TipSheet: Austin City Council, 11.7.24

Well, the show must go on. After a momentous election Tuesday that will also see new Council members in Districts 6, 7 and 10 and probably the return of Mayor Kirk Watson, City Council members are dusting themselves off and getting back to business with a regular meeting today. As usual, we’ve attempted to highlight the most interesting things on today’s agenda, which can be read in its entirety here.

After botching a charter election earlier this year, a plan to revamp the city’s petition process was also seemingly scrapped. The proposal from the Charter Review Commission would have changed the threshold required for a petition to be approved, but that requires voter approval. However, another aspect of their proposal, which would require signatures to be gathered on a standardized city form, would have petitioners register a “notice of intent” and those gathering signatures register with the Office of the City Clerk. According to the meeting agenda documents, this is a transparency measure. Others, including the Save Our Springs Alliance, are classifying it as “part of a larger City Council power grab” that will surely be discussed today.

In other City Council power news, the body will consider an item sponsored by Council Member Vanessa Fuentes that would give Council members discretionary funds to “to implement various projects within their districts” without going through the normal process. The amount that Council members would have to spend in their district has yet to be determined, but recommendations from the city manager would come back in March.

Council will also approve about $2.5 million worth of contracts with the city’s various minority chambers of commerce in an effort to promote tourism. As usual, the money is divvied up in a way that might not make immediate sense, but is actually the product of a lot of effort to normalize the funding levels between the groups.

After much pleading, money appears to be on the way for the Red River Merchants Association, with a $750,000 contract over the next five years ($150,000 annually, if renewed) that promises “to provide organizational stability, marketing and branding, heritage and cultural preservation, artistic and cultural productions, and economic development programming and activities in the Red River Cultural District.”

As we reported, Council will also consider a $5.5 million redesign of its website today. In a much smaller (but still interesting!) plan, they will also vote on a $150,000 contract that promises to survey the city’s art.

Despite facing lawsuits from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and former City Council Member Don Zimmerman, Council is poised to approve another contract with Jane’s Due Process that will “provide logistical support services for reproductive healthcare, which may include support for travel, case management, emotional support, or other services that would support a client who is facing barriers to abortion access.”

In a very sweet resolution honoring their decades of service, Council will also consider officially naming “The Kay Guedea Staff Bullpen” and the “The Joe Guedea Kitchen.” 

Audit nerds can check out a preview of next year’s draft plan, which Council will vote on today.

And, in terms of zoning, Council may take up a waiver for the South Lamar Wheatsville Co-op that will allow them to sell alcohol despite their proximity to a school. The move has been lingering on the agenda for a while and is opposed by AISD and a collection of former and current trustees. Council will also consider a DB90 case on West Fifth Street that faces opposition from OWANA, two proposed PUDs at Riverside and South Congress that face opposition from Save Our Springs, and a DB90 case on Thornton Road that has inspired neighbors to turn out in opposition in the past.

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