COMMISSION ON VETERANS AFFAIRS REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. City Hall Executive Session Room 1027 301 West Second Street Austin, TX 78701 AGENDA COMMISSION MEMBERS: Jason Denny (Chair) Ann Kitchen (5) Josephine Hinds – Jimmy Flannigan: (6) Pete Salazar (Vice Chair) Leslie Pool: (7) Adrenne Mendoza – Delia Garza: (2) Alfred Bingham –Natasha Harper-Madison: (1) Manuel Jimenez – Sabino Renteria: (3) Elisabeth Collura-Rosenberg – Kathie Tovo: (9) Thomas Just – Paige Ellis: (8) Chris Ehlinger – Alison Alter: (10) Doris Williams – Mayor Steve Adler Vacant – Greg Casar CALL TO ORDER 1. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION The speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address items not posted on the agenda. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and possible action regarding approval of the minutes from the Commission on Veterans Affairs Regular meetings on September 18, 2019 and November 20, 2019. 3. OLD BUSINESS a) Update on Veterans Park from the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department ( Sponsors: Jason Denny, Pete Salazar) b) Finalize and vote on the final language of the recommendation to create a Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) c) Discussion on providing further guidance on Veteran Courts referral policy (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) 1 d) Discussion on proposed TAP (Transition Assistance Program) pilot program (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) e) Discussion on providing further guidance on Veteran Court referral policy (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) f) Nominations and elections of new officers 4. NEW BUSINESS a) Presentation and discussion by Sam Haytham from Kiro Action on possible solution on homelessness. (Sponsors: Pete Salazar, Manuel Jimenez) b) Discussion and proposal to draft letter to AISD school officials regarding Veterans Day Parade. (Sponsors: Jason Denny, Pete Salazar) c) Discussion and possible action on any applicable changes to the current bylaws 5. STAFF UPDATES 6. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 Hours) before the meeting date. Please call Tina Lee at the Veterans Program Department at 512-974-3306 or Tina.Lee@austintexas.gov for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. …
COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS CITY OF AUSTIN JANUARY 15, 2020 www.KIROACTION.com www.KIROACTION.com WHAT IS KIRO ACTION HOUSING? KIRO ACTION is a home, disaster relief, pop-up hotel, workers accommodation, veteran housing, and government relief structure all-in-one. Our solutions are put together in a few hours with our patent-pending designs without any heavy equipment or specialized machinery. Our solutions are real homes, built above code and over engineered, can withstand fires, high winds, have working bathrooms and electrical features; all like a normal home. We are not like some of the awful solutions on the market that are a tent or glorified shed. Our homes look and feel like a real house because we use the same building technologies in the commercial and housing industry, but with advanced materials and process. Our designs fit together in three-hours, can be moved around by three-four people, built to (and above) code. If there is a foundation, then the home can be secured to it, making it a permanent home. If there is no foundation, then you can incorporate our foldout patent-pending foundation to put it anywhere from an empty parking lot to a field. Our smallest housing solutions for refugees and general homelessness are priced at 12-14k USD (depending on options and volume), rated to last 20-years (and much longer) with the materials used, average 200 square feet (19 sq m) with a fully functioning bathroom and kitchenette. We started our organization after Thanksgiving 2019, and within 46-days we combined a team of builders, former diplomats, former government officials and have a team that has a combined 280 years in construction. In those 46-days, we built multiple designs, prototype and expanding on manufacturing in North Austin. www.KIROACTION.com WHAT IS KIRO ACTION HOUSING? Our prototype is setup near Mueller and is roughly 20 ft by 10 ft with the ability to sleep up to 4-people (3 adults and 1 child). With our solutions, we have the ability to make homes larger or smaller using our grid building system. If 200 sq ft is too small, our modular building design can be increased in 200 sq ft increments with ease, meaning you can have a customized unit that is 200 sq ft to 1000 sq ft (and above). www.KIROACTION.com WHY DID WE CHOOSE THE NAME “KIRO ACTION”? “KIRO” ((cid:2)(cid:1)) combines the definitions of “crossroad” and “forked road”. Many people that are in need of affordable housing, …
COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING January 15, 2020 COMMISSION ON VETERANS AFFAIRS MINUTES The Commission on Veteran Affairs convened in a regular meeting on January 15, 2020 at Austin City Hall located on 301 West 2nd Street in the Executive Session Room 1027. Chair Jason Denny called the Board Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Board Members in Attendance: Jason Denny- Chair Pete Salazar- Vice Chair Alfred Bingham Chris Ehlinger Josephine Hinds Manuel Jimenez Doris Williams Staff in Attendance: Karen Haywood, Tina Lee 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Denny asked the Commission members to review the minutes from the regular called meeting on September 18, 2019 and November 20, 2019. Vice Chair Salazar made a motion to approve the meeting minutes and Commissioner Josephine Hinds seconded the motion. Motion passed with no objection. 2. BUSINESS Parks and Recreation updated the Commission on the status of Veteran’s Park and construction started on November 15th. They currently have placed an erosion control and fencing, irrigation, planting materials and working on the right of way permit. Projection for completion for May 2020. More information on the background, purpose and schedule can be found at http://www.austintexas.gov/department/veterans-park-plan. Plan to schedule a ribbon cutting ceremony 3 months prior to completion. Recommendation to create a Department of Veterans and Military Affairs was approved by Board Member Manuel Jimenez motion, Board Member Doris Williams second on a 7 vote and the 1 abstain, 6 yes. Manuel Jimenez discussed the resolution for the creation of Veterans Courts at the municipality level. Resolution was sent to Council and no current updates have been made. The motion to postpone item 3D, Transition Assistance Program, to the next meeting was approved on Board Member Pete Salazar's motion, Board Member Josephine Hinds seconded on a 7-member vote COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS MEETING MINUTES Officer elections: Manuel Jimenez nominates Doris Williams and approved with no objections. Doris Williams nominates Manuel Jimenez to be the Vice Chair, Sam Haytham from Kiro Action presented to the Commission on the possible solution to Veteran Homelessness in Austin. These structures are easy to install, quick to deploy and transport to other areas if needed. These structures could house up to 4 people with the needed amenities-built in such as a bathroom and kitchen. The structure is 200 sq. feet that would take 3-4 people to put together and …
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs Recommendation Number: 20200115-B003 Creation of the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs WHEREAS, the City of Austin seeks to be a national leader and community model in healing the military civilian divide by intentionally reintegrating those who have served as well as their families into our communities with purpose; WHEREAS, the City of Austin has prioritized veteran issues such as becoming an effective zero homeless veteran city and seeks to hire and support veterans and their families in order to send a message to United States military veterans that they are welcomed and honored in the city of Austin; WHEREAS, the City of Austin should capitalize upon being uniquely situated to recruit and retain defense spending and investment that has significant positive impact on our economy such as Camp Mabry and the Army Futures Command; WHEREAS, principles of the chain of command and accountability dictate the need for an office solely responsible for achieving the above-mentioned goals. Moreover, such an office presents substantial opportunities to reduce costly duplicative efforts through effective coordination and a cohesive vision; WHEREAS, the creation of such an office would send an important message about the City of Austin to veterans everywhere and give those who have served a more clear and direct voice in city government. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs recommends the Austin City Council that the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs be created forthwith. Date of Approval: January 15, 2020 Record of the Vote: Approved on a 6-0 vote with board member Bingham abstaining and 3 board members absent (Collura-Rosenberg, Ehlinger, Just) Attest: ___________________________________________
