Austin’s quality of life commissions are getting a very early start on their budget recommendations, and they are looking for community input to flesh them out. Commissions like the African American Resource Advisory Commission, Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission, Commission on Aging, Commission on Immigrant Affairs, Commission for Women, Early Childhood Council, Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission, Human Rights Commission, LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission and Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities will host “investing in community” budget listening sessions to determine the community’s needs, as determined by the community. The meetings, which are free and open to the public and hosted by the Joint Inclusion Committee, will take place over Zoom, with each being about 1.5 hours each. Meetings will take place on Oct. 18, Oct. 24 and Nov. 4. More information and registration to attend can be found here.

Want to work at the city of Austin? Or in Austin? Next Tuesday, Oct. 10, the Human Resources Department will host a Community Job Fair designed to let job seekers meet representatives from city departments and local employers who, according to a press release from the city, are “committed to hiring and assisting individuals from all backgrounds, including justice-involved, individuals who are 50+, veterans, and people with disabilities.” The job fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the City of Austin Permitting and Development Center. It is free and open to the public, with registration online available here.

This year’s voters guide from the League of Women Voters of Texas is now available. At lwvtexas.org and VOTE411.org, you’ll find nonpartisan explanations of 14 proposed amendments, along with arguments for and against each, on local, regional and statewide issues; parks; internet; teacher pensions; property taxes and other matters. LWV Texas provides the 2023 Constitutional Amendment Election Voters Guide in various formats – and languages – to reach as many voters as possible. A printable PDF of the guide is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese online at lwvtexas.org, where you’ll also find explainer videos. VOTE411.org has the guide in English and Spanish, plus information on local races and ballot measures. Printed copies of the LWV Texas Voters Guide have been distributed across the state to public and college libraries, voting advocates and food banks.

This October, Austin Animal Center and Adopt a Pet are teaming up to waive all pet adoption fees. The month will kick off with an event from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Austin Animal Center designed to give would-be pet owners a chance to meet animals up for adoption and get free swag. Animals will be available for adoption on a first-come, first-served basis. For those not able to attend the Oct. 7 event, the shelter is also open for adoption walk-ins. “Guiding adopters from finding their best match to becoming pet parents is what Adopt a Pet is all about – so hosting an in-person event with Austin Animal Center is the perfect way to bring our mission to life,” said Jeannine Taaffe, CEO of Adopt a Pet. “We’re very excited to help these lovable animals and ensure their pet parents feel confident and ready to welcome them to their forever homes.”

The restoration of the grandstands at East Austin’s Downs Field, a recorded Texas historical landmark, was recognized with a Preservation Texas Honor Award at the Central Texas Regional Preservation Summit ceremony. The field, at 2816 E. 12th St., has been the home of sports for Black athletes in Austin for nearly 100 years, and efforts have been underway for a decade to restore and promote the historically significant field. The site was first used in the 1920s by Samuel Huston College baseball and the Austin Black Senators, the first Negro Baseball League team in Austin. Baseball greats associated with the field include Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, Smokey Joe Williams and Buck O’Neil. Later, the site hosted the original L.C. Anderson’s Yellowjackets football team, which won the state championship in 1942. In 1954, Downs Field was established at the site and named in honor of Rev. Karl Downs, who was president of Samuel Huston College. Today, Downs Field is the home field of the Huston-Tillotson Rams. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department replaced the corrugated metal roof and made structural upgrades to the steel supports and wood framing while replicating the original architectural characteristics. The Downs Field Grandstand restoration project was funded by the Historic Preservation Fund in partnership with the Heritage Tourism Division of the Economic Development Department. The fund, made possible through the Hotel Occupancy Tax, helps preserve and restore Austin’s historic treasures.

A sendup of Texas politics has been selected for the 2023 Mayor’s Book Club. It’s called “Mr. Texas,” the new novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning Austin author Lawrence Wright. Get a preview at an author talk at Austin Central Library at 7 p.m. Nov. 27, introduced by Mayor Kirk Watson and moderated by The 19th CEO Emily Ramshaw. “As you read this novel, I hope you’ll consider how Austin connects voices across all of Texas, from all walks of life, which Wright captures with deadpan wit,” Watson said. “And through the laughter, Wright asks us to imagine a Texas that isn’t hampered by partisan politics.”

In some places, fall is ushered in with warm beverages and cozy nights in. Austin is marking the change in seasons by closing its “extreme heat resources” for the year, after the hottest summer on record. According to a news release from the city, the National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Warning for 38 days this year and the city saw less than 1.5 inches of rain June though August. With cooler (if not cool) temperatures in the forecast, the city is halting its operations related to heat, including its cooling centers at libraries and park facilities and a recent misting canopy pilot that was operating at Republic Square Park for 26 days. “We appreciate all the work that went into keeping our community informed and safe. We are thankful to all our library and parks staff who helped provide Cooling Center services to our community,” said Ken Snipes, director for the Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in a statement to the press. “Our emergency responders did an amazing job putting out fires, treating those who experienced heat-related illnesses and responding to those who needed medical attention. As we move into our next season, I ask everyone in our community to use our preparedness resources to learn how to become more resilient before for the next extreme heat event.”

As part of a $300 million plan to prevent displacement along Project Connect corridors, the city’s Housing Department and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation (which is made up of City Council members) have awarded $16.5 million to 12 community organizations. “This is an important milestone for Project Connect. Our desire is to create positive outcomes for our community as transit access expands in Austin,” Rosie Truelove, director for the Housing Department, said in a statement to the press. “These investments will get us closer to accomplishing that goal by providing resources to mitigate potential displacement pressures. Together with our Community Initiated Solutions partners, we’ll continue to ensure residents are supported in our communities.” Award recipients were broken down into three categories. Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, Life Anew Restorative Justice Inc. and Interfaith Action of Central Texas were given money for their work in economic mobility. In terms of homeownership expansion, the city has awarded money to Austin Cooperative Business Foundation Asociación de Residentes, Business & Community Lenders and Del Valle Community Coalition. And for work on tenant stabilization, Austin Tenants Council, Austin Voices for Education and Youth, Communities in Schools of Central Texas, El Buen Samaritano, Meals on Wheels Central Texas, and Workers Defense Project’s Building and Strengthening Tenant Action have received funds. The public is invited to learn more about the programs and eligibility from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 14 at Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center. More information about that event and Community Initiated Solutions can also be found here.

The city offered a tiny update to the big Austin to Manor Trail project this week. Crews have finished clearing and rough grading on the trail corridor and are “nearing completion of the subgrade work,” according to a release from the city. That subgrade work will form the foundation for the 2.9-mile concrete trail extension that will ultimately connect Manor’s Ben E. Fisher Park to Lindell Lane. Over the next few weeks, work will continue on low water crossings. The trail is expected to be complete by next summer.

Last Thursday, City Council agreed to set a joint public hearing with the Planning Commission to consider new zoning regulations designed to make it easier to build affordable housing. Specifically, the hearing will be on proposals to allow three units per lot in single-family residential districts, to allow tiny homes and recreational vehicles to serve as accessory dwelling units and to eliminate the dwelling unit occupancy limit for residential uses. In an email to supporters, Council Member Leslie Pool, who has championed such changes, said that at its next meeting Council will be considering setting the date for the joint hearing on Oct. 26. There is no Council meeting this week, and the item is expected to be on the Oct. 5 agenda. (After that hearing, the Planning Commission will hold a separate hearing on the same items, and Council will hold yet another hearing after the Planning Commission consideration.) Some neighborhood advocates have criticized Council, specifically Pool, for changing their position on what happens in single-family zoned neighborhoods. In her email, Pool defended her actions, explaining that many people – including city employees – can’t afford to buy a home in Austin. She cited as one example an EMS employee who ended up buying a home in San Antonio and commuting to Austin for her job. As Pool noted, the commute has become tiresome for that employee and others. Pool explained that her position on changes to the city’s zoning regulations had changed as a result of hearing stories like the one from the EMS employee.

The Travis County Commissioners Court has put out a call for applications to the Central Health Board of Managers. Serving on the board, according to that call, means representing the interests of the county as well as a mission to “supply exceptional vision, business and administrative skills, and commitment.” More specifically, the county is looking for someone who has one or more of these qualities:

• Senior management-level experience in a governmental or nongovernmental entity
• Experience serving on boards of directors, advisory boards, community leadership panels or strategic planning committees of high-functioning organizations that provide services to and operate in pursuit of a high-impact mission in the community
• Demonstrated leadership experience requiring strategic planning, execution and maintenance of successful business operations as determined by organizational mission and values
• Understanding of budget development, risk models, insurance or other complex financial information
• Knowledge of the issues and components related to the “safety net” health system
• Understanding of public health care delivery systems as well as finance and funding mechanisms utilized for a publicly operated health care system
• Reflective of the diversity of the communities served by Central Health and engaged in understanding patients’ lived experiences and health disparities of marginalized populations
• Interest in serving the community, especially people with low income who need health care in Travis County
• Recognition of Central Health’s fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers
• Commitment to the mission, vision and values of both Central Health and the Travis County Commissioners Court

The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13. More information and an application packet can be found online or by calling 512-854-4774.

The Salvation Army announced Friday that it had approved a one-year lease with the city of Austin for use of its downtown shelter. Under the terms of the nonrenewable lease, The Salvation Army will serve as landlord to the city, allowing Urban Alchemy to operate a “single adult emergency shelter” downtown, following the sudden closure of the women’s shelter, which was announced earlier this year. “We are excited to continue partnering with the City of Austin as we serve our community’s most vulnerable people,” Major Lewis Reckline, area commander at The Salvation Army Austin, said in a statement to the press. “We have continued to faithfully operate The Austin Shelter for Women and Children, a city shelter with over 80 beds for vulnerable women and their children. In addition, The Salvation Army continues to run the privately funded Rathgeber Center for Families, which has over 212 beds serving any family unit with a child. Along with our many other programs assisting Central Texas families, such as our Angel Tree Christmas Assistance Program and Williamson County Service Center, we are humbled to serve those in the greatest need.” The city and Urban Alchemy will be responsible for all repairs, maintenance, operations and management of the property under the terms of the $1.2 million lease.