TipSheet: Austin City Council, 2.4.16

City Council will hold its regular meeting Thursday. Below is a list of items we’re watching. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda. The Office of the City Clerk posts a copy on its website, here.

9. Adopt a citizen-initiated ordinance, supported by a petition certified sufficient on February 2, to amend the City Code, Chapter 13-2 (Ground Transportation Passenger Services) relating to regulation of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs).

10. Approve an ordinance ordering a municipal election to be held on May 7, 2016, to submit to the voters a proposed citizen-initiated ordinance, certified sufficient on February 2, relating to regulation of Transportation Network Companies; providing for the conduct of the election, including authorizing the City Clerk to enter into joint election agreements with other local political subdivisions as may be necessary for the orderly conduct of the election; and declaring an emergency.

Monitor’s take: And here, right off the bat, is (one of the) latest TNC issues before City Council for consideration. Mayor Steve Adler has already said that he will hold off on any decisions until Feb. 11, but at that time Council will have to choose whether to hold an election in May or adopt the ordinance that was forwarded by the recently validated petition drive led by Ridesharing Works for Austin. Today, Council will concentrate on listening to public testimony on the matter, which is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.

19. Approve a resolution regarding the renaming of the Austin Tennis Center, located at 7800 Johnny Morris Road.

48. Approve code amendment recommendations for the naming of city parks and facilities.

Monitor’s take: The last time the Austin Tennis Center was before Council members, they put off deciding between the two names before them in order to wait for a formal naming policy to be determined. That policy, which was in process at the time, is now ready for Council, but it remains to be seen whether it will be tested immediately on the tennis center, or whether the renaming debate will be put off pending a formal implementation of the new naming ordinance.

36. Approve a resolution stating the council’s desired purposes for the council committee system.

Monitor’s take: As the Monitor reported on Wednesday, a push to change how Council committees operate is finally here. Should be an interesting discussion.

37. Approve a resolution directing the City Manager to develop a work plan for reviewing and discussing key components of Austin Energy’s electric rate adjustment proposal for Council consideration.

45. Authorize negotiation and execution of all documents and instruments necessary or desirable to sell approximately 9.405 acres of land, located at Lot 1, Block “E”, Missouri-Pacific Industrial Park, Section One, a subdivision in Travis County, Texas, according to the map or plat thereof, recorded in Volume 52, Page 21 of the Plat Records of Travis County, Texas, and locally known as 4711 Winnebago Lane, to Jimmy Nassour in the amount of $1,450,001 for the land (District 2). Related to Item #44.

38. Approve a resolution directing the City Manager to explore the feasibility of developing a live/work project with Artspace, and to consider the City-owned tract located at 4711 Winnebago Lane as a potential location for this project.

Monitor’s take: While this case has been bouncing around City Hall for the past couple of of months – and there’s plenty of backstory – those wanting to catch up should probably take a look at Jo Clifton’s recent Whisper on where things currently stand.

53. Briefing on Council Appointee Performance Review Process.

Monitor’s take: City Council is responsible for performance reviews of its appointments, which are the city manager, the city auditor, the city clerk and the municipal court clerk. Adler wants to discuss how those reviews are conducted. For the curious, he outlined the whole thing in a rather extensive post on the City Council Message Board.