Central Health is inviting partners, stakeholders and community members to attend a conversation on Central Health’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget priorities “and learn how we are building a comprehensive healthcare system to improve the health of Travis County residents with low income,” according to the announcement. 

• Thursday, Aug. 4, 6:30-8 p.m., Turner Roberts Recreation Center, 7201 Colony Loop Drive. Dinner will be provided. RSVP here.
• Tuesday, Aug. 9, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Southeast Health & Wellness Center, 2901 Montopolis Drive. Lunch will be provided. RSVP here.
• Thursday, Aug. 18, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Central Health Headquarters, 1111 E Cesar Chavez St. Lunch will be provided.  RSVP here. (This event will also be streamed on Facebook Live.)

They say bad news comes in threes. So on the heels of Covid-19 and monkeypox, it should come as no surprise that a positive mosquito pool for West Nile virus has been discovered in the 78721 ZIP code. While no humans have yet tested positive for the mosquito-borne illness, Austin Public Health says the positive pool indicates that “the virus is in our community.” West Nile is generally transmitted via the bite of an infected mosquito; hence the importance of eliminating pools of standing or stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed. Marcel Elizondo, interim assistant director for Environmental Health Services, said in a press release, “The monitoring of mosquito pools is key to keeping the public informed and safe, especially when many people are spending time outside. By removing standing water and using prevention tools we keep ourselves, our families and communities safe.” Find out how to protect yourself from West Nile here.

Anyone who wants to attend and/or speak out about the city budget will have a variety of opportunities in the near future. Districts 3, 5 and 9 are holding such discussions this Saturday. District 8 is holding a budget town hall on Monday. Both are accessible online. District 1 is holding its meeting next Wednesday, Aug. 3, at the Asian American Resource Center at 8401 Cameron Road and also online. District 10’s budget town hall will be Aug. 4 at the Jewish Community Center, 7300 Hart Lane, and online. District 7 will host a budget meeting at the Northwest Recreation Center at 2913 Northland Drive on Aug. 6. District 6’s meeting will be online on Aug. 8. Find exact times and virtual meeting links here. District 2 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes has already hosted her budget meeting.

Discussions at the Planning Commission often stretch late into the evening and even, on occasion, past midnight. So it was remarkable when Chair Todd Shaw adjourned Tuesday’s meeting after barely half an hour. “This is kind of a historic moment,” Shaw said. “We don’t have any discussion cases.” The meeting was the shortest in (this journalist’s) recent memory. Even without zoning cases to discuss, there was still business to conduct. Several zoning and site plan items passed on consent, most notably a rezoning to Vertical Mixed-Use (VMU) for a 1.7-acre site at 830 and 838 Airport Blvd. and 917 and 923 Shady Lane where multifamily housing is planned. The commission also previewed upcoming meetings. In two weeks, commissioners will (again) tackle the question of how commercial projects should help pay for parks. In the meantime, a working group will meet to allow more discussion and stakeholder feedback. (Speaking of working groups, two recently established housing working groups are now fully populated and raring to make housing easier to build by proposing changes to the Land Development Code.) And on Aug. 30, the commission will meet jointly with the Zoning and Platting Commission to hear presentations from city staffers on notification requirements for rezonings, traffic analyses as part of zoning cases, and anti-displacement work happening through Project Connect. 

Former Mayor Lee Leffingwell reports that he is doing well following surgery for an aortic aneurysm. He described the condition as a weak spot in the aorta, the body’s largest artery. Leffingwell, who currently lives in Driftwood, said he is doing well and looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. Because of the surgery, he is not yet able to drive. Leffingwell, who served as Austin’s mayor from 2009 to 2014, said he was supporting former Mayor Kirk Watson in his race to return to the mayor’s chair.

Due to an upcoming system upgrade being managed by the Communications & Technology Management Department, the Austin Build + Connect portal will be temporarily unavailable. The portal will be offline from 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 28, to 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 1. CTM explains that the upgrade is needed “to ensure the long-term continuity of services for Austin residents and developers.” CTM asks customers who need the services of the portal to complete their work by 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 28, or wait until after the portal comes back online on Aug. 1. The system upgrade “is a technical, back-end upgrade that will improve overall functionality of the system” and will not cause any change in the customer experience.

As Council took its noon break from the public work session Tuesday, Mayor Steve Adler announced he would be wearing a mask for the afternoon session in response to a memo from acting City Manager Anne Morgan, who is covering the duties while Spencer Cronk is on parental leave with a new baby. Morgan wrote to warn city employees that the risk of Covid-19 is on the rise. Although Travis County is still at the “medium” level, surrounding areas are in a “high” level of danger. She encouraged all city employees to take the necessary steps to keep themselves, their co-workers and loved ones healthy. While urging everyone to stay up-to-date on their Covid vaccinations, her memo emphasized that wearing a mask indoors is important to stay safe. She said, “Much like how we prepare for rain by grabbing umbrellas and putting on raincoats, we need to prepare for this rise in Covid by putting on our masks. Wearing a mask is like putting on your raincoat.” According to the city website, as of Tuesday, 287,606 people in Travis County had tested positive for the virus. Currently, 191 area residents are hospitalized with the virus. One month ago, 97 Austinites were hospitalized with Covid, while on May 27, that number was just 28.

City Council will likely increase the size of a proposed affordable housing bond set to go before voters this November. On Tuesday, some Council members said they would rather see a $350 million bond – up from a previously proposed $300 million. Council members Leslie Pool, Vanessa Fuentes, Ann Kitchen, and Chito Vela said they would support the bigger bond, while Council Member Alison Alter said she needed more time to think about it and talk with constituents. “We have spent our affordable housing bonds well in the past, and we are at a point where we do need additional funds,” Alter said, “but there is an impact on the taxpayer.” Council Member Mackenzie Kelly signaled opposition to the bond last week because of concern about increased property taxes. According to city estimates, the larger amount would add $46 to a typical homeowner’s annual property tax bill; with the smaller amount, the tax impact is $40 per year. A typical homeowner, in this case, owns a home worth $448,000 with a taxable value of $358,400. Council will vote Thursday whether to put the measure on the ballot.

Austin ISD is hosting two virtual community conversations on Wednesday, July 27, to gather feedback about the draft 2022 bond proposals before trustees vote on a final package Aug. 9. Families and community members are invited to attend one or both sessions to hear about recent updates to the proposals and share feedback for the AISD Board of Trustees. The meetings will be facilitated in English and in Spanish.

• Afternoon session, noon-1:30 p.m., Zoom link
• Evening session, 6-7:30 p.m., Zoom link

The district will hold additional information sessions in September once the bond package has been finalized and the vote has been held.

Austin Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks announced Monday that the group was endorsing Kirk Watson for mayor. Watson, a former mayor and state senator, also has the endorsement of the city’s EMS Association PAC. The Austin Police Association has not made an endorsement in the race. Ken Casaday, president of the APA, told the Austin Monitor he was not sure whether the police union would endorse in the race, noting that some candidates do not want an endorsement from the police. In a press release, the Watson campaign quoted Nicks as saying, “Austin is at a crossroads. We’re facing big challenges, especially those relating to affordability, transportation and public safety. It’s critical our next mayor is pragmatic, has common sense and an ability to get things done. We need a mayor who can address our needs on day one.” The firefighters and EMS associations also endorsed Chito Vela, who won the City Council District 4 seat in January. In 2020, firefighters supported incumbent Council members Greg Casar, Leslie Pool and Alison Alter, as well as the unsuccessful candidacy of David Chincanchan in the District 2 race to take the seat previously held by Delia Garza. (Council Member Vanessa Fuentes won that race.) The largest remaining union to announce an endorsement is AFSCME, which has been pushing the city to raise the starting wage to $22 per hour.

Though the case may be postponed at the meeting, City Council is scheduled for a Thursday vote on the massive development planned for the former Austin American-Statesman site. Regardless, a group of Austinites have another ask for the developers – the inclusion of Better Builder Standards, which are designed to protect construction workers. The standards establish living wages, safety training, employment goals, worker compensation and on-site monitoring. Representatives from local unions and the Workers Defense Action Fund will hold a press conference tomorrow morning at City Hall to talk more about affordability and what they would like to see included in construction standards for the project. Council approved the project on first reading with a number of amendments to the development plan. The next two votes will likely be a process of balancing affordability and community benefits with the rising costs of its construction.

The Austin Animal Center has just taken in 40 more dogs despite a historic space crunch that has the shelter operating at 142 percent capacity for dogs. All of the dogs were surrendered by a single owner who was served with an eviction notice, according to a news release from the city. After the county constable alerted the shelter to the situation, animal protection officers arrived on the scene expecting to rescue 20 small dogs. When they arrived, “they found over 40.” Fortunately, Animal Services chief Don Bland said the shelter’s out-of-state rescue partners have stepped forward to help. “When we get notified about an impending eviction like this, we have no choice but to find somewhere to put these dogs. We’ve been operating over-capacity for months now, and we’re starting to see an increase in people needing to surrender due to evictions. We really need our community to come out and foster and adopt so that we have open kennels for cases like these.”