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Austin City Government - Circus of the Insane


skittlebrau

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2 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

All this discussion and no one has mentioned the Bike Mafia?  Let's see, a ridiculous and expensive project which benefits only a handful of idiots, all of whom ride bikes.  It's not difficult to see where the pressure is coming from.  What a coup.  I guess forcing bike lanes on residential streets that no one has ever commuted by bike through was getting boring for them.

And someone above asked if someone on the city council has an interest in a window screen manufacturer/installer.  You think?

We choose, through inaction, to let the nuttiest and the most corrupt run our cities.

Bikes will never be a viable form of transportation other than recreation for even a full one percent of the commuting public.  Hills and heat pretty much guarantee this.  Bike lanes need to be excluded when talking about traffic improvement and funding.  Put it with parks and rec etc....because it is strictly a recreational activity for affluent Austonians.  Your bus boy isn't riding his bike to work.  Stop the charades and tell the truth.  Your credibility would then move from 0 to 1.

 

And Pasken, are you trying to serious tell us a freeway shoulder was intended for Bike use?  LMAO...you think people buy this shit who don't live in the 04?

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3 hours ago, Pasken said:

I'll say that everyone should be hopeful for Cap Metro regardless of what you think about it 

Here some excerpt from their last Sunset Review (2011):

Sunset Provisions 1. Require the Board to revamp Capital Metro’s reserves and budgeting practices to ensure its finances are responsibly managed. Senate Bill 650 requires the Board to maintain a reserve equal to at least two months of actual operating expenses, or about $27.5 million. The Legislature modified this provision to allow the Board five years to establish the reserve amount, but requiring Capital Metro to report to the Legislature in three years on its progress in meeting the reserve. The bill allows the Board to spend from reserves only to address unanticipated circumstances, and requires the Board to adjust reserve amounts at least once a year. The Legislature expanded on this provision by requiring the Board to post on its website the balances, deposits, expenditures, and interest income for all its financial accounts, as well as for its reserve account. The bill requires Capital Metro to develop a new strategic plan that establishes its mission and goals, and sets policy and service priorities to drive budget development and allocation of resources. The bill also requires Capital Metro to develop a system for tracking the progress of its capital projects, and prohibits Capital Metro from spending more on these projects than provided for in the budget.

4. Require Capital Metro to develop a policy to more effectively engage stakeholders and to help rebuild the public’s trust. Senate Bill 650 requires Capital Metro to develop a public involvement policy that ensures full opportunity for the public to help shape decisions on Capital Metro’s plans and transportation projects. The policy must provide for public comment on issues in advance of Board decisions, an approach for obtaining input throughout the year, and information on how the public can be involved. The bill requires that Capital Metro post the public involvement policy on its website.

Capital Metro has a history of uncontrolled costs and overspending that cannot be sustained.

l Capital Metro did not control the costs of developing commuter rail, which climbed from $60 million to almost $140 million. As discussed in Issue 3 of this report, Capital Metro did not adequately plan for, and control, commuter rail capital costs. The three primary causes of the increase were higher costs for the rail cars and moving these costs into the capital budget, technical problems with the signal system that prevents collisions, and failure to include significant expenditures needed to improve the existing freight rail system to safely allow for freight and commuter service on the same tracks. The Authority also did not clearly track all spending while completing the project, and could not provide detail on all rail-related capital expenditures.

The Board awarded lavish compensation to its General Manager behind closed doors. In 2009, the Board awarded the General Manager an early retirement package and other payments totaling $298,808 with little regard for the ongoing costs to Capital Metro. While employed by Capital Metro for only eight years, the Board vested the General Manager with 35 years of service. This additional vesting, combined with the retirement package, increased the General Manager’s monthly retirement payments from $2,668 to $7,500 for life.

Capital Metro lacks basic management tools needed to control spending and adhere to a budget.

https://www.sunset.texas.gov/public/uploads/files/reports/Capital Metro SOL 2011 82 Leg.pdf

 

 

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Orange^White said:

Here some excerpt from their last Sunset Review (2011):

Sunset Provisions 1. Require the Board to revamp Capital Metro’s reserves and budgeting practices to ensure its finances are responsibly managed. Senate Bill 650 requires the Board to maintain a reserve equal to at least two months of actual operating expenses, or about $27.5 million. The Legislature modified this provision to allow the Board five years to establish the reserve amount, but requiring Capital Metro to report to the Legislature in three years on its progress in meeting the reserve. The bill allows the Board to spend from reserves only to address unanticipated circumstances, and requires the Board to adjust reserve amounts at least once a year. The Legislature expanded on this provision by requiring the Board to post on its website the balances, deposits, expenditures, and interest income for all its financial accounts, as well as for its reserve account. The bill requires Capital Metro to develop a new strategic plan that establishes its mission and goals, and sets policy and service priorities to drive budget development and allocation of resources. The bill also requires Capital Metro to develop a system for tracking the progress of its capital projects, and prohibits Capital Metro from spending more on these projects than provided for in the budget.

4. Require Capital Metro to develop a policy to more effectively engage stakeholders and to help rebuild the public’s trust. Senate Bill 650 requires Capital Metro to develop a public involvement policy that ensures full opportunity for the public to help shape decisions on Capital Metro’s plans and transportation projects. The policy must provide for public comment on issues in advance of Board decisions, an approach for obtaining input throughout the year, and information on how the public can be involved. The bill requires that Capital Metro post the public involvement policy on its website.

Capital Metro has a history of uncontrolled costs and overspending that cannot be sustained.

l Capital Metro did not control the costs of developing commuter rail, which climbed from $60 million to almost $140 million. As discussed in Issue 3 of this report, Capital Metro did not adequately plan for, and control, commuter rail capital costs. The three primary causes of the increase were higher costs for the rail cars and moving these costs into the capital budget, technical problems with the signal system that prevents collisions, and failure to include significant expenditures needed to improve the existing freight rail system to safely allow for freight and commuter service on the same tracks. The Authority also did not clearly track all spending while completing the project, and could not provide detail on all rail-related capital expenditures.

The Board awarded lavish compensation to its General Manager behind closed doors. In 2009, the Board awarded the General Manager an early retirement package and other payments totaling $298,808 with little regard for the ongoing costs to Capital Metro. While employed by Capital Metro for only eight years, the Board vested the General Manager with 35 years of service. This additional vesting, combined with the retirement package, increased the General Manager’s monthly retirement payments from $2,668 to $7,500 for life.

Capital Metro lacks basic management tools needed to control spending and adhere to a budget.

https://www.sunset.texas.gov/public/uploads/files/reports/Capital Metro SOL 2011 82 Leg.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Good find. I think they are in good hands with the new CEO. I hope they are able to get approval for dedicated ROW but I doubt it.

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4 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

All this discussion and no one has mentioned the Bike Mafia? 

Dude, ratchet down a bit.  You do realize that bikes were important enough to provide for a Director of Bicycling within our city government, at $90K / year. 

This was 4 or 5 years ago.  Wouldn't surprised me if the nut jobs that run our city still have this position on the payroll.  But now at 6 figures. 

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I think what everyone wants is a way for areas like Cedar Park to be able to join the system but at a reduced rate which isn't possible under state law.  How do you see them as incompetent? I think the biggest problem is peoples expectations vs the funding/ROW they have. The buses can't go faster if they are stuck in traffic with cars.  I think the biggest blemish is the difficulty in figuring out how to get the Red Line up and running. I think it took over a year to figure out the metal was the problem in the track signals but they worked it out and the Red Line has been a huge success as a commuter line and taken traffic off 183,mopac, and 35. The expansion work they are doing will allow the line to develop from just a commuter line to more urban use once the transit orientated development at Salitto opens as well as Broadmore at the Domain. Further expansion work will allow another station at Hancock too.
I'll say that everyone should be hopeful for Cap Metro regardless of what you think about it because the dude they hired (Clark) to run it is legit. They will be in the best position they can be but the realities of state and federal policies are really going to impact the ability to build out the system.  He specifically removed the designations of "light rail" and "bus rapid" from the debut of their plan because he realizes how distract we get talking about the type when the conversation needs to be about dedicated ROW for public transit. In all honesty, Austin doesn't need light rail at all. We don't have the density and won't based on Code Next watering down. Austin would have an amazing bus system if the only thing we had was dedicated ROWs in the corridors that were identified. Elevated would be even better. That needs to be the discussion. 

Actually it remains to be seen if the “dude they hired to run it” is legit. His reviews from previous stops are mixed.


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I turned on KLBJ the other day and caught the tail end of a conversation about Flannigan and CoA trying to strong-arm Cedar Park into joining the CapMetro shakedown err...taxing entity and extending the CapMetro "service" into Cedar Park.  Does anyone know more about this?  As a CoCP resident, WhyTF would Cedar Park even consider this? CapMetro is the capstone of incompetence in the CoA pyramid scheme.

There is a belief that Cedar Park is getting a free ride because they pulled out of Cap Metro years ago but their residents still get to use the park and rides for the red line. Problem is CP has assigned the sales tax that would otherwise go to Cap Metro to their economic Development 4b and 4c corporations and is using it for improvements in the city. The only way to get them to pay for Cap Metro services would be for city council to agree to a yearly bill.


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1 hour ago, Godzillatron said:


There is a belief that Cedar Park is getting a free ride because they pulled out of Cap Metro years ago but their residents still get to use the park and rides for the red line. Problem is CP has assigned the sales tax that would otherwise go to Cap Metro to their economic Development 4b and 4c corporations and is using it for improvements in the city. The only way to get them to pay for Cap Metro services would be for city council to agree to a yearly bill.


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The plans I've seen for the redevelopment of Bell Blvd tell me that the money is better spent in-town for CP than on Cap Metro.  But I'm a car driver, so not in CapMetro's demographic.

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21 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Bikes will never be a viable form of transportation other than recreation for even a full one percent of the commuting public.  Hills and heat pretty much guarantee this.  Bike lanes need to be excluded when talking about traffic improvement and funding.  Put it with parks and rec etc....because it is strictly a recreational activity for affluent Austonians. 

Actually, bikes/walking can become more viable for commuters should a city provide for real, sufficient density. 

It's just another odd disconnect with the NIMBY/NC folks who run this place, they could enact real change toward making the area less sprawly, less car-dependent, less carbon emitting, less, less, less... All the things they say they care the most about, but it would require massive changes in land use. 

 

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Has anyone seen this retarded ordinance requiring all homes in Austin city limits to have all windows and glass doors to have screens?  I know how this will go.  

1. Sensible councile members get out voted when the ordinance comes up for vote and it goes into effect.

2. Homeowners struggling with affordability bitch enough to get the city to subsidize their screens.

3. City realizes they don’t have enough in the coffers for the program.

4.  Taxes get raised for other homeowners to subsidize the program.

When we will be be able to get these fucking idiots out of office?  Holy shit are they ever overreaching with this one.

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17 minutes ago, GlenFromTheMailRoom said:

Has anyone seen this retarded ordinance requiring all homes in Austin city limits to have all windows and glass doors to have screens?  I know how this will go.  

1. Sensible councile members get out voted when the ordinance comes up for vote and it goes into effect.

2. Homeowners struggling with affordability bitch enough to get the city to subsidize their screens.

3. City realizes they don’t have enough in the coffers for the program.

4.  Taxes get raised for other homeowners to subsidize the program.

When we will be be able to get these fucking idiots out of office?  Holy shit are they ever overreaching with this one.

Fake news. Staff did a bad job publishing the initial notification and Troxy (and others) pushed the old narrative even after the clarification.

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2 minutes ago, Updawg said:

What's the real story then?

I know it’s a stretch to go all the way back to page 2 where we discussed this, but it’s for homes without A/C. Still stupid, but far fewer than everyone.

 

Happened to noticed that Troxy’s Facebook page was pushing the “everyone” story well after the updated post.

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On 4/14/2018 at 11:06 AM, skittlebrau said:

I know it’s a stretch to go all the way back to page 2 where we discussed this, but it’s for homes without A/C. Still stupid, but far fewer than everyone.

 

Happened to noticed that Troxy’s Facebook page was pushing the “everyone” story well after the updated post.

A couple of things.  First, the initial notification did apply to all buildings.  It was only after they received negative feedback that it was changed to those without A/C.  Second, his critique is still valid.  If someone who lives in Austin doesn't have A/C it's a pretty sure bet it's because they can't afford A/C (though some may be stupid hippies).  Those are just the type of people who don't need an ordinance like this forced upon them.  

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8 hours ago, Longhornfan1024 said:

If someone who lives in Austin doesn't have A/C it's a pretty sure bet it's because they can't afford A/C (though some may be stupid hippies).  Those are just the type of people who don't need an ordinance like this forced upon them.  

Thats a brilliant point. And also one I made way back on page 2.

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On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 2:32 PM, ChickenSandwich said:

Bikes will never be a viable form of transportation other than recreation for even a full one percent of the commuting public.  Hills and heat pretty much guarantee this.  Bike lanes need to be excluded when talking about traffic improvement and funding.  Put it with parks and rec etc....because it is strictly a recreational activity for affluent Austonians.  Your bus boy isn't riding his bike to work. 

 

And Pasken, are you trying to serious tell us a freeway shoulder was intended for Bike use?  LMAO...you think people buy this shit who don't live in the 04?

This bears repeating. Austin is not NYC or Portland, no matter how much the hardcore minority bikebots try.

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2 hours ago, Armybrat said:

This bears repeating. Austin is not NYC or Portland, no matter how much the hardcore minority bikebots try.

Yep. And shit, man, we're a cycling family. Wife went to the nationals crit in Boston riding for SWTin the 90s. We have, at last count, 7 bikes hanging in the garage, and they all get used on a regular basis. But got-damn if there aren't some folks around here that need a serious dose of reality when it comes to cycling around this area.

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On 4/11/2018 at 10:41 AM, wood said:

Get ready for your upcoming raccoon problem.

 

On 4/11/2018 at 10:35 AM, hayden_horn said:

so, my 55 gallon trash bin has gone on walkabout. put it out on monday, came home monday, and it's gone. i have no idea. i've looked up and down the street, but cannot find it. 

so, i call the city of austin utilities to report this missing trash bin and to order a replacement. process is fine, then they drop in on me at he end "it's going to take two trash cycles to replace the trash bin."

WAT. "i'm sorry, did you say two trash cycles? so two weeks?"

"yes."

"uh, what do i do with my trash in that time?"

"set it out with a note that your trash bin is missing."

WAT

i feel compelled to note that the city did not take two trash cycles to replace my bin - they replaced it yesterday, but i still had to set individual trash bags out on the curb at 6AM.

so, the city came through for me, which is nice.

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This one time. At band camp. My trashcan disappeared as well so CoA replaced it. Years later, when I called to order a second recycle bin and downsize my trashcan, I realized that I had been paying for a second trashcan for 5 years or so. I thought i was paying for one trash, one recycle. I received a $1200 credit and didn't pay an Austin Energy bill for about a year.

 

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9 hours ago, wood said:

Yep. And shit, man, we're a cycling family. Wife went to the nationals crit in Boston riding for SWTin the 90s. We have, at last count, 7 bikes hanging in the garage, and they all get used on a regular basis. But got-damn if there aren't some folks around here that need a serious dose of reality when it comes to cycling around this area.

My son & grandsons bike around South Austin frequently. On occasion they wheel down from the St. Elmo area to Shady Grove, a family favorite since his late wife started working there 20 years go. It's long ride back up S. 1st though. lol 

A friend (a retired restaurant owner) who lives in South Austin rides all the trails with a bike group in the greenbelts several times a week, weather permitting, plus he works hard on building new routes. I'd say he is an avid recreational bike rider.

Living in Taipei in the 1950s, I saw first hand the benefits of a serious bicycle infrastructure setup. It worked well for the majority of the city dwellers back then. Austin is nowhere near what that town needed as far as pedal power goes.

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2 hours ago, skipperj said:

This one time. At band camp. My trashcan disappeared as well so CoA replaced it. Years later, when I called to order a second recycle bin and downsize my trashcan, I realized that I had been paying for a second trashcan for 5 years or so. I thought i was paying for one trash, one recycle. I received a $1200 credit and didn't pay an Austin Energy bill for about a year.

 

this also happened to me. check your bills, folks. the city is incompetent. i got about he same amount, iirc. you don't pay for the recycle bin. you pay for the trash bin.

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1 hour ago, Armybrat said:

My son & grandsons bike around South Austin frequently. On occasion they wheel down from the St. Elmo area to Shady Grove, a family favorite since his late wife started working there 20 years go. It's long ride back up S. 1st though. lol 

A friend (a retired restaurant owner) who lives in South Austin rides all the trails with a bike group in the greenbelts several times a week, weather permitting, plus he works hard on building new routes. I'd say he is an avid recreational bike rider.

Living in Taipei in the 1950s, I saw first hand the benefits of a serious bicycle infrastructure setup. It worked well for the majority of the city dwellers back then. Austin is nowhere near what that town needed as far as pedal power goes.

dude, DRIVING on south first is a recipe for deathtrap. i cannot imagine biking on that street.

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A high school buddy of mine borrowed a car - a 1959 Buick Electra sedan - from his friend (the owner of El Gallo's on S. Congress) one Saturday night in 1962. We were cruising from one party to another - the last being at a location "up" S. 1st. The cop clocked us at 90, but wrote the ticket for only 75 - so we three punks split it for $25 each to pay Judge McBee.

That was around midnight and I don't recall seeing one other moving car except the cop cruiser behind us.

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You need to find ways to get people out of cars because you can't build your way out of car congestion. Austin needs to keep building out a network of bike lanes to make it a more and more appealing form of alternative transit for people. I wish there was a way that they could be more separated form car lanes but that's expensive because it requires additional ROW. That means that sometimes you might lose a median or one of those deathtrap all turn lanes like on S. Lamar.

 

The new Cap Metro CEO wrote an op-ed in the statesman. It's a good read. Again, the priority is working on freeing up transit only lanes (at grade or elevated) in order to make the Austin transit system good.

Quote

Last month, Capital Metro debuted a draft system map as part of Project Connect. The goal is to build a regional transit network that preserves our quality of life and helps address the region’s affordability issues.

We’ve been working at it for a couple of years already, but we’re just getting started. Project Connect will be a multigenerational investment in our region’s future. This draft plan isn’t necessarily recommending running light rail on Lamar and Guadalupe, say, or a streetcar on South Congress.

The map showcases 11 corridors throughout Central Texas we’ve determined would benefit the most from dedicated transit services. What we mean by that is transit vehicles traveling in their own lanes, free from the regular flow of traffic.

INSIGHT: UT data shows ‘transit deserts’ in Austin and 52 U.S. cities.

I don’t want to imply that we can get rid of traffic congestion altogether. Big cities have traffic problems — and there’s no denying that Central Texas is growing faster all the time. The long-range report from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization predicts that Central Texas will be home to 4 million residents by 2040.

I lived in Greater Boston for 13 years. It has 4.7 million people and eight regional transit agencies that operate three subways, five light rail lines, four bus rapid transit lines, 12 commuter rail lines plus ferries. And it is by no means congestion free, but people have options.

Now, picture Austin in 20 years with just our two MetroRapid routes, one MetroRail line and 4 million people. We need solutions — and we need to think big!

Construction on the first of these projects won’t begin for a few more years at least, and some of what we’re proposing won’t be completed for 10 to 15 years. But these changes will benefit Central Texas for decades after. That’s what we mean when we say multigenerational investment.

ANALYSIS: With ride-hailing apps, should Americans stop owning cars?

Our major focus these days is Cap Remap, an overhaul of our bus network that will make the system more frequent, more reliable and better connected. It looks at the tools we have now and makes them work more efficiently and more effectively.

Project Connect will require investment, though. You may have seen some numbers floating around out there since we debuted the draft system map in March — $6 billion to $10 billion. That’s not a final cost, of course. It’s a preliminary estimate, a range that these projects could fall in. And it’s a cost that will be borne over many years.

To give some perspective, voters in several cities nationwide have committed to major transit investments in recent years, including Los Angeles ($120 billion), Seattle ($54 billion) and Phoenix ($31 billion).

What’s important to understand is that investment equals results. We’ve seen that time and again. When you invest in services that give people options, they take you up on them.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: Viewpoints delivers the latest perspectives on current events.

Capital Metro’s past investments have proven just that. We devoted increased resources and smart planning to our MetroRapid service in 2017 and have seen a 43 percent increase in ridership year over year. In January, we added service to our MetroExpress routes, and we’ve seen a 20 percent increase on the service’s MoPac routes.

Whether it’s on steel wheels or rubber tires, people will need to travel on these 11 corridors to get where they need to go. And we need to provide them with a better option than what’s available now.

The important thing is that these transit services will need to operate in their own right-of-way — on train tracks or in dedicated bus lanes. That’s why we’re working so closely with the cities, counties and other stakeholder groups. Our partnerships are going to be essential throughout this process.

We have been working more closely than ever with the Austin Transportation Department and other regional partners. At our most recent board meeting, Delia Garza, a City Council Member who also sits on our board of directors, said it as well as anyone has: “We’re not going to solve our problems one agency at a time.”

It’s going to take team work and it’s going to take coordination. We’ll also look to the federal government for funding assistance.

TRANSPORTATION: Is Austin finally ready for light rail? The answer may come in 2020.

U.S. News & World Report has just ranked Austin as the best place to live in the country for the second year in a row. After a month of living here in Central Texas, I’ve already become well acquainted with what makes this place so great. I’m as committed to finding community solutions as all of you are. So, you’ll hear a lot more from us in the coming years, and we want to hear a lot more from you on potential solutions.

Decisions have consequences — and so does inaction. Investments in the near future are going to secure the unique quality of life in Central Texas for generations to come.

 

15 million to Cap Metro to start engineering on the plan is about the only thing I care about as far as the 2018 bonds. They'll contribute 5 mil and this way, we'll be ready for construction when we have the 2020 construction bonds and we'll know what the system looks like and how it's designed before voting. Hopefully it doesn't get lost in the cluster fuck that is the 2018 bond program. The committee recommended way too much stuff with the understanding that council would have to cut it down. What the hell was the point then? Keep the transportation bond as is. Lots of good money going into fixing shitty roads and bridges as well as more sidewalk funds.

Cut the money for facility expansions at all the community centers and anything that doesn't go to stuff that has been on deferred maintenance for a while. 

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people are not going to ride their bikes to work here in austin fucking texas. my favorite bit the city did was going to amsterdam to study their bike culture. the average high in amsterdam in august is 71 fucking degrees. ours is 96. 

we did have one dude in the office who would ride his bike. he fucking stank.

bike lanes are fine, and i'm actually for them on many roads where they can fit. but it's for the hobbyists, not the rank and file. bike lanes make biking safer, which is a good thing, but they sure as hell are not getting cars off the road here in texas.

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what if building out a network of bikelanes doesn't address the problem that makes commuting by bike on an even semi-regular basis unappealing.

 

we should air condition the city and eliminate the need for jobs, and in that way people can just bike where they need to go.  walla

 

btw, if I could drive my car up to the south austin "transit center", park, and hop onto a bus for the rest of the way into downtown, I would do that every single day.

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5 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

what if building out a network of bikelanes doesn't address the problem that makes commuting by bike on an even semi-regular basis unappealing.

 

we should air condition the city and eliminate the need for jobs, and in that way people can just bike where they need to go.  walla

 

btw, if I could drive my car up to the south austin "transit center", park, and hop onto a bus for the rest of the way into downtown, I would do that every single day.

also, this. hell, if i could ride my bike to a transit center, that might not be so bad. but actual mass transit will get cars off the road. and the goal has to be in the 000s, not the hundreds. we don't have real mass transit.

the cap metro trip planner has me door to door, home to office, in 2 hours, with multiple transfers. that simply doesn't work, when my morning commute is 45 minutes. the evening commute always sucks more, and is about 1:15, but still, i'm taking my car through tarrytown and westlake hills, because it's more convenient than dealing with the bus. 

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1 hour ago, hayden_horn said:

people are not going to ride their bikes to work here in austin fucking texas. my favorite bit the city did was going to amsterdam to study their bike culture. the average high in amsterdam in august is 71 fucking degrees. ours is 96. 

we did have one dude in the office who would ride his bike. he fucking stank.

bike lanes are fine, and i'm actually for them on many roads where they can fit. but it's for the hobbyists, not the rank and file. bike lanes make biking safer, which is a good thing, but they sure as hell are not getting cars off the road here in texas.

Preach!!

It amazes me that there is still people that believe that bikes are going to solve a fucking thing here.

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Adding another reason why Austin needs to be lowering property taxes, not raising them.....because they love to set that money on fire for the fuck of it

ex.  the city temp fences off a football size area of our neighborhood park.  They go through the process to create an entire temporary irrigation system covering the entire area, then they seed the whole thing and water it for two months, keeping the space fenced in.  The seed has now grown and the ground cover was completely covering the area for the last three weeks since the fence has been removed.  Fast forward to this week where they have brought in multiple CATs to clear overgrown brush and trees from around the protected area.  They ran over and uprooted all of the seeded field to dust, ground cover gone. - Even Forrest fucking Gump could have figured out the proper order for these morons.

Fence, seed, massive irrigation system, watering daily for two weeks....complete success...only to two weeks later complete kill the entire thing

It is this type of idiotic execution that reinforces how irresponsible the city is with the money of others.  These morons should be matching dollar for dollar out of their own pockets for all of their waste

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Since the city pays people to walk around with blowers clearing the sidewalks of grass and leaves that are just going to be on said sidewalks a half-hour later, have they considered hiring an artist who can provide some interpretive paintings or mixed-media sculptures to show why those leaves and grass need to be blown around?

And can that artist get a small tractor down near the Shoal Creek cross/spillway just south of 38th street, and pull that big fucking tree out that is stuck under said spillway/crossing?   Because the next big rain we have is going to jam a helluva lot of debris and water up right there.

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On 4/18/2018 at 3:49 PM, ChickenSandwich said:

Adding another reason why Austin needs to be lowering property taxes, not raising them.....because they love to set that money on fire for the fuck of it

ex.  the city temp fences off a football size area of our neighborhood park.  They go through the process to create an entire temporary irrigation system covering the entire area, then they seed the whole thing and water it for two months, keeping the space fenced in.  The seed has now grown and the ground cover was completely covering the area for the last three weeks since the fence has been removed.  Fast forward to this week where they have brought in multiple CATs to clear overgrown brush and trees from around the protected area.  They ran over and uprooted all of the seeded field to dust, ground cover gone. - Even Forrest fucking Gump could have figured out the proper order for these morons.

Fence, seed, massive irrigation system, watering daily for two weeks....complete success...only to two weeks later complete kill the entire thing

It is this type of idiotic execution that reinforces how irresponsible the city is with the money of others.  These morons should be matching dollar for dollar out of their own pockets for all of their waste

Realize this is a little late, but did you call 311 or the department responsible to discuss the issue? The only way the city is going to get better is if the average citizen actively engages in the process.

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  • 1 month later...

This white lady who filed to run against Pio seems like she would fit in great with many other members.

 

Cohen, 46, has never had any civic involvement but said she decided to run after the duplex she rents was sold, the rent increased by $300, and she began to notice white neighbors replacing Hispanic families in the area.

“It’s just an example of how badly the area’s being gentrified,” she said. “I’m having all these friends who can no longer afford to live in Austin, and if you’re telling me you can no longer live in Montopolis, something’s wrong.”

She said the council should be doing more to try to control rent, though she acknowledged that Texas disallows most rent control.

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