BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — The Sept. 1 Auburn City Council meeting abruptly ended nearly two hours after it began amid finger-pointing over who was to blame for the fallout surrounding the redevelopment of two aging apartment complexes.
Two weeks after approving the redevelopment of Lemans Square and the Chateau apartments — which primarily house lower-income residents — the Auburn City Council heard the pleas and ire of those concerned about potential pain and suffering.
Within a packed meeting room, civil rights organizations, faith leaders and private citizens warned council members those who currently live at the Lemans Square and Chateau apartments are facing displacement and even homelessness.
The majority of those who spoke said they believed the city had not done enough to help residents after the fact and had not done enough to help attract and build affordable housing as student developments and subdivisions go up around town.
Lee County NAACP President Laticia Smith said she was disappointed with the city’s response before, during and after the council voted to approve Foresite Group’s proposal to redevelop the two complexes.
She also requested the city provide assistance with rental applications, security deposits, moving expenses, credit filing, landlord risk and housing mitigation.
“My concern is about the apparent lack of a clear and comprehensive plan to ensure that the residents are not displaced without some viable, affordable alternatives,” Smith said. “While the mayor and many of you say you’re committed to doing all these great things to help after the fact, to many other residents, this feels less like leadership and more like an afterthought. On June 30, many of you came to a Ward One meeting and said you were all interested in more affordable housing. So you can imagine how disappointed we were less than two months later when your actions did not align with your words.”
Stephen Faulk, pastor of Auburn A.M.E. Zion Church, asked the council to consider a two-point plan. Among Faulk’s requests were financial assistance for Lemans and Chateau residents; for the city to develop a displacement and relocation policy that includes the city and developers giving adequate notice, a relocation plan, appropriate relocation assistance and special considerations for children, seniors, those with disabilities and low-income families.
“Tonight, I remember the question Cain asked God: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ I submit tonight that we are our brother’s keeper,” Faulk said. “My concern is that one group’s progress creates hardship for another. These aren’t just 200 apartments. These are 200 families. These are workers. These are working people who cook our food, clean our buildings, work in our businesses, care for our elderly and help make Auburn the wonderful city that it is.”
Private citizen Sheryl Parker McGee then warned the council the displacement of Lemans and Chateau residents could have far-reaching effects beyond the initial redevelopment.
“Purchasing a home is beyond what many of us can even dream of as being the American dream when [livable] homes in this area start at roughly $300,000,” McGee said. “So, what happens? We start to have wave after wave of homelessness. It’s an issue that we’re going to have to deal with more and more in this city. What happens when tent cities start popping up downtown on football weekends? You don’t want your alumni seeing that.”
Other solutions speakers discussed included the construction of a homeless shelter, using municipal government resources, incentives, partnerships with Auburn University or publicly owned land to help create affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households.
Not long after the public comment period had closed, a point of contention formed between Ward 1 Council Member Connie Fitch-Taylor and Ward 3 Council Member Beth Witten over a lack of request to table the conditional use requests at the Aug. 18 meeting.
Witten said Fitch-Taylor, who passionately spoke in agreement with those in attendance who were dismayed with the council’s vote two weeks prior, failed to request the council table the vote until a later date in time.
Fitch-Taylor responded to Witten in kind, saying Witten had also failed to request the council table the vote and that she was under the impression at least four other council members were prepared to vote against the two conditional use approval requests before the meeting.
Ward 8 Council Member Tommy Dawson interjected, saying he and his family had grown up poor and didn’t receive special assistance. That remark drew a reaction from the crowd before Fitch-Taylor and Witten continued, and Mayor Ron Anders quickly asked other council members make a motion to adjourn the meeting.
In other business, the council:
- Approved a special events retail alcohol license for Aramark Educational Services LLC (doing business as Plainsman Park) at 351 S. Donahue Drive.
- The council approved a restaurant retail alcohol license for Dumps Like a Truck (doing business as The Irritable Bao) at 127 E. Magnolia Ave.
- Approved a special events liquor license for Ithaka Hospitality Partners Auburn Beverage (doing business as The Hotel at Auburn University) at 901 S. College St.
- Awarded a $45,750 contract to Climate Services for the Boykin HVAC replacement.
- Awarded a $69,190 contract to EAC Enterprises (doing business as AGX Siteworx) for the Fire Station 3 driveway replacement.
- Approved a $175,597 purchase from Hydra Service for a trailer-mounted bypass pump.
- Approved a $198,000 purchase from Sign World for wayfinding signage at Parks and Recreation parks and facilities.
- Accepted public easements from FlexWorkSite for the consolidation of several lots in the Bent Creek Commercial Park located near Hilton Garden Drive.
- Approved a rezoning amendment for The District at Richland Road, located at the northwest corner of Shug Jordan Parkway and Richland Road.
- Approved an agreement with Pratt Recycling for single-stream recycling processing at $165 per ton.
- Approved a $260,515 agreement with Temple Inc. for management services at the city’s traffic control center.
- Approved a $475,815 purchase of roughly 3,000 stream and wetland mitigation credits from Westervelt Ecological Services for the first phase of the North Donahue Drive Widening Project.
- Approved a $1.2 million tax abatement for INFAC North America at 2250 Riley St. The company is expected to invest roughly $14.1 million and create 120 jobs.
- Approved a $1.24 million tax abatement for MOBIS North America Electrified Powertrain at 2250 Riley St. The company is expected to invest $22 million and create no new jobs.
- Approved a commercial and entertainment use for the Celebration Event Center at 1000 Main St, Suite B.
