The Economic Development Department has been looking for a master development partner for Colony Park, and all interested parties are invited to a pre-offer site conference and site visit tomorrow. Colony Park is on 208 acres of publicly owned land near Loyola and Decker lanes, on which the city envisions a “vibrant, sustainable, and mixed-use neighborhood.” The meeting will include a presentation and work overview, as well as resources for a self-guided tour of the site. Offerors will learn about “submittal requirements, evaluation factors, and deadlines for the Colony Park Sustainable Community Request for Qualifications (RFQS). All information covered during the meeting will be posted as an addendum to the solicitation materials. Interested Offerors are encouraged to register as a vendor through the City of Austin Vendor Connection to receive updates on posted addendum and to access the RFQS documents,” according to the city press release. The conference is on Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center Multipurpose Building, 7201 Colony Loop Drive. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. and the self-guided site tour will run from 11 a.m. to noon.

This past Thursday, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir once again issued a request for proposal for a new voting system for Travis County. If you recall, the last attempt, which would have been open source, was thwarted by the marketplace. A press release from the County Clerk’s Office explains, “The initial goal for Travis County was to build a customized voting system (STAR-Vote) that included highly-specialized security and accessibility features not currently available in the marketplace, coupled with off-the-shelf hardware to realize cost savings. Unfortunately, we were unable to advance that model. The RFP released on November 9 is the logical next step… The County Clerk and her team engaged in a considerable study of election security methods while developing the requirements for the STAR-Vote system. That work is reflected in this RFP. The Clerk’s Office has identified the must-have security and accessibility features, and have included them, with the goal of acquiring an election system that maximizes the best in current technology. In spite of the fact that the next election system used in Travis County will likely come from the traditional proprietary model, the Clerk feels she has challenged the vendor community with this procurement. ‘The election marketplace is on notice that we will accept nothing less than a state-of-the-art, secure, accessible election system for Travis County voters,’ said County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir.” Responses to the new RFP are due Dec. 19, with the expectation that a new system will be in place for the 2020 presidential election.

Shudde Fath and her daughter, Betsy Fath Hiller, have published an enlightening new book of color photographs by renowned photographer Russell Lee, called “Russell Lee in Color.” Most people who know Electric Utility Commissioner Shudde Fath recognize that at 101 she is the embodiment of public service, the only member of any city commission who has served on a commission since its inception. But not everyone knows that her late husband, Conrad Fath, was best friends and fishing buddies with Lee. Lee shot the 162 previously unpublished color photographs while he and Fath piloted a yacht from Mamaroneck, New York, to Port Aransas in the summer of 1963. The book includes iconic photos of New York City, its bridges, its tugboats, electric power plants and fishermen, and then moves on to New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Florida and Louisiana. Some of the Austin Monitor‘s favorites include a derelict tugboat along the shoreline of North Carolina and a series of photos of a sponge fisherman and his boat at Cedar Key, Florida. Fath credited the folks at Holland Photo Imaging for their expertise in restoring old photos and their help with the book. Lee, who founded the photography program at the University of Texas’ Fine Arts Department, was best known for his depression-era photos. In 1936, Lee was hired by the Farm Security Administration and began roaming the country to take photos of life in the United States. Lee moved to Austin with his wife in 1947, where he began his longtime fishing hobby with Conrad Fath. He died in Austin in 1986. In 2016, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to change the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary School to Russell Lee Elementary. Fath and her daughter are selling their book on Amazon.com. They plan to autograph their book at Threadgill’s, 301 W. Riverside Dr., on Dec. 2 and Dec. 9 from 4 to 5 p.m. However, be advised that you must come with your own book because they will not be selling it at the restaurant.

Time to turn off those irrigation systems! Mid-November to mid-March is the water conservation period for the city of Austin. That means that the average of the water you use during this time will determine your wastewater charge for the rest of the year. The city chose these months because most residents aren’t doing much outside watering. In addition to turning off your irrigation systems, it’s a good idea to check them for leaks as well. Other ways you can conserve water and get those bills down include fixing leaky toilets and faucets, only running dishwashers and washing machines with a full load and taking shorter showers. You can also download the free Dropcountr app, which provides you with your home’s water use reports. Head over to the Austin Water Utility website for more water-saving tips and information.

With an eye toward the future, the Austin Music Commission has asked city staff to identify portions of the city that could eventually become music hotbeds similar to downtown’s Red River Cultural District. That directive came at the most recent Music Commission meeting while Brian Block, entertainment services manager for the Music and Entertainment Division, was giving a report on the renewal of a pilot program extending outdoor noise curfews for clubs in the district. After hearing about improved communication and cooperation between music venues and nearby neighbors as a result of the program, several commissioners put forward the idea of examining how the city could get ahead of future growth and the CodeNEXT process by determining where clusters of clubs are most likely to emerge as Austin grows in the next decade-plus and begin building stronger relationships with surrounding residents and stakeholders. Commissioner Oren Rosenthal went as far as suggesting music office staff identify at least one potential entertainment zone in each council district, but there was concern that some parts of the city might never be an ideal habitat for supporting multiple music- or creative-focused businesses. Block said he and city staff will examine the issue and possibly bring recommendations to the commission at its December meeting.

This Sunday, Vision Zero ATX will be holding the third Day of Remembrance Vigil. The event is an opportunity to remember those killed or injured in traffic incidents. It will take place from 5 until 7 p.m. at Austin City Hall Plaza and will feature a walk, speakers from Bike Austin and Families for Safe Streets, and a performance by Ballet Austin. The event will also introduce a new policy proposal presumably aimed at safer streets.

At last Thursday’s meeting, Steve Newton of Russell Reynolds Associates told City Council and the public that he recommended that the names of the finalists be released either Friday or Monday. But after 10 p.m. on Sunday, Mayor Steve Adler posted a message on the City Council Message Board from Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and himself to the rest of the Council members beginning with the following: “Our search firm reiterates that we should be honored to have a very impressive group of candidates.” But the news was not all good, because he had to add that a candidate had withdrawn, “and the search firm recommends we spend 1 or 2 additional weeks reviewing other potential candidates to ensure that we have the finest and most diverse candidate pool. As such, the search firm also recommends we not release candidate names until sometime later this month.” Last week, Newton predicted that up to five finalists would meet with Council and the City Manager Search Advisory Task Force in early December and “then a later date would be set for that third round.” He promised that the third round would include introduction of the finalists to the community. So if the names are not released for two more weeks, that would put the release of the names on Nov. 27, making it difficult for Council to select a new manager before mid-January. Then that person would have to quit his or her current position and move to Austin.

Requiring businesses to divert their food rather than simply compost or recycle is a progressive idea even among those at the Zero Waste Advisory Commission. However, Allen Schroeder, the food donation specialist for Break It Down and the driving force behind the Save the Food Coalition, thinks that Austin should be the first city to require a portion of usable foodstuffs to be donated rather than simply disposed of. “We have 25 percent food insecurity in Austin. Why are we throwing food away? Why are we composting it?” he asked rhetorically at the Nov. 8 commission meeting. According to him, in order to help reduce food insecurity in our city, City Council needs to amend the Universal Recycling Ordinance to require businesses to submit a separate food diversion plan to the city in addition to their recycling and organic waste diversion plans. Currently, food diversion through donation is one of eight optional, equally weighted organics diversion choices for food-permitted businesses. To change this, Schroeder says that a brand-new ordinance must be written because “changing the existing ordinance would be cumbersome.” Commissioner Joshua Blaine expressed his support for the idea. Commission Chair Gerry Acuna said, “In the master plan, there are references to what you are trying to accomplish. I think that would be something that would fit right in with the goals of the master plan.” The commission decided to revisit the idea when it revises its master plan in 2018.

Former Evolve Austin Executive Director Andy Cantu has taken a new job. Cantu will be working as a land use and policy manager with the Drenner Group PC, so chances are you will still be able to catch him at City Hall during upcoming (and, presumably, endless) CodeNEXT discussions. Cantu previously worked as the director of regional mobility for the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

With pieces of 2016’s music omnibus policy package rounding into being, work on a second batch of city policies for bolstering Austin’s music economy is well underway. At Monday’s meeting of the Austin Music Commission, musician and Commissioner Graham Reynolds said the five working groups charged with addressing issues related to the music community’s well-being will deliver reports and recommendations by the end of the year. Those groups are looking at: equity, diversity and inclusion; affordable live/work space; safety-net issues; revenue development; and finance tools and incentives. The first omnibus was paid for by tapping unused funds from the city’s Music Venue Assistance Program, but there’s not yet an identified funding source for the policies that will come with the second omnibus package. Reynolds told the Austin Monitor that Mayor Steve Adler’s proposed “downtown puzzle” plan would create a consistent funding source for efforts related to commercial music, but “that is some time away. In the meantime, we need ideas and actions that will move these issues and their solutions forward.” He said the new omnibus package will be broken into short-, medium- and long-range measures and include a range of funding needs, including some that could have little or no cost.

This weekend, Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Jimmy Flannigan invite the public to City Hall to celebrate the life of Ceci Gratias, District 6 constituent relations director and community activist. Gratias passed away on Sunday, Nov. 5., at the age of 53. An unwavering advocate for the LGBTQ community, Gratias served on the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce for nearly 20 years. She helped launch that group’s scholarship foundation, and was its first president and CEO. She volunteered and worked tirelessly advocating for LGBTQ rights and social justice, including in Pride festivals and parades, Queerbomb, Out Youth, Allgo, HRC-Austin, Lifeworks’ homeless youth program, MLK Day of Service, Hate Crimes Task Force and Austin Lyric Opera’s Triangle on Stage. This year, Gratias received the prestigious Bettie Naylor Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign Texas, and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce plans to commemorate her life and legacy in Washington, D.C., at its annual National Dinner. From a 2015 Austin Chronicle profile: “We challenge any local activist to match that range.” Gratias was a longtime friend of Flannigan’s, and upon his election to Council, he hired her to the position of constituent relations director. The Nov. 12 memorial will begin at 4 p.m. in the City Hall Plaza, with music by the Capital City Men’s Chorus. After the memorial, all are invited to join the procession down Congress Avenue to Oilcan Harry’s. Attendees are requested to wear purple, Gratias’ favorite color.

On Tuesday, Democratic organizer Anne Wynne announced she would be vying for the position of Travis County Democratic Party chair, quickly earning her endorsements from Sen. Kirk Watson, District Attorney Margaret Moore, and Reps. Eddie Rodriguez and Celia Israel. Yesterday, Wynne issued a call to her fellow candidates to donate 25 percent of the funds they raise to TCDP. According to a statement from her camp, Wynne “has deep roots in Democratic activism in Central Texas. She got her start volunteering for Ann Richards for County Commissioner, which carried over into Ann’s race for State Treasurer, and eventually led to Anne serving as one of the Ann Richards for Governor Campaign attorneys. Governor Richards’ daughter, Cecile Richards, introduced her to her future husband, Fred Ellis, while they were working on Ann’s campaign for Governor. Together, Anne and Fred raised their three children in Travis County.” At the moment, Wynne is the sole candidate for the position. Mike Lewis dropped out of the race yesterday, following an apology for making rape jokes on Facebook amid questions about whether he supported TCDP’s platform. The previous sole candidate, Rick Cofer, trod a similar path. He dropped out of the race after he realized his inappropriate behavior toward women would soon be made public.