CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS Special Called Council Meeting January 21, 1980 6:30 Ρ.Μ. Council Chambers 301 West Second Street The meeting was called to order with Mayor McClellan presiding. Roll Call: Present: Mayor McClellan, Councilmembers Goodman, Himmelblau, Mayor Pro Tem Mullen, Councilmember Snell Absent: Counci Imembers Cooke, Trevino Mayor McClellan opened the meeting scheduled for 7:00P.M., stating that the first item on the agenda was the consideration of electric rates, policies and structures. She said that unless there was some clear unanimity on what the Council would like to do on electric rates, that a new meeting should be posted for consideration of electric rates before a full Council. MOTION Councilmember Goodman moved that the Council post a meeting for the consideration of the electric rates, policies and structures on February 1, 1980 at 10:00 A.M. The motion, seconded by Mayor McClellan, carried by the following vote: Ayes: Mayor McClellan, Councilmembers Goodman, Himmelblau, Mayor Pro Tem Mullen, Councilmember Snell Noes: None Absent: Councilmembers Cooke, Trevino CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 The Council recessed for seven minutes, in order to remain on the posted time schedule for the review of City Boards and Commissions which was to follow at 7:00 Ρ.Μ. Mayor McClellan suggested that since a full Council was not present, no decisions should be made concerning any changes on City Boards/Commissions; however, she did propose that all Boards/Commissions should be heard and that the Council should indicate to them which, if any, would be considered at a later date for abolishment, streamlining or restructuring. Mayor McClellan reconvened the meeting stating that the purpose for the Public Hearing was to abide by the so-called "Sunset Ordinance" which provides for the annual review of citizen Boards and Commissions. She noted that the Council could not in any way make changes on some of the Boards and Commissions which are controlled by City Charter or State Law. They are as follows: Planning Commission; Joint Airport Zoning Board; Board of Adjustment; Board of Equalization; Civil Service Commission; and the City of Austin Housing Authority. She said that although the Council was not free to make any changes on these Boards/Commissions, there could be some possible suggestions from either side. The Mayor suggested that as the Chairperson of each Board/Commission shared his comments with the Council, if there was any indication of restructuring, combining, abolishing or streamlining, the Council should so signify in order to post that particular Board/Commission for additional review at the regularly scheduled meeting of February 7. JOINT AIRPORT ZONING BOARD MR. LOU SCANTLAND, Chairperson of the Joint Airport Zoning Board, was not present to appear before the Council; Lonnie Davis, Director of the Building Inspection Department, spoke in his stead. Mr. Davis noted that although the Board had been inactive for several years, it did meet a number of times in 1979 and on April 16, 1979 the Board did adopt a new zoning regulation concerning the Airport which assisted the Airport in getting their grant monies approved. ARTS COMMISSION Chairperson of the Arts Commission, Al Golden, told the Council that their newest appointments have all assumed very active role with the Commission. Councilmember Himmelblau asked Mr. Golden if the $13,300 in expenses shown were mostly staff time. January 21, 1980 _ CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS Mr. Golden replied that a vast majority of the expenses were staff time, with perhaps a small percentage of the amount to be attributed to travel. He commended Mr. Ehrler and his PARD staff for the dedication and effort they have shown in assisting the Arts Commission. Councilmember Himmelblau noted that the Commission seemed to be well balanced and that there did not seem to be any need for changes. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT JIM DANIELS, Vice-President of the Board, expressed appreciation to Jim Bennett and Albert DeLaRosa for their assistance. He said that there were two points, in addition to the Board's annual report, that he would like to bring to the Council's attention; (1) the board has been conferring with the consultants on the drafting and redrafting of the zoning ordinance and has mentioned to them a number of things they hope they will consider changing, and (2) several members are presently up for reappointment and need to be reappointed. He also brought to the Council's attention that Mary Kay Knief, an alternate on the Board, had taken road trips with the Board and taken an active role even when she cannot be involved in the decision making process. In his comments regarding the Board of Adjustment, Councilmember Mullen said that he would like to tell Mr. Daniels what he has heard about them although it does not include him (Mr. Daniels) personally. "This Board.. I've had more negative calls about this Board than any board in the City and more complaints about the unfairness and inability to give fair play on this Board...you were spoken about as being fair and open-minded; but, you know I'm talking about, I think, because you have been on the losing side many times. If these members stay on, which I don't know if they are going to or not, I want them to know of my displeasure...about not being open-minded to listening to citizens when they come in with a need for a variance; that's what this is for." Mayor McClellan further shared some of the concern of the Council. "We don't in any way want to do..you know..making your decisions for you. What we_want though is open-mindedness going into those decisions on your part. There is some feeling that we are having to spend a lot of City dollars battling losing Court battles, because of some of those decisions. I don't know. I can't..I'm not there. I'm not on that Board. I'm just telling you of the concerns that come to us." Mr. Daniels remarked, in the way of a partial response, that the ordinance as written requires a four vote action that is four out of five positive votes in order to grant a variance to overturn a ruling of the Building Inspection Department. He said that there is a very strong burden of proof on the individual requesting the variance and in many cases what would seem a fair thing to do is not always provided for in the ordinance. Mr. Mullen asked if it would be fair to ask "if the Board of Adjustment has gotten out of its area sometimes in the decision making. In other words, they have not stuck to what they are supposed to be discussing. They have gotten off into other areas that are not relevant to questions brought before them." CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 Mr. Daniels replied that he did not believe the Board had generally gotten off to decisions that were irrelevant. BOARD OF EQUALIZATION REEDY SPIGNER addressed the Council and noted that he is not the chairperson of the Board. (Gen. Frank Wood is). He said that in 1980 or 1982 the local Board of Equalization will be replaced by an Appraisal Review Board consisting of from three to nine members appointed by the Board of Directors. He said that over the past year staff time expenses had been approximately $3,000, because it had been an "off year"; during a busy year, cost for staff time is approximately $15,000. Mayor McClellan thanked Mr. Spigner and commended the Board for doing a fine job. There were no suggestions or recommendations. BOGGY CREEK AD HOC COMMITTEE MR. XEVIOR MOTA, Chairperson of the Committee, was not present for the meeting but did send a note to Councilmember Trevino advising him that he was not aware that he was to submit a report and was under the impression that someone else had done so. Councilmember Trevino commented that the Committee had been in contact with John German, Director of Public Works, as well as members of the U.S. Corps of Engineers and probably would continue for some time. BUILDING CODE BOARD OF APPEALS HENRY HOLMAN, Chairperson of the Board, was not present; however, Lonnie Davis, Director of the Building Inspection Department, was there to speak in his stead. Mr. Davis said that the principal function of the Board is to keep an on-going and continuous review of the building code. He said that during the past year the Board had undertaken a study of wood shingles at the request of the Council. He said that the Board is empowered to hear requests for deviations or variations to the Building Code of Appeal. Other than that, their principal function is to review the new building code as it is presented to the Council. Staff time and cost for the past year was $552.00. BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION BILL DORMAN, Chairperson of the Commission, addressed the Council noting that the purpose of the Commission is to preserve the housing stock in the City and the habitability of it. He reviewed some of the functions of the Commission with the Council. Mr. Dorman said that the only "out of the ordinary" action in which the Commission became involved over the past _ CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 year was that of the downtown redevelopment district. He said that as the downtown revitalization project continues, the Building Standards Commission would like to be more involved. Councilmember Goodman requested that the Commission change the format for attendance records, in order to give the Council a better overall picture of the number of meetings held and attended since appointment. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION FATHER LONNIE REYES, a member of the Commission, said that the main concern of the three members has been to listen to any and everything that pertains to firemen and policemen in the City and to try to give them a fair hearing, making the best decisions that they can. He expressed the Commission's appreciation to the staff and Council for the help and cooperation received, particularly noting their appreciation for the Council's appointment of Mr. Longley, a private attorney to the Commission. Councilmember Snell inquired as to whether Father Reyes sees any need for changes or recommendations for changes for the Commission. Father Reyes replied that the system and staff seem to work well together and he sees no particular need, since they have the attorney which they requested. CONSTRUCTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MR. ROYCE FAULKNER, Chairperson of the Committee, commended the staff work and said that their cooperation in the past year and a half had been outstanding and a benefit to them, as to the construction industry. Noting that change-order procedures are one of Councilmember Himmelblau's concerns, Mr. Faulkner said that considerable time has been spent to work out the procedures, understanding and format that the contractors and staff will be able to understand and work to the benefit of the City. DENTAL HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE DR. ED WHITE, Chairperson of the Dental Health Advisory Committee, appeared before the Council to discuss some of the functions of the Committee. He said that although some dentists in the City were rather antagonistic towards the Committee and its work at its inception, they now realize that the patients who seek treatment at the clinic would not be able to afford treatment elsewhere. He said that a sizeable amount of tax dollars were going into the clinic and that they try to operate it as efficiently as possible. January 21, 1980 CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS Dr. White noted that "when you are dealing with people in this particular economic situation, it is just a different ballgame and that has really been our main problem - how to deal with that like a 35% or 40% noshow rate, so that we don't have down times with fairly high paid staff people that aren't doing anything. I think we have met that problem about as good as we can under the curcumstances. We have an on-going program trying to improve our no-show rate." He said that he, as a conservative in political philosophy, has enjoyed his time in the clinic as an enlightening and learning experience. In addition, Dr. White told the Council that "the additional monies that you gave us for the denture program you know we are getting a month by month report on that, so that we are overseeing this money as diligently as we can and at this point, I'm hoping that we be able to give some of it back...we might be able to give some refund to the Council, hoping that we can come back in years to come, if we need additional funds." Mayor McClellan commended the Committee for its great work and expressed the appreciation of the entire Council. EMS QUALITY ASSURANCE TEAM DR. ROY LEAMON, Chairperson of the EMS, said that he was pleased with the structure of the Team and had only two main considerations for the EMS at this time: (1) a station location study, and (2) a basic revision of the entire system with people of two levels of training. Councilmember Himmelblau commented that she thought the Council had approved the tiered system during the adoption of the budget and understood that EMS would be changing over to that system. Dr. Leamon replied that although the Council approved the system, the Quality Assurance Team is still looking at the idea. Councilmember Himmelblau commented that her concern is that we haven't gone to the tiered system. She asked if we have enough units on the street, so that the runs will all go to the emergency room, instead of some of the minor emergency clinics. Dr. Leamon said that his understanding is that more units will be on the streets with the tiered system, but at the present time, we are still making runs to the minor emergency clinic. He said that the tiered system will provide more of a capability of deciding on which place to go. He said that there are some pros and cons on the issue of taking a person to the emergency room at Brackenridge or to a minor emergency clinic. Some people demand a choice of where to be taken, although particularly critical cases are always taken to Brackenridge. _ CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 Councilmember Himmelblau asked Dr. Leamon if the EMS Quality Assurance Team is inter-acting pretty well with the EMS CAPCO program. He said that he personally is not but that Dr. Patrick is. Dr. Leamon said that one of the things the City needs now is to have the on-going education and evaluation of their present people looked at more closely and see how good a job they are doing. He continued saying that we need to see how well we are doing what we are doing, rather than training new people. He suggested refresher courses, continuing education, field evaluation of the paramedics, etc. ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION SAM GRAHAM, Chairperson of the Commission, commented that they have, in the main, been productive for the City and have also assisted the Council in bringing to light the issues that involve the utility, especially the rates. Mr. Graham stated that there is a function for the Commission; it provides a service and the expenditures, in his opinion, are not out of line for the size and amount of money spent by the electric utility each year. He said the Commission could not take credit for the contract with Houston Lighting and Power, but he said the Commission did bring some things to the Council. Не said that quite often a Commission member may bring up an issue and the Council may not adopt his/her position, but the problem has been isolated. Councilmember Himmelblau noted that there is a difference between the expenses as submitted by the Commission and the Staff. The Commission turned in $19,594 and the Staff turned in $28,201. Mr. Graham replied that the first figure was compiled just before the end of the fiscal year and the second figure was turned in when all of the accounting was done. The second group of figures came in two or three weeks later. The second figure is correct. He noted that the figure could be higher if all staff time were included. Councilmember Himmelblau stated that in a previous conversation, Mr. Graham had mentioned some changes in ground rules. Mr. Graham replied that in the past two people could request information from the Staff. He said that there is a proposal to change that number to three. There are actually two proposals one to change it to four and one to change it to three and also to have the request reduced to writing, before the Staff has to act on it. Councilmember Himmelblau inquired as to whether the size of the Commission, in Mr. Graham's opinion, was correct or could it be a smaller Commission? _ CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 He replied that if "seven people can run the City of Austin, I would think that seven people are all that are needed to act in an advisory capacity; unless, there are some persons or there are some interests that you need representation for." He said that five people might be too small. Councilmember Himmelblau asked Mr. Graham if he would like to see more of a structured Commission. Mr. Graham said he would be worried, if the Commission became too structured. He is pleased with the engineers and said that a person with a financial background is definitely needed. He said where the Commission can help the Council the most is getting out of the day to day issues and getting more into the very long-range planning. Councilmember Himmelblau asked Mr. Graham if he would ever like to see the two utilities combined under one Commission, or would he like to keep them two different Commissions electric and water-wastewater. He said if the Council did combine the two, they should go back to the separate Board proposal which was before the legislature. If the two are combined, there would be so much time taken by the staff and so much duplication that the people who were there need to be accountable to the people who are going to listen to it. Councilmember Himmelblau suggested that if there were two separate Commissions, that the two should work together at CIP time. Mr. Graham replied that Boardmember Larry Deuser had pointed out to the Commission that they could not look at the Budget or the CIP in isolation. Mayor McClellan commented that she was interested in Mr. Graham's assertion that the Commission needs to be more into the long-range planning. She said that perhaps the Commission needs to be out of the day-to-day political harangues, but the Council still needs some of the day-to-day advice of the Electric Utility Commission. Mr. Graham said that he did not see how the Council has "the time to go over...it must be very difficult to find the time to go thru something as difficult as rates...that's the only thing that I have to concern myself with." Councilmember Goodman commented that he certainly appreciated and found very useful the Electric Utility Commission's review of the rate studies and the rate management processes that we have. CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 As a final remark, Mr. Graham said, "I do think that any Commission that deals with the utilities these days has to do it in the public eye and there has to be time to where whatever Board or Commission, or however many people are on there, if it is five or three, they need to meet in the public and the public needs to be notified and be able to be there and there should be time it ought to be a requirement there is in our ordinance...have so many public hearings and let the public see and have input; and, I think we have been very good about that." MRS. SHUDDE FATH, a Commission member, appeared before the Council to urge them to continue the Commission. Mrs. Fath read a report from the 1976 Mayor's Commission on Electric Rates which suggested establishing the Electric Utility Commission. Mr. Larry Deuser, another member of the Commission, stated that in looking through the Commission rules and regulations he found only one place where the Commission didn't measure up. He read from page three of the rules and regulations which says that "the Electric Utility Commission shall at all times seek to promote close cooperation between the City Council, other City Boards, Committees and Commissions, City Departments and individuals, institutions and agencies concerned with policies, procedures and operations of the Electric Utility, to the end that all such activities within the City may be coordinated to secure the greatest public welfare; so, in my experience on the Electric Utility Commission, that is the only point at which I feel we have had any shortcomings and I think that is correctable with effort on the part of the Commission." Mayor McClellan stated that she has more concern about the point Mr. Deuser just mentioned than the dollars and cents. Mr. Deuser replied. "OK. Well, that's one vote; but, there are six other votes on the Council." He then reviewed some of the reasons he felt the budget id justified. Mayor McClellan commented that the time lapse between appointment dates expiring and the actual appointments was due to the fact that the Commission was in the midst of studying the electric rate structure and it seemed inappropriate to the Council to make appointments during that period of time, which the Council had publicly announced earlier. Mr. Deuser said that he thinks there should be a Water-Wastewater Commission, separate from the Electric Utility Commission, but the two should work together at CIP time. Mayor McClellan announced that any change under the Sunset Review would be announced at the February 7, 1980 meeting when a full Council is present. _ CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980. To Councilmember Mullen's comment that "I would imagine everybody's job is pretty secure", Mayor McClellan commented, "as secure as the salary that goes with it." CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ELECTRIC UTILITY COMMISSION JACK JACKSON, representing ACORN, requested that the Electric Utility Commission be continued. He said that a forum such as the Commission has, where there is no time limit for presentations, is very much appreciated. MERLE MODINE, representing the Austin Neighborhoods Council, also addressed the Council in response to "evil rumors" that the Commission was to be dismembered. He suggested that at sometime in the future, with respect to performance of a particular Commission, there be some sort of evaluation criteria that the citizens can look at and comment on after weighing the problems. Mr. Modine continued saying that "formulating government policies, even in non-partisan fashion, is politics. There is nothing dirty about that and there is going to be difference of opinion." He recommended that the Commission be kept at nine members and commented that we need a diversity of members. Mayor McClellan commented that she has never had any problem with anyone who disagrees with her; in fact, she said that is what makes our Boards and Commissions very healthy; however, she said that Board and Commission members, like Councils and Mayors, ought to have sense of responsibility and integrity in comments that are made. FRANK HORSFALL spoke to the Council regarding "things of human interest". He asked that the Goals Committee consider two or three problems, including what he considers the neglect of the mentally ill. He asked that the Council establish an emergency psychiatric care clinic for the City. ELECTRICAL BOARD Lonnie Davis, Director of the Building Inspection Department, reviewed the function and purpose of the Electrical Board. He said the Board does not require an undue amount of research effort; therefore, expenditures for the activities of the Board in 1979 were in the neighborhood of $718.00. =CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 ELISABET NEY MUSEUM BOARD Kathleen Gee, representing the Board for the first time as Chairperson during a "sunset review", said that the had one meeting during the fiscal year and incurred no expenses at that time. She said that the Board is very pleased with their structure and feels that it is a good workable board. She said all the efforts of the Board will be toward helping the City restore Elisabet Ney Museum. Councilmember Himmelblau commented that it is real good to see this Board finally pull together. ENERGY CONSERVATION COMMISSION MR. WILLIAM BRANT, Chairperson of the Commission, reviewed the function and purpose of the Commission, as well as the committees which stem from the "mother" commission. Mr. Brant said in the last six months the most important thing that the Commission has been doing is the energy conservation plan which was submitted to the Council approximately one month ago. Mr. Brant noted that he thought it significant that the City was paying "practically nothing" for the time and efforts of eleven qualified personnel and that many of them are active on little projects that considered separately would not be very significant, but considered together they are quite important to the study of energy conservation. He recommended that the Commission be kept at eleven members. ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD MAURY HOOD, Chairperson of the Environmental Board, advised the Council that there was one vacancy on the Board. He reminded the Council that the Board was short of representation from East Austin and the elderly/ retired community. He said he hated to lean too heavily in one area, such as an environmental engineer, when there are other areas that need representation. He asked that the size of the Board not be reduced. The Council commended the Board, with Mayor McClellan stating that they were informative and supportive and had done a real fine job. ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION MR. CLARENCE NIEBUHR, Chairperson of the Commission, said that they were an "enforcement commission" which listens to the complaints of any conflict of interest that anyone wants to file and also sees that every key employee and official of the City files his financial statement. Mr. Niebuhr noted that the Commission is presently comprised of four non-minority men all from South Austin. He said they have one vacancy and are delaying action on their Commission business until the fifth member is appointed.* (*Nr. Niebuhr apparently had not been informed that Mr. Jack Anderson was appointed by the Council on December 13, 1979.) CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21.1980 ON-GOING OF GOALS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE The Comprehensive Plan, according to Mr. Jim Wells, Chairperson of the Committee, has gone to press and will soon be given to the public. He noted that the Council is already in the process of implementing that plan. He said they are presently looking at the redistribution of the population in the City, with the view of recommending the changing of some of the zone lines, in order to make a better distribution of the representatives on the Committee. Mayor McClellan asked if Mr. Wells would have the recommendations on zoning before the February 7 meeting. Mr. Wells replied that they would try to have their recommendations before the Council by the end of January. The primary changes will probably be in zones 1 and 10, because of the population increases and decreases those areas. Mayor McCellan requested that Lee Thompson, Acting Director of Research and Budget, see that the CIP information is fed to the Committee as early as possible. HEATING, AIR-CONDITIONING AND REFRIGERATION APPEALS BOARD Lonnie Davis, Director of Building Inspection, again addressed the Council. He said this Board oversees and reviews the City's Heating and AirConditioning Ordinance and hears appeals. Since they have called meetings, and generally the information necessarily required is furnished by the applicant on the agenda, the Board does not generate a great deal of expense. Over the past year, they had an expenditure of $1,519. Councilmember Goodman said, "Lonnie, I'd like to say that you not only participate in so many Boards and Commissions, but you attend almost every single meeting that they all have and I commend you for it." HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION MR. PHILIP CREER, Chairperson of the Historic Landmark Commission, said that the Commission had enjoyed the support of the Council for the five or more years that the Ordinance had been in effect. He commented that the Commission serves a very real purpose in the preservation of historic structures for the benefit of the present and future generations of the City. Not only has the Council given its support, but the ordinance itself is strong and has been challenged successfully only once, continued Mr. Creer. The legal Department is presently working on that one point to bring it into the confines of Constitutional requirements. _ CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980. Mayor McClellan expressed the Council's appreciation for the fine job Mr. Creer is doing and commended City Liaison, Betty Baker, we well. HOSPITAL BOARD JANICE ROBINSON, a member of the Hospital Board and appearing in the behalf of the Chairperson, received the praises of the Council for the fine work they are doing and for the progress and improvements to which they have contributed at the Hospital. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN appear before Y Chairperson DR. CHARLES URDY, Chairperson of the Housing Authority, did not There was no discussion and the Council was prohibited by law from making any changes under the "Sunset Ordinance". HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Councilmember Himmelblau asked Ms. Merle Miles, Chairperson of the Commission, if she thought they could reduce the size of it. Ms. Miles replied that the Commission covers a lot of different areas and has had to stretch itself already, in order to cover those areas. Councilmember Himmelblau made note of the annual report which indicates that the Commission is getting over into the education field. She said that she is a little bit puzzled about the statement which reads "endorse the Austin Teachers Center Austin Board Proposal a proposal that is directed towards the concept of making available additional opportunities for teachers in both public and private schools in the Austin area." She asked how this is being handled. Ms. Miles replied that they have an education committee that works with the Commission. She said there are teachers who come to Austin without any prior training in minority cultures or minority relations; so, the Commission has proposed to try to assist them through workshops, which would have to be accomplished through outside funds. LIBRARY COMMISSION MR. FRED SACKETT, Chairperson, appeared before the Council representing the Library Commission. He said that the size of the Commission gives him some concern, because all of the literature that they have recommends a smaller Commission; however, he said that the Commission has a marvelous spectrum of minorities, as well as political shades and because of these factors he would continue to recommend fifteen members. CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 He said that perhaps the expenditures on the part of City personnel are too high, as fewer persons could be used to assist the Commission. Mayor McClellan commented that size concerns her as well and would like to look at streamlining the Commission. Councilmember Himmelblau concurred. PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD BARRETT GARRISON, Chairperson, spoke on behelf of the Parks and Recreation Board stating that their size has been increased to include two persons with navigational expertise and they seem to be getting along well. PLANNING COMMISSION MIGUEL GUERRERO, Chairperson, thanked the Council for approving the recommendation of the Planning Commission on a new zoning ordinance and revision. PLUMBING ADVISORY BOARD JIM MIDDLETON, Chairperson, reminded the Council that the Plumbing Board is short one member, an architect. He said that expenditures for the year had been $385.00. Mr. Middleton said that he had one comment regarding the evaluation of what the boards cost the City: "It seems to me it might be more informative or accurate if you were to consider how much money you would save, if we didn't exist. You've got staff administration on this particular case of $289; that wouldn't go away, if we didn't exist. You've got $96 of printing and stuff of that nature on our Board; this is not a big amount any way you go about it. It seems to me like it would be more representative of what we are really costing you, if you did look at it in that manner." RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES COMMISSION RAY REECE, Chairperson, told the Council that he would like to add two items to the report: (1) the proposal for a downtown model energy development demonstration district had proceeded thru the Council's designation of the district and has now been supported with a grant from the Texas Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Council for a feasibility study to look at ways of using renewable resources as the basis for City utility services in the model solar district downtown, and (2) the Commission is proceeding with the efforts to bring in an additional grant which would be a larger feasibility study for general planning and implementation purposes for the same downtown model energy development district. = CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 He said that the Commission presently has two sub-committees, one of which handles recycling. They intend to appoint five additional committees. SOLICITATION BOARD MR. FRANCIS AMSLER, Chairperson of the Solicitation Board, said that they hold public hearings to determine the granting of a permit for solicitation for charitable or welfare purposes. He said they try to protect the citizens from undesirables, although they sometimes have to grant permits to those to whom they would prefer not to grant them, because of the terms of the ordinance. He said they often have problems educating the public to the fact that although an organization may have a permit to solicit funds, that does not necessarily mean that the City of Austin supports that organization for contributions by citizens. Councilmember Mullen asked Mr. Amsler how many permits were turned down last year and if there is any way the Council can help strengthen the ordinance. Mr. Amsler replied that two organizations were turned down this past year. He further remarked that some progress had been made in the last couple of years. The ordinance was amended in 1977, and it now requires more specific information regarding expenditures. When Councilmember Mullen asked him if he felt comfortable with the ordinance as it reads now, Mr. Amsler replied that he didn't know of any change that could be made according to the decisions of the Court in the past. COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN ARALYN CEPEDA, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, was not present to review her report with the Council. Councilmember Himmelblau remarked that the Commission is rather large and could be streamlined by attrition. Councilmember Mullen suggested that some of the members may have poor attendance records and the Mayor instructed the City Clerk's office to check the attendance records for the February 7 meeting. CITIZEN COMMENTS ON THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN MS. MARY FREDERICK, an interested citizen, spoke on the behalf of the Commission on the Status of Women and said that she hoped to be appointed some time in the future. _ CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS January 21, 1980 MS. FREDERICK said that the Status of Women is in a position to press further for qualified women to be appointed to meaningful positions in the City and is an organization to help many women use their talents. CITIZEN'S TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION BILL NOLEN, Chairperson, thanked the Council for the support given by the staff and commended the entire Commission for the way it works together. URBAN RENEWAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS DAVID DAVENPORT, Chairperson of the Board, was not present to review their status or the work they are doing under the Austin Redevelopment Authority. URBAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MR. BILL MOORE, Chairperson, said that the Commission had a very large and bountiful year in terms of on-going transportation projects and policies. He said that the cost of supporting the Commission had again gone up the past year, which he attributed to having more meetings and more information printed; however, he said that the Commission has taken steps to reduce the cost of printing and supplies, as well as the cost of staff personnel. Councilmember Goodman commended the Commission and said they do an outstanding job in keeping up with the work they do. VENDING COMMISSION VIRGINIA LANG SMITH, Chairperson, was not present to discuss the annual report of the Vending Commission with the Council. WRECKERS STANDARDS COMMISSION JONATHAN DAVIS, Legal Advisor to the City Police Department, represented the Commission before the Council. He said that the Commission has held one meeting for the purpose of preparing a report and selecting officers. Carl Pettus was chosen as Chairperson. ! • CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS_January 21, 1980 COUNCIL ON YOUTH AFFAIRS MR. LEONARD EHRLER, Director of PARD, recommended that the Council consider abolishing the Council on Youth Affairs, stating that it has not functioned since 1977 and seems to have served its purpose. Mayor McClellan suggested that instead of an on-going council, perhaps the City Council could appoint a task force at some time in the future and structure it for a more useful purpose. ADJOURNMENT Council adjourned its meeting at 10:00 Ρ.Μ. APPROVED ATTEST: Brace Mouse City Clerk Code Mayor