Versión en español a continuación. Commission on Seniors Meeting July 14th, 2021 Commission on Seniors to be held July 14th, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (July 13th, 2021 by noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the July 14th, 2021 Commission on Seniors Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at 512-972-5019 or Halana.Kaleel@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (the day before the meeting). The following information is required: speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, email address and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). •Once a request to speak has been made to the board liaison, the information to call on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start time to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to Halana.Kaleel@austintexas.gov by noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If the meeting is broadcast live, it may be viewed here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Reunión del Commission on Seniors FECHA de la reunion (July 14th, 2021) La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (July 13th, 2021 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de la junta en 512-972-5019 or Halana.Kaleel@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión). Se requiere la siguiente información: nombre del orador, número (s) de artículo sobre el que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutral, dirección de correo electrónico (opcional) y un número de teléfono (debe ser el número que se utilizará para llamar). • Una vez que se haya realizado una …
COMMISSION ON SENIORS RECOMMENDATION Recommendation Number: 20210714-04C: Recommendations to City Council on Emergency Preparedness and Response WHEREAS, the Commission on Seniors advises City Council on matters related to older adults and all Austinites were gravely impacted by and some are still recovering from the extreme winter events of February 2021; WHEREAS, older adults are identified by National Center for Environmental Health (NCED) and Center for Disease Control and Prevention as at-risk members of our community due to social vulnerabilities that can be disproportionately impacted by disasters; WHEREAS, these winter weather events strained services, including emergency management services, utility infrastructure, transportation, and communication networks which are under the auspices of the City of Austin; WHEREAS, the lack of effective communication to the public by Austin public utilities and the government instilled a lack confidence in local government during Winter Storm Uri; WHEREAS, emergency response plans should include identifying the at-risk populations and vulnerabilities in the community to provide the right information at the right time before, during, and after disasters; WHEREAS, Austin City Council recently appointed the first Resiliency Officer and has proactively prepared for extreme weather events recognizing their potential devastation to the local economy in the response to Climate Resilience Resolution 20190509-019, which specifically called for opportunities for city staff and the community to work together and comprehensively address extreme weather impacts and increase Austin’s climate resilience; WHEREAS, March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan (ARP)—designed to assist in the ongoing economic and public health efforts—was signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden. Included in this bill is $195.8 million dollars for the City of Austin, portions of which can be used to make necessary investment in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure; WHEREAS, advanced notice of the polar vortex was given by the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio and knowledge that it would create historic lows and winter storms in early February yet the city was still underprepared for this event, for example by opening only one warming center; WHEREAS, once Austinites experienced the unprecedented and widespread failure of the state’s electric grid and subsequent failure of water pipes and infrastructure, it was too late to gather resources, and traditional emergency networks failed and digital communication was not coordinated when the emergency set in, which created confusion and misinformation; WHEREAS, Winter Storm Uri updates became increasingly unavailable to those who lost electricity and internet; WHEREAS, those most vulnerable …
