Commission for Women Regular Meeting of the Commission for Women - Location: Austin City Hall, Board & Commission Room, Room 1101, 301 West 2nd Street, Austin, Texas 78701
Regular meeting of the Commission for Women Wednesday, August 3, 2022 12:00pm Austin City Hall – Boards and Commission Room 1101 301 W 2nd Street Austin, Texas 78701 Some members of the Commission for Women may be participating by videoconference. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, call or email Kiarrah Carlisle, (512) 978-1879, Kiarrah.Carlisle@austintexas.gov CURRENT BOARD COMMISSIONERS: Rebecca Austen, Chair Neva Fernandez Juliana Gonzales Jocelyn Tau Pam Rattan Desiree Bermea CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL AGENDA Flannery Bope, Vice Chair Diana Melendez Josephine Serrata Priscilla Cortez Vanessa Bissereth The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. Approve the minutes of the Commission for Women regular meeting on July 13, 2022. APPROVAL OF MINUTES DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. 3. Presentation by Amanda Rohlich, Food Policy Advisor, and Emmie DiCicco, Food Policy Intern, from the Office of Sustainability on Austin’s First-Ever Food Plan, with discussion and possible action. Discussion and possible action regarding the City of Austin’s annual budget process. WORKING GROUP/COMMITTEE UPDATES Update from Working Group on Homelessness. Updated from Working Group on Safety. Update from Working Group on Health. Update from Working Group on Recognition of Equity for Women and Girls. 4. 5. 6. 7. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Presentation from the City Manager’s Office and Police Research Forum (PERF) regarding Resolution No. 20190131-077 on evaluation of Austin Police Department’s sexual assault investigations. ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American 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 Kiarrah Carlisle at the Office of Civil Rights, at (512) 978-1879 or Kiarrah.Carlisle@austintexas.gov , for additional information; TTY users’ route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Commission for Women, please contact Kiarrah Carlisle at the Office of Civil …
Commission for Women REGULAR CALLED MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, July 13, 2022 The Commission for Women convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr., Permitting & Development Center; Rooms 1401 & 1402 in Austin, Texas. Chair Rebecca Austen called the Commission for Women Meeting to order at 12:16 p.m. Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance: Flannery Bope, Vice Chair Juliana Gonzales Pam Rattan Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Rebecca Austen, Chair Diana Melendez Jocelyn Tau Josephine Serrata Neva Fernandez Priscilla Cortez PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Tamela Saldana – Introduction as Acting Director of City of Austin’s Office of Civil Rights. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approve the minutes of the Commission for Women regular meeting on May 04, 2022. The minutes from the meeting of (05/04/2022) were approved on Chair Austen’s motion, Commissioner Rattan’s second on a (9-0) vote. (Commissioner Desiree Bermea was in virtual attendance, but camera was off. Commissioner Vanessa Bissereth was absent) 1. 1 DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. Discussion and possible action on Presentation by Carlos Soto, Research Analyst, Community Action Network (CAN) on women and children. Discussion was held. No action was taken. Discussion and possible action on approval updates to Working Group members. The motion to approve updates to Working Group members was approved on Chair Rebecca Austen’s motion, Vice Chair Flannery Bope’s second on a 9-0 vote. (Commissioner Desiree Bermea was in virtual attendance, but camera was off. Commissioner Vanessa Bissereth was absent) Discussion and possible action to elect new alternate for the Joint Inclusion Committee. The motion to approve Diana Melendez as new alternate for the Joint Inclusion Committee was approved on Chair Rebecca Austen’s motion, Vice Chair Flannery Bope’s second on a 9-0 vote. (Commissioner Desiree Bermea was in virtual attendance, but camera was off. Commissioner Vanessa Bissereth was absent) Discussion and possible action regarding the City of Austin annual budget process. Discussion was held. No action was taken. Discussion and possible action regarding the impact of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision on women and girls in Austin. Discussion was held. No action was taken. Approve a recommendation to support the GRACE Act The motion to approve the recommendation 20220713-6: Support the GRACE Act (description of recommendation) was approved on Chair Rebecca Austen’s motion, Vice Chair Flannery Bope’s second on a (8-1) vote. (Commissioner Pam Rattan abstained. Commissioner Desiree Bermea was in virtual attendance, but camera was off. Commissioner Vanessa …
A Food Plan for Austin Developing the City’s first Food Plan Commission for Women– August 3rd 2022 What is a Food System? Food for thought ● 14.7% food insecurity in Travis County ● 38% zip codes in Travis County don’t have a full service grocery store ● 16.8 acres of farmland are lost every day in Travis County ● Less than 1% of food consumed in Travis County is locally produced ● 1.24 million pounds of food is wasted every day in Austin ● Covid-19 pandemic & Winter Storm Uri exposed & exacerbated inequities in our food system What is a Food Plan and why do we need one? ● A Food Plan will set clear Goals and Strategies to move toward a more equitable, sustainable & resilient food system and provide a coordinating structure for all food related initiatives ○ The Food Plan build on several other initiatives made by the City to tackle food system issues. ● On June 2021 Austin City Council directed the City Manager to initiate a planning process Link to full resolution What about disasters? Recent and ongoing crises have caused a spike in food insecurity and revealed inadequate preparation for expansive and culturally appropriate food distribution We are working with HSEM & other departments to develop a Disaster Food & Drinking Water Appendix Will include learnings from Winter Storm Uri, COVID-19, boil water notices, and other recent emergencies Developing the Austin Food Plan: Where are we now? A Baseline Assessment We are in the process of releasing The State of The Food System 2022. A comprehensive analysis of our food system and an updated version of previous reports from 2015 and 2018. This will be the foundation for Austin’s first-ever Food Plan Project Organization Austin Food Plan Emergency Food & Water Appendix Food Supply Chain Vulnerability Analysis City and County Staff Austin-Travis Food Policy Board Community Advisory Committee Issue Area Groups *Production AG Consultant Team *Community Food Ambassadors *To be determined General Public and Community *Access AG *Markets AG *Labor AG *Recovery AG Finding the Right Project Team and Structure Stewards and Advisors of the Process City and County Staff Consultant Team Community Advisory Committee Austin-Travis Food Policy Board Advisors on the Content Issue Area Groups General Public and Community Community Food Ambassadors Centering Equity The Austin Food Plan will center equity and the lived expertise of those most impacted by the current …
Commission for Women REGULAR CALLED MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, August 3, 2022 The Commission for Women convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at 301 W 2nd Street, Austin, Texas 78701 Austin City Hall – Boards and Commission Room 1101 Chair Rebecca Austen called the Commission for Women Meeting to order at 12:11 p.m. Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance: Rebecca Austen, Chair Flannery Bope, Vice Chair Juliana Gonzales Pam Rattan Desiree Bermea Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Diana Melendez Jocelyn Tau Neva Fernandez Priscilla Cortez Board Members/Commissioners Absent: Vanessa Bissereth Josephine Serrata Staff in Attendance: Kiarrah Carlisle, Office of Civil Rights PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Commission for Women regular meeting on July 13, 2022. The minutes from the meeting of (07/13/2022) were approved on Chair Austen’s motion, Vice Chair Flannery Bope’s second on a (7-0) vote. (Commissioners Pam Rattan and Desiree Bermea were not in attendance at the time of the motion. Commissioners Vanessa Bissereth and Josephine Serrata were absent.) 1 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS Discussion and possible action on Presentation by Amanda Rohlich, Food Policy Advisor, and Emmie DiCicco, Food Policy Intern, from the Office of Sustainability on Austin’s First-Ever Food Plan. Discussion was held. No action was taken. Discussion and possible action regarding the City of Austin annual budget process. Discussion was held. No action was taken. WORKING GROUP/COMMITTEE UPDATES Member update from Working Group on Homelessness. Discussion was held. No action was taken. Member update from Working Group on Safety Discussion was held. No action was taken. Member update from Working Group on Health Discussion was held. No action was taken. Member update from Working Group on Recognition of Equity for Women and Girls Discussion was held. No action was taken. Chair Rebecca Austen adjourned the meeting at 1:17 p.m. without objection. The minutes were approved at the September 7, 2022 meeting on Chair Rebecca Austen's motion, Commissioner Pam Rattan's second on a 6-0 vote. 2
