Location: Memorial United Methodist Church

Welcome: Two new people introduced themselves.

Minutes: There was no motion and no vote to approve last meeting’s minutes.

Treasurer’s Report

Sara Jane Lee supplied the treasurer's report on the back of the meeting agenda and explained that the association is in the red for the month because payments for two months of newsletter printing were made in October.

Election of Officers

Meg Brooks presented the slate for the 2009 officers. Rick Krivoniak moved approval, and the membership did so by voice vote. Present officers retain their positions, except for secretary, which will be filled by Charlene Ansley.

Yard of the Month

The winners Kerri and Ed Hughey were not present to receive the award. Jeanette Swenson explained that the December winner has been selected and called for nominations for future awards. In response to questions from members, she discussed how the committee chooses yards. She also said that this month’s award was the 64th without a repeat and that the committee was now accepting nominations of yards that have already won. Discussion that followed included the types of yards that should be considered and ideas for new awards. Jeanette invited anyone who wished to come to the next committee meeting.

Police Report

Officer Lopez and Sergeant Jones of the Austin Police Department took questions. The sergeant declined to discuss the recent shooting. He responded to questions concerning whom to contact about drinking in the park and about vendors setting up in the Windsor Village shopping center and concerning the Home Depot day laborers. He said that contractors are not allowed to pick up laborers at the Mueller Home Depot.

Parks Report

Rodney Ahart read Cherie Simpson's post to the list serve about park issues (digest #2021).

Sweeney Circle Project

Frank Fernandez of Community Partnership for the Homeless spoke on the organization's Sweeney Circle project. He said the project consists of 24 units in six fourplexes that the organization is purchasing and will manage and rent out. He talked about the people at whom the project is targeted and the requirements prospective tenants will have to meet. He said the organization plans to close on the properties and start rehabilitating them about the end of the year and that it is considering other acquisitions in the area. He passed out a flyer and took questions.

Mueller Discussion

Dee Desjardin of Catellus displayed a map of Mueller and went over developments there. She said Catellus was aware of the day labor issue. She said that development of the retail site adjacent to Home Deport continues and that the Shoe Pavilion space has a new tenant. UT's 14-acre research development will be completed by year's end. The Ronald McDonald house has won a green building award. The hospital is accelerating its expansion plans because of demand, and Seton Hospital's administrative functions will be centralized at Mueller. The first apartment building complex is going up, the first phase of single family residences is nearing completion, and more than 250 families are moved in. Berkman won't be completed through to 51st until 2010. There will be approximately 3,000 people working in Mueller next year and ultimately about 10,000. Seventy-five of 140 acres of parks are finished. There was discussion about a bus stop for the south side of 51st and about the unsatisfactory bicycling situation at Mueller. There was no new information about the possible grocery store and the town center/market district.
Jim Walker took up the discussion of schools. It was pointed out that there is a 10-acre site for a school at Mueller but that it is the decision of AISD to build one there. Jim said the neighborhood should be considering how to make use of Mueller for the benefit of the surrounding schools. He also urged patience on the day labor issue and said that moving to the enforcement phase of the plan to deal with that issue was not the preferable outcome. He warned that the development of the town center or market district could be affected by the current economic situation. He also mentioned the possibility of tax credits for families and the elderly residing at Mueller. There was also discussion of the May 9 commuter rail election; Jim said one difficulty is getting rail up Manor Road and another how rail interacts with with 51st. He said that traffic should be monitored around Mueller to obtain data on how the development is impacting traffic in surrounding neighborhoods. There was mention of the traffic generated by Mueller parents bringing their children to schools in the surrounding areas.

The "jug handle" was also a topic of discussion, and Rick Krivoniak started by mentioning the online survey set up for this issue by a Windsor Park resident. Gordon Derr from the city and Terry McCoy from the Texas Department of Transportation were present. Gordon, Rick, and Jim went over the past history of the jug handle and discussed various solutions, past and proposed. Terry believes a fix for the situation will be complex. He said the department is short on resources and a solution in the short term is not likely. He said the department is planning a study of I35 from Buda to Georgetown. He is willing to meet to discuss possible solutions.

ANC Representative

Ruth Marie noted the low turnout for police commander's forums and encouraged all to attend. She also announced the ANC's "Place to Do Homework" project scheduled for Saturdays.

Other Business

Constable Danny Thomas introduced himself and said a few words.

Sara Jane Lee asked for volunteers to deliver newsletters on Duquesne.

The meeting adjourned at 12:20 p.m.