REGULAR MEETING OF THE HISPANIC/LATINO QUALITY OF LIFE RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMISSION TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2022 AT 5:30 PM AUSTIN CITY HALL – BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM 1101 301 W 2ND St, AUSTIN, TX 78701 Some members of the Commission may be participating by videoconference Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by 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 the board liaison at Amanda.Jasso@austintexas.gov or 512-974-9107. The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on if applicable, email address and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Amanda Afifi, District 2, Chair Sharon Vigil, District 7, Vice-Chair Ricardo Garay, District 3 Jesus Perales, District 8 Daniela Silva, District 1 Dulce Castañeda, District 10 Maria C. Solis, District 5 Felicia Peña, Mayor Sandy Ramirez, District 6 Ivanna Neri, District 4 Vacant – District 9 AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Each speaker will have three minutes to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. Speakers wishing to address an agenda item will have the chance to do so when the agenda item is called. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Commission regular meeting held on August 23, 2022. STAFF BRIEFINGS Department. 2. Staff briefing on the Palm District Plan. Presented by Jesse Gutierrez, Housing and Planning DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. Presentation from JUST, a nonprofit CDFI that has made over 6,000 business loans totally more than $12 million to Hispanic female entrepreneurs. Discussion and possible action regarding access to opportunity and financial stability. Presented by Steve Wanta, co-founder and CEO. 4. Presentation from AISD related to equity. Discussion and possible action regarding efforts to improve outcomes for children of color. Presented by Dr. Stephanie Hawley, Equity Officer for AISD. 5. Discussion and possible action related to 2023 regular meeting schedule. 6. Discussion and possible action related to Tesla Gigafactory Texas response to Commissioners’ questions that were posed as follow-up to Tesla presentation given on July 26. WORKING GROUP UPDATES, DISCUSSION, AND ACTION ITEMS 7. Health …
REGULAR MEETING OF THE HISPANIC/LATINO QUALITY OF LIFE RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMISSION TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2022 AT 5:30 PM AUSTIN CITY HALL – BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM 1101 301 W 2ND St, AUSTIN, TX 78701 Some members of the Commission may be participating by videoconference Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by 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 the board liaison at Amanda.Jasso@austintexas.gov or 512-974-9107. The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on if applicable, email address and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Amanda Afifi, District 2, Chair Sharon Vigil, District 7, Vice-Chair Ricardo Garay, District 3 Jesus Perales, District 8 Daniela Silva, District 1 Dulce Castañeda, District 10 Maria C. Solis, District 5 Felicia Peña, Mayor Sandy Ramirez, District 6 Ivanna Neri, District 4 Vacant – District 9 DRAFT MINUTES CALL TO ORDER – Chair Afifi called the meeting to order at 5:35pm Commissioners Absent: Sandy Ramirez PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Each speaker will have three minutes to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. Speakers wishing to address an agenda item will have the chance to do so when the agenda item is called. None. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Commission regular meeting held on July 26, 2022. a. Vice Chair Vigil moved to approve. Commissioner Castañeda seconded. Motion passed unanimously. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff briefing from Melissa Alvarado, Economic Development Department, regarding initial concepts for heritage wayfinding design. Presented by Principal in Charge, John Bosio with Merje Design. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. Presentation from El Buen Samaritano and discussion and possible action regarding youth services and community health workers. Presented by Dr. Rosamaria Murillo, Chief Executive Officer. 4. Presentation from Central Health and discussion and possible action related to the Health Equity Plan. Presented by Perla Cavazos and Yeseñia Ramos, Central Health. WORKING GROUP UPDATES, DISCUSSION, AND ACTION ITEMS 5. Health Work Group (Commissioner Garay) – Commissioner Garay announced monkeypox vaccination numbers, upcoming community resilience hubs meetings. Chair …
PALM DISTRICT PLAN Public Review DRAFT 10/14/2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 3 EQUITY FRAMEWORK 4 HISTORY 6 EXISTING CONDITIONS 24 ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY 36 VISION STATEMENT 40 VISION FRAMEWORK 41 KEY OPPORTUNITY SITES 42 DESIRED OUTCOMES 47 SCENARIOS 52 IMPLEMENTATION 59 RECOMMENDATIONS 60 LOOKING FORWARD 69 Appendices A1 The Palm District: Austin’s Cultural Hub - AIA Communities by Design Report A2 Listening Report for Palm District Visioning Phase A3 Palm District Existing Conditions Report A4 Palm District Planning City Council Resolution EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2019 the Austin City Council directed staff (Resolution No. 20190523-029) to develop a small area plan for the eastern edge of Downtown: the Palm District. Initial work on the plan began in the latter part of 2019 and early 2020, but was halted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. As 2020 wound down, staff resumed work on the project by developing and refining background documents, designing the public engagement strategy and planning process, conducting preliminary stakeholder outreach, and preparing for the formal kickoff of the planning prosses in May 2021. Beginning in 2019, Housing and Planning Department Staff convened a City of Austin Palm District Planning Team comprised of representatives from multiple City Departments including Convention Center, Parks and Recreation, Watershed Protection, Transportation, Sustainability, Economic Development, Real Estate, and the Corridor Program Office to provide input and review key deliverables throughout the process. HPD staff also met regularly with representatives from the Downtown Austin Alliance and Waterloo Greenway, as well as Travis County staff, and other key community stakeholders serving as partners in support of the planning process. The Palm District planning process employed a five phase planning process: • Pre-Planning—The project team researched the Palm District in preparation of developing the plan. • Visioning—The project team engaged community and developed a draft vision and outline for the plan. • Active Planning—Staff used the draft vision to identify recommendations and to develop multiple scenarios for the Palm District. As part of their partnership with the City in support of this process, the Downtown Austin Alliance engaged a professional urban design firm, Asakura Robinson, to assist with outreach, focus group facilitation, development of possible future scenarios and a preferred scenario for the draft plan. • Draft Review—Staff developed the draft plan with guidance from city and key stakeholder partners and released the draft for public review and comments. • Plan Adoption—During this time staff will review …
33 Public Review Draft Palm District Plan 34 Public Review Draft Palm District Plan 35 Public Review Draft Palm District Plan ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY The Housing and Planning Department led an outreach and engagement process bringing together the thoughts and ideas of a broad range of community stakeholders and institutional partners to inform and develop the goals and future vision for the Palm District. This robust community engagement strategy was grounded using an equity lens. Intentional steps were taken to elevate the voices of community members that have cultural and historic ties to the district, some of whom no longer live in the vicinity of the district due to gentrification and displacement caused in part by past planning decisions. It must be noted that early engagement efforts were entirely moved online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Organizational Briefings and Inter-agency Coordination Beginning in 2019, staff held regular briefing meetings with various city boards and commissions, key city departments, external organizations, and community-based organizations and invited them to participate in the planning process. City departments and external partners were consulted on the various products created throughout the planning process including the draft Vision Framework, American Institute of Architects workshops, the framework desired outcomes, preferred scenarios, and plan document. Targeted Outreach to East Austin Thought Leaders In late Summer 2021, Martha P. Cotera (dba Information Systems Development) was contracted to engage East Austin community members with cultural and historic bonds to the Palm District. A series of interviews, focus groups, and small group meetings were held with East Austin Mexican- American community leaders, current and former elected officials, Palm School alumni, Rainey Street Historic District residents and advocates, and current and former East Austin residents. Also targeted were organizations such as Raza Roundtable, PODER, HABLA and Nuestro Grupo/Academia Cuauhtli, Mexic Arte Museum, La Peña, with well documented involvement in the district. The interviewers gathered interviewees’ stories, desires, and thoughts about the Palm School and Park, the Rainey Street Neighborhood, Waterloo Greenway, the potential 5th Street Heritage Corridor, and other aspects of the Palm District. From her work with the East Austin stakeholder groups, Martha Cotera produced an in-depth report that includes a historic framework outlining the Mexican-American contributions and political efforts in the City of Austin and in the planning area specifically. The report includes the challenges of both displacement and the work of advocacy for the preservation of historic and cultural features …
A just Texas. “What starts here, changes the world.” 2 TRUST 3 3 JETA JETAs (JUST Entrepreneur Trust Agent) are ambitious women excluded from economic opportunity that want to grow their business and support their peers to do the same. 4 4 Partnership to reach 10,000s of ambitious Texas Women [JUST] changed my life, it was a before and after. 5 From Financial Health to Financial Wealth JUST co-designs products with our community that leverage peer support. Our products lead to transformational wealth building opportunities. Personal Loan Credit & Habit Building Leveraging peer support, JUST is able to offer emergency loans at low cost with high repayments This product reports to the credit bureaus and allows people to build new money habits Small Business Lending Asset Ownership JUST is creating transformational wealth building opportunities Consumer Lending Circles Reimagined JETA-Led Growth Program JETAs are the most effective community change agents Entrepreneurs with the ability and desire gain access to more capital and business support services Transactional 6 Transformational 6 h t l a e W y t i l i b a t S Who We Serve Monthly household income under $2,000 Monthly household income under $3,000 36% 66% 42% Single mothers 97% 7 Do not receive support from any other organization The Results $12M in business loans without ever checking credit repayment rate of loans including the pandemic 99% 96 Net Promoter Score, the highest recorded in the world by 60 Decibels 6,000+ Loans made to Hispanic women in Central Texas 8 71% JUST clients experienced lasting and significant transformation because of JUST 9 of JUST loan operations are former clients Team 100% 88% of JUST staff are women of JUST staff are Hispanic 82% 60% 10 of JUST Board are women Expand Austin Reach 3,000 Hispanic female entrepreneurs in Central Texas rebuilding trust 11 Mobility is created through wealth, not income. 12 12 The Future of Wealth $15M $20M $10 - $100 13 13
Follow-up questions for Tesla Workforce 1. Is there a plan to subsidize housing for Tesla employees (particularly for lower- income employees who make below 80% MFI in Austin, for example)? 2. Can the Commission receive a copy of the benefits packages provided to every Tesla employee starting on day 1 (including any health plans/options)? 3. What are the wage ranges for employment? Teresa mentioned she thinks $18 is the lowest hourly wage (training wage). 4. Which demographic information is being captured for employees and contractors working at Tesla sites? How is this information informing hiring practices? 5. How many predominantly Spanish speakers has Tesla hired? And for which positions? 6. Has Tesla partnered with CapMetro on a program for employees, contractors and subcontractors to ride public transportation for free? If not, does Tesla plan to do so, particularly considering that surrounding communities do not have access to public transportation? 7. Logan discussed the shuttles that Tesla operates for employees - can you share details on this program and the plans for its expansion? 8. Are there professional development stipends for historically marginalized employees? 9. In the data shared, the team indicated that 82% of the workforce is local, residing in Travis County. Can you share what constitutes “local” status? Is there a threshold for the number of years a person has resided in Travis County before they are considered local? Can you share the percentage of employees who have been hired from zip codes in Southeast Austin, such as 78725, 78742, 78741, 78744, 78617, and 78719? 10. What is Tesla's position regarding employee unions at Giga Texas in Austin? 11. Are employees and leadership trained on diversity, equity and inclusion practices? If so, which ones and why? Environmental Impact 12. Please provide a line-item budget and plan for the ecological uplift project along with any other analyses of the scope and impact of this work to the local environment. 13. Logan indicated that there was an environmental impact report done by a 3rd party; can you please share the report and who conducted the study? 14. Please share any reports and studies regarding hazardous waste disposal and air quality. 15. Please share any plans for mitigation developed in case of an emergency, such as a hazardous waste spill. Community Engagement 16. Please provide the names, frequency, and level of engagement for the stakeholders listed in the presentation, as well as …
Hello Amanda – As follow-up to our presentation to the Commission on 7/26/22 and to the questions you submitted, please review our 2021 Impact Report, https://www.tesla.com/ns_videos/2021-tesla-impact-report.pdf , which answers the majority of the questions that were posed. Additionally, please see the bulleted items below that relate directly to the Tesla Texas Gigafactory in the areas of Community Investment, Staffing, Workforce Development, Recruiting, Environmental Progress and Community Engagement. Thank you. GIGAFACTORY TEXAS The following Tesla Texas Gigafactory highlights relate to our progress in Austin as stated in our 2021 Travis County Annual Report and the Semi-Annual HUB report for the period from October 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022. Investment and Staffing • Tesla invested $2.7 billion dollars of real and business property in Travis County. • Tesla exceeded its investment for the year by over $2.2 billion. • Tesla employs over 3,500 employees at Gigafactory Texas, 82% of which are Travis County residents. • Tesla exceeded its hiring for the year by 1,524 workers. • $50.6 million dollars was paid to Historically Underutilized Businesses (“HUBs”). Workforce Development and Recruiting • Tesla kicked off workforce development programs and initiated recruiting outreach with several greater Austin educational institutions and school districts, including: o Working with Del Valle to start a multi-year Advanced Manufacturing vocational pathway, financially supporting the hiring of 3 district level positions, and launching the Manufacturing Development Program for local graduates to start a career while continuing their education. The first students from Del Valle High School are now working full-time at Tesla and we recently expanded our program to Bastrop and Manor ISDs. In May 2022, we had 77 students sign on to the program from Del Valle, Bastrop and Manor ISDs. o Partnering with Austin Community College to launch the first START Manufacturing program to train future Tesla Maintenance Technicians, as well as collaborating on a $1.9 million dollar Texas Workforce Commission grant to train hundreds of local community members in advanced manufacturing careers. o Tesla’s Internship Program, which hired 268 interns from Texas into Tesla Operations across North America and hosted 48 events that included students from Texas colleges and universities. Environmental Progress Tesla has installed hundreds of EV chargers at Gigafactory Texas. The Gigafactory’s rooftop solar panel installation has begun, with 15MW-DC of capacity expected by the end of 2022. Tesla’s construction of a 500,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system has started, which …
Palm District Planning Initiative Hispanic Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission October 24, 2022 Content Background and Study Area What We Heard Vision and Scenarios Implementation/Next Steps Background and Study Area Develop a shared vision for a complex, culturally rich, and rapidly transforming part of downtown Austin. 4 5 Resolution 20190523-029 Palm School Negotiations Rainey Street District Fund Fifth Street Mexican American Heritage Corridor Convention Center Expansion District Planning Process Improved Connectivity 6 WE ARE HERE 7 Equity-Based Goals Create a safe, welcoming place history Preserve and interpret Enhance educational and cultural assets Provide economic benefits Increase access to housing Improve mobility and access Improve access to nature, enhance natural systems, and support an equitable, sustainable, resilient future 8 What We Heard Participants • Visits to SpeakUp Austin! Webpage: 3,600 • Survey Responses: 700+ (3 Surveys) • Visioning Forum Attendees: 150+ • Targeted East Austin Outreach: 75 + (Individuals and Organizations) • AIA Event Participants: 60+ • Interactive Map Responses: 25+ 10 Survey Demographics 11 Visioning Forums 12 Targeted East Austin Engagement: • La Raza Roundtable • Current and Former Elected Officials • Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce • Tejano Democrats • Palm School Alumni • The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) • La Pena Arts, Inc. • Mexic-Arte • Nuestro Grupo/Academia Cuauhtli • AHMIGA (Latina civic and social networking organization) • Café Con Letras • L.A.C.E. • PODER • Long-time East Austin residents 13 American Institute of Architects Recommendations: 14 Vision and Scenarios VISION The Palm District is a vibrant historic hub of downtown where the past is honored, culture is celebrated, and the future is shaped. Dense transit-oriented development is balanced with history and natural spaces creating physical connections that invite people to move easily to and through the district. The district is a dynamic place, growing and evolving, while actively retaining families and individuals who have traditionally called this place home. Creativity and innovation are cultivated, and people from Austin and beyond are welcome to live, relax, work, play, learn, and connect with others. 16 INCLUSIVE GROWTH Growth in the district will provide a prosperous future for longtime and recent residents and for established and new businesses. 17 CULTURE The district will become a destination that celebrates its multi- cultural heritage. 18 CONNECTION Physical, cultural and social connections will …
Austin ISD Office of Equity Update Hispanic Quality of Life Commission 10.25.22 2 Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going Equity by Design Focus Areas Equity Advisory Committee Equitable Practices in Action Bond and Long Range Planning (LRP) Process Equity Assessment Connecting the Dots: Equity Assessment, Long Range Planning (LRP) & Equity Action Plan Board Priorities: ● ● ● ● Equity in Student Well-Being and Achievement Equity in Teacher an Employee Well-Being Equity in Culture of Respect/Customer Service Equity in Financial Stewardship and Prioritization Equity by Design Equity Action Plan Equity Assessment L o n g R a n g e P l a n n i n g ( L R P ) / B o n d P r o c e s s Equity Advisory Committee Student Well-Being/Culture of Respect Access to Student Programs & Increasing Access to Information LGBTQIA2+ Student Support Equity Advisory Committee Staff Well-Being Financial Stewardship & Prioritization Recruitment and Retention of Black and Brown Staff Equity Enrollment Equity Assessment Long Range Planning & Bond Process
