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County ponders how to deal with heritage tree in path of road extension

Travis County Commissioners will face a tough decision next week as they decide the fate of a 100-year-old oak tree that is in the way of an extension of Frate Barker Road in South Austin.   The item came up…

Council approves fund to preserve heritage of Rainey Street District

Though they ultimately voted unanimously to create a Rainey Street District Fund from collection of development fees, it took at fair amount of bickering for City Council members to get there last week. It remains to be seen exactly how…

Fleet Services says it needs more staff, bays to service vehicles

The head of the city’s Fleet Services Department told members on the Council Audit and Finance Committee last week that his department has numerous unmet needs, noting that department is short 60-80 repair bays for the city’s vehicles, including nearly…

ICRC continues hearing on preliminary 10-1 Council Districts map

As a deadline for establishing Austin’s first single-member districts looms, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission continued to listen to citizens over the weekend.   The commission is currently on a whirlwind tour of the four Travis County Commissioner precincts. This…

Final vote on Special Events Ordinance may wait until January

Though Council members unanimously approved the pending on first reading Thursday, that action came with anticipation of the creation of a Council subcommittee that would deal with lingering issues about the matter. Chief ordinance sponsor Council Member Mike Martineztold his…

Council votes to raise water impact fees to near maximum rate

Austin City Council members Thursday approved an immediate increase of impact fees for public infrastructure to just below the maximum allowable rate. Those are the fees that the Austin Water Utility assesses to help offset the cost of extending water and…

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Council reluctantly votes to end overnight access to bicycle trails

City Council members voted Thursday to end the pilot program that had opened portions of the city’s urban trails to bikes overnight, though many members expressed frustration about the position the issue put them in.   Council members had the…

Council OKs prevailing wage as part of economic development deals

The City Council on Thursday voted to make Austin the second city in Texas to mandate prevailing wages for construction workers as part of its economic development process. Mayor Lee Leffingwell was the only Council member to oppose the measure.…

Second Council district map emerges as critics pan ICRC’s first effort

A preliminary map drawn by the members of Austin‘s charter election-born Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is now not the only proposed single-member district Council outline drawing criticism. A map dubbed by its architects as a “Compact District Map” emerged over…

Council to hear proposals linking wage rules to development deals

Council members remain at work on potential amendments to a proposal from Council Members Mike Martinez, Kathie Tovo, and Laura Morrison that would link wage requirements to city economic incentive deals. It was unclear as of Wednesday afternoon just what…

Council scrutinizes details of proposed Special Events Ordinance

Austin City Council members will have the opportunity to take action tonight on what Council Member Laura Morrison on Tuesday called the “much discussed, monster ordinance on special events.”   At the work session, Council discussion focused on a host…

Travis Commissioners finally endorse SH45 SW

Many of the same Austinites made the same arguments they’ve made for decades, but this time, the result was different. At the behest of Pct. 3’s Gerald Daugherty, the Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday endorsed construction of the controversial…

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