Malcolm Yates, chair of the East Riverside Oldorf Combined Contact Team, told the bond task force on Jan. 9 that the East Riverside neighborhood lacks public meeting space and nearby parks, and urged the task force to recommend adding an East Riverside Community Center to the 2026 bond list.

“My name is Malcolm Yates. I'm chair of the East Riverside Oldorf combined contact team,” Yates said. He described a population with high rental rates, many immigrants and a student body at Linder Elementary School he characterized as “89 Hispanic or African American and is over 90% economically disadvantaged.” (Excerpt from Yates’s prepared remarks was read aloud to the task force.)

Ed Miller, an instructor who ran a reentry program at Austin Community College–Riverside, said many program participants came from East Riverside and emphasized the neighborhood’s lack of public buildings and services. “There’s no rec center. There’s no community center. There’s no library. There’s no place to meet,” Miller said, adding that the absence of meeting space constrains delivery of mental‑health and other services.

Catherine Flowers, the District 4 representative on the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Board, spoke not on behalf of the Parks Board but as a private citizen and urged the task force to consider senior‑center needs in North Austin. Flowers said she had been approached by a seniors group at Gus Garcia Senior Center and that a Parks Board gap study identified North Austin as at risk for limited senior‑center capacity. She referenced a parks board recommendation, citing “20231127‑2,” and said she would provide staff with additional statistics and follow‑up materials from local senior organizers.

Why it matters: Task force members will use community input when considering which projects to prioritize for future bond recommendations. Both speakers requested that specific facilities — an East Riverside community center and expanded senior resources at Gus Garcia — be considered for bond funding and included in outreach materials.

What speakers asked: Yates asked the task force to recommend adding a bond measure to fund an East Riverside Community Center. Flowers asked the task force to consider funding for senior center needs in North Austin and noted the Parks Board's recommendation number for staff reference. Miller urged task force members to invest in community facilities in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty rather than building primarily on the edges of the city.

Follow up: Staff said it can circulate Yates’s presentation slides and other submitted materials; Samuel Veloz, the task force liaison, confirmed staff would send materials to task force members. Flowers said she would forward the parks board recommendation and additional statistics to staff for distribution.