TipSheet: City Council, 3.1.18

City Council is back for what looks to be a reasonably short meeting today (fingers crossed!) Here are the things we have our eye on. 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.

Item 12: Authorize award and execution of a multi-term contract with Pencco, Inc., to provide fluorosilicic acid for up to five years, for a total contract amount not to exceed $1,025,780. (Note: This solicitation was reviewed for subcontracting opportunities in accordance with City Code Chapter 2-9D Minority Owned and Women Owned Business Enterprise Procurement Program. For the goods required for this solicitation, there were no subcontracting opportunities; therefore, no subcontracting goals were established).

Monitor’s Take: It’s been a while since fluoride caused a stir at City Hall. While we have no reason to believe that the anti-fluoride conspiratorists will be back for this contract, there’s always a chance. (And we will be there if it happens.)

Item 15: Authorize negotiation and execution of a contract with Community Technology Network, or the other qualified offeror to Request For Proposals JRH0104, to provide community technology access lab management services, for up to five years for a total contract amount not to exceed $860,000. (Note: This solicitation was reviewed for subcontracting opportunities in accordance with City Code Chapter 2-9C Minority Owned and Women Owned Business Enterprise Procurement Program. For the services required for this solicitation, no subcontracting opportunities were available; therefore, no subcontracting goals were established.).

Monitor’s Take: When last at Council, this contract caused quite a stir (as we reported). Judging by the number of questions asked about this contract by Council Member Leslie Pool alone (!) we are expecting that this will provoke discussion once again.

Item 17: Approve a resolution directing the City Manager to update earned sick leave policies for City employees and to repurpose funds to implement Ordinance No. 20180215-049, relating to paid sick time.

Monitor’s Take: Here’s another one that we recently reported on. Now that Council is moving forward with mandating sick leave for private employers, the city is getting it together to hold itself to the same standards. Opposition to this one remains about cost, which remains unknown. Right now, this resolution comes with a price tag of about $100,000 to $150,000 – that will fund employees that will help implement and figure out the future cost of the ordinance.

Item 23: Approve a resolution directing the City Manager to study and propose potential updates to the City’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) policy and to align the TIF policy with the Strategic Housing Blueprint and mobility bond goals.

Monitor’s Take: Today we covered this proposal, which is the latest in a host of creative solutions to Austin’s affordable housing problem. Basically, this is a plan to use Austin’s rising property values to help fund affordable housing. The mechanics of that are a bit complex, and Jack Craver gets more into the details here.

Item 32: NPA-2016-0016.01 – 3212 E. Cesar Chavez Street & 111 Tillery Street – District 3 – Approve second and third readings of an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 20030327-12, the Govalle/Johnston Terrace Combined Neighborhood Plan, an element of the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, to change the land use designation on the future land use map (FLUM) on property locally known as 3212 E. Cesar Chavez Street and 111 Tillery Street (Colorado River Watershed) from Commercial and Industry to Multifamily and Mixed Use land use.

Item 33: C14-2016-0079 – 3212 E. Cesar Chavez Street – District 3 – Approve second and third readings of an ordinance amending City Code Title 25 by zoning property locally known as 3212 East Cesar Chavez Street and 111 Tillery Street (Colorado River Watershed). Applicant Request: To rezone from limited industrial-conditional overlay-neighborhood plan (LI-CO-NP) combining district zoning and general commercial services-conditional overlay-neighborhood plan (CS-CO-NP) combining district zoning to multifamily residence highest density-conditional overlay-neighborhood plan (MF-6-CO-NP) combining district zoning and general commercial services-mixed use-conditional overlay-neighborhood plan (CS-MU-CO-NP) combining district zoning.

Monitor’s Take: We expect that this will be postponed once again, but just as a reminder, this junkyard-to-mixed-use change will probably, eventually be contentious (unless all of these delays actually lead to a peaceful compromise between neighbors and developers).

Item 40: C14-2017-0067 – Champion Tract 1C – District 10 – Conduct a public hearing and approve an ordinance amending City Code Title 25 by rezoning property locally known as 6500 FM 2222 Road (West Bull Creek Watershed). Applicant Request: To rezone from neighborhood commercial- conditional overlay (LR-CO) combining district zoning to general commercial services- conditional overlay (CS-CO) combining district zoning.

Monitor’s Take: Again, this will most likely be postponed today, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be worth watching whenever it comes back. The history of the Champion tract(s) is long and storied in the land of zoning cases, and this is another chapter that will be read another day.

Item 41: Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance on first reading regarding the application submitted by Allegiance Mobile Health for a non-emergency transfer franchise under City Code Chapter 10-2.

Monitor’s Take: There’s a lot of questions about this franchise, though it’s looking like it might be postponed. Basically, there are some concerns about how this company is managed. Online feedback about that management has raised a lot of questions, which will surely be discussed at some point…

Item 42: Conduct a public hearing and consider a request by Kyle Hill, agent for Tasty Spoon, located at 1413 South 1st Street, to waive the distance requirement of City Code Section 4-9-4(A), which requires a minimum of 300 feet between a business that sells alcoholic beverages and a public school.

Monitor’s Take: Businesses that plan on selling alcohol close to a school must get a waiver from the city to do so. In this case, the business in question shares a property line with the Texas School for the Deaf. Because the school has not registered opposition to the waiver, staff is recommending that Council grant it. However, this issue has come up before, and if that’s any indication, we are expecting that the waiver will not sit well with everyone on the dais.

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