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[Environmental Commission on March 12, 2025. ]
WE HAVE, UH, QUORUM.TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12TH, AND THE TIME IS NOW 5:41 PM I'M CHAIRWOMAN CATHERINE GURA, AND I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE DALLAS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO ORDER GURA.
WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION IN OUR MEETINGS IN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR PREFERENCE.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST TRANSLATION OR OTHER ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES, PLEASE CALL 4 6 9 7 2 4 6 5, UH, 3 8 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING, AND OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE APRIL 9TH AT 5:30 PM ALL RIGHT, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS EVENING.
HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH TO ALL OF MY FAVORITE WOMEN WHO SERVE ALONGSIDE ME ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND THE MEN THAT SUPPORT US.
WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL AND THE, UM, INVESTMENT THAT YOU MAKE TO, UH, THE CITY.
UH, JUST A REMINDER, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IS BACK IN SESSION, UH, AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING, UH, ANY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS, UM, UH, THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, YOU CAN SIGN UP TO RECEIVE BILL ALERTS AND TRACK THEM THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
UM, MISS BEVIN IS A GREAT RESOURCE FOR THAT, AND WE EXPECT A BUSY LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
SO IF YOU NEED HELP SIGNING UP, JUST LET UH, ONE OF US KNOW.
LET'S GET RIGHT INTO OUR ROLL CALL.
WHEN I CALL YOUR DISTRICT, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME IF YOU ARE PRESENT.
HOME AND DISTRICT TWO, MARK WOOTEN, DISTRICT FIVE.
WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK.
MOVING ON TO OUR TECHNICAL PANEL.
JACK WILL NOT BE ON TO THIS EVENING.
MOVING ON TO OUR HEALTH COMMITTEE.
MS. BAYOU? YOU, MS. THOMPSON? PRESENT.
MS. REAGAN MOTHER SAW PRESENT.
DID I MISS ANYTHING? ALL RIGHT.
MEMBERS, REMEMBER, IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY, YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR CAMERA ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE MEETING.
LET'S GO RIGHT INTO OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS THIS EVENING.
WE HAVE ONE REGISTERED SPEAKER RECITE OUR SPEAKER GUIDELINES.
SPEAKERS MUST OBSERVE THE SAME RULES OF PROPRIETY TO CORPSMAN GOOD.
CONDUCT A COUPLED MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION, ANY SPEAKER MAKING PERSONAL IMP PERTINENT PROLE OR SLANDEROUS REMARKS.
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WHILE ADDRESSING? THE COMMISSION WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE MEETING.EACH SPEAKER WILL BE GIVEN THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK WHEN YOUR TIME HAS ENDED.
PLEASE CONCLUDE YOUR COMMENTS.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS IAN SIEMENS, PLEASE, UH, JUST PUSH THE RED BUTTON RIGHT THERE.
STATE YOUR NAME AND THEN BEGIN YOUR COMMENTS.
HELLO, MY NAME IS IAN SIEMENS.
I AM THE DALLAS CITY HALL ADVOCATE FOR ENVIRONMENT TEXAS.
UH, WE ARE COMING HERE TODAY, UH, MYSELF AND ALSO REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS CONSERVATION ALLIANCE, UH, TO DO SOME EDUCATION ABOUT THE KAY BAILEY HUTCHINSON CONVENTION CENTER AND KIND OF OPEN A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
UH, ITS REMODEL AND BIRD FRIENDLY ACCOMMODATIONS FOR IT.
SO, UH, HOW MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH LIGHTS OUT TEXAS OR LIGHTS OUT? DFW? YES, THAT'S WHAT I EXPECTED.
A LOT OF FAMILIARITY IN THE ROOM.
SO, TEXAS CONSERVATION ALLIANCE, AS WELL AS AUDUBON, TEXAS, HAS BEEN DOING A REGULAR SURVEY EVERY MIGRATION SEASON, SPRING AND FALL THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN DALLAS SINCE 2020.
WHAT THEY'VE FOUND IS THAT THERE IS ONE BUILDING THAT REALLY STANDS OUT AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY.
THE K BAILEY HUTCHINSON CONVENTION CENTER, UH, THE CONVENTION CENTER IS A APPROXIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR 30% OF THE DEAD BIRDS THAT ARE FOUND DURING THOSE SURVEYS.
UH, THAT'S A REALLY TERRIBLE NUMBER, AND A HUGE PORTION OF THOSE ARE DUE TO CERTAIN DESIGN ELEMENTS LIKE A GLASS WALKWAY, UH, THAT IS A, A SKYWALK.
UH, BIRDS, UNLIKE HUMANS ARE NOT ABLE TO DERIVE CONTEXT FROM GLASS.
THEY SEE REFLECTIONS OR THEY SEE TRANSPARENCY, AND THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THERE IN THE WAY.
UH, THIS LEADS TO A LOT OF BIRD STRIKES ALONG WITH LIGHTS THAT ARE SHINING DIRECTLY AT THEM WHENEVER THEY'RE MIGRATING AT NIGHT.
SO WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE WANT TO OPEN THE CONVERSATION AT THIS STAGE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER REMODEL AND REDESIGN, UH, TO GET FEEDBACK FROM ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONERS, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ABOUT POSSIBLY WHAT STEPS COULD BE SUPPORTED TOWARDS GETTING, UH, A BIRD FRIENDLY REMODEL WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER.
WE WANT DALLAS TO BE BIRD FRIENDLY.
DALLAS IS GLOBALLY IMPORTANT FOR BIRDS, UH, AROUND ONE THIRD TO ONE QUARTER OF MIGRATORY BIRDS PASS THROUGH TEXAS.
WE HAVE MORE THAN 600 SPECIES SEEN HERE IN TEXAS.
EITHER WE, ACCORDING TO THE, THE YEAR, EITHER WE'RE TIED WITH CALIFORNIA, OR WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR BIRD DIVERSITY.
WE HAVE A LOT OF IMPORTANT SPECIES COMING THROUGH HERE.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE BIRDS ARE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THEIR DESTINATION ACCORDING TO RESEARCH.
UH, DALLAS IS THE THIRD MOST DANGEROUS AREA IN THE UNITED STATES FOR BIRDS.
THIS IS LARGELY DUE TO ALL OF THAT GLASS, ALONG WITH LIGHTS SHINING.
THE SOLUTIONS TO THIS CAN BE RELATIVELY COST EFFECTIVE.
SO FOR LIGHTS, THAT'S VERY EASY, JUST POINT THEM DOWNWARDS OR TOWARDS ACTUAL OBJECTS.
UH, MAYBE TURN THE COLOR TONE FROM THAT BRIGHT WHITE BLUE TO SOMETHING MORE OF AN ORANGE TONE.
THAT'S ALL PRETTY COST NEUTRAL FOR WINDOWS.
THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT, BUT THAT'S WHY WE'RE STARTING NOW.
BECAUSE WITH WINDOWS, EITHER YOU CAN CHANGE DESIGN ELEMENTS AND ARCHITECTURE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S MORE OBVIOUS THAT THOSE ARE FLAT SURFACE, UH, ACTUAL SURFACES FOR BIRDS.
OR YOU CAN IMPLEMENT THINGS LIKE BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN DO BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS.
THAT IS TO PUT SOME LITTLE STICKERS ON THOSE WINDOWS, ESPECIALLY THE PROBLEM WINDOWS.
ALTHOUGH SOME ARCHITECTS MAY NOT LIKE THE IDEA OF PUTTING STICKERS ON THEIR BUILDINGS.
UH, YOU CAN ALSO GET ETCHED GLASS.
THIS KIND OF GLASS HAS SOME ETCHING ON THE OUTSIDE.
THEY'RE LITTLE TEENY TINY DOTS WHERE FROM ABOUT 10 FEET AWAY, HUMANS CAN'T REALLY SEE THEM VERY WELL.
THEY DON'T SHOW UP IN PHOTOS VERY WELL.
BUT I'VE PASSED AROUND SOME ONE PAGERS TO ALL OF YOU.
UH, AND IF YOU DID NOT GET ONE, I CAN GIVE ONE TO YOU AFTERWARDS.
UH, THOSE HAVE SOME PHOTOS OF WHAT THESE, UH, DESIGNS LOOK LIKE.
UH, ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, WE'VE SEEN THAT THIS IS A SIMILAR PROBLEM THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE.
IN NEW YORK CITY, THE JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER WAS THEIR NUMBER ONE KILLER FOR BIRDS.
UH, JUST LIKE HERE IN DALLAS, UH, ALSO IN CHICAGO, MCCORMICK PLACE WAS THEIR NUMBER ONE KILLER FOR BIRDS.
WHAT BOTH OF THOSE CITIES DID IS WHENEVER THEY INITIATED A REMODEL, THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS.
THEY HAVE REDUCED BIRD COLLISIONS BY 90 TO 95% AT EACH OF THOSE FACILITIES.
WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT, BUT WE ARE ALSO VERY WILLING TO OPEN A CONVERSATION, TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THOSE EXPECTED COSTS COULD BE LIKE.
WHAT WE DO NOT WANT TO DO IS STAND IN THE WAY OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
WHAT WE INSTEAD WANT TO DO IS PARTNER AT THIS EARLY STAGE, COLLABORATE AND MOVE FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN BE AS COST NEUTRAL AND, UH, NOT DELAY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
I'LL BE STICKING AROUND FOR QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS.
UH, AND I'LL ALSO HAND AROUND SOME EXTRA ONE-PAGER IN CASE YOU DIDN'T GET ONE.
FOR THOSE ONLINE, I'LL ALSO SEND A DIGITAL
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COPY.ANYBODY THAT'S VIRTUAL THAT WANTS A COPY OF THAT, WE CAN SEND IT OUT VIA EMAIL AFTER, UH, THE MEETING.
COMMISSIONER WOOTEN, I SEE YOU ALL, ALL LET'S MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 12TH, 2025 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MEETING.
IS THERE A MOTION IT'S BEEN MOVED.
IS THERE A SECOND? I, I SECOND.
LET'S GET RIGHT INTO OUR BRIEFING ITEM.
ITEM A IS AN URBAN HEAT ISLAND PROJECT ANNUAL UPDATE.
UM, I SEE THAT, UH, OUR INTERIM DIRECTOR WHITE IS NOT WITH US THIS EVENING.
SO IF Y'ALL WILL GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AND GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UH, CHAIR OF VICE CHAIR ENVIRONMENT COMMISSIONERS.
I'M THE INTERIM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR OEQS.
WITH ME TODAY ARE MY TWO COLLEAGUES, UH, MARITZA FIGE, AND ONG HEMING, WHO WILL BE PRESENTING AN UPDATE ON THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND, UH, STUDY FROM LAST YEAR.
UH, I REQUEST THAT YOU HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS TILL THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO, TODAY WE'LL BE TELLING YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY WE CONDUCTED THIS STUDY, OUR PURPOSE.
WE'LL DO A BACKGROUND AND THEN GO THROUGH THE 2024 FINDINGS.
AND THEN WE'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH WE HAD DONE, WHICH IS THE JURISDICTIONAL SCAN, AND WE'LL TELL YOU ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.
SO, THE PURPOSE, WE WANTED TO COMPLETE THE MAPPING FOR THAT.
WE STARTED IN 2023 AND IDENTIFYING THE HOTSPOTS IN DALLAS.
WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN PREPARE FOR EXTREME HEAT.
SO THIS GIVES US A LOT OF DATA TO SHARE INTERNALLY AND DEVELOP DIFFERENT PLANS THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN THE NEXT STEPS.
WE ALSO WANT TO LOOK FOR EQUITABLE WAYS TO IMPLEMENT COOLING SOLUTIONS IN OUR COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITIES, AND ADVANCE OUR CCAP GOALS AND TARGETS BACKGROUND.
SO, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, WE STARTED THIS URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY IN 2023.
IN AUGUST OF 2023, WE MAPPED 100 SQUARE MILES OF THE CITY.
THAT WAS A MATCHING FUNDS GRANT WITH THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.
AND SO WE WANTED A COMPLETE MAPPING, UH, OF THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO IN AUGUST, 2024, WE COMPLETED PHASE TWO, WHERE WE MAPPED ABOUT 250 SQUARE MILES.
AND SO NOW WE HAVE 100% OF THE CITY OF DALLAS MAPPED, WHICH IS ABOUT 350 SQUARE LAND MILES.
SO SOME OF THE CCAP GOALS AND TARGETS THAT, UM, OUR URBAN HEAT ISLAND APPLIES TO IS GOAL SIX, TO REDUCE THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND INDEX AND ALSO INCREASE OUR CANOPY COVER, WHICH WILL BOTH, UM, HELP WITH THE, THE EFFECT THAT'S FELT FROM THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND.
GOAL SEVEN TO, UM, BY REDUCING OUR URBAN HEAT ISLAND, WE CAN IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH BY DECREASING RISK OF HEAT, HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES AND DEATHS, REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM INCREASED ENERGY CONSUMPTION.
AND FOR GOAL EIGHT, UH, FOR DALLAS COMMUNITIES TO BREATHE CLEAN AIR, WE HOPE THAT BY REDUCING THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, WE CAN IMPROVE AIR QUALITY BY DECREASING THE OSO FORMATION AND ALSO REDUCING PARTICULATE MATTER.
AND SO THOSE BOTH CAN TRIGGER AN INCREASE OR MORE INTENSE RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES.
SO WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR, ON AUGUST 10TH, 2024, WE HAD ABOUT A HUNDRED VOLUNTEERS COME AND THEY WERE GIVEN TRAINING.
AND THEN ON THE DAY OF THE CAMPAIGN, THEY WERE GIVEN AIR SENSORS TO MOUNT ON THEIR CARS.
AND SO THOSE SENSORS MEASURED AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, TIME, AND LOCATION BY GPS COORDINATES.
AND THOSE WERE TAKEN EVERY SECOND DURING THE THREE HOURS THAT WERE STUDIED, WHICH WERE SIX TO 7:00 AM THREE TO 4:00 PM AND SEVEN TO 8:00 PM THIS IS THE STUDY AREA WE HAD FOR 2024, THAT CENTRAL DALLAS AREA THAT WAS, UH, THAT UC BLANK IS WHAT WAS COVERED IN 2023.
SO THE REMAINDER OF THE CITY, WE SELECTED
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POINTS OF INTEREST.SO WE USED, UH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SCREEN TOOL DEFINED, UM, POINTS OF INTEREST IN THOSE COMMUNITIES.
AND WE ALSO, UM, SELECTED PARKS, LIBRARIES, UM, REALLY BUSY AREAS LIKE THE WATERPARK, THE ARBORETUM, UM, SCHOOLS, DALLAS EXECUTIVE AIRPORT.
AND SO ALL OF THOSE BLUE DOTS ARE POINTS OF INTEREST THAT OUR ROUTES, UM, COVERED.
AND THEN THE BLUE, THE TWO YELLOW STARS ARE THE HUBS THAT WE HAD.
SO WE HAD TWO DIFFERENT HUBS WHERE VOLUNTEERS WENT, DEPENDING ON WHICH ROUTE THEY WERE GOING TO DRIVE.
WE HAD ONE AT DALLAS EXECUTIVE AIRPORT, AND THEN ONE AT SMU.
WE ALSO HAD A PARTNERSHIP WITH TEXAS TREES FOUNDATION IN 2024.
WHILE WE HAD OUR VOLUNTEERS DRIVE THE ROUTES, THEY HAD 30 VOLUNTEERS TAKING SURFACE TEMPERATURE READINGS VERSUS OURS.
WE TOOK AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE READINGS.
AND SO THEY HAD THEIR VOLUNTEERS, UM, WITH, UH, THE INFRARED THERMOMETERS GO THROUGH THE SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL DISTRICT, WHITE ROCK, LAKE FAIR PARK IN THE OAKLAND CEMETERY, TAKING DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE READINGS THROUGHOUT THE SAME TIMES WE WERE CONDUCTING OUR STUDY NEXT.
SO ONE OF THE STUDIES THAT THEY DID WAS THEY COMPARED SHADED VERSUS UNSHADED TEMPERATURES, AND THEY FOUND THAT SHADING DOES DECREASE SURFACE TEMPERATURES DURING THE HOTTEST TIMES OF THE DAY.
SO YOU CAN SEE FROM THREE TO 4:00 PM WHICH IS ONE OF THE STUDY TIMES, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FROM SHADED VERSUS UNSHADED.
SO SOME UNSHADED AREAS WERE AS COOL AS ABOUT 80 DEGREES WHILE THE HOTTEST WERE, UM, UNSHADED AREAS ALMOST TO 150 DEGREES IN THE EARLY MORNING.
UM, BUT AS SUN EX, UH, SUN EXPOSURE INCREASES THROUGHOUT THE DAY, THERE REALLY IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHADED VERSUS UNSHADED.
ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY LOOKED AT WAS LANDSCAPE VERSUS HARDSCAPE MATERIALS, AND THEY FOUND THAT HARDSCAPE MATERIALS ARE HOTTER THAN LANDSCAPE MATERIALS.
SO SOME OF THE LANDSCAPE MATERIALS THAT THEY TOOK BREEDINGS OF WERE GRASS, TREES, MULCH, WATER, LANDSCAPING SOIL, AND THE HARDSCAPE MATERIALS INCLUDED ASPHALT, WOOD, CONCRETE, GRANITE, BRICK, METAL, PLASTIC CHIRP, MORE OF THE THE MANMADE STUFF.
AND SO THEY WERE, THEY DID NOTICE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARDSCAPE VERSUS LANDSCAPE.
SO SOME OF OUR INITIAL OBSERVATIONS FOR THE 2024 STUDY, UH, SHOWED US THAT THE MAX TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIAL WAS 12 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
UM, AND THIS WAS DURING THE DAY.
SO FROM OUR SECOND AND THIRD WINDOWS FROM THREE TO FOUR, AND THEN ALSO SIX TO SEVEN, UH, WE ALSO NOTICED THAT THERE IS, UH, INCREASING TEMPERATURES AROUND THE FREEWAY INFRASTRUCTURE CONCENTRATED HEAT THROUGHOUT THE DAY, UM, IS ALONG THE TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS.
AND THAT'S JUST DUE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THEY LAY IN AREAS WITH AREAS WITH INDUSTRIAL AREAS ALSO SEEM TO BE A POCKET OF HIGHER TEMPERATURES, UH, THAT AFFECT NEAR, UH, NEAR FORESTED AREAS AND ALSO OTHER ADJACENT AREAS, UH, TO CONSTRUCTION IN INDUSTRIAL SITES.
BUT ON THE, ON A POSITIVE NOTE, WE DID SEE THAT, UH, THE PRESENCE OF TREES THAT PROVIDED CANOPY COVER OF ANY KIND AND ALSO PARK IT PARKS GREEN SPACE, UH, SERVE TO ALLEVIATE HEAT IN URBAN, UH, DENSE AREAS, BOTH COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL.
UH, SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF UPLOADING OUR 2024 DATA INTO THE INTERACTIVE MAP THAT'S AVAILABLE ONLINE ON DAS CLIMATE ACTION.COM.
FROM THERE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SELECT THE TIME OF DAY, EXPLORE DIFFERENT POINTS OF INTEREST IN VARIOUS TEMPERATURE MODELS, UH, TO SHOW THE EXACT TEMPERATURE AT ANY GIVEN TIME AT ANY GIVEN LOCATION.
UH, WE'RE PARTNERING WITH CAPA STRATEGIES FOR THIS PROJECT.
UH, THE DATA OF THE 2024 STUDY IS CURRENTLY ON THEIR SERVERS, AND THEN ONCE OUR CONTRACT WITH THEM ENDS AT THE END OF 2025, WE'LL BE TRANSFERRING IT OVER TO CITY OF DALLAS SERVERS, UH, LATER THIS FALL.
SO THE 2024, UH, THE, THE AFTERMATH, EXCUSE ME, THE JOINT DATA FROM 2024 AND 2023, I WILL BE AVAILABLE TO SHOW THE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENTIALS FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
UM, YOU CAN SEE ON THE MAP OF THE SCREENSHOT JUST HERE, UM, IN SOME OF THE HOTTEST POINTS, THE HOTTEST AVERAGES THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
UH, HE'S CONCENTRATED IN THE NORTHWEST CORRIDOR OF THE CITY, ESPECIALLY IN DOWNTOWN AND SURROUNDING INDUSTRIAL AREAS SOUTH ALONG I 35 SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, OF THESE KEY, UH, BUILT URBAN DENSE PLACES.
AND THAT'S JUST DUE TO THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH, UH, CONSTRUCTION
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HAPPENS.UH, SOME OF THE COOLER AREAS THAT JUST STAND OUT ARE SOUTHEAST DALLAS, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE TRAINING RIVER, THE GREAT TRAINING FOREST AND SURROUNDING AREAS.
THE GREEN SPACE IMPACT THE PARK IMPACT FOR COOLING.
UH, THE CITY IS VERY APPARENT IN THESE AREAS, AND WE CAN SEE HERE THE MODELS THAT STRETCH AT ALL POINTS OF THE DAY.
NOW, WE'RE WORKING WITH, WITH DBI TO INCLUDE MORE FACTORS AND MORE LABELS INTO THIS INTERACTIVE MAP, UH, AT THE MOMENT, WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR RE FOR RELEASE, UH, LATER NEXT MONTH.
SO HERE, JUST A BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE HOTTEST AREAS, UH, IN DALLAS JUST BY, UH, DISTRICT.
UH, HERE'S A COMPREHENSIVE MAP THAT HA UH, OUTLINES THAT, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH DBI TO HAVE THIS DATA LAYER INCLUDED FOR MORE DISTINGUISHABLE IDENTIFYING MARKERS WITHIN THE CITY, UM, AND INCLUDING THE DISTRICT BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES.
UM, FROM OUR INITIAL ANALYSIS, WE'RE ALSO IDENTIFYING, UH, THE HEAT IN SOME OF THE KEY AREAS THAT MARISSA MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WERE SOME OF THE BENCHMARKS OF, UH, CO-LOCATION, UH, FOR, FOR MAPPING AND THE WRAPS, MAPS INCLUDED.
UH, THIS MAP HERE IS, AGAIN, THE AVERAGE HEAT THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
THIS IS THE HOTTEST, UH, HOTTEST TEMPERATURES RECORDED AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT OF THESE AREAS.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, UH, THIS INFORMATION JUST DUE TO SOME INTERNAL ANALYSIS OVERLAPPING WITH, UH, GOOGLE EARTH AND GOOGLE MAPS TO, IN PREPARATION FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
UH, BUT THE MORE DETAILED INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE, UH, ONLINE, UH, ONCE IT'S RELEASED LATER THIS MONTH.
ANOTHER SERVICE CAPITALIST STRATEGY PROVIDED WAS THEY CONDUCTED A JURISDICTIONAL SCAN, UH, WHICH AIMED TO REVIEW EXISTING CITY CODES, PLANS, POLICIES, ORDINANCE, UM, THAT COULD BE RELEVANT TO HEAT MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION EFFORTS.
UM, THIS ANALYSIS INCLUDED RECOMMENDATIONS OF HOW THE CITY OF DALLAS CAN ADDRESS URBAN HEAT FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE, FOCUSING ON HIGH RISK GROUPS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED BY THE EJ SCREENING TOOL.
UM, THE FACTORS ARE INCLUDED HERE, UH, BUT THE MAIN ONES ARE QUALITY OF LIFE, THE CHALLENGES THAT IMPACT, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD'S, CHARACTER AND LABILITY.
AIR QUALITY AND OZONE ARE EXTREMELY HIGH ON OUR LIST AS WELL.
UM, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, REDUCING THE DEPENDENCY ON PERSONAL VEHICLE TRAVEL TO REDUCE WASTE HEAT, UM, FROM VEHICLES, AND THEN ALSO INCLUDING FACTORS ABOUT WALKABLE AND BIKEABLE NEIGHBORHOODS TO REDUCE, UH, THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT.
SO JUST THESE ARE, UH, HERE ARE SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT JURISDICTIONAL SCAN, UH, SUGGESTS THAT WE DO.
UH, ONE OF THE MAIN ONES IS THAT WE CONDUCT OUR URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY EVERY FIVE YEARS, UH, TO FIRST EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR INTERVENTION AND MITIGATION EFFORTS, BUT THEN ALSO TO ACCOUNT FOR THE URBAN SPRAWL THAT WE ARE SEEING WITHIN THE AREA.
UM, ADDITIONAL, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE INTEGRATING THE MAP INTO, UH, THE MAP AND DATA INTO CITY PLANNING, INCORPORATING HEAT SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IN FUTURE CODE AMENDMENTS.
UM, THIS DATA ALSO INCLUDES EXPANSION OF TREE COVERING, UM, WITHIN OUR ONGOING, UH, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONVERSATIONS.
UM, ANOTHER IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION THAT THAT'S CAPTURED HERE, UM, IN THE JURISDICTION OF SPAN IS TO, UH, MAKE CONSIDERATIONS FOR WATERSHED AND IMPROVING STORM WATER MANAGEMENT.
KEY PRIORITY IS, UH, FOR THE CITY AS WELL IS TO DEVELOP A HEAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN, PARTICULARLY IN AREAS OF HIGH INTENSITY AND DEVELOPMENT.
UH, AND THEN ALSO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME OF OUR, UH, DEPARTMENTS AS WELL THAT FALLS INTO THEIR PURVIEW IS PROVIDING SHADE ALONG BIKING AND PRODUCTION PATHS.
UH, IMPROVING COMMUNITY GARDENS IN URBAN AGRICULTURE TO INCREASE GREEN SPACE OPPORTUNITIES AND OPTIONS IN TARGETED AREAS.
SO HERE'S A LIST OF, UH, THE PLANS AND THE POLICIES, THE ORDINANCES, UH, THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE JURISDICTIONAL SCAN.
THERE'S ABOUT 30 THAT ARE INCLUDED OVERALL.
UM, AND THIS SERVED AS A BASELINE FOR THE HEAT POLICY FOR ITS CRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE EFFORTS THAT CAPA STRATEGIES, UH, TOOK INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, THE NEXT STEPS INCLUDES US SHARING OUR FINDINGS WITH OTHER INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS, UM, FROM A PARKS AND RECREATION STANDPOINT, RECOMMENDING OF USING THE DATA INTO THE EXISTING TREE PLANTING STRATEGIES OUTLINED, OUTLINED BY THE URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN.
ALSO, UH, MEETING WITH THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, PRESENTING THE DATA METHODOLOGY TO ENSURE THAT THIS HEAT, UH, URBAN HEAT ISLAND DATA IS INTEGRATED TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HEAT ACTION PLAN, UH, WHICH WILL IDENTIFY COOLING SHELTERS AND, UH, PRIORITY AREAS.
ADDITIONALLY, WE'RE GONNA BE COLLABORATING WITH THE OFFICE OF HOMELESS SOLUTIONS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE HEAT ISLAND URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, UH, TO
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IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT DALLAS RESIDENTS, UH, INTERNALLY WITHIN OEQS.UH, WE'LL BE USING THIS DATA TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR ONGOING PROJECTS TO SUPPORT WEATHERIZATION, UH, DEPENDING, UH, TO IMPROVE HOME EFFICIENCY, UH, FUNDING PERMITTED.
UM, THE STATE IS ALSO HELPING US IDENTIFY DIFFERENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, INCLUDING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, UH, TO SUPPORT AND FUND THIS PROJECT, UM, IN, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH CCAP MOVING FORWARD.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE'LL CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH, UH, SMART SURFACE COALITION TO ADVANCE THESE, UH, TO ADVANCE THESE EFFORTS IN OUR INTERNAL, UH, DELIBERATIONS AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT.
UM, ONE NEXT STEP THAT'S NOT LISTED ON THE PRESENTATION IS WE WILL BE HAVING A URBAN HEAT ISLAND PRESS CONFERENCE THAT IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 3RD AT 10:30 AM UM, IN THE CITY, CITY HALL LOBBY.
AT THAT POINT ON THAT DAY, WE'LL BE, UH, SHOWCASING THE STUDY AND WE'LL BE LEASING ALL OF THE DATA ON DAS CLIMATE ACTION.COM, WHICH WILL INCLUDE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CAPA STRATEGIES, THE INTERACTIVE MAP, ALL DATA INCLUDED IN THE JURISDICTIONAL JURISDICTIONAL SCAN.
AND THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATIONS, AND WE ARE OPEN TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS FROM.
ALL RIGHT, CHAIR WALLACE, GO AHEAD.
UM, SO YOU MENTIONED ENERGY EFFICIENCY UPGRADES AND WEATHERIZATION.
UM, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PILOT, UH, PROGRAM WRAPPED IN FALL, WHAT PLANS ARE THERE FOR EXTENDING THAT INTO A PROGRAM? WE, WE ARE LOOKING INTO THAT ONE OF THE MAJOR FACTORS IS, IS FUNDING.
UM, BUT WITH OUR URBAN HEAT ISLAND STUDY AND THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION AROUND HEAT, THERE WILL BE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO, UH, FIND DIFFERENT AVENUES TO FUND TO MAKE THAT A, A SUSTAINABLE PROGRAM WITH OUR OFFICE.
AND I'D, I'D LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT THAT BECAUSE, UM, MY NONPROFIT IS CURRENTLY DOING THOSE KINDS OF UPGRADES AS WE FIND FUNDING AS WELL, AND WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE LOWEST INCOME AREAS, UH, DR.
SO I'VE GOT SEVERAL QUESTIONS.
FIRST OF ALL, UH, SOME OF YOUR, UH, OF WHAT WE HAVE IS 23 AND SOME OF IT IS 24.
DID WE OVERLAP ANY AREAS TO SEE IF THERE WAS A DELTA BETWEEN THE AREAS A CHANGE, IF THERE WAS A, YOU KNOW, AN ADJUSTMENT IN THE AREAS WE DID NOT.
WE WANTED TO COMPLETE THE TOTAL CITY MAPPING, SO WE HAD TO FOCUS ON FIRST 100 SQUARE MILES THE FIRST YEAR, AND THEN THE REMAINDER THE SECOND YEAR.
BUT AS ONG SAID, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IS TO REPEAT EVERYTHING IN ABOUT FIVE YEARS, AND, AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A RECOMMENDATION OF BASICALLY REPEATING IT.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE CHANGE OVER TIME.
AND REALLY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE, FOR THE DATA.
I REALLY SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT FIRST.
UM, HOW RELIABLE IS THE METHODOLOGY THAT WE USED AND IS THERE SOME SORT OF SCIENTIFIC VALIDATION THAT THIS IS A VALID METHODOLOGY? THEY DO PROVIDE AN R SQUARE VALUE, UNFORTUNATELY, I DUNNO OFF, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN LOOK IT UP FOR YOU AND SHARE IT WITH YOU AFTER THE PRESENTATION.
WE CAN SHARE THEIR EXACT METHODOLOGY WITH YOU, BUT, UM, WE EXPECT IT TO BE PRETTY ACCURATE.
AND, UM, I HAVE ONE MORE, I'VE, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT, UM, IN THE, UM, ITEMS, UH, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE NONPERMEABLE SURFACES THAT, UH, YOU HAD CONCRETE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE HEARD IN THE PRODUCTION IS, IS THAT THERE'S MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CONCRETE AND NON ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.
BUT DOES THAT REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF HEAT? IF WE DON'T KNOW, THAT WOULD JUST BE A, A QUESTION TO LOOK AT.
'CAUSE IT WOULD GIVE US ANOTHER REASON TO PUSH AWAY FROM THE PRESENT METHODOLOGIES, WHICH ARE PREDOMINANTLY USED AND WHICH PRODUCE TERRIBLE HEALTH, HEALTH OUTCOMES FOR PEOPLE.
DO WE KNOW? SO, NO, WE DO NOT KNOW.
AND THAT, THAT BRINGS UP A GOOD POINT ABOUT, UH, FURTHERING, UH, SOME OF THE RESEARCH INTO THE STUDY.
SOME OF THE SURFACES AND MATERIALS THAT WERE STUDIED BY TEXAS TREES, UM, ARE THE, ARE THE BROAD SCOPES.
SO FOR CONCRETE IS ONE, AND THEN PLASTICS ARE, ARE ANOTHER WHERE DIFFERENT TYPES CAN, UH, HAVE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS HOLD DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEAT EMBEDDED CARBON, ET CETERA, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
SO WE ARE AWARE OF THAT, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK INTO FURTHER DOWN THE LINE.
AND THEN FINALLY, I ALSO WANNA ADD, SORRY TO THAT, THAT THAT'S WHERE OUR
[00:30:01]
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CER SMART SURFACE BUSINESS COALITION COMES IN.THEY RECOMMEND DIFFERENT TYPES OF MATERIALS AND SEEING THE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE AND THE MATERIAL VIEWS IN THEM.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, THE, UM, A COMMENT THAT WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU'VE DONE AND WHAT YOU'VE DONE HERE IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF THE, UM, THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF DATA EMERGING ON HEALTH OUTCOMES AND THE EFFECT OF EXCESS HEAT AND OF GLOBAL WARMING.
AND I WOULD POINT OUT THAT WITHIN THE LAST MONTH, THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HAD AN ARTICLE, AND WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, THE JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS, WHICH IS THE MAJOR JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, POINTED TO ADVERSE EFFECTS ON CHILDREN FROM THE RESULTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO, UM, PRODUCING THIS, AND IT ALSO BRINGS UP THE POINT THAT ONE OF OUR TOPICS AS WE GO FORWARD SHOULD BE TO BREAK DOWN THE SILOS THAT EXIST BETWEEN OUR ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND OUR HEALTH DATA TO REALLY BE ABLE TO QUANTITATE HOW MUCH THESE HEAT ISLANDS ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THINGS LIKE ASTHMA VISIT RATES FOR CHILDREN OR, UM, UH, A ADULT, UH, HEART DISEASE OR OTHER EFFECTS OF, OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
SO YOU'RE DOING VALUABLE WORK.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO TO COMMISSIONER HOLMAN, MR. MARQUIS, MR. HOCKMAN, DR.
THIS IS, UH, TO ME A REALLY IMPORTANT STUDY AND IT HAS SO MANY RAMIFICATIONS, UM, SOME THAT YOU HAVE MENTIONED AS FAR AS RECOMMENDATIONS OR CONCERNED.
UM, THERE'S NOTHING MENTIONED ABOUT THE FACT THAT, UM, OUR FORESTRY DEPARTMENT IS BEING, UM, DECIMATED.
UM, WE NEED FORESTERS BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE TREES AND, UM, HELP, UH, EVERYBODY ELSE KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH TREES.
THE OTHER THING THAT I'D LIKE TO SEE MENTIONED IS GREEN PARKING LOTS.
WE HAVE SO MUCH CONCRETE ASPHALT PAVEMENT THAT IS NOT ONLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, BUT THERE'S ALSO RUNOFF FROM THERE THAT IS CONTAMINATING THE, THE WATER.
AND SO PERMEABLE, UH, PARKING LOTS IS GOING TO SAVE SO MUCH IN, IN EXPENSE AS FAR AS WATER IS CONCERNED.
UM, AND IT, IT SHOULD BE SOMETHING THAT THIS PARTICULAR STUDY WOULD HAVE THE MOST IMPACT ON DISCOURAGING ANYMORE, UH, ASPHALT PARKING LOTS AND, UM, WHICH ARE, YOU KNOW, UM, REALLY MAJOR SOURCE OF, OF, UH, THE HEAT, UH, EFFECT.
THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE TWO GOOD POINTS.
I, I, I CAN'T SAY TO TALK ABOUT THE, UH, FORESTRY ASPECT.
THAT'S ONE OF OUR MAIN, UH, PARTIES TALKING POINTS WITH OUR, OUR PARTS OF RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
UH, THE TREE CANOPY BENEFITS, UH, FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, FOR INDIVIDUALS IS ONLY, UH, AMPLIFIED BY THIS DATA.
SO WE ALL KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF TREES AND HAVING THEM IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
THIS IS JUST ANOTHER POINT THAT COULD HELP PUSH THAT NEEDLE FORWARD.
AND THEN TO YOUR SECOND POINT ABOUT PARKING LOTS, UH, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH SMART SURFACES, THE SMART ACCESS ACCESS COALITION, TO TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT COVERING, UH, OF LAND OPPORTUNITIES, UM, HOW THEY'RE MADE, WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF, UM, FOR CODE RECOMMENDATIONS FURTHER DOWN THE LINE.
SO THOSE ARE ALSO IN CONSIDERATION OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
THERE ARE DESIGN PLANS ALSO FOR GREEN PARKING LOTS WHERE YOU CAN HAVE TREES PLANTED AND, UH, DIFFERENT ISLANDS SO THAT THE, UH, PARKING LOT IS BROKEN UP AND CREATED MORE OF A PARK LIKE EFFECT SO THAT YOU HAVE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES FOR TREES TO BE PLANTED THERE, NOT JUST IN TERMS OF THE KINDS OF, UH, MATERIALS THAT YOU'RE USING TO MAKE THE PARKING LOT.
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION IN THIS ROOM.
A FEW MONTHS AGO, CLAIM DEPARTMENT CAME AND TALKED ABOUT THEIR EFFORTS TO WORK ON
WE'VE BEEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION FROM THROUGH THE GREEN BUILDING TASK FORCE 15 OR 16 YEARS
[00:35:01]
AGO, CONVERSATION.SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO MOVE THAT CONVERSATION FORWARD, ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN DO TO MOVE FORWARD POINT OF VIEW WOULD BE GREAT.
THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT FOR A LONG TIME, WE NEED TO MOVE THAT POINT OF THIS TIME, KNOW YOU ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.
I ALSO WANT TO LET YOU KNOW FROM A TREE POINT OF VIEW, UM, HAVE A COUPLE OF MASTER S HERE AT THE TABLE NIGHT.
WE'RE LOSING OUR TREE, CAN WE, AT AN INCREASING RATE OF GREATER RATES THAN WE HAD GIVEN, AND THAT'S BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME EXTREME WEATHER IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
BEEN COLD HEAT, EXTREME DROUGHT, AND EXTREME RAIN.
SO A LOT OF OUR OLDER TREES ARE DYING.
SO AS A RESULT, WE'RE GONNA MEET THOSE GOALS.
CERTAINLY NOT PRE CITY, BUT 20, 25, 20 30, AND 25TH.
WE NEED TO ACCELERATE THAT BASE.
I KNOW YOU WORK WITH CENSUS CREEK FOUNDATIONS AND THEY THERE, BUT WE KNEW THEY NEED TO LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF PRIESTS WE'RE LOSING THROUGH NATURAL CAUSES AS WELL AS DEVELOPMENT.
UNEMPLOYABLE SERVICES NEED EFFECT, BUT WE LOSING TREES.
SO WE NEED TO ACCELERATE THINGS WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF.
ALL RIGHT, MR. HOFFMAN
AND YOU'RE, UH, I'M GONNA PIGGYBACK ON DR.
LOCKMAN QUESTION WITH REGARD TO, THERE ARE POROUS CONCRETES THAT ARE IN DEVELOPMENT.
THERE'S ALSO PROCESSES BEING DEVELOPED RIGHT NOW THAT REDUCES THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE TREMENDOUS HEAT.
BASICALLY TO MAKE CONCRETE, YOU NEED, UH, LIMESTONE AND YOU BAKE IT TO ABOUT 2 2400 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
AND THAT BECOMES THE, BASICALLY THE APO TO HOLD THE ROCK AND SAND AND WATER GLUE THE ROCK TOGETHER.
SO THAT PROCESS IS VERY, VERY, UH, CARBON INTENSE.
AND SO THERE ARE, THERE ARE PROCESSES RIGHT NOW THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO IMPROVE THE CONCRETE, UH, PROCESS.
ALSO HEMP, A LOT OF THE, THE THINGS GOING ON.
UH, THE OTHER THING IS WE'VE HAD IN OUR, IN OUR CONSTRUCTION TOOL CHEST, A LOT OF STUFF AVAILABLE TO DO, UH, I'VE USED IN THE PAST GRASS PAVERS WHERE YOU HAVE A PERMEABLE SURFACE AND THEY ALSO HAVE A GREEN GRASS RIGHT IN THE PAVERS, AND YOU ARE ACTUALLY ABLE TO PARK PRETTY LARGE VEHICLE.
UM, I THINK WE'RE KIND OF AT THE POINT, THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT WE COULD CODIFY TO MAKE WITH REGARD TO, WITH THE ACCEPTABLE AND, AND, UM, IN CONSTRUCTION STANDARD FROM SUIT, UH, WE'RE SEEING A LOT MORE DENSITY NEEDED.
UH, WE'RE SEEING, UH, MODIFIC PARKING ORDINANCES AND DUCTION PARKING.
UH, BUT WE'VE STILL, WITH THE DENSITY, WE STILL HAVE BUILDINGS THAT ARE CREATING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO OUR STREETS.
AND, AND IT'S NOT JUST A, IT, IT, IT ALSO BE STREET SIDE PARKING THAT SHOULD BE
SO THAT'S GONNA COME INTO PUBLIC WORKS.
SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN.
WE'VE GOTTA TALK, WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AN ACCEPT ACCEPTANCE OF PUBLIC WORK WITH
AND WE'VE GOTTA GET ACCEPTANCE THE TYPES OF CAVING SYSTEMS THAT ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.
UH, I KNOW OF ALSO SOME GRID SYSTEMS THAT USE ROCK THAT ARE COMPLETELY FORCED.
AND IT ALLOWS FOR YOU, YOU CAN ACTUALLY PLANT TREES IN A PARKING AREA WHERE THE ROOT BALL'S GONNA GET FED BECAUSE THE SURFACE, THE PARKING SURFACE FORCE GONNA ALLOW MOISTURE TO FEED INTO THE ROOTS OF.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF OPTIONS RIGHT NOW.
I THINK WE'VE GOT ENOUGH DATA, UH, TO SEE, UH, HOW WE CAN APPROVE, UH, OR DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM.
AND, AND IT'S GONNA HAVE TO TAKE SOME, MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMISSION TO PUBLIC COURT TO BUILDING, UH, PLANNING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT'S HOW WE HAVE TREE ORDINANCES.
BUT IN ONE LIGHT, WE DON'T HAVE THE REAL, UH, CODIFIED METHODOLOGIES TO PROTECT THE TREES WHERE WE, I'M A BUILDER, WE HAVE TO POINT.
AND SO IT'S PAINFUL TO SEE A STREET SCAPE WITH A, YOU KNOW, FOUR STORY TOWNHOUSE THAT'S GOT 10 FEET SIDE SIDEWALK OR SPACE BETWEEN THE BUILDING, AND YOU'VE GOT A LITTLE STEEL GRID WITH CONCRETE AROUND A TREE THAT'S NEVER GONNA GET BIGGER THAN IT.
SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S THE ISSUE.
SO THAT'S OUR NEXT STEP AS THE COMMISSION IS TO COME UP THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE, THE SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE.
[00:40:01]
MUTED STILL.BORO, THERE YOU'RE, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? OKAY, YES.
UM, MARIA BORO, I'M THE TRANSPORTATION, UM, SPECIALIST HERE.
I DID WANT TO MENTION THAT, UM, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE STUDY.
I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S VERY VALUABLE WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
I DID HEAR MENTIONING VEHICLES GOING DOWNTOWN.
UM, SO WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS INVOLVING, I MEAN, WE SHOULD TRY TO THIS INCENTIVATE PEOPLE TAKING THEIR CARS DOWNTOWN BECAUSE IT'S NOT ONLY THE VEHICLES THAT PRODUCE THE HEAT, BUT THEN THE ROADS THAT WE MUST BUILD TO PUT MORE, MORE, UM, MORE CARS INTO DOWNTOWN.
SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO ADD EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH PARKING ORDINANCES AND, UH, AVAILABLE PARKING OR NOT.
AND THEN, UM, TRYING TO OFFER ALTERNATIVES SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T DRIVE THEIR CARS DOWNTOWN, WHICH MEANS, UM, INTERVENTIONS IN THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.
UM, SO I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE FOR THAT PART OF TRANSPORTATION TO NOT ONLY FOCUS ON THE VEHICLES, BUT THE AMOUNT OF CARS THAT ARE GOING IN THERE AND OFFERING.
UM, MAYBE THERE'S SOME PARTS OF DOWNTOWN THAT COULD BE PEDESTRIAN.
AND SO THAT MEANS, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THOSE, UM, HIGHER HEAT AREAS AND MAYBE THINKING OF PUTTING PEDESTRIAN, UH, WALKS WITH TREES TO HELP THAT.
THE SECOND, UM, RECOMMENDATION I WOULD DO IS, UM, GREEN ROOFS IN MANY, MANY CITIES HAVE, UM, AND, AND ALSO REFLECTIVE MATERIAL ON THE ROOFS.
AND SO THAT GOES MORE WITH THE ZONING.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, UM, TRYING TO REDUCE THE HEAT ISLAND BECAUSE OF THE BUILDINGS AND, AND, AND THE AMOUNT OF HEAT THEY'RE CAPTURING.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
SO MY QUESTION IS, WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE CITY OF DALLAS WITH OUR BUILDINGS? DO WE HAVE GREEN ROOFS? YOU KNOW, IS THERE A POLICY OF CARPOOLING THAT WE CAN DO FOR OUR EMPLOYEES SO THAT WE REDUCE THE, THE USE OF, UH, VEHICLES GOING DOWNTOWN? AND SO THAT'S MY SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS.
INTERNALLY, WE HAVE A PROGRAM CALLED TRY PARKING IT, WHICH IS AN ALTERNATIVE COMMUTE PROGRAM, UM, BY THE NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS.
AND SO THAT ENCOURAGES US TO FIND PEOPLE TO CARPOOL WITH, UM, USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, BRING YOUR LUNCH TO WORK, TO AVOID DRIVING OUT TO, TO GET LUNCH AND DIFFERENT METHODS LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, I, I AM, I THINK OTHER PEOPLE CAN JOIN.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROGRAMS IN CITIES AND DIFFERENT COMPANIES.
UM, SO IN OQS WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO ENCOURAGE MORE EMPLOYEES TO USE IT, AND THEN WE PLAN TO THEN REACH OUT TO THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TO ENCOURAGE THEIR EMPLOYEES TO, TO USE IT MORE.
AT ONE POINT, THE CITY MANAGER MADE IT, UH, MANDATORY, BUT THAT WAS, I THINK OVER 10 YEARS AGO.
UH, WE'LL GO TO MS. POSTON AND THEN VICE CHAIR RIA AND MAJOR CHAIR ROBERTSON.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING AND THE GREAT JOB THAT YOU DID MAKING A PRESENTATION TODAY.
UM, ONE OF THE DETAILS I PARTICULARLY APPRECIATED WAS THE, THE COMMENT ABOUT PUTTING TREES OVER TRAILS.
AND I SAY THAT COMING FROM A DISTRICT WHERE LAST YEAR, ALL OF SEVEN, MANY, MANY BLOCKS OF BEAUTIFUL LARGE TREES WERE GONE.
THEY WERE TORN DOWN TO MAKE ROOM FOR A TRAIL, RIGHT? SO, UM, I'M HOPING THAT THIS WORK WILL HELP TO MAKE THAT A LITTLE LESS LIKELY.
UM, I JUST HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.
THE FIRST IS IN REGARD TO PUBLIC EDUCATION.
SO I'M WONDERING WHAT YOUR PLANS ARE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, SPREAD ALL THIS INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
AND I SAY THAT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE.
I COME FROM A, FORTUNATELY, ACCORDING TO YOUR DATA, A COOL AREA OF TOWN.
BUT I SEE AS NEW HOUSES ARE BEING BUILT, THEY'RE JUST SHREDDING ALL THE TREES.
AND I JUST THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF PEOPLE KNEW THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW IMPORTANT TREES ARE, MAYBE THEY WOULD MAKE DIFFERENT DECISIONS.
SO I'M WONDERING ABOUT YOUR PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND MY SECOND QUESTION IS ABOUT HOW WE AS A COMMISSION CAN HELP.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, LAST YEAR, UM, THE SUBCOMMITTEE THAT I'M ON, UM, DIRECTED BY, LED BY, UM, COMMISSIONER HIROTO, UM, WAS FOCUSED ON TRYING TO, UM, HELP TO PROMOTE NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS, UM, PARTICULARLY FOR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT.
AND I'M WONDERING HOW WE AS A COMMISSION CAN ASSIST YOU.
SO ONE IS PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND THE SECOND IS HOW CAN, HOW CAN WE HELP
[00:45:01]
YOU GUYS? YES, TWO VERY GOOD QUESTIONS.I WOULD SAY WITH THE FIRST ONE WITH, UH, EDUCATIONAL AWARENESS, UM, OUTSIDE OF OUR RELEASING OF THE DATA AND IT SHARING IT THROUGH OUR NORMAL STREAMS OF, OF COMMUNICATION WITH COMMUNITY FOR ALL OF CCAP RELATED ISSUES, UH, THE KEY POLICY PLAN THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH INTERNALLY THAT WILL BE, UH, PUSHED FORWARD BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WILL BE THE MAIN, UH, MAIN SOURCE OF AWARENESS, UH, FROM AN INDIVIDUAL PUBLIC HEALTH STANDPOINT OF WHAT TO DO WHEN IN EXTREME HEAT SITUATIONS IS GONNA BE REALLY CRITICAL.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE OUR, I WOULD SAY, OUR MAIN MESSAGE FOR THIS UPCOMING SUMMER.
HAVING THAT PREPARED TO COMMUNICATE OUT TO THE COMMUNICA, TO THE COMMUNITY IN ALL ASPECTS.
UM, AND FURTHER DOWN THE LINE AS WELL, HAVING IT EX AS A CONSISTENT PLAN OR CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION TOPIC THAT WE CONTINUE TO DISCUSS AS, UH, THE COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO GROW, DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES TO EXPAND IN, IN ALL AREAS, IN, IN ALL ASPECTS.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S MY, UH, ANSWER TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION.
SECOND QUESTION IN TERMS OF, UH, WHAT CAN THE COMMISSION DO? UH, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE, ARE REALLY CRITICAL.
THEY COME FROM ONE SOURCE, UH, FROM EXTERNALLY, FROM OUR CONSULTANT, UH, THAT, THAT HELP WITH THE STUDY.
BUT THEN FROM A COMMUNITY ASPECT OF WHAT DO YOU SEE DAILY IN YOUR COMMUNITY, WHAT ARE THE BEST PLANS AND WHAT SHOULD WE PRIORITIZE IN TERMS OF RECOMMENDATIONS, IN TERMS OF POLICIES THAT WE SHOULD, UH, ADDRESS MORE, UH, ADDRESS FIRST.
I, I, I WOULD SAY IN DISTRICTS, UM, THAT FEEDBACK LOOP THAT WOULD BE CRITICAL FOR, FOR THE COMMISSION TO HELP US UNDERSTAND.
UM, THERE'S A LONG LIST OF, OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, THERE'S 40 OR SO 50 OR SO THAT CAPITAL PUT TOGETHER, IDENTIFYING WHICH ONES TO START WITH.
UH, KNOWING THAT WE CAN CAST A WIDE NET, BUT CAPACITY MAY LIMIT US TO DO SO.
I ALSO WANTED TO ADD ON THE PUBLIC OUTREACH.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS WHERE WE CAN PRESENT THIS DATA.
SO A FEW WEEKS AGO WE PRESENTED AT AN ARCHITECTURE FIRM, AND NEXT MONTH, UH, WE'LL HAVE THE NORTH TEXAS CLIMATE SYMPOSIUM AND WE HAVE A CONFIRMED SPEAKER ON HEAT.
SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE HEAT A BIGGER CONVERSATION IN OUR, IN OUR LIVES AND WORK.
ALL RIGHT, VICE
AS YOU CAN TELL, WE HAVE A LOT OF IDEAS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, I RECOGNIZE THIS MAY NOT BE THE MOST APPROPRIATE MEETING OR TIME TO PROVIDE THESE, BUT PLEASE INVITE US TO YOUR MEETING WITH THE ACTORS AND THE FOLKS WHO CAN HELP CODIFY THIS AND THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTS WILL BE READY.
UM, I WANT TO RETURN TO YOUR, WELL, OKAY.
CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE COOL PAVEMENT PILOT PROJECT AND CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SMART SURFACES COALITION? DEWEY, WE, ARE THEY MERELY CONTRACTORS? DO WE GIVE THEM MONEY? I KNOW THAT.
UM, SO OUR LEAD ON THAT PROGRAM, YA TORRES, SHE I BELIEVE IS PRESENTING AT THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING ON SMART SERVICES.
SO SHE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT.
UM, I DO WANNA NOTE TO EVERYBODY THAT ARTIFICIAL TURF WAS VERY HIGH.
LET'S DO ALL WE CAN TO DISCOURAGE ARTIFICIAL TURF INSTALLATION WHENEVER WE CAN.
ALL RIGHT, CHAIR ROBERTSON, GO AHEAD.
UM, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
YOU KNOW THAT COMMISSIONER DE ROWAN, I KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THAT WAS.
WE'VE BEEN VOLUNTEERS FOR TWO YEARS.
WE DO NOT HAVE THE NUMBERS AND FACTS THAT YOU HAVE, BUT WE DO KNOW IT WAS HOT
UM, AND I'D LIKE TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR, UH, GIVING THEM SUGGESTIONS.
ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS THAT I HAVE THAT I NOTICE ON BOTH SIDES OF TOWN, UH, ESPECIALLY SOUTH, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE EQUAL, THAT IF YOU'RE PARTNERING WITH TRANSPORTATION, IT'S DARK PART OF IT.
YOU KNOW, IT'S 110 DEGREES, THERE'S A STONE BENCH, A BUS STOP SIGN, AND THAT'S IT.
YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S PUBLIC HEALTH, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ALL KIND OF THINGS.
AND I TAUGHT, UM, A FRIEND OF MINE SOME YEARS AGO FROM A PHYSICIAN AT BAYLOR AND PARKLAND CONFIRMS IT TOO IN, DURING THAT TIME OF YEAR, MOST OF THEIR ADMISSIONS, 70% OF THEIR ADMISSIONS HE SAID, ARE DEHYDRATED, DEHYDRATION RELATED TO DEHYDRATION.
YOU HAVE DIABETES BUT YOU GOT DEHYDRATED, YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, CANCER OR SOMETHING CHRONIC, SOME KIND OF CHRONIC DISEASE AND YOU GOT DEHYDRATED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE KIND OF THINGS ARE PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES.
BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE THEM.
UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID IN DISTRICT EIGHT WAS WE RODE THROUGH AND IF WE FOUND A BUS STOP THAT DIDN'T HAVE A TRASH CAN BENCH AND COVER, WE WOULD, WE TURNED THAT IN TO
[00:50:01]
OUR COUNCIL.SO, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT PARTNERING WITH DART OR AT LEAST LETTING THEM, YOU KNOW, REALIZE WE'D LIKE TO GET BACK TO THAT.
WE WILL, UM, ONCE WE MEET WITH THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, WE'LL MAKE SURE TO DISCUSS THAT BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM WHERE A LOT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, UM, AREAS ARE COVERED.
AND ALSO THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING TO USE IN A ROW.
UM, YEAH, I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING.
UM, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT WORK.
THIS, I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT THE, THE STUDY IS GONNA LAUNCH, THE INTERACTIVE INFORMATION IS GONNA BE LAUNCHED.
PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY ACCESS THE INFORMATION AND USE IT AS A RESOURCE.
UM, THE STUDY HOPEFULLY IS GONNA GO A LONG WAY FOR INFORMING POLICY.
UM, AND ESPECIALLY FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UH, WHO ARE ON FIXED INCOMES, WHO HAVE INEFFICIENT HOMES WHO HAVE TO PAY ADDITIONAL COSTS FOR ELECTRICITY WHEN IT GETS HOTTER OR BECAUSE IT'S HOTTER SIMPLY IN THEIR AREA OF TOWN.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GETTING CHEAPER TO LIVE ANYWHERE, BUT ESPECIALLY NOT IN DALLAS.
UM, THE TOOL THAT WE USE TO SELECT THE LOCATIONS THAT WE DEPLOYED THIS STUDY IS THE CITY'S EJ TOOL.
AND SO I WANT TO CONFIRM WITH YOU THAT THAT'S GONNA BE BACK ONLINE AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC IN MAY OF THIS YEAR.
IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, I THINK SO.
I MEAN, UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, OUR INTERNAL DATABASE PEOPLE, WEB PIPE, WEBSITE PEOPLE TO GET THE NEW DATA THAT WAS ON THE FORMER EPA WEBSITE OKAY.
AND SO I THINK MAYBE WE COULD GOOD TARGET THAT.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO DO SOME ENGAGEMENT AROUND THAT WHEN IT IS RELAUNCHED AND AVAILABLE.
SO IF Y'ALL COULD JUST LET US KNOW DIRECTLY, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UM, OUR ANNUAL SURVEY, IS THAT FUNDED BY THE CITY OR THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION? IS IT FUNDED BY OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS THAT WE MAY NO LONGER ANTICIPATE RECEIVING? WHO PAYS FOR THAT? THE, THE FIRST YEAR WE HAD A MATCHING FUNDS GRANT WITH NOAH, BUT THIS YEAR IT WAS, OR 2024, IT WAS ALL PAID FOR BY THE CITY CCAP FUNDS.
AND DO WE ANTICIPATE THAT MOVING FORWARD OR THE, THAT CITY'S GONNA CONTINUE TO FUND IT.
AND WHAT'S THE NEXT SCHEDULED THAT YOU HAVE ON YOUR, I KNOW YOU'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT THE NEXT ONE PROBABLY, BUT ARE WE ANTICIPATING CONTINUING THIS EVERY SUMMER? THE RECOMMENDATION WAS EVERY FIVE YEARS.
UM, TO SEE HOW WE'RE PROGRESSING WITH OUR ADAPTATION STRATEGIES.
THE FUNDING, I THINK WE HAVE FIVE YEARS TO FIGURE IT OUT.
SO WE DID THESE FIRST TWO YEARS.
WE'RE GONNA DO THE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INVENTORY LATER THIS YEAR AND THEN IN FIVE YEARS WE'LL CHECK AND SEE WHERE WE ARE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE MR. HOFFMAN'S POINT ON DENSITY.
ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THIS COMMISSION MADE LAST YEAR THAT CANDIDLY, UM, IF ANYBODY'S AN ADVOCATE LOOKING FOR AN ADVOCACY ISSUE, UH, IS THAT, UM, WE RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY IMPLEMENT A METRIC SYSTEM FOR QUANTIFYING THE REMOVAL OF TREES BY DEVELOPMENT AND THAT THE CITY THEN UTILIZE THAT DATA TO FURTHER PRESERVE THE TREES, THE TREE CANOPY IN OUR CITY AND SPECIFICALLY IN AREAS WHERE WE'RE SEEING HIGH DEVELOPMENT AND, AND NEED FOR HIGH DENSITY.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S STILL VERY MUCH WORTH PURSUING.
UM, SO WE'D LIKE TO SEE IF, UH, WE CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
UM, I THINK IT'S RELEVANT AND TIMELY TO SHARE THAT THE CITY IS REQUESTING COMMENTS ON ITS BIKE PLAN.
UM, BIKE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IS SOMETHING THAT OUR CITY IS LACKING.
THEY HAVE A PLAN, THEY HAVE A CONSULTANT, THEY'RE ACCEPTING PUBLIC COMMENT ON THAT THROUGH MARCH 30TH AND WE'LL SEND THAT OUT VIA EMAIL.
UH, WE'VE SHARED IT ON OUR COMMISSION.
UM, IF BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE IS SOMETHING THAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU OR THAT YOU USE, THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR, UM, THAT FEEDBACK.
AND THEN OF COURSE JUST KEEP US UPDATED ON THE PLANS TO, UH, LAUNCH THIS OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
ONCE WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE, WE ARE, UM, CONNECTED IN THE COMMUNITY, WE'RE GOING OUT AND WE'RE DOING OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
AND IF THIS IS A TOPIC THAT WE CAN SHARE AND A RESOURCE THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITIES, WE'RE ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAPPY TO DO THAT.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NOT SEEING ANY.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US THIS EVENING.
WE APPRECIATE YOU AND THIS CONTINUED WORK.
STEPHANIE, WILL YOU MAKE A NOTE THAT MS. EK AND COMMISSIONER DAY ARE PRESENT? ALL RIGHT.
LET'S GO TO BRIEFING MEMO RANDOM, UH, B, WHICH
[00:55:01]
IS THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL WORKING GROUP MEETING.OUR FIRST STATUS UPDATE FROM THE 2024 BOND AT CA RESOLUTION.
I SAW THAT NONE OF YOU GOT UP AND LEFT, SO I WAS DOING
DO YOU MIND REPEATING YOUR QUESTION? UH, WHO'S GONNA PRESENT THIS NEXT MEMO TO US? UH, BRIEFING ITEM B, THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL WORKING GROUP MEETING.
OUR FIRST STATUS UPDATE, 2024 BOND CCAP RESOLUTION.
IT SAYS DIRECTOR WHITE, HE'S NOT HERE.
SO Y'ALL CAN ROCK PAPER SCISSOR TO SEE WHO'S
YEAH, I MEAN I'M INVOLVED IN THAT, UH, WORKING GROUP.
SO AS MEMO STATES, WE HAD OUR FIRST SORT OF KICKOFF TO SOLICIT, UH, INTEREST FROM VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.
AND UH, WE'VE LITERALLY COMPLETED THAT PROCESS NOW FOR NE NEXT WEEK, I BELIEVE ON THE 20TH, UH, THAT'S A FRIDAY.
WE'LL HAVE OUR FIRST MEETING OF THE CORE GROUP AND THEN WE'LL BE WORKING ON DEVELOPING A CHARTER, A WORK PLAN, AND HOPEFULLY, UH, SELECT THE DELIVERABLES THAT WE'RE GONNA WORK ON THIS THIS YEAR.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MEMO? THIS IS A GREAT FIRST STEP.
WE REALLY ARE EXCITED ABOUT THIS.
WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP? IS IT ONLY CITY STAFF? YES, FOR THE MOMENT.
LET'S SAY, OH, MR. MARCOS, GO AHEAD.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE IF, UM, JUST WHAT LEVEL ACROSS CERTAIN THE DEPARTMENT DO WE THINK THAT STAFF IS INVOLVED IN OR AWARE OF
SO I LOVE THE DIRECTION GOING.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE EMPLOYEES, UM, HEAD DEPARTMENTS ALL THE WAY DOWN.
THE FOLKS IN THE FIELD WHO ARE AWARE OF C DON, WHEN WE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT THE GUY, THE MOWER DOESN'T GET THE MEMO, IT DOESN'T WAKE OUT.
WE'VE SEEN SO MANY TIMES IN THE PAST AND PEOPLE ACTUALLY OUT IN THE FIELD BEING THE WORK AND AWARE OF, OF THE DIRECTION OF THE CITY AND THINGS THAT WE HAVE CHOSEN DO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WE DO.
SO I'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE MOVE FORWARD THIS IMPORTANT CT IMPORTANT ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT EMPLOYEES FROM THE CITY ARE AWARE OF CT, WHAT THEIR NEEDS FOR THEM IN THE FIELD AS THEY DO THEIR JOB.
I MEAN, JUST LIKE THE GENERAL PUBLIC OR MANY EMPLOYEES ARE NOT AWARE OF CLIMATE AND SCIENCE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT, UH, RECENTLY OUR CLIMATE TEAM DEVELOPED A CCA TRAINING THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE HR SYSTEM WORKDAY.
UH, AND THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ALL EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING NEW HIRES.
UH, AND I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE AVAILABLE STARTING SOMETIME THIS MONTH, LATER THIS MONTH.
MR. HOFFMAN? UH, TO, TO THAT EFFECT, I, I JUST WANTED, I'M GONNA BRING IT UP HERE 'CAUSE I'M GONNA TAKE IT UP, UP INDIVIDUALLY WITH THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT, BUT I, I'M DOING A, A, A PROJECT AND WE JUST FOUND OUT MY SOLAR INSTALLER HAD TO PAY A THOUSAND DOLLARS PERMIT FEE FOR A SOLAR INSTALLATION IN DALLAS BATTERY BACKUP, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS LIKE $150 EVERYWHERE ELSE.
AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, UM, IT'S NOT REALLY OUR CONCERN.
ENCORE DOES A REALLY FULL THOROUGH ANALYSIS OF THE LOADS BECAUSE YOU'RE CONNECTING TO THEIR GRID.
AND SO I'M JUST, I I I JUST DON'T LIKE THE BUILDING DEPARTMENTS GETTING INTO THE WEEDS.
I'M GONNA TALK TO PEOPLE I KNOW ABOUT IT, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S MY QUESTION IS, IS OBVIOUSLY IN ONE LEVEL, I'M NOT SURE THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT IS WHERE THE C SO, UH, A THOUSAND DOLLARS PERMIT FEE.
I, I PAY $1,100 FOR ABOUT A 3000 WORTH OF HOUSE FOR A PERMIT.
AND, UM, AND IT'S ROUGHLY, IT CAN BE, UH, 30 TIMES THE COST OF, OF SOLAR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH STAFF ON.
ANYTHING ELSE? I'M REALLY EXCITED TO HEAR ABOUT THE TRAINING, THE CCAP TRAINING FOR NEW HIRES.
THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR FOLKS WHO ARE ON THE GROUND DOING THEIR JOB.
IT MAKES OUR WORK AND AND Y'ALL'S WORK SO MUCH EASIER, UM, WHEN THEY'RE GETTING THAT TRAINING.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US THIS EVENING.
WE HAVE ONE VOTING ITEM THIS EVENING.
UH, ITEM A IS APPROVAL OF THE FY 24 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT.
I HAVE A CORRECT A CORRECTION.
SHALL WE REMOVE MICHAEL MARTIN WHO RESIGNED IN OCTOBER LAST YEAR AS OUR SOLAR TECHNICAL EXPERT? SO
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THE REPORT RUNS FROM FY 23, WHICH WAS OCTOBER 23 UNTIL OCTOBER OF 24 DURING WHICH TIME HE SERVED.SO WE WOULD NOT REMOVE HIM FROM THAT REPORT.
SO YOU WANNA WITHDRAW YOUR MOTION? I WOULD WITHDRAW THE MOTION.
OH, RIGHT NOW I WILL TAKE A NEW MOTION.
IT HAS BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MEMBERS OF THE OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE FOR HELPING OUT ON THIS AND ESPECIALLY TO MS. THOMAS AND MS. BRAGAN FOR THEIR SUPPORT ON GETTING 40 SUMMITING, UM, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, UH, LISTED ALL THAT WE ATTENDED AND PARTICIPATED IN.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT WORK.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL, SAY AYE.
THAT REPORT HAS BEEN APPROVED.
LET'S MOVE INTO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, LET'S SEE.
ITEM A IS OUR MONTHLY SUBCOMMITTEE UPDATES.
I AM GOING TO TAKE THINGS OUT OF ORDER THIS EVENING.
AMODA, WILL YOU GIVE US AN UPDATE FIRST ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION OR MISSY? KI WAS GONNA ASK MS. A AK TO DO IT, BUT, UH, SHE'S FEELING A LITTLE SHY THE MOMENT.
UM, SO WE MET, UH, LAST MONTH, UH, WITH OUR SPI COMMITTEE AND USED THE TIME TO REVIEW SOME OF THE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED PITCH SESSIONS FROM THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS THAT MADE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE THEN INCORPORATED INTO THE BOND, UH, RESOLUTION PASSED BY, UH, CITY COUNCIL IN AUGUST.
UM, WE SCREENED THROUGH SOME OF THE VIDEOS.
WE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE EMBODIED CARBON ASPECTS.
AND REALLY THE MAIN GOAL HERE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE FEELING MORE CONFIDENT AND LITERATE ABOUT THE TOPIC OF EMBODIED CARBON SO THAT WE CAN HELP WHEN THE CITY IS READY WITH THEIR INTERDEPARTMENTAL REC, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND DECISIONS THAT WE CAN GO OUT AND HELP, UM, CAMPAIGN AND HELP DO STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH ENGAGEMENT AROUND THAT AND BUILD THE NECESSARY COALITION SO THAT WORK IS ONGOING.
UM, MS. AK SENT OUT AN EMAIL WITH LINKS TO THOSE VIDEOS, AGAIN WITH TIMESTAMPS.
SO ANY OF THE COMMISSION MEMBERS BEYOND SPI ARE INTERESTED IN SCREENING SOME OF THOSE VIDEOS.
UH, SHE'S HAPPY TO SHARE THAT LARGER GROUP AS WELL.
YEAH, THAT'D BE SUPER HELPFUL.
ALL RIGHT, NOW LET'S GO BACK TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, PLEASE.
SORRY I PUSHED YOU ON, BUT WE, UH, ARE GOING TO MEET, I HOPE WE CAN MEET AT THE END OF THIS MONTH ON THE 27TH.
AND WE HAVE SUCH BROAD TOPICS.
I HAVE TO PICK ONE OF EVERYTHING.
WAGMAN HAD THREE VERY GOOD ONES.
UH, BUT ONE OF THEM WAS, UH, PART, UH, PARTICLES, UH, THAT HAVE TO DO WITH POLLUTION PM TWO STRATEGIES FOR THAT.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THERE WA I WENT TO A, UH, IN WASN'T THE HEALTH FAIR, IT WAS JUST MEN'S HEALTH.
IT WAS BROTHER TO BROTHER OF BLACK MEN'S HEALTH AND THERE WAS, UT HAD SET UP PROSTATE SCREEN AND ALL THIS OTHER STUFF AND TAMARA VENTURA WAS THERE.
SHE'S PART, SHE USED TO BE PART OF JUANITA CRAFT.
SHE'S UT NOW AND SHE HAS DEVELOPED A VAPING PRESENTATION, IT'S MODULES TO TEACH PARENTS AND KIDS ABOUT VAPING.
AND SHE'S GOING TO SCHOOLS AND SHE'S GONE TO REC CENTER.
SO I'M HELPING HER GO AROUND AND PRESENT THAT.
AND I TOLD HER WE CAN'T SEE THE WHOLE THING, BUT UH, SHE CAN NARROW IT DOWN SO WE COULD JUST SEE A LITTLE BIT OF IT AT OUR MEETING.
AND THEN I WOULD LIKE HER TO YOU ALL TO SEE IT TOO.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE CLIMATE SYMPOSIUMS COMING UP.
THE OTHER THING THIS MORNING, AND YOU HAVE TO LOVE THIS GUY.
WONG'S OFFICE AND I ASKED HIM DID HE HAVE ANYTHING THAT I COULD PUT OUT ON MEASLES FOR US, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT HAD A DALLAS CASE YET.
BUT THERE WAS ONE IN ROCKWELL THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH FOR ME,
AND SO, UH, THEY SENT ME A TOOLKIT AND HE SENT ME EXACTLY WHAT HE SENT OUT.
AND HE SAID TO SCHOOLS AND DAYCARES AND I SENT IT, YOU KNOW, TO YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO SEND IT TO EVERYBODY.
'CAUSE SOME PEOPLE WEREN'T, MAY NOT BE INTERESTED.
BUT WE REALLY NEED, I NEED TO, UH, DRUM DOWN ON PARKLAND HAS AS AN IMMUNIZATION BAND.
SO I'M GONNA LOOK AT THE SCHOOLS IN MY DISTRICT THAT MAY HAVE LOW, UH, VACCINE RATES.
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TO, IF THEY, UH, WOULD LIKE THEIR CHILDREN VACCINATED, THEN WE CAN DO THAT.UH, THAT'S, AND OH, I WENT TO A PUBLIC HEARING FOR LANE PLATING AND THEN THERE WAS THE EARTH, WIND AND FIRE.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING YOU ALL MAY NOT REALIZE.
THERE WAS A SPEAKER THERE THAT TALKED ABOUT ETHYLENE OXIDE.
ETHYLENE OXIDE IS THE MAJOR COMPONENT THAT IS USED TO, UH, STERILIZE STER, YOU KNOW, EQUIPMENT FOR SURGERY AND FOR PACKS AND EVERYTHING.
AND THOSE PLANTS DO NOT LOOK LIKE THE TRADITIONAL ONES.
IT LOOKS JUST LIKE A STORE OR AN OFFICE BUILDING, BUT INSIDE THEY'RE DOING ALL THESE TOXIC THINGS AND WE FOUND A COUPLE IN GRAND PRAIRIE.
SO WE NEED TO KIND OF BE ON THE ALERT FOR THAT.
AND THAT ONE REALLY GOT ME, 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN CERTIFIED AS A STERILIZATION TECH AT THE TECH, UM, I MEAN AT THE TECH LEVEL.
AND DURING THAT CLASS, I DON'T REMEMBER BEING TOLD ETHYLENE OXIDE, YOU KNOW, WAS WAS THAT, I KNEW IT WAS TOXIC, BUT I DID NOT KNOW IT EXISTED LIKE THAT IN THE COMMUNITIES.
ALRIGHT, LET'S GO TO, UH, IMPLEMENTATION.
THERE IS A NEW STAFF PERSON AT THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT THAT WE'LL TRY TO GET A MEETING WITH SO WE CAN LOOP BACK AROUND TO SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT.
UM, WE HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED ON MARCH 24TH, SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN GET THE MEETING BEFORE THAT SO WE CAN, UM, HAVE SOME FORWARD MOTION THERE.
UM, HAD A GREAT MEETING THIS WEEK WITH A STAFF PERSON AT UT SOUTHWESTERN WHO WAS INVOLVED WITH SUSTAINABILITY AND, UM, ENCOURAGED BY, UH, WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT EVERY TIME THEY HAVE WORK DONE.
IF LAWN IS TORN UP, THEY DON'T GO BACK WITH LAWN AND GO BACK WITH SOMETHING LIKE TEXAS AGE, A POLLINATOR OF SOME KIND AND, UM, SOMETHING THAT'S VERY DROUGHT TOLERANT.
AND ANYWAY, LOTS OF, UM, LOTS OF ENERGY THERE IN THAT DEPARTMENT AND IT WAS VERY ENCOURAGING.
UM, SOMETHING THAT'S DISCOURAGING TO ME THAT I WANTED TO BRING UP TO THIS COMMISSION IS, UM, I KNOW A COUPLE OF PEOPLE THAT GOT TO DO THE WALKTHROUGH WITH KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, UM, CONVENTION CENTER AND 90% OF THE MATERIALS THAT WILL BE REMOVED COULD BE REUSED, 90%.
UM, THE ARCHITECT IS ON BOARD, BUT THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, TURNER CONSTRUCTION IS NOT.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA MAKE CALLS TO CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE AND SEE IF WE CAN APPLY SOME PRESSURE BECAUSE THAT DOES NOT MATCH WITH WHO WE SAY WE ARE AND WHO WE WANT TO BE AS A CITY.
SO, UM, REALLY, UM, UH, VERY, VERY INTERESTED.
SOUNDS LIKE THERE MAY BE A COUPLE OF, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WOULD LOOK TO BRING FORWARD FOR OUR APRIL MEETING.
I'M HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU ON THE WORDING OF A RECOMMENDATION OKAY.
MR. MARQUIS, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT, A QUESTION? I HAVE A QUICK FOLLOW UP.
TURNER CONSTRUCTION, UM, WAS INTEGRAL TO THE FOUNDING OF THE GREEN BUILDING FACTORY IS REAL.
I HERE WHEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN TOM LEPER WAS CHAIR CEO OF TURNER CONSTRUCTION, HE UNDERSTOOD GREEN BUILDING, UNDERSTOOD HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS, WHICH CLIENT TO HAVE BUILDING TO BE ENERGY EFFICIENT OUTPUT.
SO HE FOUNDED THE GREEN BUILDING ASSETS.
WE ALREADY HAD A WORKING YEAR THERE.
THE MAYORS GREEN TASK FORCE SAID, I WANT YOUR FIRST ORDER PLACE IN 2008.
THE TURN CONSTRUCTION WAS PARTNER RESPONSIBLE FOR US BEING IN CRIMINAL NIGHT BECAUSE WE HELPED KICK OFF THE GREEN RIBBON.
AND, AND I JUST, I WANNA REITERATE, THAT'S NOT 90% THAT'S RECYCLABLE.
THAT'S 90% THAT CAN BE REUSED.
THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT TO OUR ATTENTION.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER, UM, THIS MONTH.
ALRIGHT, FOR OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
AS I SAID BEFORE, WE FINALIZED THIS, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT AND WORKED TO REPORT ALL OF OUR OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT FOR, UH, FY 2024, WHICH WAS REALLY SIGNIFICANT.
UH, I DO WANT TO GIVE ACCOLADES TO COMMISSIONER SIEGEL IN DISTRICT 10 WHO RECENTLY HOSTED AN OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT EVENT.
WE'RE GONNA CALL THAT, UH, YOUR DISTRICT 10 OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.
I SAW A DALLAS MORNING NEWS REPORT ON THE EVENT.
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HEARD THAT IT WAS REALLY WELL ATTENDED AND THAT YOU REPRESENTED THE COMMISSION IN A REALLY GREAT WAY.SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THAT.
I'M GONNA GET WITH YOU TO GET SOME DETAILS, UM, AND KEEP THAT UP.
AND IF THERE'S ANYBODY WHO IS NEAR DISTRICT 10 OR UM, WANTS TO GET WITH COMMISSIONER SIEGEL AND FIND OUT HOW HE COORDINATED AND OR FACILITATED THAT EVENT ON BEHALF OF, UM, HIS ROLE WITH THE COMMISSION, PLEASE REACH OUT, UM, AND, AND ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
OUR NEXT OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE ON UH, TUESDAY, MARCH 18TH.
AND THEN, UH, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND INNOVATION.
UH, WE ON TO AJ, UM, THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE MET ON FEBRUARY 27TH TO DISCUSS CLOSING OUR WORK PLAN FOR THE YEAR 2024, CELEBRATING THAT WORK AND ADOPTING A NEW GOAL FOR THE REMINDER OF 2025 SNEAK PEEK, POTENTIALLY WORKING WITH ENVIRONMENT TEXAS ON SB EIGHT 19 AND ITS ADVERSE EFFECTS ON COMMUNITIES' ABILITY TO PASS AND IMPLEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS THAT OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE END OF MARCH.
LOOK FORWARD TO REPORTING BACK.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GO AROUND WITH MONTHLY DISTRICT UPDATES FOR COMMISSIONERS.
WE ARE GOING TO START WITH DISTRICT ONE.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANNA SHARE THIS EVENING? NO REPORT TODAY.
DISTRICT TWO, COMMISSIONER WOOTEN.
DISTRICT FIVE, NOTHING TO SHARE.
UM, LAST NIGHT I ATTENDED A COMMUNITY MEETING CALLED BY OUR CPC COMMISSIONER WITH ZONING AND WE DISCUSSED AN AUTHORIZED HEARING ON AN SUP ON A CONCRETE CRUSHING PLANT OFF OF LUNA ROAD IN NORTH DISTRICT SIX.
UM, I ADVOCATED FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF BEST PRACTICES WHEN IT COMES TO DUST CONTROL MEASURES AND, UM, TO BRING AWARENESS TO THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF THE TREES NEARBY.
THIS IS A INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR THAT IS RIGHT NEXT TO A NATURE PRESERVE, WALKING TRAILS, TENNIS COURTS, UH, GOLF COURSE AND CLOSE TO MONOGRAM PARK.
SO BIG ECONOMIC TOURISM PLACES THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD BEGIN TO STEP AWAY FROM INDUSTRIAL USES IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD.
I ALSO ADVISED A GROUP OF NEIGHBORS WHO WANTED TO SPEARHEAD A NEW COMMUNITY GARDEN IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND I LOOK FORWARD TO TABLING AT THE NATIVE PLANTS AND PRAIRIES DAY THE FIRST WEEKEND IN MAY FOR THE COMMISSION.
HI, DISTRICT SEVEN FOR A MOMENT.
WE'LL COME BACK TO DISTRICT SEVEN.
YOU ALREADY GAVE YOUR UPDATE, HUH? YEAH, I REALLY DID.
THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT IS WE HAD A TRASH OFF
I DID ATTEND SENATOR RUSSELL LIST, UH, TOWN HALL MEETING AND SPOKE WITH HIM ON SENATE BILL TO 12.
I'M WORKING ON EARTH DAY, SO I'LL LET EVERYBODY KNOW.
UM, I SPOKE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, UH, SMU HUNT INSTITUTE ON, UM, RECYCLING AND, UH, HAVE HAD SOME ADDITIONAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THAT GROUP, UM, ABOUT SOME ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.
THE DALLAS CONVENTION CENTER, UM, AND JUST HAVING STRATEGIC DISCUSSIONS AROUND CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION, WASTE MINIMIZATION AND MATERIAL RECOVERY, WHICH, UH, MS. NIA WILL, UH, HOPEFULLY ALSO BE FOLLOWING AS OUR ZERO WASTE TECHNICAL ADVISOR LOOPED HER IN.
UM, AND THAT IS IT DISTRICT 10.
YOU WANNA SHARE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN UP TO? UM, WELL, AS YOU SAID, WE DO HAVE AN WASTE EVENT, UM, ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, UH, AT PRESBYTERIAN NORTH, I ASSUME THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF, UH, AT THE, UH, PRE HALL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, WHICH WAS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.
UH, WE GATHERED ABOUT A TON OF E-WASTE THAT WE RECYCLED RATHER THAN SENDING IT TO THE LANDFILL.
UM, COMPUTERS, CORDS, ET CETERA.
IF ANYBODY'S INTERESTED IN HOSTING AN EVENT LIKE THAT, UH, IN THEIR AREA, LET ME KNOW.
I'D BE HAPPY TO PARTNER WITH YOU ON THAT AND HELP OR AS AN ADVISOR JUST TO HELP YOU WITH THE PROCESS.
UM, I'M SPEAKING TO KATHY STEWART, UH, MY COUNCIL PERSON ABOUT HOSTING ANOTHER EVENT IN A MORE CENTRAL TO OUR AREA, PREFERABLY, UH, NEAR THE APARTMENT COMPLEXES BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE A BULK PICKUP OPTION.
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GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12TH, AND THE TIME IS NOW 5:41 PM I'M CHAIRWOMAN CATHERINE GURA AND I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE DALLAS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION TO ORDER.
WE WELCOME YOUR PARTICIPATION IN OUR MEETINGS IN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR PREFERENCE.
AND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST TRANSLATION OR OTHER ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES, PLEASE CALL 4 6 9 7 2 4 6 5, UH, 3 8 2 DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING, AND OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE APRIL 9TH AT 5:30 PM ALL RIGHT, JUST A COUPLE OF QUICK ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS EVENING.
HAPPY WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH TO ALL OF MY FAVORITE WOMEN WHO SERVE ALONGSIDE ME ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION AND THE MEN THAT SUPPORT US.
WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL AND THE, UM, INVESTMENT THAT YOU MAKE TO, UH, THE CITY.
UH, JUST A REMINDER, THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IS BACK IN SESSION, UH, AND IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING, UH, ANY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL TOPICS, UM, UH, THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, YOU CAN SIGN UP TO RECEIVE BILL ALERTS AND TRACK THEM THROUGH THE SYSTEM.
UM, MS. BEVIN IS A GREAT RESOURCE FOR THAT, AND WE EXPECT A BUSY LEGISLATIVE SESSION, SO IF YOU NEED HELP SIGNING UP, JUST LET UH, ONE OF US KNOW.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S GET RIGHT INTO OUR ROLL CALL.
WHEN I CALL YOUR DISTRICT, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME IF YOU ARE PRESENT.
THAT'S COMMISSIONER, HOME AND DISTRICT TWO, MARK WOOTEN, DISTRICT FIVE.
WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK.
ALRIGHT, MOVING ON TO OUR TECHNICAL PANEL.
JACK WILL NOT BE ON THIS EVENING'S MEETING.
MOVING ON TO OUR HEALTH COMMITTEE.
MS. THOMAS MS. EK YET? MS. GILL.
MEMBERS REMEMBER, IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR CAMERA ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE MEETING.
LET'S GO RIGHT INTO OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS THIS EVENING.
WE HAVE ONE REGISTERED SPEAKER.
YOU RECITE OUR SPEAKER GUIDELINES.
SPEAKERS MUST OBSERVE THE SAME RULES OF PROPRIETY TO CORPSMAN, GOOD CONDUCT OF COUPLE OF MEMBERS OF THIS COMMISSION, ANY SPEAKER MAKING PERSONAL AND PERTINENT OR SLANDEROUS REMARKS WHO BOISTEROUS WHILE
[01:20:01]
THE BE SPEAKER WILL COMMENTS.OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS IAN SIEMENS, PLEASE, UH, JUST PUSH THE RED BUTTON RIGHT THERE.
STATE YOUR NAME AND THEN BEGIN YOUR COMMENTS.
HELLO, MY NAME IS IAN SIEMENS.
I AM THE DALLAS CITY HALL ADVOCATE FOR ENVIRONMENT TEXAS.
UH, WE ARE COMING HERE TODAY, UH, MYSELF AND ALSO REPRESENTATIVE FROM TEXAS CONSERVATION ALLIANCE, UH, TO DO SOME EDUCATION ABOUT THE KAY BAILEY HUTCHINSON CONVENTION CENTER AND KIND OF OPEN A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT.
UH, ITS REMODEL AND BIRD FRIENDLY ACCOMMODATIONS FOR.
SO, UH, HOW MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH LIGHTS OUT TEXAS OR LIGHTS OUT? DFW? YES, THAT'S WHAT I EXPECTED.
A LOT OF FAMILIARITY IN THE ROOM.
SO, TEXAS CONSERVATION ALLIANCE, AS WELL AS AUDUBON, TEXAS, HAS BEEN DOING A REGULAR SURVEY EVERY MIGRATION SEASON, SPRING AND FALL THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN DALLAS SINCE 2020.
WHAT THEY'VE FOUND IS THAT THERE IS ONE BUILDING THAT REALLY STANDS OUT AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY.
THE K BAILEY HUTCHINSON CONVENTION CENTER, UH, THE CONVENTION CENTER IS APPROXIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR 30% OF THE DEAD BIRDS THAT ARE FOUND DURING THOSE SURVEYS.
UH, THAT'S A REALLY TERRIBLE NUMBER, AND A HUGE PORTION OF THOSE ARE DUE TO CERTAIN DESIGN ELEMENTS LIKE A GLASS WALKWAY, UH, THAT IS A, A SKYWALK.
UH, BIRDS, UNLIKE HUMANS ARE NOT ABLE TO DERIVE CONTEXT FROM GLASS.
THEY SEE REFLECTIONS OR THEY SEE TRANSPARENCY, AND THEY DON'T REALLY HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THERE IN THE WAY.
UH, THIS LEADS TO A LOT OF BIRD STRIKES ALONG WITH LIGHTS THAT ARE SHINING DIRECTLY AT THEM WHENEVER THEY'RE MIGRATING AT NIGHT.
SO WHAT WE ARE DOING IS WE WANT TO OPEN THE CONVERSATION AT THIS STAGE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER REMODEL AND REDESIGN, UH, TO GET FEEDBACK FROM ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONERS, OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ABOUT POSSIBLY WHAT STEPS COULD BE SUPPORTED TOWARDS GETTING, UH, A BIRD FRIENDLY REMODEL WITH THE CONVENTION CENTER.
WE WANT DALLAS TO BE BIRD FRIENDLY.
DALLAS IS GLOBALLY IMPORTANT FOR BIRDS, UH, AROUND ONE THIRD TO ONE QUARTER OF MIGRATORY BIRDS PASSED THROUGH TEXAS.
WE HAVE MORE THAN 600 SPECIES SEEN HERE IN TEXAS.
EITHER WE, ACCORDING TO THE, THE YEAR, EITHER WE'RE TIED WITH CALIFORNIA OR WE ARE NUMBER ONE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR BIRD DIVERSITY.
WE HAVE A LOT OF IMPORTANT SPECIES COMING THROUGH HERE.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE BIRDS ARE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THEIR DESTINATION ACCORDING TO RESEARCH.
UH, DALLAS IS THE THIRD MOST DANGEROUS AREA IN THE UNITED STATES FOR BIRDS.
THIS IS LARGELY DUE TO ALL OF THAT GLASS, ALONG WITH LIGHTS SHINING.
THE SOLUTIONS TO THIS CAN BE RELATIVELY COST EFFECTIVE.
SO FOR LIGHTS THAT'S VERY EASY, JUST POINT THEM DOWNWARDS OR TOWARDS ACTUAL OBJECTS.
UH, MAYBE TURN THE COLOR TONE FROM THAT BRIGHT WHITE BLUE TO SOMETHING MORE OF AN ORANGE TONE.
THAT'S ALL PRETTY COST NEUTRAL FOR WINDOWS.
THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT, BUT THAT'S WHY WE'RE STARTING NOW.
BECAUSE WITH WINDOWS, EITHER YOU CAN CHANGE DESIGN ELEMENTS AND ARCHITECTURE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S MORE OBVIOUS THAT THOSE ARE FLAT SURFACE, UH, ACTUAL SURFACES FOR BIRDS.
OR YOU CAN IMPLEMENT THINGS LIKE BIRD, FRANKLY, GLASS.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN DO BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS.
THAT IS TO PUT SOME LITTLE STICKERS ON THOSE WINDOWS, ESPECIALLY THE PROBLEM WINDOWS.
ALTHOUGH SOME ARCHITECTS MAY NOT LIKE THE IDEA OF PUTTING STICKERS ON THEIR BUILDING.
UH, YOU CAN ALSO GET ETCHED GLASS.
THIS KIND OF GLASS HAS SOME ETCHING ON THE OUTSIDE.
THEY'RE LITTLE TEENY TINY DOTS WHERE FROM ABOUT 10 FEET AWAY, HUMANS CAN'T REALLY SEE THEM VERY WELL.
THEY DON'T SHOW UP IN PHOTOS VERY WELL.
BUT I'VE PASSED AROUND SOME ONE PAGERS TO ALL OF YOU.
UH, AND IF YOU DID NOT GET ONE, I CAN GIVE ONE TO YOU AFTERWARDS.
UH, THOSE HAVE SOME PHOTOS OF WHAT THESE, UH, DESIGNS LOOK LIKE.
UH, ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, WE'VE SEEN THAT THIS IS A SIMILAR PROBLEM THAT OTHER CITIES HAVE IN NEW YORK CITY.
THE JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER WAS THEIR NUMBER ONE KILLER FOR BIRDS.
UH, JUST LIKE HERE IN DALLAS, UH, ALSO IN CHICAGO.
MCCORMICK PLACE WAS THEIR NUMBER ONE KILLER FOR BIRDS.
WHAT BOTH OF THOSE CITIES DID IS WHENEVER THEY INITIATED A REMODEL, THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED BIRD FRIENDLY GLASS.
THEY HAVE REDUCED BIRD COLLISIONS BY 90 TO 95% AT EACH OF THOSE FACILITIES.
WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT, BUT WE ARE ALSO VERY WILLING TO OPEN A CONVERSATION, TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THOSE EXPECTED COSTS COULD BE LIKE.
WE DO NOT WANT TO DO IS STAND IN THE WAY OF THE CONVENTION CENTER.
WHAT WE INSTEAD WANT TO DO IS PARTNER AT THIS EARLY STAGE, COLLABORATE AND MOVE FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN BE AS COST NEUTRAL AND, UH, NOT DELAY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
I WILL BE STICKING AROUND FOR QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS, UH, AND ALSO HAND AROUND SOME EXTRA ONE-PAGER IN CASE YOU DIDN'T GET ONE.
FOR THOSE ONLINE, I'LL ALSO SEND A DIGITAL COPY.
[01:25:01]
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.ANYBODY THAT'S VIRTUAL THAT WANTS A COPY OF THAT, WE CAN SEND IT OUT VIA EMAIL AFTER, UH, THE MEETING.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF OUR MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 12TH, 2025 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION MEETING.
IS THERE A MOTION IT'S BEEN MOVED? IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND.
ANY OPPOSED? ALL THOSE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
LET'S GET RIGHT INTO OUR BRIEFING ITEM.
ITEM A IS AN URBAN HEAT ISLAND PROJECT ANNUAL UPDATE.
UM, I SEE THAT, UH, OUR INTERIM DIRECTOR WHITE IS NOT WITH US THIS EVENING.
SO IF Y'ALL WILL GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE YOURSELVES AND GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UH, CHAIR OF VICE CHAIR AND ENVIRONMENT COMMISSIONERS.
I'M THE INTERIM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR OEQS.
WITH ME TODAY ARE MY TWO COLLEAGUES, UH, MARITZA FIGE, AND ONG HEMMING, WHO WILL BE PRESENTING AN UPDATE ON THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND, UH, STUDY FROM LAST YEAR.
UH, I REQUEST THAT YOU HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS TILL THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
SO TODAY WE'LL BE TELLING YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHY WE CONDUCTED THIS STUDY, OUR PURPOSE.
WE'LL DO A BACKGROUND AND THEN GO THROUGH THE 2024 FINDINGS, AND THEN WE'LL TELL.