North Austin Civic Association 

Meeting Agenda for April 20, 2023 

Welcome & Introductions 7:00PM Review and Approval of March 2023 Meeting Minutes 7:05PM Treasurer Report 7:10PM Project Connect Briefing 

_{Vikram Sinha, Public Involvement Mgr, Orange Line} 7:15PM North Lamar Boulevard Corridor Improvement Project 7:45PM May 2023 Election – Propositions A & B 7:55PM Redfield 34 Update 8:05PM Announcements / Open Discussion 8:15PM Adjourn 8:45PM 

!!! Announcements !!! 

Keep Austin Beautiful / NACA Street Clean-Up – Update from Allison Scharf 

The North Austin Safety Summit is a half-day community event where residents, local businesses, & other stakeholders will share info, build relationships, & brainstorm how to best support the physical & mental well being of North Austin neighborhoods. May 17th or 24th, 9am – 3pm, St. Mark United Methodist Church on Braker Ln 

NACA Membership Drive – Walkabout to deliver flyers the last week in April thru May North Austin Community and APD Leadership Meeting – May 9th, 6:30pm, Zoom Mental Health First Aid – May 5th, 9am – 3:30pm – Register at bit.ly/mhfa-training Emergency Preparedness Event – April 19th, 1pm – 4pm, Little Walnut Creek Library 

Playdate in the Park – April 29th, 10am – 11:30am, Alderbrook Park  For more information & dates: www.austinparks.org/event-calendar/ 

Write an article for our newsletter!! Send to [email protected] Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NorthAustinCivicAssociation Subscribe to Austin Neighborhoods Council updates at www.ancweb.org

Redfield 34 

From Vela, Jose “Chito” <[email protected]> 

CC Gomez-Chou, Sobeyda<[email protected]>, 

Castro, Adriana<[email protected]>, Ko, Ramey<[email protected]> Date Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 7:53 PM 

Hello Everyone, 

My apologies for not personally replying to these emails earlier, but my staff and I have been following the situation at Redfield 34 very closely and regularly speak with both civilian city staff and APD about this apartment complex. I did want to respond personally to folks who have emailed me about the complex and give my thoughts. 

The city and our nonprofit partners have multiple locations with various types of housing for the homeless (e.g., permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, rapid rehousing). None of them have had the types of problems we have seen at Redfield 34. Not even close. The owner of the complex was well aware of the population they would be working with and the services that were to be provided. In every other similar project, the partners have each understood their responsibilities: the City provides funding, the nonprofits provide services to individual residents, and the project owner manages and runs the property; other project owners in Austin do not ask the City or nonprofits to pay for their security, to enforce their rules, to maintain their property, etc. Tenants would expect no less of owners of private apartments. All of this was made clear in the contract, so none of this was a surprise. There have been repeated promises of security, cameras, trash clean up, etc. from the owner and the property management companies, but little has been done to improve the situation. APD is doing their best monitoring the property, increasing patrols and making arrests when necessary. But without investments in security and better management of the property, there is only so much they can do. I was particularly dismayed when I saw data showing that police calls skyrocketed after the change of ownership. 

At this point, I have lost faith the owner will live up to his responsibilities, and I am encouraging the city to initiate foreclosure on the property. The city and the senior lender have already sent letters notifying the owner he is in default of his responsibilities under the terms of the loans he received. Despite receiving those letters, no

substantial improvements have been made. After a recent meeting with my staff, we learned that the senior lender is either in the process or has already sent a second notice of default, which is part of the legal process. My office will continue to closely monitor the situation. I regularly go by the property to personally check it out myself. 

The lesson I have learned is that we need experienced owners with a background in owning and managing projects that provide emergency or supportive housing. One of the critical differences between Redfield 34 and other projects is that they either involve private owners whose focus is these types of projects, or ones who understand that they need an experienced nonprofit partner. That was the expectation at Redfield 34, but it is now undeniable that this owner was the wrong choice. There are other lessons concerning secure design and the characteristics of properties that are considered. I have no doubt that staff is planning changes for future efforts that will ensure these factors are captured when scoring proposals. 

I will stay on top of this issue until we have peace and tranquility at Redfield 34. Thank you all for your patience and please don’t hesitate to contact my office for anything we can be of help with. 

Chito

RE: Redfield 34 

From Ko, Ramey <[email protected]> 

CC Gomez-Chou, Sobeyda<[email protected]>, 

Castro, Adriana<[email protected]> 

Date Tuesday, April 18th, 2023 at 9:55 PM 

Let me also follow up that we spoke with staff about the maintenance issues, and Code sent an inspector over. They verified that one water issue was repaired, but they sent a Notice to Repair for another one to the owner. 

The Law department has also updated us on developments on the legal front, but as you know, we cannot discuss those details at this stage. We look forward to being able to share news about the future of the property as soon as we can. 

Thank you, everyone! 

Ramey Ko 

Senior Policy Advisor 

Office of Council Member Jose “Chito” Vela 

District 4 | City of Austin 

Pronouns: he/him 

(M) 512.577.5729 

[email protected]

May 6, 2023 Election

Austin Proposition A is on the ballot as an initiative in Austin on May 6, 2023. 

A “yes” vote supports creating a civilian oversight system of the Austin Police Department, with provisions  that include: 

• Creating the Office of Police Oversight, which would advise the city on the process and investigations of  police officers, advise on policies regarding policing, receive complaints regarding police misconduct  (including anonymous complaints), participate in investigations of officer misconduct including those  stemming from anonymous complaints, make recommendations to the police chief regarding discipline,  work with the city to ensure compliance with a policy that encourages public release of police video  recordings, conduct random assessments of department use of force reviews, receive briefings related to  investigations, conduct community engagement activities 

• Establishing the Community Police Review Commission 

• Requiring the police chief to provide responses to all OPO reports and CPRC proposals and disciplinary  recommendations 

• Providing that the city of Austin will no longer maintain a confidential police department personnel file  related to conduct by police officers 

Austin Proposition B is on the ballot as an initiative in Austin on May 6, 2023. 

A “yes” vote supports creating a civilian oversight system of the Austin Police Department, with provisions  that include: 

• Creating the Office of Police Oversight, which would advise the city on the process and investigations of  police officers, advise on policies regarding policing, receive complaints regarding police misconduct,  make recommendations to the police chief regarding discipline, work with the city to ensure compliance  with a policy that encourages public release of police video recordings, conduct random assessments of  department use of force reviews, receive briefings related to investigations, conduct community  engagement activities 

• Establishing the Community Police Review Commission