Austin Homeless Free for All Ordinance

[Wally Pryor 5410]

Day 60 and counting, or thereabouts.    I am impressed that the Homeless Manager is still w/ the city. 

 

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin has whittled down a list of properties for sanctioned homeless camping from 78 to two.

It was the latest update on the initiative from Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Grey. According to a brief City Council members received Thursday afternoon, the cost to run the properties annually would be $1.3 million and $1.6 million, respectively.

City staff said it is not yet identifying the specific locations because legal staff is still determining whether the land will need to be rezoned. It’s also not yet clear which service providers would operate the designated encampments.

“I certainly look forward to hearing that information when the staff finishes their vetting process,” said District 9 Council Member Kathie Tovo.

The latest update comes a month after Grey told council members their list of requirements for proposed encampment sites was too restrictive. She told Council the restrictions made it difficult to locate appropriate city-owned land.

In the memo released Thursday, staff said it has researched the idea of constructing “tiny homes” or other similar structures “in 30 days or less” on the two proposed sites. The approximate cost of each structure would be $5,000 to $10,000, according to the memo.

“We have a wide spectrum of neighbors experiencing homelessness and the options need to be diverse,” said Tovo.

City staff noted another option for individuals who sleep in their cars: designated parking lots. The city says at $80,000 per year, these lots would have restrooms, handwashing stations and security. The minimum criteria for each would be 50 parking spaces and good lighting. Proposed operating hours would be 10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m.

 

[Guest Lobo]

I'm sorry, $80,000/year for a parking space?  

Are we saying this with a straight face?  Or $80,000 for the whole 50 spaces?  That's still $135/month for a surface lot on the periphery of the city.  The average downtown parking space in an older skyscraper costs the same amount, so I'm assuming "grift" surcharge baked in there somewhere.  

[Wally Pryor 5410]

1 hour ago, Lobo said:

I'm sorry, $80,000/year for a parking space?  

Are we saying this with a straight face?  Or $80,000 for the whole 50 spaces?  That's still $135/month for a surface lot on the periphery of the city.  The average downtown parking space in an older skyscraper costs the same amount, so I'm assuming "grift" surcharge baked in there somewhere.  

Surprised that they weren't claiming it was $800,000 / year. 

[TKthunder2 5059]

@immamac you killed this thread by moving it to the CR.  If that was the goal then bravo.

[David Dennison 19543]

24 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

@immamac you killed this thread by moving it to the CR.  If that was the goal then bravo.

Maybe, but this is where it belonged to begin with.

[McFly 606]

Are immamac and Greg Casar related? Or they just look a lot alike? Has anyone ever seen them both in the same room at the same time?

[mchookem 16769]

the posters who commented on this thread for 2 years and then suddenly got the vapors when the url changed 'killed' this thread lol

[dcar00 14974]

so we doin' this on 7/11 or not?

[MAUFRAIS 6740]

Getting a free slurpee? Shit yeah.

[Guest Lobo]

You want the homeless to shit in a big gulp and mark it "guaranteed", we can make it happen...they got spare time.  

[dcar00 14974]

2 minutes ago, MAUFRAIS said:

Getting a free slurpee? Shit yeah.

7/11 is an appropriate date for this(even though it won't be done)

[Wally Pryor 5410]

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A daycare owner is calling for the city’s help after she was threatened at knifepoint on her business property.

Dina Flores, who founded the Escuelita del Alma preschool in 2000, said a shirtless man was bathing at a faucet near the school on Tuesday. When she approached, informed him that he was on private property and asked him to leave, he brandished a knife and repeatedly pointed it at her menacingly. She said she reported it to Austin Police, who arrived on scene more than two hours later.

Flores claims she’s witnessed an increase in crime near Escuelita del Alma on Interstate 35 and East 32nd Street since the city opened up the nearby Days Inn hotel last year to be used as a “Protective Lodge” for people at high risk of catching COVID-19.

The ProLodge was never part of the community’s homeless response system. However, “most individuals accessing the ProLodges are experiencing homelessness,” the city said last month.

“Since June 2020, it’s gradually escalated to a very unsafe situation. Why are you going to continue to make this even more unsafe for us, for the children who come here?” Flores said. “In an instant, something can get out of hand and something really tragic can happen. And I can’t risk something like that happening here. We have children, we have parents showing up constantly. And my staff. They have to feel safe coming to work every day.”

Flores has escalated her issues via a letter to Council Member Kathie Tovo, in which she details some of the crimes against her and her property since the Days Inn became an official ProLodge. That includes:

• Harassment of parents and students at drop-off and pick-up
• Daily littering
• Public indecency and nudity
• Use of grounds for overnight sleeping
• Intoxication
• Frequent attempts at overnight break-ins
• Vandalism and theft costing approximately $15,000

Council member Tovo spoke to KXAN on Wednesday and said Flores’ letter was the first time she had heard about these issues, and that she was under the impression most people in the Cherrywood neighborhood had given their blessing to the city for it to pursue using the Days Inn as a bridge shelter beginning in August.

 

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-daycare-owner-threatened-at-knifepoint-asks-for-citys-help-in-addressing-crime/

 

[Guest Lobo]

Little kids having to watch their teachers be threatened at knifepoint.  Sounds like more of a mental health problem than a Days Inn problem.  

 

[Deej 77837]

Damn intolerant daycare owner. 

[alldone 0]

Ugh. That's my kids' daycare. I think the owner and staff kept these issues to themselves for as long as they could before they informed all the parents recently. I haven't seen any issues personally, but it sounds like it's pretty bad for whichever staff get there first in the morning. Proximity to schools was supposed to be one of the factors in the city's decisions, but they probably didn't consider daycares. It's not a small one either; I think there are more than 100 kids in attendance.

[dcar00 14974]

8 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

 

Council member Tovo spoke to KXAN on Wednesday and said Flores’ letter was the first time she had heard about these issues, and that she was under the impression most people in the Cherrywood neighborhood had given their blessing to the city for it to pursue using the Days Inn as a bridge shelter beginning in August.

 

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-daycare-owner-threatened-at-knifepoint-asks-for-citys-help-in-addressing-crime/

 

yeah sure she was.  anyone who believes these lying sacks of shit is a fool of the highest order.  our CC has IQ's of sub 80 I'm sure, Casar the communist, is unfortunately probably the smartest of the dumbasses.

[Biff Tannen 46168]

9 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

yeah sure she was.  anyone who believes these lying sacks of shit is a fool of the highest order.  our CC has IQ's of sub 80 I'm sure, Casar the communist, is unfortunately probably the smartest of the dumbasses.

She’s my rep on the council and I’ve voted against her every time I had the option. Not a fan. 

[dcar00 14974]

32 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

She’s my rep on the council and I’ve voted against her every time I had the option. Not a fan. 

I think Tovo and Alter(my rep) were the only ones that voted not to remove the ban initially so I give them credit for that but I'm no fan of Alter or any of these idiots.

[dcar00 14974]

9 hours ago, Lobo said:

Little kids having to watch their teachers be threatened at knifepoint.  Sounds like more of a mental health problem than a Days Inn problem.  

 

where are the social workers?  I thought they were the answer.  2 hours?

[Guest Lobo]

They are the answer for the root causes of this kinda bullshit.  But if somebody has a blade up to a daycare worker, that's obviously always been a call for the police.  And always will be.  We can treat mental illness and addiction issues.  And we can also have cops take out guys with sharp objects near women's throats in sight of a buncha kids.  

What is not gonna solve either of these issues is buying another hotel.  

[McFly 606]

What about 2 hotels though?

[Wally Pryor 5410]

One win noted this morning...that shithold of a garbage dump / mess / campsite immediately outside the front doors of El Borrego on Congress has been cleaned and scraped.  It was a disgusting fucking mess - dude wasn't even camping, more so just seemed to be piling up garbage, and piling up more of it, right outside the entrance of a business.   A joke. 

It's gone, finally. 

[Guest Lobo]

I guess I’ll quietly celebrate that, but we have so much more to go.  Having said that, el borrego has the best breakfast burrito in south Austin.  

[Wally Pryor 5410]

4 minutes ago, Lobo said:

I guess I’ll quietly celebrate that, but we have so much more to go.  Having said that, el borrego has the best breakfast burrito in south Austin.  

They have a good breakfast, no doubt. 

I know it's a small win but I'm happy for the owner.   There's just no justification for a garbage dump within spitting distance of the front doors of your business.  And, yeah, it was that close.

[Bozo_Casanova 26851]

22 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A daycare owner is calling for the city’s help after she was threatened at knifepoint on her business property.

Dina Flores, who founded the Escuelita del Alma preschool in 2000, said a shirtless man was bathing at a faucet near the school on Tuesday. When she approached, informed him that he was on private property and asked him to leave, he brandished a knife and repeatedly pointed it at her menacingly. She said she reported it to Austin Police, who arrived on scene more than two hours later.

Flores claims she’s witnessed an increase in crime near Escuelita del Alma on Interstate 35 and East 32nd Street since the city opened up the nearby Days Inn hotel last year to be used as a “Protective Lodge” for people at high risk of catching COVID-19.

The ProLodge was never part of the community’s homeless response system. However, “most individuals accessing the ProLodges are experiencing homelessness,” the city said last month.

“Since June 2020, it’s gradually escalated to a very unsafe situation. Why are you going to continue to make this even more unsafe for us, for the children who come here?” Flores said. “In an instant, something can get out of hand and something really tragic can happen. And I can’t risk something like that happening here. We have children, we have parents showing up constantly. And my staff. They have to feel safe coming to work every day.”

Flores has escalated her issues via a letter to Council Member Kathie Tovo, in which she details some of the crimes against her and her property since the Days Inn became an official ProLodge. That includes:

• Harassment of parents and students at drop-off and pick-up
• Daily littering
• Public indecency and nudity
• Use of grounds for overnight sleeping
• Intoxication
• Frequent attempts at overnight break-ins
• Vandalism and theft costing approximately $15,000

Council member Tovo spoke to KXAN on Wednesday and said Flores’ letter was the first time she had heard about these issues, and that she was under the impression most people in the Cherrywood neighborhood had given their blessing to the city for it to pursue using the Days Inn as a bridge shelter beginning in August.

 

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-daycare-owner-threatened-at-knifepoint-asks-for-citys-help-in-addressing-crime/

 

1) It's a shame, that Days Inn is a great location and used to be a decent motel. I'm not a fan of the housing-or-approved-camping-in-lieu-of-care strategy for permanent homeless populations

2) Her "impression" is a classic example of Kathie's unfortunately exclusive reliance on inner circle ANC and Democrat-Club-affiliated neighborhood association leadership as a proxy for community voices. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Bozo_Casanova

[dcar00 14974]

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

I guess I’ll quietly celebrate that, but we have so much more to go.  Having said that, el borrego has the best breakfast burrito in south Austin.  

my prediction is still they just clean downtown and don't get anywhere north of 45th or south of likely barton springs.  they only give a shit about ACL and SXSW/tourism and the W/City Hall where shithead works/lives.  183 underpasses/290/71 is gonna be a hellhole because all of the downtowners will move there.  White/Homeless flight!

[Guest Lobo]

I drove by 35 underpass by Hancock the other day and about to drive by there again here in a minute.  It's actually worse than it was a few months ago.  I'm guessing they're starting to aggregate in places that aren't being hurried into cleanup as much.  I will say the difference on/around campus is marked in the last few weeks.  I didn't see a single one this week and I was all over campus.  Used to see at least a half dozen a day.  

[Fudge Nuggets 19455]

21 hours ago, Deej said:

Damn intolerant daycare owner. 

She should have taken out her gun and shot him. 

[Wally Pryor 5410]

And the clown-like, dipshit DA would do everything possible to get her sent to the cage, for a long time. 

[Biff Tannen 46168]

Underpass at Cesar Chavez and 35 seems immune from the camping ban. 

[Dbeasy 15596]

I’m currently downtown. It’s been a few months since I was last downtown and I was curious to see how the homeless problem has changed. I couldn’t help but shake my head when I saw many tents pitched in front of city hall. So predictable. 

[David Dennison 19543]

We should outlaw tents.

[pyrohornIII 4846]

On 7/2/2021 at 8:35 AM, Lobo said:

I'm sorry, $80,000/year for a parking space?  

Are we saying this with a straight face?  Or $80,000 for the whole 50 spaces?  That's still $135/month for a surface lot on the periphery of the city.  The average downtown parking space in an older skyscraper costs the same amount, so I'm assuming "grift" surcharge baked in there somewhere.  

I would think the cost of providing restrooms and security would make up the bulk of that 80K.  

[Guest Lobo]

For 50 spaces, you'd need 1 security guard per shift at 3 shifts per day.  Call it 1,000 shifts/year for ease of math.  You'll need 2 portas for 50 people considering most will still be pissing outdoors.  Assume an actual market value of a parking lot in the outskirts that they're talking about are half that or just above for easy math.  $35,000 for the spaces themselves (which is fucking insane, but I'll play along).  Leaving $45,000 for the security and porta.  I'll assume Adler and company will overpay at ACL prices for a porta potty in the outside of Austin at $300/month, or $600 total.  Maybe a handwashing station and trash bin, let's call it $1000 total, or $12,000/year.  Spread out over 50 spaces, $240 or $20/month/space for toileting.  That leaves $33,000/space in security.  Maybe bump up the space cost and call security delta $30,000/year or $2,500/month/space.  

So every month, we need to spend $6,670 on a space---$20 on toileting, $2500 on security, and $4150 on the space lease itself.  

That's fucking insane, even if you account for the overpayment of a strip center parking space, you're telling me each night the 50 person enclave requires over $4,000 worth of security?  Most 3,000 person high schools and 5,000 person government buildings don't spend that much on security and they have multiple buildings, parking lots, valuable assets, etc.  Think about that grift.  I'm just using their own math.  They're not even trying to hide the lie anymore.  

[Wally Pryor 5410]

3 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

I’m currently downtown. It’s been a few months since I was last downtown and I was curious to see how the homeless problem has changed. I couldn’t help but shake my head when I saw many tents pitched in front of city hall. So predictable. 

Now? Still?   I thought the tents in front of city hall had been scraped. 

[Guest Lobo]

I drove by yesterday and still counted 3 tents in front of City Hall and I couldn't see all the way around to Lavaca.  

[Dbeasy 15596]

big tents too.  Luxury living accomodations. I think I saw a spa and sauna.

[ChickenSandwich 9959]

Just saw a homeless woman drop her pants. Squat and take a piss in the Zeta house driveway across from whataburger drive through five feet from the road. No shame. 
 

Thanks Greg. At least the rain will wash it away. 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Just saw a homeless woman drop her pants. Squat and take a piss in the Zeta house driveway across from whataburger drive through five feet from the road. No shame. 
 
Thanks Greg. At least the rain will wash it away. 

You are putting the pics in the hot or not thread, right?

[David Dennison 19543]

Hmmmmm.

 

[Hornius Emeritus 12804]

I keep saying that I have A Modest Proposal.

Nobody ever wants to listen to it, though.

[David Dennison 19543]

19 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Just saw a homeless woman drop her pants. Squat and take a piss in the Zeta house driveway across from whataburger drive through five feet from the road. No shame. 
 

Thanks Greg. At least the rain will wash it away. 

You can see that multiple times every weekend around West Campus.

[Wally Pryor 5410]

Just pure comedy at this point.   Fucking clown, wet rag Adler. 

 

KVUE:

"The reality is the (CARES-related) $18 million Austin received last year in grants didn't make much of a dent in Austin homelessness. “Certainly, I understand their frustration, especially in my district,” said Tovo. Tovo said it will take a lot more money to fix Austin's homeless problems."

In a recent city council meeting, the City's homeless officer, Dianna Grey, said the City really needs $515 million more. “That plan is to house 3,000 people ... hundreds of them getting houses this year and 3,000 people over the course of the next three years. And that would be drastic,” said Casar.  Councilmembers just voted to give a little more than $100 million toward that effort, but say they are still $293 million short.

Mayor’s response

KVUE reached out to every city council member, the mayor, the city manager and the homeless strategy officer. KVUE tried for weeks to coordinate an interview with Mayor Steve Adler, who agreed to an interview, then canceled, then agreed to interview last week, then canceled again and sent us this statement:

"The City, County, and philanthropists are investing substantial dollars and helping and housing thousands of people. These numbers are known. We’re also always trying to learn more about our past and current investments to better inform our future work. Council has requested yet another such report and which we will receive during our upcoming budget process."

 

 

[Biff Tannen 46168]

2 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

In a recent city council meeting, the City's homeless officer, Dianna Grey, said the City really needs $515 million more. “That plan is to house 3,000 people ... hundreds of them getting houses this year and 3,000 people over the course of the next three years. And that would be drastic,” said Casar.  Councilmembers just voted to give a little more than $100 million toward that effort, but say they are still $293 million short.

I mean come the fuck on. 

[Guest Lobo]

https://www.statesman.com/picture-gallery/news/2021/07/14/austin-officials-remove-homeless-camp-underpass-south-austin/7970547002/

there's actually some really well taken photographs in the spread, no matter your opinion on all of this.  

We'll have to hash out the $293mm delta for 3,000 people over 3 years.  Just in case some of you Adler supporters wanna do goofy math battles.  

But I just look at the photos above, and aside from some really good photojournalism, I realized---they had 8 weeks...why can't they do when I found out I had 8 weeks to vacate a property?  On day one, pack a box up and label it "Books" and then hang back for 54 more days.  

[dcar00 14974]

 every last one of them can fuck right off.  the grift is in high gear, on the backs of homeless.  this shit is like crack for these city council motherfuckers.

[TKthunder2 5059]

6 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

I mean come the fuck on. 

$515,000,000.00 divided by 3,000 homeless equals $170,000.00 per homeless.  Seems reasonable…

or you could buy 3,000 brand new single wides for $40k a piece https://www.modularhomes.com/single-wides/

and drop them on city owned land https://data.austintexas.gov/Locations-and-Maps/City-Of-Austin-Properties-handled-by-the-Office-of/3msr-mkgq

that would be about $120mil, not including hookups for water, electrical, sewer which could all be done for far less in bulk but let’s say that’s where we spend the remaining $100 mil (they got to grift something).  And now we don’t need that additional $293million.

But nope, we need hotels near the Domain and Lakeline that will take years to purchase and renovate.

[tx 3 putt 78693]

7 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

Just pure comedy at this point.   Fucking clown, wet rag Adler. 

 

KVUE:

"The reality is the (CARES-related) $18 million Austin received last year in grants didn't make much of a dent in Austin homelessness. “Certainly, I understand their frustration, especially in my district,” said Tovo. Tovo said it will take a lot more money to fix Austin's homeless problems."

In a recent city council meeting, the City's homeless officer, Dianna Grey, said the City really needs $515 million more. “That plan is to house 3,000 people ... hundreds of them getting houses this year and 3,000 people over the course of the next three years. And that would be drastic,” said Casar.  Councilmembers just voted to give a little more than $100 million toward that effort, but say they are still $293 million short.

Mayor’s response

KVUE reached out to every city council member, the mayor, the city manager and the homeless strategy officer. KVUE tried for weeks to coordinate an interview with Mayor Steve Adler, who agreed to an interview, then canceled, then agreed to interview last week, then canceled again and sent us this statement:

"The City, County, and philanthropists are investing substantial dollars and helping and housing thousands of people. These numbers are known. We’re also always trying to learn more about our past and current investments to better inform our future work. Council has requested yet another such report and which we will receive during our upcoming budget process."

 

 

they would leave Austin for $10k cash 

[Biff Tannen 46168]

7 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

they would leave Austin for $10k cash 

YEP.  I'm not saying that's a solution for all of them, but the point is there will always be transients, and they need to live up to that name again.  They need to be transient.  They cannot be a continuous burden on one city forever.  

[Orale 1178]

Some variation of thunders idea. Buy some land for thousands to camp at. Make it nice. Provide basic shower, toilet, laundry facilities. That's less than $50 million. These people want to camp and be independent. The idea that they're going to live in motel rooms for more than a short time before they get bored and go back to tent living is idiotic.