Travis County Commissioners Court met Tuesday to discuss multiple items including an update on legislative activities and the animal services office. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's meeting:
• After no objection from citizens during a public hearing Tuesday morning, commissioners approved a resolution of no objection and support for the proposed Manchaca Common Apartments at 12040 Manchaca Road, Austin. A resolution of support from the commissioners is required to file a Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs tax credit application. The development is under a fair housing screening that will ensure that the 240-unit complex will have a positive impact in the community.
Commissioner Precinct 3 Gerald Daugherty felt this project would be beneficial for the community as well as his precinct, and he suggested changing the language in the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs tax credit application from affordability housing to workforce housing because it better identifies with the people who will qualify to live there. A report from the fair housing screening will be presented to commissioners court within the next few months.
• The Citizens Bond Advisory Committee, a committee appointed by the commissioners court to research the community’s priorities for a potential bond referendum, updated the court about some of the priorities identified by residents, including road improvements, flooding issues and more public parks. The update also included discussions on how expensive the proposed bond should be and what kind of impact that figure would have on taxpayers. The committee meets on a quarterly basis. Interested residents can stream the meeting online or are welcome to attend the meetings and provide public comment. The committee also posts updates on the Nextdoor community boards.
• Commissioners canvassed the votes from the May 6 election and approved the voter-backed order creating Emergency Services District 15, or ESD 15. The new ESD will overlap with portions of ESD 11 and portions of the extraterritorial jurisdictions of the city of Niederwald and the city of Buda. The final election results were 413 votes in favor and 27 votes against. The order also approved a property tax levy not to exceed 10 cents per $100 valuation.