CITY & COUNTY
News from Austin, Dripping Springs & Hays & Travis counties
Austin City Council will meet July 18-19 at 9 a.m. and July 20 and 26 at 10 a.m. 301 W. Second St., Austin www.austintexas.gov Dripping Springs City Council will meet July 18 at 6 p.m. 511 Mercer St., Dripping Springs, www.cityofdrippingsprings.com Travis County Commissioners Court will meet June 29 and July 13 and 18 at 9 a.m. 700 Lavaca St., Austin www.traviscountytx.gov/ commissioners-court MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS AUSTIN All city libraries and recreation centers will now participate in the Safe Place hate crime response program following a council vote May 18. The move comes after a 2021 report found incidents of bias crimes are common in the LGBTQ community and may be severely underreported. Sta at relevant city facilities will soon be trained on procedures if hate crime victims seek assistance. AUSTIN City Council on June 8 voted to reboot the Austin Police Department’s vehicle- mounted license plate reader data collection program. The program will cost $114,000 in its rst year and could later be extended by city o cials. The technology will roll out with new guardrail policies in place, including limits on data sharing and retention. TRAVIS COUNTY A pilot program to divert people with mental illness accused of nonviolent crimes away from jail was unveiled June 5 as local leaders seek to launch a permanent mental health diversion center. The $6 million pilot was announced alongside a $2 million data sharing plan among Austin police, the Travis County Sheri ’s O ce, medical entities and homelessness organizations to ag those with mental illness histories. HAYS COUNTY On June 6, county commissioners approved a $25,000 contract with Deblin Health Concepts & Associates to provide mental health services for adults participating in the Hays County Mental Health Court Program. Services will include case management, psychiatry, counseling and nursing, and medication management. DRIPPING SPRINGS The city will take over the local tourism bureau following City Council’s approval of a transfer agreement June 6. The Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau is a nonpro t organization, and its board of directors will vote to dissolve the entity by Dec. 31 and hand over its assets to the city.
Unhoused population grows, city shoring up shelter AUSTIN The local unhoused popula- tion is growing, spreading out from the city center and living in more secluded areas, an e ect observers linked to the city’s 2-year-old ban on public camp- ing. The Ending Community Home- lessness Coalition, a nonpro t leading regional homelessness strategy, in BY KATY MCAFEE & BEN THOMPSON FOCUSING IN The Jan. 28 count served as a snapshot of the unhoused population on any given night. of homeless individuals were Black, despite making up 7.25% of Austin’s total population. 33% years old was the most common age group. 35 44 of people counted were veterans. 9.5% of people were counted in parks and other green space—up from 5.2% in 2020. 13.6%
May shared new insights about people experiencing homelessness around Austin based on a Jan. 28 point-in- time count—the rst in-person survey since the COVID-19 pandemic. Key ndings: The recent count found 2,374 homeless individuals in Austin and Travis County, including 1,266 unsheltered. However, ECHO repre- sentatives said those totals may be undercounted. Separate ECHO data suggests more than 4,600 people are
SOURCE: ENDING COMMUNITY HOMELESSNESS COALITION COMMUNITY IMPACT
now living unsheltered out more than 5,455 total. Shelter strategy: City o cials in May announced a renewed push to build up local shelter capacity by: • Planning to open a temporary shelter space at the Austin Conven- tion Center Marshalling Yard in East Austin, adding up to 300 beds
• Doubling capacity at the existing Northbridge and Southbridge shelters o I-35, adding 130 beds • Leasing The Salvation Army’s downtown shelter—following recent pushback over its permanent closure plans—and linking its operations with the adjacent Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, maintaining 150 beds KEY SHAKEUPS O cials said the changes target improved e ciency and services. Bob Kahn will serve as Austin Energy’s next general manager. Austin Resource Recovery Director Ken Snipes now leads the city’s emergency management o ce. Michele Middlebrook-Gonzalez is Austin’s new chief strategic communications and external relations o cer.
Civic leadership changes continue
BY BEN THOMPSON
AUSTIN Interim City Manager Jesús Garza in June shared the latest in a series of high-pro le leadership changes since he took the helm at City Hall in February. “I am con dent the changes announced today will strengthen the city of Austin as we continu- ally work to improve the services we provide to our residents,” he said in a June 9 statement.
Dozens of Austin employees rally at City Hall on June 1. (Katy McAfee/Community Impact)
Employees rally against in-person work policy
David Gray , assistant director at the Economic Development Department, is on special assignment reviewing homeless programs, policies and funding.
BY KATY MCAFEE
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTINCOMMUNITY IMPACT
AUSTIN Dozens of city sta ers gath- ered June 1 to protest a new in-person work policy announced by interim City Manager Jesús Garza in May. City executives started working at the o ce ve days a week in June. Other employees will be required to be in the o ce three days a week starting Oct. 1. Employees said the change could a ect productivity and tra c congestion—espe- cially with more than 50% of sta ers estimated to be living outside city limits, according to a representative with a labor union for city employees. Austin’s move is a public example of how one of the area’s largest employers is handling telework policy following pandemic o ce closures.
City ends South Terminal dispute for $88M
BY ELLE BENT
terminal, which began in 2016. LoneStar rejected that o er and later sued after Austin launched an eminent domain lawsuit. On Feb. 6, a Texas probate court ordered the city to pay LoneStar $90 million. ABIA will take over the terminal this fall, and it will operate until its removal in 2025, according to the airport. Overall, the dispute also cost Austin $3.5 million in legal fees.
AUSTIN City Council voted to settle two lawsuits with the oper- ator of Austin Bergstrom-Interna- tional Airport’s South Terminal for $88 million to acquire the facility and clear the way for the city’s planned airport expansion. The settlement with LoneStar Airport Holdings LLC comes after Austin initially o ered $1.95 mil- lion to end the remainder of the company’s 40-year lease at the
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • JUNE 2023
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