In October, the Hill Country Land Trust and Hill Country Alliance will hold a conservation easement workshop. According to a press release about the event, the workshop will help landowners learn about “how to steward and protect their land investment with a conservation easement agreement.” The agenda will include the following topics: conservation easement overview; planning with conservation easements; tax, succession and estate planning issues and ideas; the role of land trusts in the conservation easement process; landowner considerations and costs; and stories from landowners who have a conservation easement. The workshop will be held Friday, Oct. 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Headquarters Auditorium. Registration, available online here, is $15. For more information, contact the workshop coordinator, Carolyn Vogel, at carolyn@texasconservationconnection.com or 512-633-4995.

The nonprofit Shelter Art Foundation is hosting a free workshop later this month on taking studio-quality portraits of shelter pets. The idea, according to an announcement about the event, is to make sure that pets featured on adoption websites aren’t overlooked because of poor picture quality. “With an increasing number of potential adopters searching online for pets, high-quality pictures are more critical than ever to help animals get out of shelters and into homes,” said Deputy Chief Animal Services Officer Kristen Auerbach in an announcement about the event. The workshop will be hosted by the Shelter Art Foundation’s professional photographers, who travel around the country to teach photography skills and donate studio equipment to help showcase shelter animals. The event will take place Sept. 28, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Austin Animal Center, 7201 Levander Loop.

During a work session on Tuesday, City Council Member Ora Houston expressed frustration with a resolution that Council will consider Thursday. In addition to awarding up to $6.4 million in cultural arts services contracts in Fiscal Year 2015-16, the resolution would award the Zachary Scott Theatre Center $60,000 for maintenance under a separate operations agreement. According to Economic Development Department Assistant Director Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, the theatre will receive $200,000 in cultural arts services contracts in the coming fiscal year – as it did in the current one – and has a 99-year contract with the city signed in 1987 that entitles it to receive the $60,000 for maintenance every year and pay the city $1 per year to lease the land it uses. “It seems illogical to me where this would be OK for us to pay $60,000 for 99 years and get a dollar back from the operation, when we can have other kinds of public-private partnerships where the city would get more revenue if they entered into that,” Houston said. “This is a glaring example of the things that I’m concerned about, is how we fund the things that we fund that I call legacy funding.” Council Member Pio Renteria said he was concerned about the funding in light of his recent attempts to secure funding for landscaping at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, which he says is desperately in need of care.

On Monday, the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association voted to recommend that the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary School be changed to “a new name that reflects the values of the neighborhood and city.” The vote was 24-11, with two abstentions, and the recommendation has been forwarded to the Austin Independent School District board of trustees and superintendent. In an email to neighbors, neighborhood association Co-president Lorre Weidlich wrote, “The discussion was passionate on both sides of the issue. It was obvious that many people felt the need to express their feelings and describe their experiences. A neighbor of mine pointed out to me this morning that the meeting made clear the value of providing a forum that allows for an open discussion.” The online Friends of Hyde Park also voted in favor of changing the name 100-40. Their discussion on the topic can be found here, for the curious.

Today, the Episcopal Church announced that it is seeking a development partner for the parking lot located at Seventh and Trinity streets downtown. The block, which is owned by the church, has the potential for over 600,000 square feet of developable space, though part of the block is within the Capitol View Corridor, which limits development height to 75 feet in some parts, according to a press release about the move. That statement also read, in part, “The Episcopal Church’s vision includes office, residential, and retail uses with generous parking – a vision that would provide space for the Archives of The Episcopal Church. The Church looks forward to an enhanced Archives facility being part of the development as a place Episcopalians gather to learn from, reflect on, and build upon their heritage stretching back to this country’s foundation and beyond that to the English Reformation.” The Episcopal Church will be represented by the Rev. Canon Lang Lowrey III as asset manager, and Clinton Sayers II and Paul Byars with Sayers & Associates as real estate brokers. “We welcome proposals from those in the development community who appreciate that the path to The Episcopal Church’s Archives must come out of this transaction,” said Lowrey in the press release. “This property sits at the crux of three distinct districts: Austin’s creative scene with the Red River District and East Austin, its burgeoning medical district to the north and the tech and hospitality anchors downtown already provides,” he continued. “We believe that the Trinity Block promises the largest development opportunity in downtown.”

This Friday, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt will lead the charge to clean up the 77-acre Shudde Fath Tract – which borders the Barton Creek Greenbelt in South Austin. She will be joined by the Save Barton Creek Association, Keep Austin Beautiful and Travis County officials, including elected and appointed officials and county executives. According to a press release about the cleanup, which will take place from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., “This cleanup will launch the Travis County United in Giving Campaign, an annual effort inviting employees to donate to any registered 501 (c)(3) of their choice. This year, Judge Eckhardt and Commissioner (Gerald) Daugherty have joined forces in order to generate as many donations as possible. The Judge and Commissioner have chosen to focus on a goal of 100% participation from employees through monetary donations and/or voluntarism. Judge Eckhardt is launching the push for employee voluntarism by inviting all Travis County leaders to help the Save Barton Creek Association and Keep Austin Beautiful by cleaning up the Shudde Fath Tract.”

This Thursday, Mayor Steve Adler will proclaim Austin to be a “Purple Heart Capital City.” The proclamation is a way to honor those in the armed forces who have been wounded or killed in action. The city is also designating I-35 as a “Purple Heart Trail” and will install road signs to that effect along the highway. The proclamation will take place at 5:30 p.m., during the City Council meeting.

This Friday, Sept. 18, the city will dedicate the Mueller neighborhood’s new public sculpture, Geode, by Hunter Cross. According to a press release, “The sculpture is designed to appear as an enormous geode with modules cast of green glass and featuring programmable LED lights which subtly pulse at dusk. Geode is meant to evoke a sense of wonderment and encourages the viewer to examine his or her relationship with nature and geologic time.” The public dedication will also feature activities for children such as fossil rubbings and education about geodes courtesy of the Austin Gem and Mineral Society. The ceremony will take place from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m., near the intersection of James Wheat and Robert Browning streets.

City Council Member Leslie Pool is holding a District 7 Town Hall meeting on Sept. 19. The forum will give constituents a chance to get updates on the budget and other recent Council actions, according to a press release. That release also explains that “representatives from the University of Texas Dell Medical School and the UT Office of Sustainability, Bike Austin, Cap Metro, Austin Fire Department, and other City departments will be in attendance. Council Member Pool will also spend a portion of the Town Hall responding to questions from attendees.” The event will take place from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Northwest Recreation Center.

According to a statement from the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, “Due to scheduling conflicts, the partnership announcement between the Austin Parks and Recreation Department and the Barton Springs Conservancy that was to be held on Wednesday, September 16th, has been postponed. A new date is yet to be determined, but will be announced as soon as one is chosen.” Rearrange your schedule as needed.

Austin’s Art in Public Places program is looking for an artist to create a “permanent exterior public artwork” for the University Hills Branch Library. According to the city’s website, “Professional visual artists who live and work in the Austin metropolitan area, including Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Caldwell, and Hays counties, are eligible to apply. The total budget for this project is $55,000. The application deadline is Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. This commission coincides with renovations at the library, including a parking lot expansion, sidewalk improvements and landscape enhancements. The final artwork will be located at an exterior location near the front entrance. It is expected that the selected artist will “engage with the local community to develop the design of the artwork.” Information and applications are available online here.

This upcoming Saturday, Sept. 19, is the 10th annual “Take a Loved One for a Checkup Day.” The day is a national initiative that encourages people to see health professionals. This year, the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services’ African American Quality of Life Unit is offering free health screenings that include blood sugar, blood pressure, pregnancy testing, eye exams, flu shots and HIV testing. The event also includes a job fair at the Delcro Activity Center, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. For more information on Take a Loved One for a Checkup Day, call Sam Price at 512-784-1670 or Connie Gonzales at 512-972-5654.