Tuesday is Election Day, and the last time that Austinites will be able to cast ballots in the runoff election, because early voting ended Friday. In the end, just 48,393 people voted in the early election, which translates to 8.76 percent of registered Travis County voters. By mail, 6,906 votes were cast, and 3,460 were cast at various mobile voting locations. The vast majority, or 38,026, of votes were cast at traditional polling locations around town. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. County officials say this will be a Vote Center election, where registered voters may vote at any polling location in Travis County. You can check your voter registration status and find the list of districts and local entities that you are eligible to vote for at www.votetravis.com.

Both Steve Adler and Mike Martinez have plans Tuesday night, and if you are interested in joining either candidate on election night, the information for their public parties has arrived. As was the case during the last election, Martinez will be holding his election watch party at the Rattle Inn, located at 610 Nueces. That party starts at 7 p.m. Adler has moved his party from his headquarters to Midway Field House, the former location of Antone’s. The Adler Election Watch Party will take place at 2015 East Riverside Drive. Adler staff didn’t say when it starts, but around 7 p.m. is probably a safe bet.

Tuesday isn’t just Election Day — it’s also the day that the long battle to install a granite marker on Mount Bonnell will officially end. The monument will be installed at the base of the park stairs at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The monument commemorates the donation of the park to the county by the Covert family, who also funded it. It was designed by O’Connell Robertson of Austin and is carved in the form of a north-south cross section of Mount Bonnell. The old limestone marker, which has been in disrepair for years, is now being partially protected from further deterioration by a roofed wire cage, and will be restored through grants from the city and the Texas Historical Commission. Plans to construct a viewing area at the top of the mountain are underway, with fundraising for that project to begin next year.

Following upgrades and construction, the Auditorium Shores Trailhead reopened last week. Improvements mean that the trailhead now has an expanded parking lot, new restrooms and, according to a news release from the city, “improved bicycle and pedestrian connectivity, exercise and stretching area enhancements, landscaping, lighting, site furnishings and signage.” Funding for the project came through a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The trailhead is located at 800 W. Riverside Drive. For more information about the project, visit the city’s website here.

By Thursday night, 41,027 people had voted in the Travis County runoff elections. That’s 7.43 percent of the registered voters in the county. On Thursday alone, 3,704 people voted. The two busiest voting locations yesterday were the Randalls at Research Boulevard and Braker Lane, which saw 573 people casting ballots, and the Ben Hur Shrine Center, which saw 508. The least busy location was the Pflugerville County Tax Office, which was visited by just 16 voters. Today is the last day of early voting for the runoff election. Election Day is Tuesday.

State Sen. (and former Mayor) Kirk Watson (D-Austin) took time during a very long final meeting to pay tribute to the current Austin City Council. “This is a historic day, and I, as perhaps your most empathetic constituent, I couldn’t let today pass without coming down to say thank you for your service,” said Watson, who brought proclamations from the Texas Senate honoring the mayor and each of the Council members individually. Watson also presented them each with a Texas state flag that had flown over the capitol. “This is a big day in our city’s history, and each of you has played a big role in that history,” said Watson. “I want you to know that the citizens of this community are deeply indebted to you, they deeply thank you, and all wish to honor you.”

The bulk of how the city will handle the transition of its boards and commissions under the new 10-1 system had been worked out by Thursday’s City Council meeting. Council tied up the few remaining loose ends. In the end, Council members opted to expand the Building and Standards Commission to 22 members, though they could decide to appoint 11 members for now, leaving the option open to appoint a second panel to increase enforcement. Council also opted to retain the Downtown Commission, and maintain the Public Safety Commission and Downtown Austin Community Court Advisory Committee as separate entities.

After lengthy discussion at both the Planning Commission and previous Council meetings, in the end, the city approved a new microunits ordinance with very little fanfare. Council approved the ordinance in a vote of 5-2, with Council Members Laura Morrison and Kathie Tovo voting in opposition. The final ordinance allows that, for dwelling units that are 500 square feet or less, the minimum site area requirement is zero, parking can be leased separately and the minimum off-street parking requirement is .25 spaces per unit. Tovo proposed to include a provision that would allow neighborhoods to “opt in” to the ordinance if it fit with their existing neighborhood plan, but that amendment failed.

On Wednesday, one more person cast a ballot than Tuesday, bringing the day’s total to 3,582 votes, or 0.65 percent of the registered voters in Travis County. The grand total for early voting this go-round is 37,323 votes, which is 6.76 percent of the voters in the county. The largest number — 461 — came from people voting by mail, but in terms of physical locations, the Randalls at Research Boulevard and Braker Lane, the Randalls at South MoPac and William Cannon Drive and the Ben Hur Shrine Center remained the most popular with 438, 378, and 360 votes cast, respectively.

Activist Brian Rodgers is appealing a ruling by the city against his complaint that Decker Lake Golf LLC violated the city’s anti-lobbying ordinance. Rodgers filed the complaint last week, pointing to emails discovered when he filed a public information request with the city. Acting Purchasing Officer Urcha Dunbar-Crespo ruled Tuesday that the emails and phone calls from Decker Lake Golf officials to city staff after an RFQS was issued April 14 did not break the no-contact rule. That rule was designed to prevent vendors from lobbying staff or City Council members while the city is in the bidding process on a project. The appeal, filed by Rodger’s attorney, Bill Aleshire of Riggs Aleshire and Ray, pointed out that Dunbar-Crespo’s ruling ignored evidence that there was direct communication between Decker Lake Golf and city staff that did not go through an authorized contact person. In a memo to Mayor Lee Leffingwell and Council members, Dunbar-Crespo said she found that all communications went through proper channels and that no violation had occurred. Council members will likely postpone the matter today until after Jan. 1.

The Parks and Recreation Department announced Wednesday that, with the help of the Texas Historical Commission, Austin’s Hancock Golf Course has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The course, which was founded in 1899 and incorporated in 1900, is the oldest continuously operated course in the state. In 1913, the Austin Country Club added nine holes to the course. The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of historic and archaeological resources, and was established under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. More information about the state’s role in the program can be found here.

Though there are clearly a lot of loose ends that will need tying at Thursday’s City Council meeting, it looks like the Cedar Park quarry sale isn’t one of them. At Tuesday’s work session, Council Member Laura Morrison said that she had a chance to go through the environmental information about the site that she had requested and was “happy to have that sale go on consent.” Her colleagues, who were in the midst of an extended meeting, were visibly pleased with the concept. “You just saved us a bunch of time,” said Council Member Bill Spelman.