The Daily Hustle: 3/30/10

The Hustle's hitting you with a guano-laced potpourri of city business today …

Looks like our Screens editor broke the news already, but at a press conference in mere minutes, Mayor Lee Leffingwell is about to name the bat propose the bat be named the official animal of Austin. It's part of a a proposed “Night of the Bat” party in April, slated to happen – where else? – on the Congress Avenue bridge. Adam West will be on hand for the festivities, including a screening of the 1966 original Batman at the Paramount Theater. Hmmm … Now whose fingerprints do you think are all over this?

…Local activist Debbie Russell chimes in on yesterday's post in an email to Council she cc'd the Hustle on:

Re: "Council member, that's not correct. Individual council members make nominations, the entire council makes the appointment."

Mayor, respectfully...that is SO not true--in practice. Cmbrs--raise your hand if you regularly know the names of the appointees of other councilmembers before the day of the meeting in which you vote on them. Any prior discussion related to individuals or how they add/detract from the group's diversity.

Anyone? Bueller?

Thanks for giving equal representation a whirl, Cmbrs. Cole, Morrison and Spelman.

Randi Shade responded as following:

Debbie:

Cute Ferris Bueller reference (I am raising my hand), but I am having trouble following your line of reasoning below. We often do know more than just our own office's nominee on any given board or commission, but in cases when we we don't --- well, that is precisely the problem. The current practice you reference should not be the norm. It doesn't come close to guaranteeing equal representation, and it is problematic when members of boards and commissions don't always remember that they are serving at the pleasure of the entire council rather than just on behalf of the council member who nominated them. Just as Council Members are elected to serve the entire community and not just serve those who may have voted for them, people serving on boards and commissions are supposed to do the same.

Having a subcommittee in place to nominate a representative group of citizens to serve the entire council (and in turn, the community) seems more likely to result in the equal representation you are suggesting. It isn't always practical for us to nominate board/commission members that way especially due to staggered terms and open meetings act requirements that prevent us from doing consensus appointments as was done in the past. In the instances when we can do it, though, I think we should (i.e., as was done for comp plan task force). The council-appointed transportation bond committee needs to be appointed quickly and with as high a level of diversity and expertise as we can possibly achieve.

On a personal note, I take issue with your insinuation that CMs Cole, Spelman and Morrison value equal representation while the rest of us don't. I look at the current make-up of a board/commission before nominating a person to fill a vacancy specifically to help improve a board/commission's diversity Furthermore, I also look across all nominations I make to ensure I'm not choosing too many nominees from any one constituency group, and on more than a few occasions I have sought input from colleagues prior to making a nomination.

This is far from a perfect system and there is a lot for each of us to juggle, plus there is the challenge of dealing with the volume of board/commission positions (sometimes big numbers of openings and other times hardly any). However, in my experience, each of my colleagues on the council seems dedicated to doing his/her best when it comes to making appointments. I'm really sorry you don't see that, too.

-Randi

P.S. :-) Cameron in Ferris Bueller's Day-off: "I am not going to sit on my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life. I'm going to take a stand. I'm going to defend it. Right or wrong, I'm going to defend it."

…Clean energy curmudgeon and Citizen Communication regular Paul Robbins writes to say the seventh volume of his esteemed Austin Environmental Directory, the first since 2006, will be available before Earth Day (April 22). Robbins says it will include three articles:

"Synfuels and Redemption" – Ten percent of U.S. transportation fuel is now coming from synthetic substitutes for oil.  If the industries involved have their way, this could triple in the near future.  The state of Texas will become a serious player in synfuels development through oil refineries that will process it, pipelines that will bring it here from Canada, and large ethanol production capacity.  Never tell a Texas it's not their oil.

Alternative Motorized Transportation – Electric vehicle technology is the most likely alternative to continued oil dependence, and this article lists the likely alternatives down to the company and often phone number.  I interviewed over 100 companies to write this article.

"The Zero Energy Suburb" – While this sounds like an oxymoron, the technology exists to turn the environmentally damaging suburban land use model into something far less harmful.  In the near future, the costs will probably be favorable as well, though it is not nearly as expensive as most people think.  This seemingly short article required so much research that it collectively took months to write.

What the hell else is happening?

– The Statesman is buying In Fact Daily. But you knew that already.

– B&C Bingo: The Water Treatment Plant #4 Subcommittee of the Environmental Board meets on the 11th floor of One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs, 1pm, for a staff briefing on enviro issues related to transmission lines. The Planning Commission hosts their “Fifth Tuesday Discussion,” “an educational session for the purpose of giving commissioners a common understanding on subjects they have asked about” at One Texas Center, Room 325, 6:30pm. On the agenda: “Update, discussion and Action on lessons learned from various density bonus incentives, various mitigation funds, parkland dedication fees, and other similar regulations.”

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