The Allandale Reporter

NEW FARMERS’ MARKET OPENS IN NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN ON WEDNESDAYS!

Please join us at our Grand Opening of the Austin Farmers’ Market at The Triangle! There will be lots of activities to partake in on our opening day, May 2nd, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

SEE ATTACHED PDF that describes our opening. You might want to use it to post to neighbors and friends. The market will be located “inside” The Triangle complex, at beautiful Triangle Park. The park is located at the corner of 46th Street and Triangle Avenue , which is an intersection inside of the Triangle.

Meeting Minutes 4/25/07 Special General Meeting

submitted by Katie Hansen

Board members in attendance:

Michael Bomba, Joe Reynolds, Allan McMurtry, Cathy Yang, Tom Linehan, Paulette Kern, Dan Jones, Katie Hansen.

Prior to the meeting call to order, Steve Zettner reiterated that there is no currently proposed VMU development occurring on Burnet   Road. The storage center was used as a hypothetical case study for the planning team. There are no current plans to re-develop this site.

ANA Executive Committee Meeting 4/25/07

Executive Committee was convened following the Allandale Special General meeting.

ANA Executive Committee meeting called to order.

Allan McMurtry made a motion to approve the recommendation of Laura Slaughter to fill a vacancy on the Executive Committee. Seconded by Cathy Yang. Unanimous approval of Laura Slaughter for EC committee.

Fundraising committee needs seed money for the Allandale 'Tyke and Bike Ride' for fundraising to get it started. Funds would come out of the fundraising account to purchase t-shirts, flyers, police support and permits. $1,061.45

Dan Jones makes a motion to table approval of funds. Not seconded.

Allan McMurtry makes a motion to allocate the funds. Tom Linehan seconds it.

Vote: passes.

Meeting adjourned.

Contribute to the Allandale Legal Fund

We are working on your behalf and need your help. As you know Wal-Mart and Lincoln Property are planning to build one of the largest Supercenters in Central Texas in our neighborhood - a monster convenience store drawing traffic from all around central Austin. It's a pretty building but a Supercenter nonetheless that will create traffic problems, negatively impact surrounding businesses, and ultimately change the character of Allandale.

No matter the design, this type of development belongs along a highway with easy in and out access. Wal-Mart is experimenting with their new urban design concept but we don't want to be their guinea pig. Help us in our efforts to keep this Supercenter out or have it significantly downsized by contributing to the Allandale Legal Fund. Monies raised will be devoted exclusively to preventing a 219,000 plus sq ft supercenter from being constructed in our neighborhood.

Click here to make your donation online or mail it to:

Allandale Fundraiser Legal Fund,
P.O. Box 10886
Austin, Texas 78766-1886

Allandale Fundraising Committee

April 2007 Allandale Neighbor

Well I'm a little late in getting the April edition of the Allandale Neighbor on to the web site but here it is.  If you have not gotten around to reading it yet, I recommend you do so. In this edition, we've included:

- a write up and photos on the Celebrate Allandale picnic,
- an update on the Northcross redevelopment project (you've heard of that haven't you),
- the minutes from the March general meeting,
- a piece on the Davis Cemetery on Vine St. by Jack Kern and Doug Davis,
- a story by Cathy Yang on the the people behind putting the newsletter together,
- and much more.

(continue reading "April's newsletter")

Burnet Self-Storage Here to Stay – Retraction and Apology

The March edition of the Allandale Neighborhood Association newsletter included an article on Vertical Mixed Use that stated “The 18-acre Burnet Rd. Storage facility at 6400 Burnet Rd. is zoned commercial and will eventually be redeveloped.” The Burnet Self-Storage business has NO plans to redevelop the property in the foreseeable future.

ANA Special Meeting, Wednesday, 4/25, 7:00 p.m.

This is a reminder that a special meeting of the general membership of the Allandale Neighborhood Association will be held this Wednesday, April 25 at the Ralph Yarborough Library on Hancock at 7:00 p.m.

The purpose of the meeting is to vote on a motion made at the March General Meeting by Jan Triplett for ANA to join with RG4N in a city-wide boycott of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club until the supercenter is removed from the Northcross site plan.

The meeting is open to anyone, however to vote you must be an ANA member. You can join at the meeting and be qualified to vote. To expedite the process I recommend you come to the meeting with membership form completed and check made out to Allandale Neighborhood Association. You will find the membership form on the back of the newsletter or you can print it out here.

Tom Linehan
Presiding Officer
Allandale Neighborhood Association

North Village Branch Library Groundbreaking Ceremony

The North Village Branch Library Groundbreaking Ceremony took place on Saturday, April 21 at 10 a.m. at 2505 Steck Avenue, the site of the new library.

 

Music was by Elizabeth McQueen and the Firebrands. Maui Wowi provided complimentary coffee and delightful fruit smoothies, and Curra's Grill gave out breakfast tacos. Doodlebug was there painting children's faces.  Brenda Branch, Director of Libraries opened the ceremony, with special comments by Malcolm St. Romain,Jr, President of North Shoal Creek NA and Marilyn Rodgers, President of Wooten NA.  The City of Austin was represented by Council Members Jennifer Kim, Lee Leffingwell, and Brewster McCracken. (photo provided by Tom Kanarski)

Neighbors of Allandale and especially John Keohane

Here's a note from Anne Jarriel, Gullett PTA President, posted to the ANA Yahoo group today. Thought I would pass it along:

Thank you - Gullett is a fabulous school - probably the best kept secret in Austin. Things that make us unique are beautiful grounds including a Native Texas Outdoor Classroom, Spanish for all 6 grades (not an afterschool program), animals in the hallways and classrooms that the children help care for, only 4 classes per grade (making it small and we are at our capacity), a terrific staff and hardworking parents!

It's Time for a New Traffic Impact Analysis

submitted by Tom Linehan

It’s a fact. Wal-Mart significantly undercounted the traffic impact of the Supercenter at Ben White. The City also acknowledges the formula used to estimate traffic counts for the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) for the Northcross redevelopment do not apply to Supercenters. 

In response to Brewster McCracken’s request for traffic data from City staff, the numbers provided in the initial TIA Lincoln Properties provided with the site plan at the Ben White store undercounted actual traffic by over 6,500 vehicle trips per day on a Tuesday in January and by 9,766 on a Saturday. In an email to Wells Dunbar, an Austin Chronicle reporter, dated April 10^th, Brewster McCracken wrote the following:

Wal-Mart Brochure

submitted by Tom Linehan

Today's business section of the Austin American-Statesman has an article on the recent flyer Wal-Mart sent to residents in the area regarding the planned Supercenter, "Walmart brochures flood Northcross area," by Shonda Novak. The brochure talks about the uniqueness of the supercenter and the changes it is making in response to neighborhood feedback. However, Jason Meeker with RG4N who is quoted in the article says the building is "pretty" but it fails to show the overwhelming traffic that comes with it. If you're like me and didn't receive the brochure, you can see it here.

The Second Annual Neighborhood Planning Conference

The Second Annual Neighborhood Planning Conference: May 5, 2007, Austin Community College, Eastview Campus: THE NEXT TEN YEARS: Building Community Capacity.

Working together is the only way to a sustainable future… The 2007 Conference will include over 40 citizen-led workshops in 8 Tracks on topics solicited from community organizations and leaders that would be useful in enhancing Community Capacity Building.

Click on http://www.neighboraustin.com to register (or for more information)! Click here for the agenda (pdf).

Allandale and VMU in the news

News 8 Austin did a piece on VMU in today's newscast. I received this note from Kerry Kimbrough, co-chair of the Allandale Neighborhood Association Planning Committee regarding the spot. He and Steven Zettner have put together an excellent presentation on VMU and organized a series of coffees to help residents learn more about VMU:

I was interviewed 2 weeks ago for this story. It finally hit the streets today.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=182541

Hey, I did not tell them I was President of ANA! At least this little bit misinfo didn't appear in the video clip.

Regards,
Kerry

MoNAC Meeting, Tuesday, April 17, 2007, 6:30 pm

at Westminster Manor - Harris Bell Hall (Park in north parking lot and enter through the Health Care
Center, ask directions to Harris Bell Hall), 4100   Jackson Avenue.

Agenda:
I. Call to Order 6:30 pm
II. Approval of the January 16, 2007 minutes
III. Announcements
IV. Introduction of Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt, Precinct 2
V. View DVD of the late Gov. Ann Richards' testimony at the 2001 CAMPO meeting
VI. Brief update on the Austin-San Antonio Intermunicipal Commuter Rail District Project by ASA Board of Directors Chair, Sid Covington.
VII. Update of the Loop 1/MoPac Corridor Project Plan given by the Loop 1 Study Project Team
VIII. Adjourn

Reminder: The next MoNAC Meeting is scheduled for

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

IT'S MY PARK DAY

Great Northern Blvd. Clean Up

Join Allandale for a clean up along Great Northern. This stretch of of the Hike-n-Bike trail is a popular stretch for training, fun runs and the Austin Marathon. Help your neighbors keep that area clean and safe.

Volunteers will remove trash and debris, trim plants along the trail, and clip hanging branches. We will make the hike and bike trail a safer and more pleasant experience for the neighborhood, and for the athletes that use Great Northern as part of their training loops. Everyone is welcome. Great for Running/cycling Groups! All ages welcome, this is long flat stretch of roadway..

April 14, 2007

From: 09:00 AM until 01:00 PM

Address
Great Northern Avenue from Foster to White Rock. New location: Meet at the Far West park. You can park under the pedestrian bridge, and we can fan out from there. Contact: linneakay@yahoo.com or go here to sign up.

Pros and Cons of VMU

We’ve now had 5 coffee meeting in neighborhood homes, where groups of neighbors learned about Vertical Mixed Use and the opt-in/out process. To see a copy of this presentation, click here. We also talked about what the effects of VMU development could be for Allandale. Lots of pros and cons were discussed – see below.

VMU Pros and Cons
Here is what your neighbors have been saying. (click here to continue)

The North Village Branch Replacement Project to Begin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2007
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442
Community Groundbreaking Scheduled for Saturday, April 21 at 10:00 a.m.

A New Vision for Libraries in Austin-“A Home Away from Home” and Eco-
Friendly

View the architect's presentation.

On Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. the Austin Public Library, 
City of Austin and members of this North Austin Community will come 
together for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site of the future 
home of the North Village Branch, located at 2505 Steck Avenue (near 
the corner of Steck Ave and Burnet Road). The Austin community is 
invited to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Music, breakfast foods 
and children’s entertainment will be part of this free celebration. 
For additional information call (512) 974-7400 or visit the 
www.cityofaustin.org/library.

MoPac Open House and Sound Walls

The MoPac1 Open Houses today at O. Henry Middle School and Thursday at McCallum High School, both from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm are continuations of public meetings being held concerning the MoPac proposed managed lanes and sound walls.  If you have questions or concerns, or are seeking current information, this is your opportunity to talk to the experts, ask them questions and offer suggestions about the proposed changes to MoPac.  As a member of one of the committees, we are looking for as much public input as possible. 

The proposed changes are going through the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process; changes to MoPac will be based on what is reasonable and feasible.  As you can see from the Statesman article some areas will be a tight squeeze - there isn't enough right-of-way for a berm or a green barrier.  The proposed walls will have two sides - the MoPac side and the neighborhood side.  Each neighborhood will decide on what pattern they want on the neighborhood side of the walls.

The MoNAC neighborhoods http://www.main.org/hpwbana/MoNAC.htm have been working towards sound walls for many years.  This is all in the beginning stages; please attend the Open Houses to learn, to question, and to offer suggestions. 

Kay Newell - Allandale, MoNAC, AAC

More Lanes on Mopac

Here's an article from Monday's Austin American-Statesman concerning plans to  widen MoPac from 6 to 8 lanes and add noise barriers. You can get the details about this week's open houses to provide the details on the project in the posting below.

MoPac 1 E-Update - No. 3

April 6, 2007
From the desk of John P. Kelly, P.E., MoPac 1 Project Manager, DMJM Harris

Managed Lanes and Noise Barriers for Loop1?
As I’ve mentioned in previous E-Updates, we will be holding the second set of MoPac 1 open houses next week. The first open house will be on Tuesday, April 10 at the O. Henry Middle School Cafeteria, 2610   W. 10th Street. The second one will be on Thursday, April 12 at the McCallum High School Cafeteria, 5600 Sunshine Drive. Both open houses will run from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

There's just something about Allandale

According to a neighborhood profile on Allandale in today's Austin American-Statesman, we're "a quite, modest, no-nonsense neighborhood " but a "highly organized" one that can rally the residents when needed. You can read the profile here. The short article about Allandale was in the StatesmanHomes section of the paper today. It includes a nice quote from Phyllis Brinkley.

Allandale Newsgroup Posting Guidelines

The Allandale newsgroup was set up in 2001 and now has close to 700 members. It's the best way to learn about neighborhood happenings and follow discussions on matters of interest to Allandale residents. What follows are the posting guidelines recently established for the newsgroup. These guidelines are in line with what you would expect for most neighborhood newsgroups. In fact, we started with Brentwood's guidelines in putting them together. If you're  member of Allandale's newsgroup, please read on. If you're not, go here to learn more about the newsgroup and to sign up.

The Guidelines

The Allandale Newsgroup is a service of the Allandale Neighborhood Association. Please abide by these guidelines established by the Allandale Neighborhood Association.

The Allandale Newsgroup is for messages of a general interest to Allandale which can include discussion and opinions of issues affecting the neighborhood.

The following types of messages are also acceptable:
1) Announcements of neighborhood events

Allandale March General Meeting - March 28, 2007 Minutes

submitted by Katie Hansen

Executive Committee members in attendance: Brent Sjolseth, Paulette Kern, Cathy Yang, Michael Bomba, Tom Linehan, Katie Hansen, Joe Reynolds, Dan Jones.

Meeting minutes were approved for February 28th, 2007.

Meeting minutes were approved for March 8, 2007.

Report on Fundraiser and Treasurer's report by Joe Reynolds: Current treasurer has still not received records from previous treasurer.

ANA's Response to Lincoln and Wal-Mart's Term Sheet

Here is a link to Allandale Neighborhood Association's response to the Term Sheet that was given to us by Assistan City Manager Laura Huffman. The Term Sheet was from Lincoln and Wal-Mart and addresses the list of concerns we submitted to them back in January regarding the Northcross redevelopment.