The city is seeking public input on its plans for the Montopolis Recreation and Community Center at a neighborhood meeting next week. The public can review how the city’s Request for Qualifications process for professional services consultant selection works and give input and feedback on the development of the RFQ; discuss the next steps in the process of designing the center and provide general feedback. The current facility has served as a center for recreation and community events for over four decades. City officials say the building, while providing a facility for sports and recreation, is in poor condition and can no longer meet the needs of the community. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 11 at the Montopolis Recreation Center Gym (2^nd floor meeting room), 1200 Montopolis Drive. For more information, contact the project manager at (512) 974-7225, call Austin 311 or visit the project website.

Another long work session Tuesday morning led to the first committee meeting of the new City Council to be postponed. Though the Audit and Finance Committee meeting was scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday, the work session ran until 4:30 p.m., and Chair Kathie Tovo explained that committee members had other obligations. The committee was set to discuss Mayor Steve Adler’s staffing plans, which have been presented as something of an urgent matter. Though Tovo has indicated she is working to have another committee meeting the last week of March, she has also projected that discussion of the plans will require more than one meeting. No date has been set to reschedule Tuesday’s meeting. With Council facing several sticky topics, its work session ran longer than was typical under the former Council. It started later, too. Council members were scheduled to convene at 9 a.m. but did not do so until about 9:40, because they were getting their pictures taken.

This Friday, as part of their tireless search for policy knowledge, City Council members will tackle two more topics. From 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., they will discuss economic development. And from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m., they will dive into “Cost of Living and Quality of Life in Austin: Issues and Collaborative Strategies.” The morning economic development speakers will be: Rodney Gonzales, deputy director of the Economic Development Department; Jon Hockenyos, economist and principal at TXP; Brian Rodgers, ChangeAustin.org; Meg Wilson, senior lecturer, Executive Master of Science, Technology Commercialization, IC2, UT Austin; Grover Bynum, Austin Technology Council; Martha Cotera, member of the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission; Nakia Reynoso, artist and member of the Austin Music Commission; Bob Batlan, Austin Interfaith; Ceci Gratia, Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; Richard Halpin, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin; and a yet-to-be-determined member of the Austin Chamber. In the afternoon, Council will hear from: Ryan Robinson, demographer for the City of Austin; Frances Deviney, Center for Public Policy Priorities; Erica Saenz, Community Action Network; Darryl Horton, African American Quality of Life Advisory Commission; Richard Jung, Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission; Diego Martinez-Moncada, Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Advisory Commission; Dr. Joyceia Banner, Huston-Tillotson University; Teddy McDaniel, Austin Area Urban League; Dan Pruett, Low Income Consumer Advisory Task Force; Emily Timm, Worker’s Defense Project; and a speaker from Austinites for Fair Taxes.

The City of Austin has announced its People’s Choice selection from the 2014 People’s Gallery exhibition. Mountain Laurel Mandala II, a sculpture by Shalena White (2014), has been added to the permanent art collection at City Hall. Mountain Laurel Mandala II is a site-specific installation that consists of Texas mountain laurel seeds and sewing pins arranged in Fibonacci spiral sequences. Mountain Laurel Mandala II is currently displayed on the second floor of City Hall as part of the 2015 People’s Gallery exhibition. Each year, a purchase is made from the annual exhibition to help build a permanent collection of art for City Hall. The exhibition may be viewed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with extended hours Thursday evenings for City Council meetings. For information about the People’s Gallery, go to  www.austincreates.com.

The Austin Parks Foundation and the Austin Parks and Recreation Department are hosting the 13th annual “It’s My Park Day” on Saturday.  It’s My Park Day is held the first Saturday of March, and each year, thousands of volunteers work to improve parks and greenbelts throughout the city. In 2014, there were over 100 projects citywide, over 3,000 volunteers and over 10,000 hours of volunteer labor. By pitching in to help with spring maintenance activities such as spreading mulch, planting trees, clearing trails and painting benches, It’s My Park Day participants play a significant role in the management and upkeep of city parks. For information on volunteering, go to the Austin Parks Foundation website.

Former Texas Land Commissioner Bob Armstrong, 82, passed away Sunday night. Armstrong, who began his political career as a Texas House member from Austin, also served in President Bill Clinton’s administration as an Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Armstrong served as Texas Land Commissioner from 1970 to 1983. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1982, losing to the Democratic nominee, Mark White. White then defeated Republican Gov. Bill Clements. White appointed Armstrong to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, where he served from 1985 to 1991. Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt released a statement praising Armstrong: “Bob loved the land and people of Texas. He was a dedicated Democrat, public servant, husband and father, and of course a passionate conservationist. Because of Bob Armstrong’s decades-long effort, Texas acquired the 212,000 acre property that is now Big Bend State Park. The visitor center was dedicated to Bob last summer and bears his name.” Current Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said, “While Bob had an easygoing personality and enjoyed a good laugh, he also demonstrated an impressive work ethic and passion for our state’s natural beauty.” Armstrong is survived by his wife, Linda Aaker; his sons, Will and Landis; his daughters, Martha Louise and Shannon Armstrong of Denver, Colorado; and two grandchildren. Services are set for 2 p.m. Thursday at University United Methodist Church.

This week City Council will consider an interlocal agreement between the city and the Austin Independent School District that will allow for administration of a proposed “Austin Promise Zone.” However, it is not clear exactly what such a designation would do absent congressional action. The purpose of the Promise Zone is to revitalize high poverty areas. These would include Rundberg, St. John’s, Colony Park, East Central and Dove Springs if the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development designates the areas as eligible for funding. Promise Zones are part of the Obama administration’s attempt to revitalize low-income communities throughout the country by attracting private investment, reducing crime and improving educational opportunities, among other things. AISD applied for the designation with support from the city, Travis County, United Way and the Austin Housing Authority, as what are called “key implementing partners.” The city must assign an employee to help coordinate assistance from various agencies, but there is no fiscal impact, according to Council agenda backup. Although the chances of congressional action may seem uncertain this year, if the areas are designated, the designation will last for 10 years.

In response to the scandal that shook the Department of Veterans Affairs last year, two bills designed to continue to reform the VA passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday. The Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act will give veterans the ability to transfer to a non-VA medical foster home for long-term health care needs instead of staying in a VA facility. The second bill will allow the VA Secretary to force an employee to repay bonuses, a safeguard against the current practice that awards bonuses even when the actions of an employee lead to substandard care for veterans. The bills now go the U.S. Senate for consideration. The bills were authored by Republican Will Hurd, who represents Texas’ sprawling 23rd congressional district.

The Cemetery Master Plan Draft is available for community review. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is seeking the community’s feedback about the draft plan, which addresses issues related to historic preservation, tree care, management and policy as well as heritage tourism and educational programming. Austin’s historic municipal cemeteries include Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery Annex and Plummers Cemetery. In order for comments and suggestions to be incorporated into the final draft, community feedback is requested by Friday. The full Cemetery Master Plan Draft can be viewed here. Once comments are received, the draft plan will be finalized and brought forward to several city boards and commissions before a final presentation to City Council in early summer.

On Tuesday, the Audit and Finance Committee will kick things off by holding its first meeting at 2:00 p.m. The committee will take a closer look at Mayor Steve Adler’s staffing proposal as its first order of business. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who chairs the committee, announced the meeting on the City Council message board. Tovo said she expected that vetting the proposal would take more than one meeting, and she will likely hold another during the week of March 23. Despite shuttling a number of agenda items to various committees last week, Council has not yet scheduled any other committee meetings.

Although the Austin City Council recently had some disagreements over how each Council member might use his or her salary, there was never any question about whether their salaries were sufficient. That’s because the 2006 Council approved an ordinance giving Council members the same salary increase as most rank-and-file city employees. Last year, that salary hike was 3.5 percent. So, Austin Council members make a little more than $70,000 a year, and the mayor makes more than $82,000. Not so in San Antonio, where Council members currently make $1,040 and the mayor $4,040 annually. They will be asking voters to give them a real salary in May. But San Antonio Express-News columnist Gilbert Garcia thinks his Council is way behind in campaigning and may not get that salary increase. Garcia wrote, “The bad news is that the road from here to election day (May 9) is lined with potholes, pylons, speed bumps, and, possibly, a few stray llamas.” Former Mayor Phil Hardberger did it right, Garcia opines, when he successfully backed a charter amendment in 2008 that relaxed term limits for Council members. But Hardberger “made the term-limits referendum his personal crusade,” Garcia said, and he began that crusade at least six months before the election. San Antonio’s current major, Ivy Taylor, is running for a full term as mayor and will not have time, or perhaps the will, to put too much effort into the salary referendum. Garcia also notes that the 2008 referendum campaign spent more than $600,000, but this year there will be many candidates scrambling for dollars for their own campaigns. And Hardberger is not available. Finally, there is what Garcia calls “the May curse,” which we in Austin know a lot about but no longer have to contend with. He is expecting the turnout to be small, noting that the 2013 municipal election turnout was less than 7 percent. In case you were wondering, the salary these Council members might get in San Antonio is $45,722, with the mayor at $61,725.

Today, as part of its ongoing look into different policy areas, City Council will tackle Resource Recovery and Austin Energy. Resource Recovery gets the morning shift, and starting at 9:00 a.m., Council will hear from: Bob Gedert, Austin Resource Recovery; Natalie Betts, Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services/Austin Resource Recovery; Andrew Dobbs, Texas Campaign for the Environment; Cathy Gattuso, Zero Waste Advisory Commission; David Rodewald, River City Rolloffs; Rodney Ahart, Keep Austin Beautiful; Fayez Kazi, Engineer, Zero Waste Advisory Commission; Eric Goff, Compost Pedallers; Maia Corbitt, State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR); Adam Gregory, Texas Disposal Systems; Rebecca Stuch, Austin Creative Reuse, Reuse Alliance Texas; and Skeeter Miller, Greater Austin Restaurant Association. Then, at 12:30 p.m., Council will take a look at Austin Energy. During that discussion, Council members will hear from: Larry Weis, Austin Energy; Phillip Schmandt, Attorney, Former EUC & multiple task forces; Clay Butler, Attorney, Generation Planning Task Force, former EUC; Catherine Morse, Samsung; Milton Lee, Lee Energy Partners Former CPS/AE General Manager; Roger Duncan, UT Energy Institute, Former Austin City Council and Former Austin Energy General Manager; Carol Biedrzyck, Texas ROSE, Low-Income Consumer Advisory Task Force; Bill Peacock, Center for Economic Freedom; Dr. Cyrus Reed & David Cortez, Sierra Club & Austin Beyond Coal; Kaiba White, Public Citizen, Solar Austin; Charles Cloutman, Meals on Wheels & More, Home Repair Coalition; and Susan Meredith, Resource Conservation Contractors Association.