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- Firefighters to seek firing of Chief Baker
- Office slowdown sparks new downtown housing ambitions
- Parks Board recommends vendor for Zilker Café, while voicing concerns about lack of local presence
- City leaders evaluate surprising ideas for water conservation
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Parks
City mulls free swimming for some Austin seniors
Plans to waive pool fees for all Austinites ages 80 years or older at Barton Springs Pool and other city pools are moving forward. Previously, the “Lifetime Pass” program – which grants free entry to Barton Springs for seniors who…
Parks • By Elizabeth Pagano • Nov 9, 2015
Special events ordinance re-emerges
With ACL in the rearview mirror, the Trail of Lights just ahead and the city’s South by Southwest Music Festival already on the horizon, Austinites may be wondering what has happened to the special events ordinance that was supposed to…
Music & Entertainment • By Margaret Nicklas • Oct 23, 2015
Zilker Cafe likely to change hands
The Parks and Recreation Board recommended a new contract for the Zilker Cafe on Tuesday after months of reviewing bids by several contractors. Rodriguez Concessions has held the existing contract since 1950. It was denied a five-year extension of that…
Parks • By Stephen Carlson • Oct 1, 2015
Council puts off vote on parkland fees
Last week, City Council postponed action on a staff proposal that would significantly increase parkland dedication fees for developers of most new residential developments, with fees dependent on density. Staff brought forth the proposal after more than a year of…
Parks • By Jo Clifton • Sep 22, 2015
Naming Parks: The struggle continues
A park’s namesake must be dead. Members of the Land, Facilities and Programs Committee discussed this and other new stipulations as part of a first look Wednesday at a naming ordinance for Austin parks and recreation buildings. After more than…
Parks • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Sep 21, 2015
Committee is unanimous: Caswell Center tennis players need parking spots
A vacant court isn’t all it takes to play tennis in Austin. It also takes a vacant parking spot. To that end, City Council’s Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend that 28 parking spaces be…
Parks • By Jack Craver • Aug 28, 2015
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Parks Department dives into future of Austin pools
Next week signals the close of many Austin municipal and neighborhood pools. Diving boards active throughout the summer months will be hushed as the kids who once tumbled from them head back to school. During these final days, volunteers with…
Parks • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 20, 2015
Parkland dedication fee proposal raises questions
As the city’s Parks and Recreation Department gears up to propose an increase to its parkland dedication fee, local groups and City Council Member Sheri Gallo are questioning whether it’s the right fee for the department to be boosting. The…
Parks • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 5, 2015
Naming protocol on the way for city parks
The road to naming city parks and recreation facilities has been strewn with indecision and tough choices. And so, the Parks and Recreation Board on Tuesday said it would begin drafting its own protocol for the naming and renaming of…
Parks • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 3, 2015
Parks Department sat on Metz Pool repair bid for nearly 6 months
Although the city’s Parks and Recreation Department ordered the repair of an East Austin neighborhood pool in late April, it appears that the department had bids for the work for some time. This, even as department officials initially told residents…
Parks • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 22, 2015
Communication breaks down between city and community over Sunken Garden tree removal
When the city of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department decided to remove three trees from Sunken Garden, home to one of the three cardinal springs that feed Barton Springs, it did so before seeking community input — and now the feedback…
Parks • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 20, 2015
Should Austin's small parks be held to different standards?
The Parks and Recreation Department says it does not make sense to create a unique policy addressing pocket parks – small urban parks less than 2 acres in size – despite the challenges faced by locals who say it has…
