Council postponed votes on authorizing a proposed $27 million in spending on renovations for the 8th Street Municipal Building as well as the appointment of Myrna Rios as city clerk and ordinances related to the Urban Renewal Plan for East 11th and 12th streets.
Extending health care for Austinites facing homelessness
During the Dec. 2 meeting, Council Member Kathie Tovo brought attention to a more than 300-person waitlist for behavioral health and primary services offered by the Homeless Health and Wellness Center through Downtown Austin Community Court, a court that is focused on rehabilitation. The program has been helping individuals experiencing homelessness access health care.
Council approved an item that will allow the city to offer those services for another year using American Rescue Plan Act funding. The move allows the DACC to extend a contract with Integral Care for another 12 months with $311,167 in ARPA dollars, effective Jan. 1., Court Operations Manager Robert Kingham said.
Adding library programs
Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said three items related to libraries, also funded by ARPA, will help address digital inequity in the area.
With approval from council, Austin Public Library will accept $250,000 in grant funds to pay for Texas Digital Navigators, a program meant to help close digital divides in communities across the state. This grant will fund device purchases and hiring digital navigators, who help community members with adopting internet and using electronic devices.
APL will also receive $150,072 in grant funds for a program focused on language barriers in accessing library services, which is called Understanding for All/Comprensión Por Todo. Libraries will also receive $50,000 for equipment and resources needed to facilitate a telehealth project at the library.
Grant funding for all three programs was awarded by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s federal funder, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, using ARPA funds.
Funding the arts
Council Member Alison Alter said she was happy to see three items that, combined, will inject $5.6 into Austin’s artistic community.
One approved item changed the city’s contract with the Better Business Bureau, allowing the city to provide $1.5 million in additional grants to arts and culture nonprofits that had already applied to the Austin Arts & Culture Nonprofit Relief Grant program. The Better Business Bureau will distribute the grant money.
Council also approved providing more than $1.6 million for venues by altering a contract with the Greater Austin Performing Arts Center to continue providing support to music venues and music industry workers hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. The city will offer more than $2.5 million for workers, provided through the Austin Music Disaster Relief Grant program.
Continuing work on Onion Creek Metro Park
Council voted to direct City Manager Spencer Cronk to complete several tasks related to Onion Creek Metro Park. Cronk has been directed to describe the roles and responsibilities of parties to the Onion Creek Metro Park District Consent Agreement and provide regular updates about the park on city websites.
Council also wants to hear an update on funding for and construction of park improvements, and expects a report on the status of all of these directives within 120 days.
Tovo thanked Fuentes for her work on the park project, which will commemorate victims of Onion Creek floods.
“I appreciate all the bittersweet emotion going into this park where houses once were,” Tovo said.
Changing the Office of Civil Rights
The Austin City Council approved an ordinance Dec. 2 that grants the city’s Office of Civil Rights enforcement authority.
The city’s first Civil Rights Officer Carol Johnson said the new powers will make existing workplace and civil rights protections in the city enforceable though civil and criminal penalties.
