The Travis County Innovative Justice and Program Analysis team is hosting a community conversation between its staff, elected officials, community members, community organizations and members of law enforcement agencies about the county’s mental health diversion initiatives, including brief updates on the Crisis Care Diversion Pilot and the Mental Health Diversion Center. From 6-8 p.m. May 7, in person at The Asian American Resource Center (8401 Cameron Road), attendees can learn about upcoming ways to influence and inform the center’s design and planning. Or join in online from noon-1:30 p.m. May 9. Register here for the in-person session, and register here for the online session. The session will be facilitated in English. Spanish and ASL interpretation will be provided. For questions, email JusticeandPublicSafetyDivision@traviscountytx.gov.

As part of the “Journey with AUS” expansion program, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will hold an open house at the Montopolis Recreation Center this Saturday. The open house, which will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will have information about the airport, its expansion and employment opportunities, among other things. The event is free and open to the public and will feature food, live music, vaccines and family-friendly activities. Spanish interpretation will be on-site. “This will be our second annual community Open House. We’re carrying on a commitment to fostering meaningful relationships with airport neighbors,” Ghizlane Badawi, chief executive officer for AUS, said in a statement to the press. “On the heels of our busiest year on record and with years of improvement and expansion projects ahead, it is an exciting time for the airport. We want to continue to share our plans with the community, provide updates as we reach major milestones, answer their questions, and bring them along as we shape the future of AUS.”

In an attempt to make crossing the street safer, a new safety and mobility pilot project is underway on Shoal Creek Boulevard at Treadwell Boulevard. The crosswalk, which also has enhanced markings, is illuminated when a pedestrian is crossing. According to a press release from the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department, “About 75 percent of all pedestrian traffic fatalities in the United States occur at night, according to the Federal Highway Administration, and adding or increasing lighting can reduce nighttime pedestrian crashes by 42 percent.” Those who have experience the lit-crosswalk pilot project themselves are invited to complete this survey about the experience.

Credit: Transportation and Public Works

Austin Energy and the Texas Solar for All Coalition are celebrating “tens of millions” of federal dollars that will boost access to solar energy for historically disadvantaged communities and medically vulnerable residents. The money, which is part of a $250 million EPA Solar for All grant, will help expand solar, create green jobs and foster community resilience with battery backup systems. The money will also help lower the energy bills by more than 20 percent in some low-income communities. A press release from Austin Energy explains that the funds will help construct local solar “power plants” in low-income neighborhoods, which will then receive incentives and, potentially, energy bill discounts. In addition, homes will have energy backups in the case of grid outages. “We are incredibly excited about how this grant helps the City of Austin reduce pollution, create green jobs and directly benefit our historically disadvantaged communities as we create Austin’s clean energy future,” Richard Génecé, Austin Energy vice president of customer energy solutions, said in a statement to the press. “By focusing on expanding access to solar power, Austin Energy is helping relieve both the burdens of high-energy costs and carbon pollution that these communities disproportionately bear while strengthening our local grid resilience in the face of climate change.”

The Watershed Protection Department will recognize winners of its flood safety video contest with a ceremony, spotlighting their contributions to flood safety awareness. It will be held at 6 p.m. today at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road, Austin, TX, 78754. Jorge Morales, director of the Watershed Protection Department, and Paul Yura, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, will speak at the event before the winning videos are screened. Additional parking will be available at 1520 Rutherford Lane. Those who plan to attend can RSVP to becca.villarreal@austintexas.gov. For more information on the contest, visit austintexas.gov/flood-safety-contest.

The recent renovation of Brush Square Park includes a new permanent stage constructed specifically for the annual O. Henry Museum Pun-Off World Championships, and this year’s contestants will be the first to compete on this “New Stage of Word Domination.” For 47 years, punsters have gathered in Austin for a battle of wit and wordplay in honor of famous wordsmith and short story writer William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry. The internationally renowned spoken word competition focuses on the art of the pun – and is considered one of Austin’s oldest “weird” events. This year’s event is set for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 11 at Brush Square Park, 409 E. Fifth St., behind the O. Henry Museum. It’s free to the public, and no ticket is required for admission. Additional details about the event can be found on the official Facebook event page.

While it could be argued that budget season is a year-round affair at City Hall, things are about to start in earnest. To get ready, Mayor Kirk Watson has posted a schedule for this year’s process, which will end in an adopted budget on Aug. 14, 15 or 16. According to Watson’s City Council Message Board post, the staff budget will be presented at a City Council work session on Friday, July 12, which will also launch the “Council Budget Questions” process that will be available online for the public to view. Council will hold additional budget work sessions on July 24 (which will include public comment) and July 30. The next month, a public hearing will take place at 3 p.m. Aug. 1, when a tax rate will be adopted, and work sessions are currently scheduled for Aug. 6 and 8. City Council voting on the budget will take place at one of the meetings scheduled Aug. 14-16. “Adopting the FY25 Budget is one of the most important decisions this Council will make. I hope by outlining the timeline and process, we can work in an efficient and collaborative manner while achieving our shared goal of making the City of Austin a great place to live, work and thrive for all members of our community,” Watson wrote.

The Travis County Commissioners Court is seeking a person to join the three-member Civil Service Commission for Sheriff’s Office Employees, which serves the employees of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. The Travis County Commissioners Court appoints one member of the Commission, the Travis County Sheriff appoints another and the Travis County District Attorney appoints a third. The court is seeking to fill its one appointed position on the commission. The commission was created to promote a quality office by establishing and enforcing rules and regulations that pertain to employee selection, advancement, benefits, rights and working conditions consistent with Sheriff’s Office needs and circumstances. The ideal board member would have knowledge, experience or specialization in one or more of the following:

• Employment law
• Grievance procedures
• Mediation
• Local/state government
• Diversity and inclusion
• Law enforcement
• Policy development
• Administrative hearing procedures

Applicants must be at least 25 years of age and have lived in Travis County at least three years immediately preceding the date on which their term will begin. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Friday, April 26. Find the application packet online at the county’s website or call (512) 854-4774.

City Council is poised to make another bundle of changes to the Land Development Code in an effort to make development easier and housing less expensive. Last week, the city scheduled two more open houses to help get the word out about those changes, which would reduce minimum lot sizes, change compatibility standards and create new development standards near future transit and in central South Austin, among other things. The new meetings will take place 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 6, at Anderson High School and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. The changes are on a fast-track back to Council, with meetings scheduled chockablock in the meantime. The amendments will be at Council on May 16 and May 30, with downtown parking and the ETOD amendment to Imagine Austin to be heard at the second meeting.

Last week, City Council unanimously approved a resolution to amend the University Neighborhood Overlay (UNO). The resolution asks to expand the district, amend height limits and encourage grocery stores, among other things. “I’m happy to take action to build on the 20 years of successful design and development that UNO has brought to West Campus,” Council Member Zo Qadri said in a statement to the press. “These newest revisions focus directly on the needs expressed by students, workers, and other community stakeholders in the area. The improvements this resolution will bring to affordability, mobility, and safety are a direct result of the conversations we have had with advocates.” A press release from Qadri, who sponsored the resolution, said the resolution is “the first step of several more to come” with adoption of an ordinance that will enshrine the changes expected to take place next spring.

In a unanimous vote, City Council approved an eight-month, $500,000 extension of a contract to continue Marshalling Yard emergency shelter operations for those experiencing homelessness. The contract will allow the yard to serve as an emergency shelter through March 2025. “The Marshalling Yard Emergency Shelter provides compassionate care to 300 clients daily and the rate of clients exiting the shelter successfully continues to climb,” Austin’s Homeless Strategy Officer David Gray said in a statement to the press. “Emergency shelter capacity is a critical piece of a multi-faceted approach to making homelessness brief, rare, and nonrecurring. As we meet those immediate needs, we must also focus on case management, access to mental health care, and creating more housing opportunities.” Though there was some question at the work session about whether the contract was the best way to spend funds addressing the issue, Gray explained that the city is still short 815 permanent shelter beds for individuals experiencing homelessness. In addition, 20 percent of those leaving the yard – which serves as an emergency stopgap shelter – are now exiting to move into housing, which has doubled since January of this year. “In addition to case management services, clients of the Marshalling Yard Emergency Shelter access daily transportation services, three healthy and nutritious meals per day, pet-friendly onsite boarding and pet food, onsite laundry services, onsite showering facilities, wellness activities and a patio for outdoor activities,” a press release from the city says.

City Council unanimously approved a passive building pilot program Thursday, paving the way for more passive building design in the city. The resolution, sponsored by Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool, launches a program that will use building techniques that support energy efficiency and the use of fewer resources – first on four affordable housing projects, with an eventual goal of implementing passive building standards into the city code. “We know that conserving energy and decreasing demand is a key strategy in the Austin Energy Resource Generation Plan, and these building techniques could help us meet our energy and climate goals even faster,” Pool said.