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Dear Neighbors, Safety without civil rights is no safety at all. In this time of crisis we must protect our most basic civil rights from those who would try to exploit the circumstances to attack them. That is why I authored two resolutions on our April 9th agenda – one to protect our right to vote and the other to protect the rights of all citizens for fair and dignified treatment. The first resolution ( Item 76) responds to recent reports of local acts of hate speech and violence targeting Asian American community members. As a Council we have a special responsibility to speak out in the face of hatred, violence, or discrimination against any of our constituents. Always, but especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, we must confront misinformation and not allow ourselves to be divided. I am honored to represent a vibrant, dynamic community that has benefited from generations of contributions from Asians and Asian Americans who have called Austin home. The second resolution ( Item 78) calls on the Texas Governor and the Texas Secretary of State to protect our voting rights and our public health by permitting voting-by-mail for all Texas voters. The integrity of our election systems rely heavily on volunteer poll workers, who are disproportionately vulnerable to severe infection. We should not have to choose between staying healthy and going to the polls. You can hear my remarks from the council meeting on both of these items here. Below you will find updates on other council actions taken to help our community navigate this pandemic along with other information I thought you would find useful. Thank you to those who have completed the survey I sent you earlier this week. If you have not done so, I encourage you to respond so we can better meet evolving community needs.
Happy Easter and Chag Pesach Sameach to all who celebrate.
Take Care,
Alison Alter
Council Member, District 10
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| | Table of Contents - Council Recap
- ICYMI: Council Work Session Presentations
- HUD Approves Austin's Economic Injury Bridge Loan Program
- Survey: How is COVID-19 Affecting You?
- Easter Weekend Parks and Recreation Closures
- Community Hero Highlight: Anderson High School Teacher Joe Ngo
- Donate Meals to Healthcare Workers from Local Food Trucks & Restaurants
- This is Democracy Podcast: New Episodes on COVID-19
- At-Home Cinema From Alamo Drafthouse and Violet Crown
- National Public Health Week
- Austin Recycles App and Sanitation Tips
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| | | Council Recap
Before we started the meeting, my son, Zachary, recited a poem he wrote about the current pandemic called Invisible Fires. I invite you to take a moment to listen by clicking here or on the image below. In addition to my two resolutions I detailed in my opening letter (Item 76 and Item 78), Council passed several other important measures yesterday.
Below, you will find summaries of the COVID-19 related items we approved. Over the last two Council meetings, we also have passed many other important initiatives that do not relate to COVID-19. Stay tuned for next week's newsletter with details on those items. |
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Last Council meeting, I co-sponsored a resolution asking staff to identify and evaluate options for reducing utility bill impacts for customers affected by COVID-19. This week, staff presented Item 83, which contained several initiatives to provide relief for ratepayers.
With the passage of this item, Council approved: - A moratorium on disconnections of city utility service for nonpayment
- Waiving late fees on delinquent city utility bills
- Allocating $10,000,000 in additional customer assistance funds to city utility customers who are suffering financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Increasing the Austin Energy customer assistance program (CAP) discount from 10 percent to 15 percent
- Providing a 10 percent reduction in CAP and non-CAP residential water and wastewater rates
Council approved Item 87, allocating $15 million from the Emergency Reserve Fund to establish the City’s Relief in a State of Emergency (RISE) Fund to support COVID-19 emergency relief for Austin residents. The RISE Fund aims to provide immediate assistance to vulnerable, lower-income populations, who have experienced a significant hardship or loss of household income due to the COVID-19 pandemic and may not be eligible for sufficient state or federal assistance.
Funding will be allocated in two forms of immediate relief:
- Direct relief services such as diapers, improving food access, case management, and assistance with rent, mortgages, utilities, medical and childcare expenses.
- Direct financial assistance such as one-time payments through pre-paid debit, gift cards or ACH transfers provided to eligible Austin residents by a social service provider
In partnership with Item 87, Council approved Item 81, authorizing the use of existing social services contracts to offer immediate support services and enabling those contracts to be amended to utilize RISE funds.
The passage of these items allows for emergency temporary occupancy of three hotels in support of the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hotel located at 621 N IH-35 (near US Hwy 290) is being utilized as an Isolation Facility that will accept any individual that is under monitoring, under investigation, or who is COVID-19 positive and cannot self-isolate. The other two hotels located at 4200 S IH-35 (near Ben White Blvd) and 8010 N I-35 (near US Hwy 183) are being used as Protective Lodging that will provide a facility for individuals experiencing homelessness who are at high risk for negative outcomes if they become COVID-19 positive and are unable to practice social distancing in their current location.
Revolution Foods: Meals for our Homeless Neighbors – Item 70
Item 70 approved a contract with Revolution Foods to provide prepared meal distribution at up to 50 sites across Austin. These sites are in high-need locations that are not currently serviced by the existing emergency food network (e.g. areas with high concentrations of homeless populations). This contract helps us to fill gaps where existing charitable feeding locations have ceased operations. Read this memo from Austin Public Health and the Office of Sustainability to learn more about the City's response to food access needs during the COVID-19 crisis.
Austin Resource Recovery Fees – Item 61
Item 61 waives the unstickered extra trash Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) fees from March 23 until the Stay Home – Work Safe order is lifted. In order to help reduce utility bill impacts for residents, Austinites do not need to purchase extra trash stickers from grocery stores and can place extra trash in tied bags beside their carts.
Expanding Family Medical Leave Act Benefits – Item 79
Item 79 is a resolution affirming Council’s support for offering emergency paid sick leave and expanded Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) benefits for eligible city employees. It also expresses the Council’s intent to go beyond the minimum benefits required by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). |
| | | ICYMI: Council Work Session Presentations
In Tuesday's newsletter, I highlighted some very important Council presentations related to COVID-19. We discussed updates about Austin's health response as well as new economic projections for Austin. In case you missed it, you can find all of that information here. Austin’s financial policies and fiscal health mean we are in a strong position to navigate the economic consequences of the pandemic. |
| | | HUD Approves Austin's Economic Injury Bridge Loan Program
This week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved the City's request to implement the City of Austin Economic Injury Bridge Loan Program. This approval will enable the Economic Development Department (EDD) to provide loans up to $35,000 for small businesses requiring short term working capital until funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is available.
As you may recall from my last Council action newsletter, the City Council approved a resolution creating the criteria and guidelines to implement the local bridge loan program subject to HUD’s approval. Specifically, the resolution requested HUD approval for the following guidelines:
- Loan amount: up to $35,000 to a small business and non-profits that have applied for disaster relief assistance from the SBA.
- Loan term: the earliest of 12 months or disbursement of funds under the SBA loan.
- Use of loan proceeds: working capital financing.
- iv. Underwriting: criteria used by SBA for its Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Advance Program.
HUD approved all of the City’s proposed revisions with the exception of including assistance for non-profits. While we are disappointed that non-profits will not be eligible for this program, City staff continues to identify resources within EDD and the City for them. We also are actively encouraging nonprofits to apply for the All Together ATX fund, which has raised more than $3.6M to support non-profits and individuals in the Greater Austin Area.
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| | | Survey: How is COVID-19 Affecting You?
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to fill out our survey. If you haven't yet, please take a few moments to complete a short survey to help me better represent you during this pandemic. I would like to know how you have been affected, what resources you have found helpful, and what gaps exist. My goal is to use insights from this survey to help us better understand and meet evolving community needs. I encourage you to share it with your neighbors.
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| | | Easter Weekend Parks and Recreation Closures
All City of Austin parks and trails will close during the Easter weekend to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The closure goes into effect at sunset, Thursday, April 9 and goes through sunrise, Monday, April 13.
This closure includes all city parks, trails, greenbelts and preserves – which includes the Roy and Ann Butler Hike and Bike Trail. Residents can view the Parks and Recreation Department's (PARD) parkviewer app – if the greenspace is listed, it is closed for the holiday weekend.
Signage, gate closure and regular patrols will remind the community of the park closures. Park Rangers will continue to educate and push for compliance by the public.
The City of Austin and the Parks and Recreation Department is implementing this change to ensure the safety of the community. PARD historically sees an increase in visitors during the Easter holiday. However, crowding in parks makes it challenging for visitors to comply with the physical distancing requirements issued with the Stay Home-Work Safe Order.
Park green space and trails will reopen at sunrise, Monday, April 13.
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| | | Community Hero Highlight: Anderson High School Teacher Joe Ngo
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged our community in ways we've never imagined. I am incredibly proud of the many people in our city who have stepped up and volunteered their time, effort, and talents to helping Austin through this crisis.
Anderson High School engineering teacher Joe Ngo is collaborating with ATX Hackerspace and community members with 3-D printers to manufacture face shields for hospitals that have been hit hard by the pandemic. Last week, they created and sent out 150 task masks and expect to send 300 this week.
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| | | Support Healthcare Workers with Meals from Local Food Trucks and Restaurants
Baylor Scott & White has teamed up with friends of Keep Austin Eatin, Trucklandia and ATX Hospital Meals to launch an initiative called Food4Caregivers. People can donate money towards to purchasing meals from over 130 local food trucks and restaurants for healthcare workers at Baylor Scott & White Medical Centers. Donate here. |
| | | This is Democracy Podcast: New Episodes on COVID-19
Jeremi and Zachary Suri (my husband and son) have recorded several new episodes related to different aspects of COVID-19, including education during the pandemic, problems with militaristic rhetoric during a public health crisis, and more.
This is Democracy is available anywhere you get your podcasts. Here are the latest episodes: |
| | | At-Home Cinema From Alamo Drafthouse and Violet Crown
Two of Austin's most beloved businesses are making entertainment at home easy for movie lovers. Alamo Drafthouse and Violet Crown have launched Virtual Cinema, offering tickets to screenings that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your couch. Purchasing tickets through Virtual Cinema allows you to enjoy a great film while supporting our local filmmakers and cinemas. |
| | | National Public Health Week
I want to wish all our public health providers and advocates a Happy National Public Health Week! Our appreciation for public health heroes is exceptionally high this year as our community navigates the challenges of COVID-19, and this pandemic has raised our awareness of the importance of public health advancement and fortification.
Please take a moment this week to thank a public health provider or advocate this week for all they're doing to keep our community healthy. |
| | | Austin Recycles App and Sanitation Tips
The new Austin Recycles App is the easiest and fastest way to get important alerts and reminders about your City of Austin trash, recycling and compost services. Watch a video on how to use it here. The app is available for Apple and Android devices.
Protect sanitation workers; bag your trash
It's more important than ever to take care of each other. Like doctors and grocery store employees, sanitation workers also provide an essential service, visiting each home and keeping our waste collected every week.
You can help protect these workers. All you have to do is place your carts five feet apart, and remember to bag and tie your trash to keep it contained. Also, consider using a BPI-certified compostable bag or paper bag for compost, and do not bag recycling.
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