1. Revitalization of Key Properties

In areas that were top locations for illegal and dangerous activities in the neighborhood, volunteers met with owners to discuss long term development and economic plans for these properties, worked as a liaison between County and City with regard to roadblocks to development, etc., and worked with the City Code Compliance Department on viable options for cleanup, surveillance, and improvements.

The Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team is now working on aligning the revitalization areas with The Project, University of Texas at Austin's largest day of service.

Leader: Restore Rundberg Public Safety representative Commander Donald Baker.

2. Healthcare

Objective: Improving the health and wellness of the Rundberg area by increasing access to and quality of healthcare for all of the area's residents

Activities highlights:

Leader: Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team Community Health representative Aida Cerda-Prazak.

3. Afterschool Programs

There is a huge need for after-school and summer programs for children and teens older than 10 years old so they can have positive role models, self esteem building activities and mentoring relationships.The needs involve programs for sports, arts, vocational training and mentoring programs, etc.

The Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team has focused on spreading the word about existing resources through outreach to apartment complexes' residents, and the newly organized Rundberg Educational Advancement District is focused on identifying new resources and bringing them to the area, as well as helping the different stakeholders to coordinate.

Leader: priority in need of a new leader.

4. Code Compliance

Numerous studies have found a correlation between the level of property maintenance in a neighborhood and the amount of crime in that neighborhood.  Neighborhoods where maintenance of properties is largely ignored experience higher levels of crime.  Neighborhoods with similar demographics where properties are well maintained experience less crime than neighborhoods where many properties are neglected.

Austin Code is the City department charged with monitoring property maintenance in Austin. 

Restore Rundberg’s Code Compliance is made up of individuals from various neighborhoods in the Restore Rundberg area. We meet regularly with Code Compliance and our City council representative and his staff to ascertain that poorly maintained properties within the area are maintained.  We also share our efforts with our various neighborhood associations with hopes that our joint efforts will result in a cleaner and safer neighborhood.

Leader: Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team member Randy Teich.

5. Homelessness Intervention

The workgroup began as a “Care  Team”, designed to bring resources and information to the homeless population in the grant area. The Care Team consisted of members of the Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team, APD officers, professionals in social and medical services, and volunteers from non-profit agencies serving the homeless. The Care Team coordinated and carried out counts of homeless individuals in the area and provided resources for homeless individuals.

The Care Team became particularly important as specific circumstances necessitated the removal of homeless individuals who lived on the properties in outdoor camps.  In one case, the event leading up to the relocation of individuals was a request for enforcement of trespassing ordinances by a property owner.  In another case, individuals were asked to remove their belongings and relocate due to redevelopment of a property that was transitioning to a charter school. In both cases, the Care Team arrived before enforcement of the relocation and offered resources. In many cases, the offers for housing assistance were declined.

The leader of this priority area has retired from his position at Goodwill and the new leader is currently redefining this Workgroup's scope.

Leader: Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team member Ashlyn Reily.

6. Housing Affordability

The workgroup has focused on:

  • bringing education and awareness of the issue to the community,
  • providing support for affordability initiatives,
  • and assessing rehabilitation needs for specific properties through collaboration with graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work and Austin Code.

The workgroup has identified that their primary goal is to identify properties in need of rehabilitation and partner with property owners to find resources to assist with rehabilitation.

Leader: Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team member Ann Teich.

7. Economic and Workforce Development

Objective: This workgroup is primarily focused on identification and development of scalable initiatives related to economic and workforce development.

Activities: The workgroup hosted an developers' forum in November 2014 that served as a catalyst for discussion around the Restore Rundberg area and economic and workforce development.

Other activities in Economic Development include participation in the Austin Promise Zone application, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields program for example.

Co-leaders: Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team member Monica Guzmán and parliamentarian Cary Roberts.

8. Prostitution Prevention and Intervention

Prostitution Prevention and Intervention was originally part of the Homelessness Intervention priority, but has not been fully addressed with that organization. So over the summer of 2015, the Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team began to discuss creating a new priority area to address prostitution specifically.

Leader: Restore Rundberg Revitalization Team member David Fairchild.

 

Workgroups Documents

Information about the workgroup and committees tackling specific objectives and related outcomes identified by the  Rundberg Revitalization Team:

  • Affordable Housing- The Affordable Housing charge is to define, maintain, improve and expand affordable housing in the Rundberg area.

Affordable Housing  meeting notes: 9/19/2014, 10/17/2014