Early voters continued to flock to the polls Wednesday to cast ballots for the city’s first single-member district City Council election, the Proposition 1 transit bonds, or other races. The number of voters Wednesday hit 9,798, bringing the three-day total to 37,007, or 5.67 percent of Travis County’s registered voters. Voters at the Randall’s at Research and Braker in District 10 continued to turn out in heavy numbers Wednesday, with 1,029 votes cast. The Ben Hur Shrine Center was one of the busier polling stations with 699 votes Wednesday, bringing the total since the polls opened Monday to 2,069. And so far, 5,587 votes have been cast by mail, while 2,106 votes have been cast via the Travis County Mobile Voter vans, which are in different locations every day. Early voting ends Oct. 31. For information on early voting polling places and mobile voter locations, visit the Travis County Elections website.

Planning and Development Review Department Director Greg Guernsey said Tuesday that he plans to ask City Council for an “indefinite postponement” Thursday of an ordinance that would allow the city to issue permits for overnight concrete pouring on downtown mixed-use and public zoned properties. He said he would likely propose a modified ordinance with adjusted hours and noticing requirements at a later date. Council Member Laura Morrison said that noise from concrete pouring has made certain places downtown “essentially unlivable,” and that overnight pouring is prohibited in Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth. Morrison also said she was considering proposing a modified, interim ordinance that would allow overnight pouring on public zoned properties in addition to what is currently allowed on central business district zoned properties, but limit all pouring hours to 2 a.m. The interim ordinance would include language that allows for exceptions under “extraordinary circumstances” and takes into account other mitigation strategies.

Travis County Commissioners will have to follow a tight timeline in order to fill two positions opening up Dec. 31 on the Central Health board of managers. Commissioners posted a call for applications Wednesday outlining the criteria for the board positions and set a Nov. 21 deadline for submissions. At that point, Commissioners will choose finalists from among the pool of qualified applicants and bring them in for an interview. Commissioners say they hope to announce the appointments before Christmas, or no later than New Year’s Day. The new appointees will replace board chair Brenda Coleman-Beattie, whose term is not being renewed, and treasurer Rebecca Lightsey, who is resigning from the board at the end of the year.

Travis County went to the bond market recently and found some bargains. Travis County Commissioners recently authorized their bond counsel to issue about $15 million in Texas Highway System Bonds to reimburse the county for money spent on SH45 SW. It is also preparing to issue $84 million in Texas Limited Tax Refunding Bonds aimed at buying down debt and reducing interest payments.  Travis County Financial Adviser Ladd Patillo told Commissioners Tuesday that with the current low interest rates, bond buyers are willing to pay a premium for municipal instruments. He said the county only had to issue $13.6 million to get $15 million in value, saving about $1.4 million on the deal. County finance officials hope for a similar phenomenon when they offer the $84 million in bonds, which Patillo projects will come in with about $6.5 million in savings.

An unusually high number of voters showed up at various early voting locations Tuesday, apparently eager to cast ballots in Austin’s first-ever single-member district election or other races. Whatever the reason, the total Tuesday was 10,022. The two-day total now stands at 27,203, or 4.17 percent of Travis County’s registered voters. Compare that to the second day of early voting on May 2, 2012, when In Fact Daily reported that 4,200 Travis County voters had cast ballots in that year’s races, mostly in Austin. That was when Brigid Shea was running against Lee Leffingwell for mayor, and Laura Pressley was trying to unseat Mike Martinez. Both Shea and Pressley are on the ballot this year, too, but a lot has changed, including the seats they are trying to win. Voters at the Randall’s at Research and Braker  in District 10 (not in District 6, as we originally reported Tuesday) turned out in heavy numbers once again Tuesday. The site saw 1,067 votes cast. At the HEB on South Congress, poll workers seemed very pleased with Monday’s turnout of 496 and Tuesday’s turnout of 444, but it is impossible to know which South Austin district got the most votes there because it serves District 5, 3 and 9. At the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center, 2608 Gonzales St., which sits in District 3, 170 voted on Monday and 115 on Tuesday.

Mayoral candidate Mike Martinez reported last week that he had loaned his campaign an additional $25,000, bringing to $50,000 the total he has put into the race. Of course, contender Steve Adler has reported giving his own campaign $296,000. There is no sign that the other major contender, Sheryl Cole, has made any loans to her campaign, nor any indication that the other five candidates in this race have put cash into their campaigns, either. The Austin Board of Realtors Political Action Committee has spent nearly $9,500 advocating the election of District 4 candidate Greg Casar and more than $12,000 promoting Adler, according to records filed with the Austin City Clerk’s office. The ABoR PAC reported that it paid those amounts to Austin political consultant Mark Littlefield for mail pieces on behalf of those candidates, but not in coordination with those candidates. The PAC also reported last week that it had contributed $350 each to the campaigns of Casar, Ann Kitchen (District 5), Chris Riley (District 9), John Sheppard (District 2), Ora Houston (District 1) and Robert Thomas (District 10). Adler does not accept money from political action committees. They also spent nearly $11,000 with Baselice & Associates for polling. According to campaign treasurer Emily Chenevert, the group has more than $313,000 in its campaign fund. The Austin Board of Realtors is a contributor to the Austin Monitor‘s parent organization, the Capital of Texas Media Foundation.

The new competitive social services contracts funding process through the city’s Health and Human Services Department is still proving contentious. (See Austin Monitor, Sept. 17.) There is a little over $16 million budgeted for the 2016 fiscal year to provide for what was originally $30 million in funding requests from various organizations, including Meals on Wheels, Communities in Schools and Caritas of Austin. At Tuesday’s Public Health and Human Services committee meeting, City Council Members Mike Martinez and Laura Morrison amended the numbers yet again, bringing the total in allocated funds from last meeting’s $19 million to a little under $13 million. (See Austin Monitor, Oct. 14.)  The committee, which also includes Council Member Chris Riley, passed the contracts on first reading, with the notion that there is more work to be done before it recommends the contract budget to Council. Morrison still wants to adjust a few more figures, especially concerning the Theater Action Project and the Austin Independent School District’s Primetime after-school program. The committee will call a special meeting to further discuss funding for the contracts next week, but has not yet set a date. The amended suggested dollar amounts for each contract will be posted before the meeting for public viewing.

There are big changes ahead at City Hall, and things are already beginning to shift around. Yesterday, the Monitor learned that Heidi Gerbracht, who is the longtime aide for Council Member Bill Spelman, will be leaving Spelman’s office soon. After a few weeks off, Gerbracht will join the Real Estate Council of Austin as its vice president of public policy. She has been at Spelman’s office since he was elected in 2009. Previous to that, Gerbracht worked for Council Member Jennifer Kim and Assistant City Manager Robert Goode. We at the Monitor wish her luck in her new position, and wish Spelman luck carrying on without her.

On Monday, more than 10,000 Travis County voters showed up in person to vote and almost 7,000 cast ballots by mail for the first day of Early Voting for a total of 17,186.  Not only are Austin voters being asked to pick a new Mayor and Council from districts for the first time, they are voting on a rail and road bond package, three Austin Community College propositions and picking a Governor and other state officials.  Monday’s turnout represents 2.63 percent of registered voters. The biggest turnout was on the west side of Austin in District 6 District 10, with the Randalls at Research and Braker receiving the highest number at 1,084. Coming in second was the Randalls at South MoPac and William Cannon, where 724 voters cast ballots. Those polling places are in District 8. Close behind was District 7’s Ben Hur Shrine Center at 7811 Rockwood Lane, with 703 ballots. Students and others cast 548 votes at the University of Texas and 601 voters cast ballots at the Highland Mall campus of Austin Community College.  Considerably fewer votes were cast on the east side Monday. At the Gus Garcia Recreation Center, there were 110 ballots cast and at the Del Valle ISD administration building there were only 47 voters. Early Voting continues through Oct. 31 for the Nov. 4 election. City demographer Ryan Robinson has predicted the highest turnout in a municipal election in decades.

Coming in just under the wire, the Burnt Orange Report issued its list of City Council candidate endorsements Sunday. BOR offered a dual endorsement for mayor, supporting both Sheryl Cole and Mike Martinez. The other races were more clear cut, and the publication endorsed the following candidates: DeWayne Lofton (District 1), Delia Garza (District 2), Sabino “Pio” Renteria (District 3), Greg Casar (District 4), Ann Kitchen (District 5), Matt Stillwell (District 6), Jeb Boyt (District 7), Ed Scruggs (District 8), Chris Riley (District 9), and Mandy Dealey (District 10). Also, despite not earning the highest “grade” from ChangeAustin, District 10 candidate Jason Meeker has earned the group’s sole endorsement out of 78 candidates. ChangeAustin explained on its website, writing: “We figured out that if District 10 voters do not target their votes, we’ll wind up with the same kind of failed leadership of the past representing District 10.” ChangeAustin wrote out a score card for candidates, handing out traditional letter grades to those who completed their survey. In District 10, they awarded Marjorie Burciaga and Robert Thomas “F” grades, Mandy Dealey a “D,” and Bill Worsham a “B-.” Though Tina Cannon received an “A+,” that wasn’t enough for the endorsement, which went to “A” student Meeker.

At today’s City Council work session, Council Member Laura Morrison plans to ask some pointed questions about a proposal to allow construction workers to pour concrete overnight in the Central Business District, downtown Mixed Use district and in areas zoned Public. The idea is to give contractors the option to pour concrete between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., which is cooler and considered safer for workers than daytime pouring. Downtown neighborhoods are concerned about the noise. Morrison said, “I think we need to limit what you’re allowed to do rather than expanding … I’m thinking of limiting the permits to only go to 2 a.m. That should give them enough time to get on the street and do some work but people can at least go to sleep at 2.”  Ted Siff, president of the Old Austin Neighborhood Association, said he has asked planning director Greg Guernsey to require anyone getting a permit to pour overnight to notify neighbors within 300 feet of the construction site, letting them know when the pour will occur and how long the project will last. As written, the ordinance only requires notification of adjacent property owners and only if the director orders it. Siff said that during the construction, workers should be required to identify where concrete trucks will line up to minimize disruption. Siff was careful to say that his group understands the need to work at night in order to relieve congestion. They just want as much notice as possible.