The Allandale Reporter

Photos from the 2009 Allandale Parade

Photos from today's parade on statesman.com

The Allandale parade made the front page of statesman.com. I am still uploading photos from today's parade however I encourage you to take a look at the photos posted to the statesman.com web site taken by staff photographer Ralph Berrera. Click here to view the photo gallery.

Allandale t-shirts

The Allandale Neighborhood Association will have a table set up at tomorrow's 4th of July Parade to sell Allandale t-shirts. The shirts cost $15. We have the following sizes: small, medium, large, xlarge, and 2xlarge. They are 100% Hanes combed cotton t-shirts.

Use of Tasers - Constable’s Notebook

By Constable Bruce Elfant

Much has been written and broadcast in recent weeks regarding an incident where a Precinct 3 deputy constable tasered a 72 year old woman during a traffic stop. Even though my office (Precinct 5) was not involved with this situation, I received hundreds of e-mails from Travis County residents and people around the nation who shared their opinions about this case and the general use of tasers by law enforcement officials.

July Austin City News

Balance the City’s budget – online

Try your hand at balancing the City’s 2010 budget with a special online application that replicates the popular tabletop exercise from June’s budget town halls.

The application lets users review a list of proposed budget savings or revenue enhancements, accept or decline the option and then submit a proposal. The goal is to generate $9.3 million in savings and balance the 2010 budget. Options are based on actual cost savings being considered by City management.

Proposals will be compiled in a report and reviewed by the City’s Budget Office and City Management.

A PDF report on FY10 Stakeholder Input is available now on the City of Austin Budget Web site.

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Take the Cap Metro Survey

ServicePlan 2020

Capital Metro is undertaking a comprehensive operational analysis to improve bus service to better meet the needs of the region. The resulting recommendations of ServicePlan 2020 will become a roadmap for growth over the next 10 years.

Major components of the study include an analysis of current system conditions, regional market research, and community involvement. Capital Metro and its consultant team are also working closely with two advisory committees representing technical and community stakeholder groups throughout the project. Learn more about ServicePlan 2020 on our project web site.

Community participation is vital to the success of ServicePlan 2020, and we want to hear from you! Take a quick survey and help us shape the future of Capital Metro's bus service. Stay tuned for information about community meetings and open houses-another opportunity to provide valuable feedback on existing services, unmet needs, and ultimately help determine future service plans.

The 5350 Burnet Rd Mixed Use Development

Tom Linehan

The development at 5350 Burnet Rd is quickly taking shape. It is the project under construction just south of Arby's, on Burnet Road, formerly the location of the Antique Mall.  The Antique Mall is now in the HEB Shopping Center, next to Hang Town Grill. The mixed-used development, called 5350 Burnet Rd, will be the first of its kind on Burnet Rd. It's not something area residents are accustomed to. The Allandale Neighborhood Association's unsuccessfully tried to have it scaled back to minimize impact on traffic flow in the area when it went before the city council in 2007. One of the concerns is traffic backing up for people driving north while residents and shoppers of the development wait to turn left into it.

4th of July Parade Preparations

Start getting ready for this year's Allandale 4th of July Parade. As always, residents are encouraged to show off. The following local dignitaries will be joining us: Senator Kirk Watson, Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Representative Elliott Naishtat, Commissionar Sarah Eckhardt, and Constable Bruce Elfant.

Decorate your preferred mode of transportation, whether that's yourself or your bicycle, tricycle, scooter, classic car, brand new cadillac, or whatever. The Allandale Neighborhood Association will be giving out awards for best car/truck, bike, tricycle, stroller, pet, walker-solo, walker-group, and wagon. Assemble at parade start at the intersection of White Rock and Bullard at 8:30. Red, white, and blue are this year's colors!

June Edition of Allandale Neighbor Is Here

 You should have received the June issue of the Allandale Neighbor but if you have not, you can download it here. (Please email me though if you did not receive it and let me know your address.)

This month Laura Dooley provides a first impression of the new North Village Library. Her husband, Nathan wrote an article on plans for the remodeling of the Northwest Rec Center.

You know there is a problem with crime in the neighborhood when our very own neighborhood safety coordinator's home is burglarized. She wrote about it. Other articles include information about: the Bike Plan and Allandale, stolen turtles, Gully, tips on saving water, and more. It's in this newsletter at no cost to you because no matter what any poll that allows people to vote multiple times for their favorite neighborhood suggests, Allandale is the best neighborhood in Austin! See you at the 4th of July Parade.

If you like Allandale...

Then say so! Vote for Allandale as the best neighborhood in austin360.com's poll. The poll closes at 11 p.m. Tuesday, June 16. Click here to cast your vote.

Last Week's City of Austin Town Hall Budget Meeting

Laura DiCarlo

Thank you so much to John Keohane for the Commander's Forum summary posted to the listserve and for encouraging everyone to sign up to receive the central west area of command postings.  I also want to share about the City of Austin town hall budget meeting I attended last Wednesday night at NW Rec Center. 

The gym was filled with residents sitting at tables of about 8 and we were given a spread sheet of proposed budget cuts with a short explanation of each cut.  An overview of how the Austin budget works was first done for all to hear, and we were told that Austin is looking at between a $29 million and $66 million deficit.  Each table then, facilitated by a city employee, deliberated and voted to accept or reject each cut.  Results were turned in to be tallied.  All the department heads were on hand to answer questions at each table, such as the fire chief, housing and transportation heads, etc.  City Manager Marc Ott stressed to everyone in attendance that our input would matter.  The last 30 minutes was left for residents to voice their concerns and put in plugs to keep certain programs, services, etc. 

Keep Austin Beautiful Grant Application Deadline Approaching

The following note was forwarded along from Travis Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt's office:

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Throughout the year KAB works with neighborhood beautification grant winners and many more community groups to improve public space throughout Austin. Highlights from some of these inspiring projects can be viewed at www.keepaustinbeautiful.org/nbg

It's hard to believe, but it is Neighborhood Beautification Grant time again
and time to start bringing groups' dreams to life.  Each year neighborhood
associations, scouts/troops, and schools are invited to apply for a KAB
grant to improve their community. This year our deadline is 5pm on July 10th
and we anticipate a wide variety of projects. While KAB would love to fund
all of the projects only a select few will be granted funds to complete
their project this year, and we need your assistance to make this happen!

Keep Austin Beautiful would like to invite you to help review these
applications, and we hope that you will be able to join us as a judge for
the 2009 KAB Neighborhood Beautification Grants.

Allandale - Where Astronauts are Born Part II

Tim Kopra is the astronaut going for a tour on the International Space Station.  Tim grew up in Allandale on Strass in a house that backs up to Shoal Creek. He attended McCallum.  You can read more about Tim and the upcoming trip in an article from the Statesman, "McCallum High School graduate headed for outer space," by Claire Osborne. Click here to read more about the upcoming mission from Aviation Week, "STS-127 Mission Will Be Long and Busy."

City seeking community input on budget priorities tonight

Take the opportunity to work with other community members in setting

Fiscal 2010 budget priorities during a series of Town Hall meetings

beginning THIS WEDNESDAY night.

The Budget Town Halls will include a budget forecast overview and an

interactive exercise to get the public's views on service-level

reduction proposals. 

Each meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The meetings are:

Wednesday June 10: Northwest Recreation Center, 2913 Northland (just

east of MoPac at the 2222/Northland/Balcones/Koenig exit, on the south

side of the road)

Monday June 15: Gus Garcia Recreation Center, 1201 E. Rundberg Lane

(east of IH 35, half-way between IH 35 and Cameron Rd, on the south side

of Rundberg)

Tuesday June 16: Toney Burger Activity Center, 3200 Jones Road (on

northbound frontage road of Hwy 290W, between Brodie Lane and Westgate

Blvd)

All three meetings will be identical. You do not have to go to the

meeting closest to where you live.

Earlier this week, City Manager Marc Ott unveiled the "Menu of Potential

Budget Reductions." 

For that list and other budget information, go to

www.cityofaustin.org/budget <http://www.cityofaustin.org/budget> . 

APD Commander's Forum

Austin Police Department

Central West Area Command

You are cordially invited to attend our Commander's Forum.  We want to share information and discuss those issues and concerns that are important to you.  Our desire is to open lines of communication in order to improve the quality of life within your community.

Tuesday June 9th, 2008

6:30pm – 8:30pm

McCallum High School

5600 Sunshine Drive

Austin, TX 78756

Agenda

6:30pm – 6:35pm        Introduction/ Central West Area Commander

6:35pm – 8:00pm        District Representative Breakout Sessions 

8:00pm                           Adjourn

For more information, please contact Sergeant John Spillers, 974-5708.

June Austin City News

Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance effective June 1

The Austin City Council approved the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure ordinance to improve the energy efficiency of Austin homes and buildings that receive electricity from Austin Energy.

Improving energy efficiency can help reduce electricity bills for renters and owners of homes, multifamily properties, and commercial buildings. The ordinance also helps meet one of the goals of the Austin Climate Protection Plan—offsetting 700 megawatts of peak energy demand by 2020 to reduce Austin’s carbon footprint.

The ordinance takes effect June 1, 2009. For more information about the ordinance, visit the Austin Energy Web site.

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APD Town Hall Budget Meetings

from Central West Area of Command:

APD will be hosting a series of Town Hall meetings on proposed budget reductions. For your planning purposes, the schedule will be:

Wednesday, June 10 - Northwest Recreation Center

Monday, June 15 - Gus Garcia Recreation Center

Tuesday, June 16 - Tony Burger Activity Center

All meetings will take place from 6-8:30 p.m. The plan is to have a two-part presentation. The first part will be a condensed version of Budget's forecast, focusing on the key pressures on our budget, and the second part will be an interactive exercise that engages the residents in setting service level priorities.

Please attend and voice your concerns and suggestions for the APD Budget and services. We are looking forward to seeing and hearing from you there.

Central West District Representatives.

Have a Wonderful Day!

Shari Anderson

Admin Assistant

C/W and DTAC District Representatives  

Saturday's Library Grand Opening

Laura Dooley

The North Village Branch of the Austin Public Library finally has a home to call its own. Housed in leased space since its inception in 1971, North Village now graces a new building at 2505 Steck Avenue, just west of Burnet.

On Saturday, May 30, the building opened to the public to great fanfare. It’s a striking building and is very accessible by foot, bike, or car. Neighbors started arriving two hours in advance of the 10:00 ribbon-cutting to enjoy each others’ company along with live music, cold drinks, and delicious food from Boomerang’s.

John Gillum, Library Facilities Planning Manager, has described North Village as a library for the future. It’s built according to a bookstore model, with open, inviting areas for meeting, browsing, and relaxing. There’s a station for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, and plenty of outlets for plugging in laptops. Sticking with the bookstore model, Gillum said, “Our collection is new and will be constantly refreshed. We’re putting books on the shelf that people want to come in and grab.”

How People Voted in the May City Council Elections

The following is from a post to the Austin Neighborhood Council Listserve from Jody Zemel, BCNA, Neighborhood Advisor:

From Ryan Robinson, City Demographer:

I've created two maps showing voter turnout from the recent City Council election of May 09, 2009.  If you're interested, please take a look when you get the chance.  Thanks.

Voter Turnout as a Percentage of Registered Voters by Precinct

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/demographics/downloads/Voters_Council_2009_per.pdf

Nothing too new here, the traditional turnout leading neighborhoods of greater Tarrytown, Highland Park and Allendale are all prominent.  What is new however is the strong (at least for Austin) voter turnout coming from the brand-new-to-the-City area of Anderson Mill.  Three of the five newly annexed precincts mark their presence among the second-tier of precincts and on par with the likes of Rosedale, Zilker and Northwest Hills.

But the spatial pattern of percent turnout can often be a little deceiving because it's the total number of ballots cast that really matters, and so, please see the following map.

Total Votes by Precinct

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/demographics/downloads/Voters_Council_2009_abs.pdf

Nothing too new here either, evident is the continued domination of the western crescent of high-performing precincts that stretches from Circle C at the southwestern corner of the City, through  Barton Hills, Zilker and Tarrytown; atavistically through OWANA, Pemberton and Hyde Park; inclusive

of Brentwood, Crestview;  then across Allendale, Northwest Hills and finally Spicewood to Tobyghanistan.  Do note the big boxes of Onion Creek, Travis Heights, Cherrywood and emergent Mueller

Jody Zemel, BCNA, Neighborhood Advisor

Harden the Target - Allandale's Crime Seminar with APD Representatives

District Representatives Officer Kelly LaHood and Troy Schouest attended the Allandale Neighborhood Association's meeting last night to talk with residents about recent crime in the area and what is being done about it. Allandale is now a "hot spot" meaning the number of burglary of vehicles and burglary of residences in the area has risen to the point to where the Austin Police Department is spending more time patrolling the area. There have been 19 burglary of vehicles and 19 burglary of residences in the last month. Yesterday there was a burglary of residence reported on Carleen Dr. 

Officer Kelly LaHood explained to the 30-plus residents in attendance there is only so much APD can do in the area and it is important the neighborhood work together and with APD in addressing the problem. She complimented Laura DiCarlo's efforts in organizing the block captain network and in coordinating neighborhood safety efforts in Allandale. In fact, she said, Hyde Park was the only other central city neighborhood that was as active when it comes to neighborhood safety. 

Allandale Neighborhood Association EC Meeting Thursday

The next ANA EC Meeting is this Thursday, May 28, 2009 at the Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock Dr. 6:30 - 8:30. The meeting is open to the public. All Allandale residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

Agenda:

1. Convene  6:30PM
2. Read minutes
3. Treasurer's report
4. Comments from APD Sector Rep 7:15PM
5. Bylaws amend to allow us to transmit an electronic copy of the membership under certain circumstances
6. Quick reports by committees
7. Possible vote on Wal-Mart settlement and agreements
8. Update on land use issues:
9. ANC Report
10. Old business
11. New business
12. New EC members
13. Adjourn

Allandale Has a Burglary Problem

Burglaries are up significantly in Allandale over last year. Comparing same period this year with last and you can see the number of homes that have been robbed has more than doubled. The number of burglary of vehicles has increased dramatically as well.

Comparison of Selected Crimes in Allandale 

01/01/08 - 05/24/08 compared to 01/01/09 - 05/24/09.

Crime	2008	2009	Change
BURGLARY OF RESIDENCE	16	44	28
BURGLARY OF VEH	67	89	22

Source: APD Crime Viewer:
http://coagis1.ci.austin.tx.us/website/CrimeViewer/viewer.htm

Below is a note from Laura DiCarlo, Allandale's Safety Coordinator, about this week's meeting with a representative from the Austin Police Department.

This Thursday at 7:15pm at Yarbrough Library (2200 Hancock Dr.) Allandale District Representative Kelly LaHood will meet with all interested about recent crimes in our area. Officer LaHood will speak about crime prevention tips, trends APD is seeing, field questions, etc.  For questions regarding this seminar or if you are interested in becoming a block captain, please contact me at 323-6929 or lhdicarlo@yahoo.com.

Thanks,

Laura DiCarlo

Do Not Steal the Turtles!

Linnea Lemon

Several reports have drifted my way of turtles being removed from the pond in Northwest Park.

I spoke to PARD and Tim Cole of Austin Reptile Service. Both shared the following:

• It is illegal to collect a turtle from public waterways.
• If you see anyone gathering turtles call 311 immediately to report the theft. Please (please) insist on filing a theft report. Do not just leave a message.

In addition, Tim Cole shared:

• Most turtles in NW Pond are herbivores, they help manage the plants in the pond. They do not harm the fish population.
• A lot of the species that you see in NW Pond will grow too big to be kept as pets, once you bring that turtle home.. you cannot release it back into the wild.
• Most turtles require extensive set-ups to thrive as kept pets (heat lamps, filters, tanks)
• A hunting license is required to gather/collect turtles

For more information about Texas Turtles, or help anything reptile related, contact Tim Cole of the Austin Reptile Service: http://www.austinreptileservice.net/turtles.html

The above photo was taken Sunday morning, 5.24.09 at the Northwest Park pond.

North Village Library Opening May 30th

Boston Red Sox General Manager in the Stands

If some of you were wondering why all of the excitement at the pony league fields last Thursday night, it was because McCallum was playing the first game in its playoff series with Hutto and Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epsteinwas in the stands watching. According to Friday's article in the Austin American-Statesman, "McCallum tops Hutto in playoff season opener," Mr. Epstein and other major league scouts were in the stands scouting McCallum senior Everett Williams. Everett, McCallum's center fielder, was an an All-CenTex first team pick last year. McCallum won Thursday night's game 5-1. They went on to lose the next two games against Hutto, 13-3 on Friday and 14-4 on Saturday.