* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. ALRIGHT, SIX THIRTY THREE. [00:00:01] WE'LL CALL THE CITY COUNCIL [1. CALL SESSION TO ORDER] WORK SESSION TO ORDER FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 17TH, 2025. ROLL CALL. COUNCIL PORTERFIELD HERE. MR. THOMPSON. PRESENT. COUNCIL THORNTON THAT WE'RE GOING ALL TEAMS IN REAL QUICK. SORRY. I AM HERE. I, UH, BURIED THE WINDOW 'CAUSE I WAS LOOKING AT SOMETHING ELSE. ALRIGHT. UH, PASTOR PORTERFIELD. I SAID MAYOR PRO. TEMP GORDON HERE. MAYOR SCHNEIDERS HERE. ALRIGHT. FIRST UP WE HAVE [3.1. Hutto Arts Today (David Amsler)] ITEM THREE, ONE HUDDLE WORKS TODAY. WELCOME GUYS. YES, I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, WE HAVE HUDDLE HOURS TODAY. WE HAVE SOME BOARD MEMBERS HERE TO, TO PRESENT TO YOU. UM, IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A 45 MINUTE PRESENTATION. HOPEFULLY WE CAN HAVE Y'ALL BACK FOR ANOTHER WORK SESSION SO WE CAN FINISH IT OUT. I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL WANNA HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS RIGHT NOW AND OR JUST GO UNTIL WE CAN'T ANYMORE AND, AND THEN WE'LL BRING YOU BACK. SO, I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY. WE, UH, INTRODUCE OURSELVES. YEAH. AND RESCHEDULE. YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. UH, MY NAME IS LIZZIE AND I AM THE TREASURER FOR HOW ARTS TODAY. I WAS ABOUT TO READ THE ART OF NOW, SORRY. UM, AND I'VE BEEN ON HETERO ARTS TODAY SINCE 2014, WAY BACK WHEN, WHEN IT WAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION. UM, I GREW UP IN THE THEATER. I, I WAS A PART OF THE COMMUNITY THEATER IN HOUSTON. THAT IS WHERE I FOUND MY LOVE FOR READING. I THEN WENT AND GOT MY BACHELOR'S, UH, FINE ARTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA. UH, I, BOOMER, BOOMER SOONER. OH MY GOD. THEY'RE EVERYWHERE. UM, BUT, AND THEN AFTER THAT I'VE KIND OF, UH, TRANSITIONED INTO MARKETING. SO I WORK FOR AAL COMPANY THAT, AND DO THEIR MARKETING. SO IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT AI, I'D LOVE TO NOT CHAT ABOUT IT. NO, THAT'S NOT. UM, BUT I'VE ALWAYS FOUND A REALLY SOFT SPOT IN MY HEART FOR THE ARTS BECAUSE IT JUST TRANSFORMED MY LIFE SO MUCH. UM, AND I GET TO DO THAT WITH THESE AMAZING PEOPLE. SO I AM ALSO A MOM AND, AND A WIFE AND A HU COMMUNITY MEMBER. I'M ELIZABETH BENOA AND I AM A PROFESSIONAL SCULPTOR AND I HAVE A LOCAL ART STUDIO HERE. UM, SO SMALL BUSINESS OWNER AND I HAVE BEEN IN THE ARTS FOR 20, 30 YEARS. UM, AND HEAD IS SUCH AN AMAZING COMMUNITY AND I CANNOT WAIT TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. THAT'S WHAT THESE GUYS ARE HERE FOR. WE'RE GONNA HELP, YOU KNOW, SEE SOME REALLY COOL THING. SO FELIX? SURE. CATHERINE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FIRST? , MY NAME IS CATHERINE FENNELL AND I HAVE LIVED IN HU FOR THE PAST, I THINK 13 YEARS. UH, I'M AN ARTIST AND UM, I WOULD SAY THAT I'VE BEEN DOING ART MAYBE 25 OR MAYBE 30 YEARS. UH, I LOVE THIS COMMUNITY AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ARTS IN HUDA. UM, BUT IT'S ABOUT ME. I'M A GRANDMOTHER. I'M A GREAT-GRANDMOTHER. UH, I LOVE ART, I LOVE READING. UM, AND I'M VERY, VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN ARTS RIGHT NOW. AND, AND TO A CERTAIN DEGREE AT THIS POINT OF MY LIFE, I'M EVEN REINVENTING MYSELF TO REALLY BE A REAL ARTIST AND A COMMUNITY PERSON THAT, THAT DOES THESE KIND OF THINGS. SO THIS IS EXCITING FOR ME AND, UH, ART DOES MAKE YOU HAPPY. IT MAKES THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAPPY, IT MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY, IT HELPS YOUR, YOUR HEALTH. UM, I THINK IT EVEN, UM, I WOULD TELL PEOPLE I'M 97 YEARS OLD, BUT I'M NOT, BUT, BUT IT DOES HELP WITH YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR, YOUR, YOUR WAY. YOU LOOK AT THINGS AND UM, WELL, I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE. I'M HAPPY TO BE PART OF THIS. YOU WERE STUDIED IN NEW YORK, RIGHT? DIDN'T YOU STUDY IN NEW YORK? YES, I DID. I I WAS ABLE TO GO TO, UM, THE VERY FAMOUS ART STUDENTS LEAGUE AND THAT'S PRETTY FAMOUS THERE. A LOT OF VERY FAMOUS ARTISTS THAT DIDN'T GO. IT WAS A GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I ALSO HAD, UM, A VERY, UH, PROFESSIONAL TEACHER THAT I WORKED WITH ALMOST SORT OF AN ATELIER KIND OF STYLE. AND, UM, I CAME HERE TO HU AND I'VE GOT INTO MYSELF IN SOME ART CLASSES. UH, I'VE TRAVELED GOING, I DO SOMETHING CALLED, UM, OIL AND COLD WAX. AND SO I WAS ABLE TO STUDY WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT, THAT ARE THE PREMIER PEOPLE THAT DO THAT. [00:05:01] AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING COURSES IN WASHINGTON STATE AND, YOU KNOW, AROUND, UM, IT'S MY LIFE AND, UM, I'M JUST HAPPY TO SHARE IT. UH, AND IF I COULD SHARE IT ON A BIGGER LEVEL, I SHARE IT WITH EVERYBODY. I KNOW. MY GRANDCHILDREN, THEY, THEY, THEY'RE, THEY'RE ALWAYS DRAWING SOMETHING. IF YOU WANT TO COME TO MY HOUSE OR YOU GO TO A WORKSHOP, YOU'RE GONNA, YOU'RE GOING TO PUT SOMETHING ON A PIECE OF PAPER. BUT I'M, I'M HAPPY TO DO IT ON A, ON EVEN A LARGE, LARGER LEVEL IN MY, IN MY TOWN RIGHT WHERE I LIVE. YES. THANK YOU. YES, SHE'S GOING, SHE IS OUR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, RIGHT? YES. SO CAN I ASK WHAT KIND OF, SO WHAT KIND OF ART DO YOU DO? WHAT, WHAT IS IT? YOU SAID? OIL AND I WORK WITH OIL, BUT IT'S A PROCESS CALLED OIL AND COLD WAX AND IT'S LIKE PAINTING. IT'S PAINTING. WOW. AND MOST, MOST OF MY WORK IS, UM, ABSTRACT AND I'VE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH PAPER. SO I'M DOING A LOT OF COLLAGE. I JUST GOTTA A BLEND AROUND. I'M GETTING READY TO MAKE SOME PAPER TO SEE WHAT THAT'S LIKE. . SO . VERY COOL. THAT'S COOL. SO IT'S VERY, VERY COOL. IT'S REALLY COOL. SO I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE AND, AND SHARE WITH YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. YEAH. HELLO EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS FELIX SIMMONS. I'M THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER OF 44 DE DESIGN, A LOCAL CREATIVE AGENCY. WE FOCUS ON BRAND STRATEGY, BRANDING, BRAND EXPERIENCES, AND UH, DIGITAL MARKETING. UM, I ALSO, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HUDDLE ARTS TODAY. I ALSO SIT ON THE BOARD AS AN ADVISORY MEMBER FOR TSTC, UH, CURRICULUM, UH, ADVISORY FOR THE WEB DEVELOPMENT AND THE DESIGN CURRICULUM. SO WE HELP KIND OF OVERSEE THE CURRICULUM AND MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE STUDENTS ARE LEARNING THE MOST UP TO DATE PLATFORMS AND UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, UP TO DATE ON THE NEWEST THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING SO THAT WHEN THEY GRADUATE, YOU KNOW, THEY GO INTO THE WORKFORCE LEARNING, UM, WITH THE MOST UP-TO-DATE KNOWLEDGE ON THAT. I'M ALSO A GRAFFITI ARTIST AND A MURALIST AND, UM, I'VE BEEN DOING MURALS FOR, I WANNA SAY OVER 12 YEARS NOW. AND, UM, I'VE GOT SOME, UH, WALLS ALL OVER TOWN IN AUSTIN AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO BRING SOME OF THAT ART OVER HERE. SO WE, WE WANTED TO, I KNOW WE DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO GO INTO KIND OF FULL DEPTH OF WHY ART IS AMAZING AND KIND OF THE DATA BEHIND WHAT ART BRINGS TO COMMUNITIES AND UM, WE DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE TO DO IT, BUT WE DO WANT TO TELL YOU HOW AWESOME WE ARE. , WE JUST REALLY WANTED YOU TO KNOW AND THEN JUST KIND OF MIC DROP AND THEN LEAVE. BUT, UH, WE JUST HAVE A REALLY SOLID CREW, UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK MAY 15TH AND WE'RE GONNA COME BACK AND IT'S GONNA, THIS, THIS LIVE SHOW YOU SEE RIGHT NOW IT'S GONNA EVEN BE MORE ARCHES, MORE BETTER . SO, UM, DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US? I GUESS BEFORE YOU GUYS CLOSE AT, UH, 6 45 THAT WE CAN THINK ABOUT, MAYBE BY THE TIME THEY COME BACK ON MAY 15TH, IS THERE CERTAIN THINGS YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT MAYBE YOU HAVEN'T, YOU DON'T KNOW YET? SO YOU'RE A NONPROFIT? WE ARE. NO NONPROFIT. AND THEN HOW DO YOU CURRENTLY, UH, FINANCE WHAT YOU DO TODAY? CURRENTLY JUST DONATIONS. AND THESE ARE JUST EITHER PEOPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, PUTTING IT JUST RANDOM PEOPLE, COMMUNITY MEMBERS DONATING. BUT WE'D LIKE TO START WRITING GRANTS. WE'D LIKE TO START, UH, LETTING CITY PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE'RE ABLE TO TAKE FUNDS. IS IT 5 0 1 C3? YES. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR LETTING US BE HERE AND, UH, WE'LL SEE YOU GUYS SOON. UM, UM, FOR THAT NEXT MEETING, DO WE STILL PLAN ON THE 45 MINUTES OR SHOULD WE PLAN A SHORTER PRESENTATION? I WOULD SAY HOW LONG, IF YOU HAD TO GUESS, HOW LONG WOULD THIS PRESENTATION HERE TAKE? FOUR, FIVE MINUTES. UM, WE WERE TOLD FOUR, FIVE MINUTES, BUT IF IT NEEDS TO BE, YEAH, I'D SAY BECAUSE IF YOU DID IT FOR 45 MINUTES, THEN WE, LET'S SAY WE STARTED AT SIX. IF YOU DID IT FOR 45 MINUTES, THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY TIME TO DISCUSS THAT WAS BUILT IN BY SOME QUESTIONS. OH, OKAY. YEAH, SO, UM, I'D SAY MAYBE NOT ADD MUCH, BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S PROBABLY IN A 30 MINUTE RANGE. THAT'S PROBABLY NOT TOO BAD. SOMETIMES IF THEY GO ON TOO LONG, IT, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT WE HAD GOING THAT NIGHT. YEAH. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU. WELL, YOU GUYS GOT A LOT OF EXCITING STUFF. I DON'T WANNA, I DON'T WANNA, YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO WASH MY WORDS 'CAUSE I KNOW THINGS YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON, SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T STEAL YOUR THUNDER, BUT THANK YOU GUYS. APPRECIATE IT. THANK [3.2. Discussion and possible action related to Work Session Topics] [00:10:04] ITEM THREE TWOS DISCUSSION, POSSIBLE ACTION RELATED TO WORK SESSION ABOUT TOPICS. GRANTED 6 43. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.