Cityview - January 8, 2010

Hello and welcome to the City of Austin show we call City View. I'm your host Reyne Telles. In today's episode, we'll look at the way residents are contributing to what's called a Comprehensive Plan or the strategy the city will use to provide guidance on how Austin will develop and grow into the future. And we're going to highlight actions from the latest City Council meeting. But to begin with, let's hear about some recent city of Austin news. The H1Ni pandemic flu appears to have peaked for the time being, but there is the possibility that a third wave could emerge this spring or summer so if you haven't been vaccinated against H1N1, know that the city is providing free vaccinations. But first, a little background on pandemics. A pandemic is a global disease outbreak that occurs when a new virus emerges and people have little or no immunity to the virus. Now to find out where and when you can receive an H1N1 vaccine, visit the Web site www.cityofaustin.org/health or call 972-5520 to make an appointment And just remember for the health of us all wash your hands often and if you're sick cough and sneeze into your sleeve and stay at home if you have flu-like symptoms. The Austin Police Department is getting the word out about a new ban on texting while driving. Our Chennel 6 crew was at the news conference to capture some of the key points and specifics. Currently in the state of Texas, it is only against the law for drivers under the age of eighteen to not use cell phones and not to text. Well, as of Friday it'll be illegal in the city of Austin to basically use a cell phone for any other reason except for making a telephone call You won't be allowed to text, you can't use it for GPS unless it's a permanently installed device or any other kind of scrolling for the internet and that'll be, again, taking effect on January the 1st. Drivers are allowed when they're at a stop sign or a stop light to review their texts and to do any kind of use when they're at a stop light but only at a stop light. It is legal to go through the contact list to make, to create the phone call and actually then to hang up as well. The penalty, again it's a City Ordinance violation of anywhere between zero and $200, a Class C misdemeanor For more information, visit www.cityofaustin.org/police. You may recall that the African American Quality of Life Initiative began in 2005 And through that, community members made recommendations to Council designed to alleviate inequities that may confront African-Americans here in Austin. The commission that oversees the initiative, the African-American Resource Advisory Commission, will be holding a special meeting on Saturday, January 30th at the Austin Community College, Eastview campus. The 9:00 AM meeting will provide an update and get further input on this community initiative. if you're interested, we encourage you to attend. Now let's send it over to Larry Schooler for an update on some of the latest actions your city council took Thanks, Reyne, firefighters, musicians, and Web designers all took center stage at the Austin City Council's December 17th meeting. The Council approved a new labor contract with Austin Firefighters who rejected a contract offer made almost a year ago. The newly approved contract provides the city's more than 1,000 firefighters a 3% pay increase, per year for the next three years. Meanwhile the council also hired an Austin-based partnership to assist with the redesign of the city of Austin Web site. Steel Symbology will focus initially on analyzing gaps in the current Web site and determining what the Web site needs to become more functional and accessible. Council approved an ordinance that re-zones a property in East Austin along the shores of Lady Bird Lake. Developers own the land and have rights to develop the property but Council decided to allow developers to exceed height restrictions in exchange for community benefits. Those benefits can include reduced rent on community space, a contribution to the city's affordable housing fund, on-site affordable housing and the preservation of trees. The Council also authorized several lease agreements at the Barbara Jordan terminal of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The leases help insure the airport reflects the nature and character of Austin and its well-known local brands. So look for a Thundercloud Subs, Ruta Maya Coffee, Hills Cafe, Nueva Leon, Saxon Pub, SoCo Market and the Tavern in the near future. Finally the Council also inducted several musicians with Austin ties into the Austin Music Memorial and we have a list of those musicians for you here. In all the council tackled 141 items at their last meeting of 2009. The next Council meeting is January 14th. Reyne, back to you. We appreciate that update, Larry. Austinites who want to know more about City Council meetings like the one Larry just spoke about can get the new draft council agenda sent right to your e-mail box You've got mail. That's right, it's all possible with Austin Notes, the program that lets you pick the topics and categories that interest you, including parks, city news, agenda updates and more. You can sign up for Austin Notes by clicking on the icon on our web site. It's completely free and the city keeps your e-mail account confidential For more information, visit www.cityofaustin.org Did you ever want to provide input on one of the city's public policy projects but weren't available to attend a public meeting If so, you have the chance to weigh in at a time and place that could be more convenient for you. The city is implementing a new tool to allow you to contribute to the public policy conversation all while helping shape the city's future. Usually this is the way an Austinite can participate in a policy discussion, attending a meeting like this one at Travis High School This particular meeting was for the Comprehensive Plan a multi-month effort to re-think how the city will manage growth for the next 25 years but it can be difficult for some Austinites to attend community meetings whenever they're held even after the work day is over That's why dozens of Austin groups are embracing a new concept known as a "Meeting in a Box". With resources developed by the University of Texas Community in Regional Planning Program and city of Austin staff, anyone can facilitate a meeting at any time, anywhere with family, friends, neighbors or members of a community organization Members of the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association recently held a "meeting in a box" at a board member's home. So I think in order for the city to reach as many people for input into the Comprehensive Plan, it's important not just to get through traditional channels but also to involve the community itself in gathering more input. It helps to conduct these kinds of sessions because by conducting one of these, it enable others to be able to conduct similar sessions, to gather as much input as possible from a diverse group, a diverse set in the community One of the things we heard from citizens when we developed our public participation plan was that we had to make things fun and we had to make it easy in order for them to get involved in the planning process. What a better way to let people get involved than to let them host their own planning party also known as "meeting in a box" "So far the city has distributed more than 80 "meetings in a box" to community groups and individuals across Austin. The boxes have everything you need to host a meeting - an invitation, script, questions and directions for returning the meeting results to the city. The city will use input gathered during the "meetings in a box" to define a vision for the future of Austin For CityView, I'm Larry Schooler. You can pick up a meeting in a box by contacting Kathleen Fox at 974-7877 or going online to download the "meeting in a box" information at www.imagineaustin.net Whether this new year you resolve to lose weight, reduce stress in your life or even eat healthier, the Austin Public Library is here to help you stick to your New Year's resolution. The Library is teaming with the Foundation for Wellness to present a series of three workshops in topics including things like The Five Secrets to Looking and Feeling Younger, Understanding Metabolism, Natural Solutions to Headache Pain, Staying Fit While You Sit, and Ergonomics for a Healthy You To find out more about one of the eight workshops, you can call 974-7400 or visit www.cityofaustin.org/library That's all for this edition of CityView You can watch all original programming on YouTube. or www.youtube.com/austintexasgov or www.cityofaustin.org /channel6 The next episode of CityView premieres on January 22nd Thanks for watching.