Effective Oct. 1, Austinites will pay a little more to use city aquatics facilities. The Parks and Recreation Department estimates the fee increase will raise over $1 million in additional revenue. This money will be used toward general maintenance and operations, as well as upgrades and repairs to the existing facilities, as per City Council direction following the approval of the Aquatic Master Plan.

Barton Springs Pool

Municipal Pools

A nonprofit international association of public and private sector organizations has added the former director of the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority to its hall of fame. Fred M. Gilliam was appointed president/CEO of Capital Metro in 2002 and retired in 2009. He has nearly 50 years of transportation management and operations experience in the field. The 1,500-member American Public Transportation Association annually bestows its Hall of Fame Award on those who have shown great leadership and innovation in public transportation in North America, and Gilliam was one of five professionals honored this year. Aside from his tenure in Austin, he has worked in transportation systems in cities throughout the U.S. including Houston; New Orleans; Denver; Memphis, Tennessee; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he has held positions on APTA’s executive committee, board of directors, and the American Public Transportation Foundation. He also contributed to the development of Leadership APTA, a professional advancement and training program where he provided invaluable advice and mentorship to rising leaders in the field, before and after his retirement.

Music Moves Austin, the recently formed political activism nonprofit organized around Austin’s music industry, has started circulating a questionnaire for candidates in November’s mayoral and City Council election. Questions focus on support for a “live music venue” land use designation in the city’s land use code, the agent of change concept, allocation of Hotel Occupancy Tax funds, tax relief for live music venues, actions to preserve the Red River Cultural District, city support for musician health and quality of life services, use of the city’s revised business incentive agreements, providing affordable housing for musicians, and equity and diversity measures related to live music. The nonprofit will hold forums for the mayoral and Council races on Oct. 1 and 2 at Antone’s nightclub. It is also pushing to register 2,500 new voters in time for the midterm election.

The creators of the “A Beginners Guide to Local Democracy” activity book and magazine will hold a launch party – 6:30 p.m., Oct. 2 at Gather Venues – that is intended to draw novices and newcomers to the local political process. The project was conceived by a group of local millennials who are disappointed in the low level of political participation in city government, especially among younger voters who vote and engage up to one-seventh as much as senior voters. The event will feature comedians, civic-minded art installations, appearances from City Council members Greg Casar and Delia Garza, and presentations from political leaders who have been successful in carrying out movements at the local level. The activity book is described as an “easy-to-read (and fun) guide (that) walks you through all the basics about how Austin’s local government system works.” Tickets for the event are $10, available here.

Tonight the Austin Monitor, KUT, Glasshouse Policy, Austin Tech Alliance and A Functional Democracy will be kicking off our series of Austin City Council candidate forums with our Election Primer event. The Election Primer starts at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the North Door at 505 Brushy St. You’ll have a chance to talk one-on-one with candidates, get registered to vote, learn a little about how to exercise your right to vote, and enjoy a drink at the same time.

To RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/election-primer-tickets-49997910095

And be sure to keep an eye out for our candidate forums in October!

District 1 – Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1164 San Bernard St. (RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/candidate-forum-city-council-district-1-tickets-50076722826)

District 3 – Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Tamale House East, 1707 E. 6th St., Austin (RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/candidate-forum-city-council-district-3-tickets-50076782003)

District 8 – Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 La Crosse Ave.

District 9 – Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at Capital Factory, 701 Brazos St.

Mayor – Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1164 San Bernard St.

Lake Austin boat docks must now be registered with the city and display an address label that is easily visible to those using the lake within the vicinity of the dock. Although this new rule went into effect this July, Environmental Commission Chair Linda Guerrero explained at the Sept. 19 meeting of the commission that this address system is something the Lake Austin Task Force has tried to have Council implement for five years. Daniel Armstrong, a supervisor in the Austin Code Department, noted that the motivation for the change came from a recent tragedy on the lake. “There was a person who was enjoying recreational activities on Lake Austin and … needed immediate help. … They did not know where they were, which compromised public safety’s ability to reach them,” he said. The new dock addresses are meant to assist with public safety efforts. Whoever is in need “can look at the nearest dock and give a frame of reference to where they’re at,” said Armstrong. The Code Department is allowing registration to occur until Sept. 30. Inspections will begin Oct. 1, but those who are not registered will not be subjected to code enforcement fines until April 1, 2019. “We hope there will not be enforcement action. Compliance is always our goal,” said Armstrong. Only 10 applications have been received to date. Going forward, owners of commercial docks will have to renew their registration every two years and residential dock owners will have to renew every five years. The first year there will be no registration fee.

The city has received another “AAA” bond rating from the three U.S. financial rating agencies, with a stable outlook given to its ability to repay debt for long-term capital improvement projects. The rating represents the eighth year in a row that Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings have given Austin the highest bond rating possible, a distinction that gives the city a low borrowing cost to take out bonds. As an example, a round of tax-exempt public improvement bonds with a 20-year term were sold last week at a true interest cost of 2.77 percent. Those bonds are part of a portfolio of debt products the city recently undertook and they will be used to help support affordable housing projects. The high bond rating – which is calculated based on local economic strength, the city’s financial and administrative management, and a variety of debt ratios – will come into play in determining the borrowing costs to secure the bonds for whatever portions of a seven-part series of bond projects that voters will decide in November.

Austin’s yearly day of educational activities related to Barton Springs, Central Texas waterways, and conservation in general has been postponed until further notice. The pool flooded on Saturday after the rain and had to be closed. Barton Springs University organizers held out hope that the event, which was scheduled for Tuesday, could still take place, but on Sunday night they received word that the pool will not be ready to reopen to the public until later in the week. There is no official reschedule date yet, but organizers are looking at the last two weeks of October, after the Austin City Limits Festival.

Over the weekend, Central Health board members voted unanimously to rescind a budget decision that threatened to shut down Sendero Health Plans. The vote came after last week’s discussion at the Travis County Commissioners Court, and a Saturday Central Health meeting that saw members of the public pleading to keep the nonprofit insurance company as an option for low-income residents.

Last summer, 12 intersections in Central Austin got new bicycle signal faces: Third and Brazos streets, Third and Colorado streets, Third Street and Congress Avenue, Third and Guadalupe streets, Third and Lavaca streets, Fourth and Red River streets, 24th and Rio Grande streets, Airport and Wilshire boulevards, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Rio Grande Street, Morrow Street and North Lamar Boulevard, W. Cesar Chavez Street and B.R. Reynolds Drive, W. Cesar Chavez Street and Sandra Muraida Way. The Austin Transportation Department would now like cyclists to register their feedback on the signals through a short survey before Oct. 5. The survey data will be compared with data from a survey conducted before the signals were installed, as part of a study that is gauging how much public perception and knowledge regarding bicycle signals and safety has changed in the past year.

Zilker Park’s Great Lawn and other related areas are closed to the public beginning today to accommodate the beginning of the load-in for the Austin City Limits Festival. The preparation for the event will affect assorted parts of the park and surrounding roads until the beginning of the festival on Oct. 5. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department has prepared a schedule of how the load-in is expected to impact various areas and neighborhoods in the coming weeks. The park will undergo post-event maintenance from Oct. 20 to 26 and transition back to normal activity through Oct. 31. Following ACL Fest, the park’s next big events will be the Trail of Lights Fun Run on Dec. 1, and the opening of the Trail of Lights on Dec. 10.

The city of Austin and Austin Independent School District are seeking applicants to fill two open seats on the board of directors for the Travis Central Appraisal District. That board’s primary responsibility is developing the annual appraisal roll used by local taxing units in imposing ad valorem property taxes in the district. The city and school district have a shared seat that is open on the board and AISD has another open seat of its own that is open. Applications for the two seats are available here and here. Other responsibilities of the board, which meets the first Monday of each month, include hiring the chief appraiser and approving the annual budget for the appraisal district and setting all TCAD policies. The applications are open until Sept. 28.