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Proposed budget includes small changes at Austin Energy, Austin Resource Recovery
Citing Austin Energy’s critically low levels of cash reserves, the utility’s financial planners are proposing that it raise base rates by 2 percent, which will cost the typical residential customer about $1.04 per month, Budget Officer Kerri Lang told City Council at Tuesday’s budget meeting. Lang said...
Austin just had its hottest July ever. Could this summer break an all-time record?
It’s now official: This July was the hottest ever recorded for the Austin area – and the city’s second-hottest month ever, behind August 2011. And this heat is probably not done breaking records. With August still ahead, there’s a chance this could become the hottest summer in Austin’s recorded history.
Insurance costs listed among music venues’ biggest challenges at city summit
The rising cost of liability insurance has become a substantial pain point for music venues in Austin, with attendees of the city’s recent music venue summit pointing to six-figure yearly premiums as one of their most substantial costs. The general increase in insurance coverage – which nationally was forecast...
Austin Energy assisting more customers with utility bills
Austin Energy has exceeded its initial target for enrolling new customers in the utility’s Customer Assistance Program, according to Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn. Last week, Kahn sent a memo to Mayor Kirk Watson and City Council detailing the utility’s progress in signing up customers for assistance paying utility bills, as well as in weatherization programs. The Customer Assistance Program also offers emergency financial assistance for people who are medically vulnerable and low-income customers who need help managing their debt to the utility.
City manager delays controversial new telework policy
Interim City Manager Jesús Garza is delaying implementation of a controversial new telework policy that will require most city employees to work in the office at least three days per week. In a July 19 email, interim Human Resources Director Rebecca Kennedy announced the policy’s start will be delayed...
Urban Land Institute offers a glimpse at plans for UT’s many real estate holdings in Austin
From the development of the life sciences Innovation District to land eyed for possible use by federally funded semiconductor research and manufacturing, the land holdings of the University of Texas continue to play a huge role in the development efforts of Austin, both public and private. Representatives from the area’s...
With missing link in place, Violet Crown now offers 11 miles of uninterrupted trail
A mile-long missing link in the Violet Crown Trail is now complete and open to the public. This new segment in Sunset Valley guides trailblazers from the end of Home Depot Boulevard, through a wooded area, under MoPac Expressway and up to the Garza Ranch development close to the Arbor Trails Shopping Center.
Planning Commission approves amendment to allow more music venues, creative spaces
The Planning Commission has approved an amendment to the city’s building code that could clear the way for more music venues and creative spaces throughout the city. At its July 25 meeting, the commission unanimously approved the amendment, which was initiated by a pair of City Council votes last year that sought to add specific definitions for music venues, theaters, art studios and other creative spaces to the building code. The goal was to make those uses more prevalent outside of the downtown core where they are generally allowed by right, but real estate costs make it difficult for those uses to remain.
Airport hotel sees increased revenue, many staff vacancies
The Hilton hotel at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has experienced better-than-expected recovery since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and repaid the loan it received from the airport in 2021. Members of the City Council Audit and Finance Committee heard the news from Rajeev Thomas and Tracy Thompson at the...
Cap Metro board approves agreement with city for reimbursement of McKalla Station capital costs
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors last week approved a resolution authorizing an interlocal agreement with the Austin Transit Partnership for the reimbursement of capital costs for the McKalla Station MetroRail project. The board approved the resolution at its July 24 meeting, authorizing Capital Metro President and CEO...
City, TxDOT still on board to bridge eastern and western parts of downtown over I-35
As the Texas Department of Transportation readies for the green light to expand Interstate 35, city staff hopes to leverage the massive infrastructure project to give downtown Austin a once-in-a-lifetime face lift. Both TxDOT and Austin’s Transportation & Public Works Department visited the Downtown Commission last week for an update...
Aquifer district expecting unprecedented drought declaration
The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District says that flow from Barton Springs is near the level that would require the district to declare it has reached Stage IV Exceptional Drought. As the district reports, “crossing into Stage IV drought status would result in significant pumping restrictions and permanent reclassification for certain District permittees.”
Bouldin Creek residents discourage development plans for hotels peering over their homes
Hotels could be coming to the Bouldin Creek neighborhood after the Planning Commission approved an extension for a site plan at Mattie’s at Green Pastures restaurant. The proposed development would bring two hotels with about 100 rooms and renovations to the historically significant home previously owned by Henry and Martha “Mattie” Faulk, whose daughter Mary eventually took ownership and established a restaurant.
Travis County still slated to spend millions in 2021 ARPA funding
Travis County has until the end of 2026 to spend $146 million of federal funding it received two years ago, according to the Planning and Budget Office. On Tuesday, Dashiell Daniels with the county’s Planning and Budget Office told the Commissioners Court about the state of expenditures of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund – an almost $250 million allotment Travis County received in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.
Board of Adjustment fee assistance program will launch Oct. 1
A long-awaited assistance program granting low-income homeowners waivers when seeking zoning variances will launch Oct. 1. The yearlong Board of Adjustment Applicant Assistant Program pilot will fund up to nine waivers – or $10,000 – for eligible applicants, according to a July 20 memo from Development Services Department Director José Roig to City Council.
Audit finds inaccurate data on city portal
Unreliable data is a widespread problem for the city of Austin, according to an audit performed by the Office of the City Auditor. Francis Reilly, the auditor in charge, explained some of the city’s data problems to the City Council Audit & Finance Committee on Tuesday. Most recent audits...
Disability commission pushes city to pick up pace of sidewalk improvements
Improved access to public transit and bike-share programs – possibly including free service for all residents – is among the policy moves the Transportation and Public Works Department intends to ask City Council to consider later this year. During a presentation last week to the Mayor’s Committee for...
A lot of that green sludge in Lady Bird Lake is actually a sign of a healthy waterway
If you’ve been near Austin’s Lady Bird Lake lately, you might have noticed a little less water is visible. Parts of the lake, especially along the shores and inlets, are covered in mats of green vegetation. It can look goopy, maybe even dangerous, given the presence of toxic blue-green algae in local waterways.
Langmore appointed to Austin Transit Partnership board of directors
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors last week voted to appoint John Langmore to serve as the community expert director of finance on the Austin Transit Partnership’s board of directors. The Austin Transit Partnership is the entity tasked with implementing Project Connect. The nominating committee consisted of...
Council gives final OK to Borden Dairy tract rezoning
City Council last week gave final approval for rezoning of the former Borden Dairy site in the Govalle neighborhood, allowing for its reconfiguration from an industrial site to a major mixed-use development. The vote was 8-1, with Council Member Alison Alter opposed. District 3 Council Member José Velásquez, who represents...
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