City Council

Thursday, August 28, 2025, 10 a.m. (Austin time), Austin City Hall, 301 W 2nd St, Austin, TX 78701

Video of the meeting

On the agenda

Roll-call votes

Documents

Summary

The Austin City Council met on August 28, 2025, with Council Member Qadri absent. The meeting covered a large consent agenda including water utility certificates of obligation, airport airline use and lease agreements, homelessness contracts, and small business permit fees; items 33, 34, and 67 were withdrawn, and Council Member Duchen was shown voting no on item 29. The pulled item 102, which would have directed proportional funding for youth homelessness, failed on a 5-5 vote with two abstentions after extensive debate with the Homeless Strategy Officer and City Manager. The Austin Housing Finance Corporation board met briefly and adopted its consent agenda including the Sycamores at Pleasant Valley development. Public hearings on items 104, 105, and 107 (park land use) were opened and closed and the resolutions adopted, and the zoning consent agenda (items 109-114) was adopted with Council Member Duchen voting no on item 114. The meeting adjourned at 2:12 pm.

Transcript

0:07 You are watching a meeting of the Austin City Council with Mayor Kirk Watson, Mayor pro, tim Vanessa

0:16 Fuentes, council members Natasha Harper Madison, José velazquez, che Vela, Ryan Alter, crystal lane, Mike Siegel, Paige Ellis, zoe

0:40 cadry, mark uchin, city attorney deborah thomas, city clerk erica brady, and city manager tc broad.

0:53 Next

0:59 talk in the morning on Thursday, August 28th, 2025, and I will call to order the regular meeting of the

1:06 Austin City Council for this date.

1:07 We have a quorum of the City Council present, and, uh, we are going, we, the one absence

1:13 we have is zoe cadre, uh, Council Member zoe cadre, and for those that didn't hear the announcement

1:19 on Tuesday when I opened the work session, uh, zoe cadre is now daddy zoe cadre.

1:26 Um, and yeah, and so that is, uh, that is why he's not with us today.

1:33 It's, it's a fairly recent event, so we wish him great.

1:35 Congratulations and the whole family.

1:37 Good luck and happiness.

1:38 Lot of love. Uh, with that being said, uh, well, like I say, we have a, a quorum

1:43 present. We are meeting in the Austin City Council chambers, which are located in the Austin City Hall

1:48 at 3 0 1 west second street in Austin, texas.

1:52 Uh, what we'll do today is, uh, shortly after I, uh, give you the roundup for the day,

1:59 we will, uh, read, I'll read changes and corrections into the record.

2:03 We will then go to our consent agenda, and we will hear from our speakers on the consent

2:09 agenda. Members, uh, the only item that is pulled from the consent agenda that, uh, is, has not

2:15 been withdrawn as item 1 0 2.

2:17 Item 1 0 2 has been pulled previously.

2:20 Item 67 was pulled, but that item has been withdrawn, and I will read that into the record

2:26 momentarily. Uh, we will then hear brief remarks and, uh, discussion or comments from counsel, uh, before we

2:33 vote on the consent agenda, at or near, uh, as close to 10 30 as we can get.

2:38 What we will also do is we will recess the Austin City Council meeting, and we will call

2:43 to order the Austin housing finance corporation board of directors meeting.

2:47 Uh, we will conduct that meeting, and then we will, when we adjourn that we will come back

2:52 to the Austin City Council meeting.

2:54 We will have our public hearings members.

2:55 Those are one oh items, 1 0 4, 1 0 5, 1 oh, and 1 0 7.

3:01 Item 1 0 6, um, is, has been withdrawn.

3:06 We will have at noon our time certain public communications.

3:10 I anticipate that what we will do is we will finish the, the public communication at noon around

3:16 1230 to 12, around 1230, and we will recess the Austin City Council meeting.

3:23 Uh, we will recess until about one 10, but we will have our live music during that period

3:28 of time. And then at two o'clock, we have our zoning matters, and that is a time certain

3:34 of two o'clock, so we will do that as near two o'clock as we can members.

3:38 With that, let me ple, unless there are questions, let me please read into the record changes in

3:43 corrections to the Thursday, August 28th, 2025 agenda.

3:48 Uh, the only changes in corrections are items 33, 34 and 67 are withdrawn.

3:56 Items 33, 34 and 67 are withdrawn for members of the public that are here.

4:02 If you came because you wanted to talk about items 33, 34 or 67, those items have been withdrawn,

4:09 so they were not, will not be public comment because they're no longer on the agenda.

4:14 Um, so, uh, you, you need to know that.

4:18 All right. With that, uh, members, unless there's objection or questions, we will go to the consent agenda

4:25 and I will turn to the city clerk and ask that you please call, uh, the people that

4:29 wanna speak to us about that.

4:32 Start with item three, bill bunch on deck with, for item seven, we'll have stacey schmidt, katie childers,

4:41 doug driscoll, travis krogman, and brittany rodriguez.

4:55 If your name's been called, please make your way forward.

4:58 Uh, feel free to take a seat and we'll call you, uh, back again and ask you to

5:03 identify yourself and, uh, hear your testimony, mr.

5:06 Bunch. Good morning, Mayor council members, uh, bill bunch, executive director save our springs alliance longtime district five

5:14 resident. Um, I'm here to speak against this item, which calls for y'all to approve $260 million of certificates

5:25 of obligation for the Austin water utility for various water wastewater and reuse projects.

5:33 Um, there's not proper notice here, neither the notice nor the backup lists any of the projects that

5:40 you would be funding with this $260 million.

5:45 Uh, it's incredibly vague, just general categories that basically say water projects, sewer projects, reuse projects that's not

5:55 appropriate. You should have real information in your backup for yourselves and for the public.

6:01 Uh, and you should have notice that complies with the texas open meetings act, especially when you're issuing

6:07 over $200 million of debt.

6:10 Uh, probably baked in here is a big chunk of money for the walnut creek wastewater treatment plant

6:16 expansion project. Uh, as I've said many times before, this is a project that should be postponed for

6:23 as long as possible, uh, and instead invest in water conservation so that we're generating less sewage to

6:30 that plant, uh, or recycling it before it gets to that plant.

6:35 Uh, we are failing miserably on our reuse efforts.

6:39 Uh, do y'all have any idea how little amount of our wastewater we're reusing and recycling, um, is

6:47 shameful? That's where the investment needs to go.

6:50 Uh, y'all need to wake up.

6:52 Times are changing. Uh, yeah, we had a big break in the drought, uh, but that's temporary.

6:58 Uh, if we hadn't have had that break, uh, we would be in dire consequences.

7:03 Yet you're spending hundreds, literally billions of dollars as if our water future will match our water pass.

7:10 And we know the science tells us the experience of the last 20 years tells us it will

7:15 not be the same as our past.

7:17 Thank you.

7:22 Mr. Name's being called.

7:23 Please come forward. Just state your name for the record.

7:28 Okay. Good morning, Mayor.

7:30 Mayor proam, city manager council.

7:32 My name is stacy schmidt, and I am representing more than 400 businesses and organizations in the Austin

7:40 region who invest in the work that opportunity Austin does to drive our economic growth and our quality

7:46 of life. I'm here to support item seven that authorizes the airport to execute new use and lease

7:53 agreements. These agreements will facilitate the needed expansion of our airport's infrastructure infrastructure and elevate the city's profile

8:01 as a premier travel destination.

8:03 The airport has been a valuable partner in austin's growth and will continue to play a critical role

8:10 in de defining the accu coming, coming decades.

8:14 As the city reach expands to international domestic, and we continue to grow the long-term commitments from the

8:22 airlines signal that there is substantial investment value remaining in the Austin market.

8:27 I also wanna thank those airlines for investing in our market and believing in the growth and the

8:33 leadership in this community by approving the proposed agreements.

8:37 Today, you're demonstrating the same confidence in austin's continued growth and viability.

8:43 A frequent concern from many of us and from our visitors is the demand has outgrown capacity at

8:49 the airport. These agreements are a key component of addressing that trend.

8:54 They unlock funding for critical improvements and expansion and provide si significant service upgrades by improving reliability, reducing

9:02 delays, and shortening wait times at terminals and other congested areas.

9:07 From an economic development perspective, local companies rely on convenient, reliable air service to connect with clients, suppliers,

9:16 and partners and companies.

9:18 Considering relocating or expanding in Austin site, air connectivity is an essential component of a thriving business environment.

9:27 This expansion ensures the airport can continue to drive draw creation.

9:32 Thank you, speaker. Thank you.

9:34 Thank you. If your name's been called, please come toward the microphone.

9:41 Good morning, Mayor, Mayor, pro tem, and City Council members.

9:44 My name is katie childers.

9:46 I'm the director of state and local government affairs at delta airlines, and I'm here today to also

9:50 speak in support of item number seven, the proposed airline use and lease agreements.

9:55 These agreements take an important step in enabling Austin bergstrom international airport to meet central texas's growing aviation

10:02 demands through the airport expansion and development program.

10:06 The proposed lease structure emphasizes operational sustainability, capital investment in our passengers experience.

10:12 It creates a framework that supports austin's growth in the city's long-term planning goals.

10:17 At the same time, delta is proud to be expanding our operations at Austin.

10:22 Last Friday, we announced three new non-stop routes to denver, columbus, and kansas city, along with increased daily

10:29 flights to san francisco and indianapolis.

10:32 With these new routes, delta now serves nearly 30 destinations from Austin in October, we'll also open a

10:38 flight attendant base in Austin to support these operations and strengthen our local presence.

10:43 We appreciate the airport's work and the city's work on this item, and look forward to supporting the

10:48 continued development of Austin as the key gateway for central texas.

10:51 Thank you for your time.

10:52 Thank you. If your name's been called, please come forward and take a seat that way we'll know

10:57 you're here and want to talk to us.

11:01 Hey, good morning. Good morning, Mayor, uh, Mayor, pro tem, council members.

11:05 My name is doug driscoll.

11:06 I chair the aviation task force with opportunity Austin, also working with the chamber.

11:11 I just wanna reiterate, a a couple points have already been made and in speaking here today on

11:16 behalf of, uh, my role representing item seven, uh, we are at definitely four.

11:22 Uh, that authorization and step, not just for expanding the size of the airport, but also for giving

11:28 airlines the opportunity, uh, to make their commitments and investments.

11:32 And we are super appreciative of the airlines that service, um, our, our city and central texas, and

11:39 give us the opportunities and, and frankly, the access, uh, for both the business community and, and the

11:46 tourism community to places all across the us but also the world.

11:51 These airlines and the airport, uh, needs certainty, uh, and I think we can all realize that they're

11:57 making significant investments at the city of Austin, but also our airlines are committed and willing to make

12:02 significant investments in this city to expand service, but they need the opportunity to have that certainty through

12:08 the airline use agreements.

12:10 And so we're asking for your support in allowing those to move forward.

12:15 I do want to thank the City Council.

12:17 Um, Mayor, I know all of you have been extremely supportive of the airport and the airport expansion

12:23 and allowing the airport to do its job, to work with the airlines to create the opportunities for

12:29 these, uh, long term agreements, as well as to keep the construction, construction schedule on plan as critical

12:36 to all of us who make use of the airport itself.

12:39 So in closing, I just wanna thank you.

12:41 I wanna send, um, ask for your vote and, and send a clear message to the airlines that

12:46 we are invested in, committed, uh, to the long-term success, uh, for all of us.

12:51 Thank you. Thank you.

12:59 Good morning, Mayor Watson, council members, my name's travis krogman.

13:02 I'm here with the Austin chamber of commerce, uh, on behalf of our businesses all across central texas,

13:07 and I'm pleased to speak in support of the airline use and lease agreement before you today for

13:12 local businesses. Reliable air service is essential.

13:16 Companies depend on air on our, our airport to connect with clients, suppliers, and partners.

13:21 Air connectivity is also one of the first things that companies ask about when they're considering, considering moving

13:27 or expanding to central texas.

13:29 More flights and destinations will help our employers attract top talent, open new markets, and keep our economy

13:36 competitive comparatively. Our airport is just as important for our visitor and tourism economy.

13:42 Millions of people travel through a us every single year supporting our hotels, our restaurants, and our small

13:48 businesses. With a's expansion, Austin will be better positioned to host major events, conferences, and festivals, all of