SRCC GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Monday, June 2, 2014 7:15 PM
GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
205 E. MONROE, AUSTIN, TEXAS
MEETING MINUTES
To be sure you get a vote, be 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. Reminder: state your name when presenting or seconding a motion.
Presenter throughout: President, unless otherwise noted.
2. 7:20 Membership and voting announcements. 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, 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.
20+ members
3. 7:22 Approve minutes from May 5, 2014, last regular monthly meeting (available at www.srccatx.org).
MOTION: Russell Fraser / Wolf Sitler – to approve the minutes from last month = PASSED
4. 7:25 Treasurer’s Report – see attachment to agenda distributed at the meeting; will also be available on website: www.SRCCatx.org
We are still paying out from the Austin Community Fund for the capital improvement projects we voted to support.
MOTION: Carol Martin / Marc Davis – to approve the treasurer’s report = PASSED
5. 7:30 Committee Chairs reports
1) Parks, Schools, Environment; 2) Planning & Zoning – item below; 3) Transportation & Public Safety – item below; 4) Norwood; 5) Historic District; 8) Finance; status of projects funded by SRCC; 9) Reps to ANC Austin Nbhd Council; 10) Communication; 11) Quality of Life
4) Norwood – The asbestos and lead paint has been removed from the property and the foundation will now be addressed.
OLD BUSINESS
6. 7:40 District 9 Neighborhood Leaders meetings – request for volunteers to attend meetings where various neighborhoods that fall within the same council district can discuss their issues, explore common interests. SRCC needs to attend both District 9 and District 3 meetings. atxd9@googlegroups.com
Presenters: Eric Rangel, SRCC President; and Sounthaly “Tune†Outhavong, SRCC District 9 Rep
Our neighborhood association is within two different District boundaries, 9 and 3. District 9 has been organizing meetings in preparation for this transition and some SRCC members attended. DANA (downtown austin neighborhood association) organized a survey of its residents to gauge what issues were most important to them and we should consider doing the same. There is talk of doing an event to get these neighborhoods together to share ideas. A Google group has been the primary method for communication and the address is atxd9@googlegroups.com. A possible debate between candidates was discussed, this would be independent from the City and Austin Neighborhoods Council (ANC).
7. 7:45 Update on 517 E. Oltorf – Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus, Inc.’s request (C14-2013-0081) to upzone to GR (with conditional overlay) to increase their impervious cover limit and allow for additional construction.
Presenter: Jean Mather, SRCC Chair of Planning & Zoning committee
Marty Christman, Environment Chair, updated us on the issue and there wasn’t much different from last month. The applicant does not want to ask for a variance and is pursuing the upzoning. Marty and Elloa Mathews will let us know when the issue is going before Council so we can show our opposition to this request.
8. 7:50 Project Connect updates. Presentation and Q&A.
Presenters: Jeff Kessel, SRCC Transportation committee co-chair; Scott Gross, Central Corridor Study Deputy Lead, 512-609-1607, scott.gross@austintexas.gov; Cheyenne Krause, Public Information Specialist, City of Austin Transportation Department (O) 512.974.7907 | (C) 512.431.4363 Cheyenne.Krause@austintexas.gov
Cheyenne was here last month talking about transportation issues addressed by Project Connect. The proposed urban rail would travel approximately 9.5 miles through UT campus, across the river near the mouth of Waller Creek and east along Riverside. There is approximately 80 feet of right of way along Riverside. Mr. Gross stated they would purchase some but not much private land. He does not think there will be a need to cut into the bluff on the south side of Riverside. Intersections along the route will remain where they are with a potential station at Travis Heights Blvd. Stations are generally about 160 feet long. In response to question about how ridership will get to the station at Travis Heights, Mr. Gross said there was not room for a parking lot and might create a ‘kiss and ride’ drop off space. They are expecting the current bus routes will serve as transport to the stations. The proposed bridge across Lady Bird Lake would span from the Statesman property on the south side to Waller Creek on the north side. It would include rail, pedestrian and bike access. The new boathouse on the north shore appears to be in the way of this project and would most likely be altered. The height of the bridge would not be taller than the Congress bridge, maybe 20 feet off the water. The cost of the bridge depends on the design, and would vary depending on community input. Current vehicle volume on Riverside is 16-20,000 car trips a day so they are looking to maintain capacity while adding new modes. 16 access stations throughout the route and parking stations on either end with a couple others in between. Access to these stations would be complemented by bus service. It was asked if there was any duplication with the existing commuter rail and the answer was that they will share a station at Hancock but otherwise be separate. Riverside is 68 feet wide at Joe’s Crab Shack and that is the most narrow section of the road. 50% of the budget is expected to be Federal funds. Pedestrian and bike access would remain mostly the same and the current speed limit is not slated to change but all of these details are up for discussion. There are 15 planned open houses and briefings to help spread accurate information and engage the community. Please email them with any questions.
NEW BUSINESS
9. 8:05 Election to fill vacancy on executive committee for vice president. Co-candidates are Gretchen Otto and Russell Fraser.
Presenter: Carol Martin, previous SRCC Vice President
Carol is the previous vice president and has helped to involve two neighbors who have agreed to share the responsibility. Russell has been involved for many years and Gretchen has been a resident for 8 years who wanted to get more involved.
MOTION: Carol Martin / Marc Davis – to approve Russell Fraser and Gretchen Otto as co-vice presidents = PASSED
10. 8:10 Restriping of Annie/Woodland. Brief presentation by COA. Obtain additional information & provide feedback at open house on Wed. June 4th, 2014 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at Fulmore Middle School, 201 E. Mary Street. If you cannot attend this open house and have questions or comments, contact Aleksiina Chapman.
Presenter: Aleksiina Chapman, Bicycle Network Design, City of Austin Transportation Department, (O) 512.974.7834 Aleksiina.Chapman@austintexas.gov
This was a brief overview of the project and she encouraged anyone interested in more information to attend the City’s meeting on Wednesday, June 4th. Annie and Woodland are slated for resurfacing and restriping. In that process there is an opportunity to make changes. They want to preserve all the heritage trees and others of note so the general plan is to narrow the road where preservation of trees is an issue. A sidewalk will be constructed on at least one side along the route. Some residents would not like to lose any vehicle parking on the North side of the street. There was much debate about priority of motorized vehicle needs versus pedestrians and bicycles. Given the varying widths of Woodland, it is difficult to create a consistent experience. The format of Wednesday’s meeting will depend on the turnout. Please email her your questions ahead of time.
11. 8:25 Plans for Terrace Hotel, 110 Academy Drive/1101 Music Lane
Austin Pfiester and Liz Lambert will present initial plans for the Terrace Hotel. They have met with the Zoning committee but haven’t submitted an application to the city yet, so there won’t be a vote.
Presenters: Marc Davis, Member; Austin Pfiester and Liz Lambert, developers austinpfiester@yahoo.com
Austin is the landowner and looking to work with Liz to develop a hotel at the location that was actually a motel back in the 50s. The site is 1 acre and bordered by mixed use and commercial properties. Liz owned the San Jose since 1995 and ran it as it was until remodeling it into the business it is today. She described her vision for the project. The property is CS and sufficient for the project but the NCCD limits it to just office so that would need to change but they would then limit all other CS uses. A small portion would be requesting CS1 in order to house a 1,500 sqft speakeasy. A 100 person restaurant and publicly accessible space is part of the vision. Sidewalks would be added to Academy. The site incorporates 90 hotel rooms and plans to build out more parking than is required and will be fairly hidden amongst the other structures given the topography of the properties involved. Impervious cover would need to be changed under the NCCD. This was just an introduction to this project and they would like to hear input.
12. 8:45 Presentation for proposed Larry Monroe Memorial in Stacy Park.
Presenters: Ave Bonar and Stefanie Distefano, ave@avebonar.com
They are proposing a memorial to be installed on the bridge by Little Stacy Pool. If you have seen the mosaiced wall on Live Oak then you are familiar with her work. Stefanie worked with the community to decorate the wall and would like to do something similar with us. The mosaic would be applied to the existing wall and incorporate a variety of images into the piece. The project hopes to start in October and should take 3 weeks. Her project on Live Oak has been there 8 years without grafitti.
MOTION: Jeff Kessel / Theresa Griffin – to provide a letter of support for the project = PASSED
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
New meeting place and time for Executive Meeting–at Opal Divine’s small room for free on June 16th. 5:15pm-8:15 with the meeting taking place from 6-8. If you plan on eating (and we hope you do), please show up at 5:15 and order so we aren’t distracted with orders during the meeting itself.
Presenters: Eric Rangel, Garret Nick, Carol Martin
Eric acknowledged concerns about his intention to run for City Council while being the SRCC president. He assured everyone that he does not expect there to be confusion or a conflict of interest because he will clarify that he is speaking for himself in all situations that are not related to his role in SRCC. When he is speaking on our behalf, he will state his role accordingly.
Agenda Prepared by Gretchen Otto, vicepresident@srccatx.org
Account reconciliation, Profit & Loss and Balance reports available upon request from treasurer@srccatx.org
