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GREAT.[Environment and Sustainability on June 6, 2023.]
IT IS 9 0 2 AND WE HAVE A QUORUM OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE FOR THE JUNE 6TH MEETING.UM, SO OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS WILL BE THE APPROVAL OF THE MAY 1ST, 2023 COMMITTEE.
DO I HAVE, UM, APPROVAL? SECOND.
I HAVE A, A MOTION TO APPROVE IN A SECOND.
NOW WE'RE MOVING TO BRIEFING ITEM, A SOLAR SWITCH, DALLAS, A SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS PARTNERSHIP.
AND I WILL, UM, UH, KICK IT OVER TO CARLOS TO GET US STARTED.
CHAIR BLACKMAN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, WE ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY GETTING THE CONSULTANT ONLINE.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE IF, UM, IF WE WANNA, WE CAN STAND AT RECESS FOR A FEW MINUTES.
UH, CARLOS DE UH, CARLOS EVANS, DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
UH, JUST, UH, TO PROVIDE A BRIEF CONTEXT, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE IN THE THIRD YEAR OF, OF CCAP IMPLEMENTATION.
OUR CURRENT GOLD IS TO GET TO NET ZERO, NET ZERO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY 2050.
UH, IN ORDER TO DO THAT, UH, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON CLIMATE MITIGATION PROGRAMS LIKE SOLAR PROGRAMS. UH, AS WE KNOW, BUDGET, OUR BUILDINGS AND ENERGY ACCOUNT FOR THE LARGEST, UH, SOURCE OF OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
UM, CURRENTLY THE CITY IS FOCUSED ON, UH, IMPLEMENTING SOLAR PROGRAMS ON CITY BUILDINGS, BUT IN ORDER TO REACH OUR GOALS, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
UM, WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT TO ROSA.
GOOD MORNING, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
UM, MY NAME IS ROSA CISNEROS, AND I'M A CLIMATE COORDINATOR WITH THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
I'M VERY EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY AND SHARE WITH YOU SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS, WHICH IS OUR NEW ADDITION TO OUR WHOLE HOME DALLAS RESOURCE HUB.
SO DURING THE PRESENTATION TODAY, I'M GONNA BE DISCUSSING THE PURPOSE AND BENEFITS OF SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS.
WE ALSO HAVE OUR PARTNERS FROM NON, THE NONPROFIT SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS HERE ONLINE WITH US THIS MORNING.
AND THEY'RE GONNA BE PROVIDING INFORMATION ON HOW HOMEOWNERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES CAN PARTICIPATE.
THEN I'LL CONTINUE BY TALKING ABOUT THE KPIS AND SUCCESS METRICS THAT WE PLAN TO MONITOR AND FOLLOWED BY SOME NEXT STEPS.
SO, SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS INTERSECTS WITH THE CCAP MOSTLY, AND GO TO DALLAS GENERATES AND USES RENEWABLE, RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE ENERGY.
WE ACTIVATED TWO OF OUR ACTIONS AND IMPLEMENTED TWO MILESTONES FROM THIS YEAR'S CCAP WORK PLAN.
THE GOALS OF THESE TWO MILESTONES ARE TO, ONE, IMPLEMENT A WHOLE HOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM, RESOURCE HUB, WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH THE WHOLE HOME DALLAS HUB.
AND THEN TWO, EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING CITY PROGRAMS TO INCENTIVIZE SOLAR INSTALLATION FOR COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.
SO, WITH AN AVERAGE OF 234 DAYS OF SUNSHINE PER YEAR, DALLAS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TAKE MUCH MORE ADVANTAGE OF SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES AND GENERATE CLEAN ENERGY.
AN INCREASE OF SOLAR ENERGY CAN FURTHER ADVANCE THE CITY'S EMISSION REDUCTION GOALS, IMPROVE AIR QUALITY, OFFSET RISING ELECTRICITY COSTS, AND CAN LEAD TO LESS RELIANCE ON OUR POWER GRID.
ALSO, SO THE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET IS GROWING AS TECHNOLOGIES LIKE SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC AND BATTERIES BECOME MORE AFFORDABLE AND ADAPTABLE WITH MANY INSTALLER OPTIONS IN THE MARKET, A PROGRAM LIKE SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS CAN HELP RESIDENTS NAVIGATE THE PROCESS OF GOING SOLAR.
THEREFORE, THE CITY OF DALLAS, UH, DALLAS'S WHOLE HOME PROGRAM IS PARTNERING WITH SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS TO OFFER SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS, A HASSLE-FREE OPTION TO INSTALL ROOFTOP SOLAR PANELS AND BATTERY STORAGE AT A REDUCED PRICE.
THE GOAL OF OUR HO HOME PRO PROGRAM IS ALWAYS TO EDUCATE AND CONNECT RESIDENTS TO EXISTING PROGRAMS THAT CAN HELP THEM IMPLEMENT UPGRADES RELATED TO WEATHERIZATION, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, AND RENEWABLE ENERGY.
RECENTLY WE ADDED SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS TO OUR RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE LIST, AND THIS NEWLY ADDED SERVICE WILL HELP HOMEOWNERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES NAVIGATE THE PROCESS OF INSTALLING ROOFTOP SOLAR
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BY LEVERAGING THE POWER OF GROUP BUYING.THIS RESOURCE HELPS FAMILIES SAVE ON UTILITY BUILDS AND BUILDS RESILIENCY IN THE COMMUNITY.
NEXT, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO HANNAH MITCHELL WITH SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS TO SHARE HOW DALLAS RESIDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE CURRENT SOLAR SWITCH PROGRAM.
THANKS SO MUCH, ROSA, FOR THAT INTRODUCTION, AND THANK YOU, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION NUMBERS FOR HAVING US HERE THIS MORNING.
UM, I'M GONNA DIVE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE TO HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS.
SO, AS ROSA MENTIONED, SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS IS A RESULT OF A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS AND WHOLE HOME DALLAS.
AND IT IS A GROUP BRIAN PROGRAM DESIGNED TO HELP BRING DOWN BOTH THE COST AND THE HASSLE OF INSTALLING, UH, ROOFTOP SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS FOR HOMEOWNERS AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
SO TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT US AND WHO'S RUNNING THE PROGRAM.
UM, SOLAR SWITCH IS RUN BY SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS AND I CHOOSER.
SO, SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS OR SON IS A NATIONAL 5 0 1
AND WE'VE BEEN RUNNING GROUP BUYING PROGRAMS THAT WE CALL SOLAR CO-OPS IN TEXAS SINCE 2018.
UM, WE'VE RUN MORE THAN 15 OF THEM TO DATE, UH, AND WE'RE NOW WORKING WITH I CHOOSER INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS IN SOLAR GROUP BUYING TO INCREASE, UH, REALLY TO INCREASE THE REACH OF OUR PROGRAMMING.
UM, AND TOGETHER WE BRING A LOT OF COMPLIMENTARY CAPABILITIES FOR SOLAR SWITCH AND A COMMON GOAL OF SCALING UP SOLAR ADOPTION BY MAKING SOLAR EASIER AND MORE AFFORDABLE.
SO WE REALLY AIM TO MAKE THIS PROGRAM AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, AND HERE'S AN OVERVIEW OF HOW IT WORKS IN FIVE STEPS.
SO THE FIRST IS TO REGISTER ON THE WEBSITE, UM, AND WE HAVE A REGISTRATION WINDOW AND AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN BUILDING THAT USUALLY LASTS ABOUT FOUR MONTHS.
UM, I CHOOSER RUNS A REVERSE AUCTION THROUGH PRE-VETTED INSTALLERS TO PICK, UH, TO PICK COMPANIES THAT CAN SERVE THE GROUP AND OFFER, UM, A LOW-COST, HIGH QUALITY SOLAR VOTA, SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM.
UM, AFTER THE AUCTION HAS BEEN RUN, UM, FOLKS WILL START RECEIVING PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND THOSE WILL BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE WHO REGISTERS STARTING JULY 5TH.
UM, AND THEN PEOPLE HAVE, UH, SOME TIME TO CONSIDER THIS, UH, PRE-PROPOSAL.
SO THE PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION, UH, IS VERY SIMILAR TO A SOLAR PRE-PROPOSAL, AND THAT IT WILL BE, UH, AN INITIAL RECOMMENDATION BASED ON, UH, A PERSON'S, UM, AVAILABLE ROOF SIZE, THEIR, UM, ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERNS, THEIR SOLAR GOALS, UH, AND PEOPLE WILL HAVE UNTIL AUGUST 9TH TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH AN INSULATION, GET CONNECTED WITH AN INSTALL, TWEAK, THAT INITIAL PROPOSAL.
UH, AND SO PEOPLE MAY DECIDE, YOU KNOW WHAT I LEARNED? I ATTENDED A WEBINAR, I LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS OF GOING SOLAR AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR MY HOME OR MY SMALL BUSINESS, BUT, UM, I'M NOT INTERESTED AT THAT THIS TIME.
AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO HARM, NO FOUL, OR THEY ACCEPT THE OFFER AND GET CONNECTED WITH A, UH, AND GET CONNECTED WITH A SOLAR INSTALLER.
THERE IS A FULLY REFUNDABLE $150 DEPOSIT IF PEOPLE CHOOSE TO ACCEPT.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE APPLIED TO THE COST OF THE SYSTEM, UM, IF THEY DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD.
UH, AND THEN INSTALLATIONS WILL BE COMPLETED, UH, BY THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY.
SO AFTER FOLKS HAVE MADE A DECISION, THE INSTALLATION PHASE BEGINS, AND THAT'S USUALLY ABOUT A SIX MONTH WINDOW FOR ALL PEOPLE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP AND, UM, ACCEPTED THEIR OFFER TO GET THAT INSTALLATION.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CELEBRATE MORE SOLAR BEING, UH, ADOPTED IN THE DALLAS AREA.
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SO HERE IS A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT REGISTRATION, UM, UH, WHAT REGISTRATION LOOKS LIKE, AND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE AWARENESS BUILDING PHASE OF THE CAMPAIGN.SO THERE'S A LANDING PAGE AVAILABLE AT, SO AT SOLAR SWITCH.COM/DALLAS.
AND, UM, THERE'S A VARIETY OF WAYS THAT PEOPLE WILL HEAR ABOUT THE PROGRAM, UM, INCLUDING SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, A DIRECT MAILER TO RESIDENTS, UM, AND THEN ANY TYPE OF WORD OF MOUTH AND, UH, LOCAL FLYERS BEING DISTRIBUTED.
AND HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF, IT'S A SNAPSHOT OF, UM, AN ONLINE AD THAT SHOWS A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND DIRECTS PEOPLE TO REGISTER.
AND AGAIN, REGISTRATION IS VERY SIMPLE.
IT TAKES ONLY A FEW MINUTES AFTER ANSWERING A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, YOUR HOME AND YOUR AVAILABLE ROOF SPACE.
UM, UM, A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE ROOF REVERSE AUCTION.
IT'S RUN BY, UM, IT'S, IT'S RUN BY I CHOOSER.
UH, AND THEY DO A FULL INVESTIGATION INTO, UM, COMPANIES FINANCIALS, LOOK AT REVIEWS, UH, LICENSING INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS, AND, UM, WE'RE USUALLY LOOKING AT BETWEEN A 15 AND A 25% DISCOUNT.
UM, THAT'S CAPTURED THROUGH THE AUCTION, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT, UM, THE, THE SIZE OF THE GROUP, UM, THAT PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE VERSUS JUST GOING SOLAR ON THEIR OWN IN THE MARKETPLACE.
UH, AND WE AIM TO RUN THESE AUCTIONS A COUPLE TIMES PER YEAR.
SO IDEALLY SORT OF A SPRING PROGRAM AND THEN A FALL WINTER PROGRAM, UM, TO BUILD MORE AWARENESS ABOUT THE PROGRAM, UH, AND, AND TO JUST, YOU KNOW, ALLOW THE, THE PROGRAM TO SCALE.
HERE IS WHAT THE PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION WILL LOOK LIKE.
AGAIN, THESE WILL BE AVAILABLE STARTING JULY 5TH, AND ANYONE WHO SIGNS UP BEFORE JULY 5TH WILL GET THAT OFFER.
AND THEN ANYONE WHO SIGNS UP AFTER JULY 5TH THROUGH JULY 9TH, IT WILL PRETTY MUCH BE INSTANTANEOUS.
UM, SO IT WILL SHOW, UM, THE PROPOSED SYSTEM SIZE AND COST.
UM, IT WILL SHOW YOU WHO THE INSTALLER IS THAT YOU'LL BE CONNECTED TO, UM, AND IT WILL ASK WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
IT'LL SHOW THE APPROXIMATE OFFSET AND HOW MANY KILOWATT HOURS PER YEAR THE SYSTEM SHOULD PROVIDE.
UM, SO AGAIN, THERE'S NO OBLIGATION TO PURCHASE PANELS.
UM, WE DO PROVIDE A VARIETY OF ONLINE WEBINARS THAT PEOPLE CAN TUNE INTO, UM, AND HAVE THEIR QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
AND, UM, ONCE IF FOLKS JUST DO DECIDE TO MOVE FORWARD, THEY GET CONNECTED WITH AN INSTALLER.
UM, AND THEN DURING THE INSTALLATION PHASE, SO I, YOU KNOW, I EXPLAIN THAT THE INSTALLATION WINDOW IS USUALLY AROUND SIX MONTHS.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SOMEONE WILL BE WAITING SIX MONTHS, UM, THAT THE INSULATION TAKES SIX MONTHS FOR AN INDIVIDUAL SYSTEM, BUT THAT WE EXPECT FOR EVERYONE IN THE GROUP SYSTEMS WILL BE INSTALLED AND TURNED ON OVER A PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS.
UM, AND THE ACTUAL INSTALLATION IS USUALLY VERY FAST.
UM, AND RESIDENTS WILL OF COURSE, RECEIVE A WELCOME EMAIL AND A PHONE CALL FROM AN INSTALLER.
UM, THEY'LL DO A SITE ASSESSMENT AND TWEAK ANY OF THE, UH, ANY OF THE ASPECTS OF THE INITIAL PROPOSAL THAT NEED TO BE ADJUSTED UPON, UM, UPON A VISIT.
AND AGAIN, INSTALLATIONS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE FIRST WEEK OF JANUARY.
AND NOW I TURN IT BACK OVER TO ROSA FOR SUCCESS METRICS.
SO OUR KPIS INCLUDE TRACKING THE WEBPAGE VISITS FOR BOTH THE WHOLE HOME DALLAS.COM PAGE AND THE SOLAR SWITCH.COM/DALLAS WEBSITES.
WE ALSO PLAN TO TAKE THIS INFORMATION OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY BY SHARING FLYERS AT ONSITE OUTREACH EVENTS.
AND O E Q S HAS SEVERAL SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, INCLUDING OUR DALLAS CLIMATE ACTION TWITTER PAGE.
SO WE WILL BE PLANNING TO SHARE GRAPHICS, UM, WITH INFORMATION ON HOW RESIDENTS CAN REGISTER
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WITH NO OBLIGATION.WE WILL ALSO MEASURE WHOLE HOME DALLAS CLICK THROUGH RATES UP TO THE SOLAR SWITCH WEBSITES, EMAIL INQUIRIES AND REGISTRATION SUBMITTED BY DALLAS RESIDENTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES.
WE ANTICIPATE TO HOLD AT LEAST ONE SOLAR SWITCH, UH, DALLAS PROGRAM WITH SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS A YEAR.
AND CITY STAFF WILL, UH, COLLABORATE WITH, UH, SUN BY SHARING, JOIN PROMOTIONAL ITEMS TO ENCOURAGE INTERESTED RESIDENTS TO REGISTER SO THEY CAN ALSO BENEFIT FROM SOLAR INSTALLATION AT A REDUCED PRICE.
SO, THESE PAST TWO WEEKS, WE HAVE BEEN IN THE SOFT LAUNCH PHASE OF THIS PROGRAM, SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE WHOLE HOME RESOURCE LIST ALREADY, AND WE HAVE SHARED INTRODUCTORY VIDEOS ON OUR DALLAS CLIMATE ACTION TWITTER ACCOUNT.
AFTER TODAY'S PRESENTATION, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE IMPLEMENTING OUR MARKETING PLAN THAT INCLUDE EFFORTS LIKE PRESS RELEASES, UM, ADDING OUR INFORMATION TO PUBLIC KIOSKS, SHARING THIS INFORMATION ON OUR NEXT DOOR ACCOUNT, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOU ALL TOO.
SO TO INCLUDE IN, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER NEWSLETTERS.
SO THIS, UH, MARKETING EFFORTS WILL RUN THROUGH AUGUST 9TH, WHICH IS THE DECISION DEADLINE AND THE LAST OPPORTUNITY TO PARTAKE IN THIS 2023 SOLAR SWITCH PROGRAM.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO COME BACK TO YOU SOME TIME TOWARDS THE END OF THIS YEAR TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE CITY'S VERY FIRST SOLAR SWITCH DALLAS PROGRAM.
AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO APPLY ANY LESSONS LEARNED IN FUTURE SOLAR SWITCH PROGRAMS, THAT WAY WE CAN CONTINUE TO, UM, WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS IN SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS AND OFFER A OFFER THIS SERVICE TO DALLAS RESIDENTS.
NOW WE'RE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS.
AND I'LL JUST ADD, I KNOW WE'VE, UH, LAST FEW MONTHS, WE'VE, WE'VE BROUGHT A NUMBER OF WEBSITES TO YOU.
WE HAVE, WE HAVE WHOLE HOME DALLAS, WE HAVE CRANE JOB SKILLS.
I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT CURRENTLY AS A, AS A DEPARTMENT WE'RE, UH, LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR WEBSITE AND CONSOLIDATING THEM SO THAT YOU HAVE AN EASY FLOW AND ACCESS TO ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. WE HOPE TO FINALIZE, UH, THAT PROCESS BY THE END OF THIS MONTH.
BUT I JUST WANNA LET YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW WE'RE THROWING A LOT OF WEBSITES AT YOU, UM, BUT THEY SHOULD BE EASILY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH, UH, GREEN DALLAS.NET AND OUR OQS WEBPAGE.
UM, I HAVE QUITE A FEW, UH, QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, COULD YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE GROUP ON SLIDE SEVEN WHEN YOU KEEP, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE GROUP, IS THAT BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN POTENTIALLY INSTALLING THAT FORMS THE GROUP? YEAH, I CAN.
SORRY, THERE'S AN, YEAH, GO AHEAD.
UM, SO THE, YES, THE GROUP IS, IS BASED ON HOW MANY PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, SIGN, HEAR ABOUT THE PROGRAM, SIGN UP, REGISTER.
WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A MINIMUM GROUP SIZE.
UM, BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF SCALE, WHEN SUN, UH, THROUGH SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS SOLAR CO-OPS, WE'RE USUALLY REACHING A COUPLE HUNDRED PEOPLE.
AND THROUGH SOLAR SWITCH, UM, WE ARE REACHING A COUPLE THOUSAND PEOPLE JUST TO GIVE A SIZE OF, OF WHAT THAT GROUP MEANS.
AND THEN THE DISCOUNTS THAT'LL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE AUCTION, IS THAT BASED ON THE RATE OR THE INSTALLATION COSTS? UH, SORRY, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT QUESTION.
IN OTHER WORDS, WILL, WILL THE, I KNOW, I KNOW THAT WHEN YOU HAVE SOLAR PANELS, YOU HAVE AN INSTALLATION COST FOR IT, YOU ALSO HAVE MAINTENANCE COSTS AND OTHER THINGS, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE THE RATE THAT YOU'RE EITHER RECEIVING OR PAYING DEPENDING ON YOUR ARRANGEMENT WITH YOUR SOLAR COMPANY.
SO WILL THOSE RATES BE NEGOTIATED THROUGH Y'ALL? HOW DOES THAT WORK? BECAUSE, YEAH, SO THE, THE PRICE, UH, ESSENTIALLY THE PRICE PER WATT, WHICH TAKES INTO ACCOUNT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE COST OF THE PANELS, THE BATTERIES, IF YOU CHOOSE TO INSTALL THEM, UM, ALL OF THE HARD COSTS PLUS THE SOFT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, YOU KNOW, UM, PERMITTING, UH, LABOR INSULATION, ALL OF THAT, UM, WILL BE, WILL BE, YOU KNOW, ONE PRICE
AND THROUGH THE, UH, THROUGH THE AUCTION, WE,
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UH, WE EXPECT ABOUT A 15 TO 25% REDUCTION IN A TOTAL COST PER WAT OVER WHAT YOU WOULD GET BY GOING SOLAR INDIVIDUALLY, UM, ON YOUR OWN, JUST IN THE MARKET.AND IS THIS FOR LEASE OR ONLY FOR PURCHASE? IT'S FOR PURCHASE.
AND SO, UM, WHAT, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WILL ALL OF THE COMPANIES THAT WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE AUCTION, ARE THEY OFFERING THE SAME RATES, MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, UPDATES, STORAGE, ALL OF THAT? YEAH, SO, UM, THEY HAVE TO BID WITH A SIMILAR PANEL, A SIMILAR STORAGE OPTION.
UM, THEY HAVE TO, UH, HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, A MINIMUM WORKMANSHIP GUARANTEE.
UM, THEY, SO WE'RE ESSENTIALLY TRYING TO HOLD ALL OF THE VARIABLES AS CONSISTENT AS POSSIBLE SO THAT EVERYONE IS GETTING MORE OR LESS, UM, THE SAME SYSTEM OR, YOU KNOW, THE SAME QUALITY STANDARD.
UM, I WAS GOING TO SAY, WE MAY HAVE, I'M NOT SURE IF, UH, FRED WITH I CHOOSER HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE INSIGHT INTO THE AUCTION PROCESS.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF HE'S, YEAH, NEVERMIND.
I DON'T THINK HE'S ABLE TO TALK.
UM, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THE RELATIONSHIP WITH ENCORE WILL WORK, BECAUSE THESE PANEL, THEY NEED TO GO, WE NEED TO GO THROUGH ENCORE.
WHEN YOU INSTALL PANELS, HOW WILL THAT WORK? IS ENCORE PART OF THIS PROCESS? HOW ARE THEY PARTICIPATING IN SUPPORTING THIS? SO ENCORE, UH, IS THE ENTITY THAT WILL GRANT PERMISSION TO OPERATE TO THE SYSTEMS. UM, AND THE INSTALLERS WHO, UH, YOU KNOW, PARTICIPATE IN THE AUCTION WILL HAVE TO SUBMIT PERMITS TO ENCORE.
UM, THEY'RE, AW, THEY'RE AWARE OF OUR PROGRAM, BUT THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY A PARTNER, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
WELL, YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY WILL BE CONTROLLING SOME OF THESE PERMITS.
AND SO IF THEY GET BACKED UP, IF YOU ARE WILDLY SUCCESSFUL AS I HOPE YOU WILL BE, UH, THEY NEED TO BE ON BOARD ON THIS AND WELL AWARE OF THIS
UM, LET'S TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS IN TERMS OF PROMOTION.
UM, ONE IS, UM, THE, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THIS PROCESS WELL.
I WAS ONE OF THE EARLY ADOPTERS OF SOLAR PANELS IN MY HOME, UH, IN DALLAS.
SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT A LOT OF, UH, CONCERNS ABOUT IT REGARDING HOME VALUES, I'M TALKING ABOUT IT FROM A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE.
PEOPLE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE, BECAUSE THEY'RE GENERALLY SEEN AS UNSIGHTLY, UM, THEY, PEOPLE ARGUE THAT IT'LL AFFECT HOME VALUES.
SO I THINK THAT REACHING OUT TO THE REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY AND DISPROVING THAT MYTH WOULD BE A VERY IMPORTANT PART IN THE PROMOTION AND INCLUDING THE REAL ESTATE COMMUNITY IN ALL OF THIS PROMOTION.
UM, AND IN FACT, THERE MIGHT EVEN BE SOME KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU BUY YOUR HOME, YOU GET AN EXTRA $500 OFF OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF YOU'RE A NEW OWNER.
UM, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO PARTICIPATE WITH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL, THOSE OF US WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PROMOTING THIS, UH, TO BE PROMOTING WITHIN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS.
BECAUSE IF YOU BEGIN TO SEE THIS AS A NEIGHBORHOOD TREND RATHER THAN JUST ONE OFFS IN NEIGHBORHOODS, THEN THAT, UM, THAT SENSE OF ATTRACTIVENESS GOES AWAY IF YOU START, IF IT'S UBIQUITOUS.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO SOMETHING IN THE WATER BILLS, THAT WE PUT A PROMOTION IN WATER, PEOPLE'S WATER BILLS, PARTICULARLY IN THE SUMMER WHEN WATER BILLS ARE HIGHER.
AND YOU COULD TALK ABOUT SAVINGS IN AUGUST.
ANYONE WHO'S LOOKING AT THEIR ELECTRIC BILL IN AUGUST IS DEFINITELY RETHINKING WHAT THEY HAVE ON TOP OF THEIR HOUSE.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, IF I MAY, MADAME CHAIR, UM, I THINK IT'S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF DATA ABOUT WHAT'S WORKED EFFECTIVELY IN OTHER CITIES AND HOW WE COULD, UH, LEVERAGE THOSE MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IF YOU'RE USING STRICTLY SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU'RE LOOKING AT PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY INTERESTED.
AND SO IF WE'RE TRYING TO TURN THE TIDE FROM PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE, UM, I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
AND THEN FINALLY, I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
JUST, UM, FOR MY OWN SELF-INTEREST, FOR PEOPLE WHO DO HAVE SOLAR ALREADY, ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO REBID ANYTHING OR WORK WITH Y'ALL IF PEOPLE GO FROM LEASE TO OWNERSHIP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, OR ANY OF THOSE TOOLS OR WANNA EXPAND THEIR SYSTEM, THINGS LIKE THAT? YEAH, SO SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS PROVIDES A LOT OF RESOURCES TO FOLKS THROUGHOUT ANY STUFF IN THEIR SOLAR JOURNEY.
WE HAVE A TON OF SOLAR EDUCATION MATERIALS AND WE
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PROVIDE TO SUPPORT TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE SOLAR, UM, AND WANT TIPS ABOUT MAINTAINING THEIR SYSTEM OR ADDING STORAGE.UM, YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN THE PROGRAM AND GET ADDITIONAL PANELS PUT ONTO YOUR HOUSE.
AT THIS TIME, I DON'T THINK WE'RE DOING STANDALONE BATTERY RETROFITS, BUT I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT FOLKS ARE INTERESTED IN AND THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE OFFER IN THE FUTURE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE WE DO HAVE, UM, AB CHARGING OPTIONS AS WELL, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE WANT TO ADD ON TO THEIR SOLAR SYSTEM WHILE I HAVE A MASTER ELECTRICIAN OUT AT THE HOUSE.
UM, BUT SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS DOES OFFER, UM, UH, INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT AS WELL AS GUIDES FOR EXISTING SOLAR OWNERS.
UM, AND WE ALSO HELP PEOPLE WITH SELECTING A SOLAR BUYBACK PLAN AND NAVIGATING THE, UM, COMPLEXITIES OF THE RETAIL ELECTRICITY MARKET.
UH, AND SO AFTER THIS SERVICE IS AVAILABLE TO ANYONE WHO, UM, YOU KNOW, GOES SOLAR THROUGH THE PROGRAM OR IS AN EXISTING SOLAR OWNER, UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE SUPPORT SELECTING A RETAIL ELECTRICITY PLAN THAT WILL COMPLEMENT YOUR, UM, ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION PATTERNS, UH, WE OFFER THAT FREE OF CHARGE, YOU KNOW, FOR PEOPLE WHO WENT THROUGH THE V THE WIDE VARIETY OF STORMS IN THE CITY.
I THINK THE STORAGE PIECE IS ANOTHER HUGE SELLING P UM, POINT.
CUZ IF YOU LOOK AT THE COST OF GENERATORS AND YOU ALREADY HAVE AT LEAST A DAY OR TWO STORAGE, UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE A HUGE SELLING POINT AS WELL.
WHY ARE YOU HERE TODAY? WHAT IS YOUR ASK OF THE CITY? THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
WE ARE HERE JUST TO SHARE THE, THAT THIS PROG THIS PROGRAM AND SERVICE IS AVAILABLE AND LIKE IT WAS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED THAT, UM, IF IT STARTED, IF WE START THE APPLICATION PROCESS, WHENEVER SOLAR UNITED OPENS IT UP, THE POWER OF GROUP PURCHASING REALLY COMES IN WHERE THE MORE PEOPLE THAT REGISTER, THE GREATER THE DISCOUNT THAT THE RESIDENTS CAN BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF.
SO BY PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION AND SPREADING THE WORD AND UM, HAVING MORE RESIDENTS AWARE THAT THIS IS AVAILABLE, WE CAN PROMOTE THE, THE REGISTRATIONS AND HAVE MORE PEOPLE PARTICIPATE.
SO YOU'RE JUST LOOKING TO THE CITY TO HELP YOU PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS? CORRECT.
UM, WELL, I AM STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF ANYTHING THAT ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO ADOPT SOLAR ENERGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL FUELS.
UH, AND THIS LOOKS LIKE A GOOD PROGRAM.
UM, WILL THE CITY BE PUTTING, WILL, WILL THIS COST THE CITY ANYTHING? THIS IS A NO-COST PARTNERSHIP.
SO WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS STAFF, WHAT WE'LL BE DOING IS, UM, SHARING THE PROMOTIONAL ITEMS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE AND JUST SPREADING THE WORD.
AND THIS, UM, WHAT'S THE INCENTIVE FOR SOLAR VENDORS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM AND GIVE A 15 TO 25% GROUP DISCOUNT? IS IT JUST THAT THEY GET A VOLUME OF BUSINESS AND I THINK THAT'S MORE FOR HANNAH? YEAH, I CAN TAKE THAT.
SO IT IS THE INCENTIVE OF THE VOLUME AND, UM, GETTING CONNECTED WITH CUSTOMERS THAT ARE EDUCATED ABOUT SOLAR, INTERESTED ABOUT SOLAR AND READY TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO, UM, THE COST OF SOLAR HAS DROPPED PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE PAST, ESPECIALLY OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS.
BUT WHAT HASN'T COME DOWN ARE THE SOFT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, MARKETING AND WITH GETTING PEOPLE WHO, UM, KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOLAR AND ARE, AND ARE INTERESTED IN MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO, UM, BY PROVIDING THE EDUCATIONAL TOOLS AND, UH, THE INITIAL BASIC ROOF REVIEW FOR PEOPLE, UM, WE CAN CONNECT SOLAR INSTALLERS WITH, UH, A MORE INTERESTED GROUP OF PEOPLE, SO MORE, MORE CUSTOMERS AND MORE INTERESTED CUSTOMERS.
AND SO AS A RESULT OF THIS REVERSE AUCTION, THERE'S ONE WINNER, THE LOW BIDDER, CORRECT? UM, IT IS EITHER, IT, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ONE.
WE, UM, WE HAVE WORKED WITH SEVERAL CO COMPANIES IN THE PAST, UH, SO BASICALLY AS MANY AS WE THINK, UM, WILL BE NEEDED TO ACCOMMODATE THE GROUP.
UM, BUT ALL OF THEM HAVE TO PROVIDE THE SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE AND THE SAME TYPE OF EQUIPMENT.
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WANT SOLAR ON THEIR HOMES CAN CHOOSE BETWEEN, UM, A HANDFUL OF VENDORS.UH, THEY'LL BE CONNECTED FROM THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE.
THEY'LL BE CONNECTED TO, UH, THE COMPANY THAT IS SERVING, SAY THEIR PARTICULAR AREA, UM, WHETHER IT'S A COLLECTION OF ZIP CODES OR, OR SEVERAL NEIGHBORHOODS.
SO MULTIPLE VENDORS, BUT THEY'LL EACH BE ASSIGNED A TERRITORY? YES.
AND THEN HOW DO PEOPLE RECEIVE, UH, PROPOSALS WITHOUT THE SOLAR INSTALLER ACTUALLY COMING OUT TO THEIR HOME TO ASSESS HOW LARGE THE HOME IS, THE ROOF AREA, THE ROOF CONFIGURATION, AND HOW MANY PANELS THEY CAN INSTALL THERE? SO PEOPLE WILL RECEIVE AN INITIAL, UM, OFFER THAT IS REALLY ONLY AN AS AN ESTIMATE, UM, THAT WILL BE, UH, CONTI THAT WILL BE TWEAKED ONCE THEY'RE CONNECTED WITH A SOLAR INSTALLER.
UM, BUT THIS INITIAL OFFER, UH, IS BASED ON THE REGISTRATION DETAILS.
SO, UM, THE REGISTRATION PAGE ASKS QUESTIONS ABOUT, SAY YOUR AVAILABLE ROOF SPACE IF YOU, UH, KNOW HOW MANY KILOWATT HOURS YOU USE PER YEAR.
UM, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS EXACTLY PRECISELY, BUT, UM, THE MORE INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE AT REGISTRATION, UH, THE MORE ACCURATE THAT INITIAL PROPOSAL, WHICH WILL OF COURSE BE TWEAKED, UM, BY THE SOLAR INSTALLERS.
BUT WE HAVE, UM, THE WEBSITE PROVIDES, UH, SOME MODELS AND FORMULAS BASED ON REGISTRATION QUESTIONS TO GENERATE THOSE INITIAL OFFERS.
WHAT OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS HAVE YOU USED THIS MODEL? UM, UM, HOUSTON, WE'VE WORKED WITH, UH, FARMERS BRANCH, UM, FATE, CORINTH, UM, TRYING TO THINK OF THE OTHER CITIES THAT ARE SOLAR SWITCH CITIES.
UM, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD SELECTION OF, UM, OF CITIES OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD THAT WE'VE WERE, THAT WE'VE RUN THE SOLAR SWITCH PROGRAM.
SO WHEN DID YOU OFFER IT IN HOUSTON? HOW LONG AGO? STARTING LAST YEAR.
AND WAS IT SUCCESSFUL? DID YOU GET A LOT OF PEOPLE REGISTERING AND PURCHASING SOLAR, UH, EQUIPMENT? YEAH.
SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF PERSPECTIVE, UM, SINCE STARTING SOLAR, SO, UH, SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS WORKED IN HOUSTON TO OFFER OUR, UM, SOLAR CO-OP MODEL, AGAIN, SMALLER SCALE.
AND THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WE HAD SIGNING UP FOR OUR SOLAR CO-OPS WAS ABOUT 300, WHICH IS THE LARGEST GROUP THAT WE CAN ACCOMMODATE.
UM, AND THEN THROUGH THE LAST ROUND OF SOLAR SWITCH, WE SAW ABOUT 1600 PEOPLE SIGNING UP.
AND, UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY METRICS ON HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY INSTALL THE SOLAR COLLECTORS? YEAH, SO INSTALLATIONS ARE CONCLUDING IN NEXT IN JULY.
UM, AND SO AT, UH, WE'RE ANTICIPATING ABOUT 90 ISH TOTAL INSTALLATIONS AND, UM, AROUND 55 HAVE BEEN INSTALLED SO FAR.
AND SO GOING FORWARD AFTER THAT INITIAL AUCTION AND THE REGISTRATION PROCESS, YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU'D HAVE MAYBE TWO AUCTIONS A YEAR.
IS THIS A CONTINUAL PROCESS OR IS IT JUST A ONE OFF? UM, WE AIM FOR IT TO BE A CONTINUAL PROCESS, SO, UM, PLANNING FOR, YOU KNOW, ASSUMING THINGS, THINGS GO WELL AND THE CITY WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO BE INVOLVED, UM, WE WOULD PLAN FOR A SPRING AUCTION AND A FALL AUCTION.
SO, UM, IT'S ESSENTIALLY A CYCLE THAT WE CAN KEEP REPEATING AND GROWING IDEALLY.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, MOVING TO THE VIRTUAL WORLD, MR. BEDU? THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.
UM, I, UH, I HAD MOST OF MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
UM, I'M, I'M CURIOUS THOUGH, IN WITH, UH, INSTEAD OF ROUGH NUMBERS ON THE MUNICIPALITIES THAT YOU'VE, UH, PARTNERED WITH, DO YOU HAVE, UM, A PERCENTAGE, I GUESS OF UM, THOSE WHO HAVE COMPLETED THE REGISTRATION? I, I ASKED BECAUSE I JUST WENT THROUGH, UM, THE WEBSITE AND, AND REGISTERED, UH, JUST TO SEE HOW EASY IT WAS.
UM, AND THEN IT SAYS THAT I WON'T, WON'T GET MY PERSONAL QUOTE UNTIL JULY, UH, AND HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION BY AUGUST.
SO HOW, WHERE, WHERE ARE THE, WHERE'S THE RATIO OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE DONE WHAT I JUST DID ONLINE TO THOSE WHO ARE WAITING FOR INSTALLATION? YEAH, SO WE HAD A, A FALL PROGRAM,
[00:35:02]
UM, SO THAT THE NUMBERS I JUST REFERENCED FOR HOUSTON, WE HAD THAT FALL PROGRAM.UM, AND ABOUT 1600 PEOPLE, UH, SIGNED UP THROUGH THAT FALL PROGRAM.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE ONCE AGAIN IN THAT BUILDING PHASE OF COLLECTING THE GROUP.
THE GROUP, UM, PERSONAL OFFERS WILL GO OUT IN JULY, UH, AND THEN THE INSULATION PHASE WILL BEGIN.
UM, SO I GUESS ON ON THE WEBSITE IT SAYS 52,000 PEOPLE HAVE REGISTERED, UM, UH, WHAT OF THAT RATIO HAS RESULTED IN, IN ROOFTOPS? OH, GOT IT.
UM, I WILL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT CUZ I'M NOT SURE WHAT DATA THAT COUNT, THAT'S A NEW COUNTER, SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT DATA THAT'S COMING FROM RIGHT NOW.
AND IS THERE, UM, HAS ANY OF THE MUNICIPALITIES THAT YOU'VE WORKED WITH, UM, UH, PARTNERED IN A WAY THAT THEY SUBSIDIZED THE CONSUMER PORTION? UM, SO, AND, AND IF SO, CAN YOU EXPLAIN ANY OF THE, THE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE, UM, OCCURRED IN ANY OF THESE CITIES? SURE.
SO I ACTUALLY JUST GOT INFORMATION ABOUT THE 52,000 COUNTER FROM, UM, I CHOOSER, AND THAT INCLUDES THE TEXAS POWER SWITCH REGISTRATIONS AS WELL.
SO, UM, I CHOOSER RUNS BOTH SOLAR SWITCHING AND THEY HAVE A, UM, A PROGRAM WHERE THEY DO GROUP BUYING FOR ELECTRICITY PLANS.
UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF YOUR SUBSID SUBSIDIZATION QUESTION, UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE SO FAR WE ARE NOT WORKING WITH CITIES, UM, THAT WILL OFFER, SAY, A REBATE OR AN INCENTIVE, UM, TO SOLAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I BELIEVE THAT'S AVAILABLE IN, UH, AUSTIN, FOR EXAMPLE, IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT WE'RE NOT RUNNING SOLAR SWITCH PROGRAMS THERE AT THIS TIME.
UM, AND WHAT IS A, UH, I GUESS A, A FLOORED THRESHOLD, UM, THAT THRESHOLD THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED IN ORDER FOR YOU ALL TO GET THE GROUP DISCOUNT, UM, AND OFFER IT IN THAT WAY? SO, AND, AND I ASK BECAUSE WHAT IF, WHAT IF, UH, WE, WE COME UP WITH SOME TYPE OF, OR, OR OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS, FOR INSTANCE, UH, AND GET A CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE WE HAVE DISCRETIONARY FUNDS AND WE'D LIKE TO, UM, UH, PUT IN A GROUP SPECIFICALLY LIKE, UH, IN, IN A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A COUPLE OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
BUT IF WE WERE TO WANT TO KIND OF KICKSTART THAT PROCESS, HOW, WHAT'S A, A LEVEL OF HOMES THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO HIT, UM, TO GET THE GROUP DISCOUNTS THAT YOU ALL ARE AFFORDED, UH, AND THEN, AND, AND BE ABLE TO OFFER IT TO SOME RESIDENTS.
SO I DON'T THINK AT THIS POINT WE'RE IN DANGER OF NOT HAVING, YOU KNOW, A GROUP DISCOUNT.
UM, AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S A CERTAIN, WE DON'T HAVE A, A HARD NUMBER THAT WE CAN PROVIDE.
LIKE, OH, IF WE DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, 200, 300 PEOPLE BY THE STATE, THEN IT'S A NO-GO.
SO INSTEAD, INSTEAD OF BEING INDEPENDENT ON THE PROCESS THAT EXISTS NOW, LIKE IF I WANTED TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOU ALL, WHAT WOULD Y'ALL NEED TO HIT THAT WOULDN'T BE DEPENDENT ON OTHER REGISTRATIONS? UM, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WE'RE NOT WAITING, UM, ON, ON THE TIMELINE THAT IS, UH, BUILT IN THAT YOU HAVE, LIKE, THAT I JUST WENT THROUGH, FOR INSTANCE.
BUT IF I, IF Y'ALL WERE TO SAY, JUST LIKE YOU SAID, IF YOU CAN BRING ME 300, UH, HOMES, FOR INSTANCE, UM, DO YOU HAVE A NUMBER AT ALL THAT, THAT YOU CAN, THAT YOU KNOW YOU CAN WORK WITH, THAT WE COULD WORK TOWARDS IF WE WANTED TO TRY TO BUILD A PROGRAM LIKE THIS? UM, SO IF YOU WANTED TO TRY TO BUILD A PROGRAM THAT HAD AN EXTRA INCENTIVE, SAY IF IT WAS LIKE AN EXTRA INCOME QUALIFICATION OR IS THAT, WHAT, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE IMAGINING? I'M JUST SAYING IF, IF WE, YES, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW TO ARTICULATE, UH, WHAT IT IS THAT I'M SAYING.
I GUESS IF, IF I WERE TO HAVE, UH, UH, THE ABILITY TO CREATE A PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY FOR MY DISTRICT YEAH.
UM, AND I WANTED TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOU, AND IT'S NOT, AND I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE, THE PROCESS OF IT BEING DONE INDEPENDENTLY BY EACH RESIDENT, UM, BUT INSTEAD MAYBE SIGN UP THROUGH US OR THROUGH A PORTAL THAT WE PUSH OUT TO THEM.
AND THEN, UM, WHAT AMOUNT I THINK WE WOULD, WE WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO WORK SMALLER RATHER THAN LARGER, TO BE HONEST.
SO, UM, IF YOU HAD MONEY AVAILABLE AND YOU WANTED TO HELP BRING
[00:40:01]
DOWN THE FURTHER, BRING DOWN THE COST FOR, SAY TAKE 10 TO 20 HOMES, UM, THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT WE COULD CONTINUE TO HAVE WITH YOU.UM, THOSE HOMES WOULD, WOULD MOST, THEY WOULD WORK WITH OF THE INSTALLERS FOR THE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT TO INTEGRATE THAT EXTRA, UM, MONEY THAT WOULD ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR SAFE PEOPLE IN YOUR DISTRICT.
UM, WE PROBABLY WANT TO SORT OF RUN UP PILOT FIRST, SO DO SOMETHING SMALLER, UM, AND THEN SEE HOW WE COULD SCALE THAT.
AND THEN, UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION, BY THE WAY.
UM, CARLOS, I HAVE A QUESTION.
HAVE, HAVE WE CONSIDERED ANY, UM, WAY TO IDENTIFY WHERE THERE WOULD BE MOST IMPACT, UM, ON, UH, LOAD SHEDDING? UH, OR WHERE WE, WE THINK THAT THERE COULD OF COURSE BE MOST IMPACT FINANCIALLY? UM, HAVE Y'ALL LOOKED AT ALL WITH OUR, UM, EQUITY INDICATORS OR, UM, THROUGH CENSUS TRACKS? UH, WHERE, WHERE ARE Y'ALL, UM, ON PRIORITIZING WHERE WE COULD TRY TO, UM, HONE THESE EFFORTS IN AT THAT? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
WE, WE DO PLAN ON USING THE EQUITY INDICATOR, UH, TOOL.
UH, UH, WE'RE ALSO BUILDING AN EJ SCREAM, UH, THAT'S LESS RELEVANT I THINK, PERHAPS IN THIS CONVERSATION, BUT I'LL LET FAR ANDREWS, UH, SUPPLEMENT MY ANSWER.
HI, I'M PAUL ANDREWS, UH, SENIOR CLIMATE COORDINATOR, O E Q S.
I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
RIGHT NOW, THIS IS OUR FIRST, UM, REVERSED AUCTION AND OPPORTUNITY FOR DALLAS RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM.
AND WE ARE IN OUR MARKETING PLAN, TAKING A REALLY WIDE APPROACH.
WE ARE TRYING TO TARGET HOMEOWNERS ACROSS THE CITY TO JUST RAISE AWARENESS THAT THIS PROGRAM IS HERE, UM, AND AVAILABLE.
AND WE'RE HOPING THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO SCALE UP.
BUT, UM, I THINK IN THE FUTURE THAT IS, THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO DO MORE TARGET MARKETING IN SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE, UM, IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FROM OUR, UM, EQUITY INDICATOR TOOLS AND WHERE WE CAN POSSIBLY RECEIVE MORE REDUCTIONS FROM EMISSIONS MITIGATION PROJECTS.
I, I WOULD, UH, ENCOURAGE STAFF, UM, TO, UM, LOOK INTO HOW WE CAN BE MOST EFFECTIVE.
I, I THINK THAT THE, UH, THE, THE EFFORT AS A WHOLE WILL BE, UM, A, YOU KNOW, A POSITIVE IMPACT GOING FORWARD, BUT IF WE WERE TO LOOK INTO FUNDING SOME TYPE OF FURTHER SUBSIDY SUBSIDIZING, UM, THROUGH THIS PROGRAM OR TO ENCOURAGE CERTAIN AREAS, UM, I KNOW WITH OLDER AGED INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IT'S, IT'S HARDER, UM, ON, UM, THE GRID, ET CETERA.
SO THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS, UH, THAT WE COULD MAXIMIZE THIS, AND I GET WHAT Y'ALL ARE PRESENTING AND HOW THE, THE ORIGINAL APPROACH IS.
BUT WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO DO IS GET A LITTLE BIT MORE GRANULAR AND SEE HOW, UM, NOT ONLY WE CAN OFFER THIS AS A, AS A, A GOOD INCENTIVE, UM, BUT ALSO BE, UM, MORE EXPEDITIOUSLY ACCOMPLISHING OUR, UH, CCAP GOALS, UM, AS A RESULT FOR GETTING THESE ON ROOFTOPS.
SO I, I THINK THAT WE COULD DO THAT IF IT WERE, IF WE'RE STRATEGIC IN PUTTING THEM IN WHERE THEY WOULD BE MOST EFFECTIVE.
UM, AND SO, UH, HOWEVER THAT DATA IS, UH, IS MINED, I, I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT WE ARE PRESENTED SOMETHING TO KIND OF GUIDE WITH IF, SAY, THIS BUDGET SEASON, WE WANT TO START A PILOT PROGRAM AND SEE WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR US TO START, UH, SUBSIDIZING SOME HOMES.
UM, AND, AND HOW THAT IMPACT COULD BE, I'D LIKE TO SEE IT WITH A BASE POINT SO THAT WE CAN TRACK WHAT, UM, DATA, THE DATA OF, OF HOW IMPACTFUL THAT EFFORT IS SPECIFIC TO, UM, UH, THE REDUCTION OF, UH, EMISSIONS.
SO IF THAT MAKES SENSE, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE TO HELP GUIDE ON HOW WE CAN BETTER PARTNER WITH A PROGRAM LIKE THIS.
I WANT TO HELP, UH, PROMOTE IT OUT.
I THINK THAT THE ISSUE THAT I HAVE WITH REPRESENTING A DISTRICT LIKE I REPRESENT IS, YOU KNOW, PROMOTING IT OUT'S ONLY GONNA GO GO SO FAR IF MY CONSTITUENTS CAN'T AFFORD TO PUT THESE ON THEIR ROOF.
AND SO IF WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE AN IMPACT, UH, I'D LIKE TO SEE WHERE I CAN BE MOST EFFECTIVE AS, UH, AS THE REPRESENTATIVE TO GET THESE ON ROOFS SO THAT WE CAN ALL, ALL WIN, UH, AS A WHOLE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I HAVE RIGHT NOW, MADAM CHAIR.
IF I, IF I MAY, THAT, THAT WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, UH, THAT DISCUSSION AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK ON HOW TO RELEASE THESE TYPES OF PROGRAMS, I'LL JUST REMIND OURSELVES AS WELL, IS, YOU KNOW, WE
[00:45:01]
HAVE A LARGER KIND OF SOLAR PLAN, WHICH INCLUDES COMMUNITY SOLAR AS WELL, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, THIS, WHILE THIS PROGRAM REDUCES COST FOR, UH, UH, RESIDENTIAL, UH, PROPERTIES AND, AND SMALL BUSINESSES, UM, MUCH OF OUR EQUITY, UH, FOCUS HAS BEEN ON COMMUNITY SOLAR PROVIDING, UH, LOW COST, UH, SOLAR TO LOW INCOME MODERN INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, UH, IN RIGHT NOW IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, TRYING TO GET THAT SIDING STUDY DONE, UH, SO WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHERE WE CAN PUT THESE, UH, SOLAR PROJECTS ON CITY PROPERTY, UH, INTO COMMUNITIES, UH, THAT REALLY NEED IT THE MOST.UM, BUT A AGAIN, WE REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION WE CAN USE THAT TO, TO REALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE PROGRAMS. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CARLOS.
UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, I THINK THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH A THOROUGH DISCUSSION LEADING UP TO THAT.
SO, UH, WE'LL JUST GO ON TO ITEM B IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, ITEM B, COCO COMPLIANCE, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES WITH KEVIN MUNDY, THE MANAGER.
GOOD MORNING TO OUR COMMITTEE THIS MORNING.
I'M HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH SOME UPDATES ON OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
MY NAME IS KEVIN MUNDY, MANAGER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COCO COMPLIANCE.
THIS PRESENTATION, UH, WILL COVER THIS MORNING AN UPDATES FROM OUR NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY CLEANUP CHALLENGE THAT WE WERE INVOLVED IN.
ALSO UPDATE ON COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERISM AND AN UPDATE ON OUR KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL INITIATIVE.
SO IN FEBRUARY, WE WERE ASKED TO ENTER THE, UH, NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY CLEANUP CHALLENGE AMONG WHAT OTHER NORTH TEXAS CITIES, THE COM NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY CLEANUP CHALLENGE RAN FROM MARCH 1ST, 2023 THROUGH MAY 31ST, 2023 IN THE CHALLENGE, UH, COMMUNITIES AND CITIES ACROSS, UH, NORTH TEXAS TO BE INVOLVED TO GET OUT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND CLEAN UP.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS A COPY OF THE LEADERBOARD, UM, THAT HAS RESPECTFULLY RATED ALL CITIES THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY CLEANUP CHALLENGE.
AND YOU'RE PROBABLY WONDERING WHY DALLAS IS THIRD.
UH, BUT YOU SEE, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE ALL OUR RESIDENTS, OUR COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS, STAFF, UH, THAT LEND THE HAND THAT LENDED HANDS TO THIS EFFORT TO GET US OFF THE GROUND AND RUNNING.
UH, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 26 TOTAL EVENTS ENGAGED OVER 1,697 VOLUNTEERS COLLECTING OVER 3,100, UH, BAGS OF LITTER ACROSS THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AS YOU WOULD SEE, WE'RE CURRENTLY RANKED THIRD IN THE NORTH TEXAS COMMUNITY CLEANUP CHALLENGE, BUT THE WAY THEY SCORE THE METRICS IS BASED ON, UH, CITY SIZE, SQUARE MILES AND CITY POPULATION.
WE'RE MULTIPLIED BY DIFFERENT MERIT NUMBER OTHER THAN OTHER CITIES THAT I HAVE THAT HAVE A MUCH SMALLER POPULATION.
BUT I THINK WE DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB.
WE REALLY ENJOYED SEEING NEIGHBORS, UH, GETTING OUT IN THE COMMUNITIES, UH, CLEANING UP THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS, AS WELL AS OUR MUCH LARGE EVENTS THAT WE HELD ACROSS THE CITY.
SO BECAUSE OF EFFORTS LIKE THIS, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN VOLUNTEERISM ACROSS THE CITY.
WE'RE NEARLY UP 50% FROM WHERE WE WERE LAST YEAR TOTALLY, UH, FOR LAST PHYSICAL YEAR.
SO CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW WE'VE ENGAGED OVER 2000, UM, VOLUNTEERS ACROSS THE CITY COMMITTING TO OVER 9,000 VOLUNTEER HOURS AND GIVING US AN ESTIMATED IN-KIND VALUE OF OVER $278,000.
SO WE'RE MIDPOINT TO THIS PHYSICAL YEAR, BUT WE'VE ALREADY SURPASSED, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE LAST YEAR FOR OUR TOTALS.
AND I THINK THAT'S COMMITTED UPON THE LEADERSHIP TEAM THAT WE HAVE AT CODE, BEING VERY SUPPORTIVE OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES, BUT ALSO ALL THE HARD WORK OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CODE REPS, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CODE LEADERSHIP TEAM, AND OUR NUISANCE ABATEMENT DIVISION FOR BEING A GREAT SUPPORT ARM IN OUR EFFORTS WITH HELPING WITH THIS NEXT SLIDE.
SO I WANT TO KIND OF GIVE US A RECAP ON THE NEXT SLIDE OF WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR, UM, KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL AFFILIATION.
SO I GAVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION, UH, DURING OUR LAST TENURE AND KIND OF GAVE US, UM, THE TIMELINE FOR WHERE WE WERE AS AGAIN, IN 2019.
WE BEGAN THIS STRATEGY OF WORKING WITH KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL ON A TRANSITION PLAN IN 2020.
[00:50:01]
KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL LEADERSHIP, UH, DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO TRANSITION THE ORGANIZATION OPERATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COCO COMPLIANCE.AND THROUGHOUT 2020, OUR COLIA METHOD WITH KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL AND THE NATIONAL PROGRAM OFFICE AND KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL, THE STATEWIDE PROGRAM AFFILIATE OFFICE TO DISCUSS A TRANSITION.
AND IN DECEMBER, 2020, THEY OFFICIALLY TRANSITIONED, UH, KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COCO COMPLIANCE.
SO THIS IS ON THE NEXT SLIDE IS JUST A COPY OF OUR AFFILIATION ACCEPTANCE, UH, FROM THE NATIONAL OFFICE OF KEEP AMERICA.
WHEN WE, AS WE RECEIVED OUR AFFILIATION, SO WE CONTINUE TO LAY IN, UH, GROUNDWORK STRATEGIES TO SEE HOW WE WOULD ACTUALLY MIRROR SOME OF OUR PROGRAMS TO HELP MEET THE GOALS AND MISSIONS OF KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL AND KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL WITH WHAT WE WERE DOING IN DEPARTMENT OF CO COMPLIANCE.
I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT THIS PAST IN APRIL OF 2023, WE RECEIVED OUR SILVER STAR STATUS, UH, FROM KEEP TEXAS.
SO WE'VE MADE TREMENDOUS PROGRESS OF GIVING THE GET, GETTING THE ORGANIZATION AND PROGRAM OFF THE GROUND.
OUR NEXT STATUS IS GOAL, WHICH WE, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST STATUS WHICH WE'LL BE SHOOTING FOR THIS PHYSICAL YEAR.
UH, WE'VE IMPLEMENTED OUR WASTE IN PLACE CURRICULUM WITH OVER 10 DALLAS I SD SCHOOLS, UH, DALLAS, I S D REALLY WELCOME THIS PROGRAM ON THEIR CAMPUS.
THEY ACTUALLY DID A, A NICE NEWS STORY, UM, IN THEIR DALLAS I S D PRESS, AND WE ALSO RECEIVED A NEWS COVERAGE STORY FROM N C FIVE ON KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL IN THE WASTE IN PLACE PROGRAM.
UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH OUR COMMS DEPARTMENTS ON SOME REBRANDING CONCEPTS FOR KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL.
AND WE'RE ALSO DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO OFFICIALLY ROLL OUT KEEP DALLAS BEAUTIFUL, WHILE CREATING A CITYWIDE LITTER CAMPAIGN THAT WILL COMPLIMENT OUR PROGRAMMING EFFORTS WITH KEEP DALLAS.
AND AT THIS TIME, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE IN REGARDING THE UPDATES THAT I PROVIDED SO FAR.
UM, I'LL START WITH MS. SCHULTZ.
UM, AS WE, AS I THINK WE KNOW THAT, UH, LITTER IN GENERAL HAS A DIRECT CORRELATION TO CRIME.
AND SO WHAT I'M WONDERING IS A COUPLE THINGS.
ONE IS, HAVE WE THOUGHT AT ALL ABOUT CREATING GRIDS LIKE WE HAVE FOR D P D IN TERMS OF THE HIGH LITTER AREAS? UM, SO I'D LIKE TO GET THAT RESPONSE AND THEN TALK ABOUT SPECIFIC AREAS.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
WHILE WE HAVE NOT WORKED DIRECTLY WITH, UH, D P D ON THE GRID SYSTEMS, I'M SURE THAT WE OVERLAP IN SOME AREAS, UH, THAT THEY ARE COVERING.
UH, WE ARE VERY, VERY AWARE OF AREAS THAT, UH, THEY ARE WORKING IN, BUT WE ARE ALSO, UH, VERY RESPONSIVE TO RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AS THEY REQUEST COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUPS, UH, FOR, FOR THOSE AREAS AS WELL.
YEAH, SO I'M JUST WONDERING IF WE TOOK A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO LITTER, WHETHER IT'S HAND IN HAND WITH D P D OR JUST IN GENERAL, WHETHER, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE CAN SUBMIT AREAS THAT ARE HIGH LITTER AREAS OR WHATEVER, BUT TAKING THAT CONCEPT OF SAYING WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF WE, UM, IF WE REIMAGINE FROM A LITTER PERSPECTIVE, UH, A PARTICULAR AREA IN THE CITY, THAT'S SOMETHING I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
AND WE'LL WORK WITH D P D, UM, AND THEIR TEAM TO SEE IF WE CAN LOOK AT A GRID SYSTEM TO SEE WHERE THEY'RE GOING, UH, AS WELL, UH, AND TO SEE HOW WE CAN COMPLIMENT, UH, ANY EFFORTS THEY'RE MAKING IN REDUCING CRIME.
SO FROM A LENDER PERSPECTIVE, IF I COULD, UM, THE CHAIR, UH, COMMITTEE, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT YOU JUST MADE ME THINK OF AN IDEA SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID WHEN WE DID THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
WE, UM, ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO DEVELOP A HEAT MAP THAT EXACTLY SHOWED TRENDS.
I THINK WITH THE DATA THAT WE HAVE NOW ON PICKING UP LITTER, WE COULD PROBABLY USE THAT SAME APPROACH AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE OF A CONCENTRATED, UH, RESOURCE OF EFFORTS WITH THAT TOOL.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE I WAS GOING WITH IT, BECAUSE I THINK WHEN PEOPLE SEE AN AREA THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, TERRIBLE AND LITTERED TO SUDDENLY BE BEAUTIFUL, IT'S A GAME CHANGER PSYCHOLOGICALLY, AND YOU BEGIN TO RETHINK THAT WHOLE AREA.
SO IF WE TARGET THAT, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S ONE IDEA.
THE OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAD IS, PARTICULARLY AMONG ART, COULD WE CREATE SOME PILOTS IN AREAS LIKE JOE'S CREEK OR SOME MOTHERS WHERE WE HAVE A COMBINATION OF HOMELESSNESS AND LITTER AND CRIME AND LIKE REALLY SATURATE AN AREA, UH, IN THERE.
SO I WAS JUST WONDERING, AGAIN, CARL SIMPSON, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.
SO WE'RE MORE THAN GLAD TO, TO TAKE ON THAT APPROACH.
I THINK THAT OUR STRUGGLE IS, UM, OUR BANDWIDTH AND HOW THIN WE'VE BEEN SPREAD.
[00:55:01]
WE DO HAVE THE, THE LITTLE REMOVAL TEAM THAT I THINK HAS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE THAT KEVIN MENTIONED.WE WE'RE LOOKING AT EXPANDING THAT, UH, WE HAVE SOME THINGS UP OUR SLEEVE WITH LEVERAGING FOLKS WHO ARE GETTING FUNDS THROUGH OUR HOMELESS SOLUTIONS TO BE ACTUALLY BEYOND PARTIAL PAYROLL, UH, THROUGH THE TEMP AGENCY TO EARN MONEY WHILE AT THE SAME TIME HELPING WITH THESE ABATEMENT EFFORTS THAT FOLKS IN THAT CAPACITY MIGHT BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH.
SO WE HAVE SOME IDEAS ON EXPANDING THAT.
UM, AND WE KNOW THERE'S A HUGE NEED, UH, BUT WE JUST HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON GARNERING THOSE RESOURCES SO WE CAN MEET THOSE CHALLENGES.
AND THE LAST AREA THAT I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS IS THE, IS THE COMMUNICATIONS AND THE PROMOTION OF THIS, YOU KNOW, UM, AND THAT IS, I GET A LOT OF, UH, EMAILS IN, IN OUR DISTRICT OF PEOPLE SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHY HAVEN'T THEY PICKED UP THE LITTER, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
AND I'M WONDERING WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S THE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH A, A REALLY CREATIVE CAMPAIGN, NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, SIMPLE PICKUP LITTER, BUT A REALLY CREATIVE CAMPAIGN AROUND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU KNOW, I, I ALWAYS RESPOND WHEN PEOPLE EMAIL ME ABOUT LITTER IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WALK MY DOG, I TAKE ONE OF THOSE LITTER TRASH PICKER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE CALLED, GRABBERS, WHAT ARE THEY CALLED? LITTER GRABBERS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M WALKING THE DOG, AND IF WE MADE THOSE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF COMMON PRACTICE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE COULD BRAND THEM AND HAND THEM OUT TO PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY WILLING TO, TO USE THEM WHEN THEY GO FOR THEIR WALKS IN NEIGHBORHOODS, PICK A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD AND TAKE A WALK AND WE'LL GIVE YOU A GRABBER, WHATEVER.
UM, SO THAT, BUT THAT WHOLE SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY TOWARD KEEPING OUR OWN CITY CLEAN AND NOT JUST SAYING OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD CLEAN UP AFTER US.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT COULD BE, UM, PART OF A, A CREATIVE CAMPAIGN AROUND THAT.
SO IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE MIDDLE, I WOULD SAY MAYBE 70% THROUGH A CON ENTIRE COMPLETE LITTER CAMPAIGN.
UH, IT INCLUDES THOSE TYPE, TYPE OF EFFORTS, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVERTISE, UH, AND GET THE MESSAGE OUT THROUGH MEDIUMS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, BANNERS ON THE SIDES OF OUR GARBAGE TRUCKS, UH, OUR CODE CARS, UM, PUSHING OUT THAT MESSAGE OF RESPONSIBILITY, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE ARE KIND OF HANDICAPPED AT NOT BEING ABLE TO DO THE ENFORCEMENT THAT SOME OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO.
WE FEEL THAT THE, THE ONLY OTHER WAY WE CAN REALLY GET TO FOLKS IS IN THE BEHAVIOR CHANGE IS THROUGH THAT CAMPAIGN.
AND SO THE CITY MANAGER HAS BEEN ADAMANT THAT WE FOCUS ON DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE LITTER CAMPAIGN THAT ENCOMPASSES A NUMBER OF MEDIUMS, INCLUDING BILLBOARDS, FLYERS, UH, PLACARDS ON THE SIDE OF VEHICLES AND, AND ALL THE OTHER ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE MIGHT HAVE.
I BELIEVE THAT THE COUNCIL WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO BE YOUR PARTNER ON THAT.
AND I ALSO THINK TO YOUR, YOUR COMMENT ABOUT THE, OUR HANDS BEING TIED.
UM, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS WHY OUR HANDS ARE TIED ON THAT, SO THAT AS THEY MOVE FORWARD WITH THEIR OWN, UH, YOU KNOW, DECISIONS MOVING FORWARD AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE STATE IS DOING, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO KNOW THAT.
UM, SO THAT INFORMATION WOULD ALSO BE VERY HELPFUL TO HA TO BE SHARED WHAT WE CAN'T DO AND WHY.
IN THAT CONNECTION, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU DEVELOP A GRAPHIC THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ISSUE DISTRICT NEWSLETTERS SO THAT WE CAN PUT THAT OUT TO OUR CONSTITUENTS AND GRANT GRANTED SOMEHOW WITH A CATCHPHRASE, LIKE, DON'T MESS WITH DALLAS
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS, UH, IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD? MR. RESENDEZ? MR. BEDU? OKAY.
UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
SO, UM, WE'RE ABOUT TO COME UP ON BUDGET.
SO ARE YOU GONNA PUT A LINE ITEM TO GET A REALLY ROBUST PROGRAM AROUND LITTER AND DIVERSION OF LITTER, UH, IN THIS BUDGET? CURRENTLY WE DON'T HAVE A FIXED LINE ITEM, BUT WE'RE EXIST, WE'RE LEVERAGING EXISTING RESOURCES, UH, RIGHT NOW WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE LEADERSHIP, UM, WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT TO SEE HOW WE COULD, UH, APPLY MORE RESOURCES TO EFFORTS LIKE THESE.
WELL, I HOPE THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS LISTENING BECAUSE I THINK THIS COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO INVEST IN A PROGRAM LIKE DON'T BECAUSE IT, WELL, IT'S, IT'S PUBLIC SAFETY.
IT'S, IT'S PR I MEAN, WHEN A COMMUNITY SEES THAT, UM, IT CHANGES, LIKE YOU SAID, IT CHANGES THE WHOLE FEELING WHEN, AND, AND I WILL SAY THERE'S LIT USUALLY AROUND THE STOPS AND IT'S SPILLING OVER AND YOU CALL DART
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AND IT FINALLY COMES AND GETS CLEANED UP, BUT TWO DAYS LATER IT HAPPENS AGAIN AND IT JUST GETS ALL THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.AND I THINK WE'VE GOTTA, UM, YOU KNOW, FIGURE OUT HOW TO, TO COMBAT THAT.
NOT JUST, NOT JUST THE ACTION OR REACTION, BUT ACTUALLY PROACTIVELY IN SAYING, HEY, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU, PUT IT IN ANOTHER RECIPROCAL IF IT'S FULL, YOU KNOW, JUST DON'T POP PILE ON OR JUST FIND ANOTHER RECIPROCAL.
SO I WOULD HOPE THAT, UM, AND CARL, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS FOR MONEY IN THE BUDGET AROUND A LITTER CAMPAIGN, ESPECIALLY IN CREEK BEDS BECAUSE IT ALL ENDS UP IN THE TRINITY, WHICH THEN ENDS UP IN THE GULF.
SO CUZ UHNO, UH, THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE IS YOU'VE GOT INITIATIVES GOING RIGHT NOW.
DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING TO GET YOU THROUGH THE END OF SEPTEMBER? YES, YES.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE LEVERAGING RESOURCES, UH, THAT WE HAVE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE HAVE A FULL CALENDAR PLAN THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, UH, THAT WILL TAKE US ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE END OF THE PHYSICAL YEAR.
UH, SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE PROGRAMS, UH, MOVING FORWARD AND WE CONTINUE TO SEE OUR NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERISM, UH, TO RISE AS WHICH WE'VE PUT A SPECIAL EMPHASIS AND EFFORTS ON GETTING NEIGHBORS OUT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, JUST PICKING UP CURBSIDE LITTER IS REALLY WORKING FOR US.
UH, THE MORE, UM, THE COMMUNITY SEES NEIGHBORHOODS OUT DOING MORE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S OUR HOPE THAT WE'LL SEE SOME OF THE THINGS, UH, DECREASE IN OUR CITY, INCLUDING CRIME, INCLUDING THE CURBSIDE LITTER, INCLUDING, UM, SOME OF THE, THE LITTER THAT'S ON THE MAJOR THEOR AFFAIRS.
AND WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE THAT COME OUT AND DO IT AND THEY SEE OTHERS THAT LITTER ON THE WORK THAT THEY JUST DID IT, THEY TAKE OWNERSHIP.
AND THEY'RE LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY TELL THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN'S FRIENDS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS DON'T THROW YOUR LETTER CUZ I JUST SPENT THREE HOURS SPEAKING UP
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS? OKAY, THANKS KEVIN.
I THINK WE'VE, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE A, A AGAIN, I THINK REITERATE A BUDGET ITEM IN, IN YOUR AREA TO MAKE SURE THAT A GOOD ROBUST PROGRAM CONTINUES.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
UM, I AM GONNA HOLD OFF C AND H TO THE END BECAUSE I WANNA GO AHEAD AND HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT, UM, THE BRIEFING ITEMS, SPECIFICALLY D ON THE LEGISLATIVE.
UH, IS IT JUST YOU CARLOS, OR IS OGA COMING AS WELL? AH, THERE'S CARRIE.
BECAUSE I THINK WE, UM, HAVE SOME, AND SO CAN YOU HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS? UM, I KNOW IT'S IN THE MEMO, BUT I THINK MOST OF SPECIFICALLY IT'S AROUND, UM, UH, ELECTRIC CUZ IT, THEN IT GOES INTO, WE CAN ALSO THEN BRING UP PROBABLY AFTER THAT GOING INTO THE LANDSCAPE EQUIPMENT UPDATE.
SO, BUT I KNOW THAT WE HAD SOME KEY INDICATORS THAT WE WORKED ON OR KEY LEGISLATIVE ITEMS THAT WE WORKED ON THIS SESSION.
AND SO CAN YOU DO A FINAL WRAP UP FOR THAT? YES, THANK YOU.
UH, CHAIRMAN CHAIRWOMAN BLACKMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
I'M CARRIE ROGERS, DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, AND I OF COURSE INVITE CAL ESTEE IN OUR CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO TO GRADE MY PAPER ON ANY OF THESE UPDATES.
UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL RELATED LEGISLATION ACTUALLY FARED BETTER THAN SOME OF OUR, UM, OTHER ISSUES, UM, THAT WERE DETRIMENTAL TO THE CITY THIS SESSION.
UM, THERE WERE SEVERAL BILLS THAT WERE FILED RELATED TO, UM, CONTROLLING THE USE OF ENERGY SOURCES.
UM, WE ALL REMEMBER THE LAWN POWERED, UM, OR GAS POWERED, UH, LAWN EQUIPMENT LEGISLATION, UM, THAT DID NOT PASS.
UM, HOWEVER, ONE OF THE BILLS THAT HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED OUR, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL RELATED PROGRAMS AND INCLUDING SEVERAL OF THE PROGRAMS HERE AT THE CITY IS THE MUCH TALKED ABOUT HOUSE BILL 2127, UM, THAT WOULD PREEMPT, UM, MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES, UM, ADVANCING ORDINANCES OR REGULATIONS THAT WOULD, UM, UH, SERVE TO IMPROVE OUR OWN ENVIRONMENT.
UM, AND I DON'T KNOW, EXCUSE ME, I DON'T KNOW IF CARLOS, UM, WISHES TO EXPOUND UPON THOSE OR, OR CAL, UM, WHY JUST SAY, YEAH.
UH, SO WHILE THE LANDSCAPE EQUIPMENT BILLS MAY NOT PASS, OF COURSE SB 10 17 DID PASS AND THAT, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTS THE LANDSCAPE EQUIPMENT TRANSITION PLAN.
UM, AND, AND I'M NOT SURE IF, IF CAL OR ANYBODY ELSE WANTS TO WEIGH IN ON THAT, BUT CERTAINLY I'M HAPPY TO DO SO AT THIS TIME.
MADAME CHAIR, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, CALK FROM THE DALLAS CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HOUSE BILL 10 17 PROHIBITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE FROM ADOPTING OR ENFORCING AN ORDINANCE ORDER REGULATION OR SIMILAR MEASURE THAT DIRECTLY PROHIBITS OR RESTRICTS THE USE SALE OR LEASE OF AN ENGINE BASED ON ITS FUEL SOURCE.
UM, SB 10 17 DOES NOT PRECLUDE CITIES FROM
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ENFORCING, UH, EXCUSE ME, FROM ENCOURAGING THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL SOURCES SO LONG AS THOSE EFFORTS DO NOT CONSTITUTE A PROHIBITION OR EFFECTIVE PROHIBITION OF THE ENGINE.THERE ARE ALSO EXCEPTIONS TO THE BILL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN TCEQ AGREEMENTS AND FOR ACTIONS THAT ONLY AFFECT CITY EQUIPMENT THAT ARE INCLUDED IN OR NECESSARY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE CLEAN AIR ACT.
SO, UH, I KNOW WE'LL GET THERE, BUT TO, TO DISCUSS THE LANDSCAPE EQUIPMENT TRANSITION PLAN.
OBVIOUSLY WE HAD, HAD BRIEFED YOU ON WANTING A PLAN THAT INCLUDES, UH, LEADING BY EXAMPLE, UH, TRANSITIONING OUT CITY, UH, CITY EQUIPMENT, UH, PROVIDING INCENTIVES FOR, UH, RESIDENTIAL OWNERS AND BUSINESSES AND, UH, UH, RECOMMENDING AN ORDINANCE.
UM, THE, THERE IS NOW A SIGNIFICANT RISK IF, UH, UH, WE, WE BELIEVE, AND CAL CAN SPEAK TO THAT, UH, IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH AN ORDINANCE, BECAUSE THAT MAY BE AN, UH, AN EFFECTIVE PROHIBITION ON, UH, UH, GAS POWERED EQUIPMENT, UH, REGARDLESS IF YOU'VE, UH, UH, FOCUSED THAT ORDINANCE ON, UH, AIR POLLUTION OR NOISE POLLUTION.
UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE WHEN IT COMES TO AN ORDINANCE RELATED TO THE LANDSCAPE EQUIPMENT TRANSITION.
AND SO, UM, IS THERE, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR CLIMATE PLAN AND WHAT HAPPENED AROUND THAT BILL? UH, YES MA'AM.
THAT WAS THE NEXT BILL I WAS GONNA TOUCH ON.
UM, SO REPRESENTATIVE CRADDICK OUTTA MIDLAND HAD FILED A BILL THAT WOULD HAVE ESSENTIALLY, EXCUSE ME, ALLERGIES, UM, THAT WOULD'VE ESSENTIALLY PROHIBITED CITIES FROM PASSING THEIR OWN CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, THE CITY WAS A, UH, THE CITY WAS A LEADER, UM, UH, IN OUR STATE AND, AND NATIONALLY IN ADVANCING A COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
UH, CHAIRWOMAN BLACKMAN, YOU CAME DOWN TO AUSTIN AND TESTIFIED BEFORE BOTH THE HOUSE AND SENATE COMMITTEES RELATED TO THESE PARTICULAR BILLS AND WORKED WITH THE AUTHORS IN GETTING THE LANGUAGE CHANGED TO WHERE IT WAS APPLICABLE TO JUST CLIMATE ACTION PLANS THAT WERE DEFINED IN CHARTER.
UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, OURS IS NOT DEFINED IN CHARTER.
SO REALLY THE WORK OF OUR, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP HERE AND OUR LEGISLATIVE FOLKS IN AUSTIN SPEAKING UP EARLY AND OFTEN, UM, WE'RE ABLE TO, TO BEAT BACK WOULD'VE BEEN A REALLY, UM, DETRIMENTAL BILL TO THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND WE DID HAVE LOTS OF PARTNERS IN DEFINING WHAT TYPE OF INSTRUMENT A CLIMATE PLAN IS, AND, UM, WE REINFORCED THAT.
WE DID NOT PUT IT IN OUR CHARTER.
AND SO THEY, UH, AGREED TO THAT CHANGE.
SO WE GOT, WE SAVED AND WE HAD GREAT PARTNERS IN THIS ACROSS THE STATE AND UNDERSTOOD THAT.
SO OUR CLIMATE PLAN IS HERE FOR TWO MORE YEARS.
IT'S ON TAPE IF YOU WANNA SEE IT.
UM, AND SO IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE, UM, THE LEGISLATIVE, UH, UPDATE? MS. SCHULTZ? YEAH, I'M JUST GOING TO PIGGYBACK ONTO THE, UM, LANDSCAPE EQUIPMENT.
MAY I DO THAT NOW OR DO YOU WANT TO COME BACK? YES, PLEASE.
SO IT'S OKAY IF WE DECIDE AS A CITY THAT WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD ON OUR PLANS, AND IT'S ALSO OKAY IF WE WANNA OFFER INCENTIVES, WE JUST CAN'T DO AN ORDINANCE AROUND IT.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT OUR, THAT IS OUR CURRENT RECOMMENDATION.
UH, AGAIN, UM, UH, UH, OFFERING INCENTIVES LIKE REBATES AND VOUCHERS IS MUCH MORE CLEAR WHEN IT, UH, COMES TO LEGAL RISK.
UM, WE BELIEVE AFTER SPEAKING WITH, AND I'M NOT SURE CAL, LEMME KNOW IF I GO TO GO TOO FAR, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN STILL RECOMMEND, UM, LEADING BY EXAMPLE OR TRANSITIONING OUT CITY EQUIPMENT.
UM, AS CAL JUST DISCUSSED, THERE IS SOME LANGUAGE IN THE BILL THAT SPECIFICALLY DISCUSSES, UH, CITY TRANSITIONS, AND I'M NOT SURE IF YOU WANNA, THE BILL DOES GIVE CITIES THE OPPORTUNITY TO OFFER REBATES AND OTHER INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. I THINK ANY ACTION THE CITY TAKES WOULD NEED TO BE CAREFULLY EVALUATED AND CAREFULLY DRAWN TO AVOID VIOLATING THE PROHIBITION ON A EFFECTIVE RESTRICTION OR EFFECTIVE PROHIBITION.
SO WE'D NEED TO CAREFULLY STUDY, UH, EVEN WORK WE DO ON OUR OWN EQUIPMENT, BUT WE BELIEVE WE CAN FIND WAYS TO DO THAT AND STILL COMPLY WITH SB 10 17.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, MR. RIDLEY? SO WILL WE NEED TO HAVE A CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZED PROGRAM FOR THE INCENTIVES, OR IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN DO ADMINISTRATIVELY? I, I BELIEVE THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO.
WELL, IT IS AN ACTION ITEM UNDER THE CCAP, SO
[01:10:01]
I, I THINK, I BELIEVE WE CAN DO IT ADMINISTRATIVELY.OF COURSE, WE HAD PROMISED TO BRING BEFORE, UH, THE COMMITTEE AND FULL COUNSEL A FULL PLAN INCLUDING ACTIONS THAT ARE ALREADY INCLUDED, UH, IN THE CCAP, BUT IT WOULD BE A PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO DO YOU STILL INTEND TO BRIEF THE FULL COUNSEL ON THAT? LIMITED BY WHAT THE LEGISLATURE HAS DONE.
IT, IT IS OUR GOAL TO, TO DO THAT AFTER, AFTER THE BREAK.
AND, UM, WILL PART OF THAT PROGRAM BE AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO REDUCE THEIR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE INCENTIVES THAT WE'RE OFFERING? YES.
UH, WE STILL PLAN ON, UH, HEAVILY UTILIZING OUR, UH, CCAP, UH, MEDIA CAMPAIGN.
AND YOU MAY HAVE HEARD US ON, UH, K E R A AND TELEMUNDO AND OTHER OUTLETS, UH, UH, ADVOCATING FOR, UH, UH, THE TRANSITION TO OUR RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES, AND WE'LL, WE CONTINUE TO, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
OF COURSE, UH, THERE ARE OTHER, UH, PRIORITIES AS A CITY, UH, AND WE JUST SPOKE ABOUT ONE, UH, THE LITTER CAMPAIGN IS ALSO ONE OF OUR CAMPAIGNS UNDER THE CCAP UH, MEDIA PLAN.
BUT, UH, TO YOUR POINT, WE, WE COULD CONTINUE TO, WE PLAN TO CONTINUE TO, UH, UH, UH, UH, USE THAT MESSAGE, UH, WITH, WITH, UH, OUR RESIDENTS AND AND BUSINESSES.
AND THAT IS, I FORGOT TO SAY THANK YOU.
I WANT TO THANK THE ENTIRE TEAM.
I WANNA THANK GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS.
I WANT TO THANK OUR CHAIR FOR CARRYING THE, THIS BALL FOR US AND REALLY, REALLY GREAT WORK.
UM, ANYBODY FOR IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD? OKAY, MS. ARNOLD.
OKAY, THEN WE'RE JUST GONNA MOVE ON TO HENSLEY FIELD, UH, SINCE YOU'VE BEEN IN INVOLVED WITH THAT, CARRIE.
UM, AND SO ITEM E UPDATE ON HENSLEY FIELD.
I BELIEVE WE'RE HAVING AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THIS TOMORROW.
SO, UH, THE MEMO IS PRETTY CLEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY, NOW WE'RE MOVING ON TO G AND I WILL FOLD THAT IN WITH H, G AND H, THE, UM, THE BOND PROGRAM SPECS PRESENTATION, UM, AND THEN FOLLOWING INTO THE BOND PROGRAM, SPECS FROM THE COMMISSION.
ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY.
AND NOW ITEM I, I'M SURE EVERYBODY GOT THIS, UH, THIS GREAT WRAP UP OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE AS FAR AS A COMMITTEE AND, UM, WHICH HOPEFULLY WILL GUIDE US IN THE NEXT WORK IN THE NEXT PHASE OF THE, FOR THE NEXT TERM.
SO, UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS YOU HAVE ON THE PROGRESS REPORT? THANKS CARL, FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER IN A TEAM.
I JUST WANNA SAY QUICKLY THANK YOU TO THE O E Q S TEAM.
THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AND THEN OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THAT MEMO.
YEAH, WE'VE DONE A LOT IN TWO YEARS AND THEN EVEN THE TWO YEARS GETTING US TO HERE.
SO, UH, WHICH IS WHY WE WENT DOWN AND FOUGHT HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT IT DIDN'T GET SCRAPED BECAUSE WE ARE DOING GOOD WORK IN, IN OUR, OUR REGION.
SO, UM, WITH THAT WE WILL MOVE OVER INTO ITEM C, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION UPDATE.
IS CATHERINE ON GOOD MORNING CHAIR COMMITTEE MEMBERS? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
KATHERINE BAAN, CHAIR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION.
UH, LAST MONTH WE HEARD BRIEFINGS ON THE CITY'S STORMWATER QUALITY PROGRAMS IN OUR ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE.
UH, COMMISSION MEMBERS ALSO TRAVELED TO AUSTIN TO TESTIFY IN SUPPORT OF A CUMULATIVE IMPACTS BILL, UH, THAT WAS FILED BY REPRESENTATIVE ANGIA THAT WAS BEFORE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.
UH, THE COMMISSION ALSO VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS COMMITTEE.
RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU TODAY ON THE 2024 BOND PROGRAM SPECIFICATIONS, UM, THAT WERE BRIEFED TO YOU LAST MONTH.
UH, TOGETHER WITH STAFF, WE'VE FINALIZED THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO APPOINT TWO NEW MEMBERS TO OUR TECHNICAL PANEL, WHICH WILL FILL OUR VACANCIES FOR THE ZERO WASTE POSITION AND THE GREEN SPACES POSITION.
UH, YOU'LL BE RECEIVING INFORMATION ON THAT RECOMMENDATION SOON.
UH, WE ARE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, FINALIZING APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO THE PUBLIC, TO OUR SUBCOMMITTEES, WHICH WILL ADD NEW VOICES AND PERSPECTIVES, UH, FROM THE COMMUNITY TO OUR WORK.
AND WE'VE BEEN REALLY PLEASED SO FAR WITH THE, UH, QUALITY AND THE NUMBER
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OF CANDIDATES THAT WE'VE, UH, RECEIVED SO FAR.SO I EXPECT THAT WE'LL BE FINALIZING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS BETWEEN OUR UPCOMING JUNE MEETING AND OUR NEXT REGULAR MEETING, WHICH IS GONNA BE IN AUGUST.
UH, THIS MONTH WE'RE GONNA HEAR BRIEFINGS ON THE SOLAR SWITCH, UH, THAT WE HEARD THIS MORNING IN HENSLEY FIELD IN OUR PROGRESS TO INCORPORATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE EQUITY INDICATORS THAT WERE RECOMMENDED TO THE RACIAL EQUITY PLAN.
UH, WE'VE BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY IN FLORAL FARMS TO ADDRESS SOME ONGOING ZONING ISSUES THAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING AND SOME CODE ENFORCEMENT VIOLATIONS, UH, THAT REMAIN UNRESOLVED.
WE'RE ALSO, UM, ESPECIALLY WANT TO THANK MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE FOR THEIR HARD WORK, UH, TOWARD THE CLOSURE OF THE JBI BATCH PLANT.
UM, OUR DISCUSSION WITH THE COMMUNITY AND G A F ARE STILL ONGOING.
WE MET A FEW WEEKS AGO, UH, WITH BOTH PARTIES AND HAVE ANOTHER MEETING SCHEDULED IN THE COMING WEEKS TO WORK OUT, UM, SOME, SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILS INCLUDING, UH, EVENTUAL REMEDIATION OF THAT SITE.
AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY, CHAIR.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. BAAN? OKAY.
UH, MOVING UP TO I UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS J AND K.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING THOSE TWO ITEMS COMING? ONE ON THE 14TH AND ONE ON THE 28TH? OKAY.
SEEING NO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, WE ARE GOING ON BREAK AND WE'LL SEE YOU BACK IN THE FALL.
AND THIS MEETING OF THE JUNE 6TH, 2023 ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE IS ADJOURNED AT 10 21.