* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:02]
          GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. 
          WE HAVE A FULL HOUSE TODAY. 
          ARE WE READY TO BEGIN? OH, I WE'RE WAITING FOR, UM, MEMBER ILION, SO WE HAVE QUORUM. 
          IS EVERYONE OKAY IF WE PROCEED? GOOD MORNING, MAYOR. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          UM, I WILL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER TODAY'S MARCH 1ST, AND THE TIME IS 9:07 AM WE ARE AT THE A TP BOARDROOM AT 2 0 3 COLORADO STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. 
          AS A REMINDER, THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES BOTH AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES, AND WE REQUEST AT LEAST A 24 HOUR NOTICE FOR A SL AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES. 
          IF YOU NEED THE SERVICES IN THE FUTURE, PLEASE CONTACT OUR BOARD LIAISON, CHLOE MAXWELL, AND YOU WILL FIND HER INFORMATION IN EACH AGENDA POSTING. 
          WE'RE ALSO JOINED TODAY VIRTUALLY BY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. 
          UM, WHO'S GONNA JOIN US, UM, WHO'S HERE ON OUR SCREEN? GOOD MORNING BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. 
          UM, I BELIEVE WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY, BUT I DO WANT TO, UM, OFFER A WELCOME TO ROBERT GOODE. 
          HE'S OUR CITY INTERIM ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER FOR MOBILITY, AND HE WAS RECENTLY DESIGNATED BY OUR CITY MANAGER TO SERVE AS ATP'S EXOFFICIO BOARD MEMBER. 
          WELCOME, MR. GOODE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          HAPPY TO SERVE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO 
          [2. Technical Advisory Committee Reports]
FOR THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS, UM, TO PROVIDE AS MUCH TIME FOR THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE HAVE PREPARED FOR YOU TODAY, WE WILL NOT PRESENT THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS, HOWEVER, THE FULL REPORTS ARE UPLOADED AS THE BACKUP. 
          I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY COLLEAGUES IF THEY HAVE ANY SPECIFIC COMMENTS TO ADD TO THAT MAY HAVE NOT BEEN INCLUDED IN THE POST-IT REPORTS. 
          DOES ANY ONE OF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? NO, WAIT. 
          MOVING ON. 
          WE HAVE ALSO ORGANIZED OUR BOARD AGENDA WITH THE NOTED ACTION ITEMS THAT WILL BE TAKEN UP ON CONSENT. 
          AND THAT IS SUCH EXTERNAL ITEMS THAT WILL BE OFFERED IN ONE VOTE AND HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED BY STAFF AS CONSENT ITEMS. THE BOARD HAS BEEN BRIEFED ON EACH OF THESE ITEMS AND RELATED BACKUP MATERIALS WERE PUBLISHED ONLINE SINCE LAST WEEK. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE STAFF HAS REQUESTED A POSTPONEMENT FOR ACTION. 
          ITEM NUMBER THREE FOR THE BOARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, THE VOTE ON ACTION ITEM NUMBER THREE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA THAT WILL BE VOTED TO POSTPONE FOR THE ITEM UNTIL MARCH 22ND. 
          STAFF HAS ALSO INDICATED DISCUSSION ITEM 6.1. 
          THE PLAN OF FINANCE WILL ALSO BE POSTPONED UNTIL THE MARCH 22ND MEETING. 
          SO PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE ANY STAFF UPDATES TO THE DOCUMENTS. 
          AND BACKUP ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO HAS VERSION THREE OF THE PROCUREMENT POLICY AND ACTION ITEM NUMBER FIVE HAS A VERSION TWO OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RESOLUTION. 
          SO THAT'S THE PLAN FOR, FOR TODAY. 
          SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO NOW MOVE ON TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT CHAIR. 
          [1. Public Comment]
UHHUH, I THINK WE HAVE ONE PUBLIC COMMENTER IN THE AUDIENCE. 
          OH, YES, MAY. 
          MR. CONNOLLY. 
          OH, MR. CONNOLLY, WELCOME. 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          SLIGHT MISCOMMUNICATION. 
          WHERE DO I? YEAH, WELCOME MR. CONNOLLY. 
          WELCOME BOARD MEMBERS. 
          IT'S GOOD TO BE HERE TODAY. 
          SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE, UH, I, I KNOW I ONLY HAVE A FEW MINUTES, SO I WON'T READ THE WHOLE THING, A LETTER THAT WAS ALREADY SENT TO THE BOARD BEFOREHAND, UM, FROM THE A TX MOBILITY COALITION. 
          UM, BUT I WANTED TO READ A SMALL PIECE OF IT AND PARTICULARLY HIGHLIGHT, UM, KIND OF THE MAIN MESSAGE OF THE LETTER, WHICH IS THAT, UM, TRANSPARENCY AND CLEAR PUBLIC PROCESS WITH TIME FOR MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT AS OUTLINED IN THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, UM, IN ARTICLE 3.2 0.3, UM, IS, IS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PRIORITY FOR US, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE MONITORING THIS PROJECT VERY CLOSELY, THIS PROGRAM, THE ENTIRE PROGRAM VERY CLOSELY. 
          WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING AND IT MATTERS A LOT. 
          UM, I WANT TO JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT TOOK PLACE ON ON JANUARY 30TH, UM, WHEN THE CAT METRO BOARD ANNOUNCED AFTER A CLOSED SESSION THAT THE DECISION WAS MADE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, HIM AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN REFERENCE TO, UH, MR. GREG CANALI, UM, YOU KNOW, IMPLIED TO SOME MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT THERE WAS EITHER A MISUNDERSTANDING OF VIOLATION OR A BAD FAITH INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 4.2 0.2 OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, UM, WHICH ESTABLISHED THAT THE BOARD WOULD ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 
          [00:05:01]
PROCESS FOR SUCH APPOINTMENTS, WHICH IS APPROPRIATE TO THE APPOINTMENT OF SENIOR LEADERSHIP. 
          AND A SIMILAR TO THE PROCESS DESCRIBED ABOVE, WHICH WAS THE PROCESS THAT WE AS A COMMUNITY HAD ESTABLISHED TO DETERMINE THE INDEPENDENT GOVERNANCE MODEL. 
          UM, FURTHERMORE, I WANTED TO JUST RE REVIEW SOME OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES BECAUSE I THINK THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT NOT ONLY FOR THE DECISIONS THAT THE BOARD IS MAKING HERE TODAY, UM, BUT FOR ALL OF THE DECISIONS, UH, MOVING FORWARD ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. 
          IT SAYS, OPPORTUNITIES SHALL ALLOW TIME FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO REVIEW MATERIALS, PROVIDE INFORMED AND MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK, UNDERSTAND HOW FEEDBACK IS INCORPORATED BEFORE A DECISION IS MADE. 
          RESULTS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, INCLUDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND POLICY PROGRAM DECISIONS, WILL BE TRANSPARENTLY AND ACCOUNTABLY DOCUMENTED. 
          THE PROJECT CONNECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE SHALL BE COMPREHENSIVELY CONSULTED AND INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS, INCLUDING BEING REGULARLY INFORMED IN ADVANCE OF PROJECT CONNECT RELATED EQUITY AND ANTI DISPLACEMENT ACTIONS BEING BROUGHT TO ANY OF THE PARTY'S POLICY MAKING BODIES IN A TIMELY MANNER SO THAT THEY CAN EFFECTIVELY ASSIST STAFF WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESSES AND PROVIDE A SPACE FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE PROGRAM. 
          ALL PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES SHALL BE HIGHLIGHTED ON A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE CALENDAR AND SHARED THROUGH VARIOUS COMMUNICATION METHODS WITH CLEAR INFORMATION ON HOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN OBTAIN FURTHER INFORMATION. 
          SO, IF THE BOARD HAD INDEED MADE A DETERMINATION BEHIND CLOSED DOORS WITHOUT AN APPROPRIATE PROCESS, IT WOULD'VE BEEN A VIOLATION, I BELIEVE, BELIEVE OF THE CORE LEGAL AND PUBLIC COMMITMENTS MADE TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          HOWEVER, UM, BOARD CHAIR CASTRO DEERA HAS SINCE CLARIFIED THIS POSITION WITH A PRESS STATEMENT AND HAS ASSURED THE COMMUNITY THAT SUCH COMMITMENTS WOULD CONTINUE TO BE UPHELD. 
          UM, BUT I WANNA NOTE THAT THE DAMAGE TO SOME EXTENT WAS ALREADY DONE. 
          THE COMMUNITY WAS LED TO BELIEVE THAT THE BOARD SELECTED MR. CANAL AS A SOLE CANDIDATE WITHOUT A GOOD FAITH ATTEMPT AT UPHOLDING ITS JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT. 
          AND THIS HAS SHAKEN PUBLIC TRUST IN THE BOARD OF THE O OSTEO TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND HAS EXPOSED THE PROJECT TO RISK AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT IN WHICH BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD BE MAKING EVERY EFFORT TO BUILD AND PROTECT COMMUNITY TRUST. 
          FURTHERMORE, SUCH A DECISION WOULD BE IN DIRECT CONTRADICTION TO THE ENO CENTER ANALYSIS, WHICH RECOMMENDED THAT SHOULD A TP BOARD ADOPT A SEPARATE LEADERSHIP MODEL AND SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SPEND CONSIDERABLE TIME RECRUITING A QUALIFIED EXECUTIVE. 
          UM, SO I, YOU KNOW, I NOTE THAT A LOT OF THIS HAS BEEN CLEARED UP. 
          WE'VE HAD EXTENSIVE COMMUNICATION AND DIALOGUE. 
          THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE. 
          UM, AND, UH, SIMILARLY THE LACK OF PROCESS. 
          I WON'T READ THIS SECTION HERE, BUT THERE WAS A SIMILAR LACK OF APPROPRIATE PROCESS WITH REGARDS TO THE SELECTION FOR THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CAP METRO. 
          UM, THERE WAS NO, UH, TRANSPARENT PUBLIC POSTING OF THE CANDIDATES, AND TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THERE WAS NO OPEN COMMUNITY MEETINGS WITH PUBLICLY POSTED AGENDAS. 
          THERE WAS NO MEANINGFUL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT. 
          WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING, UM, AGAIN WITH, UH, MRS. DOTY WATKINS, AND WE APPRECIATE THE EXPERIENCE SHE BRINGS TO THE LEADERSHIP OF, OF, OF CAP METRO, BUT THE PROCESS FOR THE SELECTION DID NOT LIVE UP TO THE PUBLIC COMMITMENTS MADE BY THE DIRECTORS OF CAT METRO EITHER. 
          SO I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT BOTH OF THESE PROCESSES, UM, YOU KNOW, LACKED IN, IN THE KIND OF ENGAGEMENT AND TRANSPARENCY THAT WE AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO SEE. 
          UM, AND SO WE HAVE THREE, UM, REQUESTS, FOUR REQUESTS, AND THEN I WILL, UH, GIVE YOU GUYS BACK YOUR TIME. 
          BUT WE REQUEST THAT ALL BOARD MEMBERS BECOME INTIMATELY FAMILIAR WITH THE COMMITMENTS AND THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, AND PUBLICLY DEMONSTRATE A COMMITMENT TO UPHOLDING THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN THE JP. 
          A NEW BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD BE ASKED TO READ AND REVIEW THE ENO CENTER ANALYSIS AND BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE LANGUAGE OF ITS RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH ARE KEY TO DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A HEALTHY PROGRAM. 
          WE PAID FOR THIS ANALYSIS, LET'S USE IT. 
          THE BOARD MUST WORK TO IMPROVE ITS COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND MUST IMPROVE ITS COMMUNICATION WITH THE CAC AND OTHER ADVISORY BODIES ON THE PROJECT. 
          AND THE BOARD MUST STRIVE TO REPAIR TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGING THE HARM CAUSED, UM, BY THIS APPARENT, UM, VIOLATION OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT. 
          AS ALWAYS, WE MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE AS ALLIES AND WE STRIVE FOR A SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY PROJECT THANK YOU FROM THE A TX MOBILITY COALITION. 
          THANK YOU, JP. 
          AND IF THERE'S ANYONE ELSE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD AT THIS TIME, IN CASE WE HAVE MISSED YOU. 
          DOES ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO, UM, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, YOU HAVE A COMMENT? YEAH, IF I COULD, I JUST HAVE A COMMENT FOR JP. 
          CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES, Y'ALL. 
          OKAY, GOOD. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, JUST A COMMENT. 
          I AGREE WITH WHAT JP SAYS. 
          IF YOU REVIEW ATP'S WEBSITE AND OUR REPORTS TO THE PUBLIC, THREE VALUES ARE REPEATED OVER AND OVER, AND I'M GONNA READ VERY QUICKLY FROM THE 22 ANNUAL MANAGEMENT REPORT. 
          IT SAYS, THIS COLLABORATIVE REPORT BY PROJECT CONNECT EQUITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
          [00:10:01]
IMPLEMENTING PROJECT CONNECT FOR THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN. 
          I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE ATP BOARD THE BOARD HAD OVER 10 MONTHS TO CONDUCT A SEARCH AND PRESENT THREE QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY TO CONSIDER. 
          THE FACT IS, WE DIDN'T EVEN HIRE A SEARCH FIRM. 
          THE PROCESS WAS MESSED UP THROUGH PROCUREMENT, AND WE KEPT THE COMMUNITY IN THE DARK. 
          UH, THE ED SEARCH COMMITTEE, OF WHICH I WAS A PART, SAID WE WOULD LAUNCH A FORMAL SEARCH PROCESS AND HIRE A FIRM TO DO THAT SEARCH. 
          WE DIDN'T FAIL, WE FAILED TO DO IT. 
          SO WE NEED TO BE ACCOUNTABLE AS A BOARD AND OWN UP TO THE FACT THAT WE MESSED THE PROCESS UP. 
          WE WEREN'T TRANSPARENT TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          AND IN FACT, I WAS PRETTY FRUSTRATED WITH THE PROCESS AND RESIGNED FROM THE SEARCH COMMITTEE ON NOVEMBER 12TH. 
          SO ON JANUARY 27TH, WE WERE TOLD AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BY A SEARCH ADVISOR WOULD TAKE THREE TO FOUR MONTHS TO CONDUCT A SEARCH. 
          AND THE BOARD SAID WE WOULD APPOINT GREG AS THE SOLE CANDIDATE AND DO AN ABBREVIATED THREE WEEK COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT PROCESS. 
          I VOICED OPPOSITION TO THIS. 
          THAT BEING SAID, I VOTED TO SUPPORT GREG AND I STILL SUPPORT GREG TO BE OUR PERMANENT ED FOR TWO REASONS. 
          ONE, PROJECT CONNECT NEEDS STABILITY AT THE HELM, UH, AND THIS CRITICAL INJUNCTION THAT WE'RE AT. 
          AND TWO, GREG IS VERY WELL QUALIFIED TO BE THE CANDIDATE. 
          SO TRANSPARENCY BUILDS TRUST. 
          I BELIEVE WE'VE LOST SOME TRUST, AS JP SAID, IN THE COMMUNITY THROUGH THIS PROCESS, AND WE MUST  THAT TRUST. 
          LASTLY, I'M GOING FORWARD BOARD STAFF AND OUR PARTNERS TO BE MUCH MORE TRANSPARENT ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT WITH THE COMMUNITY. 
          THIS MEANS SHARING NEGATIVE NEWS EARLY VERSUS TRYING TO DELAY OR SPIN FROM MY OPINION, A PROGRAM RISK THAT NEEDS IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. 
          ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT? THANK YOU. 
          MOVING ON, UM, IN SOME OF THESE, UH, COMMENTS FOR MR. ALKINS, I LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS, AND IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT WE DID HAVE A RECRUITMENT FIRM HIRED IN DECEMBER, AND THAT THIS RECRUITMENT FIRM, AION PUBLIC, HAS BEEN ADVISING US THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. 
          MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WHEN MR. ELKINS BOARD MEMBER ELKINS RESIGNED FROM THE SEARCH COMMITTEE WAS BECAUSE HE VOICED HIS CONCERNS THAT HE WAS BUSY WITH WORK COMMITMENTS, AND THE PROCUREMENT THAT WE DID LAUNCH IN SEPTEMBER FOR THIS SEARCH WAS CANCELED BECAUSE THE ONLY RESPONDENT TO THAT SOLICITATION WAS AIAN PUBLIC. 
          SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO CONFUSION WHETHER OR NOT WE DID NOT HAVE A PROCESS ON THIS SEARCH. 
          AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS NO CONFUSION ON THIS MATTER WHERE THIS BOARD WILL OWN UP TO HIS RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLARITY. 
          AND I AM FULLY COMMITTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS CLARITY IS NEVER MISINTERPRETED OR TAKEN OUTTA CONTEXT AGAIN, IS THAT WE DID HAVE THIS DECISION MADE IN THE AUTHORITY THAT THIS BOARD HAS TO MAKE SUCH APPOINTMENTS, AND WE DID SO HONORING OUR COMMITMENT TO THE JPA 4.2 0.2. 
          SO NOW, YES, WE ARE GOING TO DO SO LATER ON THE AGENDA. 
          WE HAVEN'T DONE IT YET. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I 
          [3. Executive Director Report]
WILL NOW RECOGNIZE OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MR. CANALI, FOR A BRIEF REPORT. 
          THANK YOU BOARD. 
          OH, THANK YOU. 
          BOARD CHAIR. 
          WELCOME EVERYONE TO A TP THIS MORNING. 
          WE HAVE A, UH, PACKED AGENDA, LOTS OF GREAT INFORMATION THAT WE WANT TO GET OUT ABOUT OUR PROGRESS ON PROJECT CONNECT, AND AS WE CONTINUE OUR READINESS. 
          AND WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO EACH MEETING IS TALK ABOUT, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION. 
          WE THINK THAT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS, FOLKS TO SEE, UM, WHAT IS HAPPENING INSIDE A TP, THIS NEW INDEPENDENT ENTITY THAT THE, UH, THE VOTERS ASK FOR TO LEAD PROJECT CONNECT. 
          UM, WE'RE ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WE'RE DOING IS WE, AS WE BUILD OUR RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE INSIDE THE TEAM, UH, CONTINUING TO HIRE TALENTED STAFF, WE NOW HAVE ONBOARDED OUR HR MANAGER, DEBBIE GAS. 
          DEBBIE, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. 
          UH, IT'S WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU. 
          I'M INCREDIBLY EXCITED AND HONORED TO, UH, WELCOME NETTE MARWICK AS OUR NEW CFO OF AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP. 
          AND NETTE, IF YOU CAN JUST MAYBE GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF A WAVE, UH, TO EVERYONE, UM, IN HER PRE-RETIREMENT DAYS. 
          UH, NETTE, UH, SPENT A FEW DAYS, UH, WORKING AT CAP METRO FOR A WHILE. 
          UH, SHE AND I WAS VERY LUCKY TO GET TO PARTNER WITH HER WHEN I WAS THE 
          [00:15:01]
CITY AT THE CITY IN FINANCE AS WE WORKED TOGETHER TO PUT TOGETHER, UM, THE PROJECT CONNECT VOTE, THE PLAN OF FINANCING, UM, AND EVERYTHING THAT UNDER, UNDER REALLY IS THE UNDER UNDERBELLY OF EVERYTHING WE HAVE HERE AT A TP. 
          SO WE ARE INCREDIBLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE HER BACK, AND I THANK HER FOR JOINING US. 
          UM, WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE OUR BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES, MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN RUN MEETINGS SUCH AS THIS, UH, AND, UH, ALL THE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT MEETINGS THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO LAUNCH. 
          UM, SO REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND AS WELL AS GETTING OUR IT STATUS, UH, UM, IT WORK CONTINUED. 
          UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, JUST REAL QUICK, WE ARE CONTINUING A NEW THING THAT WE STARTED, UM, THAT HAD NOT, UH, BEEN IN PLACE OF A MONTHLY UPDATE, A BOARD BRIEF FOR THE BOTH OUR BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY ABOUT ALL THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN PROJECT CONNECT. 
          THIS IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE. 
          IT INCLUDES NOT ONLY PROGRAM UPDATES, BUT WHERE WE ARE IN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, AS WELL AS INSIDE THE ORGANIZATION. 
          AGAIN, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ALSO SHEDDING LIGHT INSIDE US AND HOW WE ARE, UH, HOW WE ARE AS OUR OWN INTO OUR ORGANIZATION. 
          UM, SO THIS IS AN EVOLVING DOCUMENT. 
          WE, ONE DAY IT'S GONNA GET VERY LONG AS THE PROGRAM BUILDS AND BUILDS AND BUILDS. 
          SO WE HAVE CREATED A SINGLE PLACE WHERE WE CAN HAVE ALL THAT INFORMATION INSTEAD OF DISPARATE PLACES. 
          AND THEN I WANT TO QUICKLY TURN IT OVER TO CASEY. 
          UH, THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          IS THAT THE NEXT ONE? OH, YEAH. 
          REAL QUICKLY ON OUR TO CASEY BURK, OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OVER BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND LEGAL SERVICES, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF READINESS, UH, FOR AN ORGANIZATION AS WE ABOUT, AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND PROGRESS, UM, LIGHT RAIL AND PROJECT CONNECT FOR THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD THE CAPACITY OF A TP. 
          UM, PRIOR TO THE VOTE THERE WAS, UM, IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, THERE WAS NO, UM, EXPERIENCE ON BUILDING LIGHT RAIL. 
          AND SO WE HAD TO BRING THAT ALL IN. 
          AND WE ARE RELYING ON TALENT THAT WE BROUGHT AROUND FROM INSIDE AUSTIN, OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, AS WELL AS, UM, EXPERTISE. 
          UH, FROM A CONSULTING PERSPECTIVE, ONE OF THE AREAS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US IS OUR PROCUREMENT. 
          WE HAVE VERY LARGE, UM, PROCUREMENTS THAT ARE COMING OUT IN THE NEXT, UH, YEAR OR TWO, AND WE NEED TO BE READY FOR THOSE. 
          AND SO WE'RE DOING THE WORK TO BE READY IN CASEY'S GONNA WALK US THROUGH SOME OF THOSE HIGH LEVEL EFFORTS ON OUR READINESS. 
          SURE, THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO USUALLY ON THAT SIDE OF THE TABLE, BUT NOW , I AM OVER LEGAL AFFAIRS, BUT ALSO THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT OF THIS ORGANIZATION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL FUNCTIONS AS AN IMPLEMENTATION AGENCY, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE MARKET WHERE THEY ARE AND ALSO ACHIEVE THE GOALS OF THIS ORGANIZATION. 
          AND SO IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO BE ABLE TO, TO TAKE ON THAT MANTLE AND, AND HELP OUR, UM, CURRENT PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE AS IT STANDS, BUT SEE THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN IMPROVE OUR PROCESSES SO THAT WE ARE INCREDIBLY EFFICIENT AND ALSO REFLECTIVE OF, LIKE I SAID, THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THIS ORGANIZATION, WHICH WE WILL ACTUALLY GET INTO AS WE ENTER THE, THE DELIVERY FRAMEWORK CONVERSATION LATER. 
          UM, SO STAY TUNED FOR THAT. 
          IT'LL, IT'LL ALL DOVETAIL, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THIS BOARD, UM, IS GOING TO BE HOPEFULLY APPROVING A, A NEW PROCUREMENT POLICY THAT THAT'S A KIND OF BETTER AND IMPROVED AND REFLECTIVE OF THE PROCUREMENT ASSESSMENT THAT WAS LED BY ERNST AND YOUNG. 
          UM, AND IT WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS QUICKLY AS WE COULD, WE DID A STUDY, UH, OR WE DID A SURVEY OF OUR VENDORS TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE PAIN POINTS, BUT ALSO THE SUCCESSES WE'VE HAD TO DATE FROM AS A NEW ORGANIZATION AND ALSO, UM, INTERVIEWED INTERNAL STAFF WHO'VE LED THESE CONTRACTS AND, AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE. 
          AND WE'RE ALWAYS GONNA BE ASSESSING TO IMPROVE THE WAY THAT WE WORK, BUT LIKE YOU SAID, UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE READY TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING WITH THE, WITH THE CONTRACTS, UM, GOING FORWARD AND IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM. 
          SO, UM, SO THIS WAS THE PROCESS. 
          WE WENT THROUGH THE, THE CONSIDERATIONS NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND ESSENTIALLY, THIS IS JUST A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE WERE RECEIVED, WAYS THAT WE CAN IMPROVE. 
          SO INCREASING COLLABORATION, ENHANCING QUALITY AND QUALITY CONTROL, UM, MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE FLEXIBILITY, WHICH, WHICH IS REFLECTED NOW IN OUR, IN OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY BEFORE THE BOARD TODAY. 
          UM, THE FIRST PRINCIPLES, WHICH IS THE GOAL, THE GOALS OF THE PROGRAM, THE GOALS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE, AND MAKING SURE THAT WHEN WE ENGAGE THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THAT WE, UM, THAT WE ARE, UH, WE HAVE THE, THE TERMS IN THOSE CONTRACTS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO BUILD THIS, THIS PROGRAM REFLECTIVE OF THOSE PRINCIPLES. 
          WE ARE MANAGING SCHEDULE PROACTIVELY, AND WE HAVE, UM, A STRATEGIC PROCUREMENT LAYER, WHICH I BELIEVE WE'VE NOW, WE'VE NOW PUT IN PLACE WITH THIS, UM, ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE. 
          THAT'S IT. 
          SO THE NEXT STEPS WILL ADOPT THE POLICY TODAY IS MY HOPE, AND WHICH REFLECTS THOSE ASSESSMENT RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          AND ALSO THE LOOK AHEAD, WHICH IS THE, UM, PROCUREMENT, UH, OR THE PROJECT DELIVERY FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE LAYING OUT LATER TODAY AS A DISCUSSION ITEM. 
          UM, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE IF THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL OR CONTRACTING RESOURCES WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT THAT, UM, THAT, THAT DELIVERY STRATEGY AND, 
          [00:20:01]
UM, START IMPLEMENTING  AND CONTINUE TO ASSESS AND IMPROVE. 
          SO THAT'S OUR GOAL. 
          THAT'S IT. 
          THANK YOU, CASEY. 
          TECHNOLOGY, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          WE APPRECIATE IT. 
          AND THEN WE'LL JUST ONE QUICK LAST, OH, ONE QUICK LAST ITEM. 
          I WANT TO OFFICIALLY WELCOME BRANDON CARR, ATP'S GENERAL COUNSEL TO THE DAIS. 
          UM, IN HIS, UH, FIRST MEETING SITTING HERE WITH US, WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE BRANDON ON OUR TEAM. 
          HE BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE. 
          UM, AND SO THANK YOU AND WELCOME. 
          OH, THANK YOU, GREG. 
          MADAM CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND YES, WELCOME MR. CARR. 
          UM, SO THE CONSENT ITEMS ONE THROUGH FOUR ARE RECOMMENDED ON CONSENT, AGAIN, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT NUM ITEM NUMBER THREE WILL BE POSTPONED TO MARCH 22ND. 
          ARE THERE ANY ITEMS THAT THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO PULL FOR DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. 
          UM, UM, YES, I JUST HAD ONE QUICK QUESTION THAT, UM, THAT IS PROBABLY VERY GENERAL IF, AND, AND MAYBE IT'S ABOUT THE PROCUREMENT POLICY. 
          SURE. 
          AND, AND I, AND I JUST WANT TO KNOW HOW, UH, THE DISPARITY STUDY OR WHETHER THE IN DISPARITY STUDY THAT, UM, WHETHER IT INFLUENCED OUR THINKING OR INFLUENCED THE PROCESS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE, INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THAT AND, AND, UH, AND HOW WE, HOW WE INCORPORATED THAT. 
          SO THE DISPARITY STUDY THAT CAP METRO CONDUCTED, AS WELL AS THE OTHER DISPARITY STUDIES WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND OTHER LOCATIONS ARE, UM, INFLUENCING HOW WE'RE BUILDING OUT THE D-B-E-S-B PROGRAM AND ALSO LOCAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. 
          IT, IT IS PART OF WHAT CASEY'S LOOKING AT WITH THE POLICY ITSELF. 
          UM, AND AS WE BUILD OUT THE PRACTICES OF THAT PLAN, YOU'LL SEE IT MORE DIRECTLY. 
          OKAY. 
          I JUST WANTED TO HAVE THAT IN THE RECORD BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE TALKED ABOUT THESE PROGRAMS AND, AND TALKED TO THE PUBLIC, WE SAID THAT LOCAL BOND DOLLARS SHOULD, SHOULD PRODUCE LOCAL JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INCORPORATING THOSE PRINCIPLES. 
          I, I, I DIDN'T SEE A PRINCIPLE THAT I DISAGREED WITH, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE TAKING WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED AND TAKING WHAT WE KNOW FROM THE COURTS, HOW, UH, HOW THEY, THE TYPES OF DECISIONS THAT HAVE, HAVE BEEN MADE, UH, THAT INFLUENCE US IN SOME WAYS TO HAVE A LOCAL PURCHASING PROGRAM, UH, THAT INFLUENCE INFLUENCE US TO LOOK AT SMALL BUSINESSES. 
          JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS BEING INCORPORATED AS WE GO FORWARD. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          AND WE ARE WATCHING THE CASE LAW AS IT PLAYS OUT IN REAL TIME TO SEE HOW THAT'LL IMPACT OUR PROGRAMS AS WELL. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          AND YOU, AND YOU WILL SEE THAT, WE'LL SEE THAT AS A GUIDING PRINCIPLE IN OUR DELIVERY FRAMEWORK DISCUSSION ITEM, WHICH IS KIND OF AT THE HEART OF THE POLICY. 
          I, I FELT LIKE I WAS ON FAMILY FEUD AND I HIT MY BUTTON TOO SLOW. 
          , I'M SORRY. 
          . 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          BUT THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MEMBER TRILLIAN. 
          ANY FURTHER COMMENTS? NO. 
          SO IF I COULD PLEASE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND 
          [4.1 - 4.4]
ON THE CONSENT ITEMS. I MOVE. 
          SECOND. 
          MOVED BY MEMBER GARCIA. 
          SECOND BY MEMBER TRAIAN. 
          EVERYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          UM, DO WE HAVE MEMBER ELKINS VOTING BOARD MEMBER, CAN YOU HEAR US? WE'RE VOTING ON THE CONSENT ITEM AGENDA. 
          DO YOU HAVE, UM, HOW DO YOU VOTE BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, OR COULD YOU RAISE YOUR HAND IF IN FAVOR? I DON'T THINK HE CAN HEAR YOU. 
          OH. 
          OH, HE CAN'T HEAR, UH, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS BE APPROVED. 
          YOU CAN'T HEAR. 
          SO WITH BOARD MEMBER ELKINS VIRTUALLY VOTING ALSO YES. 
          PUT IT IN THE 
          [00:25:02]
GREAT, SO WE HAVE THE BOARD MEMBER ELKINS CASTING HIS VOTE AS APPROVED. 
          SO IT, THE THREE ITEMS, THE FOUR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA WITH ONE POSTPONEMENT HAVE BEEN APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. 
          SO NOW 
          [5.1 Update by CapMetro on MetroRapid and MetroRail Projects]
TO THE PARTNERSHIP REPORTS, AS WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST BOARD MEETING, THE A TP BOARD WILL HEAR UPDATES FROM OUR EX-OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS ON ITEMS RELATED TO OUR PARTNERSHIPS. 
          OUR CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAPITAL METRO DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES OFFER THE BOARD EXPERTISE RELATED TO THE RESPECTIVE PROJECT CONNECT PROJECTS, A RECOGNIZED BOARD MEMBER, DOTIE WATKINS WITH CAP METRO FOR THE CAP METRO PARTNERSHIP REPORT. 
          GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, WE ARE PLEASED TODAY TO PROVIDE SOME UPDATES ON THE, UM, TWO COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM THAT WE ARE DIRECTLY IMPLEMENTING, BOTH METRO RAPID AND METRO RAIL. 
          AND I'D LIKE TO INVITE UP OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PROJECT CONNECT INTEGRATION IN MOLLY KING TO PROVIDE THE DETAILS. 
          WELCOME MOLLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND GOOD MORNING CASTRO CHAIR, CASTRO DERA, PRESIDENT WATKINS AND BOARD MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. 
          TODAY I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE THIS UPDATE ON OUR CAP METRO AND LED AND PARTNER SUPPORTED METRO RAPID AND METRO RAIL PROJECTS. 
          GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES ON OUR PLEASANT VALLEY AND EXPO CENTER METRO RAPID LINES. 
          THERE ARE, THERE WERE TWO, SORRY. 
          THESE TWO LINES WERE PROMISED TO THE COMMUNITY WITH AN ALL ELECTRIC FLEET WITH SERVICE ANTICIPATED TO BEGIN, UM, IN 2025. 
          AND CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES AND WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL BUSES DELIVERED SO FAR IN THE PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          UM, AS YOU'RE AWARE, THERE ARE TWO KEY PROJECT ENHANCEMENTS DRIVING THE CURRENT SCHEDULE. 
          UM, OUR CHARGING STRATEGY CHANGED, SO SWITCHING FROM CHARGING THE, OUR ELECTRIC BUSES AT THE CAT METRO DEPOTS NOW TO ALSO CHARGING AT THE END OF LINE WITH THE PARK AND RIDES. 
          THE SECOND PROJECT ENHANCEMENT IS AN EXPANDED STATION DESIGN WITH FEEDBACK. 
          UM, DURING THE DESIGN REVIEW PROCESS FROM THE CITY, WE'RE EXTENDING THE STATION LENGTH OF THE STATION PLATFORM AND THEN ALSO ENHANCING OUR BIKE PEDESTRIAN AND A DA CONNECTIONS. 
          UM, OUR CUSTOMERS BEGIN AND END THEIR JOURNEYS AS PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS. 
          AND SO OVERALL WE AGREE THAT THIS IS A BETTER PROJECT AS A RESULT, AND WE WELCOME THAT INPUT. 
          YOU SHOULD HAVE ALSO RECEIVED AN INVITATION FOR A CELEBRATION WITH CAP METRO AND FTA ON MARCH 11TH, AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE ONTO METRO RAIL WITH SOME EXCITING NEWS. 
          WE HAVE COMPLETED THE FIRST PROJECT CONNECT PROJECT DOUBLE TRACKING BETWEEN LAKELINE AND LEANDER. 
          THIS PROJECT IMPROVES OUR OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCY, ALLOWING US TO BETTER SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS KEY WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING RAIL, AS MY COLLEAGUES KNOW ALL TOO WELL. 
          AND THANK YOU CHAIR FOR JOINING US FOR THE CELEBRATION. 
          IT WAS CHILLY, BUT IT WAS GREAT AND WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THAT PROJECT IN SERVICE NOW. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          UM, SO ONTO MCCALL STATION CONSTRUCTION IS CURRENTLY ON TIME AND ON BUDGET. 
          UM, AND WE ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE READY FOR THE AUSTIN FC 2024 SEASON. 
          VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, AND ON FEBRUARY 22ND, WE HOSTED A CONSTRUCTION TOUR FOR SOME AUSTIN FC LEADERSHIP AS WELL AS SOME CAP METRO BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE ALSO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          SO WE APPRECIATE THEM TAKING THE TIME TO COME OUT AND SEE OUR PROGRESS. 
          AND I BELIEVE THAT CONCLUDES MY UPDATE. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          THANK YOU MS. KING. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? NO QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD. 
          UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, SO THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING. 
          UM, THE SCHEDULE IMPACTS ON METRO RAPID. 
          ONE THING THAT I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE IS FOR US TO WORK REALLY WELL TOGETHER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, AND THE PERMITTING ASPECTS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN, UM, EITHER MISSED OR, YOU KNOW, COURSE CORRECT ON TIME SO THAT WE CAN DELIVER HOPEFULLY OUR, OUR PROMISES. 
          UM, AS YOU KNOW, AND, AND THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING THE MEETING THAT WE HAD WITH THE TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN PLANNING COMMITTEE IN MUELLER BECAUSE BOTH OF THOSE LINES, THE METRO RAPID LINES CONVERGE IN MUELLER. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE'S A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE THERE THAT REALLY CARES DEEPLY ABOUT, ABOUT THAT SERVICE. 
          AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT RESONATED, WHAT I HEARD IN THAT MEETING IS THAT NOT ONLY ARE THEY REALLY IMPACTED BY THE, BY THE DELAYS ON METRO RAPID, BUT ALSO THE FACT THAT THE CURRENT SERVICE, IT'S REALLY DIMINISHED AND THE FREQUENCY OF THE SERVICE AND THEY'RE HAVING IMPACTS ON IT. 
          SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT AS PARTNERS, THAT WE ELEVATE OUR, OUR CONCERNS FOR THE PUBLIC, THAT OF THE, THE THINGS THAT THEY'VE VOICED. 
          UM, I APPRECIATE SEEING THE IMAGES ON, ON THE PROGRESS. 
          UM, AND, UM, SO 
          [00:30:01]
ANY OTHER FURTHER COMMENTS? NO. 
          OH, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR CHAIR. 
          UH, MOLLY, JUST A COUPLE QUESTION. 
          YOU CAME TO THE MEETING AND TOLD EVERYBODY THAT WE'RE PROUD OF THE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS, EXCITING PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE AND NOW WE HEAR SEVERAL WEEKS LATER, A MONTH AND A HALF LATER THAT WE'RE 18 MONTHS BEHIND. 
          SO THE, THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS NOT TO POINT FINGERS OR WHATEVER. 
          I WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE A PROCESS IN PLACE SO THAT IF THERE ARE DELAYS IN THE FUTURE, THAT WE'RE WELL AWARE OF THOSE EARLY IN THE PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT, UH, CHANGES TO DAMAGE SCHEDULE AND COST OVERRUN. 
          SO I'D JUST LIKE TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN GO TO THE TRI-PARTY AND AT THE END OF NOVEMBER SAY EVERYTHING'S FINE, AND THEN FOUR WEEKS LATER EVERYTHING'S NOT FINE. 
          I'LL, I'LL TAKE THAT ONE. 
          UM, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS, I WOULD SAY THAT IN NOVEMBER WE WERE MAKING GREAT PROGRESS ON CONSTRUCTION AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE PROGRESS. 
          WE WERE ALSO AT THAT TIME STILL FIGURING OUT WHAT OUR SCHEDULE WAS GOING TO BE AND WORKING CLOSELY WITH ALL OF THE PARTNERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD TAKEN ALL OF THESE SOMEWHAT CASCADING, UM, YOU KNOW, DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS, SORT OF CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM AND UNDERSTANDING THEM HOLISTICALLY. 
          UM, WE DID NOT HAVE A DATE THAT WE WERE ALL COMFORTABLE WITH YET, UM, WHEN WE HAD THE TRI-PARTY MEETING IN NOVEMBER, AND IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO US THAT WE NOT TALK PUBLICLY ABOUT A DATE UNTIL ALL THREE PARTNERS IN THE TRI-PARTY COULD SAY, YES, THIS IS A DATE WE CAN LIVE WITH. 
          UM, WE LANDED ON THAT DATE, UM, EARLY THIS CALENDAR YEAR AND, AND BEGIN PROVIDING THAT UPDATE. 
          WE DO TAKE THE CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK THAT SOME OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS, BOTH A TP CAP METRO AND SOME CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT THESE CHANGES WERE AFOOT AND THAT THESE THINGS WERE HAPPENING AND ARE COMMITTED TO, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS IMPROVING OUR COMMUNICATION SO THAT FOLKS AREN'T SURPRISED WHEN THINGS ARE HAPPENING. 
          THANK YOU, DOTIE. 
          I MEAN, THIS GETS BACK TO MY THEME OF TRANSPARENCY. 
          SEE, WE NEED TO MANAGE THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO WE MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT IT WAS EXACTLY 18 MONTHS, BUT I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MANAGE EXPECTATIONS SO WE'RE NOT BLINDSIDED AND, AND THERE IS A REAL COST TO THE COMMUNITY OF NOT HAVING THAT SERVICE, UH, ON BOARD FOR ANOTHER 18 MONTHS. 
          WE OFF, WE HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COST THE ECONOMIC, THE, THE, BASICALLY THE SOCIETAL COST OF, OF DELAYED INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE IS ABOUT POTENTIAL COST OVERRUN. 
          SO I MAY, I UNDERSTAND THERE'LL BE POTENTIAL COST OVERRUNS. 
          IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT UNDER THE ILA BETWEEN A TP AND CAP METRO, ANY COST OVERRUNS ASSOCIATED WITH THE METRO RAPID WOULD NOT BE ABSORBED BY A TP. 
          IS THAT A CORRECT ASSUMPTION? THAT IS NOT MY UNDERSTANDING THAT INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT ITSELF WILL NEED TO BE AMENDED IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT NEED TO BE COVERED. 
          BUT WE HAVE NOT QUITE GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE THE LEVEL OF DETAIL WHERE WE, UM, ARE READY TO BRING AN AMENDED IN OUR LOCAL AGREEMENT. 
          IT WOULD NEED TO BE APPROVED BY BOTH THE A TP BOARD AND THE CAT METRO BOARD IF WE DETERMINE THAT CHANGES ARE NEEDED. 
          YEAH, I I THINK IT WOULD BE HARD FOR THIS FOR A B TO APPROVE A COST OVERRUN FOR A PROJECT THAT WE HAD NO CONTROL IN DELIVERING THAT WE'RE FUNDING. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL WAIT FOR THAT TO COME TO THE BOARD, BUT, BUT I DO THINK THAT THAT SHOULD NOT BE A AN A TP COST OVERRUN THAT WE SHOULD HAVE TO ABSORB. 
          BUT, UH, THANK YOU. 
          AND RESPECTFULLY, I WILL CALL OUT THAT A TP HAS BEEN VERY INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT FROM THE GET GO, BUT, UM, IF WE GET TO THE POINT OF NEEDING TO DISCUSS THAT FURTHER AS WE AMEND IN OUR LOCAL AGREEMENTS, WE'RE HAPPY TO PROVIDE DETAILS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANY FURTHER COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION? NO. 
          THANK YOU, MOLLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          UM, I'D LIKE 
          [5.2 Update by City of Austin on Improved Processes for Project Connect]
TO ACKNOWLEDGE BOARD MEMBER ROBERT GOODE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO SHARE UPDATES. 
          SO, THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          THIS IS A VERY TIME TIMELY PRESENTATION 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR PERMITTING AND UTILITY, UH, RELOCATION PROCESS. 
          AND AS YOU ALL ARE WELL AWARE, THOSE ARE TWO ITEMS THAT CAN VERY MUCH DELAY SCHEDULES AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          AN NICK'S GONNA COME UP AND TELL YOU AN UPDATE. 
          WE'RE GONNA UPDATE YOU FREQUENTLY ON THIS. 
          I'LL TELL YOU WE'VE MADE PROGRESS, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE YET. 
          THERE'S LOTS OF EFFICIENCIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT INTERNALLY, NOT ONLY FOR TRANSIT PROJECTS, BUT JUST FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS IN GENERAL. 
          SO ANIQUE GONNA GIVE YOU AN UPDATE AND, AND JUST A REMINDER, IT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. 
          WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF ROOM, A LOT OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT TO GO IN THE CITY. 
          SO ANIQUE, TELL US WHERE WE'RE AT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BOARD MEMBER. 
          GOOD. 
          UM, AND GOOD MORNING CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBERS. 
          ANIQUE BODE MOBILITY OFFICER FOR PROJECT CONNECT, REPRESENTING THE CITY'S SIDE OF THE TRIAG AGENCY PARTNERSHIP. 
          SO I'D LIKE TO FOCUS OR HIGHLIGHT THREE CITY READINESS EFFORTS, UM, THAT WE, THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE HAS BEEN 
          [00:35:01]
LEADING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CAPITAL METRO AND A TP, UM, REALLY OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, STARTING WITH THE PROJECT CONNECT ORDINANCE. 
          AND I WANNA STRESS THAT, THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS A DYNAMIC DOCUMENT AND I SEE IT AS OWNED BY ALL THREE AGENCIES. 
          UM, AND WHAT IT DOES IS THAT, UM, IN OCTOBER, 2021, UM, AT A TRIAG AGENCY MEETING, THE CITY COUNCIL THEN, UH, PASSED A RESOLUTION OR PASSED AN ORDINANCE, UM, ASKING THE CITY TO LOOK AT READINESS, LOOK AT PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS FROM CODE AMENDMENTS TO CRITERIA AMENDMENTS, UM, TO PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS THAT CAN HELP US GET AHEAD OF WHAT WAS IN STORE FOR PERMITTING. 
          ALL OF THE, THE PORTFOLIO OF PROJECTS WITHIN PROJECT CONNECT, THIS ORDINANCE THAT THEY PASSED, WHICH WAS SUPPORTED, UM, BY RESOLUTIONS, FOLLOWED, UH, FOLLOWED IN SUPPORT BY RESOLUTIONS BY THE CAMP METRO BOARD AND A TP BOARD WAS INSPIRED BY THE ENO REPORT. 
          WE'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT ABOUT THE ENO REPORT LATELY AND BEST PRACTICES. 
          AND SO THIS WAS US JUST COMING OUT THE GATE RUNNING, UM, WITH WHAT WE, WHAT CAN WE DO SO THE CITY WON'T GET IN ITS OWN WAY. 
          WITH REGARDS TO PROJECT CONNECT, HAPPY TO SAY WE DELIVERED, UM, ON COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY PASSED IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR. 
          AN ORDINANCE THAT I WILL SAY CHANGES THINGS IN CODE FOR WHAT WE KNEW AT THE TIME. 
          WE DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW YET, BUT WHAT WE DID KNOW, WE SPENT AN EXHAUSTIVE AMOUNT OF TIME INTERVIEWING A LOT OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY SAYING, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GONNA GET IN THE WAY? UM, TALKING TO INDUSTRY, TALKING TO OUR PARTNERS AND WHAT YOU SEE, I WON'T READ IT, BUT THE, THE ORDINANCE, UM, IS ONLINE AND WE DID MAKE THE CHANGES THAT WE THOUGHT NEEDED TO, THAT WE COULD MAKE AT THE TIME. 
          UM, WE ARE STARTING A COMMITTEE, UH, SOON THAT IS GONNA CONTINUE TO LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT NEW CHANGES MIGHT BE ADDED AND ASKED TO BE AMENDED TO THE ORDINANCE BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW WE KNOW MORE NOW THAN WE DID TWO YEARS AGO, AND IT WILL CONTINUE. 
          UM, THE SECOND THING, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, IS, UM, CITY PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS. 
          SO BOARD MEMBER GOODE, UH, POINTED OUT THAT WE ARE MAKING CHANGES AT THE CITY FOR PUBLIC PROJECTS GENERALLY. 
          WE RECOGNIZE, UM, WE HAVE PROBABLY MORE INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC PROJECTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE THAN WE'VE EVER HAD IN THE CITY'S HISTORY. 
          WHEN YOU LOOK AT B BILLION, THE AIRPORT EXPANSION, YOU LOOK AT PROJECT CONNECT. 
          UM, WE REALLY NEED TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY FOR DIFFERENT RESULTS. 
          BUSINESS AS USUAL IS NOT GOING TO, IS NOT GOING TO CUT IT. 
          AND SO THERE'S BEEN DISCUSSION, I'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR OVER TWO DECADES. 
          THERE'S BEEN DISCUSSION OF THIS NEW CHECKOUT LANE FOR PUBLIC PROJECTS IF YOU, IF, IF, IF YOU SO WILL. 
          AND THEY'RE FINALLY FORMED. 
          AND THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE HAS BEEN HELPING DSD REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR PROCESSES MIGHT AND SHOULD LOOK LIKE BASED ON OUR INTERVIEWS AND, AND WHAT WE ARE DOING WITH THE INDUSTRY AND WITH OTHER, UM, DELIVERY AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. 
          LEARNING FROM THAT AND LEARNING WHAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT WITHIN THE CITY, UM, DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT. 
          SO, UM, THE BIGGEST CHANGE IS A COLLAB, IT'S COLLABORATIVE GUIDANCE EARLY ON. 
          SO THAT THE GOAL IS, AND THE VISION, AND I WILL SAY THIS ON BEHALF OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, THE VISION IS TO GET PUBLIC PROJECTS IN AND OUT IN ONE CYCLE OF COMMENTS. 
          AND I MAKE A JOKE THAT WHEN THAT HAPPENS, I'M RETIRING SOON, AS SOON AS ONE, SOON AS ONE PUBLIC PROJECT GETS OUT IN ONE ROUND OF COMMENTS. 
          SO THAT, THAT IS THE GOAL. 
          UM, WE'RE VERY INVOLVED WITH THAT AND THEY HAVE BEEN, UM, TESTING THE WATERS WITH PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING. 
          ALSO A VERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH GREAT SUCCESS. 
          SO I AM, I'M VERY INSPIRED, UM, AS WE ALL SHOULD BE ABOUT THIS NEW PROCESS IMPROVEMENT. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, THE THIRD THING WE'VE DONE, WHICH A BOARD MEMBER GOOD ALLUDED TO IS UTILITIES PERMITTING. 
          AND UTILITIES IS REALLY THE HEART OF WHAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN BRINGS TO THIS PARTNERSHIP. 
          THAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY. 
          A LOT OF THIS WORK IS, ESPECIALLY THE LIGHT RAIL, IS IN OUR, IN OUR RIGHT OF WAY. 
          UM, AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO RELOCATE AND HOPEFULLY IMPROVE A LOT OF UTILITIES ALONG THE WAY AS WE DO THIS CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO WHAT WE'VE PUT IN PLACE AS OF A MONTH AGO IS CALLED, UH, WE CALL IT THE EUROPE UTILITY RULES OF PRACTICE. 
          AND IT IS THE FIRST STEP IN GETTING AHEAD, UM, OF ALL THE WORK THAT'S GOING TO NEED TO BE DONE WITH REGARDS TO UTILITIES TO MAKE WAY FOR THIS, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT. 
          SO IT DEFINES A METHODOLOGY, IT IT, IT LEVEL SETS LANGUAGE BETWEEN THE UTILITIES ON HOW WE TALK ABOUT, UM, UTILITY REVIEW ZONES AND A LOT OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION. 
          UM, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF WORK TO DO, BUT IT IS THE FIRST STEP, UH, IN GETTING US IN, IN THE READINESS PART FOR, FOR UTILITIES AND THE FACT THAT WE HAD THE THREE UTILITY DEPARTMENTS, WATER, ENERGY, 
          [00:40:01]
AND WATERSHED, AS WELL AS DEEPLY IMPACTED, UM, DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS PUBLIC WORKS, UM, ALL COME TOGETHER, REVIEW AND SIGN OFF ON THIS IS THE WAY WE ARE ALL GONNA COME TOGETHER AS A CITY AND WORK ON THE UTILITIES, UM, IS A HUGE STEP IN, IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. 
          AND SO WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE QUESTIONS. 
          UM, AND I'M REALLY, UH, PROUD OF THE CITY'S WORK IN, IN HELPING US, UM, WITH READINESS FOR THE, THE PORTFOLIO PROJECTS AHEAD OF US. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU MS. BODE. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD MEMBER OF GAR? A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. 
          ONE OF GAS UTILITIES, THEY'RE NOT THE CITIES, SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM. 
          THE WHO? GAS UTILITY. 
          YES. 
          WE NEED TO WORK WITH PRIVATE UTILITIES AS WELL. 
          AND THAT IS ONE OF OUR NEXT STEPS. 
          BUT THIS, THIS DOCUMENT, IT, IT DOES APPLY TO PRIVATE IN THAT IT DEFINES THE ZONES WHERE WE NEED TO BE CLEAR OF UTILITIES. 
          UH, BUT ENGAGING WITH THE PRIVATE UTILITIES IS ONE OF THE NEXT STEPS. 
          AND SECONDLY, IN CASE I MEANT THAT, UM, WHEN WE, WHEN WE FINALIZE A PLAN WHERE IT'S DONE BASICALLY READY TO BE, UH, BID OR WHATEVER, UM, WELL, WE HAVE ALL THE APPROVALS FROM THE CITY AT THAT POINT AS WELL AS, AS FAR AS UTILITY RELOCATION ASSIGNMENTS AND LOCATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS HAVE BEEN REQUIRED WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THE DESIGN PHASE AT THE END OF THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. 
          UM, I JUST, I GUESS I'M, I'M TRYING TO ENVISION SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T, IT'S, YES, I MEAN EVERYTHING IS WORKING, UM, JOINTLY. 
          I MEAN, IDEALLY AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PHASE, PART OF THE DESIGN PROCESS IS THE UTILITY DESIGN IS WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH UTILITY. 
          SO THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS YES, AS WE PROGRESS, WE WILL BE DESIGNING THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE RAIL, AS WELL AS WHERE THE UTILITIES NEED TO GO AND WHAT IMPROVEMENT AND, AND WHAT WHAT WE CALL BETTERMENTS MIGHT HAPPEN AS WELL. 
          AND I'M NOT BEING, UM, I USED TO RUN OFF AN ENERGY OR THEY END UP OR UNDERSTOOD DRINK. 
          ALRIGHT, VERY GOOD. 
          . 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND WE KNOW UTIL IS REALLY, PEOPLE CARE ABOUT MAKING SURE THINGS WORK RIGHT. 
          UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? FURTHER COMMENTS? UH, I DO HAVE A, UM, JUST, UM, IF I COULD ONE COMMENT HERE. 
          MEMBER ELKINS? YES. 
          YEAH, JUST A COMMENT. 
          UH, THANK YOU. 
          UH, WE'VE HEARD FROM OUR, UH, TWO CITY PARTNERS, WHICH IS GREAT. 
          UM, I, I'D LIKE TO MAKE, UH, ANIQUE MADE REFERENCE TO THE ENO REPORT AND FOR OVER A YEAR I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ENO REPORT. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S NOT RESONATING. 
          THE ENO REPORT KEEPS TALKING OVER AND OVER ABOUT UNCLEAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITH PROJECT CONNECT. 
          THEY'RE UNCLEAR. 
          IT IS A MAJOR RISK. 
          PLEASE READ THE INNER REPORT. 
          IT MENTIONS IT 10 TIMES. 
          I'M GONNA QUOTE FROM THE CACS LETTER THAT, UM, AASE THE CHAIR WROTE, AND EVEN THE CAC C ACKNOWLEDGES IT. 
          HE STATES IN HERE, WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT TO FURTHER DELINEATE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EACH PARTY IN A MANNER THAT LEADS TO A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT CONNECT AND FURTHER DETAILS A TP AS THE PRINCIPAL ENTITY RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT IN AN INDEPENDENT MANNER. 
          PLEASE READ THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS BOARD AND OUR TWO PARTNERS WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO FURTHER CLARIFY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ALL PARTIES. 
          IT IS A MAJOR RISK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MEMBER ELKINS. 
          UM, I'M EXCITED TO SEE ANIQUE THAT THE UTILITY RULES OF PRACTICE. 
          I KNOW THAT THAT WAS ONE OF THE ELEMENTS THAT WAS LEFT PENDING WHEN WE WERE DOING THE JPA BECAUSE IT WAS GONNA BE A REALLY ROBUST DOCUMENT. 
          SO I'M, I'M EXCITED TO SEE THAT THAT'S HAPPENING SO THAT THERE'S AN ADVANCEMENT ON THAT BECAUSE I KNOW WE'VE BEEN, UH, WAITING FOR THAT PIECE SPECIFICALLY AND IN SUPPORT OF NOT ONLY THE IN O REPORT, BUT THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE WORK, RIGHT? THAT WAS, THAT WAS REALLY PENDING, UM, THAT WAS MISSING COMPLETELY FROM THE JPA AND IT WAS MISSING BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT IT WAS GONNA BE, IT NEEDED TO BE INTENTIONAL AND IT, IT WAS ROBUST. 
          SO I'M EXCITED TO SEE THAT THAT IS ADVANCING. 
          UM, AND, UM, WITH THE RULES, UH, THE, THE RESPONSIBILITIES ASSIGNED TO THOSE BETTERMENTS, I THINK PART OF THE CLARITY THAT THE BOARD COULD BENEFIT AND THE CITY AS A WHOLE COULD BENEFIT IS WHO PAYS FOR THOSE BETTERMENTS? I THINK THAT'S AN OVERARCHING QUESTION, AND IT'S THAT PART OF THE COST ANALYSIS THAT WE HAVE HAD IN THE PAST WITH THE RELOCATION OF UTILITIES. 
          I KNOW THAT UPSIZING SO THAT OUR CORRIDORS CAN THEN BE DENSIFIED HAS BEEN 
          [00:45:01]
A, A DESIRE OF THIS COMMUNITY OF SO WHO PAYS FOR THAT SIZE, YOU KNOW, UPSIZING FOR INSTANCE. 
          AND I WANT US TO BE VERY, UH, HONEST WITH OURSELVES IN THE LESSONS LEARNED AND HOW WE'RE DEPLOYING METRO RAPID, BECAUSE I WOULD LOVE FOR THE LESSONS LEARNED OF WHAT YOU ALL ARE HAVING TO DEAL WITH IN THIS, UH, INAUGURAL PROJECTS. 
          LET'S HAVE A LESSONS LEARNED, RIGHT? AND HOW WE CAN DO BETTER. 
          BECAUSE WHAT WE LEARNED FROM YOU IN THIS DEPLOYMENT WILL ALSO GUIDE HOW WE EMPLOY, YOU KNOW, DEPLOY, UM, THE METRIC, THE, THE LIGHT RAIL LINES THAT ARE MUCH MORE COMPLEX, BUT IT STARTS WITH THOSE COLLABORATIONS. 
          SO I REALLY RECOMMEND YOU ALL FOR HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND FILLING IN THAT BIG BLANK THAT WAS MISSING. 
          SO YES, THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS. 
          AND THAT IS OUR NEXT STEP. 
          OUR BIG NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS IS IDENTIFYING, IDENTIFYING BETTERMENTS, IDENTIFYING, UM, FUNDING SOURCES, IDENTIFYING, IDENTIFYING FAIR, REASONABLE APPROACHES TO HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT. 
          AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY THE NEXT STEP. 
          AND I WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO JEN GOELICK IN MY GROUP, WHO'S A DEPUTY OFFICER WHO REALLY SHEPHERDED THE, THE EUROPE, UM, AND DID, UH, A LOT OF HEAVY HOURS WITH OUR, UM, SISTER DEPARTMENTS AT THE CITY. 
          AND SO I WANT TO GIVE HER CREDIT FOR THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MS. BORE. 
          THAT'S IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO OUR DISCUSSION 
          [6.2 Briefing on Light Rail Delivery and Contracting Framework]
ITEM BEGINS WITH A BRIEFING ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT DELIVERY FRAMEWORK. 
          WE HAVE SEVERAL STAFF REPRESENTATIVES WITH US TODAY, AS WELL AS THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM ERNST AND YOUNG, AND I'LL LET THE PARTNERS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. 
          UM, AS NICOLE IS ON HER, OKAY, SHE STEPPED OUT, SHE'S ON HER WAY UP. 
          UM, I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY INTRODUCE THIS TOPIC BEFORE CASEY AND LINDSAY AND MANAN AND NICOLE KIND OF TAKE US ON A DEEP DIVE. 
          AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, THE WORK AT HAND THAT WE STARTED LAST MAY, UM, ON, ON, ON TRANSPARENTLY DEALING WITH, UH, HOW WE'RE ADVANCING LIGHT RAIL FOR AUSTIN. 
          UH, THE VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVE MOVING FORWARD ON THIS, AND THAT IS WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT WE NEEDED TO BE RIGOROUS AND THOUGHTFUL, UH, UH, ABOUT HOW WE NOT ONLY ADVANCE THE PROJECT, BUT HOW WE'RE GONNA BE READY TO DO THE PROJECT. 
          UM, YOU AS A BOARD WERE CREATED TO OVERSEE AND IMPLEMENT THE PROJECT, UM, BEFORE YOU IN THESE UPCOMING YEARS WILL BE CONTRACTS BIG AND SMALL THAT ARE GONNA ADVANCE THE WILL OF THE VOTERS. 
          UM, SO IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US AS AN ORGANIZATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY FOR THAT AND TO BE READY FOR THAT. 
          WE HAVE TO DO THE WORK. 
          WE HAVE TO RELY ON EXPERTISE THAT WE HAVE ON OUR STAFF AND OUR EXPERTISE, UM, WITH OUR, WITH OUR CONSULTANTS. 
          IN NOVEMBER, WE STARTED TALKING TO YOU ABOUT AS BOARD ABOUT THIS TOPIC. 
          IT IS SUPER CRITICAL THAT WE, UM, GET THIS RIGHT AS WE PARTNER. 
          WE TALK ABOUT PARTNERSHIP A LOT, RIGHT? WE PARTNER WITH EACH OTHER WITH THE CITY AND CAP METRO. 
          WE'RE PARTNERING WITH THE COMMUNITY. 
          WE'RE GONNA BE PARTNERING WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RECEIVE FUNDS TO, UH, TO BUILD THIS PROJECT. 
          WE ALSO WANNA PARTNER WITH INDUSTRY AND WE'VE BEEN DOING AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF OUTREACH WITH THEM. 
          AND WE'RE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. 
          WHAT I'M REALLY PROUD OF IS WHAT YOU'RE SEEING TODAY IS OUR TEAM HAS PROACTIVELY WORKED WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE CAP METRO STAFF IN ADVANCE OF THIS PRESENTATION. 
          SO THEY HAVE SEEN THIS INFORMATION BECAUSE WE VIEW, UH, WE'RE BRINGING EVERYONE ALONG AS WE DO THINGS LIKE BIG, BIG ISSUES LIKE THIS. 
          UM, SO YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT IT. 
          WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS IDEA OF READINESS AND HOW WE'RE GONNA BE ADVANCING, UH, LIGHT RAIL FOR AUSTIN. 
          ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU AND GOOD MORNING BOARD MEMBERS EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT PROJECT DELIVERY. 
          AND, UM, FIRST SLIDE PLEASE. 
          I WANNA FIRST START WITH WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT PROJECT DELIVERY RIGHT NOW? AND AS GREG MENTIONED, AS PART OF OUR ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS, WE ARE THOUGHTFULLY, UM, CONSIDERING ALL STAGES OF LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION AND PLANNING FOR THOSE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE SO THAT AS WE START TO THINK ABOUT OUR NEEDS IN DELIVERING, UM, ALL THE WAY THROUGH FINAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT EVERY CONTRACT, NOT IN ISOLATION AND EVERY ELEMENT OF SUPPORT, BUT HOW IT FITS INTO THAT OVERALL PLAN. 
          THE DELIVERY AND CONTRACTING FRAMEWORK HAS RELATIONSHIPS TO OUR PROJECT BUDGET, OUR PROJECT SCHEDULE, AND IT'S ALSO INFORMED BY, UM, THESE CONSIDERATIONS NOTED ON THE RIGHT HERE. 
          UH, WE ARE, UH, ANIQUE ACTUALLY MENTIONED THE, THE CITY IN TERMS OF OUR PARTNER CONSIDERATION IS LEADING EFFORTS TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PERMITTING PROCESS TO FACILITATE LIGHT RAIL DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING WORKING WITHIN THE DELIVERY MODELS. 
          WE'RE CONSIDERING, UH, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH CAP METRO EVERY STEP OF THE WAY TO BE ENGAGED WITH, WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, 
          [00:50:01]
UM, COMMUNITY CONSIDERATIONS. 
          IT, IT'S REALLY CRITICAL THAT WE BUILD LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING INTO OUR PROGRAM AND, AND REALLY BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP OUR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY AND SMALL BUSINESSES. 
          AND ALSO THAT WE ARE LISTENING TO INDUSTRY AND THE MARKET CONDITIONS AND BUILDING IN THE BEST PRACTICES OF, OF PROGRAMS OF SIMILAR SIZE AND COMPLEXITY TO, TO INFORM HOW WE PERCEIVE AND ALL OF THIS THROUGH THE LENS OF MANAGING RISK ON THE PROGRAM. 
          UH, AND AND LASTLY, UH, THOUGH THOUGH NOT LEAST WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT NOW TO FACILITATE OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH INDUSTRY, AS WAS MENTIONED, WE WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT WE'LL NEED FOR SUPPORT SO THAT WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, CLEAR EXPECTATIONS AND, AND ALSO SO THAT INDUSTRY KNOWS WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE COMING. 
          SURE. 
          LINDSAY, YOU FORGOT TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, BY THE WAY. 
          SHE'S OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OVER ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          LEADING THE CHARGE IN AN INCREDIBLE ASSET. 
          SO, UM, AND LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, I'M OVER BUSINESS AND LEGAL AFFAIRS AND PROCUREMENT AND, AND I, AND BECAUSE I, YOU KNOW, AM A LAWYER SOMETIMES, BUT LUCKILY BRANDON'S HERE, I I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE ON THIS SLIDE THAT WE, UM, WHAT UNDERPINS ALL OF OUR WORK AND OUR RISK MANAGEMENT EFFORT IS MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINE GUIDELINES AND BEST PRACTICES THAT THE DOT, THE U-S-D-O-T PUTS FORWARD. 
          AND THAT WE, UM, RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE TO BRING THE FTA AND DOT ALONG EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. 
          AND WE HAVE DONE THAT WITH OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY AND ALSO HERE, UM, IN HAVING MET WITH THEM AND BRIEFED THEM AS WELL ON WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE. 
          ALRIGHT, SO A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE GOING TO COVER. 
          WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODEL OPTIONS AND, UH, WHAT WE'RE CONSIDERING IN THOSE OPTIONS. 
          WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR DELIVERY PRINCIPLES AND THE GUIDING GOALS FOR OUR CONTRACTING AND DELIVERING FRAMEWORK, UH, HOW THAT RELATES TO THE MAJOR LIGHT RAIL SCOPE ELEMENTS, AN OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES AND NEXT STEPS IN FURTHERING THIS PROCESS. 
          AND WITH THAT, NICOLE, IF YOU CAN TALK THROUGH SOME OF THOSE DELIVERY MODEL OPTIONS AND, AND COMPARE THEM. 
          THANKS, LINDSAY. 
          UH, GOOD MORNING. 
          MY NAME IS NICOLE HANNEY. 
          I'M A SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR WITH THE ERNST AND YOUNG INFRASTRUCTURE TEAM WHO HAS BEEN SUPPORTING A TP AROUND TOPICS RELATED TO COMMERCIAL ISSUES DELIVERY, AS WELL AS RISK FOR THE PAST YEAR. 
          ON THE SCREEN HERE, UM, ARE FOUR DELIVERY METHODS THAT THE A TP TEAM HAS BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT, DISCUSSING WITH PEER AGENCIES AND, AND TALKING WITH INDUSTRY ABOUT AS WELL. 
          UM, EACH OF THESE DELIVERY METHODS VARIES, UM, IN HOW DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ARE APPROACHED AND IN THE TIMING OF WHEN PRICING IS AVAILABLE UNDER EACH TYPE OF CONTRACT. 
          THE UPPER LEFT IS DESIGN BID BUILD. 
          IN THAT SCENARIO, A TP IS ABLE TO HAVE MORE CONTROL OVER COMPLETING DESIGN WITH PRICING AVAILABLE AT THE VERY END OF THE PROCESS IN THE TWO BOXES IN THE BOTTOM. 
          UM, A TP HAS AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DESIGN WITH PRICING AVAILABLE WHILE NOT AT THE END, SLIGHTLY EARLIER IN THE PROCESS. 
          AND IN THE UPPER RIGHT WITH DESIGN BUILD A TP PREPARES INITIAL CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS AND SPECIFICATIONS, AND THE MARKET IS ABLE TO GIVE PRICING EARLIER IN THE PROCESS, BUT AGAIN, LESS DIRECT CONTROL AS THINGS EVOLVE. 
          EACH OF THESE TYPES OF DELIVERY MODELS ALSO VARY IN HOW THEY ADDRESS RISK, WHO TAKES WHAT RISK, AND REALLY FEED INTO THE OVERALL RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR THE PROGRAM, WHICH LINDSAY SPOKE ABOUT, IT'S VERY LIKELY THAT ANY PLAN THAT A TP PURSUES WILL USE A COMBINATION OF THESE METHODS AS THE RIGHT METHOD FOR A PROJECT, REALLY DEPENDS ON THE PROJECT, THE SIZE OF THE PROJECT, THE NATURE OF CONSTRUCTION, THE COMPLEXITY OF CONSTRUCTION, AND THE KEY RISKS EMBEDDED IN A PROJECT. 
          UM, WITH THAT, LINDSAY WILL SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW A TP IS THINKING ABOUT THE FRAMEWORK FOR SELECTING AMONG THESE METHODS AND WHERE THEY MAY BE APPLIED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND AS NICOLE MENTIONED, THESE DELIVERY MODELS ARE NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL. 
          THEY REALLY SHOULD BE TAILORED TO THE DIFFERENT SCOPE ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT AND THINKING THROUGH WHICH MODEL BEST FITS WITH THAT ELEMENT. 
          UM, SO WE, WE MAY BE CONSIDERING DESIGN BID BUILD FOR SOME ELEMENTS LIKE EARLY WORKS AND UTILITIES. 
          UM, THOUGH WE'RE LOOKING AT COLLABORATIVE MODELS, WHETHER THAT BE PROGRESSIVE DESIGN BUILD OR CMGC FOR SOME OF THE LARGEST ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, UH, FOR THE, THE LIGHT RAIL. 
          AND MANAN IS GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT LATER ABOUT THE DIFFERENT SCOPE ELEMENTS, BUT I WANNA TALK ABOUT HOW COLLABORATIVE MODELS CAN ALIGN WITH OUR PRINCIPLES AND GOALS, 
          [00:55:01]
AGAIN, OVERALL THROUGH THAT LENS OF MANAGING RISK ON THE PROGRAM. 
          UM, SO, SO STARTING HERE WITH EARLY CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT, THAT COLLABORATIVE MODELS, UM, CAN HELP US BRING THE CONTRACTOR AND BOTH COST RELIABILITY, CONSTRUCTABILITY LIFECYCLE CONSIDERATIONS VERY EARLY INTO THE DESIGN SO THAT WE DON'T END UP IN A, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TRADITIONAL DESIGN BID BUILD ACTUALLY USED TO DE-RISK PROJECTS, BUT NOW MANY PROJECTS ARE GOING THROUGH THAT PHASE. 
          AND, UH, WHEN YOU REACH THE, THE END AND A HUNDRED PERCENT DESIGN THE ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE VERSUS WHAT THE CONTRACTOR'S BID PRICES ARE WORLDS APART. 
          SO REALLY ENGAGING THE CONTRACTOR EARLY TO AVOID SOME OF THOSE RISKS. 
          UH, WE'RE ALSO CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF INTERFACES BETWEEN SEPARATE CONTRACTS TO MANAGE THE RISK. 
          AND, AND BY INTERFACE, I MEAN, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE LIKE A CIVIL WORKS, YOUR, YOUR ROADWAY AND, UM, TRACKWAY AND RAIL SYSTEMS, BUT A SEPARATE CONTRACT FOR RAIL VEHICLES AND MAYBE THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY AND EVERY INTERFACE BETWEEN CONTRACTS IS, IS A, A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THINGS DON'T SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS IN COORDINATING BETWEEN THEM. 
          SO MAKING SURE TO LIMIT THOSE NUMBER OF INTERFACES, BUT ALSO USING A COLLABORATIVE MODEL THAT HELPS RECONCILE, UM, THE COORDINATION POINTS ACROSS THOSE. 
          AND, AND REALLY LISTENING TO INDUSTRY AND ALIGNING WITH WHAT WE ARE HEARING FOR PROJECTS SIMILAR TO OURS. 
          AND TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE GOOD PARTICIPATION AND COMPETITION IN ALL OF OUR PROCESSES. 
          AND, AND AGAIN, UM, BELIEVING THAT COLLABORATIVE CONTRACTING ACTUALLY FACILITATES OUR CRITICAL PROGRAM GOAL OF HAVING REALLY MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL AND DBE FIRMS TO ENGAGE IN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN PRIME ROLES, BUT ALSO SUBCONTRACTING ROLES FOR KEY ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM. 
          YES, GOOD QUESTION. 
          IF I COULD, UM, SO, SO I, I, UM, IF WE'LL GO BACK ON SLIDE. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, I LIKE THE IDEA OF EARLY CONTRACTOR INVOLVEMENT AND, AND FACILITATING, BUT THE QUESTION IS, IS THERE A SPECIFIC PROCESS FOR IT? MEANING DO WE HAVE OPERATING PROCEDURES AND HOW DO WE VERIFY AND DOCUMENT WHAT HAS BEEN DONE? BECAUSE IN SOME CASES WHERE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PARTICIPATION FROM WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES, MINORITY OWNED BUSINESSES, LOCAL BUSINESSES, THEY SAY, WELL, HOW DID YOU GET HERE? BECAUSE I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE I WAS CONTACTED AND INCLUDED. 
          HOW DO YOU ESTABLISH, UM, WHAT STEPS DO WE TAKE AND WHERE DO WE TAKE THEM AS WE START? TALK ROLLING. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          AND, AND COURTNEY, I MAY ASK YOU TO JOIN ME. 
          UM, WE'LL, WE'LL SHARE A MIC HERE FOR A MOMENT, BUT I'LL, I'LL START. 
          UM, SO AS PART OF OUR NEXT STEPS, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE DOING INDUSTRY OUTREACH WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON SMALL BUSINESS AND DBE OUTREACH AND, AND BRINGING OPPORTUNITIES BOTH TO MEET THE PRIMES ON CERTAIN CONTRACTS, BUT ALSO OPPORTUNITIES TO BE THE PRIME FOR OTHER CONTRACTS AND, AND REALLY HELPING BRING OUR, OUR PARTNERS ALONG AND SUPPORTING THEM, UM, THROUGH THINGS LIKE MENTOR PROTEGE PROGRAMS, UH, AND, AND OTHER ELEMENTS TO REALLY HELP BRING THEM UP WHERE, THANK YOU. 
          AND IF YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT , COURTNEY CHAVEZ, UH, SEP EQUITY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP, , WE NEED ONE EXTRA CHAIR. 
          UM, THE ONLY THING TO ADD IS THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE THIS PROCESS AND PLAN PLAY OUT, WE'RE GONNA CREATE A STRATEGY OF HOW WE ACTUALLY GO OUT BROADER, BOTH IN THE LOCAL TO SEE WHO'S AVAILABLE TO BECOME DBES, UM, HOW THE LOCAL BUSINESS PROGRAM WILL PLAY INTO ALL OF THE ASPECTS OF, OF WHAT WE'RE BUILDING TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT, UM, LIMITING OUR OUTREACH, BUT THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY HITTING EVERY AREA THAT WE POSSIBLY CAN. 
          THANK YOU, COURTNEY. 
          ALRIGHT, AND NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND MANAN GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY BUILDING. 
          MORNING. 
          PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF. 
          MANAN . 
          YES. 
          YES. 
          I'LL, I'LL, MY PLEASURE. 
          UM, MANAN GAR, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PROJECT DELIVERY AND CONSTRUCTION. 
          IT'S A LAYER PROJECT TO BE SITTING IN FRONT OF THIS ESTEEM BOARD AND, UH, DIRECTOR . 
          AND JUST TO GET INTO THE FACT WHAT WE JUST TALKED AND WHAT YOU HEARD FROM LINDSAY, WE ARE GONNA GET IN LITTLE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK, BEST PRACTICE, WHICH WE CAN APPLY IN NEXT STEPS. 
          AND WE WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THE STEPS AND THE QUESTIONS WHICH YOU HAVE. 
          BUT WHAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF, UH, YOU ON THIS PIECE OF CONVERSATION IS WHAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ARE SIX MAJOR SCOPE ELEMENTS, WHICH IS PART OF THE, UH, LRT IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM OF THE PLAN. 
          THE WAY WE ARE APPROACHING THIS IS, AND I WILL REEMPHASIZE THE FACT THIS IS AN APPROACH BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THE FEEDBACK AND THE PROCESS 
          [01:00:01]
OF APPROACH THEN LEADS INTO A PROJECT DELIVERY PLAN, WHICH IS A, A CAPITAL INVESTMENT, UH, GRANT DELIVERABLE FOR FDA, BUT ALL, ALL THE ELEMENTS WHICH YOU SEE HERE ARE WHAT WE ARE APPROACHING TO WHAT LINDSEY SAID. 
          WHAT CASEY SAID, AND WHAT WE ARE SAYING IS TO MAN MINIMIZE RISK. 
          AND WHAT IS THE RISK? IN OLD SCHOOL TRANSIT WORLD, THEY USED TO BE CALLED HANDSHAKES, AKA INTERFACING. 
          THIS IS POST CABERA. 
          SO WE ARE TRYING TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF HANDSHAKES. 
          SO AGAIN, APPROACHES, MINIMIZE INTERFACE. 
          THAT'S THE FEEDBACK WE HAVE RECEIVED. 
          THAT'S THE BEST PRACTICE. 
          THAT'S THE LESSONS LEARNED. 
          WE HAVE RECEIVED. 
          MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          UH, AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS CONVERSATION, WE ARE ALSO EVALUATING, UH, HOW WE CAN BUNDLE THESE SCOPE ELEMENTS TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY TO BEST IMPLEMENT IT. 
          THE LRT PROGRAM, AND AGAIN, A LOT OF THIS IS GONNA BE BASED ON THE FEEDBACK PROCESS. 
          WE ARE GONNA HIRE HOW WE ARE GONNA ENGAGE THE INDUSTRY, AND IT'S GONNA LEAD INTO THE CONTRACTING SIDE, WHICH IS GONNA THEN TIE INTO SOME OF THE FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS WE ARE GONNA HAVE. 
          BUT WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DISCUSS THIS APPROACH UPFRONT AND IN FULL TRANSPARENCY TO, TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE OPTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE WAY WE BUNDLE THIS PROGRAM. 
          MOVING ON THE NEXT, JUST, JUST ONE THING, UM, AND, AND REALLY QUICKLY, UM, THE CITY USED AS IT DEVELOPED, ITS BEEN A PRO PROTEGE PROGRAM. 
          THE TEMPLE PLAN, UH, WHICH WHICH WAS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE INDUSTRY AND WITH LABOR, UH, A GC, AND, AND WITH LABOR, UH, SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFYING COMMODITY CODES THAT WOULD BE USED IN THE, IN THE WORK THAT WAS DONE, IDENTIFYING WHO IS CERTIFIED LOCALLY TO DO IT, HOW YOU, HOW YOU INCLUDE OTHERS. 
          AND THEN WOULD, UH, WE FACILITATED MEETINGS BETWEEN THE PRIME, THE PRIME AND, AND POTENTIAL, UM, AND POTENTIAL SUBCONTRACTORS. 
          AND THEN WE USED RAPID PAY PRINCIPLES AS WELL. 
          THAT'S THE WAY WE BUILT CITY HALL. 
          UH, SO THAT WE, SO THAT WE HAD MAXIMUM PARTICIPATION, UH, WITH NO, WITH NO VENDORS, UH, GOING UNDER, UH, BECAUSE THEY WERE TAKING PROJECTS LARGER THAN THEY WERE NORMALLY USED TO. 
          SO THERE IS A, THERE'S A PROCESS THAT WAS USED AND CITIES HAS, IS, IS WELL VERSED IN IT. 
          SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW THAT. 
          NO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THAT'S VERY VALUABLE FEEDBACK. 
          WE ARE, WE ARE IN COLLABORATION WITH CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAP METRO PARTNERS AS WE DO THROUGH THIS INDUSTRY FEEDBACK, BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. 
          WE'LL FOLLOW THROUGH ON THAT. 
          MOVING ON THE NEXT PIECE OF CONVERSATION. 
          THANK YOU, MANAN. 
          UM, SO I THINK THIS KIND OF TIES EVERYTHING ALL TOGETHER AND, AND IT ALSO, UM, STARTS TO TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE GET READY FOR COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY AND WITH, UM, A SIGNIFICANT BUNDLE OF DIFFERENT SCOPE ELEMENTS ALL BEING IN ONE CONTRACT. 
          UM, WE ARE, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING BACK OUT IN A MORE FORMAL PROCESS WITH INDUSTRY TO GET MORE FEEDBACK, WHICH WILL INCLUDE SMALL AND, UM, DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES CRITICALLY. 
          SO, BUT I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT TO SHOW THAT, THAT THIS IS WHERE WE'RE HEADED AND WHAT WE'RE THINKING. 
          UM, ALWAYS IMPROVING, OF COURSE. 
          UM, AND TO WORK BACKWARD FROM THAT COLLABORATIVE CON COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY CONTRACT. 
          WE LIKE, UH, I THINK LINDSAY MENTIONED, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE CRITICAL RISKS THAT THE OWNER SHOULD UNDER, SHOULD TAKE ON, AND THE OWNER SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE RISKS ARE. 
          AND SO WE NEED TO, TO KNOW WHERE THE UTILITIES ARE LOCATED, WHERE THE, WHERE THE RIGHT OF WAY TAKES ARE GONNA BE OR RIGHT OF WAY ACQUISITIONS POTENTIALLY. 
          AND GET THAT WORK DONE FASTER AND EARLIER. 
          AND THAT WILL ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE DE-RISKED AKA, WE KNOW WHAT THOSE COSTS ARE GONNA BE AND THERE'S LESS RISK OF COST OVERRUN. 
          SO THAT'S GONNA BE A CRITICAL CONTRACT THAT WE'LL BE PUTTING OUT. 
          NONE OF THOSE WILL GO INTO, WILL RECEIVE NTP UNTIL AFTER WE HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE. 
          CRITICALLY. 
          WE UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S, THAT'S IMPORTANT AND WE'RE BRINGING OUR FTA PARTNERS ALONG WITH THAT. 
          UM, AND ON THE OWNER SIDE, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND THIS GOES BACK TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS THAT WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT, IS WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE YES, THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION WHO CAN MANAGE ALL OF THE CONTRACTS AND MANAGE THE CONTRACTS. 
          THEY'RE GONNA HELP US MANAGE THE COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY STRATEGY, BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT SCOPES FOR BOTH OUR DELIVERY PARTNER, UM, WHICH IS GONNA BE REALLY GO MOVING HAND IN GLOVE WITH OUR STAFF TO ENSURE THAT WE KEEP, WE HAVE OPEN BOOK WITH OUR, WITH OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS. 
          WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE COSTS ARE THAT THEY'RE CONSIDERING. 
          AND SO, AND ALSO A TECHNICAL ADVISOR, WHICH IS REALLY KIND OF A, A BRIDGING ELEMENT. 
          AND I, I WANT LINDSAY MAYBE SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE SCOPE ELEMENTS 'CAUSE I'M NOT AN ENGINEER , SO I'LL LET YOU DO THAT TO THE NEXT. 
          UH, I'LL JUST BRIEFLY TOUCH ON THESE TWO ROLES THAT WE ANTICIPATE SOLICITING SUPPORT FOR AS WE MOVE INTO THE NEXT PROJECT PHASE IS, UH, THE TECHNICAL ADVISOR, AS CASEY MENTIONED, REALLY BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN NEPA AND FINAL DESIGN AND, AND HELPING SUPPORT SOME EARLY KIND OF LONG LEAD DESIGN ITEMS 
          [01:05:01]
WITH ADDITIONAL DUE DILIGENCE TO HELP US PREPARE FOR THE FINAL DESIGN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS. 
          UM, SO SOMEWHAT OF AN OWNER'S ENGINEER AND THEN THE DELIVERY PARTNER REALLY PROVIDING THE PROGRAM AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SUPPORT FOLLOWING THE NEPA PROCESS AND LEADING ALL THE WAY THROUGH, UH, YOU KNOW, DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, TESTING AND COMMISSIONING AND, AND ALL THE WAY TO THE HANDOFF OF OPERATIONS. 
          AND NEXT, SO YEP. 
          UH, TALKING ABOUT REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK. 
          UM, WE HEARD TODAY IN THIS CONVERSATION, STARTING ON THIS BOARD MEETING ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LESSON LEARNED, MANAGE AND RISK. 
          THIS IS ACTUALLY A BEST PRACTICE WHICH WE ARE APPLYING. 
          WE AS A TEAM ARE STRIVING EVERY DAY TO NOT JUST TALK ABOUT BEST PRACTICE AND LESSON LEARNED AS BEST, BEST BUZZWORD, BUT TO MAKE IT INGRAINED IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS. 
          AND WHAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU IS THAT REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK IS A VERY STRUCTURED, FORMAL PROCESS IN WHICH WE ARE GONNA BE ENGAGING INDUSTRY, BUT MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF NOT ONLY INFORMING THEM OF WHAT OUR PROJECT DELIVERY APPROACH IS, BUT ALSO SEEKING RIGHT FEEDBACK FROM THEM IN OUR APPROACH THAT ARE WE ON THE RIGHT TRACK? IS THIS WHAT SOMETHING WHICH YOU GUYS WOULD SUPPORT US ON AND HOW WE PERFORM IN THE OVERALL PROGRAM? SOME OF THE KEY ELEMENTS, WHICH, UH, LINDSAY TOUCHED ON IS TECHNICAL ADVISOR AND DELIVERY PARTNER. 
          WE WANT TO HEAR FROM NOT ONLY THE BIG FIRMS AND THE DIRECTOR IAN'S POINT. 
          WE WANT TO INFORM THE LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES GPB AND LEAD THAT INTO A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN THE LOCAL THING. 
          BECAUSE USUALLY THE PRACTICES, THE BIG GUYS, THE SMALL GUYS KIND OF MINDSET, WE WANT TO GET AWAY FROM THAT. 
          WE WANT IT TO BE AN INTEGRATED PROJECT DELIVERY APPROACH BEFORE IT BECOMES A PLAN. 
          THIS, UH, REQUEST FOR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK, UH, IS BEING DONE IN, UH, COLLABORATION WITH CAP METRO AND CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          UH, WE INTEND TO RELEASE THIS BY THE END OF THIS WEEK. 
          UH, THIS HAS MAJORLY HAS FOUR BLOCKS OF, UH, QUESTIONS WHICH WE ARE SEEKING FEEDBACK ON, WHICH IS PROJECT DELIVERY AND RISK, LOCAL AND DBE, PARTICIPATION, OWNER READINESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY TO TEAM SO THAT WE CAN INFORM THEM WHILE THE TIME WE COME OUT WITH OUR PROGRAM THAT THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEAM AND NOT AT LAST, UH, PART IS THE OPERATIONAL READINESS. 
          AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL THESE DATA POINTS, ALL THIS INFORMATION IS THEN GETTING, IS GONNA BE FED INTO A PROJECT DELIVERY PLAN, A SOLID PROJECT DELIVERY PLAN, WHICH IS A DELIVERABLE FOR THE F-D-A-C-I-G PROCESS. 
          AND WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT OFF TO CASEY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SURE. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THEN ALSO NEXT, NEXT STEPS INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME CURRENT CONTRACTS THAT ARE WORKING ON THE CONCEPTUAL ENGINEERING AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS AT CAPITAL METRO TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT, THAT THOSE MOVE OVER TO THE IMPLEMENTATION AGENCY SO THAT IT'S PART OF THIS BROADER STRATEGY. 
          SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. 
          THAT SHOULD BE, UM, COMING UP BY APRIL TO THE BOARD. 
          AND ALSO, UM, PROBABLY MANAN IS IN A BETTER POSITION TO SPEAK TO THIS AS WELL, BUT WE DO HAVE A PLANNED INDUSTRY DAY FOR MAY. 
          SO AFTER WE GO OUT WITH THE REQUEST FOR, UM, INDUSTRY FEEDBACK FROM THE INDUSTRY SPECIFICALLY, WE'LL BE SITTING DOWN WITH THEM IN ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS AND ALSO PROVIDING A FORUM FOR THEM TO MEET WITH DIFFERENT, SMALLER, SMALL BUSINESSES FOR FO EVERYONE TO COME TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT, OKAY, IF THIS IS, THESE ARE THE CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES, HOW CAN WE ALL PARTNER TOGETHER, UM, TO MEET ATP'S NEEDS. 
          THANK YOU TEAM. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          I KNOW MR. CANALI WANTS TO HAVE A FEW WORDS, SO THANK YOU GUYS. 
          THAT'S GREAT. 
          AND AGAIN, I WANNA ROOT BACK THIS, THIS, THIS IDEA. 
          I SAW A LOT OF OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS, UM, SITTING HERE WITH US TODAY, I THINK SOME ONLINE, GETTING OUT THEIR PHONES AND SNAPPING PICTURES AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT. 
          AND THAT'S GREAT. 
          'CAUSE THAT'S BUILDING THE EXCITEMENT THAT WE NEED WITH, UM, HERE LOCALLY AND WHERE WE'RE GOING WITH OUR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS THAT ARE GONNA HELP US DELIVER THAT. 
          SO MISSION ACCOMPLISHED WORK TO BE DONE. 
          AND I ALSO WANNA ROOT US BACK IN THE FACT THAT THESE CONVERSATIONS, WE TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS, BUT WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WE HAVE BEEN INFORMING, ENGAGING, NOT ONLY LEARNING, UM, WE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT SOME VISITS WE HAVE MADE TO OTHER AGENCIES TO LEARN WHAT HAS WORKED AND NOT WORKED AROUND NORTH AMERICA. 
          UM, WE DOWNLOADED THAT INFORMATION TO YOU AS A BOARD. 
          WE'VE HAD EXTENSIVE CONVERSATIONS, BOTH INFORMAL AND FORMAL AT CONFERENCES, WHAT WE'VE BID OUT IN OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS. 
          SO THIS WORK THAT YOU SAW TODAY, THERE'S, WHILE THERE'S NEXT STEPS, THERE'S BEEN A JOURNEY THAT WE HAVE BEEN ON. 
          UM, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT JOURNEY HERE VERY FORMALLY AS WE DO THE OUTREACH WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES, SMALL BUSINESSES, WE'RE GONNA MAYBE 
          [01:10:01]
MAKE SURE WE CREATE THAT NETWORK THAT WE NEED TO ADVANCE AUSTIN THAT IS ACTUALLY HELPING AUSTIN AT THE SAME TIME HELPING OUR, OUR, OUR WORKERS, HELPING OUR WORKFORCE AND BRINGING THAT ALL ALONG TOGETHER. 
          SO WE'VE BEEN ON A GREAT JOURNEY. 
          WE'RE AT THIS MOMENT HERE WHERE WE'RE ABOUT TO, TO FINISH SOME OF THIS EFFORT, GO BACK OUT ANOTHER ROUND OF LISTENING SO WE CAN BE READY, UM, TO MOVE LIGHT RAIL FORWARD FOR AUSTIN. 
          THANK YOU MR. CANAL. 
          UM, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? MEMBER ELKINS? THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. 
          JUST A QUICK COMMENT AND A QUICK QUESTION. 
          UM, I APPRECIATE THE FOCUS ON INDUSTRY OUTREACH. 
          UM, THE INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES, DESIGNERS ARE A VERY CRITICAL STAKEHOLDER, AND I AM, UH, UH, GLAD THAT STAFF IS GOING OUT WITH OUR CONSULTANTS TO DO THAT OUTREACH. 
          JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON COLLABORATIVE, UH, DEVELOPMENT, WHICH, WHICH I THINK MAKES A LOT OF SENSE FOR SOME OF THE LARGER TICKET ITEMS. UM, THERE'S ALWAYS THAT BALANCE OF TRYING TO GET COMPETITION AND TRANSPARENCY, PRICING TRANSPARENCY, RIGHT? SO WITH, UM, COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT, IT'S A DIFFERENT SELECTION CRITERIA THAN A TYPICAL DESIGN BUILD. 
          SO YOU, UH, ARE ARE SELECTING ON, ON QUALIFICATIONS LARGELY INSTEAD OF TRANSPARENCY. 
          IF WE'RE GOING COLLABORATIVE DEVELOPMENT, PROGRESSIVE DB TO ENSURE THE TAXPAYERS THAT, UM, WE'RE GETTING A FAIR DEAL. 
          YES. 
          UH, SO WE ARE, THAT IS ACTUALLY PART OF OUR INDUSTRY FEEDBACK BOARD MEMBER IN TERMS OF WHAT WE ARE SEEKING OF WAYS TO STRUCTURE OUR PROCUREMENTS UNDER A COLLABORATIVE MODEL TO BUILD IN PRICING AT SEVERAL MILESTONES ALONG THE WAY AND OPEN BOOK PRICING SO THAT WHILE WE ARE, UM, WE ARE GAINING MORE COMPETITION BY HAVING, UM, MORE PARTICIPATE IN THE, AS YOU NOTED, QUALS BASED SELECTION, WE WILL NOT BE LOSING ABILITY TO MANAGE COST THROUGH THE, THE PROCESS OF DELIVERY. 
          RIGHT? SO OPEN BOOK PRICING, LINDSAY, WHAT, WHAT WE WOULD HAVE OUR OWN, UH, TECHNICAL ADVISOR LOOKING AT QUANTITIES, LOOKING AT, UM, ACTUAL UNIT PRICING AND RECONCILING THEM WITH THE CONTRACTOR ON THE OTHER SIDE AND RESOLVING ANY DIS GOTCHA. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MEMBER ELKINS. 
          YES, MEMBER. 
          GOOD. 
          I WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE, AND I KNOW YOU ARE, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT INDUSTRY, UH, OUTREACH, BUT ALSO OWNER OUTREACH BECAUSE THE REGION HAS EXPERIENCED THESE DIFFERENT MODELS AND SOME SUCCESSFUL AND SOME NOT. 
          SO, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SHIFTING OF THE RISK, TRADITIONALLY IT SHIFTS, BUT FROM EXPERIENCE, WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT FROM AN OWNER PERSPECTIVE. 
          SO NOT ONLY THE INDUSTRY, BUT LET'S REACH OUT TO THE OWNERS WHO, WHO HAVE DONE THIS AS WELL FOR LESSONS LEARNED. 
          THAT'S A GREAT COMMENT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND, UH, WE ABSOLUTELY WILL TAKE THAT FEEDBACK AND CONTINUE ENGAGING WITH BOTH PEER AGENCIES, BUT ALSO OUR REGIONAL, UM, AGENCIES ON LESSONS LEARNED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I KNOW MEMBER GARCIA, I NOTICED IN THE, ONE OF THE, THE SLIDES YOU MENTIONED, UM, PARTNER CONSIDERATIONS. 
          YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT OUR PARTNERS CAB METRO IN THE CITY, RIGHT? THE UH, YES. 
          BEFORE I CAME MEETING STARTED, I TOOK A TOUR OF THE BUILDING AND I NOTICED THAT THERE IS A SPACE PROVIDED FOR CAMP METRO EMPLOYEES AND CITY EMPLOYEES. 
          ARE THEY FULLY INVOLVED IN EVERY STEP OF THE WAY OF THE PLANNING PROCESS TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE? YES, WE ARE VERY CLOSELY ENGAGING, UM, ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IN THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT IN TERMS OF DESIGN PLANNING, ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE, UM, BUT ALSO THESE ELEMENTS OF THINKING THROUGH DELIVERY. 
          AND ARE THEY PROVIDING MEANINGFUL INPUT INTO THE YES. 
          MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE DESIGN? ABSOLUTELY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THEY ARE KEY PERSPECTIVES FROM EACH OF OUR PARTNERS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO OUR OVERALL PER, UM, SUCCESS FOR THE PROGRAM. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          I WOULD SAY WE HAVE EMAILS OVER THE LAST WEEK TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR RFIF EVEN THAT ONE FIRST INITIAL STEP THAT WE HAVE FULL COMMENTS FROM CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          SO THAT'S A, A CRITICAL PART OF OUR SUCCESS IS, IS THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE. 
          YEAH. 
          AND ONE OF, ALSO, ONE OF THE, UM, KEY ELEMENTS OF LOCATING HERE DOWNTOWN IN THIS BUILDING DURING THE PROGRAMMING OF THIS SPACE, WAS TO ENSURE THAT THERE WAS SUFFICIENT SPACE FOR ALL THREE AGENCIES TO WORK UNDER THE SAME ROOF. 
          UM, AND SO IT'S, AND IT WAS INTERESTING AS, AS WE WERE EMERGING FROM THE PANDEMIC AND PEOPLE WORKING REMOTELY, EVEN BEFORE WE HAD THIS CO-LOCATION UNDER THE SAME ROOF, I'VE PARTICIPATED IN SO MANY MEETINGS WHERE IT WAS ALWAYS THE THREE PARTIES ALWAYS COMING TOGETHER TO HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS THROUGH ZOOM. 
          SO 
          [01:15:01]
IT'S BEEN REALLY NEAT TO SEE THESE TEAMS BEGINNING TO, TO REALLY, UM, BOND AND COLLABORATE TOGETHER. 
          AND I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US TO DO THIS, BUT ON THE, ON THE TOPIC OF RISK, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE HOW DO WE SHIFT THE RISK NO MATTER WHAT THE COMMITTEE PAYS FOR IT, WHETHER WE MANAGE THE RISK OR WE TRANSFER THE RISK NO MATTER WHAT, IT'S STILL TAXPAYER MONEY THAT PAYS FOR THAT RISK. 
          SO I WANT US TO BE SUPER CONSCIOUS TO, IN MY OPINION, AND IN MY EXPERIENCE IN DELIVERING NOT ONLY TRANSIT PROJECTS, BUT ALSO AS AN ARCHITECT, IS THAT THE MORE WE KNOW EARLY THE STUDIES THAT WE DO, THE FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS, THE LOCATION OF UTILITIES, THE MORE WE KNOW, THE LESS SURPRISES WE WILL HAVE. 
          SO I STRONGLY SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE THAT WE DO ALL THE DUE DILIGENCE NECESSARY, BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT US TO HAVE TO ADDRESS LIKE CITY COMMERCE, LIKE WHAT HAPPENED WITH METRO RAPID, THAT THERE WERE SOME REALLY GOOD COMMENTS WITH MOBILITY THAT WERE ALIGNING THE, THE ACTIVE MOBILITY BICYCLE BEHIND THE SHELTERS, WHICH PUT THE SHELTER TO THE FRONT. 
          SO WHAT WE SENT OUT AND WHEN WE SEND IT OUT IS REALLY KEY BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA BE REDESIGNING WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DEPLOYED CONTRACTORS. 
          SO IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE PRICE TAG IS EXPONENTIAL AT THAT POINT. 
          AND NO MATTER WHAT THAT, THAT RISK IS PAID BY THIS CITY, BY THE CITIZENS OF THIS TOWN. 
          SO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HARD WORK. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          BOARD MEMBERS. 
          SO WE'RE DOING REALLY GREAT ON TIME. 
          I KNOW, UM, MAYOR, WE HAVE YOU UNTIL NOON, I BELIEVE. 
          YOU GOT ME. 
          YOU DON'T WANT, OKAY. 
          I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE SOME YEAH, GIMME BACK SOME TIME. 
          YEAH, WE'RE DOING, WE'RE DOING GREAT ON TIME BECAUSE I WANT US TO HAVE A A BUT FEEL FREE TO SAVE ME TIME. 
          OKAY, I WILL. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THANK YOU. 
          OUR FINAL ITEM BEFORE 
          [8.1 Results from community engagement process regarding the Executive Director]
GOING INTO, UM, WE'RE NOT GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, UM, BUT, UM, THE REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THAT HAS BEEN CONDUCTED RELATED TO THE BOARD'S CONSIDERATION OF GREG CANE AS ATP'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. 
          AS NOTED AT OUR MEETING ON JANUARY 27TH, THE BOARD EXPRESSED ITS INTEREST IN CONSIDERING GREG CANE AS A SOLE CANDIDATE FOR THE POSITION. 
          GREG HAS SERVED IN THIS INTERIM ROLE SINCE MAY 2ND AND HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CREATION OF THE FUNDING STRATEGY THAT WON VOTER SUPPORT IN THIS COMMUNITY. 
          THE BOARD DID NOT APPOINT GREG AT THAT MEETING IN JANUARY, NOR DID IT TAKE OFFICIAL ACTION. 
          RATHER, THE BOARD ASKED STAFF TO CONDUCT ENGAGEMENT ON THIS ISSUE, HONORING OUR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES DELINEATED IN THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, AND AS A NECESSARY AND IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE BOARD'S CONSIDERATION OF APPOINTING AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. 
          I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY CO-LEAD BOARD MEMBER GARZA, WHO JOINED ME OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS TO CARRY OUT SUCH PROCESS. 
          AND THROUGH THE THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HELD WITH THE COMMUNITY, I'M GONNA DELINEATE ALL THE STEPS THAT WE TOOK SO THAT THERE IS NO CONFUSION OF THE PROCESS THAT WE TOOK. 
          THE ENGAGEMENT INCLUDED TWO COMMUNITY FORUMS HOSTED AT A TP HEADQUARTERS DOWNTOWN, AS WELL AS THE MENDEZ RECREATION CENTER IN EAST AUSTIN. 
          STAKEHOLDER DISCUSSIONS WITH MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE, STAKEHOLDER DISCUSSIONS WITH MEMBERS OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS A ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION BETWEEN A TP EMPLOYEES WITH GREG. 
          AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, THE COMMITTEE ORGANIZATIONS WERE ABLE TO OFFER ROBUST FEEDBACK IN NUMBERS OF WAYS. 
          THE COMMITTEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HELD A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ON FEBRUARY 20TH, AND THE RESULTS OF THEIR ACTIONS WERE SUBMITTED TO THE A TP BOARD. 
          TRANSIT FORWARD PROVIDED A STATEMENT FROM ITS BOARD, THE A TX MOBILITY COALITION ALSO PROVIDED A STATEMENT AND LETTER TO THE BOARD. 
          IN ADDITION TO THE QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION WITH GREG, EACH OF THESE EVENTS PROVIDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPANTS TO GIVE INSIGHTS RELATED TO THE POSITION ITSELF, TO INCLUDE THE VALUES THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHOULD POSSESS THE LEADERSHIP ATTRIBUTES OF THE CANDIDATE, THE QUALIFICATIONS, AND AS WELL AS THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW 
          [01:20:01]
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHOULD BE EVALUATED. 
          AND WE GOT QUITE A BIT OF FEEDBACK AT THIS THAT THIS BOARD CAN CONSIDER IN SEVERAL WAYS. 
          WE WILL, IN THIS FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED OVER THIS PAST MONTH, WILL INFORM AND HAS INFORMED ALREADY THE JOB DESCRIPTION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO INFORM THE EVALUATION PROCESS AND EVALUATION TOOL FOR THE POSITION, AND CERTAINLY TO INFORM OUR SHARED EXPECTATIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR A TP. 
          THE SUMMARY OF THE COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK IS COMPILED IN THE SUMMARY REPORT AND IS PUBLISHED ON ATP'S WEBSITE, AS WELL AS UPLOADED AS BACKUP TO ITEM 8.1, WHICH YOU ALSO HAVE IN EACH OF YOUR PACKETS BOARD MEMBERS. 
          AT THIS POINT, I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE VE AZAR, WHO'S THE CHAIR OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL, THE COMMITTEE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND WHO IS HERE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD. 
          WELCOME EVE. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR BOARD MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS EVES SHAR, I SERVE AS THE CHAIR OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          I, I'LL START OFF JUST BY HONESTLY THANKING THE REPORT ON COMMITTEE ENGAGEMENT. 
          IT'S GREAT TO SEE ALL OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD COME TOGETHER, UM, IN THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT PIECES AND ELEMENTS THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN VARIOUS SPACES. 
          I THINK IT'S VERY EXCITING. 
          UM, AS Y'ALL KNOW, UM, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE TOOK A VOTE ON FEBRUARY 20TH TO SEND A RECOMMENDATION REGARDING THIS POSITION. 
          DO YOU ALL, AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND READ SOME ELEMENTS OF IT. 
          UM, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANNA SAY AFTER CAREFUL DELIBERATION AND CONSIDERING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROLE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UM, IN DELIVERING A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT CONNECT THAT WILL SERVE THE NEEDS OF AUSTIN WRITERS. 
          AND IN LIGHT OF THE FURTHER NEED TO PRIORITIZE THE CHALLENGING LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION DECISIONS THAT LIE AHEAD, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACKNOWLEDGES THE RIGHT OF THE A TP BOARD TO PROCEED WITH THE DECISION TO APPOINT MR. CANALI. 
          WE AFFIRM THAT MR. CANALI IS A STRONG CANDIDATE, HAS PROVEN CLEAR LEADERSHIP IN HIS ROLE AS INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE ORGANIZATION, AND WE APPRECIATE HIS COMMITMENT TO WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CSC. 
          HOWEVER, WE ALSO HAVE HAD SOME CONCERNS REGARDING PROCESS. 
          AND AS AN INDEPENDENT ENTITY, IT IS VITAL THAT AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP WORK TO AFFIRMATIVELY BUILD TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY. 
          TO THIS END, WE ASK THAT THE BOARD CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS MOVING FORWARD. 
          UM, FIRST THAT THE A DP BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD DISCUSS AND ESTABLISH A CLEAR PROTOCOL FOR MAKING PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT. 
          UM, SECOND, IN THE PAST, THE A DB BOARD HAS MADE KEY COMMITMENTS TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT EQUITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          IT IS VITAL THAT IN THE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WITH THE CSC, ALL BOARD MEMBERS COMMUNICATE AND ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY IN A MATTER THAT UPHOLDS THESE COMMITMENTS. 
          UM, AND LASTLY, IT IS CRUCIAL IN ALL FUTURE, UH, PROCESSES THAT MAY IMPACT SERVICE AND EQUITY OUTCOMES. 
          THE BOARD AND STAFF COMMIT TO FULLY ABIDING BY THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GUIDING PRINCIPLES OUTLINED IN ARTICLE 3.2 0.3 OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT. 
          AND WHILE THE CSE WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE DECISION MAKING REGARDING THE APPOINTMENT OF THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE CAPITAL METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, WE HOPE THAT IN THE FUTURE, ALL THREE PARTIES IN CHARGE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECT CONNECT WILL PROVIDE THE CSE WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON KEY DECISIONS. 
          AND LASTLY, WE HAVE, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, WE CONSIDERED SOME OF THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS AND IT CAME, A LOT OF IT CAME OUT OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WE HAD HAD, UM, THAT WE REALLY HOPE THESE ARE COMMITMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS THAT WE THINK ANY, UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE A TP AND PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CAP METRO SHOULD HOLD A COMMITMENT TO EQUITY THROUGHOUT PROJECT CONNECT, INCLUDING WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION'S INTERNAL MANAGERIAL CULTURE AND HIRING PRACTICES, COMMITMENT TO SERVING THE NEEDS OF AUSTIN'S CORE TRANSIT USERS, COMMITMENT TO LABOR, JUSTICE AND WORKPLACE SAFETY, A COMMITMENT TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND A COMMITMENT TO ACTIVELY CONSULTING AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          WE ALSO RECOMMEND TWO NEXT STEPS, ONE OF WHICH WAS ACTUALLY ALLUDED TO BY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS EARLIER. 
          WE ASK THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS, PARTICULARLY AT THE STAFF LEVEL, WE COORDINATE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAP METRO TO REVIEW, REVISE, AND EXPAND AS NECESSARY THE WORK DONE ON THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT TO FURTHER DELINEATE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EACH PARTY IN A MANNER THAT LEADS TO A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT CONNECT AND FURTHER DETAILS A TP AS THE PRINCIPLE ENTITY RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT IN AN INDEPENDENT MANNER. 
          WE ALSO ASK THAT WE COORDINATE WITH AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL AND CAP METRO BOARD TO, UH, TO IDENTIFY CONCERNS RELATED TO BOARD STRUCTURE AND APPOINTMENTS AND MOVE FORWARD WITH JOINT ACTION BY THE THREE GOVERNING BODIES TO ADVANCE COMPREHENSIVE GOVERNANCE CHANGES. 
          THIS INCLUDES WORKING WITH THE CAC TO EQUITABLY ADVANCE ANY CONVERSATION. 
          SO THIS 
          [01:25:01]
STATEMENT WAS, UH, UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE ON FEBRUARY 20TH. 
          I WILL PERSONALLY ADD SOME COMMENTS AS WELL. 
          I KNOW THAT WE HAVE HAD GREAT JOY WORKING WITH GREG IN HONESTLY THE ENTIRE TIME THAT HE'S WORKED WITH US. 
          UH, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF ABILITY TO WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH HIM ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT MATTERS, BOTH AT THE CSC LEVEL, INDIVIDUALLY AS CHAIR AND IN OUR WORKING GROUPS AND WITH HIS STAFF. 
          UM, AND TRULY IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH HIM. 
          SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO SUPPORT HIM. 
          I THINK EVEN AS, AND THE COMMITTEE VERY CLEARLY ACKNOWLEDGED THIS IN OUR MEETING, THAT EVEN IF WE MIGHT MIGHT'VE HAD A FEW CONCERNS WITH THE PROCESS AND WE HOPE TO ENGAGE MORE WITH THE BOARD, WE REALLY FELT LIKE GREG IS A VERY STRONG CANDIDATE FOR THIS POSITION. 
          WE'RE TRULY EXCITED TO SEE HIM, UM, MOVE FORWARD IN THIS POSITION. 
          I WILL ALSO, HONESTLY, I REALLY WANNA THANK, UM, THE CHAIR AND I ALSO WANNA THANK BOARD MEMBER GARZA FOR HAVING SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR GOVERNANCE WORKING GROUP, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE SOME HONEST AND CLEAR CONVERSATIONS AND FOR WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH ME ON IDENTIFYING THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS. 
          UM, AS SOME OF YOU MIGHT KNOW, I COULD NOT ATTEND ANY OF IT BECAUSE I CAUGHT COVID , BUT COMING OUT OF COVID, I WANNA SAY WHAT I HEARD FROM OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS WAS THAT THESE, THESE MEETINGS ARE REALLY A SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO HAVE A VERY CLEAR CONVERSATION AND THAT IT WAS VERY EXCITING. 
          UM, I ALSO JUST REALLY WANNA, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SIMILARLY, WHILE WE WERE NOT ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH THE CAP METRO BOARD ON THE APPOINTMENT OF MS. WATKINS, WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF GREAT, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH HER. 
          WE REALLY APPRECIATE HER PARTNER AND HER STAFF'S PARTNERSHIP IN THIS WORK. 
          AS WELL AS FOLKS KNOW WE'RE WORKING WITH ALL THREE BODIES IN THIS. 
          UM, AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT JUNCTURE TO DO THIS WORK. 
          SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN ALL CONTINUE TOGETHER FORWARD, BUT WE CAN ALSO WORK IN A WAY THAT REALLY BUILDS TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, EBE. 
          UM, I, LIKE, BEFORE YOU STEP OFF, I REALLY WANNA THANK YOU FOR NOT ONLY THE IMMENSE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH US, UM, BUT ALSO THE DEVOTION WITH WHICH, AND THE HONOR IN WHICH YOU HELPED US GUIDE THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE GOING TO BE ASKED DURING THOSE FORUM AND SHAPE THOSE QUESTIONS. 
          SO, I KNOW YOU WERE STILL WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES EVEN AS YOU WERE TRYING TO RECOVER FROM C AND SO I, I THINK YOU HAVE AN ALLY IN MAYOR WATSON THAT HE ALSO HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS. 
          SO YOU HERE , SO I UNDERSTAND THAT I, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE EFFORTS AND ALL OF THE KIND LEADERSHIP AND WISDOM THAT YOU'VE PROVIDED TO US. 
          UM, AND ALSO I THINK I, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ALSO, BILL, DO YOU WANNA COME FORWARD? YES. 
          UM, TO ADDRESS THE BOARD AND JUST FOR CLARITY, WE HAD DEDICATED THIS SPACE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY SUBMITTED AN ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUBMITTED LETTERS ON THIS PROCESS TO HAVE MORE THAN THE THREE MINUTES TO REALLY ADDRESS THE BOARD AND THEIR CONCERNS AND HOW THEY ENGAGE WITH US. 
          AND THAT'S THE TIME I WAS ACTUALLY GONNA INVITE JP TO ALSO JOIN. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, THE FLOOR IS YOURS AGAIN, IF YOU WANNA COME OVER HERE AND, UH, AND JOIN IN THIS, UH, DELIBERATIONS OF, OF SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCES, BECAUSE I THINK ONLY WHEN WE HAVE THE CLARITY OF CONVERSATION, WE'LL WE'LL GET TO CLARITY. 
          SO WITH THAT, I'LL PASS THE MIC TO YOU. 
          UM, WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR MEMBERS BOARD. 
          MY NAME IS BILL CAMERON. 
          I'M EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FOUR. 
          WE ARE AN AUSTIN FIVE ONE WITH THE MISSION OF ENGAGING AND EDUCATING OUR, OH, THERE WE ARE. 
          MY NAME IS BILL MCKINLEY, I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TRANSIT FORD. 
          I JUST EXPLAINED EVERYTHING. 
          UM, OUR BOARD HAS, UH, ISSUED A STATEMENT ON THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, AND I'D LIKE TO READ THAT AND FOLLOW WITH SOME PERSONAL COMMENTS, IF THAT'S OKAY. 
          FIRST, WE BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT MR. CANAL DESERVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE AS PERMANENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR A TP. 
          HE HAS EXHIBITED NUMEROUS QUALITIES IN HIS SERVICE IN THE INTERIM CAPACITY, INCLUDING A HIGH WORK ETHIC, A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE REGION'S FISCAL POLICIES, THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE IN A CLEAR AND EFFECTIVE MANNER TO NUMEROUS DIFFERENT AUDIENCES, EXCELLENT RESPONSIVENESS AND AN APTITUDE IN DEVELOPING CRITICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATORS. 
          THEREFORE, WE FULLY ENCOURAGE THE A TP BOARD TO APPOINT HIM WITH A PERMANENT CONTRACT IN AN EFFORT TO CONTINUE THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTIN'S LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM WITHOUT INTERPRET, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. 
          SECOND, WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE INPUT AS TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION. 
          GENERALLY AT TRANSIT FORWARD, WE CONSISTENTLY PROMOTE INTERDEPARTMENT INTRA-AGENCY AND INTER-AGENCY COLLABORATION AND EFFICIENCY. 
          THEREFORE, WE ASK THAT ONE OF THE OVERALL DELIVERABLES FOR THE POSITION BE TO ESTABLISH CLEAR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE COMPLETION OF PROJECT CONNECT, BOTH WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION AND EXTERNALLY WITH THE CITY AND CAPITAL METRO. 
          FURTHERMORE, TRANSIT FORWARD INSISTS ON ACCOUNTABLE AND TRANSPARENT EXECUTION OF VOTER 
          [01:30:01]
APPROVED TRANSIT PROJECTS, WHICH INCLUDES PROP A FROM 2020 AND ADVOCATES AT ALL NECESSARY LEVELS OF ELECTED AND APPOINTED LEADERSHIP IN FURTHERANCE OF ON SCHEDULE, ON BUDGET DELIVERY. 
          FOR THIS REASON, WE ENCOURAGE THE A TP BOARD TO BUILD INTO ANY CONTRACT, UH, THE EXECUTION OF HARD WELL-DEFINED DELIVERABLES IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE OUR WORLD-CLASS CITY GETS A WORLD-CLASS TRANSIT SYSTEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. 
          AND MADAM CHAIR, IF I JUST MAY ADD A, A COUPLE OF PERSONAL COMMENTS. 
          UH, FIRST I REALLY WANT TO EXPRESS HOW THANKFUL WE ARE FOR THE PROCESS THAT WAS PUT INTO PLACE FOR THIS, UH, FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS. 
          I LUCKILY DID NOT GET COVID THAT I KNOW OF, AND WAS ABLE TO ATTEND BOTH THE MEETINGS IN THIS ROOM AND OVER AT THE EAST SIDE IN THE RECREATION CENTER. 
          AND WE THOUGHT THAT THE CONVERSATION WAS EXCELLENT, THE COMMUNICATION WAS GOOD. 
          UH, THERE WAS A REAL ABILITY FOR FOLKS TO SHOW UP, ASKED QUESTIONS OF MR. CANAL, BOTH PERSONALLY, BUT ALSO COMMENT ON THIS PROCESS GENERALLY. 
          AND WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR THAT. 
          AND WE'RE REALLY THANKFUL FOR YOU AND MR. GARZA REALLY PUTTING IN THE EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THOSE WERE EXCELLENT MEETINGS AND WE WERE THERE. 
          WE SAW IT AND WE APPRECIATE IT. 
          UH, WE ALSO APPRECIATE THE REACTION OF YOUR STAFF TO OUR STATEMENT. 
          THEY WERE BACK TO US VERY, VERY QUICKLY. 
          UM, AND WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO BE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT THAT YOU PUT OUT. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          THE LAST THING I WILL SAY IS THIS STATEMENT WAS ACTUALLY WRITTEN BEFORE THE COMMUNITY PROCESS MEETINGS THAT HAPPENED. 
          AND MR. CANAL'S INTERACTION WITH THE PUBLIC DID NOTHING TO DISABUSE US OF ANYTHING WE SAID BEFORE. 
          IN FACT, IT ONLY ENHANCED HOW WELL HE HAS DONE IN TERMS OF OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION WITH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          AND WE APPRECIATE THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, THANK YOU FOR THE TIME TO SPEAK TODAY. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. HAMLEY, AND THANK YOU FOR SHOWING UP AND BRINGING ALONG YOUR, YOUR ORGANIZATION AND ELEVATING THE IMPORTANCE OF, OF THIS TOPIC. 
          UM, JEAN PAOLO, DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER COMMENTS? ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SAY? UM, NOT MANY. 
          I THINK WE, YOU KNOW, THE LETTER KIND OF ENCAPSULATED OUR, UM, PRIMARY CONCERNS AS THE A TX MOBILITY COALITION WHEN WE GOT TOGETHER AND DISCUSSED THIS. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, AS WELL AS THE, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WAS COVERED BY THE CAC LETTER, UM, WHICH SOME OF US ON THE A TX MOBILITY COALITION WERE ALSO, UM, ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE, IN THE WRITING OF, I THINK I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE JUST ANECDOTALLY, JUST REALLY KIND OF CLARIFY WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM AND WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT TO US. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAME FROM A, A A A STRING OF REALLY BIG IMPORTANT DECISIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT THE PROJECT COMING OUT TO THE PUBLIC AND TO THE PRESS, UM, IN WAYS THAT SEEMED TO HAVE BYPASSED OR NOT REALLY GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS OF THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE OTHER, UM, BODIES THAT WERE FORMED TO ADVISE THIS PROJECT. 
          AND PARTICULARLY NOW AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO REALLY IMPORTANT DECISIONS AND CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE PROJECT'S FUTURE, WE REALLY WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE VALUE OF THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT. 
          A LOT OF TIME, A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO WRITING THOSE, AND WHAT WE SAW WERE SOME DECISIONS, INCLUDING THE DECISIONS ABOUT EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP IN BOTH PROJECTS THAT DIDN'T REALLY FOLLOW THOSE COMMITMENTS AROUND THE TIMELINE, AROUND THE, THE PUBLIC NOTICE AROUND THE TIME TO ENGAGE AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. 
          BUT NOW WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT AND, AND, AND NOT MORE IMPORTANT, BUT DIFFERENT, BUT ALSO, BUT DECISIONS THAT WILL IMPACT TRANSIT RIDERS, BUS USERS, WORKING CLASS PEOPLE IN THIS CITY MUCH MORE DIRECTLY. 
          UM, AND THOSE DECISIONS, WE, WE REQUEST THAT THIS BOARD UPHOLD THE COMMITMENTS TO GIVING THE COMMUNITY THE TIME TO ENGAGE MEANINGFULLY WITH THOSE DECISIONS. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WOULD, WE JUST WANTED TO BE HERE, SEND A LETTER AND REITERATE THE FACT THAT THIS IS VERY MUCH ON OUR RADARS. 
          WE VALUE THIS PROJECT VERY MUCH. 
          WE SEE OURSELVES AS ALLIES OF THIS PROJECT. 
          WE WANT PRO PROJECT CONNECT TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND A SUCCESS STORY FOR ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UM, AND WE DON'T BELIEVE IT CAN BE WITHOUT REAL MEANINGFUL, ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION OF THE FOLKS WHO USE AND BENEFIT FROM THE SYSTEM. 
          SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WISDOM AND, AND, AND THE HARD WORDS BECAUSE I, I WILL ALWAYS APPRECIATE WHEN WE GET, UM, CALLED OUT ON THINGS THAT HAVE DISAPPOINTED THE COMMUNITY. 
          I, YOU HAVE MY, MY RESPECT AND, UH, GRATITUDE FOR, FOR BRINGING THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR SHOWING UP AND ASKING TO BE SO CRUCIAL IN, IN THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM. 
          UH, I'LL ALSO LIKE TO OPEN THE FLOOR TO MEMBER GARZA BECAUSE YOU, YOU REALLY SHEPHERD THIS ALONGSIDE WITH ME. 
          UM, AND I REALLY ARE ARE GRATEFUL AND APPRECIATIVE BECAUSE FOR EVERY ONE OF THESE MEETINGS THAT 
          [01:35:01]
WE HAD, YOU WERE THERE BY MY SIDE AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WELL, I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, JUST A COMPLETE COMPILATION OF ALL YOUR REMARKS. 
          I'M GOING TO MOVE LATER ON THAT THIS BE ADDED AS AN ADDENDUM TO THE CONTRACT THAT WE ENTER INTO WITH MR. CANELLI, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I DIDN'T FORGOTTEN. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS UPON YOUR COMMENTS TO BE FORCEFUL OR CONSTRUCTIVE. 
          I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN. 
          OKAY, BUT I, I HAD ANOTHER ONE THING. 
          UH, OKAY, GOT IT. 
          SO NOW WE'D LIKE TO 
          [8.2 Action Item 5 Discussion and potential approval of a resolution appointing Greg Canally as the Executive Director of the Austin Transit Partnership and authorizing the Board Chair to negotiate and execute an employment contract for the same]
REQUEST A MOTION AND A SECOND ON ACTION ITEM NUMBER FIVE FOR DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION APPROVING GREG CANE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP AND AUTHORIZING THE BOARD CHAIR TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT FOR THE SAME. 
          IS THERE A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THIS ITEM? I KNOW. 
          SO MOVE WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, PROVISO THAT, THAT THIS REPORT BE ADDED AS ADDENDUM TO THAT CONTRACT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MOVE BY MEMBER GARZA. 
          DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. 
          SECOND BY MAYOR WATSON. 
          UM, DISCUSSION BOARD MEMBERS, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? NO. 
          UM, I DID PREPARE SOME ADDITIONAL REMARKS. 
          UM, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE PRIOR TO TAKING MY VOTE THAT I HAVE WITNESSED DIRECTLY THE DAMAGE AND THE HEALING POWER THAT OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS CAN CAUSE. 
          I RECOGNIZE THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT MADE IN JANUARY WAS NOT ONLY RECEIVED WITH JOY, WITH SOME ELEMENTS OF SURPRISE, BUT ALSO WITH SOME CONFUSION THAT FRAGMENTED THE TRUST OF OUR COMMUNITY. 
          I WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO APOLOGIZE FOR HOW THE STATEMENTS MADE BY THIS BOARD ON JANUARY CAUSE HARM. 
          OUR INTENTION WAS TO SHARE THE AUSPICIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE CANDIDACY OF AN OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL, GREG CANALI, TO BE PRESENTED AND VETTED BY THE COMMUNITY. 
          TODAY, I WILL CAUSE MY VOTE WITH THE INTEGRITY OF CONSCIENCE THAT WE HAVE LISTENED TO OUR PARTNERS, OUR STAKEHOLDERS, OUR TEAMS, THE CONSULTANTS, AND THE STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN LED BY GREG CANELLI IN HIS TENURED AS INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP, AS WELL AS HIS LONG CAREER IN CITY GOVERNMENT. 
          THE OUM TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT NEEDS, AT THIS JUNCTURE, STABILITY AND CONTINUED MOMENTUM IN DELIVERING THE VISIONARY TRANSIT PROGRAM. 
          MY VOTE TODAY IS ROOTED IN CONVICTION THAT MR. CANAL IS THE RIGHT APPOINTMENT FOR THIS PROGRAM, FOR THIS COMMUNITY. 
          AT THIS TIME, I, AS A CHAIR OF THIS BOARD, I'M FULLY COMMITTED TO HONOR THE TRUST IMPARTED ON US AND RECOGNIZE IN APPOINTMENTS OF THIS CALIBER HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR THIS COMMUNITY TO SEE THEIR DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS REFLECTED NOT JUST IN THE WORK, BUT IN THE CHARACTER OF THE LEADER THAT WE CHOOSE. 
          SO I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS, UH, MEMBER GARZA AND I SECOND YOUR ENTHUSIASM TO INCLUDE THE RE THE COMMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY AS PART OF THE CONTRACT. 
          AND YOU HAVE MY COMMITMENT THAT I WILL NEVER DISHONOR THE TRUST OF THIS BOARD. 
          AND WITH THAT, UM, ANY FURTHER COMMENTS? DISCUSSION? NO. 
          IT SHOULD BE A HAPPY MOMENT, . 
          LET'S GET ON WITH IT. 
          OKAY. 
          BACK TO WORK. 
          SO I WOULD LIKE TO CALL FOR A VOTE. 
          EVERYONE IN FAVOR OF THIS VERY IMPORTANT APPOINTMENT, PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          THE VOTE IS UNANIMOUS. 
          CONGRATULATIONS. 
          MR. IS YOURS, ? WELL, WE'RE GONNA GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO TALK. 
          . 
          WHAT, WHAT'S YOUR STOP TIME, MAYOR? I, I CAN DON'T MAKE ME REGRET ANYTHING. 
          YEAH, . 
          I COULD TEXT BARBARA AND MAYBE GET A COUPLE EXTRA MINUTES. 
          UM, WELL THANK YOU MADAM 
          [01:40:01]
CHAIR AND BOARD. 
          UM, AND THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY FOR ENGAGING WITH US OVER THESE LAST EIGHT MONTHS AS WE ARE ADVANCING YOUR VISION. 
          UH, THE TRUE HONOR OF NOT ONLY GETTING TO WORK WITH THE BOARD, SOME NEW FACES, SOME OLD FACES, UM, IS ALL THE NEW FOLKS THAT I'VE GOTTEN TO MEET IN THIS NEW PART OF MY PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNEY. 
          UH, ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY ESPECIALLY. 
          IT'S BEEN FANTASTIC. 
          UM, AUSTIN IS ALIVE WITH FANTASTIC TALENT. 
          UM, WE'RE A GREAT CITY 'CAUSE WE BRING THAT TALENT TOGETHER. 
          UM, SO I WANT TO THANK ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT I'VE HAD A CHANCE TO ENGAGE WITH. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, OUR A TP TEAM, UM, EVERY DAY, THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING ON BEHALF OF THIS COMMUNITY. 
          FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A WEEK, FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR TWO YEARS, THROW ALL THEIR ENERGY INTO THIS DAY AND NIGHT AND WEEKEND. 
          UM, AND I AM SO PROUD TO GET TO WORK WITH THEM. 
          UM, SO, UH, LET'S GET BACK TO WORK. 
           WELL WITH CLAPPING AND CELEBRATION. 
          THIS CONCLUDES THE MARCH 1ST, 2023 A TP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING. 
          I WANT TO THANK THE BOARD OF STAFF AS WELL AS THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT. 
          AS WE WORK TO SELECT OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE AUSTIN COUNCIL PARTNERSHIP. 
          THE MEETING OF THE A P BOARD STANDS ADJOURNED. 
          THE TIME IS 8:00 AM THANK.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.