Anyone who tuned in last week to watch the Parks and Recreation Board deliberate a $900,000 contract agreement with a nonprofit may have been surprised by the rare absence of a live broadcast of the meeting. And they may have been equally surprised there was no archived recording of the meeting available on the city’s ATXN government access channel in the days following the June 17 special meeting.
A spokesperson for PARD told the Austin Monitor last week that staff recorded the meeting because ATXN staff were unavailable. The recording would be available for the public “by Monday at the latest.” At press time, the PARD spokesperson said ATXN was editing the recording to post on the web channel’s website.
Understandably, special called meetings that fall outside their regular schedule can pose all sorts of logistical challenges: Meeting rooms are scarce, since they are generally booked weeks and months in advance, and ATXN needs plenty of lead time to ensure the availability of staff, particularly when meeting schedules overlap.
In this case, the parks board met at the Permitting and Development Center in North Austin, outside of its usual City Hall space, and without the benefit of ATXN to record the city’s business.
Given the conspiracy theories surrounding the parks department’s relationship with nonprofit partners, which some critics believe have outsize control over city parks and trails, it was a rare and unfortunate set of logistical circumstances.
All that said, meeting documents show the board voted 6-2 to recommend that the City Council approve a parkland improvement agreement with the Hill Country Conservancy for the Violet Crown Trail Mile Zero Trailhead project.
The agreement includes parkland dedication funding of no more than $900,000 to cover a portion of the construction costs. The item was originally posted on the board’s May agenda, but the board postponed the matter to obtain more specific information about the parkland dedication fees.
Board members Holly Reed and Kim Taylor cast the two dissenting votes, while Shelby Orme abstained. The board has two vacancies. Reed said later she voted against the proposal because she believes the amount of money was too high at a time when parkland dedication funding has been curtailed by legislative action.
Planning for the ambitious Violet Crown Trail began in 2006 and was part of at least one bond package approved by voters. Now 13 miles long, the trail runs from Zilker Park to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Southwest Austin. Once complete, the trail is expected to be the longest trail of its kind in Central Texas. The trailhead project at Zilker will include a gathering area at the entrance, a meadow pavilion, an observation deck, overlook and other improvements.
The proposed funding agreement is slated for City Council approval July 18.
Photo by Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0.
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City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department: The city department responsible for the city's park system, rec centers, and associated infrastructure.
Parks and Recreation Board: The city’s Parks and Recreation Board members deal with the acquisition, development, improvement, and maintenance of Austin’s parks and playgrounds.
