City of Austin Council Message Board

Colleagues, Reporting back on two items: 1) The Working Group has asked staff to proceed with the Organics By Gosh draft contract for our June 22 agenda. You’ll recall that in March the Council indefinitely postponed this contract for curbside compost processing to allow a newly created Working Grou...

CM Houston, thanks for sharing the email message from Bob Ward. I am very interested in hearing more about the history of the Plaza Saltillo site, especially as it relates to an earlier African-American neighborhood, Masontown. I would welcome Endeavor and Capital Metro addressing the issue at their...

Greg, thanks for posting. I plan to attend.

Leslie

MPT, thanks - I may be able to attend. List me as tentative.

Leslie

Colleagues, here is an accounting of preferences indicated earlier today for committee participation. CM Alter: Housing & Planning; Mobility CM Garza: Health & Human Services; Mobility CM Kitchen: Health & Human Services, Housing & Planning; Mobility CM Pool: Audit & Finance; Hou...

Kathie, this sounds like a good way to approach the need for all of us to be up-to-speed on the various initiatives underway downtown.

Thanks for organizing.

Leslie

CM Alter, I will support your request for postponement. Having been in similar shoes in the past, and knowing how much can be accomplished during a postponement, I fully support your request. I suggest this be announced at tomorrow's work session, too, to signal the postponement as early as possible...

Mayor, I would like to continue my service as co-chair, Balcones Canyonlands Coordinating Committee, and trustee, City of Austin Employees Retirement System. I will step aside from the Hate Crimes Task Force to allow another CM to pick up that assignment. Thanks.

Leslie

Mayor, thank you! I expect our discussion of committees will be real fruitful Thursday. To move us forward on this item, and after we have worked through our thoughts about committees, I will propose that we independently list committees or projects we each want to be involved with and where we want...

Mayor, thanks for the info on our upcoming meetings. I look forward to the discussion of CodeNEXT with staff, consultants and CAG members next Wednesday, and support your adding the City Manager search briefing to our first work session on January 24. Welcome back from your Africa trip (hope you saw...

Thank you, CM Houston, for these ideas. I note that, before Travis County's proposal to acquire the old federal courthouse was approved recently, the feds considered applications from homeless organizations; the federal government has prioritized these housing needs when federal properties come avai...

all, I heard informally that two Special Called meetings are on tap for next Wednesday (at 4) and Thursday (at 4.30) at City Hall. Anyone else have information to share? And any agenda info - even in draft form! - for the Special Calleds and our retreat next week would be appreciated! I'd like to kn...

Mayor, thanks for the additional impetus to move the Music and Creative Ecosystem Omnibus forward. The performing and creative arts are important to Austin's character. I continue to support this effort, and agree that tangible commitment is key. I would like to add my name as a co-sponsor to bring ...

Colleagues, MPT Tovo and CMs Kitchen, Garza, Houston and I would like to start a discussion about a major overhaul of the committee system. While some things about the system have worked, others haven't. We think a discussion about combining and eliminating some committees and changing the membershi...

Colleagues, I wanted to share with you documents pertaining to the mediated agreement between the neighbors and the developer; so far I have summaries from both parties and they're provided here, below. I will post the mediated agreement as soon as I get it. These documents differ only in their intr...

Mayor, thanks for this update. Regarding the December 5 or 6 date for the public hearing and second reading of the Grove PUD, I understand that the lead spokesman for the neighbors will be out of town on business December 6 and 7. It would be helpful if the date for this special-called meeting could...

MPT Tovo, thanks for your leadership on the parks lighting issue. I support this initiative and will be looking closely at vacancies in Austin Energy where I hope to identify revenue that we can free up to be added to AE's Community Benefit Charge. Instead of assigning this cost to the General Fund,...

Recently, the coalition of neighbors who joined together in 2012 to advocate for a superior mixed-used development on the state-owned property at Bull Creek Road submitted their recommendations for the current proposal at the Grove. I am adding their document at this link http://tinyurl.com/hhkxvzc ...

I’d like to welcome the new General Manager of Austin Energy Jackie Sargent back to Austin. Looking forward to meeting her and working on the various issues ahead. Since Ms Sargent is coming to Austin in the middle of a rate case and us having just had the new Navigant report on feasibility of build...

The Mayor and I are compiling a list of community members from the categories listed below, and will select 5-7 names for the Austin Energy General Manager Community Panel. 1. This panel will participate in the round-robin interview staff had scheduled for Tuesday, May 3. Applicants will individuall...

Colleagues, here is a draft proposal to create a citizens panel to provide community input on the important decision of who will be the next General Manager for Austin Energy. The Mayor will discuss this idea with City Manager and report back on the outcomes of the discussion. ...... Create a Citize...

Colleagues, I am sharing a letter I sent to City Manager Ott late last week with a number of questions about transportation issues at the proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) known as “The Grove at Shoal Creek.” As you know, our city staff has been in the process of reviewing this proposal, and I...

My thanks to MPT Tovo and the Mayor for following up with this proposal. I agree we'll need the day and a half recommended; a full day Friday and half-day Saturday (hard stop at noon or 1 p.m., depending on start time) should work UNLESS our Council meeting ends after 10 p.m. the night before .... i...

All, as promised at our work session this morning, I've compiled the changes that CM Kitchen and the Mayor requested be made to the campaign finance forms. They are: - change term “Independent Expenditure” to “Direct Campaign Expenditure” (aligns terminology with reference in State law) - require a ...

sorry - wrong date! I will report with the proper meeting date ....