TDH: 9/19/11

Following their bargaining over the city budget, City Council has a bit of a backlog going into their regular meeting this Thursday. On the agenda: more budgetary housekeeping, legal items including a decision on when to hold the city’s next election, plus a schematic overview of the new Central Library.

Agenda highlights for City Council’s Thursday, September 22 meeting:

Item 2: Executing a wind power purchase preliminarily approved last meeting, Item 2 inks a 25-year, 200 megawatt deal with Iberdrola Renewables for $725,000,000. The contract joins two other recent wind purchases that put the city just 5% away from its goal of 35% renewable energy sources by 2020.

Item 5: An agreement between the Greater Austin-Travis County Regional Radio System (GATRRS) and Austin Community College, allowing ACC to join the cross-linked emergency response system, at a cost to the college of $30,450. “If ACC is a GATRRS user,” reads backup, “this will enhance the ability of ACC’s police department to communicate, or ‘interoperate,’ with Austin Police, Austin Fire, and Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Service as well as the other local and regional public safety agencies that utilize the GATRRS. This interoperability will be a benefit to all of these agencies as well as the public.”

Item 6: Funding city/county substance abuse treatment program Project Recovery at $393,000.

Item 10: Awarding an $180,000 contract for Downtown’s “wayfinding” (i.e., parking and parking awareness program), a component of the parking overhaul the expanded paid hours.

Item 11: A $3 million contract for facility improvements, split between a rotation of three contractors – including war contractor Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR).

Item 13: One year agreement between the city and the county, for the former to provide the latter with EMS and STAR Flight support, at a county cost of nearly $11.9 million.

Items 15-30: A lengthy Health and Human Services agenda reallocating funding to several non-profits for the city’s next fiscal year. Of particular interest is Item 24, extending funding for existing social service contracts another six months, while the city continues to competitively re-evaluate social service contracts, an undertaking that hasn’t happened since 1999.

Items 31-35: The Law Department agenda includes amendments raising the billing expense of representing the city in the historic zoning tax lawsuit (Item 31, to $123,000); a congressional redistricting suit (Item 32, to $143,000); and the city’s ongoing open meetings act and records retention headaches (Item 35, $366,000). Also up is Item 34, $150,000 worth of legal counsel for the city’s interactions with insurer State Farm regarding the Central Texas wildfires. But Item 33 should carry the day: “Approve an Ordinance authorizing a May 2012 general election date or a Resolution authorizing a November 2012 general election date.” Arising from Senate Bill 100’s reshuffling of the federal primary calendar, council must wither hold May elections without county support (an expensive proposition), or move elections to November (and, as allowed by SB 100, extend the terms of the Mayor and council members in Places 2, 5, and 6). Expect lots of discussion on this one.

Items 36-41: Similar to the suite of H&HS items. this collection of Neighborhood Housing and Community Development items funds the city department throughout the fiscal year; Item 36 funds the Austin Housing Finance Corporation at approximately $6.6 million; Item 41 extends the existing agreement between the city and central-east Austin steward the Urban Renewal Agency, for a year with several more annual extension options.

Item 50: Our first item from council, this resolution from Lee Leffingwell and Sheryl Cole comprises a severance settlement agreement between the city and Deputy City Clerk Yvonne Spence. “This involves a severance package totaling $77,740.53, which reflects roughly six months of the deputy clerk's total compensation,” reads back-up. “The severance proposal arose based upon a reorganization of the Office of the City Clerk that resulted in the elimination of the deputy city clerk position for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.”

Item 52: Building off the suggestions council made at budget adoption regarding tweaks to Austin Water’s revenue stability fee, this item from Laura Morrison, Kathie Tovo and Chris Riley would create a joint task force of the Resource Management Commission, Water and Wastewater Commission and Impact Fee Advisory Committee to “to develop recommendations for a tiered, progressive Revenue Stability fee structure and short and long-term financial plans to strengthen the financial stability of Austin Water Utility.”

Item 55: The meeting’s 10:30am presentation unveils schematic designs – flow and layout, but no conceptual art – of Austin’s new Central Library.

Items 56-58: A juicy executive session going over several Law Department matters also posted to the agenda: open government issues, wildfire insurance questions, and the city’s election date.

Items 59-77: The meeting’s zoning agenda.

Items 79-87: A bevy of 4pm time certain public hearings with possible action: Item 79 addresses an amendment meant “to clarify when and how open space is to be provided” in commercial/multi-family developments, “and sets forth requirements for amenities and design of the space;” Item 80 is an appeal from nascent hipster haunt East Side Drive In, asking to reconsider their denial of an Outdoor Music Permit; several building code items are also up for discussion.

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