District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison held a press conference Thursday to highlight City Council’s approval of funds from the U.S. Justice Department, which she called “a monumental step forward for the Downtown Austin Community Court.” Council approved acceptance of two grants totaling $1.45 million from the DOJ’s Bureau of Justice Assistance for the DACC’s […]
Downtown Austin Community Court
Posted inCity Hall
Memo supports mobile community court pilot ahead of $1.5M budget request
A pilot program to make the Downtown Austin Community Court more accessible to those needing help clearing up misdemeanor offenses and receiving social services has been ruled a success, with organizers pushing to make the expansion permanent. A memo released last week from the DACC court administrator Robert Kingham recommends the city move forward with […]
Posted inCity Council
Council seeks bigger Downtown Austin Community Court budget
City Council last week endorsed adding funds to the budget of the Downtown Austin Community Court and expanding the area served by the court. The court concentrates on providing justice diversion and community services to the city’s homeless population. It currently adjudicates a variety of class C misdemeanors committed in three areas: downtown, the area […]
Posted inCity Council
Council halts move of downtown court, seeking study of future needs
City Council has changed course on its plans to relocate the Downtown Austin Community Court to a historic municipal building on West Eighth Street, directing city staff to conduct an analysis of the court’s future needs with the possibility of keeping its existing space in One Texas Center. At last week’s meeting, three items on […]
Posted inAustin
Downtown court relocation plans draw mounting criticism
Resistance appears to be growing to a slate of resolutions on the agenda for Thursday’s City Council meeting that would lead to the permanent relocation of the Downtown Austin Community Court to a circa-1800s municipal building on West Eighth Street. The resolutions would follow action taken in February on the proposed move, allocating $27 million […]
Posted inCity Council
Downtown court location decision postponed again
Responding to pleas from downtown residents and business owners, City Council has once again put off a decision about the new location of a court that primarily serves Austin’s homeless community. City staffers have recommended that the Downtown Austin Community Court be moved from its current temporary location at One Texas Center to 124 E. […]
Posted inCity Council
Council appears ready to hit pause on downtown court relocation
City Council appears set to delay a decision on relocating the Downtown Austin Community Court to the former City Hall building on West Eighth Street. At Tuesday’s work session, Council Member Kathie Tovo said she planned to ask Council to delay action on three items related to the relocation for at least a week, with […]
Posted inCourts
Old City Hall could host new downtown court
As Deputy Chief Financial Officer Kimberly Olivares explained during Tuesday’s City Council work session, city staffers are recommending relocating the Downtown Austin Community Court to the Municipal Building at 124 W. Eighth St. She explained that staff had considered 22 different sites in the Central Austin area before deciding that the old City Hall is […]
Posted inAustin
Advisory council provides a voice for people experiencing homelessness
In the ongoing discussions about solving homelessness in Austin, it’s rare to have people actually experiencing homelessness included in the conversation. That’s the mission of the Austin Homelessness Advisory Council, a group of Austinites who are currently experiencing or have previously experienced homelessness. AHAC was created through Austin’s Innovation Office in 2017, funded by a […]
Posted inDevelopment
HealthSouth redevelopment moves forward
As she made the motion to move the HealthSouth project forward Wednesday, Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison added some requests to Council Member Kathie Tovo’s long list of asks for the team working on the exclusive negotiating agreement with Aspen Heights Partners. That agreement will provide a framework for negotiating the developer’s lease of the […]
Posted inCity Council
Renteria opposes East Austin location for court
Council Member Pio Renteria expressed dismay at Tuesday’s work session over the Downtown Austin Community Court’s planned relocation to East Austin. Renteria told his colleagues he had just found out about the proposal to lease 30,000 square feet of office space at 1719 E. Second St. within his district. That location, he said, is just half a […]
Posted inCity Council
Faulk Library renovation opens conversation on Downtown Community Court
The Austin History Center downtown is ready to expand into the first floor of the adjacent John H. Faulk Library, but the building needs some work. City Council will consider a contract for design services Thursday to get the ball rolling on the expansion and renovation project, but some members of Council are concerned the […]