Complete Document - City of Auburn

Budget Message (continued) May 28, 2002new passive park on South Gay Street. Of course, the Council had the vision to purchasethe property for all of these facilities, as well as the 65-acre site at the corner of Moore’s MillRoad and Society Hill Road for a future park. In addition, the expansion to the BoykinCommunity Center has provided space for quality programs for low and moderate-incomechildren. During your term, the Drake Gym, Hickory Dickory Park, the Nunn-WinstonHouse at Kiesel Park, and the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center have been dedicated.During the past four years, this Council has improved almost all of the departmentalfacilities. Of course, the showcase building is the new City Hall. One of the most importantpublic buildings in Auburn has been preserved for future generations to enjoy. Itspreservation has been widely supported by the Auburn community that now has a City Hallin which it can take pride. The purchase and subsequent renovation of the building nowknown as the City Hall Annex will also prove to be a wise investment in its short term useas a meeting hall and its long-term availability for an expansion of the City Hall years fromnow.The new Library has upgraded the quality of library services to the community manytimes over. A city based on education should have a fine public library and we now dohave a facility that meets the community standard for high quality. The creation of theDevelopment Services Building is proving already to be a wise move and will improveservice to citizens and builders/developers once it is fully operational. The conversion ofthe old Library for the Public Safety Department’s administrative offices and the extensiverenovation of the Police building give that department a first class home. Earlier, theCouncil upgraded the work places for the Environmental Services and Public WorksDepartments by building new facilities for them. This building program was based on acomprehensive plan to modernize the City’s facilities that had been given little attention formany years.You have also realized that these improvements for our Schools, streets, sidewalks,bikeways, parks, buildings, and other infrastructure are dependent on a strong economicbase. Under the Alabama Constitution and laws, there are severe limitations on the use ofproperty taxes to pay for the costs of government. Therefore, if a city is to be successful, itmust generate resources from commercial and industrial businesses. Your support for theconstruction of the Auburn Technology Park North is already paying off with thegroundbreaking for Stahlschmidt and Maiworm and the announcement of AuburnTechnologies. Other industrial commitments will soon follow. Eventually, we expect thatover 1000 jobs will be created in that Park alone.Since you have been in office, the following major companies have come to Auburn:Donaldson Company, Schrock Cabinet Company, the National Center for AsphaltTechnology, Touchstone Precision, Hoerbiger Drivetech USA, and FiberCore USA.Numerous smaller projects, such as Coach Comm, Health Information Designs, KauthAutomotive, American Truetschler, Hoerbiger Hydraulics and Pattern Technologies. Inaddition, Capitol Vial, KD Industries, Falk Corporation, Briggs & Stratton, and others haveannounced major additions to their workforces and facilities.The City of Auburn has made significant progress during the past four years. Theprojects and actions mentioned above represent only a few of the Council’saccomplishments. You have enacted legislation that will have a long-term effect on thecommunity - the erosion control ordinance, the business license ordinance, the wirelineordinance, and the amendments to the alcoholic beverage ordinance that addressed22