The candidates for City Council Ward 6 want to work to represent the people of their ward and their interests to continue to grow Auburn in a positive direction.
Bob Parsons, 54, said his main goal is to make sure his neighborhood has representation on the Council.
“I feel like I’ve been going to a lot of City Council meetings over the last year or so, and it seems to me that a lot of everyday residents, the long-term residents, that there’s a disconnect between us and the City Council representatives,” said Parsons, the fire inspector for Opelika. “I really want to make sure that all voices are represented on the City Council and that particularly is long-term residents of Ward 6.”
Sarah Brown, 46, wants to work to better communicate with the people of Ward 6, especially students and the University.
“We have such a great place, and we need to celebrate the great things that we have, and we need to look forward to the future, continue to grow and just make sure that we have the resources to continue our safety, our infrastructure and all the positive things that we have going,” Brown said, a design consultant for Three Sixty Real estate.
During the candidate forums leading up to the first municipal election, candidates were often asked about the City Council’s vote in April to increase the maximum height limit of buildings that can be developed downtown from 65 feet to 75 feet.
The issue of the building height downtown has been a hot topic for several years, Brown said.
“We have to continue to grow downtown and for sustainability reasons, for economic reasons, we have to go up and not out,” Brown said. “To be able to grow the retail, the services that we want to stay downtown that (the 75-foot height limit) was a necessary component.”
Parsons does not have much a problem with whether downtown has 65- or 75-foot buildings, rather that the Council went against a promise they previously made to the citizens, he said.
“Not but two years ago the Council made a compromise with the residents of Auburn to reduce that height to 65 feet,” Parsons said. “Then, they basically just broke that promise, broke that agreement with the residents. It was just done very quickly and not particularly well.”
Earlier in 2018, the city began working on an ordinance that will regulate short-term rentals, which are commonly done through companies such as Airbnb.
Short-term rentals provide accommodations for tourists that they want, Brown said when discussing friends of hers that would have rather stayed in a short-term rental house than a hotel.
“I think it’s necessary in this community that we have that opportunity for people that are coming into the community,” Brown said. “We need to be able to provide for people that are coming here and tourists that are coming here, but we also need to do it and make sure that we’re following the rules and regulations so we make sure that the city is benefiting from the tourism that’s coming into Auburn.”
Parsons said he believes short-term rentals have a place in Auburn.
“With regards to Ward 6, we have already in place unrelated occupancy laws that no more than two people unrelated can live in the same home,” Parsons said. “So I think any kind of ordinance concerning Airbnb in mind would have to take that into account. Since they’re a business, they would be subject to the taxes.”
Parsons said if he is elected, he plans to have a strong social media presence and use his website to get messages out to citizens.
“I intend to follow Councilmember Linda Tremaine’s model of ensuring there is a monthly public ward meeting, where concerned residents from any part of the city, but most focused on Ward 6, would be able to come and meet with me and discuss and learn about any matters that are deemed important to the residents in Ward 6,” Parsons said.
Brown said there is a lot of talent and ideas within the student body. She wants to work with the students to get them involved in the city government.
“I think the SGA involvement is a huge part of that,” Brown said. “I mean your SGA is the leadership of the University. I think we should work hand in hand with the SGA and City Council.”
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Elizabeth, senior in journalism and political science, is the community editor for The Plainsman
