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Whispers
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
City mulls over opportunity zones
While City Council waits another three months for a possible strategy on how to capitalize on newly created federal “opportunity zones,” it appears the private sector is wasting no time getting in the game. Austin Business Journal reports that the zones created as part of the 2017 federal tax cut are bringing investment capital into play for projects located around Austin, including a mixed-use development on East Riverside Drive that has fanned gentrification concerns in the historically low-income area. City and Travis County leaders spent part of the summer discussing ideas on how to manage the zones, which are intended to bring economic activity to areas around the country that have experienced divestment or slow economic growth. The result of that came in October when Council passed a resolution calling for the city manager and the Economic Development Department to bring forward recommendations for how the city can leverage its own incentives in opportunity zones to bring resources like green grocery stores to areas where they are lacking. The deadline for those recommendations is April 18.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 by Jo Clifton
Matthews moving on
Doug Matthews, who has been director of the city’s Communications and Public Information Office for the past 10 years, will be leaving the city at the end of January. According to a memo from City Manager Spencer Cronk, Jessica King will serve as interim director for the department starting on Feb. 4. Cronk’s memo says he is working with Human Resources to get the job posted as soon as possible. Prior to coming to Austin, Matthews was public communications director for the city of Clearwater, Florida. Matthews told the Austin Monitor he is considering a number of possibilities but has not made any final decisions on his next move.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Energy utility gives students a charge
Smart Cities Connect has named Austin Energy one of its Smart 50 Awards honorees, which are given to cities and startup companies that conduct innovative and influential programs in categories such as mobility, urban infrastructure and community engagement. Austin Energy was recognized for its EVs for Schools program, which educates students on the benefits of electric vehicles. The program – conducted in collaboration with EcoRise, ChargePoint and Smart Charge America – provides teaching kits to all Austin Independent School District schools, with charging stations installed at Akins, Lanier and Travis high schools and Kealing Middle School that can be used by staff, students and visitors for $4.17 per month. Students will collect usage and other data from the charging stations in an effort to illustrate the benefits and sustainability of electric vehicles. Winners in all five categories will be announced April 1 at the organization’s conference in Denver.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Apartment complex for the chronically homeless
The city of Austin and Integral Care mental health authority have partnered to open the Terrace at Oak Springs, an apartment complex for 50 residents who will be able to receive care on-site. The goal of the complex, which is under construction on Oak Springs Drive just west of Airport Boulevard, is to assist the chronically homeless who are struggling with mental illness or substance abuse disorders. Residents will sign a lease and be held to the agreement or face eviction. The 40,000-square-foot complex is expected to open in May, with Integral Care and the Austin Police Department pledging to work together to address safety and other quality-of-life issues that may arise.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Austin Energy to help customers affected by shutdown
As the government shutdown drags on, Austin Energy has stepped up, releasing a plan describing how it intends to help Austinites who are suffering the repercussions of not receiving a paycheck. For those directly affected by the shutdown, the city-owned utility has committed to postponing collection activity for 30 days, restoring service to customers who were disconnected for recent nonpayment and helping customers navigate the eligibility requirement for its Customer Assistance Programs or helping organize payment arrangements. “As a community-owned utility, we are here to support our customers affected by the government shutdown and who may be experiencing difficulties paying their bills,” Deputy General Manager Kerry Overton said in a statement. All of these measures are applicable until today, at which point – if the government is still shut down – the utility will re-evaluate each affected customer’s account individually and work toward a mutual solution.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Grant money will spruce up some Austin parks
Austin Parks Foundation has announced the recipients of more than $280,000 in recent grant funding. Georgian Acres Neighborhood Park has received $100,000 from the ACL Music Festival Impact Grant to help develop the park, with Dell Technologies Match Play matching that amount for the District 4 park in a portion of the city that is deficient in parks. The money will pay for a basketball court, kiosk, pavilion, tables and grills, playscapes, walking trails, and other amenities. The improvements will begin by this spring. Other recipients include Barton Hills School Park ($42,865), Brentwood Neighborhood Park ($50,000), Lamar Beach Metro Park ($10,000), Zilker Botanical Garden ($10,000) and Zilker Nature Preserve ($36,105). The foundation also awarded a series of smaller grants ranging from $500 to $5,000 to eight parks located throughout the city.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 by Tai Moses
Next steps for Alliance Children’s Garden
The Alliance Children’s Garden design team is slated to present the project at a meeting of the Planning Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 22. The long-awaited children’s garden is the final component of Butler Park and represents the fulfillment of a multiyear master plan effort to provide the city of Austin with a multipurpose cultural park. The garden design team expects to receive the site development permit by the end of January with construction beginning in February and continuing through fall 2019. The park, at 1000 Barton Springs Rd., will be divided into four distinct spaces: The Hill Country Garden, the Rock & Slide Valley Garden, the Skyline Garden, and the Art & Culture Garden. While designed for children, the two-acre park will provide a variety of play and recreational experiences for visitors of all ages.
Friday, January 18, 2019 by Tai Moses
Groundbreaking for East Austin high school campus
Austin Independent School District will break ground Saturday, Jan. 19, at 9:30 a.m. on a new $80 million campus for Eastside Memorial Early College High School and International High School. The new school will be built on the site of the original L.C. Anderson campus, at 900 Thompson St. The event features indoor and outdoor activities, including speakers from all three schools and a panel discussion. The relocation of Eastside Memorial and International is part of a $1.05 billion bond program approved by voters in 2017, of which $80 million is dedicated to modernize the new east side facility. Miguel Garcia, principal of Eastside Memorial ECHS, said in a statement about the groundbreaking: “We invite all three school communities to join us at this site on which we will witness where legacy meets the future. We are excited for our bright students to build on what it means to be the ‘Pride of the Eastside,’ a concept that began with original L.C. Anderson students.”
Friday, January 18, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Soccer team hymnal (don’t ask) evokes City Council vote
The announcement this week that Austin would receive a new Major League Soccer franchise came with plenty of pomp and fanfare, including the unveiling of the official team hymnal (which is apparently a thing in soccer?) for the Austin Anthem fan group. The third stanza/section of the hymnal is titled “Seven-Four” in a not-at-all veiled reference to the 7-4 City Council vote that approved the land deal for city property that will be used to build the team’s stadium after months of heated and frothy debate. It reads: “7-Fooour, 7-Fooour/It’s not the score, it was the vote/That got us all our brand-new home.” Worth noting that Austin Anthem isn’t directly tied to the team’s Precourt Sports Ventures management group so the hymnal’s content isn’t its direct creation, but you’ve gotta wonder how smart it is for any soccer-related entity to poke a group of elected leaders on a contentious issue when the stadium still has to go through planning approvals and possible variances that would require Council approval.
Friday, January 18, 2019 by Ryan Thornton
Enough scooters, for now
The city has so far given permits for 15,650 individual dockless mobility units – mostly scooters – to be distributed across the city. That may seem like a lot for a city of Austin’s size, but only 4,650 of those units are licensed to be distributed in the downtown Austin project coordination zone, Austin’s core. Nonetheless, the Austin Transportation Department has placed an indefinite pause on the incoming stream of dockless units in order to assess the level of demand for those currently available. During this time, the department will be studying the data in the mandatory monthly reports of each scooter operator to determine whether issuing more licenses would be of benefit. If Transportation Department staff find that the average number of daily trips per unit suggests demand for more vehicles than are now on the streets, more licenses may be issued. In the meantime, the department will be providing regular updates to City Council and Mayor Steve Adler.
Friday, January 18, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
‘Agent of change’ discussion meeting scheduled
The city’s Economic Development Department has moved the third stakeholder meeting related to the long-brewing “agent of change” ordinance – or Amplified Sound Compatibility in cityspeak. The discussion session is scheduled to take place Feb. 2 at 1:30 p.m. at LZR, the former La Zona Rosa concert venue that has been repurposed as a multipurpose event and gathering space in recent years. Topics at the meeting will include an overview of the agent of change concept, compliance and enforcement of noise limits, how to mitigate sound from entertainment venues, and possible partnerships within the community that can make the ordinance successful. The city is asking those interested in the issue to take a survey that will be used in the feedback process, which will then be worked into recommendations for City Council.
Thursday, January 17, 2019 by Chad Swiatecki
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez joins SXSW lineup
U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the big political world addition to March’s lineup of programming for South by Southwest. Already known by the AOC handle, the freshman rep from the Bronx has captured the attention of pundits on both sides of the aisle, making her a natural pick for the conference, which has added a strong track of policy and election-related programming in recent years. Ocasio-Cortez is listed as a featured speaker and will appear with The Intercept columnist Briahna Gray. Speaking of SXSW, a look at the policy programming track offers intriguing panels and discussions likely to be of interest to Austin Monitor‘s wonkier-than-thou readership. Among them: How to Bring Public Safety Into the 21st Century; The Collaborative Approach to Affordable Housing; Fighting Homelessness with Ethical Technology; How to Make More People Ride Bikes in Cities; and Politics in Tech: When the Bubble Bursts.