SRCC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING
WEDNESDAY, November 4, 2020 7:00 PM
Zoom Teleconference
via THE INTERNET
AGENDA
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CALL TO ORDER/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Meeting called to order at 7:10pm.
1. 7:00 Meeting procedures, etiquette, welcome & introductions of new members
Presenter throughout: Megan Spencer, SRCC Vice President, unless otherwise noted.
2. 7:05 Membership & voting announcements. Reminder that SRCC current dues status is required to participate in SRCC business and actions such as voting and making motions. Reminder of changes to bylaws regarding voting members of EC.
3. 7:10 Approve minutes from October 2020 Executive Committee Meeting
Reminder: schedule for Executive meetings: 1st Tuesday of the month; 7:00pm – 8:30pm, Location Good Shepherd on the Hill or via teleconference.
No corrections to the minutes – approved as-is.
4. 7:15 Proposed meeting dates through rest of term: Please refer to the email from Dan Fredine regarding “Proposed New Meeting Schedule,†sent to the EC on 10/25/2020. It will be helpful to have this handy during the discussion. Presenters: Dan Fredine, Secretary & Megan Spencer, Vice President.
The proposed schedule aligns with what we have done in previous years. The general preference of the EC was to schedule meetings where possible, and cancel if no business. EC – skip Jan (New Years’ Day), July (4th of July), and Nov (election day); hold meetings all other months. GM – skip March (spring break) and Dec (winter holiday break); hold meetings all other months.
5. 7:25 Discussion about creating a system to back up an absent board member. Presenter: Mary Janecek-Friedman, Membership
Just generally discussing the ability to have people fill in for an officer during a meeting if they are unable to attend – it is fine for an officer to have someone take over their duties during a meeting. There was also discussion about the quorum for EC meetings; the requirement for a quorum is 5, and 2 of the 5 need to be officers.
6. 7:35 Discussion regarding use of SRCC position title on personal email accounts.
Presenter: Carol Martin.
It was mentioned that emails went out to the listserve that had EC committee credentials listed in an email signature. The spirit of the bylaws is that you should only provide info on behalf of SRCC if it was voted on by the GM; we wouldn’t want the contents of the email to be misconstrued as an endorsement by the SRCC. Therefore it is requested that SRCC committee or officer positions not be included in the signature of personal emails.
7. 7:45 Standing Committee check-ins on events/goals/issues.
Presenters: Committee Chairs. 1) Planning and Zoning (see below) 2) Historic Preservation; 3) Finance 4) Mobility; 5) Public Safety; 6) Parks and Environment; 7) Schools; 8) Communications
Planning and Zoning: See item below
Historic Preservation: We were not able to salvage the house at 815 Rutherford – the owners are moving forward with the demolition process. There is a house at 1806 THB that is up for discussion – they want to whitewash the brick outside and some other minor changes (including a wider front door). The good news is that they want to keep the historical bungalow and not raze the house. Some discussion is anticipated with the City to try to have the house be compatible with the houses nearby. The demolition request for the house at 1400 Drake Ave is being postponed. Someone owns several bungalows on Drake, and there is concern that they will be sold and replaced with McMansions. The committee is looking into how to preserve older homes and affordable rentals.
Finance: At the last EC meeting Will Andrews was elected to serve out the term as Treasurer. He and Oliver (the outgoing Treasurer) met and transitioned everything except the bank cards. Since Will has vacated his position on the finance committee, Gayle Goff has volunteered to join the committee.
Mobility: Both Proposition A and Proposition B (mobility-related) have passed in the recent election, which will have an impact on property taxes.
Public Safety: Nothing to report at this time
Parks and Environment: Nothing to report at this time
Schools: All 3 local schools had Halloween drive-through events. THES had a drive through instead of the usual Fall Carnival, but it was well attended. Lively and Travis High had similar events. There has been a positive COVID case at THES identified.
Communications: The Monthly Update will be coming up in conjunction with the upcoming GM meeting. We should also update the website to reflect the SRCC officer election results.
REPORTS OF AD HOC COMMITTEES and REPRESENTATIVES
8. 7:55 Check-ins on events/goals/issues
Presenters: Committee Chairs/Representatives. Norwood; NPCT; ANC* (1 min); SCC*; South Central Waterfront (See below); St. Edward’s; S. Central Affordable CDC (1 min); Ad-hoc Land Development Code Revision; Ad-hoc Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (1 min)
Norwood House: Nothing to report at this time
NPCT: Nothing to report at this time
ANC: At the Oct 28th meeting, someone from the City mentioned that all Neighborhood members needed to go to the City website and update their contact information. There was a presentation about evictions and food insecurity – there have been few evictions since March, but expect an uptick once the current COVID-based protections go away. There is some money for rental assistance, but it is small compared to what is needed in Austin. Food insecurity has gone up considerably, affecting 25% of all children in Austin. There was some discussion in opposition to Proposition A, and there wasn’t any support for it.
SCC: Nothing to report at this time
South Central Waterfront: See item below
St Edwards: Nothing to report at this time
S. Central Affordable CDC: Nothing to report at this time
Ad-hoc Land Development Code Revision: The proposed changes to the LDC were halted due to a ruling on a lawsuit that requires notice to everyone for the new LDC changes; in order to get past this requirement, a Council supermajority is needed. CM Alter will be in a runoff – if she doesn’t win, a supermajority may form and the LDC changes may move forward.
Ad-hoc Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Nothing to report at this time
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
9. 8:00
Update on Planning Commission & pending zoning changes at 305 S. Congress (Statesman PUD). Presenter: Russell Fraser, Chair P&Z Committee
The PUD change was on the Planning Commission agenda. Russell attended the meeting, as a neighbor, not representing SRCC. The agenda item was a request for an indefinite postponement by the City P&Z staff. The owners’ attorney Richard Suttle, challenged the request for postponement. City P&Z has been reviewing the PUD request, and there have already been two rounds of review and comments. It is likely that the PUD will change from essentially “industrial†to more “mixed use†– these major changes and the associated reviews are what is taking so long. A “traffic impact analysis†or TIA has also been called for by the City.
It seems likely that the pending PUD changes will become a higher priority in the coming months. This is based on Jerry Rusthovern’s response to the owners’ attorney “to review the situationâ€. Mr. Rusthovn is the “Acting Lead/Assistant Director†of Austin P&Z department.
SRCC’s current rep to the South Central Waterfront Advisory Board plans to step down from her role in January after several years in this role, and we should try to line up a replacement.
Russell entered two prior neighborhood resolutions/letters from 2019 into the agenda backup: One from SRCC and a similar letter from ANC (District 9).
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Travis Heights Art Trail is planned for Nov. 7 – 8 this year. Everything will be outside with masks provided and social distancing practiced.
SRCC currently has the following volunteer positions open:
-Mobility Committee Chair
-Outreach Committee Members/Chair
-SRCC President
Meeting adjourned at 8:12 pm.
Agenda Prepared by Megan Spencer, vicepresident@srccatx.org
