Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department is planning a community meeting Tuesday to discuss and gather public input for the Eilers Neighborhood Park Improvement project. The renovation project is part of PARD’s Capital Improvement Program. City officials anticipate renovations to picnic, play, pathway and landscape features of the park. The 8-acre park features Deep Eddy Pool, a toddler play area, an ADA accessible ramp to a hike and bike trail and a dock onto Town Lake for fishing and bird watching. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Lions Golf Course Club House, 2901 Enfield Road.

The city is hosting a fair housing conference, “Fair Housing in Austin: Past, Present, and Future,” on May 8. Highlights of the conference include sessions on discriminatory advertising, statements and notices; disability rights; ethics and case law; and best practices. David Mintz, vice president of the Texas Apartment Association, will be the keynote speaker. The conference will also provide 4.75 continuing education credit hours from the Austin Apartment Association. Registration is $40. The deadline for online registration is 5 p.m. May 6. Register online here. The conference is set for 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 8 at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road.

The Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department must conduct an assessment to identify and prioritize needs in the community, as required by federal Community Services Block Grant funds the area receives. The federal funds provide support for basic needs, employment support, case management and preventive health services through the department’s six neighborhood centers and three outreach locations. Staff is seeking residents to take the survey to provide input on their community’s pressing needs. For more information, please contact Bianca Enriquez or call 512-972-5014. Take the survey here.

Don’t expect any more strip clubs downtown. City Council unanimously approved an ordinance disallowing adult-oriented businesses within 1,000 feet of a museum or library. This adds them to a list including schools, day care facilities, churches and public parks. The change was spurred by plans to open a strip club on Congress Avenue near the Mexic-Arte Museum and The Contemporary Austin Art Museum. The club’s permit has been reviewed by staff, and if they resubmit the city will have another two weeks to review it, which all but
guarantees its disapproval. The ordinance, which takes effect in 10 days, also makes businesses trying to place an adult-oriented business downtown subject to review. Every other board and commission that heard the code amendment — the Codes and Ordinances Subcommittee, the Downtown Commission and the Planning Commission — approved it unanimously.

Patricia Young Brown, President and CEO of Central Health, will be joining us April 28, for the Austin Monitor’s “Beer, Brains, and Betterment” talk on Austin’s new medical school and the innovation district. Brown will join UT Dell Medical School Dean Clay Johnston, Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Civic Analytics’ Brian Kelsey for a discussion about the Med School and its impact on the City of Austin. Though free and open to the public, those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP here.

Travis County Commissioners heard staff updates on House Bills 1615 and 2725 in the 84th Legislative Session. These bills could kill the county’s mobile voting program. The bills were filed after public independent school districts across the state used their mobile voting programs to target specific voters, said Dana DeBeauvoir, Travis County Clerk. Giving an example, DeBeauvoir said the ISDs would take mobile voting specifically to Parent Teacher Association meetings when school bonds where on ballots. She said Travis County uses the program to reach out to its rural, elderly and other residents who were less mobile, and do not participate in voter targeting practices. Commissioners voted unanimously, 5-0, to support local control of the program.

Thursday was the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department’s “Lifeguard Hiring Day.” To celebrate, the Parks Department teamed up with the Austin Parks Foundation to offer the first Lifeguard Hiring Incentive program. As a result, the first 500 lifeguards that are hired, trained and work the first week of the season will receive a $100 VISA gift card. The city will be holding two more hiring days for lifeguards, on May 7 and May 20. For more information, visit the city’s website on lifeguarding in Austin.  More than 750 lifeguards are needed in order to safely operate Austin’s city pools this summer.

City Council Member Don Zimmerman’s controversial appointee to the Commission on Immigrant Affairs, Rebecca Forest, asked Zimmerman on Wednesday to rescind her appointment, “as it is apparent the City Council is determined not to honor it.” Eight members of the Council indicated Tuesday that they would support Council Member Greg Casar’s resolution calling for the removal of Forest from the commission just two weeks after her appointment. In the resolution, Casar cited numerous inflammatory statements Forest has made, including the statement that Texas has too many Hispanic lawmakers. She has also disparaged President Barack Obama, inaccurately calling him a Muslim, and praised the government of Angola for destroying mosques and outlawing Islam. In a letter to Zimmerman, Forest said, “Time and time again I have stated that I do not care where people come from, I just want them to obey our laws, come legally, speak our language and assimilate — become ‘Americans.'” But she also took a swipe at local leaders, saying, “It is truly disturbing to see how elected (and appointed) leaders in the City of Austin and Travis County are choosing to put the safety of legal immigrants, legal residents and American citizens at risk by adopting policies that provide a ‘safety zone’ (thus sanctuary) for violent/criminal illegal aliens flowing daily across our southern border.” Further, she said, many residents of District 6 “feel that the Austin City Council (and the Immigrant Affairs Commission) put ALL Austin families in great danger by implementing/recommending ‘sanctuary city’ policies. It is unacceptable that the leadership in Austin is knowingly aiding and abetting criminal activity through policies that act as a magnet to draw dangerous criminals into our communities — especially into our local immigrant communities.” Late last night, Casar said he had received word from City Clerk Jannette Goodall that Forest had submitted another letter in which she said she was declining the appointment. If that is legally sufficient to prevent her from taking a seat on the commission, Casar said, then he will not need to move forward with the resolution.

The Council Committee on Public Utilities voted unanimously Wednesday to make no recommendation concerning the Decker Lake Golf proposal. The proposal would create two PGA-class golf courses on undeveloped parkland at Walter E. Long Park. Committee Chair Delia Garza opened the meeting with citizens communications, whose speakers included Barbara Scott, co-president of the Colony Park Neighborhood Association. She said, “Our community is completely behind the Decker Lake Golf development. It was said the other day that we are divided. We are not divided. We have had a disgruntled person who does not live in the neighborhood, who is working with someone who is an environmentalist that is totally against the project. And basically, what they did was a witch hunt.” Scott said that someone opposing the project had asked residents whether they wanted a golf course or a park. Naturally, they said they wanted a park. But Scott contends that Colony Park will get its own park next year. Toward the end of the meeting, more than half a dozen speakers voiced their opinions on the golf course, most of whom were in favor. They included Charles Urdy, a longtime former City Council member from East Austin, as well as Brian Rodgers, a community activist who opposes the golf development. The committee agreed to place a report on the matter on the Council message board before a scheduled vote by the full Council. It is unclear exactly what might be in that report, since the proposal now has nothing to do with Austin Water Utility. Council Member Leslie Pool has indicated that her Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee will take up the matter April 29. Council Member Ellen Troxclair, chair of the Economic Opportunity Committee, said that panel would discuss the proposal at its next meeting on May 11.

The city’s Equal Employment/Fair Housing Office and Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division will host a conference May 8 highlighting the latest developments and trends in fair housing policy. The theme of the conference is “Fair Housing in Austin: Past, Present, and Future.” The conference will include topics such as Watch What You Say: Discriminatory Advertising, Statements, and Notices; Best Practices: A Fair Housing Risk Analysis of the Tenancy Cycle; Fair Housing Disability Rights: Reasonable Accommodation; Fair Housing Representational Ethics and Attorneys’ Fees; and Fair Housing Case Law Update. The agenda is intended to assist professionals working in all areas of the housing industry to understand the laws and regulations of fair housing. The conference will begin at 9 a.m. May 8 at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road. The registration fee is $40. To register online, go here.

The Parks and Recreation Department’s Aquatics Division is looking to hire more than 750 lifeguards to staff its 50 aquatic facilities this summer.  The Aquatic Administration and Training Facility is hosting three hiring days to give anyone interested in working as a lifeguard, cashier or swim instructor the opportunity to complete an application, interview and register for any required training. Pay is dependent on position and age and starts at $8 to $10.25 per hour. Prospects can apply from 4 to 8 p.m. today at the Aquatic Administration and Training Facility, 2818 San Gabriel. Other hiring sessions are planned for May 8 and May 20. For more information, call (512) 974-9332 or go here.

The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District will hold a public hearing today to evaluate a Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association, or TESPA, claim. According to a news release from TESPA, “This public hearing is in response to a notice of intent to sue filed by TESPA alleging that the wells and well field constructed by Electro Purification were constructed without a necessary permit from the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. This notice is a requirement to filing suit under Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code. In addition to filing the notice of intent, TESPA has filed suit in Hays County state district court in San Marcos. To date, TESPA has not sought preliminary injunctive relief in state court because it has not been necessary to stop further development of the wells.” The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at Dripping Springs City Hall, 511 Mercer St.