Parks and Recreation’s master planning team is getting ready to share their plans for John Treviño Jr. Metropolitan Park. The team has spent weeks gathering feedback from the community at previous gatherings in June and July and via SpeakUp Austin. Now the planning team is ready to present the preliminary design ideas at an open house that will feature a brief presentation of the concept designs at 10:30 a.m. There will also be some kid-friendly activities for the littles, and community members will get a chance to ask questions and share their ideas for the park. Saturday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m.-noon, at Barbara Jordan Elementary School Cafeteria, 6711 Johnny Morris Road.

The city clerk’s office has validated the petition submitted by the political action committee Unconventional Austin that seeks to create an ordinance requiring voter approval of a planned expansion of the Austin Convention Center. Earlier this month, the group submitted 30,000 signatures on the petition. City Council will consider the proposed ordinance at its Aug. 8 meeting, and if it is not adopted an election will be held for its possible passage. Council has unanimously approved a vision for the downtown core that includes a $1.2 billion expansion of the convention center, though no financing or other details have yet been approved. Unconventional Austin’s organizers argue the center uses too much of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue to fund its operations, and have pushed proposals to use more of those funds to promote the city’s music and arts communities.

Following a case at the Zoning and Platting Commission that was pulled from the consent agenda due to a neighbor’s concerns about unwanted drainage, Commissioner David King suggested to the commissioners that they hear from the city about the review process associated with drainage engineering studies. King is already working with staff to understand how thoroughly the city reviews the drainage studies submitted by third-party engineers. “I don’t think there’s enough diligence on the city’s part to verify the engineering analysis,” he told the Austin Monitor. He said he often hears about a new development increasing the drainage to a neighboring property even though sealed engineering documents found no adverse impacts. “How are they going to hold the engineers accountable?” he wondered. When the Monitor asked that question of city staff, drainage reviewer David Marquez from the Development Services Department said, “We require the engineers to certify and to seal their work.” He explained that city drainage engineers verify the calculations on their computers and occasionally go into the field to look at the site if there are complications such as erosion or odd pipe locations. Verifying the accuracy of the information, however, should be on the applicant’s engineer. The city just has to trust the engineers, said Marquez. King said he understands that it is not easy to determine future drainage patterns following development because the studies do not factor in predicting future rain patterns. City staff members said that they encourage drainage review engineers to factor in the Atlas 14 rainfall study, but it is not yet a requirement. King pointed out that other major metropolitan areas like Chicago have programs that allow for engineers to be put on probation if their sealed documents prove to provide incorrect information. The discussion is still ongoing and the Land Development Code rewrite will likely include everything from drainage requirements to evaluation of the review process.

Austin Transportation and Austin Public Works are pretty proud of their recently completed bicycle and pedestrian improvements in the Mueller neighborhood, and rightfully so. A new, two-way, protected bikeway on Zach Scott Street will be a much safer route for kids biking to Maplewood Elementary School. In addition, the project includes a new, shared-use path connection to Patterson Park. Funding for the project came from the Bikeways, Sidewalks and Safe Routes to School programs of the 2016 Mobility Bond. Check out the before-and-after photos below to see how much nicer everything looks.

The city of Rollingwood’s search for its new chief of police is progressing to the next step: a meet-and-greet with the finalists that’s open to the public. Each of the three candidates will share their vision for the police department and the community, and attendees are invited to share their input with the selection committee. Light refreshments will be served. The meet-and-greet is Thursday, Aug. 1, 6-7:30 p.m., at Rollingwood City Hall, 403 Nixon Drive.

Like Austin City Council did, the San Antonio City Council passed a paid sick leave ordinance, and like Austin, San Antonio was sued by businesses that objected to the city imposing such requirements. San Antonio’s ordinance is currently very much like Austin’s ordinance, which was recently struck down by the 3rd Court of Appeals. Unlike in Austin, the opponents of the ordinance sat down with San Antonio’s city attorneys and agreed to put off moving forward with the lawsuit if San Antonio would put off implementing the ordinance until Dec. 1. During that time, the city has a committee working on changes that could halt the lawsuit. Stay tuned.

Austin Public Health has decided to throw a block party aimed at keeping the community “safe, happy and healthy.” That sounds like a great reason to party. In addition to free immunizations and health screenings from APH and free eye exams courtesy of the Lion’s Club, there will be face painting for the kids, food and entertainment, and all kinds of community resources and information focused on health and wellness. Find out more here. Austin Public Health’s Health Equity Unit is hosting the St. John’s Block Party, Saturday, July 27, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Virginia L. Brown Recreation Center, 7500 Blessing Ave.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar knows the best way to get our attention is with a sales tax holiday. This one is perfectly timed for families getting their kids ready to go back to school. Says Hegar in a news release, “As Texas families begin the process of replacing their beach towels with lunch boxes, the sales tax holiday is the perfect opportunity to save some money on supplies families need before the school bell rings. As a father of three, I know how these expenses can add up.” Eligible items below $100 like notebooks, clothing, school supplies, shoes and backpacks can be purchased tax-free from Friday, Aug. 9 to midnight on Sunday, Aug. 11. You’ll find a complete list of the items that qualify for the sales tax holiday at TexasTaxHoliday.org. Sales tax holiday weekends have been an annual event in Texas since 1999.

Austin’s Music and Entertainment Division has selected 10 local musicians or bands to participate in the city’s new digital tipping program, Tip the Band, which allows fans to tip artists with a debit or credit card via the use of a special device. The city received over 100 applications for the program, which were evaluated by an “independent panel of music industry professionals.” The chosen artists will be able to collect digital tips at live performances for the next six months as part of the city’s promotional campaign. Following the six-month review period, the artist may continue using the digital vessel to collect tips after submitting a report to the grant managers. In addition to providing a new revenue stream for struggling artists, according to a news release, Tip the Band aims to “elevate the practice of tipping our local musicians which reinforces Austin as a community that cares about the vitality of its artists and creatives.” The selected artists are Atash, Church on Monday, Derek Phelps, Gina Chavez, The Human Circuit, Jackie Venson, Kathy & the Kilowatts, Superfónicos, The Watters, and Will Southern.

In response to community input, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently de-emphasized the need for its two high-capacity transit lines under Project Connect to feature the same types of vehicles and infrastructure design. While generally seen as a plus if, say, the Orange Line vehicles can easily run on the Blue Line route, and vice versa, the priority for the moment appears to be choosing the most suitable alignments and modes for each individual route. For that reason, feedback on the Blue Line concept is all the more critical. With the Orange Line community workshops wrapping up this week, the public is now being asked to take a fresh look at the Blue Line corridor and help the agency refine the basic concept. As in the Orange Line workshops, this set of meetings will likely feature a similar set of alignment choices for individual route segments with loose evaluations of potential station locations. Workshops will be held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings next week with each meeting taking place in a different neighborhood along the route. Beginning near the northern terminus, the first meeting will be Tuesday, July 30, 5:30-7 p.m. at Austin Community College Highland Business Center, 5930 Middle Fiskville Road. The subsequent meetings will be at Austin Energy Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road, and Ruiz Branch Library, 1600 Grove Blvd., both from 5:30-7 p.m. Please RSVP by sending an email to feedback@projectconnect.com or calling (512) 369-6201.

Each year, the Austin school district and the city’s Safe Routes to School program partner up to throw a Back to School Bash to make sure kids – and their parents – are ready to start the new school year. The free community event features presentations on safety and educational best practices; health screenings and booster seats; and more than 4,500 free backpacks filled with school supplies. More than 120 community organizations and municipal and district departments will be on hand to provide information and free activities intended to support AISD students. A free shuttle beginning at 6:30 a.m. from several AISD campuses will be available for families who need transportation, and Capital Metro will also be providing free transportation to the event. Check this page to find departure locations. Saturday, Aug. 3, 8 a.m.-noon, Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road.

After several months of waiting for the condition of the I.Q. Hurdle House to be stabilized, the Historic Landmark Commission received an inspiring update on Monday night. “We have completed the work on the exterior of the home,” said Pam Madere, who represents the property owner, Dallas-based Eureka Holdings. The walls of the home have been repainted, windows boarded up in a fashion that makes them appear to have shades drawn over them, and preservation architect Donna Carter has confirmed that the roof is watertight. Madere noted that to double-confirm the status of the roof, Carter will go to the house during the next rainstorm to check for leaks. Next up, the property owners will erect an informational panel in the front yard detailing the importance of I.Q. Hurdle to the community. “This is tremendous,” said Commissioner Terri Myers. “It goes a long way to give some presence to the house.” Now that the home has been secured, the commissioners are waiting for a full restoration plan. However, in order to ensure that progress continues moving forward, the commission voted unanimously to get a staff update next month on a restoration timeline as well as an update on the progress of the restoration. Going forward, they requested a monthly update from staff on the home.