Hi. Thanks for joining us. I'm your host, Marissa Monroy. It has been a difficult
week of pain and protests for this city and for this country. We know many people
are hurting. Some of us are angry. Others are anxious and all of us are trying to
figure out how to cope with the impact of a pandemic and the community that is shaken up.
(Protest footage) "George Floyd is still alive. He is alive through me and through everybody else who is out here."
(Marissa Monroy speaking) We know we have to use this moment to stand together and speak out
against injustices. City Council has begun that process by opening up
conversations about the policies that exist within our organization.
(Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison speaking) "I just wanted to take the moment to make sure to say we cannot continue to stick our
fingers in our ears and just wait for the next eruption of anger. I'm joined
with my colleagues and we're asking for a couple of very specific things this
work week that we can build upon. We have got to. We are obligated.
We have got to start to root out the racism in our Police Department and to create a
truly just and truly equitable system that ensures that public safety is
accessible to all members of our community. The entire community. Not certain segments of our community."
(Marissa Monroy speaking) Hundreds of people spoke out about the
struggles and inequities they've experienced and are looking for City leaders to act.
(Mayor Adler speaking) "In response to what I had seen in the demonstrations last weekend,
right when the week started, I called this Special Called Meeting. It was
something that my colleagues and I indicated that they had an
interest in having so that as a community we could get together and talk
about what it is that happened in those demonstrations with an eye to making
sure that as we went forward, we would be doing things differently and doing
things better. We had this Special Called Meeting and I'm really grateful for the
pretty incredible emotional investment made by hundreds of residents
who joined the City Council on Thursday and spoke of the momentum for a real
change in our city right now is clear. I know that work has already begun
between and among City Council offices on real specific steps we can be
taking now and on the agenda that just came out. I think there are at least four
different resolutions from Council Members.
(Marissa Monroy speaking) Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk also shared that "The City of Austin will continue to support
and advance the City's work around undoing racism and unconscious bias training so
that the experiences of some will be understood by the many and we will build
a better understanding of how institutional racism impacts the quality
of life for communities of color." Of course, all of this is taking place
during a pandemic. Austin Health officials encourage everyone to continue
wearing face coverings and practice social distancing. If you participated in
the recent protests, you can get tested for the virus.
Details at AustinTexas.gov/COVID19. More on the pandemic now, a phased-in
approach is being used to re-open City services with modified operations. Health
officials are encouraging everyone to stay six feet apart from each other
while visiting City parks. Some City pools are now open with free two hour
reservations. Staff and lifeguards are taking extra precautions to keep
everyone safe and facilities clean. Splash pads remain closed for now.
To see what pools are open and reserve your time, visit: AustinTexas.gov/ParksOnline or call 512-974-9330.
When it comes to libraries, the actual buildings remain closed, but people are now able to use
book drops and curbside pickup services. Animal Services will continue to offer
on-site adoptions by appointment only, and Austin Code's Finance Cashier Office will
resume normal operations and be open for in-person services.
During the pandemic, City staff continue to provide critical and essential
community services, while evaluating necessary safety measures to ensure a
safe and healthy environment for our community and our workforce.
Turning now to COVID-19 updates out of Council, they include a number of
measures to expand services for residents who may be starting to venture
outside of the home, residents in need of child care, or residents in search of
food access. Council approved the creation of a pilot program to enable
restaurants, bars, and retail stores to expand into private parking lots, streets,
and sidewalks to help them operate safely while social distancing.
United Way is providing childcare assistance to residents impacted by the pandemic who
are ineligible for pandemic relief provided under the CARES Act.
The Austin Public Education Foundation is working with local vendors to provide meals for
caregivers of students at Austin area schools who are experiencing food
shortages due to the pandemic. And finally, Council adopted a spending
framework to effectively and responsibly direct the allocation of millions of
dollars of federal and local COVID-19 relief funding to support Austin
residents and the economy. If you want to catch up on any of this, just go to ATXN.TV
and click on "Archives" for a video recording of the most recent meeting.
That's it for this week's CityView. Thank you for watching Austin. Be sure to
catch up on all of the latest information on ATXN.TV, our social media
channels, and on our dedicated web page AustinTexas.gov/COVID19. Stay well, Austin.