On a separate agenda for the Austin Housing Finance Corporation board, a body made up of City Council members, officials also approved directing millions of dollars to affordable housing projects and land purchases for future development.
The Aug. 26 session marked council's last regular meeting during which members of the public could participate remotely under statewide open meetings rules relaxed through the pandemic. Beginning Sept. 1, any residents wishing to provide comments to council will be required to appear at City Hall in person. A quorum of council members must also appear on the dais in person for meetings as of next month.
District 5 Council Member Ann Kitchen requested that council take extra time to consider options for meetings and public input, and Mayor Steve Adler said a debrief on the topic would take place during council's Aug. 31 work session before the rule change.
“I think it’s important for us to have an understanding of what our options are, both in terms of people testifying and for attendance," Kitchen said.
The change is also set to affect the city's dozens of boards and commissions that have been meeting remotely since last spring. Scheduling and location planning for those bodies' future meetings is in progress.
Boosting COVID-19 vaccinations
Austin staff are now preparing to manage the distribution of COVID-19 booster shots in the wake of federal guidance related to third doses of vaccines approved or authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
A resolution sponsored by District 2 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes and unanimously approved by council instructs City Manager Spencer Cronk to update the local vaccination strategy with a "comprehensive" booster shot distribution plan. The measure includes focus points on public and private partnerships for getting out shots, providing vaccine education and combating hesitancy, and ensuring equitable distribution through a process that has seen uneven outcomes so far. Cronk is directed to return to council with an updated plan by late September.
“We have a month to plan how we meet this moment, and with the item ... it calls for us to take some time to build on lessons learned from the initial vaccine rollout," Fuentes said. "It also roots it in equity to ensure that we do not see disparities in access, and that is very important that we continue our equitable efforts and that we really learn from our previous efforts in both the successes and also the shortfall."
Fuentes pointed to the importance of the education component of her resolution's instruction, especially for the Austin-area Latino community in part given an initial lag in Spanish-language public information releases through the pandemic. Adler also said the booster process gives the city an opportunity to improve on its work done over the past several months.
"We got it out to lots of people and our vaccination rate here in our city is among the highest in Texas. That said, we now get another chance to do some of that same work, and an emphasis on equity and figuring out how we actually get it to the communities hardest to reach is important," Adler said.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials said earlier this month that COVID-19 booster shots will be widely offered as soon as the week of Sept. 20, given data showing that the protections against severe COVID-19 effects offered by the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines could "diminish" after a matter of months. Federal officials said a booster for the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also likely needed, although a plan for those shots is under evaluation pending further data analysis.
Booster shots for those with compromised immune systems are already available.
Violence mitigation and youth outreach
Several contracts approved by council Aug. 26 will send money toward programs aimed at juvenile delinquency and violence intervention. Items 100 through 104 on council's agenda included:
- Item 100: This is an Austin Public Health budget amendment accepting a $475,000 grant from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, or TDFPS. The money will go toward the 78744 Dove Springs Community Youth Development Program, an initiative the state has supported for years and which is geared toward reducing delinquency in the 78744 ZIP code identified by TDFPS as a youth crime hotspot.
- Item 101: These are three separate contracts also geared toward juvenile delinquency for $80,000 per year from APH's budget. Each contract includes four annual renewal options for a total of up to five years and $400,000 each. The youth programs facilitated through the three entities receiving funding—Workers Assistance Program, E4 Youth and Mexic-Arte Museum—are all tied to the 78744 Dove Springs initiative and expected to serve hundreds of children annually.
- Item 102: This is a contract extension with nonprofit Lock Your Arms for Life for a gun storage safety campaign funded through APH. Council's action Aug. 26 supplements an ongoing six-month, $60,000 agreement, and will send $120,000 more to the effort now set to run through September 2022.
- Item 103: This $75,000 contract with nonprofit Cities United is for "coaching, capacity building, and developing infrastructure" at the city's Office of Violence Prevention. The consulting work will run from Sept. 15 through March 2023 and is funded through APH's budget.
- Item 104: These are three separate one-year contracts aimed at community violence prevention totaling more than $855,000 from APH's budget. Nonprofits funded include the Young Women’s Christian Association of Greater Austin with up to $300,000, the Council on At-Risk Youth for up to $400,000, and the Mexic-Arte Museum for up to $155,344.
“With this vote, I believe we move forward to reduce violence by working with our youth before they get in trouble or make a horrible choice. Gun violence is preventable and gun violence between young people is preventable," District 4 Council Member Greg Casar said prior to the consent vote.
Casar said the initiatives will see public health staff and program leaders go "door to door" to meet with youth. Separately, he also commended the gun storage item and the Austin Police Department's ongoing Violence Intervention Program targeted at repeat violent offenders and gun crimes.
Earlier this week, APD announced the program's planned run through August had been extended through September. As of Aug. 24, 109 firearm seizures and 62 arrests had been made through the program.
