At the most recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Austin Water Utility’s Financial Plan, utility officials shared concerns about the fate of their bond rating. Due to similar financial circumstances, Ft. Worth’s Tarrant Regional Water District was recently downgraded by rating agencies. Assistant Director of Finance and Business Services David Anders was worried […]
Environment
Posted inResources
Some Austin Energy commercial customers get surprise in their bill
A newly instituted and complex rate structure has led to headaches for Austin Energy executives as well as a number of the utility’s commercial customers. At Thursday’s Council Committee on Austin Energy,AE General Manager Larry Weis and Chief Financial Officer Ann Little explained that due to a recent oversight, about 400 commercial customers had […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment
Planning Commission takes a turn at tackling Lake Austin zoning
It was the Planning Commission’s turn to tackle new Lake Austin regulations last week, and they had questions. The proposed changes are the result of a nearly two-year process of looking at Lake Austin, proposing changes to the code that deals with zoning as well as regulations that detail Boat Dock and Shoreline Regulations. […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Transportation
SH45 SW opponents say roadway would cause damage to aquifer
State officials expect to have an environmental impact study of the proposed four-lane State Highway 45 Southwest ready for public review within the next two months. Challengers of the toll road plan say it would expose the Barton Springs zone of the Edwards Aquifer and natural features above it to damage and pollutants, and do […]
Posted inLocal Government, Resources
Hays County, Forestar water contract in jeopardy
Hays County’s attempt to secure a water supply contract from Forestar Real Estate Group has run into a legal roadblock in addition to the fact that Forestar currently can’t deliver the amount of water promised in the proposed contract. Late last year, Hays officials contracted with Forestar to provide 45,000 acre-feet of water from the […]
Posted inLocal Government, Resources
New LCRA team: varied experience, highly paid
The Lower Colorado River Authority’s new general manager Phil Wilson received a hefty pay increase when he moved from the hot seat at the Texas Department of Transportation to another hot seat at the state-created water and power authority two months ago. And his pay increase could get even heftier. Wilson’s annual base salary has […]
Posted inResources
Council, EUC fill most seats on city’s Generation Plan Task Force
Austin City Council members and their appointees on the city’s Electric Utility Commission Thursday filled the majority of the seats on a task force set up to complete the first review of Austin Energy’s 2010 Generation Plan. That document, a plan that governs Austin Energy’s generation purchases up through 2020, is a key point of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment
Planning Commission OKs variance for Lake Austin boat dock
Though they faced criticism from residents on the other side of Lake Austin, the owners of a Rob Roy property are well on the way to getting a boat dock. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve the variance for the dock at 5 Humboldt Lane, with conditions that no trams be built and […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Politics
City buying Circle C area golf course, preventing development
Congratulations, Austinites, you are the new owners of the Grey Rock Golf Course and Tennis Facility. In a vote of 6-1, the City Council voted Thursday to purchase the Southwest Austin course, for $9.6 million dollars. For that price, the city will own 292 acres, which is about 180 acres of golf course, and […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics, Resources
Water, wastewater service approved despite objections
Austin City Council members Thursday found themselves boxed into approving water and wastewater service for a development in the drinking water protection zone along FM 620. The extension passed on a 7-0 vote after staff impressed upon Council members the reality of their legal status with regard to the case. Council Member Bill Spelman […]
Posted inEnvironment, Resources
Activists ramp up campaign for renewables and against fossil fuels
As Austin Energy begins to update its energy plan, local solar and environmental advocates have ramped up their three-year campaign to get the City of Austin to invest even more in renewable energy and to pull the plug on coal. However, instead of pummeling Austin Energy to get their points across, many of the activists, […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Politics, Transportation
Travis Commissioners vote to spend $15 million on SH45 SW
The Travis County Commissioners Court approved spending $15 million in county funds Tuesday toward a plan to extend the southwest portion of State Highway 45 from the end of MoPac Boulevard to FM 1626. The vote fulfilled Travis County’s part of a plan to accelerate construction of the road by the end of this year […]