Monday, January 24, 2022

Council Member Leslie Pool Appointed to Serve on National League of Cities’ Large Cities Council

Council Member Leslie Pool has been appointed to the National League of Cities (NLC) 2022 Large Cities Council. Council Member Pool elected to a one-year term to develop and guide programs among local elected officials from similar communities. The appointment was announced by NLC President Mayor Vince Williams of Union City, Georgia.

“I am honored to be appointed to the National League of Cities 2022 Large Cities Council. Our work with other Council Members across our Nation is essential. By working together, we can bring innovative ways to strengthen our communities and make them resilient,”- said Council Member Pool.

As a member of NLC’s, Council Member Pool will play a key role among a diverse group of local leaders to encourage collaboration, networking and developing resources and programs beneficial to communities that share demographics, size or location that can be replicated across the country.

“Our member councils are the voices of what’s happening on the ground in our communities,” said NLC President Mayor Vince Williams of Union City, Georgia. “I am proud to have Council Member Pool join NLC's Large Cities Council. Together with a team of local leaders from around the country, we will work to solve the most pressing challenges facing our communities and help fulfill the promise of America’s cities, towns and villages.”

This year’s council will be led by Chair Brandon Elefante, Council Member, Honolulu, HI, Vice Chair Jeanette Herron, Majority Leader, Bridgeport, CT, and Vice Chair Andreas Addison, Council Member, Richmond, VA. 
 
For more information on NLC’s member councils, visit: https://www.nlc.org/current-initiatives/member-councils-2/. 
 
###
 
The National League of Cities (NLC) is the voice of America’s cities, towns and villages, representing more than 200 million people. NLC works to strengthen local leadership, influence federal policy and drive innovative solutions.


at

Friday, January 21, 2022

Rising COVID-19 pediatric infections creating domino effect for staffing

 

 Hospitals report record-high COVID-19 pediatric cases during ongoing staffing shortage

The omicron variant presents a new challenge for our community – widespread infections among children. It’s had a domino effect throughout the area, from schools to businesses to health care facilities. It’s more important than ever to have children vaccinated and boosted when eligible, and make sure they wear well-fitting masks when they’re around others. 

Getting our children vaccinated is important. In the past two weeks, 91% of the children admitted to our pediatric hospitals were unvaccinated. 

“In the omicron surge we are seeing more pediatric cases than ever before,” said Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County Health Authority. “This spike in pediatric infections and hospitalizations is happening as hospitals operate with an ever-shrinking workforce. We must protect our children and our entire community by wearing masks and getting vaccinated.” 

Staffing shortages extend to industries beyond health care. Parents and caretakers must stay home with sick children and may require additional time off if/when the virus spreads within the home. Our community continues to see a sky-high Community Transmission Rate, currently at 1,896 cases per 100,000 in the past 7 days. At this level, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance suggests schools cancel or hold high-risk sports and extracurricular activities virtually to protect in-person learning.  

Read updated CDC guidance for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools 

Read Texas Education Agency public health guidance published Jan. 7 

Per Health Authority Rules, students, staff, and visitors over the age of two are required to wear a face covering while on school property or school buses during Stages 3, 4, and 5. Austin Public Health works with local school districts to provide additional vaccine opportunities for families. 

“Child care programs are caring for our youngest community members who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated,” said Donna Sundstrom, Austin Public Health Assistant Director of Community Services. “Working families need our whole community to take the steps we know work to lower community transmission, so that child care programs can remain staffed and open, and parents can continue to work.” 

Everyone 5 and older is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. People 12 and older may get a booster shot five months after their initial doses. Right now, more than 70 percent of people in Austin-Travis County are fully vaccinated. Children 5-11 have been eligible to receive vaccines since November 2021. However, only 26% of them have been fully vaccinated, putting the unvaccinated in this age group at higher risk of infection, severe disease and hospitalization.  

“Austin Public Health continues to work with our local school districts to make pediatric vaccines readily available,” said Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup. “We’re asking the community to answer our call to get vaccinated so we can get a handle on this outbreak.” 

APH vaccine and testing information 

People can find vaccine providers using Vaccines.gov (Vacunas.gov in Spanish) or by texting their zip code to 438829 (822862 in Spanish) to find a nearby clinic.  

APH clinics offer COVID-19 vaccinations and testing without appointment, although creating an account online in advance saves time. COVID-19 vaccinations are free and require neither identification nor insurance. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000 or visit www.AustinTexas.gov/COVID19.    

To help reserve our emergency rooms for medical emergencies, people who are asymptomatic or experiencing minor symptoms may inquire about testing options by calling 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905, or by visiting 211texas.org. Please don’t call 9-1-1 for testing information.

at

Austin Public Health and Travis County Partner with Community Organizations for COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics



Austin Public Health (APH) and Travis County are partnering with local community organizations to provide FREE COVID-19 vaccination clinics around the county for events from Jan. 21-24.  

Clinics are open to all eligible individuals without registration or appointment and do not require identification, insurance, or proof of citizenship. All vaccinations are free. All APH sites offer Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, including  third doses for the immunocompromised and booster shots for qualifying individuals. If you are receiving your second, third dose or booster shot, please bring your Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card to be updated.  

Pediatric vaccinations for children 5-11 years of age are offered at four APH clinics. No appointment is required at the Delco Activity Center and the Old Sims Elementary Gymnasium.  Shots for Tots clinics offer both COVID-19 pediatric and flu vaccinations by appointment only.

Individuals attending these events should be weather- and traffic-aware. Remember to wear appropriate clothing, including garments that allow you to easily expose your arm.  

To locate providers in your area with a supply of COVID-19 vaccines, go to Vaccines.gov (Vacunas.gov for Spanish), or text your zip code to 438829 (822862 for Spanish). 

NOTICE: Hours are subject to change.
 

Friday, Jan. 21 


Delco Activity Center (APH)

Mexican Consulado (APH)

African American Men & Boys Harvest Foundation (CTAHI/Travis County)

La Mexicana Market – Rundberg (Travis County)

La Mexicana Market – Stassney (Travis County)

Poco Loco Supermercado – Cameron (Travis County)

 

Saturday, Jan. 22 


Del Valle Opportunity Center (Travis County)

Dailey Middle School (Travis County)

Harmony School of Science (Travis County)

Southeast Library (APH)

La Moreliana Market (Travis County)

JD’s Supermarket (Travis County)

Travis County Expo Center (Travis County)

Old Sims Elementary Gymnasium (APH)

Video Super (APH)


Sunday, Jan. 23 

 

Travis County Exposition Center (Travis County) 

 

Monday, Jan. 24 

 

African American Men & Boys Harvest Foundation (CTAHI/Travis County)

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area (CTAHI/Travis County)

La Mexicana Market (Travis County) 

La Mexicana Market (Travis County)  

Poco Loco Supermercado (Travis County)  


COVID-19 Information  

For more information on COVID-19 and vaccinations, visit www.AustinTexas.gov/COVID19 or call 3-1-1 (512-974-2000). 

at

The Trail Foundation Seeks Local Artists for Floating Wetland Project on Lady Bird Lake

 


Art Collaboration Launches as Part of the Arts + Culture Plan for the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail
The Trail Foundation is currently looking for artists, designers, and other creatives who are interested in writing a new chapter for public art along the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail as part of the Trail’s Arts + Culture Plan. Three creatives will be paid to collaborate on the design and installation of floating wetlands on Lady Bird Lake in spring 2022. The project, titled “Common Waters”, will merge artistic components with ecological function. Supporting this effort will be TTF, environmental artist Stacy Levy, and Austin-based curators Public City. 
 
Applications are open to artists, designers, and creatives who live in Austin or have lived experience in the city, and TTF is prioritizing the selection of people who identify as traditionally non-white (Black, Chicano, Hispanic, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous). This call is for (but not limited to) visual, literary, spoken word, music, sound design, performance, dance, textile, and environmental arts backgrounds; designers in the fields of environmental, fashion, graphic, industrial, and similar design fields; as well as people who practice creative cultural traditions. Applications are due February 4, 2022.
 
This project is part of TTF’s ongoing process of creating an Arts + Culture Plan for the Trail in partnership with Austin Parks and Recreation and City of Austin Art in Public Places. The plan will provide a framework on how to support arts and cultural activities that elevate the Trail user’s experience while maintaining the Trail’s natural environment.
 
Read the full application packet here. Leer en Español.
 
About The Trail Foundation:
The Trail Foundation’s mission is to protect, enhance, and connect the Butler Hike-and-Bike-Trail at Lady Bird Lake for the benefit of all. The Butler Trail is the 10-mile lush, urban path in the heart of Austin that sees more than 4.9 million visits every year. Since its founding in 2003, The Trail Foundation has achieved restoration and beautification projects to the Trail’s infrastructure and environment, while honoring the original vision of the Trail’s founders and ensuring its vibrancy for generations to come. To learn more about The Trail Foundation and its upcoming initiatives, visit TheTrailFoundation.com, or follow along on social: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
About Austin Parks and Recreation 
Austin Parks and Recreation seeks to inspire our community to learn, play, protect and connect by creating diverse programs and experiences in sustainable natural spaces and public places. This City of Austin Department protects and maintains parkland, urban forest, and trails as well as offering sports, recreation, educational enrichment, arts programs, cultural opportunities, and nature and aquatic activities for Austinites. For more information visit AustinTexas.gov/Parks.
 
About the City of Austin Economic Development Department
The City of Austin Economic Development Department supports business growth, creative industries, and local communities. These programs build an equitable, sustainable economy to improve the lives of all Austin residents. To learn more about helpful resources, visit www.austintexas.gov/edd or like us on Facebook @AustinEconDev and follow @AustinEconDev on Twitter.
at

Thursday, January 20, 2022

City of Austin Opening Cold Weather Shelters Tonight

Warming Centers Available During the Day

The City of Austin and partner agencies will be opening warming centers and cold weather shelters today, Thursday Jan. 20, because of the cold weather and anticipated precipitation.

Warming centers will be available during normal business hours at the following City of Austin facilities.

Social distancing, masking, and capacity limits at the facilities will still be in place.

The City of Austin and partners will also be opening cold weather shelters for the overnight hours. As a reminder, the City does not publish the location of cold weather shelters. Individuals in need of shelter should go to the One Texas Center building, located at 505 Barton Springs Road between 6-8 p.m. The cold weather shelter locations are located offsite. Individuals seeking overnight shelter will be transported by buses provided by Capital Metro.  
 
Social distancing, masking, and other COVID-19 procedures will be in place for cold weather sheltering. Individuals will be required to undergo a health screening prior to being transported to the shelter locations.

Everyone should remain weather aware for the next 48 hours. Monitor the National Weather Service for updates about the weather and monitor road conditions if you must be out on the roadways.

More preparedness information and critical updates can be found on our Facebook and Twitter.

at

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Crews Monitoring Roads, Bridges as Winter Weather Approaches

Jan 19, 2022 

The Austin Public Works Department (PWD) will be proactively monitoring local streets and right-of-way areas ahead of forecasted precipitation and freezing temperatures. The National Weather Service predicts adverse conditions to begin Thursday through Friday morning.  

Crews from PWD's Street and Bridge Operations (SBO) have mobilized for around-the-clock coverage to ensure the right-of-way (ROW) remains accessible and safe for all users. This includes monitoring elevated surfaces/bridges; treating potentially icy roadways; responding to weather related 3-1-1 requests; and removing any tree limbs or debris blocking the ROW. 

"The safety of the public is the top priority of the Mobility departments of Austin and Public Works’ crews are ready to ensure that public right-of-way is safe for users," said Assistant City Manager Gina Fiandaca. "Our Mobility departments are working to together along with other front-line, first responding agencies to assure that residents have the infrastructure resources and information they need to stay safe."

With increased overnight coverage, SBO crews will be continually monitoring City streets by conducting both visual inspections and measuring road surface temperatures with digital thermometers. They will also be responding to weather related 3-1-1 reports. They provide regular temperature reports on critical City roadways and bridges. These continual assessments guide PWD in determining the most appropriate safety measures.

"We want our community to know that we are prepared to address our mobility infrastructure," said Pirouz Moin, Assistant Director over Operations for Public Works. "Each weather event is different, and while we do not expect major impacts to our roadways like we saw during Winter Storm Uri, we will still be monitoring and addressing roadways as conditions warrant. This is a normal response for our crews whenever temperatures drop below freezing and precipitation is forecasted." 

Following last year's winter storm, Public Works updated its winter weather emergency plans to reinforce its process for removal of snow from critical roadways, emphasizing the importance of maintaining access to water treatment plans, public safety and emergency services stations, hospitals and other critical locations. During last year's storm, Public Works crews cleared more than 300 lane miles of snow, assisting with the safe access of emergency vehicles and paths to warming shelter and treatment plants.

Over the next 48 hours, PWD will be actively coordinating with the office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM), Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Travis County and other local and regional partners to help keep Austin's roadways safe.

The Austin Transportation Department is also advising residents to take steps to travel safely in preparation for this week’s winter weather. Though precipitation is not expected to significantly accumulate on all surfaces, elevated areas such as bridges and overpasses may see ice or snow in the early hours of Friday morning. Anyone traveling during potentially icy conditions are advised to:   

  • Monitor weather conditions before setting out on your trip and avoid traveling, if possible  
  • Avoid elevated roads, such as overpasses and bridges, if possible   
  • Plan additional time for travel, go slowly and turn carefully  
  • Avoid sudden braking or accelerating to maintain traction  
  • Ensure you have packed emergency supplies in your vehicle such as blankets, jumper cables, emergency lights, and a cell phone charger in case of a crash or emergency.  

Residents who need to report traffic light outages, road damage or any other weather-related concerns, may do so by contacting Austin 3-1-1 via phone (dial 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000) or the Austin 311 mobile app. Austin Transportation will be providing updates in case of an emergency on the department’s Facebook and Twitter channels. 

at

City Provides Update on Preparations for Next Disaster

 

Memo outlines actions taken by departments since Winter Storm Uri

The City of Austin is providing an update on actions taken to prepare the City for another disaster like last February’s Winter Storm. 
 
The update, in a memo to Mayor and Council, was published this morning ahead of a staff briefing to the Audit and Finance Committee. 
 
The update follows the publication last November of a series of After-Action Reports setting out the findings and recommendations of cross-departmental reviews.
 
A total of 132 recommendations were made and the City has now identified about a quarter of them (32) as priority recommendations because they provide a high benefit to the City at a lower cost or have little or no additional cost. Of the 32, five have already been completed, 12 are in progress, and 15 are awaiting updates from other departments. 
 
Part of the process going forward will involve efforts to define which service areas are best led by the City and those where community partners are better positioned to meet community needs. 
 
“While addressing all the recommendations made since Winter Storm Uri is a tremendous undertaking, critical work is underway,” said Rey Arellano, Assistant City Manager for Safety. “With each day, the City of Austin is more prepared to respond in the face of disasters and is committed to supporting this community.” 
 
Some of the tasks completed by key departments in preparation for future disaster responses include: 

  • Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) has updated its emergency plans and conducted monthly emergency management meetings on responses to future emergency events such as ice storms. HSEM launched a new alert system for people who are hard of hearing, deaf or blind and updated their cold weather sheltering plan for people experiencing homelessness. HSEM also has a plan to place supplies at City of Austin facilities that can be utilized as shelters if needed during winter weather. To ensure that HSEM’s plans and goals are in line with the City, County and other government agencies, including the private sector, a tabletop exercise was conducted with more than 150 attendees from across the region.  More exercises and drills are scheduled for 2022. 
     
  • Austin Energy (AE) is working to increase the overall capacity of its energy portfolio in order to increase the probability that circuits can be rotated during a high magnitude event. Initial capacity increases are being achieved by focusing on actions that will provide the greatest increases and can be achieved in the shortest timeframe if ERCOT puts restrictions in place again. 
     
  • Austin Water (AW) has made considerable progress toward implementation of recommended actions from its internal After Action review and the citywide review sponsored by HSEM, and based on priorities approved by members of the Water and Wastewater Commission. Many completed actions increase overall utility resiliency and the ability to respond to complex, cascading events. Specific projects related to infrastructure will be incorporated into Austin Water’s ongoing Capital Planning process for development and implementation, while others will be incorporated into ongoing operations and maintenance activities.
     
  • Community and Technology Management (CTM) has improved network infrastructure. CTM purchased a mobile generator that can be deployed to serve as a critical network hub. Three additional generators are being acquired and will be placed at critical sites for added fuel support in an extended power outage.  
     
  • The Combined Transportation, Emergency, & Communications Center (CTECC) is now storing four days of meals and drinking water on site. In coordination with Fleet Services, CTECC is identified as a priority location for fuel resupply to backup generators.  
     
  • Public Works Department (PWD) added snow removal from critical streets to their workflow and added streets and bridges for clearing or sanding that access Austin Water treatment plants, APD/Fire/EMS stations, hospitals, and more.
     
  • Fleet Services updated critical functions and policies, creating a City-wide revised snow chain process and procedure for inventorying, order management, training, and installation. 
     
  • Austin Transportation Department (ATD) worked with Fleet Services to purchase additional road traction devices and ordered supplies to support staff in the event that staff must stay at ATD facilities around the
    clock during a disaster.
     
  • Building Services Department (BSD), in support of other COA departments and to equip staff with the ability to keep City facilities operational, equipped all BSD on-call vehicles with tire chains.   
     
  • Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) stationed containers with emergency management supplies in strategic locations for immediate shelter activation.   
     
  • Homeless Strategy Division of Austin Public Health allocated funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund a temporary Emergency Plans Officer focused on implementation of recommendations related to mass sheltering and other services. 

The Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) Department will be tracking all information, providing regular updates, and establishing a public facing portal in the interest of transparency. 

The City of Austin continues to prepare each day and is urging the public to also take steps to be better prepared.  Visit ReadyCentralTexas.org to find out how.

at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)