City Council Frank C. Cooksey Mayor John Treviño, Jr. Mayor Pro Tem Council Members Mark Rose Smoot Carl-Mitchell Sally Shipman George Humphrey Charles E. Urdy Jorge Carrasco City Manager "Iden Aldridge City Clerk YOF ALUSTA FOUNDED 1920 Austin City Council MINUTES For SPECIAL CALLED MEETING - 7:30P.M. - JUNE 26, 1984 Council Chambers, 307 West Second Street, Austin, Texas Memorandum To: 1984-90 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND 1984 BOND PROGRAM Mayor Pro Tem Trevino called the Special Called Meeting to order at 7:43 PM, noting the absence of Mayor Mullen and Councilmember Rose. Mayor Pro Tem Trevino noted that this was the third in a series of public hearings that the Council was conducting on the recommended 1984-1990 Capital Improvement Program. The presentation of the Manager's recommendations was dispensed with since the Council had already had a full briefing, Mayor Pro Tem Trevino noted that Councilmembers Urdy and Spaeth were on their way to the chambers.: Addy Langdon, for the Old Bakery and Emporium, described the facility as a senior citizen-staffed organization that had proved its worth and needed more space immediately. to display the saleable work of senior clients who rely on the income supplementation provided by the sale of their work by the Old Bakery. She emphasized the shop's role as a tourist attraction and as an example for similar programs in various parts of the U.S. The building needs restoration. Willie Kocurek, chairman of the Restoration Committee for the Old Bakery Guild and Emporium, reminded the Council that the bakery had been approved by the Commission and recommended by the PARD for $300,000 and that it would take over $750,000 to restore the place and that they had raised $250,000. He asked that the Bakery not be made to wait four years for the money. Will Howard, secretary of the Old Bakery, cited plans for making the Bakery handicapped-accessible; the fact that the Bakery serves the economically disadvantaged, the older population, a mix of cultures; the tourist value; and the community involvement in the Bakery. He asked for funding this year. Council Memo Page 2 June 26, 1984 Mayor Pro Tem Trevino invited Mr. Kocurek to ask the members of the Old Bakery to stand and be recognized. Benny Harlan, representing the Mockingbird Hill Neighborhood Association, requested inclusion in the CIP so that they might have city services as promised at annexation of the neighborhood in 1976. He acknowledged the promise of the Council for new water and sewer lines, and asked for a traffic light at the intersection of Grady and North Lamar. He asked that additional fire hydrants be added as needed while the new water lines are being installed. and that the streets be repaved, not patched, after all work is finished. He also asked for curbs, gutters, sidewalks and street lighting in the neighborhood. Mrs. Shipman observed that there is a great deal of street patching throughout Austin now. A member of the LBJ Neighborhood Association acknowledged the Council's assistance in providing the Northeast District Park, Phase I, and asked for the Council's continued support during Phase II. Harold Gumm, member of the LBJ Neighborhood Association, presented a map and estimates of futures costs for the park in Phase II as advised by the PARD. He suggested that some arrangement could be worked out with the AISD to place a swimming pool on the campus of LBJ High School for school/community shared use. Laurel Carlton, art educator, spoke in support of the Laguna Gloria Art Museum issue on the September bond election. Nancy Champion spoke in support of placing Laguna Gloria on the ballot for the fall bond election. As a staff member of the Battered Women's Center, she appreciates the considerable contribution that Laguna Gloria has made to the lives of the children who stay at the Center for periods of from one night to four weeks. Mandy Williams, president of Austin Recreation Center Citizens Advisory Board, questioned the City Manager's recommendation of $12.2 million for Laguna Gloria's downtown museum vis a vis ARC and Hancock Recreation Center's request for money having been turned down especially in view of the stated objectives of the bond election, i.e., to complete previously completed bond projects and to repair and maintain existing facilities. She pointed out the broad spectrum of locations at which the ARC and PARD offer art programs. City Manager Carrasco pointed out that he had not yet made a recommendation on Laguna Gloria. Rosario Williams, student at Austin Recreation Center, supported the programs at the ARC and suggested that the Council put back the money in the bond package that is needed to finish the ARC building. Council Memo Page 3 June 26, 1984 Judy DeBerry, member of the Austin Recreation Center Advisory Board, spoke in support of the Planning Commission's recommendations relative to the ARC, and objected to the project having been cut from the City Manager's recommendations. She cited the growth of the downtown area and the need, present and future, for the sort of facility that ARC provides. She noted that ARC is one of the top revenue-producting centers in the city.. Harold Brumley reminded the Council of the need for land for the PARD. He objected to the $26 million spent on the West First Street corridor and recommended that citizen groups like the Optimists be included in planning of projects such as this. Councilmember Spaeth stated that there was a plan that would be made public and that there would be public hearings. He said that the area involving the Humane Society, ball parks, etc. would either be duplicated or enhanced and increased. He noted that the area was not on the bond package at this moment but that the public would be kept informed and would be made part of the process. Councilmember Shipman stated that if the ball fields are replaced, they should be in the central city and not in some inaccessible place relative to the public that currently uses them. Councilmember Spaeth assured Councilmember Shipman that he would work with her in the interests of the ball parks. Councilmember Shipman stressed the seriousness of her interest in and commitment to this matter. Mayor Pro Tem Trevino agreed. Steve Hansen, chairman of the Austin Regional Group of the Sierra Club, asked that a waste energy treatment plant be placed on the bond package. He felt that the last time this matter came up, there was a deliberate attempt to mislead the voters relative to the project. He offered the support of the Sierra Club to enlighten the voters as to the facts. Falba Turner, president of the Heritage Hills and Woodbridge Neighborhood Association, thanked the Council for proposing $2.8 million for 1985-86 for the improvements to Rutherford Lane and asked for earlier funding of the project and noted the increase in traffic congestion. She strongly recommended that the design specifics be included in the bond proposal. Councilmember Shipman asked the City Manager why the property owners in this area should not be required to pay for the paving as they volunteered to do, what the short-term plans are for Rutherford, what the timing was, and who would pay for it, all questions she had submitted in writing earlier in the week. Richard Ridings said that a contract on this matter was about to Council Memo Page 4 June 26, 1984 be approved. He said that the funds were available and the plans had been completed and that action should begin this summer on the intersection of Rutherford and Cameron. He said that there were no plans for work on 1-35 and Rutherford frontage noad. He said that the developers were paying for the cost of the street. In response to Councilmember'Shipman's question about the traffic signal, the City Manager said that the the Urban Transportation Department was reviewing the matter and would make recommendations. : Mr. Brecher of the Urban Transportation Department said that the placement of traffic signals was pending the construction of the roadway in order not to have to remove them while the roadway is under construction. Councilmember Shipman noted that over $200,000 for construction of the ARC was approved after the flood in 1981. City Manager Carrasco pointed out that in the 1982 bond program, $1.6 million was authorized for the construction and replacement of the ARC. Therefore, this funding is not referenced in the budget for future years because it had already been set aside. His recommendation for not allocating further funds for parking and landscaping and expansion was based on consideration of the size of the 1982 allocation. Eliseo Reed stated that they were looking at alternatives for putting in a wood floor but that there was money for the new floor. He said that unexpected costs occurred when they realized they would have to elevate part of the building due to the fact that it is in the flood plain. He confirmed that over $1 million still remained but that this money was aleady earmarked for the construction. 1 Councilmember Shipman felt that there was concern that there was not enough money to finish the job at the ARC. She was told that there was enough money and that the contract would be let for bids in the next couple of months. Scott Stovan, of the Heritage Hills and Woodbridge area, supported plans for putting a park in the neighborhood. He requested that the park be funded for the 1986-86 year. He noted that the neighborhood was over 12 years old and that the nearest parks were across I-35 or 183. John Chitwood, president of the Hancock Recreation Center Advisory Board, supported the requests of Laguna Gloria. He reminded the Council that the Planning Commission and the PARD had recommended funding for completion of the renovation. He stated that the time lapse between the last request for funds for the jogging trail and the finalization of the plans resulted in a $40,000 shortfall which will not even allow the completion of the renovation of the building. He therefore asked for a minimum of $280,000 to complete the renovation. Council Memo Page 5 June 26, 1984 Judy Malone, member of the Advisory Council for the Northeast Community School, pointed out the considerable density of the northeast area and the inadequacy of Dottie Jordan Park to handle the number of people. She asked for cooperation with the AISD to make a new, expanded tennis court at Pearce Junior High and a new running track at Pearce. She asked what had become of the CIP funding for the olympic-size swimming pool at Northeast Part. The City Manager said that he would check to see what had become of funding for the swimming pool. Dave Elliott spoke about questions before the Public Utility Commission and suggested that higher taxes were preferable to higher utility rates. He recommended that the requests made to the Council be funded out of a general fund and not through bond money. Eliseo Reed stated that the need for a pool in the northeast area had been identified but that there had never been a proposal for an olympic pool at Northeast Park and that this is a new request. Councilmember Urdy said that there had been a proposal some time back for a park which included a pool. Councilmember Shipman agreed that there had been such a proposal and that a pool was part of the plan. Eliseo Reed said that they could go back and look at the plans for the northeast district park and see if there was a pool proposed for that site and come back to Council with that information. Charles Harper, architect, supported continued funding of the Hancock Recreation Center. He noted that Hancock was highly used, is operating in the black, serves a broad spectrum of age groups and has not been a recipient of funds for many years. Mayor Pro Tem Trevino adjourned the meeting at 8:50 PM.