Last week, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir was a panelist at the Holder Initiative’s “American Voter Project: Hacking Digital Elections” discussion, which took place at Columbia University. During the discussion, DeBeauvoir talked about voting systems (digital and registration) and stated her belief that, in the words of a press release about the panel, “she is confident that in recent elections, there was no evidence of direct manipulation of election results or voting systems by an outside entity, but that there is a reason to believe that outside entities did ‘hack’ the democratic process.” Those interested in hearing the full discussion about securing elections between DeBeauvoir and former Attorney General Eric Holder, Dr. Malek Ben Salem of Accenture and professor Jeannette Wing of Columbia University can check out the entire panel discussion, which is embedded below.

Philanthropitch, an annual “fast-pitch” that helps innovative nonprofits scale into sustainable models, has partnered with United Way of Greater Austin to award $50,000 total to five nonprofits focused on fighting poverty in Austin. The five groups – Thinkery, Latinitas, Open Door, Foundation Communities, and Avance – will begin three one-week “Click for the Cause” social media campaigns beginning April 7, with each week’s winner collecting $5,000 and the overall winner receiving $35,000 at the May 8 finals and awards ceremony. That partnership is in addition to a recently announced sponsorship from St. David’s Foundation, which is providing $50,000 to the winners of a new health-specific track aimed at addressing factors outside of the traditional health care system that affect wellness and health. This year’s competition generated 45 applicants for $250,000 in funding, with 13 finalists selected to move and make their pitch for funding.

Those interested in making fundamental changes in how the city does business might want to check out the Charter Review Commission’s public hearing this Tuesday. The meeting will be an opportunity for Austinites to weigh in on proposed changes to the City Charter that will soon be making their way to City Council as recommendations. The hearing takes place on Tuesday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at Dove Springs Recreation Center, which is located at 5801 Ainez Dr.

At the most recent meeting, City Council passed a resolution asking city staff to evaluate land at 10414 McKalla Place as a potential site for a Major League Soccer stadium. Now the work begins. According to a March 30 memo from Economic Development Department Interim Director Rebecca Giello, her department is hard at work “assembling an interdepartmental / interagency team” to carry out the analysis demanded by the resolution. That analysis will rope in a number of departments, including: Economic Development, Planning and Zoning, Parks and Recreation, Austin Water, Public Works, Austin Fire, Austin Police, Transportation, the Corridor Program Office and Capital Metro. At the same time, a stakeholder process is being put together. According to the memo, a report on the proposed stadium will be ready for Council no later than June 1, 2018.

Before their March 27 joint meeting with the Zoning and Platting Commission, the Planning Commission passed a motion at their own meeting to revisit the structure of the rules and procedures for the upcoming April 28 and May 1 CodeNEXT public hearings. As planned now, those meetings would only allow speakers who have signed up to share their thoughts (in three minutes or less with no donated time), and the land use commissioners would focus on listening. Planning Commissioner Tom Nuckols and several other commissioners, however, advocated at last week’s meeting for allocating some time during the hearings for commissioners to ask questions of speakers. Chair Stephen Oliver said that the idea had come up in previous discussions between himself, Zoning and Platting Chair Jolene Kiolbassa, and city staff, but it had not held sway, because the current framework had been used before effectively. However, he said he also did not see any harm in asking again. The motion passed 7-4-1, with commissioners Fayez Kazi, James Schissler, Angela De Hoyos Hart and Todd Shaw dissenting. Oliver abstained.

The city’s 2018 Career Expo “Ignite a Network of Possibilities” is happening in April. Last year’s expo had over 100 employers participate, with over 4,000 open jobs. Job seekers can view the roster of employers who are participating and register ahead of time. Then, polish up those resumes, make a bunch of copies, and head to the Palmer Events Center on April 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The city also has some tips on how to make the most of the event.

Despite the petition submitted today, city staff is moving forward with the public process for CodeNEXT. On Thursday, Planning and Zoning Department Director Greg Guernsey sent a memo explaining the upcoming process and schedule for the Land Development Code rewrite. First up, the Planning Commission and Zoning and Platting Commission will hold two “super” public hearings. The first, on April 28, will take place at 10 a.m. at the Dove Springs Recreation Center. The second will take place on May 1 at 4 p.m. at the Palmer Events Center. After that, City Council will hold its hearings. The first will be on May 29 at 10 a.m. at City Hall, and the second will be on June 2 at 10 a.m. at the Palmer Events Center City Hall. More information about the hearings is available online here.

The Trail Foundation began work on the Trail Bridge at Congress Avenue yesterday. This project will provide much-needed upgrades to the existing wooden bridge under the north side of the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. The new and improved bridge will be 172 feet long and widened to 14 feet to better accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians and meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. And, the project will add a bat-viewing deck. “This stretch of the Trail has remained the same for roughly 40 years,” Trail Foundation Executive Director Heidi Anderson said. “The Trail Bridge at Congress Avenue will increase the area’s safety, and further enhance the aesthetic and beauty of our city’s crown jewel.” The foundation promises “minimal disruption to this area of the trail” during construction.

The political action committee IndyAustin is ready to turn in its petition to put to a vote the revision of the city’s land use code known as CodeNEXT. Longtime political activists Linda Curtis and Fred Lewis formed the group and began collecting signatures in September. Fred Lewis authored the petition. The group claims to have collected 32,000 signatures, which is well over the 20,000 usually required for City Council to put a matter to a vote in the next available election, which is November in this case. However, a memo authored by Austin attorney C. Robert Heath says that the petition is likely not legal and advises Council to decline to call for the vote. Nevertheless, IndyAustin has announced a press conference at 10 a.m. today at the Office of the City Clerk at City Hall.

Matias Segura has been chosen to be the operations officer at the Austin Independent School District, where he will “lead the district’s construction and facilities management, the 2017 Bond Program, the Historically Underutilized Business program, and contracts and procurement.” The press release announcing his appointment also states that he will be overseeing the district’s “real estate portfolio and resulting intergovernmental partnership opportunities as the district takes steps to advance affordable housing solutions for the Austin community.” Segura previously led consulting teams at URS and AECOM, which includes his role as senior project manager during the development of the $1.05 billion AISD bond that was passed in November. Through this new position, Segura will use his experience to “drive innovation and efficiency,” AISD Chief Financial Officer Nicole Conley Johnson said. “As an engineer with a finance background and deep expertise with AISD’s bond program, he is well-qualified to bridge the district’s construction management and finance work – from building new infrastructure to managing cash flows.” Questions about possible conflict of interest have been voiced, because of Segura’s employment with AECOM and that company’s involvement with the district. AISD’s lawyer said there is no conflict of interest, partly because Segura is not a principal with the company. Segura has said he would recuse himself from decisions that might cause a conflict of interest.

This whisper has been updated. 

Following the examples of San Francisco and New York City, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department is working to establish partnerships with independent entities to help fund the upkeep of city parks. It is looking at partnerships with nonprofits, neighborhood and community groups, and businesses. Although the department is enthusiastic about this venture, at the March 27 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board, Kimberly McNeeley, the PARD acting director, said that the department is approaching these relationships cautiously. “In Austin right now we have a lot of opinions along the spectrum about how folks feel about public-private partnerships,” she said. She explained that the department is going to have to work to earn the confidence of citizens who are wary of for-profit partnerships with Austin’s public parks. According to McNeeley, “We need to have partners to help us run our parks because the General Fund is not going to be available to us in ways that it has in the past.” McNeeley explained that although the department is eager to bring on partners, it is carefully weighing the long-term value that applicants will bring “rather than just jumping at ideas that come to us.” The No. 1 priority is to engage with business partners who will create community and be good stewards of the land. Board Member Randy Mann agreed that this was the right lens to view these partnerships through. He said that there is one question that should be asked every time the city enters a contract: “How does this positively impact our grandchildren?”

One of the biggest challenges that Austin is currently facing is the increased use of its parkland. Even with 300 parks, 227 miles of trails, 15 preserves and 16 greenbelts, the influx of residents and visitors can easily take a toll on the environment. In an effort to mitigate the potential catastrophic repercussions of misusing parkland, Austin park rangers are working to pre-emptively “protect the outdoors by teaching and inspiring people to enjoy it responsibly,” Sandra Heath, a park ranger supervisor, told the Parks and Recreation Board at its March 27 meeting. She explained that the park rangers, who are in the parks seven days a week for 10 hours a day, are educating Austinites through the seven principles set forth by the national Leave No Trace organization, which encourages “safe, responsible and sustainable land use.” This grassroots effort that requires personal interaction is surprisingly successful. In partnership with the KUT radio station and Akins High School, program coordinator LaJuan Tucker said that last year the park rangers made 42,672 contacts with citizens to explain the impact that their presence has on parkland. One of the overlooked impacts she said comes from dogs, who produce over 150 pounds of waste each year in city parks. To help grow awareness and increase Austinites’ conscientiousness, Tucker said that the best thing that the Parks and Recreation Board could do was alert Council members to pass the message to their constituents. Board Member Randy Mann addressed the two park rangers approvingly: “We need a lot more folks like you,” he said.