Drainage fee change implemented, some local businesses see effects
Starting with November utility bills, the city of Austin has restructured the way it calculates the drainage fee for property owners, considering both the amount of impervious cover, or surface area that cannot absorb rainwater, and the ratio of impervious cover on a property.
Impervious cover includes rooftops, patios and other surfaces that do not absorb rainfall.
The change has led to either an increase or decrease in monthly utility bills depending on impervious cover, said Craig Bell, outreach coordinator for the city of Austin Watershed Protection Department.
“The fee calculation is now designed to reflect actual impact each property has on the city’s drainage system,” Bell said.
If a property owner has 100 percent impervious cover, the drainage charge increase would be 74 percent, Bell said. If the owner has a larger lot with little impervious cover, the owner might pay one-fifth of the drainage fee he or she paid prior to November.
For Jim Pallas, owner of Southwest Austin vehicle parts yard Big 4 Auto Parts, the $1,411 drainage fee charge on his November utility bill was a “death blow” to his business. The impervious cover is 97.6 percent for his property, he said.
“Not only am I going to have to close my shop, but I’m going to have to sell this property,” he said.
Paredes students get boost with Raise Up Texas education program
Paredes Middle School Principal Valerie Torres-Solis speaks to students and Raise Up Texas stakeholders Dec. 10 at a school tour.[/caption]
Austin ISD Superintendent Paul Cruz toured classrooms at Paredes Middle School on Dec. 10, watching teachers implement tools from the Raise Up Texas framework to teach students math, literature and English skills.
Three months ago, students and teachers at Paredes began participating in the Raise Up Texas program, which aims to improve student achievement. Local nonprofit E3 Alliance developed Raise Up, which has a “whole-school” approach to improve middle school student performance, from improving grades to teaching responsibility and proper social behavior.
At Paredes, 75 percent of students are on a free and reduced lunch program, and 22 percent are English language learners, Principal Valerie Torres-Solis said.
“Raise Up Texas is really exciting for us because it has provided a common language,” Torres-Solis said.
“In middle school, there is so much that goes on during those adolescent years,” Cruz said. “Those are formative years. [Teachers and parents] tend to shy away from working directly and interacting with kids, but at the end of the day the kids really want that.”
E3 Alliance is expanding the program to 16 more middle schools.
