Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

Technology Commission http://www.austintexas.gov/cttc SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MINUTES Wednesday –April 30th, 2025 – 6:30PM Austin City Hall – Boards and Commissions Room – Room 1101 301 W 2nd St., Austin, TX 78701 Please go to http://www.austintexas.gov/cityclerk/boards_commissions/meetings/10_1.htm for backup materials 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 found at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/atxn-video-archive. the cablecast. Schedules and video can be few hours of The Technology Commission convened in a Special Called meeting on Wednesday, March 30th, 2025, at 301 W 2nd St. in Austin, Texas. Current Commission Members Vacant ‐ Mayor Kirk Watson Brian AM Williams ‐ Council Member Natasha Harper‐Madison, District 1 Steven Apodaca – Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, District 2 Carina Alderete ‐ Council Member José Velasquez, District 3 Suzanne Heritage ‐ Council Member José “Chito” Vela, District 4 Thomas Rice‐ Council Member Ryan Alter, District 5 Rachel Frock‐ Council Member Krista Laine, District 6 Benjamin Combee ‐ Council Member Mike Seigel, District 7 Nicholas Eastwood ‐ Council Member Paige Ellis, District 8 Ibiye Anga – Council Member Zohaib “Zo” Qadri, District 9 Milena Pribic ‐ Council Member Marc Duchen, District 10 Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance in person: Steven Apodaca, Chair Carina Alderete, Vice Chair Board Members/Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Ibiye Anga Brian AM Williams 1 Suzanne Heritage Benjamin Combee Board Members/Commissioners Not in Attendance: Thomas Rice Rachel Frock Nicholas Eastwood Milena Pribic CALL TO ORDER Chair Apodaca called the Technology Commission Meeting to order at 6:49 p.m. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first ten speakers who register to speak no later than noon on the day before the meeting will be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. There were no speakers registered to deliver comments. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Technology Commission meeting on February 12th, 2025. Motion to approve the minutes made by Chair Apodaca and seconded by Vice Chair Alderete. The minutes from (02/12/2025) were approved on a vote of 6-0. 2. Approve the minutes of the Technology Commission meeting on March 5th, 2025. Motion to approve the minutes made by Chair Apodaca and seconded by Commissioner Heritage. The minutes from (03/05/2025) were approved on a vote of 6- 0. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. Presentation on PANO AI, a wildfire tracking system (Christopher Vetromile, Wildfire Mitigation Manager, Austin Energy) The presenter could not attend the session, this presentation was moved to a later date. Presentation on Austin Free Net’s public resource distribution strategy (Jasmin Vargas, Program Coordinator, Austin Free Net) The presentation on Austin Free Net’s distribution strategy was delivered by Jasmin Vargas and can be viewed at this link: https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/341409 2 5. Housing Department update on their annual Action Plan, their application to Housing and Urban Development’s formula grants and the potential impact on local communities (Rocio Peña-Martinez, Grants Program Manager, and Julie Smith, Engagement Specialist, Housing Department) The presentation on the housing department’s annual action plan was delivered by Rocio Peña-Martinez link: be and https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/341409 viewed this can at DISSCUSION AND ACTION ITEMS 6. Review and approval of GTOPs Core 2025 selected recipients The presentation on the selected GTOPs Core 2025 recipients was delivered by Dan Martinez link: and https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/341409 Jesse Rodriuez viewed this and can be at Commissioner Anga recused herself from this item, leaving only a sub quorum of commissioners left. A vote could not be taken due to the lack of commissioners. 7. Officer elections, discussion and approval of chair position Vice Chair Alderete lead this item and conducted the election. Vice Chair Alderete began the discussion by establishing some ground rules then opened the floor to nominations. Commissioner Williams nominated Chair Apodaca. There were no other nominations. Chair Apodaca accepted the nomination. Chair Apodaca spoke to the commission, reflecting on the progress the commission has accomplished under his tenure as chair. Chair Apodaca highlighted the bylaws revision, the 2025 recommendations, and his involvement on a couple of council resolutions as notable works over the last year. The motion to approve Steven Apodaca as the Chair for the Technology Commission was made by Commissioner Williams and seconded Commissioner Combee. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. 8. Officer elections, discussion and approval of vice chair position Chair Apodaca led the Vice Chair election and opened the floor for nominations. Chair Apodaca nominated Vice Chair Alderete for the Vice Chair position. There were no other nominations. Vice Chair Alderete accepted the nomination. Vice Chair Alderete addressed the commission emphasizing the amount that she has learned over the last year serving as the Vice Chair. The Vice Chair spoke on the positive impact that she believes the commission has had on the community as well as partner organizations, and how she hopes to continue spreading that positive impact. 3 The motion to approve Carina Alderete as the Vice Chair for the Technology Commission was made by Commissioner Williams and seconded Commissioner Combee. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. WORKING GROUP UPDATES 9. Public Surveillance working group updates regarding further interviews with stakeholders and subsequent action items Commissioner Pena-Villa was not available to give the group’s update but Chair Apodaca mentioned that the group is continuing to meet with stakeholders that Commissioner Pena- Villa has been in communication with. 10. Artificial Intelligence Working Group updates on next steps on strategic direction and timing of next meeting Commissioner Williams brought up House Bill 1709 and noted that there has been little progress on passing the bill. If that bill were to pass, it would establish guardrails against high-risk artificial intelligence. Commissioner Williams mentioned that this bill as well as the AI efforts from the City in October would help guide the group’s recommendation. This group will draft the recommendation in the near future. Chair Apodaca informed the Commission that the council passed an artificial intelligence related resolution at the last Austin city council meeting. Chair Apodaca provided some input to that initial draft and gave public support of this resolution. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Presentation on PANO AI wildfire tracking system • Presentation on the City’s Homeless information system • 2026 work plan ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:19pm due to a lack of quorum. 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 you require Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days before the meeting date. Please contact Dan Martinez at the Community Technology Divison at (512) 974- 3510, 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 Dan Martinez at dan.martinez@austintexas.gov 4 The Minutes were approved at the May 14th, 2025 Meeting on Commissioner Heritage’s motion and Vice Chair Alderete’s second with a final vote of 9-0. 5