Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES January 28, 2026 The Joint Sustainability Committee convened in a Regular meeting on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at City Hall Council Chambers (301 W 2nd St) in Austin, Texas. Chair Kaiba White called the Meeting to order at 6:10 pm Commissioners in Attendance: Kaiba White, Charlotte Davis, Anna Scott, Iris Suddaby, Mridula Madipakkam Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Josh Hiller, Lane Becker, Aaron Gonzales, Varun Prasad, Lane Becker, Rodrigo Leal, Chris Crookham Board Members Absent: Chris Campbell, Chris Maxwell-Gaines, Jon Salinas PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None Present APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Joint Sustainability Committee Regular Meeting on November 19, 2025. Minutes were approved on Scott’s motion, Suddaby’s second on a 11-0 vote with Crookham off the dais and Campbell, Maxwell-Gaines, and Salinas absent. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff briefing on Carbon Offsets. Presentation by Phillip Duran, Austin Climate Action and Resilience. • White: how much do we spend annually? Duran: don’t have exact numbers, but estimating $50-60k annual, will follow up later. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. Approve the creation of working groups for FY27 City of Austin Budget, funding, and priority policy recommendations. • Discussion on how JSC can be more effective 1 • JSC has spent a lot of time working on budget recommendations in the past with mixed success • Thematic/refined recommendations, immediate impact, small dollar wins, fewer items, most effective GHG reduction strategies, identify funding sources • We have the staff response to past recommendations Motion to create a budget working group (with members: Scott (chair) Becker, Leal, Gonzales, Davis, White, Suddaby, Madipakkam) passes on White Motion, Davis second, on a 12-0 vote with Campbell, Maxwell-Gaines, and Salinas absent. Approve a recommendation related to climate and sustainability in the FY26 City of Austin Budget. • Recommendation to come at a future JSC meeting Approve a recommendation related to climate and sustainability in the 2026 bond. • Discussion around bond, not a lot of carbon-negative items in the bond • Uncertainty around scale/scope • • Should highlight cost-effective measures and overarching recommendations • Recommendation to come at a future JSC meeting Interest in ARR charging, sidewalks/bike lanes, battery storage 4. 5. 6. Approve a recommendation related to Leak Detection and Repair in the Texas Gas Service Franchise Agreement. • Amended on Davis motion and Suddaby second: • #3 should say ‘Austin Metropolitan area’ instead of city • Additional bullet under #3 – ‘Number of leaks repaired and analysis of any patterns of leaks found that could require broader, systematic remediation to improve gas system safety’ • New #4 - ‘We acknowledge that self-reporting on leak detection could create a potential conflict of interest. The Committee recommends further study of options including third party validation to reduce this conflict of interest’ • Amendment passes 11-0 with Scott recusing. Motion to approve recommendation as amended passes on Davis Motion, Gonzales second, on a 11-0 vote with Scott recusing and Campbell, Maxwell-Gaines, and Salinas absent. DISCUSSION ITEMS 7. Update regarding the Texas Gas Service Franchise Agreement – Charlotte Davis, Resource Management Commission. • Resource Management Commission has approved a package of recommendations for the city to approve the renewal of the franchise agreement. • Other programs might be of interest 2 • Energy conservation programs aren’t great, suggestion the City could take this over) • Low-income assistance program • Capital recovery fees should be paid by new large customers so as to not burden existing ratepayers FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • Budget recommendations • Bond recommendations Chair White adjourned meeting at 7:41 pm without objection. These minutes were approved at the February 25, 2026 meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee on an 13-0 vote on Qureshi’s motion and Maxwell-Gaines’ second with Scott off the dais. 3