4th of July Celebration!

We missed celebrating Independence Day with everyone last year, and we hope you can join us for a small celebration this year. Details are as follows; spread the word and we hope to see you there!

Sunday, July 4 (of course!), about 6-8pm at West Austin Park, where you’ll have a view of the  HEB/Austin Symphony fireworks show.

Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs will be there from 6-8pm!
The Almost Readys will entertain us with live music!

We’ll also have an assortment of games like bocce ball, corn hole, ladder ball, etc.

Bring your own picnic dinner/drinks and come by to meet old friends and make new ones!

Please keep in mind that there may be unvaccinated children and others at the event; continue to social distance per CDC guidelines.

Rezoning of UT’s ‘Gateway Tract’

You may have heard (and if you  haven’t, you’re in the right place!), the City Council has initiated zoning cases on properties in our neighborhood currently owned by the The University of Texas. This property includes the land occupied by the Gateway Apartment and the Open Door Preschool.

There is not a request for specific zoning from UT, nor is there a recommendation from the City staff on any proposed zoning districts at this time.

The City of Austin will be holding a public meeting to receive your input and ideas on any potential future development of the property.

Some neighborhood residents have met to discuss the potential rezoning, and their thoughts are summarized in this document.

The public (and virtual) meeting about the site will be held on Monday, June 21, 2021 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Details are below. If you would like to be included on the email list for notification for future meetings, email the Case Manager with the City of Austin, Wendy Rhoades, at Wendy.Rhoades@austintexas.gov.

Please be advised that due to the anticipated large number of meeting participants, those wishing to speak will be given 1 minute of speaking time. If you would prefer to provide written input, you can submit it to Speak Up Austin and/or email Wendy Rhoades.

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Meeting ID: 988 3627 4241
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Join by Skype for Business

June General Membership Meeting

We hope you can join us for our next General Membership on Tuesday, June  1 at 7pm. The Zoom link and password are below.

Agenda Items include the following, and a full agenda is here.

–West Austin Pool support
–Potential renaming of Confederate Street
–Discussion of next in-person (!) events
–Future meeting topics: leaf blowers, light pollution/safety, etc.
–Committee reports (zoning, parks, etc.)

Join via Zoom Meeting Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84245493797?pwd=cWJDbjhxMXBqOG83WUgzL29Kc2EwQT09

    Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797

    Passcode: owanameet!

Or…. Dial in:  (346) 248-7799

Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797

Passcode: owanameet!

West Austin Park Needs Your Help

Please see below to learn more about the Friends of West Austin Park and an upcoming project that you can support!

One thing that’s become crystal clear over the last 12 months is that our parks are more important than ever. If you have visited West Austin Park recently you know that it’s the “go to” spot for kids and dog lovers alike. But aside from the dog park, there really is no area for adults to sit and converse with neighbors or quietly read a book.

We intend to change that. The Friends of West Austin Park (FOWAP) is a non-profit group spearheading an effort to repurpose and beautify an underutilized corner of the park. See the preliminary plan.

This is far more than an idea. We already have…

….preliminary support from the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD)

…$50,000 already contributed thanks to generous support from Mid-City Development

…designs in progress from TBG – a local landscape architecture firm

We’ll be reaching out to neighbors in April to get feedback on the proposed design.

This is a big project. PARD will approve it but that’s about it. It’s up to us neighbors to design, promote, fund and coordinate this project. Will you help? We are looking for committee volunteers with these skills:

  • Social media
  • Website design/graphic design
  • Email marketing
  • Videos and drone videography
  • Grant writing and fundraising
  • Park events coordination

If you are interested in volunteering please email chris.schorre@gmail.com or text me at 512-731-1520.

One last thing. Amplify Austin runs from March 4 at 6PM through March 5 at 6PM. After you have supported our fellow Austinites affected by the storm, please consider donating to support this project. Every dollar you donate during this 24 hour period will be matched – doubling your contribution. Here’s the donation link. 

Best Regards,

Chris Schorre
Community Outreach Committee
Friends of West Austin Park
Neighbor Resident Since 2001
www.WestAustinPark.org

March General Membership Meeting

We hope you can join us for our first meeting of 2021, on Tuesday, March 2, at 7pm.

The meeting will be held virtually. Here is information on how to join:

Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797
Passcode: owanameet!
One tap mobile
+13462487799,,84245493797# US (Houston)
+16699009128,,84245493797# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcvnF6TkvY

OWANA December General Membership Meeting

We hope you can join us for our final (virtual) membership meeting of 2020, on Tuesday, December 1 at 7pm. The Zoom link and password are below.

Agenda Items include:
–Information on a proposed bar/restaurant at the former Wiggy’s location at 6th & Blanco
–Update on large projects in the neighborhood, such as the Westline condominiums on 9th St
–Porch-front Christmas caroling on Dec. 19th
–Steering Committee nominations

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4749678778?pwd=VHp4V0ZMY3JhakQxNzYraGJrWTJ5Zz09

Meeting ID: 474 967 8778
Passcode: OWANA

Love Where You Live Day

Keep Austin Beautiful is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. They have created a socially-distant way for everyone to participate in making Austin and local neighborhoods more beautiful. This Saturday, November 21, join KAB for ‘Love Where You Live Day’.

Spend 35 minutes picking up some litter, mowing your yard, weeding a garden bed, or raking some leaves, it’s up to you!

Looking forward to seeing our neighborhood look a little bit more beautiful (is that possible?) this weekend!

Celebrating Halloween Safely

Many of our neighbors have been discussing if and how to safely celebrate Halloween this season.

For your reference, below is information for safely celebrating Halloween. We encourage you to take some time to read through these and adapt them how you see best for your family, so everyone can have a fun holiday and stay healthy!

The CDC offers these guidelines for those that do go trick-or-treating, and those that decide to offer candy to the trick-or-treaters. They include keeping trick-or-treaters at least 6 feet apart, wearing masks, and for those offering candy, keeping distance from the trick-or-treaters and offering candy in individual bags. The City of Austin’s guidelines are below.

Following the above guidelines, OWANA strongly discourages door-knocking for trick-or-treaters, and those handing out candy should stay outside, wear a mask, and find a way to offer the candy at a distance from the children. And of course, please do not go trick-or-treating or distribute candy if you are feeling sick and/or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control also offers these guidelines for making Halloween activities (from visiting a pumpkin patch to having a costume parade) more safe.

A few other articles and stories on how people are celebrating Halloween this year:
Parents Don’t Have to Cancel Halloween With These Creative Ideas (National Geographic, 10/5/20)

No Trick or Treat: Americans Get Creative to Celebrate Halloween Safely (National Public Radio, 9/24/20)

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our neighborhood safe and healthy. Happy Halloween and have fun!

Local Election Forum

Hello Neighbors!

The Old West Austin Neighborhood Association invites you to attend our Virtual Election Forum, Tuesday, October 13, at 7pm. October 13 is the first day of early voting.

The forum will feature an overview presentation from Capital Metro as well as speakers representing both sides of the important Project Connect (Proposition A) measure, followed by audience questions about the proposition.

We’ve also invited candidates for the AISD School Board who will each briefly share their vision for Austin schools.

Join the meeting via Zoom here. 
The meeting ID is 474 967 8778 and the password is 2020vote.