The Austin Urban Forestry Program says it is negotiating with the organizer of January’s Cyclocross event at Zilker Park to ensure USA Cycling bears the cost of restoring 57 trees damaged during the races. At the first meeting of the Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee, Chair Leslie Pool emphasized the importance of finalizing that agreement soon so repairs could get underway before the summer months, with the season’s increased influx of people to city parkland. “It’s not just the money and it’s not just the willingness to make the repairs, but it’s how quickly they’re done,” she said.

City Council is seeking applications for two vacancies on the five-member Municipal Civil Service Commission, created by an amendment to the City Charter approved by Austin voters in November 2012. The commission helped establish personnel rules in 2013 and sits as the ruling body on appeals of disciplinary actions by certain City of Austin employees. The time commitment for volunteer commissioners is about 20-30 hours a month. When selected by Council, these two commissioners will serve three-year terms. Applications may be submitted online. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. April 22.

According to Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis, the utility needs to add more than $165 million to its strategic reserves in order to meet the standards and policies set by City Council for the utility. Of three strategic reserve funds, only one, the Emergency Reserve, is on target. That fund contains about $90.74 million. On the other hand, the Strategic Reserve Contingency Fund, used for unanticipated events that reduce revenue or unexpected costs, has only about $16.5 million. According to city policy, it should have $90 million. The final reserve fund, which is used to defer or minimize future rate increases, build new generating capacity or balance power costs, is unfunded at the moment, according to Weis’ memo. That fund should have more than $126.3 million. Weis sent the memo Tuesday to allow time for Council to study the numbers and the brief description of the 21 different policies related to reserves, as well as other financial considerations. Council will meet as the Austin Energy Committee at 9 a.m. Thursday, before the 11 a.m. Council meeting.

Mayor Steve Adler opened Tuesday’s City Council work session by commenting on ways that Council and staff could shorten those meetings, which often spill over into the afternoon. “We have a lot of items that have been pulled from the agenda today. We also have some folks that are talking — longingly — about the prior Council process of having a hard stop to these meetings,” he said. “We haven’t been doing that thus far, as people get acclimated. One thing to think about as we move forward with respect to these work sessions are ways that we might be able to save time at these meetings.” Adler noted the success of the online Q-and-A reports in which staff answers Council questions on pending agenda items, and he suggested that staff could expand the process to include preliminary agenda items. He also said staff could enhance the format for backup material, and that Council could consider scheduling publicly noticed meetings that don’t require a quorum and would not involve action — and therefore Council members could send their aides to be briefed by staff and relay questions and answers. Adler concluded with a reminder to his colleagues that, with a motion, the majority of Council can end a meeting and say, “We’ve had enough work session for the day.”

The city announced a long-anticipated step forward Tuesday for the Planning and Development Review Department. As part of a pilot program, the department will now accept online payments for plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits and re-inspection fees. For now, the program (named “Austin Build + Connect,” or ABC) is open to a small group of contractors in a pilot phase. The site will become available to the public March 30. Though eventually an ABC website will replace the existing permitting and public search website, for now the service will be available through the current permitting website and will use customers’ current credentials.

Two Travis County Commissioners will sit on a special committee created by Austin’s City Council to examine issues regarding affordability in Central Texas. During Tuesday’s Commissioners Court voting session, Brigid Shea and Margaret Gómez were unanimously selected by their colleagues to represent the county on the Regional Affordability Committee. The new 10-1 Council voted during its first meeting in January to create the committee in order to “provide expanded opportunity for transparency, public input and collaboration between taxing jurisdictions to improve how we serve our community,” according to Council Member Delia Garza. Garza will be joined by Council Members Ann Kitchen and Ellen Troxclair as the city’s representatives on the committee. Other local jurisdictions invited to participate include Williamson County, Capital Metro, Central Health, Austin Community College and five school districts including Austin, Del Valle, Pflugerville, Round Rock and Leander. The committee’s first official meeting is scheduled for April 20.

Using his own salary to fund the positions, Mayor Steve Adler has hired two temporary employees as policy advisers. Brandi Clark Burton and Kazique Prince had been working as volunteers for the mayor and officially became city employees last week. City spokesman Bryce Bencivengo said they each will be earning $31.25 per hour, which is $65,000 a year. Burton is known for her expertise in environmental matters, and Prince has a background in education and diversity. Both had been volunteering in the mayor’s office for several weeks. Adler now has a total of seven employees. Two additional employees are on loan from city management: Sara Hartley, chief of staff for the Public Works Department, and Sly Majid, chief service officer for the city. Adler had wanted a 24-member staff — or more — but that idea proved highly unpopular with his colleagues. The City Council Audit and Finance Committee will be discussing options for providing additional staff for Council offices at its meeting Wednesday.

City Council Member Greg Casar is sponsoring an item on the March 26 Council agenda to formalize the city’s support for HB 594 and SB 270. The bills, filed by state Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin) and state Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin), would direct the Texas Department of Transportation to provide reduced tolls for large trucks along the state-owned portions of State Highway 130 in an effort to divert traffic from I-35 through Austin. Casar said TxDOT studies have shown that previous toll discounts have increased truck traffic on SH 130 by as much as 45 percent. In 2014, I-35 in Travis County was ranked as the second-most congested roadway in the state and the most congested roadway for truck traffic in Texas. Casar’s resolution is co-sponsored by Mayor Steve Adler and Council Members Leslie Pool, Ann Kitchen and Sabino “Pio” Renteria.

City Council has adopted new interim development regulations for the South Lamar area to address drainage issues associated with infill development. The South Lamar neighborhood has experienced flooding due to recent increases in residential development, coupled with undersized, collapsed or nonexistent stormwater infrastructure. City officials say the ordinance, adopted in December 2014, will ensure greater compliance with state law and protect the health, safety and welfare of South Lamar residents by limiting development that would further overburden existing stormwater infrastructure. The requirements of the South Lamar Neighborhood Mitigation Plan apply to the area bounded by Oltorf Street to the north, the Union Pacific railroad to the east, U.S. 290/Ben White Boulevard to the south and South Lamar/Manchaca roads to the west. The regulations will remain in effect until more permanent solutions are put in place. Click here for more information.

The Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Office is currently developing its annual Action Plan, which outlines community needs, resources and priorities of federal funding provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Part of that process includes participation and input from Austin residents. The Needs Assessment Period will take place through April 24. This strategic planning document is Austin’s guide to utilizing limited resources to address the most urgent needs of the community. There will be multiple opportunities for public input, including public hearings before the Community Development Commission and the Austin City Council. The Community Development Commission meets at 6:30 p.m. April 14 at Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road. Council will hold its public hearing April 16 in Council Chambers at City Hall. Public comments may also be submitted by April 24 to NHCD@austintexas.gov or by postal mail addressed to: NHCD, Attn: Action Plan, P.O. Box 1088, Austin, Texas 78767. Click here for more information.

City Council Member Greg Casar, who seems unable to rid himself of his runoff opponent, Laura Pressley, announced last week that former Mayor Lee Cooke would be his campaign treasurer for a special officeholder account. As he explained to publisher Michael Kanin on the Monitor’s radio show, Pressley is currently suing him in an election contest. The city charter allows Casar to solicit and accept contributions to pay his fees for the election contest. Cooke served on the Austin City Council as a member from 1977 to 1979. He was president of the Austin Chamber of Commerce from 1983 to 1987. He defeated Mayor Frank Cooksey in a runoff in 1988. It may seem as if someone with Cooke’s background might not want to help a Council member with a Workers Defense Project background like Casar. But Casar described Cooke as “one of the most common-sense guys I’ve ever met,” and therefore perfect as his campaign treasurer.

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