Item 1: August 19, 2026 Draft Minutes — original pdf
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REGULAR MEETING DOWNTOWN COMMISSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 The Downtown Commission convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 301 W 2nd St. in Austin, Texas. Chair Ishmael called the Downtown Commission Meeting to order at 5:34 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Ed Ishmael (Chair) Kimberly Levinson (Vice Chair) Pat Buchta David Caroll Sania Shifferd Philip Wiley Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Rebecca Bernhardt Kevin Chen Jennifer Franklin Gina Houston Nathan McDaniel Bat Taniguchi PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Downtown Commission regular meeting of June 17, 2026. The minutes were approved on Vice Chair Levinson’s motion, Commissioner Buchta’s second on a 7-0 vote. Commissioners Fang and Peveto were absent. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. Presentation regarding progress on the I-35 expansion. Presentation by Christiana Astarita, IH- 35 Capital Express Central, Downtown Project Manager; and Tommy Abrego, IH-35 Capital Express Central, University Project Manager. 1 Item 2 was taken up after Item 3 without objection. The presentation was made by Christiana Astarita, IH-35 Capital Express Central, Downtown Project Manager; and Tommy Abrego, IH-35 Capital Express Central, University Project Manager. 3. Presentation regarding the opening of The Confluence. Presentation by John Rigdon, Chief Planning and Design Officer, Waterloo Greenway. Presentation by John Rigdon, Chief Planning and Design Officer, and Melissa Ayala, Vice President of Government Relations, Waterloo Greenway. 4. Presentation regarding Urban Pulse Mapping’s program for urban forest mapping. Presentation by Andrew Lane, Founder, Urban Pulse Mapping. Presentation by Andrew Lanem, Founder, Urban Pulse Mapping. 5. Update on Parks & Recreation Board activities related to Downtown Austin. Update by Commissioner Franklin. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS None. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned without objection at 7:15 p.m. 2