City of Austin and Travis County news — February 2012

Between the three complexes, a total of 1,020 apartments will receive energy improvements.

According to the city, the projected savings in reduced pollution is equal to taking 74 cars off of the road.

City approves theater funds

Improvements will be made to the Zilker Hillside Theatre in Zilker Park, including the expansion of the stage to provide additional backstage space for storage and stage designs. This will allow room for the future addition of restrooms and indoor storage.

On Jan. 12, the Austin City Council approved the agreement between the Parks and Recreation Department and Zilker Theatre Productions for the roughly $275,000 project.

The city will contribute $175,000 toward the improvements, while Zilker Theatre Productions will design, engineer and build an expansion to the venue.

Travis County

Commissioners review courthouse partnership possibilities

Representatives from Ernst & Young LLP briefed the Travis County Commissioners Court about partnership options for the planned civil and family courthouse Jan. 24.

Last spring, the county sent out a request for information about public-private partnerships, also called P3s. It later hired Ernst & Young to sort through the request's 21 responses and advise Travis County about what is feasible to construct there.

The responses came from global P3 consortiums, P3 developers, U.S.-based developers and local real estate developers, among others. The responders estimated that it would take approximately 24 to 70 months to build the courthouse. They advocated a mixed-use development with retail, office and residential uses.

The consultants will return to court with a final report March 20.

County gets an early look at projections for 2013 budget

The Travis County Commissioners Court looked at some early numbers and guidelines in its 2013 budget process. Leroy Nellis, acting Planning and Budget Office county executive, said Feb. 14 that the county expects the tax rate to increase by 2.86 percent, from 48.55 cents per $100 of property value to 49.94 cents per $100. If adopted, the rate increase would amount to a $29.96 tax increase to the average property owner with a homestead valued at $215,820 after exemptions.