Frederick R. Steiner will serve a second term as chairman of Envision Central Texas in 2007. Fritz is dean of the School of Architecture and the Henry M. Rockwell Chair in Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. Steiner served as chairman of ECT in 2006, as treasurer in 2005 and has served on the Board of Directors since its inception. "I'm very excited about continuing the work that ECT began in 2006," said Steiner. “In 2007 we will completing our work on a Quality Growth Toolbox in conjunction with the University of Texas, launching a Greenprint for four additional Central Texas counties as well as continuing to promote effective planning along SH 130. It is very rewarding to see ECT fufilling its role as a catalyst for regional cooperation and planning.”

Other ECT officers elected for 2007 include Chair- Elect Jim Walker, director of the Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project; Immediate Past Chair Bill McLellan, vice chairman, Treaty Oaks Bank; Secretary Betty Voights, executive director, Capital Area Council of Governments; and, Treasurer Cid Galindo, principal, The Galindo Group.

In addition to the officers listed above, ECT Executive Committee Members elected for 2007 include Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe; Pete Dwyer, Dwyer Realty Companies; Travis Froehlich, Seton Healthcare Network; Williamson County Judge Dan Gattis, Sr.; Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald; Robin Rather, Collective Strength; Hays County Judge Elizabeth Sumter; Charles Urdy; and Caldwell County Judge H.T. Wright.

The ECT Board recently elected eight new directors for a three-year term. They include William Cryer, Samsung Austin Semiconductor; Wendy Foster, Winstead; Steve Groseclose, AMD; Dan Gattis, Sr., Williamson County Judge; Elizabeth Sumter, Hays County Judge; Ann Stafford, Spansion; Dale Thornton, Homebuilders Association of Greater Austin; and Dr. Gregory Vincent, University of Texas at Austin.

Directors re-elected for a second three-year term were Dave Newberger, Save Our Springs; Robin Rather, Liveable City; Jim Skaggs, Austin Area Citizens for Mobility Excellence; Craig Smith, Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District; Channy Soeur, Texas Federation of Asian American Chambers; Robin Stallings, Texas Bicycle Coalition and Jim Walker, Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project.

The above directors join the other 52 ECT board members representing a diverse range of stakeholders in the five-county Central Texas Region.

On October 6, 2006, more than 350 Central Texans gathered to discuss how the population of our region is growing and changing and the implications of these demographic trends on the fabric of our communities. This seminar, entitled Changing Demographics in Central Texas: Riding the Wave or Wiping Out, was hosted by the Envision Central Texas Social Equity and Economic Development Coordination Committees, with Spansion as the presenting sponsor.

After a compelling presentation on population growth trends and projections by Texas State Demographer, Dr. Steve Murdock, participants broke into small groups to discuss how these changes might impact our region in key issue areas such as transportation, workforce development and social equity. Each session was facilitated by two local thought leaders who helped frame the conversation and worked with the group to identify key concerns and possible actions to address those concerns. These issues and ideas were brought back to the full group during a closing panel presentation and question and answer session.

You can read a summary report of the day's proceedings by clicking here or going to the resource page of the Envision Central Texas website. There you will also find Dr. Murdock's full PowerPoint, presentation. For more on Texas population data, visit the website of the Texas State Data Center at http://txsdc.utsa.edu/ .

Mark your calendars for Friday, May 18, 11:30- 1:30 for the second annual Envision Central Texas Community Stewardship Awards luncheon at the Hilton Austin. The Community Stewardship Awards were created to recognize and honor the innovative people, projects and processes that are addressing the growth challenges facing our region in ways that will help ensure our quality of life for generations. The inaugural awards event last May was a tremendous success, with hundreds of people from all over Central Texas coming together to celebrate the good things happening in our region. It's a special event that we're sure you won't want to miss!

We also encourage you to submit an application or help spread the word about the awards program. To view a presentation about the Community Stewardship Awards, go to the "Presentations and Publications" section of our website's resource page and download the presentation file. On January 15th, we will be opening up the application process for the 2007 Awards. Last year's award recipents have said they greatly valued this special recognition of their accomplishments (not to mention the beautiful works of art they received - see more on that below!). We'll be sending out additional information in the weeks ahead, but be sure to check our website frequently for updates about applying for the awards and registering for the luncheon.

Envision Central Texas is seeking a regional artist to design and produce seven unique art pieces to serve as awards for its 2007 Community Stewardship Awards event on May 18, 2007. The bar has been set very high for the design of these awards, as well known Austin sculptor Damian Priour created dramatic fossil stone bowls filled with shaped pieces of glass for the Inaugural ECT Community Stewardship Awards event in 2006. (See photo) To download a "Call for Submissions" flyer click on this link.

The ECT Board of Directors recently adopted an ambitious 2007 Program of Work. In addition to continuing a number of existing programs such as the ECT Community Stewardship Awards Program, there are several new initiatives including a regional Greenprint for Growth, the completion of an online Quality Growth Toolbox in conjunction with the University of Texas, and developing a set of metrics to gauge the progress of ECT's regional Vision. To see the entire 2007 ECT Program of Work click on this link.

The purpose of Envision Central Texas is to serve as a catalyst for regional cooperation and planning in order to realize a common Vision for Central Texas which preserves and enhances our natural resources, economic vitality, social equity and overall quality of living.

To help achieve this goal, ECT promotes and communicates the elements of the Vision, convenes regional dialogues to address growth challenges, creates tools to assist cities and counties in creating livable, sustainable communities and measures progress toward the Vision.

SmartCode Workshop coming to Austin March 29- 31, 2007. This event, being brought to Austin by PlaceMakers, is an opportunity to join planners, architects, developers, elected officials and citizens to learn how to implement practical solutions for quality livability. Through a series of presentations, exercises, and discussions, participants will gain a thorough understanding of the SmartCode’s value and potential impact, and be provided a wealth of working knowledge to ensure successful implementation at the local level. There will also be a free event open to the public on the evening of March 29, featuring Andrés Duany who will discuss the tenets of new urbanism and set the stage for the Congress for the New Urbanism, which will take place in Austin in 2008. To learn more and to register for the workshop, click here.

Be sure to take note of our new address!
Physical Address: 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, Suite 165, Austin, TX 78744

Mailing Address: PO Box 17848, Austin, TX 78760

We'd like to hear from you! Each of our newsletters contains information about people, projects, processes or events that are helping to positively shape growth in our region and preserve our quality of life. If you would like to submit an article or news about an event for consideration in an upcoming ECT newsletter, email dmiller@envisioncentraltexas.org with the details.