AUBURN – Plans to add sidewalks along Park Avenue are moving along as fast as possible, city officials told residents Thursday.

Crews could begin building the sidewalk and reconfiguring Park Avenue’s intersection with Summer Street in about a year, acting City Manager Laurie Smith said.

“We are trying to move money from other state-funded projects, because we think Park Avenue is a priority,” she said.

Sidewalks, schools and snow were all topics at a special ward meeting Thursday at Auburn’s Park Avenue Elementary School.

It was the second in a series of public comment forums traveling around the city. City officials kicked off the meeting last week in Ward 1. The series moves to Ward 3 at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 with a meeting in the Auburn Public Library’s community room.

10 residents attend

Mayor John Jenkins and councilors began the series last year. Each of those meetings drew dozens of residents out for public comments and discussion.

Thursday’s meeting drew fewer people, with about 10 residents and 12 city staffers and four city councilors.

Priscilla Miller of 211 Summer St. complained she was having difficulty clearing snow from her property because the piles were getting so high.

“There is just no place left,” she said.

Public Works Director Bob Belz said carting the snow off the roads is the city’s next priority. He planned to tour the New Auburn area with police and fire officials this morning identifying the roads that have been narrowed the most by snowbanks.

Need to keep it clear

“We need to make sure that emergency vehicles can get through,” he said. So far, his road crews have had their hands full.

“And this last storm was the worst so far,” he said. Crews that should have been plowing roads were diverted to find and clear ice off sewer grates and catch basins to stop road flooding.

“Then, they’d get diverted to deal with downed tree limbs,” he said. Then, those tree limbs would knock down power lines, and his crews would get diverted to set up barriers while they waited for Central Maine Power Co. crews.

“These 100-inch-plus winters are very difficult because the piles do get so big and our crews are working so hard,” he said.

Candy Gleason, an English teacher at Edward Little High School, also urged city councilors to give the School Committee room to work.

“You have a very talented School Committee, and you need to let them do their job,” she said. She said talk of budget cuts worry her and other students.

But city Councilor Ray Berube defended tight budget scrutiny at the school level. “If you want to go over the School Committee budget, talk to me. I tore it down from A to Z last year,” he said. There are lines that can be cut, including money for stipends and conferences.

“Your School Committee refuses to cut that,” he said. “That’s why we have a problem.”