* 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.
          [00:00:01]
          EVERYONE, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY FOR THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING. 
          I WILL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. 
          TODAY IS AUGUST 24TH, 2022, AND THE TIME IS 2:10 PM THE AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE AND OTHER INTERPRETER SERVICES. 
          WE JUST REQUEST THAT YOU LET CHLOE MAXWELL KNOW AHEAD OF TIME AND HER CONTACT INFORMATION IS IN EACH AGENDA POSTING. 
          AND, 
          [ 1. Official Seating of New Board Member]
UM, TODAY WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL GUEST AND NO LONGER A GUEST BECAUSE HE WILL NOW BE OFFICIALLY JOINING US. 
          SO, WELCOME, UH, COMMISSIONER BILION, CHAIR TIAN FROM CAPITAL METRO. 
          YOU HAVE ALL THE TITLES THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT HOW WOULD YOU FIRST LIKE TO BE ADDRESSED? JUDGE WILL BE JUST . 
          AND WE'RE SO DELIGHTED TO HAVE YOU HERE TODAY. 
          I AM HONORED THAT CAP METRO HAS ELECTED YOU TO JOIN US IN THIS JOURNEY OF DELIVERING PROJECT CONNECT FOR OUR COMMUNITY. 
          WE KNOW THAT YOU BRING DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, NOT JUST IN PUBLIC SERVICE, BUT IN HOW YOU SHEPHERD PROJECT CONNECT TO A SUCCESSFUL REFERENDUM. 
          SO THAT HISTORY, THAT LEGACY, IT REALLY IS SOMETHING THAT THIS PROGRAM NEEDS IN YOUR LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE. 
          AND YOUR APPOINTMENT SHORTLY FOLLOWS DOTTIE'S APPOINTMENT WHEN THIS BOARD WAS INCREASED TO ADD ANOTHER EXOFFICIO MEMBER. 
          SO WITH HAVING BOTH OF YOU HERE JOINING US, I THINK THIS REALLY SHOWS A VERY STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO DELIVER THIS PROGRAM TOGETHER. 
          SO WITH THIS, I'D LIKE TO, UM, COMMEMORATE YOUR OFFICIAL SITTING AND IF YOU WILL INDULGE ME QUICKLY, WE'LL LIKE TO HAVE A REQUEST, TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE BOARD TO COMMEMORATE THIS. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU SITTING HERE WITH US, SO IF YOU DON'T MIND IF I CAN TAKE EVERYBODY YOU WAIT FOR JENNA TO SHOW UP. 
          OH YEAH, SHE'S A LITTLE LATE 'CAUSE SHE'S AT A COMMITTEE MEETING AND, UM, YES, I WOULD LOVE FOR REGINA TO BE IN THE FIND A MOMENT. 
          YES, SOMEWHERE IN HERE. 
          WE'RE GONNA BREAK AND TAKE THAT PHOTO, BUT I KNOW YOU HAVE AN, A COMMITMENT AT THE END OF THE MEETING, SO WE, WE WILL TRY NOT TO KEEP YOU TOO LONG. 
          JUST STAY AS LONG AS I CAN. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          UM, JUST REMEMBER, PICK UP MY WIFE. 
          I, I BELIEVE WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS TODAY. 
          UM, I DON'T THINK WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE IN THE MEETING, BUT IF ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE HERE WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD, UM, SPEAK NOW. 
          THIS IS YOUR CHANCE. 
          UM, SO IF NOBODY WANTS TO SPEAK MAYOR OR NO, NO, I JUST HADN'T BEEN IN A ROOM LIKE THIS WHERE NO ONE WANTED TO SPEAK AROUND. 
          . 
          JUST A LITTLE STARTLED IF I . 
          WELL, I, I TOOK THAT NOTE FROM WATCHING THE COUNCIL MEETINGS WHERE IT'S LIKE, ARE WE DONE WITH SPEAKERS? IS THERE ANYBODY HERE ELSE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WANTS TO SPEAK? SO I TOOK A NOTE FROM YOUR LEADERSHIP THERE. 
          UM, SO TODAY WE'RE GONNA HAVE, I'LL START WITH THE TECHNICAL 
          [3.a. Engineering, Architecture & Construction Committee]
ADVISORY REPORTS. 
          UM, AND TO NOT BE REPETITIVE BECAUSE ONE THING, IF YOU ALL TUNED IN AT WHAT HAPPENED AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING WHERE WE HAD THE WORKSHOP WITH THE EXPERTS, UM, THE SAME PRESENTATION HAPPENED AT ALL THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 
          SO WHAT I'M GONNA GIVE YOU IS THE HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT HAPPENED THAT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION AFTER THE TECHNICAL TEAM, UM, PRESENTED THEIR, THEIR FINDINGS. 
          UM, AND LET ME GET TO MY PART SO I CAN JUST GUIDE YOU ON WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE EAC MEETING, WHICH HAPPENED ON AUGUST 10TH. 
          UM, LEMME SEE. 
          LEMME GET TO IT. 
          JUST A SECOND IN THE FRONT. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          HERE IT IS. 
          GOT IT, GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE HAD THE, WE MET ON AUGUST 10TH, 2022. 
          WE HAD 25 FOLKS IN ATTENDANCE. 
          THE TECHNICAL TEAM PRESENTED THE UPDATE ON THE LIGHT RAIL PLAN AND, UM, ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS WAS HOW ARE WE GONNA BRING THE PROGRAM INTO BUDGET AND SELECT THE INITIAL INVESTMENT. 
          SO WHAT THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED AS WE WALK THROUGH ALL OF THE, UH, THE THINGS THAT ARE AT STAKE WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MAXIMIZE AT THIS POINT IN TIME 
          [00:05:01]
THE FEDERAL GRANTS. 
          AND SO WHAT WOULD MAKE US BE THE MOST INVESTIBLE PROJECT FOR THEM FOR FDA? UM, ALL OF THIS WAS IN CONCURRENCE TO ENSURE, AND WE COMMUNICATED THIS TO THE TEAM THAT WE'RE NOT EXPECTING TO INCREASE THE CURRENT TAX RATE. 
          SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO WITH THE VALUE ENGINEERING, IT WOULD BE DONE INTO SCOPE AND DESIGN. 
          HI GINA. 
          FACING IN SEQUENCE SERVICE PLAN AND TECHNOLOGY, REVENUE AND DELIVERY METHOD AND RISK. 
          AND THE FACILITIES TO RECEIVE TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND MODIFICATION INCLUDE THE TUNNEL LENGTH WITH SCOPE AND ALIGNMENT CROSSING, SPECIALLY RELATIVE TO LADY BEAR. 
          LAKE MAINTENANCE IS STORAGE YARD AND FACILITY THAT DETERMINES THE STARTING OF THE PROJECT BASED ON THE MAINTENANCE FACILITIES, ANY CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS IN PARTNERSHIPS, AND WHAT WOULD BE THE STRATEGY FOR REAL ESTATE. 
          AND RIGHT AWAY, THE EAC MEMBERS SUGGESTED A SCALING MATRIX TO HELP RATE CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE ALIGNMENT TO SHOW THE PROPERTIES AS A WAY TO HELP ENSURE THAT THE PROJECT REFLECTS THE COMMUNITY'S PRIORITIES. 
          AND THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS ALSO RECOMMENDED CLEAR DOCUMENTATIONS OF DECISIONS AS THEY'RE MADE SO THAT THE PROJECT ISN'T DELAYED BY RETURNING TO THE SAME ISSUES MULTIPLE TIMES. 
          SO WE WILL HAVE A FOLLOW UP MEETING, UM, ABOUT THIS TOPIC AND TO GIVE AN EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRAM. 
          AND DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? NO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO NOW MOVING ON. 
          UM, WE WILL HAVE THE SUSTAINABILITY 
          [3.b. Planning, Sustainability, Equity & DBE Advisory Committee]
EQUITY AND DBA ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT PRESENTED BY BOARD MEMBER FCA. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, THE PSEC MEETING, UH, COMMITTEE MET ON AUGUST 16TH. 
          WE HAD A RELATIVELY LIGHT AGENDA FOR THAT MEETING. 
          WE FOCUSED ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, AND WE WERE JOINED BY HGR VICE PRESIDENT BRIAN BUCHANAN FOR THAT PRESENTATION. 
          UH, WE DISCUSSED THE CHALLENGES AROUND IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN AND PHASING OF THE PROJECT, AND THE DISCUSSION REALLY FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS AND MAINTAINING THE TRANSPARENCY DURING THE PROCESS. 
          AS THE TEAM EVALUATES THE DATA AND DECISIONS ARE MADE, THE COMMITTEE ASKED HOW THE TEAM WILL WORK TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S A STRONG REPRESENTATION OF DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES AND THERE WILL BE AN INTENTIONAL AND TARGETED OUTREACH. 
          AND THESE PLANS ARE ALREADY IN DEVELOPMENT. 
          UM, COURTNEY CHAVEZ, OUR, UH, DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND, UH, DISCUSS PLANS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSIONS AS THE TOPIC, UH, PROGRESSES WITH OUR COMMUNITY. 
          THE PSEC MEMBERS ALSO WALKED THROUGH VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE A TP WEBSITE AND, UH, FOCUSED ON IMPROVING ACCESS FOR, FOR USERS AND MAKING THAT A BETTER USER EXPERIENCE. 
          UM, NEXT STEPS AND MORE INFORMATION THAT WAS REQUESTED. 
          THE PSEC MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO DIVE DEEPER INTO THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDING AND PLANNING THAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          AND MEMBERS WOULD LIKE TO INVITE ANNA LAN BACK TO DISCUSS UPDATES ON THE ETOD PROGRAM. 
          UH, MEMBERS WERE INVOLVED IN REVIEW OF THE EQUITY GOALS AND THE OUTCOMES IN DEVELOPING MEASURES OVER THE NEXT FEW MEETINGS. 
          ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU MRCA. 
          ANY QUESTIONS FOR BOARD MEMBER FCA? UM, NEXT 
          [3.c. Finance & Risk Advisory Committee]
WE HAVE THE FINANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE REPORT, WHICH WILL BE SHARED BY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, CHAIR. 
          UM, THE FINANCE AND RISK COMMITTEE MET ON OCT, UH, AUGUST 9TH. 
          WE HAD NINE MEMBERS OF THE FAR IN ATTENDANCE IN ADDITION TO STAFF AND, UH, CONSULTANTS. 
          WE STARTED OFF WITH A BRIEFING ON THE LIGHT RAIL DEVELOPMENT FROM, UM, HDR. 
          THAT WAS A GOOD BRIEFING. 
          UH, GREG ALSO DID AN INTRODUCTION. 
          I THINK MOST OF THE QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED. 
          UM, NO MAJOR CONCERNS. 
          I THINK THERE WAS A CONSENSUS FROM THE COMMITTEE THAT, UM, REPOSITIONING THE PROGRAM AND KIND OF FIGURING OUT WHAT THE RIGHT FIRST PROJECT TO START WITH AND HOW WE MAKE OUR SOURCES EQUAL USES WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. 
          AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE BRIEFING THE FAR AND FUTURE MEETINGS ON HOW WE'RE DOING ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. 
          WE ALSO HAD A BRIEFING FROM DIANE, UH, SILLER AND JAMIE ATKINSON ON THE PROPOSED FY 23 BUDGET. 
          UH, HAD SOME GOOD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET. 
          UH, AND THEN LASTLY, WE HAD A BRIEFING FROM KATIE HOUSTON, OUR INTERNAL AUDITOR ON THE DRAFT AUDIT PLAN FOR THE COMING FISCAL YEAR. 
          SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE COMMITTEE WERE, UM, AND DISCUSSIONS WERE INFLATIONARY PR PRESSURES. 
          WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS AND THE SIGNIFICANT RISK ON CAPITAL PROJECTS ONCE ENGINEERING IS COMPLETE, AND FEDERAL PARTNERS HAVE COMMITTED 
          [00:10:01]
TO THE TOTAL COST. 
          WE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT ANY FUTURE ESCALATION, UH, AFTER THE F FDA IS COMMITTED, UH, AND DONE A FULL FUNDING GRANT THAT, UM, THAT ESCALATION WOULD BE A RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LOCAL MATCH. 
          SO UNDERSTANDING THAT RISK AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE COMFORTABLE AND THAT, UH, WE LOCK DOWN AS LATE AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. 
          UH, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO DISCUSS HOW PROJECTS ARE COMBINED AND SEPARATED, HOW THAT COULD BE CRITICAL TO BALANCE OVERRUNS AGAINST SAVINGS. 
          AND THERE WAS A DISCUSSION ABOUT REAL ESTATE COSTS SEEMED TO BE STABILIZING WITH RESPECT TO RIGHT AWAY ACQUISITIONS. 
          SO THAT'S KIND OF MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. 
          THERE WERE SOME DISCUSSIONS ON THE, UH, BUDGET PRESENTATION THAT I, I KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT LATER, UH, ABOUT ADDITIONAL DETAIL, UH, ON FY 23 BUDGET. 
          UM, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UH, PERSONNEL FOR FULL-TIME STAFF VERSUS CONSULTANTS AND HOW THAT BALANCE IS, UH, DETERMINED WHAT THE RIGHT BALANCE IS. 
          UM, THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SEEING ADDITIONAL DETAIL ABOUT, UH, STAFF BY ACTIVITY, UH, SECONDED STAFF. 
          UM, THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED IN IN FUTURE BUDGET QUESTIONS. 
          UM, THE FAR WOULD LIKE STAFF TO PRESENT, I BELIEVE IN OCTOBER, THE FTA FUNDING PROCESS, HOW THAT'S GONNA WORK, WHAT RISKS THERE MIGHT BE, UM, HOW THAT WHOLE PROCESS LAYS OUT. 
          UM, SO I THINK THAT'LL BE AN OCTOBER PRESENTATION, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN. 
          ANY QUESTIONS? THANKS. 
          ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? NO. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE DETAIL. 
          THANKS. 
          REPORT. 
          UM, SO MAYBE THIS IS A REALLY GOOD TIME. 
          WE WERE WANTING TO HAVE A PHOTO WITH JEFF PBIL TO BOARD MEMBER, JEFF TO COMMEMORATE JOINING THE BOARD AND AS WELL OFFICIALLY WITH DOTIE. 
          I DON'T THINK WE EVER HAD AN OFFICIAL PHOTO WITH YOU, DOTTIE. 
          SO LET'S DO THIS NOW. 
          I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME. 
          UM, AND THEN WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE MEETING. 
          YEAH. 
          DO WE WANT TO COME BACK OR COME TO THE LET'S OR OUTSIDE? YEAH, INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. 
          I WOULD LOVE FOR YOU GUYS TO BE OUTSIDE, INSIDE, INSIDE TWO AND OKAY. 
          WE KNOW WHERE WE, 3, 2, 1. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OFFICIALLY WELCOME. 
          IT IS, IT'S, WE WERE HERE PROOF OF BOARD. 
          IT'S GOOD FOR OUR TIME SHEETS. 
          WE KNOW WE WERE HERE. 
          THAT COULD BE LIKE A RAN. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL, I WILL TELL YOU ONE THING THAT REALLY STOOD OUT TO ME WHEN YOU DID MY INTERVIEW, UH, COMMISSIONER TRILLIAN, WAS YOU KNEW I WAS NERVOUS DURING THE INTERVIEW, AND YOU'RE LIKE, HOW ARE YOU FEELING? AND I SAID, I AM NERVOUS. 
          AND YOU'RE LIKE, TAKE A DEEP BREATH. 
          YOU ARE AMONG FRIENDS . 
          SO, AND NOW I WANNA REPEAT THE SAME MESSAGE TO YOU. 
          YOU ARE AMONG FRIENDS, SO WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO WE WILL NOW TAKE UP ITEM 
          [4. Executive Director Report]
FOUR AND HEAR FROM ATP'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GREG CANALI. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UM, I ALSO JUST WANNA, UM, ACKNOWLEDGE COMMISSIONER TRILLIAN JOINING US AS WELL. 
          UM, I, I WAS SITTING HERE THINKING I, THE FIRST TIME WE PROBABLY WERE EVER MEETING TOGETHER WAS, I WOULD SAY, AT LEAST 20 YEARS AGO, IF NOT MORE, AT THE OLD CITY HALL IN SOME CUBBY HOLE OF AN OFFICE OVER THERE. 
          AND SO TO GET TO SIT HERE WITH YOU ON THE DIOCESE IS TRULY AN HONOR FROM ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE OVER THESE LAST 20 YEARS. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR WILLING TO JOIN US. 
          AND, AND, UH, JUST ECHO, UH, THE CHAIR'S COMMENTS, YOUR, UM, YOUR LEADERSHIP TO GET US TO THE, UH, ELECTION AND IN WHERE WE ARE MOVING FORWARD IS, IS HAS BEEN VALUED. 
          AND WE'LL CONTINUE. 
          SO THANK YOU 
          [00:15:01]
AND THANK YOU FOR OUR LONG-TERM, UM, FRIENDSHIP AS WELL. 
          SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE. 
          WE, YOU AGAIN? YES. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          I DID WANNA SPEND SOME TIME JUST QUICKLY UPDATING. 
          WE ACTUALLY HAVE A, A AN AGENDA TODAY. 
          AND, UH, CHAIR, I KNOW YOU MENTIONED LAST WEEK, WE HAD, THE LAST MONTH WE HAD THE DEEP DIVE ON THE PROJECT. 
          AND IF YOU RECALL, UM, WHEN WE, WHEN I STARTED THE IDEA OF, OF ASSESSING WHERE WE WERE ON THE PROJECT, ON THE LIGHT RAIL SPECIFICALLY, AND, AND OVERALL PROJECT CONNECT, AND THEN ALSO ASSESSING A TP SO THAT WE CAN BE READY AND AGILE TO KEEP MOVING ON IMPLEMENTATION. 
          AND SO I THINK TODAY'S BOARD MEETING IS IN ESSENCE FOCUSED A LOT ON A TP ABOUT WHO WE ARE. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE AUDIT PLAN. 
          SO I THINK IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AROUND A TP, UH, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF CREATING AN ORGANIZATION AND WHAT THAT MEANS. 
          UM, SO IF YOU ALLOW ME, I JUST HAVE A FEW THINGS TO UPDATE. 
          I WANNA FIRST MENTION, UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE THAT WE HAVE HERE, UM, THE INITIAL JUST INITIAL ASSESSMENTS OVER THESE FIRST THREE MONTHS, I'VE MADE SOME MINOR, UH, MODIFICATIONS TO THE DIRECT REPORTING STRUCTURE TO THE, TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. 
          AND I THINK WHAT THESE REALLY DO IS REFLECT THE NEED FOR US AS AN AGILE CORPORATION, COMMUNITY CORPORATION TO BE FLAT, TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ALWAYS, UH, CROSSWALK WITH EACH OTHER. 
          AND SO JUST TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THOSE CHANGES AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, BRINGING ON A CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER. 
          THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          WE'VE HEARD THAT FROM THE BOARD. 
          WE'VE HEARD THAT FROM OUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, CLEARLY COMMUNICATING ALL THESE GREAT THINGS WE'RE DOING AND COLLABORATING WITH THE CITY AND CAP METRO IN THOSE EFFORTS. 
          UM, AS WE KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT, I BELIEVE AT OUR JUNE MEETING, UH, DAVE COUCH WILL BE, UH, MOVING ON AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER. 
          AND SO WE HAVE STARTED RECRUITING FOR THAT POSITION AS A CHIEF OF ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO THOSE TWO GREEN BOXES ARE ACTIVELY OPEN, UH, RECRUITMENTS TO JOIN OUR TEAM. 
          WE'VE HAD AMAZING TALENT FROM ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY. 
          JOIN US, UH, HERE, BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY. 
          AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING THROUGH THOSE PROCESSES HERE OVER THE NEXT, OVER THE NEXT MONTH. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, I WANT TO, UM, UH, RECOGNIZE ANOTHER CHANGE THAT WE'VE MADE. 
          ONE OF THE KEY PROCESSES THAT WE DO IS REALLY OUR PLANNING FUNCTIONS AND OUR RISK FUNCTIONS. 
          UM, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE JEN PINE JOINING US FROM, I CAN'T SAY JOINING US ANYMORE. 
          SHE'S BEEN HERE, SHE'S AN OLD AUSTINITE AT THIS POINT. 
          , UM, IF YOU'VE BEEN HERE MORE THAN A MONTH, YOU'RE AN OLD AUSTINITE. 
          SURE. 
          AND, UM, WHAT SHE'S BROUGHT TO THE TEAM, HER CRITICAL THINKING, HER ABILITY TO WORK ACROSS ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN A TP WORK WITH CAPITAL METRO, WORK WITH THE CITY. 
          AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, JEN HAS REALLY BEEN LEADING THE FTA LIAISON PROCESS FOR ALL OF PROJECT CONNECT, WORKING WITH CAPITAL METRO ON, ON GETTING THEM CLOSER TO FINALIZING THE SMALL START GRANT AGREEMENTS WITH MOLLY AND THE TEAM. 
          UM, AND ALSO ON ALL OF OUR LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS. 
          BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE KNOW WE HAVE MORE PLANNING WORK TO DO, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF RISK AROUND OUR PROJECT CONTROL. 
          SO, UH, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT ROLE AND ELEVATE THAT ROLE UP AS A DIRECT REPORT. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE DONE AS WELL. 
          SO I WANNA CONGRATULATE JEN ON, ON THAT OPPORTUNITY. 
          UM, THE OTHER THING I WANNA MENTION ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS EARLY, THE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE'RE REPORTING ON PROJECT CONNECT, UM, WHAT WE'VE, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE FOR THIS MEETING AS WE, AS WE, AS WE SAID, WE WOULD GET TO MORE OF A UNIFIED STREAMLINED APPROACH TO REPORTING OUT ON THE OVERALL PROGRAM. 
          THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT. 
          THIS IS REALLY FOR BOTH THE BOARD AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY WE CAN PUT UP ON OUR WEBSITE FROM A HIGH LEVEL, WHERE ARE WE ON THE PROGRAM? WHAT IS THE PROGRAM? AND SO IN YOUR PACKET, YOU HAVE IN ESSENCE WHAT I WOULD USE THE TERM A ONE PAGER. 
          IT SLIPS OVER TO TWO PAGES ON JUST THE STATUS OF OUR MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM. 
          UM, AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, AS YOU LOOK AT THIS IS FEEDBACK ON THIS. 
          WE KNOW THAT THIS IS CURRENTLY THIS SIZE, AND I WOULD ARGUE A YEAR FROM NOW, THIS WILL BE A LOT THICKER, UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD ON DEVELOPING THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM AND THE OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT AS WELL, INCLUDING ME, AND STARTING TO EMBED METRICS INTO THAT PERFORMANCE FUNDING AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE FEDERAL PROCESSES. 
          SO THIS IS OUR, THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO TRANSITION FROM WHAT WAS REALLY MULTIPLE DELIVERIES OF INFORMATION AROUND THE PROGRAM TO TRYING TO STREAMLINE THAT SO THAT IT'S, UH, IT'S A USABLE, DIGESTIBLE EFFORT, UH, BUT WE KNOW IT, IT HAS TO GROW AND IT WILL GROW. 
          AND WE'D LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT. 
          UM, AS WE DO THAT OVER THE UPCOMING MONTHS, UH, FOR THE NEXT MONTH AND THE NEXT MONTH AS WE MOVE FORWARD, AGAIN, ANOTHER A TP FOCUSED EVENT, UM, MOVING FORWARD, CHLOE, ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS KEY SOMETIMES TO CREATING ORGANIZATIONS ARE POLICIES SO THAT WE'RE ROOTED IN FINANCIAL PRACTICES AND PROCUREMENT PRACTICES AND ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES. 
          UM, IT'S REALLY FOUNDATIONAL TO ANY ORGANIZATION, WHETHER YOU'RE A PRIVATE SECTOR OR A PUBLIC SECTOR. 
          HAVING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN PLACE REALLY HELPS SET PROCESSES AND EXPECTATION. 
          [00:20:02]
SO WE WANNA RECOGNIZE THE WORK THE BOARD HAS ALREADY DONE ON THIS, THIS EFFORT. 
          UM, SIX A BOARD, A BOARD HAS ADOPTED SIX POLICIES, UH, AROUND ETHICS PROCEDURES. 
          OUR DEI, OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY IS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE'VE DONE. 
          UM, AND THEN ALSO OUR RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND, AND MOST RECENTLY THE TITLE SIX. 
          BUT INTERNALLY, THERE'S ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES THAT HELP US CONDUCT OUR BUSINESS IN A WAY THAT IS TRANSPARENT INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY AND TRUSTFUL AS WELL. 
          SO ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE BEEN BUSILY WORKING, UM, OVER THESE LAST THREE MONTHS, WORKING ON 10 ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES THAT WE HAVE NOW PUT IN PLACE. 
          UM, AND HERE THEY ARE LISTED HERE. 
          AND THIS IS RUNNING REALLY AGAIN, WHO WE ARE AS AN ORGANIZATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ALL ALIGNED INTERNALLY ABOUT OUR POLICIES FROM INFORMATION TO FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE, OUR TRAVEL POLICY, OUR TECHNOLOGY POLICY, HOW WE SIGN DOCUMENTS. 
          THESE ARE REALLY THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF GOOD, UH, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. 
          I DO WANT TO, UM, GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO BRANDON CARR FOR WORKING ON ALL OF THESE. 
          UM, AND ALSO KATIE HOUSTON, OUR AUDITOR WEEK, UH, ESPECIALLY ON THE FRAUD WASTE ABUSES CAME FROM HER. 
          AND THIS SHOWS THIS COLLABORATION THAT WE HAVE AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE WITH THE AUDITOR. 
          SO THIS WORK WILL CONTINUE, BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT INTERNAL FOCUSED. 
          UM, BUT WE'VE BEEN BUSILY WORKING ON THAT OVER THESE THREE MONTHS, GETTING 10 OF THESE DONE. 
          AND SO I THINK FINALLY WHAT I'LL LEAVE ON THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT IS THIS OPPORTUNITY AROUND THIS IDENTITY OF, OF, OF, OF WHO WE ARE AS A CORPORATION. 
          WE KNOW THIS COMMUNITY'S ALREADY PASSED A VISION FOR PROJECT CONNECT, UM, FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING. 
          UH, I THINK THE, A TOPIC FOR DIALOGUE TODAY OR ONGOING IS, UM, A TP, UH, STRATEGIC PLANNING AND STRATEGIC VISION FOR THE ORGANIZATION. 
          AGAIN, NOT FOR THE PROJECT THAT EXISTS ALREADY. 
          AND SO I BELIEVE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NEW NEW ENTITIES DO. 
          UM, I KNOW THE COUNTY'S DONE IT, THE CITY'S DONE IT. 
          STRATEGIC PLANNING CAP METRO GOES THROUGH THESE EFFORTS. 
          AND SO THIS ONE, I JUST WANT TO, WITHOUT FILLING IN TOO MUCH OF THIS, PUT THIS OUT THERE AS A, AS A TOPIC FOR DIALOGUE. 
          I CAN GET YOUR FEEDBACK NOW. 
          WE CAN DO IT AFTER THE FACT. 
          UH, AND THEN SEE IF WE WANNA START, UH, BUILDING TO SOME, UH, SENSE OF A, A DISCUSSION AROUND THIS. 
          UM, FIRST AND MORE ABOUT VISION AND GOALS AS AN ORGANIZATION AND ULTIMATELY KPIS AND METRICS FOR THE ORGANIZATION. 
          WELL, AND A WELL THOUGHT OUT. 
          WELL, I THINK SOME OF THE DEEP STUFF IN THERE, UM, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS TALKED ABOUT IT COMING OUT OF THE FAR IS WHO WE ARE AS AN ORGANIZATION AND HOW WE'RE DELIVERING THIS PROJECT, HOW WE FIND THAT BALANCE STAFF AND CONSULTANTS. 
          WE THINK THAT'S A GREAT DIALOGUE THAT WE CAN, THAT WE SHOULD HAVE WITH YOU AND, AND GET YOUR, UM, STRATEGY VISION ON THAT AS WE BUILD UP AND BECOME READY FOR IMPLEMENTATION. 
          THAT IS OUR GOAL IS AS WE DO THIS ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT AND WORK ON DEVELOPING THE DRAFT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN IS TO THEN BE READY. 
          AND SO THIS WORK CAN ALL CONFLUENCE, UH, HERE IN THE SPRING. 
          SO JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE AS MY LAST PART OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UPDATE. 
          THANK YOU, MR. KENNEDY. 
          AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO, UM, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO OTHER QUESTIONS, JUST GIVE A QUICK UPDATE SINCE THIS IS PART OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL, UM, WORK THAT IS GOING ON THAT, UM, THE COMMITTEE, UH, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS AND I HAVE MET ABOUT CREATING WITH STAFF THE SCOPE OF WORK THAT GOES OUT TO THE RECRUITING FIRMS. SO THREE FIRMS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED TO START THE SEARCH FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECRUITMENT. 
          UM, AND CURRENTLY THEY'RE CHECKING ON, UH, CAPACITY TO CONDUCT THIS SEARCH. 
          SO WE'RE GETTING, UM, CONFIRMATION FROM THEM. 
          AND SO WE EXPECT TO SEND THE SOLICITATION, UH, EARLY NEXT WEEK. 
          SO THAT'S JUST A QUICK UPDATE FOR THE BOARD. 
          IF, UM, ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT OR WHAT I JUST SHARED? UH, MAYOR, I MAY HAVE JUST HAVE MISSED IT. 
          WHAT DID YOU, ARE YOU SENT OUT A SCOPE FOR WHAT THE FIRM'S GONNA DO OR SCOPE FOR WHERE WE WANT THE POSITION TO BE? NO, THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR WHAT THE FIRMS WILL BE DOING IN THE SEARCH, AND THEN FROM THEN THE BOARD WILL THEN SELECT THE FIRM. 
          OKAY. 
          SO HAVE YOU, HAVE YOU POSTED OR OTHERWISE PUBLISHED WHAT THAT SCOPE IS THAT YOU'RE SAYING? NO, IT WILL BE POSTED NEXT WEEK. 
          OKAY. 
          SOUNDS GOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IT WOULD, YES. 
          UM, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, GREG, APPRECIATE THE REPORT. 
          I THINK THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL GETTING, YOU KNOW, THE STAFFING UPDATE. 
          UM, THIS KIND OF ONE PAGER I THINK IS GREAT. 
          THIS IS CERTAINLY, UM, BRILLIANT, INFORMATIVE, UM, AND I LIKE THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF POLICIES. 
          I KNOW THEY MAY BE MUNDANE, BUT THEY'RE CRITICAL TO ANY ORGANIZATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RUNNING WELL. 
          JUST ONE THING, I, UH, YOU DON'T NEED TO RESPOND NOW, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND COMPLIANCE AGAINST POLICIES. 
          SO IT'S GREAT TO HAVE POLICIES WHICH ARE GOOD, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE HOW WE'RE COMPLYING AGAINST THOSE. 
          SO, AND THEN REPORTING 
          [00:25:01]
BACK TO THE BOARD WHEN NEEDED. 
          SO FOR INSTANCE, DBE REQUIREMENTS, RIGHT? I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MAJOR CONTRACTS. 
          WE HAVE TARGETS OF X, Y, Z PERIODICALLY REPORT BACK TO THE BOARD ON HOW WE'RE DOING AGAINST THOSE TARGETS. 
          UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          AND, AND ANY OTHER MAJOR DEVIATIONS FROM POLICIES THAT YOU THINK SHOULD PERCOLATE UP TO THE BOARD? NOT NOT MINOR STUFF, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. 
          UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, POLICIES ARE NOT ETCHED IN STONE. 
          THEY ARE DYNAMIC SO REGULARLY WE, I WOULD IMAGINE WE'D BE UPDATING THEM AND GETTING BEST PRACTICES, SO THAT'D BE GOOD TOO. 
          AND THEN I BELIEVE, UH, KATIE HAS KIND OF A WHISTLEBLOWER HOTLINE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING TOO. 
          SO THAT I THINK TIES WELL INTO THESE POLICIES. 
          SO IF SOMEBODY SEES A VIOLATION THAT THEY COULD REPORT IT ANONYMOUSLY TO THE HOTLINE. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S GOOD. 
          I THINK LASTLY, WITH RESPECT TO THE KIND OF, UM, STRATEGY TYPE THING, I'M, I'M APPLAUD THAT, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE SHOULD DO WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE THE RIGHT TIME TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR, UM, I THINK I SEE US KIND OF AGREEING ON OUR, OUR MISSION, OUR VALUES, OUR VISION. 
          I SEE US KIND OF GOING THROUGH STRENGTH, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITY, A THREAT ANALYSIS. 
          THAT'S A GOOD TYPE OF ANALYSIS THAT ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE DOING REGULARLY. 
          I SEE US AGREEING ON KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, RIGHT? THREE OR FOUR DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE LONG TAIL OBJECTIVES AND, YOU KNOW, WE AGREE ON THOSE. 
          AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD COME BACK TO THE BOARD REGULARLY AND SAY, HOW ARE WE DOING AGAINST THOSE OBJECTIVES? AND THEY ALSO SEE US AGREEING ON KIND OF OUR BOARD DASHBOARD, OUR BOARD AGENDA, WHAT, WHAT TYPES OF THINGS SHOULD WE HAVE ON IT. 
          SO I THINK THAT'LL BE A GOOD EXERCISE AND, AND I THINK WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, SO THANKS. 
          GREAT. 
          WELL, I WAS GONNA BE QUIET ALL MEETING, BUT, UH, YOU GUYS HAVE INSPIRED ME, , SO, UH, WE MADE YOU FEEL AT HOME. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU, . 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, LOVE THE IDEA OF OUR BOARD ADOPTED POLICIES. 
          UM, I THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME ELECTRONIC REPOSITORY FOR THOSE POLICIES. 
          SO IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE THEM, THEY CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM, UH, IF THEY ARE MODIFIED, WHEN THEY'RE MODIFIED AND HOW THEY'RE MODIFIED. 
          UM, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GOING THROUGH THE TRAINING? IS IT THE BOARD? IS IT THE STAFF? UH, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WHO NEEDS TO COMPLY DOES COMPLY OVER A PERIOD OF TIME? UM, IT'S, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF IF WE HAD, UM, A, A PLACE FOR US TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE HAD ACCESS TO THEM AND COULD SEE 'EM REGULARLY, THAT WOULD BE GOOD. 
          UM, ALSO, UM, I, I LIKE THE IDEA OF, OF, UM, BEING ABLE TO CROSSWALK OUR PROJECTS, MEANING, UM, PROJECT BY PROJECT, WHAT ARE OUR DELIVERABLES, RIGHT? AND, UH, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE, UH, THE PERCENTAGE OF COMPLETION? WHAT STAGE ARE WE IN? YEAH. 
          UH, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAY, UH, WHAT IS IN PLANNING, UH, WHAT IS, WHAT HAS, UH, WHAT IS BEING EXECUTED, UH, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THAT PROJECT IS COMPLETE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. 
          SINCE, SINCE WE ARE, UH, MANAGING A PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, PROJECT CONNECT IS A PROGRAM OF PROJECTS, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY AND WHERE THEY ARE EXACTLY IN THE PROCESS. 
          AND IT JUST GIVES THE, THE PUBLIC AND OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO SEE WHERE WE ARE AND HOW WE ARE, ARE MAKING PROGRESS. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, UM, SINCE PROJECT, UH, SINCE CAP REMAP, WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER 18 PROJECTS IN THE EASTERN CORRIDOR. 
          WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE. 
          WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WAS DONE THERE, WHAT'S COMPLETE, WHAT'S UNDER, UH, WHAT'S CURRENTLY BEING WORKED ON. 
          THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT I THINK GIVE CONFIDENCE TO THE PUBLIC THAT YES, WE ARE, WE ARE WORKING, WE ARE PLANNING, WE ARE EXECUTING. 
          AND, AND, AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT I THINK, UH, WILL, WILL ALLOW US TO MAINTAIN, UH, THE CONFIDENCE THAT THE PUBLIC HAS SHOWN US. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MEMBER TRILLIAN. 
          AND IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY, UM, BEFORE YOU ANSWER, THIS REPORT IS ALSO GONNA LIVE ON THE WEBSITE, RIGHT? AND OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, YEAH, I THINK TO ECHO COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS, RIGHT? WHEN YOU DO THIS, THIS IS THE OLD CIP REPORTING, RIGHT? YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S FOR THE BOARDS, BUT IT'S FOR THE PUBLIC. 
          AND IT'S SO THAT THERE'S A, UM, UM, ON SOME LEVEL THE CONSISTENCY TO INFORMATION, UM, STARTING AT THE ROOT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING. 
          AND PART OF JEN'S ROLE IN, IN, IN ALL OF OUR PROJECT CONTROLS WORK IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL USING THE SAME DATA AS WE REPORT OUT. 
          WE HAVE TO REPORT OUT TO FTA, WE WANNA REPORT OUT TO THE BOARD, WE WANNA REPORT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S A FANTASTIC EXACT INPUT THAT WE NEED. 
          SO WE CAN STILL BUILD THIS OUT, UM, KNOWING THAT SOME PROJECTS ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY, AND 
          [00:30:01]
I THINK CAP METRO IS LEADING ON, ON THE METRO RAPIDS AND GREAT SUCCESS, THE, THE GROUNDBREAKING. 
          UM, AND WE START WEAVING THOSE TRUE METRICS INTO THAT. 
          AND I THINK THAT IS, UM, THAT IS WHERE WE WANT TO GET TO AND GET TO VERY SOON. 
          AND MY UNDERSTANDING ALSO IS THAT WE CURRENTLY, ON OUR WEBSITE, WE DO HAVE A LINK TO ALL OF THE POLICIES LIKE THE JPA AND ALL OF THE ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS ARE LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE. 
          THESE POLICIES WILL ALSO LIVE IN THAT SAME PLACE, OR WOULD THAT BE LOCATED SOMEWHERE ELSE? YEAH, I WOULD SAY THE EXTERNAL POLICIES AND THEN THE INTERNAL POLICIES WILL BE MORE ON AN INTERNAL, UM, SHARE DRIVE. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT I DO WANNA ECHO ALL THE COMMENTS ABOUT THAT COMPLIANCE, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING. 
          WE HAVE TO BUILD THAT CAPACITY AROUND TRAINING AND COMPLIANCE, UM, AS WE'RE DOING ALL THESE OTHER THINGS. 
          BUT IT IS, IT IS, UM, WE KNOW THAT THAT'S ROOTED. 
          HAVING THE POLICY IS GREAT IF YOU'RE NOT COMPLYING WITH IT OR TRAINING ON IT, IT'S, IT'S SITTING THERE. 
          AND SO WE WANT TO DO THAT AS WELL. 
          AND WE'LL ALSO BE LOOKING AT, IN TERMS OF THE EXTERNAL FACING WEBSITE, UH, IS MAKING SURE THAT IS ADDRESSING, UM, UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF OUT THERE. 
          I THINK WE'VE GOT A POINT. 
          WE'RE THROWING A LOT OF STUFF AT THERE. 
          WE'RE GONNA BE ADDRESSING WHAT THAT WEBSITE NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE. 
          SO IT'S FROM A USABILITY PERSPECTIVE FROM, UM, OUR, OUR CITIZENS CAN LOOK AT THAT. 
          SO WE'LL BE ADDRESSING THAT HERE IN THE UPCOMING MONTHS AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION FROM THE BOARD? NO. 
          THANK YOU. 
          [6.a. Status of Work on Updated Light Rail Implementation Plan]
SO WITH THAT OBJECTION, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT THIS BOARD TAKE UP ACTION. 
          I MEAN, ITEM NUMBER SIX A ON OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS THE STATUS OF THE WORK ON THE UPDATE LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 
          AND IF YOU RECALL, THIS ITEM BUILDS ON THE STAFF DIALOGUE THAT THIS BOARD LED ON JULY 20TH. 
          AND REPRESENTING THIS ITEM, WE HAVE BRIAN BUCHANAN, VICE PRESIDENT WITH HDR, JENNIFER PINE, A TP LEAD OF PROJECT CONTROLS AND RISK MANAGEMENT, AND PETER MULLEN, A TP LEAD OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN. 
          SO WELCOME TEAM. 
          HEY, GOOD AFTERNOON MA'AM. 
          CHAIR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, UM, THREE OF US WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A QUICK LITTLE UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE, UM, AFTER OUR, UM, MEETING BACK ON JULY 20TH. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO WHAT DID WE HEAR FROM THAT CONVERSATION? UM, I THINK WE HEARD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO DO THE WORK NOW TO DEVELOP IN OUR PROJECT AND, AND, AND GET IT DEFINED. 
          SO SPEND THE TIME NOW TO DO, TO DO THAT WORK, BUT BE RIGOROUS ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, MOVE FORWARD THROUGH THE PROCESS, UM, BE THOROUGH IN IT, BUT DON'T BE SLOW ABOUT IT AND, AND MOVE FORWARD. 
          SO, UM, WORK OUR WAY THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND THEN CONTINUE TO BE INCLUSIVE AND TRANSPARENT IN THE PROCESS AND COMMUNI CONTINUE TO DO THE OUTREACH. 
          SO I HOPE YOU'LL SEE THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE SINCE THEN, UM, ALL TRANSPIRE AROUND SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT, THAT WE HEARD THERE ON, ON THE 20TH. 
          SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, UM, I'LL JUST, UH, BRING EVERYBODY BACK TO THE GREAT CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BEEHIVE AND ALL THE BUSY BEES THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING AROUND HERE. 
          UM, SO ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF, OF THE, OF THE WORK IS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          AND YOU, UH, BRIEFED OUT ON SEVERAL OF THE COMMITTEES THAT WE MET WITH, UM, OVER THE LAST, UM, 30 DAYS OR SO. 
          UM, BUT WE'VE ALSO BEEN, UM, TO SEVERAL OTHERS, UM, A JOINT, UM, OPERATIONS PLANNING MEETING AT CAPITAL METRO, THE MOBILITY COMMITTEE. 
          UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL MORE THAT ARE SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER AS WE CONTINUE TO GO OUT AND BE TRANSPARENT AND TALK ABOUT OUR, OUR STORY ON HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE THE PROGRAM FORWARD. 
          AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD, UM, ON TOP OF WHAT, UH, WAS BRIEFED OUT, UM, IS THAT THERE'S, THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING OUT IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHERE WE ARE, THE RECOGNITION THAT THERE'S NEEDED WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND, AND WE NEED TO TAKE THE TIME TO DO THAT. 
          UM, THERE'S A NEED TO BALANCE THE IMPROVEMENTS ON BOTH THE EXISTING RIDERS AND, AND CUSTOMER BASE, BUT ALSO ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS, UM, TO THE, TO THE SYSTEM. 
          UM, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY OPTIONS THAT NEED TO BE LOOKED AT AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, BOTH HOW IT FITS IN THE STREET, HOW, HOW IT RUNS, UM, AS A SYSTEM. 
          BUT, UH, LET'S LOOK AT THAT STUFF AND, UH, LET'S, UH, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ONCE AGAIN, BEING THOROUGH IN, IN OUR CONVERSATION. 
          UM, ACCESS TO TRANSIT IS, IS IMPORTANT. 
          UM, SO DON'T JUST GO OUT AND BUILD A, A GREAT LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND DON'T COMPLETE SIDEWALKS AND SOME OF THAT TYPE OF ASPECTS. 
          SO WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH THAT. 
          GET STARTED. 
          LET'S GO. 
          EVERYBODY'S READY? I THINK WE'RE ALL READY. 
          UM, IT'S ABOUT TIME, YOU KNOW, THOSE TYPES OF CONVERSATIONS, UM, THAT, THAT WE HAD. 
          UM, AND I THINK THE, ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS THAT I HEARD, UM, JUST OUT THERE IN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, AND MY COLLEAGUES CAN CHIME IN HERE, UM, BUT EVERYBODY'S READY TO ENGAGE AND READY TO ASSIST. 
          AND, UH, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT, UM, PLACE TO BE, UM, THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO HELP PROBLEM SOLVE AND, AND MOVE THROUGH THE PROCESS. 
          SO ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD, PETER? YEAH, I JUST ADD I THINK THAT, UM, WHAT'S, 
          [00:35:01]
WHAT'S BEEN GREAT, EVEN IN THIS SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WHERE WE'VE STARTED REACHING OUT TO STAKEHOLDERS, AND OBVIOUSLY THIS IS THE WORK AND IT'S GONNA CONTINUE CONTINUOUSLY FROM NOW UNTIL, YOU KNOW, WE GET THROUGH THIS PROCESS. 
          IT'S NOT ONE AND DONE, UM, IS THAT THERE REALLY IS A DIVERSITY OF, OF OPINIONS, PERSPECTIVES, INTERESTS, AND ALL OF WHICH HAVE A LOT OF VALUE. 
          AND SO PART OF OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INTEGRATING ALL OF THAT INTO A KIND OF HOLISTIC APPROACH. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S BEEN THE WAY WE'VE WANTED TO WORK ALL ALONG. 
          AND, AND THAT'S BEEN VALIDATED BY THIS INITIAL OUTREACH, AND I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO INFORM OUR WORK GOING FORWARD. 
          SO IT'S BEEN REALLY HELPFUL. 
          THANKS, PETER. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO ON THE TECHNICAL REVIEW, UM, WE HAVE STARTED A SERIES OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS THIS WEEK. 
          UM, IF YOU COULD CLOSE YOUR EYES AND IMAGINE THIS ROOM FULL OF A TP STAFF, THAT IS WHAT HAS OCCURRED OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS. 
          WE'VE HAD THE WHOLE GROUP IN HERE, UM, TALKING ABOUT HOW WE, UM, MOVE, UH, THE PROGRAM FORWARD. 
          WHAT ARE SOME IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTATION? WE'RE GONNA HOLD THOSE SAME SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH THE OTHER TWO PARTNERS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, AND THEN BRING EVERYBODY BACK TOGETHER FOR REPORT OUT PURE LOGISTICS ON THE WAY WE NEEDED TO HANDLE THIS. 
          WE JUST DIDN'T HAVE A ROOM BIG ENOUGH TO BRING EVERYBODY TOGETHER. 
          UM, BUT, UH, WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING EVERYBODY, UM, TOGETHER TO, TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE WORK AND THE EFFORT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          SO THIS IS AN EFFORT TO, UH, COLLECT DATA. 
          WHAT DO WE HAVE, WHAT DO WE STUDIED BEFORE, AND LOOK AT PAST WORK FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          UM, WE ARE, UM, KIND OF HONING IN ON A, ON A WAY TO KIND OF START TO TALK ABOUT THIS AND, AND MOVE THIS FORWARD, UM, KIND OF AROUND SOME HIGH LEVEL GROUPINGS OF LOOKING AT, UH, AN AT GRADE OPTION, LOOKING AT A SIMPLIFIED UNDERGROUND, UM, SCENARIO, AND THEN, UM, ELEVATED, UM, CONSIDERATIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          SO UNDERNEATH EACH ONE OF THOSE THEN IS OBVIOUSLY A WHOLE SET OF DIFFERENT, MORE COMPONENTS, UM, THAT COULD BE IN EACH ONE, IN ONLY ONE OF THEM. 
          UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN EACH ONE OF THOSE WILL BE STUDIED, FOR EXAMPLE, THE COMBINED MAINTENANCE FACILITY, THE LOCATION, THE SIZE AND ALL THAT. 
          WHAT ARE THE VEHICLES AND THE SYSTEMS LOOK LIKE? HOW DOES THE ONE CROSSING OF THE RIVER PLAY INTO ANY OF THOSE? SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE WAY WE'RE GOING TO, UH, START THE CONVERSATION AND WORK OUR WAY THROUGH. 
          AND LIKE I SAID, BEEN WORKING REAL CLOSELY WITH STAFF OVER THE LAST WEEK, UM, REALLY TRYING TO HONE IN ON, ON SOME OF THESE THINGS MOVING FORWARD. 
          ANYTHING YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO ADD ON THAT? NO, I, I MEAN, I THINK EVERYBODY'S EXCITED TO, TO DIG IN ON FINDING HOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT THOSE, WHERE, WHERE WE WANT TO GET TO, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZING THAT IT IS A PROCESS, RIGHT? PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY OF ALL THE ELEMENTS. 
          ONCE YOU LOOK AT ONE ELEMENT, IT HAS EFFECT ON EVERY OTHER ELEMENT. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE TO BOTH WORK EXPEDITIOUSLY, BUT I THINK, UM, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STUDYING THIS THOROUGHLY AND THAT WE UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE IMPACTS OF ANY POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE PROGRAM FROM WHERE WE ARE. 
          SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT METHODICALLY AND THOROUGHLY. 
          JEN, I KNOW IT'S ALWAYS HARD TO FOLLOW PETER, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO WELL, WHAT CAN I ADD? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANNA NOTE PERHAPS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF TECHNICAL WORK, BUT YOU KNOW, OUR INTENTION IS THROUGHOUT THIS, YOU KNOW, SERIES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, THESE DECISIONS WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LENSES, WHETHER IT'S EQUITY, SUSTAINABILITY, UH, AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR FTA TO BE OUR INVESTOR AND ANY PROJECT OR PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE DEFINE NEED TO BE COMPETITIVE FOR FEDERAL FUNDS. 
          SO WE HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS IN MIND AS WELL. 
          SO, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS. 
          UM, THERE HAS BEEN COORDINATION MEETINGS, UM, WITH THE FEDERAL TRANS ADMINISTRATION. 
          UM, WE MENTIONED THE, THE GREAT PROJECTS ARE ALREADY STARTED UNDERNEATH THE PROGRAM. 
          UM, PLEASANT VALLEY, UH, AND THE EXPO LINE FOR THE SMALL STARTS GRANT AGREEMENT. 
          SO WE'RE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT TRYING TO FINALIZE THAT. 
          UM, WE HAVE PROVIDED THEM UPDATES ON THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES GOING ON, AND THEY'RE CONCERT WITH US ON THAT. 
          AND, UH, WE'RE CONTINUING OUR COORDINATION ON THE, ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT AS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD, UM, FOR THE LIGHT RAIL PROJECTS. 
          UM, SOMEWHAT OF A, A MILESTONE IS, UH, A PROGRAM MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT CONSULTANT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED, UM, TO THIS, TO THE PROGRAM. 
          AND THEY WILL HAVE THEIR FIRST KICKOFF MEETING HERE ON SEPTEMBER 13TH AND 14TH. 
          AND THAT AGENDA INCLUDES EVERYBODY, UH, GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER, GETTING TO KNOW THE PROJECT, AND GOING OUT FOR SOME PROJECT DOORS. 
          UM, ANY OTHER CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT? YEAH, I WOULD SAY, I MEAN, WE ARE REGULARLY COORDINATING WITH FTA, BOTH HEADQUARTERS AND THE MORE LOCAL REGION SIX, AND WE REALLY JUST WANT TO KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN. 
          UH, SO THAT'S FTA AND A TP AND CAP METRO TOGETHER. 
          UM, WE WANT FTA TO BE AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHY WE'RE DOING IT. 
          UM, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IN A TIMELY MANNER. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET THROUGH PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND OUR PROJECTS ARE BETTER DEFINED, WE WANT TO BE IN A POSITION TO, YOU KNOW, REALLY TIMELY COORDINATE AND STRATEGIZE WITH FTA ABOUT THE BEST WAY TO CONCLUDE OUR 
          [00:40:01]
NPA COMPLIANCE AND, AND WORK THROUGH THE NEW STARTS PROCESS. 
          AND SO WE THINK JUST THAT KIND OF REGULAR, UH, AND ONGOING COMMUNICATION IS THE WAY TO DO THAT. 
          AND OUR FINAL SLIDE, JUST A, A REMINDER OF, OF KIND OF THE SCHEDULE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING TO HERE A LITTLE BIT, UM, CONTINUE, UM, TELLING THE STORY, GOING OUT AND MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY, GETTING FEEDBACK, UM, THROUGH JULY AND AUGUST AND CONTINUING INTO EARLY SEPTEMBER. 
          AS PART OF THAT, UM, WE'VE ALREADY KICKED OFF SOME OF THE WORK PLANNING AND THE TECHNICAL AND COMMUNITY CHECK-INS IN ADVANCING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, UM, WITH SOME OF THE WORKSHOPS WE, THAT HAVE OCCURRED THIS WEEK AND WILL OCCUR THIS WEEK, AND THEN AIMING FOR THIS SPRING TO BRING AN UPDATED LIGHT RAIL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UM, TO THE POLICY MAKERS FOR CONSIDERATION. 
          SO WITH THAT, WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU, TEAM. 
          ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD MEMBER? ELKINS? I'M SURE YOU COULD HAVE TAKEN A BET THAT I WOULD'VE ASKED A QUESTION , BUT I HAD A COUPLE ACTUALLY. 
          THANKS, UH, BRIAN, UH, PETER AND, UM, JEN, JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS. 
          UM, THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION ON COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL, BUT I DIDN'T HEAR MUCH DISCUSSION ABOUT MARKET SOUNDING AND INPUT FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, WHICH I PERSONALLY, BEING A PRIVATE SECTOR GUY I BELIEVE IS CRITICAL. 
          I'VE SEEN IN PERSONAL PROJECTS, WHEN YOU HAVE A FUNDING GAP RESOURCE EQUAL USES, AND WE HAVE ONE HERE, REACHING OUT TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR FOR THEIR INPUT IS VERY HELPFUL BECAUSE THE PRIVATE SECTOR WANTS A PROJECT TO BID ON, RIGHT? IT'S IN THEIR INTEREST TO HELP SOLVE A SOURCES VERSUS USES GAP MACRO PERSPECTIVE. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK REALLY SHOULD BE IN THIS. 
          I, I DID SEE A, A MARKET SOUNDING BOX IN YOUR BEEHIVE HERE, BUT I JUST, HOW ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING THAT AND TYING IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, UH, WOULD BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND. 
          I KNEW YOU WERE GONNA ASK THAT QUESTION. 
          UM, WE ACTUALLY HAD A MEETING RIGHT BEFORE THIS BOARD MEETING WHERE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE PLAN TO DEVELOP ON HOW WE DO MARKET SOUNDING, BUT THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND ALL THAT. 
          SO WE ARE DEVELOPING A PLAN ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. 
          I, I WOULD RECOMMEND IF I COULD YEP. 
          NOT A RFI WRITTEN, I WOULD RECOMMEND ONE-ON-ONE FACE-TO-FACE CONFIDENTIAL MARKET SOUNDING. 
          NO, I THINK THAT IS VERY WISE ADVICE. 
          I UNDERSTAND. 
          UM, THE OTHER THING IS WHERE ARE YOU GETTING INPUT WHEN YOU'RE DOING VALUE ENGINEERING? IT'S A COMBINATION ITERATION OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION PRICING AND SCHEDULING. 
          HOW ARE YOU GETTING THE CONSTRUCTION PRICING AND THE SCHEDULING INTO YOUR ANALYSIS? SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A CONTRACTOR AND WE DON'T HAVE A PMC, I'M ON BOARD, WHERE'S THAT DATA COMING FROM? SO WE HAVE CON COST ESTIMATING. 
          OUR CONTRACT EY IS ALSO PROVIDING SOME INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATING. 
          AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT MOST OF THE COST ESTIMATORS WE EMPLOY ALONG WITH EY ARE EX CONTRACTORS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY USING, YOU KNOW, MEANS AND HEAVY BID AND STUFF LIKE THAT TO ACTUAL DO TAKE DOWN TYPE COM. 
          UM, UM, ESTIMATING FOR THE PROGRAM CREW IN IT MM-HMM . 
          PUTTING MATERIALS AND PUTTING LABOR ASSOCIATED WITH IT. 
          VERY DETAILED COST ESTIMATING IN KIND OF REAL TIME, REAL TIME MARKETS, VERY BASED ON TODAY'S AS WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE SEEING IN TODAY'S MARKETS. 
          GOTCHA. 
          USE THE BID TABS THAT ARE, ARE CURRENT, WHETHER IT BE TXDOT, CITY, AUSTIN, ANY GLOBAL FROM ANY OTHER TRANSIT AGENCIES, BUT THEY CORRECT IT FOR WHATEVER THE AUSTIN FACTOR IS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, AND NEXT LAST QUESTION. 
          UM, DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODELS ARE COMING INTO, SHALL WE SAY, FLAVOR DU JO RIGHT NOW. 
          SO THE, THE CURRENT TREND IS TOWARDS PROGRESSIVE, COLLABORATIVE, EARLY INVOLVEMENT OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS OPPOSED TO TRADITIONAL 30% HARD BIDS. 
          HOW IS THE TREND OF DELIVERY MODELS SHAPING THIS ANALYSIS THAT YOU'RE DOING? SO THEY HAVE TO BE BUILT INTO IT, AND WE ARE WORKING ONCE AGAIN THROUGH THAT PROCESS, HAD ANOTHER CONVERSATION, UM, ABOUT SETTING UP A CONTRACTING PLAN AND STARTING TO LOOK AT ALL THE PLUSES AND MINUSES AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT DELIVERY MODELS. 
          SO IT IS PART OF THE BEEHIVE PART OF THE WORK PLAN AND PART OF THE WORK YET TO COME. 
          LET'S GO BACK TO THAT. 
          IF YOU GO BACK TO THE FIRST, YEAH, SO I THINK THERE'S A, THERE IS A BEEHIVE, THERE'S SOME IN FINANCIAL ANALYSIS PART OF THAT THAT HONEYCOMB INCLUDES PROJECT DELIVERY, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S ONE OF THE INPUTS THAT IS GONNA HAVE AN IMPACT ON, ON HOW WE MOVE FORWARD FOR SURE. 
          SO, OKAY. 
          AND MY LAST QUESTION MORE TOWARDS JEN, I, JEN, I SEE YOUR TITLE AS CHIEF OF PLANNING AND RISK MANAGEMENT. 
          SO I'M GONNA ASK YOU ABOUT THE SECOND PART OF YOUR TITLE. 
          YOU KNEW THAT WAS COMING, DIDN'T YOU? ? I WOULD LIKE TO, IT'S A PRETTY FRESH TITLE, SO IT EFFECTIVE MONDAY FOR THE RECORD. 
          BUT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE MEETINGS, DISCUSSION OF RISK AS WE GO THROUGH THIS, UM, LIGHT RAIL UPDATE. 
          WHAT ARE THE RISKS THAT THE TEAM AND THE CONSULTANTS ARE SEEING? I SEE US AS A BOARD, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FOCUSED ON A LOT OF THINGS, RIGHT? BUT PART OF WHAT 
          [00:45:01]
I SEE, AND I'VE MENTIONED THIS TO GREG AND WE, WE CHATTED WITH THE MAYOR ON OUR, OUR BOARD BRIEFING IS WE WANNA BE A BOARD WHERE WE'RE BRIEFED ON EARLY RISKS SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE GUIDANCE AS OPPOSED TO WHEN WE HAVE A RISK AND IT'S ALL NAILED DOWN AND IT'S GOT A BOW ON IT, AND THEN IT'S PRESENTED, RIGHT? THAT I, I, I SEE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THAT DIRECTION. 
          SO AS YOU'RE SEEING RISKS, AS YOU'VE SEEN CONCERNS AS YOU DO THIS LIGHTWEIGHT UPDATE, TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD WITH THEM ON A REGULAR BASIS, I THINK WOULD BE A HELPFUL PROCESS. 
          OKAY. 
          YOU KNOW, AND CERTAINLY WANT, WE WANNA BE IN A POSITION WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING RISKS AND, AND MANAGING THEM, OBVIOUSLY TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY. 
          UM, AND WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF SETTING UP OUR CONTROLS AND HOW WE WILL BE MANAGING RISK, UM, THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THE, THE CONTRACTS AND THE PROJECTS. 
          BUT, BUT MAJOR RISK, OBVIOUSLY BOARD, YOU KNOW, REGULAR DAY TO DAY, BUT, BUT CERTAIN THINGS THAT PERCOLATE UP THERE ARE VERY LARGE AND, AND, AND HEAVY RISKS. 
          I THINK THOSE ARE THE THINGS WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US TO WEIGH IN ON. 
          SO YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU MEMBER ELKINS, AND THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT FEEDBACK AND ANSWERS. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? FURTHER QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ELSE? I DO HAVE ONE THING TO ASK ABOUT, UM, REGARDING THE, THERE WAS A TASK ALSO THAT ENY IS GIVING US AN INDEPENDENT COST ANALYSIS AND WHERE ARE WE IN THAT PROCESS WITH ENY? DO YOU WANT ME TO SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, PLEASE. 
          UM, YES. 
          UM, THEY ARE PREPARING AN INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH OUR 30% PLANS THAT WERE IN DEVELOPMENT FOR SOME TIME. 
          UM, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT WE REALLY HAVE PIVOTED TO LOOK AT THE WORK PLAN, BUT I'LL SAY AS FAR AS THE STATUS OF THAT, UM, WE'RE STILL REVIEWING AND PROVIDING SOME COMMENTS AND INPUT, UH, ON THOSE MATERIALS. 
          SO, AND I KNOW THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN REALLY IMPACTFUL BECAUSE OF WHAT THE WORLD HAS SEEN THROUGH THE PANDEMIC AND THE EFFECTS OF IT MM-HMM . 
          HOW MUCH OF THAT, AND, AND IF I HEARD YOUR ANSWER CORRECTLY, MR. BUCHANAN, IS THAT THE CURRENT COSTS ADDRESS THE CURRENT MARKET, RIGHT? THE CURRENT CONDITIONS. 
          AND AS AN OPTIMIST, I BELIEVE THAT THINGS ARE GONNA COME TO SETTLE DOWN AND WE'LL FIND A NEW, A NEW STABILITY. 
          SO I KNOW WITH THE COST ESTIMATES THAT HAVE COME UP, THAT THERE'S ALSO AN ESCALATION BUILT IN BASED ON THE YEARS THAT THIS WORK IS PLANNING ON BEING DELIVERED. 
          BUT I HOPE THAT NOT THE ENTIRETY OF, OF THE INFLATION LABOR SHORTAGES CHAIN, UH, SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING ARE THERE FOR THE LIFE OF THIS PROGRAM. 
          SO CAN YOU SHARE SOME IDEA WITH US OF WHAT WERE THE, A GOOD BALANCE OF UNDERSTANDING WHERE, WHAT WE CAN EXPECT WITH THE COST? I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA PROMISE IF WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH A VALUE ENGINEERING EFFORT, I DON'T WANNA TELL THE COMMUNITY SET. 
          I WANNA SET A SAFE EXPECTATIONS. 
          SURE. 
          AND I WANNA KNOW WHAT THAT IS. 
          SO I WOULD, I WOULD PUT IT THIS WAY. 
          UM, OUR CRYSTAL BALL IS AS GOOD AS YOUR CRYSTAL BALL. 
          UM, BUT THEY HAVE BUILT IN TO THE MODEL ESCALATION FACTORS, UM, SOMEWHAT BASED ON TODAY, BUT TEMPERED IT A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS THE END. 
          UM, HOPEFULLY WITH A LEVELING OFF OF SUPPLY CHAIN AND SOME OF THESE ISSUES WE HAVE FORWARD. 
          UM, SO WE ARE NOT CARRYING, HONESTLY, WHAT THE, WHAT THE ESCALATION WE WERE SEEING THROUGH LIKE ENR AND MEANS, SEVEN, EIGHT, 9%. 
          WE ARE NOT CARRYING THAT OUT TO THE MIDPOINT CONSTRUCTION. 
          WE HAVE TRIED TO TEMPER THAT BACK BASED ON A LOT OF CONVERSATION, A LOT OF STUFF JEN TALKED ABOUT. 
          WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH WITH EY ON WHAT THOSE TYPES OF, UM, MODELS SHOULD LOOK LIKE, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD. 
          UM, SO WE ARE NOT, WE ARE NOT PROJECTING THE, UH, WHAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY ALL THE WAY OUT THROUGH THE WHOLE ENTIRE PROGRAM. 
          SO I'LL PUT IT THAT WAY. 
          THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          . 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SO YOU, YOU ALL MADE ME A LITTLE NERVOUS THEN . 
          UM, YOU KNOW, MY THOUGHT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME TO HAVE A, A TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING. 
          THE TECHNICAL REVIEW IS GOING TO BE IMPORTANT. 
          I'M GONNA WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY, UH, THE CRITICAL PATH, IF YOU WILL. 
          UM, MY EXPECTATION SINCE I HAVE BEEN IN GOVERNMENT FOR 30 YEARS IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE VOTE ON A PROJECT THREE YEARS BEFORE THE SHOVEL HITS THE GROUND. 
          SO MY EXPECTATION WILL BE THAT THERE ARE SOME PRICE DIFFERENTIALS. 
          MY EXPECTATION IS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE TECHNICALLY SOUND, UH, THAT WE ARE GONNA HAVE A, UH, THAT WE WILL, THAT WE WILL PRODUCE THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE REQUESTED AND WE EXPLAIN HOW WE GET THERE. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK ANYBODY WHO EXPECTS THAT WE'RE 
          [00:50:01]
GONNA DO AN ESTIMATE TODAY, AND WE'RE GONNA HIT THAT NUMBER THREE YEARS FROM NOW. 
          I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT HAPPEN. 
          I'VE NEVER EVER SEEN THAT HAPPEN IN 40 YEARS GOVERNMENT. 
          BUT, BUT WE CAN HAVE A SOUND TECHNICAL PLAN AND WE CAN UNDERSTAND OUR PROCESSES AND INFORM OUR COMMUNITY OF WHAT WE SEE FROM DAY TO DAY. 
          BECAUSE JUST LIKE WE SAW PRICES ESCALATE, WE HAVE ALL ESCALATE. 
          WE HAVE ALSO SEEN THEM COME DOWN TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. 
          BUT WHAT HAS TO BE SOLID IS OUR TECHNICAL PLAN AND, AND, AND HOW WE, AND HOW WE GET TO ULTIMATELY WHERE THE PUBLIC EXPECTS US TO GO. 
          SO I, IT IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE TECHNICAL PLANNING IS IN ORDER AND THAT WE ARE TAKING CARE OF ALL THE FUNCTIONS THAT ARE EXPECTED AND THEN THAT WE ARE INFORMING THE COMMUNITY AS PRICES FLUCTUATE OR AS AS THEY GO UP OR THEY GO DOWN. 
          THAT THE TECHNICAL PATH, UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICAL PATH, MAKING THE DECISIONS ABOUT WHETHER IT'S GONNA BE ONE MILE OR FOUR MILES OF A TUNNEL IS WHAT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. 
          I WANT TO, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M BUYING AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA TAKE TO EXECUTE THAT. 
          AND, AND WE WILL, AND WE WILL DEAL WITH COST AND THE OTHER ISSUES AS, AS, UH, WE GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE ARE CONSTRUCTING. 
          SO JUST, JUST THAT AND 50 CENTS WILL GET YOU A TERRIBLE CUP OF COFFEE. 
          . 
          THANK YOU. 
          REMEMBER ELKINS? OH YEAH. 
          I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION JUST PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT COMMISSIONER TRIVI SAID. 
          SO ON, ON THE SCHEDULE ON PAGE 11, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS ENDS AT A SPRING 23 UPDATED LIGHT RAIL INTER IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 
          WHAT I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IS, WILL YOU BE COMING TO THE BOARD PERIODICALLY WITH PRESENTATIONS OF WHAT ANALYSES YOU'VE DONE? SO FOR INSTANCE, IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT AT GRADE VERSUS TUNNEL, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE TO WAIT NINE MONTHS TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT. 
          WILL WE BE GETTING PROGRESS REPORTS ON DIFFERENT TRADE OFFS? YEAH. 
          UH, I THINK THE EXPECTATION IS THAT STAFF WILL BE IN FRONT OF YOU ALMOST EVERY MONTH WITH A CADENCE OF CONVERSATIONS BUILDING UP TO THAT. 
          BUT YOU DO IT EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID. 
          WHAT HAVE WE DONE TODAY? SHOW IT, WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO DATE? TALK ABOUT IT. 
          AND THOSE THINGS, NOT, NOT JUST WAIT UNTIL THE END BOARD MEMBER OPENS. 
          YEAH. 
          'CAUSE WHAT, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS IF WE'VE DONE AT GRADE VERSUS TUNNEL SAVE, YOU KNOW, OR ELIMINATING UNDERGROUND STATIONS VERSUS WHAT, WHATEVER THE ANALYSIS MIGHT BE THAT WE WOULD HAVE A DISCUSSION OF TRADE OFF, TRADE OFF. 
          PROS, PROS AND CONS. 
          IF WE DO THIS, HERE'S THE COST ANALYSIS, HERE'S THE SCHEDULE IMPACT. 
          HERE ARE THE, UH, QUALITATIVE PROS AND CONS, THOSE, THAT TYPE OF THING. 
          EXACTLY. 
          GOTCHA. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, I WOULD JUST ECHO THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          THE, WE WILL BE HERE EVERY MONTH. 
          WE'LL BE HERE EVERY MONTH UPDATING AND ADDING, UH, WHAT WE, WHAT WE WANT IT TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT ON THE 20TH AND HERE TODAY, IS DEVELOPING THE WORK PLAN NEEDS TO BE WELL THOUGHT OUT SO WE CAN GO EXECUTE IT WELL AND KEEP THE TIME MOVING. 
          AND THAT REQUIRES US COMING BACK HERE AND HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS AND STARTING TO LAYER IN ALL OF THE, THE RISK FACTORS THAT WE HAVE, THE CHOICES AND DECISIONS, AND SO THAT WE CAN BRING EVERYONE, 'CAUSE THE COMMUNITY'S WATCHING THIS AS WELL. 
          AND THEN WE GO OUT AND HAVE THE SAME CONVERSATION. 
          SO WE'LL BE HERE EVERY MONTH, UH, HAVING THIS, AND I IMAGINE WE MIGHT HAVE TO ADD SOME TABLES AND BRING SOME PEOPLE AND HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A, LIKE WE DID LAST MONTH FOR CERTAIN, CERTAIN TOPICS, WHETHER IT'S DELIVERY OR SOME OF THE CHOICES AROUND TECHNICAL. 
          UM, THIS IS THE WORK OF US. 
          AND SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO DIALOGUE. 
          AND THAT'S WHY WE WANTED TO REALLY UPDATE YOU TODAY ON EVEN THIS THREE WEEKS WORTH OF WORK THAT WE'VE DONE. 
          THE TEAM HAS REALLY PROGRESSED IT AND WE MADE SURE WE BROUGHT EVERYONE TOGETHER, INCLUDING THE CITY AND CATME, TO STEER THIS WORK PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S WELL THOUGHT OUT SO WE CAN GET MOVING AND GET IT DONE. 
          SO WE'LL BE HERE. 
          AND I THINK TO ADD CHAIR TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE DATA THAT WAS PRODUCED FROM, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT ALL THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE ON THE, ON THE VISION OF LIGHT RAIL, ALL THAT DATA IS GONNA BE USED, WHETHER THAT'S COST ESTIMATE, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING TO HELP INFORM SO WE DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK MM-HMM . 
          UM, THERE'S SOME NEW ENGINEERING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, BUT SOME OF THE ENGINEERING WORK, THE ASSESSMENT WORK CAN BE USED AND PIVOTED TO SOME NEW THINGS THAT ARE BEING LOOKED AT. 
          SO WE WANNA, UM, IT'S NOT A START OVER, IT'S, IT'S REPLICATING EFFORTS THAT WE'VE HAD AND USING THAT DATA THAT WE'VE, THAT HAS BEEN ALREADY GENERATED FROM OUR TEAMS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR TWO YEARS. 
          SO WE'RE, UH, WE'RE IN A GOOD POSITION TO, TO USE THAT EFFORT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I APPRECIATE THE CADENCE ALSO OF ALL OF YOU GOING TO THE MOBILITY COMMISSION AS WELL, TO AS YOU PRESENT TO THIS BOARD AND YOU'RE GOING ON, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DOING YOUR ROUNDS AROUND THE COMMUNITY, BECAUSE I THINK WHEN AN, AN IMPORTANT DISCUSSION THAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING WITH OUR MOBILITY, UM, OFFICER WITH NICK BODE, SHE WANTS TO ALSO HELP THE CITY DEPARTMENTS BE PART OF THE SOLUTION AND THE 
          [00:55:01]
CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING. 
          SO REALLY HOW YOU ENGAGE WITH ALL OF THE CITY, IT'S REALLY REMARKABLE TO, TO HELP FIND SOLUTIONS THAT THEY HAVE IDEAS, RIGHT. 
          AND HELPING US SOLVE IT. 
          AND HOW CAN THEY BE PART OF THE, THE EQUATION AND, AND, UM, AND WITH OUR PARTNERS AT CAP METRO, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY WHEN THEY'RE GONNA OPERATE IT, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE IDEAS ON, ON BEST PRACTICES AS WELL. 
          SO ALL OF THIS ITERATION IS GONNA TAKE A LOT OF TIME. 
          AND, UM, AND I THINK ONE THING I DID NOT SEE IN YOUR REPORT IS THAT I BELIEVE THERE WAS AN, A CELEBRATORY NOTE, UH, AN AWARD FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT I BELIEVE, UH, HAPPENED THIS WEEK WITH LONNIE. 
          IS LONNIE HERE? LONNIE, WHY DON'T YOU TELL US ABOUT IT? ? WELL, WE HAVE TO, TO WAIT. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          WE'LL WAIT. 
          OKAY. 
          WE WAIT FOR THAT. 
          WE'LL WAIT FOR THAT. 
          YES. 
          PERFECT. 
          WE'LL, FOR TEASER, UH, THAT WAS A TEE-SHIRT. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          NEXT MONTH'S, NEXT MONTH. 
          OKAY. 
          NEXT MONTH'S REPORT. 
          BUT WE'RE EXCITED AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          MEMBER CCA. 
          YES. 
          OH, THANK, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THIS. 
          UM, I JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP THAT DIALOGUE GOING WITH MOBILITY COMMITTEE, UM, AS OUR A SMP GOALS SORT OF CHANGE AND SHIFT IN RESPONSE TO MARKET CONDITIONS AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN, IN OUR WORLD TODAY. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, AS YOU APPROACH THIS WORK, EVERYTHING ELSE DOESN'T, IS NOT HELD CONSTANT TO TODAY'S, UM, ACTIVITY AND LEVELS. 
          SO, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT MOBILITY COMMITTEE CAN, CAN BE OF SERVICE TO YOU AND, AND THE REST OF THE A TD TEAM AND THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT ALL OF THAT. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU TEAM. 
          UM, SO NOW MOVING ON TO, UM, OUR FIRST ACTION ITEMS NOW. 
          [5.a. Approval of minutes from the July 20 Board Meeting]
SO I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MEETING MINUTES BECAUSE OUR FIRST ACTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JULY 20TH, 2022 AUSTIN TRANSIT PARTNERSHIP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING IF I CAN REQUEST A MOTION AND A SECOND ON THIS ACTION ITEM. 
          MOTION BY MAYOR ADLER. 
          SECOND BY MEMBER ELKINS. 
          EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. 
          OUR SECOND 
          [5.b. Approval of a resolution electing ATP Vice Chair]
ACTION ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION TO ELECT OUR A TP VICE CHAIR. 
          AND I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS MOTION FOR THIS ITEM. 
          AND, UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE, UH, MAYOR ADLER TO BE OUR VICE CHAIR FOR THIS POSITION. 
          AND I LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS OF WHY I THINK YOU'RE THE PERFECT PERSON TO JOIN ME IN HOLDING HANDS, NOT ONLY TO FINISH YOUR MAYORSHIP, BUT TO ME IT'S VERY IMPORTANT, MAYOR, THAT WE RECOGNIZE THE, YOUR LEGACY. 
          AND TO HONOR THE LEGACY. 
          BECAUSE I THINK IN ALL THE YEARS THAT I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN, YOU HAVE BEEN THE LEADER THAT HAS SET THE THINGS IN MOTION FOR EQUITY, FOR AFFORDABILITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WHICH WE NEED FOR SURVIVAL, MOBILITY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT. 
          AND FOR ME, ALL THESE THINGS, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THESE WORDS AND REALLY TO HONOR THE LEGACY THAT YOU HAVE PRESENTED US WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY OF WHAT THIS TRANSFORMATIVE PROGRAM CAN MEAN FOR OUR CITY. 
          AND I HOPE YOU AND MY FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS COULD ACCEPT THIS NOMINATION FOR YOU AS OUR VICE CHAIR. 
          UM, ANY DISCUSSION OR IF I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR SUPPORT OR ANYBODY THAT COULD SECOND THIS MOTION AN OUTSTANDING CHOICE, , I WOULD SECOND THE MOTION. 
          I THANK YOU. 
          I, I WOULD SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE, UM, WORKED HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO, UH, TO WORK WITH THE MAYOR, UH, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, LONG DAYS GETTING UP VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING, UH, WILLINGNESS TO TALK TO EVERYBODY. 
          UH, NO MOMENT WAS TOO BIG FOR HIM AS WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS. 
          AND, UM, ALWAYS HAD A, A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE IN HIM. 
          UH, BUT TO, BUT TO SEE HIM WORK, TO, TO, UH, BRING A PROJECT THAT WAS GOING TO TRANSFORM THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, UH, WAS WAS I, I THINK A, UH, A LESSON IN GOOD GOVERNMENT. 
          SO, UM, SO I CERTAINLY, UM, SUPPORT, UH, THE NOMINATION OF HIM AND, AND, UH, AND 
          [01:00:01]
THINK IT IS FITTING AS WELL. 
          I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU. 
          OBVIOUSLY THIS PROJECT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO, TO MY HEART, AND ANYTHING I CAN DO TO HELP AND THE, AND THE TIME THAT I HAVE LEFT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          I KNOW THAT ONCE YOU'RE NO LONGER OUR MAYOR, YOU, I HOPE WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE YOU AS AMBASSADOR FOR THIS PROGRAM. 
          JUST LIKE WE SENT COLETTE TO INDIANAPOLIS. 
          SHE'S OUR AMBASSADOR FROM INDIANAPOLIS ON THIS PROGRAM, AND SHE'S WATCHING FROM AFAR. 
          AND AS WE REALLY PLANT THE SEEDS OF, OF UNITY AROUND THIS PROGRAM, I REALLY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, INVITE YOU TO, TO HELP US HOLD OUR HAND THROUGH THIS ENTIRE JOURNEY. 
          AND, UH, WITH THAT, UM, IF I COULD PLEASE HAVE A, A MOTION AND A SECOND TO APPROVE. 
          I'LL MAKE A MOTION SECONDED BY SECOND BOARD MEMBER ELKINS. 
          EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY A AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          THANK YOU VICE CHAIR. 
          UH, IF I'M MISSING A MEETING, I HOPE THAT YOU CAN COVER IT FOR ME. 
          , MA'AM, YOU HAVE MORE PRACTICE THAN ME, FOR SURE. 
          SO, THANK YOU, MAYOR. 
          UM, 
          [5.c. Approval of a resolution appointing a Board Liaison to the Planning, Sustainability, Equity & DBE Advisory Committee]
OUR THIRD ACTION ITEM TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION APPOINTING A BOARD LIAISON TO THE PLANNING, SUSTAINABILITY, EQUITY AND DBE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
          AND, UM, I WOULD, BEFORE I REQUEST A MOTION, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO OPEN THIS UP FOR THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION AND WHO YOU WOULD THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, BOARD MEMBER VCA HAS BEEN COVERING THE MEETINGS FOR DR. BURNETT IN BURNETT'S, DR. 
          BURNETT'S ABSENCE, AND UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ALSO HAVE THIS VACANCY ON OUR BOARD FOR THIS PARTICULAR, UM, EXPERTISE THAT IT'S WE'RE ABOUT TO FILL. 
          UM, I'M THINKING THAT, AND PLEASE GUIDE ME, UH, CASEY IF I'M DOING THIS CORRECTLY, BUT I HOPE THAT THIS, UH, APPROVAL WOULD BE JUST A TEMPORARY UNTIL WE HAVE THIS BOARD SEATED HERE. 
          'CAUSE I ALSO KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE TO HANDLE ANOTHER COMMITTEE, BUT THAT THAT'S RIGHT. 
          UM, DR. 
          BURNETT'S, UH, REPLACEMENT, THAT COMMUNITY DIRECTOR SEAT WILL KIND OF AUTOMATICALLY BE THE LIAISON TO RIGHT. 
          TO PSEC ONCE THEY'RE ON BOARD. 
          SO, SO IF WE GO THROUGH THE SCHEDULE OF WHEN WE EXPECT TO SEE THIS BOARD MEMBER WOULD BE PERHAPS NOVEMBER, RIGHT? PROBABLY. 
          YEAH. 
          SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER MEETING. 
          AND I WOULD LIKE, I MEAN, WHAT I WOULD EXPECT IS THAT THIS BOARD LIAISON COVERING THIS POSITION HELPS ALSO TRANSITION OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER FOR SEVERAL MEETINGS. 
          SO THERE'S A CONTINUITY. 
          AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO OFFER IT TO, WHO WOULD LIKE TO LEAD IF IT'S GINA CONTINUING IN THIS ROLE, IF IT'S MAYOR AS OUR VICE CHAIR, BECAUSE COLETTE WAS OUR VICE CHAIR MEMBER. 
          ELK IS, YOU'RE HANDLING THE FAR COMMITTEE. 
          I MEAN, WHO WOULD LIKE TO OUR NEW BOARD MEMBER, UH, MR. BILION. 
          UM, SO WHO WOULD LIKE TO SERVE ON THIS CAPACITY? UM, UH, CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. 
          UM, I, I'M WILLING TO CONTINUE SERVING SHOULD IT BE THE BOARD'S PLEASURE. 
          WELL, THANK YOU. 
          I WOULD LOVE FOR THAT TO BE THE CASE. 
          UM, YOU SECOND FOR MEMBER FCA. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THAT'S IT. 
          IT, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UM, WITH THAT, EVERYONE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          AYE. 
          AYE. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, CHAIR, SORRY, CAN WE GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS VICE CHAIR MOTION? I JUST WANNA, IT REMINDED ME THAT THE EFFECTIVE THAT THE MAYOR'S TERM WILL, WILL JUST BE THROUGH DECEMBER. 
          SO WE JUST KIND OF NEED TO MAKE THAT AMENDMENT AND VOTE ON THAT AMENDMENT, UM, TO FILL IN THE BLANK ON THE RESOLUTION. 
          YES, . 
          THANK YOU. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO MY APOLOGIES, I DIDN'T, UM, INTERVENE EARLIER. 
          SO YEAH, IF YOU WANT TO, UM, CALL FOR JUST A MOTION TO AMEND. 
          OKAY. 
          THE, UM, PRIOR, THE PRIOR MOTION TO ADD THE EFFECT THAT, THAT THE MAYOR'S TERM WILL BE EFFECTIVE THROUGH, UM, DECEMBER 31ST, 2022. 
          OKAY. 
          DO YOU NEED AN AMENDMENT MAYOR? MOTION. 
          SECOND. 
          LET'S JUST MAKE THE MOMENT AMENDMENT JUST IN CASE . 
          SO WE DON'T HAVE A GAP. 
          , PROBABLY I'LL RECENT IT, SO IF I CAN PLEASE HAVE, WE'RE GOING BACK TO ACTION ITEM NUMBER TWO, UM, ON THE RESOLUTION TO APPOINT THE A TP VICE CHAIR EFFECTIVE DATE THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST, 2022. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, CAN I PLEASE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THAT AMENDMENT? MOTION 
          [01:05:01]
BY MEMBER ELKIN. 
          SECOND BY MEMBER TRILLIAN. 
          EVERYONE IN FAVOR PLEASE SAY AYE. 
          A AYE. 
          AND THE AMENDMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, DID WE FINISH ACTION ITEM THREE WITH YOUR APPOINTMENT? UNANIMOUSLY? I FORGOT. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          UM, NOW MOVING ON TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UM, SO NOW WE'LL HEAR 
          [6.b. Proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Presentation]
THE FISCAL YEAR 2023, PROPOSED BUDGET. 
          WELCOME, MS. DIANE SEILER, OUR BUDGET DIRECTOR. 
          AND JAMIE, PLEASE REMIND ME YOUR LAST NAME. 
          ATKINSON. 
          ATKINSON, WELCOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          I'M JUST GOING TO DO A FEW INTRODUCTORY REMARKS TO GET STARTED. 
          UH, AND I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE DIANE AND JAMIE'S AND THE WHOLE TEAM WORK. 
          YOU KNOW, BUDGET ISN'T, UM, JUST A FINANCIAL DOCUMENT. 
          IT'S A PLANNING DOCUMENT, AND WE HAVE EVERYONE INVOLVED IN, IN DOING THIS AND TRYING TO ITERATE WHAT WE'RE DOING AS A BUDGET, UM, UH, MOVING FORWARD. 
          'CAUSE WE KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT AS A ROADMAP TO WHERE WE ARE AND WHO WE ARE. 
          UM, SO I WANNA START WITH THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THIS IS ACTUALLY COMES FROM THE RESOLUTION AROUND THE, THE BOARD'S RESOLUTION AROUND THE JPA, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A VISION. 
          AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON. 
          WE TALK A LOT, UH, EVEN TODAY, SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS, WE'RE TALKING A LOT ABOUT OUTPUT, RIGHT? ABOUT WHERE OUR, UM, UH, THE, THE, THE VEHICLES THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE, WHERE THEY'RE GONNA BE, THEY'RE REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          BUT I THINK WE ALSO, WHAT THIS VISION REMINDS US IS WE'RE ALWAYS FO WE HAVE TO BE FOCUSED ON OUTCOMES, OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CREATING COMMUNITY, WE'RE CREATING, WE'RE IMPROVING ENHANCING EQUITY AND SUSTAINABILITY. 
          AND FROM ALL THAT, IT'S GREAT TO JUST ALWAYS ROOT AS WE ROOT OUR BUDGET IS IN, YES, THERE'S NUMBERS IN A BUDGET. 
          UM, I'M A RECOVERING FINANCE PERSON, SO EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, I, I LOOK AT NUMBERS STILL. 
          AND IT IS. 
          BUT THIS, WHAT YOU SEE TODAY AS PART OF YOUR BUDGET. 
          WHAT YOU SEE TODAY WHEN WE'RE BRINGING ACTION ITEMS FORWARD, IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT DRIVING TOWARDS OUTCOMES FOR THIS COMMUNITY. 
          SO TO THAT NOTE, I WANTED JUST TO HAVE A FEW, FEW THINGS TO MENTION BEFORE, UM, DIANE AND JAMIE. 
          WALK US THROUGH, UH, THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND THE SCHEDULE FOR APPROVING THAT HERE, UM, IN THE UPCOMING MONTHS. 
          UM, THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, CHLOE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO I, WE WANNA START WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS WE ARE, WE MENTIONED IT THIS MORNING AT THE ULI CONFERENCE, HOW EVERYONE FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY IS JUST LOOKING AT WHAT, UM, OUR LEADERSHIP SITTING AROUND THE TABLE WAS ABLE TO PUT IN OUR VOTE FOR $300 MILLION FOR, UM, UH, PREVENTION, DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION FOR THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDING. 
          UM, THIS, THIS BOARD WITH OUR PROPOSED BUDGET WILL APPROVE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS TOWARDS THAT EFFORT. 
          AND WITH A PARTNER WITH THE CITY, THE CITY HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT DEPLOYING THOSE FUNDS, WE THINK THAT'S A GREAT, UM, JUST A GREAT EARLY INVESTMENT, I THINK SPEAKS VOLUMES TO WHO AUSTIN IS. 
          AND I THINK WE NEED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO SOMEONE UP IN INDIANAPOLIS WHO, UM, WHO PRESSED US EARLY, UM, IN THE FIRST COUPLE MEETINGS TO JUST HELP US MOVE THAT FUNDING ALONG SO WE COULD DO A LITTLE MORE FUNDING EARLY. 
          'CAUSE WE ALWAYS KNOW THAT THOSE INVESTMENTS EARLIER ARE BETTER THAN THOSE INVESTMENTS LATER. 
          SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF BEING ABLE TO ACCELERATE THAT FUNDING AND GET A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN PLACE. 
          WE'RE GONNA ADVANCE PROJECT CONNECT. 
          I MEAN, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE LAST BOARD MEETING, WE'VE HAD SOME FANTASTIC PROGRESS ON THE METRO RAPIDS, THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS, UM, OUR COMMITMENTS TO OUR PARTNERS WITH CAP METRO IN FUNDING THE CITY TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN BE WITH US LOCKSTEP. 
          UM, THEY ARE IN THERE AS WELL. 
          AND THEN APPROPRIATELY RESOURCING THE LIGHT RAIL PROGRAM. 
          AS WE, AS WE TALKED ABOUT IN JULY, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL WORK. 
          WE'RE GOING THROUGH ADDITIONAL WORK. 
          YOU JUST RECEIVED AN UPDATE ON EVEN THE WORK WE'VE MOVED FORWARD ON IN THREE WEEKS. 
          AND APPROPRIATE RESOURCING GOES INTERNAL AND EXTERNALLY. 
          SO WE CAN ADVANCE THIS TO A POINT OF, UM, DECISIONS AND DISCUSSIONS FOR THE BOARDS. 
          UM, TRANSPARENCY HAS BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT TO ALL OF YOU ON THIS BOARD. 
          AND WE KNOW THAT FROM TRANSPARENCY, YOU GET TRUST. 
          AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS EMBEDDED IN THIS BUDGET IS, IS ADDING SOME NEW LEVELS OF TRANSPARENCY AND OVERSIGHT AROUND APPROVAL OF AUTHORIZED STRENGTHS FOR FTE, ADDING AUDITORS TO HELP SHAPE THIS ORGANIZATION. 
          I, I'VE BEEN IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR A LONG TIME, AND I RECOGNIZE THAT THAT IS IMPORTANT TO CREATING THE RIGHT CULTURE OF AN ORGANIZATION, AND THAT YOU HAVE TO RESOURCE THAT PROPERLY. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE, AND WE NEED OVERSIGHT ON THAT RESOURCING. 
          UM, WE WANT TO GET, WE WANNA BE RESPONSIBLE WITH THESE PUBLIC FUNDS, AND PART OF THAT IS BEING PROACTIVE ABOUT HOW WE FUND OUR RESERVES. 
          WE ARE GONNA BE DRIVING TOWARDS, UM, WHAT 
          [01:10:01]
IS OUR CORE FUN, ONE OF OUR CORE FUNCTIONS AMONG OTHERS, IMPLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION IS OF, OF THESE, OF LIGHT RAIL IS THE CONSTRUCTION, IS THE CONTRACTS, IS THE OVERSIGHT, IS THE CONTROLS, THE FTA, BUT ALSO ULTIMATELY IT'S ABOUT ISSUING FUNDS AND DEBTS THAT WE CAN MOVE ALL OF THAT FORWARD. 
          SO WE'RE THINKING AHEAD ALREADY ABOUT WHAT THAT NEEDS TO LOOK LIKE. 
          UM, OUR TREASURER, BRIAN, WORKING WITH OUR EXTERNAL PFM THINKING ABOUT OUR RESERVE LEVELS, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RESERVE LEVEL SO WE CAN BE READY FOR THAT CREDIT AND START ISSUING BONDS TO MOVE THIS PROJECT FORWARD. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, AND I THINK MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OUR WORKFORCE, UH, OUR TEAM OF, OF COLLECTED TALENT FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY, AROUND AUSTIN, UM, DOWN THE STREET IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. 
          WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THOSE IN OUR WORKFORCE TO RETAIN THEM IN THIS TOUGH TIME, AS WELL AS RECRUIT SOME OF THE RECRUITMENTS THAT WE HAVE. 
          AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE THEME OF OUR BUDGET. 
          SO WE'RE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO PROPOSE THIS TO YOU TODAY AND REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR DIALOGUE AROUND THIS PROPOSED BUDGET AS WELL IN THE UPCOMING MONTH TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND INPUT PRIOR TO YOUR ADOPTION OF THIS BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER. 
          SO THANKS FOR ALLOWING US THE TIME TO BE HERE TODAY, AND I'LL LET DIANE TAKE IT FROM HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OH, DO I HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE? I DO. 
          OKAY. 
          HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE THEY'RE TELLING ME. 
          SO THIS IS JUST A REMINDER OF WHY WE'RE HERE, AND THIS GOES BACK IN TIME TO THE VOTE ALL THE WAY TO THE CREATION OF THE BOARD, IT SEEMS LIKE A LONG TIME AGO, AND A SHORT TIME AGO WHEN WE DID OUR FIRST BUDGET. 
          UM, I DON'T THINK I WAS EVEN AN EMPLOYEE THEN IN JANUARY OF 21, BUT THIS IS TO REMIND EVERYONE AS A TP IS YOUR BOARD AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT THIS PROJECT AND THIS BUDGET REFLECTS, UM, YOUR ROLE IN BRINGING FORWARD PROJECT CONNECT. 
          NOW I'LL TURN IT TO DIANA. 
          AWESOME. 
          THANK YOU GREG. 
          UM, GOOD AFTERNOON AGAIN. 
          I'M DIANE SEILER, UM, INTERIM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND BUDGET DIRECTOR, AND I'M JOINED BY JAMIE ATKINSON, OUR BUDGET ANALYST. 
          THE WORK THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE TODAY IS A DIRECT RESULT OF JAMIE'S TIRELESS EFFORTS, REALLY. 
          SO SHE'S UP HERE TO KEEP ME STRAIGHT AND HELP ME ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE. 
          SO, SORRY. 
          ALLERGIES. 
          BEFORE WE, UM, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE MEAT OF THE PRESENTATION, I LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST REMIND PEOPLE OF A FEW, UM, KIND OF PLACE SETTING, UM, ELEMENTS OF OUR BUDGET. 
          AND I FEEL IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO, UM, SHARE THESE ONCE AGAIN TO, UM, SORRY YOU GUYS TO SHARE THESE ONCE AGAIN WITH YOU GUYS. 
          SO, SO Y'ALL REALIZE WHY WE PRESENT THE INFORMATION WE PRESENT TO YOU. 
          UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE WITH US LAST YEAR, YOU CAN DO THE SLIDE. 
          SOME OF THIS INFORMATION WILL BE REPETITIVE, BUT PLEASE JUST BEAR WITH ME. 
          AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WON'T, IT SHOULD BE NEW TO YOU BECAUSE OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES START ON OCTOBER 1ST. 
          UH, BECAUSE OUR FINANCIAL FISCAL YEAR STARTS ON OCTOBER 1ST, OUR FI FINANCIAL POLICY STATES THAT THE BOARD SHALL ADOPT OUR OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET NO LATER THAN THE SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING. 
          IN ORDER TO GET READY FOR THE SEPTEMBER BOARD MEETING, STAFF HAS TO START PREPARING THE BUDGET IN IN MAY, AND THAT INVOLVES ANALYZING CURRENT TRENDS AND ASSESSING FUTURE NEEDS. 
          AND IT ALSO INVOLVES WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS. 
          IN AUGUST, WE BRING A, UM, WE BRIEF THE FAR WITH A, UH, A DRAFT OF OUR PROPOSED BUDGET. 
          THE FINAL APPROVED BUDGET IS THEN PREVENT PRESENTED TO YOU IN AUGUST ONE MONTH PRIOR TO ADOPTION. 
          THANK YOU, REBECCA. 
          YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO DURING THE MONTH, LEADING UP TO ADOPTION, STAFF IS AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THROUGH, UM, IN-PERSON MEETINGS AND VIA, UH, VIA WRITTEN RESPONSES THAT WILL BE SHARED WITH THE, WITH THE ENTIRE BOARD. 
          OKAY. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          I THINK THAT'S GONNA HELP. 
          NOW IT'S JUST READY TO ROCK . 
          WE'LL SEE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A TP AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND CAP METRO HAVE, UM, AS DELINEATED THROUGH THE JPA, DO HAVE, UM, IMPACTS ON, ON OUR BUDGET THAT YOU'LL SEE TODAY. 
          FOR INSTANCE, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S TRANSFERRED TO US FOR PROPERTY TAX, UM, AND A, UH, CAPITAL METRO'S CONTRIBUTION TO US SHOW UP ON OUR BOOKS AS, UM, AS REVENUE. 
          THE, UM, TRANSFER TO THE, FOR THE ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUND AND ACTIVITIES, UM, WILL SHOW UP AS A, AS A TRANSFER OUT OF OUR OPERATING. 
          UM, WHILE A TP HAS BEEN IS THE PRIMARY, UM, ENTITY FOR, UM, FOR 
          [01:15:01]
DESIGNING FINANCING, BUILDING, UM, IMPLEMENTING PROJECT CONNECT, AND YOU WILL SEE THAT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BUDGET. 
          UM, WE'VE ALSO DELEGATED RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADMINISTERING SOME COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM TO OUR PARTNER AGENCIES. 
          SO, FOR EXAMPLE, CAP METRO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, UH, RED LINE METRO EXPRESS, UH, METRO RAPIDS, NEIGHBORHOOD CIRCULATORS, AND SOME FACILITIES. 
          UM, AND WHILE THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING, UM, DISPLACEMENT PREVENTION ACTIVITIES, SO BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU'LL SEE TRANSFERS TO THESE TWO ENTITIES FOR THOSE SERVICES. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, YOU'LL SEE, UM, TRANSFERS OUT TO CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR THE SERVICES. 
          UM, THE SUPPORT SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF OUR ADMINISTRATIVE AND PROGRAM, UM, PROGRAM NEEDS. 
          THIS SLIDE'S AN OLDIE, BUT A GOODIE. 
          UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE, WE UNDERSTAND THE, UM, HOW PROPERTY TAX WORKS, UM, GIVEN THAT IT IS 80% OF OUR BUDGET. 
          SO YOU'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE RISING, UM, PROPERTY VALUES. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR US, THAT DOESN'T EQUATE TO ADDITIONAL REVENUE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THE STATE HAS CAPPED THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT WE CAN COLLECT FROM PROPERTY TAX AT THREE AND HALF PERCENT, NO MORE THAN THREE AND HALF PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEARS TAX COLLECTION. 
          UM, THE ONE, UM, EXCEPTION TO THIS IS FOR NEW PROPERTY. 
          WHEN NEW PROPERTY COMES ON THE TAX ROLL, THE REVENUE GENERATED BY THAT FOR THE FIRST YEAR IS ADDED TO THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT. 
          SO HOW THAT PLAYS OUT IS THAT EVEN THOUGH POVERTY VALUES ARE RISING, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT A TAX RATE AL DECREASES TO MATHEMATICALLY RESULT IN A PREDETERMINED, MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE REVENUE SOURCE. 
          GET YOU A LITTLE, NOT LOUD ENOUGH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          . 
          WE CAPTURE EVERY LAST WORD. 
          EVERY LAST WORD. 
          . 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          I ALSO WANNA REMIND YOU OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGET. 
          I THINK THIS YEAR YOU WILL START TO REALLY SEE THE DIFFERENCES, UM, THROUGHOUT OUR BUDGET. 
          SO, UM, USUALLY THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE ONE PEOPLE NOTICE IS THAT AS THE ANNUAL BUDGET IS GENERALLY ONE YEAR TO MAYBE TWO YEARS OF APPROPRIATION. 
          AND WHEN THAT TIME PERIOD HAS, HAS IS GONE, THE BUDGETS ARE ZEROED OUT, AND THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING IS THEN INCORPORATED INTO FUTURE BUDGETS. 
          SO FOR CAPITAL BUDGET, THAT IS NOT THE CASE. 
          CAPITAL BUDGETS ARE MULTI-YEAR APPROPRIATIONS, WHICH MEANS THAT ONCE THE APPROPRIATION IS PROVIDED, IT REMAINS IN EXISTENCE UNTIL THE PROJECT IS COMPLETED. 
          SO WHAT I'VE ADDED TO THE SLIDE NEW FOR THIS YEAR IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ANNUAL SPENDING PLAN, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE. 
          IT IS THE AMOUNT THAT WE PLAN TO SPEND ON A PROJECT IN THE FISCAL YEAR. 
          AND THIS IS, UM, ESSENTIAL TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHETHER WE NEED TO, UM, APPROPRIATE ADDITIONAL FUNDS AND IN ORDER TO PLAN FOR CASH FLOW. 
          ADDITIONAL CHANGES INCLUDE, UH, THE TYPES OF EXPENDITURES, DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS VERSUS CAPITAL ASSETS, AND THE FUNDING SOURCES THAT ARE USED FOR BOTH OF THESE ACTIVITIES. 
          AND THEN THE FINAL SLIDE I HAVE FOR YOU ON JUST THE, AS I SAID, THE KIND OF BUDGET FRAMEWORK IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUDGET AUTHORITY, A BUDGET, AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 
          SO THE BUDGET PROVIDES A SPENDING FRAMEWORK UNDER WHICH THE STAFF OPERATE. 
          UM, IT SIGNALS TO THE VENDORS AND TO OUR PARTNERS THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES SO THAT THEY CAN GET INTO, UM, CONTRACTS WITH US. 
          IT DOES NOT AUTHORIZE SPENDING ON THOSE CONTRACTS WITH VENDORS OR WITH OUR PARTNERS. 
          FOR THAT, WE NEED CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 
          SO, CONTRACT AUTHORITY SETS THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT THAT THE, THAT, UM, A TP STAFF MAY SPEND FOR SPECIFIC GOODS FOR SPECIFIC SERVICES WITH SPECIFIC VENDORS. 
          AND THIS IS ESTABLISHED WHEN THE, WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE BUDGET THAT IS, IS, UM, ADOPTED. 
          SO WANNA REMIND YOU THAT APPROVAL OF THIS BUDGET IS NOT APPROVAL TO SPEND THESE CONTRACTS. 
          EVERY CONTRACT THAT IS OVER A 250,000 AND, UM, ANY ILA WITH ANY PARTNER AGENCY MUST COME BACK TO THE BOARD FOR APPROVAL PRIOR TO EXPENDING THESE, THESE FUNDS. 
          SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I'M READY TO MOVE ON TO THE MEAT OF THE, THE, UM, BUDGET AND TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS. 
          ALL RIGHT, THIS YEAR, NO NEW FUNDING, NO NEW APPROPRIATIONS ARE NEEDED FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS. 
          WE HAVE SUFFICIENT APPROPRIATIONS FROM PRIOR YEARS TO ALLOW 
          [01:20:01]
US TO, UM, CONTINUE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. 
          CURRENT APPROACH APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE LIGHT RAIL ARE $205 MILLION. 
          AND THAT, AS I SAID, THAT IS SUFFICIENT TO FUND THE $50 MILLION IN ANTICIPATED SPENDING FOR EXISTING, UM, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ENGINEERING CONTRACTS AND FOR NEW CONTRACTS WITH ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES, UM, SYSTEMS AND ENGINEERING AND RIGHT OF WAY SERVICES. 
          SO I WANTED TO LEAD OFF WITH THIS BULLET, JUST BE, JUST TO REMIND YOU, IT, IT TIES BACK TO THE, THE SLIDE WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT, THAT WHILE WE HAVE, UM, ANTICIPATED SPENDING HERE OF $50 MILLION, THESE CONTRACTS ARE COMING BACK TO YOU ALL FOR, FOR APPROVAL. 
          UM, AND EVEN THE, UM, OR EITHER THROUGH THE CONTRACTS THEMSELVES OR THROUGH THE, OVER THE GOVERNING ILA WE, WE WILL BE HAVING WITH CAB METRO, THE MOVING ON TO THE METRO RAPID PLEASANT VALLEY AND EXPO. 
          THOSE, UM, AS YOU HEARD BEFORE, THOSE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 
          THE LOCAL MATCH OF $36 MILLION, UH, COVERED BY A TP, HAS BEEN FULLY APPROPRIATED WITH YOUR BUDGET AMENDMENT LAST YEAR, CAPITAL LAST MONTH, CAPITAL METRO EXPECTS TO SPEND JUST UNDER $25 MILLION ON THOSE PROJECTS NEXT YEAR. 
          THE LAST BULLET IS NEW FOR THIS YEAR. 
          WE ARE CREATING A NEW OPERATING RESERVE AND SEEDING IT WITH $20 MILLION. 
          BUT THIS REQUIRES A SLIDE ALL ON ITS OWN. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THAT IN IN A FEW MO A FEW MINUTES. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AS GREG MENTIONED IN HIS OPENING REMARKS, UM, THE TRANSFER OF $35 MILLION TO OUR ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUND, UH, MEANS THAT WE HAVE NOW SET ASIDE A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS FOR AN FOR DISPLACEMENT, UM, PREVENTION ACTIVITIES. 
          UH, WE HAVE, UM, IN ANTICIPATION OF APPROVAL OF THE SERVICE CONTRACTS WITH CAP METRO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND AND PROGRAM SUPPORT, WE HAVE INCLUDED THREE AND 3.8 MILLION AND $3.5 MILLION RESPECTIVELY TO BE, TO BE FOR YOU TO REIMBURSE OUR PARTNERS FOR EXPENDITURES FOR CAP METRO. 
          THE MONEY COVERS SALARIES FOR STAFF THAT SUPPORT ATP'S BUSINESS NEEDS, INCLUDING THE SECONDED PEOPLE. 
          IT ALSO INCLUDES IT SERVICES AND HARDWARE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          THE $3.5 MILLION COVERS PROJECTS, UH, PROJECT, THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE ACTIVITIES RELATING, UH, UH, MOVING ON TO STAFFING 2.5 ADDITIONAL STAFF HAVE BEEN ADDED, UM, TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE AND TRANSPARENCY. 
          THE, THE TWO SENIOR AUDITORS WILL BE, UM, WILL HELP ASSIST WITH THE AUDIT PLAN THAT KATIE WILL BE BRIEFING YOU ON NEXT. 
          AND THEN THE LAST HALF OF AN FTE IS TO MAKE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION GO FROM PART-TIME TO FULL-TIME AS, AS THE BOARD DIRECTED IN APRIL. 
          SO, SOURCES AND USES OF FUNDS. 
          MOVING INTO THE NUMBERS, WE PROJECT THAT WE'RE GONNA BRING IN $193 MILLION IN FY 23, WHICH IS, YOU CAN LOOK AT THE TWO CHARTS. 
          IT'S MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOU, A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS GREATER THAN WHAT WE ANTICIPATE OUR OBLIGATIONS WILL BE OF $91 MILLION. 
          THE EXCESS REVENUE COLLECTED OVER OUR OBLIGATIONS IS TRANSFERRED IN. 
          IT IS A RESERVE FOR FUTURE PROJECT COMMITMENTS. 
          AND JUST LIKE THE RESERVE, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT ON A, UH, SLIDE IN TWO SLIDES FROM NOW. 
          SO FOR THE REVENUE PROPERTY TAX, UM, PROPERTY TAX REVENUE IS EXPECTED TO COME IN AT $159 MILLION, WHICH IS MORE THAN 80% OF OUR BUDGET. 
          HENCE, THE DISCUSSION ON, ON PROPERTY TAX REVENUE. 
          UH, CAPITAL METRO IS CONTRIBUTING $30 MILLION. 
          THAT'S IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE FUNDING PLAN, UH, THE LONG-TERM FUNDING PLAN. 
          AND IT'S ALSO, UH, BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE CAP METRO PROPOSED BUDGET. 
          SO THE OTHER REVENUE IS FOR INVESTMENT INTEREST INCOME OF, UH, $3.9 MILLION. 
          IN FY 23. 
          WE BEGAN COLLECTING REVENUE, INTEREST REVENUE THIS YEAR WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE INVESTMENT POLICIES. 
          AND ONCE OUR CASH BEGAN BEING ACTIVELY MANAGED, MOVING OVER TO EXPENDITURES. 
          AS I MENTIONED, THERE ARE NO TRANSFERS OUT TO THE CAPITAL BECAUSE WE AREN'T REQUESTING ANY ADDITIONAL CAPITAL FOR APPROPRIATIONS THIS YEAR. 
          THE TWO TRANSFERS OUT ARE FOR THE OPERATING RESERVE, $20 MILLION AND THE ANTI 
          [01:25:01]
DISPLACEMENT FUND OF $35 MILLION. 
          THE FINAL $36 MILLION IS FOR ATP'S OPERATING EXPENSES. 
          AND I'M GONNA GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THE VERY NEXT SLIDE. 
          ONE THIRD OF ATP'S OPERATING EXPENSES ARE FOR DIRECT STAFF COSTS THAT INCLUDE SALARIES, PAYROLL, TAXES, BENEFITS. 
          THE NEXT LARGEST CATEGORY IS $8 MILLION FOR OUTSIDE CONTRACTS, UH, THAT INCLUDE. 
          AND THIS ONE I HAVE TO READ. 
          LEGAL, FINANCIAL, AUDIT, TECHNOLOGY, RECRUITING, MARKETING AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SUPPORT. 
          UM, IT'S WHY IT'S A LARGE CATEGORY. 
          WE HAVE INCLUDED $6.4 MILLION FOR FACILITY COSTS. 
          THAT INCLUDES LEASES, UTILITIES, AND INTERNET SERVICE. 
          UH, THE 3.8 AND THE $3.5 MILLION ARE THE TRANSFERS TO OUR PARTNERS. 
          AND FINALLY, WE HAVE $2 MILLION FOR TECHNICAL RESOURCES WITH A HIGHLY EDUCATED STAFF AND IN MANY DIFFERENT TECHNICAL FIELDS, UH, WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEIR CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL MEN MEMBERSHIPS INCLUDED IN THIS, UM, IN CATEGORY ARE, ARE ALSO THE, UM, SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT PROJECT CONNECT. 
          SO MOVING ON TO STAFFING, AS GREG UH MENTIONED EARLIER, WE ARE, UM, IMPLEMENTING FOR FY 23 FOR THE FIRST TIME. 
          UM, THE BOARD FORMALLY APPROVING THE AUTHORIZED STAFFING LEVELS. 
          UH, THIS IS A BEST PRACTICE THAT IS RECOMMENDED BY THE GFOA GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. 
          AND IT IS COMPARABLE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY. 
          UM, PROCESS, OUR TOTAL FTE COUNT IS 87 POSITIONS, AND THAT'S UP FROM THE, UM, 84.5 THAT WERE FUNDED IN FY 22. 
          SO DUE TO STRATEGIC HIRING PRACTICES, WE HAVE 35 POSITIONS VACANT RIGHT NOW THAT WILL BE CARRYING OVER TO FY 23. 
          A HANDFUL OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE GOING TO BE ESSENTIAL FOR CONTINUING THE, UM, ORGANIZATIONAL INDEPENDENCE. 
          AND GREG ALREADY MENTIONED ONE, THE CHIEF UM, COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER. 
          WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR, UM, AN IT DIRECTOR. 
          AND THOSE POSITIONS ARE GONNA HELP US MOVE A TP TOWARDS ASSUMING A LOT OF THE SERVICES THAT HAVE, ARE STILL BEING PROVIDED TO US BY CAP METRO ONE. 
          UM, MM-HMM . 
          ONE QUICK QUESTION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          I NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE, UH, A DBE FUNCTION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          DO YOU GET THE AUTHORITY FROM YOUR, FOR YOUR DBE FUNCTION, FROM WORKING THROUGH CAP METRO OR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH HAVE PERFORMED DISPARITY STUDIES? OR ARE YOU PARTICIPATING IN THE DISPARITY STUDY OF YOUR OWN? THAT IS AN EXCELLENT QUESTION. 
          UM, AND I'LL HAVE TO ASK COURTNEY CHAVEZ OUR, UM, EQUITY AND, UH, OUR EQUITY MANAGER ON THAT. 
          YEAH, I, I WILL SAY THAT WE DO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO HAVE OUR OWN DBE PROGRAM, BUT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A HISTORY OF THAT PROGRAM, WE, WE DID WORK WITH CAPITAL METRO ON THEIR DISPARITY STUDY. 
          AND, UM, WE USE THAT INFORMATION TO CREATE THE PROGRAM. 
          OKAY. 
          JUST MM-HMM . 
          GIVEN YOUR BACKGROUND, YOU HAVE RIGHT, RIGHT. 
          . 
          YEAH. 
          WE USE THAT AS A BENCHMARK, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          AND THEN FROM THERE ON, WE'LL HAVE OUR OWN HISTORY TO ESTABLISH OUR OWN PROGRAM MM-HMM . 
          BUT MY PRIMARY INTEREST WAS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS NOW AND THE CITY IS DOING IT. 
          THE COUNTY IS DOING IT, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS DOING IT, AND IF WE'RE DOING IT WITH THEM, THEN IT COSTS US SIGNIFICANTLY LESS TO DO SO THAN IF WE GO IN ON OUR, OUR OWN THEN. 
          SO WE WANNA LEVERAGE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE OUT THERE COMMUNICATING. 
          SO IT'S GREAT. 
          SO PRIOR TO FILLING THE REMAINING VACANCIES, UH, LEADERSHIP IS GOING TO LOOK STRATEGICALLY AND THOUGHTFULLY AT THE, UM, THE NEEDS FOR THE PROJECT. 
          UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FORM RIGOROUS ASSESSMENT ON IF, WHEN, AND HOW THESE POSITIONS ARE UTILIZED. 
          UM, BUT I DO WANNA NOTE THAT HAVING A POOL OF, UM, UNFILLED VACANCIES DOES ALLOW STAFF TO BE RESPONSIVE TO STRATEGIC BOARD PLANNING. 
          UM, BOARD BOARD STRATEGIC PLANNING ALLOWS US TO MOVE FORWARD OUT OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT NIMBLY, AND IT'S ALSO, UH, ALLOWS US TO ADAPT TO THE RECOMMENDED PROJECT DELIVERY METHODS. 
          CHLOE, 
          [01:30:01]
NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, AS PROMISED, THE SLIDE ON RESERVES, UH, MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE THE NEW OPERATING RESERVE AT $20 MILLION, AND THE AMOUNT RESERVED FOR FUTURE PROJECT COMMITMENTS IS $122 MILLION. 
          SO TOTAL RESERVE IS $142 MILLION REGARDING THE OPERATING RESERVE. 
          UM, IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES MAINTAIN SAVINGS TO MITIGATE REVENUE SHORTFALLS AND UNPLANNED EXPENDITURES. 
          UH, THIS ALSO POSITIONS A TP FOR DEBT ISSUANCE BY REFLECTING THE STANDARDS TYPICALLY REQUIRED BY CREDIT AGENCIES. 
          UM, AND THE BETTER, OBVIOUSLY, THE BETTER CREDIT RATING WE GET, THE, THE LOWER THE COST OF DEBT. 
          UM, THE, UM, RESERVE THE AMOUNT RESERVED FOR FUTURE COMMITMENT. 
          NO, NO, NO. 
          LET ME TALK ABOUT WHY WE ARE DOING THE OPERATING RESERVE. 
          SORRY. 
          SO, BASED ON, UM, BASED ON, UH, RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR BOND COUNCIL, WE ARE SETTING THE RESERVE AT 180 DAYS OF OUR OPERATING EXPENSES. 
          AND SO WHEN WE SEED IT WITH $20 MILLION, THIS WILL COMPLY WITH OUR FINANCIAL POLICY, BUT IT WILL ALSO GIVE US THE CAPACITY TO GROW OUR OPERATING SPEND EXPENSES SLIGHTLY UP TO $40 MILLION WITHOUT, WITHOUT HAVING TO, UM, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FUNDS IN, INTO THE RESERVE FUND. 
          SO THE $122 MILLION IN, UH, RESERVE FOR FUTURE PROJECT COMMITMENTS, IT'S A TOOL THAT ALLOWS US TO RE UM, TO RESPOND TO ANTICIPATED, BUT UN UNBUDGETED EVENTS. 
          SO IN FY 23, YOU'LL HAVE THE ABILITY TO AMEND YOUR BUDGET AS YOU APPROVE THE ILAS WITH CAPITAL METRO, JUST LIKE WE DID WITH THE PLEASANT VALLEY AND THE EXPO. 
          SO WE'LL BRING TWO, WE'LL BRING THE ILAS TO YOU IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BUDGET AMENDMENT. 
          HAVING THIS BA BALANCE ALLOWS US TO DO THAT. 
          NOT ONLY THAT, HAVING THE BALANCE ALLOWS US IN FY 24 TO COVER OPERATING EXPENSES. 
          FROM A CASHFLOW PERSPECTIVE, UH, A TP IS A LITTLE, UM, LOPSIDED. 
          WE HAVE VERY, UH, UH, EVEN MONTHLY CASH FLOW OUT, BUT WE DON'T RECEIVE 90% OF OUR REVENUE UNTIL SIX TO SEVEN MONTHS INTO THE YEAR. 
          SO WE DO NEED A NICE LITTLE, UM, CASH BALANCE IN ORDER TO GET US TO THAT, UM, FIRST TRANCHE OF PROPERTY TAX RECEIPTS. 
          AND FINALLY, HAVING A ENDING BALANCE IS ALSO LOOKED UPON FAVORABLY BY THE, BY THE SAME RATING AGENCIES. 
          I THINK IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE ESSENTIAL TO PROPER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 
          UM, THEY ALSO PLAY IN, UM, IN CREDIT RATING, UM, AGENCY'S ASSESSMENT OF US. 
          UH, AS A REMINDER THOUGH, THE FINANCIAL POLICIES THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT, THERE ARE 23 OF THEM. 
          THOSE ARE APPROVED ALONG WITH YOUR ADOPTION OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET. 
          SO THE ONLY CHANGE THAT YOU'LL SEE IS THE ADDITION OF THE OPERATING RESERVE. 
          THERE ARE A FEW MINOR WORDING CHANGES, BUT THAT'S JUST TO INCREASE, INCREASE CLARITY ON A, SOME, SOME, SOME ITEMS. OUR, OUR DOCUMENT, OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES ARE A LIVING DOCUMENT. 
          STAFF REVIEW THEM ANNUALLY AND MAKE UPDATES IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE POLICIES ARE STILL RELEVANT AND THEY MEET ATP'S BUSINESS NEEDS. 
          FOR INSTANCE, WE MIGHT, WE WILL PROBABLY BE UPDATING 'EM NEXT YEAR TO INCLUDE, UH, CAPITAL RESERVE AND, UH, A DEBT SERVICE RESERVE. 
          SO THAT CONCLUDES THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS PART OF THE PRESENTATION. 
          I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A, UH, A LITTLE INFORMATION ON ADDITIONAL RESOURCES. 
          NEXT SLIDE INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKET, RIGHT AFTER, RIGHT AFTER. 
          THIS IS THE PROPOSED BUDGET. 
          IT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON, ON THE WEB AND OUR, IS IT SHORTLY? OKAY. 
          SHORTLY. 
          IT'S AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE. 
          UM, AND, UH, BOTH JAMIE AND I ARE AVAILABLE TO MEET WITH YOU IN PERSON AND TO RESPOND TO ANY QUESTIONS VIA, UM, WRITTEN QUESTIONS. 
          IF YOU HAVE BUDGET QUESTIONS ASIDE, ASIDE FROM THE ONE THAT WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED, 'CAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE THAT IN OUR RECORDS, PLEASE SEND THEM TO JAMIE VIA EMAIL. 
          AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A MEETING TO DISCUSS THE BUDGET, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. 
          SO THE LAST THING I'D LIKE TO DO IS DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE FINAL SLIDE. 
          THAT PICTURE ON THE LEFT IS OUR FIRST GROUP PICTURE. 
          IT'S OUT THERE IN THE LOBBY, AND IT WAS TAKEN LAST MONDAY WHEN WE OPENED THE FACILITY. 
          AND EQUALLY AS 
          [01:35:01]
IMPRESSIVE IS THE AWARD, IS THE NOTIFICATION WE RECEIVED FROM THE GFOA THAT OUR VERY FIRST BUDGET RECEIVED A DISTINGUISHED BUDGET PRESENTATION AWARD. 
          AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE PLAN TO CONTINUE. 
          SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THAT WAS ALMOST LIKE A MIC DROP. 
          . 
          YOU CAN HAVE CADENCE OF MIC DROP. 
          RIGHT. 
          ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? THANK YOU. 
          YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          AT LEAST MY VOICE CLEARED UP. 
          YES. 
          REMEMBER I CAN. 
          OH, RIGHT. 
          WELL, DIANE, JAMIE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION. 
          IT WAS, UH, A LOT OF DETAIL AND I APPLAUD THAT. 
          I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO IT. 
          AND AS A FINANCE GUY, I LOVE TO SEE THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL. 
          MAYBE THE REST OF THE ROOM DOESN'T, BUT JUST, JUST SOME CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS. 
          SO WE HAVE 50 FTES THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON BOARD, AND THE A TP PLUS, WE HAVE VACANT POSITIONS OF A 35. 
          SO WE ARE PLANNING ON HAVING A HEAD COUNT SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 87.5 FTES AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 23. 
          RIGHT? UM, 8 87. 
          87. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          SO THAT'S A INCREASE OF 37 FTES, OR 75% INCREASE IN HEAD COUNT ABOVE WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? DID I DO MY MATH RIGHT? ARE YOU ASKING ABOUT FILLED POSITIONS? I'M ASKING ABOUT FILLED POSITIONS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE COMPARING THE HEAD COUNT, THE YEAH, I'M JUST, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND. 
          SO WE HAVE, I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE 50 PEOPLE THAT ARE RUNNING A TP RIGHT NOW, PLUS EMPLOYEES FROM CAP METRO, PLUS EMPLOYEES FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          SO WE'RE PROPOSING TO INCREASE STAFF BY 75% OR AN ADDITIONAL, UM, 37 FTES. 
          I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND THAT AND HOW WE BELIEVE WE NEED 37 FTES GIVEN THE RESET THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE PROGRAM. 
          MM-HMM . 
          IF WE WEREN'T RESETTING THE PROGRAM, WOULD, WOULD THIS BUDGET BE DIFFERENT? WOULD IT, WOULD IT LOOK DIFFERENT? I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT I MADE WAS ABOUT LEADERSHIP NEEDING TO LOOK THOUGHTFULLY AT THE NEEDS OF OUR PROJECT, RIGHT? WHAT DO, WHAT, WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY NEED? AND SOME OF THAT WORK IS GONNA HAPPEN CONCURRENT WITH WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE, UM, WITH PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. 
          AND SOME OF IT MAY HAPPEN SLIGHTLY AFTER THAT, BUT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE A VERY THOROUGH REVIEW IN HOW WE, IF, IF, AND WHEN, AND HOW WE USE THOSE POSITIONS. 
          SO IT'S NOT A GUARANTEE, BECAUSE WE'RE PUTTING THIS IN THE BUDGET, IT'S NOT A GUARANTEE THAT WE NEED TO FILL ALL OF THESE POSITIONS. 
          HOWEVER, WE ARE SAYING THAT IT DOES PROVIDE US THE CAPACITY TO DO A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, RESPOND TO THE BOARD'S STRATEGIC PLANNING, UM, EFFORTS, AND TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO, UM, TO THE OUTCOME OF THE PLANNING. 
          THAT'S WHAT THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW. 
          AND I'LL JUST ADD ONE THING. 
          BOARD MEMBER, LEXANDER, APPRECIATE THE COMMENT. 
          UM, THERE'S, JUST FOR SOME CLARIFICATION, LAST YEAR'S BUDGET ACTUALLY WAS BASED ON 84 AND A HALF POSITIONS MM-HMM . 
          THAT WAS APPROVED IN THE BUDGET. 
          ALTHOUGH YOU DID NOT APPROVE AN AUTHORIZED STRENGTH, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT YOU DO THAT NOW. 
          SO THE ONLY NEW POSITIONS THAT ARE BEING ADDED ARE TWO AND A HALF NEW POSITIONS. 
          WE ARE CARRYING VACANCIES FORWARD, AS DIANE MENTIONED, SO THAT WE CAN GO THROUGH THAT EVALUATION OF THE NEED, THE TIMING OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE, THE BOARD AROUND STRATEGY AND AROUND DELIVERY. 
          BUT THE INCREASE IS ONLY TWO AND A HALF. 
          NO, I UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          CARRYING FORTH VACANCIES, I UNDERSTAND THAT. 
          BUT, BUT GIVEN THAT WE ARE IN THIS PROGRAM RESET, I'M KIND OF RESETTING THE VACANCIES MENTALLY. 
          SO I WANT UNDERSTAND, IN MY OPINION, OF DOING BUDGETS. 
          USUALLY YOU SET A BUDGET AND THAT IS YOUR EXPECTED EXPENSE FOR THE YEAR. 
          WE EXPECT TO BE AT THAT. 
          A BUDGET IS A TOOL THAT HELPS CONTROL SPENDING. 
          SO I WOULD IMAGINE IF WE HAVE 87 FTES THAT WE EXPECT TO HAVE 87 FTES EMPLOYED. 
          UNLESS SOMEBODY TELLS ME DIFFERENT. 
          I'M JUST, I LIKE, I LIKE THAT POINT THAT YOU JUST MADE. 
          UM, AND TO THAT END, FOR THOSE POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT, WE'VE ONLY BUDGETED A HALF A YEAR KNOWING THAT IT'S LIKELY THAT EVEN IF, EVEN IF WE CHOSE TO FILL, EVEN IF WE NEEDED TO FILL ALL OF THEM, IT CERTAINLY WOULDN'T HAPPEN UNTIL AFTER THE, AFTER THE HALF, UM, AFTER MARCH. 
          MM-HMM. 
          BUT THE BUDGET ONLY REFLECTS A, A PORTION OF THE SALARIES. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION OR DO WE NEED TO YEAH, NO. 
          OKAY. 
          MAYOR, RATHER, I UNDERSTAND IMPORTANT THAT THIS POINT, WE DON'T, I, I AGREE WITH TONY'S THE ISSUE THAT TONY'S RAISING. 
          OOPS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          [01:40:01]
THAT'S WHY I SIT NEXT TO THE REALLY SENIOR PEOPLE  THE, UH, UH, THE ISSUE TONY'S RAISING, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SIGNAL TO THE, TO THE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY TO KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW YET, UH, HOW QUICKLY WE'RE GOING TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE OR WHAT THAT'S GOING TO BE, UH, INVOLVED, UH, IN GETTING THERE. 
          UM, BUT I'M ALSO NOT SURE THE RIGHT WAY TO DEAL WITH IT IN THE BUDGET. 
          I KNOW THAT IN, IN MY ONLY POINT OF REFERENCE IS THE CITY BUDGET, THAT SOMETIMES WE KEEP, UM, UH, FUNDED BUT NOT FILLED FTE POSITIONS RECOGNIZING THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE FUNDED AND NOT FILLED, SO THAT WE'RE CARRYING FORWARD A BUDGET THAT MAINTAINS THE CAPACITY YEAH. 
          TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE THINK WE'RE GONNA BE DOING LONG TERM. 
          UH, I KNOW YOU'RE JUST KIND OF LAYING THIS OUT RIGHT NOW FOR US, AND WE REALLY HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SEE IT. 
          AND THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN THIS BUDGET COMES BACK TO US. 
          BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW FROM A BUDGETING STANDPOINT, WHICH IS THE BETTER AND THE BEST PRACTICE FOR HOW WE TREAT THAT. 
          'CAUSE CLEARLY, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE FILLING 35 POSITIONS BETWEEN NOW AND AND THE END OF THE YEAR. 
          IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. 
          SO DO WE TAKE THEM OFF AND HAVE A LOWER BUDGET THAN WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO EVENTUALLY NEED TO CARRY? DO WE CARRY THEM SO THAT WE DEMONSTRATE WHAT THE BUDGETS NEED TO BE TO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO DO THE PROJECT? RECOGNIZING THAT, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THEY CAN'T BE FILLED WITHOUT COMING BACK TO THE BOARD TO SAY, OKAY, NOW WE WANT TO ACTUALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THESE BUDGETED POSITIONS. 
          UM, JUST THE QUESTION, IS THAT TRUE? THOSE POSITIONS CAN'T BE FILLED UNTIL YOU COME BACK. 
          OR IF WE APPROVE 87 POSITIONS, IF WE APPROVE THIS BUDGET, DO YOU HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD? AND SO YOU'RE AUTHORIZING A STRENGTH OF 87 FOR AN INCREASE OF TWO AND A HALF, WE'RE CARRYING VACANCIES FORWARD. 
          AGAIN, THESE ARE CARRIED FORWARD FROM LAST YEAR'S BUDGET PROCESS, UM, THAT AGAIN, WEREN'T AUTHORIZED. 
          THESE ARE NEW. 
          THESE ARE, WE'RE ASKING FOR THIS, WE'RE ASKING FOR THIS NEW, UM, CONSTRAINT. 
          UM, WHAT WE'VE INDICATED IS TO DO AN ANALYSIS OF WHAT WE NEED OR DON'T NEED. 
          WE NEED TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND RIGOROUS ABOUT THAT. 
          I DON'T THINK WE WANNA BE IN A POSITION, UH, AND WE CAN PROVIDE THIS IN AN ANSWER TO YOU ABOUT THE BEST PRACTICE. 
          I THINK MAYOR, THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO YEAH. 
          PEN'S QUESTION IS, MY QUESTION IS, IF, IF WE AUTHORIZE THIS BUDGET AND WE HAVE 35 VACANT POSITIONS, AND YOU DECIDE TO FILL THEM IN YOUR DECISION, YOU KNOW, AS YOUR EXPERTISE IS ED, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK. 
          OR DO YOU HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD? UNLESS, UNLESS WE DIRECT THAT. 
          UNLESS YOU DIRECT US IN. 
          SO MY QUESTION WOULD BE THE NEXT QUESTION AFTER TONY'S, WHICH IS, CAN WE DIRECT THAT, THAT IF YOU'RE GONNA FILL THESE 35 POSITIONS, YOU COME BACK TO THE BOARD TO SAY, OKAY, WE'VE NOW REACHED THE PLACE WHERE WE'RE READY TO, TO DO THESE 35 POSITIONS. 
          AND, AND, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE A DIALOGUE ABOUT THAT. 
          CERTAINLY WE NEED TO BE POSITIONED TO DO SOME OF THESE POSITIONS. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT THIS, WHAT DIANE WALKED THROUGH WAS THE NEED TO HAVE A STRATEGIC PLANNING AROUND WHERE WE ARE, ABOUT WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATION WE WANT TO BE. 
          UM, AND THEN ULTIMATELY WE DO HAVE TO HAVE SOME POSITIONS THAT WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD ON TO STAND UP OUR INDEPENDENCE AND CAPACITIES. 
          TRUE. 
          AND, AND YOU'VE COVERED THAT, BUT IN THE CITY BUDGET, WE ADOPT THE BUDGET, WE ALSO GIVE DIRECTION. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO WHEN WE CONSIDER THIS BUDGET, I WOULD LIKE THE BOARD TO ALSO BE ABLE TO CONSIDER THE APPROPRIATE DIRECTION ON HOW WE HANDLE THE UNFILLED UNFUNDED. 
          JUST LIKE YOU'RE COMING TO US NOW AND SAYING, YOU NEED TWO AND A HALF POSITIONS FOR THESE REASONS, WHICH I APPRECIATE AND MAKE SENSE. 
          I THINK TO TONY'S POINT, WE WOULDN'T WANT TO COME IN ONE DAY AND FIND THAT YOU FILLED 35 POSITIONS. 
          SO, SO, AND, AND FINANCIALLY WE'RE UNABLE TO BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BUDGETED FOR THAT. 
          AND WE CAN WALK. 
          I THINK WE SHOULD, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS MERIT SUGGEST IS WE CAN LAY OUT A STRATEGY ABOUT HOW THIS WORKS. 
          THIS IS GREAT FEEDBACK, AND WE CAN LAY OUT IN A BUDGET QUESTION HOW THIS ALL WORKS. 
          KIND OF THE PHILOSOPHY ABOUT HOW WE COULD MOVE FORWARD ON AN IDEAL AND HOW AS A BOARD WE SHOULD MOVE FORWARD WHEN WE APPROVE THE BUDGET. 
          CORRECT. 
          CONSIDERING THIS ISSUE. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS RELY ON, ON STAFF TO GIVE US A PROFESSIONAL OPINION TO LAY OUT WHAT IT IS THEY NEED, UM, HOPEFULLY WHEN THEY NEED IT. 
          BUT I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF, OF CASTING THE NET CORRECT. 
          INTERVIEWING, DISCUSSING, UH, NOW. 
          SO MAYBE THERE'S A PERIOD OF TIME, UH, WHERE THERE WILL BE SALARY SAVINGS THAT CAN BE USED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. 
          UM, I'M CERTAIN THAT THEY WOULD DISCUSS WITH US THE WAY THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO USE THOSE SALARY SAVINGS. 
          UH, BUT MY EXPECTATION IS THAT THEY LAY OUT EXACTLY WHAT IT IS THEY NEED, EXACTLY WHY IT IS THEY NEED IT, AND BEGIN THAT PROCESS. 
          AND FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE APPROVE THE BUDGET THAT IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS, THOSE GOALS SHOULD INCLUDE OUR PRIORITIES. 
          UH, NOW, IF WE CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT PERSON, SOMETIMES WE'VE GONE THROUGH THROUGH THREE POOLS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED. 
          I WOULD RATHER THEM DO IT RIGHT THEN QUICKLY. 
          [01:45:01]
AND IF THAT MEANS THERE, THERE WOULD BE SALARY SAVINGS, SO BE IT. 
          BUT IF YOU CAN EX, IF YOU CAN GIVE ME A RATIONAL BASIS FOR WHAT YOU NEED FOR, FOR WHY YOU NEED IT, THEN I'M GOING TO TRUST THE TEAM TO BUILD A SELECTION PROCESS THAT GETS YOU THERE. 
          AND IN THE MEANTIME, UH, BECAUSE IT IS IN THE BUDGET, THEN, THEN WHETHER IT IS, UH, WHETHER IT IS PUT IN SOME TYPE OF RESERVE FUND OR WHETHER IT IS, IS WHETHER THEY REQUEST TO USE IT A CERTAIN WAY. 
          I, I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE INTERACT MORE THAN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TELL THEM OUR PRIORITIES. 
          THEY TELL US AS STAFF, THEY NEED TO GET THAT DONE. 
          AND THEN ULTIMATELY, UH, WE, WE ALLOW THEM THE FLEXIBILITY THAT THEY NEED TO GET THERE. 
          UH, IF, IF WE, IF WE HAVE SALARY SAVINGS, THEN, THEN THEY PROBABLY COME BACK TO US TO SAY, WELL, WE'VE GOT SAVINGS HERE. 
          THIS IS HOW WE WANT TO USE IT FOR TRAINING. 
          THIS IS HOW WE WANT TO USE IT FOR TRAVEL, OR WHATEVER ANOTHER PRIORITY OF OURS MIGHT BE. 
          I, I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO GIVE STAFF THE FLEXIBILITY TO GIVE US THEIR PROFESSIONAL OPINION AND THEN TO GO THROUGH A PROCESS SO THAT THEY SELECT THE PEOPLE THAT BEST ACHIEVE OUR GOALS. 
          BUT I, I GET IT SHOULD BE TIED. 
          IT SHOULDN'T, IT SHOULD NOT BE WILLY-NILLY. 
          BUT AT THE END, AT THE END OF THE DAY, UH, TO GET THE RIGHT TYPE OF PEOPLE, UH, TO GET THE FOLKS WITH THE SKILL SETS AND THE TEMPERAMENT THAT WE NEED, SOMETIMES IT IS NOT THE FIRST CAST. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          MEMBER WILKINS. 
          I DID HAVE A QUESTION IF I COULD, ON THE, UH, CONSULTANTS. 
          SO IF I RECALL IN THE PRESENTATION, THERE WAS 50 MILLION THAT WE PLANNED TO SPEND ON PMOR ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE RIGHT OF WAY, AND THEN ANOTHER 8 MILLION OF LEGAL FINANCIAL RECRUITING. 
          SO A TOTAL OF 58 MILLION. 
          THAT'S CORRECT. 
          HOW DOES THAT COMPARE WITH WHAT WE ARE PLANNING IN THE FORECAST TO SPEND FOR FY 22 ROUGHLY? IT'S ACTUALLY VERY COMPARABLE TO WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO SPEND IN FY, UM, IN, IN THIS, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR. 
          BECAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT STAFFING, YOU CAN EITHER HAVE YOUR OWN FTES OR YOU CAN HIRE CONSULTANTS, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          SO WE'VE GOT 89 FTES IN THE BUDGET. 
          WE'VE GOT CITY OF AUSTIN PERSONNEL, WE'VE GOT CAP METRO, AND WE'VE GOT CONSULTANTS AND YOU CAN MIX AND MATCH, RIGHT? UM, 58 MILLION SEEMS, SEEMS A LOT, YOU KNOW, BUT, UM, AND YOU'RE SAYING THAT THAT'S A COMPARABLE SPEND MM-HMM . 
          VERSUS WHERE WE ARE LAST YEAR. 
          WE'RE IN A PERIOD RIGHT NOW FOR THE NEXT SEVEN TO NINE MONTHS OF REEVALUATING THE PROGRAM ENGINEERING ANALYSIS. 
          I KNOW THAT TAKES MONEY. 
          IN ADDITION, WE'VE ALSO GOT CONTRACTS WITH, UM, THE ENGINEERS THAT ARE DOING THE TWO DIFFERENT LINES. 
          RIGHT? SO THAT, THAT'S, UH, JUST, JUST A QUESTION ON THAT. 
          I WOULD IMAGINE OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WE'LL BE GETTING MORE DETAIL, HAVING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE CONSULTING LIGHT ITEM AS WELL, AS LONG AS YOU SUBMIT A QUESTION. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          YES. 
          YOU CAN COUNT ON THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YEAH. 
          AND TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THE QUESTIONS THAT WILL BE SUBMITTED, THE ANSWERS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE WHOLE BOARD. 
          CORRECT. 
          SO FOR, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ALL BE INFORMED. 
          BUT ONE THING THAT TO ME, AND THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THE 0.5 POSITION. 
          YES. 
          'CAUSE I DO THINK THAT WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN THIS BOARD VOTED FOR INDEPENDENCE, YOU KNOW, CAP METRO WAS COVERING HALF THE SALARY OF MR. CLARK WHEN WE WERE SHARING ONE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR BOTH. 
          SO NOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO COVER THE FULL AMOUNT, SO THOSE NUANCES REALLY MATTER. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, I ALSO LIKE TO, UH, POINT OUT THAT AS WE GO THROUGH STRATEGIC PLANNING, THAT IS GONNA INFORM THE PRIORITIES OF THIS BOARD AND EXECUTING THIS PROGRAM, WE WILL KNOW MORE, WHICH I DO APPRECIATE GIVING THE, THE LEEWAY OF FLEXIBILITY AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT MEANS. 
          BUT ALSO, AND WE'RE GONNA HEAR NEXT WITH OUR, UM, INTERNAL AUDITOR, THE DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL AUDIT, THAT WE'RE GONNA GO ALSO THROUGH, THROUGH SOME OF OUR FIRST AUDIT PROJECTS. 
          AND SO WHAT I DO SEE HERE WITH THOSE TWO EXTRA POSITIONS, TWO FTES THAT WERE ADDED, UM, WE HAD A VERY GOOD PRODUCTIVE Q AND A WITH, WITH KATIE, UM, ABOUT WHAT SHE NEEDED. 
          AND ONE THING I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND IS, IF WE'RE GONNA ACT AS A NIMBLE ORGANIZATION, DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO MIDWAY TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD AND ASK FOR BUDGET AMENDMENTS? IS DOES THAT CREATE MORE WORK? IS IT MORE BUREAUCRATIC? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? AND SO WHAT I WANT US ABOUT IS WE'RE, WE'RE WE'RE SEEKING ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WE'RE SEEKING MORE CONTROLS, WHICH COME, 
          [01:50:01]
WHAT I SEE REFLECTED HERE COMES IN THE, IN THE WAY OF TWO ADDITIONAL POSITIONS FOR OUR INTERNAL AUDITOR THAT REPORTS DIRECTLY TO THE BOARD. 
          SO I THINK ONE OF THE KEY QUESTIONS THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE FROM BOARD MEMBER ELKINS WAS, AND I SEE IT HERE ON, ON THE SLIDE, THAT, UH, TALKS ABOUT WHICH DEPARTMENTS WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION MM-HMM . 
          THE LITTLE BICYCLE CHART KIND OF, YEAH. 
          THIS, THE, THIS CIRCLES, AND THIS BUBBLES TO ME, STARTS TO TELL THE STORY OF WHERE WE'RE PUTTING IN THE STAFFING. 
          YES. 
          AT A GLANCE, THIS LOOKS BALANCED. 
          UM, AND I, I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND JUST ANOTHER LAYER DOWN, AND WE'LL SEE THAT AS A QUESTION THAT ALSO MADE, BUT WHAT, WHAT ALL THE REALLY, REALLY, NOW THAT WE'VE BEEN IN OPERATION FOR A YEAR AND A HALF MM-HMM . 
          HOW THIS HAS PROVEN TO BE A GOOD RESOURCE, OR WE, WHERE WE HAVE THE GAPS, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU CAN HAVE A PERFECT CRYSTAL BALL AND THINK THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED, BUT THINGS ARE SHIFTING AND THINGS ARE MOVING. 
          SO WHAT I LIKE TO SEE WITH THIS, UH, VACANCIES IS BUILDING SOME FLEXIBILITY AS WELL AS UNDERSTANDING THAT WHAT THIS BOARD IS SEEKING IS ADDITIONAL CONTROLS AND ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT. 
          SO BETWEEN OUR INDEPENDENCE AND OVERSIGHT, I KINDA SEE THAT BUNDLED IN THESE TWO AND A HALF POSITIONS. 
          THAT'S HOW I SEE IT RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, BUT, UM, I HOPE THAT BETWEEN NOW AND OUR APPROVAL IN SEPTEMBER, THAT ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT THE BOARD HAS, YOU KNOW, PLEASE SUBMIT 'EM AND WE'LL GET SOME CLARITY AND GUIDANCE. 
          SO I ALSO LIKE UNDERSTANDING, SETTING UP OUR CREDIT RATING MM-HMM . 
          TO GIVE US THAT, UM, CUSHION AND, AND BUILD, START TO BUILD UP THAT CAPACITY. 
          SO THAT TO ME IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT TOO. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR, I KNOW YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS, AND THANK YOU BOTH FOR, FOR THE WORK, BUT DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS? NO. 
          OKAY. 
          IT'S OUR PLEASURE. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO NEXT WE HAVE 
          [7.a. Briefing on ATP’s Fiscal Year 2023 Audit Plan]
KATIE HOUSTON, WHICH IS OUR ATP'S DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL AUDIT. 
          WE'LL PRESENT ATP'S FISCAL YEAR AUDIT PLAN. 
          UM, WELCOME MS. KATIE. 
          HI THERE. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          IS MY MIC ON? YES. 
          HI THERE. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          YES. 
          I'M KATIE HOUSTON, INTERNAL AUDIT DIRECTOR. 
          I'M HERE TO BRIEF Y'ALL TODAY ON THE DRAFT AUDIT PLAN THAT I PREPARED FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR. 
          UH, SO THIS WILL, SO THIS WILL, WE'LL, WE'LL DISCUSS IT TODAY. 
          I'M, I'M HERE TO BRIEF, HOPEFULLY ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE. 
          I CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS IN THE MEANTIME. 
          AND THEN THIS WILL COME BACK TO Y'ALL, UH, WITH THE NEXT BOARD MEETING IN SEPTEMBER, UM, ASKING FOR APPROVAL. 
          SO AT A HIGH LEVEL, CHLOE, COULD YOU GO TO THE THANK YOU. 
          UH, AT A HIGH LEVEL, I'M PROPOSING FOUR AUDIT PROJECTS, TWO TO BE DONE IN-HOUSE LED BY ME, AND THEN TWO TO BE DONE USING THE ASSISTANCE OF SOME EXTERNAL ASSURANCE PROVIDERS. 
          THEY'RE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY HERE, BUT IT'S THE FIRST AND THE THIRD THAT WOULD BE CO-SOURCE WITH EXTERNAL AUDITORS. 
          AND IT'S THE SECOND AND THE FOURTH THAT, UH, I WOULD DO IN-HOUSE, UH, AND, AND TALKING FIRST TO THE, THE FIRST AND THE THIRD, UH, ONE IS A PROCUREMENT PROCESS AUDIT TO, TO ASSESS WHETHER WE'RE COMPLYING WITH OUR POLICIES AND, AND IF OUR, UH, PRACTICES ARE FAIR AND EFFICIENT. 
          AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS A, A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD CONTRACT COMPLIANCE AUDIT OF, OF THE BIG THREE CONTRACTS WE HAVE WITH HDR ACOM AND HNTB. 
          UM, AND THAT AUDIT WOULD REALLY LOOK AT THE, UH, CONTRACT MONITORING PRACTICES THAT WE HAVE AND THE TASK ORDERS. 
          UH, THERE'S A, A NUMBER ONE THERE. 
          IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE TINY AND HARD TO READ ON THE SLIDE HERE, BUT, BUT THAT NOTE JUST POINTS OUT THAT THOSE CONTRACTS WERE EXECUTED BY CAP METRO. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THEY HAD TO BE EXECUTED BY CAP METRO BECAUSE THAT, THAT WAS PRIOR TO OUR EXISTENCE AS AN ENTITY. 
          UH, AND SO I'M HOPING THAT I CAN GET SOME SUPPORT WITH DOTTIE, MAYBE YOU AND YOUR TEAM, TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THE RESOURCES I NEED TO, TO TURN OVER TO THE EXTERNAL AUDITORS SO WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GOOD OUTPUT THERE. 
          AND THEN THE TWO PROJECTS, UM, THAT ALL LEAD, UH, ARE THE SECOND ONE THERE, THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT. 
          UM, THAT'S A LITTLE MORE OF A PERFORMANCE STYLE AUDIT TO, UM, DETERMINE IF OUR PROCESSES ARE BEING DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN FULFILL THE PROVISIONS OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT. 
          UH, I THINK AS I GET INTO THE WEEDS OF THAT PROJECT, I'LL PROBABLY FURTHER SCOPE THAT, BUT I'VE LISTED A FEW, UH, AREAS THAT COULD BE A FOCUS IN THAT PROJECT. 
          AND THEN THE LAST ONE THERE IS THE PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST AUDIT. 
          UH, WHEREAS THE OTHER PROJECTS HERE PRESENT, I THINK 
          [01:55:01]
MORE OF A FINANCIAL OR OPERATIONAL RISK. 
          I SEE THIS AS MORE OF A REPUTATIONAL RISK FOR OUR ORGANIZATION, AND ONE THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO EVALUATE. 
          NOW WHILE WE'RE GETTING STARTED, AND THEN GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, SO THOSE FIRST FOUR, THOSE ARE AUDITS. 
          THESE ARE, UH, NON-AUDIT, UH, BASICALLY EVERYTHING ELSE. 
          UH, AND ALL OF THIS WORK I REALLY THINK IS BEST DONE IN-HOUSE. 
          UH, SO THE FIRST ONE THERE IS ANNUAL AUDIT PLANNING. 
          BASICALLY WHAT I'M DOING NOW, I'LL HAVE TO DO AGAIN NEXT YEAR, OF COURSE. 
          UH, THE SECOND ONE IS ANY ETHICS INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO, UM, OUR NEW ETHICS WEBSITE AND HOTLINE. 
          UH, BOARD MEMBER ELKINS MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, BUT THAT'S UP AND, AND RUNNING NOW. 
          IT'S LIVE, IT'S ADP DOT ETHICS THREE SIXTY.COM. 
          UH, AND, AND REALLY ANY INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO, UM, SUSPECTED MISCONDUCT OR COMPLAINTS OR JUST ETHICS RELATED CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS. 
          I THINK THAT WORK IS BEST DONE, UM, IN HOUSE. 
          AND THEN THE LAST ONE THERE, I'M JUST, THAT'S KIND OF THE CATCHALL BUCKET, THE, LIKE, OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED MAYBE IS WHAT WE WOULD SAY THERE. 
          SORT OF OTHER RISK ADVISORY TYPE SERVICES. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WEIGHING IN ON POLICIES, PROCEDURES, WHERE CAN WE ADD EXTRA CONTROLS, KIND OF SERVING AS A RISK ADVISOR. 
          UH, SO THAT'S, UM, AT A HIGH LEVEL WHAT I'VE PROPOSED FOR THE, THE WORKLOAD OF THIS FUNCTION. 
          UM, IN THE UPCOMING YEAR, I'VE ALSO REQUESTED, YOU KNOW, KIND OF DOVETAILING ON THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATION, THE ADDITION OF TWO INTERNAL AUDIT STAFF. 
          MY INTENTION WAS TO HIRE ONE AT THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR, UM, TO, TO REALLY HELP GET THESE PROJECTS KICKED OFF, AND THEN TO REVISIT THAT DISCUSSION ABOUT HIRING A SECOND ONE, UM, MAYBE MIDYEAR OR LATER, ONCE WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT ITSELF. 
          AND ONCE I HAVE, UM, SOME AGREEMENTS IN PLACE WITH THOSE EXTERNAL AUDITORS. 
          AND THEN NEXT SLIDE. 
          THANKS, CHLOE. 
          UH, SO LIKE I SAID, NEXT STEPS HERE. 
          THIS WILL COME BACK, UH, TO Y'ALL IN SEPTEMBER IN THE FORM OF A RESOLUTION TO ASK FOR APPROVAL. 
          UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE MEANTIME. 
          AND THEN BEYOND THAT, I'LL BE WORKING TO ADVERTISE THE, THE ETHICS REPORTING HOTLINE AND WEBSITE. 
          REALLY, THAT TOOL IS NO GOOD IF NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT IT. 
          SO I'M, I'M WORKING WITH GREG AND HIS TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S APPROPRIATELY ADVERTISED AND THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE RESOURCE IS THERE FOR THEM. 
          I'D REALLY ALSO LIKE TO ESTABLISH SOME KPIS, UH, FOR THE AUDIT FUNCTION. 
          I LOVE KPIS, NOT JUST BECAUSE I'M AN AUDIT NERD. 
          I REALLY JUST THINK THEY HELP, YOU KNOW, SET INTERIM TARGETS AND, AND OVERALL HELP US MEET KIND OF OUR LARGER OBJECTIVES. 
          SO ONCE THE PLAN IS APPROVED, I THINK I COULD USE THAT TO ESTABLISH KPIS. 
          AND THEN DEPENDING ON THE DECISIONS OF THIS BODY, UM, AND, AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE'LL BE SOME AUDIT STAFF ADDED TO THIS FUNCTION, I WOULD NEED TO THEN HIRE THOSE FOLKS. 
          AND THEN THE LAST THING, ACTUALLY, NOT THE LAST THING. 
          I HAVE MANY OTHER THINGS, BUT THE LAST THING I'LL MENTION TODAY IS I'LL BE DEVELOPING THE SCOPE OF WORK, UH, AND HOPEFULLY WORKING TO GET THOSE CONTRACTS, UH, DRAFTED SO I CAN HIRE THOSE EXTERNAL AUDITORS, UH, TO GET THEIR HELP. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S IT FOR ME. 
          UH, RECORD TIMING, I THINK. 
          UM, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL HAVE. 
          THANK YOU, MS. HOUSTON, QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD? . 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, KATIE. 
          UM, THIS WAS A, A, A GREAT DRAFT AUDIT PLAN. 
          UM, JUST A QUESTION ON, YOU KNOW, SOME OF YOUR, YOUR, YOUR PROJECTS AND NOT, NOT A QUESTION ON YOUR PROJECTS, I, I THINK THEY'RE TOTALLY APPROPRIATE. 
          BUT, UM, JUST WHAT YOU WOULD SEE AS SORT OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS, AND NOT NECESSARILY THAT, YOU KNOW, PART PART OF YOUR TASK HERE IS TO HELP US SORT OF REFINE PROCESSES. 
          UM, AND SO WHAT, WHAT WOULD YOU SEE THAT SORT OF, THAT, THAT THE NEXT STEP? BECAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY FACTOR INTO YOUR CONTINUING, YOU KNOW, DRAFT AUDIT PLAN FOR, FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR, BEARING IN MIND THAT THERE'LL BE SOME SORT OF WORK, NOT NECESSARILY AUDIT RELATED, BUT IMPLEMENTATION OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO, TO THE BOARD. 
          YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          UM, IN FACT, A FUTURE AUDIT PLAN DEFINITELY WOULD INCLUDE A PROJECT PROBABLY IN THAT NON-AUDIT BUCKET, UH, AROUND WHAT WE CALL A FOLLOW-UP PROJECT. 
          AND REALLY THAT IS JUST A PROJECT THAT GOES BACK AND REVIEWS KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS I'VE MADE, MAYBE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE COME FROM OTHER AUDITORS. 
          UM, FTA AUDITS, THOSE TYPES OF SOURCES. 
          UM, THEY'RE KIND OF LIKE BABY AUDITS AND REALLY I WOULD ASSESS WHAT ACTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO ADDRESS THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN REPORT BACK TO Y'ALL PROBABLY IN A SUMMARY, UH, MANNER. 
          AND THEN MY HOPE IS TO EVENTUALLY CREATE A DASHBOARD WHERE THAT WOULD BE MADE 
          [02:00:01]
AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND REALLY ANYBODY COULD SEE WHAT THE PROGRESS IS THAT WE'RE MAKING IN IMPLEMENTING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          UM, BUT I THINK YOUR FIRST QUESTION WAS WHAT, WHAT ROLE WOULD I HAVE SPECIFIC TO THE, THE IMPLEMENTATION? REALLY NONE. 
          I'D BE WORKING WITH GREG, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, HELP, UH, MAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT REALLY IT WOULD BE HIS DECISION, UH, HIS AND HIS TEAM REALLY, UM, AS TO WHETHER THEY AGREE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND WHAT ACTIONS THEY PLAN TO TAKE AND, AND SORT OF WHAT THEIR RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ARE. 
          I GUESS I'M THINKING MORE OF LIKE THE CAPACITY OF, OF YOUR DIVISION, I GUESS, TO SUPPORT THAT WORK CAPACITY IS A GOOD QUESTION. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UH, SO LIKE I MENTIONED, UH, I HAD ASKED FOR, FOR TWO, UM, AUDITORS TO HELP, UH, SUPPORT ME WITH THIS FUNCTION ONE, UM, REALLY AT THE START OF THE FISCAL YEAR AND THEN ONE LATER. 
          I THINK RIGHT NOW THERE MAYBE ISN'T MUCH WORK FOR, FOR US TO DO THERE BECAUSE WE'RE SO NEW BECAUSE THERE AREN'T RECOMMENDATIONS HANGING OUT THERE. 
          UM, BUT DEFINITELY THAT WILL BECOME A GROWING ISSUE, YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE AND, AND YES, I THINK I WOULD NEED SOME, SOME HELP TO KIND OF BUILD THAT IN AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS, MEMBER ELKINS? YEAH, NO, I THINK, UH, THANK YOU KATIE. 
          I THINK THESE ARE THE RIGHT PROJECTS. 
          I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THEM, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERNALLY, BUT, UH, I'M, I'M PLEASED TO SEE THESE PROJECTS BEING, UH, LOOKED AT FOR FY 23. 
          I MEAN, I LOOK AT INTERNAL CONTROLS AND, AND, UH, INTERNAL AUDIT IS MAYBE NOT THE MOST EXCITING PART OF AN OPERATION OF BUSINESS, BUT I WAS AN INTERNAL AUDIT WHEN I, THAT HELPED ME UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD BE, UM, REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO TACKLE FIRST. 
          BUT ONE THING THAT IS REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE WITH THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, AND I SEE THIS AS ONE OF YOUR HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS TO OVER, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FULFILLING OUR CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS WELL WITHIN THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT. 
          I DON'T SEE IN ANY OF THESE, UM, AND THIS JUST CAME UP RECENTLY OR, OR GUIDE ME WHERE IT IS, IF ANY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, WE COMMISSIONED THAT REPORT. 
          THERE WERE SOME FOLLOW UP IDEAS THAT THEY HAD FOR US TO IMPLEMENT. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS REALLY A QUESTION FOR YOU, A QUESTION FOR OUR AUDITOR TO, TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THOSE ACTIONABLE ITEMS THAT THEY RECOMMENDED AND WHERE WOULD THAT FIT WITHIN THESE? UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT I, I DON'T WANT THAT STUDY TO JUST BE SHELVED. 
          UH, I THINK IT, IT IS IN A WAY A LIVING DOCUMENT OF SOME OF THE GUIDANCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY GAVE US. 
          YOU GO FIRST, I CAN FIRST RESPOND FIRST AND THEN YEAH, SURE. 
          UM, SO YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A, A GREAT RESOURCE FOR US. 
          I COULD SEE A WORLD WHERE MAYBE THAT'S INTEGRATED SOMEWHAT TO THAT JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT PROJECT. 
          UM, IF IT TIES NICELY, IF NOT, UM, THEN, THEN I'M OPEN TO A SPECIAL REQUEST OR, OR MAYBE A, A SHORTER TYPE ADVISORY PROJECT WHERE MAYBE WE COULD WORK TOGETHER, UM, KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT AND, AND DEVISE A PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ACTING ON THOSE. 
          I WOULD JUST ADD TO THAT, YEAH, I THINK THE, THE MODEL THAT KATIE HAS SET UP FOR HER AUDIT FUNCTION IS REALLY FITS US VERY WELL. 
          SO WE CAN HAVE THESE COLLABORATIONS, ESPECIALLY IN THESE EARLY DAYS, SO WE CAN QUICKLY GET TO SOME OPTIMIZATION AND EFFICIENCIES AROUND IT. 
          SO, AND IN TERMS OF THE ENO STUDY, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU THINK ABOUT THAT AS, AS THE BEGINNING OF A CONTINUUM, RIGHT? IT WASN'T A STATIC DOCUMENT. 
          THERE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THERE. 
          I THINK THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE INFUSED THE ASSESSMENT OF THE LIGHT RAIL AND WILL CONTINUE TO INFUSE 
          [02:05:01]
THE ASSESSMENT THAT WE'RE DOING AS STAFF. 
          AND YOU SAW SOME OF THAT TODAY WITH SOME CHANGES TO THE ORG CHART OUR WAY, WE'RE GONNA ADDRESS HOW WE'RE STAFFING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, UM, ABOUT OUR PROJECT DELIVERY. 
          AND I THINK THEN AS WE GET INTO CARRYING OUT SOME OF THOSE, I THINK THERE'S SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO CONTINUE THE COLLABORATION THAT YOU'VE SEEN. 
          AGAIN, LIKE WHETHER IT WAS ON THE FRAUD WASTE AND ABUSE POLICY, BUT ON SOME OF THESE, UM, UH, AUDIT SERVICES, UH, EFFORTS THAT ARE REALLY THE NIMBLE QUICK THINGS WE NEED. 
          'CAUSE IN SOME CASES, WE CAN'T WAIT A YEAR TO FIND A DEFICIENCY. 
          WE NEED TO FIND THE DEFICIENCY IMMEDIATELY. 
          UM, THAT WAS MY COMMITMENT TO YOU TO HELP THE ORGANIZATION STAND UP TO BE READY TO DELIVER. 
          SO I THINK, UM, I THINK THE ENOCH STUDY CAN SERVE AS THAT FOUNDATIONAL, UM, ONGOING DOCUMENT, UM, FOR LOTS OF THINGS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MEMBER KINS. 
          YEAH, MADAM CHAIR. 
          I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THE REPORT BECAUSE AS I RECALL, AND I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, THERE WAS AN IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION IN IT IN ADDITION TO THE INDEPENDENCE. 
          THERE WAS, IT MENTIONED AT LEAST ONCE THAT THERE WAS A LACK OF CLARITY AROUND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 
          WAS WAS, AM I RIGHT ON THAT? MM-HMM . 
          YES. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US ADDRESS THAT POINT IN FUTURE MEETINGS BECAUSE I THINK IT WAS A GOOD POINT. 
          THEY MADE SOME GOOD ADVICE. 
          WE PAID A LOT OF MONEY AND I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US AT SOME POINT ADDRESS THE CLARITY OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 
          I'D LIKE TO DO THAT TODAY. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I THINK THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF THOSE ACTIONABLE ITEMS TOO THAT WHAT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, WHAT I LIKE TO SEE US DO IN RELATION TO A STRATEGIC PLAN, SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL IN, WILL INFORM HOW WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE, WITH THE NEXT STRATEGIES. 
          AND WHAT I LIKE TO ALSO UNDERSTAND IS SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED IMMEDIATE ANSWERS OR, I MEAN, SOME OF THESE MAY TAKE THREE MONTHS, SOME OF THEM MAY TAKE SIX MONTHS. 
          AND WHEN DO WE PLUG THOSE IN, IN RELATION TO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN? BECAUSE I LIKE TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION, WHAT WE NEED TO DO, INFORM THE, THE STRATEGIES THAT WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE. 
          UM, UM, YES, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE, UH, GETTING AT THERE, BUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IS KIND OF WHAT'S THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THESE ARE GONNA TAKE? YES. 
          UH, A COMMON CRITICISM OF AUDIT, UH, AND ONE THAT IS JUSTIFIED OFTENTIMES IS THAT THEY'RE NOT SUPER FAST. 
          UM, TEND TO BE GOOD RELIABLE WORK, BUT, BUT YEAH, IT, IT OFTEN IS NOT DONE IMMEDIATELY. 
          UM, I KNOW THAT THERE'S AN INDUSTRY BENCHMARK THAT AUDITS TAKE AROUND NINE MONTHS TO COMPLETE. 
          I THINK GIVEN KIND OF HOW NIMBLE AND NEW OUR ORGANIZATION IS, I THINK IT WILL BE SHORTER HERE. 
          BUT I REALLY THINK THAT PROBABLY SIX MONTHS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR A TIMELINE FOR PROJECTS. 
          UM, I'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSIONS WITH GREG AROUND MAYBE WHAT COULD BE DONE EARLIER, SORT OF, YOU KNOW, IN PREPARATION FOR THOSE AUDITS THAT WOULD STILL BE USEFUL IN THE PROJECTS THEMSELVES, BUT COULD ALSO BE OFFERED UP NOW TO MANAGEMENT TO HELP Y'ALL MAKE DECISIONS. 
          AND, AND I THINK THOSE DISCUSSIONS ARE ONGOING AND, AND WE'LL DEFINITELY KEEP YOU APPRISED OF THAT. 
          YEAH. 
          AND AND ANOTHER PIECE OF CURIOSITY BACK TO THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT AND THE CLARITY FOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IS THAT THE, THE JPA DELINEATES A LOT OF THOSE ROLES AND RESPONSIBLE, THE CLARITY THAT THE LANES ARE DEFINED, RIGHT? AND SINCE THIS WAS A JOINT POWER AGREEMENT THAT WAS SIGNED BY ALL THREE PARTIES, AND I MEAN WE, YOU EVEN QUOTED IT RECENTLY WITH YOUR LETTER ABOUT LET'S HAVE A JOINT MEETING, RIGHT? HOW OFTEN ARE WE GONNA MEET? ARE WE MEETING THOSE EXPECTATIONS? I THINK ONE THING THAT I LIKE TO UNDERSTAND IS WHAT WE, WHAT COMES OUT OF THE JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO TACKLE. 
          OUR AUDIT REPORT INFORMS THE CITY OR INFORMS CAPITAL METRO. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? OF WHAT THEY NEED TO DO? LIKE LET'S SAY ATP IS DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT AND WE'RE FOLLOWING OUR COMMITMENT THROUGH TO THE T AND THE TEAM IS REALLY DOING EVERYTHING AS INTENDED, BUT THE CITY OR CABINET METRO NEED TO DO THEIR PART. 
          HOW DO, HOW DOES THE RESULT OF THAT AUDIT INFORM THEM? THEY CAN USE THAT SAME REPORT? SURE. 
          WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAD LISTED AS A POTENTIAL FOCUS AREA IS IDENTIFYING WHERE THERE'S MAYBE SOME REDUNDANCIES BETWEEN THE THREE PARTIES AND THEN ALSO WHERE THERE ARE GAPS OR WHERE THERE ARE, UM, AREAS THAT ARE UNCLEAR ABOUT, ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE OR WHO NEEDS TO DO WHAT. 
          SO CERTAINLY I THINK THAT COULD BE ADDED INTO THIS AUDIT WORK HERE. 
          AND THEN THAT OF COURSE WOULD COME BEFORE Y'ALL. 
          WE HAVE, UH, SOME REPRESENTATION FROM OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY AND AND CAP METRO HERE ON THIS BODY. 
          SO I THINK, I THINK I WOULD BE RELIANT ON, ON Y'ALL TO TAKE THAT BACK TO YOUR ENTITIES THEN TO, TO SHARE AND, AND TO BUILD OUT THOSE FUNCTIONS. 
          MY RECOMMENDATIONS AND MY AUDIT WORK WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, TO GREG AND HIS TEAM AND TO THE MANAGEMENT OF A TP. 
          BUT CERTAINLY THAT WOULD BE INCLUDED 
          [02:10:01]
IN WHAT, WHAT I SHARE WITH Y'ALL. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, SO AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S WHERE A CROSSWALK COMES INTO PLACE WHERE WE, UH, LAY OUT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 
          WE LAY OUT DELIVERABLES, UH, WHEREVER THEY COME FROM. 
          IF THEY COME FROM INTERNAL PROCESSES OR IF THEY COME FROM RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          AND A, AND A REPORT FROM A, UH, FROM A CONSULTANT USUALLY PROVIDES RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE, NOT NECESSARILY OURS. 
          SO THE THE IDEA IS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE LAY OUT WHAT'S THERE, WHAT'S RECOMMENDED, WHETHER THAT FITS WITHIN, UH, THE PROCESSES THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, WHETHER WE ALL AGREE. 
          'CAUSE I'VE NEVER READ A REPORT IN MY LIFE WHERE EVERYBODY AGREED WITH EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN IT. 
          AND SO HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE WORK TOGETHER? HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR STRENGTHS? HOW DO WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR PROCESSES AND MAKE SURE, UH, THAT WE FULFILL WHAT THE PUBLIC EXPECTS OF US THERE? THERE'S PROBABLY NO ONE CONTROLLING DOCUMENT THAT'S GOING TO GET US, THERE BE A NUMBER OF THINGS. 
          AND, AND I'M CERTAIN THERE'S GONNA BE SOME PUSHBACK TO ONE, ONE RECOMMENDATION MIGHT SAY, WELL, YOU OUGHT TO DO ALL OF THIS AND YOU MIGHT WANNA DO ALL OF THAT. 
          AND, AND, AND MAYBE WE FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD DO PART OF THAT. 
          I SHOULD DO PART OF THAT TOO. 
          UH, WHICH PART SHOULD I DO? SO, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT I THINK, TO GET ALL OF OUR CONTROLLING DOCUMENTS TOGETHER, INCLUDING THE JPA AND, AND UH, LAY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE CONSISTENT WITH THE WAY THAT WE GENERALLY DO BUSINESS. 
          'CAUSE THE CITY HAS ITS WAY OF DOING THINGS. 
          YEAH. 
          METRO HAS ITS WAY OF DOING THINGS. 
          UM, WE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, WE ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF EVERYBODY. 
          BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT, IT'S NEVER STRAIGHTFORWARD. 
          IT'S NEVER OUR, AT LEAST, YEAH. 
          AND I, I SAY THAT JUST AFTER 48 YEARS IN THE PROCESS, NEVER, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS SOME NEGOTIATION. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS SOME, WOW, YOU'VE GOT A REALLY GREAT PERSON HERE WHO HAS A GREAT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE. 
          CAN, CAN SHE WORK WITH US? OR, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE PLACES WE NEED TO SHORE UP, HOW DO WE DO THAT? SO IT, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS. 
          NO, I, I AGREE. 
          AND I THINK THAT FROM WHAT I'M, I'M HEARING YOU SAY BOARD MEMBER ELKINS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, GETTING TO THE CLARITY AND ROLES RESPONSIBILITIES AND WE'LL EXPEDITE AND WE'LL HELP EVERYONE MOVE FORWARD, UM, BETTER AND, AND MORE EFFICIENTLY. 
          SO RECOGNIZING THAT WE'VE HAD A GOOD DOCUMENT ALREADY TO START DELINEATING SOME OF THOSE. 
          YEAH. 
          PROBABLY THIS WAS HERE TODAY WAS LAID OUT FOR YOU GUYS, RIGHT IN THE SLIDE SEVEN, RIGHT? YEAH. 
          I THINK THAT'S A REMINDER THAT WE THIS GREAT CONVERSATION, BUT WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF THE GOOD WORK COMMISSIONER THAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT AND IT'S ALSO REMINDING FOLKS WHERE WE ARE, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK GOING ON. 
          YEAH. 
          AND WE CAN BUILD UPON IT. 
          OH, IT WAS ON, I JUST TURNED IT OFF. 
          UM, SO I THINK THAT, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, THERE ARE NO MORE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. 
          I THINK THIS CONCLUDES THE A TP AND YOU'RE IN INAUGURAL BOARD MEETING . 
          SO THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO TUNED IN, WHO SHOWED UP IN PERSON, UM, AND FOR ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE AND THE HEAVY LIFT. 
          SO THE TIME IS 4 24 AND THIS MEETING STANDS ADJOURN. 
          THANK YOU.
* 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.