More than 100 people, including Mayor Steve Adler, turned out on a chilly Monday afternoon to take part in the ceremonial dirt-turning for the new downtown residential tower known officially as the Independent but colloquially as the Jenga Tower. The 58-story building will rise in singular fashion over Shoal Creek at West Third Street and West Avenue, and upon completion it will hold the distinction of being the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi. Before taking part in the groundbreaking, Adler was effusive in praise for the private development and what it means for the city at large. “Great cities do big things,” the mayor declared. “What makes this a big project here in the city of Austin is the fact that … this project is going to contribute $18 million into our affordable housing trust fund.” While the Independent won’t feature any units on-site that fit into the city’s definition of “affordable,” the mayor said it helps projects such as the recently approved Pilot Knob project, which will feature 1,000 affordable units in the far southeast part of town. When asked what the city could do to ensure that downtown doesn’t become an enclave for the wealthy while the less affluent are pushed to the fringes, Adler told the Austin Monitor, “There are projects that we are talking about doing downtown that are going to contain affordable housing on-site. And those projects are wonderful, too. This particular project is contributing a massive amount in lieu of the physical location of the properties, but we need both in this city because it’s our resources that give us the power to get things done, but it’s the diversity that gives us the fabric.”

The Austin Independent School District heard the results of its yearly demographic report Monday afternoon, and then again on Monday night at its 6:30 p.m. board meeting. The report, which informs the district about student population trends in the community and anticipates how those trends may affect the district, is particularly poignant given AISD’s loss of about 3,000 students since the 2012-2013 school year. This year’s estimates do not show any deviation from past trends. In fact, it forecasts further declines in AISD’s enrollment over the next 10 years, a predicament that will hit AISD’s wallet hard. How many students there are and how often they attend school both play a significant role in the amount of state funding the district will receive. In 2014, the state gave AISD about $5,140 per student who attended school on a regular basis. The report states that, by 2025, the residential student count is projected to be 77,628 students, a reduction of 6,140 students from the 2015 student count, or a 7.4 percent decrease. The greatest declines will be seen in the elementary and middle school grade levels, with an anticipated decline of approximately 2,750 students (6 percent) and 2,100 students (13 percent), respectively, over the 10-year period. The subsequent changes associated with a smaller student body are expected to percolate slowly upward, from elementary school to high school, as the smaller student body ages. According to an AISD press release, the declines at these grade levels can be attributed to decreasing birth rates in the area and a shift in Austin’s new housing market. Student growth from new and planned future residential developments in the district is expected to be limited due to the anticipated high cost of projected future housing. An estimated 11,337 potential units are expected to be developed over the 10-year period, but only a third of these new housing developments are single-family residential units.

The Long Center for the Performing Arts is officially in search of a new president and CEO to replace Jamie Grant, whose resignation was announced today. Grant will remain with the Long Center until April, after which he will move to St. Paul, Minnesota, to serve as president and CEO of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. “Jamie Grant has been a game-changer for the Long Center,” said Marc Seriff, the Long Center’s vice president of special projects, in a press release about the resignation. “He has created a culture of success, and built the staff to execute it.” Seriff, as the new interim president and CEO, will be leading a global search for Grant’s successor. “The job of our search will be finding the right person to … continue the amazing momentum that Jamie has built,” he said.

Last week, on Jan. 6, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued updated floodplain maps for portions of Austin. The new maps are the last step in a Watershed Protection Department study of the floodplains. In that study, the city looked at the floodplains for: Boggy Creek, Bull and West Bull creeks, Carson Creek, Cottonmouth Creek, Dry East Creek, Fort Branch, Shoal Creek and Tannehill Branch Creek. As a result, according to a press release from the city, about 2,200 properties are no longer in the FEMA floodplain, and about 2,400 now are. According to the press release, “The City received a $1.1 million grant from FEMA for a portion of the study costs with the remaining $2.0 million being funded by Watershed Protection through the drainage charge for a total study cost of $3.1 million. The results of the study were updated flood risk information that the City is using to enforce our floodplain management regulations and to design flood mitigation projects. In addition, FEMA is using the information for flood insurance purposes.”

After a bit of back and forth, the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee meeting will no longer take place before City Council’s (potentially epic) Jan. 28 meeting. Instead, Council will meet as the committee at 9 a.m. on Jan. 25. Adjust your calendars accordingly.

Downtown drivers can expect lane closures and delays throughout the month as work crews complete installation of a 10,500-foot reclaimed-water main on the Capitol Complex grounds. According to a press release from Austin Water, the main is part of a project, which began in November, that will help preserve potable water by supplying downtown with reclaimed water for nonpotable uses (e.g., irrigation and cooling towers). The entire project is slated for completion in 2017. During this portion of the project, there will be lane closures on 11th Street: Only one eastbound lane will be open on the block from Lavaca Street to Colorado Street, and only one westbound lane will be open on the adjacent block from Lavaca to Guadalupe Street. Meanwhile, southbound traffic from Guadalupe will be detoured to Ninth Street, as will eastbound traffic from 11th Street (via Guadalupe). Westbound traffic on 11th Street will be detoured to 10th Street via Congress Avenue.

At the start of this year, Meghan Wells began work as the manager of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division, where she is overseeing that division’s programming (which includes cultural funding and the Art in Public Places program, among other things). According to a press release about the hire, “Wells brings over 18 years of professional experience in the cultural arts and nonprofit fields. For the past 11 years, she has worked within the Cultural Arts Division for the Art in Public Places program; first as a project coordinator and, since 2010, as the program’s administrator. She earned a B.A. in English and political science from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO, and an M.A. in museum science from Texas Tech University.” Her official start date was Jan. 1, 2016.

Picking right up where things left off in December, City Council Member Ann Kitchen took to the City Council Message Board on Thursday to announce several meetings to further discuss regulations for transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft. Kitchen notes that while TNC regulations were approved during the final meeting of 2015, there are still some things to be determined. To that end, she has “confirmed the following process approach and timeline with Mayor (Steve) Adler” and suggests that any proposals be posted on the message board prior to Jan. 22. She goes on to suggest that the Jan. 26 work session contain a “discussion of sufficient duration to allow CMs the time to review, understand, discuss the language of proposals” prior to the Jan. 28 meeting, as well as “the approach to public input.”

Be aware: The Austin Independent School District has mounted cameras on the sides of its buses in an effort to help stop motorists from illegally passing stopped buses in the process of boarding or disembarking schoolchildren. According to a press release about the safety initiative, “A recent study completed by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services found that in a single day in Texas, more than 7,600 cars illegally passed stopped school buses.” Indeed, according to that same press release, a pilot program conducted by AISD in spring 2014 recorded an average of 60 violations per day. Texas carries a $300 penalty for the first offense of a school bus stop-arm violation; however, for the first month of the program, Austin Police officers will be issuing only warnings.

At the moment, City Council is scheduled to hold its Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee meeting prior to the jam-packed first regular Council meeting of 2016 on Jan. 28. That could change … if Council members can find a time when they won’t be attending another meeting. Committee Chair Sheri Gallo kicked off the rescheduling effort with a suggestion on the City Council Message Board that the meeting be held the previous day, at 1 p.m. Unfortunately, that time would potentially conflict with the Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee meeting and the Audit and Finance Committee meeting, which flank the suggested time. A suggestion to move the meeting to Jan. 25 also quickly became problematic, as it would conflict with a Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority board meeting. We’ll keep you posted on the developing rescheduling effort.

“Spring Festival Season” is fast approaching, and the city is getting ready. Yesterday, the Austin Center for Events announced a Feb. 5 deadline or a 120-application cap for special event permits for events that will take place between March 11 and March 20 this year. (Last year, the city had a goal of 105 permits.) According to a press release, “ACE will accept applications for Temporary Use, Temporary Change of Use, and 24-hour/96-hour Amplified Music Permits for outdoor temporary events during Spring Festival Season until 5 p.m., Feb. 5, 2016, or until 120 applications have been received, whichever occurs first. Any applications submitted after this date will not be reviewed or accepted. … ACE is currently receiving applications at an accelerated rate. Based on this, ACE is encouraging all venues to submit their applications as soon as possible. Applications must include a detailed site plan and will not be accepted if they are incomplete.” The press release also explained that temporary event sound-permit cutoff times will be extended during South by Southwest to midnight from Sunday to Thursday and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Though just underway, the new year is already bringing change to some City Council offices. For one, policy aide Ashley Fisher, who has been working in Council Member Pio Renteria’s District 3 office since his election, is making the shift to city staff. Fisher previously worked in former Council Member Bill Spelman’s office, and she is now heading off to be a senior planner at Austin Resource Recovery in its Strategic Initiatives Division. In addition, over the break, Community Impact Newspaper‘s Jennifer Burkhardt (formerly Jennifer Curington) made the switch to the other side. She will no longer be covering City Hall, but she will probably still be sitting through some long meetings in her new position as a member of District 10 Council Member Sheri Gallo’s office. And, in staff news, Samantha Alexander, public information and marketing manager for the Austin Transportation Department, is making a move to the Austin Independent School District, where she will be the assistant director of public affairs and operation. She will also be reunited with Reyne Telles, AISD executive director of communications and community engagement, whom she worked with in the city’s Public Information Office prior. This whisper has been corrected to reflect the fact that Jennifer Burkhardt is now going by her married name.