[00:00:04]
[Call to Order]
EVERYONE.THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING.
TODAY IS NOVEMBER 14TH, AND I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
THE TIME IS 1:04 PM THE MEETING IS BEING CONDUCTED AT A TP LOCATED AT 2 0 3 COLORADO STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND PLEASE BE REMINDED THAT THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES BOTH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES.
AND WE WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO CONTACT OUR A TP BOARD LIAISON, CHLOE MAXWELL IN ADVANCE OF THIS MEETING, AND HER CONTACT IS IN EACH AGENDA POSTING.
WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TODAY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, SO I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREG CANALI, TO KICK OFF OUR
[2.1. Update on Austin Light Rail Phase 1 Implementation: Progress on Federal Program, Project Delivery, and Design]
DISCUSSION ITEM TODAY.UM, BOARD MEMBERS, WELCOME TO OUR, UH, WORK SESSION TODAY.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE THIS A FEW TIMES NOW.
IN ADDITION TO HAVING OUR MEETINGS WHERE WE'RE CONDUCTING OUR BUSINESS AND I APPROVING ITEMS, WE THINK IT'S REALLY VALUABLE TO JUST STOP AND PAUSE AND DO SOME DEEP DIVES ON SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
UH, WE DID THIS PA IN THIS PAST MARCH WHERE WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON DELIVERY, UH, AND TODAY WE WANT TO DO THAT PLUS SOME OTHER THINGS.
GOING BACK TO, UH, BASICALLY THE, THE FALL OF 2022, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN THINKING AHEAD AND THINKING AHEAD HOW WE INTEGRATE ALL OF OUR WORK STREAMS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE STAY SYNCHRONIZED, UH, AROUND REALLY THREE BIG AREAS.
ONE IS OUR PROJECT DELIVERY AREA, THE OTHER IS OUR FTA PROCESS AS AN INVESTOR IN THIS, IN THIS, IN THIS PROGRAM.
AND THEN OUR DESIGN WORK AND MAKING SURE THAT ALL STAYS LOCKSTEP WITH EACH OTHER AS WE, AS WE WALK THROUGH IT.
AND WE THOUGHT TODAY IS A GREAT MOMENT AS WE'RE ABOUT TO HIT A MILESTONE ON OUR FEDERAL PROCESS, UH, TO TALK ABOUT ALL THREE OF THOSE THINGS AND HOW THEY ARE INTEGRATED TOGETHER AND REALLY JUST HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH YOU, DOWNLOAD SOME DETAILS.
UM, IT'S USUALLY, I THINK WE PUT A LOT OF INFORMATION IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY FOR THAT TO REALLY START A DIALOGUE.
UM, WE KNOW THAT AS WE LOOK INTO 2025, SOME OF THESE ITEMS, ESPECIALLY ON THE DESIGN SIDE, WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE EACH OF THOSE ISSUES AND TALK INTO MORE DEPTH ABOUT THEM THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF 2025.
AS WE CONTINUE TO PROGRESS THROUGH OUR FTA PROCESSES AND AS IN ADVANCE OF OUR, UM, OUR DELIVERY BIG PICTURE IS, UM, WE'RE IN A REALLY GOOD PLACE.
UH, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF MOMENTUM THIS YEAR AS WE ADVANCE THIS MOMENTOUS PROJECT FOR AUSTIN.
UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AND, UH, THE WORK THAT WE'VE SHOWN AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH A LOT OF THE CONTRACTS THAT WE'VE BEEN BROUGHT, BROUGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, AND YOU HAVE ADOPTED FOR US, SO WE CAN MOVE FORWARD THIS WORK ACROSS ALL OF THESE REALMS. THE REASON WE'RE HERE TODAY IS BECAUSE WE'VE HAD THE RESOURCES BOTH WITHIN OUR A TP TEAM AS WELL AS OUR, OUR PARTNERS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO HELP US MOVE THIS FORWARD.
SO WE'RE EXCITED TO KIND OF SHOW YOU OUR HOMEWORK.
UM, I'M GONNA TAKE THIS AS A DAY IN CLASS AND SHOW YOU OUR WORK AND HOPEFULLY HAVE A GREAT DIALOGUE.
AND WE REALLY WANNA START FIRST WITH OUR PROJECT DELIVERY, UH, WHERE WE ARE, HOW WE'VE ADVANCED THAT, AND I'LL INTRODUCE, UH, CASEY BURAK AND, AND BRAD CUMMINGS AND TOM ZAKI WITH, UH, EY.
AND JEN WILL BE HERE TO KIND OF PICK UP ON OUR FTA PROCESSES RIGHT AFTER THAT.
UM, I ALWAYS LIKE THESE MEETINGS.
WE'VE STARTED TRADITION OF THEM.
I THINK LAST FALL WAS THE FIRST TIME WE KIND OF DID A WORK SESSION STYLE DOWNLOAD.
UM, WE TALKED ABOUT DELIVERY SPECIFICALLY, WHICH IS OUR FIRST TOPIC, UM, AT THAT MEETING, AND THEN AGAIN IN, IN MARCH.
UM, AND HAVING THESE TOUCH POINTS WITH THE BOARD AND BEING ABLE TO ASK, ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS, HELPS US MOVE AND MAKE SOLID DECISIONS.
UM, JUST A REMINDER, SINCE I WAS THE FIRST EMPLOYEE, I ALWAYS THINK LIKE, WHAT A HIGHER LEVEL SO THAT WE'RE ALL TALKING THE SAME LANGUAGE, BUT THIS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS ORGANIZATION IS REALLY TO DELIVER AUSTIN'S FIRST LIGHT RAIL PROJECT, RIGHT? UM, AND WE ARE ALMOST LIKE A CONTRACTING AUTHORITY IN THAT WAY.
WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET THIS PROJECT DONE, UM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WILL OF THE VOTERS.
AND THE WAY THAT WE, WE TALK ABOUT THIS A LOT, AND I ALWAYS THINK MAYBE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT IT, BUT THE WAY THAT WE PARTNER WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN APPROVING A LOT OF CONTRACTS WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO DELIVER IS SO CRITICAL TO WHAT WE DO.
THAT'S WHO WE ARE, RIGHT? SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO JUST REMEMBER THAT.
UM, DO YOU WANNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS WHY YOU PROBABLY ARE TIRED OF SEEING THE SLIDE, BUT EVERY TIME WE APPROVE A CONTRACT, WE WANT IT.
THIS IS KIND OF THE ROADMAP, HIGH LEVEL OF HOW WE ARE DOING CURRENT CONTRACTING AND FUTURE CONTRACTING.
THE THE BLUE BOXES, A LOT OF THOSE ARE WHAT WE CALL OWNER SIDE SUPPORT, UM, WHICH THEY'RE ALL OWNER SIDE SUPPORT.
BUT THE IDEA IS THAT THESE ARE THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE REALLY KIND OF AUGMENTING OUR STAFF AND HELPING US MAKE THIS
[00:05:01]
THIS CRITICAL ULTIMATE DECISION OF THE RISK ALLOCATION AND THE DELIVERY METHODOLOGY FOR THE FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.AND WE'RE MAKING INCREDIBLE PROGRESS.
WE'RE HITTING ALL OF OUR MARKS, WHICH IS IMPORTANT NOT JUST TO YOU AND TO THE VOTERS, BUT ALSO TO INDUSTRY, WHICH A LOT OF THEM ARE HERE IN THE AUDIENCE.
AND THAT WE'RE TRANSPARENT WITH THEM ABOUT HOW WE'RE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ADVANCING OUR THINKING AROUND THE CONTRACTING AND DELIVERY.
AND ALSO THAT WE'RE A RELIABLE PARTNER.
AND WHEN, WHEN WE SAY WE'RE GONNA MEET A DEADLINE, WE DO, UM, THE NEXT DEADLINE IS ON THE DELIVERY PARTNER CONTRACT, WHICH IS, WILL BE THE BIGGEST ONE THAT THIS BOARD, UM, HOPEFULLY APPROVES.
AND, UM, WE'VE BEEN KIND OF BRINGING YOU GUYS ALONG WITH THAT.
WE'RE AN ACTIVE SOLICITATION NEGOTIATION NOW, LOOKING FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY A DECEMBER DECISION ON THAT.
UM, BUT THE FOCUS REALLY FOR TODAY WITH THIS GROUP IS ON THE GREEN BOXES, WHICH ARE WHAT WE'RE CALLING FINAL DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF THE LIGHT RAIL COMPONENTS.
THE TRADITIONAL COMPONENTS TRACK THE SYSTEM TO OPERATE IT.
UM, THE UTILITY RELOCATIONS, WHICH ARE A MASSIVE PART OF THAT, THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE KIND OF BEEN DONE SOME SIDING WORK, AND NOW WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT HOW WE PACKAGE THAT, UM, FOR, TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ROBUST COMPETITION AND THEN THE PURCHASE OF THE LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES.
SO THOSE ARE, UM, THE CRITICAL BIG PICTURE SCOPE COMPONENTS.
AND WE WANNA TALK ABOUT OUR THINKING, WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHERE WE'RE GOING ON THE RIGHT METHODOLOGY FOR A TP TO DELIVER THOSE.
SO WE'VE MADE, WE'VE MADE A FINE TUNE SOME DECISION, NOT, NOT FINAL JUST YET, BUT I THINK THERE'S SOME EXCITING UPDATES.
I DEFINITELY, AND I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT EACH ONE OF THESE BIG GREEN CHECK MARKS ON THESE BOXES IS A HUGE CELEBRATION, NOT ONLY FOR US, UM, BUT THE INDUSTRY AS WELL.
UM, WITH EACH SOLICITATION THAT WE'VE DONE, WE'VE TAKEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT HOW THAT WENT, REVIEW IT, AND FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE AND REFINE OUR PROCESS EACH TIME.
UM, WE'VE GONE THROUGH ONE OF THESE MAJOR SOLICITATIONS AND WE'VE SEEN A GROWTH, UM, IN THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT HERE ON HOW WE HANDLE THESE MAJOR BIG SOLICITATIONS AND HOW WE INVOLVE EVERYONE WITHIN THE AGENCY, THE BOARD, THE INDUSTRY, IN ORDER TO GET THESE BIG MILESTONES ACCOMPLISHED.
AND IT, IT'S BEEN A, A, A BIG TASK.
AND WITH EACH ONE OF THESE, WE'VE GOTTEN BETTER AND BETTER ON OUR ABILITY TO DELIVER, UM, THESE BIGGER SOLICITATIONS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD FOR US.
SO I, I, I WANT ALWAYS LEARNING, RIGHT? TO CELEBRATE, ALWAYS LEARNING.
AS, AS BRAD HAS MENTIONED, A TP HAS BEEN VERY INTENTIONAL IN ITS COMMUNICATION WITH THE BOARD OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, BUT ALSO ITS COMMUNICATION WITH INDUSTRY OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.
AND A TP HAS BEEN ON A JOURNEY OVER THESE PAST TWO YEARS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, FIRST, WHERE THE MARKET IS, BUT ALSO TO UNDERSTAND ITS OWN NEEDS AND, AND, AND HOW IT WANTS TO ULTIMATELY DELIVER THIS PROJECT.
AND SO, BEFORE, BEFORE I, YOU KNOW, WALK THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT JOURNEY HAS BEEN OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, WHAT'S VERY IMPORTANT IS TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE MARKET IS AND TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT AROUND WHY A TP IS GOING DOWN A CERTAIN ROUTE FROM A DELIVERY, UH, FROM A DELIVERY APPROACH PERSPECTIVE.
UM, YOU KNOW, 2022, AS IT LAUNCHED THIS PROCESS, ENGAGED WITH INDUSTRY IN, IN SEATTLE, UM, ENGAGE WITH PEER AGENCIES A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF LARGE MEGA PROJECTS UNDERGOING A LOT OF STRESS, COST OVERRUNS, DELAYS, UH, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
AND THE INDUSTRY WAS FEELING THAT STRESS FROM A RETURN PERSPECTIVE AND A WILLINGNESS TO PUT RISK, UH, AND, AND, UH, A, A GREAT DEAL OF RISK INTO ITS, UH, HARD BID TYPE OF PROJECTS.
NOW, THIS IS A VERY LARGE PROJECT.
THIS IS A BRAND NEW LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF INHERENT RISKS IN A PROJECT OF THAT TYPE AND A LOT OF COMPLEXITY IN A PROJECT OF THIS TYPE, YOU PROBABLY CAN'T GET MORE COMPLEX FROM TERMS OF A MUNICIPAL, UH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, AND THEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT THEN THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AND ALL THE SPENDING THAT'S GONNA BE COMING OUT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AT THIS POINT IN TIME, ONLY ROUGHLY 50% OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILLS MONEY HAS BEEN OBLIGATED, LET ALONE PUT IN THE GROUND, RIGHT? ALL THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
AND SO A TP WILL BE IN A POSITION OF DELIVERING THIS PROJECT WHILE THERE'S A LOT OF COMPETITION OUT THERE, COMPETITION FOR TALENT, COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES.
AND SO, UM, SO, SO, UM, A TP HAS BEEN ENGAGING WITH PEER AGENCIES.
IF YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, AFTER SEATTLE, UH, VISITING WITH THE FOLKS IN, IN TORONTO WHERE CANADA'S A FEW YEARS AHEAD OF US IN TERMS OF AN INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING BOOM AND FEELING A LOT OF THESE STRESSES.
SO LOOKING AT WAYS NOT ONLY, UH, CONTRACTING METHODS THAT THEY'RE USING TO DELIVER TRANSIT PROJECTS, BUT ALSO HOW DO YOU BUILD INTERNAL CAPACITY TO DELIVER THOSE PROJECTS AS WELL.
[00:10:01]
YOU KNOW, THAT LEADS TO THEN, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, UPDATES TO THE BO BOARD INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENTS, UH, IN, IN THE FALL OF 2023, UM, UH, RFIS AHEAD OF THAT, UM, UH, SPRING OF 20 24, 1, OH, ONES AROUND DELIVERY PARTNER, RIGHT? BUILDING THAT CAPACITY, INTERNAL CAPACITY.AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S VERY WELL IN PROGRESS RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, LEADING UP TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW, WHICH IS HONING IN ON A POTENTIAL DELIVERY, UH, APPROACH TO THE PROJECT, BUT ALSO, UH, BEING ON THE PRECIPICE OF REACHING B OUT TO INDUSTRY, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE THEY LEARNED? WHAT HAVE, WHAT DO WE CONTINUE TO LEARN FROM OTHER, UH, PEER AGENCIES AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S A COMMERCIAL APPROACH TO THIS THAT ATTRACTS THAT TALENT AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, BUT ALSO ENSURES THAT THE, YOU KNOW, THAT THE INTERESTS OF A TP ARE, ARE, ARE BEING TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
SO, UM, A TP IS THE POINT OF TIME RIGHT NOW WHERE IT IS, IT IS POISED TO, UH, JUMP INTO THAT NEXT, UM, PHASE, UH, WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE ACTIVELY ENGAGING WITH INDUSTRY AROUND THE CONSTRUCTION APPROACH.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND ONE OF YOUR COMMENTS.
YOU SAID THAT, UH, 50% OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILLS SPENDING IS YET TO OCCUR.
A LOT OF COMPETITION FOR THAT.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT JUST WITH RESPECT TO COMPETITION OF TALENT, NOT COMPETITION FOR THAT MONEY, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE MONEY WE'RE RELYING ON TO DELIVER OUR PROJECT, IT'S JUST THE FACT THAT WE'LL BE COMPETING WITH A LOT OF OTHER PROJECTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, YES.
IN TERMS OF DELIVERING THE PROJECT, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, SO NOT EVEN 50% HAS BEEN SPENT, RIGHT? IT'S ONLY BEEN OBLIGATED.
SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THE BULK OF THE SPENDING IS GONNA HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
UH, BUT AGAIN, FROM THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE LIKE WE AREN'T COMPETING FOR THOSE FUNDS.
THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE REFERENCING.
WE'RE COMPETING WITH ALL OF THE INDUSTRY HAVING TO WORK ON ALL THOSE OTHER PROJECTS THAT ARE GONNA BE LEFT.
ALTHOUGH, WE'LL SAY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE GRANT PROCESS, THERE ARE, THERE WILL BE, IT'S A COMPETITIVE GRANT, SO WE SHOULDN'T
BUT YEAH, I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER PEER AGENCIES OR OWNERS AS THEY'RE KNOWN AS, LIKE IN, WHO ARE ALSO BUILDING PROJECTS USING THE SAME FIRMS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO ATTRACT TO THIS PROJECT, AND MUCH LESS IN AUSTIN, RIGHT? WE HAVE OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS GOING ON.
SO THE MORE WE CAN MAXIMIZE COMPETITION, THE BETTER PROJECT WE'LL HAVE, THE BETTER WE'LL DELIVER ON WHAT OUR OBLIGATION TO VOTERS.
SO I DID JUST WANNA SAY IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF TEXT ON HERE, BUT WHAT'S REALLY CRITICAL IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING TO OUR PEER AGENCIES AND INDUSTRY IN A VACUUM.
AS WE'RE DEVELOP, WE, WE GO AND WE DEVELOP THE DOCUMENTS, WE DEVELOP THE TERMS, WE TALK ABOUT THEM INTERNALLY, AND THEN WE GET QUESTIONS.
AND AS WE'RE DEVELOPING, WE'RE LOOKING AT OTHER AGENCIES, UM, CONTRACTS.
WE HAVE INCREDIBLE ADVISORS WHO CAN BRING A BUNCH OF, UM, WHAT WE CALL PRECEDENT IN FRONT OF US AND LOOK LIKE HOW ARE THOSE, HOW DO THE TERMS GET ALLOCATED? HOW DOES THE RISK GET ALLOCATED? WHAT'S, WHAT'S INDUSTRY AGREEING TO RIGHT NOW? SO WE LOOK AT THAT, AND SO WE MAKE SURE WE'RE USING BEST PRACTICE IN, YOU KNOW, MARKET FOCUSED TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
AND THEN WE TAKE THAT AND WE GO, AND THIS IS KIND OF A BRAD, AS HE CAME ON BOARD LAST YEAR, DEVELOPED THIS INCREDIBLE PROCESS.
WE CALL IT THE RFI PROCESS, OR PSFO, AND WE TAKE IT TO INDUSTRY AND WE SAY, TELL US WHAT YOU THINK.
AND WE KIND OF GO BACK AND FORTH, AND BY THE TIME WE DELIVER, BY THE TIME WE RELEASE THE SOLICITATION, WE REALLY KNOW WHAT THE RISK PROFILE IS OF THOSE CONTRACTS, AND IT MAKES THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE BACKEND REALLY, UM, PRODUCTIVE.
SO IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE PROCESS.
IT REQUIRES A LOT OF EXPERTISE AT THE TABLE FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT, UM, WE'RE PROUD OF THAT E EVOLUTION.
WERE YOU GONNA SAY SOMETHING, BRAD? YEAH.
AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE BOARD FOR GOING ON THIS JOURNEY WITH US.
UM, WE'VE TAKEN THE CYCLICAL APPROACH OF TAKING OUR OWN INTERNAL EXPERTISE, AND GREG HAS ASSEMBLED AN AMAZING TEAM OF EXPERTS WHO ARE PUTTING TOGETHER ALL OF THIS INFORMATION AND PROPOSING IDEAS AND HAVING HEALTHY ARGUMENTS AND CONFLICT AMONGST EACH OTHER TO REALLY WORK THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE IMPOSSIBLE TASKS THAT WE HAVE TO DELIVER AN AMAZING SYSTEM.
UM, AND THEN WE COUNTER THAT INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE WITH WHAT THE INDUSTRY'S BEST PRACTICES ARE AND WHAT PEER AGENCIES HAVE DONE AND BEEN SUCCESSFUL ON, AND WHAT THEY WISH THEY WOULD'VE DONE DIFFERENTLY, LESSONS THEY'VE LEARNED.
AND THEN WE TAKE IT AND WE SIPHON AND WE BRING THIS BACK TO THE BOARD AND DOWNLOAD AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN TO YOU, UM, TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND, AND, UM, AND AND DIALOGUE, UM, ON KIND OF WHAT WE SHOULD DO MOVING FORWARD.
AND THEN WE TAKE IT BACK OUT TO THE INDUSTRY TO SAY, HERE'S WHERE WE ARE, HELP US LEVEL SET EVERYTHING.
AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT PROCESS.
AND AGAIN, WE WANNA THANK THE BOARD FOR GOING ALONG THIS JOURNEY WITH US AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY TO MAKE THE PROCESS EVEN MORE REFINED AND BETTER.
UM, I, I WOULD JUST SAY THE BIGGEST BENCHMARK ON THAT IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE THING FOR US TO SAY IT'S BEEN A GOOD PROCESS.
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YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT IS GETTING THE MOST PEOPLE TO BID ON YOUR PROJECT, WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT.YOU KNOW, AND I WILL SAY LIKE THAT IS THE MANIFESTATION OF, YOU KNOW, THE SUCCESS OF THE EFFORTS THAT YOU'VE UNDERTAKEN IS WE'VE HAD A LOT OF BIDDERS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A, AN INORDINATE NUMBER ON EACH OF THE CONTRACTS THAT WE'VE LET, AND I I WAS GONNA ASK CASEY, WE CAN WAIT.
I WAS GONNA ASK WHAT PURE AGENCIES, YOU BROUGHT IT UP, WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN WITH PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD.
DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU GET INTO THE DETAILS OF PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD OR, YEAH, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU HAVE SOME COMMENTS IN HERE THAT YOU'VE GONE TO PURE AGENCIES, AND I'M REALLY CURIOUS BECAUSE IT'S A NEW DELIVERY METHOD, LIKE WHAT, WHAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM THEM ABOUT THAT VERSUS CMAR OR WHATEVER ELSE MIGHT YEAH, IT MIGHT MAKE SENSE WHEN WE GET, UM, SPECIFICALLY TO IT, UM, WHY IT BENEFITS OUR PROJECT.
BUT I'LL JUST SAY AT A HIGH LEVEL, WE'VE LEARNED A LOT FROM OUR CANADIAN PARTNERS, UM, BECAUSE LIKE TOM SAID, THEY'RE A LITTLE AHEAD OF US, BUT ALSO THEY'RE, WE HAVE A LOT OF PEER AGENCIES WHO ARE IN THE MIDST OF THESE PROCUREMENTS AND AWARDING THEM RIGHT NOW.
AND SO, LA METRO'S A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE, AND WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PARTNER WITH THEM AND GET A LOT OF THEIR DOCUMENTS AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM A FEW DIFFERENT, UM, PDB PROJECTS THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON.
UM, UTAH IS JUST REALLY, SO WE, WE WILL GET INTO IT, BUT IT'S INTERESTING AS WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS, OTHER OR OTHER STATESIDE OR ORGANIZATIONS, AGENCIES HAVE BEEN, HAVE BEEN THROUGH AT LEAST THE FIRST PHASES OF IT VTA IN SAN JOSE.
I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR WHAT THEY SAY THE PROS AND CONS ARE OF A NEW DELIVERY METHOD.
YOU KNOW, LIKE, 'CAUSE YOU HAVE A THEORETICAL, CAN YOU TURN ON YOUR MIC?
I MEAN, TO JUST KIND OF ADDING TO THAT DIALOGUE WHERE WE WERE TWO YEARS AGO, OR EVEN THE FALL OF 22, THINKING ABOUT IT, WHERE THE, THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD WITH INDUSTRY AND WITH THE PEER AGENCIES, THERE'S BEEN AN EVOLVEMENT ALONG THAT BECAUSE OF WHERE THE MARKET IS, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE FLOW OF CAPITAL AROUND THE COUNTRY WITH INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO US KIND OF RIDING THAT A LITTLE BIT, AND ALSO OUR CONVERSATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT BEING AN INPUT INTO IT AS WELL.
IT WASN'T A STATIC, LIKE, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING, GO DO IT.
IT'S VERY, UM, AND, AND WE NOW, WE'RE IN A PLACE WHERE WE'RE READY TO EXECUTE.
YOU GOTTA, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE READY TO MOVE, BUT IT, IT WASN'T A POINT IN TIME CONVERSATION.
I THINK THAT'S BEEN VALUABLE FOR US, AND WE'VE HAD THE ABILITY TO DO THAT, LIKE, AS A HIGHLY FOCUSED, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATION ON THIS AS WELL.
SO,
WE SHOWED THIS SLIDE IN, UH, MARCH.
WE'VE DIVED INTO THESE IN THE PAST WITH Y'ALL.
UM, BUT JUST IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A REMINDER SLIDE.
GENERALLY THE, THE DELIVERY METHODS, NOW EVERYONE'S, EVERY PROJECT'S DIFFERENT, SO IT'S HARD TO PUT THEM ALL IN A SPECIFIC BUCKET, BUT GENERALLY, LIKE TOM WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, FIXED PRICE ARE AT THE TOP, UH, MODELS.
AND THEN COLLABORATIVE, WHICH IS A PROGRESSIVE MORE, UM, PRICE AS YOU GO MODEL THAT WE LOOKED AT.
AND WE HAD ANNOUNCED, I THINK IN MARCH THAT WE ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON COLLABORATIVE MODELS THAT THOSE MADE THE MOST SENSE.
AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DECIDE BETWEEN THOSE, UM, WHICH ONE WOULD MAKE THE MOST SENSE FOR OUR PROJECT.
UM, WHICH WE KIND OF STOLE THE THUNDER, BUT PDB
SO IF I COULD JUMP IN THERE ONE SECOND BEFORE YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHERE I THINK THE REAL VALUE OCCURS WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO OTHER ENTITIES, WHETHER IT'S TORONTO OR ORLANDO OR SEATTLE, BECAUSE I'M INTERESTED IN KNOWING, UH, WHAT HAPPENED WELL FOR THEM.
BUT I'M MORE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT DIDN'T HAPPEN WELL AND HOW THEY HAD TO WORK AROUND IT.
SO IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODELS AND, AND, AND I THINK OFTENTIMES WE LEARN MORE FROM THINGS THAT DIDN'T WORK WELL THAN WE DO FROM THINGS THAT DID JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, ARE, ARE CASTING OUR NET, UH, EFFECTIVELY ENOUGH SO THAT WE ARE NOT ONLY GETTING THE FOLKS THAT GOT EVERYTHING THEY WANTED, WE, WE ARE TALKING TO SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO, UH, HAD TO STRUGGLE AND, AND, AND, UH, REDESIGN AND, AND, UM, AND REBUILD.
AND MAYBE TOM, IF YOU WANNA SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE FIXED PRICE INFLECTION POINT, WHAT HAPPENED FOR OWNERS AND THE MARKET, I THINK IS REALLY HOW WE KIND OF GOT TO COLLABORATIVE, BUT A LOT OF IT WAS THINGS WENT WRONG, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, BUT IN, IN MOST AGENCIES WE TALKED TO HAD TO PIVOT AND SOME WAY OR THE OTHER, MAYBE NOT THE MODEL, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN THEIR THINKING.
UM, SO THAT'S THE NORM FOR BIG PROJECTS.
AND, AND YEAH, SPEAK SPEAKING GENERALLY BETWEEN COLLABORATIVE VERSUS HARD
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PRICE, FIXED BID TYPES OF TRANSACTIONS, ESPECIALLY SOMETHING OF THIS SCALE, UH, WHAT WE SAW, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, PRE, YOU KNOW, 2020 IN PARTICULAR WERE A LOT OF, UM, UH, AN OVERHEATED MARKET WITH BIDDING ON DESIGN BUILD CONTRACTS.AND DESIGN BUILD WAS BEING PUSHED RIGHT BEFORE THAT.
WE HAD DESIGN BID BUILD THE INDUSTRY, PUSHED DESIGN BUILD, WHICH WOULD GIVE THEM MORE FLEXIBILITY.
UM, BUT THEN ULTIMATELY CHALLENGES AROUND BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, ACCURATELY PRICE RISK.
UH, LIKEWISE, YOU GET INTO A SITUATION DURING COVID WHERE YOU HAD, UH, A CONSIDERABLE INFLATION, AND SO YOU HAD NOW A FIXED PRICE AND YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE NO ABILITY TO GO BACK, CONTRACTUALLY, GO BACK TO THE CLIENT TO BE ABLE TO, UM, TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST THOSE PRICES, WHICH CREATES STRESS, RIGHT? AND COULD CREATE STRESS IN A RELATIONSHIP.
SO YOU HAD A LOT OF SITUATIONS WHERE THERE WERE CONSIDERABLE CLAIMS BEING MADE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES AROUND RISKS THAT THEY HAD AGREED TO SHARE FIRST AND FOREMOST, AND THEN SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, UH, POTENTIALLY NOT, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY TO PUT A PRICE ON A LARGE COMPLEX PROJECT, RIGHT? IF THIS WERE A ROAD, RIGHT, YOU KNOW, THAT'D BE ONE THING, RIGHT? BUT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, BRINGING SYSTEMS IN, BRINGING, UH, BRINGING, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION IN STREETS THAT WHERE, WHERE LIGHT RAILS NEVER BEEN DELIVERED IN THE PAST, UH, OF THIS TYPE, UM, YOU KNOW, BRINGS, UH, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF RISK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WERE TO ASK INDUSTRY TO PRICE THIS HARD BID TODAY, YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T GET PEOPLE SHOWING UP, RIGHT? UH, BECAUSE OF THAT AMOUNT OF RISK GOING EVEN FURTHER, THE SURETIES, RIGHT? THE INSURANCE AGENCIES, UH, THAT, THAT PROVIDE SURETY BONDS, UM, TO, TO THESE CONTRACTORS WERE, WERE SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO, YOU KNOW, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE AGENCIES SAYING, WE CAN'T SUPPORT THIS ANYMORE, RIGHT? THIS IS UNTENABLE BECAUSE IT'S PUTTING A LOT OF STRESS ON THE ACTUAL COMPANIES.
UM, SO THEIR ABILITY TO, TO ACTUALLY SECURE SURETY BONDS WAS ANOTHER AREA OF STRESS.
AND SO, UH, SO YOU'RE SEEING THEN THE PROGRESSION TO MORE COLLABORATIVE MODELS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS AS A RESULT OF THAT ON THESE MEGA PROJECTS AND PARTICULAR COMPLEX PROJECTS.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN LESSONS LEARNED, YOU KNOW, FROM THE CMAR OR PDB, THERE'S STILL, YOU KNOW, EVERY, EACH APPROACH HAS ITS PROS AND CONS, AND IT'S REALLY ABOUT HOW, HOW WELL PREPARED YOU ARE, UM, HOW REALISTIC YOU ARE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, CAN YOU SORT OF SET THE STAGE FOR A, FOR A SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION REGARDLESS OF WHICH APPROACH IT'S, WE, WE COULD TALK ALL DAY.
WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO DELIVER? I MEAN, UH, AT SOME POINT WHEN WE IDENTIFY EVERY, AT LEAST ALL OF THE KNOWNS THAT CAN, THAT NEED TO BE DONE, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE UNKNOWNS AT THE END OF THE DAY, IF I CAN LAY OUT MY KNOWNS AND KNOW WHAT MY PROCESS INCLUDES, WE CAN WORK WITH PRICE AFTER WE, AFTER WE AGREE THAT ALL OF THESE THINGS NEED TO HAPPEN.
AND I COULDN'T HAVE PAID FOR A BETTER SEGUE INTO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, OTHER THAN TALKING ABOUT, UM, PROCESS.
UM, AND THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT NOW IS THE PROCESS THAT WE WENT THROUGH, UM, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS TO KIND OF COME TO THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WE'RE GONNA MAKE TO THE BOARD TODAY AS FAR AS THE DELIVERY METHOD.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY THIS IS OUR BEST ATTEMPT TO ILLUSTRATE THAT PROCESS THAT HAS TAKEN A LOT OF COMMUNICATION AND CONVERSATIONS, UM, TO DO WHERE WE LOOKED AT THE FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF DELIVERY METHODS, UM, AND COMPARED THAT TO THE CORE VALUES AND, UM, ATTRIBUTES OF THE PROJECT, THE GOALS, THE ATTRIBUTES, THE CONSTRAINTS, AND THE RISKS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE COULD, UM, DETERMINE WHICH METHOD WOULD BE BEST FOR THAT.
UM, WE THEN TOOK IT TO, LIKE WE MENTIONED BEFORE, WE WENT AND TALKED TO PEER AGENCIES AND TALKED ABOUT THEIR SUCCESSES, UM, AND, AND MISHAPS GOING THROUGH DIFFERENT DELIVERY METHODS.
LIKE TOM SAID, IF WE WERE DOING THIS 15 YEARS AGO, 20 YEARS AGO, WE WOULD BE DOING A DESIGN BID BUILD.
UM, THAT'S JUST HOW MOST OF THE PROJECTS WERE BEING DELIVERED.
UM, BUT WHAT PEOPLE LEARNED FROM THAT IS THAT IT WAS A LENGTHY PROCESS AND IT REALLY LIMITED THE ABILITY OF CONTRACTORS TO MAKE A STAMP ON THE DESIGN AND FIND WAYS TO SAVE MONEY AND BUILD FASTER.
UM, AND THEN YOU INTRODUCE THE MODELS OF DESIGN BUILD AND CMAR, WHICH HELPED TRY TO, UM, ALLEVIATE SOME OF THOSE ISSUES WITH TIME AND CONSTRUCTABILITY REVIEWS.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, DUE TO SOME OF THE ISSUES WITH THE DESIGN BUILD THAT TOM TALKED ABOUT,
[00:25:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE WERE DOING THIS SIX YEARS AGO, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE DOING A DESIGN BUILDER OF CMAR, UM, BECAUSE OF WHERE WE WERE AT IN THAT POINT IN TIME.BUT WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS IS DESIGN BUILD AND HAVING THAT FIXED PRICE IS A BIG ISSUE AND A BIG RISK FOR BOTH THE AGENCY AND THE CONTRACTORS AND NOT SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN ABLE TO BE, UM, FIGURED OUT TO AN EXACT SCIENCE.
AND AS A RESULT, UM, PEER AGENCIES THAT WE'VE TALKED TO HAVE SAID, THIS HAS BEEN A HARD MODEL FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER SUCCESSFULLY.
AND THEN BRINGING IT BACK OUT TO THE INDUSTRY, WE'VE GOTTEN THAT SAME FEEDBACK BACK.
THAT DESIGN BUILD IS FULL OF RISKS THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE AREN'T WILLING TO TAKE.
UM, AND A HUGE RECOMMENDATION NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT, WHICH LEFT US WITH THE TWO MORE COLLABORATIVE METHODS THAT INVOLVE EARLY CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE DESIGN WITH THE DESIGNER, BUT IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT.
AND FROM THAT, AGAIN, WE RAN IT THROUGH THAT SAME PEER AGENCY, UM, INDUSTRY FEEDBACK.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT THERE'S BEEN AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE FROM BOTH OUR PEERS WHO ARE VERY INTERESTED IN PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD.
UM, A LOT OF THE MAJOR PROJECTS THAT ARE BEING LED OUT RIGHT NOW ARE FOLLOWING PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD.
YOU HAVE EAST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, UM, IN LA, UM, WHICH IS ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AHEAD OF US, OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
YOU HAVE A PROJECT, A TUNNELING PROJECT IN SAN FRANCISCO THAT VTA, UM, IS MOVING FORWARD WITH THROUGH A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD.
AND YOU HAVE A LOT OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE, UM, UP TO OUR NEIGHBORS UP NORTH IN CANADA AND TORONTO AND EDMONTON THAT HAVE FOLLOWED DIFFERENT PROGRESSIVE, UH, DESIGN BUILD MODELS TOO, UM, FOR THESE BIG MAJOR COMPLEX SYSTEMS. UM, AND WE'VE TAKEN ALL OF THIS INFORMATION THAT WE'VE GATHERED AND WE'VE TALKED TO THE INDUSTRY THROUGH RFIS AND THROUGH ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS.
AND AGAIN, THE OVERWHELMING RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED IS THAT PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD IS THE METHOD THAT THEY ARE MOST INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH US ON, BASED ON THE UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS PROJECT.
UM, AND, UM, WHERE THE, THE INDUSTRY IS AT IN THIS POINT IN TIME.
UM, SO WE'VE EVALUATED IT AND DISCUSSED IT AND DEBATED AND
UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO THEN DO ONE MORE STEP JUST TO ENSURE THAT THIS IS REALLY THE BEST PROCESS AND AS WE BRING IN OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY BE COMING TO THE BOARD NEXT MONTH WITH, THAT'S ONE OF THEIR FIRST TASKS IS TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE DONE UP UNTIL THIS POINT AND EVALUATE IT AND RECONFIRM WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS THE BEST METHOD.
UM, AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO, TO PARTNER WITH THEM ON, ON THAT ENDEAVOR.
AND THEN THE GOAL IS TO THEN START THE SOLICITATION PROCESS VERY QUICKLY AFTER.
SO YOU MENTIONED YOU'VE BEEN GETTING FEEDBACK FROM INDUSTRY, YOU'VE BEEN GETTING FEEDBACK FROM PEER AGENCIES, AND YOU'VE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH FDA ALL ALONG ALSO? OH YEAH.
I SHOULD PROBABLY MENTION ONE OF THE BIGGEST PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, WE HAVE DEFINITELY BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE FDA, WE MEET WITH THE REGION REGULARLY AND HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE DIFFERENT MODELS WITH THEM AS WELL.
MM-HMM,
AND, UM, WHAT'S GREAT IS THE FTA, YOU KNOW, DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT REGIONS, BUT THEY ALL WORK TO WORK TOGETHER REALLY COLLABORATIVELY.
SO WHEN WE APPROACHED OUR REGION, THEY HAD ALREADY HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH REGION NINE WHO HAD ALREADY DONE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD AND GOTTEN LESSONS LEARNED FROM THAT REGION THE SAME WAY THAT WE'RE GETTING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE AGENCIES.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP THAT'S BEEN REALLY MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL IN HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE FDA AND OUR PARTNERS THERE.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO SHARE SOME OF THOSE LESSONS LEARNED FROM REGION NINE THAT WE NEED TO KNOW?
UH, SO LESSONS LEARNED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, GETTING INVOLVEMENT FOR CONTRACTORS TO WORK WITH THE DESIGNERS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR A LOT OF REASONS.
THE BIGGEST ONE IS IT PROVIDES A GREATER COST CERTAINTY AND THAT WE'RE GONNA GO INTO A LOT OF THE REASONS WHY PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD WORKS BEST AND IT'S FUNNELED FROM, YOU KNOW, GETTING INFORMATION FROM ALL THESE VARIOUS SOURCES.
BUT, UM, THE, THE LESSONS LEARNED THROUGH MAJOR PROJECTS IS, UM, COLLABORATION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AT ALL STAGES OF THE PROJECT AND GETTING, UM, DESIGNERS AND CONTRACTORS AND THE AGENCIES AND THE FDA IT ALL WORKED TOGETHER AS EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS AS POSSIBLE PROVIDES BETTER RESULTS.
UM, AND THERE ARE A COUPLE MECHANISMS, THE CMAR AND PDB THAT ALIGN TO THAT, BUT PDB, UM, IS DOING IT BETTER AND QUICKER.
UM, AND THERE'S A, NOT A ONE SIZE FITS ALL PDB APPROACH.
SO YOU REALLY GET TO TAILOR IT TO THE NEEDS OF THE SPECIFIC PROJECT, UM, AND FIGURE OUT HOW IT BEST WORKS FOR YOU.
[00:30:01]
ARE GONNA GO INTO THE SPECIFICS OF, BECAUSE I WOULD SAY LIKE THOSE ARE GENERAL STATEMENTS ABOUT PDB WORKING BETTER THAN CMAR UNDERSTAND THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH.YOU KNOW, MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE PRIMARY DIFFERENCE IS CAR YOU CONTRACT SEPARATELY, YOU AS THE OWNER OF THE PROJECT CONTRACTS SEPARATELY WITH THE ENGINEERING PARTNER AND THE CONSTRUCTION PARTNER, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE, EVERYBODY'S IN THE ROOM TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME UNDER PDB, THEY, THE CONTRACT ARE LARGELY CONTRACTS WITH THE ENGINEERING FIRM AND WE DEAL WITH THEM COLLECTIVELY.
SO THERE'S SORT OF A REPORTING DIFFERENCE, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU CAN LIKE BE MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHY THAT DISTINCTION, IF THERE'S OTHER IMPORTANT DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE TWO THAT I MISSED, YOU KNOW, WHY WE'RE CHOOSING ONE OVER THE OTHER AND WHY IT BENEFITS SPECIFICALLY WHY IT BENEFITS OUR PROJECT.
SO WE'LL SKIP US AHEAD OF SLIDE.
UM, THIS ONE YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE JUST TALKED ABOUT HOW WE WANTED TO BUNDLE AND CONTRACTING METHODS AND IDEAS, UH, FED INTO THE OVERALL APPROACH.
BUT REALLY A LOT OF THE KEY REASONS WHY, UM, A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD METHODOLOGY SUPPORTS ATP'S KEY OBJECTIVES, UM, ARE, UH, PLENTIFUL.
ONE, IT CREATES GREATER COST CERTAINTY, UM, IN THE WAY BECAUSE WHAT YOU HAVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS IS THE CONTRACTOR WORKING WITH YOU THROUGH OPEN BOOK PROCESS ESTIMATING, YOU'RE BEING ABLE TO SEE THEIR COSTS IN FRONT OF YOU AND WORKING TOGETHER TO DEVELOP WHAT THAT IS.
YOU HAVE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR VALUE ENGINEERING, UM, WHICH CREATES BETTER DESIGN PROCESSES AND CONSTRUCTABILITY, UM, ON THE PROJECT.
TOM, FEEL FREE TO INTERRUPT ME WHENEVER YOU WANT, SAID THE WORD
SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST, UH, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO IS WHERE THE RISK IS ASSIGNED AND ASSOCIATED.
SO IN A CMAR, THE OWNER TAKES ON THAT RISK OF HAVING THE DESIGNER AND THE CONTRACTOR WORK TOGETHER.
UM, THE ONLY THING THAT THEY HAVE FORCING THE WORK TOGETHER IS A THOU SHT WORK TOGETHER CLAUSE ON THEIR CONTRACT, RIGHT? UM, THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO THEN GO IN AND ENFORCE.
AND SOMETIMES IT WORKS OUT REALLY GREAT.
UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF REALLY GOOD SMAR PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED IN THE COUNTRY AND BUILT VERY WELL.
UM, BUT THAT OWNERSHIP AND THAT RISK LIES ON YOU AS AN ENTITY TO TAKE ON THAT ABILITY TO ENSURE THAT THAT COLLABORATION HAPPENS.
UM, IN A DESIGN BUILD AND PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD, THE ONUS IS ON THE DESIGN BUILDER TO HAVE THAT ON THEMSELVES.
THAT JOINT VENTURE, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, TYPICALLY CONTRACTOR LED IS A SINGLE POINT OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO US ON THE COOPERATION BETWEEN THEM AND THE DESIGNER.
I WOULD SAY ANECDOTALLY TOO, THE C MARS TYPICALLY REALLY SUCCESSFUL ON AN EXTENSION PROJECTS, RIGHT? WHERE YOU ALREADY HAVE DESIGNS IN PLACE GUIDELINES REALLY MUCH SIMPLER THAN OUR PROJECT WHERE WE'RE DEVELOPING ALL OF THAT FROM THE GROUND UP WITH A FIRST PHASE PROJECT, WHICH IS WE'VE NEVER BUILT LIGHT RAIL IN AUSTIN.
AND SO THE MORE COMPLEX THE PROJECT IS, IT SEEMS, IF YOU CAN, IF WE CAN PULL IT OFF REALLY WELL, WHICH WE THINK WE WILL, PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE AND COMPLEXITY.
UM, AND I THINK, UH, BOARD MEMBER, WHEN WE, THE SECOND PART OF THIS PRESENTATION, WHEN WE GET INTO THE DESIGN, LINDSAY AND ALVIN AND HER TEAM AND UP PETER WILL START SHOWING YOU SOME OF THE EXAMPLES OF WE'RE WORKING THROUGH.
AND I THINK YOU'LL, IT, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE HOW THIS MODEL FITS WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE NEED TO BE, ESPECIALLY AROUND OUR FDA PROCESSES, BOTH THE GENERAL IDEA OF RISK, KIND OF, UM, ASSIGNING RISK APPROPRIATELY, BUT THEN ALSO THE PRACTICAL NATURE OF ADVANCING THE NECESSARY DESIGN ELEMENTS AS WELL.
WE THINK IT WORKS WELL FOR THAT TIMING.
SO I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT ON A PRACTICAL MATTER AND WE'RE SHOWING YOU ACTUALLY SOME OF THE ISSUES WE'RE SCOPING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, WHY IS THAT? SO IS THE, I, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY A DESIGN BUILD CONTRACT HAS THAT SAME DYNAMIC WHERE IT'S A JV BETWEEN A CONTRACTOR AND AN ENGINEERING FIRM, BUT THE PRIMARY DISTINCTION IS, IS THAT IT'S NOT A HARD BID UP FRONT, WHICH IS, AND I'VE HEARD FROM MY FRIENDS IN THE INDUSTRY, THEY BASICALLY HAVE TOLD US, AS YOU MENTIONED, TOM, THAT THEY WOULDN'T REALLY PURSUE THIS PROJECT, YOU KNOW, AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S BEEN HIGH INFLATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OF LATE THAT THEY WOULDN'T EVEN PURSUE IT ON OFFERING.
UM, SO WE'RE KIND OF PUSHED OUTTA THAT, ALTHOUGH YOU HAVE THE SAME BENEFIT OF THEM JOINT VENTURING AND WORKING TO COLLABORATIVELY AT THE OUTSET.
WE PRICE ALONG THE WAY UNDER A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS, UM,
AND IN A PROJECT OF OURS WHERE WE HAVE A FINITE AMOUNT OF FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR IT, PROGRESSIVE DESIGN
[00:35:01]
BUILD REALLY HELPS US DESIGN TO THAT AMOUNT AND ENSURE THAT WE NEGOTIATE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT AMOUNT IS.AND AS IT PROGRESSES ALONG THE WAY, OR LIKE YOU SAID, IN A DESIGN BUILD PROJECT, YOU TURN THAT ALL OVER TO THE DESIGN BUILDER TO, UM, DO THEMSELVES AND THEY BUILD IN ALL OF THAT RISK AND ASSOCIATED, UM, AMOUNTS THAT GO INTO THAT.
HERE YOU ADVANCE THE PROJECT AND YOU COST IT OUT AT THE VARIOUS STAGES OF THE PROJECT, WHICH HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU NEED TO BE ALONG THE WAY.
WELL, SO, UH, I MEAN IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE THERE'S, I, I MEAN, ONE IS WE OUGHT TO BE TALKING IN TERMS OF MITIGATING RISK, NOT SHIFTING RISK, BECAUSE YOU CAN PUT RISK ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT IF YOU PUT IT ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THEY'RE GOING TO PRICE IT IN AND WE'RE JUST GONNA PAY FOR IT.
SO IT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS, YOU KNOW, THE PARTY TAKES THE RISK THAT THEY HAVE THE GREATEST STABILITY TO LOWER.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THAT THERE'S CERTAIN ONES THAT IF LIKE WE ACCEPT THAT RESPONSIBILITY FOR WORKING WITH THE CITY, I'M MAKING IT UP, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY, WE CAN DO IT MORE EFFICIENTLY.
WHEREAS THEY SAID, IF WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH THE CITY THAT WE HAVE NO RELATIONSHIP WITH, WE'VE HAD A CONTENTIOUS THING, WE'RE JUST GONNA PRICE IT THROUGH THE ROOF.
SO WHAT YOU WANNA DO IS MOVE IT TO THE PARTY THAT MITIGATES IT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WOULD BE ONE THING I WOULD HOPE THAT WE, AND I KNOW Y'ALL ARE ANALYZING IT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NOT SHIFTING OF RISK, BUT MITIGATING RISK.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, I DON'T QUITE GET, LIKE, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT LIKE, LET'S LEAVE ASIDE THE FACT THAT THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY, LARGELY THE CONTRACTING COMMUNITY, BUT ENGINEERING AS WELL, I ASSUME THEY DON'T WANT TO DO A HARD BID FIXED PRICE UP FRONT.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE PRICING ALONG THE WAY IS MORE DISADVANTAGEOUS TO US GIVEN THAT WE HAVE A FIXED REVENUE STREAM.
AND YOU SAID IT WAS THE OPPOSITE.
I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND WHY PRICING ALONG THE WAY IS BETTER.
AND WE'RE SAYING THE SAME THING JUST SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY.
UM, GOING THIS WAY, IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO AGREE TO A PRICE, YOU'RE ABLE TO HAVE AS AN ADVANTAGE TO THE AGENCY THAT YOU DON'T HAVE IN A DESIGN BUILD CONTRACT, THE ABILITY TO OFF RAMP, UM, AND BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND DO BIDDING AND OTHER FORMATS TO HELP GUARANTEE BETTER PRICING.
SO YOU, YOU, YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT GREATER LEVERAGE AND SAFETY NETS BUILT IN THROUGH A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD PROJECT FOR THE AGENCY AND THE OFF EVENT THAT YOU CAN'T WORK TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH A, A REASONABLE SOLUTION.
SO, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING OPEN BOOK ALONG THE WAY, SO WE GET TO SEE HOW THEY'RE PRICING.
BUT YOUR VIEW IS THAT OUR ABILITY TO OFF RAMP IS, IS WHAT ALSO ADDS TO KEEPING THEM HONEST.
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING PRICING FROM, YOU KNOW, CONTRACTORS THAT DRIVE A HARD BARGAIN ON THE FRONT END CAN BE A SCARY PROSPECT.
BUT YOUR VIEW OF IT, AND I'M ASSUMING IT'S WHAT YOU'RE HEARING FROM, HAVE YOU TALKED TO ANY AGENCY THAT'S DONE THAT THAT'S ENDED A CONTRACT WITH THEIR EXISTING, UM, PDB FIRM AND LIKE, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEN THE PROBLEM IS PICKING UP THE PIECES FROM, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE MARCHED 40% DOWN THE ROAD WITH ONE GROUP AND NOW IT'D HAVE TO BE PRETTY SEVERE FOR YOU TO CUT THEM LOOSE.
HAS ANYONE DONE THAT? LIKE U UTILIZE THAT LEVERAGE TO ENSURE THAT PRICING REMAINS FAIR AND THEY REMAIN HONEST? HAS ANYONE PULLED, I DON'T KNOW OF ANY FIRMS THAT HAVE EVER HAD TO USE THAT AND OPERATE THAT MECHANISM.
I KNOW THE INDUSTRY'S PROBABLY LIKE, BRAD, COME ON, THERE'S GOTTA BE ONE
THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT IT'S NOT USED THAT OFTEN AND IT'S ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF THE, OF THE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT WE HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS, UH, ESPECIALLY WITH METROLINKS IN TORONTO, HAVE OPERATED AND UTILIZED THIS METHOD, UM, ON A FEW OF THEIR PROJECTS AND ARE FURTHER ALONG IN IT TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF WHERE THEY'RE AT AND THE SUCCESSES AND, UH, THAT THEY'VE HAD FROM UTILIZING THIS AND HOW THIS IS A MAJOR COMPONENT OF HOW THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE ON ADDITIONAL WORK IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
BUT I, YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT A TP IS GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON THROUGH ITS RFI PROCESS AS WELL AS ENGAGING WITH THIS DELIVERY PARTNER IS TO DELI TO DEVELOP A PROCESS.
SO WE DO GET CERTAINTY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, RIGHT? FINDING THAT RIGHT BALANCE AS TO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ONLY SO MANY, YOU KNOW, ATP IS ON A LIMITED BUDGET, RIGHT?
AND SO DEVELOPING A PROCESS WHERE YES, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RISK LIE WITH THE PARTY THAT CAN DEAL WITH IT, BUT ALSO FINDING A POINT IN TIME WHERE YOU'RE COMFORTABLE LOCKING IN A PRICE BECAUSE IT WORKS FOR A TP.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THIS NEGOTIATION AND PART OF THE RFI PROCESS
[00:40:01]
TO, TO DEVELOP THAT APPROACH TO THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILDER THAT GETS US TO A PRICE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT MORE AS WE GET TO CLOSER TO, UM, ANY SORT OF REQUEST FOR AWARD.
BUT WE, IT'S NOT THAT THERE WON'T BE ANY PRICING REQUIRED IN THE RFP EITHER, RIGHT? STATE LAW REQUIRES IT.
WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BUILD IN THEIR COST PROFIT MODELING THAT KIND OF THING INTO THEIR BID SYSTEM, WHERE ALSO IT'S CRITICAL FOR OUR DELIVERY PARTNER TO HAVE THAT CONSTRUCTION BID MINDSET SO THEY CAN GO TOE TO TOE OR JUST BE ABLE TO GET IN THE WEEDS AND UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE PRICING EVERYTHING.
SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A COMPLEX ARRAY OF SAFEGUARDS IN A PROCESS THAT IS, YOU KNOW, NEGOTIATED ALONG THE WAY.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE CLEARHEADED ABOUT THAT RISK.
AND SO YOU'RE GONNA CARRY ON WITH THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CMAR AND PDB AND YEAH.
WAS ONE OF THE OTHER, UH, BENEFITS OF GOING THROUGH A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD APPROACH IS THE ABILITY TO START EARLY WORK CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS EARLY, ESPECIALLY A LOT WITH UTILITIES THAT ARE SOME OF THE LONGER LEAD ITEMS. A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD ALLOWS GREATER FLEXIBILITY AND OPTIONALITY AND BEING ABLE TO START SOME PROJECTS, UM, EARLY ON THROUGH, THROUGH EARLY WORK PACKAGES, WHICH IS BENEFICIAL TO SAVING THE OVERALL TIMELINE AND BEING ABLE TO WORK ON THOSE LONG TIME ISSUES, UM, REALLY QUICKLY.
UM, WE HAD THAT GOOD CONVERSATION ON RISK ALREADY AND HOW, UM, THIS HELPS US MITIGATE, UM, AND ASSIGN RISK TO THE, UH, WHO'S BEST SITUATED TO DEAL WITH IT AT THAT TIME.
UM, TALKED ABOUT GREATER COST CERTAINTY THROUGH OPEN BOOKING AND, UH, BOOK PRICING AND UH, UH, THE METHODOLOGY ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
UM, I, I DO WANT TO ALSO FOCUS ON, YOU KNOW, IN OUR COMMUNICATION WITH THE INDUSTRY AND GOING THROUGH THE RFI PROCESSES, UM, THIS IS THE MODEL THAT WHERE WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN ACHIEVE THE BEST COMPETITION FOR THE SIZE OF A PROJECT.
UM, WE'VE HEARD FROM FIRMS THAT SAY THEY WON'T PARTICIPATE IN A DESIGN BUILD PROJECT, THEY'RE NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN A DESIGN BUILD DESIGN BID BUILD PROJECT, UM, OF THIS MAGNITUDE.
AND THAT SOMETHING THAT IS SET UP IN THIS ENVIRONMENT WITH THIS TYPE OF DELIVERY METHOD IS SOMETHING THAT THEY'RE MORE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN.
UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, LEADS TO THIS BEING, UH, A GOOD DECISION FOR THIS PROJECT.
UM, AND THEN IT HELPS ALIGN, UM, THE SCOPE WITH CONSTRUCTION COSTS BY BEING ABLE TO, UM, DESIGN TO A CERTAIN POINT, EVALUATE AND GET COSTING PRICE ON IT, AND THEN, AND THEN MOVE IT FORWARD TO THE NEXT PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS, UM, IN A WAY THAT, UM, YOU, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY GET TO DO THROUGH A CMAR UM, TYPE METHOD.
SORRY, SAY THAT AGAIN BECAUSE MOST OF THE THINGS YOU WERE DESCRIBING WERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN, UM, COLLABORATIVE VERSUS DESIGN BUILDER DESIGN, BID BUILD.
WHAT I'M GET THAT WE'RE GOING THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH.
SO TO ME, WHAT I'M MOST INTERESTED IN ARE THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN CMAR AND PDB.
THAT IF UNDER PDB THEY'RE JOINED TOGETHER, WE JUST DEAL WITH ONE AND THEY'RE, THEY'VE WORKED OUT THEIR OWN RELATIONSHIP, UNDERSTAND THAT AS A DISTINCT ADVANTAGE TO PDB.
UH, THE OTHER ONES YOU DESCRIBED TO ME WERE REALLY JUST COLLABORATIVE VERSUS OTHER METHODS.
WELL, ONE EX ONE EXAMPLE IS, ESPECIALLY IN TEXAS WHERE WE DON'T HAVE CMGC, I KNOW SOME OTHER AGENCIES DO, BUT, BUT A TP DOESN'T, CMAR REQUIRES THE DESIGNER TO GO OUT AND BID THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
THAT TAKES TIME, RIGHT? SO IT'S A, IT'S MORE EFFICIENT WHEN WE KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE'RE A AT THE TABLE ALREADY WITH THE CONTRACTOR 'CAUSE THEY'RE IN THE LEAD, THEY'RE THE ONES SHOWING US OUR BOOKS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THEM TO COME ON BOARD WHEN WE DEVELOP A PACKAGE.
SO IT'S ALL HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME, WHICH IS REALLY CRITICAL WHEN YOU HAVE A COST CEILING THAT WE HAVE, RIGHT? SO WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT THAT OVERALL PRICE.
AND WE HAVE A CONTRACTOR WHO UNDERSTANDS THE COST OF DIFFERENT COM COMMODITIES AND ELEMENTS AND ALL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA MAKE UP THEIR CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATE.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM AS WE'RE DESIGNING, RIGHT? SO IT DOESN'T COME LATER THAT YOU'RE BRINGING IN THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR ON A PARTICULAR PHASE, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THAT PROCESS.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S, UH, DEFINITELY ONE OF THE ATTRIBUTES.
ANOTHER ONE IS IN A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD, UM, VERSUS CMAR, YOU REALLY GET TO CATER THE NEEDS TO INCENTIVIZE THE CONTRACTOR TO, UM, DO THINGS FASTER AND TO, UH, DESIGN FOR A BETTER PRICE.
AND YOU GET TO INSERT THOSE TERMS IN, IN A, IN A WAY THAT YOU CAN'T FULLY DO IN A, IN A, UH, CMAR.
UM, THAT'S RIGHT, BECAUSE WE ARE LAYING DOWN THE, WE ARE LAYING DOWN THE RISK ALLOCATION WITH THE CONTRACTOR DIRECTLY.
THERE'S JUST, IT'S REALLY HARD TO EMPHASIZE HOW THAT IS GONNA HELP US MOVE THROUGH AND BE REALLY HONEST ABOUT PRICING MORE QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY.
AND THEY'RE AT THE TABLE AND THEY'RE THE ONES WHO ARE GONNA DO THE ACTUAL WORK, WHEREAS SEAMAR IN TEXAS, THEY WOULD, YOU COULD HAVE A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR THERE EARLY ON, BUT THEY'RE NOT
[00:45:01]
NECESSARILY THE ONES WHO ARE GONNA DO THE ACTUAL WORK.SO THAT, THAT, THAT WAS WHAT I WAS GONNA RETURN TO.
THEY'RE AT RISK, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT AR CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK, BUT THEY'RE NOT NECESS, THEY CAN'T SELF PERFORM A LOT OF THE TIME.
SO WE THEY HAVE TO GO OUT BY, BY BY STATE STATUTE.
SO DART HAS CMGC AUTHORITY, WHICH IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AND THEY HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY AND THEY'VE USED THAT, UM, METHOD WHERE THEY USE SUBS THAT EXIST SUCCESS, BUT IT IS DIFFERENT THAN CMAR, WHICH, UM, WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO.
UM, BUT IT CREATES A, A BIGGER HEADACHE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT JUST LESS DIRECT CONNECTION, IMMEDIATE CONNECTION WITH THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR.
OF COURSE, THE WORK WILL GET SUBBED AND THEY'LL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, BUT WE'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR OVERSEEING THAT.
I MEAN, WE ARE GONNA BE IN CONTRACT PRI BUT THEY'RE GONNA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT THOSE SUBS CAN MEET THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE GUARANTEED MAXIMUM PRICE ON THAT PARTICULAR PACKAGE AND THAT WE'RE WITHIN THE BROADER TARGET PRICE FOR THE ENTIRE PROJECT.
AND WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT AND WORKING COLLABORATIVELY THROUGH IT THE WHOLE TIME.
SO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING THE CONSTRUCTION ARE AT THE TABLE WITH US FROM THE BEGINNING.
BUT IF THERE'S A, IF THERE'S A STATE LAW RESTRICTION THAT PREVENTS US FROM HAVING THE CONTRACTOR AT THE TABLE AS EARLY UNDER CMAR AS WE WOULD UNDER PP RIGHT.
WE WOULDN'T HAVE, THAT WOULD BE A BIG DISADVANTAGE.
I I WILL GRANT TAKE, WE DON'T TAKE HAVE EVERY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY THAT WILL BE DOING EVERY PACKAGE THERE FROM THE BEGINNING.
THAT WOULD BE A, THAT WOULD BE A MEANINGFUL DISADVANTAGE I WOULD ASSUME.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I MISSED SLIDE THAT? I THINK WE'VE COVERED IT.
UM, SO THE WAY THAT WELL WE ANTICIPATE ON PACKAGING IS, UM, BY HAVING FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS FOR THE MAIN CIVIL SYSTEMS, UM, AND RL AND STATIONS AND ANOTHER ONE FOR THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY.
AND WE FEEL, BELIEVE, AND, UM, ARE RECOMMENDING THAT A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD APPROACH FOR BOTH OF THEM IS BEST BECAUSE IT'LL ALLOW FOR GREATER COLLABORATION, NOT ONLY WITH US AND THE ENTITIES, BUT BETWEEN THE, WHOEVER SELECTED AS THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILDER FOR BOTH PROJECTS TO WORK AND COLLABORATE TOGETHER, UM, ALONG THE WAY.
UM, SO WE ANTICIPATE FOLLOWING A SIMILAR PROCESS THAT WE'VE DONE, UM, THROUGH OUR DELIVERY PARTNER IN SOME OF OUR EARLIER SOLICITATIONS WHERE WE INTEND ON ISSUING A FULL VERSION OF THE SOLICITATION, UM, BOTH THE RFQ AND THE RFP AND, UH, DESIGN BOTH STATUTE AND THE STATE OF TEXAS.
YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A TWO STEP PROCESS WHERE YOU GO AND REVIEW QUALIFICATIONS AND THEN HAVE THEM SUBMIT PROPOSALS.
SO WE'LL DO THAT FOR BOTH OF THEM, BUT WE WANT TO PUT THAT OUT EARLY, UM, IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO SOLICIT AND GET THAT FEEDBACK FROM THE INDUSTRY BASED ON, UM, THEIR BELIEF, UH, OR, OR THEIR REVIEW OF THE, THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND THE SCOPE OF WORK AND BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE THAT FOR A FEW MONTHS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY ISSUE THE ACTUAL SOLICITATIONS.
UM, SO WE ANTICIPATE DOING THE RFI AND Q1 AND THEN DO THE RFQ, UM, IN THE FOLLOWING QUARTER.
AND THEN WE WANT TO STAGGER THESE BIG SOLICITATIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR, UM, THE MAIN SYSTEM, THE OMF AND OUR VEHICLES, WHICH WILL ALL BE DONE NEXT YEAR.
SO WE'LL BE REALLY BUSY, UM, TALKING TO YOU
BUT THIS IS OUR OUTLINE OF WHERE WE ANTICIPATE ON MOVING FORWARD, UH, WITH HOPEFULLY BRINGING CONTRACTS BACK TO THE BOARD IN 2026 FOR ALL THREE, UM, MAJOR PROCUREMENTS.
IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR DESIGN DEVELOPMENT, WE ENTERED INTO DESIGN DEVELOPMENT WITH FDA, SO HOW THIS ALIGNS WITHIN THAT TWO YEAR TIMELINE? OKAY.
AND YOU'RE, YEAH, JEN'S GONNA TALK ABOUT, ABOUT THAT AND A FEW MORE SLIDES AFTER THIS, BUT GOT IT.
IT'S ALL BEEN WORKED TOGETHER TO GO THROUGH THE FDA PROCESS AND THE DESIGN PROCESS, UM, TO BRING ALL THREE TOGETHER TO, TO JIG BUILD THE PROJECT.
SO THE, THE MAIN REASON IS TO COMPETITION.
UM, THERE ARE A LOT MORE FIRMS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PROPOSE ON THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY THAN THEY WILL BE ABLE ONTO THE MAIN CIVIL AND SYSTEMS. OKAY.
UM, SO WE WANT TO SEPARATE THE TWO TO ALLOW FOR TEAMING OPPORTUNITIES TO HAPPEN ON THE MAIN ONE BEFORE WE ISSUE THE SECOND ONE WHERE THERE'S MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIME CONTRACTORS.
[00:50:01]
AND WE'RE NOT DOING, UH, THERE'S NO PDB ON LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES? NO.SO IT'LL BE STANDARD, STANDARD VEHICLE PURCHASES WITH SOME, YOU KNOW, INNOVATIVE, UM, IDEAS THROWN ALONG WITH IT, BUT THERE'S A FIXED PRICE.
WELL, SO TO TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF THE, THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT BUILDING HAS TO ACTUALLY COME, IS FRONT LOADED, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THAT READY TO RECEIVE THE VEHICLES TO, BEFORE WE EVEN FINISH THE LINE.
SO IT KIND OF SEPARATES AND ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT SCHEDULING PROCESS SO THAT CAN BE READY AS WELL.
AND ALSO HIGHLY INTEGRATED, OBVIOUSLY, RIGHT? UM, WITH BOTH OF THOSE CONTRACTS.
AND THAT WILL BE A KEY PART OF, OF THAT, OF BOTH OF THOSE CONTRACTS TO MAKE SURE IT HAPPENS AND FIGURING OUT WHERE WE, WHERE WE PUT THOSE PIECES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DELIVERING THAT ON IN ADVANCE, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT THE CIVIL WORK IS, IS ADVANCING AS WELL.
THAT'S WHY THIS IS SET UP THIS WAY SO WE CAN GET THAT REFLECTION FROM INDUSTRY, RIGHT.
AND IT'S, IT'S MORE COMPLEX THAN IT LOOKS OF COURSE, AND WHAT IS AN OMF AND THERE'S TRACK AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO US FIGURING OUT EXACTLY HOW TO BUNDLE THOSE SCOPES IN A WAY THAT MEETS THE MARKET AND WE GET THE BEST COMPETITION IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WE WANNA FOLLOW A SIMILAR PROCESS WHERE WE ISSUE THE SOLICIT DRAFT VERSION OF SOLICITATIONS HOST AND INDUSTRY EVENT TO TRY TO CONNECT LARGER FIRMS WITH SMALLER AND LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, WE HAD REALLY GREAT SUCCESS DOING THAT THROUGH THE DELIVERY PARTNER AND WANT TO REEMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE THAT THAT IS TO THE AGENCY, UM, AND MOVE FORWARD.
YEAH, SO WHAT YOU JUST SAID,
WE'RE ON ACTIVE NEGOTIATIONS WITH OUR DELIVER DELIVERY PARTNER PROPOSED AWARD.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE A STATUS UPDATE ON THE EXISTING CONTRACTS.
WE HAVE AN EXISTING, UM, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CONTRACT WILL KIND OF EXTEND THAT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD TRANSITION PERIOD, WHICH WE'VE ALREADY KIND OF SPOKE TO BEFORE, BUT WE'LL FILL OUT THAT ENTIRE PICTURE FOR YOU GUYS WHEN WE'RE READY FOR THAT AWARD, HOPEFULLY IN DECEMBER.
UM, LIKE BRAD SAID, WE HAVE A GREAT REP, YOU KNOW, KIND OF TRACK RECORD OF GETTING DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS, UM, CONTRACTING WORK.
AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE DO ANOTHER EVENT SPECIFICALLY AROUND THESE FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS TO MAKE SURE THAT PARTNERING OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE.
AND, UM, OF COURSE, WHAT WE'RE ALSO DOING LINE WITH THAT IS, UH, AN AVAILABILITY STUDY.
UM, WE'VE HIRED A FARM TO ANALYZE THE WORK THAT IS AVAILABLE, THE WORKFORCE THAT IS AVAILABLE HERE, AND THE DBES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT, SO THAT WE WERE GETTING AS AN UPTODATE AND CURRENT, UM, REVIEW OF WHAT THAT IS SO WE CAN ASSIGN APPROPRIATE GOALS, UM, FOR THESE PROJECTS.
SO THAT PRO THAT SHOULD HOPEFULLY BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF DECEMBER.
UM, SO WE CAN INSERT THOSE GOALS, UM, IN THE COMING MONTHS FOR THOSE SOLICITATIONS, BUT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE LOOK AT WHERE THE WORKFORCE IS AT AND HOW, AND WHO'S AVAILABLE TO ACTUALLY DO THE WORK AND SET THAT APPROPRIATE GOAL FOR IT.
AND JUST TO MAKE IT CLEAR, WE'VE SAID IT MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE, BUT YOU KNOW, REALLY APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS TO BRING THOSE DBE UH, FIRMS TOGETHER WITH SOME OF THE LARGER FIRMS. AND I KNOW THAT US CREATING A FORUM WHERE THEY CAN INTERACT, UM, YOU KNOW, FACE TO FACE IS USEFUL.
IT DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN ON ITS OWN.
SO AGAIN, APPLAUD THOSE EVIDENCE.
AND THEN JUST FINALLY, YEAH, CARRYING ON THE RFI PROCESS, OH, SORRY.
BOARD MEMBER GARZA ALONG THOSE LINES.
UM, YES, THAT, UH, UH, SECOND ONE JUST SAID JOHN, BUT I WANNA KNOW HOW WE'RE DOING.
UM, SO, UM, THE, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW WE'VE, HOW WE STACK UP, UM, OF THE CONTRACT THAT WE'VE AWARDED, HOW MUCH OF THE MONEY HAS STAYED LOCAL WITH LOCAL FIRMS, UM, AND SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE SOMETHING AND WE SHOULD REPORT FAIRLY REGULARLY.
THE, TO ME, THAT'S PART OF THE PROCESS OF, UM, UM, UH, ACHIEVING THEN MAINTAINING TRUST WITH THE PUBLIC, THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THAT A VERY IMPORTANT, UH, ASPECT OF WHAT WE DO.
UM, ONE A, UH, MORE MINOR, BUT EQUALLY IMPORTANT, UH, ARENA.
AND THAT IS THE, THE WHOLE AREA, UH, AREA OF, UH, UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UH, WE, WE, IT'S A SMALL PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT IT'S SO IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING THE SUPPORT OF, OF THE PUBLIC LABOR SUPPLY CHAIN, UH, FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US REPORT BACK, UH, TO THE BOARD ON, ON THOSE OTHER ASPECTS, JUST TO LET US KNOW WHAT WE'RE, HOW WE'RE DOING IT IS DEFINITELY TOP OF MIND BOARD MEMBER AND WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IT IN THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPING OUR CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS WELL.
UM, BUT YEAH, AND WE'LL CONTINUE WITH THE INDUSTRY OUTREACH.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, LIKE BRAD SAID, EARLY NEXT YEAR WE'LL BE RELEASING A LOT OF THE DRAFTS OF THESE DOCUMENTS AND THE SOLICIT EVALUATION CRITERIA, SOLICITATION, FULL
[00:55:01]
CONTRACTS, EVERYTHING TO GET FEEDBACK ON THOSE AND MAKE SURE WE'RE IN THE RIGHT SPOT BEFORE THEY'RE OFFICIALLY RELEASED.BUT IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I KNOW, I THINK AT THIS POINT WE'RE TRANSITIONING TO FEDERAL PROCESS, BUT SURE.
DELIVERY WILL CONTINUE TO COME UP.
JUST THAT, UM, AGAIN, IT'S IMPRESSIVE.
I, I, UH, IT BOLSTERS MY CONFIDENCE.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU ALL WILL DELIVER US, UH, AS YOU PROMISED.
UM, THE ANOTHER SIDE IS YOU, AND THAT IS HOW ARE WE DOING WITH OUR HOUSING INITIATIVES.
UM, I JUST WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THAT AS WE GO ALONG.
WELL, BOARD MEMBER, I THINK THAT'S GREAT.
'CAUSE PART OF THIS TOO IS SHOWING YOU OUR HOMEWORK, BUT ALSO LAYING OUT WHAT 2025 LOOKS LIKE.
UH, YOU'LL SEE A LOT MORE OF THAT IN OUR DESIGN EFFORT.
AND THAT IS A PIECE OF IT, THE WORKFORCE PIECE THAT YOU MENTIONED.
AND FOR US, YOU CAN HEAR THE WORD PROBABLY AD NAUSEUM, THE IDEA OF INTEGRATING ALL OF THESE WORK STREAMS, RIGHT? 'CAUSE THEY'RE COLLECTIVE TOGETHER.
SO YES, I THINK THAT'S A TARGETED DIALOGUE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS LEADING ON THAT, BUT WE THINK THERE'S SOME HIGH OPPORTUNITY, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE'RE KIND OF HALFWAY THROUGH ONE OF THIS KEY PIECES OF OUR FEDERAL PROCESS.
WE KNOW THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL OF INTEREST IN LOOKING AT THAT HOUSING ALONG THE ALIGNMENT, AND WE WANNA HELP REINFORCE THAT.
SPEAKING OF THE CITY, WHERE ARE THEY TODAY? I THINK THEY HAVE TODAY, I BELIEVE IS A, EITHER A COUNCIL WORK SESSION OR, UM, I THINK THEY HAVE A COUNSELOR WORK SESSION DEALING WITH, UH, ONE OF THE OTHER LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS GOING ON, UH, JUST A FEW BLOCKS OVER, WHICH LET'S REMEMBER THAT, RIGHT? LET'S, BRAD, LET'S USE THAT WORD.
LET'S CELEBRATE, RIGHT? AUSTIN IS INFRASTRUCTURE STAR RIGHT NOW IN THIS COUNTRY.
THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
IT BODES WELL FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.
LIKE TEXAS IS INVESTING IN ITSELF.
THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? THE IDEA OF DRIVING JOB CREATION, DRIVING INFRASTRUCTURE, DRIVING THIS ADVANCEMENT OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
WE ARE RIGHT AT THE HEARTBEAT OF THAT, AND IT'S REALLY FUN.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAD TO MOVE THE MEETING TO A THURSDAY.
SO CITIES, THAT'S A BUSY DAY FOR THEM.
IT WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO ON FOREVER, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY HEARING LIKE, HERE'S WHAT WENT REALLY GREAT WITH THIS.
HERE'S WHERE WE GOT A LOT OF PUSHBACK AND HAD TO KIND OF WORK OUR WAY THROUGH ANY, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
I'M SURE A LOT OF THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE WITH THE NEW DELIVERY METHOD.
WE'LL COME BACK WITH SOME INFO.
AND I THINK AS, AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, YOU KNOW, YOU, UH, YOU, YOU THINK ABOUT SOME PROCESSES THAT LEND THEMSELVES TO, UH, TO SETTING EVERYTHING UP UPFRONT.
AND SOME, UH, PROCESSES ALLOW US TO MOVE IN SEGMENTS SO THAT WE CAN PROVE CONCEPTS AND, AND MOVE WITH MOVE AT THE RATE IN WHICH THE WORK IS HAPPENING.
AND THE PROBLEM WITH, THE PROBLEM WITH, UH, BUILDING A BIG PLAN AND PLANNING IT ALL OUT UPFRONT IS YOU, YOU DON'T, YOU CAN'T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION MARKET CORRECTIONS.
WHAT HAPPENS, UH, WHEN THE SUPPLY CHAIN CRASHES, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE'S A PANDEMIC? UM, THERE, I THINK THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WISDOM IN BALANCING THE ISSUES SO THAT, UH, WE GO OUT FOR THE THINGS THAT WE ARE READY FOR AND CAN COMPLETE AND HOPEFULLY BREAK THAT INTO A SERIES OF PHASES SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO, SO THAT WE'RE WORKING, YOU KNOW, THREE AT A TIME, FOUR, FOUR SEGMENTS AT A TIME RATHER THAN ALL 12, AND THEN THE MARKET GOES TO HELL.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE CREATE CERTAINTY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE GIVE OURSELVES THE FLEXIBILITY TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND US.
I MEAN, AND THAT IS REALLY AN ART.
SO WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE FEDERAL PROCESS, AND WE'RE AT ABOUT A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH OUR SLIDES,
SO WE'RE ONLY A THIRD OF THE WAY THROUGH OUR TIME
MADAM CHAIR, DID I SAY FEDER? FEDERAL EVERY SYLLABLE.
JUST, WE'RE DOING A LITTLE BIT OF SPEAKER SWITCH OUT.
[01:00:01]
CAN COME OVER HERE AS WE'LL BE DOING THROUGHOUT THE DAY.UH, SO AGAIN, UM, I'M JEN PINE WILL BE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FEDERAL PROCESS TOGETHER WITH DARREN LAZANO AND COURTNEY CHAVEZ.
UM, AND SO THIS FIRST SLIDE IS JUST TO TAKE A MINUTE.
YOU'VE SEEN THIS ONE BEFORE, BUT JUST TO ROOT US WHERE WE ARE IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, UH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE, WE'RE VERY ENGAGED IN PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UM, AND, UH, THE WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO TO STEP THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROCESS AND COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA BEING A, A SIGNIFICANT ONE OF THOSE.
SO WE'LL GIVE YOU, UH, AN UPDATE ON KIND OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, BUT ALSO CAN SIGNAL THE WORK IN 2025 AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND SOME OF OUR KEY PRIORITIES TO KEEP US MOVING, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THESE PHASES.
SO JUST TO ZOOM IN JUST A LITTLE BIT ON, UH, THE WORK NOW AND INTO THE NEXT YEAR, UH, AS YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE ARE IN THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE OF THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANT PROGRAM, UH, OF FTA.
UM, SO THAT MEANS WE'RE IN A TWO YEAR PERIOD WITHIN WHICH WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH A CERTAIN LIST OF THINGS.
UH, NEPA COMPLIANCE AND CONCLUDING.
UM, BUT THERE'S SOME OTHERS AS WELL.
UM, LAST AUGUST WE, UM, MADE A, A GOOD MOVE THEREBY, UM, SUBMITTING OUR PRELIMINARY RATING INFORMATION TO FTA.
SO THEY ARE ASSESSING OUR PROJECT RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH WITH THEM ON, UH, TOPICS FROM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR PLAN, UH, FINANCIAL PLAN TO RIDERSHIP MODELING AND THE LIKE.
UM, THE NEPA TIMELINE UP HERE IS PROB, YOU KNOW, IS A VERY ACTIVE FOR US.
UH, AS YOU RECALL, LIKE LAST, UH, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, WE HOSTED A SERIES OF PUBLIC SCOPING MEETINGS, UM, TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT WE WERE DOING AND RECEIVED FEEDBACK ON THE SCOPE OF ANALYSIS AND CERTAIN DESIGN OPTIONS THAT WE WERE CONSIDERING.
SO WE, SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN PREPARING, UM, ALL THE ANALYSIS, UH, AND THE ASSOCIATED, UH, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING THAT WILL BE, UH, CAPTURED IN THIS DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT THAT WE ARE WORKING ON.
UM, SO WE'RE NEAR THE END TO THAT.
WE'RE, UM, WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH FTA AND COORDINATING ON FINALIZING THAT IN, UH, AN EXACT RELEASE STATE.
UM, BUT THEN WE WILL BE CONDUCTING A, A 60 DAY, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT AND REVIEW AND COMMENT PERIOD.
UM, ALL THE COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVE THERE WILL BE, UM, RESPONDED TO AND REPORTED OUT IN THE FINAL EIS.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE ANALYSIS IS BASED ON THE DESIGN, WHERE IT WAS EARLIER IN SPRING OF 2024, UM, FOLLOWING SCOPING.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN CONTINUING TO PROGRESS THE DESIGN AND IN THE FINAL EIS THERE'LL BE, UM, DESIGN PLANS THAT REFLECT THE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK THAT WE HEAR, YOU KNOW, EARLY NEXT YEAR.
UH, SO I'M GONNA SPEAK BRIEFLY ABOUT THE, UM, CIG PROCESS POINTS, AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO DARREN TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT NEPA.
UH, BUT SEPARATE FROM NEPA, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO COMPLETE, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THIS TWO YEAR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE, AND TO BE READY FOR THE NEXT STEP, WHICH IS ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING.
UM, SO WE, OF COURSE, WE'RE ADVANCING THE PROJECT DEFINITION AND THE DESIGN, UH, AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT, BUT WE ARE ALSO, UM, PREPARING A SERIES OF MANAGEMENT PLANS THAT WILL COVER HOW WE TACKLE EVERYTHING FROM PROJECT CONTROLS TO DOCUMENT CONTROL, UM, AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT.
SO WE'VE COMPLETED SOME OF THOSE THIS YEAR, AND THAT'S JUST PART OF, UH, OUR OVERALL, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS, UM, TO ACTUALLY, UH, MANAGE THESE BIG CONTRACTS SUCCESSFULLY THAT YOU, YOU HEARD ABOUT EARLIER.
UM, AND THAT'LL BE A, A HOT TOPIC IN 2025 AS WELL AS WE CONTINUE TO PREPARE THOSE PLANS AND THE, UH, DELIVERY PARTNER TEAM THAT WE'LL BE BRINGING ON BOARD WILL BE A BIG PART OF US, UM, ADVANCING THAT WORK.
UM, A FEW OTHER THINGS I'LL TOUCH ON, UH, JUST THIRD PARTY AGREEMENTS IS, UH, A BIG TOPIC FOR FTA AND FOR US IN GENERAL.
SO LIKE THAT'S ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'RE PUTTING A LOT OF WORK INTO AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH AND HAVING A GAME PLAN FOR DOING THAT.
UM, SO I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND, I ASSUME THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO TALK ABOUT IT, LIKE THE, THE AGREEMENT, UM, TO, TO FUND THE PROJECT, LIKE MM-HMM.
[01:05:01]
MEANINGFUL FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN OUR PROJECT RELY ON THAT.SO JUST IF YOU COULD MAYBE KIND OF HOW THE MONEY PIECE OF THIS TIES TO THE OTHER THINGS WHICH I, I UNDERSTAND ARE PRESCRIBED AND YOU'VE DESCRIBED THEM MULTIPLE TIMES.
UH, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THERE'LL BE A CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION.
UM, AND SO ONE THING, THERE'S A LOT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT CERTAIN APPOINTMENTS WILL BE.
HOWEVER, UH, WE DO KNOW THAT THERE'LL BE A CHANGE IN PERSONNEL, LIKE THERE IS ANY TIME IN ADMINISTRATION CHANGES.
AND SO THAT MIGHT JUST CREATE A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, DELAY IN SOME THINGS NEXT YEAR, I CAN IMAGINE.
BUT OVERALL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT EXPECTING CHANGES IN THE SUBSTANCE OF HOW THE, THE PROGRAM IS DEPLOYED, YOU KNOW, AT FTA.
UM, AND SO THE ENTRY TO ENGINEERING POINT, WHICH WOULD BE A COUPLE YEARS FROM NOW, UM, THAT'S THE POINT AT WHICH WE AGREE WITH FTA ON THE LEVEL OF FEDERAL PARTICIPATION, WHAT THE GRANT AMOUNT WOULD BE.
SO A LOT OF THE READINESS WORK AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COST AND THE ASSOCI, UH, SORRY, THE PROJECT AND THE ASSOCIATED COST AND SCHEDULE THAT WE'LL BE DOING IS TO INFORM, YOU KNOW, THAT DECISION POINT IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT IN THAT PART OF WHAT, WELL, I MEAN, A LOT OF THINGS MADE ME ASK THAT QUESTION, BUT ONE OF THEM IS THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT.
YOU, YOU KNOW, SHOWING THAT IN THE ENTRY INTO THE ENGINEERING AT THE BEGINNING OF 24, AND THEN FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT IN 24 AS WELL.
SO THAT'S PROBABLY JUST A, WE DON'T EXPECT THOSE THINGS IN 2024, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
I WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT SO,
THAT'S, THAT'S NOT WHAT WE INTENDED TO COMMUNICATE.
UM, WE ARE LOOKING ENTRY TO ENGINEERING TO OCCUR, YOU KNOW, AFTER WE CONCLUDE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.
SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ABOUT TWO YEARS AND THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT WOULD FOLLOW.
UM, SO IT'S COMPLETELY REASONABLE AND WE EXPECT THAT A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT WOULD BE MORE OF A 2027 TYPE TIMEFRAME.
THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT BASED ON ALL OF OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS.
UM, AND IS, IS THAT, IS, DOES THE FTA GET A BIG POT OF MONEY WHEN A NEW OR AREN'T? ISN'T THE TRANSPORTATION BILL, LIKE A MULTI-YEAR TRANSPORTATION BILL GOING TO BE PASSED AND 25, WELL KNOCK ON WOOD, GOING TO BE PASSED, UM, BUT IT'S UP TO BE REAUTHORIZED IN 25, IS THAT CORRECT? MM-HMM.
AND THAT'S SUBJECT TO WHAT CONGRESS DECIDES WHEN THEY AUTHORIZE REAUTHORIZE THE TRANSPORTATION BILL.
SO LIKE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, UM, THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, REALLY INCREASED FUNDING FOR THE NEW STARTS PROGRAM.
UM, SO, AND THAT'S THE AMOUNT I THINK THAT TOM WAS REFERRING TO, RIGHT.
THAT, YOU KNOW, HALF OF IT MAYBE HAS BEEN YEAH, OKAY.
UM, SO WE DO, WE WOULD LOOK FOR KIND OF CONTINUING FUNDING FOR THESE PROJECTS, BUT THEN THERE, THE FTA WILL RECOMMEND PROJECTS FOR FUNDING AND THERE IS A CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATION, YOU KNOW, STAGE.
SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT STEPS TO IT.
SO FOR US, WE'D BE LOOKING IN A FEW YEARS TO KIND OF PUT THAT PUZZLE TOGETHER.
AND JUST REGARDING THE INCOMING, UH, ADMINISTRATION, I'D RATHER NOT GET INTO THAT.
UM, IF YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, ABSOLUTELY.
BUT I'M GUESSING WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN DEPENDING ON WHO'S THERE, TO ME, IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.
TO ME, I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS ITSELF, UM, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, YOU KNOW, HOW IT WORKS.
BUT I DID, YOU EXPLAINED IT,
IT'LL BE A FUNCTION OF A BILL THAT'S HOPEFULLY PASSED IN 2020.
UM, YOU KNOW, CONGRESS WILL DO WHAT THEY DO AND, AND WILL HOPEFULLY BE IN GOOD STEP BASED ON THE PROGRESS OF THE PROJECT.
DID YOU START TO SAY, SO I WAS JUST FACT CHECKING MYSELF.
I, I THINK IT MIGHT BE 2026 IS REAUTHORIZATION.
AND MOST LIKELY IT'LL, THERE'LL BE CONTINUING EXTENSIONS AND IT WON'T JUST, YOU KNOW, REALISTICALLY WITH POLITICS, WHICH WE WON'T TALK ABOUT, BUT
YEAH, I'LL JUST, THE REAUTHORIZATION IS DUE IN 26.
IT WILL START GETTING WORKED UPON IN 25, BUT THE ACTUAL REAUTHORIZATION BILL FOR TRANSPORTATION, THAT'S WHEN THE CURRENT ONE EXPIRES, RIGHT? CORRECT.
ARE THERE ANY, ANY OTHER TOPICS? 'CAUSE WE WERE GOING TO DIVE INTO
[01:10:01]
NEPA A LITTLE BIT HERE.THAT SOUNDS SO EXCITING, DOESN'T IT?
UM, JEN HIT ON A LOT OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS SLIDE HERE.
ANOTHER TIMELINE FOR YOU, BUT I THINK A COUPLE THINGS TO REITERATE ON THIS SLIDE IS YOU CAN SEE WE HIT A REALLY AGGRESSIVE NEPA TIMELINE.
YOU KNOW, WE ISSUED OUR NOTICE OF INTENT IN JANUARY AND THROUGH SOME OF THE CONTRACTING MECHANISMS, AS BRAD WENT THROUGH A PARTICULAR 1 39 J CONTRACT WORKING WITH FTA, WE WERE REALLY ABLE TO EXPEDITE THAT DOCUMENT.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, AS PART OF THIS UPDATE, UM, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT OF, UH, COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION AS A THEME.
AND THAT WAS TRULY THE CASE BETWEEN CAP METRO WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH ALL OUR A TP JUST DEVELOPING THIS DOCUMENT HAND IN HAND TO MAKE SURE WE HAD ALL THE LATEST AND GREATEST INFORMATION TO ACTUALLY FEED THAT DOCUMENT.
UM, ALL THE LATEST CODES, ORDINANCES, POLICIES, UM, ALL THE BUS ROUTES AND EVERYTHING ELSE IS ALL EMBEDDED IN THAT DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, UH, THAT JEFF MENTIONS IS FORTHCOMING TO THE COMMUNITY.
I WANNA SPEND A LITTLE TIME ON THIS SLIDE HERE REAL QUICK THERE.
I WANT TO, CAN I JUST POP IN, POP IN REAL QUICK AND THE, AND THEN GOING BACK TO BRAD'S WORD OF CELEBRATING, UM, JUST GO, WE'LL GO BACK ON THAT SLIDE BEFORE.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO JUST RECOGNIZE THIS, RIGHT? SO IN REALLY MID-JANUARY OF LAST YEAR, WE BEGAN THIS PROCESS AND WITHIN THIS CALENDAR YEAR, WE'VE HIT OUR MARK OF, OF, YOU KNOW, FINALIZING THIS DRAFT DIS AND THAT, JUST THAT, THAT CELEBRATION TO JEN AND DARREN, THE FULL TEAM AT A TP.
'CAUSE IT'S EVERYBODY, RIGHT? EVERYONE GETS INVOLVED WITH IT.
OUR PARTNERS AT HDR TO GET THAT DONE.
IT REALLY IS, UH, JUST A, A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF WORK, BUT IT'S DONE VERY COMMONLY AND STRATEGICALLY TO GET US THROUGH TO THIS POINT HERE AT THE END OF, AS WE END HERE IN 2024.
SO JUST TO KIND OF A, TO THANK PUBLICLY THAT WORK THAT'S BEEN GOING, I KNOW IT AND THERE'S A FEW LITTLE STEPS LEFT TO GET US THERE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, SITTING HERE WITH THE BOARD JUST TO RECOGNIZE THAT, AND IT DOES, IT COMES BACK.
I'M GLAD DARREN, UH, NOTICED THAT ONE, UH, UH, THAT ONE THAT I 39, THE 1 39 J CONTRACT, OUR HDR CONTRACT, ALL OF THOSE RESOURCES OF FOLKS THAT AREN'T SITTING AROUND THIS TABLE TO HELP US ADVANCE THAT WORK, THAT'S WHO WE ARE, RIGHT? WHERE YOU SEE US, BUT THERE'S LOTS OF FOLKS AROUND US CONTINUING TO ADVANCE US AND WORK TOGETHER AND, AND THIS IS A REFLECTION OF THAT WHERE WE ARE IN THIS CALENDAR THIS YEAR.
SO IT'S REALLY QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT.
AND, UM, SO JUST WANTED TO DEFINITELY RECOGNIZE THAT.
AND I'LL ADD TO THAT TOO, HONESTLY, YOU KNOW, NEPA PLANNING ENVIRONMENTAL, SO HAVE IT, YOU KNOW, I HOPE YOU ALL REALIZE AT THIS POINT IN THE PROGRAM, THIS IS THE FARTHEST ALONG WE'VE BEEN FOR LIGHT RAIL, FOR THE NEPA SIDE, FOR FTAS AT, IN THIS REVIEW CYCLE.
SO THAT'S A VERY BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT.
SO REALLY EXCITED TO KIND OF CONTINUE THAT MOMENTUM AS WE GO TO CLOSE OUT THIS YEAR.
UM, THIS NEXT SLIDE, YOU'RE ALL GETTING A SNEAK PEEK AT SOME OF THE, UH, VISUALS AND COLLABORATIVE MATERIALS WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.
AND I'M TRULY EXCITED BECAUSE AFTER YEARS OF PRESENTING, YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THE LISTS OF ALL THE DISCIPLINES.
YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN THE NEPA UMBRELLA WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL DISCIPLINES.
I THINK YOU'RE GONNA START TO SEE THESE FOR VARIOUS TRANSIT AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE MAYBE A SPACE NEEDLE OR FENWAY PARK OR THEIR OWN LITTLE KIND OF FLARE TO DIFFERENT CITIES SHOWING KIND OF HOW NEPA IS LOOKED AT FROM DIFFERENT, UM, VARIOUS STANDPOINTS.
SO WHAT THIS IS INTENDED TO DO IS TO REALLY, IN A, IN A NUTSHELL, SHOW YOU ALL THE ENVIRONMENTAL DISCIPLINES AND WHAT THEY MEAN IN REAL WORLD.
IF I TOLD YOU WHAT IS SIX SECTION SIX F OR SECTION FOUR F, NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THAT IS.
BUT IF YOU CAN ATTRIBUTE TO TO ONE OF THESE GRAPHICS UP HERE, THAT'S SOMETHING ANYBODY CAN READ.
UM, A COUPLE, UM, PARTICULAR AIR QUALITY YOU SEE THERE WITH A LITTLE VEHICLE THERE.
IT'S GENERALLY ASSOCIATED WITH KIND OF THE HOW CLEAN THE AIR IS.
BUT REALLY IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT HOW TAKING CARS OFF THE ROAD AND WHAT DOES THAT TRANSLATE TO PUTTING, UM, PEOPLE IN THE TRAINS ITSELF.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN THINK THE WORST OF THAT, BUT REALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT GAS STATIONS AND FUEL TANKS, THINGS THAT CAN REALLY RESONATE WITH PEOPLE AS THEY START TO SEE THIS VISUAL.
UM, AND JIM MENTIONED TOO, WHEN THIS DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT IS PUT OUT THERE, IT TALKS ABOUT THE IMPACTS BASED ON A DESIGN THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER, UH, AGAIN EARLIER THIS YEAR.
AND AS YOU'VE SEEN THROUGH SEVERAL SLIDES AND VARIOUS PRESENTATIONS, DESIGN IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO PROGRESS AND THAT DESIGN PROGRESSES WITH THE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE WE HAVE, BUT ALSO WITH THE COMMUNITY INPUT AS A COMMUNITY PROVIDES INPUT ON THIS DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT THAT'S ACTUALLY, UM, PUT INTO THE CONSIDERATION AS THE DESIGN ADVANCES BEYOND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS AND BEYOND WHAT I'M SITTING UP HERE REPORTING OUT TO WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
UM, ONE THING YOU'LL NOTE TOO, WHEN THE EIS COMES OUT, TYPICAL OF THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WHERE WE'RE GONNA SEE THE EFFECTS DOCUMENTED ARE REALLY WITHIN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
UM, BECAUSE AS, AS YOU KNOW, THIS PROJECT'S GONNA GO ALONG THE CURRENT ROADWAY FOR THE MOST PART, WITH THE EXCEPTIONS BEING OF COURSE, WHERE WE HAVE THE END OF LINE PARKING RIDES, WHERE WE HAVE OUR POWER SUBSTATIONS, AND THOSE WILL BE DOCUMENTED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ITSELF.
I WANNA STICK ON THIS GRAPHIC AND JUST KIND OF, AGAIN, A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT YOU'RE GONNA
[01:15:01]
SEE, SOME AREAS OF IMPORTANCE AND JUST KIND OF THE, THE THEME OF COLLABORATION.UM, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT TREES.
UM, TREES ARE SO IMPORTANT TO THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT.
AND IF I COULD KIND OF SPELL OUT, YOU KNOW, THE PROCESS WE TOOK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DEVELOPED A TREE SURVEY WHERE PEOPLE ARE OUT IN THE FIELD ACTUALLY ASSESSING TREES ALONG THE ALIGNMENT, LOOKING AT THE DESIGNS THAT WERE PUTTING TOGETHER.
WE HAD A TREE TASK FORCE THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER WITH A TP WITH THE CITY, OTHER REPRESENTATIVES, UM, THAT HAVE EXPERTISE IN TREES.
AND THEY LOOKED AT THE SURVEYS AND LOOKED AT THE METHODOLOGY.
UM, AND THE DOCUMENTS ITSELF, IT TALKS ABOUT, UH, ADHERING TO, UM, HOW WE'RE SUPPOSED TO IMPLEMENT THE TREE ORDINANCE AND THE MITIGATION, TALKING ABOUT HOW WE'LL WORK WITH THE CITY ARBORISTS TO ACTUALLY MITIGATE ANY IMPACTS TO TREES.
UM, ANOTHER ONE TO TALK ABOUT IS CULTURAL RESOURCES.
THAT'S ENVISIONED IN THE PICTURE UP HERE AS WELL WITH ONE OF THE BUILDINGS.
BUT THAT TOOK A LOT OF COORDINATION WITH THE CITY.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER WORKED WITH THE TEXAS HISTORIC COMMISSION.
ALL THAT INFORMATION WAS INPUT INTO THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT TO IDENTIFY AN AREA THAT COULD BE POTENTIALLY IMPACT AND IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE RESOURCES ARE FOR ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES.
AS YOU CAN SEE THE GENTLEMAN DIGGING, SURE ENOUGH, WE WENT OUT THERE AND ACTUALLY DID SOME DIGGING OF POTENTIALLY, UH, SENSITIVE AREAS OF WHERE ARCHEOLOGICAL RESOURCES ARE.
AND THE DOCUMENT WILL EXPLAIN HOW WE INTEND TO DO MONITORING DURING THE PROJECT.
BUT THAT BEING SAID, A AGAIN, THIS IS A DRAFT DOCUMENT, SO WHEN THE COMMUNITY READS THIS DOCUMENT, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANT INPUT ON HOW ALL THIS, UH, THE INFORMATION WAS PUT TOGETHER.
DID WE GO FAR ENOUGH IN TERMS OF THE PROPOSED MITIGATION? LOOK AT THE DESIGNS, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO REALLY PROVIDE INPUT ON THAT.
AND THE LAST ONE I'LL TOUCH ON IS PARKLANDS, AGAIN, ANOTHER HUGE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT THAT WAS WITH THE CITY PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT ASSESSING, UH, IMPACT POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO PARKS AND COMING TO CONSENSUS AND AGREEMENT ON WHAT THOSE IMPACTS WERE.
UM, WORKING WITH TEX, TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT AS WELL ON SOME OF THOSE IMPACTS.
UM, AS WE KNOW, SOME OF THE IMPACTS RELATE TO THE BRIDGE CROSSING AND WALLER BEACH PARK, AND SO THAT'S DOCUMENTED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AS WELL.
SO, AGAIN, AREAS OF IMPORTANCE ARE ALL WE FEEL REALLY WELL COVERED IN THE DOCUMENT.
BUT THE 60 DAY COMMENT PERIOD, WE REALLY LOOK TO PROVIDE INPUT ON, UM, THE ANALYSIS, THE EVALUATION, THE OUTCOMES, AND ALL THE INPUT THAT WE, UH, AS A TECHNICAL TEAM, UH, WITH THE CITY AND CAP METRO ALL PUT TOGETHER WITH FTA.
UM, BUT THAT'LL GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO COURTNEY TO TALK ABOUT CORRESPONDING PUBLIC EVENTS.
SO, UH, UPCOMING EVENTS, WELL, ONE, WE ARE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT DARREN'S EXCITEMENT ABOUT NEPA IS MIRRORED IN OUR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
SO KEEP AN EYE OUT AS WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO, UM, REALLY START THOSE EVENTS, PROBABLY ABOUT MID-JANUARY.
YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THE, THE ROLLOUT OF, OF DATES COMING PRETTY SOON.
UM, THAT'LL BE A 60 DAY PERIOD.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE VERY BUSY DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.
JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW, NOT ONLY ARE WE GONNA HAVE A TP HOSTED EVENTS AS WE DO FOR OPEN HOUSES TO GATHER FEEDBACK, UM, WE'LL HAVE A, A VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE UP FOR SURVEY TAKING.
THAT'LL BE UP THE ENTIRE 60 DAYS IN ADDITION AT STOP OUTREACH.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TALKING TO CURRENT WRITERS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR FEEDBACK AND REALLY BUILD THAT INTO THE PROCESS AS WELL.
UH, CITY OF AUSTIN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, WE DO A ROAD SHOW EVERY TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT CITY OF AUSTIN IS INVOLVED AND HEARING WHAT WE'RE SAYING.
ALSO, CAP METRO COMMITTEES ON OUR LIST AS WELL.
SO OUR CALENDAR IS DEVELOPING RIGHT NOW FOR THAT TIMEFRAME TO SEE WHAT EVENTS ARE HAPPENING ACROSS THE CITY THAT WE CAN PARTNER WITH OR WE CAN TABLE AT.
BUT ALSO JUST GENERAL SPACES WHERE PEOPLE ARE DOING LIFE.
LIKE, CAN WE GO TO A FARMER'S MARKET? IS THERE A SWAP MEET? WHERE CAN WE BE THAT PEOPLE ARE JUST TO BE IN SPACES AND GET THEIR FEEDBACK? UM, OTHER FUN AND EXCITING CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING.
NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, ORGANIZATIONS ASKING US TO COME AND GIVE US FEEDBACK, BUSINESS MEETINGS, UH, BUSINESS COMMUNITY ASKING US TO SHARE THE INFORMATION.
SO A LOT OF DETAILS COMING OUT.
WE'RE GONNA TRY TO FIND WAYS, AND I SAY TRY, BUT WE ARE GONNA FIND WAYS TO MAKE THE NEPA PROCESS EASILY ACCESSIBLE, DIGESTIBLE.
'CAUSE IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH COMMUNITY.
SO HOW CAN WE DO THAT EFFECTIVELY AND EXCESSIVELY THROUGHOUT THAT TIMEFRAME? UM, ON TOP OF THAT, SO I AM GONNA TAKE ONE SLIGHT MOMENT BEFORE I PASS BACK TO JEN, WHICH JUST A, SO THIS IS OUR BIG ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT MOMENT.
BUT REALLY MY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM IS CONSTANTLY IN COMMUNITY BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, UM, NEW RELATIONSHIPS, MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS, AND REALLY WORKING TO ENSURE THAT THE TRUST, THE A TP TRUST, THE COMMUNITY IS BUILT AND GROWN AS WE KEEP GOING.
AND SO THE DAY TO DAY WE WOULDN'T BE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT JOCELYN VOSS, GIANNIS BANKS, AND SOPHIE PET KISS.
AND SO I REALLY WANNA THANK MY TEAM AS WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD AS WELL.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
[01:20:03]
WELL, I WAS JUST GOING TO KIND OF WRAP IT UP BEFORE WE GO TO THE, ANY QUESTIONS IN THE NEXT TOPIC.BUT JUST TO LEAVE YOU WITH KIND OF WHERE NEPA KINDA SETS WITHIN, AGAIN, THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS.
UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE EARLY IN THE, IN THE PRO PROCESS AND THE PROJECT, UM, AND PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING KIND HAPPENS ALL AROUND US.
AND, UM, ONCE THE NEPA PROCESS CONCLUDES, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TARGETING THAT TO HAPPEN IN 2025, UH, WE'RE IN A POSITION TO, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF EVEN FURTHER ADVANCE THE DESIGN AND THE OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT WE NEED TO, TO KEEP THE PROJECT GOING.
UM, AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO TRANSITION NOW TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE, THE ENGINEERING AND DESIGN ACTIVITIES SPECIFICALLY, UNLESS THERE ARE ANY KIND OF QUESTIONS YOU HAVE AT THIS MOMENT.
HAVE Y'ALL IDENTIFIED ANYTHING, UM, IN YOUR OUTREACH THUS FAR THAT CREATES A RISK FOR THE PROJECT? I MEAN, NOTHING THAT I WOULD SAY THAT CREATES A RISK.
IT'S REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK TO UNDERSTAND WHERE CONCERNS OR OUR QUESTIONS ARE THAT WE CAN START TO BUILD IN AS WE KEEP GOING.
UM, SO THAT'S ABOUT AS FAR AS WE CAN SAY FROM A RISK PERSPECTIVE.
YEAH, I MEAN, I GUESS I WOULD KIND OF REITERATE WE'RE AT A PLACE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE, THE MIDST OF IT, YOU KNOW, UM, COMMENTS, UM, QUESTIONS, FEEDBACK THAT WE GET IS ACTIONABLE, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S RELATED TO THE DESIGN OR THE ANALYSIS WE'RE DOING.
SO, UM, WE FEEL WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE THAT ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE PROJECT.
AND SEE, ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES WE HAVE IN THE DISCUSSION IS REALLY MAKING IT CLEAR WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE PROCESS, WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, STATE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT VERSUS A FINAL.
AND THAT BECOMES HARD TO REALLY EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE, BUT AS WE KEEP WORKING THROUGH IT, THEY, THEY UNDERSTAND.
SO THE NEPA DOCUMENT IS ROBUST.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING 200 PLUS PAGES, PLUS A LOT OF EXHIBITS THAT GET ATTACHED TO IT.
SO WE'RE THINKING, GIVE US AN IDEA THAT FROM A DOCUMENT STANDPOINT AND HOW IT'S PRESENTED AND DIGESTED BY THE PUBLIC, THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO WE'RE PRESENTING THE REPORT, SO IT'S GONNA BE LOGISTICALLY ON OUR WEBSITE, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO ON A ROADSHOW.
BUT, UM, WHAT PEOPLE READ AND HOW ACCESSIBLE IS TO THE COMMON PUBLIC, WHAT ARE OUR STEPS, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S THE, THE COMMON MAN? ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND THE IMPACTS.
CAN I START? AND I'M SURE YOU, I JUST WANNA SAY WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT AUDIENCES, AND THAT'S ONE OF OUR CHALLENGES TOO.
AND SO ONE OF ONE APPROACH IS THAT WE HAVE DIFFERENT KIND OF LAYERS OF INFORMATION.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANT PEOPLE WHO COME TO A PUBLIC MEETING TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND ENOUGH TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS OR KNOW HOW TO DIG IN.
BUT WE ALSO ARE GONNA HAVE VERY TECHNICAL INFORMATION OUT THERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT.
THERE MIGHT BE AN AUDIENCE FOR THAT AS WELL.
SO, AND SO WHAT I'LL, WHAT I'LL ADD IS, IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE DEPENDING ON WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, SOMETIMES OUR CONVERSATIONS ARE, WHAT IS LIGHT RAIL? WHO IS A TP? AND SO THAT'S OUR STARTING POINT IN A LOT OF SPACES.
AND SO EVEN GETTING INTO THE DETAILS, WE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TIME.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE PEOPLE MORE INFORMA TO SPACES WHERE THERE'S MORE INFORMATION.
BUT AS WE WALK INTO THIS, INTO AN OPEN HOUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE THE INFORMATION AS SIMPLE, BUT NOT TOO FAR DOWN THAT PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE SAYING.
'CAUSE I, MY STARTING POINT IS ALWAYS IF I'M IN A ROOM WITH DARREN, IF I'M IN A ROOM WITH ALVIN OR OTHERS, DO I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? AND IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, WE'RE NOT GONNA HIT COMMUNITY EITHER.
AND SO OUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE IS REALLY OUR OWN PEOPLE TO MAKE SURE IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE, IT'S ACCESSIBLE, AND, UM, WE'RE GETTING THE RIGHT INFORMATION OUT.
AND ONE THING THAT WE'RE DOING THAT'S KIND OF INNOVATIVE IS FOR THESE PUBLIC MEETINGS, WE'RE DEVELOPING KIND OF CHEAT SHEETS REACHES OF DISCIPLINES, YOU SEE.
SO IT'S KIND OF THE HIGH POINT, THE TAKEAWAYS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DID WE STUDY? WHAT WERE THE RESULTS? SO PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO DIG INTO THE REPORTS TO FIND WHAT EXACTLY THEY NEED.
AND IF I MAY, BECAUSE I REALLY WANNA COMMEND YOU GUYS ON THIS, ON THE CARTOON PIECE AND HOW THIS IS ALL, EACH PIECE IS CONNECTED TO THE OTHER, NOTHING IS ACTING IN ISOLATION.
AND THEY ALL BUILD THIS ROBUST REPORT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S VERY RELATABLE.
LIKE WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH THE PARTS AND PIECES OF THE CARTOON, BUT ALSO WHAT I, I LIKE TO COMMEND YOU ON IS, OR INVITE YOU TO NOT BE SHY AT MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN TELL THE PEOPLE, HOW DOES THIS TRANSLATE TO HOW DO THEY BENEFIT OR HOW ARE THEY DIRECTLY AFFECTED, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE THINK OF IT FROM THE
[01:25:01]
TRAIN PERSPECTIVE AND A MOBILITY PERSPECTIVE, BUT HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THEIR LIVES DIRECTLY? SO I DON'T WANT US TO LOSE SIGHT OF THAT.HOW ARE THEY AFFECTED AND BENEFITED? SO PUT IN VERY COMMON TERMS TO SAY WATER QUALITY HELPS US MAKE SURE THAT OUR AQUIFERS ARE HEALTHY AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
SO IT'S, IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW HOW TO TELL THAT STORY.
FOR ME, IF YOU WERE TO SAY THAT AT THE END OF THE PROJECT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE TREES THAT WHEN WE BEGIN, THAT WOULD DO IT FOR ME.
WELL, I THINK ALL OF THAT TOO IS, YOU KNOW, COURTNEY, YOU GOT YOUR OPPORTUNITY TALKING TO FOLKS AT CORE LEVEL.
REMEMBER WE WERE TALKING ABOUT JUST EXPLAINING LOT.
WE HAD FOLKS IN THE MAY, IN THE MARCH 23 EVENT COMING IN WHO HAD, UM, COMING OUT OF A LONG PERIOD WHERE WE ALL HAD BEEN TOGETHER, MAYBE SOME FOLKS WHO JUST BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR TWO MONTHS AND THEY'RE LIKE, THIS IS COOL, WE'RE GETTING VIBRANT.
WHAT CAN I DO? WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP? SO THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT, TO JEN'S POINT, A LOT OF DIFFERENT AUDIENCES AND REALLY FOR US, AND, AND EVEN, AND REAL QUICK, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE AND COMMEND JULIA WHO ACTUALLY DEVELOPED THAT GRAPHIC FREEHAND, UH, AT A MEETING.
SO, UM, YOU COMMENDED SOME FOLKS.
MY FAVORITE PART,
YEAH, I HAVE TO TURN IT ON RIGHT NOW.
UM, ONE DAY WE'LL GET THE MICS.
SO A GOOD SEGUE AND LOOK AT OUR ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEER ALL INTERMINGLED TO TALK ABOUT, UH, INTEGRATED DESIGN WORK.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL JUST LET THE TEAM ROLL WITH IT.
LOTS OF KIND OF DEEP HERE, GUYS.
LIKE, LOTS OF INFORMATION IN HERE.
UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, SOME OF THESE MAY REQUIRE, AND WE ACTUALLY BELIEVE SOME ARE GONNA COME BACK AND DIVE ON EVEN DEEPER IN 2025.
NOT EVEN ALL IN ONE SECTION 'CAUSE IT'S A LOT HERE, BUT A LOT OF WORK'S BEEN DONE TOO.
AND I THINK WE'RE REALLY, WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THE TEAM AND WHERE WE ARE IN ADVANCING THIS WORK.
AND WE'VE REALLY BROUGHT IN THE CAVALRY HERE.
SO BEFORE WE GET STARTED, UM, WANNA MAYBE GO THROUGH A FEW QUICK INTRODUCTIONS AND I'M SO EXCITED TO HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL FACES UP HERE AT THE TABLE WITH US.
UH, REALLY THIS TEAM KEEPS US MOVING FORWARD, KEEPS US ON TRACK AND BRINGS INCREDIBLE EXPERTISE TO GUIDE THE WORK THAT WE DO.
UM, SO MAYBE WE'LL JUST GO AROUND ARNAB, IF YOU WANNA START QUICK INTRODUCTIONS.
UH, ARNAB GUPTA, DIRECTOR OF DESIGN WITH A TP LISA, STORE DIRECTOR OF ARCHITECTURE, URBAN DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY AT A TP, UH, PETER MULLIN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN, A TP.
I'M SOPHIA HEATHER, DIRECTOR OF DESIGN, UM, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.
ALVIN LIVINGSTONE, C VICE PRESIDENT ENGINEERING, UH, AND LINDSAY WOOD, EVP, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION.
ALRIGHT, SO, UH, WHAT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS NOT JUST DESIGN, BUT IT'S REALLY HOW WE'RE GETTING READY TO MOVE FORWARD IN LIGHT OF WHAT BRAD AND, AND CASEY AND OTHERS TALKED ABOUT AND MOVING FORWARD INTO A PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL AND DOING THE PLANNING TO MAKE PDB EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT
[01:30:01]
AND MANAGE NOT ONLY THE COST OF THE PROJECT, BUT GETTING THE VALUE OUT OF THE PROJECT AND DESIGNING SOMETHING THAT'S RIGHT FOR AUSTIN.AND WANNA HIT ON A FEW KEY CATEGORIES HERE.
UH, I WILL NOTE THAT BOARD MEMBER, YOU ASKED ABOUT LESSONS LEARNED FROM OTHER PDB PROJECTS, THOSE ARE VERY MUCH INFORMING NOT ONLY HOW WE THINK ABOUT OUR CONTRACTS, BUT HOW WE THINK ABOUT THE, THE EVERYDAY WORK THAT WE DO AND HOW WE SET UP THE, UH, PROGRESSION OF DESIGN.
AND SOME OF THOSE, OR JUST ONE LESSON LEARNED THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM SOME OTHER PDB CONTRACTS IS THE, THE CHALLENGE OF FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE OF WHAT YOU REALLY NEED AND YOU KNOW, YOU NEED FOR YOUR PROJECT TO MAKE IT RIGHT FOR YOUR COMMUNITY AND YOUR TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS WHILE NOT HANDCUFFING OR TYING THE HANDS OF THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILDER AND LETTING THEM INNOVATE AND GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THAT MODEL AND BRINGING THOSE IDEAS.
AND SO WE TAKE THAT LENS CONSTANTLY AS WE LOOK AT SOME OF THESE TOPICS THAT, THAT WE'RE GOING TO COVER.
SO STARTING WITH THIRD PARTY COORDINATION, WHICH MAYBE DOESN'T SOUND, UM, LIKE JUST A, A DESIGN TOPIC AND, AND IT ISN'T, IT'S A COMBINATION OF, UM, DESIGN AND, AND THE FRAMEWORK FOR WHICH WE'RE GOING TO DELIVER THE PROJECT.
UH, WE THINK ABOUT THESE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES HERE AS A WAY OF, AS I SAID, ENABLING THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILDER TO DO THEIR JOB WELL.
AND SO WE WANT TO DEVELOP THESE ELEMENTS SO THAT WHEN WE BRING THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILDER ON BOARD, WE HAVE A REALLY CLEAR ROADMAP FOR THEM TO WORK WITHIN.
WE, UH, HAVE CERTAIN AGREEMENTS IN PLACE.
WE KNOW HOW THE PROCESS IS GOING TO WORK.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT STARTING FROM GROUND ZERO WITH THEM, BUT WE'RE ALSO ALLOWING THEM TO BRING THEIR TALENTS TO THE TABLE.
SO ALVIN, IF YOU WANNA MAYBE START ON THE UTILITIES TOPIC.
SO, UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, WE HAVE IS THE, UM, THE FOUNDATION FOR UTILITIES IS THE UTILITY RULES OF PRACTICE, UM, THAT WE'VE WORKED ON WITH OUR PARTNERS.
UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A SECOND VERSION THAT'S BEING UPDATED RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, BUT WHAT THAT IS ACTUALLY BEING USED FOR IS FOR THE CURRENT UTILITY DESIGN ON CALL TO ACTUALLY DESIGN BASED AROUND THOSE PARAMETERS.
SO WHEN YOU PUT A RAIL SYSTEM IN THE, IN, IN THE, IN THE STREET, YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO PUT UTILITIES AND WHAT CONFLICTS ARE OUT THERE.
UM, THE OTHER THING WE'RE DOING TOO AS WELL IS THAT WHILE WE'RE OUT THERE, WE'RE TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THE CITY IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING WHAT BETTERMENTS ARE GONNA OCCUR ALONG THAT CORRIDOR.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IF THEY HAD A PLANNED CIP OR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, OR A PROJECT IN THAT CORRIDOR THAT WE WEREN'T GONNA TOUCH, WE CAN KIND OF WORK WITH THEM IN TERMS OF INCLUDING THAT IN THE PROJECT.
SO WE DON'T COME IN AND DO OUR WORK AND THEN THEY COME BACK IN LATER ON AND TEAR THE STREET UP.
AND THAT DRIVES A LOT OF FOLKS NUTS.
SO THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE OF SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE COVERING.
SO WE'RE TAKING THAT AS A, AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO MAKE SURE WE, UH, WE, WE COVER BETTERMENTS.
WITH THAT, I'M GONNA TURN OVER TO, TO LISA TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PERMITTING AND ORDINANCES.
HEY, ALVIN, BEFORE WE MOVE OFF UTILITIES REAL QUICKLY, UM, SO JUST WANT TO, UH, LIKE, DESCRIBE TO ME, I, I ASSUME IT'S THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN ENERGY ARE ARE THE PRIMARY THIRD PARTIES THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH IN THIS COORDINATION, IS THAT RIGHT? NO, IT'S, IT, THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE PRIMARY IN TERMS OF THE MAJOR UTILITIES, THE PUBLIC UTILITIES, BUT WE ALSO HAVE ALL THE UTILITIES THAT ARE, THAT ARE THERE, THAT ARE PRIVATE FRANCHISE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH.
SO LIKE WHAT'S YOUR, HOW ARE YOU MEETING WITH THEM? I JUST KNOW, YOU KNOW, ANYTIME YOU TALK ABOUT A BIG PROJECT, UTILITIES, LIKE, IT WAS WHAT STOPPED EVERY C-T-R-M-A PROJECT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING COMES UP WITH UTILITIES SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD AND, YOU KNOW, YOU WIND UP A YEAR AND A HALF LATE OVER THAT SINGLE ASPECT.
SO JUST LIKE CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, WE MEET TWICE A WEEK WITH THIS GROUP, THIS IS HOW WE'RE DOING IT.
YOU KNOW, SOME SENSE OF LIKE YOUR PROCESS TO MITIGATE THOSE ISSUES.
YOU ASK, YOU ASK A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE THE UTILITIES LEAD HERE AS WELL, THAT'S GONNA HELP.
UM, SO I'LL, I'LL FRAME IT A LITTLE BIT AND THEN, UM, SOPHIA CAN TAKE IT FROM THERE.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE BEEN DOING IS THAT WE'VE WORKED ON, UM, AND WE'RE GONNA COVER SOME OF THIS LATER ON, IS, UH, IS A MASS UTILITY AGREEMENT.
SO WE'RE MEETING WITH THEM ON THAT LEVEL, BUT WE'RE ALSO, RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF MANAGING THE UTILITY DESIGN AND COORDINATE WITH THEM, I'LL ALLOW, UH, SOPHIA TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING FROM THAT STANDPOINT.
UH, WE ARE, WE'RE MEETING WEEKLY IN, UH, UTILITY DESIGN MEETINGS.
UM, AND EVERYBODY'S AT THE TABLE.
IT'S A-T-P-H-D-R, OUR, UM, ON-CALL ENGINEERING AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN ENERGY WATERSHED.
UM, SO WE'RE MEETING WITH THEM WEEKLY WITH A SET AGENDA AND SET THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ITEMS THAT WE'RE SEEING THAT WE JUST NEEDED TO, TO SOLVE FOR.
UM, WE'RE MEETING WITH, UM, FRANCHISE UTILITIES AS WELL, UH, WITH
[01:35:01]
THOSE THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET IN CONTACT WITH.AND THEY'RE, AND THEY'RE BEING RESPONSIVE ENOUGH TO MEET WITH.
UM, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON, UM, A COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH THEM SO THAT THEY CAN COME TO THE TABLE A LITTLE BIT SOONER THAN, THAN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN.
WHAT'S FRANCHISE UTILITIES? THE PRIVATE UTILITIES.
AND, UH, YOUR ASSESSMENT IS, IT'S GOING WELL.
LIKE WHEN YOU, ARE WE GONNA BE IN A GOOD PLACE WHEN WE BRING OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, MAJOR FIRM ON, ARE WE GONNA BE AT A GOOD PLACE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANTLY MITIGATED THAT RISK? IT WE'RE AT A GOOD PLACE NOW OUR COORDINATION MEETINGS WITH, UM, THE CITY UTILITY DEPARTMENTS ARE, THEY'RE GOING GREAT.
LIKE THEY'RE WORKING WITH AUSTIN WATER, WITH WATERSHED, WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.
I MEAN, WE'RE ALL COMING TO THE TABLE BRAINSTORMING SOLUTIONS THAT BENEFIT THE PROJECT.
AND, AND THAT'S THE GOAL OF THOSE MEETINGS TO HAVE, UM, THE MEETINGS WE HAVE HAD WITH THE FRANCHISE UTILITIES, THOSE HAVE GONE WELL.
UM, ALSO, UM, AGAIN, I THINK ONCE WE GET A, A COOPERATION AGREEMENT IN PLACE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE ONLY THING THAT'S MAYBE HOLDING THAT UP A LITTLE BIT, BUT YEAH.
IS IT FAIR TO ASSUME THAT THE, THIS DRAFT EIS WOULD ALSO LOCATE, LIKE SUBSTATIONS WOULD ALSO ALREADY BE DELINEATED IN THIS NEXT STAGE OF DESIGN? OR YOU TALKING THE TRACTION POWER SUBSTATIONS? MM-HMM.
WE WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, SPACE ALLOCATION FOR WHERE WE ANTICIPATE THOSE TRACTION SUBSTATIONS TO BE, THAT'S GONNA BE COVERED AS WELL IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL.
SO THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN DOES THE INITIAL POWER ASSESSMENT ACTUALLY, WHICH ALVIN'S GONNA TALK ABOUT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL AS WELL.
AND THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF COORDINATION WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, UH, TO NOT ONLY PLAN FOR WHAT THE LIGHT RAILS POWER NEEDS ARE, BUT HOW WILL WE GET THE SUPPLY OF THAT POWER FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, GETTING TO THE PERMITTING AND ORDINANCES PIECE HERE, I THINK WE'VE TRIED TO TALK THROUGH THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS, INCLUDING A LOT OF OUR CITY PARTNERS, AND I THINK WE'RE TALKING UTILITIES, BUT I ALSO JUST WANTED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR PROJECT CONNECT STAFF WHO ARE HERE AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH VERY CLOSELY ON THIS TOPIC, WHICH IS REALLY ABOUT SETTING THE TABLE FOR ENABLING EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE PERMITTING DOWN THE ROAD FOR A PROGRAM OF THIS SCALE.
SO FINDING THOSE, UM, EFFICIENCIES AND TRYING TO WORK, UH, A, YOU KNOW, DOCUMENTED MANUAL SO THAT BOTH SIDES OF THAT TABLE REALLY HAVE COMMON UNDERSTANDING AND EXPECTATIONS FOR BOTH TIMELINES AND CONTENT AND ENABLE FLEXIBILITY AS WE GO DOWN THE ROAD, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THIS COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING PDB MODEL, RIGHT.
WHICH ALLOWS FOR SOME ADVANCEMENT EARLY ON.
BUT I THINK JUST IN TALK IN TERMS OF, I MEAN YOU TOUCHED ON IT, JOHN, THE, THE GOAL HERE IS TO DE-RISK THE PROJECT, RIGHT? IF WE CAN PROVIDE THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A REALLY CLEAR PERMITTING REGIME FOR OUR COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING PARTNER, UM, SO THAT THAT'S NOT AN UNCERTAINTY THAT THEY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE REALITIES THAT EVERYBODY HAS ACKNOWLEDGED IS THAT THIS IS A PROJECT THAT IS LIKE NO OTHER, THAT HAS BEEN PERMITTED IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
RIGHT? SO SOME THINGS FIT INTO EXISTING REGIMES, PERMITTING REGIMES, SOME THINGS DON'T.
AND SO IDENTIFYING WHAT DOESN'T FIT AND THEN HOW TO MAKE THEM FIT OR HOW TO ADAPT THE PERMITTING REGIMES TO, IN A, IN A RATIONAL WAY TO FIT THE SCOPE IS REALLY WHAT THE TEAM IS WORKING THROUGH.
AND SO, I, I KNOW YOU CAN'T THROW OUR PARTNERS UNDER THE BUS, SO TO SPEAK, BUT HOW'S IT GOING WITH THE PERMITTING? ANOTHER ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST HEAR HORROR STORIES ABOUT, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M LIKE, I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE WORKING WITH THEM AS PARTNERS AT THE SAME TIME, WE NEED TO BE APPRISED OF, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING WELL.
YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO UP THE INVOLVEMENT TO GET IT ON TRACK, HOWEVER IT IS.
CERTAINLY RIGHT NOW I WOULD SAY IT'S GOING REALLY WELL.
UM, WE ARE STILL EARLY DAYS AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET SOME, LIKE, WE'VE GOT CODING CRITERIA WORKING GROUPS UP HERE, WHICH IS, UM, DIGGING IN AND FINDING OUT IF THERE ARE ANY PARTS OF THE CODE OR CRITERIA AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NINE CRITERIA FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA, MANUAL DRAINAGE, TRANSPORTATION, ET CETERA, LOOKING THROUGH AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR PROGRAM FITS WITHIN, LIKE PETER WAS SAYING, THOSE BOXES OR IF WE NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT THE WAY THAT THAT'S WORKING, TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THAT WITH THE SPECIFIC CITY STAFF THAT HAVE OVERSIGHT THERE.
AND SO THERE'S, IT'S A LONG ROAD, BUT WE'VE GOT AN INITIAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PERMITTING STRUCTURE AND THE PERMITTING PROCESS THAT IS DOCUMENTED NOW, AND THEN WORKING THROUGH THE SPECIFICS OF HOW THOSE PROCESSES WILL OCCUR ON A SMOOTHER BASIS THAN I THINK THE TYPICAL
[01:40:01]
PERMIT WOULD HAPPEN.UM, IS OUR GOAL AT THE MOMENT.
I, I LOVE THAT QUESTION, JOHN.
UH, DON'T THROW HIM UNDER THE BUS, JUST PUSH HIM
BUT, UM, BUT, BUT THE INTERESTING THING THAT THE CITY FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS HAS TRIED TO COORDINATE, UH, SO THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE ARE GOING TO FIX A ROAD, WELL LET'S TALK TO THE WATER UTILITY AND SEE IF THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING HERE.
LET'S TALK TO TRANSPORTATION AND SEE IF THEY NEED TO DO SOMETHING HERE SO THAT WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER.
THE, THE, THE IDEA THAT WE ARE COMMUNICATING REGULARLY AND THAT, UH, AND THAT WE ARE ARE, ARE MAKING, UH, EXCEPTIONS FOR EACH OTHER, I THINK IS, IS AN IMPORTANT STATEMENT.
I ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOCUMENTING THE POSITIVE CHANGES THAT ARE OCCURRING BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT IS DONE.
OFTENTIMES, WE WILL FIX SOMETHING, IT WILL BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT'S LIGHTING OR WHETHER IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, MAKING A CORNER MORE SAFE.
AND, AND, AND WE DON'T DOCUMENT THOSE THINGS.
WE GO, YOU KNOW, FOR INTO THE FOURTH QUARTER OF THE PROJECT BEFORE WE IDENTIFY ALL THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE THAT HAVE MADE, UH, THE CITY MORE LIVABLE.
SO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS WE ARE, UH, AS WE ARE, UH, WORKING TOGETHER IN OUR PERMITTING PROCESS, AND I DON'T THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU WANT TO JUDGE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR ENTIRE PERMITTING PROCESS ON YOUR MOST COMPLICATED PROJECT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE CAN TALK ABOUT, UH, THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING IF WE'RE MEETING REGULARLY, IF WE ARE MODIFYING THINGS, IF, IF WE HAVE A CHANGE ORDER PROCESS.
I MEAN, THOSE ARE, I THINK THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT GIVES SOME INSIGHT ALONG THE WAY.
AND THEN IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS THAT NEEDED TO BE FIXED AND THIS PROJECT HAS, HAS ADDRESSED SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS, THOSE ARE THE PLACES THAT WE CELEBRATE.
UM, BUT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I, I THINK THAT THE PERMITTING PROCESS CONTINUES TO BE IMPROVED, BUT THE NEEDS FOR THE PERMITTING PROCESS ARE BECOMING MORE COMPLICATED, NOT LESS, PARTICULARLY WITH THE NEW RULES THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE LEGISLATURE.
SO I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE, UH, THE TYPES OF CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE AND THEN THE PROCESSES THAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THOSE CHALLENGES.
WHAT, WHAT I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA SAY, COMMISSIONER, IS THAT IN ADDITION TO DOCUMENTING, UM, AND CELEBRATING THE BETTERMENTS THAT WE GOT OUR PARTNERS OVER AT THE CITY TO PAY FOR THEM, UH, OUT OF THEIR BUDGET AND NOT OURS, UH, I'M NOT AVERSE TO THE CITY PAYING FOR MORE THINGS,
AND OUR GOAL FROM THE, THE PERMITTING TO TIE THAT UP IS TO HAVE A REALLY CLEAR ROADMAP WHEN OUR PDP COMES ON BOARD.
AND, AND WHEN I SAY CLEAR, I MEAN NOT JUST FOR THE PDB, BUT ALSO FOR OUR CITY PERMITTING PARTNERS AND FOR US TO ALL UNDERSTAND WHAT THE STEPS ARE TO THE FINAL PERMIT APPROVALS, UM, HOW THE REVIEWERS WILL BE IDENTIFIED, WHAT THEIR ROLES ARE, THEIR APPROVAL AUTHORITIES, WHAT REVIEW TIMELINES ARE, AND HAVING THAT ALL MEMORIALIZED SO THAT OUR, OUR DESIGNER AND OUR OUR BUILDER HAVE A, A VERY CLEAR PATH AHEAD OF THEM.
WHICH THAT BRINGS A VERY GOOD POINT, UH, LINDSAY, AND I'M GLAD YOU GUYS ARE PUTTING RIGOR TO THAT METHOD METHODOLOGY OF HOW WHO GETS APPROVALS AND WHEN.
I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR ALL THREE BODIES TO BLESS THAT.
THEY HAVE TO, AND NOT ONLY BLESS IT ACTUALLY ALL TOGETHER WE'RE BUILDING IT.
SO WE AREN'T DOING THAT IN A SILO.
YOU MENTIONED PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, BUT SO IS THE CITY'S, UH, DSD, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION, WE'RE CO-CREATING IT GOOD.
NOT JUST ASKING FOR A SIGN OFF AT THE END.
SO WOULD THAT HAPPEN AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING OR HOW GIMME A TIMELINE AND IDEA OF WE ARE TARGETING GETTING THROUGH THIS NEXT YEAR.
SO IN ADDITION TO PERMITTING, THERE'S A NUMBER OF OTHER AGREEMENTS.
ALVIN AND SOPHIA HIGHLIGHTED A FEW THAT WE WILL NEED IN PLACE FOR THE PROJECT OF WORKING WITH OUR UTILITIES, WORKING, UH, WITH THE CITY AS A WHOLE FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, UH, THAT COVER EVERYTHING FROM WHAT WE'RE BUILDING FOR LIGHT RAIL TO THE, YOU KNOW, SIDEWALKS AND ROADWAYS AND, AND THE, UH, PUBLIC WORKS INFRASTRUCTURE AND POTENTIAL BETTERMENTS.
UH, WE'RE ALSO WORKING REALLY CLOSELY AND VERY WELL WITH TDO OF THE TWO LOCATIONS WHERE WE HAVE TO CROSS THEIR FACILITIES AND THEY'VE BEEN A WONDERFUL PARTNER THUS FAR.
[01:45:01]
UH, AND ALL OF THOSE ARE NOT ONLY NEEDED TO GET READY FOR OUR DESIGN BUILDER TO BE EFFECTIVE, THEY'RE REQUIRED IN THE FEDERAL PROCESS.AND AS PART OF ENTRY INTO ENGINEERING, THERE ARE CERTAIN CRITICAL AGREEMENTS THAT WE WILL BE EXPECTED TO HAVE IN PLACE AND THEN WE WILL NEED FOR, UM, TO ACHIEVE THE FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT OR THE FFGA.
WE HAVE TO HAVE ALL OF THOSE CRITICAL AGREEMENTS EXECUTED.
UH, SO AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, UH, WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE FOR THE PROJECT AND WHAT WE'LL BE DESIGNING, I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO RNO TO TALK ABOUT THE WORLD OF, UH, CRITERIA, WHICH IS MAYBE EVEN MORE EXCITING THAN NEPA
SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, GETTING READY FOR A PDB AND A COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING OR EVEN FOR DESIGN FOR NOW, WE KIND OF WORKED EARLY ON TO KIND OF DEVELOP THE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE LOOKED AT THE DESIGN FROM OF LIGHT RAIL SYSTEMS FROM OTHER SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, BUT ALSO KIND OF CUSTOMIZE IT FOR THE AUSTIN EXPERIENCE.
UH, OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN KIND OF DEVELOPING FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS SO THAT WE CAN GET THE PDBS INNOVATION IN THERE.
UH, ALSO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS KIND OF DEVELOPED A DESIGN IS A PROGRESSION.
SO IT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, AS WE BUILD ON THE DESIGN, WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW, WE, WE ARE ABLE TO BUILD ON IT TOMORROW.
AND PART OF THAT IS NOT ONLY SETTING UP THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DESIGN PROCESSES AND THE CAD STANDARDS THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW ACROSS THESE DESIGN PHASES, BUT ALSO SETTING UP THE PLATFORM.
SO WITH REGARDS TO THAT, WE HAVE ALREADY, UH, PART OF WHY WE ARE SO SUCCESSFUL TODAY WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT ON-CALL CONTRACTS WORKING TOGETHER AS WE HAVE ONE COMMON PLATFORM WHERE ALL ON-CALL CON CON CONSULTANTS ARE WORKING TOGETHER AND ARE ABLE TO SEE THE LIVE FILES AND WORK TOGETHER IN THAT SAME ENVIRONMENT.
SO THIS IS AGAIN, OUR FIRST, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO BUILD ON THESE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AND THE STANDARDS AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PDB ENVIRONMENT AND KIND OF BUILD ON THE SUCCESSES AND KIND OF WHATEVER WE, YOU KNOW, WE FIND FROM THESE PROCESSES THAT WE CAN IMPROVE ON, WE ARE GOING TO IMPROVE ON.
UH, BUT THE POINT BEING LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GOING TO, THIS IS A GOOD START FOR US KIND OF SETTING UP ALL THESE PLATFORMS AND THESE STANDARDS AND, YOU KNOW, WE ARE KIND OF SETTING UP THIS THAT EXPECTATIONS WHEN WE GET THE PDB AND OTHER CONSULTANTS ON BOARD KIND OF WORKING TOGETHER.
AND AGAIN, UH, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT COLLABORATION, BUT THIS IS KIND OF COLLABORATION IN ACTION.
UH, SO THE UTILITY RULES OF PRACTICE, UM, THAT ALVIN MENTIONED, IT'S REALLY JUST A SET OF UTILITY RULES TO, TO HELP EXPLAIN HOW TO HANDLE CONFLICTS THAT ARE WITHIN OUR RIGHT OF WAY.
UM, WE'VE BEEN, UM, I GUESS USING THIS NOW AS PART OF OUR OVERALL DESIGN AND, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, UTILITIES THAT ARE WITHIN OUR UTILITY FREE ZONE, UM, ARE RELOCATED.
AND THE UTILITY FREE ZONE IS THERE TO, UM, PROVIDE SPACE FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE FOR, TO BE ABLE TO BUILD A TRACK, TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, SYSTEMS, ELEMENTS, BRIDGE ELEMENTS, RETAINING WALL ELEMENTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UH, WHERE WE NEED THE, IS COMPLETELY RELOCATED AND, AND OUT OF THE WAY.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT, UM, THE RULES OF PRACTICE HAS BEEN HELPING, AT LEAST WITH ME FROM, FROM A, A UTILITIES PERSPECTIVE.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE STILL CONTINUE TO GATHER INFORMATION WITH OUR, UM, ON CALLS FOR EXISTING UTILITIES TO LEARN WHERE THEY ARE, TO MAKE SURE AND TO DOCUMENT AND IDENTIFY WHERE THOSE CONFLICTS ARE SO WE CAN, UM, BEGIN RESOLUTION ON ON SOME OF THEM.
WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET ALL OF THEM AND THAT'S FINE.
WE, WE KNOW THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
UM, BUT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, USING THIS AND SHARING THIS, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WITH OUR PUBLIC UTILITY PARTNERS, BUT WITH THE PRIVATE UTILITIES AS WELL.
UM, EVEN THROUGH, UM, I GUESS THE SITE PLAN PROCESS OR THE A-U-L-C-C PROCESS, WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF PLANS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH, UM, FROM DEVELOPERS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
UM, AND ONE JUST RECENT EXAMPLE IS WITH TEXAS GAS SERVICE.
THEY'RE, I MEAN, I THINK THERE, THERE'S PROBABLY A NEW ONE SUBMITTED WHILE I'M TALKING.
LIKE THEY'RE, THEY'RE SUBMITTING IT THAT QUICK.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE UPGRADING THEIR SYSTEM ALONG OUR CORRIDOR AND THAT'S GREAT.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MEET WITH THEM AND TO MEET WITH THEIR DESIGN ENGINEERS, YOU KNOW, SHARE OUR UTILITY FREE ZONE, OUR UTILITY REVIEW ZONE, AND KIND OF WHAT OUR RULES OF OUR, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE WILLING, THEY HAVE A STRONG COMMITMENT TO BE ABLE TO, TO MEET OUR NEEDS AND, AND THE GOALS OF OUR PROJECT, UM, BUT ALSO FOR THEIRS AS WELL.
SO I THINK THAT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, A GOOD SUCCESS STORY WHEN IT COMES TO, TO COORDINATION WITH PRIVATE UTILITIES AND, AND BEING ABLE TO, UM, TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION THAT, THAT'S PART OF OUR PROJECT.
[01:50:01]
AND THIS DOCUMENT AS WELL, LIKE THE PERMITTING AND ORDINANCE, UH, IS NOT DEVELOPED IN A SILO.WE ACTUALLY COEX EXECUTE THIS DOCUMENT WITH ALL OF THE DEPARTMENT HEADS FROM, UM, NOT ONLY THE, THE UTILITIES, BUT MULTIPLE CITY DEPARTMENTS AND PUBLIC WORKS.
AND SO THIS IS A, UM, CO-OWNED SET OF RULES THAT WE ALL AGREE TO FOLLOW IN ORDER TO, UH, PLAN FOR WHAT THE UTILITY NEEDS ARE AND PLAN FOR WHAT THE LIGHT RAIL NEEDS ARE TOGETHER.
HEY, IF WE COULD, UM, OR GO BACK REAL QUICKLY.
ONE THING I, I WANTED TO ASK, 'CAUSE I ASSUME YOU KNOW, THAT LIKE US SETTING DESIGN CRITERIA, STANDARDS AND SPECS AT THIS STAGE OF THE PROCESS IS GONNA BE REALLY CRITICAL TO HOW THE PROJECT IS DELIVERED.
WHO'S DOING THAT WORK ON OUR BEHALF.
LIKE WE, WE DON'T HAVE OUR PROJECT DELIVERY PARTNER ON BOARD YET.
HOPEFULLY, WE'LL SOON, LIKE WHO'S GOING THROUGH ALL THAT AND SAYING, THESE ARE THE DISTANCES AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE THINGS THAT GO INTO IT THAT I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT.
SO WE WORKED WITH THAT EARLY ON, ABOUT A YEAR BACK TO KIND OF START DEVELOPING THAT PROCESS.
SO, UH, WE LOOKED THROUGH A LOT OF THE LIGHT RAIL, SO THAT WAS, I THINK IT WAS HDR PROJECT DE REP, HDR HDR R RIGHT NOW.
AND THEY HAD, WE WERE, WE HAD, UH, TECHNICAL EXPERTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
KIND OF WORK ON DIFFERENT PIECES OF THE PUZZLE.
THERE'S HUGE SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS, DOCUMENTS, THERE'S HUGE, YOU KNOW, CIVIL REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENTS.
BUT AGAIN, AS WE LOOK THROUGH THAT, WE LOOK THROUGH THE AUSTIN LENS, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO WHAT'S OUR WATERSHED REQUIREMENTS? WHAT'S OUR REQUIREMENTS FOR TREES? AND KIND OF, SO, UH, WE, WE HAD TO SIFT THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS TO KIND OF BUILD A DOCUMENT THAT WORKS FOR US.
AGAIN, WE WERE CAREFUL NOT TO MAKE THESE VERY KIND OF SPECIFIC TO CERTAIN THINGS AND MAKE SURE IT'S KIND OF, UH, ENOUGH OPEN-ENDED OR FUNCTIONAL IN THAT SENSE, SO THAT WE CAN BRING IN THE PDBS INNOVATION AND IDEAS SO THAT WE ARE NOT LIMITING THEIR HANDS ON WHAT THEY CAN DO.
SO Y'ALL FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT LIKE, HOW THAT'S GONE AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE FEEDBACK TO DATE IS THAT WE'RE HITTING THE SWEET SPOT BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, LIKE LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT WE WANT FROM OUR SYSTEM WITHOUT BEING TOO PRESCRIPTIVE ABOUT, I THINK AN IMPORTANT PART TO THAT PROCESS, I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING, UM, SAID, IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE OUR, OUR NEW DELIVERY PARTNER COME ON BOARD AND REVIEW ALL OF THOSE HOLISTICALLY, UM, THROUGH THE, AN ADDITIONAL KIND OF COMMERCIAL LENS AND MAKE SURE THAT THIS WILL ALLOW US TO, UM, MAXIMIZE COMPETITION.
AND WE WILL ALSO SHARE MANY OF THESE WITH THE RFI PROCESS, OR NOT RFI, THE RFQ, UM, THAT BRAD TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
SO WE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, GIVING THESE TO INDUSTRY AND ALLOWING THEM ACCESS AND ANSWERING THEIR QUESTIONS ON THOSE AS PART OF THE PROCUREMENT PHASE.
I THINK IT'S ALSO, IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS MORE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DESIGN PROGRESSION, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO ADVANCE THE DESIGN AND THEN ABSTRACT OUT THE PRINCIPLES THAT INFORM THE REQUIREMENTS, RIGHT? SO THESE THINGS TALK TO ONE ANOTHER AND YOU'RE VALIDATING ONE AGAINST THE OTHER CONSTANTLY.
AND IT'S ITERATIVE, RIGHT? SO WE GET TO A CERTAIN POINT, WE'RE BRINGING IN THE DELIVERY PARTNER, THEY'LL GIVE US FEEDBACK ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE IT FOR THE, THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PDB, AND THEN THE PDB WILL ITERATE ON THEM WITH US, RIGHT? AND THAT'S, AGAIN, INHERENT TO THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.
JUST, UH, CAN YOU GO BACK JUST REAL QUICK JUST TO SUMMARIZE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT YOU SAID, UH, SOPHIA, THAT WHEN YOU, WHEN A NEW UTILITY IS BEING RELOCATED, NOT RIGHT NOW IN THAT IF IT'S WITHIN THAT YELLOW BUBBLE, THEN THEY REACH OUT TO US AND WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S WITHIN THE CLEARANCES THAT WE'VE DELINEATED.
DID I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY? FOR THE SITE PLAN PROCESS? OKAY.
THERE'S A DEVELOPER ALONG, THEY, THEY SUBMIT THROUGH A SITE PLAN PROCESS AND YOU'RE JUST ONE OF THE STOPS.
UM, THROUGH, THROUGH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE WHERE, WELL, ONE OF THE REVIEW REVIEWERS AND WE PROVIDE OUR REVIEW AND OUR COMMENTS, UM, THROUGH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE.
SO WE'VE BEEN PROACTIVELY ALLOWING THAT WINDOW OF TIME TO NOT, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY GOING IN AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF WITHIN THAT ENVELOPE, THE YELLOW ENVELOPE.
NOW, THE UTILITY FREE ZONE, THE PINK AREA, REDDISH AREA, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN COMPLETELY CLEAR OF ALL KINDS OF UTILITIES.
AND SO IF ANYTHING IS FOUND WITHIN THAT PIECE, WE'RE HAVING TO MOVE IT.
AND IN TERMS OF THE UTILITIES RULES OF PRACTICE, ARE WE BEING PROACTIVELY LOOKING AT BEST PRACTICES FROM CITIES THAT ARE EXTREMELY DENSE? THIS
[01:55:01]
MORNING I WAS IN A SEPARATE MEETING AND THEY CALL IT THE TOKYO EFFECT, LIKE THE TOKYO WAY OF DOING THINGS.SO AUSTIN, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE NOT ONLY HAVE OUR OWN SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR UTILITY LOCATIONS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE CLEARANCES FOR MAIN MAINTAINING THOSE UTILITIES.
AND WE IN TEXAS HAVE A LOT OF LAND.
UM, SO WE HAVE THIS IDEA THAT WE TAKE UP AS MUCH SPACE AS IT'S GIVEN.
ARE WE REALLY THINKING METHODICALLY OF QUESTIONING SEPARATIONS? I UNDERSTAND ALSO TCEQ, FOR INSTANCE, HAS COORDINATION AND CLEARANCES BETWEEN WATER AND WASTEWATER LINES, RIGHT? THERE'S IN MINIMUM DISTANCES THAT HAVE TO BE APART, BUT HOW DO WE QUESTION IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY TO SAY, IS THIS THE BEST WAY? CAN WE STACK, CAN WE WORK THE BEST IN OUR GEOMETRY PARAMETERS? BECAUSE THE RIPPLE IS EXTENSIONS OF ADDITIONAL RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITIONS THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED.
AND SO ARE WE DOING, ARE WE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS? WE ARE.
UM, WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WEEKLY WHEN WE MEET WITH THE UTILITIES, UM, BUT ALSO AS PART OF THE PERMITTING WORK AND WORKING GROUP, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO IDENTIFY, UM, WHERE WE MAY ASK FOR SOME OF THOSE VARIANCES.
UM, IT'S REALLY EARLY IN THE DESIGN TO ACTUALLY GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS RIGHT NOW AND GET THE VARIANCE, BECAUSE THERE'S STILL SO MUCH UNKNOWN, UM, AT THIS POINT.
UM, BUT THAT'S PART OF THE WORKING GROUP THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE GOING THROUGH AS WELL TO, TO IDENTIFY, UM, WHERE WE NEED VARIANCES ON, ON CLEARANCES AND SEPARATIONS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT TOO.
OR WHAT THE CRITERIA MAY BE FOR THE CORRIDORS WHERE THE LIGHT RAIL IS GOING TO BE.
AND IN PARTICULAR, I THINK WE, I WANT TO, I WANT, I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU GUYS TO BRING THE BOARD ALONG AND HOW YOU'RE DOING SPECIFICALLY THE COORDINATION OF GAN OF THE ROOT ZONES OF TREES AND WATER LINES,
I I THINK WE HAVE A SLIDE LATER ON.
SO THE NEXT, UM, PROJECT WIDE REQUIREMENT WE WERE LOOKING AT IS ACTUALLY, UM, RELATED TO POWER DISTRIBUTION OF, UM, THE LIGHT RAIL.
SO HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE POWER THE LIGHT RAIL? WE ALL KNOW THAT THE TRACTION POWER SUBSTATION IS THE, IS HOW YOU, IS HOW YOU POWER THE TRAINS.
BUT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE CAPACITY TO, TO POWER THOSE, UM, POWER THOSE FACILITIES, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT'S A HIGH VOLTAGE FACILITY.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS WE ARE, WE'RE DOING, UM, WE'RE VALIDATING SOME OF OUR EARLIER, UM, LOAD FLOW ANALYSIS THAT PRETTY MUCH TOLD US LIKE, HEY, LISTEN, YOU NEED X AMOUNT OF, UM, SUBSTATIONS LOCATED HERE.
SO NOW WE HAVE TO GO TO, TO AUSTIN ENERGY AND TALK THROUGH AND SAY, OKAY, WELL THESE ARE THE SUBSTATIONS.
HOW CAN WE FEED THEM? AND SO THEY HELP US DETERMINE LIKE WHAT POINTS, UM, THAT THEY CAN SUPPORT US.
AND SOME, IN SOME CASES, THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO PROVIDE NEW FACILITIES AND NEW AND NEW, UM, OF THEIR OWN SUBSTATIONS TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, THE PICTURE ON THE BOTTOM LEFT IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT ONE OF OUR, UM, SUBSTATIONS LOOK LIKE AND ALL THE COMPONENTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY, THAT ARE ACTUALLY IN THERE.
AND THE IMAGE ON THE RIGHT IS, IS, UH, IS OBVIOUSLY A TRACTION POWER VOLTAGE MODELING DIAGRAM THAT ACTUALLY LISTS ALL OF THE SUBSTATIONS AND, AND WHAT YOU ACTUALLY NEED TO BE ABLE TO POWER THAT AND HOW THE TRAINS, UM, ACTUALLY FUNCTION.
BUT OVERALL, WHAT IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO IS YOU WANT THE SYSTEM TO BE RELIABLE.
IN ORDER FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, YOU GOTTA HAVE REDUNDANCY IN POWER.
SO IF ONE SUBSTATION GOES OUT, YOU GOTTA BE ABLE TO HAVE THE OTHER SUBSTATION BE ABLE TO CARRY THAT.
SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW AND, AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE IT'S, IT'S READY FOR, FOR THE NEXT PHASE.
WHEN THE PDB COMES ON, HEY, ALVIN DID, ARE, DO THEY, UM, HAVE, OR IF THEY DON'T CURRENTLY PLANS FOR, YOU KNOW, ENSURING THAT THERE'S ADEQUATE POWER GENERATING CAPACITY.
LIKE I DON'T DO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.
HAVE NO IDEA, LIKE CITYWIDE WHAT A LIGHT RAIL, A 10 MILE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM WOULD, HOW MUCH INCREMENTAL ENERGY THAT WOULD, UM, DEMAND? YEAH.
BUT A PART OF IT, AND RV CAN HELP ME WITH THIS TOO AS WELL, IS THAT WE, WE HAVE 'EM LAID OUT AND THERE'S SOME PLACES THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO IT, SO THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO BUILD NEW FACILITIES TO PROVIDE THAT CAPACITY FOR US.
AND WE'RE GONNA PROBABLY HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT COST SHARING, BECAUSE, SO I'M TALKING ABOUT POWER GENERATION, NOT SUBSTATIONS.
SO IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? YEAH, POWER GENERATION.
SO WE'D HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE COST OF POWER.
THERE'S DIFFERENT FEED POINTS TO OUR SUBSTATIONS, AND THAT'S ALL PART OF THE PLANNING, UH, AND, AND LOOKING AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR THAT.
SO THAT'S A, A KEY FOCUS OVER THE NEXT YEAR IS TO CONTINUE TO COORDINATE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE TO FEED THE SYSTEM.
[02:00:01]
HAVE AUSTIN ENERGY LOOK AT OUR INITIAL FEASIBILITY OF THE LOCATION.AND THEY HAVE LOOKED AT IT PRETTY COMPREHENSIVELY AT WHAT WE HAVE DONE.
UH, SO AGAIN, THIS IS AN ONGOING CONVERSATION WITH THEM AS WE KIND OF LOOK AT WHAT'S THE BEST LOCATIONS FOR US TO GET POWER FROM AND DISTRIBUTE OVER THE SYSTEM SO THAT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE DON'T WANT TO MINIMIZE LOSSES TO, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT WE ARE NOT USING.
SO WHAT'S, UH, THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY OF DISTRIBUTING POWER OVER THE SYSTEM.
BUT AS WE DO THAT, WE ARE ALSO COMMUNICATING WITH THEM AND GETTING THEIR INPUT SO THAT WE ARE KIND OF COLLABORATIVELY WORKING TOWARDS A SOLUTION THAT WORKS FOR ALL OF US.
WE'LL HAVE SOME UPDATES NEXT YEAR AS WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THAT PLANNING.
UM, SO WE TALKED ABOUT POWERING THE TRAINS.
WANNA TALK ABOUT THE TRAINS? THE I, OH, YES.
I FORGOT OUR FORMER AUSTIN ENERGY.
YEAH, I WOULD, I JUST, I THINK PART OF THIS TOO IS I THINK THE QUESTION ABOUT GETTING POWER TO OUR, TO OUR, TO OUR SYSTEM AS IT RELATES TO THE OVERALL LOAD OF AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND REMEMBER, THEY ALSO, WHY THEY GENERATE POWER.
OUR NODAL SYSTEM IN TEXAS IS A, UM, HOW THEY, HOW THEY ACTUALLY ACQUIRE POWER IS DIFFERENTLY THAN HOW THEY GENERATE IT.
SO WE BECOME A CUSTOMER OF THEIR SYSTEM AND THEY ARE THEN PRODUCING ENERGY FROM THE VARIETY, UH, FROM THEIR GENERATION MIX.
BUT I THINK I'VE NOW EXHAUSTED MY, AFTER 20 YEARS, AFTER 20 YEARS OF LISTENING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN ENERGY BRIEFINGS.
YOU'RE HITTING ON, ON A, ON A QUESTION THAT S THE ENTIRE STATE.
AND THAT IS HOW DO WE KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND FOR NEW POWER? YEAH.
BECAUSE THE SYSTEM OF ITS DESIGN MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO INVEST IN POWER PLANTS TO KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND.
SO, UH, LEARN THE STATE IS IN THE PROCESS OF FIGURING OUT HOW, UH, TO DO THAT.
UM, UH, TO ME THE, THE, THE, THE ANSWER INCLUDES, UM, SOME ROLE FOR MUNICIPAL POWER, UH, BECAUSE, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN STILL ISSUE DEBT TO BUILD POWER PLANTS.
THE PROBLEM WITH POWER PLANTS IS THAT YOU ONLY GET RETURN ON THEM WHEN YOU USE THEM.
AND SO, AND THEY LAY IDLE MOST OF THE TIME.
AND FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THAT'S NOT REALLY GOOD.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE A, UH, A PREDETERMINED, UH, CONTINUOUS THAT SORTS OF FUNDING, WHICH THE PUBLIC SECTOR COULD HAVE, WHICH WE USED TO HAVE.
UM, SO, UH, THE ROLE I THINK FOR PUBLIC POWER WOULD BE PROBABLY PEAKING, UM, PEAKING POWER PLANTS.
BUT, BUT THAT'S BEING DETERMINED.
JUST, UH, PART OF WHAT THEY, THEY CALL THE NOAL, UH, OR CLOUD MARKET.
IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE TOPIC FOR A DEEPER CONVERSATION, AS YOU MENTIONED YOU WERE INTENDING TO DO AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY HAVING THE POWER TO RUN THE SYSTEM IS CRITICAL.
I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE THAT UPDATE NEXT YEAR.
UH, AS ARNO MENTIONED, THEY HAVE OUR PRELIMINARY PLANS AND THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF ITERATION BACK AND FORTH TO EVALUATE THOSE, UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LOAD IS AND, AND THAT IS CONTINUING AND PROGRESSING WELL.
AND I THINK YOU, YOU MENTIONED THIS, AND THEN JUST THE SUPPORT FROM AUSTIN ENERGY AND THEIR, AND THEIR TEAM AND THEIR LEADERSHIP TEAM TO, TO VERY MUCH AWARE OF THIS PROJECT.
THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LOT GOING ON THEMSELVES, BUT THEIR ENGAGEMENT HAS BEEN REALLY FANTASTIC.
AND JUST WORKING WITH US DAY TO DAY, MONTH TO MONTH IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, SO THE, THE TRAINS, WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT WHAT'S UNDERGROUND AND, AND MAYBE NOT SEEN OR EXPERIENCED BY OUR CUSTOMERS.
AND MOVING A LITTLE INTO THE, THE MORE CUSTOMER FACING ELEMENTS AND BEING VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT HOW WE DEVELOP THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THOSE THAT HELP DEFINE WHAT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM IS GOING TO BE.
UM, AND, AND WANNA THANK JOHN ROHN ON OUR TEAM WHO HAS, WHO'S, WHO'S NOT SITTING AT THE TABLE, BUT HAS CONVENED A WORKING GROUP THAT IS CROSS DEPARTMENTAL ACROSS A TP, INCLUDES CAP METRO ENGAGEMENT, AND BEING THOUGHTFUL ABOUT WHAT THESE NEEDS ARE FOR THE VEHICLES AND, AND LOOKING AT, UM, ADDRESSING NOT ONLY THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO WHAT WILL THE ASSOCIATED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE BE, AND WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES, EVEN FROM A PROCESS STANDPOINT FOR COMMUNITY INPUT AS WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THE PLANNING AND, UH, PROCUREMENT OF THE VEHICLES, WHAT ARE OPERATIONAL AND, AND MAINTENANCE, UH, CONSIDERATIONS.
AND ALSO JUST WHAT THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY IS THIS, THE MARKET IS RAPIDLY CHANGING IN THIS AREA.
AND WE RECENTLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, ATTEND INTER TRANS, WHICH IS A, A CONFERENCE OR AN EXPO, REALLY, OF ALL OF THE VARIOUS RAIL, UM, THE, THE TRAINS AND ALL OF THE SYSTEMS ASSOCIATED WITH MULTIPLE TYPES OF RAIL, BUT INCLUDING LIGHT RAIL, AND REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE THE MARKET IS GOING AND ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO KICKING OFF THOSE INDUSTRY REVIEWS, CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT AND THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS NEXT YEAR.
[02:05:02]
ALL RIGHT.SO CONTINUING ON IN THE, THE REALM OF, UM, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
SO AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE ADVANCING, THANK YOU.
AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE SYSTEM, WE'RE ALSO ADVANCING OUR THINKING ABOUT HOW THE SYSTEM WILL ACTUALLY INTERFACE WITH PEOPLE AND WITH THE CITY, AND RECOGNIZING THAT THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE UNDERSTOOD AND DEVELOPED TOGETHER.
AND SO, AND I WOULD SAY THAT'S REALLY A HALLMARK OF HOW WE'RE APPROACHING THIS PROGRAM GENERALLY, IS THIS HOLISTIC VIEW THAT WE HAVE TO ADVANCE THIS, THE SYSTEM FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE USER.
AND THE USER IS NOT JUST THE USER OF, OF PEOPLE RIDING THE TRAIN.
IT'S, IT'S EVERYBODY WHO LIVES IN THE CITY WHO WILL EXPERIENCE THIS SYSTEM IN AS PART OF THEIR DAILY LIVES.
SO HAVING THAT INTEGRATED HOLISTIC APPROACH IS REALLY CRITICAL.
UM, WE, WE'VE HAD GREAT FORTUNE.
WE'VE WORKING WITH GREAT, UH, DESIGN CONSULTANTS FROM THE HUG TEAM, UM, WHO I THINK YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT FROM BEFORE, TO HELP US DEVELOP A SET OF GUIDELINES FOR ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN THAT REALLY SEEK TO ENSURE THAT WE FULFILL THAT PROMISE.
THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S SERVING AND INTEGRATED, UH, WITH THE CITY ITSELF.
UM, AND IN A WAY THAT'S VERY SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN, RIGHT? I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF THESE SYSTEMS, THESE IS THIS IS HEAVY, BIG INFRASTRUCTURE.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE BIG HEAVY INFRASTRUCTURE TO THE PEOPLE IN THE CITY? AND HOW DO WE STITCH THE SYSTEM INTO A, A PHYSICAL FABRIC THAT IS HONESTLY A LITTLE SENSITIVE, RIGHT? WE ARE, THIS IS A SPECIAL PLACE.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ENHANCING THE SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PLACE, AND HOW DOES THE DESIGN OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN, UM, ACHIEVE THAT.
UM, AND SO LOOKING AT HOW THE SYSTEM PERFORMS, BOTH FROM THE PER PERSPECTIVE OF THE USER OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR ENTIRE JOURNEY, UM, FROM HOW DO THEY PLAN THEIR JOURNEY, HOW DO THEY APPROACH THE STATION, HOW DO THEY APPROACH THE PLATFORM, UM, AND THEN WHAT THEIR JOURNEY IS ON THE WAY HOME.
UM, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT A MULTIPLE SCALES, RIGHT? LOOKING AT THE SCALE OF THE CITY, LOOKING AT THE SCALE OF THE SYSTEM, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE SCALE OF, OF DETAIL AND WHERE, WHERE PHYSICAL PLACE OF DETAILS, WHERE PEOPLE WILL, UM, WILL INTERACT WITH THE SYSTEM.
AND, AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT TO DESIGN ALL THOSE DETAILS, RIGHT? BUT IT'S TO IDENTIFY CRITICAL GUIDELINES THAT CAN INFORM, UM, THE FINAL DESIGNER ON WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS, CRITERIA, UM, THAT THEY HAVE TO FULFILL WITH THE FINAL DESIGN.
SO PETER, I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA GO INTO A LOT MORE OF THE DETAIL OF THIS, WHICH I'M ANXIOUS TO HEAR, BUT IS THIS LIKE, OR, OR HAVE Y'ALL PRODUCED LIKE A MANUAL WITH THESE THINGS THAT YOU'RE ABOUT READY TO DESCRIBE? SO IT'S, IT'S, I WOULD SAY WE ARE PRODUCING A MANUAL.
RIGHT? AND LIKE ALL THESE OTHER CRITERIA, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, ITERATIVE AND IN PROCESS.
SO, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF DETAIL, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT, WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE ALSO HOW TO DISTILL THAT DOWN INTO SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY SIMPLE AND PITHY THAT EVERYBODY CAN REMEMBER AND NEVER FORGET, YOU KNOW, EVER, UM, SERIOUSLY, LIKE THAT'S PART OF THIS IS HOW DO YOU MAKE THE PRINCIPLES SO CLEAR AND SO PITHY THAT, THAT EVERY TIME, EVERY DECISION THAT ANYBODY MAKES IS, HAS THOSE IN MIND.
SO IT'S, WE HAVE TO BOTH ARTICULATE THAT AT THOSE DIFFERENT SCALES AS WELL.
AND IS, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M ASSUMING A LOT OF THIS, WHEN YOU START GOING TO SYSTEM-WIDE NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GETTING BEYOND ATP'S, YOU KNOW, REAL IMPLEMENTATION ROLE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS GOT A LIFE.
THEY'VE GOTTA EMBRACE THIS EVERY BIT AS MUCH AS WE DO.
AND WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING THIS WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY ALL ALONG THE WAY.
I THINK PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO ALSO IS CLEARLY ARTICULATE WHAT'S IN SCOPE AND WHAT'S OUTSIDE OF SCOPE, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND SO WE'VE, AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, HAVE IDENTIFIED, OKAY, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT INTERFACE FOR US, BUT IT'S NOT ONE THAT WE'RE NECESSARILY IN CONTROL OF, RIGHT? AND SO, IDENTIFYING THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S A, THAT'S A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER PARTNER THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO NAVIGATE, YOU KNOW, OVER TIME, RIGHT? AND SOME OF THAT MIGHT HAVE TO DO WITH FIRST AND LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY THAT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR LIMIT, LIMIT OF WORK.
LIKE, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE MICRO MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT CONNECTS TO THE LIGHT RAIL, RIGHT? IT'S NOT OUR JOB TO DO THAT, BUT WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT AS SOMETHING THAT WE, AS A, I I, I HOPE THEY'RE UNDERTAKE.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY I'M STATING, WHAT I KNOW IS OBVIOUS IS THAT THEY'RE INVOLVED IN THIS FROM THE GET GO, SO THAT THEY BOUGHT IN HUNDRED PERCENT ONCE THAT WE DON'T COME TO THEM AND SAY, HERE'S WHAT WE EXPECT YOU TO DO.
WE'VE WORKED IT ALL OUT AND A HUNDRED PERCENT.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, THIS WORK IS INFORMED BY BOTH RESEARCH AND BY THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? UM, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WE DID THIS VERY ROBUST RESEARCH PROCESS, UM, LOOKING AT HOW DO YOU KNOW HUMAN BEHAVIOR? HOW DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY NAVIGATE THE TRANSIT ENVIRONMENT NOW?
[02:10:01]
AND WHAT ARE THE STRESS POINTS THAT WE NEED TO TRY TO MITIGATE OR ALLEVIATE IN THE DESIGN OF THE SYSTEM GOING FORWARD? UM, AND THAT'S A CONTINUOUS PROCESS.UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID A, WE USED TECHNOLOGY TO, TO MEASURE, YOU KNOW, TO THIS COGNITIVE MAPPING EXERCISE WHERE WE ACTUALLY MEASURED HOW PEOPLE FELT, UM, AS THEY ENGAGED WITH THE SYSTEM, UM, CURRENTLY.
AND SO INFORM USING THAT TO INFORM THESE GUIDELINES.
UM, AND WE DEVELOPED A SERIES OF, OF, UH, HIERARCHY OF USER NEEDS, UM, THAT, AGAIN, FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES THAT CAN INFORM OUR WORK.
UM, STARTING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE BASE, YOU'VE GOT KINDA FUNDAMENTAL MUST HAVES AROUND PREDICTABILITY AND SAFETY, BUT THEN IDENTIFYING THAT THERE ARE, AT THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID, SOME MORE ASPIRATIONAL, BUT EQUALLY IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT? THIS, THIS SYSTEM IS GONNA ALLOW PEOPLE TO CONNECT, UM, IN WAYS THAT MAYBE THEY CAN'T CURRENTLY CONNECT.
AND, AND I THINK WHEN WE WENT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE SAW THAT PEOPLE REALLY WERE EXCITED ABOUT AS PART OF THIS PROJECT IS THAT CONNECTING TO OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY, CONNECTING TO NATURE, THAT WAS ONE THING THAT CAME UP A LOT.
UM, AND THEN CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER, RIGHT? SO HOW DO WE ACTUALLY LEVERAGE THAT KIND OF COMMUNITY BUILDING ASPECT OF THE PROGRAM AS PART OF THE DESIGN? AND HOW DO WE BUILD SOME OF THAT INTO OUR DESIGN GUIDELINES? AND THAT'S PART OF OUR PROCESS.
I THINK I WILL SAY ONE OF THE, THE BIG TAKEAWAYS FROM THE, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, AND, AND THAT WAS, I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR WHOLE CE TEAM, UM, FOR HAVING REALLY RUN THAT AND FACILITATED THAT, AND IT WAS VERY ROBUST, UM, IS THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT LIGHT RAIL, RIGHT? THEY, I MEAN, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE GRAPH ON THE TOP IS TO SAY, YOU KNOW, REPRESENTS THE, THE WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE COULD I IMAGINE USING TRANSIT ONCE THE RIGHT LIGHT RAIL IS IN PLACE VERSUS NOW, AND IT INCREASES SUBSTANTIALLY, RIGHT? SO IT'S REALLY AN IMPORTANT ADDITION TO OUR OVERALL TRANSIT ECOSYSTEM THAT PEOPLE ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
SO THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, VERY POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING.
UH, NEXT, OKAY, SO OUT OF ALL THAT RESEARCH AND ALL THIS COLLABORATION WITH OUR, OUR ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS, UM, WE HAVE COME UP WITH FIVE FRAMING CONCEPTS FOR THE DESIGN.
AGAIN, WHEN I TALK ABOUT THINGS THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD REMEMBER, UM, AND AS IMBUE, EVERYTHING WE DO IS PART OF THE DESIGN.
SO THESE ARE THE FIVE, RIGHT? AND SO, SO THE FIRST ONE IS LIGHT RAIL IS A GREENWAY.
NOW WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? PART OF THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MAP AND YOU LOOK AT OTHER LINEAR MOBILITY CORRIDORS IN OUR CITY, RIGHT? ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE ONES THAT STAND OUT THERE ARE OUR CREEKS AND OUR TRAILS.
AND SO THIS IN SOME WAYS FROM A, UM, JUST AS A IDENTITY STANDPOINT IS A KIND OF ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE.
AND SO WE NEED TO KIND OF, I THINK WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT THIS NEW MOBILITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THAT WAY.
AND SOME OF IT'S ALSO JUST BECAUSE WE ARE BUILDING IN SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL ENHANCED PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE ALONG WITH THE LIGHT RAIL THAT FACILITATES RIDERSHIP AND FACILITATES USE OF THE LIGHT RAIL.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO INTEGRATING NATURAL SYSTEMS INTO OUR DESIGN.
AND SO A LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE PERMITTING AND, AND LOOKING AT WATER QUALITY AND WATER RETENTION REQUIREMENTS, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE BUILDING THAT ALL INTO OUR SYSTEM.
AND I THINK KNOWING THAT, HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS IN AUSTIN IN PARTICULAR, I THINK, THINK THAT WILL BE A HALLMARK OF OUR SYSTEM GOING FORWARD, RIGHT? IN WAYS THAT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT, HONESTLY, FROM OTHER SYSTEMS AND REALLY SPECIFIC TO AUSTIN ITSELF.
UM, THE SECOND IS, YOU KNOW, STATIONS ANCHOR NEIGHBORHOOD HUBS.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE STATIONS AREN'T NECESSARILY GONNA BE THE HUBS THEMSELVES, BUT I THINK THEY HAVE THE ABILITY YOU TO BE PART OF A, AN URBAN FABRIC, SORT OF AN URBAN NODE AT EVERY STATION THAT WILL BECOME, UM, EITHER A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD HUB OR CAN ENHANCE EXISTING NEIGHBORHOOD HUBS.
SO IN A LOT OF PLACES WHERE WE'VE GOT REALLY VIBRANT URBAN ACTIVITY, LIKE SOUTH CONGRESS FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, OUR JOB IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW DOES THE STATION ENVIRONMENT PARTICIPATE IN, ENHANCE, AND REALLY MAKE SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY GREAT EVEN BETTER.
THERE ARE OTHER PLACES WHERE I THINK WHERE WE'RE GONNA, WHERE IT'S MAYBE THOSE HUBS ARE NOT SO WELL DEVELOPED.
AND SO WE SEE THAT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR, UH, STATIONS TO BECOME THE ANCHORS FOR NEW HUBS THAT ARE EMERGENT.
UM, THE THIRD ONE IS, UH, BEING BOTH CONSISTENT, MEANING CONSISTENT ACROSS THE SYSTEM, RIGHT? UM, WE KNOW THAT THAT'S BENEFICIAL IN A LOT OF REASONS.
ONE IS TO ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT LIGHT RAIL BRAND.
SO PEOPLE, IT'S RECOGNIZABLE, PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IT, IT'S GOOD FOR USER NAVIGATION.
UM, BUT ALSO, UH, IT'S GOOD FOR CONSTRUCTION TOO.
LIKE USING SAME MODULAR SYSTEMS. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN A SECOND.
SO HAVING CONSISTENCY THROUGHOUT
[02:15:01]
THE SYSTEM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME RECOGNIZING THAT OUR CITY IS NOT CONSISTENT, RIGHT? OUR CITY IS INCREDIBLY VARIABLE, AND THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THE LIGHT RAIL WILL BE, UH, IMPLEMENTED ARE ALSO INCREDIBLY VARIABLE.AND SO WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT CONSISTENT SYSTEM AND THEN DEPLOY IT IN VARIOUS SITE SPECIFIC WAYS, RIGHT? TO ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC NEEDS, OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, EAST RIVERSIDE'S, VERY DIFFERENT FROM DOWNTOWN, VERY DIFFERENT FROM SOCO, DIFFERENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY.
I MEAN, THESE ARE, THESE CONDITIONS ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT, AND WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT IN THE WAY THAT WE IMPLEMENT THE SYSTEM.
UM, THE FOURTH IS, UH, INTUITIVE AND COMFORTABLE FOR EVERYONE.
SO THAT REALLY IS ABOUT BOTH, UM, EASE OF NAVIGATION, RIGHT? MAKING THE, THE PEDESTRIAN PATHWAYS TO STATIONS LOGICAL AND, AND CLEAR AND INTUITIVE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT THINGS LIKE HEAT AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMFORT, RIGHT? WE RECOGNIZE AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR, THIS IS NOT A, A VERY HOSPITABLE ENVIRONMENT.
HOW DO WE ACTUALLY USE THE LAY RAIL SYSTEM TO CREATE A MORE, UH, COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT SO THAT FACILITATES RIDERSHIP AND USE OF THE SYSTEM.
AND THEN THE FIFTH IS RESILIENT AND COST EFFECTIVE.
WE KNOW THAT WE'RE BUILDING SOMETHING FOR GENERATIONS.
UM, THIS, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT MATERIAL CHOICE, BOTH IN TERMS OF ITS ROBUSTNESS, HOW WELL DOES IT HOLD UP TO HUMAN USE OVER TIME? UM, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF LIFECYCLE COSTS.
LIKE IF WE INVEST MORE NOW ON THE CAPITAL SIDE, IT ACTUALLY SAVES US MONEY IN THE LONG TERM, AND IT'S ALSO BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE WE'RE NOT THROWING THINGS OUT AND REPLACING THEM EVERY FIVE YEARS, RIGHT? SO, UM, LOOKING AT RESILIENCE ALSO IN TERMS OF, UH, INCREASED WEATHER AND CLIMATIC DEMANDS, RIGHT? WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO BE SUBJECT TO, UH, INCREASINGLY EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND MAKING SURE THAT THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO, TO WITHSTAND THOSE.
SO WE'RE KIND OF TRYING TO HIT ALL THE, SORT OF, ALL THE POINTS HERE IN THESE VERY SIMPLE PRINCIPLES THAT PEOPLE CAN REMEMBER AND BUILD INTO FUTURE DESIGN PROCESSES.
IF, UM, IF THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT PLACE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SAVE IT, BUT I'VE FLIPPED THROUGH AND IT SEEMS LIKE THIS WOULD BE THE PLACE TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW IT'S GONNA BE AN ONGOING AND DEEPER DISCUSSION, BUT HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW WE GET THE PRIVATE SECTOR THAT'S GONNA DEVELOP ADJACENT LAND TO, YOU KNOW, DELIVER.
'CAUSE SO MUCH OF, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, ANYONE THAT DIGS INTO RAIL, YOU KNOW, PASSENGER RAIL, LIGHT RAIL IN PARTICULAR, LAND USE IS A HUGE REASON TO, YOU KNOW, TO IMPLEMENT LIGHT RAIL.
SO WHAT'S OUR PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PRIVATE SECTOR PLAYS ITS APPROPRIATE ROLE, GIVEN HOW OUTSIZED THAT'S GONNA BE WITH RESPECT TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY CAPITALIZING ON WHAT LIGHT RAIL CAN DELIVER, WHICH ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN TO A MILLION TOUR, WHEN YOU GO TO A REALLY GREAT TOD, YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY GET THE BENEFIT OF WHAT YOU UNDERSTAND, LIKE HAVING A STOP WHERE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE GET ON AND OFF A TRAIN SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT CAN DO TO THE ADJACENT LAND USE.
I WORRY ABOUT EITHER THEY MOVE FORWARD WITH PLANS IN ADVANCE OF US DOING IT, OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE JUST BUYS A PIECE OF LAND AND, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM AND THEY BUILD SOME LOW DENSITY.
SO HOW'S, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THAT? HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT HOW IT'S GOING AND YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PROSPECTS ARE OF, OF ALL OF THAT COMING TOGETHER? YEAH, SO I MEAN, IT'S A REALLY CRITICAL QUESTION.
AND I THINK WE ARE, UM, MINDFUL OF IT AND ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING AN APPROACH TO ACTUALLY LEVERAGE THAT OPPORTUNITY AT A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT SCALES IN NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO ON THE ONE HAND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, AND A LOT OF THIS HAS WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR SURE, RIGHT? SO NUMBER ONE, REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS, RIGHT? LAST YEAR, THE CITY OF AUSTIN DID LOTS OF REALLY STRONG WORK IN TERMS OF ADAPTING ITS LAND USE REGIMENS AROUND THE LIGHT RAIL TO RECOGNIZE THE OPPORTUNITY THAT LIGHT RAIL PRESENTS AND THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF LIGHT RAIL AND LAND USE, RIGHT? SO THAT'S ONE STEP IS REGULATORY.
THE OTHER IS, I WOULD SAY JUST SORT OF A NUTS AND BOLTS PROCESS, WHICH IS AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT, THAT SOPHIA TALKED ABOUT.
SO ANYTIME SOMEBODY'S PUTS IN A SITE PLAN NEXT TO THE LIGHT RAIL, WE GET PINGED, RIGHT? AND SO ONE THING, THIS IS A MESSAGE TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS IF YOU'RE DEVELOPING NEXT TO THE LIGHT RAIL ALIGNMENT, PLEASE CALL US, RIGHT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS THREE, RIGHT? I MEAN, THE, THE, THE HOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS ON THIS.
[02:20:01]
KNOW, IS IT GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT, BUT MAYBE 'CAUSE IT'S JUST A THING, BUT IT'LL BE MORE DIFFICULT IF YOU DON'T TALK TO US THAN IF YOU DO.AND ACTUALLY, IF WE GET INTO IT EARLY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS WHERE WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE GREAT THINGS HAPPEN.
UM, AND THEN THE THIRD THING IS, I THINK IS ON OUR SIDE, AND IT GOES BACK TO THAT SECOND POINT STATIONS, ANCHOR NEIGHBORHOOD HUBS, RIGHT? EVEN THOUGH WE WILL HAVE A LIMIT OF WORK, RIGHT? THAT IS DEFINED AND WE'RE WORKING WITHIN THOSE BOUNDARIES, AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, RIGHT? TO CONTROL SCOPE AND COSTS AND ALL THAT STUFF.
WE HAVE TO HAVE LIKE AN ORIENTATION TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT LINE, RIGHT? AS AN TEAM.
AND SO I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY AND THAT ORIENTATION AS WE GO, RIGHT? OKAY.
UM, AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT RELATED TO THIS, ACTUALLY, IT'S A GREAT SEGUE, UM, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE RIGHT OF WAY WHERE WE'RE BUILDING THE LIGHT RAIL, I THINK ALSO IN A HOLISTIC WAY, RIGHT? KNOWING THAT THE RIGHT OF WAY HAS TO ACCOMMODATE A LOT OF NEEDS, NOT JUST LIGHT RAIL, RIGHT? BOTH IN TERMS OF MOBILITY, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF ACCESS TO BUSINESSES AND RESIDENCES, ET CETERA, CULTURAL FACILITIES.
SO WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE THIS VERY DEEP ANALYSIS OF THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING TO LOOK AT, OKAY, WHAT ARE THE WIDTHS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US SORT OF BEHIND THE CURB BETWEEN THE CURB AND THE PROPERTY LINE TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE NEEDS THAT EXIST THERE.
UM, AND AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A TIGHT SQUEEZE, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH A REGIME FOR HOW TO PRIORITIZE AND HOW TO DEVELOP THAT.
I DON'T KNOW, LISA, DO YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE PUTTING THAT INTO PRACTICE? YEAH, I THINK IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE THE WAY THAT PETER JUST ANSWERED THAT QUESTION, THE 1, 2, 3, IT'S ALMOST REVERSE ON THE BACK OF CURB AND OPTIMIZING WHAT WE CALL OPTIMIZING THE TRANSIT ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL.
BUT WE STARTED WITH LIKE WHAT'S IN OUR PROJECT AND WHAT WE WILL BE CONSTRUCTING OR PLANNING FOR TO CONSTRUCT WITHIN OUR BOUNDS, RIGHT? AND WHAT'S FEASIBLE WITHIN THE RIGHTS OF WAY THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE PLANNING ON.
AND THEN IT'S ALMOST HOW DOES THAT COORDINATE WITH ADJACENT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A REGULATORY PROCESS OR DIRECT COORDINATION LIKE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
AND THEN HOW CAN WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS IN ORDER TO INFLUENCE OR UPDATE THOSE REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS ALONG THE LIGHT RAIL ALIGNMENT ITSELF, SO THAT WE ARE CREATING SORT OF A FEEDBACK LOOP THERE TO ENHANCE THE ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERYBODY.
UM, THIS ALL COORDINATES WITH THE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN GUIDELINES THAT WE'VE GOT REALLY HIGHLIGHTING THAT PEOPLE CENTERED PERFORMANCE BASED APPROACH, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE INTENDING TO HAVE PEOPLE IN THESE SPACES AS WE NEED THEM.
BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SORT OF THE CIVIL SPACE AND WHAT WE'RE THINKING OF AT THE GROUND LEVEL.
THIS ALSO INTERSECTS WITH A LOT OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERGROUND AND OVERHEAD UTILITIES AND SQUEEZING CERTAIN THINGS INTO SPACES WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE ALREADY HAVING A TIGHT SQUEEZE AND WE'VE GOT THOSE UTILITY FREE AND UTILITY REVIEW ZONES NOW GOING THROUGH THE CENTER OF THESE RIGHTS OF WAY.
SO PART OF THAT IS ALSO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON A BROAD SCALE FROM THE CITY SIDE AND MAKING SURE WE'RE UP TO SPEED ON ALL OF THOSE, UM, LAND USE, UH, UH, UPDATES THAT ARE COMING AND LIKE THE COUNCIL DIRECTED WORKING GROUP ABOUT GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IS LOOKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THAT DISTANCE BETWEEN STREET TREE PLANTINGS AND URBAN SPACES AND THE CRITERIA AROUND UNDERGROUND UTILITIES.
UM, AND REALLY ADVOCATING FOR TREES AS INFRASTRUCTURE IN THAT CASE.
SO THAT THERE IS ALMOST WHAT WE WOULD THINK OF AS A UTILITY FREE ZONE, BUT LIKE A, A TREE, YOU KNOW, UTILITY FREE ZONE AS WELL.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF COORDINATION AND IT'S SORT OF DEFINING THE PROBLEM AND THEN TRYING TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO FIND SOLUTIONS FROM AN INSIDE OUT PERSPECTIVE IS, IS WHAT THIS WORK IS.
AGAIN, JUST A REMINDER, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THIS IS ALL ABOUT GETTING THINGS READY FOR OUR COLLABORATIVE PARTNER IN THE PDB, RIGHT? SO MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A LOT OF CLARITY BOTH INTERNALLY WITH OUR PARTNERS ABOUT WHAT THE RULES OF THE GAME ARE SO THAT THE PDB CAN REALLY MOVE FORWARD AS EFFICIENTLY AND SEAMLESSLY AS POSSIBLE.
SO IT'S LIKE THIS IS ALL KIND OF GETTING OUR FOUNDATION AND OUR PREP WORK DONE.
AND MAYBE ON THIS ONE TOO, IT'S WORTH MENTIONING OUR LIGHT RAIL ALIGNMENT GOES THROUGH, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY SORT OF THIS ETOD IDEA OF THIS OVERLAY THAT ALIGNS, BUT ALSO THROUGH THE GREAT STREETS AREA DOWNTOWN, THE UNO DISTRICT NEAR THE UNIVERSITY, THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR OVERLAY.
AND SO THINKING ABOUT HOW THOSE DIFFERING BACK BACK OF CURB CONDITIONS AND
[02:25:01]
REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS MIGHT BE UPDATED OR CHANGED WITH TO ALLOW FOR OUR PROJECT IS PART OF THAT WORK THAT WE'RE DOING COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY.SO ONE OTHER PIECE OF OUR, UM, READINESS DOCUMENTS, I WOULD SAY IS, IS ALMOST FRAMING UP OUR PROGRAM TO BE ABLE TO TELL THE STORIES ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING FROM A SUSTAINABILITY STANDPOINT ALSO.
SO NOT JUST THE INHERENT, UM, BENEFITS OF TRANSIT THAT WILL, THAT WILL COME TO AUSTIN THROUGH LIGHT RAIL, BUT ALSO REALLY HOW WE'RE BUILDING WHAT THOSE KEY, UM, ASPECTS ARE.
AND SO OUR, OUR GROUP, INCLUDING HDR OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, HAS REALLY, YOU KNOW, DUG IN, CROSS MAPPED ALL OF THE RELEVANT THIRD PARTY RATING SYSTEMS THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY APPLY TO SCOPES OR ASPECTS OF OUR PROGRAM.
SO THAT INCLUDES AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING FOR ENCLOSED BUILDINGS, THE LOCAL RATING SYSTEM LEAD, INCLUDING LEAD FOR TRANSIT AND VISION.
THAT'S A RATING SYSTEM SPECIFIC TO INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, UM, SITES, WHICH IS ALSO DEVELOPED HERE AT THE WILDFLOWER CENTER, BUT FOR LANDSCAPE AND PARKS SMART IN CASE WE HAVE ANY PARKING STRUCTURES.
AND REALLY SORT OF CROSS MAPPED THEM FROM A CONTENT PERSPECTIVE AND HIGHLIGHTED THOSE ASPECTS THAT WOULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF OUR PROJECTS.
SO POINTED OUT WITHIN EACH OF THOSE RATING SYSTEMS WHAT THE RELEVANT CREDITS WOULD BE IN ORDER FOR ALL OF OUR PROJECTS TO ALIGN AND COLLECT DATA ON PARTICULAR ASPECTS.
SOME OF THOSE INCLUDE, UM, YOU KNOW, EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF RE OF U RESOURCE USE FROM ENERGY AND WATER STANDPOINT, UM, BUT ALSO FUNCTIONAL LANDSCAPES.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF THOSE THROUGHOUT, AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AS, AND EVEN EVEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, HIGHLIGHTING OUR WORK ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND HOW IT IS REFLECTED IN THE DESIGN, BUT THEN ALSO SETTING IT UP SO THAT OUR PDB HAS SOME INNOVATION CAPACITY HERE AND FLEXIBILITY TO SHOW OFF HOW THEY MIGHT UTILIZE MATERIALS BETTER.
OR, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT DEMOLITION, REUSE OR THOSE KINDS OF ASPECTS THAT COME INTO CONSTRUCTABILITY AND DELIVERING.
UM, SO IT'S INTENDED TO BE EXTREMELY FLEXIBLE, BUT ALSO SIGNAL TO THE MARKET WHAT OUR SORT OF BASELINE CRITERIA ARE WHEN IT COMES TO SUSTAINABILITY.
AND THEN I FEEL LIKE THESE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE OTHER ORDER, BUT BACK TO TREES.
UM, WE ARE ALSO DEVELOPING SORT OF A HANDY DANDY GUIDE TO A COMPREHENSIVE TREE MANUAL.
SO, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN AS A PLACE WHEN PEOPLE FIRST MOVE HERE TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT OR FOR OTHER REASONS AND DISCOVER SORT OF THE LIVE OAK, UM, CANOPY AND, AND, AND THE CONDITIONS HERE, I THINK.
AND THEN REALIZE THAT THERE'S THIS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT WHEN IT COMES TO TREES AND THE OLDEST TREE ORDINANCE, YOU KNOW, FOR OUR COUNTRY BACK FROM 1983.
WE REALIZE HOW MUCH THIS IS A COMMUNITY THAT CARES ABOUT THIS.
SO THE IDEA HERE IS REALLY TO, UM, SET UP THIS PROGRAM TO ADDRESS BOTH EXISTING TREES THAT ARE WITHIN THE RIGHTS OF WAY OR AROUND THE RIGHTS OF WAY THAT WE WILL BE, UM, IMPACTING.
AND THEN ALSO HOW TO PLANT NEW TREES, UM, USING BEST PRACTICES THROUGHOUT AND THROUGH THE LENS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA, MANUAL AND, AND CODES AND ORDINANCES.
SO IT'S REALLY JUST TEEING THIS UP AS A FRAMEWORK FOR HOW TO DO THINGS WITHIN THE RIGHTS OF WAY EXISTING AND NEW TREES.
AND LIKE, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE DIAGRAM HERE THAT SHOWS ESSENTIALLY LIKE HOW YOU WOULD DO A SHARED USE PATH TO AVOID IMPACTING AN EXISTING TREE, UM, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO WITHIN MAYBE THE HALF CRITICAL ROOT ZONE, BUT NOT IN THE QUARTER.
SO GETTING INTO THAT LEVEL OF SPECIFICITY, BUT NOT YET SORT OF BEING PRESCRIPTIVE TO OUR PDB PARTNERS.
IT'S ALSO JUST GOING BACK TO THE PERMITTING AGAIN, 'CAUSE THESE THINGS ALWAYS ARE IN A FEEDBACK LOOP.
YOU KNOW, THE CURRENT TREE ORDINANCE IS NOT DESIGNED FOR A 10 MILE LINEAR PROGRAM, RIGHT? SO HOW DO WE ACTUALLY ADAPT RULES AROUND TREES AND PERMITS THAT YOU GET FOR TREES WITH THE CITY ARBORIST OFFICE? UM, YOU KNOW, SO GOOD POINT.
YEAH, WE'VE BEEN COLLABORATIVE COLLABORATIVELY WORKING ON THIS ONE, NOT ONLY WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE AND DSD, BUT ALSO DIRECTLY WITH THE CITY ARBORISTS OFFICE, UM, AND ALL OF THOSE, THE ARBORISTS THAT REVIEW FOR SITE PLANS.
AND IT HAS BEEN GOING EXTREMELY WELL.
REALLY, REALLY PLEASED WITH THAT PROGRESS.
THIS IS REALLY EXCITING TEAM BECAUSE I, I CAN SEE THE CARE THAT YOU GUYS HAVE PUT IN HAVE MUCH INTENTION THERE IS BEHIND THIS, UM, DEVELOPMENT OF THIS CRITERIA.
[02:30:01]
I'M SEEING IS THAT THERE'S AN INTENT IN URBAN DESIGN AS WELL AS NOT JUST THE LIGHT RAIL, BUT URBAN DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, WATER MANAGEMENT WITHIN THIS ECOSYSTEM AND REAL.SO GUIDE ME WITH OUR PDB, ARE WE ENSURING THAT WE HAVE A HIGH LEVEL POSITION TO ENSURE THAT THAT IS CARRIED OUT? BECAUSE AS A FRAMEWORK IT WORKS AS AN IMPLEMENTATION, HOW ARE WE GONNA ENSURE THAT THAT HAPPENS? I THINK A, A NEXT STEP THAT'S CRITICAL TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT WE HAVE OUR INCOMING DELIVERY PARTNER COMPILING ALL OF THESE SEPARATE PIECES, WHICH THERE'S EVEN MORE THAN THE ONES WE HIGHLIGHTED TODAY AND PULLING THEM INTO A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF PROJECT-WIDE REQUIREMENTS, UH, WHICH INCLUDE BOTH CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.
AND THEN THAT WILL BE PART OF THE, THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS NEXT YEAR OF SHARING THOSE WITH INDUSTRY.
AND BOTH TO SIGNAL OUR INTENT, LIKE VERY CLEARLY SHOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US AND WHAT NEEDS TO BE DESIGNED AND BUILT FOR THE PROJECT, UH, BUT ALSO TO ALLOW INDUSTRY TO INNOVATE AND, AND PROVIDE THEIR APPROACH TO ADDRESSING THOSE NEEDS.
AND THEN THE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD MODEL ITSELF REALLY GIVES US A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY IN THAT, UH, FIRST PHASE OF WORK, PRE-CONSTRUCTION, TO WORK HAND IN HAND AND UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE GOING TO ADDRESS EACH OF THESE ELEMENTS, UH, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE COMPLIANT WITH THE NEEDS OF THE PROGRAM.
I MEAN, I THINK ONE OF THE, THE REASONS WHY WE'VE INVESTED SO MUCH EFFORT INTO THESE ISSUES IS TO CLEARLY COMMUNICATE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO US, TO OUR FUTURE PARTNERS.
AND THEN I THINK TO LINDSAY'S POINT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PDB PROCESS ENABLES US TO SELECT A PARTNER WHO ALSO CLEARLY SHARES THOSE VALUES, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT, 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT PICKING BASED ON LOWEST BIDDER OR A FIXED PRICE.
WE'RE PICKING A TEAM WHO IS GONNA BE OUR PARTNER.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY BRING IN SOME BEST IN CLASS, UH, DESIGN TALENT INTO THE, THE FUTURE FINAL DESIGN OF THE PROCESS.
JUST SO THE INDUSTRY HEARS THAT
SO WE WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO JUST HIGHLIGHT ONE QUICK EXAMPLE.
THERE ARE MANY, BUT, UM, PICKED AN AREA ALONG THE PROJECT THAT REALLY INTEGRATES ALL OF THESE TOPICS AND MORE, AND IS ALSO A SYMBOL OF, UH, COLLABORATION WITH OUR PARTNERS.
AN AREA WHERE WE'VE WORKED WITH THE CITY AND WITH CAP METRO TO ADDRESS MULTIMODAL NEEDS IN A CHALLENGING SPOT.
UH, PLEASANT VALLEY IS SORT OF DESIGNED LIKE A HIGHWAY.
IT'S NOT PARTICULARLY, UM, PLEASANT
NOT TO MENTION, UH, THERE'S A MORE THAN 20 FOOT ELEVATION DROP FROM ONE SIDE OF THE INTERSECTION TO THE OTHER.
AND THAT CREATES, UH, AN AMAZING DESIGN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PULL ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS TOGETHER AND AND SOLVE FOR THOSE DIFFERENT, IT'S ALSO, UM, GO BACK ONE.
YEAH, I THINK, UM, THE, THE FACT THAT THIS IS ALSO THE PLACE OF ITS INTERSECTION BETWEEN BOTH THE LIGHT RAIL, THE NEW, UH, PLEASANT VALLEY METRO RAPID, RAPID LINE METRO RAPID, YEAH.
UM, AND ALSO A NUMBER OF, OF, UH, MORE, YOU KNOW, FIXED ROUTE BUS LINES.
IT'S REALLY, IT'S A INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT MULTIMODAL HUB.
UH, IT ALSO, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE, IN TERMS OF SORTS, DIMENSIONS IN THE RIGHT OF WAY, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY RECONCILE AND INTEGRATE ALL OF THOSE MODES INTO SOMETHING THAT IS REALLY EXTRAORDINARY POTENTIALLY, AND ALSO IS A PLACE, I THINK THIS, THE IDEA IS THAT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY USE THE DEPLOYMENT OF ALL THIS INFRASTRUCTURE TO ACTUALLY MAKE A PLACE, UM, IN A WAY THAT IT ISN'T RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, THE MAIN CHALLENGES, I MEAN, TWO MAIN CHALLENGES.
ONE IS HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY CREATE A FLAT SPACE BECAUSE THE TRAIN WANTS TO BE FLAT, RIGHT? RULE NUMBER ONE, UM, TRAINS LIKE TO BE FLAT, STATIONS LIKE TO BE FLAT.
UM, SO HOW DO YOU CREATE A FLAT SPOT ON THIS, ON THIS, UH, STEEP SLOPE? UM, AND THEN SECONDLY, YOU KNOW, HOW DO, WHICH IS BOTH ABOUT THE TRAINS, BUT IT'S ALSO ABOUT PEOPLE.
I FORGOT THE PEOPLE, PEOPLE MATTER TOO,
UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE WANT TO MAKE THIS UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE AND CERTAINLY THESE MULTIMODAL CONNECTIONS, YOU WANT TO HAVE A FLAT SPACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN, CAN MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS.
UM, BUT ALSO HOW DO YOU MAKE THE SPACE FEEL SMALLER, RIGHT? THIS IS, AGAIN, THIS IS A PLACE THAT FEELS OUTTA SCALE TO THE PEDESTRIAN.
[02:35:01]
HOW DO WE MAKE IT FEEL SMALLER AND MORE SCALE TO THE PEDESTRIAN? SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALIZED, AGAIN, THROUGH A LOT OF ITERATION BETWEEN ENGINEERS AND, AND, UH, ARCHITECTS AND URBAN DESIGNERS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WAS, WELL, WHAT IF WE JUST MOVE THE ROAD, RIGHT? AND THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO BOTH CREATE THAT FLAT SPOT, UM, WHERE WE COULD HAVE ALL THAT MULTIMODAL INTEGRATION, UM, BUT IT ALSO WOULD ACTUALLY SERVE TO MAKE THAT INTERSECTION SMALLER.AND SO WE COULD ACTUALLY BRING THE SCALE OF THAT DOWN AND IT STILL LEAVES A LOT OF AREAS, YOU KNOW, FOR US TO DO A LOT OF PROVIDE THE AMENITIES AND SERVICES AND, AND LANDSCAPE, UM, THAT, UH, THAT IS GONNA HELP TO SORT OF MAKE THIS A PLACE.
ARE THERE OTHER THINGS THAT I MISSED? WHAT DID I FORGET? YOU MIGHT MENTION HERE THAT THIS IS A, A GOOD PLACE TO REMIND US ALL THAT WE'RE BY NO MEANS DONE IN DESIGN.
AND THERE ARE MANY REMAINING THINGS TO SOLVE.
UM, OPTIMIZING THOSE BUS CONNECTIONS, FIGURING OUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THAT MUCH EXCAVATION, WHICH IS A LOT OF EXCAVATION,
SO NOT ONLY IS IT AN EXAMPLE OF, I THINK, INTEGRATION AMONGST OUR, OUR TEAMS AND PARTNERS AND CONSULTANTS THAT HAVE BEEN HELPING US, BUT IT'S ALSO A GREAT PLACE TO HIGHLIGHT HOW MUCH THERE IS TO DO AND HOW MUCH WE NEED OUR FUTURE, UH, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PARTNERS TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH US.
AND TO, TO ADD TO THE COMPLEXITY, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF UTILITIES THERE AS WELL.
UM, WHILE ALL UTILITIES ARE IMPORTANT, I'M GONNA JUST FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE THE MOST PROMINENT IN THIS AREA WITH THEIR, UM, TRANSMISSION POLES AND THE TRANSMISSION LINES THAT, UH, CROSS THE, THE, THE GUIDEWAY ON PLEASANT VALLEY.
UM, SO THE EXERCISE THAT WE HAD IN FRONT OF US WAS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MOVE THESE TRANSMISSION LINES AND POLES TO, TO NOT CONFLICT WITH THE USERS AND NOT CONFLICT WITH THE STATION AND THE SYSTEM.
UM, SO IN OUR WEEKLY UTILITY MEETINGS, AGAIN, AUSTIN ENERGY IS AT THE TABLE.
UM, WE'VE COME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, THREE OR FOUR SOLUTIONS AND, AND THERE'S ONE NOW THAT LIKE WE ARE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT THAT WE THINK WILL WORK, UM, FOR EVERYBODY TO, UM, TO RALLY AROUND TO YEAH,
BUT AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, ALSO HAS WHAT THEY NEED, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE POWER, BUT ALSO DURING CONSTRUCTION AND MAKING SURE WE DON'T HAVE MAJOR OUTAGES WHEN WE ACTUALLY CONSTRUCT THE PERMANENT POLES, UM, AGAINST THE TEMPORARY POLES THAT WILL EVENTUALLY GO AWAY.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THIS LOOK IN CONSTRUCTION PHASING AS WELL TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THE RIGHT SOLUTION NOW.
UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO A PLACE WHERE THERE'S, UH, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME WATER QUALITY, I WOULD SAY BANKING IN THIS LOCATION.
UM, WHILE WE'VE GOT GRADING CHALLENGES AND GRADE DIFFERENCES ON THE NORTH SOUTH, WHICH WE WERE EMPHASIZING BEFORE, WE ALSO HAVE A LARGE GRADE DIFFERENCE FROM EAST TO WEST AND COUNTRY CLUB CREEK THAT RUNS RIGHT THROUGH THERE, WHICH WILL ALSO HAVE A NEW, UM, TRAIL, URBAN TRAIL BUILT, UH, BY THE CITY THERE.
SO TRYING TO MAKE A, A SORT OF MID CONNECTION UP TO THE STATION ITSELF IS ANOTHER COMPONENT OF THE PROJECT.
IN ADDITION, THIS IS ALSO A LOCATION WHERE WE'VE GOT ENOUGH WIDTH TO KIND OF DO SOME INTERESTING THINGS FROM A WATER QUALITY STANDPOINT AND POTENTIALLY ALSO FROM A, FROM A TREE PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE SOME OF THESE TREES WITH THAT LARGE GRADING MIGHT BE GREAT CANDIDATES FOR TRANSPLANTATION.
UM, SO LOOKING THROUGH, YEAH, WITHIN THE SITE ITSELF, SO LOOKING THROUGH ALL OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL.
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, SO THIS IS THE DIAGRAM OF WHERE WE'RE LANDING AND WHICH WILL SHOW UP IN OUR DEIS DOCUMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT MORE WORK TO DO HERE, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S I THINK BEEN REALLY GRATIFYING TO THE TEAM IS THAT BY DIGGING INTO SOME OF THESE DETAILS AND SOME OF THIS INTEGRATION BETWEEN SYSTEMS, I THINK WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE SOME, SOME PRETTY IMPORTANT BIG MOVES THAT'S, THAT ARE, IS REALLY GONNA SET US UP FOR SUCCESS LONG TERM, RIGHT? WE'VE KIND OF, WE'VE CREATED THE SPACE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP THE DESIGN IN A WAY THAT I THINK IS GONNA BE POTENTIALLY EXTRAORDINARY.
AND, UM, WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT UNLESS WE HAD REALLY DUG INTO THESE DETAILS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ISSUES ARE AND THE, THE KIND OF BIG MOVES WE NEEDED TO MAKE TO CREATE THAT SPACE.
[02:40:03]
OKAY.SO NOW THAT WE'VE SUFFICIENTLY BROUGHT YOU INTO THE WEEDS, UM,
YEAH, I THINK, UH, WELL, THANK YOU BOARD.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW, BOARD MEMBER, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SOME OF THAT PREVIOUS, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I I HAVE A COMMENT.
AND IT, MY GUESS IS YOU'RE PROBABLY ABOUT READY TO TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT IF YOU, LIKE, IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE THAT SHOWS THE AERIAL VIEW OF, UM, THAT RIVERSIDE IN PLEASANT VALLEY, THE, THE PHOTOGRAPH.
SO I, I MEAN, I GET LIKE, IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND OUR, UM, DELIVERY METHOD, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CHOOSE THE RIGHT PARTNERS ALONG THE WAY, LIKE WE'RE SPENDING A LOT OF TIME DIGGING INTO THAT AS IS APPROPRIATE, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THOSE ARE CRITICAL DECISIONS THAT WE'LL MAKE EARLY ON, AND THEN WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH THEM, BUT THAT WILL BE FORGOTTEN BY THE PUBLIC AT LARGE.
ONCE ALL THAT'S DONE, IT DOESN'T MANIFEST ITSELF, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THEIR EXPERIENCE OF THE SYSTEM.
AND LIKE, I LOOK AT THIS AND I THINK OF HOW MUCH REDEVELOPMENT IS GONNA OCCUR THERE OVER THE COURSE OF 20 YEARS.
THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA LIVE WITH.
YOU KNOW, WHAT'S BUILT ON ALL THOSE SURFACE PARKING LOTS, YOU KNOW WHAT THAT STATION LOOKS LIKE.
AND MY ONLY POINT IS LIKE, WE, THIS ISN'T A A, A CRITICISM, IT'S JUST A STATEMENT ABOUT MOVING FORWARD.
LIKE THIS DISCUSSION ON THIS SHOULD BE ELEVATED.
IT SHOULD BE MORE LIKE THIS IS IN A YEAR AND A HALF ON THE BOARD.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HAD THIS KIND OF DETAILED DISCUSSION ABOUT O OTHER THAN SEPARATE DISCUSSIONS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW WE'RE GONNA GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY GONNA EXPERIENCE AND LIVE WITH, YOU KNOW, LITTLE PIECES OF IT HERE AND THERE, YOU KNOW, BUT SO MUCH TIME IS SPENT ON THESE OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WILL BE LOST TO THE COMMUNITY WHEN THIS SYSTEM OPENS.
YOU KNOW, THEY WON'T, LIKE WHO THE CONTRACTOR WAS, WHAT METHODOLOGY WE USED, WE'LL ALL BE LOST ON THEM.
SO I JUST, YOU, I JUST, WE NEED TO LIKE KEEP IT FRONT OF MIND ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
LIKE UNDERSTAND HOW WE'RE WORKING WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, HOW WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY WHAT'S GONNA, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GONNA BE TRANSFORMATIVE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN GOING FORWARD.
SO THAT WOULD BE MY ONLY, YOU KNOW, COMMENT ABOUT THAT.
I JUST, I WANT TO WHOLEHEARTEDLY ECHO EVERY SINGLE WORD BOARD MEMBER LANDMARKS JUST SAID, BECAUSE IN THE END, ESPECIALLY WITH ALL UTILITIES, THEY GET BURIED.
IT'S, THEY'RE OUT OF SIGHT, RIGHT? BUT WHAT WE END UP EXPERIENCING IS THE SYSTEM ITSELF AND THE URBAN FABRIC THAT IT CREATES.
AND I DO THINK THAT THERE'S SO MUCH THOUGHT IN BEING PLACED ON ALL DEPARTMENTS OF THE CITY THAT ARE AFFECTED THAT I DO THINK THIS IS A GENERATIONAL CHANGE FOR AN ENTIRE CITYWIDE.
SO I'M THINKING THAT THE CITY WILL NOT REVERT BACK TO THE WAY OF DOING THINGS BECAUSE THIS IS BECOMING A PILOT OF THINKING OF TREES AS INFRASTRUCTURE, FOR INSTANCE.
IF WE START TO SPEAK IN THOSE TERMS NOW, THE RIPPLE WOULD THEN HOPEFULLY TRANSLATE TO OTHER CORRIDORS.
AND I'M REALLY EXCITED, LIKE, I JUST REALLY WANT TO COMMEND THE TEAM BECAUSE TO ALSO THINK, AND THIS WAS A VERY EARLY ON AND PROBABLY IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE LAUNCH OF A TP WHERE WE WERE LOOKING AT THE TRAIL SYSTEMS OF OUR CITY HAVE NOW BECOME SO ROBUST AND SO INTEGRATED THAT IT'S ANOTHER MOBILITY ECOSYSTEM, NOT JUST FOR PEOPLE, BUT FOR SPECIES.
AND SO TO, FOR US TO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THAT, IT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY GIVES ME GOOSEBUMPS OF HOW EXCITING IT IS TO SEE THAT LEVEL OF VERY SPECIFIC TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN CULTURE FABRIC, AN INTENTION THAT IS REALLY MANIFESTED IN, AND IT'S NOT ONE AND DONE, BUT IT'S AN, IT'S DEVELOPING AN IN INCREASING.
AND I'M, I ALSO HEARD BRIEFLY WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT SITES WITH THE LADY BIRD WILDFLOWER CENTER.
THEY'RE ENGAGING RIGHT NOW ON A MASTER PLAN OF THEIR FACILITY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IN BEING LANDLOCKED WITH MOPAC, FOR INSTANCE, PARTNERING WITH ADJACENT DEVELOPERS TO SAY, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO THINK ACROSS OUR HIGHWAYS, ACROSS OUR SYSTEMS WITH LAND CROSSINGS OF, YOU KNOW, UH, WILDLIFE CROSSINGS IN A WAY THAT THERE SHOULD NEVER BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, BUT HOW DO WE AUGMENT ALL OF THESE SYSTEMS TO MAKE A MORE ROBUST, AND
[02:45:01]
THE ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS A HUNDRED IN THIS WAY? I REALLY WANT TO COMMEND YOU GUYS FROM REALLY WORKING SO WELL AS A TEAM WITH ENGINEERS AND ARCHITECTS AND PERMITTING AND ALL OF THE BUREAUCRACY THAT HAPPENS, BUT IT'S A LOT OF WORK THAT WE'RE GOING VERY SLOW TO GO FAST LATER AND GENERATIONALLY SUCCESSFULLY.SO, UM, ONE THING I I WANT TO MENTION, I APPRECIATE, UH, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, SIGNIFICANT WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE AND THE, AND ALSO THE PROCESS WORK SO THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE, UH, NOT ONLY WHERE WE ARE, BUT HOW WE GOT THERE.
BUT, UH, BUT I WANT, UH, ONE THING I WANT WANT NOT TO BE LOST HERE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, I USED TO LIVE TWO BLOCKS FROM THAT SITE WHEN I FIRST MOVED HERE IN 1985.
UH, WILLOW CREEK, TWO BLOCKS, UH, EAST, UH, TWO BLOCKS, I GUESS SOUTH AND WEST.
AND, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THOSE DAYS, YOU COULD GET A TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT FOR $500.
AND, UH, WHAT, WHEN WE LOOK AT TRANSFORMATION, WE MUST ALSO THINK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY FROM THE STANDPOINT OF, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT TO BUILD EVERY BIG BEAUTIFUL PLACE WHERE ONLY RICH PEOPLE CAN LIVE.
UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE, BECAUSE, UH, AT THE COUNTY, WE HAVE SEEN AT LEAST FIVE PROPOSED PROJECTS, UH, TO DEVELOP THAT AREA.
AND NOT ONE OF THEM WAS AFFORDABLE.
AND, UH, YOU WILL LOSE THE, THIS USED TO BE THE COLLEGE, WE USED TO CALL IT THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE COLLEGE APARTMENT JUNGLE.
BUT, UM, IF WE ARE TRANSFORMING AN AREA, IF WE ARE INVESTING IN AN AREA, I THINK WE ALSO, UH, NEED TO THINK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY AT THE SAME TIME AND MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE CAN, OUR CHILDREN CAN, OUR GRANDCHILDREN CAN STAY IN THAT AREA AS STUDENTS OR STAY IN THAT AREA AS, AS OUR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS.
UM, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN UNLESS WE MAKE IT HAPPEN.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE, UH, WORK WITH THE TEAMS AND WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY FOLKS THAT, THAT WANT TO HELP US KEEP AFFORDABILITY HERE.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED NEAR, NEAR THE LAKE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED ALL UP AND DOWN, UH, RIVERSIDE, UH, WHAT HAS BEEN LOST IS AFFORDABILITY.
AND, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN KEEP THE CHARACTER OF AUSTIN, WHAT AUSTIN HAS BEEN FOR ME.
UH, IF WE DON'T KEEP AFFORDABILITY FRIENDS.
UH, THE, AT THAT FORM THAT Y'ALL DID, SOMEBODY ASKED YOU A QUESTION OF, OF HOW ARCHITECTS CAN COMMUNICATE WITH ENGINEERS, AND I WONDER WHAT'S PART ABOUT THAT.
AND THAT CHAIR PERSON'S COMMENT ABOUT ONE FOOT ONE EQUALS A HUNDRED ANSWERS MY QUESTION.
SO ON THAT NOTE, I MEAN, I THINK THERE'S SOME GREAT COMMENTS AND, AND WE, WE APPRECIATE THE DIALOGUE TODAY.
IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY WONDERFUL TO GET TO, TO REALLY, ON SOME LEVEL, IT'S A SCAN, RIGHT, OF OUR WORK AND IT LAYS OUT WHERE WE ARE IN 25.
BUT JUST KIND OF ECHOING THOSE COMMENTS, RIGHT? WE KNOW WE GET TO SERVE IN A ROLE SOMETIMES, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE LEADING AND DRIVING AND GETTING THIS PROJECT DONE, THINKING ABOUT OUR DELIVERY, RIGHT? ITS CORE MISSION TO US.
AND OTHER TIMES WE ACT AS A CONVENER, RIGHT? A CONVENER OF A DIALOGUE THAT IS HAPPENING AROUND AUSTIN.
UM, AND THAT'S A NICE PLACE POSITION TO BE IN, AND IT'S AROUND OBVIOUSLY OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY AND CAP METRO, BUT THAT BROADER STAKEHOLDER GROUP, WHETHER THAT IS, UM, UM, ADVOCATES, UM, A FOLKS ALONG THE ALIGNMENT.
AND WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF ENERGY AROUND THAT ALREADY AS WE ADVANCE AND SHOW THIS MOMENT MOMENTUM ON THIS PROJECT, ON THIS MOMENTOUS PROJECT.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT.
AND, UH, AND WE KEEP, WE KEEP ADDING LAYERS TO THE WORK, RIGHT? ADDING LAYERS TO THE WORK, ADDING NEW, NEW MOMENTS TO THE WORK.
ALL ABOUT GOING AND GETTING, UH, FINALIZING OUR FEDERAL MONEY, ADVANCING THE PROJECT, AND GETTING THAT AND SYNCHRONIZING THE WORK.
AND HOPEFULLY THAT'S WHAT YOU SAW TODAY, RIGHT? OR SAW ELEMENTS OF THAT SYNCHRONIZATION BETWEEN OUR DELIVERY APPROACH, OUR DESIGN WORK, AND OUR FEDERAL WORK.
AND UNDERPINNING ALL OF THAT IS OUR COMMUNITY, RIGHT? WE'RE ALWAYS OUT TALKING, AS COURTNEY TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE
[02:50:01]
ALWAYS OUT TALKING, SOMETIMES IN SMALL CONVERSATIONS, SOMETIMES IN LARGER, MORE FORMAL CONVERSATIONS.BUT THAT'S THAT CONTINUUM REALLY THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT.
SO LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025 IS OBVIOUSLY CONTINUE ADVANCING THROUGH THE FEDERAL PROCESS ON PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND ALL THOSE ELEMENTS THAT YOU HEARD ABOUT TODAY.
I'LL HIGHLIGHT SOME ONES THAT ARE INCREDIBLY CRITICAL, RIGHT? THE THIRD PARTY WORK, CONTINUING TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY ON UTILITY WORK AND REAL ESTATE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO ON THAT, BUT ALSO, RIGHT, WE ARE, I THINK THIS IS A MESSAGE TODAY, WE ARE PREPARING FOR CONSTRUCTION, RIGHT? AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL IS UNDERWAY.
THE PROJECT IS UNDERWAY, AND WE'RE DOING THE ENGINEERING, WE'RE DOING THE PLANNING, BUT WE'RE ALSO GETTING READY FOR CONSTRUCTION.
YOU SAW THAT ON OUR, ON OUR DELIVERY AND OUR CONTRACTING.
THAT STARTS IN JANUARY, RIGHT? OUR PROCESS TO BRING ON THE, OUR, OUR FUTURE PARTNERS.
WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET THEM, UM, IN INDUSTRY THAT ARE GONNA BUILD AUSTIN LIGHT RAIL THAT STARTS IN TWO MONTHS.
THAT PROCESS STARTS IN TWO MONTHS.
SO IT'S, IT'S HERE AND IT'S HAPPENING, BUT OUR JOB HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO BE READY FOR THAT, RIGHT? IT'S NOT JUST TO TURN A SWITCH MODE.
AND YOU SAW A LOT OF THE WORK STREAMS TODAY.
A LOT OF THAT PREPARING IS NOT ONLY THE SOLICITATION WORK, BUT SOME NEW THINGS THAT WE HAVEN'T, WE DIDN'T DIVE DEEP ON TODAY.
OUR BUSINESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS WE WORK WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS UP AND ALONG THE ALIGNMENT TO, TO THAT OUTREACH.
AND WE'RE GONNA START THAT OUTREACH OR CONTINUE THAT OUTREACH IN A MORE FORMAL WAY HERE IN JANUARY AS WE GO OUT AND DO SOME PUBLIC OUTREACH.
BUT TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE OUR PUBLIC ART PROGRAM, I CAN'T WAIT TO COME AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN DEVELOPING THAT.
UM, SO WE'RE DOING ALL THAT NOW SO THAT WHEN WE HAVE ALL THOSE PIECES TOGETHER IN THIS MOSAIC, WE ARE THEN IN, WE'RE KIND OF GOING TO GO MODE.
I, I WOULD ANTICIPATE WE'LL TALK MORE BOARD CHAIR.
I THINK ABOUT PROBABLY DOING EVEN MORE OF THESE IN 2025 AS WE KIND OF PEEL DOWN AND DIVE DOWN DEEP ON THESE EFFORTS, UH, TO GET READY.
BUT WE'RE EXCITED AND, AND WE APPRECIATE THE DIALOGUE AND, AND THE QUESTIONING AND SOME OF THE FOLLOW UP, UH, BOARD MEMBER, GAR AND OTHERS THAT YOU HAVE THAT WE WANT TO COME BACK ON THAT I THINK FORM THE BASIS FOR SOME OF THOSE DEEPER CONVERSATIONS AROUND WORKFORCE, UH, AROUND OUR DBE.
I THINK AS WE COME BACK WITH OUR AVAILABILITY STUDY BEFORE WE DO THAT CONTRACT, THAT'S CLEARLY, UM, UH, CLEARLY A MOMENT WE WANNA COME BACK AND TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT OUR, WHAT OUR PROGRAM LOOKS LIKE AND HOW WE'RE STRUCTURING IT, UM, AMONG MANY OTHERS.
WE'RE EXCITED TO BE BACK HERE IN A MONTH TO KIND OF FINISH OFF THE YEAR WITH FINALIZING OUR DRAFT DIS AND TALKING ABOUT THAT.
AND ALSO, UH, GETTING, MOVING ON OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, TO WRAP UP WHAT WE THINK HAS BEEN A REALLY, UM, UH, A YEAR OF, OF MOVEMENT, OF, OF, OF ADVANCING, UM, ADVANCING OUR PROJECT AND, AND KEEPING IT GOING FORWARD.
THANK YOU BOARD FOR THREE, UM, HOURS OF UNDIVIDED ATTENTION AND THANK YOU STAFF FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND TALENT.
WE HAD A FULL AUDIENCE TODAY, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AS WELL AND BEING A WONDERFUL ADDITION TO OUR, UH, WORK SESSION.
AND THIS CONCLUDES THE NOVEMBER 14TH, A TP BOARD MEETING.
THE MEETING STANDS ADJOURN AT 3:57 PM THANK YOU.