For the first time since a major setback in 2015, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved an update to the county’s Facilities Master Plan. The updated version accounts for the voters’ narrow rejection of a $287 million bond to build a new civil courthouse at 308 Guadalupe St. three years ago as well other adjustments county planners have made since then, including the acquisition of the U.S. courthouse catty-corner to the county’s downtown headquarters. Additionally, whereas the planned mixed use development at the county’s North Campus on Airport Boulevard was originally planned to feature new space for the Tax Office and Health and Human Services Department along with affordable housing units, the new plan keeps the Tax Office in its current building but allows for that facility’s expansion. As for a new civil courthouse, the revised plan projects that the county will ink a deal this summer with a private partner that will both provide the land and build the facility.

In 2019, the Austin Independent School District is considering adding social and emotional learning to the elementary school scorecard. Currently, AISD is piloting the program with kindergartners through second-graders where they assess the children on a scale of 1 to 4 every nine weeks during the school year. After the third quarter of the 2017-18 school year, Dr. Lisa Goodnow, executive director for academics and social and emotional learning, reported that the children’s average score is 3.56. AISD has a target score of 3.59. The score is based on an evaluation of five skills: interacting cooperatively with peers, interacting cooperatively with adults, managing emotions constructively, respecting self and others, and taking responsibility for own actions. According to Goodnow, this type of evaluation is currently a missing component from elementary education, but when it is introduced into the classroom is linked to higher academic performance and healthy student development. Particularly effective with young children, it helps with self-awareness, self-management, social relationships and decision-making skills in the future.

Eager to weigh in on the city’s demolition process at this week’s meeting? That’s too bad, because the meeting has been canceled. A message from the Development Services Department explains, “Throughout March, the Development Services Department (DSD) received a variety of input on how to improve the demolition permitting process. Feedback was provided by community members, industry stakeholders, and City of Austin staff at public meetings, focus groups and online. … We feel it is best to slow down the demolition engagement process to allow staff more time to consider the input we’ve received so far, conduct additional research, and seek more feedback from the community as needed.” Those still eager to fill their Wednesday night with contemplation of Austin’s demolition process can always go read the online feedback that has been submitted.

Some of the parties interested in the economics of a Major League Soccer team – specifically the Columbus Crew club that may relocate to Austin – could soon get a look at the books. That’s because Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther is using a 22-year-old Ohio law that could make it difficult for teams using tax-supported facilities to move without giving six months’ notice and entertaining offers from groups interested in buying the team and keeping them in place. The law was passed after the Cleveland Browns professional football team was moved to Baltimore by owner Art Modell with almost no notice to the city or fans. Ginther said in a recent statement that there are groups in Ohio interested in buying the team and keeping it there, but a full analysis of the Crew’s financial performance is needed before a full partnership or purchase offer can be completed. Precourt Sports Ventures is also being sued by the city of Columbus and the state of Ohio in another move to block the relocation. PSV declined to comment on the lawsuit and request for financials through a public relations representative. Currently, the city of Austin is conducting an analysis of a piece of city-owned property near the Domain to see how suitable it would be for a 20,000-seat stadium for the Crew.

Today, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings affirmed Travis County’s bond ratings at Aaa and AAA, respectively. This is the highest investment bond rating, and Travis County is one of only seven counties in Texas to receive it. A good bond rating means better interest rates for the county. “Travis County’s bond ratings are a testament of the hard work this Commissioners Court does to maintain strong financial policies and practices so that we can maximize our limited resources when making infrastructure investments in our community,” said County Judge Sarah Eckhardt in the county’s press release. “These bond ratings reflect the confidence the rating agencies have in Travis County’s management of tax dollars.” This is the 18th year in a row that the county has received this superior rating.

Stacy Pool closed today for its yearly spring cleaning and maintenance. The pool will open again on April 23 with normal operating hours. Be advised, however, that during the weeks of April 23-26 and April 30-May 3 it will be closed from 12:45 pm until 2:45 pm for the Project Safe program, which gives local first-graders free swim lessons.

After a pause during the recent bombings, negotiations between the city and the Austin Police Association are up and running again, reports City Manager Spencer Cronk in an April 4 memo. The takeaway? City staff presented the resolution City Council passed last month and offered a short-term proposal that would guarantee some stipends to Austin police and a lump-sum payment in return for oversight and hiring allowances that the city does not have now while the department operates under provisions of the Texas civil service statute, without a labor agreement. However, Cronk explains, “Regrettably, the APA rejected this short-term proposal and instead wanted to focus on the long-term agreement. The parties are scheduled to meet again April 10 and 16. I will continue to keep you updated as we move forward.”

As part of CodeNEXT, the city has been working on developing a citywide Affordable Housing Bonus Program. Since state law prohibits the city from mandating that developers include affordable housing units, bonus programs like this are used to incentivize the construction of affordable housing by offering an exchange of entitlements (such as allowing a taller building) for setting aside a certain number of income-restricted units. On Saturday, the city announced that it has reworked the administrative procedures that could be used for implementation of the proposed program. This update “reflects an ongoing calibration of the bonus program since the release of CodeNEXT 3.0 in February of this year.” The revised plan can be downloaded as a PDF, and the maps on the CodeNEXT website have been updated to reflect the new affordable unit set-aside requirements.

Even though extreme partisan gerrymandering has meant that Austin does not have its own representative in the U.S. Congress, Austin Democrats are still vying for the chance to take on Texas’ Congressional District 25 Republican incumbent Rep. Roger Williams. On Friday, Austin Environmental Democrats voted to endorse Chris Perri, who is running against Julie Oliver in the May 22 runoff to represent the district, which is anchored in Fort Worth. The group did not endorse in the runoff between Joseph Kopser and Mary Street Wilson, who are vying for the chance to run against the Republican winner of the District 21 runoff between Chip Roy and Matt McCall. Longtime Rep. Lamar Smith is retiring, leaving the seat open. That district stretches from San Antonio through the Hill Country to Southwest Austin, but Austin voters are unlikely to be the deciding factor in the race. The Democrats also failed to choose between former Austin City Council Member Sheryl Cole and her opponent, Jose “Chito” Vela, who are running for Texas House District 46, to replace Rep. Dawnna Dukes, who lost the primary decisively. Neither did they choose between Elaina Fowler and Vikki Goodwin, who are vying to face Republican Paul Workman, the incumbent. Maya Guerra Gamble easily won the group’s support in a runoff for the 459th District Court over her opponent, Aurora Martinez Jones.

Recently, 30 homes in the Rolling Hills West neighborhood requested an extension of wastewater services to their homes. Although these residences are technically outside of Austin, they are located within the 2-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction that is on the edge of Austin’s full-service jurisdiction. On April 4, the Environmental Commission found it almost natural that city sewage services would be extended to this neighborhood. Without much ado and a city staff recommendation to support their decision, the commissioners approved this request with no questions and a unanimous vote. According to Andrea Bates, watershed policy manager with the Watershed Protection Department, homes that are reliant on aging septic systems are a great risk factor in contributing to water pollution. This, accompanied with the fact that these 30 properties are situated in a critical water quality zone that is part of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, propelled Bates to explain that for staff at the Watershed Protection Department, “the answer for this project is a resounding yes.” Once the homes are attached to city sewer lines, the septic tanks will be decommissioned according to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rules. “It’s pretty straightforward,” said Chair Marisa Perales.

On April 5, Mayor Steve Adler, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, and Council Member Ora Houston sat on a beautifully manicured lawn that will soon transform into an affordable housing development. City Council members attended the morning ceremony to inaugurate the expansion of LifeWorks’ affordable housing initiative to end youth homelessness, which aligns with the city’s Strategic Housing Blueprint. This project will be constructed at 835 N. Pleasant Valley Road and will provide 29 units to homeless and at-risk youth who will be able to take advantage of LifeWorks’ programming and wraparound services, which are aimed at helping clients re-enter the workforce. Although the project was formulated and executed by the local nonprofit, the city of Austin is providing 38 percent of the required $4.8 million through HOME Dollars. HOME Dollars are provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development through their HOME Investment Partnerships Program. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will also serve as a funding anchor for the project. Construction will begin in two weeks and is scheduled to last for 13 months.

Next week, April 8-14, marks National Library Week. Sponsored by the American Library Association, National Library Week was first celebrated in 1958, and it is observed by libraries across the country every year in April to promote the importance and continued use of these valuable resources. The theme of this year’s library week is “Libraries Lead.” Important days during the week include National Library Workers Day (April 10), National Bookmobile Day (April 11) and Take Action for Libraries Day (April 12). In addition, Austin Public Library is celebrating by giving patrons a little more time with their materials and extending the usual three-week checkout period to four weeks for all physical materials checked out from April 8 to 14. Items renewed during this time will get a four-week renewal as well.