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Barton Hills-Horseshoe Bend Neighborhood Association
Newsletter April, 2000 |
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Neighborhood
Association Meeting Agenda |
Neighborhood Association Meeting
Tuesday, April 25th, 2000 Social Hour and BBQ Dinner 6-7 p.m. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 2128 Barton Hills Drive Agenda 6-7 p.m.: Social Hour Business Meeting 1) Call to order and approval of the minutes of the January 25 meeting. 2) Presentation: 3) Committee Reports
4) Membership and Treasurer’s Report ( John Bell) 5) President’s Report (Joe Gieselman) 6) Other Business 7) Adjourn |
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Barton Creek
Greenbelt Cleanup |
The first annual BHNA Barton Creek Cleanup on January 29th was a great success. About 100 people showed up in 28-degree weather to fill and haul dozens of large garbage bags. The City of Austin Parks Department was very supportive in supplying staff, trucks, bags, gloves, and hauling off Volkswagen remains and trashed computers that had been dumped in the belt. Their expert advice for handling potentially dangerous trash was appreciated. The Camp Fire Girls really came through with a crew of young environmentalists to assist the effort. News media recorded parts of the event on FOX 7, K-EYE, and Channel 8.
The cleanup covered the area from the far south end of the Zilker Pool to Scarlet View in the vicinity of St. Mark’s Church. Three large cleanup groups were linked with walkie-talkies donated by Motorola. Participants were inspired with gorgeous views of rugged wilderness along the creek bed. The absence of tree foliage helped greatly in identifying trash. The project exposed some special problems in areas remote from public access. Extensive trash buildups behind certain apartment complexes along Barton Hills Drive present a target for future action. Although the trash may originate on private property, it has migrated to the Greenbelt. A surprise find during the cleanup was a large, well-cultivated vegetable garden. The garden appeared to be set in the Greenbelt, but may be within private property. BHNA appreciates the work of the project committee, chaired by Mark Gentle, in organizing the cleanup. The nine-member group began meeting two months before the event, which required detailed preparation. Other area associations and neighborhood groups promoted the effort among their members. A major objective of the project group was to establish the cleanup event as an annual activity. BHNA residents have a large stake in assisting efforts to maintain the beauty of the Barton Creek Greenbelt as one of the City’s major environmental assets. |
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| CANDIDATE FORUM State Representative, Dist. 48 |
BHNA sponsored a two-hour evening forum on February 29th for neighborhood residents to meet the candidates in the election for state representative, District 48. In the Democratic primary election, the race attracted two candidates, Ann Kitchen and Mandy Dealey. The Republican contest had five candidates for the position.
Both Democrats attended the forum along with Republicans Scott Loras, Jill Warren and Maria Gavilon-Burbridge. The incumbent, Sherry Greenberg, is retiring at the end of the current term. BHNA President Joe Geiselman opened the forum by announcing the rules for participating. Fran Colby and Robin McKeever moderated the panel, asking questions that had been distributed ahead to the candidates along with questions that were not released earlier. The candidates had a specified time to respond and John Bell assisted as timekeeper. A significant portion of the evening was allocated for questions from the audience. Strong audience participation, including standing room only, indicated neighborhood interest in the event. Candidate responses reflected their diverse experiences and positions on a broad range of issues. Questions for the forum were developed with support from several BHNA members, including Pat Whiteside and Nan Clayton. Ms. Clayton also provided valuable help in organizing the event, held two weeks before the primary election. Ann Kitchen, a BHNA member, won the Democratic primary contest. The Republican primary election required a runoff election between Scott Loras and Jill Warren, held on April 11th. Ms. Warren won the runoff contest and will face Ms. Kitchen in the General Election in November. |
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| Independence Day Parade |
Well neighbors, it’s that time again. Planning has begun for our seventh annual Fourth of July Parade! The festivities will be on Tuesday, July 4, 2000. We will again assemble at the Barton Hills Market and march over to Barton Hills Elementary School.
There we will have judging for the decoration contest (bikes, strollers, wagons, people, etc.), as well as games, a piñata, refreshments, and more!! Volunteers are needed! We need help with transportation, food, judging, publicity, games, set-up, and clean up. We would also love to have a band, so all you musicians out there – sign up to be in the Barton Hills Band! There will be a sign up sheet for volunteers and the band at the BHNA meeting April 25th, or call the committee chairperson, Roberta Preston, at 445-4737 after May 15th (she’s out of the country until then). Show your patriotic spirit! Let’s make this event even better than our fantastic celebration last year! |
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| Heads-Up On The Terrace |
BHNA members ranked the Terrace development at MoPac and Hwy. 360 as the number two priority on their list of association priorities in January for good reason. This project may be set to over-commercialize an environmentally sensitive area in the Barton Springs watershed. As recently as January 2000, the City approved plans that would raise the total construction surface to a total of 3.2 million square feet.
The City of Austin’s manager of development assistance, Katheryn Loaysa, will be featured speaker of the April 25th BHNA meeting. Also the BHNA Environment Committee is reviewing facts for recommendations to the association. In 1987, the property was up-zoned from single family housing to mixed development use. The change significantly increased the allowable construction. The Terrace covenant specifies 1.4 million square feet as the maximum total construction surface. Over the years, six City-approved revisions now allow a maximum total of 3.2 million square feet to be developed. The total approved space includes seven office buildings, a 200-room hotel, a restaurant, retail space, apartments and parking garages. Full development would more than double the maximum area specified in the original covenant for surface coverage. Two office buildings with two parking garages on top and 308 apartments are already built, covering about 0.9 million square feet. With the approved plans, however, development of the remaining units can apparently proceed at any time. BHNA residents are concerned about the status of this project and potentially devastating impacts to Barton Creek. Opportunities for BHNA input may be severely limited after the City has granted final approval of development plans. Key questions for understanding the potential impacts, relate to details of the approved total construction surface, including spacing of the units and their proximity and drainage to the creek and Edwards Aquifer. Traffic density that would result from full development is also a key issue along with the construction timeline. While BHNA is doing some digging on these issues, members may wish to express their concerns directly to the Mayor and City Council members about changes in the Terrace development. KIRK WATSON All correspondence can be sent to: |
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| Two New Stop Signs |
Joan Hudson of the City of Austin Public Works Department said that the City is planning to install all-way stops on Robert E. Lee at Barton Hills Drive and Robert E. Lee at Rabb Road. The City conducted a warrant study for the stop signs at the request of the Zilker Neighborhood Association.
This topic will be discussed at the Barton Hills Neighborhood Association meeting at which time BHNA President Joe Gieselman will poll the membership about the Association's position and response to the City. |
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| City Council Candidate Forum |
The Zilker Neighborhood Association will sponsor a forum for Austin City Council candidates on Monday, April 24th, at Kinney Avenue Baptist Church, 1801 Kinney Avenue. The event will begin promptly at 6:30 with the following agenda:
6:30: Mayoral Candidates Candidates will make one-minute opening statements and provide short- answer responses to prepared questions. BHNA members have assisted ZNA in preparing for this event. |
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| Who You Gonna Call? |
Many of the neighborhood concerns can be addressed with a telephone call to the appropriate City department. But who you gonna call? The City has published a Neighborhood Resource Guide to answer frequently asked questions. Here are a few useful numbers:
To find out more about City services and activities you can also access the City Web Page at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us |
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| If you are not a neighborhood association member, sign up today! The cost is a mere $5.00 per year, and the benefits are well worth it.
Return the membership form below with $5.00 check, payable to Barton Hills Neighborhood Association, to: John Bell, Treasurer 2000 Barton Hills - Horseshoe Bend Neighborhood Association Membership Form Name(s) (include full names of all 18+ household members) (1) ______________ (2) _________________ (3) _______________ Address: _____________________ Phone: (H) ________ (W) _________ E-mail: ____________________ I/we wish to receive the newsletter: ___ in paper form ___ by e-mail ___ both |
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