City changes reopening strategy, once again

Faced with ever-rising cases of Covid-19, the city has once again changed its plans for reopening. A memo from city manager Spencer Cronk detailed modified reopening plans for Austin Code Department, Austin Public Health, Austin Resource Recovery, Austin Water Utility, the Office of the City Clerk and the Parks and Recreation Department. Notable among the changes is a new plan for city parks. According to the memo:

Due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and the projected trajectory of COVID related hospitalizations, beginning on Monday, July 6, all facilities and park amenities will remain closed. This includes facilities previously reopened such as cultural facilities, pools, golf courses, tennis facilities, park concessions, and other amenities.

All in-person programming for the month of July will be suspended including sports and fitness programming, summer camps, and cultural programming. In addition, the Barton Creek and Bull Creek greenbelts will remain closed. Parks will remain open; however, all amenities (e.g. volleyball courts, tennis courts, playgrounds, disc golf courses, etc) will be closed except for restrooms and water fountains. A full listing of closed facilities will be available at austintexas.gov/parkclosures.

In addition to the changes in park operations, Austin Code’s administrative hearings will now resume on July 15, not July 8. The city clerk’s office will be open under extremely limited hours and by appointment only through July 17, in order to prepare for upcoming candidate filings and the City Council budget meetings scheduled for later this month.