Auburn
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Auburn City Council, Mayor Bill Ham announced the Korean-based Honam Petrochemical Corporation has selected Auburn to be the site of its first manufacturing facility in the United States.
Honam, or HPM Alabama Corporation as it will be known in the states, will set up shop at the Auburn Technology Park North.
The company specializes in the manufacture of polypropylene resin materials and will use the Auburn plant to produce injection moldable fiber reinforced thermoplastics. These materials can be used as alternatives to metal components and will be most applicable in the electronic and automotive industries.
The Honam Corporation is part of the larger Lotte Group whose annual revenue is more than $50 billion and employs around 35,000.
Representatives from Honam spoke at Tuesday’s meeting to express their enthusiasm over the selection of Auburn as their U.S. base and their goal of partnering with the University, as well as creating jobs for the community.
Other business at Tuesday’s meeting included the presentation of the 2010 citizens’ survey results presented by Chris Tatham, a consultant with the ETC Institute, whose company conducted the research.
The results of the survey showed that, of the citizens who responded, most were genuinely content with the progress of the community.
Among the many results presented, Tatham found that 12 percent of the respondents were negatively affected by University students, down 2 percent from last year. Other results showed that some citizens still struggle with traffic problems and would like better lighting on many of the roads around Auburn.
The absence of sufficient bike paths and trails around the city remained one of the greatest concerns, though 55 percent of respondents reported that they never use the facilities already available.
Attendance at Tuesday’s meeting surpassed many in recent months as Ham recognized the 2011 Teacher of the Year honorees from each Auburn school, including Kristi Weeks, who was selected as Elementary Teacher of the Year, and Rebecca Balkcom as Secondary Teacher of the Year.
Opelika
Six historical properties in Opelika are not up to the Historical Preservation Commission’s code, but the Opelika city council tabeled a resolution proposed by the Commission to take the property owners to court.
“If in fact we present these and pass them tonight, we are basically forcing those folks to take us to court,” said Eddie Smith, president.
The six properties are located in Opelika’s three historic districts, and they are violating standards for exterior appearance. Violations include everything from lack of minor maintenance, to unauthorized removal of chimneys, to properties that are candidates for demolition.
The issue has been before the Council since Feb. 15, but Luis Rivera with the Historical Preservation Commission said he isn’t surprised the Council tabled the topic again instead of passing the resolution to authorize the city attorney to pursue court action.
“It’s the first time since the ordinance’s creation in 13 years that it’s ever gotten this far,” Rivera said. “I expected further analysis.”
Smith suggested he and Guy Gunter, city attorney, should attend a meeting of the Historical Preservation Commission to discuss what can be done.
“I think it’s a grand opportunity for us to possibly revise our ordinance, to give the commission a couple more options,” Rivera said.
Currently, the Historical Preservation Commission can only send letters and request the Council to take legal action.
“If possibly the Commission could take up cases by itself, either through citations or fines—you know, give it something more than just a due date we can’t do anything about,” Rivera said.
Smith said the cost of going to court or making the necessary repairs to the property is an important point to consider.
“If we take some action, and it is a situation where they can’t afford to do it, we’re going to end up in court,” Smith said. “We’ve all got to get on the same page as to what our ultimate goal is of a house that right now is not conforming.”
Gunter walked through the steps that would take place if the issue went to court, and Smith said he hoped the explanation would be an eye-opener for the Commission.
“We’ve got to figure out where that balance is, both in what their responsibility is, what their thought is, and what we will reinforce for them on their recommendation,” Smith said. “That might give all of them a little better perspective.
“Of the six houses, we’ve seen the proof that two of them actually have done some work and made some progress. Two of them need to be bulldozed, and I’m not sure what the status of the other two are.”
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