Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

EMMA S. BARRIENTOS MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER SPECIAL CALLED MEETING ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Wednesday, July 7, 2021 The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Advisory Board convened via video conferencing. Board Members in Attendance: David Goujon, Chair Art Navarro, Vice Chair Gerardo Gandy, Member Wayne Lopes, Member Ricardo Maga Rojas, Member Claudia Massey, Member Tomas Salas, Member Endi Silva, Member Board Member Absent: Diana Gomez, Member Staff in Attendance: Lucas Massie, PARD Assistant Director Olivia Tamzarian, ESB MACCSupervisor CALL TO ORDER: Chair Goujon called the Board Meeting to order at 6:05pm. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION Chair David Goujon mentioned possible issue with citizens being able to sign up to speak at the board meetings and specifically discussed the sign up deadline. Vice Chair Art Navarro discussed speaking with community member Larry Amaro. Navarro had shared the meeting agenda with Larry Amaro but it was not in time for him to sign up for citizen’s communication. Navarro shared that Amaro expressed that if the meeting was in-person, he would have been able to attend. Navarro expressed that the WebEx and boards and commissions requirements and not being on ATXN it was difficult for the community to participate in board meetings. Navarro shared his notes from his meeting with Larry Amaro. He first addressed the Red River extension issue, citing Amaro’s concern for a lack of parking and safety at the ESB MACC due to the proposed Red River extension. He shared Amaro’s concern that the Red River Extension would affect possible underground parking and a future new auditorium at the ESB MACC. Amaro attended a Phase 2 working group meeting and wondered why musicians were not invited to the meeting with Heidi Tse. He wondered why theater groups were invited to meet with Heidi Tse but not musicians. Regarding the music hub, Navarro shared that Amaro stated that the ESB MACC does not have adequate audiovisual recording equipment. He stated the hub can provide more advanced technology at the ESB MACC and possibly allow the Advisory Board meeting to be 1 broadcast on TV. Vice Chair Navarro clarified he was not speaking for Larry Amaro but just discussing the notes that he took. PUBLIC INPUT N/A 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (AGENDA ITEM 1) Member Ricardo Maga Rojas motioned to approve the minutes. Member Gerardo Gandy seconded. Vote Passed. 2. CHAIR REPORT (AGENDA ITEM 2) Chair Goujon listed the Board meeting presentations and encouraged Board member participation. 3. PRESENTATIONS (AGENDA ITEM 3) A) PRESENTATION BY TRANSLATING COMMUNITY HISTORY PROJECT BY CARA BERTRON WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN’S HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT Cara Bertron provided a Power Point presentation on the Translating Community History project, a project focused on East Austin. Cara Bertron discussed various aspects of the project, such as hiring Open Share and The Projecto to be involved in their community engagement meetings, the Mexican American Heritage Catalogue, and the Equity-Based Historic Preservation Plan. Chair Goujon pointed to the authenticity of the community engagement that they carried out fo this project Member Claudia Massey expressed it is a great project and we should learn from the community engagement. Chair Goujon agreed with member Massey’s comments. Member Endi Silva asked about the engagement process. Cara Bertron stated they had a neighborhood contact team and the Neighborhood Association meetings and asked people to participate in the Focus Groups. Bertron also mentioned they provided flyers and knocked door-to-door in the neighborhood. They also had a local student group to hang flyers. Bertron mentioned they found the project artist by reaching out to people they knew, after a call to artists through the city vendor list. Chair Goujon asked if the artist involved in the project was a collaboration and Cara Bertron confirmed that it was. They did not receive responses to their initial call for artists, so they then reached out directly to their artist contacts, including Open Chair. They continuously worked with their Stakeholder groups to get their consultation during the various steps in the RFQ and artist outreach and selection process. B) PRESENTATION BY DAN HENNESSEY WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT ON THE RED RIVER EXTENSION PROJECT Dan Hennessey and Cole Kitten introduced themselves and presented a PowerPoint briefing on the Red River Extension Project. Hennessey and Kitten’s presentation slides included information and photos, such as the Background of the Project, Red River’s association with the 2018 ESB 2 MACC Master Plan, the Project Concept, possible design and access examples, complementary improvements, next steps, etc. Member Tomas Salas stated timing is one thing to think about and garage and street construction should happen simultaneously so there is no loss of parking. Dan Hennessey stated they will be aware of parking with the other projects coming in. Chair Goujon asked for explicit confirmation on the parking garage. Dan Hennessey mentioned that at Austin Transportation they have discussed it internally and they do support the idea of a parking and are willing to bring funding to the table to make that happen, but exactly the mechanisms of that will need to be worked out to make it happen. Vice Chair Navarro asked about possible loss of acreage for the project and expressed concern of the community. He asked how many of the MACC’s 6 acres would be lost to the Red River extension. Dan Hennessey clarified that there is no design yet so they wouldn’t have those numbers. He said the examples are all concepts. Vice Chair Navarro stated he does not believe he can support the Red River extension at the time or in subsequent meetings. Vice Chair Navarro and Hennessey also discussed funding for the project. Vice Chair Navarro stated that the community and the Board should recognize that the MACC grounds are dedicated parkland. Discussion occurred regarding Chapter 26 and examples of parklands being used as a through street. Assistant Director Lucas Massey explained that Chapter 26 has been used by PARD in the past. Member Gerardo Gandy stated he appreciates the sensibility in addressing accessibility and design elements into the project concept and does not want to shut the idea down but, to Navarro’s point, the current plan presented seems to be intended to alleviate congestion caused by the condos and businesses that have taken over the area. Member Gandy mentioned possibilities for alleviating congestion could be public transportation initiatives such as a designated bus stop for the MACC. He expressed concerns for parking and safety during ESB MACC events. Chair Goujon brought up the 2017 Neighborhood Commissioned Mobility Study, inquired about who were the stakeholders in that study. Dan Hennessey was part of that study and he responded that the stakeholders were the Town Lake Neighborhood Association, Rainey Business Coalition, MACC Board, Rainey Neighborhood Association, and residents from Towers of Town Lake and Shore Condominium. Chair Goujon asked for a summary of the findings of the 2019 ATD Rainey Mobility Study. Hennessey said a member of the MACC board was on the steering committee and gave notes on the 2019 ATD Rainey Mobility Study, including that closing Rainey Street was not the only option. Red River could be closed as a festival street while Rainey would remain open to traffic, during events, for example. Hennessey commented on the Shared Streets pilot from Jan-March 2020 that closed Rainey street to through traffic. Chair Goujon said he could not support a project that would prioritize closing off Rainey street over increasing accessibility to the ESB MACC. Hennessey remarked that the pilot project that closed Rainey street would likely not move into a permanent plan without a significant increase of support. Chair Goujon asked to be informed during the process and not after decisions are made on this subject. 3  C) PRESENTATION BY DAVID A. COLLIGAN, ACTING CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER WITH THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ON THE CREATIVE SPACES BOND FUNDING David Colligan provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Austin Economic Development Corporation. Colligan’s presentation slides included information on the creation timeline of EDC, Stakeholder Meetings, Interview Summary, Board Development and Onboarding, and AEDC Focus, Next Steps, etc. Member Salas and Colligan discussed the Creative Spaces bond details, such as who can apply. Vice Chair Navarro, Chair Goujon and Colligan also discuss the RFI. D) PRESENTATION BY HEIDI TSE FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN’S PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ON PHASE 2 UPDATES Heidi Tse provided briefing of the Phase 2 project updates, such as increase request to City Council, Amendment #1 of contract, and the virtual and in-person charrettes. Tse also addressed the previous meeting comment and clarified meeting was a private occurrence with partners and adjacent projects. Chair Goujon asked if there is a scheduled end of schematic design. Heidi Tse stated it is usually a 3 month span but not set because they want to capture community engagement. Further discussion on the timeline of schematic design and community engagement was made. Chair Goujon expressed importance of community engagement. Vice Chair Navarro stated concurrence with Chair Navarro’s comments and asked if the design plans can be scaled back or possibility of community advice for some of the design that will be presented later. Heidi Tse expressed they are in the pre-schematic stage and they will arm Pink consulting with first community engagement notes. Tse also states she hears everyone about community engagement but is also trying to balance the budget, time, etc. Chair Goujon stated they would table the New Business, Old Business, Board In-Person discussion, and future agenda items. 4. STAFF BRIEFINGS (AGENDA ITEM 4) A) STAFF REPORT ON ESB MACCPROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS MACC Supervisor Olivia Tamzarian provided the Staff Report, which included information regarding the Amado exhibit, Smithsonian internship, Awards of Excellence, Viva Mexico, Caminos, etc. Vice Chair Navarro asked if Viva Mexico will have live music. Olivia Tamzarian responded that the event will have local musicians including LAAP artists performing. 6. NEW BUSINESS (AGENDA ITEM 6) 4 A) DISCUSSION ON FUTURE IN PERSON ADVISORY BOARD MEETINGS Chair Goujon tabled the discussion of future in-person meetings. B) REPORTS ON ALL WORKING GROUPS 3. TRANSPORTATION: Chair Goujon mentioned two spots available for the working group. 5. ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH: Chair Goujon mentioned possible opportunities to work in the working group. Vice Chair Navarro stated he attended a meeting with District 2 AISD trustee Ofelia Zapata and spoke with a Superintendent and another Board of Trustee. Member Claudia Massey made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Vice Chair Navarro seconded. The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:59pm. 5