AUBURN – Councilors are one week away from voting on a list of road and traffic improvements to support the burgeoning Turner Street/Mt. Auburn Avenue retail area.
Roland Miller, Auburn’s economic development director, outlined the proposed changes to councilors at a Monday night workshop meeting. The work amounts to about $5 million to purchase rights-of-way, relocate utilities and redesign and widen the roads around the retail developments.
The work would be paid for with a $5 million bond. Debt on the bond would be repaid over 20 years with revenues from a tax increment finance district on the mall area – but not right away. The city would need to budget $51,000 in other revenue to pay the bond the first year, $163,000 to pay it for the second year, $83,000 the third year and $16,000 for the fourth year. By the fifth year, the retail developments would be generating enough new revenue to pay the debt service.
Miller admitted that the project could be less expensive and the mall more successful faster. That would take much of the burden off of the city.
Councilor Kelly Matzen and Mayor Normand Guay agreed, saying Miller was being far too conservative.
Not everyone did, however. Councilor Belinda Gerry said she was concerned that the council had not discussed other ways to pay the debt service for the first four years.
And some Auburn residents had other criticisms of the plan. Jonathan Labonte, of 40 Reginald St., said the mall plan shows poor land use planning.
“You are convincing people to get in their cars and drive here,” he said. He also criticized the city for not working closely enough with Lewiston on retail development. Both cities are proposing big retail developments far removed from their downtowns. Lewiston is proposing to develop the area around Turnpike Exit 80, off of Plourde Parkway.
“Can this area afford to have two competing big box developments?” Labonte asked.
Dan Herrick, of 470 Hatch Road, agreed.
“Most cities, you see these developments and they’re right there by the turnpike exit,” Herrick said. “In Auburn, you have to get off Exit 75 and drive another 7.5 miles to get there. We’re putting the city in the country here, folks.”
Both Herrick and Labonte criticized the proposed financials, as well, and urged the council to consider adopting some sort of impact fee to help pay for road improvements.
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