Auburn University students discussed issues in the City of Auburn ranging from
Tuesday marked the third and final installment of the SGA town halls in the 2017–18 school year. It was held in Room 4510 in the Mell Classroom Building from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
A popular topic of discussion was the proposed change to the allowable heights of buildings downtown. The town hall was held one week after a City Council meeting, which was the longest in at least the past 32 years as a result of
“There is a tremendous amount of emotion on both sides of this issue,” Ham said.
Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Witten said that it was great to see people so passionate about the future of Auburn and the proposal, which would raise the limit on the height of buildings from 65 to 75 feet.
“I happen to not have an issue with 75 feet,” Witten said. “I think we can create things and have as beautiful of a second-generation Auburn that we can all look back on and be proud of and that my children can come back and say, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ Maybe my children will be having the same conversation about 95 feet. Who knows?”
Witten said she saw five or six cranes as she walked into the building and that people should be excited about this growth despite the side they take on the building height debate because it brings money that is dispersed throughout the community.
Ward 5 Councilwoman Lynda Tremaine, who said she is not running for re-election, dislikes the proposal and has said for a long time that she would like the limit to be lower.
“People say I’m just getting old and don’t want change,” Tremaine said. “Well, I am getting older, but I think we need to be careful that we don’t change the character of our town. We can still grow — we have exciting new businesses coming — without an overwhelming downtown.”
She said it’s special to come over the railroad tracks next to Mike and Ed’s and see Samford Tower and immediately feel at home.
“Even though we have a five-hour meeting, and we laugh about it, and it’s a record-breaking meeting, we heard a lot of perspectives, some that we probably didn’t think of,” Witten said. “And we do try to keep an open mind, and it’s important that we hear your voice as well.”
The local officials also addressed various ways in which the City of Auburn is looking to combat limited parking in downtown areas.
The City of Auburn recently purchased land on College Street, which will have a parking deck built on it. According to the mayor, the deck will have between 300-400 public parking spots.
“Auburn decided to become a pedestrian campus, and I have nothing negative to say about that other than that it causes a parking problem,” Ham said. “It puts cars in places they haven’t been before. Long story short, we have a parking problem, and we realize that.”
City Council also plans to place an additional 100 spots behind Auburn Bank on the corner of Gay and Magnolia streets, which will be intended for employees of businesses downtown. The city plans to lease the land for 3–5 years.
“What’s the impetus of downtown business?” Ham asked. “Obviously, it’s to serve the public but to make a profit. So, if we got employees parking in the places that could be utilized by customers, then we got a problem.”
Witten added that Tiger Transit is a great resource for students that can reduce the number of cars parked downtown.
“We get in conversations with our own non-University residents that would love to be able to use Tiger Transit and ask why they can’t use it,” Witten said.
Ward 2 Councilman Ron Anders said that parking is an issue, but he wants a high influx of people downtown. He said the largest revenue for the city is sales tax.
“Understand that we’re not the old folks wanting to point the finger at you saying, ‘You’re causing all the problems downtown,’” Anders said to students. “We want you downtown. Those businesses need you.”
Ham recounted a recent incident in which a student was working downtown and had received multiple parking tickets. He was able to help her find a free parking spot that she was not aware of.
Ham said many of the issues can be solved with communication, and he encouraged students to reach out to the City Council with issues or concerns.
Students asked the panel questions relating to safety precautions being taken in lieu of such large growth as well as prospective business investments near Opelika Road.
Council members cited plans to address safety concerns by increasing street lighting throughout the city as well as widening sidewalks.
Throughout the event, the city officials showed appreciation to those in attendance and encouraged more civic engagement.
“I’m just so impressed with you all,” Tremaine said. “When I was a student here, I did not get involved at all with anything with government. I didn’t think about things going on like you all are, and I’m so impressed all the time.”
Director of Town Halls for the 2017–18 SGA, Julianne Lyn, junior in pre-public relations, hopes SGA will attract a higher attendance for the new town halls going forward.
“Overall, I think it’s a really good opportunity, and I really wish more students would get involved,” Lyn said. “We’re going to push to make them bigger because they’re so new. It’s hard to get students here now. Our main goal is to increase our numbers and letting them know this is an opportunity they need to take advantage of.”
The first two town halls focused on sexual assault and diversity and inclusion, respectively. The newly appointed 2018–19 SGA will hold at least two similar town halls.
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