Mayor Ron Anders presented his sixth-annual State of the City Address at the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center on Nov. 12. For the 2024 State of the City Address, Mayor Anders discussed Auburn’s growth and challenges in the past year.
Doors opened at 5 p.m. and the executive director of GPAC, Christopher Heacox, welcomed attendees and introduced Mayor Anders to the stage at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Anders spoke strongly about Auburn’s economy, explaining that in late September, S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investment Services affirmed that the city of Auburn has high bond ratings of AA+ and AA2.
“What does that mean for you? These ratings signal that our local economy is strong,” Anders said. “They allow us to make your tax dollars go further by getting lower interest rates when we owe our money for projects like the Lake Willmore Community Center and the upcoming Boykin Donahue campus project.”
Anders also said that the 2025 fiscal budget for Auburn was approved in September.
In Auburn’s revenue growth, Anders credited sales tax as the largest revenue generator for the city. Anders explained the sales tax from supporting local businesses and events helped generate jobs, support local nonprofits, and maintain city infrastructure and services.
“Every new business, every home football game, and every local event helps fund our city as does your dedication to supporting Auburn businesses” Anders spoke.
Anders spoke about numerous projects and buildings Auburn completed in 2024.
Expansion of the Wire Road Soccer Complex
Anders began his building updates with the details of the expansion of the Wire Road Soccer Complex, which opened in Fall 2023. The expansion included three outdoor turf fields, a new practice field, new restroom facilities, expanded parking, pedestrian walkways and a 56 thousand square foot indoor facility.
The new facility contains a multi-purpose court with lines for futsal, basketball, soccer and volleyball. The center also hosts community events and is now the voting place for Ward A.
Renovations to Jan Dempsey Community Art Center
Renovations to the Jan Dempsey Community Art Center included an 8 thousand square foot space dedicated to a dance studio, a patio for outdoor art programs and events and a ceramics studio.
The Jan Dempsey Community Art Center also implemented improved gallery spaces, exhibitions installed along the main hallway, ADA improvements and added dressing rooms to the theater performing space.
Environmental Services & Public Works Complex Relocation
Completed on Jan. 16, 2024, the city of Auburn’s Environmental Services & Public Works Complex relocated to Wire Road. The campus stores materials for Public Works, Traffic Engineering and Environmental Services, which contain garbage, trash, recycling, animal control and fleet services.
“We also built a new home for environmental services and public works departments, which work every day to maintain our streets, collect our garbage, trash, and recycle, clean up after storms, and maintain the city's vehicles and equipment,” Anders said. “The new facility on Wire Road is already proven to be a great location to handle events like household hazardous waste day. In this past year, we took the first step towards a new training complex for our public safety service.”
Public Safety Training Complex – Classroom
Throughout 2024, additions to the new Public Safety Training Complex off Highway 280 added a drill tower for recruits and career firefighters and a soon-to-be-completed classroom. Future builds for the complex include a burn building and a search and rescue maze simulator.
The complex also serves as a new voting location for Ward 3.
Lake Wilmore Community Center
Opening soon, the Lake Wilmore Community Center brings two full-size basketball courts, an indoor walking track, 18 covered pickleball courts, four multi-use athletic fields, and a pool that has a lap pool and an area for activities like water aerobics.
The pool will be heated and covered, ensuring year-round use. The community center will also have a fitness room, multi-use rooms, concessions, and a conference room. Lake Wilmore serves as the new voting location for Ward 7.
Ann Pearson Park
Expected to be finished by March 28, 2025, Ann Pearson Park, named after the Auburn native and historian, on Shelton Mill Rd. will include trails, a pavilion and a play area spanning about 40 acres of land.
The Boykin Donahue Campus Project
Expected to be completed by July 31, 2026, the Boykin Donahue Campus replaces the former environmental services and public works buildings on North Donahue Dr. with a new branch of the Auburn Public Library, Auburn’s first splash pad, walking trails and a cultural center.
The cultural center will showcase the rich history of Auburn's African American community.
Anders listed numerous completed and future projects that bettered road transportation, pedestrian safety and landscaping on Auburn roads. Anders also gave updates on the five-year road resurfacing project.
“These projects will undoubtedly cause some temporary inconveniences for many of us, including myself, as we move around town,” Anders said. “Please be patient, and keep in mind the decades of benefits a few weeks or months of inconvenience will bring.”
Anders gave a breakdown for all services before announcing the lamplighter award recipients.
· The Environmental Services Department made 1.7 million trash stops to collect garbage, trash and recycling throughout the Auburn community last year.
· The Public Works Department maintained over 729 miles of road, 154 miles of storm and sewer drains, 185 miles of sidewalk and 655 miles of curbs and gutters. 131 pothole beds were filled and over 100 sidewalks were patched.
· Public Works collected over 9,000 bags of litter and maintained over 2,600 acres of land along the roads. 200 new trees were also planted.
· Patrons checked out more than 612,000 books, audiobooks, movies and e-books at the Auburn Library last year.
· Inspection services conducted over 23,000 building inspections over the last year and issued 1,600 building permits, with over 700 of those building permits being for single-family owners.
· The Auburn Police Department performed over 118,000 security checks and worked more than 18,000 hours of extra duty.
· The Auburn Fire Department responded to more than 7,600 calls, with 4,600 being medical calls and 212 being fires.
· Emergency Communications processed over 200,000 calls for service.
· The Economic Development Team announced seven company expansions and three new manufacturers coming to Auburn last year, bringing 350 new jobs and over $185 million in capital investment.
After the Address, Mayor Anders presented the 2024 Mayor’s Lamplighter Awards.
The City of Auburn's logo shows the lamp of knowledge to emphasize education. Alluding to the lamp of knowledge, the Office of the Mayor writes the recipients’ efforts “have made to make Auburn even brighter.”
Anders said these honored individuals “punch holes in the darkness” through their service to the Auburn community.
2024 Lamplighter recipients
· Bill Boldt, President of Onward Campus Ministry.
· Melanie Brown, Auburn Area Community Theatre’s Children’s Theatre Director.
· Johnnie Dowdell, former center manager at Boykin Community Center.
· Jennifer Ferguson, Auburn High School Assistant Athletic Director.
· Dr. William Powell, Auburn University professor of music and director of choral activities.
· Larry Wilson, owner of Country’s Barbecue.
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Jennifer Santiago is a freshman in exploratory studies from Enterprise, AL. Santiago has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Fall 2024.
Michaela Yielding is a senior in journalism currently serving as the news editor. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since fall 2023.
