Austin, Monitored: What's next

Today’s newsletter is supported by Austin Energy and the Value of Public Power

🚨

The new Austin Current newsletter launches Nov. 10 and will be coming from a new email address, so watch out for messages from newsletters@mail.austincurrent.org and thetexastribune@mail.beehiiv.com. You’re already signed up, so just keep an eye out for it in a couple weeks.

🚨

What’s next for the Austin Monitor — and what’s coming for the Austin Current

Tomorrow is the last day we’ll be publishing as the Austin Monitor as we prepare to launch the Austin Current, a new newsroom built to keep pace with Austin’s explosive growth, powered by The Texas Tribune.

You’ll hear from the Monitor’s editor Liz Pagano tomorrow for the Monitor’s final newsletter but today we wanted to tell you about what’s to come.

First, we’re not going anywhere.

On Nov. 10, we’re launching the Austin Current newsletter, so it won’t be long before you hear from us next. And we’ll have a smaller update for you next week, so be sure to watch out for that in your inboxes.

There’s a lot to do as we get prepared to launch the Current. We’re hiring three reporters: a government reporter, a growth and development reporter and an education reporter. If you know anyone who might be great for one of those roles, send them our way.

Most importantly right now, we want to hear from you! You can reply to this email or shoot a message to community@austincurrent.org. With this newsroom, we aren’t just going to be bringing you the news, we want you to be part of it. Our goal is to have a direct feedback loop to you, our audience, and we can’t do that without you. Is there a story you’ve always wanted to read? Is there an issue you feel isn’t getting enough attention? Tell us.

We also want to tell you a little about the rest of our team. You already know Liz, who will be the Current’s news editor.

Melissa Taboada is the Current’s editor-in-chief. A Texas native, she most recently comes from The Boston Globe, and worked for the Austin American-Statesman for more than 20 years as a reporter and editor. She also previously launched two community newspapers around Central Texas. (You can read more about her here.)

Joel Gross is working on the operations and business side as the Current’s General Manager. He was the Monitor’s CEO and previously worked in the government, startup and nonprofit spheres. If you’re a member and have questions about your donation, or you want to become a member to support this journalism, he’s your go-to.

Chase Karacostas is our Community Engagement and Events Manager. You’ll hear from him most often as the writer of the Austin Current’s newsletter, but he’ll also be putting together our events, going to community meetings and serving as one of the main connectors to you, our audience. He comes from just down the street at KUT News and KUTX 98.9 and is a longtime Austinite who grew up in Dallas.

While you won’t be hearing from us as much as you usually would for the next couple of weeks, we’re here if you have any questions. And we mean it.

That’s all for now. Below you’ll find the latest news from the Monitor. See you soon!

A message from today’s sponsor, Austin Energy:

Public Power Works for You

Austin Energy is your community-owned electric utility, bringing power to our vibrant city for more than 130 years. Since 1895, we’ve been powering the greater Austin area—lighting up homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses—and now serve more than half a million customers every single day.

But we’re not just an electric utility. As community members, we care deeply about this ever-changing city we call home.

See how public power works for Austin at AustinEnergy.com/PublicPower

Erosion issues persist in Zilker Park amid limited resources

From Lina Fisher:

In August of 2023, after three years of planning and many thousands of dollars, City Council was forced to scrap its comprehensive Zilker Park Vision Plan, amid a bitter battle waged by detractors and the park’s surrounding residents. But the million or so visitors to the park have not flagged in the years since, and many of the issues identified with the vision plan have only persisted: principally, severe erosion stemming from overflow parking and recreational trail use.

“It’s not lost on any of us — especially those of us up here that know some of the issues in the park that have been there over the years — that those will need to be addressed at some point,” said Council Member Paige Ellis in a meeting of Council’s Climate, Water, and Parks Committee last week. Austin’s Parks and Recreation (PARD) and Watershed Protection departments presented a slew of projects aimed at mitigating that erosion, but warned that they lack the necessary funding.

Arts in space

At their most recent meeting, Austin’s Arts Commission discussed the need for an updated inventory of the city’s creative and multiuse facilities, calling for clearer data on how the spaces are being used, managed and priced.

Commissioner Keyheira Keys, who has helped manage cultural facilities in the city previously, asked city staff for a broad report combining quantitative and qualitative data to assess how cultural and recreational spaces operate across Austin. Keys said inconsistent management and underfunding have left many facilities underused or inaccessible, adding that the city needs a clearer picture of which spaces best serve their communities and how affordability varies from site to site.

Morgan Messick, assistant director of the Cultural Arts, Music & Entertainment Department, said staff have been discussing ways to modernize the city’s existing Cultural Asset Mapping Project, which was last completed in 2018. The original map documented creative spaces across Austin but has grown outdated amid years of growth and changing land use patterns. Messick said the city hopes to develop a broader, citywide strategy that aligns with the city’s latest Strategic Plan and includes updated metrics for public space use across departments.

Messick said one idea under review is a centralized database or online platform listing the size, cost and availability of rentable city and partner-owned spaces, adding that the city is evaluating funding and staffing needs to restart the project, and expects to bring additional details to the commission in the months ahead.

— Chad Swiatecki

Park concessions update on hold for now

A long-discussed update to the Parks and Recreation Department’s concession policies to create a new “legacy concessionaire” designation for long-standing businesses operating in city parks has been delayed until Council’s Nov. 6 meeting.

The proposal would be the first major update to the city’s concession policies since 1998, formalizing procedures for overseeing food, recreation and service contracts on parkland and introducing a “legacy” category for operators who have maintained a concession in the same location for at least 20 years. The intent of the change is to recognize businesses with deep community roots, with staff wanting to highlight those operators for maintaining consistent service standards, environmental quality and financial returns for the city.

During public comment, representatives from Zilker Park Boats said the legacy language had been “watered down” through revisions and shifted too much decision-making power to parks department executives. They also objected to reducing the qualifying period from 50 years to 20.