TipSheet: Travis County, 6.30.15

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:

3. Consider and take appropriate action regarding response to flooding in and around Travis County. (This item may be taken into Executive Session under the Consultation with Attorney exception.) (Judge Eckhardt)

Monitor’s Take: More than a month after the deadly Memorial Day floods in Central Texas, Travis County is considering whether to send crews south to help neighboring Hays County’s recovery operation. The Court postponed this decision last week after Commissioner Gerald Daugherty aired his concerns that the gesture could hobble Travis County’s own clean-up effort and future flood mitigation activities. Transportation and Natural Resources staff are expected to address those issues and provide an up-or-down recommendation on whether to spare resources to help out Hays County.

10. Consider and take appropriate action on the proposed Civil and Family Courts Complex project update. (This item may be taken into Executive Session under the Consultation with Attorney exception.) (Judge Eckhardt)

Monitor’s Take: The Commissioners Court is keen — to say the least — on taking the bite out of  the $292 million price tag of the proposed Civil and Family Courthouse that voters will decide on this November. To that end, the commissioners are considering several options including letting a private developer build concurrently a second tower on the site at W. 4th and Guadalupe streets as well as selling off other county-owned properties in downtown Austin. For this item, staff will provide the Court with early estimates of exactly how much those efforts could be worth. Spoiler alert: The backup materials indicate it could all be worth as much as $79 million.