05-1: Budget Working Group Minutes of January 17, 2025 — original pdf

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Parks and Recreation Board Budget Working Group Meeting #1 Friday, January 17, 4pm – 5pm Attendees: Nicole Merritt, Jennifer Franklin, Kathryn Flowers, Lane Becker (joined late) 1. Updates from City Process Discussed that we have not yet heard any indication of the City timeline for budget recommendations from Boards and Commissions or more generally, particularly as we have a new City Manager compared to last year. Unclear at this time if it will be more like last year or previous years. Vice Chair Flowers to engage PARD staL on this topic and provide an update from their end. 2. Possible Items of Interest for Recommendation Absent existing insight or guidance into the current process, the working group noted items they have heard consistent citizen feedback on this year as well as items that were discussed last year but were not prioritized for other reasons. The items discussed for further investigation were: - Funding for lifeguards that might allow the City of Austin to keep pools open for a longer season given our trending hotter weather - Wildfire prevention/planning to prevent potential emergency events - Crime in parks (burglary, property crime) - Addressing PARD’s staL ability to assist individuals experiencing homelessness - Funding for programming at recreation centers and senior centers, particularly for summer camps and overcrowded centers - Cemetery maintenance - Reclaimed water use in Parks It was noted that funding related to people experiencing homelessness may be complicated given that diLerent city departments have various levels of responsibility for the issue. We discussed the importance again of working with other boards and commissions for maximum impact and noted in the action items some reach out related to that area. Additionally, we discussed the need to gather broad feedback at the next full Parks and Recreation Board meeting from all members present. 3. Action Items Given limited information on the City of Austin front, we have a small number of action items before our next meeting. They are as follows: - Vice Chair Flowers to contact PARD staL (Suzann) about a briefing for the budget group on what they are expecting - Vice Chair Flowers to note to Chair Villalobos that a briefing on wildfire prevention eLorts at the City to PARB may be advisable - Multiple board members to reach out to other boards and commissions to ask about potential partner items, as noted below: o Vice Chair Flowers – Urban Transportation Commission o Board Member Franklin – Environmental Commission o Board Member Becker – Joint Sustainability Commission o Board Member Merritt – Joint Inclusion Committee Next meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 31, 12pm.