CITY & SCHOOLS
News from Dripping Springs ISD, Austin & Travis County
Austin City Council will meet May 30 and June 6 at 9 a.m. and June 1 and 8 at 10 a.m. 301 W. Second St., Austin. www.austintexas.gov/ austin-city-council Travis County Commissioners Court will meet June 6, 13, 20 and 27 at 9 a.m. 700 Lavaca St., Austin. www.traviscountytx.gov/ commissioners-court Dripping Springs City Council will meet June 6 and 20 at 6 p.m. 511 Mercer St., Dripping Springs. www.cityofdrippingsprings.com/ city-council MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS TRAVIS COUNTY Fentanyl- related deaths more than doubled from 2021 to 2022 and particularly a ected Hispanic and Black communities as well as women, a new medical examiner’s report found. The data, released on April 26, comes as local o cials continue focusing on combating overdoses after declaring drug deaths to be a public health crisis in 2022. County Judge Andy Brown said commissioners could next reserve $750,000 in the scal year 2023-24 budget to create an overdose prevention fund. AUSTIN On May 2, the city’s library system announced a pilot program for enhanced library cards that can double as photo identi cation recognized by many city departments and local organizations as a valid form of identi cation or supplement with other documents to prove one’s identity. AUSTIN The city will pay $100,000 to a protester injured by police in the May 2020 demonstrations, the latest in a growing series of payouts from the event. Austin’s total tab for police brutality payouts from the protests now sits at $18.98 million after council approved the settlement agreement May 4.
South Austin to get new $14M water reservoirs by 2030 AUSTIN During a meeting on May 18, city council members approved engineering contracts to build two BY AMANDA CUTSHALL WATER RESERVOIRS On May 18, city council approved plans to build two water reservoirs in South Austin to better prepare the area for potential extreme weather. during Winter Storm Uri because of the distance from centralized sources
of water supply, o cials said May 18. The new reservoirs will enable greater storage capacity in Austin Water’s service area during extreme weather events. Quote of note “This capital improvement project is going to be really important for Southwest Austin to make sure that we have access to clean and safe drinking water as climate change continues to have impacts on our utilities,” Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis said.
water towers in South Austin to prepare for extreme weather.
BARTON CREEK BLVD.
VALERIO LN.
The gist The projects—the Southwest Park- way Transmission Main and Elevated Reservoir and the South I-35 Elevated Reservoir—will not exceed $14 million total and will be completed in 2030, according to records.
AMARRA TRAIL
Water reservoir
N
CAMINO VAQUERO PKWY.
Water reservoir
Why it matters South Austin was hardest hit
35
N
SOURCE: AUSTIN WATER COMMUNITY IMPACT
Austin to end minimum parking spot mandates
DPS patrols paused, pro ling concerns raised
BY BEN THOMPSON
30-April 27 showed a sharp uptick in tra c stops of Hispanic drivers. DPS Director Steven McCraw said the jump in tra c stops of Hispanic/ Latino drivers was expected given increased patrols in East Austin. The DPS partnership was temporar- ily suspended May 13 when troopers were relocated to the Mexican border, but o cials say it will resume.
AUSTIN Early data from a Texas Department of Public Safety operation in Austin show Hispanic people made up most of the tra c stops and arrests. Nearly 90% of 167 arrests as of April 22 were of Black or Latino people, per county attorney data, and DPS data covering March
BY BEN THOMPSON
AUSTIN City o cials moved to end Austin’s longstanding practice of requiring a set amount of parking with new development May 4. Council voted to eliminate the rules laying out di erent require- ments that apply to all kinds of development, ranging from housing to retailers. “Instead of using dubious formulas to mandate how much parking is included in every new development, I believe we should allow individual property owners to decide what levels are appropriate,” said District 9 Council Member Zo Qadri, the item’s sponsor, in a statement. A nal ordinance will return to council by the end of 2023.
SKEWED TRAFFIC STOPS
2022
March 30-April 27 2023
18,743
11,841
Data shows state troopers mostly pulled over Hispanic/ Latino drivers over one month of a policing partnership in Austin. Alaska Native/American Indian Asian/Paci c Islander Black Hispanic/Latino White
total tra c stops
total tra c stops
4.2% 0.26% 16.5% 38.17% 40.87%
4.63% 0.35% 15.01% 54.21% 25.8%
DPS PARTNERSHIP
SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION • MAY 2023
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