BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 8, 2022)
[BG Podcast]
Episode 154: A Conversation with Jason Alexander, Chief of Staff to the Austin City Manager
Today’s episode (154) features Jason Alexander, City of Staff to the Austin City Manager.
Appointed in January 2022, Jason has a nearly 18‐year career with the City, which in addition to the City Manager’s Office, includes Parks and Recreation, Human Resources, Emergency Medical Services, and the Fire Department.
Jason and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the role, a first for City Manager Spencer Cronk (but not new for the city, Jason's path to the public sector and journey to his current role.
As Chief of Staff, Jason is responsible for the administrative functions of the City Manager’s Office, and provides leadership and oversight to the City’s Equity, Innovation, Sustainability, and Resilience Offices.
Austin operates under a “Council-Manager” system of government. In this model, the Mayor and City Council are responsible for all legislative functions of the City. They appoint a professional City Manager who operates much like a CEO in private-sector businesses and who is tasked with carrying out City Council’s legislative and policy objectives. -> EPISODE LINK
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Airport plan for jet fuel tank farm can go ahead after narrow Austin City Council vote (KUT)
Austin's City Council narrowly blocked an effort to stop a massive new fuel storage facility from being built at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The facility will store up to 6 million gallons of jet fuel a few hundred feet from homes.
"Our hearts are heavy, because this isn't the outcome that we wanted," said City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who spearheaded an effort to find a new site in response to concerns from her constituents who live next to the airport.
The vote was 5-5, with Kathie Tovo, Sabino "Pio" Renteria, Jose "Chito" Vela and Ann Kitchen supporting the resolution. Natasha Harper-Madison was not present.
ABIA officials argue the new storage facility is sorely needed to accommodate what they say is the fastest-growing airport in the country in terms of scheduled flights.
Airport CEO Jacqueline Yaft said delaying the project would harm ABIA operations by forcing more planes to "tanker in" extra fuel, raising airline costs and potentially ticket prices.
"The higher risk for the longer [term] is basically losing those flights," she said. "The airlines would decide to wait till we either add the capacity or [airlines could] choose to go to a different airport."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Council starts process to charge park fees for office buildings (Austin Monitor)
City Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday directing city staff to bring back amendments to the city’s parkland dedication ordinance that would require new office, commercial and industrial developments to provide parkland or pay into the city’s parkland dedication fund. Currently, only new residential developments are required to pay such fees.
Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter sponsored the resolution, which gathered six co-sponsors. Mayor Steve Adler, one of the original co-sponsors, added language stressing the need for staff to “establish the legally required nexus” between the need for parkland and establishment of fees for individual properties.
Randy Scott, park development coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department, told the Austin Monitor that staff members would provide information to show that there was an appropriate connection between the proposed fees for commercial property development and the need for new parkland.
Alter pointed out that workers taking their lunch breaks often use parks and trails close to their offices and other workplaces. She said growth in the commercial and industrial segments of the community has fueled the need for additional parkland.
“The item before us is an opportunity to make sure that our commercial growth in the city is helping” to meet the needs of the city, she said. “I want to be clear that it initiates an engagement process that will allow members of the community to participate in the process.” Part of the resolution directs the city manager to engage with stakeholders and place an ordinance amendment on Council’s agenda that provides Council with sufficient time to adopt the amendment and place the fee in the Fiscal Year 2023 budget… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Election to decide future of Leander public transit (Community Impact)
Leander voters will make a significant decision in the May 7 election on what the city’s public transportation future will look like.
Voters will be asked if the city should continue as a member city in Capital Metro, the regional public transit entity that serves much of the Greater Austin area. Voters elected to join Capital Metro in 1985 and confirmed that decision with another vote in 2000. For a second time, Leander residents will be asked if they want to remain in the Capital Metro partnership.
If a majority of voters say “yes” to staying in Capital Metro, bus, pickup and rail services will continue as normal. In addition, the two entities will move forward with an interlocal agreement that could provide the city with $1.9 million in funding to be used for certain local transportation projects under Capital Metro’s Build Central Texas and Transit Supported Infrastructure Fund programs.
In the agreement, Leander will receive a portion of Capital Metro’s new $10 million transit-supportive infrastructure fund. These funds will be shared by other small member cities and is proportional to sales tax contributions. Leander’s portion of the $10 million is estimated to be $7.74 million said Erika Mazza, the Capital Metro vice president of government affairs at a Jan. 24 board meeting. Capital Metro will also offer assistance to secure federal grants that support transit and assistive infrastructure, according to Capital Metro… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
MileStone CEO, eager to build in Buda, explains sometimes delicate art of community engagement (Austin Business Journal)
MileStone Community Builders LLC is seeking approval for a roughly 775-acre development in Buda — from the city and residents alike.
The development would be a significant addition to the fast-growing city, which more than doubled in population between 2010 and 2020, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The community would have about 1,800 homes, according to Garrett Martin, president and CEO of Austin-based MileStone.
The development would be partially within Buda and partially in Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. The homes will mostly be single-family residences, with the potential for multifamily in future phases. The first two phases will be entirely single-family, Martin said.
Homes in the neighborhood will likely start in the low $500,000 range. In addition to homes, the developer has committed to reserving up to 30 acres of commercial land on the property, according to documents submitted to Buda City Council.
Development for this project began in 2018. Since then, MileStone and Buda city officials — as well as representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation — have met for multiple workshops to fine-tune the plans. Martin said the developer hopes to have all of the city approvals by July, potentially breaking ground on the project around then… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Electric vehicle enthusiasts predict impact on Central Texas (KXAN)
Austin resident Aaron Choate has been an electric vehicle enthusiast for decades. As president of the Austin Area Electric Vehicle Association, he and fellow EV fans focus efforts on how to expand EV’s blueprint in Central Texas, as well as educating residents on the technology’s sustainability. With Tesla’s Austin gigafactory coming online this spring, that interest has only grown, Choate said. “There’s definitely been people who have heard about electric vehicles because of Tesla, and because of the other cars that are being released to the other car manufacturers,” he said. “So it’s been great to bring new members into the group and talk about the technologies and what you can do with the cars.”
Just this week, GM and Honda announced their companies’ partnership on creating more affordable EVs, with a launch goal of 2027. Choate also stressed the efforts of other vehicle companies, such as Kia, to develop sustainable options. That entry price point, Choate said, is the most crucial factor in expanding EV technology’s accessibility and making a more pronounced impact on environmental conservation efforts. He also added the availability of charging stations and related infrastructure will play a key role in accessibility and interest. “Beyond the technology itself, the efforts to reduce the cost is going to be the biggest impact for us as a society,” he said. “People aren’t going to be able to buy these cars unless they’re accessible and affordable.” For him, his gateway into EVs began with an interest in renewable energy and solar power. For others, Tesla might have been that spark that inspired their enthusiasm. When it comes to EVs, Choate said while people’s initial interests and curiosities vary, the end result has led to a more dynamic and engaging conservation on how this technology can best serve its users… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson makes history, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn call her a threat to freedom (Houston Chronicle)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday became the first Black woman to be confirmed to the Supreme Court as the Senate advanced her nomination over GOP resistance bolstered by Texas’s Republican senators. “What a great day it is in America,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said in a speech before the vote. “Today the word of justice and equal protection under the law becomes flesh and lives among us in new ways. Today at the highest levels of our government, the administration of our Constitution looks a little bit more like what it says.” Three GOP senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah — sided with every Democrat in confirming Jackson on a 53-47 vote. Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz were instrumental in the GOP’s efforts to oppose Jackson’s nomination. Both voted against her confirmation as expected.
“This is a nomination that was out of the mainstream, and I believe it is a nomination that jeopardizes the constitutional rights of every American,” Cruz said at a Republican press conference he led before the vote. Jackson, 51, watched the vote with President Joe Biden at the White House. The president tweeted pictures of the two taking selfies in front of a TV as the votes were tallied. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Miami, Jackson attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School, where she and Cruz were classmates. Cruz described their relationship in law school as “friendly and cordial” during her confirmation hearing. But the bipartisan vote capped a deeply polarized confirmation process that saw conservative Republicans painting Jackson as a soft-on-crime radical, a label Democrats dismissed as inaccurate at best and offensive at worst. Cruz was a key figure in that effort, focusing his criticism on sentences Jackson handed down that Republicans deemed too lenient, especially in cases involving child pornography… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Another airline meltdown left flight attendants, pilots sleeping in airports and without hotels (Dallas Morning News)
As Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and other carriers faced thousands of cancellations last weekend after technology issues and bad weather in Florida, pilots and flight attendants were left without hotel rooms and sometimes sleeping on airport floors. Union leaders for crew members at the two airlines say they are frustrated that these kinds of meltdowns are becoming more common as carriers increase flights following the COVID-19 pandemic downturn. It’s also an ominous sign with demand for travel this summer at its highest level in years and flight attendants and pilots are worried that more pain is coming for employees and passengers. “We had hundreds of flight attendants with no place to go,” said Lyn Montgomery, leader of the flight attendants’ union at Southwest Airlines. “It keeps happening over and over again to a greater and greater magnitude.” “It’s hard to work in and under those conditions,” she said.
Nearly 3,500 flights were canceled in the United States on Saturday and Sunday, according to Flightaware.com, and about 9,000 more were delayed. That included more than 900 cancellations at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and about 750 at Fort Worth-based American Airlines. Spirit Airlines and JetBlue faced similar operational issues. Problems at Southwest started with a systemwide technology outage following routine overnight upgrades early Saturday morning. That started a cascade of flight cancellations that worsened when a system of thunderstorms rolled through central Florida. That weather system disrupted flights from Miami to Orlando and Tampa and forced the FAA to restrict traffic volume in the region. “When operational challenges canceled flights, delayed travel and caused our crews who were not supposed to spend the night in Florida to time out of their duty day, we quickly ran through the extra rooms we proactively hold for working crew, and there simply weren’t any hotel rooms available for us to book and assign,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement. “We’re committed to improving so this kind of shortfall isn’t put on our hardworking crews in the future.” The company said it working to adjust forecasting so that it has enough hotel rooms planned with expected weather problems and that “we apologize for the extra stress that not having a room for rest caused our crews.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
The Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court (NPR)
The Senate has voted 53 to 47 to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th Supreme Court justice. When sworn in this summer, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation's high court. "This is one of the great moments of American history," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. "Today we are taking a giant, bold and important step on the well-trodden path to fulfilling our country's founding promise. This is a great moment for Judge Jackson but it is an even greater moment for America as we rise to a more perfect union." President Biden called the vote a "historic moment" for the nation. "We've taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America," Biden posted on Twitter with an image of him taking a selfie with Jackson.
All 50 Senate Democrats, including the two independents who caucus with them, voted for Jackson's confirmation. They were joined by three Republicans: Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Vice President Kamala Harris took the gavel in her role as head of the Senate to preside over the vote. Leaving the Senate after the vote, Harris said she was "overjoyed." "I am feeling a deep sense of pride in who we are as a nation, that we just did what we did as it relates to the highest court of our land," she told reporters. On Friday, Biden, Harris and Jackson will deliver remarks on the historic Senate vote at 12:15 p.m. ET at the White House. On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee reached an 11-11 tie along party lines on the question of whether to advance Jackson's nomination to a vote before the full Senate. Democrats, expecting the deadlock, immediately moved ahead with a procedural step to discharge the nomination to a vote before the full Senate… (LINK TO FULL STORY)