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What is your collaborative vision when working with other governmental entities (Travis County, State of Texas, Central Health, etc.)?

Rich DePalma

City Council, District 8

Data and collaboration are the foundation of my policy development framework. In all my roles – Vice-Chair of the Parks and Recreation Board, member of the AISD Facilities and Bond Planning Advisory Committee (FABPAC), Board President of TreeFolks, Vice President of the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods, and as a former senior consultant with Strategic Partnerships; I have worked collaboratively with city departments, AISD, Travis County, Central Health, LCRA, the Texas Facilities Commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission and with many other public entities on various projects. I bring together entities when there is an opportunity to leverage each other’s expertise or resources. For example, as Vice-Chair of the Parks Board I brought AISD and the city together to pursue green stormwater infrastructure investment on our AISD campus that will eventually provide greater water quality and increase the aesthetics of our campuses. As a FABPAC member, I brought the school district together with the Texas Facilities Commission to explore the possibility of public private partnerships for excess school district land. In that role, I also brought AISD together with the Planning and Transportation Departments to address opportunities relating to CodeNext and transportation. During the bond campaign, I debriefed Mike Geeslin of Central Health on the bond to give him insight on potential partnering opportunities relating to the district’s reinvention projects at LBJ and Eastside Memorial. Taxing jurisdictions should always work together to leverage limited tax dollars. This can be done in a formal setting such as the current Joint Committee structure, through staff, or informally through a simple phone call. I also support using an electronic bulletin board to ask and address questions when members are working on issues as part of board or committee service.