Auburn City Council approves road improvement project

The Auburn City Council approved a decision on Tuesday to award the contract for the Full Depth Reclamation project to D & J Enterprises, Inc. in the amount of more than $3.3 million dollars. The project consists of the Full Depth Reclamation, resurfacing, and restriping of various streets around Auburn.

“Full depth reclamation is a process by which we will milled existing asphalt, and then part of the asphalt and part of the base will be ground up and recycled, if you will, mixed with cement, laid back down, and then we’ll pave over it,” Engineering Services Director Alison Frazier said. “So it’s just a process of recycling and reusing some of the existing material, but it provides a very stable base. And the roads that have been chosen are high volume roads, so we’re looking for some longevity.”

According to the memorandum for the contract in the council’s agenda packet, the following roads were selected for the project:

• Shelton Mill Road from East University Drive to U.S. Highway 280
• Farmville Road from North College Street to Miracle Road
• Mill Creek Road from Shell Toomer Parkway to Sandhill Road(Lee Road 10)
• Tara Lane from Pierce Chapel Road to the end of pavement
• Webster Road from McMillan Street to Wire Road

“The streets identified in the attached memorandum were selected for full depth reclamation due to the condition of the streets which need to be reclaimed for the full depth of asphalt from the base to the wearing surface, thus improving the longevity of the street,” the memorandum said.

The council unanimously approved the full consent agenda on Tuesday, which included a pair of alcohol licenses and several purchases that combined for over $800,000.

Within that consent agenda, the council approved a retail beer and retail table wine, both off premises only, alcohol license for the new ALDI location in Auburn. In March, ALDI announced its plans to expand across the country, including through converting a significant number of Winn Dixie locations following ALDI’s acquisition of Southeastern Grocers. It was announced in June that the Winn Dixie at 1617 S. College Street would be converted into one of AlDI’s new discount grocery stores. The location was closed for renovations starting in mid-July and is still closed.

Also within the consent agenda was approval for a restaurant retail liquor license for a new chicken restaurant that is coming to Auburn, Waldo’s Chicken and Beer. The new restaurant will be located at 1120 S. College Street, which was once occupied by 19th Hole. According to the company’s website, Waldo’s is all about the combination of “delicious food, cold beer, good vibes.” The menu at Waldo’s features chicken served a variety of ways, fresh sides and a selection of beer and cocktails.

The consent agenda included the following purchases:

• Construction materials testing and special inspection services from ACAI Construction Testing, LLC for the Boykin-Donahue Campus Project at a cost of $96,000
• The purchase of two Bobcat E60 R2-Series Compact Excavators from Doosan Bobcat North America, Inc. for the Auburn Public Works Department at a cost $175,854.80
• The purchase of two Bush Hog MS3110 Rotary Cutters from Fuller Farm Equipment for the Auburn Public Works Department at a cost of $30,459.40
• The purchase of one Mack MD7 14′ Dump Truck from the Gulf Coast Truck and Equipment Co., for the Auburn Public Works Department at a cost $135,600
• The purchase of one Ford F-550 Dur-a-Lift bucket truck from Ingram Equipment Company for the Auburn Public Works Department at a cost of $219,957
• The purchase of three 2024 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycles from Redstone Harley-Davidson for the Auburn Police Department at a cost $86,573.73
• The purchase of one 2024 Ford F-550 Super Crew 4×2 Dual Rear from Wheels Dump Truck for the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department at a cost of $68,307

Here are other items the council approved:

• A tax abatement for Nashville Wire Products Manufacturing Company, LLC. which is planning expansion at its manufacturing facilities located at 1955 McMillan Street and 2039 McMillan Street. According to the memorandum, the company anticipates hiring 56 new employees over the next two years with a capital investment of approximately $4.7 million.
• A annexation request from John and Annie Torbert to annex 5.03 acres of property located at 5035 Sandhill Road into the Auburn city limits.
• Conditional use approval for commercial support uses such as contractor storage yard, mini-warehouse, warehouse and wholesale distributors at 3101 Hive Commerce Parkway
• Conditional use approval for the the Mises Institute to create a hotel for graduate fellows to use at 126 Ann Street

The council pushed two items on Tuesday’s agenda to the Dec. 3 meeting: an amendment to the city code at Article II, flood damage prevention, Chapter 7, and a conditional use approval for the Cherokee Road MUD Townhomes.

In the case of the city code amendment, the amendment would make the City of Auburn compliant with the new state floodplain development ordinance developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Alabama Department of Water Resources, to meet or exceed the minimum National Flood Insurance Program requirements. Unanimous consent was necessary and Ward 7 Councilman Max Coblentz denied unanimous consent.

“We’ll try to have more discussion on that at the next council meeting, more clarification, not just then, but between now and then. So I want citizens that are concerned with item 9b know that they can reach out to me,” Coblentz said. 

As for the Cherokee Road MUD Townhomes, it was for a conditional use approval of an 8-unit multi-unit (townhomes) development at the end of Cherokee Road that was approved 4-to-3 by the Auburn Planning Commission. Ward 2 Councilman Kelley Griswold asked to postpone so the council and general public could receive more information. The public hearing attached to that item will also go to the Dec. 3 meeting.