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ON THIS BEAUTIFUL MONDAY, I'D LIKE
[1. Call to Order by Mayor Darrell A. Davis. ]
TO CALL THIS SPECIAL WORKSHOP TO ORDER.TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, UH, GIVE A RECEIVING UPDATE ON THAT.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA ALSO HAVE A PARTS AND RECTOR FY 2024 BUDGET.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF OUR HONORABLE CITY MANAGER WANTED TO KICK OFF WITH SOME ENLIGHTENING WORDS.
I DON'T KNOW WHO'S GONNA MAKE PRE.
IS THERE YOU JASON GONNA KICK US OFF.
WELL, JASON IS OUR CURRENT, UH, ACTING INTERIM PERMANENT? YEAH.
THESE ARE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE RTA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, AND WE THOUGHT IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE THEM COME IN AND GIVE US AN UPDATE.
UM, WE, WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT IT.
UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.
WHAT'S THE TIMING? WHERE IS IT? HOW'S IT IMPACTED? AND SO JASON,
[2. Presentation and discussion from the Regional Transportation Authority, including an update on the commuter rail project and proposed Member City Contributions for FY24. ]
I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU.ALRIGHT, WE'LL, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT INTRODUCTION, CITY MANAGER.
UH, THANK YOU MAYOR AND COUNSEL FOR HAVING US THIS AFTERNOON.
UH, I AM JOINED BY, UM, MY COLLEAGUE, UH, CATHERINE HOLMES.
UH, UH, CATHERINE SERVES AS THE RTAS OWNER'S REP.
UH, SHE HAS A PLETHORA OF EXPERIENCE, UH, CONSULTING WITH TRANSIT AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
SO WE'RE GONNA KIND OF SPLIT UP THE PRESENTATION A LITTLE BIT, UH, THIS MORNING OR THIS AFTERNOON.
AND, UH, WE'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED AGAIN.
SO, UM, NOT SURE, UM, HOW MUCH YOU GUYS HAVE, HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE RTA, BUT, UM, WANTED TO, UH, START WITH OUR AGENDA FOR THIS AFTERNOON.
OF COURSE, UH, FEEL FREE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AS WE GO, OR WAIT TILL THE END, WHATEVER YOUR PREFERENCE IS.
BUT REALLY OUR, WE WANTED TO SPEND A LITTLE TIME JUST KIND OF LAYING THE FOUNDATION, YOU KNOW, HOW DID THE, HOW DID THE RTA, UH, UH, BECOME THE ORGANIZATION THAT IT IS? WHAT KIND OF WENT INTO THAT? UH, BUT THEN REALLY GET INTO SOME SPECIFICS ON THE NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR THAT THE RTA IS, UH, PLANNING.
UM, UH, THE NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR, OBVIOUSLY CONNECTING EDMOND, OKLAHOMA CITY AND NORMAN.
UM, AND THEN WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU A BRIEF REPORT ON PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND ESTIMATED SCHEDULE, UM, UH, BEING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR THAT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
AND, UH, WE'VE TRIED TO BE VERY INTENTIONAL AND PURPOSEFUL ABOUT THAT WITH THE RTA.
SO, AS FAR AS THE RTA GOES, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE MESSAGES, AND I WON'T GO INTO ALL THE DETAILS ON THE SCREEN, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK THAT HOPEFULLY IS IMPORTANT FOR COUNCIL TO KNOW AND MAYBE YOUR CONSTITUENT CONSTITUENTS TO KNOW, IS THAT THIS IS A PROCESS AND A THOUGHT AND A, AND A AND AN OBJECTIVE THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE, UH, UH, FOR THE REGION REALLY FOR MANY YEARS.
REALLY, EVEN GOING BACK TO 2005 WAS KIND OF THE GENESIS.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT ACOG KIND OF SHEPHERDED THE PROCESS ALONG FOR MANY YEARS.
UM, LEADING UP TO A COMMUTER CORRIDOR STUDY IN 2015 THAT LOOKED AT A LOT OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW, ALONG WITH THEIR LONG-TERM, UM, ENCOMPASS 2040 TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
UM, FROM THAT, UH, COMMUTER CORRIDOR STUDY, AGAIN, ACOG AND THE STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED AT THAT TIME, UH, WORKED VERY, UH, DILIGENTLY ON THE ENABLING LEGISLATION.
UH, THAT WAS PASSED BACK IN 2014.
SO, AGAIN, LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR YOU, THERE WAS A LOT OF, THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK, THERE WAS A LOT OF THOUGHT ABOUT A REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, HIGH CAPACITY, UH, COM COMMUTER TRANSIT.
BUT UNTIL THAT ENABLING LEGISLATION WAS PASSED, WE WERE REALLY, REALLY LIMITED AS A REGION AS TO WHAT WE COULD DO.
SO ONCE THAT LEGISLATION WAS PASSED, THAT REALLY KIND OF OPENED UP THE DOORS FOR REALLY SOME SIGNIFICANT TALKS AND DISCUSSION ON HOW THIS RTA COULD BE FORMED AND ORGANIZED.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE IN 2015, REALLY A, AN MOU AND A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WHERE THAT TASK FORCE WAS DEVELOPED.
UH, MEMBER CITIES AND STAKEHOLDERS THAT LED TO THE TRUST AGREEMENT AND INDENTURE THAT WAS, UH, DRAFTED IN 27, 20 17 THROUGH 2018.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE HISTORIC SIGNING, FORMING THE RTA IN 2019.
AND I KNOW THAT WENT TO, UH, YOUR CITY COUNCIL ALONG WITH THE OTHER, UH, UH, MEMBER CITIES CITY COUNCIL.
SO, ALL THAT SAID TO SAY, WHAT WE HOPE TO TRY TO PAINT THE PICTURE FOR YOU TODAY IS THAT IT'S BEEN A, A WORK IN PROGRESS FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
BUT HOPEFULLY WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT THE WORK, THE WORK THAT THE RTA BOARD HAS DONE SINCE 2019, A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, UM, UM, THEY'VE COME, THE RTA, IN MY OPINION, HAS COME A VERY LONG WAY WITH A, WITH THE, WITH THE POSITION OF BEING IN, UM, FINISHING THIS FISCAL YEAR WITH IDENTIFYING AT LEAST TWO OF THE CORRIDORS, UH, LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES THAT CATHERINE WILL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT.
SO, RTA LEADERSHIP, THIS IS A CURRENT, UH, RTA LEADERSHIP, UH, CHAIRED,
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UH, BY, UH, FORMER GOVERNOR BRAD HENRY, UH, REPRESENTING THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY, UH, MARION HUTCHINSON, UH, VICE CHAIR REPRESENTING THE, SO CITY OF NORMAN.UM, I, I THINK COUNSEL, OF COURSE, IS FAMILIAR WITH JAMES BOG, OUR TREASURER REPRESENTING THE CITY OF EDMOND.
UH, MARY MALONE IS A SECRETARY, UH, UH, ALSO A CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY REPRESENTATIVE.
UM, I, I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT BOTH, UH, BOTH EDMONDS, UH, BOARD OF DIRECTOR MEMBERS, UH, MR. BOGGS AND MR. GEHART, WERE OUT OF, UH, THE CITY ON BUSINESS TODAY.
SO WE'RE UNABLE TO ATTEND, UH, BUT, BUT BOTH, UH, CERTAINLY, UM, OBVIOUSLY SUPPORT THE RTAS EFFORTS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, CHUCK, UH, THOMPSON AND, UM, UH, FROM THE CITY OF NORMAN ON THE TRUST.
WE'RE AWAITING ONE MORE APPOINTMENT FROM THE MAYOR, BUT THIS IS REALLY WHAT THE, THE LEADERSHIP, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS COMPRISED OF, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, UH, A SEVEN MEMBER BOARD.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, I SERVE AS THE INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WITH, UH, CATHERINE AS THE OWNER'S REP.
SO WHAT KIND OF WORK HAVE WE BEEN UP TO? WHAT'S THE PROCESS LIKE? UM, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN YOU THINK OF, UH, HIGH CAPACITY TRANSIT PROJECTS LIKE THIS, ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALWAYS TRY TO KEEP IN MIND IS FUNDING PARTNERS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE, THE, THE OBVIOUS ONE THERE IS, UH, FEDERAL FUNDING PARTNERS, RIGHT? AND SO SETTING THE STAGE ON, HEY, WE COULD PUT THIS TOGETHER LOCALLY, BUT WE SURE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOME FEDERAL FUNDING, UH, GO INTO THE PROJECT.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR PLANNING EFFORTS COINCIDE WITH BASICALLY THE FED'S PREFERENCES OR THE FED'S REGULATIONS.
SO WE GO THROUGH A PROCESS THAT WE REFER TO, UM, AS, UH, BASICALLY AN ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS.
AND THAT IS REALLY COMING UP WITH, OKAY, WE'VE STUDIED VARIOUS WAYS TO, UH, UH, PROVIDE SERVICE.
WE'VE LOOKED AT VARIOUS CORRIDORS, WE'VE LOOKED AT VARIOUS MODES.
ONE OF THE TECHNICAL TERMS THAT I KNOW OUR CONSULTANTS SHARE A LOT IS WE'VE LOOKED AT THE UNIVERSE OF ALTERNATIVES.
AND THEN BASED ON VARIOUS CRITERIA, WE'VE NARROWED IT DOWN TO SOMETHING WHERE THE BOARD WILL SAY, HEY, THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE FOR THIS REGION.
IT, THAT'S AN OPTION THAT'S FINANCIALLY CONSTRAINED.
THAT'S AN OPTION THAT WE PLAN TO TAKE FORWARD TO THE PUBLIC, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY WE'LL HAVE TO ALSO HAVE LOCAL FUNDING GO INTO THESE PROJECTS.
SO IT'S BEEN A, A VERY REGIMENTED PROCESS.
UM, IT STARTED WITH A TRANSIT SYSTEM PLAN, AND I KNOW AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN A LOT OF STRATEGIC PLANS, PROBABLY FOR THE CITY, CERTAIN DEPARTMENTS SINCE YOU KINDA START OFF WITH THAT OVERALL VISION.
UH, THEN YOU BEGIN TO NARROW THAT DOWN.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT NOW.
WE'VE NARROWED IT DOWN TO THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO PRIMARY CORRIDORS AND HOW THOSE CORRIDORS WILL BE SERVED.
AND THEN, UM, WITH THE IDEA OF, OF COMING FORWARD WITH A, A LOCAL BALLOT INITIATIVE AND SECURING DEDICATED FUNDING FOR TRANSIT, THEN THAT OPENS UP THE DOOR FOR SOME OF THESE NEXT STEPS, WHICH IS WHERE YOU GET INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK, SOME OF THE ENGINEERING, AND OF COURSE, IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT.
SO WE'VE BASICALLY, UH, BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, WILL HAVE KIND OF CHECKED OFF, IF YOU WILL, THE FIRST TWO, UH, BOXES HERE ON THIS SLIDE.
AND THEN DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME OF LOCAL FUNDING, UH, THAT WILL REALLY DICTATE THE TIMING OF THE NEXT TWO.
UM, THE OTHER THING WE THOUGHT MIGHT BE INTERESTING, UH, TO COUNSEL IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ALTHOUGH THE RTA IS KIND OF LEADING THE PROCESS, WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT DOING IT ALONE OR IN ANY TYPE OF VACUUM.
IN FACT, UH, AS YOU'RE PROBABLY AWARE, WE HAVE INTENTIONAL OUTREACH MEETINGS WITH VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, WHETHER IT BE MEMBER CITIES, WHETHER IT BE, UH, THE FTA, WHETHER IT BE ODOT.
UH, WE UPDATE, UH, ACOG PERIODICALLY.
UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, COORDINATION, UH, COMMUNICATION THAT'S OCCURRING.
IN FACT, WE HAD A, UH, A MEETING WITH ODOT LAST WEEK JUST TO TALK ABOUT OUR WORK AND HOW IT MIGHT COMPLIMENT SOME OF THE WORK THEY'RE DOING WITH IDENTIFYING, UM, UH, A, A CORRIDOR NORTH OF OKLAHOMA CITY, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY TO KANSAS TO IMPROVE AMTRAK.
SO IT'S LIKE, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE ENTITIES, ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS, KIND OF KNOW WHAT EACH OTHER'S DOING SO THAT WE CAN COMPLIMENT, UM, EFFORTS.
SO, UH, TAKE AWAY FROM THIS SLIDE IS, THERE'S JUST LOTS OF COORDINATION AND, UM, LOTS OF, UH, COMMUNICATION.
AND SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY YOU NEED TO BE HERE TODAY, CUZ THAT'S WHAT THAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
SO, UM, WE'LL TOUCH REAL QUICKLY ON RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBER CITIES.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, AGAIN, UH, THANK YOU FOR, UH, APPOINTING THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THE PARTICIPATION THAT EDMOND HAS HAS, UH, SEEN SINCE INCEPTION OF THE RTA.
UM, BUT REALLY WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IS THAT SO FAR THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MEMBER CITIES, UH, I MEAN, LET'S FACE IT, HAS BEEN TO PROVIDE
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THE FUNDING FOR WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH SO FAR.UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING FROM ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES TO CONSULTANT CONTRACTS.
UM, ANOTHER ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UM, WITH CITIES IS, UH, ACQUIRING AND ACQUIRING AND OR MAINTAINING PROPERTY.
UH, YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN A MINUTE, UM, AN ALIGNMENT FOR THE NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR AND SOME GENERAL STATION LOCATIONS, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT TO THE POINT WHERE WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE CORRIDOR, WE THINK WE KNOW WHERE THE STATIONS OUGHT TO BE LOCATED.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY ASKING THE MEMBER CITIES TO HELP SECURE THAT PROPERTY FOR FUTURE RTA TRANSIT FACILITIES, WHETHER IT'S A PURCHASE OF PROPERTY, WHETHER IT'S AN OPTION ON PROPERTY, BUT WORKING WITH THE RTA TO MAKE SURE THAT IF ANY PROPERTY IS ACQUIRED, THAT IT MEETS THAT FEDERAL GUIDELINES.
SO THAT THE END OF THE DAY, THE, THE FEDS, IF WE'RE APPROVED FOR A PROJECT, WE'LL SAY, OKAY, THAT PROPERTY WAS SECURED, PROCURED, WHATEVER, IN A WAY THAT MEETS OUR, OUR, OUR GUIDELINES.
AND WE WANT TO COUNT IT AS A, AS A MATCH TOWARDS THE PROJECT.
UM, ALSO, UH, PROVIDING FUNDING FOR THE OPERATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. AND WE HAVE THIS ON HERE BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, UM, WE'RE A WAYS OFF BEFORE WE HAVE DEDICATED FUNDING AND ACTUAL OPERATING TRANSIT FOR THE RTA.
SO I THINK IT'S KIND OF GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT THE PARTICIPATING CITIES THAT HAVE EXISTING TRANSIT SYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO OPERATE THOSE SYSTEMS BECAUSE YOU, AS YOU'LL SEE HERE IN A MINUTE, UM, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SYSTEM MAP, IT, IT'S ALL ONE, UH, SYSTEM ALL CONNECTED, UM, APPOINTING THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS TO THE RTA.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, UH, COORDINATING THE RTA, THE MEMBER CITIES COORDINATING TO CALL FOR THAT JOINT SPECIAL ELECTION THAT, UM, WOULD ALLOW FOR THE RTA TO BE ABLE TO COLLECT SALES TAX DEDICATED FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT.
SO I KNOW THAT'S AN ENTIRELY ADDITIONAL, UH, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSION, BUT THAT'S REALLY, UH, ONE OF THE MAJOR ROLES IN MEMBER CITIES WILL PROVIDE IS THAT ADVICE AND GUIDANCE.
WHEN DOES IT SEEM TO WORK BEST COLLECTIVELY FOR THE REGION? UM, AND THEN I'LL GO THROUGH THE TRANSIT SYSTEM PLAN PRETTY, PRETTY QUICK HERE AND HAND IT OVER TO, UH, CATHERINE.
UM, BUT AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE EVEN DRILLED INTO THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS AND, AND SAID, YOU KNOW, ARE WE GONNA DO RAIL? ARE WE GONNA DO BUS? IS IT GONNA BE AN EXISTING CORRIDOR? ARE WE GONNA CREATE A NEW CORRIDOR? WE REALLY, THE RTA REALLY KIND OF TOOK A STEP BACK, LOOKED AT THE WORK THAT HAD BEEN DONE IN THE REGION, AND THEN DEVELOPED A VISION FOR HOW THE RTA COULD SEE, UH, TRANSIT WORKING IN THE FUTURE, AGAIN, TO PRIMARILY BENEFIT THOSE MEMBER CITIES.
SO OBVIOUSLY AS YOU DEVELOP A, UH, A UH, VISION PLAN, YOU WANT TO HAVE GOALS.
UM, THESE GOALS ARE PROBABLY NOT ANY SURPRISE TO YOU, BUT BASICALLY, UH, THE VISION PLAN, UM, IS FOCUSED ON MOBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY.
I MEAN, IN TRANSIT, WE'RE HERE TO MOVE PEOPLE.
UM, EQUITY AND ACCESSIBILITY, UM, ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE AS A REGION DON'T TALK ENOUGH ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TIME TO KINDA LAYING OUT THE, THE CASE FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT IS IT TRULY IS AN ECONOMIC DRIVER, WHETHER IT'S THE DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE STATION LOCATIONS OR IT'S THE FACT THAT TRANSIT IS A SOLUTION TO GET MANY PEOPLE TO WHERE THEY WORK.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, SUSTAINABILITY AND VIABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN READ A LOT OF THAT IN INTO THAT.
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF PUBLIC TRANSIT, BUT ALSO WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE A FINANCIALLY CONSTRAINED OR A FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE SYSTEM, RIGHT? SO WHATEVER THE RTA AND THE MEMBER CITIES PUT FORTH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT'S SUSTAINABLE AND THAT WE CAN AFFORD.
SO HERE'S WHAT THE, UH, THE VISION PLAN, UM, LOOKS LIKE.
AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE ON THE MAP HERE, THE, OBVIOUSLY THE DARK RED LINES OR THOSE HIGH CAPACITY TRANSIT CORRIDORS THAT THE RTA IS FOCUSING ITS EFFORTS ON RIGHT NOW.
UH, THESE ARE THE CORRIDORS THAT ARE EITHER CURRENTLY BEING STUDIED OR WILL BE STUDIED, UM, WITH ALL OF THE CORRIDORS KIND OF WRAPPING UP, OR THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS THAT TERM I USED EARLIER, ALL BEING WRAPPED UP, UM, BY THE END OF, WELL BACK, BASICALLY ABOUT 14 MONTHS FROM NOW.
UM, SO WE HAVE THE NORTH, SOUTH CORRIDOR, EAST CORRIDOR, AND THE AIRPORT CORRIDOR AND WEST CORRIDOR.
AND I'LL JUST, I'LL LOOK AT THESE EACH INDIVIDUALLY.
BUT THE OTHER THING I WOULD JUST WANT TO KIND OF BE ABLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS MAP IS YOU'LL NOTICE THE EXISTING TRANSIT SYSTEMS ARE KIND OF OVERLAID.
YOU CAN SEE THE OKLAHOMA CITY, NORMAN AND EDMOND SYSTEMS, UH, THE SERVICE PROVIDED IN MIDWEST CITY, AND THEN ADDITIONAL BUS RAPID TRANSITS THAT ARE BEING CONSTRUCTED AS A
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PART OF MAPS FOUR.THOSE ARE THE, UM, DASHED LINES THAT YOU'LL SEE.
SO AGAIN, THE IDEA IS JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW HIGH CAPACITY TRANSIT CONNECTS TO THE EXISTING TRA TRANSIT NETWORK.
SO THE NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR, AND THIS IS THE ONE THAT WE'LL DIVE INTO DEEPLY TODAY.
UM, THIS IS, UM, OBVIOUSLY A, UH, COMMUTER RAIL, UH, SERVICE CONNECTING EDMOND, UM, TO, UH, NORMAN, UM, SHARING THE EXISTING B N S F RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY AND, AND DISCUSSIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS WITH BNS.
BNSF ARE ONGOING AND HAVE BEEN, UH, VERY POSITIVE TO THIS POINT.
THE EAST CORRIDOR, UH, THIS IS THE OTHER CORRIDOR THAT IS FURTHEST ALONG, UM, IN THAT ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS PROCESS.
UM, THIS IS THE, UH, CORRIDOR OBVIOUSLY THAT CONNECTS TO TINKER AIR FORCE BASE.
WE ALL KNOW THAT'S THE NATION OR THE, UH, REGION'S, UM, LARGEST EMPLOYER.
SO CERTAINLY A PRIORITY, THE RTA TO CONNECT TO EMPLOYERS.
SO AGAIN, THESE TWO, THE NORTH, SOUTH AND THE EAST.
WE WILL BE ASKING THE RTA BOARD OF DIRECTORS, UH, BY JUNE TO FINALIZE AND BASICALLY IDENTIFY, UH, WHAT THOSE, UH, LPAS ARE.
UM, THE TWO CORRIDORS THAT, UM, ARE COMING, THE STUDIES ARE COMING.
IN FACT, THE BOARD JUST, UM, APPROVED A CONTRACT WITH A CONSULTING FIRM TO BEGIN THESE STUDIES.
UM, LAST WEEK, UH, IS THE WEST CORRIDOR.
AND SO AGAIN, RECOGNIZING JUST THE POPULATION GROWTH OUT TO THE WEST, UH, SIDE OF THE REGION AND THEN, UM, A CORRIDOR TO THE AIRPORT.
AND SO AGAIN, THE RTA A'S VISION PLAN AND THE TRAJECTORY THAT THE RTA IS ON IS A LITTLE OVER A YEAR FROM NOW, HAVE ALL OF THE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS COMPLETED, UH, FOR THESE CORRIDORS.
SO WITH THAT, I CAN PAUSE MOMENTARILY FOR SOME QUESTIONS.
THIS IS WHERE I WILL HAND IT OFF TO, UM, CATHERINE TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR.
HOW MUCH OF AN ADVANTAGE IS IT ALREADY HAVING THE RAIL IN PLACE? UH, WELL, HAVING THE, HAVING THE THE RIGHT OF WAY ITSELF, ESPECIALLY CAPACITY WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY IS HUGE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY HAVING SOME RAILS BETTER THAN NONE, ALTHOUGH WE DO ANTICIPATE JUST THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS OF B NS F THERE WILL BE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL RAIL OR CAPITAL, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL NEED TO BE ADDED.
SO IT WON'T BE LIKE, WE CAN JUST PUT A TRAIN ON THE, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO OVERSIMPLIFY IT, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T JUST PUT A TRAIN ON THE TRACK AND START PROVIDING THE SERVICE.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'LL HAVE TO ADD.
BUT, UM, IT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT FED IN TOO, I BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, COMING UP AND DETERMINING, OKAY, THIS EXISTING RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY SEEMS TO MAKE THE MOST SENSE FOR A LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.
CUZ LIKE YOU SAY, WE ALREADY HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY.
WE ALREADY HAVE SOME RAIL, IT'S A MATTER OF IMPROVING.
SO THE CAPACITY FOR BOTH PASSENGER RAIL AND FREIGHT RAIL CAN EXIST.
SO YEAH, BIG ADVANTAGE GETTING US TO THE LPA.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A VERY ACTIVE LINE HERE.
HOW DO THEY DETERMINE, I MEAN, DO THEY HAVE MODELS THAT THEY PUT ARE WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING ONTO THEIRS? YEAH, THEY DO.
AND, AND, UM, I'LL ANSWER IT GENERALLY AND CATHERINE CAN PROBABLY GET INTO IT A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFICALLY, BUT YEAH, THEY DO HAVE, THEY DO HAVE AN ENTIRE, UH, MODELING PROGRAM.
WE, FOR EXAMPLE, PROPOSE TO THEM, WE WOULD LIKE TO RUN THIS, THIS MUCH PASSENGER SERVICE.
THEY THEN PLUG THAT INTO THEIR MODEL WITH THEIR EXISTING RAIL, UH, DEMANDS.
THEY ALSO, UH, INCORPORATE LIKE A ANTICIPATED GROWTH RATE IN THEIR BUSINESS.
AND THEN THEY'LL COME AND THEN THEY'LL, THEY'LL EVENTUALLY, WE HAVEN'T GOT THE ANSWER YET, BUT THEN THEY'LL COME TO BACK TO THE RTA AND SAY, OKAY, BASED ON WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, AND WE ARE, WE SEE OUR BUSINESS GOING OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, 5, 10, 15 YEARS.
THIS IS THE AMOUNT OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE THINK THE RTAS GONNA NEED TO BUILD TO ALLOW ALL THAT TO WORK WITHOUT NEGATIVELY IMPACTING OUR BUSINESS AND ALLOWING THE RTA TO BE ABLE TO, UM, HIT ITS GOALS.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF, SO TEMPER MY FEARS, I I, MY FEAR FOR THIS IS THEY'RE GONNA COME BACK AND SAY, WE'RE ALREADY TOO ACTIVE ON OUR RAILS, WE CAN'T ACCOMMODATE YOU.
AND THEN AFTER ALL THIS WORK YEAH.
IS THAT NOT GONNA HAPPEN? I THINK, UM, AND AGAIN, UH, CATHERINE CAN CAN SPEAK TO THAT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, BUT WITH OUR DISCUSSIONS WITH BNSF NOW, THAT REALLY HASN'T BEEN THE, AND I REALLY THINK IF THAT WAS THE CASE OR THEY SUSPECTED THAT AND AS MUCH MODELING AS WE'VE DONE SO FAR, NOT ONLY OUR OWN CONSULTANTS, BUT NSF AS WELL, I THINK WE WOULD'VE GOT THAT ANSWER ALREADY.
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GUYS ARE ASKING FOR SOMETHING THAT'S JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN.SO I'M GONNA ANSWER YOUR QUESTION FIRST.
SO I WAS HIRED BY ACOG IN 2017, AND AT THAT TIME THEY HAD THE 2015 STUDY THAT I LOOKED AT AND IT SAID, WE ASSUME WE CAN GET ACCESS TO THE BNSF LINE.
AND I SAID, I WOULD NEVER ASSUME THAT
SO THE VERY FIRST THING I DID WAS CALL BNSF AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT OUR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE OPPORTUNITY WOULD BE.
AND I HAVE AN, WE PUT AN MOU IN PLACE WITH BNSF THAT SPECIFIES WHAT THE, UH, TERMS AND CONDITIONS GENERALLY WOULD NEED TO BE.
THE BOARD HAS REVIEWED THAT AND HAS APPROVED THAT AND UNDERSTANDS THE, UM, SORT OF THE, THE, THE, THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT THAT BNSF EXPECTS.
SO WE HAVE A REALLY CLEAR UNDERSTANDING AND, UM, WE, I I, I AM REGULARLY MEETING WITH BNSF GOING OVER THE MODELING.
UH, I DON'T EXPECT ANY SURPRISES.
I MEAN, OKAY, IT'S GONNA COST MONEY.
THERE WILL BE CAPACITY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL BE REQUIRED, BUT THE ACCESS I DON'T SEE TO BE AN ISSUE.
NOW HOW DO I DO THIS? HERE WE GO.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT THE SERVICE AND THE OPERATING CONDITIONS FOR THE, FOR THE NORTH SOUTH CORRIDOR.
WE ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT THE ACCESS FEE WILL BE AND WHAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE WILL BE THAT WE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR.
AND THAT'S REALLY THE, THE FOCUS OF THE DISCUSSIONS WITH BNSF.
I WILL JUMP, I WILL LEAPFROG TO THE, TO THE ANSWER TO YOUR NEXT QUESTION IS, UM, WE EXPECT TO HAVE THE INITIAL MODELING DONE.
WE'RE ON TRACK TO HAVE THAT DONE IN JUNE, THIS JUNE, AT WHICH POINT WE WILL BE, UP UNTIL NOW, THE BNSF HAS BEEN DOING THIS MODELING WHERE THEY TAKE OUR PROPOSED OPERATING PLAN AND THEIR PROPOSED GROWTH PLAN, AND THEY MARRY THOSE TOGETHER.
THEY'VE BEEN DOING THAT, UH, AT, ON THEIR NICKEL.
THEY WILL, THEY WILL FEED US BACK THEIR CONCLUSION OF THAT IN JUNE, EXPECT TO BRING THAT TO THE BOARD IN JUNE.
UM, AT WHICH POINT WE WOULD THEN BE ASKED FOR THE RTA TO PAY FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILED ENGINEERING TO DO AN, A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN THAT WILL ADVANCE THE, UH, ENGINEERING WORK AND THE, UM, CAPACITY IMPROVEMENTS REQUIRED TO THE NEXT LEVEL SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET LIKE REAL NUMBERS THAT WE CAN THEN FEED INTO A MODEL, UH, TO A FINANCIAL PLAN THAT WE WOULD TAKE TO THE VOTERS AND SAY, OKAY, VOTERS, THIS IS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ON THIS LEVEL OF ENGINEERING WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BUILD THIS SYSTEM.
AND WE WILL HAVE OUR FINANCIAL PLAN DEVELOPED THAT WOULD DEMONSTRATE WHAT WE NEED, NOT ONLY FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, THE BONDING CAPACITY, THE THE DEBT SERVICE ON THE BONDS, BUT ALSO THE ONGOING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS SO THAT WE CAN KIND OF ROLL ALL THAT UP AND, AND SAY TO THE VOTERS, WE NEED X PERCENT OF A SALES TAX INCREASE TO SUPPORT THIS, THIS LINE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE WORK THAT'S, THAT'S ONGOING.
NOW, WE EXPECT THAT IF WE, WE HAVE BUDGETED FOR FY 24, THE FUNDS NECESSARY TO DO THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN WORK WITH BNSF, AND WE WOULD EXPECT TO HAVE THOSE HARD NUMBERS DONE ALSO BY THE END OF 24 BY THE, YEAH.
SO ALL THIS IS, WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD TO BRING ALL THIS TOGETHER SO THAT IN JUNE OF 24, WE SHOULD HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION AND THEN WE CAN DECIDE, YOU KNOW, ARE WE READY TO GO TO THE VOTERS? SO THAT'S KIND OF THE PLAN.
SO, UH, THERE ARE MANY CORRIDORS IN THE, IN THE UNITED STATES THAT SHARE ACCESS SPECIFICALLY ON BNSF.
THEY HAVE SHARED ACCESS IN DALLAS, THEY HAVE SHARED ACCESS IN NEW MEXICO.
THEY HAVE SHARED ACCESS IN MINNESOTA.
UM, UP IS ALSO THE OTHER KIND OF COMPETITOR IN THE WESTERN US.
[00:25:01]
ACCESS THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA.I MEAN, THERE ARE LOTS OF PLACES.
SO IS THERE, DO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE BUDGETS OF THOSE TOWNS AND CITIES TO SEE HOW THAT WAS STRUCTURED? UM, WE HAVE, I HAVE ACCESS TO THE AGREEMENTS.
AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS YEAH, IF YOU, UH, HAD ANY THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT AND, AND GET IDEAS FROM TO SEE.
SO HOW MUCH ARE YOU PLANNING ON YOU? SO YOU'LL HAVE THOSE, YOU HAVE THE COST, YOU NEED TO KNOW THE, THE COST AND THE, THE CAPITAL EXPECTATION, AND THEN TO GO TO A VOTE.
AT WHAT POINT DOES FEDERAL FUNDS EITHER BE A PART OF IT OR NOT BE A PART OF IT? RIGHT.
I'M SURE YOU'RE WORKING ON THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO THE PROCESS IS WE HAVE TO HAVE A, A STABLE, A A LOCAL STABLE AND RELIABLE SOURCE OF FUNDING.
SO WE HAVE TO GET OUR VOTE APPROVED.
SO THAT, THAT'S KIND OF THE TICKET TO THE FTA.
JASON AND I HAVE MET, UH, SEVERAL TIMES WITH THE F T A ADMINISTRATOR REGIONALLY.
WE ARE PLANNING ANOTHER MEETING IN MAY WHEN THEY WILL BE IN TOWN FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING THAT.
BUT THE, THE KEY IS WE HAVE TO HAVE THE LOCAL, THE LOCAL, UH, SHARE.
WE'RE ALSO RIGHT NOW PREPARING DOCUMENTATION TO SUBMIT TO FTA TO QUALIFY THE RTA AS A DESIGNATED DIRECT RECIPIENT FOR FEDERAL FUNDING.
AND I'M PERSONALLY WORKING ON THAT.
AND IT'S KIND OF A BIG JOB WE'LL BE STARTING TO TAKE TO THE, THE BOARD IN MAY GET CONFUSED ON WHAT MONTH WE'RE IN.
WE'RE TAKE TO THE BOARD IN MAY.
THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPONENTS OF THAT.
WE ARE PREPARING NOW, UM, DOCUMENTATION TO DEMONSTRATE OUR, UH, LEGAL CAPACITY AND OUR, UH, CIVIL RIGHTS DOCUMENTATION.
AND I EXPECT THOSE WILL GO TO THE BOARD IN MAY.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON TECHNICAL CAPACITY AND FINANCIAL CAPACITY DOCUMENTATION THAT WILL ALSO GO TO THE BOARD.
ALL OF THAT WILL BE ROLLED INTO A PACKAGE TO PRESENT TO FTA FOR, FOR THE RTA TO QUALIFY ITSELF AS A DIRECT RECIPIENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE, WOULD THAT BE TO EACH THREE COMMUNITY SEPARATELY OR TO ONE ENTITY? IS RTA OR KAPA? THE ENTITY WOULD BE RTA, YEAH.
SO THE BOARD HAS, UM, BEEN LOOKING AT A SERVICE PLAN AND DEVELOPING STRATEGIC POLICY GOALS.
UH, I HAVE NEGOTIATED WITH A LOT OF RAILROADS, AND YOU DON'T WANNA DO THAT MORE THAN ONCE IF YOU CAN HELP IT.
SO WE'RE STARTING AT THE END, RIGHT? LIKE, IT'S LIKE, LET'S, WHAT'S THE LONG TERM VISION? WE, UH, AND WE WANNA, WE WANNA BUY ENOUGH, AS MUCH ACCESS AS WE THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED TO GROW THIS SYSTEM OVER TIME.
AND WE MAY IMPLEMENT IT IN STEPS WITH STARTING OUT WITH A LITTLE BIT OF SERVICE, DEPENDING ON RIDERSHIP AND FUNDING AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT OVER TIME, WE IMAGINE THAT WE WILL GROW TO A, A HIGHER RANGE OF SERVICE.
SO YOU CAN SEE ON THE MAP HERE, WE'RE WE ARE, I'M NEGOTIATING FOR 44 TRAINS A DAY.
THAT IS, UM, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THAT, WHERE WE WOULD FALL WITHIN OUR PEERS FOR THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE.
WE COULD START AT 24 TRAINS A DAY, BUT WE'RE LOOKING, AND, AND THAT'LL BE A DECISION THAT'LL BE MADE WHEN WE'RE FURTHER DOWN THE PROCESS.
BUT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 24 AND 44 TRAINS A DAY IS THE SERVICE PLAN THAT WE ARE MODELING, THAT BNSF IS MODELING, AND THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT PUTTING, UH, FORWARD TO THE VOTERS.
UM, SO AS WE PREPARE FOR SERVICE, WE'RE AGAIN, NEGOTIATING THE AGREEMENT.
WE'RE DOING AN EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE PLAN.
WE'LL HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO TALK ABOUT FAIR STRUCTURE, CUSTOMER PAYMENTS, INFORMATION SYSTEMS STATION SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT TIMETABLES, UH, AND A GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE TO OVERSEE THE OPERATIONS.
I SHOULD BE CLEAR, THIS TRAIN WILL BE OPERATED BY A B N S F ENGINEER OR A THIRD PARTY THAT BNSF RETAINS, NOT THE RTA.
SO, BUT WE WILL NEED TO OVERSEE THAT OPERATION.
AND SO THERE WILL BE SOME GOVERNANCE THAT WILL NEED TO BE PUT IN PLACE TO OVERSEE THAT.
UM, AS WE THINK ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR RIDERSHIP NUMBERS WILL BE COMPETITIVE AND, UM, SUPPORTIVE OF THE SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE CAN'T INFLUENCE.
WE CAN'T INFLUENCE POPULATION.
UM, WE DON'T INFLUENCE THE RAIL CORRIDOR MILEAGE OR HIGHWAY CONGESTION, BUT WE CAN INFLUENCE FAIRS, WE CAN INFLUENCE
[00:30:01]
THE SERVICE AND THAT, UH, THE SCHEDULE.WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR TRAVEL TIME IS COMPETITIVE WITH THE AUTOMOBILE.
UM, WE ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE STATIONS TO SUPPORT SPECIAL EVENTS.
WE HAVE A SET SPECIAL STATION DOWN THERE FOR THAT.
AND IMPORTANTLY, WE CAN, THE CITIES IN PARTICULAR, CAN INFLUENCE TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AND PUT POLICIES IN PLACE TO INCREASE, UM, DENSITIES AROUND STATION LOCATIONS THAT WILL HELP DRIVE RIDERSHIP.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITIES, UM, TO SHARE WITH THEM THE, UH, EXAMPLES OF, UH, POLICIES AND WHAT'S DONE IN OTHER MARKETS.
AND HERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP GROW YOUR DENSITY AROUND YOUR STATION LOCATIONS.
WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS THE TRAIN STATION FUNDING? UM, UNTIL THERE IS AN RT, UNTIL WE HAVE FUNDING THE TRAIN STATION, UH, PROPERTY.
I MEAN, WE DON'T HAVE, RT DOESN'T HAVE MONEY TO ACQUIRE A STATION.
SO WE ARE ASKING THE CITIES TO, UH, MAKE SURE FOLLOWING THE FEDERAL PROCESS TO AT LEAST SECURE PROPERTY, UM, IN SOME FASHION.
UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY, WHICH WILL SERVE ALL OF THE COMMUNITIES, WILL BE AN RTA FACILITY THAT WILL BE FUNDED, THAT SHOULD BE FUNDED BY THE, BY THE RTA.
THE, I DON'T RECALL THAT THE BOARD HAS MADE A DECISION ON, YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT MAINTENANCE CONSTRUCTION OF THE DRAIN STATION, STATION ITSELF.
SO HERE ARE THE STATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.
UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, THERE ARE TWO IN EDMOND.
THERE IS A NORTH EDMOND STATION AND A DOWNTOWN EDMOND STATION.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE OTHER STATIONS SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION.
THERE IS THE SPECIAL EVENT STATION FOR OU EVENTS, UM, THAT WILL ONLY BE IN SERVICE ON GAME DAYS, FOR EXAMPLE.
IT WON'T HAVE TO BE A REGULAR STOP.
THE, UM, I THINK THERE'S A SLIDE IN HERE ON, SO LET ME GO BACK.
THE, THE NORTH EDMOND STATION IS, UM, A, IS A COLLECTOR STATION.
THAT WOULD BE A STATION WHERE PEOPLE WOULD DRIVE IN.
THERE WOULD BE A PARK AND RIDE FACILITY.
THERE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TAKE YOUR PERSONAL AUTOMOBILE THERE AND HOP ON THE TRAIN AND LEAVE YOUR CAR THERE FOR THE DAY.
THE DOWNTOWN EDMUND STATION, THE GREEN DOTS ARE MORE OF A, A COMMUNITY STATION YOU WOULD WALK ON, YOU WOULD RIDE YOUR BIKE.
IT'S A WALK UP STATION, MORE OF A, MORE THAN A PARK AND RIDE LOT.
SO YOU HAVE, WE HAVE, WE ARE PROPOSING TWO STATIONS IN EDMOND.
ONE IS A COLLECTOR AND ONE IS A COMMUNITY STATION.
UM, SO THE VALUE TO EDMOND CATALYZED DEVELOPMENT, UH, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BENEFIT TO THE FREIGHT MOVEMENT.
WE, UH, EXPECT THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE IMPROVEMENTS WILL SOLVE YOUR FREIGHT TRAINS PARKING ON YOUR, ON YOUR BLOCKING, YOUR, YOUR TRAFFIC.
THAT IS A KEY POINT IN THE NEGOTIATIONS.
WE ARE WORKING HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT, THAT ARE BEING WORKED ON, THAT WE'RE, I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE FEEDING INTO THE BNSF PROCESS, AND WE'VE MADE IT REALLY CLEAR, YOU'VE GOTTA SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.
AND SO THERE WILL BE FURTHER NEGOTIATIONS WITH THEM ABOUT THAT.
I, I HAVE SEEN, AND I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TRAFFIC HAS.
THE, THE BLOCK HAD JUST BEEN, SO THAT'S A KEY GOAL.
I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
ARE WE, ARE THE, WHICH WILL HELP ACCOMMODATE THE MOVING OF TRAINS OFF FROM TRACK SO THAT EVERYONE CAN HAVE THEIR FLOW? IS IT, ARE, ARE THE IMPROVEMENTS, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT JUST BETWEEN EDMOND AND NORMAN? OR CAN THEY GO BEYOND THAT SPAN FOR YEAH, WE HAVE TO GO BEYOND THAT SPAN.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE RED ROCK SUBDIVISION, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW FAR NORTH IT GOES, BUT IT GOES, IT GOES BEYOND, UH, EDMOND AND IT GOES SOUTH OF NORMAN.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS INCREASING THE, THE SIDINGS AVAILABLE IN YARDS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHY THEY PARK HERE.
THERE'S A YARD SOUTH OF EDMOND THAT WE ARE, UM, FOCUSED ON MAKING THE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS
[00:35:01]
THERE SO THAT THE TRAINS CAN PARK IN THE YARD AND NOT ON YOUR BLOCKING YOUR MAIN STREET.SO, I, I THINK I'VE BEEN, I THINK I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT WHEN YOU PURCHASE ACCESS TO THE RAIL, THAT YOU PURCHASE SORT OF A PRIORITY SO THAT YES.
SO THAT PASSENGER TRAINS DON'T GET STOPPED.
AND THE FREIGHT TRAINS STOPPED TO ALLOW PASSENGER TRAINS, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO WE'LL NEGOTIATE A, A, A PASSENGER PRIORITY WINDOW, AND WE'LL HAVE AN ON TIME GOAL, UH, IN THE CONTRACT.
YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA HAVE, YOU GOTTA MEET THIS 95% OF THE TIME OR WHATEVER THE NEGOTIATED NUMBER IS.
BUT YES, THAT WILL BE PART OF THE NEGOTIATIONS.
SO, UH, WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH BNSF RIGHT NOW ARE REALLY GONNA RAMP UP.
I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN, AS I SAID, I'VE BEEN DOING THAT SINCE 2017, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THAT.
WE SHOULD HAVE A LOT MORE TO TALK ABOUT IN A YEAR ABOUT WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THOSE DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN.
WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THE STATION LOCATIONS AND THE MAINTENANCE FACILITY SITE.
WE ARE ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY.
WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER ROUND OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, BE VERY ACTIVE IN THE MONTH OF MAY AFTER THE LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVES ARE RECOMMENDED TO THE BOARD, SO THAT WE CAN GO BACK TO THE PUBLIC AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT THE BOARD'S CONSIDERING BEFORE THEY TAKE ACTION IN JUNE.
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS THAT YOU WANNA SHARE? BUT THERE'S BEEN ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT, UM, THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
UM, AND WE'RE WORKING ON RIDERSHIP MODELING AND COST ESTIMATING.
UM, ALL OF THIS IS SETTING UP FOR THE FT FOR BEING QUALIFIED TO GO INTO THE FDA PROCESS.
HERE'S A HIGHLIGHT OF SOME OF THE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
THIS IS GOING BACK TO THE, THE, TO THE ENGAGEMENT VALUES, EQUITY, EFFICIENCY, TRANSPARENCY.
WE'RE HAVING A CONTINUOUS DIALOGUE.
UM, WE HAVE HAD TOWN HALLS, WE HAVE OUR BOARD BRIEFINGS.
WE HAVE A PROJECT WEBSITE, RTA MOVES.COM.
WE'VE HAD THE, A NUMBER OF STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH MEETINGS LIKE THIS, UH, AND MORE LOCALLY.
UH, WE REGULARLY MEET WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND RANDY AND OTHERS FROM YOUR TEAM.
UM, PRESS RELEASES, SOCIAL MEDIA, EMAIL UPDATES.
HERE ARE THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE ON ENGAGEMENT.
LET ME JUST, I KNOW WE'RE, I DON'T WANNA, UH, TAKE TOO MUCH TIME, BUT, UM, WE HAVE HAD 6,619 ONLINE ENGAGEMENT VISITS, UH, AND 1600 UNIQUE USERS.
SO WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF ACTIVITY.
UM, THE KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM ALL THAT ENGAGEMENT IS OUR COMMUNITY.
WE WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH TINKER ON THE EAST LINE.
UM, WE HAVE COORDINATED WITH THE TINKER AIR FORCE BASES TRANSPORTATION PLAN.
THEY ARE MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO PROPERTY THAT THE AIR FORCE BASE IT'S WITHIN.
RIGHT NOW, IT'S WITHIN THEIR FENCE.
THEY'RE GONNA MOVE THEIR FENCE TO GIVE US LAND SO WE CAN HAVE A END OF THE LINE TRANSIT, UH, HUB AT TINKER AIR FORCE BASE.
SO, TINKER NORMAN, EDMOND, OKLAHOMA CITY ARE ALL ALL EXCITED ABOUT THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF EXCITEMENT FROM STUDENTS.
THE UNIVERSITY'S, UH, COMMUNITY IS VERY INTERESTED.
THEY ARE ENGAGED, AND THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM CLOSELY.
DO YOU, UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY WAY OF MONITORING THE POSSIBILITY OF IT PASSING OR NOT? OR DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEL FOR THAT BETWEEN THE REFERENDUM AND THEN HOW DOES THE VOTE GO? DOES IT GO COUNTY OR DOES IT GO CITY FOR THE THREE, FOR OKLAHOMA CITY, NORMAN AND EDMOND, IS IT, SO THE VOTE IS, IS RE IS DISTRICT WIDE.
SO THE RTA IS A REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, AND ITS BOUNDARY IS THE BOUNDARY OF THE MEMBER CITIES.
SO THE VOTE WILL BE UP OR DOWN IN THE DISTRICT AS A WHOLE.
SO THEN THE PEOPLE THAT WERE MEMBERS AND ARE NO LONGER MEMBERS, THOSE PEOPLE WILL, THEY VOTE.
SO JUST EDMOND NORMAN, OKLAHOMA CITY AS A REGION.
SO WHEN YOU SAY BOUNDARIES, YOU MEAN WITHIN THE CITY BOUNDARIES? YES.
HUH? SALES TAX IN, IN THOSE CITY LIMITS.
[00:40:01]
SO IS THERE A THOUGHT THAT NORTH-SOUTH NEEDS TO HAPPEN WOULD, WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN FOR TINKER OR AIRPORT TO WORK? WELL, UM, NO, NOT NECESSARILY, BUT I MEAN, IT'S CLEARLY IS, I, I VIEW IT AS THE BACKBONE TO YOUR SYSTEM MM-HMM.AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE GET THAT AND PROBABLY THE MOST RIDERSHIP.
AND I THINK, I THINK, I'M PERSONALLY THINK IT'S A GREAT PROJECT.
I THINK BNSF HAS BEEN A GREAT PARTNER TO WORK WITH.
I THINK IT WILL REALLY SPUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN PARTICULAR.
I MEAN, I WAS THE ARCHITECT OF THE SALT LAKE CITY SYSTEM, WHICH IS, I DON'T KNOW IF IT, I KNOW A COUPLE OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH SALT LAKE CITY.
UM, AND I, WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE IN 2017, I THOUGHT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT SALT LAKE CITY WAS LIKE WHEN I STARTED WORKING THERE IN 2006, 1997.
AND, YOU KNOW, FAST FORWARD 25 YEARS OR WHATEVER, THE, THE, YOU CAN'T IMAGINE HOW IT HAS TRANSFORMED THAT COMMUNITY.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT TRANSIT WILL DO.
WELL, WE TALK ABOUT OUR HOUSING CHALLENGES, OUR COST OF HOUSING AND WORKFORCE, AND MY GOODNESS, WHAT THE THINGS THAT THAT COULD DO FOR BUSINESSES IN EDMOND WITH, AND ESPECIALLY IN DOWNTOWN, IT'D BE INCREDIBLE.
AND IT MATTERS TO, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYERS THAT WANNA MOVE IN.
I MEAN, AS YOU PROBABLY REALIZE, I MEAN, A LOT OF TIMES THE, THE EMPLOYEES ARE WANNA KNOW WHAT KIND OF TRANSIT THEY HAVE AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET.
AND SO HAVING AN ANSWER TO THAT, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
IT'LL BE IMPORTANT TO CONVENTIONS AND DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES.
AND SO I THINK GETTING THE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE VERY FOCUSED ON MAKING SURE THAT THE, EVERYTHING CONNECTS THROUGH THE SANTA FE HUB.
AND SO THAT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO, YOU GET THAT NORTH SOUTH LINE, GO INTO THE HUB, AND THEN FROM THERE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE THE STREET CAR OR GET OFF AND TRANSFER TO BRTS, OR YOU GET ON THE EAST LINE AND GO TO THE, TO TINKER OR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S EVENTUALLY AN AIRPORT TO TINKER LINE OR, YOU KNOW WHAT? WELL, THE AIRPORT WILL BE HUGE.
I MEAN, NOT IF YOU GO TO THE AIRPORT, IT'S AMAZING TO ME HOW MANY CARS THERE ARE IN PARKING AT WILL ROGERS AIRPORT.
UNTIL YOU CONSIDER, THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO GET THERE.
SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU THE ESTIMATED SCHEDULE.
THIS IS, THIS WAS MY CRYSTAL BALL.
THIS IS, THIS IS THE BEST I CAN DO.
UH, WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON STATION LOCATIONS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE SECURE THAT PROPERTY.
UM, THE NORTH SOUTH LOCALLY PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE WILL BE CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD IN MAY.
WE ARE, WE HAVE JUST ISSUED AN R F P FOR FINANCIAL PLANNING SERVICES AND ENGINEERING SERVICES.
AND WE EXPECT THAT WILL BE VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN THE WORK THAT WE DO FOR THIS, UH, COMING FISCAL YEAR.
AND WE'RE, ALL OF THIS IS, IS GEARING UP TOWARD BRINGING ALL THIS TOGETHER BY NEXT, BY JUNE OF 24, TO START MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT THE ELECTION.
WHAT'S THE AMOUNT, WHAT'S THE TIMING? AFTER WE HAVE A SUCCESSFUL REFERENDUM, UM, WE HAVE TO FINALIZE THE BNSF AGREEMENT.
WE'LL HAVE TO FINALIZE FEDERAL GRANT AGREEMENTS.
UM, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE A CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE.
UM, I USE, AS A RULE OF THUMB, I MEAN, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, THEN THE COMMUTER RAIL LINE, NORTH SALT LAKE CITY, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY THE SAME MILEAGE AS THIS LINE FROM EDMONTON.
NORMAN WAS CONSTRUCTED IN SIX YEARS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THAT'S JUST, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT SOME SOMEWHERE, I MEAN, THAT'S A, THAT'S A, THAT'S A KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, SIX YEARS COULD BE MORE, COULD BE LESS.
BUT THAT'S MY THINKING NOW IN SALT LAKE CITY, IT WAS, WE BUILD A LINE ON AN ENTIRELY SEPARATE CORRIDOR.
HERE WE'RE GONNA BE SHARING BNSF INFRASTRUCTURE, SO IT COULD BE FASTER THAN THAT, BUT, BUT THAT'S THE APPROXIMATE, THAT'S THE, THE ANTICIPATION THAT, THAT WE HAVE AS WE'RE PLANNING.
WHAT ARE YOU NEEDING FOR US FOR THIS NEXT YEAR? YEAH.
WELL, I'M NEEDING FROM US, UH, JASON HAS A BUDGET PROPOSED FOR YOU.
ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THAT HERE NOW? WE CAN TODAY.
CAN WE PASS IT TODAY?
UM, IT IS AN INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR, I THINK LAST YEAR.
JANE, DO YOU HAVE THE NUMBER? JUST RANDY, DO YOU HAVE THE NUMBER AROUND 1 27 THINK.
[00:45:01]
YEAR WE'LL ROLL UP TO ABOUT 200.AND I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
YOU REMEMBER, JASON? IT WAS TWO 30.
YEAH, ON, WE, WE, I'LL JUST TELL YOU, MAYOR, IF I CAN, WE, WE PLUG THAT INTO THE BUDGET, UNLESS WE'RE HEARING DIFFERENT TONE HERE TODAY.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE A ROLLED UP INTO THE BUDGET.
SEE MANAGER, I CAN OFFER A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT SURE.
SO, UM, SO IF YOU LOOK AT JUST THE, JUST THE INCREASE FROM ONE YEAR TO ANOTHER, IT'S, I DON'T KNOW, 91, 90 2%.
SO IT'S ALMOST DOUBLING, UM, THE OVERALL RTA BUDGET ON THE OTHER HAND IS GOING UP 24%.
SO THE REASON FOR THAT IS IN THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, FY 23, WE WERE ABLE TO BUDGET A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUND BALANCE OR RESERVES, BECAUSE IF YOU'LL RECALL, THE MEMBER CITIES HAD BEEN PAYING IN, THANKFULLY.
AND WE HAD ACTUALLY KIND OF BUILT UP SOME FUNDS AND, AND SO WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF RESERVES.
AND THEN, UM, UH, ONCE WE BROUGHT ON THE CONSULTANTS SUCH AS KIMLEY HORN, AND WE'VE, WE'VE DONE ALL THE STUFF.
I MEAN, WE'VE STARTED SPENDING THAT MONEY DOWN.
SO THAT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE LIKE, WELL, BUDGET WENT UP 24%, BUT OUR CONTRIBUTION'S GOING UP, UP ALMOST DOUBLE.
THAT'S WHY WE, WE DON'T HAVE THOSE RESERVES TO BUDGET THIS YEAR LIKE WE DID.
SO, QUESTION ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEL ABOUT, YOU'RE SAID ABOUT ABOUT 6,000 IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
HOW IS THAT FOR A COM? HOW DO YOU FEEL? IS THAT GOOD OR BAD FOR A COMMUNITY OR SIZE AND, AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS? SO I'LL SHOW YOU, I'LL SHARE MY PERSPECTIVE JUST IN TERMS OF HOLDING, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UH, MEETINGS FOR TRANSIT PURPOSES AND SOME OTHER, BUT MAINLY TRANSIT JUST WITHIN OUR REGION AND OUR COMMUNITY.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY, IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD.
I MEAN, IT, I WILL, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ROLL BACK THE CLOCK TO THE 20 18, 20 19 TIME PERIOD, WHEN WE THOUGHT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WE USUALLY HELD A PUBLIC MEETING AT, UM, OUR, OUR TRANSIT CENTER.
WE TRIED TO HOLD ONE IN VARIOUS WARDS AND, YOU KNOW, WE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF ATTENDANCE, BUT NOTHING LIKE THE, WHATEVER, 1600 UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS.
UM, WE ALWAYS WANT IT TO BE MORE, AND IT'D BE INTERESTING TO SEE LIKE, OKAY, WELL WHAT IS A ST A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER TO WHERE WE COULD EXTRAPOLATE THAT TO THE GENERAL FEELING OF THE POPULATION.
WE'RE NOT THERE YET, BUT 3,300, OR I'M SORRY, 1600 INDIVIDUAL, UH, ENGAGEMENTS HAS, IS PRETTY GOOD FROM MY PERSPECTIVE.
THERE'S A LOT OF, THERE'S A LOT OF EXCITEMENT OUT THERE.
IT'S VERY, I I IT'S VERY ENCOURAGING.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL, YEAH, AND I KNOW THERE'S, I, WE'RE NOT, I DON'T THINK, WE'RE NOT VOTING ON ANYTHING, BUT MY COMPLETE SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP GOING MM-HMM.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT OUR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IS REALLY, REALLY EXCITED TO DO TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT.
AND, UH, WE HAVE CURRENTLY TODAY WE HAVE LOCATIONS THAT WILL NOT BE THE CASE A YEAR FROM NOW.
AND THAT'S WHAT WORRIES ME IS, IS THAT IT'S TAKING, I DON'T, IT'S TAKING A LONG TIME, BUT I KNOW IT HAS TO TAKE A LONG TIME, BUT IT DOES TAKE A LONG TIME.
THEN YOU LOSE THE ABILITY FOR THOSE LOCATIONS BECAUSE WE'RE GROWING SO QUICKLY IN OUR DOWNTOWN RIGHT NOW AND OUT IN THE NORTH THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR.
AND EXACTLY, TO YOUR POINT, UH, COUNCILMAN, THAT'S WHY WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING THE CITIES HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
LIKE IF YOU CAN SECURE THE, THE PROPERTY NOW FOR THOSE PROPOSED STATION LOCATIONS TO BE CONSIDERING IT, GRANTED THAT IT REQUIRES FUNDING, BUT I GET THE STATION LOCATION.
BECAUSE THE CITY CAN BUY THAT.
BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT PRIVATE DEVELOPERS, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE'VE GOT SITES THAT COULD BE, THAT ARE FIVE ACRES YEAH.
THAT WILL NOT BE THERE A YEAR FROM NOW.
UM, AND IT NEEDS TO BE HOUSING THIS TRANSIT ORIENTED WITH MIXED GS.
BUT DAVID, IF THE DEVELOPERS SEE THAT COMING, BUT IT'S NOT FAR ENOUGH APART, WE NEED TO START, WE NEED TO START, WE NEED TO CREATE A NARRATIVE THAT MAKES THEM BELIEVE IT'S REALLY GONNA HAPPEN.
AND RIGHT NOW, I DON'T THINK THEY BELIEVE THAT.
WELL, I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, ONE THING WE SHOWCASED TODAY THAT WE HAVE NOT REALLY MADE PUBLIC BEFORE WAS THOSE DOTS ON THE MAP THAT SHOWED THE STATION LOCATIONS FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.
WE'VE KEPT THAT, YOU KNOW, PRETTY CLOSE TO VEST.
[00:50:01]
BUT, UM, SO THE MAP WE SHOWED YOU TODAY IS THE, I WOULD SAY THE MOST REAL MAP WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHARE PUBLICLY.AND GRANTED, THEY CAN MOVE A LITTLE BIT, BUT GET A GENERAL SENSE OF WHERE THOSE STATIONS ARE GONNA BE LOCATED.
HOPEFULLY THAT MAKES IT A LITTLE MORE REAL.
UH, JASON AND CATHERINE FOR THE COMMENTS.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHY WE WANTED TO HAVE 'EM COME IN TODAY IS I THINK A LOT OF, LOT OF, I DON'T WANNA SAY LACK OF UNFOR INFORMATION OF A, OF A MORE DETAILED NATURE THAN WHAT WE SHARED TODAY WITH THE COMMUNITY DIDN'T HAVE.
SO A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT RTA AND THEY HAD THIS VAGUE UNDERSTANDING, BUT, SO THAT WAS, THIS IS THE REALLY THE KEY STEP TODAY WAS TO BRING FULL, FULL AWARENESS, SHOW THE STATION, YOU KNOW, PREFERRED LOCATIONS.
UH, PART OF OUR EFFORT THIS PAST FALL AND EARLY THIS SPRING WAS TO BRING URBAN LAND INSTITUTE TO ASK THE QUESTION, WHAT, WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING TO PREPARE AND KNOW RANDY HAS GOT HIS MARCHING ORDERS FOR YOUI TO GET OUR ZONING CODE UPDATE PREPARED FOR TD DEVELOPMENT.
IT'S THE SAME TYPE OF DISCUSSION WE'RE HAVING WITH ODOT AS THEY LOOK AT REVITALIZING ROUTE 77 AND 66 QUESTION WORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO.
WE'RE EVEN HAVING, UH, RTA EVALUATE SOME DIFFERENT STATION LOCATIONS, HOW THAT WOULD WORK FOR DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL, AS WELL AS HOW'S THAT WORK WITH OLIS RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE OTHER TAKEAWAYS, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ASK ME IS, OR COMPLAINING TO ME WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE WAS TRAINS, TRAINS, TRAINS, STOPPING ON ROADS.
SO I THINK THE COMMENT THAT CATHERINE SHARED TODAY IS, IS A KEY.
AND I ALWAYS KIND OF MIGHT SOUND LIKE A BACKWARDS COMMENT AS LIKE, WHETHER YOU LIKE TRAINS OR NOT, IF YOU LIKE TRAINS NOT ON YOUR STREETS, THEN YOU SHOULD VOTE AND SUPPORT THE RTA DISCUSSION.
IF YOU'RE A SCHOOL DISTRICT AND YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT KIDS BEING ON ONE SIDE OF THE TRACK VERSUS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS, SUPPORT THE RTA IF YOU WANT TO EASE CONGESTION SUPPORT RTA.
[3. Presentation and discussion of the FY2024 Parks and Recreation department budgets. ]
UM, PRESENTATION IS A PRESENTATION DISCUSSION AT THE FY 24 PARKS AND REC COMPARTMENT BUDGETS.AND WE'RE GONNA ENCOURAGE BRAD TO BE DONE ABOUT 10 TILL, RIGHT? 10 TILL.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR COUNCIL.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION TODAY.
TODAY'S MY ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY TODAY HERE AT THE CITY.
AND IT FEELS LIKE I'VE BEEN HERE A COUPLE DAYS.
IT'S BEEN THE FASTEST MONTH OF MY LIFE, I THINK.
BUT IT'S, IT'S JUST SO MANY EXCITING THINGS GOING ON.
SO, UM, I'LL, I'LL ATTEMPT TO SUMMARIZE A BUDGET THAT I DIDN'T HAVE MY HANDS IN A LOT, BUT THIS HAS BEEN A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ME TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, JUST KIND OF THE HIGHLIGHT OF, OR THE FORMAT OF THE PRESENTATION IS GONNA KIND OF HIGHLIGHT ONGOING ACTIVITIES AND KIND OF LOOKS OUT INTO THE CLOSE FUTURE, MAINLY FY 24 ON KIND OF WHAT WE ANTICIPATE TO HAPPEN.
UM, ALL THE DIVISION MANAGERS ARE IN ATTENDANCE, SO YOU CAN STOP ME IN THE MIDDLE OF IT AND WE CAN DIVE DEEPER INTO SOMETHING, OR YOU CAN WAIT UNTIL THE END AND, AND I'LL PROBABLY CALL THEM UP FOR VERY SPECIFIC ITEMS THAT, THAT I'M STILL LEARNING, LEARNING.
UM, JUST, JUST KIND OF A SUMMARY OF THE SLIDES.
THERE'S ONLY EIGHT SLIDES THAT WE'RE GONNA GO INTO, SO I SHOULD BE ABLE TO, TO KEEP IT IN TIME AND HO AND HOPEFULLY ALLOW FOR SOME DISCUSSION SINCE THIS IS A WORKSHOP.
UM, I THINK MOST OF THE BUDGET INCREASES REFLECT JUST A COST OF INCREASED COST OF DOING BUSINESS THAT A LOT OF US ARE, ARE FACING.
AND THEN ALSO OPENING UP A, A NEW FACILITY, PRETTY MUCH A BRAND NEW FACILITY AT THE GOLF COURSE.
UM, THERE'S LOTS OF EXCITING PROJECTS UNDERWAY THAT OFFER NEW THINGS.
AND ALSO, UM, SOME MAINTENANCE GOING ON TOO THAT ARE KIND OF REPLACING THINGS THAT OF AGED.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, IS AND WILL BE A CHALLENGE MOVING FORWARD OF, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF A GROWING COMMUNITY, OF ADDING NEW THINGS WHILE NOT LETTING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ENJOYED FOR A LONG TIME KIND OF FALL APART.
SO, SO THERE'S, UM, JUST, JUST SOME CHALLENGES MOVING FORWARD.
SO, UM, SO FIRST SLIDE, UH, I'M JUST GONNA KIND OF WALK YOU THROUGH OUR DIVISIONS.
SO THE FIRST ONE IS JUST A BUNCH OF DIVISIONS COMBINED TOGETHER.
IT'S OUR PARKS ADMIN, UM, OUR REC AND, AND PELICAN CONVEY BUDGETS.
AND I'LL JUST KIND OF SUMMARIZE THESE BRIEFLY.
THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CHANGE, ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE RECREATION, PELICAN BASED STAFFING AREA RIGHT BEFORE I CAME.
SO ALL THAT'S KIND OF UNDER EVALUATION, THAT BUDGET'S MAINLY STATUS QUO, THE SAME EVENTS AND PROGRAMS. WE'LL, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.
WE'LL KEEP THOSE GOING WHILE KIND OF EVALUATING WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE GAPS IN THE COMMUNITY
[00:55:01]
RECREATION WISE, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO TO FILL GAPS, FIGURING OUT WHAT THOSE ARE AND WHAT IS, HOW DOES THE DEPARTMENT NEED TO BE STRUCTURED TO, TO MEET THOSE GAPS.UM, FARMER'S MARKETS THROWN IN THERE.
THEY JUST HAD AN AWESOME OPENING DAY LAST WEEK, DESPITE COLD WEATHER.
IT WAS COLD AGAIN THIS SATURDAY.
UM, I THINK JUST THE NOTE, THE COMMENT FOR THAT IS, UM, JUST WE NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE AS THE DOWNTOWN CHANGES RAPIDLY.
SO IT'S, UM, FILLING OUT THAT SPACE, IT'S KIND OF BURSTING AT THE SEAMS AND, AND WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? AND THEN, UM, WHERE I'VE HONESTLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS AS A PELICAN BAYER AQUATIC CENTER, UM, QUICK, QUICKLY, I LEARNED THAT THERE WAS KIND OF A LONG LIST OF, UM, ISSUES WITH THE FACILITY.
UM, AND JUST, AND SO I'VE BEEN DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IN THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS TO GET SOME OF THOSE THINGS ADD ADDRESS, SOME OF THOSE THINGS ADDRESSED.
AND THERE'S BEEN SOME MOMENTUM PRIOR TO ME ARRIVING, SUCH AS REPLACING THE, THE FILTERS TO KIND OF START TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, BUT IT, BUT ON MY OPINION, IT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF TIP OF THE ICEBERG THING THING THERE.
UM, WE, LIKE, I THINK, UH, BACK LAST NOVEMBER THERE WAS A STUDY, UM, EMBARKED UPON TO KIND OF LOOK AT THE, A STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT OF THE FACILITY.
AND THAT JUST ARRIVED IN MY INBOX RIGHT NOW.
I CAN'T TELL YOU MORE, RIGHT? I WAS TRYING TO HURRY UP AND LOOK AT IT.
BUT, UM, SO THEY'RE, THEY'RE, UH, JUST KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET IT OPEN ON TIME, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SAFE TO, TO BE OPEN.
SO WE'RE DOING, WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN TO KIND OF PLAY CATCH UP.
UM, THE SENIOR CENTER, I DON'T HAVE A WHOLE LOT TO SHARE HERE, OTHER THAN, UM, ATTENDANCE HAS GONE UP SIGNIFICANTLY.
UH, I THINK A LOT OF IT'S JUST PEOPLE FEELING MORE COMFORTABLE TO, TO COME BACK OUT AND THEY'VE SEEN A LOT OF GROWTH THERE.
AND I THINK THE BUDGET REFLECTS A DESIRE TO, TO MEET THE DEMAND, TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF MEALS SERVED.
AND THAT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY TO, TO DO THAT, TO, TO BUY THE FOOD, TO PREPARE THE FOOD.
AND ALSO EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH YOUR GROCERY BILL.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THAT, THAT WAS PRETTY QUICK AND EASY UNLESS ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR WHERE YOU WANNA STOP.
YEAH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE BUSY AND THERE'S, EVERY TIME I GO OVER THERE, THERE'S ALWAYS STUFF GOING ON.
AND, UH, PEOPLE THERE, UM, ARCADIA LAKE, UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW TRASH COLLECTION SYSTEM THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU JUST APPROVED.
SO THAT'S KIND OF SOMETHING THAT'S HAPPENING NOW.
HOPEFULLY THIS SUMMER AT SOME POINT IT'LL BE, UM, INSTALLED.
UH, I, I STILL IT IN MY ONE MONTH OPINION, UH, OF IT, IT'S GREAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A SILVER BULLET.
IT PROBABLY TAKES EVERYONE, UM, PITCHING IN TO, TO KIND OF REDUCE THAT PROBLEM.
UM, YOU'VE, YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE ARCADIA LAKE MASTER PLAN, AND THAT'S COMING UP REALLY QUICK.
PROBABLY AT THE END OF THE MONTH IT SHOULD, SHOULD BE PRESENTED.
UM, THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES AND, AND IDEAS THAT YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO, TO VOTE ON, WHETHER THAT'S THE DIRECTION OR NOT TO IN, IN WHICH TO MOVE.
UM, CURRENTLY THE ONLY PLANNED FUNDING THAT I'M AWARE OF IS THROUGH ARPA.
THAT'S JUST THROUGH FOR WATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE, KIND OF UP UPCOMING.
UM, THESE, THE PLANNED IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU HAVEN'T ADOPTED YET ARE, ARE NOT FUNDED YET.
SO THAT'LL BE, THAT'LL TAKE SOME STRATEGY AND, AND SOME FIGURING OUT OF, OF HOW TO CONTINUE IT TO IMPROVE THE LAKE.
UM, IN, IN THE MEANTIME, THERE'S TRAIL EXPANSION GOING ON OUT THERE.
THERE'S, UH, LOTS OF PROJECTS UNDER, UNDER DEVELOPMENT TO KIND OF CONNECT AROUND THE LAKE AND ALSO CONNECT IN INTO THE CITY.
SO THOSE, THERE'S SEVERAL PROJECTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE IN DESIGN BEING LED BY KIND OF PLANNING AND, AND ENGINEERING RIGHT NOW.
LOOK AT A BIG OPERATION THERE.
DID YOU, DID IT NOT COME UP? OH BOY.
UM, WE'RE HAVING MEETINGS RIGHT NOW ABOUT GRAND OPENING.
I GOT MY FIRST TOUR LAST WEEK.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE WORTH A WAIT.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT AS A MUNICIPAL FACILITY.
IT'S SOMETHING I THINK THAT, UM, COMMUNITIES COULD ONLY DREAM OF AROUND, AROUND THE COUNTRY, SO IT'S PRETTY EXCITING.
I KNOW THERE'S, UM, BEEN SOME CHANGES ALONG THE WAY AND, AND KIND OF FIGURING OUT AS YOU GO.
UM, BRIAN'S BEEN, UH, RECEIVING INTEREST AND, AND SPONSORS INTERESTED IN PARTNERING WITH THE CITY.
I HEARD THAT GIL MORGAN TOOK A TOUR AND SAID IT WAS THE, THE BEST, IF NOT THE NEXT BEST PUBLIC FACILITY HE'S EVER BEEN IN.
I MEAN, THAT, THAT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME.
[01:00:01]
ALL.UM, BRI BRIAN'S WORKING WITH THE GOLF ADVISORY BOARD ON, ON FEES.
SO THERE'S SOME NEW REVENUE SOURCES THERE THAT, THAT WERE CONSTRUCTED.
SO THEY'LL KIND OF FIGURE IT OUT.
THE FOURTH ON THE HILL EVENT IS, IS COMING UP FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT, UM, BRI BRIAN CAN TELL YOU MORE.
BUT WATCHING FIREWORKS FROM THE BEST VIEWPOINT IN TOWN TO KIND OF KICK OFF THE, THE NEW FACILITY.
UM, I'D SAY LIKE ON, ON THE HORIZON HERE, UM, I'VE JUST BEEN INVOLVED WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION BEFORE AND THERE'S, YOU TRY TO PLAN AND ANTICIPATE EVERYTHING, BUT, AND UNTIL IT GETS OPEN AND YOU KIND OF SEE HOW THINGS ARE WORKING AND HOW IT'S BEING USED, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE, THERE MAY BE CHANGES, BUT, BUT I, I, I THINK WE'RE READY TO GO.
I KNOW RIGHT NOW WE'RE, UM, LOOKING AT ADJUSTMENT TO THE, THE CURRENT FY 24 BUDGET BASED ON THE, UM, CART FLEET.
SO, SO THE, UM, I JUST THINK SOME THINGS, SOMETIMES YOU THINK, UM, IT'S BRAND NEW.
THERE SHOULD BE ZERO PROBLEMS WITH IT.
SOMETIMES IN THE FIRST COUPLE YEARS OF A FACILITY, THERE'S SOME KINKS TO WORK OUT.
AND THEN JUST ON THE HORIZON, UM, WATER WELLS, THE WATER STORAGE TANK KIND OF HAS, UM, LIKE A TEMPORARY FIX THAT'S, WE'RE GONNA TO START LOOKING AT THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS OF GETTING THAT DESIGNED AND, AND FIGURED OUT.
SO, UM, ANY, ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL ON, ON GOLF? BRIAN'S DYING TO COME UP HERE AND, AND TALK TO, YOU SAID IT'S BEEN TOO LONG.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE FOURTH ON THE HILL
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE FOURTH ON THE HILL EVENT.
SO IF YOU'RE DYING TO TULSA, HOW BIG A CAR DO YOU HAVE?
I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT, BUT I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF FUN THOUGH.
WELL, AND I THINK THAT IN MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL, THIS WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES THAT WE SPEAK ABOUT.
UM, LITERALLY THIS WILL BE OUR 16TH ANNUAL AND I'VE NEVER HAD TO ADVERTISE IT.
AND IN FACT, JUST LIKE YOU'RE SAYING, NOT MANY PEOPLE EVEN KNEW ABOUT IT BECAUSE LITERALLY WE COULD DRAW THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PEOPLE JUST FROM OUR CORE CUSTOMER EMAIL DATABASE GROUPS THAT WERE LITERALLY THERE ON JUNE THE FIRST.
AND WE WOULD SELL THESE TICKETS OUT IN ABOUT TWO TO FIVE HOURS.
AND BASICALLY WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, WE ARE GONNA UP THE AMOUNT OF CARS, BUT WHAT IT IS, IS WE CHARGE, THIS YEAR IT'LL BE $30 FOR A CAR.
YOU CAN BRING AS MANY PEOPLE IN AS YOU'D LIKE.
WE CLOSE THE GOLF COURSE DOWN, GET ALL THE GOLFERS OFF THE GOLF COURSE.
WE REOPEN THE GATES AT 7:00 PM WE WILL HAVE, UH, AN OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER THAT HELPS US AT THE GATE.
WE WILL ALLOW THOSE 150 CARS IN.
AND I'VE ALREADY COORDINATED WITH PICKLEBALL.
SO WE WILL HAVE PICKLEBALL OPEN FOR PEOPLE TO DO WHILE THEY'RE THERE.
OF COURSE, WE'VE GOT ALL OF OUR BRAND NEW FACILITIES, WHETHER IT'S THE RANGE ENTERTAINMENT PAVILION, THE SHORT GAME PRACTICE FACILITY, THE PUTTING GREEN THAT WE ALWAYS SET UP FOR KIDS.
IT'S LIKE A PUTT PUTT OUT IN OUR 12,000 SQUARE FOOT, PUTTING GREEN.
AND THEN AGAIN, ALL THE CITIZENS ARE ALLOWED TO COME OUT WITH THEIR CHAIRS AND THEIR BLANKETS AND SIT ON TOP OF THE HILL AND WATCH THE FIREWORKS.
AND LITERALLY YOU WILL NOT ONLY SEE THE CITY OF EDMOND FIREWORKS, BUT WE SEE MIDWEST CITY, OKLAHOMA CITY, AND ALL THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES CUZ WE ARE UP, UP ON TOP OF THAT HILL.
SO THAT'S OUR FOURTH ON THE HILL ACTIVITY THAT WILL BE PLANNED AND HOPEFULLY EVERYTHING WILL GO WELL AND, OKAY.
SO, SO I GOTTA FIND OUT, YOU'LL SEE SOME, SOME SOCIAL MEDIA AND, AND THIS IS GOOD TO KNOW BECAUSE THIS IS THE WORDS THAT WE HAVE TO GET OUT.
WE'LL BE, I'LL TELL YOU, I'LL SHOW YOU, WE WILL BE SELLING THESE TICKETS AT MITCH PARK, AT THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING CUZ WE WILL NOT HAVE OFFICES IN THE CLUBHOUSE WHEN WE SELL THESE ON JUNE THE FIRST.
SO THAT'LL BE TAKING PLACE AT 8:00 AM OUT AT THE MITCH PARK ADMINISTRATION BUILDING FOR THE FOURTH ON THE HILL TICKETS.
AND IS EVERYONE AWARE OF ALL OF OUR OPENING ACTIVITIES? TELL US ABOUT THEM, BRIAN.
OKAY, WELL, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY IT'S VERY IMPORTANT YOU'RE GONNA GET ALL THIS WHILE I'M UP HERE.
I WANNA LET YOU, I WAS GONNA REMIND THE DEADLINE.
JUNE 29TH FROM NINE TO 11 WILL BE THE STAKEHOLDERS IN OUR MEDIA FROM NINE TO 11 OUT THE GOLF COURSE ON THURSDAY THE 29TH, FROM ONE TO THREE, IT'LL BE A PUBLIC WALKTHROUGH OF ALL THE FACILITIES WE WILL SHOWCASE.
NO GOLF, JUST THE BUILDINGS UP AT THE GOLF COURSE, UH, FROM ONE TO THREE O'CLOCK.
AND THEN ON FRIDAY, JUNE THE 30TH IS A DOUBLE SHOTGUN, 8:00 AM AND 1:30 PM GRAND OPENING GOLF TOURNAMENT, UH, WITH A LOT OF FESTIVITIES AROUND THE NOONTIME FRAME.
SO WHEN THE MORNING SHOTGUN'S COMING IN, AFTERNOON GOING OUT AND EVERYONE ON THE COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR AND EVERYONE ELSE WILL BE GETTING AN INVITATION WORKING WITH BILL BAGLEY AND ALL.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE GUYS THAT AREN'T ON THE COUNCIL?
YOU WERE HERE, YOU STARTED THIS.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE TO THE END AND YOU'RE ON THE PLAQUE.
YOU EVER SEEN THIS GUY'S GOLF SWING? THAT'S WHY I HAVE.
[01:05:01]
ACTIVITIES.SO, BUT WE ARE EXCITED TO FINALLY GET OPEN, FINALLY GET OPERATIONAL.
IT'S, IT'S A BIG DEPARTMENT WITH A LOT GOING ON, SO IT'S NOT MUCH.
SOME, THERE'S LIKE CROSSOVER, SOME THINGS ARE SIMILAR AND THEN SOME THINGS ARE REALLY DIFFERENT.
SO IT'S, IT'S A CHALLENGE TO, TO COVER IT IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.
BUT, UM, UH, PARKING, CEMETERY MAINTENANCE, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S INCREASES DUE TO KIND OF COST OF DOING BUSINESS.
I THINK THEY'RE FAIRLY MINOR IN JUST AGING EQUIPMENT.
BUT JUST SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY THAT, THAT I'M SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF ARE MITCH PARK TRAILS OR, OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
STEVENSON PARK IS MOVING ALONG.
THEY'RE HEADED TOWARDS A FALL KIND OF FINAL.
EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING DONE OPENING.
THERE'S SOME PROJECTS IN DESIGN RIGHT NOW.
SPLASH PARK AT, UM, TED ANDERSON.
I'M HAYFORD PARK PAVILION AND RESTROOM, WHICH YOU JUST APPROVED.
SO THOSE ARE KIND OF A DESIGN THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT NEXT YEAR FOR, FOR CONSTRUCTION.
AND THERE'S, AND SOME OTHER PARK PROJECTS JUST FOCUS ON KIND OF UPGRADING WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE, LIKE REP MORE, MORE MAINTENANCE TYPE OF THINGS.
AND THEN JUST KIND OF ON, ON THE HORIZON.
UM, GOT, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT THE HAYFORD TRAIL PAVILION AND RESTROOM CONSTRUCTION, THE PLAY STRUCTURE AT TED ANDERSON, UM, BICKHAM AT MIDWEST PARK DESIGN.
SO LOOKING AT THE FUTURE OF HOW THAT'S GONNA BE USED OUT THERE AND PONDER, REPAIR, UH, BICKHAM, RUDKIN.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE UP ALONG, UM, ON THE HORIZON.
WE HAVE A LOT GOING ON WITH OUR ATHLETIC FIELDS RIGHT NOW.
OUR SOCCER COMPLEX IS, UM, IS BEING RENOVATED RIGHT NOW.
IT'S MAINLY THE, THE BUILDING.
SO THAT'S, UM, DEMOLITION'S HAPPENED.
THERE'S QUITE A BIT GOING ON THERE.
UM, AND, AND THERE'S, THERE'S MORE, MORE PLANNED IN THE FUTURE.
UM, THE AC CAPLINGER BALL FIELDS REDESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
UM, THE VICTOR STUDY IS COMING UP THAT KIND OF LOOKS AT HOW WE USE OUR SPORTS FIELDS AND GONNA HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE'RE KIND OF WAITING FOR THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE CAN START, UM, MOVING INTO THE, THAT PROJECT AND GETTING IT REDESIGNED AND, AND OUT TO BID FOR CONSTRUCTION.
AND JUST TO COMMENT THAT, UM, I DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY, BUT I THINK THE, THE MITCH PARK FIELDS ARE EQUALLY IN NEED OF, OF ATTENTION AS THAT COMPLEX THERE, THERE TOO.
UM, WE HAVE THE RECTANGULAR FIELD FEASIBILITY STUDY.
THAT'S ACTUALLY, UM, I THINK NEXT WEEK WE'LL KIND OF GET AN INITIAL PRESENTATION ON THAT.
AN IDEA OF LIKE WHAT IT'S GONNA COST AND, AND WHAT THE, UM, IMPACT COULD BE FOR, FOR BUSINESSES.
AND THEN FINALLY, I THINK, UM, PROBABLY WITH ME BEING NEW COMING IN, IT'S A GOOD TIME JUST TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR PARTNERSHIPS AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE DOING IT THE BEST, MOST EFFICIENT WAY POSSIBLE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A REALLY GENERAL STATEMENT.
I'M NOT LEADING INTO ANYTHING.
JUST, UM, JUST SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'LL LOOK AT TOGETHER JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE ENSURING SUCCESS FOR OURSELVES AND FOR AND FOR THE PARTNERS THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH.
AND DO YOU MIND IF I ASK ANDY ON THAT LAST SLIDE WITH C I P, WHAT, WHAT DO WE, WHAT DO WE HAVE FUNDING FOR? DON'T WE, DON'T WE HAVE FUNDING FOR AC CAPLINGER? I, I'VE GOT IT HERE.
UM, I CAN, I CAN GET THIS TO YOU TOO.
ALL, ALL OF YOU IF YOU WANT TO JUST KIND OF LIKE LIST EVERYTHING OUT.
I THINK IT'S BEEN PRESENTED IN THE PAST, BUT LET'S SEE.
IT IS, RYAN PROBABLY KNOWS THIS OFF THE TOP OF HIS HEAD.
6.8 MILLION IN FISCAL YEAR 24 FOR THAT PROJECT.
SO CAN WE GO A LITTLE DEEPER INTO WHAT WE'RE WAITING FOR? SURE.
UM, I'LL, I'LL TRY TO SUMMARIZE IT, BUT YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO JUMP UP AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE IT A SHOT.
BUT I THINK, UM, THERE WAS DESIGN DONE AT, AT SOME POINT AND MAY MAYBE WE WERE, UH, CLOSE TO GOING OUT TO CONSTRUCTION, BUT JUST SOME QUESTIONS AND, AND THINGS CAME UP.
SO THAT HAS BEEN PUT ON THE SHELF.
WE'RE DOING A STUDY, THE VICTUS STUDY THAT'S LOOKING AT HOW THE FIELDS ARE UTILIZED.
THEY'RE TALKING TO ALL THE USER GROUPS AND, UM, PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED ON IT.
AND THEY, THEY'LL MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS OF MAYBE HOW WE SHOULD BE UTILIZING OUR SPORTS FIELD.
SO I, SO I, SO I THINK THAT THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT, WHAT THE HOLDUP IS, IS DO WE WANT TO GET THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS
[01:10:01]
FIRST BEFORE WE COMMIT TO A DESIGN AND GO OUT TO BED FOR CONSTRUCTION? ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT, RYAN? YES.JUST FURTHER TO ELABORATE THAT THE VICTUS IS BEING REFERRED TO IS GONNA TELL US THINGS LIKE HOW MANY T-BALL FIELDS DO WE NEED, HOW MANY, UH, OTHER BALL FIELDS DO WE NEED FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS? UM, CAN WE FACILITATE, UH, ADDITIONAL, UH, SPORT ACTIVITIES ON THOSE, UM, FIELDS.
SO THAT'S REALLY GONNA INFORM WHAT WE NEED TO HIRE THE DESIGNERS TO DESIGN.
AND, UM, WE, WE BELIEVE WE HAVE PARTNERS, UM, READY FOR THAT ACTIVITY AND READY TO GO, BUT WE NEED THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE VICTIM'S STUDY.
WE'RE EXPECTING THAT BY THIS SUMMER, ISN'T IT? THIS HEARD THE 26TH OF THIS WEEK.
AND THEN THAT MEETING WILL, UM, DISCUSS THIS A BASED, SO THAT PROJECT IS KIND OF A TWO PHASE PROJECT.
THIS FIRST PHASE IS WRAPPING UP ON THE 26TH OF THIS WEEK.
WE'LL MEET WITH BTUS IN OUR INTERNAL, UM, UH, STAKEHOLDER GROUP.
AND SO THEY'LL KIND OF, UM, GIVE US US A GRAND SCHEME OF EVERYTHING IN THE PHASE TWO.
UM, THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL SCOPE OF SERVICES TO WHERE THEY'RE DIVE INTO ONE LOCATION.
UM, WITHIN THAT SCOPE OF SERVICE, WE HAVE A FEE TO LOOK INTO MORE LOCATIONS.
AND SO AS WE MEET ON THE 26TH, WE'LL FIND, WE'LL PROBABLY GATHER, UH, IDEAS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT WHERE WE NEED TO KIND OF PHASE TWO FOCUS ON THIS COMPLEX OR THAT COMPLEX, OR MAYBE IT'S ALL THE COMPLEXES OR TWO OF THE COMPLEXES.
AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE'LL FARTHER DIVE INTO THE PRO, LIKE HE MENTIONED, THE PROGRAMMING NEEDS.
IT SHOULD BE AGES THIS GROUP, YOU KNOW, THIS SIZE FIELDS, THESE AGE GROUPS, THIS MANY PROGRAMS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND SO THAT WILL BE DONE BY MAY.
OH, THE SPECIFIC PROGRAMMING? YES.
SO PROBABLY MID-JUNE FOR A FINAL CONCLUSION.
I THINK THE VICTUS IS, IS CRITICAL AS WE LOOK AT SOME OF THESE FACILITIES, IT'S THAT, THAT MIXTURE, IS THIS PRIMARILY A SPORTS TOURISM ACTIVITY OF, OF USE OF FIELDS OR IS IT A MIXTURE OR THIS, IS THIS COMPLEX MORE SITUATED TO CALL IT RECREATIONAL USE AND NOT REALLY SPORTS TOURISM ASPECT? SO I THINK BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, WHETHER IT'S THE SOCCER COMPLEX OR AC CAPITAL OR OTHERS, IS, WHAT IS THAT MIX WITH? SO OPPORTUNITY TO MAXIMIZE AS MUCH RECREATIONAL AS WELL AS MAXIMIZE SPORTS TOURISM ACTIVIT.
WELL, WE HAD A DAUGHTER HAD A SOCCER TOURNAMENT AT MIDWEST CITY A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND THEY'VE GOT A NEW MULTI-SPORT FACILITY.
AND THEY'RE, YOU'D THINK THEY WERE, IF YOU WERE PULLING UP TO IT IN PARKING, YOU'D THINK THEY WERE BASEBALL FIELDS, BUT THEY'RE ALL TURFED.
THE MOUNDS ARE MOBILE, SO IT CAN BE SOFTBALL, SOFTBALL OR BASEBALL.
AND THEN IN THE OUTFIELD THEY HAVE 'EM PAINTED.
THEY HAVE THE OUTFIELDS PAINTED FOR SOCCER FIELDS.
AND IT'S JUST, I MEAN, IT JUST BLOWS YOUR MIND.
LIKE, I MEAN, WHAT ARE WE NOT? AND AND, AND FRANKLY, IF WE WOULD'VE GONE WITH THE LAST DESIGN AT A AC CAPLINGER, IT WOULD'VE BEEN JUST BASEBALL FIELDS, NOT TURF.
AND, AND, AND I THINK GOOD DECISION TO HIT PAUSE AND GO, WHOA, WE'VE GOT MORE NEEDS THAN JUST THIS.
BUT SEEING SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN PERSON REALLY DOES GO, I MEAN, JUST MAKE YOU THINK IT HAVE, DO WE HAVE THE EXPERTS TELLING US WHETHER WE'RE THINKING OF EVERYTHING OR NOT? AND I THINK VICTIMS WILL DO A GREAT JOB.
THEY, THEY'RE DOING AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF US AND THEN SURROUNDING CITIES AND THEN THAT BROAD TIME.
SO THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT AS OTHER COMPLEXES THAT WE'RE COMPETING AGAINST.
WHAT IS OUR OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW, FIT IN? WHAT IS OUR NICHE GONNA BE? AND SO Y'ALL CAN LOOK AT ALL THE SURROUNDING AREAS.
I JUST KNOW THAT, I MEAN, WE ALL KNOW THIS.
THE PRESSURE OF OUR CONSTITUENTS AND PARENTS AND FAMILIES ARE, THEY'RE SEEING THESE OTHER FACILITIES AND THEY JUST GET MORE AND MORE ENVIOUS, YOU KNOW? AND SO NO DOUBT WE'RE EVERYBODY'S IN A HURRY.
I, I THINK, COUNCIL, YOU MADE A POINT THERE THAT I THINK IS SOMETHING I'M REALLY PUSHING ON IS, UH, INSTEAD OF HAVING, HAVING DEDICATED COMPLEXES, LIKE THIS IS THE ONLY SPORT THAT OCCURS IN THIS, IS HOW DO YOU CREATE MULTI-SPORT FACILITIES? SO IT'S ONE DAY IT'S SOCCER, NEXT DAY IT'S LACROSSE, THE NEXT DAY IT'S FIELD HOCKEY OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE.
SO INSTEAD OF, YEAH, SO INSTEAD OF HAVING 60 DAYS A YEAR BEING ACTIVE, IT'S NOW 120, 180 DAYS.
YOU KNOW, IT'S MORE MONEY TO GO TURF, BUT YOU CAN DO THAT.
AND THEN YOU'RE NOT BUYING MORE LAND.
AND ALONG THOSE, ALONG THOSE LINES, I THINK STAFF WOULD RECOMMEND, WE WOULD USE THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK PROCESS FOR THIS.
SO WE CAN GET ESTIMATES THROUGHOUT DESIGN, HERE'S HOW MUCH TURF WOULD COST VERSUS HERE'S HOW MUCH, UH, NATURAL GRASS WOULD COST.
SO I THINK STAFF IS COMMUNITY TO DOING THAT PROCESS.
AND WE BUMPED THE MONIES A LITTLE BIT TO $8 MILLION.
WHICH IS BUDGETED NEXT, NEXT YEAR FOR THE COUNCIL TO ADOPT FOR FISCAL YEAR 24 BUDGET.
SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PROCESS.
[01:15:01]
TO BRAD'S POINT, IT ALSO GOES INTO, AS WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS, IF OUR PARTNERS UNDERSTAND WHAT THE METRICS ARE SAYING, ARE THEY CONDUCIVE TO THAT? ARE THEY UP TO THAT OPPORTUNITY? SOME MAY AND SOME MAY GO, THAT'S REALLY NOT MY, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.AND THEN IT MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO HAVE WHAT IS THE RIGHT PARTNERSHIP ON THESE TYPE OF FACILITIES.
THAT'S KIND OF PART OF THAT POINT IS LIKE YOU, YOU COULD BUILD THAT A MULTI-USE COMPLEX AND THEN YOU HAVE A CONTRACTOR PARTNER TO OPERATE IT AND THEY KIND OF CONTROL WHAT GOES ON THERE, WHO'S, WHO'S THERE.
SO MAYBE YOU INTEND FOR IT TO BE USED FOR THIS OR THAT, BUT YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THOSE AGREEMENTS ALLOW FOR FOUR MULTI-USE.
SO I'LL, I'LL TAKE IT HOME IN TIME.
LAST SLIDE HERE, DIVE INTO, YEAH,
BUT, UM, THAT, THAT'S A GOOD SEGUE INTO THE CONCLUSION.
I'LL JUST JUMP TO, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH THESE PROJECTS.
IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ON THERE, I KIND OF PUT THESE UP THERE.
IF, IF IT SPARKS A QUESTION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT YOU, SO YOU'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
SO IF IT'S IN PROGRESS, THAT MEANS YOU'RE BUDGETING FOR THIS THIS NEXT YEAR? YEAH, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF HAPPENING RIGHT NOW MM-HMM.
SO WE KIND OF HAVE MONEY SET ASIDE, UM, FOR, FOR THOSE, FOR THOSE THINGS.
SO, SO WHEN WILL THE PICKLE BALL COURT RESURFACING BE COMPLETED? THAT'S, THAT'S OUT TO BID RIGHT NOW.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD GUESS OPEN BIDS SOON.
HOPE HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS IT WOULD BE DONE FOUR MONTHS.
SO THREE OR FOUR MONTHS WILL SELECT NO TO BE DONE.
IT WILL BE, WELL, WE'LL OPEN BIDS AND WHAT WE'LL BE DONE IN THREE OR FOUR MONTHS.
YEAH, THAT'S, IT'S, IT'S OUT TO BID RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S IN PROGRESS AND PICKLEBALL WILL CONTINUE TO GROW.
I'LL JUST TELL YOU THAT WE, ON THE AIR, WE, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF RESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUT THE F PICKLEBALL.
IT'S, IT WAS THE SAME WHERE I CAME FROM THE PARKING AGREEMENT, BUT GOOD LUCK.
I, I HAVE MADE THE COMMENT SEVERAL TIMES.
WE HAVE PROBABLY BE PRUDENT OF US, US TO START LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO BUILD A DEDICATED PICKLEBALL FACILITY.
SO WITH, WITH THAT, UM, I WILL CONCLUDE HERE WITH, WITH THE FINAL QUESTION, SCOTT.
NO, I'LL, I'LL CONCLUDE IT AND THEN YOU GUYS CAN ASK QUESTION, THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT PICKLEBALL.
THERE'S UM, THERE'S LOTS OF PLANS, THERE'S MASTER PLANS, THERE'S DESIGNS, THERE'S IDEAS, THERE'S NEEDS, THERE'S, THERE'S ALL THESE THINGS OUT THERE AND COMING OUT THERE SUCH AS BUILDING A NEW PICKLEBALL FACILITY MM-HMM.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE CHALLENGE IS, IS AS WORKING TO TOGETHER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE AND REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE WILL OF YOUR GENERAL POPULATION IS.
CUZ UM, YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE GONNA BE REALLY LOUD ABOUT THINGS.
BUT, BUT IS THAT REPRESENTATIVE OF HOW, YOU KNOW, YOUR CONSTITUENTS WANT YOU TO SPEND MONEY AND THAT'S RIGHT.
THAT WILL FOREVER BE A, A CHALLENGE.
SO I'LL, I'LL CONCLUDE WITH THAT.
I LOOK FORWARD TO EVERYTHING TO KIND OF FINDING THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
SO CAN I ASK YOU ONE LAST QUESTION?
YOU LIKE THE IDEA AND UM, AND, AND MAYBE IN LIKE 10 YEARS WHEN SOME OF MY KIDS ARE OUT OF THE HOUSE, IT WOULD BE GREAT.
NO
I'LL, I'LL ANSWER IT PERSONAL.
GOOD JOB SCOTT HUDSON AND WELCOME.
ALL RIGHT, SO, UM, I WASN'T SIGNED BECAUSE OF THAT.
IT'S JUST FUNNY, MY, MY CURRENT, MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYER, THEY'VE REACHED OUT TO ME AS WELL AS THE MEDIA AND THAT HAS REACHED OUT TO ME CUZ THEY'RE CONTEMPLATING A DEDICATED PICKLEBALL COMPLEX MM-HMM.
AND THEIR QUESTION IS, CAN IT BE SUPPORTIVE IF OTHER PEER CITIES IN THE, IN THE AREA ARE GONNA DO THOSE TYPE OF THINGS? ARE WE JUST KIND OF, I THINK THAT'S WHAT GOES BACK TO THE WHOLE VICTUS DISCUSSION.
WHAT'S THE OPPORTUNITY OR WHAT'S, WE MAY THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY AND THEY COME BACK AND SAY IT REALLY ISN'T WHAT YOU MAY THINK IT IS.
THIS MAY BE MORE OF A RECREATIONAL TYPE OF FACILITY VERSUS A TOURNAMENT TYPE OF FACILITY.
SO IT'S JUST INTERESTING YOU BROUGHT THAT UP.
CAUSE ACTUALLY I GOT A COUNCIL MEMBER, I'M SUPPOSED TO, MY FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER, I NEED TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.
BUT I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT BRAD KIND OF ALLUDED TO, BUT IF YOU WERE TO ASK WHERE NICOLE, THERE'S NICOLE AND OTHERS, IS WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT NEW FACILITIES.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE ARE FACING, WE TALK ABOUT PELICAN BAY, IS EVERYBODY WANTS THE NEW FACILITY.
WE NEED TO, TO NOT MAKE SURE WE DON'T TAKE OUR EYE OFF OUR EXISTING FACILITIES.
IF YOU, YOU'VE GOT TO ARCADIA PARK AND GO TO THE BATHROOMS, THERE'S AREAS THAT NEED TO BE UPDATED.
WE'VE GOT A LOT OF OUR PARKS, THERE'S AREAS TO BE UPDATED AND WE NEED TO, AS MUCH AS WE WANT THE NEW STUFF, WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE
[01:20:01]
KEEPING UP OR RENEWING OUR EXISTING FACILITIES SO THEY DON'T FALL FOR THE BLIND.WELL IF I, I MEAN, I'LL JUST BE FRANK, IF I WERE ASKED THE, THE, THE CHALLENGE IS BUDGETING.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A PARK TAX THAT'S BEEN SET AT ITS AMOUNT FOR A LONG TIME AND HASN'T BEEN INCREASED.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UH, THE FUNDING FOR C I P.
THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST, THERE'S SO MUCH COMPETITION BETWEEN ALL PROJECTS AROUND TOWN.
IF A, IF A GO BOND WERE PUT IN FRONT OF ME TOMORROW FOR ROAD PROJECTS, I WOULD VOTE FOR IT.
JUST SO MORE PARK PROJECTS AND FACILITY PROJECTS CAN GET DONE.
SO I, MAN I BLESS YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'RE HANDLING AND, AND SEEING COMING AND, BUT EDMONDS SUPPORTS PARKS AND SUPPORTS OUR ACTIVITIES AND OUR PROGRAMS. IT'S JUST FINDING A WAY TO, UH, TO GET THE MONEY THERE.
ONE OF MANY BRIEFINGS COMING FROM YOU.
THAT WAS ANOTHER INSIGHT FOR TODAY OF WHERE WE ARE ON RTA AND THE NEED OF, UH, I'M GLAD THAT WE HAD EXPANDED DISCUSSION ON RTA BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR A LONG TIME AND WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT IT AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME TYPE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SO THEY CAN GET ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEED AS THE CITY, UH, MOVES FORWARD WITH THAT.
UH, LOVE THAT WE ARE IMPROVING AND, AND DOING MORE WITH OUR PARKS AND REC.
AND I CAN KEEP GOING ON BECAUSE THIS IS THESE GUYS LAST WORKSHOP, BUT I'M NOT
DID YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING COMMENTS? HAVING SAID THAT, THEN THIS IS OUR LAST WORKSHOP.