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The City of Auburn is proceeding with planning for the state-mandated improvements at its sewage treatment plant, but it’s also leaving the door open for participation in a regional wastewater plan. On a 5-0 vote Monday night, the city council authorized Public Works Director Jack Warren to issue a contract for the project’s final design to ECO:LOGIC, Inc., a consulting firm the city frequently uses.
The contract calls for a “not to exceed” cost of $732,668, but Warren
noted in his memo to the council that “at any point we can stop the
design work if there is assurance that the regional project will work.” By “regional project,” Warren was referring to the much-discussed
proposal to come up with a regional wastewater plan that would include
Auburn, Lincoln and smaller communities. The city is under the gun to get its plant upgraded by December 2009,
and earlier this year it increased the Auburn monthly sewage charge
from $35 to $52.50 in order to pay for the $11.7 million project. However, the regional plan still appears viable but would take a lot of
time to pull together. In this regard, Warren has asked the State
Regional Water Quality Control Board for an extension of its deadline
for the treatment plant upgrade — on the chance that the regional plan
might jell in the near future. Under questioning by Mayor Bob Snyder, Warren said such requests are
not easily granted. “Sometimes it takes six months to find out if
they’ll give us six months (in extension time),” Warren said. Snyder then smilingly challenged Warren to see if he can’t get it done in 60 days. Cheryl Maki, a former two-time Auburn mayor, is a member of the state
board. She attended Monday night’s meeting and urged the council “to
not stop having a vision about having a regional operation.” In a related matter, the council approved a sanitary sewer management
plan and a wastewater pollution prevention plan for the city. In other matters, the council: — Reappointed Sue Dings, Everett Jensen, Talmadge Lewis and Stephanie
Wills to the arts commission and named Aloha Baumgarten, an
artist/sculptor, to a seat on the panel. — Authorized a $38,250 consulting contract for Stuart & Graham of
Lincoln to prepare a 2008 housing element update for the city. The
state requires the update by next June 30. — Authorized an agreement whereby the Skyview Foundation, through
Auburn’s Bob Gilliom, will advance $388,199 to the city to pay for the
Cooper amphitheater restoration portion of the School Park Preserve
project behind City Hall. The foundation, already a generous donor to
the $4 million park project, will be repaid when the city receives
grant funding from the state. — Voted 4 to 1 to urge the State Parks and Recreation Department to
allow the continued use of motorized boats at Lake Clementine on the
north fork of the American River. Snyder opposed Councilman Kevin
Hanley’s motion, opining that it was premature because the state agency
has not yet formally proposed banning motorized boats from the man-made
lake. “I voted no but I’ll sign the letter anyway,” Snyder said with a
big grin.
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