City Manger T.C. Broadnax announced Monday that a tentative agreement for a five-year police contract has been reached. The agreement, which will have to be approved by City Council and ratified by the Austin Police Association to go into effect, would mean a 28 percent pay increase for officers over five years at a cost of $217.8 million. The agreement also includes a process for anonymous complaints to the Office of Police Oversight and, according to a press release from the city, “acknowledges other key aspects of the Austin Police Oversight Act including the elimination of confidential police personnel files and the implementation of the Community Police Review Commission.” (APD’s secret “G files” were deemed illegal by a court ruling last month.) “It’s a new day for our officers with the Austin Police Department as I am hopeful our Austin Police Association members will understand the City’s support of them, particularly as it relates to pay and benefits,” Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement to the press. “I’ve stood firm in saying that a long-term contract is in the best interest of our community, as well as for our officers, to ensure we can fill vacancies as well as retain officers. This agreement achieves those goals and more – it also represents a new day for police oversight. The measures agreed to in this contract are a first for the State of Texas, if not the nation. I am pleased to see the outcome of the work that the APA and our City’s negotiation team have achieved through what I believe is a historic agreement.” The agreement will be available for public review on Thursday and, according to the press release, likely be considered by Council on Oct. 10.

Six months after adoption, the Austin Water Utility has a preliminary update on new water reuse regulations. The changes made water reuse mandatory for larger developments in the city in the name of water conservation. At the time, Council Member Chito Vela asked that city management report back on the costs of the program, water savings and information about how it might be implemented in low-income buildings. Those answers came in the form of a Sept. 18 memo that was low on details, given the quick turnaround. “Due to the early development status of the projects complying with GoPurple requirements, actual costs and actual water savings are still unknown. No projects have applied for program incentives. No projects have elected to pay any fee in lieu related to on-site reuse requirements,” it notes. As for expanding the program to projects aimed at lower-income residents, which are currently exempt, city staff has promised to report back in January 2025. The memo did include a table of projects that have participated in the program so far, and that can be read below:

A group of organizations sprang into action to replace bicycles and equipment recently stolen from the Lorraine “Grandma” Camacho Activity Center, enhancing the city’s bicycle education programming while they were at it. “Because of the recent surge of community support, the city’s youth cycling programs are not only replacing bikes lost to theft, but are also upgrading our fleet with new youth bikes and helmets,” Angela Means, interim director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said in a statement to the press. “The generosity of these foundations, businesses, non-profits, and cyclists is akin to the Department winning a large national grant for municipal youth cycling programs.” According to a press release from the city, “H-E-B, The Trail Conservancy, Guardian Bikes, Specialized Bikes, The LeadOut Foundation, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, and Celis Thursday Walnut Creek Meetup Group have committed funds, bikes, helmets, discounts, and services to the City’s youth cycling programs.”

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia will be Austin’s next assistant city manager, after being appointed by City Manager T.C. Broadnax to head the city’s public safety departments. Garcia’s move comes after considerable effort on the city of Dallas’ part to retain Garcia, including offering a biannual $10,000 retention bonus that Dallas’ interim City Manager Kimberly Tolbert penned in May. Broadnax confirmed the appointment in a statement to KUT on Thursday.

Austinites are invited to share their opinions on the focus of local housing programs as part of a bid for $7 million in federal funding. The city’s Housing Department is applying for a Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) grant
offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. If selected, the money would “be used to further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans, improve housing strategies, remove regulatory barriers, and facilitate affordable housing production and preservation,” according to a press release from the city. This is the second year the city will apply for the grant, after not being selected in 2023. As part of the process, the city Housing Department is asking for feedback on how potential funds should be used, with public comment open now through Oct. 10 at SpeakUpAustin or through public hearings scheduled:

• Housing & Planning Committee Meeting –  2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1
• Community Development Commission Meeting – at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8
• Community Advisory Committee Meeting – 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10

The annual Zilker Tree Art Contest is lighting up again this year, and artists between the ages of 5 and 10 years old are invited to submit their artistic representations of the moontower-mounted holiday tree by Nov. 1. The top three selected artwork winners from each age category, Junior and Senior, will be publicly recognized in the tree lighting ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 1. The impressive Gallery of Previous Art Winners is available to view online. For contest details and more information from the Parks and Recreation Department, visit AustinTexas.Gov/ZilkerHolidayTree.

The Austin Parks Foundation has announced this year’s ACL Music Festival Grants, which will distribute $85,500 to local parks. They are: $17,000 for trail improvements in the Steck Valley Greenbelt; $42,000 toward community gardens in Grand Meadow Neighborhood Park; and $26,000 for nature play in the Heritage Oaks Neighborhood Park, Ron Rigsby Pocket Park and Walnut Bluffs Trail Head. “These grants are in addition to the millions that APF invests in our parks each year, but what makes them special is that they address specific needs identified by our community members and park adopters,” Colin Wallis, CEO of Austin Parks Foundation, said in a statement to the press. “With the help of the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department, we are able to work directly with stewards and stakeholders to improve the parks they live and play in, from smaller maintenance needs to larger improvement projects.”

Austin will celebrate its 27th annual Museum Day this Sunday, Sept. 22, with free admission to over 30 museums in the greater Austin area. The museums, which are helpfully listed here and on the map below, will offer special programming and activities for guests. A detailed look at the participating museums can be found in The Austin Chronicle or at the tent on the plaza of the Bullock Texas State History Museum on Sunday.

After being closed for nearly three weeks, Barton Springs Pool will reopen at 5 a.m. Thursday. The pool was closed in order to repair two holes in an abandoned skimmer pipe that posed a hazard to swimmers. Those holes have now been filled with gravel and concrete in a manner that was intended to cause as little disruption to salamanders as possible. “We are thrilled to welcome the community back to Barton Springs Pool in time for the weekend. City leadership and partner departments have been instrumental working efficiently and cooperatively to resolve the issue and ensure that the pool is safe and ready for visitors,” interim PARD Director Angela Means said in a statement to the press. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of pool goers throughout the repair process.” Though Thursday is usually a cleaning day for the pool, it will be open for swimmers, with cleaning to take place on Wednesday instead. Deep Eddy Pool, which was operating with different hours during Barton Springs’ closure, will resume its normal hours of operation on Thursday.

From Monday, Oct. 14, through mid-December, the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail at Waller Creek will take a small detour to allow construction of new pedestrian bridges over Waller Creek and the Lagoon Overlook and Leaf Deck. People on the route over the creek will use a temporary creek crossing. The new route will not be blocked, and cyclists can ride as usual. This is the third of a series of detours planned over several months for The Confluence, the second phase of Waterloo Greenway’s design plan to revitalize Waller Creek and create a 1.5-mile greenway stretching from Waterloo Park at its north all the way to Lady Bird Lake. The current detour started on Aug. 26 and will remain in place until the new detour starts. Construction work hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend work.

While the city originally said the detour would begin on Sept. 30, that has been corrected and the detour will begin on Oct. 14.

Following complaints about speeding motorcycles and other reckless driving, Austin Police Department patrol officers “will be out enforcing traffic laws and targeting motorists that are driving aggressively, speeding, and other hazardous violations,” according to a press release from the city. Officers will focus on Ranch Road 2222 between MoPac Expressway and Loop 360 in an effort to increase public safety.

Here’s a map, provided by the city, of the area that will be targeted: