Wooten Neighborhood Association – September 2023 Minutes

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:10 pm. The meeting was held at the lunch room in the Redeemer School. The meeting was called to order by the president.

Introduction

The attendees went around introducing themselves, including how long they have lived in the neighborhood and where they live. There were 18 Wooten neighbors attending the meeting. 

Treasurer Report

The current balances are $1,429.59 for the general Wooten account. We just received a $20 credit so the balance will increase to $1,449.59. The Park Fund has a higher balance at $2,093.43 

Reading of the Minutes

The secretary went over the minutes from the July meeting that included discussions on the park and new developments. The minutes were posted on the website in August and can be accessed via this link.  

Austin Water Drought Notification

Wooten NA received notification that the city has entered stage 2 water restrictions. Homeowners can use their sprinkler system/water only once a week. If you are hand watering the yards and plants, then the weekly restriction does not apply. 

Google Fiber Update

One of the neighbors was able to stop a team that was doing work on their street to get more information about the status of Google Fiber. The team informed the neighbor that the previous contractor went out of business, so that is why Google Fiber was put on hold for a couple of years in the neighborhood. Now, the team is putting in the fiber to have it throughout the neighborhood. The team believes that Google Fiber will be operational throughout the entire neighborhood within six months. The team provided the project manager information so WNA can get more information. The President has reached out to the project manager to get more information. 

Travis County Constable Office Precinct 5

National Night Out

The National Neighborhood Night Out will occur on October 3 at Wooten Park. They will have firetrucks, EMT, food and other things. The event starts at 6 pm. This is free event

Travis County Constable’s Office Role and Programs

The Constable wanted to introduce himself and meet the neighbors. He clarified the role of his office. The Constable’s precinct is Central Austin. They are responsible for serving domestic orders, eviction, and custody items. They enforce Court Orders and also have jurisdictions for Travis county parks that are outside of the city. There office has a significant focus on outreach. The outreach program is run by Deputy Chris Well, who was also at the meeting. 

Deputy Well discussed the outreach program. He is going to all the associations and is trying to help unify the community. They are trying to get as many members to show for the school, including local business and large business. 

Other programs that they run include the Civil Watch, which is an elderly program where they go and visit people every other week and do home visits. They also have a teen program devoted to helping teens deal and understand what are healthy relationships. 

Wooten Elementary Updates

The school has started the modernization program, but it has been moved back by one semester. That said, this will be the last year at Wooten as next year the building will be destroyed to build the new one. Wooten Elementary students will attend Webb middle school until the school is built.  Students will be bussed to Webb. It is anticipated that it will take 1.5 years to finish the project. 

Austin ISD  has very detailed specifications that need to be met, which include dedicated spaces for art. There will also be a traffic plan and flow. 

Community meetings are listed on the Austin ISD website. The next meeting will be September 19, where the architecture will be met. 

Pre-K Program is still available. More information can be found on the Wooten Elementary website about pricing and availability.

Make it Rosie

New business launch in the neighborhood. This is a dedicated maker space. They will be offering various tools and have different activities/hobbies, such as wood shop and 3D printers. The space is located in the neighborhood and they plan to have monthly activities. More information can be found on their website: https://www.makeatrosie.com/ or through the QR code below.

Wooten Neighborhood Association Items

Dues

September is the beginning of the new fiscal year for Wooten NA so dues for this year are now due. The dues are only $5 a year. You must be a paid member to run or even vote in elections this fall.

Officers Needed

The association is still seeking nominations for President and Vice President. Please reach out the secretary or president for more details. Contact information is available on this website.

Wooten Planning Contact Team

The Planning Contact Team will have a meeting on October 9th. Councilmen Vela’s Office has reached out to discuss the Zoning application.

Park Committee

•  Park Day: Park Day is November 4th. The Park Committee (and volunteers) will be out mulching the park and   weeding the corner garden. The Park Day event begins at 9 am. You register to participate on the City of Austin website. The committee will also have a Facebook event as well.
• Park Projects: Discussion revolved around whether the committee had a list of potential projects and the answer was no. The Park Committee said that they would work on developing a list so they can send it to Austin Park and Council.

New Business

1. Proposition 9: Wooten Neighborhood has many retired teachers living here. One of them informed us that there is proposition (Prop 9) that is on the ballot for November that would give TRS retirees a cost of living adjustment (the first in 20 years).  Voting yes on proposition 9 won’t cost the taxpayers anything as a fund already exists. More information on the ballot can be found here: https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Proposition_9,_Cost-of-Living_Adjustments_for_Teacher_Retirement_System_Amendment_(2023)
2. Burrell Exception: The owners of 8315 Burrell Drive were requesting for neighbors to sign their exception request. They are hoping to add a carport to their house, but need to have support from the neighborhood to do that. 

Old Business