Boards and commissions are an established feature of Austin's municipal government. State, federal and Charter provisions establish several of the City's boards and commissions, while most result from the passage of ordinances. Boards and commissions address a multitude of topics including planning, zoning, transportation, parks, libraries and the airport. Their influence and value are significant because they lend a more diverse viewpoint for the City Council to consider, by offering citizens an opportunity to participate in the City's governmental process. A full list of the current City of Austin boards and commissions is available on the City of Austin website.
Coordinating appointments to City of Austin boards and commissions are overseen by the City of Austin Office of the City Clerk. The City Clerk website is also a clearinghouse for disseminating information about boards and commissions to the public. However, each board and commission has an advising representative from a relevant corresponding city department. The Planning Commission has city staff from the Planning and Development Review Department assigned to it. Board and commission members must be nominated by a member of the City Council.
The Austin 150 Commission was created in 1988 by the Austin City Council to coordinate plans for the celebration of the City of Austin's sesquicentennial in 1989. The commission was created by City Council Ordinance 870903-A and was co-chaired Frank Cooksey and Maline McCalla. The first meeting was held on June 16, 1988 and attended by Karen F. Begeman, Frank C. Cooksey, Willie Kocurek, Eva V. Limon, Roy B. Mann, Maline McCalla, Shannon E. McCann, John McKenzie, French N. Smith, III, Danny Young, Charles Bass, Audrey Bateman, Ron Wood and Everett Daniel. Projects initiated by the Commission were: a birthday party as the Capitol celebrating the 1839 appointment of a commission to select the site for the Capital of Texas; Congress Avenue Bridge lighting design competition; music and arts festival at Zilker park; birthday banners on Congress Avenue and 6th Street; Ethnic Heritage Folk Festival at Auditorium Shores; a commemorative bronze marker; and the
The Austin 150 Commission materials include a small collection (.2 linear feet) of papers that highlight the plans for the celebration of the City of Austin's sesquicentennial. The materials document the logo contest, the Lights on Town Lake, and the "Star of Texas" song. Also included are photographs of the reenactment and the stone marker being placed into position.
In addition the Austin 150 Commission created a two volume
The Commission meeting minutes, membership lists, financial records as well as documentation about the projects initiated by the Commission were cataloged in a loose leaf binder in the Austin History Center General Collection.
The collection is arranged in one series, Austin 150 Commission, 1988-1989.
A loose leaf notebook,
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Open to all users.
None.
Austin (Tex.) Austin 150 Commission Records (AR.1991.080). Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Texas.
Donor #: DO/1990/018, DO/1985/146
Donation Date: 1990
Finding aid prepared by Molly Hults/2009. Revised and encoded by Ashley Adair/2011.