BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 9, 2022)
Downtown Austin
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Boil water notice lifted (Austin Water)
Austin Water has lifted the boil water notice for customers. Customers no longer need to boil water used for drinking, cooking and making ice. Water quality testing submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has confirmed that tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe for human consumption… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
With new EMS chief hire, Cronk shows commitment to change (Austin Monitor)
n a somewhat surprising move, City Manager Spencer Cronk has selected an outsider with a diverse background as the new chief of Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
Robert Luckritz, chief operating officer of Transformative Healthcare, an EMS, medical transportation and public health organization in New England, is set to start his new job March 14. City Council is expected to confirm Luckritz’s appointment at its Feb. 17 meeting.
Luckritz and interim EMS Chief Jasper Brown were the top two finalists to emerge from a field of 37 applicants who applied for the top position. The finalists were introduced to the public at a community input meeting last month.
Brown, who has been with Austin-Travis County EMS for 24 years, was appointed to the interim spot in June and had hoped to continue his career as chief of the department. Brown is not a boat-rocker and has admirably led the department for the last eight months; a promotion to chief would not have come as a surprise.
While he did not get the job he wanted, Brown demonstrated his leadership in a memo to department staffers Tuesday morning: “I would like you to join me in welcoming (Luckritz) to our organization,” he wrote. “The most important goal right now is a smooth transition so that Mr. Luckritz and the organization can continue to be successful.”
While Luckritz may be a newcomer to Austin, he is very much an insider in the emergency medical services field and the larger health care industry. Before joining Transformative Healthcare, Luckritz, a licensed attorney, served as EMS chief and CEO of Jersey City Medical Center EMS. He serves on the board of the National Association of EMTs, is a former president of the New Jersey Association of Paramedics, and served on the board of the National Association of Urban Hospitals.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to be the city of Austin’s next EMS chief,” Luckritz said in a press release from the city. “I look forward to creating opportunities to support and empower employees of the department in order to provide exceptional EMS services to the residents of Austin and Travis County.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Special event permit applications for Austin's SXSW are down by nearly 50% this year (Austin American-Statesman)
On Tuesday, the Austin Center for Events released this year's list of special event permit applications for the month of March. It reveals a predictably quieter South by Southwest party season.
In 2020, before the pandemic forced closures of bars and clubs, the city received 183 special events applications for what they call "Spring Festival Season," which corresponds with the dates of SXSW. So far this year, the city has received 97 applications for events that will take place during SXSW (including SXSW Edu). The original application deadline of Feb. 7 was extended to Feb. 11… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
‘This will change Buda forever’: 2,500-home project pits Austin developer against the city of 18,000 (San Antonio Express-News)
Despite overwhelming opposition from Buda city leaders and residents, an Austin-based developer is moving forward with a massive subdivision. The project’s critics in the small Hays County city say it would increase traffic and strain schools and infrastructure. MileStone Community Builders is planning a 775-acre residential community for two adjacent plots of land that cover both Buda’s and Austin’s extra-territorial jurisdictions. The project has become known as the Bailey/Armbruster development due to the plots of land being named the Bailey and Armbruster tracts, although MileStone plans to call the project Persimmon.
About 475 acres, or 61 percent, of the project is in the city of Buda or its extra-territorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. The remaining acreage is in the Austin ETJ. MileStone, which was founded in Austin in 2009 and boasts several master-planned communities there, plans to build approximately 2,500 homes in the Bailey/Armbruster development. The exact number has not been determined. MileStone also promises apartments, commercial space, green space and “public amenities.” The planned community is billed as tony and tree-lined, with houses in the $350,000-plus range to serve the Austin metropolitan area’s exploding population. But the development has met significant backlash from Buda’s planning and zoning board, city council and residents. They say the 18,000-person city can’t add 1,500-plus families in such a short period of time. For instance, leaders say one of the city’s main arteries — FM 967 — wouldn’t be able to handle the traffic… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Battle over the airport's South Terminal escalates as Austin's legal effort nears $1M (Austin Business Journal)
The leaders of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's Barbara Jordan Terminal and the privately operated South Terminal continue to clash over what they envision for the future of the airport campus.
At the center of the debate is a 40-year leasehold and concession agreement for the South Terminal that went into effect in 2016 between the city and Highstar Capital IV, which created Lonestar Airport Holdings LLC to run operations.
City officials have touted the South Terminal public-private partnership as one of the few privately run airport terminals in the country, but they're now trying to acquire and demolish the terminal to make way for an airport expansion plan. And Lonestar has made it clear that it has no plans to walk away.
At stake is the future of the South Terminal — where low-cost carriers Allegiant Air and Frontier Air operate — as well as the airport's long-anticipated expansion. This could also be a sign of the city's commitment to, or wavering support of, public-private partnerships.
The next steps remain unclear, though the city has upped its contract with national law firm Winstead PC for its representation in ongoing discussions. Austin City Council approved an amendment on Feb. 3 to a legal services agreement with the law firm that raises the city's allotted spending on the issue by $600,000, up to $847,000. The initial contract with Winstead was approved in August 2021… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Head of Texas DMV resigns amid pressure to stop widespread sale of fake paper license plates (Texas Tribune)
The head of Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has resigned amid pressure on the agency to address security vulnerabilities that have allowed criminals to create and sell hundreds of thousands of fake paper license plates.
Whitney Brewster announced her resignation Monday but did not directly address the issue surrounding the sale of fake license plates.
“I understand the frustrations of our stakeholders to the problems and evolving situations we are working daily to resolve,” Brewster said in a statement Monday. “Often the hardest thing to do as a public servant leader is to step back and accept that you have done everything you can, and that it might be time to allow new leadership to take the reins.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
McConnell says RNC shouldn’t have censured Cheney and Kinzinger (The Wall Street Journal)
Mr. McConnell, who has accused Mr. Trump of provoking the mob that attacked the Capitol, said Tuesday that he has confidence in Ms. McDaniel. But he reiterated his position that what happened on Jan. 6 was “a violent insurrection” that was intended to “prevent the peaceful transfer of power after legitimately certified elections, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.” (LINK TO FULL STORY)