Travis County Commissioners Court
March 22, 2005
Item 32
32 is to consider and take appropriate action on request to designate appropriate county staff to participate in envision central Texas process. I put this on the agenda because we kind of talked about this before and didn't act on it, and then I received notices of different meetings of different committees, and it does seem to me that in order for us to be a full, cooperative partner, we really ought to designate persons to serve on the different committees that are there.
>> is there members of the court?
>> what I had in mind was staff members. I think that periodically we ought to get a status report from the executive director so we'll know where the committees seem to be headed, etcetera. Now, when I looked at the seven committees, about five of them really cover various areas of responsibility in Travis County anyway. And I do not know -- does anybody know how often these committees meet?
>> I had a chance to meet with one of the members of the envision central Texas, jim walker. The committees meet either monthly or quarterly, that's approximately the frequency of the meetings.
>> here's my recommendation, joe. I’m glad you're sitting in front of the microphone.
>> you did say executive managers, didn't you?
>> I sure did. The first committee is transportation and land use and appraisal.
>> i'll take that one.
>> joe, it just so happens that I have your name down here. And it doesn't really have to be you, but it should be one of your top managers, I would recommend. And I would think that whoever we have representing the county, if it could be the same person as much as possible, that would help, do you see what I’m saying? So rather than the four meetings and a different person going each time, I’m not sure we get the impact that we really want that way. Second, economic development coordination. Pbo came to mind. Christian or leroy or whoever is designated from planning and budget. I’m sure they're listed. Housing and jobs balance. I thought of mr. Davis. A housing person. Harvey Davis. That gets pbo twice. And if they're not meeting weekly, I think that will be doable, especially if they're monthly and even if they double up every now and then. Open space funding plan, joe gieselman and some of our open space or parks people, right? Okay.
>> or preserves.
>> social equity, I see ms. Fleming volunteering. [ laughter ] those are the five that stood out to me as ones where we really should have a presence. That does not cover density and mixed uses or recognition of best practices. And I did read the little description that is provided from the work session backup and don't have a strong feeling one way or the other. If we have those five areas represented, I think we would have done a good job. Density and mixed use, any --
>> we don't have the ability to do anything on that right now. If the state legislation passes we won't.
>> okay. What about the recognition of fair practices? The final categories, recognizing best practices in central Texas projects and initiatives, maybe we can pass it on to others. So if we could have those five, those would be good. Any problem with those? Pbo is not here. They've got two. Their lack of attendance indicates agreement. [ laughter ]
>> how often did you want reports back?
>> I guess that would stand on whether there was something important to report. And on the executive director, I think it would help us quarterly to know what's going on. But if there's something meaningful, then more frequent than that would be appropriate I think. Based on the e-mails that I have been seeing, I think that the economic development is really the one that's kind of moving. Transportation is kind of quiet so far. Move approval of those recommendations. Discussion? All in favor? That passes by unanimous vote. Thank you, mr. Gieselman for stepping forth. And ms. Fleming.
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Last Modified:
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 10:22 AM