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Quote of the Day
“(The plan) hasn’t been updated in almost 25 years and, as we all know, Austin has changed a lot in the last 25 years, so it’s long past due for an update.”
— Watershed Protection Planning Team Manager Erin Wood, from Environmental Commission briefed on creek protection plan
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With cap of $687M, bond task force to weigh $4.4B in city needs
From Chad Swiatecki:
Over this summer, the Bond Election Advisory Task Force will begin to evaluate a narrowed list of capital needs for the City of Austin’s 2026 bond election, following the delivery of a $4.4 billion needs assessment from city staff later this month. The task force, which has met regularly since October 2024, will begin reviewing project recommendations in August, ahead of its scheduled report to City Council next spring.
In a memo released last week, city budget staff recommended that the 2026 bond package not exceed $687 million, based on the city’s current debt capacity and a goal of limiting the financial impact on taxpayers. Data in the memo show that bond size would increase the annual debt service tax bill for the median homeowner — defined as a home assessed at $525,000 — by approximately $99.82. Each additional $100 million in bond funding would raise the annual bill by roughly $14.26.
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Environmental Commission briefed on creek protection plan
Austin’s Watershed Protection Department is seeking input on its Rain to River plan, a strategic roadmap for protecting local creeks and communities. The Environmental Commission heard an update on the department’s community engagement efforts at its July 2 meeting.
Updating the plan has no doubt taken on more urgency considering the tragic flooding events across Central Texas over the July 4 weekend. The existing plan was last updated and adopted by City Council in 2001. The department is seeking community input on a new plan with a survey that runs through Sept. 15
“(The plan) hasn’t been updated in almost 25 years and, as we all know, Austin has changed a lot in the last 25 years, so it’s long past due for an update,” Erin Wood, a Watershed planning team manager, told the commission during a presentation. The current plan, she added, is over 400 pages, is highly technical, “full of a lot of formulas and not a lot of photos, so it’s not really currently functioning as a great communication tool for the work of the department.”
Wood and co-presenter Sari Albornoz, a senior planner, outlined the efforts underway to seek out the community’s “vision and values.” Wood noted that the existing plan “doesn’t tackle things like climate change or racial equity, or the rapid population growth and urbanization that the city is facing, so we really want to make sure that those challenges are addressed front and center in the new plan.”
The timeline for updating the plan calls for Watershed releasing a draft this winter, followed by another appearance before the Environmental Commission, and then on to City Council for adoption next spring.
— Amy Smith
Austin Wildlife Rescue seeking new intake shelter
Austin Wildlife Rescue, which takes in injured wild animals and abandoned or lost babies, is looking for a new home for its intake center. Jules Maron, executive director of AWR, says the center will lose the lease on its current intake shelter on November 30. The group takes in animals from the public as well as from Texas Parks and Wildlife and others. Animals are taken first to the intake center and then moved to the rehabilitation center in Elgin each evening to receive ongoing care. Maron emphasizes that no animals stay overnight at the Intake Center.
According to their news release, “AWR requires a building within Austin’s city limits of at least 1,000 sq ft on at least one-quarter of an acre to accommodate parking and staff. The location must be zoned (or have the ability to be rezoned) for veterinary services with no conditional overlays.” (This writer recommends against trying to rezone anything in Austin.)
“Austin Wildlife Rescue asks the Austin community’s help in finding a new Intake Center home so that the nonprofit organization can continue to provide injured and orphaned wildlife the care required to release healthy animals back into their native Central Texas environment.” Maron is available at 512-431-4119 or jules@austinwildliferescue.org
— Jo Clifton
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ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS
Most of this weekend’s news has rightfully been dominated by flooding in the Hill Country.
There are many resources available for those who want to help. Here are some roundups: The Texas Tribune, Texas Standard, KSAT, KUT.
In addition the Lower Colorado River Authority is asking people to stay off of Buchanan, Inks, Travis, LBJ and Marble Falls lakes for the time being due to the danger posed to boaters and swimmers on the Highland Lakes.
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