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Date: Thursday, January 20
Time: 7 – 9 pm
Location: Lanier High School, 1201 Payton Gin Rd. (map)North Austin neighbors have been invited as guests to the North Austin Civic Association (NACA) monthly meeting in January. There will be some informational presentations that may be of interest to people who want to learn more about the proposal to build an RV park for homeless people near Braker and Burnet.
Here is the information we received on the meeting:
Speakers: Council Member Sheryl Cole and Alan Graham of Mobile Loaves and Fishes
Focus: Council Member Cole’s vision for Austin and her work to help the homeless of Austin. She will be available for limited Q&A.
Alan Graham will present information about the homeless (including some myths and truths) and also about his RV park (no site has been picked, so a location will not be part of Mr. Graham’s presentation)
Note: NACA will have a short business meeting to elect officers before the speakers are presented.
No debate/comments over the proposed RV park site at Burnet and Braker (or the south site) will be allowed. This is strictly an educational meeting and an opportunity to have conversation with Ms. Cole and Mr. Graham. If members of the audience need clarification about information they have heard from Ms. Cole and Mr. Graham during the meeting, those kind of questions will be entertained. If audience members become argumentative, the conversation will be halted, and we will move on.
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From Laura Kunz of the Austin Independent School District:
As leaders within the Austin community, we’d appreciate your attendance at and your help in sharing information with members of your community about AISD’s upcoming Facility Master Plan Community Meetings. Attached please find a flyer with details about the two Community Meetings taking place January 12 and 13 as well as draft content for inclusion in a newsletter or on a website for your use as needed.
AISD and the Facility Master Plan Task Force are hosting the two Community Meetings to gather further input from the public on facility options to address the immediate and future needs of the District and its students. The meetings are a critical step in the process that began in March 2010 to develop a comprehensive Facility Master Plan. The plan will enable the District to reduce operating costs by achieving greater facility efficiency while being responsive to changes in student enrollment. With budget constraints across the District, developing a plan that guides efficient and effective use of District facility resources into the future is an important part of maintaining AISD’s fiscal responsibility to its taxpayers.
Every AISD campus will be impacted by the plan, and feedback from members of the entire AISD community is critical to ensuring the recommendations that shape the plan have taken into consideration the needs of AISD students, parents, teachers, and staff. The final Facility Master Plan will include recommendations for new schools and additions, building replacements, renovation, consolidation, repurposing, attendance zones, and vertical alignment to be implemented over a 10-year period.
At the Community Meetings, the public will be asked to give feedback on possible options being considered for the Facility Master Plan. The options, developed by the Facility Master Plan Task Force — a 70-member group of AISD staff and teachers, parents, and community members — will include recommendations for specific elementary, middle and high school campuses. For anyone not able to attend the Community Meetings, there will be an opportunity to provide input on the Facility Master Plan website starting Wednesday, January 12 through Monday, January 17.
For comprehensive information about the Facility Master Plan process, please visit http://www.dejongrichter.com/projects/austin-independent-school-district/ also accessible by clicking on the Facility Master Plan link on the home page of www.AustinISD.org.
Thanks in advance for your help in sharing this information with others in the community and for your support of the Austin Independent School District.
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At our December meeting, we adopted revisions to our bylaws. The amended bylaws are now available online. You may download a copy here.
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The City of Austin is considering building a mobile home park to house homeless people at North Burnet Road and Braker Lane. Kevin Wier, Development Committee Chair, has been following this issue for the neighborhood. He has prepared this summary. Additional information is available in the December 2010 newsletter.• An organization called Mobile Loaves and Fishes wants to build an RV/trailer park on city owned property to hold 100 RV’s and trailers and permanently house “chronically homeless” people. There is a federal government definition of “chronically homeless”.
• This Burnet/Braker location is one of two locations the city is considering. The city would lease the land to MLF for $1/year. One criterion is access to public transportation.
• The city has said this proposed project is part of their plan to deal with the 1,000 permanently homeless people living in Austin. The city also has their own plans to build permanent housing for homeless people. There are also other organizations in Austin that work to address the needs of homeless people. This would not be a “fix and return” model, but a place for people to live permanently. The Mobile Loaves and Fishes goal is to give these people dignity and get them off the streets.
• City of Austin said the final decision on this project will be made by city council in a public meeting. I have contacted the city representative to learn when this vote will occur; I haven’t received a response yet.
• Chronically homeless people living in the proposed project would undergo a background screening. There would be no registered sex offenders admitted. Chronically homeless by definition means people have a physical, mental, or addiction disability. There would be no families or children living in the proposed project. There would be rules of conduct for living in the project, but Mobile Loaves and Fishes cannot stop the inhabitants from panhandling, etc. They would have counseling services on location, a food pantry, medical clinic, a garden and chickens for the people to raise some of their own food.
• City of Austin says there is no zoning changes needed for the property.
More Information can be found on the North Austin Coalition of Neighborhoods website: http://northaustin.weebly.com/homeless-rv-park.html
