Board: Auburn City Council

Met: Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Great Falls Arts
Issue: The city has been negotiating a lease with Community Little Theatre group, allowing the theater to take control of the Great Falls Building, the former school on Academy and Main streets.  Plans call for demolishing the older part of the building later this fall, and moving current tenants out.
The Scoop: Economic Development Director Roland Miller said he hopes to have the final lease ready for council review by the July 18 meeting. He presented a draft of the lease for councilors to review during an executive session.
In general, the city would lease the space to the theater group for $1 per year through 2110.
Up Next: Councilors are tentatively scheduled to vote on the lease at the July 18 meeting.

Auburnmaine.org
Issue: Councilors set aside $25,000 two years ago to replace the city’s telephone system but the money was never used. City Manager Glenn Aho said the new system would improve services for city staff but most residents calling Auburn Hall would never notice the difference.
Instead, Aho used that money to redesign the city’s Web site at www.auburnmaine.org, making it more usable and better able to answer residents’ questions..
The Scoop: Renee Bogart, the city’s information systems director, said she has received two bids to redesign the website, and the lowest bid is within that budget.
Up Next: Councilors approved the reallocating the money, clearing the way for redesigning the city website.

Composting plan
Issue: Trapp Road resident Michelle Melaragno seeks to convert part of her 46-acre Trapp Road property into a composting facility for horses and other large animals. Composting is an environment-friendly way of handling the carcasses of the large animals and more affordable than cremation.
The Scoop: She asked the city Planning Board to vote to approve facilities like hers as a permitted use in the city’s agricultural zone. The board approved the zoning change as a special exception, giving the city some oversight and influence to limit problems from smells. The board also decided to keep similar operations out of  the Lake Auburn Watershed district.
But the change needs City Council approval to happen. Councilors said Tuesday they were concerned about runoff said they were concerned about what would happen to bones that are left behind.
Up Next: The issue will get two public hearings before the council, at the July 18 and Aug. 1 meetings. Bogart said she expected work would begin this month.

Drug forfeiture
Issue: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency shares proceeds from drug busts with the other police agencies involved.
The Scoop: Councilors on Monday accepted a share of $756  in seizures and an SUV stemming from two arrests. The money will go to Auburn police.

Liquor licenses
Issue: Local restaurants and bars must reapply for liquor licenses and amusement permits each year. Liquor licenses permit the establishments to serve alcohol; amusement permits allow them to play music, have a DJ, host karaoke or have games on site.
The scoop: Councilors  renewed a  special amusement permit for Fox Ridge Golf Club, 550 Penley Corner Road.

Next meeting: The next regular meeting of the Auburn City Council is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday , July 18.

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