BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 23, 2022)
[BG Podcast]
Episode 152: Discussing Municipal Crypto and Blockchain Policy
Today’s episode (152) features Elijah John Bowdre, Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cryptocurrency Task Force.
Created in May 2021 (led by the efforts of Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins), Task Force is comprised of eight industry-expert appointees who shall work to study the possibility of incorporating cryptocurrency as a form of payment for County taxes, fees, and services and other recommendations that may be beneficial to Miami-Dade County.
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Water director recommends more staff over bill credit following February boil-water snafu (Austin Monitor)
After reviewing the options, the director of Austin Water is recommending spending money on more staff and enhanced technology instead of a direct credit to customers impacted by February’s citywide boil-water notice.
Council approved a March 3 resolution that, in part, asked the water utility to look into one-time bill credits for customers and alternative recommendations that would reduce the likelihood of boil notices being issued in the future.
In terms of direct mitigation, the “goodwill” one-time bill credit proposed by Austin Water would be applied to each customer’s account. Multifamily customers belonging to the customer assistance program and residential customers would see a $10 credit. Other multifamily customers would get a $75 credit while commercial customers would receive a $50 credit.
The total cost? $3,855,040.
A March 22 memo from outgoing Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros details alternative recommendations designed to reduce risk for the city’s water treatment plants. Meszaros writes that 12 full-time “core” employees would cost the city $275,000 this year and $1.35 million next fiscal year. Four more full-time support staff positions would cost $125,000 this year and $550,000 the next. And modernizing software would cost $350,000 this year and $650,000 in Fiscal Year 2023.
The total cost for the alternative plan is $3.3 million.
“In consideration of the above, Austin Water recommends implementing the enhanced staffing and software modernization investments in lieu of the goodwill bill credit,” Meszaros wrote. “These enhancements, at a combined current year and Fiscal Year 2023 cost of $3.3 million, will strengthen operational resiliency at our water plants and reduce the risk of future operational upsets.”
Though Council will ultimately make the call on which path to take, the recommendations will first be discussed at the Austin Water Oversight Committee meeting on March 31… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City of Kyle, Central Southwest Texas Development leadership break ground on Kyle Crossing Phase 2 (Community Impact)
Leadership for the city of Kyle and Central Southwest Texas Development LLC gathered at the corner of FM 1626 and Marketplace Avenue on March 22 to break ground on Kyle Crossing Phase 2, which will be home to the city’s first mixed-use development.
The City Council recently approved a zoning ordinance change to allow for mixed-use buildings on 27.8 acres of land; however, the entirety of the land for the Kyle Crossing Phase 2 development is 38.5 acres on two separate tracts of land.In 2019, CSTD met with Director of Economic Development Diana Torres to discuss what the city and its residents wanted: sit down restaurants, retail businesses, entertainment and connectivity, CSTD Development Partner Travis Sawvell said.
“That became the core of what this project was going to be,” Sawvell said. “We then started our process of working with the city ... over a two year process. And through that process, we formed a partnership.”
Through the partnership, the developer and the city formed their development agreement as well as a Chapter 380 agreement that offers incentives to promote economic development through commercial and retail projects, according to the city’s economic development website.
With the agreements in place, the developers will be able to deliver restaurants, retail and outdoor spaces for the city of Kyle… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Elon Musk, Tesla plan to invite 15,000 people to Austin grand opening in April (Austin American-Statesman)
As many as 15,000 people could get a chance to check out Tesla's $1.1 billion Austin-area manufacturing facility next month when the company hosts a grand opening party.
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a conditional use permit for the Tesla event, following public comment on the item.
The permit says the event would take place at Tesla's Travis County property on April 7, from 4 p.m. to 11:29 p.m. The property is also home to Tesla's corporate headquarters, which the company announced late last year it was moving from California to Austin.
The permit application also revealed more details about the event than what Tesla CEO Elon Musk has provided in his social media posts. In December, Musk said the factory, which the company has dubbed Giga Texas, would have a grand opening party sometime in 2022. In February he posted that the planned date for the event would be April 7, but gave no additional information… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Habitat for Humanity gets $8.5M donation from MacKenzie Scott (Austin Business Journal)
Austin’s Habitat for Humanity received $8.5 million in funding from an individual donor, which will allow the nonprofit to buy land for affordable housing in Central Texas.
The funding is part of a larger $436 million unrestricted donation to Habitat for Humanity International and its U.S. affiliates from MacKenzie Scott, philanthropist and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The international organization will use its portion of the funding to push affordable housing policy while also focusing on reducing the homeownership gap for communities of color.
The funding will help the nonprofit buy land in the Austin area, which has become increasingly more difficult to obtain as home and land prices skyrocket in Central Texas. The nonprofit has not yet finalized which sites it will buy.
“Because this donation is unrestricted, it can help Austin Habitat invest in its future,” Austin Habitat CEO Phyllis Snodgrass said in a statement. “We will use this transformative donation to purchase land to build homes sooner rather than later. In addition, Ms. Scott's support will help Austin Habitat build organizational strength so that we can serve our community well for many years to come."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan Issues Interim Charges, Forms Interim Committees (Texas House)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reduces profile of higher education in Texas Senate after attacking tenure (Dallas Morning News)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s restructuring of committees reduces the prominence of higher education in the Texas Senate.
On Tuesday, Patrick announced he’s relegating higher education to a subcommittee within the education committee to better “align” policies from K-12 through college and workforce development during next year’s legislative session. Previously, higher education was its own nine-member committee.
Patrick noted in a statement that the change was made to streamline education policy.
“Now more than ever, we must examine education needs as a continuum, from the earliest grades through post-secondary education,” Patrick said in a statement.
The move comes just weeks after Patrick said he wants to end tenure for new professors at Texas’ universities and colleges, a strategy meant to keep critical race theory out of higher education. Patrick, a Republican, is running for reelection… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Five takeaways as Jackson takes tough questions from GOP (The Hill)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson tangled with GOP senators for roughly 13 hours on Tuesday on the first day of questioning in her confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court.
Republicans aren’t expected to be able to sink Jackson’s nomination unless she makes a significant unforced error during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings — something that did not appear to happen on Tuesday even as GOP senators launched a bevy of attacks.
Jackson will appear before the committee again on Wednesday. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) will kick off the hearing, and all senators will get a chance to question her for a second time… (LINK TO FULL STORY)