Love actually… Bob Gedert, who has served as director of Austin’s Resource Recovery Department since 2010, is retiring for love. Following his final appearance before City Council on Thursday, Gedert was standing outside Council chambers when the Austin Monitor caught up with him. He said he was moving to Cincinnati and would become a consultant […]
Sheri Gallo
Austin City Council member who represents District 10
Posted inElections
Alter claims win in District 10
Alison Alter trounced incumbent City Council Member Sheri Gallo on Tuesday with the help of an energized Travis County Democratic Party, as well as neighbors angry over development proposals for the Grove at Shoal Creek and the Austin Oaks planned unit developments. It was clear from the moment the early votes came in that Alter […]
Posted inElections
Of mudslinging and money in District 10
With very low turnout for early voting, the campaigns for incumbent District 10 City Council Member Sheri Gallo and challenger Alison Alter are making every effort to turn out the vote for Tuesday’s runoff election. Some of those efforts by the candidates and their supporters have not just slanted the facts but have been outright […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Fuel for the fire
Austin Energy prepared for Trump’s coal revival… During a presentation on Austin Energy’s financial health at the Electric Utility Commission meeting on Monday, Commissioner Stefan Wray asked AE Deputy General Manager Mark Dombroski a question about the elephant in the room: “What possible impact will the new federal government under President Trump have?” President-elect Donald […]
Posted inTransportation
Council says no to public funding for Grove traffic mitigation
City Council on Thursday shot down a plan to explore using public money to mitigate any neighborhood traffic impacts from the Grove at Shoal Creek, a bitterly divisive planned unit development proposed for West 45th Street and Bull Creek Road. Council Member Sheri Gallo’s resolution would have directed city staff to look into the creation […]
Posted inDevelopment
Council wants to move forward with Grove PUD
Mayor Steve Adler hopes to start the process of approving the Grove at Shoal Creek, a controversial planned unit development in Central Austin, at City Council’s next meeting on Thursday. At a Council work session on Tuesday, Adler explained to Council colleagues that he supports approving a draft plan of the PUD on “first reading” […]
Posted inElections
District 10 candidates battle over development priorities
Growth and the interests of real estate developers commanded the discussion among candidates vying to represent Austin’s wealthiest district Tuesday night. City Council Member Sheri Gallo, who has held the District 10 Council seat since she was elected in 2014, sat alongside candidates Alison Alter, Nick Virden and Rob Walker fielding questions from residents. With […]
Posted inTransportation
Grassroots unrest simmers over mobility bond
Mayor Steve Adler’s titanic $720 million transportation bond proposal is poised for a cakewalk to third-reading approval on Thursday, three days ahead of the state-mandated deadline to set the November ballot. And while it seems that most of the big battles to shape the plan have already been settled on the dais, some grassroots activists […]
Posted inDevelopment
Arguments heat up over controversial Grove PUD
Plans and feelings will have to change dramatically in the coming weeks if City Council is ever to reach a consensus on the Grove at Shoal Creek, an enormous mixed-use development proposed for a 75-acre tract of land in North Central Austin. Council’s only action on the project Thursday was unanimous: It voted to postpone […]
Posted inElections
Gallo to remove opponent from Parks board
District 10 City Council Member Sheri Gallo has informed her appointee to the Parks and Recreation Board that she will be removed and replaced at today’s Council meeting. Alison Alter, who announced that she would run against Gallo in this November’s election, has been Gallo’s appointment to the board for the past year and a […]
Posted inAustin
Reporter’s Notebook: On the case
No tweet too small… Each side in the Proposition 1 debate has accused the other of fudging the facts, and your Austin Monitor team is dutifully doing what it can to keep everyone honest. On Friday, for example, we noticed City Council Member Leslie Pool shoot out a tweet accusing Uber of electioneering at one […]
Posted inDevelopment
Potential Shoal Creek development sparks debate among neighbors
In Austin’s Shoal Creek neighborhood, residents are divided over the prospect of a massive new mixed-use development. While some welcome the growth, others say the proposal hasn’t been properly vetted. But taking a walk around the Shoal Creek neighborhood, one can clearly see that, for or against, the residents are all concerned. Along a quiet […]