City Council Notebook

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Item 8: $75,000 more for computer forensics work regarding the city auditor's "provision of information … regarding the city's fiscal year 2006 financial statements." Eek! Convention Center party, anyone?

Item 12: $140,000 more in attorney fees for the city's – never ending – eminent domain fight with Harry Whittington.

Item 13: Approving Arturo “Art” Acevedo as the Austin Police Department chief – officially.

Item 15: $275,000 loan to Salvage Vanguard Theater to rehab an existing lean-to on Manor Road into a theatre.

Item 19: Coughing up $67,000 for Envision Central Texas participation. Shouldn't they be paying us?

Items 20-26: Annex-o-rama (some six parcels all over the flippin' place).

Item 27: The much-discussed parkland dedication revision, requiring all new developments pay in – not just subdivisions – and creating standard payments (at $650 per residential unit).

Items 33-48: Buying 15 homes and pieces of land as part of a $6.3 million, Federal Emergency Management Agency-funded program to purchase and demolish up to 118 homes in the Onion Creek floodplain. Glug, glug, glug.

Item 51: Opening up 7 acres in the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (out of the Reicher Ranch's 820 acres) for bid.

Item 65: A clusterfuck of dueling right-of-way easements and waivers pertaining to Perry Lorenz's Spring condos, coming to Third and Bowie, and his new property at 301 N. Lamar, purchased at council last week. Totally lost here.

Item 95 (at end of a lengthy Purchasing Office list): Up to $360,000 for printing the city's Native & Adaptive Plant Guide. Word.

Item 98: Resolution adopting Public Safety Task Force recommendations regarding the FY 2008 budget ("consider reduction in staffing a last option," fund downloadable building schematics for first responders).

Item 99: Item from Sheryl Cole (with Public Safety Task Force head Mike Martinez as co-sponsor) directing staff to explore broadcasting civil service (police and fire) disciplinary appeal hearings via Channel 6.

Item 101: Naming Austin Energy’s Downtown District Cooling Plant No. 1 the "Paul Robbins District Cooling Plant." There's something indescribably bizarre and hilarious shooting through this. (Tell us what it is in the comments, and we'll kick down a T-shirt, ya dig?)

10:30am Morning Briefings
Item 108: Staff briefing on a proposed master lease with General Electric Commercial Aviation regarding – yawn – possible new airline services.

2pm Briefings
Item 115: Presentation and update on the city's Webberville property.

Item 144: Rezoning the Mean Eyed Cat. Well, if they were zoned correctly in the first place …

5:30pm Proclamations
Shudde Fath Day. And on the addendum, lest we forget:

Item 152: The sweatshop-free city uniforms ordinance, from Martinez and Cole.