Posting Language
Title
Approve an ordinance authorizing negotiation and execution of an interlocal cooperation agreement with the University of Texas to accept grant funds in the amount of $25,000 from the National Science Foundation for the “Civic Innovation Challenge” project to address the spatial mismatch between affordable housing and jobs by creating a community hub for smart mobility; amending the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Austin Transportation Department Operating Budget Special Revenue Fund (Ordinance No. 20210811-001) to accept funds from the University of Texas in the amount of $25,000; and amending the Austin Transportation Department Capital Budget (Ordinance No. 20210811-001) to transfer in and appropriate $25,000 for the implementation of the project.
De
Lead Department
Austin Transportation Department
Fiscal Note
Funding in the amount of $25,000 is available from the National Science Foundation. A City funding match is not required. A fiscal note is attached.
For More Information:
Robert Spillar, Director, 512-974-2488; Jason JonMichael, Assistant Director, 512-974-7028; Christina Willingham, Division Manager, 512-974-5651; Gilda Powers, Administrative Manager, 512-974-7092
Additional Backup Information:
The University of Texas at Austin (UT), Austin Transportation (ATD), and local non-profit Jail to Jobs were selected as awardees of the Civic Innovation Challenge. The Civic Innovation Challenge is a national research and action competition that supports ready-to-implement pilot projects that have the potential to produce scalable, sustainable, and transferable solutions to address community-identified challenges. The competition is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
With guidance from the community, the project team proposed co-creating a community mobility hub that could provide first- and last-mile mobility options to reduce the job-housing mismatch between affordable housing and employment. The hub also seeks to address community-identified transportation challenges in the Georgian Acres neighborhood.
Mobility hubs are places in a community that bring together multiple types of transportation-like e-scooters, bikes, a neighborhood circulator service and other ways for people to get to where they want to go without a private vehicle. The project team also proposed providing additional services in the hub that had been requested by the community, such as access to free Wi-Fi.
This funding will primarily be used to allow Jail-to-Jobs, the project’s non-profit partner, to operate the neighborhood circulator service and maintain the community mobility hub. The organization is based in the Georgian Acres neighborhood.
The General Fund will not be required to contribute additional funds beyond those currently budgeted to this grant. When the grant funds expire, the Austin Transportation Department’s need for continuing funding will be evaluated and may be denied.
Strategic Outcome(s)
Strategic Outcome(s):
Economic Opportunity & Affordability.