ISSUE: A parallel taxiway at the Auburn Lewiston Municipal Airport will run into 2.5 acres of wetland under current plans, and airport officials need to find alternate wetlands in the city to preserve before the Army Corps of Engineers will let plans proceed. Officials proposed having the Federal Aviation Administration buy 26 acres off of South Main Street in New Auburn from the city and setting it aside.

The scoop: Councilors didn’t have any objections, so far. Now, the airport will hire an appraiser to figure out how much the land is worth. If the price is right, the Androscoggin Land Trust will get access to 26 acres of open space paid for by the FAA.

Meeting minutes

Issue: One item on the council agenda at every meeting is to approve the previous meeting’s minutes. That’s fine most of the time, unless the majority of seats on the council changes after an election – like they did in November. And members of the recently elected council said they had a problem voting on the minutes of the last council’s final meeting.

The scoop: Mayor John Jenkins and Councilor Ray Berube offered a fix: Make the only item on a City Council’s final agenda approving their last meeting’s minutes. That lets them wash their hands of city business and lets the new council start with a clean slate, according to Jenkins. But councilors Dick Gleason and Eric Samson said it was an overly bureaucratic solution to tiny problem.

Up next: The idea passed by a 4-2 vote and will come back to the next council meeting.

Pro-tempore

Issue: The City Council may pick one from its ranks to run meetings and act if the mayor is absent or unable to serve. The mayor pro-tempore may be picked well in advance or as needed, according to city ordinances.

The scoop: Councilors agreed it’s a good idea to get such things worked out before it becomes necessary and voted to appoint someone. They didn’t pick anyone, however, and didn’t say when they would.

Naming committees

Issue: City government relies on a host of support and advisory committees. In most cases, these groups have limited authority to make or interpret city rules and decide policy. In some cases, the groups simply advise the City Council. Each new council and mayor gets to put people on those committees, shaping the way city government operates for the next few years.

The scoop: Councilors filled empty slots on nine committees Monday night. They named: Preston Chapman to the Auburn Water District through March 2011; Michael Dixon and Michael Lyons to the Zoning Board of Appeals until October and September 2009; Richard Valcourt and Richard Gammon to the Auburn Housing Authority through October 2011; Robert Cavanagh and Jeffrey Preble to the Auburn Sewer District until March 2011; David Stuchiner to the 911 Committee until December 2009; David Griswold to the L/A Community Forest Board until September 2009; Ryan Smith to the Community Development Loan Committee through 2010; Jon Oxman to the Investment Advisory Committee through March 2010; and Joseph Theriault, Robert Thorpe and Councilor Robert Hayes to the Lewiston/Auburn Railroad Board. Theriault will serve through April 2008, Hayes through April 2009 and Thorpe through April 2010.

National Anthem

Issue: Auburn school students will make regular appearances at City Council meetings to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The scoop: Two Sherwood Heights students have sung the national anthem at as many meetings. Second-grader Mariah Parent sang at the Feb. 26 meeting and fifth-grader Evan Mancini sang Monday night. It’s part of an effort to promote the national anthem.

Up next: Sherwood Heights music teacher Mike Davis said students from other Auburn schools will be attending council meetings to sing in the coming months.

Contact government reporter Scott Taylor via phone at 689-2846 or via e-mail at [email protected]