RE DOING IT NOW. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK THE ENGAGED HOUSTON IS GREAT, BUT I ALSO LIKE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALCORN SAID LIKE, THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WHEN SOMETHING CHANGES, BECAUSE I'VE HAD A PROJECT THAT CHANGED AND WE DIDN'T FIND OUT UNTIL AFTER AT THE END, AND IT WAS ALREADY 
          [01:20:01]
DONE THAT. 
          SO I THINK THE CHANGES, AMENDMENTS, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, WE SHOULD IMMEDIATELY BE MADE AWARE BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY TAKE PLACE SO WE CAN HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. 
          SO I LIKE THAT ASPECT OF, UM, THE REPORTING, BUT REALISTICALLY, IF WE FO WHEN I FOLLOW THE PROJECTS ON ENGAGE HOUSTON, THERE'S NOT SOMETHING HAPPENING MONTHLY. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHERE I THINK WE MAY NEED A LITTLE TWEAK COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, IF IT'S NOT A MONTHLY REPORTING SOMETHING ELSE, BECAUSE THE PROJECTS ARE NOT MOVING VERY FAST TO HAVE A MONTHLY REPORT, IN MY OPINION. 
          I, I'M, I'M CERTAINLY OPEN, YOU KNOW, TO, UH, SOME EDITS ON THAT. 
          WHAT I WANT TO AVOID IS, UH, A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME, LET, LET'S SAY SOMEONE SAYS, WELL, HOW ABOUT QUARTERLY INSTEAD? WELL, A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN 90 DAYS, RIGHT? AND, UH, IF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS DON'T FIND, FIND OUT ABOUT IT, UH, WITHIN, UH, A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME, THEN THEIR EFFECTIVENESS, I THINK CAN, CAN BE, UM, I GUESS I JUST THINK THAT JUST FROM HOW WE FOLLOW ENGAGE HOUSTON, EVERY PROJECT IS SO SPECIFIC AND IT, IT DETERMINED, YOU KNOW, IT JUST KIND OF DEPENDS ON HOW LONG THE PROJECT'S GOING TO TAKE, WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THE PROJECT. 
          IS IT IN THE DESIGN PHASE? ARE WE ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, BUILDING SOMETHING? DO WE HAVE THE FUNDING? YOU KNOW, SO EVERYBODY'S TIMELINE, EVERY PROJECT'S TIMELINE IS DIFFERENT. 
          YES. 
          MAYOR PRO CHAIRMAN, AND, AND PART OF, UH, WHY ENGAGED HOUSTON WAS DOWN FOR SOME TIME IS BECAUSE THE SITE ITSELF WAS NOT WORKING AS INTENDED. 
          ONE OF THE COMPONENTS THAT IT INCLUDES IS WHEN THERE ARE CHANGES, THAT THE CHANGES ARE ALL SOLICITED ON THERE, AND THEN EVERYONE WHO'S SUBSCRIBED TO THE SITE AND TO THOSE PROJECTS SPECIFICALLY IS NOTIFIED OF THOSE CHANGES AT THE SAME TIME. 
          I MEAN, I WOULD, MY, MY, MY RESPONSE WOULD BE, RATHER THAN PREPARING A MONTHLY REPORT, IS WHY DON'T WE JUST OBLIGATE OURSELVES TO MAKE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AWARE IMMEDIATELY WHEN WE MAKE A CHANGE? I, I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT. 
          UM, BUT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT ADDING POTENTIALLY LAYERS OF BUREAUCRACY WHERE MAYBE THEY'RE NOT NECESSARY JUST TO CHECK CERTAIN BOXES. 
          FOR ME, AS THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE DEPARTMENT, I'M THINKING ABOUT THE RESOURCES AND MANPOWER THAT TAKES JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING SOMETHING THAT MAY REALLY, IN AND OF ITSELF ON A MONTHLY BASIS, HAVE NO EFFECT. 
          IF THERE ARE EASIER WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH IT, WE ARE CERTAINLY OPEN TO DOING THAT. 
          BUT I WILL ABSOLUTELY COMMIT TO THE FACT THAT, UM, WE MUST, AS A DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE NOT BEEN PERFECT AT IT BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION, NOT EVEN UNDER MY LEADERSHIP, BUT WE MUST BE BETTER. 
          AND, AND I COMMIT OUR LEADERSHIP TO MAKING SURE THAT THAT TRANSPARENCY IS TO ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          AND IF THERE IS A CHANGE THAT WE REPORT THAT TO YOU IMMEDIATELY. 
          SO, SO THAT YOU'RE AWARE, MAY, MAY I ADDRESS THAT? SURE. 
          I I CERTAINLY DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF, OF COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, IF THAT IS MADE PART OF AN ORDINANCE. 
          UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, REGARDING EXTRA MANPOWER, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UH, PUBLIC WORKS TRACKS THESE PROJECTS USING, UH, VARIOUS FORMS OF SOFTWARE. 
          IS IS THAT NOT THE CASE? YES. 
          ENGAGED HOUSTON? WELL, I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE ALL THE PROJECTS AND THE DETAILS ULTIMATELY END UP, RIGHT? SURE. 
          BUT, BUT, BUT ENGAGED HOUSTON IS NOT GONNA SPIT OUT A READY-MADE REPORT FOR US TO PROVIDE ON A MONTHLY BASIS, BUT, BUT YOU HAVE INTERNAL SOFTWARE THAT YOU USE IN FOUR, I THINK IS ONE. 
          UM, LET ME, LET ME TALK ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY STATUS IN PUBLIC WORKS. 
          UH, IT'S AN ABSOLUTE MESS. 
          I MEAN, IT, IT'S BEYOND AN ABSOLUTE MESS. 
          SOME OF MY FOLKS ARE KEEPING TRACK OF CERTAIN THINGS ON SPREADSHEETS. 
          SOME PEOPLE HAVE A PROPRIETARY PIECE OF SOFTWARE THAT OTHERS DON'T KNOW ABOUT. 
          SOME FOLKS BUILD IN-HOUSE DASHBOARDS. 
          IT'S A LONG-TERM, UH, PUSH FOR US RIGHT NOW, AND THIS IS PART OF OUR ONGOING REORGANIZATION PLANS TO REALLY TRY AND FIND THIS CENTRAL PLACE TO HOUSE THAT. 
          BUT THAT'S WHY ENGAGED HOUSTON IS THAT PLACE FOR US RIGHT NOW. 
          FRANKLY, IT'S WHY IT WAS SO CONCERNING TO ME THAT IT WAS NOT ACCURATE AS IT WAS PORTRAYED. 
          THERE WAS ACTUALLY THREE OR FOUR WEBSITES COMBINED BECAUSE OF THE SAME THING. 
          DIFFERENT PEOPLE RUNNING DIFFERENT STUFF THAT HAD DIFFERENT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SAME PROJECTS. 
          AND SO I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF FRUSTRATION BY THE PUBLIC WHERE IT WAS DOWN FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, BUT THAT WAS A NECESSITY SO THAT WE MADE SURE THAT WE WERE REPORTING THINGS ACCURATELY AND THAT THE SITE WAS FUNCTIONING THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO. 
          IT'S DESIGNED TO BE ABLE TO PUSH INFORMATION TO INDIVIDUALS IN REAL TIME. 
          AS SOON AS WE UPLOAD IT, IT GOES OUT THERE. 
          90% DESIGN IS COMPLETE, WE'RE READY TO GO. 
          WE'RE GOING TO CONSTRUCTION TOMORROW UP. 
          THERE'S BEEN A CHANGE. 
          THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A STREETLIGHT OR A 
          [01:25:01]
STOP SIGN ON THIS CORNER ANYMORE. 
          THAT'S, THAT'S THE INTENTION FOR IT TO BE, AND, AND IT'S THE BEST SOFTWARE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, BECAUSE THERE IS STILL A LOT OF DISPARITY OUT THERE IN HOW OUR ENGINEERS ARE MANAGING SOME OF THOSE THINGS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          AND, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THAT WE RECENTLY HEARD PRESENTATION FROM SOLID WASTE, AND, AND THEY CERTAINLY HAD SOME CHALLENGES WITH, WITH THE SOFTWARE THAT THEY'VE HAD. 
          BUT, YOU KNOW, UH, TELL US WHAT YOU NEED, YOU KNOW, IN THAT REGARD. 
          AND, AND I'M SURE COUNCIL WILL BE WILLING TO, TO HELP YOU OUT ON THAT. 
          UM, BUT IN TERMS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE MANPOWER, YOU'VE INDICATED THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU GUYS CAN SHOOT FOR IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION, UH, TO COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, AND THAT'S POSSIBLE. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, MADAM CHAIR, A COUPLE AREAS THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT IN THIS WHOLE PROCESS. 
          UH, LET ME START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER PECK FIRST. 
          AND YOU WERE, YOU WERE SPEAKING EARLIER CONCERNING PREVIOUS PROJECTS WITHIN YOUR DISTRICT. 
          CAN YOU GIVE ME, UM, THAT WAS DELAYED. 
          CAN YOU GIVE ME AT LEAST KIND OF LIKE AN ESTIMATE ABOUT HOW FREQUENT YOU PROJECTS DID NOT GET STARTED OR COMPLETED WITHIN THE PAST TERM ON AN AVERAGE? IN OTHER WORDS, HOW MANY BY PROJECTS DID YOU THINK SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE THAT DID GET DONE OR WAS EVEN CONSIDERED? DID? UM, WELL, I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN, SO IN 2019, DISTRICT A WAS GETTING LESS THAN 1% OF THE AVAILABLE DOLLARS, UM, FOR STORM DRAINAGE PROJECTS. 
          AND THEN SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THAT FISCAL YEAR DIDN'T EVEN HAPPEN. 
          GOT IT. 
          AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES IT LOOKS LIKE A PROJECT IS MOVING FORWARD, AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ALLOCATION OF, UM, MONEY FOR EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT, SOMETHING MIGHT LOOK REALLY GREAT AND THEN COME TO FIND OUT THAT THOSE PROJECTS AREN'T EVEN HAPPENING. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO IT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO CALCULATE THAT EACH FISCAL YEAR WITH PLANS VERSUS WHAT WAS ACTUALLY SPENT, WHICH IS, UM, WHEN WE GET TO THAT SECTION, UM, CHAIR FOR, UM, IDEAS OF CHANGES, THAT'S ACTUALLY ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVE ON THE LIST IS MM-HMM . 
          YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO LOOK AT DOLLARS IN TERMS OF WHAT'S PLANNED, BUT THEN ALSO WHAT ACTUALLY WAS SPENT IN EACH COUNCIL DISTRICT. 
          SURE. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, AND, AND THAT, YEAH, LESS THAN 1%. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO WITH THAT, I WANTED TO ASK YOU THAT FIRST BEFORE I REFER TO, UM, COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ'S, UM, AMENDMENT, BECAUSE THE TITLE OF THIS IS CALLED INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSPARENCY. 
          SO WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS MAKING AS IF IT'S ALREADY DETERMINED THAT IT IS NOT BEING TRANSPARENT IN REGARDS TO THE DISTRICT COUNCIL PEOPLE WHO ARE THE ONES WHO ARE MORE, SHOULD BE CONCERNED IN HOW THE PROJECT IS MOVING AND WHAT IT'S DONE. 
          BUT WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING OF PROJECTS THAT DIDN'T GET DONE, AND I'M SURE THAT WOULD, THERE WERE REASONS OFFERED TO YOU AS TO WHY IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, I'M SURE. 
          RIGHT? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          WE WERE AWARE WHEN THEY WEREN'T HAPPENING. 
          GOT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          NOW TO, TO COUNCILMAN RAMIREZ ON, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL THINGS HERE, RATHER BOTHERING NUMBER ONE UNDER 1.01, YOU TALKED ABOUT AN INSERT OF AN ESTIMATED COST. 
          WHAT, WHAT WOULD THAT AN ESTIMATED COST WAITING FOR COUNCIL TO DETERMINE WHAT I MEAN, WE GOING TO DETERMINE IT BY MATERIAL, A ESTIMATED COST BASED UPON TIME? UH, I'M JUST, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU REFERRING TO? UM, FOLLOW LOCATION PROJECT AND ESTIMATED TOTAL CAUSE? WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I, UH, IT'S, UM, THAT, THAT'S GONNA DEPEND ON THE PROJECT, AND I WOULD IMAGINE THAT PUBLIC WORKS OR, OR WHOEVER HAS GOT, UH, INFORMATION RELATED TO WHAT THAT PROJECT IS GONNA COST ESTIMATED TOTAL COST. 
          I, I, I'M NOT SURE, UM, HOW ELSE TO BREAK THAT DOWN. 
          WELL, I, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, IF YOU ARE ASKING FOR ESTIMATED CAUSE, WHAT, WHAT IS THE, THE REASON, ARE YOU REFERRING TO IT BASED ON THE DISTRICT COUNCIL'S PERSON'S PROJECT? OR ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE VOTE ON IT FOR COUNT? I MEAN, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND A PROJECT. 
          I THINK YOU'S JUST REFERRING TO ANY CHANGES IN ESTIMATED COSTS. 
          YEAH. 
          IN ESTIMATED COSTS. 
          BUT LISTEN, WE HAVE, UM, LOTS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE, SO 
          [01:30:01]
I WANT US TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR TIME. 
          I'LL COME BACK TO, UM, IF EVERYONE COULD JUST KIND OF ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS. 
          AND THEN LET'S MOVE TO ANY SUGGESTIONS THAT WE HAVE. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER DAVIS, ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU WANNA ASK ABOUT THAT? I'M GOOD. 
          I THINK I'LL GET BACK. 
          I THINK IT JUST DEALT WITH THE CHANGE IN COST. 
          SURE. 
          OKAY. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR PROAM CHAIR. 
          UM, JUST WANT TO SAY, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, COUNCILOR MAD RAMIREZ. 
          UH, BUT I WILL SAY THAT, UH, IN REGARDS TO, UH, 1.01 AND 1.03, UM, I, I FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT IN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH, WITH THE ADMINISTRATION AND DEPARTMENTS, UH, ABOUT WHAT PROJECTS ARE HAPPENING. 
          WE STAYED PRETTY, UH, PRETTY, UH, ABREAST ON EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON AND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY. 
          I JUST HAD A, UH, A MEETING ABOUT A WEEK AGO, UH, THAT HAD TO DO WITH CHANGES AS WELL. 
          AND, UH, EVEN AT THAT MEETING, THERE WAS FOLKS THAT DIDN'T LIKE THE ORIGINAL, ORIGINAL DESIGN THAT WERE THERE TO SUPPORT IT. 
          SO IT, THOSE, THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE ALWAYS OPEN, AT LEAST FROM MY OFFICE, I'M SURE WITH MY COLLEAGUES AS WELL. 
          UM, WHAT I DO HAVE A QUESTION ON, AND IT'S MORE, I GUESS MAYBE TO RANDY, UH, ON ENGAGE, UH, HOUSTON, IT'S ALL PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS. 
          UM, I THINK TO COUNCILOR RAMIREZ ON ON 1.01, UH, IT SAYS, ANY, ANY FUNDING, CITY FUNDING, UM, TS MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, OR MAYBE NOT MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, BUT WE DO HAVE A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT OVERLAP IN DISTRICT GUY. 
          UH, AND WE HAD A MEETING A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, UM, T STOP PROJECTS, TURS. 
          UM, AND, AND SO I, I WONDER IF ENGAGED HOUSTON CAN CAN BE A, A PLACE WHERE WE CAN COMPILE A LOT OF THOSE. 
          SO THAT WAY, FOLKS, I GET, I GET CALLS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH, UM, A TS PROJECT. 
          I GET CALLS, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH A GEORGE R. BROWN EXPANSION PROJECT? WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS PROJECT? COULD WE DUMP ALL THAT INFORMATION ON ENGAGED HOUSTON? YEAH, I, I THINK THAT WE ABSOLUTELY CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE, ENGAGE HOUSTON AND WHAT'S ON THERE, AND EVEN IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL PROJECT DETAILS THAT COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD LIKE, WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO, TO WORK TO INCLUDE THOSE AS PART OF IT. 
          AND IF THAT INCLUDES, UH, PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WE WOULD DO IT. 
          NOW, I DON'T, WE WOULDN'T TAKE ON JUST A TEXT OUT PROJECT, FOR INSTANCE. 
          RIGHT? RIGHT. 
          THAT'S THEIR OWN THING. 
          BUT IF THERE'S SOMETHING WE'RE DOING TOGETHER, SURE. 
          WE SHOULD INCLUDE THAT. 
          MY ASSUMPTION IS EVERYBODY'S GOING TO PERMITTING CENTER FOR SOMETHING, RIGHT? CORRECT. 
          AT LEAST IF THEY'RE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          AND SO Y'ALL SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IT. 
          AND, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY CHALLENGES THAT I PROBABLY SEE. 
          AND IT'S ONLY BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN DISTRICT EYE FROM DOWNTOWN TO HOBBY UP TO NORTHEAST PART OF THE DISTRICT GUY. 
          AND SO THE, IF WE CAN HAVE THAT ONE PLACEHOLDER AS ENGAGED HOUSTON, I KNOW WE, THAT WAS A CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW DO WE COORDINATE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UH, AROUND THE TOYOTA CENTER, AROUND DOWNTOWN MAIL OVERLAYS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH HGAC FUNDING. 
          UH, SO IF WE COULD UTILIZE THAT AS KIND OF A, A PLACE TO DUMP ALL INFORMATION, UH, THAT WAY, UH, WE CAN DIRECT, UH, CONSTITUENTS TO THAT, THAT ONE SITE. 
          WE'LL GET TO WORK ON THAT IMMEDIATELY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ FOR, UH, PUTTING FORWARD THESE THREE AMENDMENTS AND COUNCIL MEMBER PECK. 
          I DO APPRECIATE A LOT OF, OF WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO. 
          UM, FOR 1.01, I, I AGREE THAT MONTHLY DOES SOUND LIKE A ALMOST TOO FREQUENT OF A REPORT FOR THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS. 
          UM, BUT WITH RESPECT TO DELAY CANCELLATION AND REDESIGN, UM, MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE, AND I, AND I KNOW PUBLIC WORKS IS SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE COULD JUST NOTIFY Y'ALL IMMEDIATELY, BUT PUTTING SOMETHING IN HERE THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, WITHIN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF BUSINESS DAYS, WE WILL BE NOTIFIED SO THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN CONSISTENTLY EXPECT AND WE CAN ALL WORK WITH EACH OTHER TO, TO MEET THAT GOAL. 
          UM, AND MAY I, MAY I ASK, IS THERE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF OF BUSINESS DAYS YOU WOULD SUGGEST? I WOULD, I MEAN, I THINK SOMETHING REASONABLE IS REASONABLE IS THREE OR FIVE, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT IF THERE'S GONNA BE A REDESIGN, THERE'S GONNA BE A CHANGE OR A CANCELLATION WITHIN FIVE DAYS, WE ARE NOTIFIED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS SOMEONE THAT HAS HAD A PROJECT REMOVED, PEOPLE COME TO ME FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, AND IF I DON'T HAVE THE INFORMATION, UM, IT'S FRUSTRATING FOR CONSTITUENTS AND IT'S FRUSTRATING FOR THE DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          SO, UM, HAVING SOMETHING THAT WILL AT LEAST REASSURE US THAT WE WILL BE NOTIFIED, WE WILL BE INFORMED. 
          THAT'S IMPORTANT, UM, ON COUNCIL MEMBER PECK'S AMENDMENT FOR THE TASK FORCE, UM, WITH RESPECT TO DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE THAT AREN'T DATA DRIVEN OR THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO AVOID. 
          SO I THINK ALL OF THE PROJECTS, UM, THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD NOW, IT'S ALL BASED ON NEEDS IN SOME REGARD. 
          UM, IT'S 
          [01:35:01]
IN THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S FLOODING ISSUES OR THERE'S STREET CONDITION ISSUES, BUT IT'S THE MORE OF THE PROCESS OF HOW THE PROJECTS ARE BEING CHOSEN TO MOVE FORWARD VERSUS OTHER PROJECTS. 
          AND SO THIS WOULD JUST CREATE SOME KIND OF FORMULA OR PLAN MOVING FORWARD WHERE WE'RE STILL USING THE DATA, BUT ALSO USING THE DATA TO DETERMINE THE PROJECTS THAT GO FORWARD. 
          SO A MORE JUST TRANSPARENT SORT OF WAY OF OPERATING IN GENERAL? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          THANKS. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, UM, GOING BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S, UH, AMENDMENT WITH 1.01, HOW I HAD INTERPRETED IT BY IDENTIFYING BOTH WITHIN THE CITY RIGHTS OF WAY, RIGHT, GEOGRAPHICALLY AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THAT I THINK THERE IS TRACTION FOR, WHICH IS DELAY CANCELLATION REDESIGN ABOVE A CERTAIN THRESHOLD, BECAUSE THERE ARE EXAMPLES WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED. 
          I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT'S INTENTIONALLY, AND I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY NOT SUPPORT SOME OF THOSE CHANGES AT TIMES, BUT WHEN THERE ARE CHANGES, COUNCIL, ESPECIALLY THE DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS AND AT LARGE, AS I WOULD SAY IN THOSE AREAS, NEED TO BE MADE AWARE AND GIVEN THE TIME TO LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW, GET THAT FEEDBACK, AND TO THE COUNCIL MEMBER'S POINT, WHETHER IT'S PROP A OR ANOTHER MECHANISM, ENGAGE IN SUCH A WAY TO ENSURE THAT THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD AS INTENDED OR AS DESIRED BY THE COMMUNITY IN THE SAFEST WAY POSSIBLE. 
          SO I HOPE THAT WE CAN CAPTURE THE SPIRIT OF THAT, BECAUSE THERE ARE EXAMPLES. 
          UM, DIRECTOR, I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, YOUR COMMITMENT TO ENGAGE HOUSTON. 
          I WILL SAY THAT, AND IF I'M WORKING OFF OF THAT INFORMATION, I WILL OWN THAT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          BUT THERE ARE PROJECTS LISTED AT LEAST IN DISTRICT C THAT DO NOT HAVE THE PREVIOUS INFORMATION PRIOR TO THIS YEAR, OR THOSE COMMUNITY MEETINGS OR THOSE PREVIOUS DESIGN PLANS. 
          UH, THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT AREN'T ON THERE, AND TO COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MARTINEZ'S POINT ENGAGED, HOUSTON DOESN'T HAVE EVERYTHING, RIGHT? SO THERE'S CITY PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS LIKE ARTUR PROJECTS, AND OFTENTIMES, FOR EXAMPLE, IN DISTRICT C, I HAVE WORKED TO MOVE THINGS OFF OF THE CIP TO A TOURS, BUT IT'S STILL A CITY BASED PROJECT THAT CAME FROM THE CITY OF HOUSTON, RIGHT? SO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO INCLUDE THAT INFORMATION. 
          UM, BUT I, I DO WANT TO ENSURE, AND WHAT I'M HEARING AND CAPTURING THAT IS THAT WHEN IT COMES TO CHANGES, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT HAVE COME BEFORE COUNCIL, AND I INTERPRET THAT ALSO AS MEANING WHEN WE VOTE ON A TURS BUDGET AND WE'VE SAID, YES, THIS IS A PROJECT WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD ON, WHEN THERE ARE THOSE CHANGES, THAT'S A COUNCIL ACTION THAT COUNCIL NEEDS NOTIFICATION OF, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE AND, UH, REMEDY IF POSSIBLE. 
          ONE THING RELATED TO 1.03, UM, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE POLITICKING INVOLVED, ESPECIALLY AS A DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER. 
          I'LL JUST SAY, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, IF A COUNCIL MEMBER, DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM ANOTHER DISTRICT DECIDED TO, UH, REQUEST PUBLIC HEARINGS OR START SOMETHING RELATED TO SOMETHING NOT IN OUR DISTRICT, HOW DO WE, UM, RESPECT THE KNOWLEDGE AND REPRESENTATION OF THE PERSON IN THAT DISTRICT? UM, SO I, I THINK WITH 1.03, ONE SUGGESTION I WOULD HAVE IS, UM, CREATING A HIGHER THRESHOLD THAN JUST ONE COUNCIL MEMBER, OR IF THE DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES. 
          AGAIN, WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE PUBLIC HEARINGS, WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE ENGAGEMENT, BUT, UM, I'M JUST GONNA USE MY, MY FRIENDS HERE. 
          IF SOMEONE'S IN KINGWOOD ASKING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON SOMETHING THAT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT IN DISTRICT C, UH, AND WANTS A PUBLIC HEARING ON THAT, I THINK THAT REQUIRES A LITTLE BIT MORE ENGAGEMENT BY THAT, THAT DISTRICT ALONE, UH, OR NOT ALONE, EXCUSE ME, IN COLLABORATION. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MITIGATE THAT AND NOT BURDEN PUBLIC WORKS WITH, UH, 40 HEARING PUBLIC HEARINGS A MONTH ON TOP OF EVERYTHING ELSE THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING, RIGHT. 
          SPEED CUSHIONS, FOR EXAMPLE. 
          UH, SO JUST HOW WE WORK THROUGH THAT TO FLUSH IT OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND IF I CAN RESPOND, UM, JUST THINKING, UM, ALONG WITH YOU, YOU KNOW, HOW ABOUT IF IT SAID SOMETHING LIKE, IF ANY COUNCIL MEMBER WHO REPRESENTS, YOU KNOW, THAT PARTICULAR AREA WHERE THE PROJECT IS, OKAY. 
          UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER FLICKINGER OFFICE, THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ ON 1 0 1. 
          HAVE YOU, UM, SPOKEN WITH PUBLIC WORKS OR PROCUREMENT ABOUT HOW THIS MIGHT IMPACT, UM, THE WAY IN WHICH WE RECEIVE BIDS FROM POTENTIAL CONTRACTORS AND THE, UM, THE POTENTIAL FOR INCREASED COSTS IF PROJECTS ARE DELAYED DUE TO THIS PROCESS? 
          [01:40:01]
WELL, NO, I HAVEN'T. 
          UM, WE REQUESTED FEEDBACK AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE AND, UM, WE HAVEN'T, UH, REACHED THAT STAGE. 
          AND SO PART OF WHAT I WOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT, ESPECIALLY IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, MANY OF THE PLANS AND PROJECTS FOR WHICH PUBLIC WORKS IN ORDER OUR CONTRACTORS GO OUT AND TO COMPLETE, UH, OUR V FIELD VERIFIED A LOT OF TIMES AS THEY BEGIN DIGGING UP AND DOING THE WORK, AND IT ENDS UP CREATING, UM, CHANGES KIND OF AS THEY GO ALONG. 
          AND SO IF THEY'RE OUT IN THE FIELD AND THEY'RE HAVING TO MAKE, DO THESE, UH, FIELD CHANGES AND, UH, THOSE, YOU KNOW, SMALL PIVOTS AND, AND IT ENDS UP TRIGGERING THIS, UH, CLAUSE AND IT HAS TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR REVIEW, UM, YOU KNOW, HOWEVER LONG THIS PROCESS MAY TAKE, UH, THAT CONTRACTOR IS GETTING, THEY'RE GETTING PAID FOR JUST SITTING OUT THERE NOT DOING WORK, THEY'RE GONNA END UP DEMOBILIZING GOING TO A NEW SITE, A NEW NEW PROJECT, AND THEN THEY'LL END UP COMING BACK WHENEVER THEY GET THE CHANCE. 
          UM, SO THAT COULD CREATE A LOT OF, UM, I THINK UNINTENDED, UH, CONSEQUENCES AND COSTS FOR WHICH, UH, COULD, COULD REALLY IMPACT HOW FAR DOLLARS GO. 
          WELL, UH, DUSTIN, I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND, UH, WE, WE CERTAINLY WANNA AVOID UNNECESSARY DELAY, AND THAT, I THINK IS ONE REASON WHY THE TRIGGER IS 5% OR MORE, RIGHT? SO, SO YOU HAVE TO, IT HAS TO BE SIGNIFICANT. 
          AND, UM, AND, AND I SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE AT THIS POINT, UH, THIS, THESE AMENDMENTS ARE CONTINUATIONS OF THE WORK THAT WAS STARTED BY A COUPLE OF OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN, AND COUNCIL MEMBER CASTILLO. 
          SO I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THEIR, THEIR WORK ON THIS. 
          BUT AGAIN, THE INTENTION IS NOT TO DELAY, UH, BUT, BUT TO GIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, HEADS UP ON SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER KAMAN, NO, THAT, THAT, I WAS JUST GONNA PIGGYBACK ON THAT. 
          I THINK THE 50,000 CAME FROM WHEN, AGAIN, PRIOR TO STATE LAW CHANGING, UM, IF WE HAVE VOTED ON IT, THERE SHOULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE REVIEW OF THAT, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT FOR SMALLER SCALE CHANGE ORDERS. 
          AND THAT'S ALSO WHY YOU HAVE, I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ, YOU ADDED IN THE 5% OR, OR MORE, OR 50,000, WHICHEVER IS GREATER FOR LARGER SCALE CHANGE IS NOT, OH, WE JUST HIT THE WOODEN PIPE OR THE CLAY PIPE AND WE GOTTA GO DEEPER TO SEE WHAT'S DOWN THERE, WHICH DOES HAPPEN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, STEVEN, DAVID FROM THE ADMINISTRATION ALSO HAD A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR, FOR HOSTING THIS. 
          I THINK THE THING THAT I'VE HEARD, UH, OVERWHELMINGLY FROM ALL OF Y'ALL IS THAT YOU'D LIKE MORE COMMUNICATION, RIGHT? AND I, I THINK RANDY IS A GREAT EXEMPLAR OF THAT. 
          UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF CLARIFYING QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS THAT I'D LIKE TO GET AN UNDER UNDERSTANDING OF. 
          AND THE FIRST, WITH 1.01, UM, THE $50,000 I THINK I HEARD WAS TIED TO PREVIOUS THRESHOLDS THAT THE STATE SET, IT IS NOW A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. 
          IS YOUR INTENT TO, UM, IS YOUR INTENT TO JUST PUT FORWARD 5% AND LEAVE IT AT THAT? OR IS IT 5% OR $100,000? Y YOU KNOW, STEVEN, UM, APPRECIATE THE QUESTION. 
          I'M, I'M OPEN, RIGHT? I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT, WHAT OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS THINK ABOUT THAT. 
          AGAIN, THE, THE INTENT IS NOT TO OVERBURDEN THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT, UH, TO GIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS A HEADS UP SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE. 
          GOT IT. 
          AND IS THAT 5%, LET'S JUST SAY 5% FOR NOW, IS THAT 5% INCLUSIVE OF THE CONTINGENCY THAT WE TYPICALLY NEGOTIATE INTO? UM, IT'S A STANDARD PRACTICE INSIDE ANY PROJECT NEGOTIATION THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A FIVE TO 10% CONTINGENCY. 
          EVERYBODY EXPECTS COST OVERRUN IN PROJECTS LIKE THESE. 
          SO ARE YOU SAYING IT'S 5% ON TOP OF THAT, OR ARE YOU SAYING IF WE HIT ANY OF THE CONTINGENCY WITHIN A PROJECT, UH, 5% ON TOP OF THE, WHAT IS PASSED AT COUNCIL BECAUSE Y'ALL PASS THE VALUE OF THE CONTRACT INCLUDES A CONTINGENCY FEE. 
          IF, IF, IF WE HAVE HAVE PASSED IT AND UM, IT INCLUDES THAT, THEN I WOULD SAY 5% OVER THAT. 
          GOT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          OVER THE AMOUNT THAT PASSES COUNSEL. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, THE SECOND QUESTION IS, UH, REALLY JUST A, IT'S A, A THOUGHT AROUND 1.02. 
          THIS IS REALLY SIMILAR TO WHAT'S ALREADY ENSHRINED VIA PROP PROPOSITION A, UM, AND THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS, WOULD YOU BE AMENABLE TO, UM, ONE, IS THERE A DISTINCTION THAT YOU HAVE HERE? I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WANT IT TO OCCUR. 
          IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN WHAT YOU VIEW PROP A AS AS A TOOL? AND THEN SECOND, THE SECOND QUESTION IS, UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU PUT WITHIN 10 DAYS OF RECEIPT, IT IS A REALLY LABORIOUS PROCESS TO GET SOMETHING ON THE AGENDA. 
          IT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING ON FIXING. 
          UM, BUT, UH, THE, ARE YOU AMENABLE TO ADOPTING THE SAME, UH, TURNAROUND TIMES THAT WE, THAT CITY 
          [01:45:01]
COUNCIL HAS ALREADY ENSHRINED INSIDE RULES, I THINK 24, 25 AND 26 OF, UH, TWO DASH TWO, UM, AROUND PROP A. 
          WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO ACCEPT THOSE? WELL, YOU KNOW, AT THE TIME WE CONSIDERED THOSE, I HAD, I HAD SOME CONCERNS. 
          AND PROP A INCLUDES, UH, DETERMINATION OF LAWFULNESS THAT'S RIGHT. 
          WHICH ADDS TIME IN. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW THAT I'D WANT TO GO THAT FAR. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, 10 DAYS I'M OPEN TO, UH, CONSIDERING PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO, OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN WITH 1.03, UM, I, I HAVE, I I, ONE, I DO HAVE SIMILAR CONCERNS THINKING AS A FORMER DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER STAFFER, UH, I DO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE ABILITY ALSO, WE, WE TEND TO HAVE A LOT OF PROJECTS THAT WILL BLEED OVER MULTIPLE, UM, COUNCIL DISTRICTS. 
          AND SO IF THERE'S ONE COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WANTS IT FOR THEIR DISTRICT TO THE OTHER, OR THE OTHER TWO COMPELLED TO HAVE IT AS WELL. 
          I THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME CLARIFICATION HERE. 
          'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE REACTIVE TO, THERE'S A BUNCH OF SHELLS IN THIS, AND SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE SHALLS. 
          SO I WOULD, UH, I'D APPRECIATE SOME SORT OF, UH, DETAIL IN WHAT THE EXPECTATION WOULD BE. 
          UM, BUT THE, THE THING THAT I'LL SAY IS, UM, AS A PERSON WHO USED TO PREPARE REPORTS LIKE THIS FOR PREVIOUS MAYORS AND FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS, WE TEND TO DO ABOUT 300 TO 500 PROJECTS A YEAR. 
          UM, AND THIS IS ACROSS ALL OF OUR CIPS, RIGHT? THESE ARE THINGS THAT RANGE FROM SOMETHING SMALL, REPAIRING BENCHES INSIDE PARKS TO SOMETHING BIG. 
          UH, I HAVE PERSONALLY PUT ANYWHERE ON AVERAGE OF EIGHT TO 10 HOURS OF WORK INSIDE PRODUCING ONE REPORT WITH 300 TO 500 PROJECTS. 
          YOU'RE ASKING FOR A LOT OF TIME, A LOT OF TIME OUTTA STAFF. 
          AND I DO THINK THAT THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO THE WAY THAT WE CAN CONDUCT THE WORK. 
          WE WOULD HAVE TO BAKE THIS INTO THE NUMBER OF HOURS THAT WE WOULD ASSUME STAFF TIME GOES INTO IT. 
          OBVIOUSLY THERE IS DIRECT CASH COST TO PROJECTS, WHICH IS WHAT WE WOULD PAY A THIRD PARTY, BUT THERE'S ALSO INDIRECT COST TO THE CITY, AND THAT'S VIA STAFF TIME. 
          AND SO THERE'S, WITH THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS, I'M NOT IMPLYING THAT, UH, WE SHOULD NOT DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. 
          AGAIN, I THINK THE VIBE THAT I'VE HEARD FROM Y'ALL IS WE NEED MORE COMMUNICATION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHEN WE'RE DOING AND WHEN THOSE CHANGES OCCUR. 
          BUT I WOULD, UH, I WOULD ASK THERE TO BE CONSIDERATION AROUND ONCE ENGAGED HOUSTON, I DO LOVE ENGAGED HOUSTON. 
          I THINK IT'S ONE OF THE BEST IDEAS THAT WE'VE HAD. 
          UH, WHEN RANDY, UH, JUST AS A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, WHEN RANDY TALKED ABOUT HOW THE TECHNOLOGY IS A MESS, UH, IN MY PREVIOUS ROLE WITH ACCENTURE, I WAS THE PERSON WHO HELPED FIGURE OUT THAT THEIR TECHNOLOGY WAS A MESS. 
          UM, HE HAS REPORTS, THAT'S ACTUALLY THE FIRST TIME I MET RANDY. 
          UM, AND IT IS, AND SO ENGAGED HOUSTON IS REPRESENTATIVE OF A, UM, A REALLY GOOD WAY TO PUSH INFORMATION OUT THAT THEY ARE DOING LIKE BAILIN WIRE AND DUCT TAPE ON THE BACKEND TO FEED INFORMATION INTO IT. 
          THEY'RE WORKING ON IT AND THERE'S A REALLY GOOD TECHNOLOGY PERSON OUT, UH, THAT HE HAS, HI, THAT RANDY HAS HIRED OUT OF, UH, PUBLIC WORKS RIGHT NOW WORKING TO FIX THOSE ISSUES. 
          BUT, UM, AS WE START TO SEE, ENGAGE HOUSTON SATISFY MORE OF THE DESIRES OF THE BODY FOR INFORMATION AND CHANGE, I WOULD ASK THAT WE MINIMIZE THE BACKEND OF REPORTING WHERE YOU THINK THAT AUTOMATED UPDATES ON A WEBSITE OR AUTOMATED REPORTING CAN OCCUR. 
          I'D ASK FOR US TO BE MINDFUL OF THE AMOUNT OF STAFF TIME THAT'S WOULD GO INTO CONTINUE TO FULFILL THINGS LIKE A PUBLIC HEARING, RIGHT? IF WE CAN GET INFORMATION OFF A WEBSITE, DO WE REALLY NEED THAT PUBLIC HEARING? RIGHT? WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M PERFECTLY WILLING TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, AND I'VE EXPRESSED THAT SINCE WE TOOK THESE UP MONTHS AGO, UH, THAT HASN'T OCCURRED AS TO THE PUBLIC HEARING, UH, POINT YOU MADE. 
          UM, AGAIN, IF, IF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC SCENARIOS WHERE, YOU KNOW, HOW'S THIS GONNA WORK, THIS MIGHT BE A PROBLEM, UH, I'M WILLING TO CONSIDER THOSE AS WELL SO THAT WE END UP WITH A GOOD PRODUCT. 
          SO FEEL FREE TO SHARE OFFLINE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, I, I THINK THAT, UM, WE WON'T SOLVE ALL THE ISSUES TODAY, BUT I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD START TO THE CONVERSATION. 
          WE DO HAVE FIVE PUBLIC COMMENTS. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR, PER, UM, SO IF WE WOULD LIKE TO JUST KIND OF MILL OVER THESE COMMENTS FROM TODAY. 
          UM, AND THEN COUNCIL RAMIREZ, YOU CAN, UM, VISIT WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          UM, I KNOW VICE MAYOR, UH, PROTE, TEMP PEC, YOU WANTED TO ADD IN A SUGGESTION FOR IMPROVEMENT. 
          UM, DO YOU WANNA DO THAT NOW? YOU WANNA WAIT TILL NEXT MEETING? 'CAUSE WE'LL MOVE TO THE PUBLIC SPEAKERS RIGHT AFTER YOU PRESENT YOUR SUGGESTION. 
          UM, JUST DO THE TIME. 
          WE CAN DO IT AT THE NEXT MEETING. 
          OKAY, THAT'S FINE. 
          SO WE'LL MOVE TO OUR PUBLIC SPEAKERS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT IS LAURA GALLAGHER HERE. 
          LAURA GALLAGHER. 
          KEVIN STRICKLAND. 
          MAY I LIKE THE, UH, SETTING DOWN PART. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          [01:50:01]
UM, I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN HERE MANY TIMES. 
          I'VE INTRODUCED MYSELF BEFORE. 
          UM, I'D LIKE TO THANK COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ FOR HIS GOOD FAITH ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE THIS, UH, ORDINANCE HAPPEN. 
          AND ALSO COUNCIL MEMBERS CA UH, CAYMAN AND CASTILLO. 
          THE RECENT CHANGES YOU'VE GOT WERE THE RESULT OF A VERY DIVERSE GROUP, A WORKING GROUP OF HOUSTONIANS WHO CARE ABOUT GOOD GOVERNMENT GOVERNANCE, REGARDLESS WHERE WE SIT ON THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM. 
          FAR LEFT, FAR RIGHT. 
          UM, I WANNA REMIND US WHY WE'RE HERE. 
          TRANSPARENCY IS THE FLOOR, NOT THE CEILING FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE. 
          ALRIGHT, IT SHOULD BE THE STARTING POINT. 
          I FEEL LIKE WE'RE OFTEN LISTENING TO THE COMMENTS TODAY. 
          WE'RE TREATING IT AS A NICE TO HAVE. 
          IT IS NOT A NICE TO HAVE. 
          IT IS A MUST HAVE. 
          UM, SO WE'RE GONNA REJECT ANY FRAMING WHICH SAYS ONE, IT AIN'T BROKE, NO NEED TO FIX. 
          IT'S COMPLETELY BROKEN. 
          DOZENS OF EXAMPLES. 
          UM, COUNCIL MEMBER CAME AND TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THEM AUSTIN STREET. 
          WITHOUT THE TRANSPARENCY, WHICH COMES FROM FOIAS, WE WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN THAT THE MAYOR ALWAYS PLANNED TO REMOVE IT. 
          AND HE WAS NEVER ORIGINALLY PROGRAMMING IT AS A WATERLINE DRAINAGE PROJECT. 
          TWO, IT'S TOO DIFFICULT. 
          WE HEARD THAT TODAY. 
          I WOULD ENCOURAGE PUBLIC WORKS TO LISTEN TO THE NEW SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR WHO WILL HAPPILY BEND YOUR EAR FOR AN HOUR EXPLAINING HOW HE GOT HIS ARMS AROUND THE DATA TO FIX THE BIG PROBLEMS WITH GARBAGE PICKUP. 
          WE KNOW THAT PUBLIC WORKS HAS THE SOFTWARE TO EASILY GENERATE THE REQUIRED REPORTING. 
          THE CIP ALREADY EXISTS, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, TALKING ABOUT ENGAGED HOUSTON. 
          ENGAGED HOUSTON WAS DOWN FOR MONTHS. 
          AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S BACK, IT'S VERY INCOMPLETE. 
          SO ENGAGE HOUSTON TO COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S POINT ABOUT THE WEBSITE, IT'S NOT THE SOLUTION. 
          WE WON'T KNOW WHEN ENGAGE HOUSTON HAS BEEN UPDATED OR WHAT THE UPDATES, UH, HAVE BEEN INCLUDED AT THAT SITE. 
          UH, SECOND ON THAT POINT, UM, I'VE PUT A LOT OF SPEAKING OF I FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          THIS TRANSPARENCY ORDINANCE IS FOR THE PUBLIC. 
          ALSO. 
          WE ARE EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED AT THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY FROM THIS ADMINISTRATION. 
          AGAIN, I WILL REMIND YOU, IT STARTED WITH HOUSTON AVENUE IN FEBRUARY OF 24 WHEN I SAT HERE AND TRIED TO BRING IT UP MOST RECENTLY AUSTIN STREET. 
          UM, ANOTHER THING THAT HASN'T BEEN DISCUSSED TODAY, THERE'S A STAGGERING AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT'S BEEN WASTED BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY EYES ON THE PROJECTS THAT THE MAYOR WAS GONNA CHANGE. 
          SO I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. 
          TELEPHONE ROAD. 
          WE LEARNED YESTERDAY, 489,000 FOR THE RE REDESIGN RES BOULEVARD, 400,000 FOR THE REDESIGN. 
          HOUSTON AVENUE, A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF DISTRICT H FUNDS WASTED. 
          AND 1 MILLION TO REMOVE WEST ALABAMA. 
          90,000 FOR THE REDESIGN. 
          SHEPHERD DUR, PHASE TWO, 203,000 FOR THE RE REDESIGN. 
          THOSE ARE JUST A SMALL NUMBER OF PROJECTS. 
          WOULD YOU, YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND WRAP UP? MY LAST SENTENCE IS PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE OR DISMISS THE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT IN THE COMMUNITY FOR THIS ORDINANCE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. 
          BARBARA CARROLL. 
          HELLO, MY NAME IS BARBARA CARROLL. 
          I'M A 30 PLUS YEAR RESIDENT OF HOUSTON AND PRESIDENT OF THE CLARK PINE CIVIC ASSOCIATION. 
          A SMALL BUT VERY ACTIVE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, PROUDLY LOCATED IN DISTRICT AND COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S DISTRICT. 
          I STRONGLY SUPPORT THIS AMENDMENT AND APPLAUD COUNCILMAN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ AND HIS STAFF FOR SPEARHEADING IT. 
          THIS KIND OF PROJECT REPORTING PROPOSED BY THIS INITIATIVE IS A FUNDAMENTAL BASIC TOOL FOR ANY PROJECT MANAGER. 
          I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I'M A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER, AND I HAVE WORKED IN SOME ASPECT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR OVER 30 YEARS IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY AND THE DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY. 
          THESE PROPOSED STATUS REPORTS BY THE AMENDMENTS ARE REALLY JUST ENHANCED EXCEL SPREADSHEETS. 
          THEY CAN BE EASILY CREATED BY ANY PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS. 
          I AM SADDENED TO HEAR THAT, UH, BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE PUBLIC WORKS THAT THEIRS IS A MESS, UH, BECAUSE 
          [01:55:01]
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS EASILY FIXABLE IF THEY'RE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. 
          SOMETHING AS LOFTY AS THAT PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IS TOTALLY ATTAINABLE CRITERIA OR AS SIMPLY ESTABLISHED, A TEMPLATE IS CREATED AND THEN POPULATED MONTHLY. 
          IF SOMETHING DOESN'T CHANGE IN THE MONTH, JUST SIMPLY SAY NO CHANGE. 
          THE ORDINANCE AS PROPOSED TODAY HAS MANY BENEFITS BEYOND IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABLY ACCOUNTABILITY. 
          PROVIDING A SIMPLE STATUS REPORT TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO IN TURN SHARE IT WITH THEIR CONSTITUENCY WILL INCREASE OUR AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING. 
          EVERY DAY A PROJECT IS DELAYED, THE BUDGET AND SCOPE IS ADVERSELY AFFECTED. 
          I'VE NEVER HEARD OF A PROJECT THAT HAS COME UNDER BUDGET. 
          RARELY, AND RESIDENTS ARE GETTING LESS FOR THEIR TAX DOLLARS REQUIRING THIS REPORT IS NOT ABOUT COUNCIL MEMBERS FOREGOING, HAVING THE ABILITY TO PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL A DEPARTMENT HEAD, THAT'S NEVER GONNA CHANGE. 
          THAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE THERE. 
          BUT IMAGINE IF EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER CALLED EVERY DEPARTMENT HEAD EVERY MONTH TO GET AN UPDATE. 
          NOW, THAT'S WHAT I CALL A BURDEN AND A WASTE. 
          PROVIDING THESE REPORTS WILL IMPROVE EFFICIENCY TO YOU. 
          ALL'S WORKING DAY IN PARTICULAR, THIS ORDINANCE WOULD HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON A PROJECT THAT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART. 
          IN NOVEMBER, 2022, ALMOST THREE YEARS AGO, THE RESIDENTS VOTED TO APPROVE A 40 MILLION, $47 MILLION BOND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXPANDED FACILITY TO HOUSE AND CARE FOR THE HOMELESS PETS IN HOUSTON, TEXAS. 
          YET AFTER ALL THIS TIME, LITTLE OR NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CONSTRUCT THE INFRASTRUCTURE APPROVED BY THE VOTERS. 
          I FIND THIS SAD, BUT IF THE UPGRADES TO THE BARK FACILITY, AND BY THE WAY, I LOVE BARK. 
          I WAS THERE THIS MORNING. 
          I AM THERE SIX TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. 
          UH, IF THE CONSTRUCTION, UH, AT, IF THIS PARTICULAR, UH, AMENDMENT WAS PASSED, I SUSPECT A LOT MORE ATTENTION WOULD GET PAID TO GETTING IT CONSTRUCTED IN A MORE TIMELY MANNER. 
          THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE OIL. 
          SO IN THE END, ACCOUNTABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY ARE NOT JUST BUZZWORDS THAT WE'RE USING, AND IT'S NOT JUST BUZZWORDS THAT CITIZENS OF HOUSTON ARE USING. 
          THEY ARE REAL ASPECTS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT THAT ARE ATTAINABLE AND ARE ESSENTIAL TO GOOD GOVERNANCE AND WHAT HOUSTON HOUSTONIANS DESERVE. 
          BY THE WAY, I LOVE LIVING IN HOUSTON. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CHANCE. 
          THANK YOU, MS. CAROL. 
          WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE TODAY. 
          AND FOR YOUR COMMENTS. 
          REUBEN GARZA, IS HE AVAILABLE TO SPEAK? REUBEN GARZA, STAR SIX STAR SIX. 
          DOMINIQUE MAZO. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          I'M DOMINIC MAZA. 
          I AM IN THE CA COUNCIL CHAMBERS. 
          EARLIER TODAY, I DID TAKE THE FIFTH 96 TO THE RED LINE AID AT THE, UH, FLYING SAUCE. 
          I WALKED OVER HERE SO I DIDN'T PUT ANY MORE OZONE IN THE AIR. 
          THE THING THAT I'M A LITTLE BIT UPSET ABOUT, ONE, ONE THING I AM GOOD ABOUT, I WAS GONNA MENTION IT, BUT BETWEEN JULIAN AND AMY WITH THESE AMENDMENTS, IS SOMETHING THAT I WAS, I'VE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT, IS THAT THE CITY ON THE NEVER ADMINISTRATION A, A HORSESHOE WITH OTHER MEMBERS, BECAUSE THERE'S FLOW, YOU KNOW, TURNOVER, THEY PLANNED SOMETHING, THEY WENT THROUGH ALL THE, ALL THE WORK. 
          THEY WENT TO HGAC, THEY GOT EVERYTHING GO GOING. 
          OR THE COUNCIL WITH, UH, A CHURCH OR MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, AND THEN JUST 'CAUSE THE, THE NEW GUY, NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN COMES IN AND SAYS, I DON'T WANT THIS ANYMORE. 
          I MEAN, I'M SORRY. 
          THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT, UH, A NEW PERSON HAS TO COME IN, BITE HIS OR HER TONGUE. 
          AND I THINK THIS IS A VERY GOOD, I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS. 
          I THINK WE NEED TO, LOOK, YOU'VE HEARD ME TALK ABOUT WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE POSSIBILITY OF CHANGING TO CHARTER SO THAT THERE'S SOME CHECKS AND BALANCES ON A STRONG MAYOR. 
          AND I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY STUDENT A AND WHAT Y'ALL ARE DOING HERE TODAY IS GOOD ON PROJECTS. 
          AND AMY, I'M GONNA BRING UP THIS EXAMPLE. 
          I KNOW THIS IS, THIS HAS BEEN A MIGRAINE HEADACHE FOR YOU. 
          IT'S MONTROSE. 
          AND MY THING IS, IT STARTED OUT AS A MONTROSE PROJECT, THEN IT WENT TO CITY, THEN IT WENT TO METRO. 
          I THINK, UM, AND PARTICULARLY THESE PROJECTS THAT DEAL WITH THE CITY AND METRO, MAYBE THE THING IS, THERE NEEDS TO BE A TASK FORCE. 
          SOME FROM THE CITY, SOME FROM THE, FROM THE TOURS OR THE MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS AND SOME FROM METRO THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE. 
          [02:00:01]
IN FACT, IN A MEETING LIKE THIS, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM METRO, AT LEAST AVAILABLE ON PHONE OR ZOOM OR TEAMS OR WHATEVER Y'ALL GONNA USE FOR THAT. 
          UH, AND LASTLY, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL HAD THESE HANDOUTS FOR EVERYBODY. 
          MY THING IS, IF YOU GO TO AN HCHC TRANSPORTATION POLICY COUNCIL MEETING, AND I KNOW, AMY, YOU'VE BEEN THERE, I KNOW HOW YOU'VE BEEN THERE, YOU, THIS IS A FULL, FULL SAY, PLEDGE BALLOT. 
          YOU GET OFF THE INTERNET. 
          MY QUESTION IS, WHY CAN'T Y'ALL, WHEN Y'ALL HAVE, WHEN YOU HAD THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS TODAY, WHY WASN'T THAT AVAILABLE AHEAD OF TIME? SO PEOPLE LIKE US WHO ARE KIND OF DOWN HERE TO SPEAK, WE CAN LOOK OVER THIS AND MAYBE WE CAN SEE SOMETHING WRONG, UH, AS AND SO FORTH. 
          AND LASTLY, ON A, WELL, WE GOT SOME, UH, PEOPLE, BUT MANAGER TODAY, WHY DON'T CAMP STAND ABOUT CERTAIN COUNCIL, I MEAN, COMMITTEE MEETINGS IS, YOU KNOW, THE MOST OF THEM HAVE THE PUBLIC COMMENTS AT THE END. 
          MM-HMM . 
          THE STAFF LEAVE WHEN THE PUBLIC COMMENTS START. 
          THEY, THE, THE STAFF NEEDS TO HEAR FROM THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE CITY. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WHO, THOSE OF US WHO ARE OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, EITHER DRIVING, SHOPPING, MENTORING, WHATEVER. 
          I THINK THAT'S, I I'M GLAD YOU GOT, BUT ALSO TOO, YOU'LL SEE ME TONIGHT. 
          I DID SIGN UP TO SPEAK TONIGHT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU DOMINIQUE. 
          AND WE TYPICALLY, UM, WOULD TRY TO POST THOSE, UM, SLIDES. 
          WE GOT THEM TODAY, SO WE'LL, WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO TRY TO GET THAT TO YOU. 
          WE WOULD HELP, UH, SPEAKERS TO SPEAK. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          WE, WE AGREE SOMETHING WRONG. 
          WE AGREE. 
          UH, ANDREW SNEAD. 
          HELLO, MR. SNEAD. 
          HELLO. 
          UH, I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT WHY I SUPPORT THE INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSPARENCY AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ. 
          UH, WHEN CHANGES ARE MADE TO INFRASTRUCTURE, IT'S IMPORTANT TO INVOLVE LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          THIS ALLOWS RESIDENTS TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND PREFERENCES AND EQUIPS COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SUPPORT THEIR RESIDENTS. 
          UH, THERE'S CURRENTLY A LACK OF CLARITY WHEN IT COMES TO THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE CITY. 
          WHEN INFRASTRUCTURE IS CHANGED OR REMOVED, WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S A FAIR STREAMLINED PROCESS THAT IS CODIFIED AS LAW. 
          UM, INCLUDING THE PUBLIC. 
          AND PROVIDING INFORMATION TO ELECTED RE REPRESENTATIVES IS THE BEST WAY TO MAKE SURE THE TRADE-OFFS INVOLVED IN INFRASTRUCTURE DECISIONS ARE BALANCED. 
          IT MEANS RESIDENTS CAN HAVE THE ASSURANCE THAT THEY CAN HOLD THEIR COUNCIL MEMBERS ACCOUNTABLE. 
          IF A CHANGE IS JUSTIFIED, WE'LL HAVE NO PROBLEM MEETING THE CRITERIA. 
          AND WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THE CITY WILL BE CLEARLY DEFINED. 
          IT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION BEFORE A SHOVEL HITS THE GROUND. 
          UH, IN MY WORKING LIFE, I'M A DATA ENGINEER. 
          YOU REALLY SHOULD BE ABLE TO GLUE THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER. 
          IT, IT REALLY SHOULD BE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD. 
          UM, THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO CREATE TRUST WHEN IT COMES TIME TO MAKE BIG DECISIONS THAT AFFECT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IN HOUSTON. 
          UH, INCLUDE STAKEHOLDERS, STREAMLINE THE PROCESS, AND ENSURE ACCOUNT ACCOUNTABILITY WITH CITY COUNCIL INVOLVEMENT. 
          THANKS. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. 
          UM, DOMINIQUE, I DID WANNA TELL YOU, I RECEIVED A TEXT MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR, UM, OF FINANCE, AND SHE SAID SHE HAD TO LEAVE, BUT SHE DID HEAR YOU AND SHE IS STILL WATCHING, SO SHE WANTED ME TO REITERATE THAT, THAT SHE STILL LISTENING. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE A SPEAKER ONLINE. 
          WE CALLED RUBEN GARZA. 
          ARE YOU AVAILABLE? YES. 
          REUBEN GARZA. 
          HI THERE. 
          UM, SORRY, I'M HEARING VIRTUALLY, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES HEARING ME, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. 
          UH, HI. 
          MY NAME IS RUBEN GARZA. 
          I AM A, UH, LOCAL LEADER FOR THE STRONG TOWNS HOUSTON CHAPTER. 
          WE'RE PART OF A, OR WE'RE PART OF A, UH, NATIONAL NONPROFIT DEDICATED TO, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL RESILIENCY, SAFE STREETS, AND, UH, ACCOUNT AND LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF FANTASTIC CONVERSATION TALKING ABOUT THE LOGISTICS AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME OF THESE AMENDMENTS. 
          AND IN PARTICULAR, LET ME FIRST COME OUT AND SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M A HUGE PROPONENT OF AND SUPPORT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S TRANSPARENCY AMENDMENTS. 
          UM, A LARGE REASON BEING THAT THESE CODIFY TRANSPARENCY INTO OUR LOCAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, AS WE'VE, UH, DISCUSSED AND HEARD, UH, DEBATE TODAY. 
          UM, A LOT OF OUR ISSUES WITH TRANSPARENCY, UH, IN THIS CURRENT SYSTEM 
          [02:05:01]
OF GOVERNMENT RELY ON PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS. 
          UH, WHICH OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS SHOULD BE MAINTAINING GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH PUBLIC WORKS AS WELL AS OTHER DEPARTMENTS. 
          BUT WE NEED TO MOVE BEYOND A RELATIONSHIP FOCUSED, UM, MOVE BEYOND A RELATIONSHIP FOCUSED STRUCTURE OF GOVERNANCE. 
          AND INSTEAD, INSTITUTE SOMETHING THAT IS TESTABLE, REPEATABLE, AND IS CUR AND IS BAKED WITHIN OUR SYSTEM OF, UH, GOVERNANCE, UM, AS WELL AS GIVING ACCESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS INFORMATION SO THAT WAY THEY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          UM, THE CORE PRINCIPLE OF STRONG CHALLENGE IS FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY. 
          AND SO BY INCLUDING COSTS IN THESE MONTHLY REPORTS, UM, WE ARE ABLE TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THE EXACT COST GOING INTO OUR PROJECTS SO THAT WAY WE CAN DO, YOU KNOW, JUST A QUICK COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OR SOMETHING QUICK AND, UH, EASY TO UNDERSTAND. 
          THAT HELPS US KNOW WHAT MONEY IS BEING SUNK INTO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND WHETHER THAT'S GONNA BE A GOOD INVESTMENT IN THE LONG RUN. 
          UM, AND I KNOW THERE WAS A DEBATE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT COST ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE? OBVIOUSLY WE CAN DISCUSS, UH, LABOR AND TIME, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, FOR A START, THE REPORT SHOULD BE INCLUDING JUST OUR DOLLAR COSTS. 
          THAT WAY WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IS EXACTLY GOING INTO OUR COMMUNITIES. 
          UH, I APPRECIATE OUR LOCAL OFFICIALS AND OUR, UH, PUBLIC BUREAUCRATS FOR COMING OUT AND TELLING US ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE ENGAGE HOUSTON, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. 
          IT'S A GREAT START. 
          BUT SOMETHING LIKE ENGAGE HOUSTON NEEDS TO BE, AS I SAID EARLIER, CODIFIED AND MADE PART OF OUR CITY GOVERNMENT. 
          NOT JUST A NICE THING TO HAVE IN CASE, UM, SOMEONE WANTS TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION. 
          AND, AND LASTLY, ON AS FAR AS THE INSTITUTIONALIZING PART, I THINK WE KIND OF GET IT BACKWARDS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TALKING TO PUBLIC WORKS AND THE, AND THE ADMINISTRATION. 
          WHEN REALLY, WHEN THE ADMINISTRATION IS THE ONE HOUSING ALL THE INFORMATION WITH REGARDS TO THESE PROJECTS, IT SHOULD BE THE ADMINISTRATION PROVIDING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE, THE INFORMATION BEFORE. 
          UH, WE ESSENTIALLY HAVE TO REACT TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          UH, THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. 
          WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE. 
          OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS DOUG SMITH, AND AS HE COMES, I DO WANT TO ALSO RECOGNIZE PUBLIC WORKS IN GSD ARE STILL IN THE BUILDING AND LISTENING. 
          HELLO, DOUG. 
          HI. 
          AND I JUST HAVE TO SAY, I APPRECIATE YOUR SAYING TOO. 
          IT DOESN'T HAPPEN A LOT, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. 
          UM, IT WAS ALLUDED TO NOT DIRECTLY IN THE TALK ABOUT THE CIP ABOUT PUBLIC COMMENT, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I THINK IT'S CRITICAL THAT THE PUBLIC BE INVOLVED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS. 
          MELISSA'S TIMETABLE SHOWED THE CIP PROCESS STARTED IN DECEMBER. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT DEPARTMENT, UH, DISTRICT MEETINGS BE HELD SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER. 
          UH, WE USED TO HAVE THOSE, AND WHO KNOWS BETTER WHAT'S NEEDED IN YOUR DISTRICT THAN THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO STRESS. 
          I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. 
          UM, AND I'M SORRY, THE SECOND THING JUST, UH, SKIPPED. 
          I SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN IT DOWN. 
          WELL, UH, THERE'S ONE THING THAT I WANNA MENTION THAT RANDY TALKED ABOUT $32 BILLION OR 32 BILLION GALLONS, UH, OF, UH, WATER BEING WASTED BY THE CITY. 
          AND I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BEFORE, AND THERE'S GOTTA BE A HUGE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. 
          AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY CAN'T CONTRACT PEOPLE CONTRACTORS TO GET ALL OF THOSE, OR AS MANY OF THOSE, UH, THINGS FIXED AS POSSIBLE. 
          UH, PUBLIX WORKS IS AN ENTERPRISE FUND. 
          THEY COULD, IF THEY HAD TO ISSUE DEBT TO DO IT, BUT IT'S JUST APPALLING TO ME THAT 32 BILLION, 32 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER, THAT'S MORE WATER, I THINK THEY SAID, THAN IS USED BY FORT WORTH. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT. 
          IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT, UH, WELL, IT WAS BROUGHT UP TODAY AND, UM, I'M SORRY, BUT THE SECOND COMMENT THAT I HAD, UH, I'VE COMPLETELY LOST. 
          BUT ANYWAY, I'M, I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UH, CITIZENS BE INVOLVED AT THE BEGINNING. 
          OH, THE OTHER THING, OKAY, HERE IT IS. 
          UM, I SHOULD BE HAPPY THAT WE'RE GONNA GET OUR GENERATOR AT THE A LEAF NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER, BUT I'M NOT BECAUSE IT WAS IN THE 24, IT WAS IN LAST YEAR'S CIP. 
          AND I WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT AT THAT POINT THEY WOULD'VE STARTED PLANNING FOR THAT GENERATOR. 
          NOW I'M HEARING THAT IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN THIS YEAR, BUT THEY'RE GONNA START THE PLANNING AND WE'RE GONNA GET IT NEXT YEAR. 
          AND, UH, SOMETIMES CITIZENS ARE 
          [02:10:01]
FRUSTRATED WITH THE WAY GOVERNMENT WORKS. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY, I'M FRUSTRATED AT THE WAY THIS PROCESS WAS HELD, AND I JUST HAVE TO MENTION THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IT'S IN DESIGN. 
          HMM? IT'S IN DESIGN. 
          THE GENERATOR'S IN DESIGN. 
          I KNOW. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THEY'RE SAYING PLANNING. 
          IT'S IN DESIGN. 
          IT'S IN DESIGN. 
          THERE'S ACTION. 
          WHEN IT'S IN DESIGN. 
          WE'RE, WE'RE GLAD BECAUSE IT'S MOVING. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THAT DESIGN SHOULD HAVE STARTED LAST YEAR WHEN IT WAS IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET. 
          WE DON'T DISAGREE. 
          DOUG, THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. 
          WE DON'T DISAGREE. 
          LETICIA GUTIERREZ. 
          SHE HAD TO LEAVE. 
          UH, THINK THAT, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK? ALL RIGHT. 
          EVER HOLD YOUR PEACE COUNCIL MEMBER, ALCORN, YOU HAVE ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE WE ADJOURN. 
          THE NEXT BFA MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND AT 10:00 AM TO DISCUSS COUNCIL MEMBER PECK, CIP AMENDMENT REGARDING THE D-D-S-R-F FUND BALANCE IN ADDITION TO THE CITY'S FINANCIAL POLICIES, INCLUDING COUNCIL MEMBER CAYMAN'S BUDGET AMENDMENT ON THE BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT'S NEXT MEETING WILL BE WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH AT 2:00 PM THIS WAS A GREAT DISCUSSION. 
          WE WILL PLAN A FOLLOW UP MEETING DATE TBD. 
          UM, I THINK THAT COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ AND, AND PECK HEARD FEEDBACK. 
          I THINK SOME REVISIONS COULD BE MADE. 
          AND WE ALSO WANNA HAVE THAT MEETING TO ALLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS TO OFFER ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS OR, OR DIFFERENT WAYS THEY WANNA CODIFY THIS PROCESS FOR THE BETTER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IF THERE ARE NO OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, WE ARE NOW ADJOURNED. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
* 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.