The first proposal submitted to the city’s open call for other ideas on how to use the McKalla Place property looks to be an astute bit of trolling of Precourt Sports Ventures, the owners of the Columbus Crew soccer team that may relocate to Austin next year. Rather than offer ideas for the North Austin parcel that’s the focus of PSV’s intent to build a new soccer stadium, the anonymous six-page plan submitted on Monday instead suggests that property owned by Austin Water east of U.S. Highway 183 and just south of Ed Bluestein Boulevard would be a better location for the stadium. The property is the site of the long-decommissioned Govalle Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is still partially used for training purposes but otherwise sits idle. Earlier this year Richard DePalma, vice chair of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Board and current District 8 City Council candidate, offered his vision for locating the stadium on the property that sits near Bolm Road District Park, though city staff found its occasional use and the need to purchase nearby private property as obstacles for the site’s consideration for a stadium. The city is accepting proposals for the McKalla property through the first week of August, but there is not a formal process in place, as what is typically used when City Council and staff agree to formally solicit plans that will lead to an eventual development deal. Instead, the McKalla proposals will be used for comparison purposes so that staff and Council members can judge the trade-offs of a stadium versus more traditional mixed-use or other commercial development. The city is currently negotiating with PSV on the McKalla site, with Council set to consider a possible property deal at its Aug. 9 meeting.

Travis County and the Central Health Board of Managers have officially given the go-ahead to lease part of the former Brackenridge Campus to the 2033 LP. The local liability partnership will then sublease the 2.6-acre portion to the University of Texas for use by the Dell Medical School. The 99-year lease is expected to bring in $450 million for Central Health, and it is projected to generate up to $6.6 million in upfront payments over its first year. The decision comes after Central Health changed course on its plan to find a master developer for the entire 14-acre site. The Commissioners Court approved the lease at its meeting on Tuesday, and then the board held a special meeting that evening to hold its vote. The UT Board of Regents is expected to vote on its part of the arrangement this week.

Since 2006, Larry Tucker has served on the Animal Advisory Commission, and after years of advocating for the animals of Austin, the July 9 meeting was his last. Although they were sad to see him go, his fellow commissioners commended his productive 11-year tenure. “He was here when we effectively got rid of the sale of puppy mill dogs in Austin,” said Chair David Lundstedt. “He was involved in the … ban that really helped put the Ringling Brothers out of business.” Lundstedt noted that if Tucker’s replacement wasn’t so well-qualified to step into the newly vacated seat, “I would probably be crying right now.” Ryan Clinton will fill the vacancy and will serve a two-year term, effective July 1. Clinton is an attorney and founded FixAustin.org, an animal-advocacy organization aimed at making Austin a “no kill” community. Lundstedt wished Tucker well with the parting words, “The entire community is in your debt, and especially the animals in the community.”

Progress on the 2016 Mobility Bond continues to move along. This week, the Transportation Department announced that land surveys along nine corridors had begun as part of the design phase of the corridor construction program, which was adopted in April. Work is taking place on: North Lamar Boulevard from U.S. Highway 183 to Howard Lane, Burnet Road from Koenig Lane to MoPac Expressway, Airport Boulevard from North Lamar Boulevard to U.S. 183, East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/FM 969 from U.S. 183 to Decker Lane, South Lamar Boulevard from Riverside Drive to Ben White Boulevard/U.S. Highway 290 West, East Riverside Drive from Interstate 35 to State Highway 71, Guadalupe Street from MLK Jr. Boulevard to West 29th Street, William Cannon Drive from Southwest Parkway to McKinney Falls Parkway, and Slaughter Lane from FM 1826 to Vertex Boulevard. According to the Transportation Department, “This work will result in intermittent and short-term lane closures along the corridors. The lane closures will avoid peak-period travel times. Some work could occur at night, but activities would comply with City of Austin noise ordinances.” Work on the land surveys is expected to continue through the summer, and the design phase of the project could last anywhere from 12 to 36 months. More information is available on the Corridor Construction Program website.

Capital City Innovation, the nonprofit organization helping to coordinate the creation of the health care innovation district near the University of Texas’ Dell Medical School, has named a pair of local business leaders as the newest members of its board of trustees. They are Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance, and Kerry Hall, president of the Austin region for Texas Capital Bank and a board member of Opportunity Austin. Existing members are Greg Hartman, president of Academic and External Affairs at Seton Healthcare Network/Ascension Texas; Stephanie McDonald, chief of staff at Central Health; and Clay Johnston, dean of the Dell Medical School. Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and City of Austin Mayor Steve Adler serve as ex officio members. Capital City Innovation was formed in 2017 and has formed coordinated health and bioscience incubators supporting more than 30 companies, with local leaders hoping to turn Austin into a health care research and startup hub on par with Boston and Berkeley, California. The group is also involved in the physical development of an innovation district, which is starting with Central Health’s Brackenridge campus.

The Austin Monitor heard rumors Monday that at least two members of the Planning Commission named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton are planning to resign this month. Architect Trinity White, who was appointed by Council Member Ora Houston to represent District 1, confirmed that the July 24 commission meeting will be her last. However, she hastened to add that her decision is not related to the lawsuit. Paxton’s suit seeks to remove eight of the 13 members of the commission, alleging that the number of members of the commission whose jobs are related to the development industry constitute a violation of the city charter. Paxton named architects Karen McGraw, James Shieh and White, engineers Fayez Kazi and Jim Schissler, as well as Tom Nuckols, an assistant county attorney who specializes in real estate matters, former real estate broker Patricia Seeger, and Greg Anderson, director of community affairs for Habitat for Humanity, which builds low-income housing. White has two young sons, a 5-year-old and a 15-month-old. The 5-year-old, she said, has been asking whether someone else could go to some of these meetings. Referring to the major work of the commission, White said, “CodeNEXT took a lot of time and energy, and I’m burned out. … If I stayed on I just wouldn’t have the stamina to put all of my energy into it as I have in the past – and I need to make room for somebody with a little bit more freshness.” White said it had been a great honor to serve District 1, adding that she might decide to volunteer for the city at some point in the future. “But my kids will never be little again, and the city will be here.” When asked about Nuckols, White said she had heard that he also intended to resign this month. Nuckols did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Applications are now open for the CityWorks Academy. The academy, according to the city’s website, is “an inside look at Austin government – a unique opportunity for Austinites to learn about the City’s governmental processes, its procedures and the people who deliver these services through a series of 14 weekly classes.” Classes are on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m., with one Tuesday class, and start on Sept. 5. Each class is led by city staff – 44 departments are involved, and applications are open to anyone living in Austin (aside from city employees). The application deadline is July 21. Classes are limited and based on application, though participation is free.

The city’s Economic Development Department released the results of its Creative Space survey yesterday. The survey collected data from July to September 2017 from arts organizations and artists in an attempt to address affordability concerns in that sector of the city. A press release from the city about the results noted that artists are “finding it hard to stay in Austin.” Specifically:

• 38% of respondents indicated they have paid for space they could not afford
• 69% used a space they identified as not being ideal for their needs
• 51% of artists surveyed said they have considered leaving Austin for another city or state
• 23% of organizations and businesses are in a precarious position with month to month leases
• 12% of organizations and businesses shared that they currently do not have or are in immediate danger of losing the space they need within the next year

The full results of the survey, and access to the now-open 2018 survey, can both be found on the city’s website.

Traveling Austinites and visitors to the city will soon have a new space in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in which to pass the time while enjoying live music and a drink, meal or snack. The performance area across from Gate 10 is getting a new stage, bleachers and game tables. The airport is calling the 4,456-square-foot space the Heart of Austin, and in addition to live music it will boast concession options including Jo’s coffee, the Saxon Pub and a taco truck. The renovations are set to begin in the middle of July. In the meantime, travelers can find live music at other venues in the airport such as Annie’s Cafe and Bar near Gate 18 and Earl Campbell’s Sports Bar and Waterloo Records near Gate 15. View the airport’s July performance calendar here.

This summer, the Holly Power Plant property will be transferred to the Parks and Recreation Department, and the department will begin work on phase one of the improvements planned there. Construction on the first phase is anticipated to be completed next summer. City Council has expressed an interest at seeing art on the site, and recently, Director Kimberly McNeeley sent a memo to Council and the mayor to provide them with some information on the department’s plans. She wrote that the the department has completed “a feasibility study to determine adaptive reuse options and associated costs for the two existing metal buildings.” The study resulted in cost estimates ranging from $82,000 on the lower end, for minimal development, to $2.7 million on the higher end, for “development of utility infrastructure.” Those options took the inclusion of art space into consideration, as well as access to the hike and bike trail and the lake views. McNeeley wrote that the department plans to evaluate the phase one improvements for one year after completion, and it will use that information to create the RFP to solicit proposals for the art component for the Holly site. Therefore, if all goes according to plan, the RFP should be released in summer 2020.

On Saturday, July 7, the Central Texas Explorer Academy, which was hosted by the Austin Police Department, graduated 42 explorers. The explorer program shows youth ages 14-21 the many facets of a career in law enforcement. Eight agencies participated in the program: Austin, Hutto, Leander and Cedar Park police departments; the sheriff’s offices from Travis, Hays and Williamson counties; and Travis County Constables Pct. 2. Assistant Chief McIlvain with APD and Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez attended the graduation at the Omni Southpark Hotel, along with other executive staff. The four-week program consisted of 128 hours of law enforcement training, which included lessons on the penal code, nutrition and physical fitness, handcuffing, searching and frisking, investigations, rappelling and more.

The Small and Minority Business Resources Department has been working on updating the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program Rules, and it is ready to receive comment from the public on the proposed changes. According to a press release from the department, the changes “will allow SMBR staff to perform step 1 of the 9 step Good Faith Effort (GFE) requirements – notification of MBEs/WBEs of the opportunity to bid on the solicitation with the (prime) contractors that are intending to bid on the solicitation. The Prime is responsible (for) the remaining 8 steps. These steps are the existing steps listed in the MBE/WBE Ordinances. This proposed change is aimed at increasing the number of small and minority business participation in the Corridor Mobility projects.” Veronica Briseño, director of the department, said, “The City made a concerted effort to have a strong MBE/WBE Outreach component because of the importance we are placing on MBE/WBE participation in the Corridor Mobility Bond Program while striving toward the goal of implementing the program in an efficient and timely manner. The proposed rule change allowing this pilot program we believe will work towards these goals.” In addition, references to the “Department of Small and Minority Business Resources” have been changed to “Small and Minority Business Resources Department.” Find a copy of the rules at the department’s website here, and submit comments by July 16.