Wilco judge responds to homeless hotel
The Williamson County Commissioners Court has officially called on the City of Austin to postpone purchasing the Candlewood Suites on Pecan Park Boulevard for 180 days and meet with them to discuss it. County Judge Bill Gravell says he, like many others, was taken very much by surprise at the location.
“I was not made aware of this until this past Friday by one of our good commissioners who communicated with me. And until I saw the newscast Sunday night, I had not even been aware of where the location was,” says Gravell.
Other county officials say they want to know what Austin is planning and say the city has not been transparent about its intentions.
Residents speak out against homeless hotel
A lot of Austin residents on the Williamson County side are still lining up against the purchase of the Candlewood Suites. The city is set to buy and turn it into a homeless shelter, resident Phillip Herring tells the Williamson County Commissioners Court he lives next door and his family has already had interactions with the homeless.
“My daughter, who is six years old, has been accosted at both P. Terrys and both of my children have been (my eight year old and my six year old) yelled at, asked for things. Basically, just kind of pushed away from the parks that they’ve grown up with,” he says.
He adds there is a full score of daycares and a dozen public schools within just five miles of the proposed site.
A virtual town hall discussion is planned for 6:30 this evening on tomorrow’s expected purchase of the Candlewood Suites. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly will host it, along with members of the Austin Police Department, the Real Estate Department and various homeless service providers. Kelly is not in favor of the $9.5 million purchase, but most of the rest of the council is.
New forensics lab
This week, the Austin council will also vote on creating a new forensics lab that’s separate from the Austin Police Department. Council Member Alison Alter says discussions really began in 2016 when APD’s DNA backlog hit massive levels”
“Long predated any action that we took in August in terms of a desire of the council and we have lots of material that support the direction that will be taking on Thursday,” says Alter.
Private and state labs have been doing the work for the city in recent years. According to the agenda, almost $12 million that the council reallocated from the Austin Police Department last year will be put toward the new lab along with nearly 90 full time positions.
Abbott considers statewide camping ban
Homelessness remains on Governor Greg Abbott’s radar. He tells KVUE there are no easy solutions. As part of a statewide camping ban he’s considering, he says the homeless wouldn’t just be thrown back into the shadows.
“We want to help put them on a pathway to a better life, whether it be helping them get off of an addiction they may have, helping them get a home or a living space if that’s what they need,” says Abbott.
He says the plan would also include job training and access to food and or health care. But he says what cities like Austin have done have only made things worse, which is why he believes that statewide ban is necessary.
West campus safety
West campus safety remains a concern for people in that area, as another assault this week is being investigated by police. Emily Crone, with the student group Horns for Safety, tells CBS Austin living in their campus now is just not worth the risk.
“At times I have felt very uncomfortable walking home. I definitely think that lighting needs to be improved,” says Crone.
Two years ago, the city said 228 new lights were needed in West Campus, costing as much as $2.3 million. The city’s plan has been to install the lights over a five year span. But at this point, Austin Energy says it’s still working to contract an engineer.
COVID-19 update
Onto coronavirus now, where there have been some very clear drops and Travis County’s metrics this week. Intensive care bed capacity has grown in the past day as the number of people in the ICU has fallen 147. Total hospitalizations now at 504. It’s highly likely it will fall into the 400s by tomorrow. There are almost 60 fewer active cases today, and that number stands at 5,144.
Austin Public Health is still focused on vaccinating people aged 65 older, but certain people with underlying health conditions are also now qualified. Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden says about 189,000 people meet the criteria, but only 12,000 doses have been arriving each week.
“We’re gonna be probably 16 weeks out from now before we’re able to provide vaccines, and that’s if we just kind of stay at this 12,000 vaccines a week,” says Hayden.
The city and Travis County are working on a new call center to help people register.
There are more than 50 available hospital beds in Williamson County then there were just a day ago as overall hospital capacity there has climbed to 21%. ICU bed capacity has grown to now 14%. Since March, Williamson County has flagged 32,565 cases. Right now 1,636 are active and 30,600 are recoveries.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-2-3-21
