City of Austin Council Message Board

Dear colleagues, I’ve received a request from customer advocates that we take up the speakers for Item 168 (the Texas Gas Service rates public hearing) right after the consent agenda. I’ll be participating virtually tomorrow and so I wanted to pass along that request for consideration. Best, Alison

I, too, am a former lifeguard and I want to thank our budget staff for addressing our concerns and finding a way to keep our pool entry fees steady.

Thanks,
Alison Alter

CM Ryan Alter, For your item 24 related to a land acquisition fund, I'd like to confirm that my interpretation is correct: that land acquisition to further the Food Plan's goals is eligible under this current language. If so, I'd like to be included as a co-sponsor. Thank you for your work on this i...

MPT Pool,
Thank you for bringing this pilot forward. It is much needed and addressing increasing demand for ambulances at the Domain is important for reducing response times far beyond that area. I would like to be added as a co-sponsor for your amendment.

Thank you,
Alison Alter

Dear Colleagues, The budget amendments I have submitted for consideration include: 1. PARD MAINTENANCE: Co-leading on a budget amendment with Council Member Ellis to add staff to the Parks Department for ongoing maintenance needs so our beloved parks and bond investments have a standard of service a...

Mayor Watson, I understand that you are currently in the process of publishing another version of this resolution. In addition to the plans that you have cited in your draft Version 2 above, I’d like to see if you are amenable to including the below plans, as well: -the forthcoming Austin-Travis Cou...

Council Member Harper-Madison, I support the direction your IFC (item 91) is heading to improve opportunities for community benefits in a PDA. I would like to ask if you would include childcare in bullet 4 as a type of affordable space to be encouraged. A revised bullet 4 (line 51) could read '4. Af...

Dear colleagues, Tomorrow I will offer an amendment to Item #171, which would pull an item off the consent agenda if six or more speakers have signed-up to speak about the item. You may review the amendment here: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/BC-202405150153058.pdf. I was ill and ...

Thank you Mayor Watson and your staff for moving quickly to place this important item on our agenda. I am pleased to be a co-sponsor and also want to thank our finance staff for regularly alerting us to the deadline. This action is an important piece of our efforts to allow our seniors to age in pla...

Mayor, I appreciate the update for the 16th agenda. For the 14th work session, I would request that we please plan to take up the LDC amendments first before the other briefings. That way we can cover the time sensitive material first.

Regards,
Alison Alter

On behalf of our City of Austin CAMPO delegation and in response to City Council Resolution #20231019-045, below please find a motion we will offer for our May 13 CAMPO agenda item 8, Discussion and Take Appropriate Action on Draft 2025-2028 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and Amendment to ...

Kirk, thank you for the outline above. I would like to ensure that members of the public are aware that the Thursday, August 1st budget hearing that begins at 3 p.m. will be able to accommodate speakers who intend to testify after their workday concludes. In advance of the start of the budget season...

Mayor, thank you for the update on the schedule. I would like to request that we express our votes - no, abstain, and yes - on consent after we hear our colleagues' remarks. That way we have the benefit of hearing our colleagues' concerns and thoughts (positive or negative) when we cast our votes. R...

CM Qadri, thank you for your hard work on the issues addressed in your resolution. Although I do not intend to cosponsor the item, I wanted to make clear that I intend to vote in favor of your resolution tomorrow. Your item advances a number of important priorities that I believe are important, incl...

Thank you, Council Member Harper-Madison, for your work on this item. I believe this type of collaboration and area planning effort is valuable and needed. Thank you for the invitation, I would like to be included as a co-sponsor.

Regards,
Alison Alter

Colleagues, I’d like to request item 55 (Zoning case C14-2023-0138) be postponed tomorrow. Item 55 is a zoning case in my district, but I will need to be off the dais tomorrow afternoon when the zoning agenda is taken up. I have requested that the case be postponed to the April 18th agenda. I’ve con...

Dear Council Member Kelly, Thank you for the invitation to co-sponsor your resolution and for shedding light on this important issue. I would like to call your attention to the 2024 Anti-Human Trafficking Summit happening on Thursday, March 21st. This summit is jointly organized by Children at Risk,...

Dear Council Member Ryan Alter, My thanks to you and your co-sponsors for the work on this resolution. I believe your effort aligns well with the 2019 resolution I authored which declared a climate emergency and called for immediate and coordinated mobilization by the City to address the causes and ...

Colleagues, Items 11-21 on our agenda relate to resolutions of support for eleven proposed deeply affordable housing development applications in the City of Austin. If approved, the Council resolutions would be submitted with each development’s 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application to...

Dear Colleagues, This afternoon, the five of us met with Interim City Manager Jesús Garza to discuss the proposed hiring of Art Acevedo for the newly created role of Interim Assistant City Manager overseeing APD. We expressed serious concerns with Mr. Acevedo’s record at the Austin Police Department...

Dear Colleagues, On Tuesday, the City of Austin will offer a public apology to the survivor plaintiffs in the class action lawsuits that City Council voted unanimously to settle two years ago. The apology will take place at 2 PM at City Hall and I want to encourage my colleagues to join me in attend...

Dear Colleagues, Below is an amendment that I intend to offer tomorrow related to our short-term rental zoning regulations. This amendment keeps the limits consistent with today’s rules. As posted, the proposed ordinance would expand short-term rentals beyond our existing limits, and allow 100% of a...

My thoughts are with the families and colleagues of the two officers who were tragically shot in the line of service this morning, and I am hoping for a full recovery for the officer still in surgery. I am deeply grateful for their courage and their service to our community. Thank you Mayor for keep...

Dear Colleagues, This Saturday we will experience a partial eclipse in the Austin area. It is important to plan for viewing an eclipse safely. You can find some good safety resources here -https://outreach.as.utexas.edu/eclipse/resources.html and an invitation to a viewing party here - https://outre...

Colleagues, Before we adopt our 2024 meeting calendar tomorrow, I'd like to suggest we consider adding back a budget work session on July 30th. I believe it would be much easier for us to cancel this later if it becomes unnecessary, but having that additional time set aside to discuss and collaborat...