Auburn Council Approves Sidewalk Plan, 9/11 Day Of Remembrance

• Who met: Auburn City Council
• Date: Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011
• Location: Auburn Municipal Court Chambers
• Who was present: Mayor Linda Blechinger, council members Donna Scouten, Dorissa Shackleford, Peggy Langley and Robert Vogel, City Administrator Ron Griffith, City Clerk Rafael Avalos, Police Chief Paul Nadeau and City Planner Larry Lucas
• Top agenda items:

1. The council approved the proposed design for a new cityscape for Fourth Avenue. Plans include a 10-foot sidewalk, streetlamps, two ramps allowing handicap access to buildings and red crepe myrtle trees. Council member Dorissa Shackleford had expressed her disapproval of the plan at the monthly workshop meeting and voted against the proposal. She then asked that the city research a utility grant that might help with the cost of burying electrical lines that hang across the street. 

2. The council approved a plan to proclaim Sept. 11 a day of service and remembrance. Festivities will include a private cookout for Auburn and Barrow County police, firefighters and their families, and a public ceremony with a guest speaker and a candlelight vigil with a video montage. 

3. The council approved the purchase of infield mix for Parks Mill ball field. Green Acres of Snellville gave the lowest estimate for the materials, coming in at $36 per ton delivered. The ball field will require a maximum of 215 tons, at a total cost of $7,740. 

4. The council approved a proposal to change Municipal Court Solicitor Mari Lee Chambers's contract. The new contract changes her monthly fee to a per court session fee of $335.25 per session and adds a $130 per hour rate for work done outside the court room. These hours are capped at five per month, and Chambers will have to seek prior approval from the chief of police or city administrator before more hours are allowed.