SRCC General Membership Meeting Minutes — April 2018

SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING – MINUTES – www.srccatx.org
Monday, April 2, 2018 7:15 PM
LIFE IN THE CITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
205 E. MONROE, AUSTIN, TEXAS (formerly Grace UMC)


AGENDA
To be sure you get a vote, become a member. You can join or renew online www.srccatx.org. Not sure if you are current? Email membership@srccatx.org and we’ll let you know.

CALL TO ORDER/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. 7:15: Meeting procedures, etiquette, welcome newcomers. Verification of quorum. Reminder: please stand and state your name when presenting or seconding a motion. If an acronym is stated during the meeting and you don’t know what it means, please feel free to raise your hand and ask.*
Presenter throughout: Eric Cassady, SRCC Co-Vice President, covicepresident@srccatx.org, unless otherwise noted. (10 min)

2. 7:25 Membership and voting. Pay multiple years in advance and get a discount.
Single membership: 1-yr $20; 2-yr $35; 3-yr $50 / Family membership: 1-yr $35; 2-yr $65; 3-yr $95

NOTE: In order to vote or make motions, dues must be paid a month in advance, with the exception that if a former member’s dues have lapsed no more than 2 years, they may renew at the meeting and be eligible to vote. (2 min)

3. 7:27 Approve minutes from March 6, 2018 monthly general meeting (available at www.srccatx.org). (3 min)
MOTION: Gretchen Otto/Penelope Hyslop: To approve the minutes from the March. 6, 2018, general meeting. 20 for, 0 opposed, 0 abstaining = passed

4. 7:30 Treasurer’s Report – all reports are available upon request to the Treasurer.
Account reconciliation, Profit & Loss and Balance reports available upon request from streasurer@srccatx.org or financecommittee@srccatx.org
Presenter: Oliver Caruso, Treasurer (5 min)
Oliver shared the income/expense report for the month of March. Key dates are listed here:
SRCC FINANCE KEY DATES
March
-Finance Cmte presents 4th quarter/annual report – COMPLETE
-Outgoing Treasurer conduct handoff with incoming Treasurer – COMPLETE
-Update bank signature cards as necessary – PENDING
-File annual IRS return – COMPLETE
April
-Treasurer submits 1st qtr. Income/expense to EC
-Finance Cmte presents 1st quarter report

5. 7:35 Committee Chairs reports (10 min)
1) Planning and Zoning: Russell Fraser reported about three active projects:
The State House Expansion: (near corner of Academy and Congress) The current building will be demolished and replaced with a mixed-use building. At this time, they don’t seem to need to ask for any variances. The planner wants to come in June to present when they are ready.
Mary Street Historical District: Because SRCC has a standing committee, Historic Preservation, to review Historic Districts issues, and because the City of Austin has an expansive historical approval process, SRCC Planning and Zoning Committee is not reviewing this project.
Willow Springs Re-subdivision: Russell will update us on this when it comes up in the agenda later.
2) Historic Preservation: Fund-raising was discussed to support historic preservation in the neighborhood. Please contact Angela Reed if you have ideas or would like to help out.
3) Finance: none
4) Mobility: none
5) Public Safety: Tom announced that the neighborhood watch is starting up again. There will be a sign-up sheet available on the website. Those who have expressed an interest will be emailed other docs.
6) Parks and Environment: The project to transfer the Blunn Creek Headwaters AISD tract is on hold at this time.
7) Schools: Gretchen Otto reported that Lisa Robertson, the principal, at Travis Heights Elementary School (THES) will be retiring. The school is in the process of selecting a new principal. This Saturday (April 7) is the spring beautification day for THES. Neighbors are encouraged to come by the school, meet some neighbors, and help out. Tomorrow morning (April 3) is the Kindergarten Roundup for THES, so parents of incoming kinder students can get to know the school and register their children.
8) Communications (Chair currently vacant: volunteers are needed!):
9) Executive Committee: none
10) CodeNEXT ad hoc committee: Gretchen Otto reported that the committee is reviewing the third draft and writing up a position paper. There are opportunities to get involved. Saturday, April 28th, and Tuesday, May 1st, are joint meetings to provide feedback. May 29th & June 2nd, the City Council will be available the whole day to take public input. The petition about whether to put CodeNEXT on a ballot has been submitted. The requirement was 20K signatures, and 32K were turned in. The City Council can decide to either to just pass CodeNEXT or put it to a vote, OR it can be taken to a court to decide what to do. On Weds. May 2nd, Claudette Lowe is having a fund-raiser for Community Not Commodity at her house from 5pm to 7pm.

Representatives:
11) ANC*: Gretchen Otto reported that CodeNEXT was discussed. ANC approved to proceed with discussions (that includes surrounding neighborhoods) about converting the Austin Expo Center into a community center. **Gretchen also shared that ANC is reviewing and will vote approve changes in their bylaws. Anyone who has concerns should attend the SRCC Executive Committee meeting, in two weeks.
12) South Central Coalition *: none
13) South Central Waterfront: none
14) St. Edward’s: none

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None

NEW BUSINESS
6. 7:45 Update on Heritage Oaks Park, including controlling the bamboo forest and discussions with Public Storage regarding a homeless camp on their property near the park.
Presenters: Richard Whymark, SRCC Member, richard@apiproductions.com (5 min)
This is a pocket park located just east of I-35 and north of Oltorf, along Parker Lane. Richard Whymark shared that work has progressed in cleaning up the park. The City of Austin is coming to deal with the bamboo (perhaps to provide nice seating). Wildlife is returning to the pond.

7. 7:50 An application has been made to re-subdivide the lot at 3409 Willow Springs Road; this would split the existing single lot into 2 lots, and allow for use as a flag lot. VOTE EXPECTED.
Here’s a link to the Notice of Public Hearing for a Proposed Resubdivision.
Presenter: Russell Fraser, SRCC Planning & Zoning Chair, Russell_Fraser@msn.com (10 min)
Russell reported that Willow Springs Road is south of St. Eds, near Penn Field. A huge lot is located there (16K square feet). The owners want to subdivide the lot and build 2 units on each resulting lot (total of 4 homes ). The Planning and Zoning committee has not approved the rezoning. He reported that the existing lot would be divided into a front lot and a back lot (The back lot would be flag-shaped with a long driveway–the flag pole– leading to the back). There is concern that this design not compatible with the neighborhood. There is also a concern about emergency vehicles reaching the back lot although the Austin Fire Dept. has approved this design and now requires a “joint access agreement” with the neighboring apartment complex, and that this might become a “stealth dorm” because it is so close to St. Eds. In addition there is concern about a giant Live Oak on the property and about parkingl. The Planning and Zoning Committee has voted to oppose at this point. A neighbor who lives near the property is also concerned that, if the re-subdivision isn’t approved (which would maintain SF3), then the lot would be used for Multi-Family.
MOTION:  Russell Fraser/Betty Weed To oppose re-subdivision the lot at 3409 Willow Springs Road 19 for, 1 opposed, 0 abstaining = passed

8. 8:00 Through the Adopt-a-Creek program managed by Keep Austin Beautiful, the Stacy Scouts have been caring for Blunn Creek as it runs through Stacy Green Belt. That group has recently retired their activities, and we are looking for others to get involved and pick up where the Scouts left off.
Here’s a link to the Adopt-a-Creek page on the Keep Austin Beautiful website.
Presenter/Guest: Sandy Booth, Neighbor and Stacy Scout, sdbooth@sbcglobal.net (10 min)
Sandy shared that about 4 years ago neighbors adopted a section of Blunn Creek.
Requirements to participate.
— A minimum of .25 of a mile
— A minimum of 4 clean-ups a year
— Restore the natural habitat
Keep Austin Beautiful in the past has provided trash bags, poison ivy prevention lotion, and the loan of tools for each clean-up. They also provide monitoring kits to keep track of changes in the creek. There is a Clean Sweep coming up on April 14th, but there is nothing official planned at this point. We are no longer an “official” group. Right now we have a list of about 30 volunteers to call upon. Several key people from the group have left the area, so we are looking for someone (or a group) to take this on. If you have questions, contact Sandy (email is listed above).

9. 8:10 Capital Metro’s Project Connect includes planning for the South Congress Corridor. Members of the project team will share information about the plan.
Here’s a link to the Project Connect website.
Presenters/Guests: Jackie Nirenberg, Mgr. Community Involvement, Jackie.Nirenberg@capmetro.org & Joe Clemens,
Deputy Project Manager, joe.clemens@capmetro.org (15 min + 5 min Q&A)
–Joe Clemens discussed a project that Capital Metro has been working on over the past two years: “Project Connect”. The project is a regional plan to help deal with congestion within central Austin. It is projected that another million people will be in the area by 2040. Currently, improvements include rapid lanes on Mopac and dedicated lanes for buses and Metro Express buses. It is planned to include a high capacity transit system which would might consist of dedicated lanes for buses, metro rail, express buses between specific points, and circulation rides for the downtown area. Project Connect is looking for feedback now, and will move towards presenting to Capitol Metro and finding funding.
–A neighbor in SRCC expressed frustration that at one point there seemed to be a lot of public transportation around downtown. Over time, service seemed to change its goals to getting those in the suburbs into downtown Austin and out.
–Mr. Clemens said that a process called “Cap Re-Map” is trying to refine bus routes so that there is more availability for in-town residents. Another neighbor asked about the possibility of rapid transit along Mopac railways. Mr. Clemens reported that a long-term plan was shelved because of difficulties with finding funding from the state and difficulty working out transit with Union Pacific, who owns the Mopac tracks.
–Mr. Clemens shared a Draft Project Connect System Plan, which include another commuter train out to Manor on a line that is already owned. In addition, they are looking at North Lamar, Riverside, South Congress and South Lamar to figure as major routes. His presentation concluded with ideas about a bus in a dedicated lane (“bus rapid transit”) for South Congress. Engineering and environmental impact will begin to be considered in late 2018 (after surveys of residents are compiled and vehicle type is determined).

10. 8:30 Historic Zoning for Stacy Pools. Love Austin Pools (LAP) and Preservation Austin would like the neighborhood to support historical zoning for Stacy pools and shelter house. The intent is to do the research and documentation for the application using volunteers while the survey is being provided by the Planning Dept. The SRCC Historic Preservation Committee has voted to support the pools’ landmark status. VOTE EXPECTED.
Here’s a proposed example letter from LAP to send to Council.
Presenters/Guests: Barbara Cilley, cilleyrb@austin.rr.com (15 min)
Barbara was not in attendance, so Angela Reed shared that Love Austin Pools is trying to find ways to preserve pools. Both Big and Little Stacy Pools are WPA pools. LAP is looking at zoning them as Landmarks due to this history. The designation as a landmark would make additional grants available and provide protections for the pools moving forward. She is seeking support from the neighborhood for this effort.
MOTION: Angela Reed/ Penelope Hyslop: To write a letter in support of the application for historical zoning of Big Stacy Pool, Little Stacy Pool, and the Shelter: 22 for, 0 opposed, 0 abstaining = passed

11. 8:45 As part of the Little Stacy Improvement Project, there will be an Art in Public Places (AIPP) component. The project team would like to describe the AIPP process and get ideas and feedback about possible locations for artwork in the park.
Presenters/Guests: Marjorie Flanagan, Art in Public Places Project Manager, marjorie.flanagan@austintexas.gov & Brendan Wittstruck, Director of Urban Design, asakura robinson, Brendan@asakurarobinson.com (15 min)
Marjorie Flanagan came to talk about the Art in Public Places project in Stacey Park. She shared a map and pictures of art that the City has implemented, many of which came from local Austin artists. The Austin Arts Commission is made up of citizens appointed by the City Council. The Art in Public Places Panel includes seven visual arts and design professionals. Ms. Flanagan shared the process for new AIPP installations and parts of the process where public input is sought. After this general presentation, Marjorie Flanagan shared specifics about Stacy Park. In order to stay within a smaller budget (that was approved), any installation requiring a poured foundation is not being considered. Instead, what is being considered are ideas that incorporate existing structures and artwork. A possibility is another mosaic that ties in with the Larry Monroe Bridge. One SRCC neighbor expressed a desire that there is a functional purpose included in the artwork. A SRCC neighbor asked that more input be allowed from the neighbors. Another neighbor expressed excitement about a mosaic and shared that the mosaic at Deep Eddy was very much a community project. It was suggested that the artist be encouraged to make this project similarly engaging for the community. Ms. Flanagan shared that part of the artists contract include a requirement for the artist to engage with the public. A suggestion was made to honor the Stacy family. Ms. Flanagan shared potential project goals for feedback:

  • Creates a visible, aesthetically pleasing experience at the entrance(s) of the park that draws inspiration from the moments of play occurring within;
  • respond to current nearby public mosaic artwork by utilizing similar methods and/or materials;
  • integrates the artwork into the natural setting of the park;
  • is easily maintained and vandal resistant in an exterior environment; and
  • contributes to the depth/breadth of the City of Austin’s public art collection

9:00 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
–VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We need volunteers for several open positions including PRESIDENT and COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR
Greater South River City Neighborhood Planning Contact Team members are stewards of our 2005 Neighborhood Plan. To join or for information, visit this page:
https://www.srccatx.org/about/greater-south-river-city-neighborhood-plan/
Contact Terry Franz if interested: tmfranz@airmail.net
Austin Monitor discount: SRCC16 for 20% off subscriptio

Account reconciliation, Profit & Loss and Balance reports available upon request from treasurer@srccatx.org or financecommittee@srccatx.org

*Frequently used acronyms: ACF: Austin Community Fund; ANC: Austin Neighborhood Council; SF: Single Family zoning category; FLUM: Future Land Use Map; GSRC NPCT: Greater South River City Neighborhood Planning Contact Team, NCCD: Neighborhood Conservation Combining District; SCC: South Central Coalition of NAs

Agenda Prepared by Dan Fredine, vicepresident@srccatx.org
Minutes Prepared by Mary Janecek-Friedman, secretary@srccatx.org

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