After taking the holiday week off, City Council will busy itself today with a full agenda, including:
Naming an acting city manager (see “The Designated Acting (Almost) City Manager”).
Finalizing, maybe, the Seton/Brack deal.
Approving an ordinance banning the sale of live animals “in certain public places.”
Finally seeing off the Hyde Park neighborhood plan over the objections of Hyde Park Baptist Church, whose dependable ally Kirk Watson is no longer around to keep the church’s “valid petition” against rezoning from being overruled.
Approving measures to lend the Austin Revitalization Authority as much as $600,000 to buy parcels on E. 11th from the city, and to lease office space at 1100 E. 11th from the ARA for 10 years. The 22,000 square feet of office space, slated to become home of the city’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development department (the ARA’s urban renewal partners at the city), will cost close to $600,000 a year.
Approving a $14.4 million construction contract for the new Central East police substation and APD forensics lab at 812 Springdale.
Funding part of the Central Texas Regional Vision Project, an effort to determine a growth vision for the five counties in the metro area. The RVP already has support from Capital Metro, the LCRA, and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Association, and is being managed by the Capital Area Planning Council (CAPCO, which is not the same as CAMPO).
Resolving to oppose Time Warner Cable’s request that the Federal Communications Commission determine whether “effective competition” for cable-TV services exists in Austin. Both Southwestern Bell and various satellite providers are eating into TWC’s market. If the FCC determines that “effective competition” exists, it can no longer regulate Time Warner’s rates.
This article appears in February 1 • 2002.