🟪 Austin looking into feasibility of scaling local geothermal projects (Austin Business Journal)

🟪 Mold at APD headquarters prompts staff relocations, changes to in-person police reports (KVUE)

🟪 Greater Austin YMCA files plan to redevelop downtown TownLake campus (CBS Austin)

🟪 Austin transit union says contract talks remain at stalemate as strike remains possible (KVUE)

🟪 Austin City Council approves 10-year, ‘once-in-a-generation’ deal with Texas Gas Service (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 Texas’ multibillion-dollar sales tax exemption for data centers is growing, while audits lag (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Dan Patrick directs Texas Senate to study ways to further ingrain religion into public life (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Passenger rail between San Antonio and Austin? Two routes, major hurdles (Texas Public Radio)

READ ON!

🏛️ COUNCIL MEETINGS:

💰 Review the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget documents here

🏛️ MEMO: Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Adoption Timeline

🎙️ The BG Podcast is back! Episode 269 features my conversation with former San Antonio Mayor and HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros about the Austin–San Antonio mega region.

The discussion comes as the new Central Texas Alliance seeks to build consensus across 13 counties along and around the I-35 corridor.

Listen on:

✅ Austin looking into feasibility of scaling local geothermal projects (Austin Business Journal)

The city of Austin is evaluating whether to bring another type of power generation into Austin Energy’s service area.

The Austin City Council approved a resolution on July 23 calling for the city manager’s office to convene stakeholders to explore if it’s feasible to bring geothermal technology into Austin Energy’s service area, which covers most of the city and some parts of Travis County and Williamson County.

The stakeholder group would be led by Austin Climate Action and Resilience. It would be made up of representatives from organized labor, environmental groups, academic institutions, private developers and city departments. 

Encouraging geothermal projects could diversify Austin Energy's power generation sources. That is something for which the Coalition for Clean, Affordable and Reliable Energy — made up of commercial and industrial energy customers in Austin — has advocated.

Geothermal projects generate power by drawing up hot water from deep underground reservoirs. The geothermal plant then takes the heat and steam from the water and converts it into electricity… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Mold at APD headquarters prompts staff relocations, changes to in-person police reports (KVUE)

Mold discovered inside the Austin Police Department's downtown headquarters is forcing the department to relocate employees, limit access to parts of the building and temporarily change where the public can file in-person police reports.

The issue centers on mold found in portions of the building's HVAC system. While additional testing is underway, APD has moved staff to other facilities and said employees are no longer working in areas identified as potentially affected by mold.

Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said Police Chief Lisa Davis notified employees about the issue in a department-wide email last week.

"After the department recently discovered mold in some of the air conditioning units is when they've been taking measures to try to get everybody out of the building," Bullock said.

Bullock said he appreciates the department's response and believes leadership is moving quickly to protect employees… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Greater Austin YMCA files plan to redevelop downtown TownLake campus (CBS Austin)

The YMCA in downtown Austin could soon be replaced by a taller, greener facility surrounded by affordable housing, under a redevelopment plan submitted to the city last week.

The Greater Austin YMCA and developer Millennium Partners have submitted a Planned Unit Development application to the City of Austin to redevelop the TownLake YMCA campus.

The application, filed July 24, would replace the YMCA's current 75,000-square-foot building at 1100 W. Cesar Chavez St., built in 1970, with a roughly 110,000-square-foot facility on the 4.8-acre site. The project would combine an expanded YMCA with childcare, youth programming and mental health services, along with affordable and market-rate housing.

Kathy Kuras, president and CEO of the Greater Austin YMCA, called the filing a "major milestone," saying the goal is a mixed-use community where families can "live, learn, work, and play."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin transit union says contract talks remain at stalemate as strike remains possible (KVUE)

Contract negotiations between Austin's transit workers union and CapMetro contractor Keolis remain at a standstill, leaving the possibility of a transit strike on the table, union leaders said on Monday.

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1091 rallied outside CapMetro headquarters before speaking during the agency's board meeting, urging officials to help secure what they describe as a fair contract for bus operators and maintenance workers employed by Keolis.

The union previously rejected what Keolis called its "best and final offer" in June and authorized a strike, though no strike has been called. Union President Brent Payne said workers hope to avoid a work stoppage but warned they are prepared to take that step if negotiations do not improve.

Union leaders said more than 75% of CapMetro/Keolis workers cannot afford to live in Austin. Workers are seeking regular wage increases, better training and more adequate paid time off.

"We're down to about 11 open articles, but we're not done," Payne said, adding that no additional bargaining sessions are currently scheduled. He said the union remains willing to return to the negotiating table.

Some CapMetro riders said they depend on public transit every day and worry about what a strike could mean… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin City Council approves 10-year, ‘once-in-a-generation’ deal with Texas Gas Service (Austin American-Statesman)

The Austin City Council approved a new 10-year franchise agreement with Texas Gas Service that dictates how Austin’s primary gas utility can operate in the city.

The council’s move marks the end of a lengthy negotiation process, during which consumer and climate advocates lobbied for stricter environmental regulations and tighter cost controls in the contract as natural gas bills balloon in Central Texas.

The council gave its preliminary approval to the agreement on May 7, though members of the city’s Resource Management Commission — an appointed advisory body — argued the proposal failed to deliver several critical provisions for ratepayers and the environment.

After more than two months of additional negotiation between Texas Gas Service and city staff, the final agreement approved Thursday moved closer to the commission’s original vision.

Texas Gas Service agreed to create a low-income assistance program for customers who struggle to pay their bills. The company also agreed to enhanced transparency provisions, including a leak detection report, capital improvement plan and an appearance before the Resource Management Commission each year… 🟪 (READ MORE)

Building permit secured for big redevelopment on Austin's Sixth Street (Austin Business Journal)

Construction of new housing and restaurants on a full downtown Austin block along East Sixth Street could begin later this year. 

Ryan Companies US Inc. has been planning a redevelopment of downtown Austin’s Grant Plaza for several years. Now, with a building permit secured as of July 1, the redevelopment is nearly set to move forward. A demolition permit for the site’s existing office buildings is still awaiting approval. 

Ryan Companies did not respond to a request for comment. Lynx Grant LLC is the owner of the property.

The redevelopment would take place on a full 1.8-acre block bounded by East Sixth and Fifth streets, Red River Street and Sabine Street. There are three buildings on the site now — a large one and two smaller ones. The project’s site plan, which was approved in June 2025, calls for it to be replaced by a six-story, 262,221-square-foot mixed-use building with multifamily units and restaurant space.

Overall, the Grant Building will house 232 multifamily units, consisting of 37 studio, 170 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom and six three-bedroom units, public records show… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Texas’ multibillion-dollar sales tax exemption for data centers is growing, while audits lag (Texas Tribune)

Texas’ multibillion-dollar estimate for what it will lose on sales tax breaks for data centers is growing, but the Comptroller’s Office warned lawmakers on Monday they have little information about whether data centers are meeting their promises to be eligible for the exemption.

Out of 138 qualified data centers under the state sales tax exemption program, only 20 have been audited so far. Of those audits, six data centers were found to be breaching the terms of the tax break. At least four of those failed to create the required jobs, one failed to build to the required square footage and one self-reported that its mandated power agreement had fallen through, according to testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance’s interim hearing on data center tax incentives.

Those data centers found to be out of compliance will have to pay back the money to the state that was previously waived in sales taxes.

The state in 2025 forecast it would lose $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years from data centers, a number first reported by The Texas Tribune earlier this year. The Comptroller’s Office acknowledged that total was almost certainly an underestimate due to the growing number of new data centers that are applying for and receiving the tax exemption. Brad Reynolds, chief revenue estimator for the Comptroller’s Office, said 59 additional certifications have been approved this year and an estimated 10 new data centers will be certified to receive the exemption each month moving forward… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Dan Patrick directs Texas Senate to study ways to further ingrain religion into public life (Texas Tribune)

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday asked state lawmakers to study ways to further infuse religion into public life as part of a new crop of interim charges unveiled by the Texas Senate leader.

One of the lieutenant governor’s directives tells senators to compare state and federal laws surrounding religious liberty, with specific instructions to look at whether state laws line up with the “establishment” and “free exercise” clauses of the First Amendment and determine if “additional protections are needed.” Another charge instructs lawmakers to examine ways to educate Texans about their right to practice their religion “in all settings, including, but not limited to: education, workplace, government, and healthcare.”

A third calls for a pulse check on a law passed by the Legislature in 2025 that lets public schools excuse student absences for off-campus religious instruction. All three charges are assigned to Patrick’s newly formed Religious Liberty Committee, chaired by state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, that was announced in March… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Passenger rail between San Antonio and Austin? Two routes, major hurdles (Texas Public Radio)

Recent studies have found that expanded passenger rail service between Austin and San Antonio is possible, though getting trains on the tracks remains a long way off. The Texas Department of Transportation recently released its Austin-San Antonio Passenger Rail Study. A separate study commissioned by the Travis County Commissioners Court is expected to be released soon. The TxDOT study looked at using the existing rail corridor between the two cities near Interstate 35. The Travis County study examines a potential route along State Highway 130 and Interstate 10 east of San Antonio.

Amtrak currently provides passenger rail service between the two cities, but its one round-trip per day offers limited scheduling options. An estimated 266,000 trips are made between the Austin and San Antonio areas on a typical weekday, most of them along the Interstate 35 corridor. The proposal using the existing rail corridor is estimated to cost between roughly $810 million and $1.9 billion. The alternative route could cost considerably more because much of it would need to be elevated. Neither proposal has secured construction funding… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Under pressure from Mayor Jones, Spurs to pay part of penalty over failed MLS bid (San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs organization will pay the city of San Antonio and Bexar County a penalty of $2.6 million because it failed to lure a Major League Soccer team to the Alamo City — a requirement under a decade-old soccer stadium deal. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has made it her mission to enforce the provision, repeatedly calling on Spurs Sports & Entertainment to fulfill its end of the $21 million agreement, which resulted in the city and county purchasing Toyota Field from philanthropist and one-time developer Gordon Hartman in 2015. “Payment in accordance with the contract would remind everyone of the strength of the City’s relationship with the Spurs owners — a relationship built on mutual respect,” Jones said to SS&E managing partner Peter J. Holt in a May 15 letter.

SS&E, which owns San Antonio FC, agreed to repay the San Antonio-Bexar County Soccer Public Facility Corporation a combined $5 million penalty if it failed to secure an MLS expansion team by 2021. The corporation is the city-county entity that owns Toyota Field, which San Antonio FC leases for $100,000 a year. San Antonio FC plays in the USL Championship, a men’s professional league a tier below MLS. SS&E declined to answer questions about the payment, which the PFC board will vote to approve on Thursday. “This will fulfill the City’s portion of the amount owed to the PFC by SS&E,” said city spokesperson Brian Chasnoff. To date, SS&E has repaid $250,000, according to the city. It has missed $1.75 million worth of scheduled payments, which amounted to more than $2.1 million after factoring interest as of April… 🟪 (READ MORE)