Board: Auburn City Council

Met: Monday night

Minot Ave. rotary

Issue: The congested point where Western Avenue dumps onto Minot Avenue could get a reworking by city and state crews. The city has qualified for up to $3.7 million in state transportation money to do work on the busy intersection of Minot Avenue, Washington Street and High Street – known as the Minot Avenue Rotary.

The scoop: Public Services Director Eric Labelle plans to meet with merchants Thursday to discuss possible fixes to the road, and he presented the current ideas to councilors Monday. One change calls for installing a roundabout – similar to the traffic circles near the Auburn Mall – at High Street and Minot Avenue. That would let Minot Avenue handle two-way traffic and control speeds without backing up traffic behind a traffic signal.

Up next: The meeting with rotary-area merchants and residents is scheduled at 6 p.m. Thursday in Auburn Hall.

Land use rules

Issue: The city Comprehensive Plan committee has been meeting for the last seven months, writing a document to help guide the city’s future planning, zoning, growth and economic development decisions for the next decade. The group has been gathering information about the city and is now beginning discussions about land use and zoning rules.

The scoop: Planning Director David Galbraith updated councilors about the committee’s progress Monday, and they suggested some land use changes. Councilor Ron Potvin suggested easing building and lot restrictions in the city’s agricultural zones, allowing more house lot building. He also urged the city’s planners to work with their Lewiston counterparts when it came time to plan for downtown development.

Up next: The next Comprehensive Plan committee meeting is at 6 p.m. Feb. 3 in Auburn Hall.

Zoning change

Issue: Land owner Wayne Gendreau wants to change the zoning on his 4.2 acre lot at 787 South Main St.

The scoop: The land is currently zoned for low density country residential, which has a minimum lot size of three acres. Gendreau wants to change it to rural residential, which allows one-acre lots. That would let him divide the lot into three separate parcels for sale or later development.

The matter came before the city’s Planning Board in December and no one attended the meeting to argue for or against it. Much of the surrounding area has already been converted from low density to rural residential.

Up next: Councilors approved the change on second and final reading unanimously.

Missing trailer

Issue: The city placed a lien on a mobile home several years ago but never officially took over the property in 2006. Since the space where the building was located was leased, the city took control of the trailer building itself – on paper. The city had the right to sell the trailer to reclaim those back property taxes.

The scoop: City Manager Glenn Aho told councilors the problem seemed to be one of mixed-up paperwork. The trailer’s owner agreed to sell the trailer to a hauling company, but the sale didn’t close until April 2006. That’s the date the city uses to determine property taxes, and since the previous owner still technically owned the trailer, she was liable for the taxes. She never paid the taxes, and eventually the city had a lien placed on the property.

Aho said the city had three choices: taking the previous owner to court over the $153.30 past due taxes, taking the hauler to court or writing off that money as a loss.

Up next: Councilors agreed to write off the $153.30 as a loss.

February meetings

Issue: Another national holiday falls on City Council’s meeting day.

The scoop: President’s Day is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16, and city offices will be closed. That’s also the day for a regularly scheduled meeting.

Up next: Councilors voted to push back their second regular February meeting to Tuesday, Feb. 17. They also scheduled workshop meetings on Feb. 9 and 23.

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