Effective immediately, Emily Chenevert will assume the role of CEO of the Austin Board of Realtors. Chenevert began her career with ABoR over 10 years ago as director of public and government affairs, and she has been the interim CEO of the 13,000-member organization since January. Her position as CEO was made permanent yesterday by a unanimous decision of the board, and she will continue to manage three ABoR locations, the Austin/Central Texas Realty Information Service (ACTRIS) and a staff of over 50 employees. Chenevert is the first female CEO hired by ABoR. “I am honored to be named chief executive officer of the Austin Board of REALTORS®,” she said. “Having spent my entire career in the industry, I understand the importance of ABoR’s past, but remain committed to a bright and new future. ABoR is well positioned to thrive in an ever-evolving industry.”

The City Council Audit and Finance Committee, minus its chair Ellen Troxclair, on Thursday selected five applicants to interview for the Municipal Civil Service Commission. The applicants to be interviewed include the two incumbents, Lottie Dailey, a retired theologian, and Michael Murphy, general counsel to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 520. The new applicants include attorney Christopher Ritter, Ronald Morgan Jr., Travis County chief deputy clerk, and retired Austin Community College professor Michael Petrowsky. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who chaired the meeting, said she expected the committee to interview the applicants during the committee’s next regularly scheduled meeting but added that it might have a special called meeting for the interviews. Attorney Pamela Lancaster chairs the commission and the other members include Melissa Rogers and Teresa Perez-Wiseley, the vice chair. Troxclair is on maternity leave in anticipation of the birth of her second child.

Low- and middle-income Austinites looking for a rental now have a handy resource. The city has developed a detailed Affordable Housing Listing: a compilation of “income-restricted affordable housing units subsidized or incentivized by the City of Austin.” Users can browse by region, and the listings have information about the unit, such as single family or multifamily; housing type, such as senior or student; and contact information. There is also a map! These tools can be found on the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department’s Resources for Renters website, which also hosts a bunch of other information for house hunters. The department promises that the housing listing will be updated regularly; real-time updates are not available because of the rapid pace of the city’s rental market.

A day after a federal judge ruled that Texas violated the National Voter Registration Act, state Rep. Celia Israel reiterated her call for the state to allow voters to register online. “We must stop denying Texans access to the polls immediately,” Rep. Israel said. “Texas is violating the National Voter Registration Act, and we have the resources and ability to act to fix that today. The Office of the Secretary of State, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Information Resources, and other experts have testified extensively on the state’s ability to carry out a secure and effective online voter registration program.” On Tuesday, The Texas Tribune reported that U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio determined that the state violated the federal law that stipulates that citizens be afforded the chance to register to vote when they apply for or renew their driver’s licenses. The state currently offers voter registration only for in-person license applications or renewals. The Tribune reports that Garcia will offer details in the coming weeks on how the state will need to change its policies in order to comply with the law. If he mandates online registration, he will fulfill a goal Israel has sought unsuccessfully during her first two legislative sessions. In 2015, her House Bill 76 died in committee. Last year, her House Bill 143 didn’t even receive a hearing.

The coming of spring means that it’s time for gardening and time for Mayfield Park’s Annual Trowel and Error Gardening Symposium. The event combines a plant sale with educational lectures about gardening in Central Texas. Mayfield Park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and the symposium is the only fundraising event that the park hosts each year. Trowel and Error is this Saturday, April 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free, but there is a suggested $5 donation. View the lecture schedule here.

The Zoning and Platting Commission will be sticking with its current roster of officers by a unanimous Tuesday vote. Per that vote, Jolene Kiolbassa will continue to serve as chair, Jim Duncan will continue as vice chair, Betsy Greenberg will remain parliamentarian and Ana Aguirre continues as secretary. “I just think we are in the middle of one of the biggest issues facing this city, in terms of our deliberations and recommendations on CodeNEXT,” said Duncan. “It doesn’t seem necessary to change drivers … we can talk about it when all the dust settles in the fall.” That continuation was accepted, if not totally embraced by Kiolbassa, who did ask for volunteers to take over the work-heavy role of chair. The election also sparked a discussion about whether the commission was obligated to elect new officers every year. A few years ago the commission opted to limit chair terms to one year, and staff liaison Andrew Rivera explained that rule was adopted on a consensus vote of a previous commission. According to those rules, officers can serve up to four one-year terms. “Don’t even bring that up,” said Kiolbassa.

A federal judge may have paved the way for Texas’ first online voter registration system. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio ruled that the state is violating the National Voter Registration Act by treating those who update driver’s license information online differently than those who do so in person. What does that mean? Head over to KUT to find out how that might change voter registration for about 1.5 million Texans.

This Friday the city will hold a dedication and sign unveiling for the Roberta Reed Crenshaw Overlook, located on the north side of Lady Bird Lake. The ceremony will take place on the southwest corner of Cesar Chavez and Congress Ave. at 2 p.m. on April 6. Crenshaw was one of the forces behind making the Parks and Recreation Department what it is today, and was a member of the Austin Parks Board for 18 years, serving as chair for five of those years. A press release from the city elaborates: “Roberta Crenshaw was an environmentalist, a pioneer of the Greenbelt and one of the leading forces behind the creation of many of Austin’s best loved natural and cultural treasures. As a visionary, she campaigned for 60 years as the driving force for preserving parkland and trails in Austin, and her passion and commitment helped protect the environment around Lady Bird Lake, as she galvanized support for the Hike & Bike Trail. Roberta’s vision and tireless personal commitment helped shape the Austin parks system into the nationally recognized source of pride and inspiration that it is today.”

Despite their sincere efforts to publicize their public hearings, at their second scheduled public hearing on April 3, the Charter Review Commission saw only one member of the citizenry in attendance in addition to three reporters and two members of city staff. Despite every commissioner making it to the hearing that was held at the Dove Springs Recreation Center, there was no one to ask questions of them. So, after waiting for 30 minutes, they voted to adjourn the meeting. Five minutes after the meeting was adjourned, a second member of the public arrived. During the 30 minutes that they waited for more attendees, the commission discussed alternative methods to publicize their next two public hearings. Currently, they are sending out notifications through the Nextdoor neighborhood website, the Public Information Office and by individual efforts on the part of the commissioners. So that they have another avenue through which to disseminate the information: The next hearing will be this Saturday, April 7, 1 p.m. at City Hall, followed by a final hearing to be held on Thursday, April 12, at the Asian American Cultural Center. Find commission meeting details here. Update: The April 12 hearing has been canceled. 

This Saturday, April 7, the master planning of Brush Square commences. The square, which is one of the three original public squares on the 1839 Waller Plan, is where the Dickinson Museum, the O. Henry Museum, the Austin Fire Museum and Austin Fire Station #1 are located. It will also be home to the planning process kickoff, from 10:00 a.m. until noon. According to the Parks and Recreation Department: “The planning process will engage the public in the development of a vision and conceptual master plan for the historic downtown square. In addition to enhancing the square’s green space and trees, the planning effort will respond to the highly urban context of the square, which includes the adjacent convention center, Lance Armstrong Bikeway and the expanding Capital Metro Downtown Station. At this time, funding for master plan implementation has not been identified, but the master plan process will result in cost estimates, phasing recommendations for short and long term capital improvements, as well as financing strategies.”

For those hanging on to gross old tires, the city is offering a way out. Instead of keeping the tires and breeding “more than 10,000 adult mosquitoes” per tire, why not partake in Austin’s newest holiday: Tire Take-Back Day? On Saturday, April 14, Austinites can recycle their old tires for free from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Austin Resource Recovery (2514 Business Center Drive) or Great Hills Baptist Church (10500 Jollyville Road). Austin Public Health, Austin Resource Recovery and Travis County will be on hand to take up to eight passenger tires per household.

The Barton Springs Bathhouse is getting a makeover. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department launches things with a “design kick-off meeting,” which is open to the public. That meeting will take place today, April 3, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Austin Energy Building (721 Barton Springs Road) in Conference Room 130. But if you can’t make the meeting, don’t fret. A press release from the city assures all: “The design effort will include periodic opportunities for the public to provide input and comment on design progress. Public engagement will include stakeholder meetings, multiple open houses, and on-line updates all with opportunities for comments. Public meetings will be held at each phase of design for public feedback.”