Approved Minutes — original pdf
Approved Minutes
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION http://www.austintexas.gov/cttc MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday – April 14, 2021 – 6:30 PM VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING Please go to http://www.austintexas.gov/cityclerk/boards_commissions/meetings/10_1.htm for backup material associated with this agenda. All ATXN (City Channel 6) programming is cablecast on Spectrum, Grande Communications, and Google Fiber on their cable channel 6, on AT&T U‐ Verse Channel 99 and webcast online. Over 20 meetings per month, including this commission meeting, are available on demand online, typically within a few hours of the cablecast. Schedules and video can be found at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/atxn-video-archive. CURRENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Sophie Gairo ‐ Mayor Steve Adler Nehemiah Pitts III ‐ Council Member Natasha Harper‐Madison, District 1 Steven Apodaca – Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, District 2 Malcolm Yeatts ‐ Council Member Sabino “Pio” Renteria, District 3 David Alexander ‐ Council Member Gregorio Casar, District 4 Dave Floyd ‐ Council Member Ann Kitchen, District 5 Iliya Svirsky ‐ Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, District 6 Maxine Eiland ‐ Council Member Leslie Pool, District 7 Vacant ‐ Council Member Paige Ellis, District 8 Nicole Thompson – Council Member Kathie Tovo, District 9 Sumit DasGupta ‐ Council Member Alison Alter, District 10 Commission Members Present Nehemiah Pitts III Steven Apodaca Malcolm Yeatts Dave Floyd Iliya Svirsky Maxine Eiland Nicole Thompson Sumit DasGupta Unexcused Absence David Alexander Excused Absence Sophie Gairo CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 6:35 PM CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first ten speakers who register to speak no later than noon the day before the meeting will be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – April 2, 2021 An amendment was read into the record to make the minutes reflect changes to the budget recommendation to remove dollar figures associated with the CTM recommendation. Motion to approve the April 2, 2021 meeting minutes as amended made by Chair Pitts and seconded by Commissioner Apodaca Passed on a vote of 7-0-1 with Commissioner Floyd abstaining. 2. STAFF AND COMMUNITY BRIEFINGS (A member of the public may not address a board at a meeting on an item posted as a briefing) a. Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Briefing from Participating Austin Internet Service Providers. (Erin Burget, AT&T) One pager by Erin Burget can be viewed here. 3. NEW BUSINESS (Discussion and Possible Action) a. Grant for Technology Opportunities Program – 2021 Award Recommendations and Vote for Approval (Discussion and Possible Action) Jesse Rodriguez of the Office of Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs delivered an update on the GTOPs Core 2021 application process, and presented the proposed awardees for 2021. Motion to approve the GTOPs 2021 award recommendation made by Chair Pitts and seconded by Commissioner DasGupta passed on a vote of 7-0. b. Council Vote Tablature (Discussion and Possible Action) This item was to discuss the ongoing desire by the commission to have all City Council votes going forward be recorded and made available to the public in a data-analyzable format. Commissioner Yeatts noted that he will draft a Council Committee Agenda Request to place this on City Council’s Agenda. c. Election of Officers (Discussion and Possible Action) Motion to nominate Chair Pitts as Chair of the Commission made by Commissioner Yeatts and seconded by Commissioner DasGupta passed on a vote of 6-0-1 with Chair Pitts abstaining. Motion to nominate Vice Chair Alexander for another term as Vice Chair made by Commissioner DasGupta and seconded by Commissioner Yeatts passed on a vote of 7-0. 4. COMMISSION UPDATES (Discussion and Possible Action) a. Digital Inclusion, Civic Engagement, and Strategic Technology and Telecom Policy Chair Pitts thanked the Commission for awarding 11 organizations GTOPs funding at this Working Group meeting. John Speirs gave updates on the Residential Technology Study’s solicitation process, the reliable and affordable internet working group, and the Digital Empowerment Community of Austin. Chair Pitts noted that the Commission engaged with a research group at UT to discuss possible digital inclusion research topics. Chair Pitts also participated in a site tour of the Public Safety Training Center. b. Knowledge, Information, and Data Stewardship Working Group Chair Pitts noted that he is drafting a letter to CTM on the City website upgrade that makes the timeline clear and requests more communication on the upgrade. Commissioner DasGupta noted that the original support for the City Website was directed at building out the Austin Public Health site. He suggested speaking with APH about the COVID vaccination website at this juncture might be productive. c. Technology, Infrastructure, and Innovation Working Group Commissioner DasGupta noted that the last meeting of the group was focused on Smart Mobility, especially as it relates to Project Connect. Austin Transportation is investigating many uses for autonomous and electric mobility and other smart mobility ideas. ATD has a partnership with Ford to support blind and visually impaired residents, both inside buildings and on the sidewalk. There is another project to have solar panel trees on top of bus stops that could charge devices and have free wi-fi hot spots. There are also public safety projects to protect pedestrians crossing intersections, either road or rail. They are also investigating one-driver smart cars for City use. Commissioner Yeatts noted conversations with the University of Texas on mapping broadband speeds in the City and suggested a meeting with Speed Up America and possibly UT to discuss this project. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Possible Emergency Broadband Benefit presentation Possible presentation from CTM and/or Austin Public Health Briefing on Digital Inclusion by John Speirs Work Plan Retreat ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Commissioner DasGupta and seconded by Commissioner Apodaca passed on a vote of 7-0. 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 before the meeting date. Please contact Jesse Rodriguez at the Office of Telecommunications & Regulatory Affairs at (512) 974‐7676, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission, please visit their website at http://www.austintexas.gov/cttc or contact Jesse Rodriguez at jesse.rodriguez@austintexas.gov. Posting Submitted by: Jesse Rodriguez, Business Process Specialist, Wednesday, April 29, 2021