https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2010-11-01/the-daily-hustle-11-1-10/

The Daily Hustle: 11/1/10

By Wells Dunbar, November 1, 2010, 12:59pm, Newsdesk

Seasons change: Leaves are falling, the dark descends at a quickening pace, and the City Council meetings grow sparser and sparser.

Still, we've itemized some of the trenchant issues facing council this Thursday, including contentious zoning proposals, yet more money for police, and a big recycling proposal.

Meeting highlights for City Council's Thursday, November 4 meeting:

Item 2: $440,000 contract with builders Flintco for remaining design and build services for the new Asian American Resource Center.

Item 5: $270,000 for “federal representation services contracts,” i.e., monitoring and lobbying on issues before the next national congress including “annual appropriations which include local earmark requests, modifications to Austin’s requests as the surface transportation legislation moves forward, Cap and Trade legislation, and any additional job creation legislation.”

Item 6: $190,000 in new legal fees to represent Leonardo Quintana against Sir Smith, wounded by Quintana in his fatal shooting of Nathaniel Sanders.

Item 9: Approve the Parks and Recreation Department's "Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities and Programs.”

Item 12: Returning following a postponement from last week, an agreement accepting $569,509 in an advance funding agreement with TxDOT, allowing Austin to use Federal Transportation Enhancement Funds to build several bike lanes over the city; the city also contributes with matching funds.

Item 13: A $145,870, 12-month contract, with four optional extensions, with E Source Companies to provide “independent research, advisory, and information services to Austin Energy.”

Items 18,19: Implementing a city-wide phase in of recycling by 2014, encompassing the multi-family units, business, bars and restaurants not currently recycling.

Item 20: Extending the city's agreement with Car2Go for parking spaces and employee participation. The city is currently drafting a request for proposals for a potentially broader car sharing program while they extend this contract.

Item 21: Accepting $1.1. million from FEMA for studying potential flooding in the following watersheds: Dry Creek East, Shoal Creek, Cottonmouth Creek, Carson Creek, Bull Creek, West Bull Creek, Boggy Creek, Tannehill Branch, Fort Branch, and Rattan Creek.

Item 23: Item from Chris Riley, Mike Martinez, and Randi Shade: Extending the tenure of the Green Roof Advisory Group one year (as requested asked last week), and directing the City Manager to provide assistance to the group.

Item 24: Item from Shade and Lee Leffingwell “supporting legislation in the 82nd Texas Legislature to increase the City of Austin’s contribution rate to the Austin Police Retirement System as agreed to in the Meet and Confer Agreement between the City of Austin and the Austin Police Association as amended in 2009.” The agreement bumps contributions from 19% to 20% in October 2011, then to 21% a year later.

Items 27, 28: The meeting's 10:30am morning briefings: First, a presentation on the Austin Climate Protection Plan, then an economic analysis of a new convention center hotel Downtown.

Items 31-45: The zoning agenda, including upzoning a single-family plot to create “21-unit live/work units intended for artists” (Items 31, 32); more upzoning in the Rosewood neighborhood (2205 E. 12th), this to convert an abandoned church into a recording studio (Items 35, 36); and our monthly allotment of three historic zoning requests (Items 43-45).

HEY! Sign up for the Hustle's weekly e-mail newsletter, recapping news, politics and more every Friday. Don't worry, we'll never spam or sell your address. Visit here, enter your info, and click 'City Hall Hustle.'
Got something you wanna show the Hustle? Email it to wells [at] austinchronicle.com, tweet it @CityHallHustle, drop by the Hustle's Facebook or Tumblr page, or leave a comment in the section below.