More than 60 members of city of Austin staff and leaders in the local tech community are moving forward with ideas on how to use high-speed data and smart technology to solve civic challenges relating to homelessness, removing public safety hazards and improving access to city services. The partnership between the city and the Austin CityUp nonprofit held its second monthly session on Tuesday at the former Faulk Central Library, which is now the home of the city’s Innovation Office. There, teams formed around 14 projects that each look at solving a specific problem area identified in a May kickoff session. Highlights included using blockchain to store personal documents for people experiencing homelessness, preparing Austin’s residents and businesses to take full advantage of 5G wireless platforms, and developing kiosks that deliver free, real-time, city information to multiple audiences, including people with vision impairment, people with mobility issues, and people who do not have smartphones or home internet access. Projects will be vetted by experts for feasibility, availability of resources, and potential impact, which could lead to eventual funding for pilot program implementation.

Last week, we heard tell of city employees conducting a historic survey in Allandale. On Friday, Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky informed us that it’s actually more of a high-level scan that could possibly precede a more in-depth future survey. The effort is part of a program funded by hotel occupancy taxes and is happening across the city in areas within a half-mile of where tourists might gather. That includes both attractions and hotels, Sadowsky said. Additionally, his office is poised to conduct a new feasibility study focused on preserving and restoring downtown storefronts. The study will determine the specific geographic extent of the program, but Sadowsky suggested that East Sixth Street and Congress Avenue are likely to be included. Also to be determined is the funding mechanism. Sadowsky said that property owners could possibly be offered low or zero-interest loans or be given grants outright. The study, he said, could launch as soon as next month.

To hear tell of it, Austin is facing something of a transportation crisis. Car traffic out there, folks say, is pretty bad at certain times, while the city has also acknowledged that it has a shortfall of 2,580 miles worth of sidewalks (compared to the 2,400 miles it currently, barely maintains). While the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is currently in a proactive mode of being “on it,” City Council’s formal strategy in 2018 can best be described as existing in a state of retrograde, its relatively swift action to greenlight what, as of last week, accounted for just over 1,500 dockless bikes and e-scooters notwithstanding. As all but two Council members split for West Texas this week to stand against the federal government’s immigration policies, local transportation policy was left again on the back burner as Council’s Mobility Committee canceled its June 21 meeting. The body has only met once so far in 2018, and there are only three more of its confabs on the schedule. For comparison, MobComm, a committee that ostensibly exists to iron out concerns about transportation issues before they reach the full Council, which very often has trouble ironing out concerns about virtually every other issue on its agenda until well past midnight, met just six times in 2017. The next committee meeting is set for August 16.

Update: The Monitor learned on Friday morning that MobComm Chair Ann Kitchen had originally cancelled the meeting to avoid conflict with a special meeting of the full Council on CodeNEXT. That arguably urgent discussion was then scotched by the Council members’ departure to West Texas.

The city’s Cultural Arts Division is in the process of a monthlong evaluation of 427 applicants seeking varying levels of cultural arts funding. The presentation panels began May 31 and feature organizations and individual artists making presentations to compete for funding across 15 artistic disciplines, with judges’ scores plugging into a larger matrix to later determine funding amounts. Funds are available at four levels, with up to $250,000 available at the full organizational support level and individual artist projects in the running for $20,000, or $10,000 for first-time applicants. Applicants are eligible every two years, with awards in Fiscal Year 2018 totaling just over $11 million. Recipients and award amounts will be announced in September with a vote decided by City Council, which will also decide how much total funding will be available for the 2019 fiscal year.

Mayor Steve Adler is in Tornillo today to visit the “tent city” there that is housing children who have been separated from their families at the border. From a press release from the mayor’s office about the trip: “President Trump’s recently implemented ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy, which includes separating children from their parents as they try to cross the border to seek asylum, stands in stark contrast to the ideals of our nation. It is immoral, un-American, it is hurting families without justification, and it needs to change. This (is) a defining moment for our country.” Adler will be part of a delegation of mayors, including Mayor Steve Benjamin from Columbia, South Carolina, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, from the United States Conference of Mayors. Eight Council members are also in attendance, and a press conference is planned for 9 a.m. Council members Ellen Troxclair and Ora Houston are not on the trip. The mayors also adopted a policy resolution at their last conference to register their opposition to the U.S. immigration policies that resulted in the separation of families. The president signed an executive order on Wednesday afternoon to stop separating families, however, it’s unclear how this will immediately affect the children who are currently housed in the tents in Tornillo.

Any Austinite who has lost their driver’s license due to Department of Public Safety surcharges can attend a clinic this Friday to learn how to start the process to get it back. A form of ID will be required upon entry, which can be either a license, photo ID, utility bill, social security card or library card. The free clinic is from 3 to 6 p.m. at 1520 Rutherford Lane. Licenses will not be reinstated on-site. No arrests will be made at the clinic.

If you feel like you’ve been seeing ads for Austin Energy and Austin Water everywhere, it’s because you have been. At the June 18 meeting of the Electric Utility Commission, Debbie Kimberly, the vice president of customer energy solutions and corporate communications at Austin Energy, explained that Austin Energy and Austin Water are expanding their public information campaign this season. In the face of the hotter-and-drier-than-normal weather that has been predicted by the National Weather Service, Kimberly said that the goal of the utility is to “help our customers deal with the seasonal increase.” According to her, in the months of June through September, Austin Energy customers “consume 45 percent of the power they use all year long.” With that in mind, the energy utility is working to get the message out to customers about how they can save energy and thereby lower their summertime bills. On June 4, Austin Energy launched its summertime savings website where it offers tips to manage energy and water bills. Simultaneously, in an effort to raise awareness about energy conservation and get people to take advantage of its programs, the utility is running a summer campaign that includes media buys in print, television and radio. There will also be four community events for members of the press in areas of town that experience higher bills. With all the dollars and effort that the utility is putting into educating the public, Kimberly dared the commissioners not to run across one of its ads. “Our intent here is (that) we get through this campaign … and we will have reached all of our customers,” she said.

Along with details of several existing or in-development programs to increase musician compensation from the city’s Music and Entertainment Division, attendees at Monday’s musician income summit at City Hall could grab a free copy of The Indie Band Survival Guide, a 2012 book that for a time last year looked like it was going to be the foundation of the city’s educational program for musicians looking to make more money. Such an educational component was an important piece of City Council’s Music and Creative Ecosystem Omnibus policy package, and authors Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan had developed an online learning platform that was something of an extension of the book. Former music division head Don Pitts was working toward establishing an agreement with the pair when he resigned from his post amid controversy around his handling of an employee disciplinary matter. That’s how the office came to be in possession of several dozen copies of the paperback, with Monday’s summit doubling as a chance to do some departmental closet cleaning, since the contract was never completed and Erica Shamaly, who was hired last summer as the music office’s new director, opted to pursue other options. She said Monday that an Austin-based nonprofit group is going through the procurement approval process to be the lead organization in charge of educating Austin musicians on how to grow the business side of their artistic output. That contract is likely to be completed this summer.

It’s been something of a quiet week (so far) concerning Austin’s flirtation with the Columbus Crew SC and the wish of the team’s owners to relocate to Central Texas by next spring. It’s all likely the calm before the storm, however, since the agenda for next week’s City Council meeting – the last before the July recess – contains two soccer-related resolutions that appear to run somewhat counter to one another. There are a few more details dripping out about a development proposed for the McKalla Place property that is also the most likely location for the eventual 20,000-seat stadium the team would use. Developers John Chen and Marcus Whitfield’s McKalla District plan is designed to feature 50,000 square feet of grocery store retail, 75,000 square feet of senior living space, a 45,000 square foot wellness center and 250,000 square feet of office space. It would also feature 125 affordable rental units, another 125 affordable units for purchase, 325 market-rate units for purchase and another 30 retail spaces. Chen and Whitfield had given a broad conceptual presentation of the development at a community meeting earlier this month, but the recent release of a draft 2016 appraisal of the McKalla property and other diligence on the 24-acre parcel has allowed them to start fine-tuning the usage and square footage of the mixed-use project. One of the resolutions on next week’s agenda aims to open the property up to a full request for proposal process, while another would direct the city manager to begin negotiations with Crew owners Precourt Sports Ventures on a possible stadium deal.

Monday night, the board of trustees of the Austin Independent School District adopted a $1.6 billion budget. “Austin ISD will continue to prepare students for college, career and life as we enhance school security and reinforce key academic programs to encourage student success,” said Superintendent Paul Cruz in a press release announcing the new budget. “I am proud to work with our board of trustees and staff to adopt a fiscally responsible budget that will further our goal to reinvent the urban school experience.” Priorities within this year’s budget include safety and security investments, a 1.5 percent salary increase for all employees and “support for academic reinvention projects aimed at bringing innovative programs to students.” The Austin American-Statesman reported that this year the district’s state recapture payment is expected to total about $670 million, and the budget could require as much as a $29 million dip into the district’s reserves. “Austin ISD remains committed to serving the students, staff and community despite the array of budgetary constraints we face due to rising inflationary costs beyond our control, revenue losses, and the budget pressures mounting from our ballooning recapture payments,” said Nicole Conley Johnson, chief business and operations officer for the district. “As our legislators convene this winter, we will continue our efforts in encouraging them to implement solutions to fix the school finance system so this can become one of our last years we are required to pass a deficit budget. Nevertheless, we will do what is needed to serve as the cornerstone of our community and provide the necessary educational services to our AISD students and families.”

The Southeast Branch of the Austin Public Library has been undergoing foundation repairs, but the city has released a statement that it will be ready to open on July 9. In preparation for the reopening, the temporary programs and services at the Dove Springs Recreation Center have ceased, except for the Bookmobile Lending Services, which will continue until July 5 on Tuesdays and Thursdays 5-8:30 p.m. and Wednesdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Bookmobile will be closed on July 4. The Manchaca Road, Ruiz Branch, and Pleasant Hill branches are all good alternatives until the Southeast Branch is open. Many Dove Springs Recreation Center programs will be moved to the Southeast Branch when it is open; check the library calendar for updates.