The Water and Wastewater Commission elected its first set of officers, committee members and appointees Wednesday at its first meeting since transitioning to the new 10-1 system of City Council representation. Commissioner William Moriarty has taken over as chair, and Commissioner Chien Lee is now vice chair. Moriarty appointed Commissioner Mickey Fishbeck Maia as chair of the commission’s Budget Committee, which also consists of commissioners Travis Michel, Susan Turrieta and Christianne Castleberry. In addition, Moriarty named Commissioner Annie Kellough as the commission’s appointee to the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan Citizen Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the BCCP Coordinating Committee and meets quarterly.

Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras was elected June 26 as a regional vice president of the International City/County Management Association. Lumbreras will serve on the ICMA board for three years, starting this September. In a statement to the press, City Manager Marc Ott explained the significance of the honor, saying, “Serving as a member of the ICMA Executive Board is one of the highest professional honors that a member of local government can receive, and it represents a tremendous expression of confidence in Bert’s leadership and commitment to public service.”

The city of Austin is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the Firefighters’, Police Officers’ and Emergency Medical Services Personnel’s Civil Service Commission. The voluntary three-member commission is in charge of regulating “promotion, suspension and termination of firefighters, police officers and EMS personnel,” according to the city’s announcement about the vacancy. The commission also administers exams used in hiring and promotion of personnel. Commissioners make a time commitment of one to three hours a month. Anyone interested in the position can apply online. Applicants may also direct questions to Deena Estrada, the boards and commissions coordinator, at 512-974-2497 or deena.estrada@austintexas.gov. The application period ends Aug. 8, 2015.

Those of us in the throes of a slow July were eagerly anticipating the release of the report on the Zucker Report, which had been delayed until July 7. The wait, however, will last just a little longer. Planning and Zoning Department Director Greg Guernsey and Development Services Department Acting Director J. Rodney Gonzales sent a memo to City Council and Mayor Steve Adler on Wednesday explaining that the Action Plan will be released Friday, July 10, instead. According to the memo, the plan is being updated to “include items recommended for funding and included in the proposed Fiscal Year 2015-16 Budget.”

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Michael Williams announced Tuesday there will be 19 new T-STEM Academies statewide in the 2015-2016 school year. In the Austin Independent School District, Anderson High School’s Applied Technology Center has received one of the 19 designations. The Anderson Applied Technology Center was a joint project among AISD, the Boys Scouts of America and a community donor. AISD officials broke ground for the center’s building in fall 2014. AISD spokesperson Jacob Barrett said the district plans to open the center in October 2015. T-STEM academies are rigorous secondary schools focusing on improving instruction and academic performance in science- and mathematics-related subjects, with a goal of increasing the number of students who study and enter STEM careers. Designated T-STEM campuses serve students in grades 6-12 or 9-12. With the addition of these newly designated schools, Texas is now home to 104 T-STEM Academies across the state.

The Zoning and Platting Commission elected a new set of officers Tuesday at its first meeting under City Council’s new 10-1 system of representation. Former Parliamentarian Gabriel Rojas has taken over as chair, Commissioner Jackie Goodman is now vice chair and new commissioners Louisa Brinsmade and Ann Denkler have been elected as secretary and parliamentarian, respectively. Rojas took the opportunity to honor former Chair Betty Baker, who was the first chair of the commission when it formed in 2001 and retired in May. “I appreciate all her teachings and everything she’s done for this commission,” Rojas said. “I’ll try and fill those shoes. I probably will never be able to, even though her feet are smaller than mine.”

City Council Member Leslie Pool made clear this week her desire to provide video access to Land Development Code Advisory Group meetings in the future and, when there isn’t a conflict with other meetings, to broadcast the meetings live. In a post on the City Council Message Board, District 7 Chief of Staff Amy Smith wrote that “audio clips of meetings do not provide the level of transparency that is expected of such a high-profile city issue.”

On Tuesday, the Zoning and Platting Commission postponed a rezoning request to Sept. 15 for the proposed Austin Oaks Planned Unit Development at the southwest corner of MoPac Expressway and Spicewood Springs Road. Jerry Rusthoven of the Planning and Zoning Department said that staff has not yet developed a recommendation on the request, noting that there are still density, traffic and environmental issues to consider. “Frankly, we are continuing our discussions with the applicant,” said Rusthoven. Two public speakers requested that ZAP not postpone the case but rather deny the applicant’s request. “The neighborhood seems to be overwhelmingly against the PUD,” said Tim Hill, who lives near the proposed development. “I fear that if we wait until September … we won’t have the enthusiasm to follow up.” Rusthoven pointed out that city code requires the Environmental Board to make a recommendation before ZAP can do so, and that has not happened. Attorney Stephen Drenner of the agent Drenner Group said that he intends to stick to the Sept. 15 public hearing and not request a postponement.

There was good news from the Austin Animal Center yesterday. The city’s Animal Services Office reported that the recent Fourth of July weekend saw a “major drop” in intakes of lost and stray pets when compared to last year. In fact, intakes were down about 25 percent, from more than 100 to about 80. In a statement, Chief Animal Services Officer Tawny Hammond said, “For more than four years we have been aggressively reminding and asking pet owners to properly tag and microchip their pets. … We offer free tags and microchips to any pet owner in Travis County as well as properly tagging adopted pets from our shelter. … This is just one of the programs that seems to be successfully working for our community to keep pets safe.” In addition to microchipping, city staff attributes the drop in lost pets to public service announcements, social media campaigns, the lost pet Twitter feed and the shelter’s Found Pet Map.

As reported by the Austin Business Journal yesterday, Austin Music Hall will soon be no more. According to the article, the music venue will be demolished to make way for a 28-story office building by Austin’s Cielo Property Group and Dallas-based Tier REIT. Demolition of the music hall will begin in January, and the project is expected to be completed in 2017. Reaction on social media was swift and reflected shock – the venue was built in 1995 and underwent a costly, multimillion-dollar renovation that was completed in 2007.

ACC Highland is getting its first multifamily development. Yesterday, RedLeaf Properties and Greystar Real Estate Management announced plans for a new mixed-use community on the site of the former mall. According to a statement about the project, the development – designed by the Michael Hsu Office of Architecture – will be four and five stories and feature “approximately 300 units, of which 30 will be reserved as income-qualifying affordable units. Approximately 5,000 square feet of retail for locally oriented businesses will wrap a parking garage that will be hidden from view.” The community will replace a surface parking lot that served the former shopping mall. RedLeaf and Greystar anticipate a groundbreaking this fall, with the first apartments scheduled to be completed in 2017.

City of Austin principal planner Alan Holt has been awarded the John V. Nyfeler Community Service Award by the Austin chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The award recognizes the recipient’s commitment to community service and positive impacts on urban, environmental or neighborhood issues. According to a city press release about this year’s award, “Holt, who works in the Planning and Zoning Department’s Urban Design Division, has spent the last few years leading the South Central Waterfront Initiative working with community stakeholders on a plan to guide public and private development on 100 acres of prime property near Lady Bird Lake’s southern shore.” More information about this award and other AIA honors can be found here.