CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS Special Meeting May 17, 1965 10:00 Α.Μ. Council Chamber, City Hall The meeting was called to order with Mayor Palmer presiding. Roll call: Present: Absent: Councilmen LaRue, Long, Shanks, White, Mayor Palmer None Mayor Palmer announced this was a Special Meeting of the City Council called for the purpose of inauguration and organization of the incoming Council. Church. Invocation was delivered by REVEREND MILTON DARE, Memorial Methodist DISTRICT JUDGE JACK ROBERTS administered the Oath of Office to the members of the Council as follows: THE STATE OF TEXAS 000 COUNTY OF TRAVIS( I, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of Councilman of the City of Austin, of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State; and I furthermore solemnly swear that I have not directly nor indirectly paid, offered, or promised to pay, contributed, nor promised to contribute, any money, or valuable thing, or promised any public office or employment, as a reward for the giving or withholding a vote at the election at which I was elected. So help me God. s/ Mrs. Emma Long Mrs. Emma Long, Councilman Place 1 s/ Ben White Ben White, Councilman Place 2 s/ Louis F. Shanks Louis F. Shanks, Councilman Place 3 s/ Lester E. Palmer Lester E. Palmer, Councilman, Place 4 s/ Travis LaRue Travis LaRue, Councilman Place 5 =CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS May 17, 1965 SWORN TO before me by Mrs. Emma Long, Ben White, Louis F. Shanks, Lester E. Palmer, and Travis LaRue, on this the 17th day of May, 1965, A.D. s/ Jack Roberts Jack Roberts, Judge, 126th District Court, Travis County, Texas. Mayor Palmer announced at this time nominations would be made for the election of the Mayor of the City of Austin. COUNCILMAN SHANKS stated Austin over the period of years, has been fortunate in enjoying good government under the continuity of the leadership of Mayor TOM MILLER, and then under the leadership of the present Mayor, LESTER E. PALMER. Austin has been blessed with good City government with the re-election of this particular Council, and the re-election of the Mayor, Austin will be confident of good government for the next two years. Councilman Shanks stated Lester Palmer was the most diligent elected public servant in the State of Texas; he is compassionate, intelligent, a hard worker; a man who can say "yes", and a man that can say "no". It had been his privilege on two previous occasions to nominate LESTER PALMER as the Mayor of the City of Austin, and it was now a pleasure once again to place his name with pride and honor. Councilman Shanks nominated LESTER PALMER for the office of the Mayor of the City of Austin. Councilman Shanks moved that the nominations be closed and that LESTER PALMER be elected Mayor of the City of Austin. The motion, seconded by Councilman White, carried by the following vote: Austin. Ayes: Noes: Councilmen LaRue, Long, Shanks, White None Present but not voting: Mayor Palmer Mayor Palmer called for nominations for the Mayor Pro-tem of the City of COUNCILMAN WHITE presented the name of MR. LOUIS SHANKS as Mayor Pro-tem of the City of Austin for the next two years as he is an energetic young man and will make a good Mayor Pro-tem and take a lot of work off of the Mayor. There being no other nominations, Councilman White moved that LOUIS SHANKS be elected as Mayor Pro-tem for the next two years. The motion, seconded by Councilman Long, carried by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen LaRue, Long, White, Mayor Palmer Noes: None Present but not voting: Councilman Shanks MAYOR PALMER asked any member of the Council if they had any comments to make on the City, its future, plans and programs. CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS May 17, 1965 COUNCILMAN LARUE said it had been a pleasant and a rewarding two years, and they have had a very good lineup as usual, with Coach Williams and his people running interference for them. He complimented the staff for the wonderful and excellent job they had done on long range planning. Having been in business for a number of years, he had an opportunity to compare the activities and operations of a city with a business. In every respect as it pertains to long range strategic planning, Austin is way ahead. This is the finest, most fantastic, well ar- ranged example of long range planning he had ever seen. Councilman LaRue stated for an example, the Electric System is moving ahead rapidly, as nearing completion on Town Lake is a unit that will add capacity to run Austin up to 1969. will be provided on Decker Lake to provide capacity from 1969 to 1975 or 1980. The Water and Sewer Systems are expanding at the same speed and this applies to all other departments in the City. Parks and Recreation will certainly not be left out because the money is spent wisely not only to take care of the present generation but part of the money is allocated to purchasing additional land that will be used later on by the City. It has been a privilege and pleasure to serve, and he thanked everyone very much. A plant COUNCILMAN LONG stated this was "old hat" to her, this being about the eighth time she had been inaugurated into office; and she was thrilled each time as much as she was the first time she came into office as a public servant to the people of Austin. She said she was taking the job for the next two years with the same attitude and determination in doing what she could for the people of Austin, for the State of Texas, and for the United States, since Austin was not only the State Capital, but the Capital of the whole world. She stated Austin had a marvelous Planning Department. In Austin they speak of terms of millions of dollars. Recently plans were received calling for spending $108,000,000 in the next 15 or 20 years, in building the lake for the new Power Plant, there will be the Missouri Pacific Boulevard, elevated highways and a cross thoroughfare across 15th Street; and a greater hospital complex. It is overwhelming; but having been here over 12 years, she stated it had always been overwhelming. The City will always have great expenditures; always have problems just like people have in their homes. Along with these larger problems, she was constantly working on the small problems--the little individual things that people are interested in and that affect them. She stated she was continually working on the small problems and particularly appreciated the heads of the departments and the whole administration; as when she called on the departments they are very cooperative, and she received a lot of help from them and the City Manager; and the Council is cooperative. She knew Austin was going forward in the next two years in a big way. COUNCILMAN SHANKS stated his predecessor as Mayor Pro-tem had made a wonderful Mayor Pro-tem. He took the status out of an honorary class and made it a working Mayor Pro-tem and he wanted to thank Mr. LaRue for the wonderful. job he had done as Mayor Pro-tem. Councilman Shanks stated the Council had one common goal in mind and that was to accomplish what is good for the City of Austin COUNCILMAN WHITE, noting he had been on the Council for quite a while, said the Council had accomplished a lot. Since he had been a member of the Council, the City Departments had almost tripled and Austin would triple again in the next 14 years. He expressed pleasure of giving his time for the people, as he loved people and he thanked the citizens for electing him again as their representative on the Council. CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS May 17, 1965 MAYOR PALMER expressed appreciation to the members of the Council for the confidence they had placed in him. This was the sixth time he had taken the Oath of Office and promised to do his best. The Council is familiar with the problems before it now. Austin, a very vital growing City, will always reflect the prosperity of the State, and now will probably reflect the prosperity of the Nation. He outlined the growth of the City during the past ten years. He listed the problems that had been overcome in extending water and sewer lines to the far boundaries of the City in all directions. During the next two to five years, 90% of the problems will be associated with growth. He quoted from an article in the London Observer on the writer's first visit to Austin when the President made his first visit home, "Austin was that repository of that southern gentility that you very, very rarely find in large cities today". He hoped the image of Austin would always be this representative of this friendly city. The Mayor said an ambitious program for the next year was planned and there are many areas that need answers and solutions. There is the fantastic expressway system. The City is in fine shape financially and every member will pledge to its citizens that it will try to hold the taxes in line. He said Austin was in for two very exciting years, and it will be fine to work with the people who have shown their in- terest in the City. He closed by saying that credit should be given where due, and that is to the administration. He especially thanked the City Manager and all of his staff for the fine work that they do and the programs they lay out. The Mayor commended the City Manager, and all the City employees, complimenting the work they had done and their accomplishments. He expressed appreciation to the crowd that was present this morning for the Inauguration. MR. VIC MATHIAS thanked each Council Member for serving on the Council, and also the families of the Council Members because the sacrifice is great to the families. In answer to "What makes Austin the kind of a City it is", he stated it was not the beauty, trees, water, streets, buildings--it is the people. He thanked the Council and their families again. Members of the Council introduced those of their families who were present. Councilman White introduced his daughter and her husband, MR. & MRS. H. R. MEADOR and their four children. Councilman Long introduced her husband, MR. STUART LONG. Councilman Shanks introduced his grandchildren, MIKE AND BECKIE FORWOOD, his daughter, SUZIE, her husband, MR. AMOR FORWOOD; and his sons-in-law, MR. KAL KALLADAY and MR. JAMES RAY. Mayor Palmer introduced his wife, ETHEL PALMER. MRS. FRANCISCO said she had tried but had not found anything wrong with the City yet. Councilman Long moved that the Council adjourn. The motion, seconded by Councilman LaRue, carried by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmen LaRue, Long, Shanks, White, Mayor Palmer Noes: None The Council adjourned subject to the call of the Mayor, ( ATTEST: Lea City Clerk APPROVED Mayor