Amidst all of the hype around City Council’s approval of Brian Manley as permanent Austin police chief, leadership changes at the Fire Department have flown under the radar. On Thursday, Council also voted to approve the appointment of Austin Fire Department Chief of Staff Tom Dodds as interim fire chief. In brief remarks in support of Dodds’ candidacy, City Manager Spencer Cronk said he was confident that Dodds, who has been with the department for over 30 years and served as the No. 2 department official under outgoing Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr, would do an “extraordinary job.” The city manager has directed staff to hire a consulting firm to conduct a national search for candidates to be permanent fire chief, which could takes months. That is in contrast to the Manley appointment, which was made without soliciting applications, over the protests of many police accountability advocates.

City Council will be considering two resolutions aimed at reducing the Austin Police Department’s number of discretionary arrests and protecting the rights of local immigrants after their dinner break tonight. Council Member Greg Casar requested that the resolutions be considered in the evening because representatives from Grassroots Leadership, the Workers Defense Project and United We Dream will be holding a rally at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. to voice their support for the resolutions. Although state law allows police to issue a citation in lieu of arrest for minor offenses, including possession of marijuana and driving without a valid license, city data show that black and Latino residents are more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts charged with the same offenses. One resolution directs the city manager to work with the police chief to take the appropriate steps to eliminate discretionary arrests when it is feasible to write a ticket or issue a citation. Such a program would not only reduce the budgetary impact of such arrests, according to the resolution, but it would also reduce racial disparities in the city. The second resolution states that Council supports the police chief’s recent adoption of orders that not only comply with state law but also protect the constitutional and legal rights of people interacting with the department. The same resolution directs the manager to work with the chief “to take necessary and appropriate steps to further ensure in light of unfunded mandates imposed by Texas Senate Bill 4, that the city’s policing resources are prioritized, and that requests for federal immigration enforcement assistance are appropriately vetted and scrutinized.” Although Senate Bill 4 prevents the city from telling its officers not to ask a person about their immigration status, the resolution seeks to ensure that anyone being questioned about their status or country of origin be informed of their rights before answering questions.

The Austin Transportation Department is calling it a wrap on the safety and mobility improvements at Pleasant Valley Road and Elmont Drive. This intersection is the first to be completed of the Intersection Safety/Vision Zero projects funded by the 2016 Mobility Bond. Improvements include new exclusive left-turn lanes northbound and southbound on Pleasant Valley, upgraded Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant pedestrian ramps at all four corners of the intersection, signal improvements and more. The department has a picture gallery of the shiny new intersection on Facebook.

May was a good month for the Austin Animal Center. At its meeting Monday evening, the Animal Advisory Commission heard from Interim Chief Animal Services Offer Lee Ann Shenefiel, who stated that more than 600 animals were adopted last month, with about one-third of those pets being adopted over Memorial Day weekend. She also said that more than 60 pets were returned in the field by animal protection officers, who “deferred successfully about 3.5 percent of our potential intake.” Shenefiel also commented on the continued success of the center’s outreach program, Dogs 101, an in-jail foster program at the Travis County Correctional Complex that enables inmates to train dogs before they’re ready for adoption. Shenefiel described the program as “a really valuable partnership” and said both male and female inmates are equally invested in taking care of the animals. One final success story related to cat life outcomes. According to Shenefiel, the center recently saw the lowest life savings rates it had experienced in some time. “After seeing the decline in cat life savings last month, (Acting Deputy Chief Animal Services Officer Jason Garza) and I took a deep dive into that population of animals that were not having live outcomes.” She went on to say that the center is working to ensure that decisions regarding suffering animals are being made in a more organized and consistent manner. “All euthanasia decisions, regardless of the type of animal or the situation the animal is in, have to be approved by the director going forward,” she said. At this point, the life savings rate is close to average. Commissioners Lisa Mitchell and Palmer Neuhaus applauded that outcome and thanked the center for its swift action and decision-making. Though the low numbers last month were “extremely unfortunate,” Shenefiel said, the center views the events as a learning opportunity and a chance to institutionalize some life-saving practices and processes at the center.

Austin Energy was named the 2018 SEPA Power Players Public Power Utility of the Year. SEPA (Smart Electric Power Alliance) is a nonprofit dedicated to helping utilities transition to a future focused on clean energy, and this is the 10th year SEPA has recognized utilities that it believes have been making great strides in this area. The Public Power Utility of the Year award is given to a utility that “has demonstrated energy industry leadership through unique or thought-provoking innovation in an effort to significantly advance knowledge of or access to distributed energy resources and expand its value as a resource to help meet the needs of electricity consumers.” Austin Energy will be honored Tuesday, July 10, at SEPA’s Grid Evolution Summit in Washington, D.C., along with winners of the other six categories, including Visionary of the Year and Electric Cooperative of the Year. “Innovation is part of the foundation upon which we are built,” said Jackie Sargent, Austin Energy general manager, in a press release. “We are always looking for creative solutions that deliver better service and make Austin a more livable city and we are proud to be recognized for that innovation.” The release notes that “SEPA is recognizing Austin Energy for thought leadership on renewable energy and Distributed Energy Resources, including the Austin SHINES program, which integrates solar and energy battery storage; the Community Solar Program and the utility’s Electric Vehicle Program.”

The process for submitting and managing public information requests should now be a little easier and more efficient, after the city’s recent overhaul of the system. Anyone requesting information will create a password-protected customer account to submit a request to the city of Austin or Austin Police Department. Accounts can be used to access and manage requests, track progress on requests, retrieve files and documents, and view and pay invoices. The updated system also includes a “trending topics” section, in an effort to streamline requests for information related to more popular matters. Journalists and members of the public can access the new system through the same URLs as before: austintexas.gov/public-information-request and austintexas.gov/pir. There is a detailed guide to the new system here, as well as a quick reference guide for making requests to APD here.

Tomorrow, City Council is set to tackle the topic of CodeNEXT once again. Also tomorrow, Evolve Austin plans to speak out in favor of the very involved recommendations on the code rewrite offered up by the Planning Commission. “Many Austin citizens have expressed concerns about the current code, which should not be confused with the process of writing a new land development code,” said Emily Chenevert, CEO of the Austin Board of Realtors. “We want the community to know that CodeNEXT is a process, and that our ultimate goal is to simplify and streamline the code in order to produce the housing Austin desperately needs to accommodate our growing population.” In the interest of clarity, Evolve, which is a nonprofit coalition that includes the Downtown Austin Alliance and Environment Texas, has created an amendment scorecard that articulates their recommendations.

Remember that brouhaha about clothing recycling a while back? The city is now officially inviting that sort of thing, at two upcoming meetings for those who have opinions on the Simple Recycling service. According to a press release from the city, “The responses gathered from these meetings will be used to inform future curbside textile and housewares recycling service modifications or enhancements.” Also according to the press release, the meetings will take place on Saturday, June 16, at the Little Walnut Creek Branch Library from 2 until 4 p.m. and at the Pleasant Hill Branch Library on Saturday, June 30, from 2 until 4 p.m.

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be performing service work on the length of track between Lakeline and Leander next week, and therefore the agency is suspending all MetroRail service between those stations from June 15 to 29. Capital Metro’s press release announcing the suspension suggests the following alternatives for daytime travelers:

• MetroExpress No. 985, which has weekday service from 4:50 a.m. to 10:50 p.m. between Leander, Lakeline and downtown
• MetroExpress No. 987, which goes to UT and downtown with weekday morning service (southbound, 5:20-8:50 a.m.) and early evening service (northbound, 3-7:10 p.m.)

In addition, on June 15, 22 and 29, a complimentary Friday evening shuttle will provide riders with a connection between the Lakeline and Leander stations. The shuttle buses will run about every 20 minutes from 5 p.m. to 1:25 a.m.

The board of directors of Capital of Texas Media Foundation today announced the departure of the Austin Monitor‘s publisher and president, Mike Clark-Madison. The board of directors and Mr. Clark-Madison mutually agreed that it was in the best interests of all parties for him to leave. In the interim, Elizabeth Pagano will serve as the Austin Monitor‘s publisher.

The organization will immediately begin an executive search for a new publisher and president.

On June 5, the week that the new Cap Remap rolled out to the city of Austin, Zenobia Jones, an activist and longtime critic of the upcoming changes, spoke in front of the Zoning and Platting Commission to offer her critique of the new plan as well as suggestions for how to improve it. Jones alleged that the new transportation routes were in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination in programs that receive federal funding, due to the fact that low-ridership areas with wealthier residents received more bus lines while low-ridership areas in less-affluent neighborhoods lost theirs in the rollout of this refurbished plan. She noted, however, that the situation could be remedied with area studies by Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority as well as better communication between city development departments and the public transportation authority. “When it comes to transit decisions (it is imperative) that you consider that the city needs a specific interlocal agreement with Cap Metro.” She explained that when decisions are made in isolation, studies are duplicated and decisions aren’t in line, which results in disparate service. Particularly with CodeNEXT and the urban corridors being designed, Jones hoped that the commission would encourage communication between the city Planning and Zoning Department, developers and Capital Metro. Commissioner David King agreed, saying, “The city should have some skin in the game.” Chair Jolene Kiolbassa noted, “If we’re planning the city one way and our transit centers are disappearing, then we have a serious problem.”

Preservation Austin has announced an open call for nominations for its annual Preservation Merit Awards. The group has been giving these awards since 1960. There are three categories: Preservation, Stewardship and Special Recognition for individuals, businesses, organizations and institutions. Awards are given to notable preservation projects that, a Preservation Austin news release says, can “include everything from residential renovations, to cultural landscape restoration, to sustainability initiatives. Special recognition may be given for number of accomplishments, including advocacy efforts, educational programming, and media coverage.” Past recipients of the award include the Broken Spoke, Fair Market and Austin Motel. The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, August 3, and to be eligible, projects have to be located in the city of Austin and have been completed between January 1, 2016, and the submission deadline. Awards will be presented at a luncheon at the Driskill Hotel on Friday, Oct. 19.