What’s Going On With Austin City Council Right Now?

Not sure if you noticed, but Austin’s City Council is on a summer break until they return for a regular council meeting on July 18. Before the break, they sifted through a nearly 200-item agenda.

Among the items council approved during the May 30 meeting:

• The council authorized the negotiation and execution of an agreement with Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service to provide paramedic training for five years.
• An ordinance to name a segment of Shoal Creek Greenbelt Trail after former city council member Chris Riley was approved. The area between West Avenue and Fifth Street on the trail will be called “Chris Riley Bend.”
• Council directed new City Manager T.C. Broadnax to study ways to remove wastewater from Barton Creek. He’ll also look into options for restoring pipe capacity before returning to council with an update and recommendations.

These items were postponed to council’s July 18 meeting:

• City Council will consider rezoning a house at 1100 E. Second St. to be a historic landmark, despite the owner’s opposition. The house is associated with carpenter and builder Charles S. Sinnigson, includes Folk Victorian architecture and was built in 1888.
• Council members will consider establishing boundaries for new zoning districts within Austin’s South Central Waterfront, which includes the lot along Lady Bird Lake that houses the old Austin American-Statesman building on Congress Avenue