The Texas Department of Transportation provided the Austin Monitor with its response Monday to a letter that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sent to Mayor Steve Adler, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and others April 15. The letter expressed concerns about the environmental impact that the proposed State Highway 45 Southwest may have on the city and county’s Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan. “As a responsible steward of the environment, TxDOT conducted extensive environmental and technical studies in preparing the impact statement for the project. TxDOT also coordinated extensively with Travis County, specific to the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan,” wrote TxDOT Director of Environmental Affairs Carlos Swonke. “Based on the technical studies discussed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, we expect the project to have a positive impact on water quality in the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. It will move traffic off local streets that have little or no stormwater controls, to a new road with state-of-the-art stormwater controls. Based on the technical studies discussed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, we do not anticipate any negative impacts to the resources described in the letter.” TxDOT approved the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed 3.6-mile, four-lane tolled highway in January and cleared it for construction in March. The city has been a longtime opponent of the project, with Watershed Protection Department Environmental Officer Chuck Lesniak recently calling the associated environmental study unsound. After receiving last week’s letter, Eckhardt asked Mike Heiligenstein, executive director of TxDOT’s partner on the project, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, to postpone further design plans until the environmental concerns have been resolved.

On Monday the Texas House approved on first reading a bill designed to take a number of public corruption cases away from Travis County’s Public Integrity Unit. Final approval is expected today. The bill, House Bill 1690, applies only to corruption allegations against elected or appointed state officials, who would be prosecuted in the official’s home county. Cases against state employees would still be prosecuted in Travis County. Republicans want to take prosecution of elected or appointed officials away from the Travis County district attorney, claiming they can’t get a fair hearing in a Democratic-controlled county. The Public Integrity Unit has been under fire for several years, but came under intense scrutiny after then-Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the unit’s funding in 2013 after Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg would not resign following a drunken driving conviction. Travis County Commissioners later stepped in to fund the office. The veto led to charges against Perry for misuse of power. A trial in that case is pending. The Texas Senate has already passed a similar bill.

The Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce has named its 2015 Small Business Award winners. More than 600 attendees gathered at the downtown Hilton for the ceremonies last week. This year’s awards included the inaugural Native Star Award, which went to George Howell, a CNN anchor who attended high school and college in Austin. Other award winners included a number of small-business owners who have made a mark on the Austin area, including Small Business of the Year honorees Shuronda Robinson of Adisa Communications and Monalisa Sanders of Platinum Dreams Designs. More than a dozen business owners and others received awards. The chamber also presented three Austin-area college students with $3,000 scholarships. For a complete list of winners, go here.

.

City Council approved the development of two pet motels near the Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, one private and one public-private partnership. Council members approved the item 7-2, despite naysayers Ora Houston and Don Zimmerman. Houston expressed concern about the propriety of a city-approved pet motel on the airport parking space. Council Member Pio Renteria abstained and Mayor Steve Adler was off the dais. The public-private pet motel was part of a deal between Scott Airport Parking and the airport to build parking lots. Scott Airport Parking was required to build a business amenity along with the parking area, and it chose the pet motel. The kennel will hold about 150 animals. Airport pet motels have become popular around country, with kennels located in airports in Chicago, Atlanta and Minneapolis, among others.

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.