Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

Austin/Travis County Food Policy Board MEETING MINUTES February 12, 2024 The Austin/Travis County Food Policy Board (ATCFPB) convened on Monday, February 12th at the City of Austin Permitting and Development Center, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Room 1406, Austin, TX 78752. Board Members in Attendance: Andrea Abel, Lisa Barden, Mark Bethell, Marissa Bell, Joi Chevalier, Kacey Hanson, Larry Franklin, Rosamaria Murillo, Natalie Poulos Board Members Absent: Sari Vatske Staff in Attendance: Amanda Rohlich (City of Austin), Sergio Torres-Peralta (City of Austin) CALL TO ORDER Chair Joi Chevalier called the meeting to order at 6:06 p.m. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION None APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Board Member Kacey Hanson motioned to approve the meeting minutes from the Regular Meeting on January 8th, pending minor edits to item 2g, with Board Member Andrea Abel, seconding the motion. Minutes passed on a 9-0 vote. STAFF PRESENTATION 2. Presentation from April Geruso, Planning Department, about updating the 2012 Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan (see back-up materials for presentation). They shared a request for one member to partner through the development and implementation of the Imagine Austin comprehensive Plan Update Engagement Process serving as a point of contact for ATCFPB. New contact is Evelyn Mitchell who will be leading Comp Plan Update. a. What does concurrent implementation look like? On an annual basis, they are working with CPJIC and the Priority Program Champion on implementing the Comprehensive Plan. The City Charter requires this implementation structure. The Priority Programs are Healthy Austin, Compact and Connected, Creative Economy, Land Use, Water, Environment, Affordability, Workforce b. Possibility to have counterparts from the community serve on Priority Programs  DISCUSSION ITEMS c. Time commitment for this representative would be a couple of hours between now and the time that the Public Engagement Plan is developed. The exact months and dates have yet to be determined. This representative will give feedback on the activities and methods for reaching community. d. Will be launching into meetings in the next couple of weeks so a representative appointed at earliest convenience would be appreciated. 3. Presentation from Melissa Zone on Travis County's Land, Water, Transportation Plan progress update (see back-up materials for presentation) a. What does it mean that the County lacks independent authority that cities possess. Local jurisdictions can determine what land use looks like but counties do not have that same authority. b. Does TNR partner with CARTS? Yes, because Cap Metro only services the city of Austin. Travis County funds some of these programs in part. They also work with CAMPO for other ADA transport. c. Can you talk how you are addressing transportation in the southeast. They work on addressing busted roads, lack of food retail. They try to work with developers to get the access out there. The biggest obstacle is the state of Texas. d. How far into the riparian zone do the conservation corridors go? Melissa was unsure of the answer to that but shared more about how they work to repair the riparian zone along those corridors. e. Will follow-up with us once draft is ready to go public. 4. Provide updates from board members’ meetings with County Commissioners Shea and Travillion on February 5, 2024. Kacey Hanson provided an update. They spoke to Commissioner Travillion and Commissioner Shea’s staff about food planning. The Commissioners’ Office were glad to hear the updates. Health and Human Services, Transportation & Natural Resources, and Planning from the County were all on the call. There was conversation about budget and budget cycle as it relates to the food planning efforts. The departments did mention that they were holding line items spots for food system planning asks that may come out of the planning efforts. Travillion is interested in pursuing budget requests for this year to support food planning. 5. Discussion on board vacancies, appointments, and reappointments. Three vacancies from Judge Andy Brown and Commissioners Shea & Gomez and one term reappointment for Andrea Abel. 6. Discussion of upcoming budget recommendation cycle and discussion of a working group to lead the process for proposing possible recommendations. Kacey Hanson shared that there is in an interest in bringing two budget requests for two FTEs (one City and one County) position to help implement the food plan. Andrea Abel, Kacey Hanson to circle back with Emily Ackland for input on that proposal. 7. Discussion of Joint Sustainability Committee January 24, 2024 meeting, Larry Franklin. There is a recommendation in place to promote pro-climate diets and educating communities on how to switch. They made a bold ask of $1 million to create a campaign and provide incentives to those who are producing climate friendly foods. 8. Review Board Member Assignments (take item out of order and discuss at end of meeting) a. Andrea Abel, Kacey Hanson, Natalie Poulos to circle back with Emily Ackland at TNR for input on a budget recommendation to add FTEs to City and County in upcoming budget cycle to help implement the food plan. b. Food in all Policies team to meet with Nitza to discuss exploration of new positions at City and County to help implement the food plan. c. Joi Chevalier to confirm date of the next meeting to discuss Emergency Preparedness Working Group, Including Resilience Hubs and invite Dr. Rosamaria Murillo and Marissa Bell d. Natalie Poulos to send information about national forum of people that are transitioning from working on COVID response to broader food security e. Larry Franklin will send any information about the food from last winter weather f. Amanda Rohlich to send Natalie Poulos the recommendation template activation WORKING GROUP UPDATES 9. Updates from Food Planning, Community Advisory Committee member Nitza Cuevas a. The last update the board received on food planning was back in November. b. CAC approved the SEAT tool, which has been used to score the proposed strategies they have come out of the IAGs c. IAG Groups have met four times i. 1st meeting: Orienting ii. 2nd meeting: Creation of strategies using SMARTIE goals iii. 3rd meeting: Review and revise strategies from previous meeting using iv. 3.5 meeting (optional): Review of Strategies w/ SEAT tool during the SMARTIE and SEAT tools January CAC meeting v. 4th meeting: Further merge, edit, or delete strategies from meeting 3.5 with SEAT tool. d. CAC Current focus: i. Discuss the structure of the Food Plan document and the creation of an introduction letter to the plan. ii. Implementation action team, to ensure there is a call into the organization who can carry out the strategies and goals laid out in the finalized plan. The ultimate goal to build a coalition of organizations to carry this work on e. The draft plan is to be completed with review period for CAC March 4th - 11th before being released for public review. f. Is there a desire from the CAC to have a position at the City and/or County to help implement the food plan? Yes—Nitza to meet with Food in all Policies team to discuss. 10. Updates from the Emergency Preparedness Working Group, Including Resilience Hubs, Joi Chevalier. a. Scheduled to meet on February 24. Joi Chevalier to confirm date. b. A letter is being drafted requesting information from the last cold weather activation to see what food contracts were executed c. Natalie Poulos to send information about national forum of people that are transition from working on COVID response to broader food security 11. Updates from the Food in All Policies Working Group, Kacey Hanson a. Met with Amanda Rohlich and Edwin Marty prior to this meeting and will bring a recommendation to the next meeting b. Requesting City departments to come and present out to the board DISCUSSION & ACTION ITEMS 12. Discuss and take possible action on appointing a back-up representative to the Joint Sustainability Committee. No volunteers stepped up and so the board took no action. 13. Discuss and take possible action to appoint a representative to support the development and implementation of the Imagine Austin comprehensive engagement process. Kacey Hanson moved to have Marissa Bell serve as the Imagine Austin representative to support the development and implementation of the Imagine Austin comprehensive engagement process with Joi Chevalier seconding. The board approved her appointment on a 9-0 vote. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 14. Discussion and scheduling of future agenda items ADJOURNMENT Chair Joi Chevalier adjourned the meeting at 8:03 pm Minutes were approved at the March 18, 2024 full board meeting on Board Member Mark Bethell’s motion with Board Member Kacey Hanson seconding. Minutes passed on a 8-0 vote.