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TipSheet: Travis County 6.23.15

Tuesday, June 23, 2015 by Caleb Pritchard

The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website.

Items of interest include:

4. Consider and take appropriate action regarding response to flooding in and around Travis County, including: Contract for recovery services for flood victims and survivors through the Austin Disaster Relief Network. (This item may be taken into Executive Session under the Consultation with Attorney exception.) (Judge Eckhardt)

Monitor’s Take: The Commissioners Court will hear an update on the status of relief efforts in the wake of the late spring floods. This item also includes an agreement to tap the Austin Disaster Relief Network to use public money to provide food, shelter, and other assistance to flood victims. The 60-day agreement is worth $15,000 to ARDN but the group must come back in 90 days to account for its efforts.

8.Consider and take appropriate action on recommendation from the City of Austin/Travis County Sobriety Center Planning Committee. (Commissioner Gómez)

Monitor’s Take: Last month, the Commissioners Court directed the Austin-Travis County Sobriety Center Planning Committee to add to its ranks two elected members each from the Court and Austin City Council. Last week, Council voted to put members Greg Casar, Kathie Tovo, and Anne Kitchen on the panel. With tomorrow’s vote, the Court will likely accept the staff recommendation to send Commissioner Margaret Gomez and Commissioner Gerald Daugherty to join them. The group is set to deliver their final proposals for Austin’s drunk tank in late August.

15. Consider and take appropriate action on the proposed Civil and Family Courts Complex project update, including: a. Approval of the Industry Forum Process and Notice of Forum overview; b. Approval of Notice of Industry Forum Advertisement; and c. Other financial and legal considerations. (Judge Eckhardt)

Monitor’s Take: As a way to help soften the sticker shock of the proposed $292 million Civil and Family Courthouse bond voters will decide on this November, staff and the county’s consultant will look into how much revenue a second tower on the site could bring in if it’s leased out as private office space. This item appears to be a formality in that process but also contains an interesting nugget of information in its backup material: Staff doesn’t anticipate the final data to come back until after the election.

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