Auburn to Put Sunday Alcohol Sales on November Ballot

• Who met: Auburn City Council
• Date: Thursday, June 16, 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 Auburn City Council voted unanimously to place Sunday beer and wine sales on the November 2011 General Election ballot. On April 28, Governor Nathan Deal signed a measure allowing local governments to put Sunday sales to the vote. If approved, the new regulation will allow sales beginning at 12:30 p.m. 

2. The winner of the Armed Forces Day Parade & Celebration photo contest was announced. Entries were encouraged during the celebration, and the council chose the finalists, which were posted on Facebook, and residents voted by "liking" their favorite. Robert Riley took first place, while Angela Thompson took the other three finalists' spots.

3. The council discussed removing distance restrictions that require that any restaurants serving alcohol be at least 300 feet from any school, park or church. This current regulation prevents any restaurants wishing to serve alcohol from opening in downtown. The proposed change would have no distance requirement. 

4. City Clerk Rafael Avalos presented a plan to adopt an off-site computer server system.  The Virtual Office Advantage would eliminate the need to have actual computers in most city departments. The city would no longer have to update or replace computers or servers, a task that would cost Auburn an estimated $51,375 for the 2012-13 fiscal year. Instead, monitors would plug in to secure remote servers. The cost for this system would be $72,384 for the first year. If the plan passes, the city discussed giving the 12 computers that would no longer be used to the library, where they would both add more stations and replace outdated systems.

5. Several potential city projects were discussed.

• The pony league field at Parks Mill is nearing completion, and the Public Works Department aims to have it completed by June 24. 
• City Planner Larry Lucas presented a plan to close William Street. The intersection of Mount Moriah Road and Third Avenue would need to be changed to increase turn radius. This would also open land for downtown development and improve traffic flow at an estimated cost of $10,890.
• The Burel Park Gazebo needs repairs following high winds that twisted its support columns. A proposed plan would brace it with heavy arbors over the walkways. 
• A proposed concept design for Fourth Avenue includes 6-foot concrete sidewalks, more trees, greenery and decorative lampposts. 
• Two stormwater projects were also proposed. Locations at 206 Sue Lane and lots 18 and 19 of Governors Ridge each need drainage work, and David Hawthorne, director of public works, recommended all work be done by the city to save on costs. Council Member Robert Vogel expressed concern about meeting deadlines using city workers. "You're going to have people's yards opened up," Vogel said. "That's my main concern."

6. Parks and Leisure Services Director Gary Schussler proposed partnering with Suwanee-based I9 Sports to create youth sports leagues for flag football, basketball, soccer and other sports. The company would incur all operations costs and complete all marketing. Auburn would only need to provide space for the activities. The city would receive between 15 to 30 percent of registration fees while incurring no costs. I9 currently runs all youth athletic programs for the city of Sugar Hill. 

7. Two contracts were discussed.

• Ray Campbell, city inspector, is nearing the end of a three year contract with the city, and a proposed new contract would modify his fees. Currently, when he conducts multiple inspections on the same day, the first costs $100, the second is free to the city and any others cost $45 each. The revised contract will factor in higher fuel costs and additional time, with Campbell making $100 for the first and $45 for other inspections. 
• A contract with Phillips State Prison for prisoner work detail also needs to be renewed. The current rate is $39,500 per year, and a similar Barrow County contract has a rate $2,500 lower per year. Hawthorne said he will be attempting to negotiate to that rate. 

8. Fees for zoning variances and appeals would decrease under a proposed plan. The city currently charges $750, and total cost to the city is about $465. With the proposed reduction, Auburn would charge $450. Only one such application has been filed in the past three years.

The Auburn City Council will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. July 7.