“If you have a problem with my report, then file an ethics complaint and
let’s get it on!!!!” That’s what Councilmember Eric Mitchell wrote to In
Fact’s Ken Martin in an e-mail response, after the editor of the weekly
newsletter requested information that was missing from Mitchell’s latest
Contribution & Expenditure report. State Ethics Code requires officeholders
to fill in the addresses of all contributors, and the occupations of those who
give more than $250 — none of that info was provided. That wasn’t all.
Mitchell also admitted that he is flaunting the state law. “I am well aware of
the code, requirements, etc. I am not going to waste my time, my staff’s time,
or anyone’s time trying to track down addresses or any other information from
contributors. I am not going to ask, call, etc., any of my contributors and try
to figure out their occupation,” Mitchell wrote. We’re sure he means to uphold
the law, it’s just those niggling details that get in the way… Conservative
talk show host Rush Limbaugh has announced that he’s quitting his long-running
syndicated show that criticizes and pokes fun at political liberals. Limbaugh
cited disappointment that changes in the syndication business had resulted in
his show being “pushed later and later [in time slots] and in the process lost
a lot of potential audience,” he told the Associated Press this week.
But later time slots in the TV business usually indicate slowing ratings, until
finally a show is punted off the air, and that’s exactly what happened to
Limbaugh in Austin, according to Program Assistant Tisha Harris of the Fox
Children’s Network’s independent affiliate, KVC channel 13, which airs the show
locally. Limbaugh “has a huge radio following, but as far as his popularity on
TV goes, he’s produced low ratings. I’m sure he’d rather quit than suffer being
cancelled.” —L.C.B.
Once again, U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt wiggled out of deciding
whether to list the Barton Springs Salamander as an endangered species. A
federal judge had ordered Babbitt — who has turned delaying a decision into an
art form — to decide the amphibian’s fate by last Tuesday, but Babbitt got yet
another reprieve while his agency takes time to review the matter further. He
now has until the end of August to decide. — A.D.
Aviation Goes to Court
Twice, the city has accepted bids for an airport passenger terminal for thenew Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and twice, one of the bidders has
gone to court over it. Atlanta-based Aviation Constructors, Inc., filed a suit
in State District Court last week, just days after its protest of its
competitor’s bid was rejected by city-appointed examiners on July 16. At
Aviation’s request, Judge Joseph Hart issued a temporary restraining order that
prevents the City of Austin from signing a $91.7 million contract with Morganti
National, Inc., of Houston until the matter is resolved. Hart has scheduled a
hearing for Friday.
This latest chapter of the saga for the bid contract began July 11 when the
city council held off voting on whether to award the contract to Morganti after
Aviation protested the company’s low bid. Aviation, (whose bid came in $600,000
over Morganti’s), claimed that Morganti’s two minority-owned subcontractors
should have been ineligible for participation in the project. According to
Aviation, subcontractor Standard Glass & Mirror, a Houston-based
Hispanic-owned company, didn’t have enough experience with big contracts like
the $8.75 million airport job. Aviation also protested the participation of 3R
Company, a San Antonio-based Hispanic-owned broker, saying that its work as a
broker would not provide a “commercially useful” service; therefore, its $3
million stake in the bid should not have been counted toward the project’s
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goal.
After city examiners struck down Aviation’s arguments, Aviation President
Terry Stratton said that he was understanding of the city’s decision in light
of the fact that the council is trying to avoid delays, but, he adds, “It
doesn’t change our position or our directions.” And thus, Aviation is suing.
John Almond, the city’s new airport project manager, said that court actions
over big-money airport bids are common. “This happens, unfortunately, when
there’s a lot of money at stake,” he said. Earlier this year, there were two
protests against a bid for terminal construction when a DBE and a non-DBE
joined together to file a joint proposal. The protests claimed that the Mary
Pelzel and Associates’ portion of the Hensel-Phelps partnership was present
only to secure DBE status. The controversy became a moot point, however, when
the council decided the design for which it accepted bids would be too
expensive and reworked its plans for the terminal. — G.M.
Resigned to Change
The official line at the Downtown Austin Alliance (DAA) is that Jose Martinezleft his executive director’s position to pursue other career options. Never
mind that Martinez, 52, turned in his resignation letter on his way out the
door July 9, a Tuesday, without first lining up another career. No one’s
willing to publicly stick their necks out on this one, but the word is that
Martinez and DAA Chairman David Bodenman haven’t seen eye to eye for the last
year or so. It seems that Martinez, a former city of Austin planner, just
couldn’t shake his bureaucratic roots fast enough for DAA’s private-sector
board of directors.
Bodenman did not return several phone messages left at his office at Highland
Resources Inc., and Martinez, who reportedly was away on a fishing trip early
this week, could not be reached for comment. It’s hard to nail down what
Bodenman or other directors specifically viewed as the director’s shortcomings,
but sources say that Martinez was slow to move beyond the programs promoting
clean and safe streets to the grittier issues of economic redevelopment. For
the most part, though, DAA board members and downtown boosters laud Martinez as
“a great guy” and a “top-notch professional” who is credited with a number of
accomplishments, beginning with his initial charge in 1993 to build the
alliance from scratch. He also acted as an effective liaison between the
alliance and the city, which kicks in a portion of the DAA’s annual funding, as
do the county, Capital Metro and downtown property owners. Since its inception
three years ago, the DAA, formerly the Downtown Management Organization, has
helped to generate renewed enthusiasm for the central city with graffiti
clean-up efforts and the creation of the Downtown Rangers, a dozen specially
trained unarmed officers on foot patrol. The alliance was also a force behind
the controversial camping ban designed to steer transients out of the central
business district.
Where does the DAA go from here? “We’re at a crossroads now,” said Thais
Austin, governmental affairs director for the Austin Board of Realtors, and an
alliance member. “Now it’s time for us to become a mature organization.” Kerry
Tate, chairwoman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, says it’s time to
move on to the “heavy-lifting” issues like downtown housing, retail, and the
future of a proposed light rail system.
Tom Stacy, DAA vice chairman and president of Omni Commercial Realty, said the
board will wait about 60 days before making its next move. “There [are] two
trains of thought here on which way we should go,” he said. “Do we look within
Austin for a new director? Or do we look at other downtown organizations and
try to recruit someone from outside the city?” Lucy Buck, the DAA’s assistant
director, is said to be angling for the job, but she’s laying low and not
returning phone calls to confirm or deny the rumor. — A.S.
Touring 290
Representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have foundfault with one of two detention ponds that the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT) built to protect Barton Creek, the Edwards Aquifer, and
Barton Springs from stormwater runoff pollution from the massive US290 freeway
project. During recent inspections of TxDOT’s giant new regional pond just
above Barton Creek on the northwest side of the US290/Loop 360 intersection,
USFWS officials found that during three rains in May and June, the pond allowed
untreated runoff into Barton Creek after its hazardous material trap became
inoperative after filling with sediment. The officials also expressed concern
that 30 stockpiles of construction debris still remain near a tributary of
Barton Creek, and that insufficient erosion controls are in place to protect
the creek from silt runoff during storms.
TxDOT recently went from weekly to monthly inspections of the pond, and when
USFWS officials met with TxDOT representatives last month to alert them about
the results of their inspections, they suggested that TxDOT return to weekly
inspections and inspect the pond after every rain. TxDOT officials are
preparing a response to the USFWS to be presented at August’s Task Force
meeting. USFWS could become a more active player in decisions about water
quality ponds if the Barton Springs Salamander is listed as an endangered
species next month.
Speaking of 290, at a meeting of the Austin Transportation Study’s 290 Task
Force in June, Oak Hill landscape architect Gary Basham presented a design that
would send the freeway’s travel lanes around Oak Hill, north of Williamson
Creek, passing between the creek and Motorola. The plan would leave the
existing US290 lanes to serve local residential and business access in Oak
Hill, preserving both community tranquility and numerous old oak trees along
Williamson Creek that would be destroyed under the current TxDOT plan. However,
at this month’s meeting, Motorola representatives expressed concern that the
closer proximity of the freeway to their plant in Basham’s plan would create
vibrations that would interfere with factory production. Basham’s plan would
also require relocation of one of Motorola’s water quality ponds. Like many Oak
Hill residents, Motorola officials and employees are also worried about noise
and fumes from the freeway.
The Task Force’s Chair, State Representative Sherri Greenberg, said that the
group is forming a consensus on three points: that the swath that the freeway
cuts through Oak Hill should be narrower than in the current TxDOT plan, that
frontage lanes should be reduced from six to four, and that the giant flyover
planned for the “Y” intersection of US290 and Hwy71 should be eliminated. If
Basham’s plan turns out not to be workable, said Greenberg, some of the barrier
effect of the freeway could be reduced by placing through-lanes on pillars
rather than on a solid wall. — N.E.
This article appears in July 26 • 1996 and July 26 • 1996 (Cover).