A Protect Lake Auburn sign stands Friday afternoon on the traffic island between Whitman Spring Road and West Auburn Road in Auburn. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
AUBURN — The Auburn Water District has hired a public relations team to conduct a web and social media campaign in response to the public discourse surrounding potential changes at Lake Auburn.
The move comes after weeks of public debate over proposed changes in watershed regulations and a zone change that has since been challenged by a petition group. The Water District is also facing a lawsuit from the city of Lewiston.
Signs stating “Protect Lake Auburn” can now be seen throughout the city.
The AWD board of trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to hire communications strategist Kelly David and former LA Metro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Matt Leonard to conduct the public relations campaign. The amount allocated is $10,000.
According to board Treasurer Andy Titus, the pair was hired to update the Water District’s website and social media pages to counter “misinformation” that they said has been circulating about the lake.
“We just want to make sure it’s a resource for people,” he said. “We want to make sure people know what the facts are and what is happening and what isn’t happening.”
He said the decision was not made in response to the pending lawsuit from the city of Lewiston, which he said the district would not comment on.
City Councilor and Water District trustees Chairman Steve Milks could not be reached for comment Friday.
During the trustees’ special meeting Tuesday, Milks said hiring David and Leonard was to form a “communications strategy.” Milks, who at one time worked with Leonard at Military Talent Source, said the team would be presenting to the trustees during its next meeting.
Water District Superintendent Sid Hazelton questioned why the board was paying up front for the services, which was atypical of usual district contracts.
Titus said that with the contract ending June 28, the work would be done over a short period of time.
Reached Friday, Leonard said the campaign was simply about communicating with the public and water ratepayers, adding that it’s not the same approach as a political campaign. He said the trustees are a “group of dedicated volunteers who are trying to be good stewards of taxpayer money.”
The website now features a “Love Lake Auburn” section, which encourages people to submit questions and join the Water District mailing list.
In a statement, the board said it is “aware of the current effort to collect signatures to add a referendum question to the ballot that could potentially impact Lake Auburn and our community. It is our goal to dispel rumors while providing accurate and updated facts and figures that members of the Auburn community should know — both about the current petition effort and our continued ongoing efforts to protect our lake.”
Separate petition efforts are underway in Auburn that seek to repeal zoning changes made this spring, including the rezoning of land along the Lake Auburn watershed boundary on Gracelawn Road.
While a recent study said the 148 acres between the Auburn Mall area and the lake should no longer be considered part of the watershed, petitioners, as well as the city of Lewiston, contend that development should not take place there.
The overall concern is that any changes in the watershed could potentially threaten water quality of the lake, jeopardizing the district’s federal waiver from filtration, which allows it to deliver water without a costly filtration plant. The lake has in the past been at risk of failing to meet standards for the waiver.
Another petition looks to repeal a rezoning in the city’s core residential area that allows for a broader range of residential and commercial uses, which officials have argued is in line with statewide efforts to address the housing crisis.
The petition efforts are joining forces this weekend for a joint “drive-up and sign” event for the petitions on Saturday at the former Evergreen Subaru dealership. The property is owned by Androscoggin County.
According to the announcement, the event is hosted by the “Protect Lake Auburn Committee” and “Citizens for Sensible Growth.”
While the “Protect Lake Auburn” effort has succeeded in gaining traction, with signs now visible on properties throughout the city, Deputy City Manager Brian Wood said this week that the city has removed more than a dozen signs in rights of way because the signs didn’t meet proper disclosure requirements.
State law requires signs to be “marked with the name and address of the individual, entity or organization that placed the sign within the public right of way and the date the sign was erected within the public right of way.”
Wood said, however, that the signs will be returned to the organizer “as the city is aware that the organizers are making good-faith efforts to ensure proper disclosure requirements are met.”
He said as more and more signs appeared in the city, his office was told that many did not meet the disclosure requirements.
“The city’s primary goal is to ensure proper disclosure requirements are adhered to,” he said.
The city has not removed signs on private property, Wood said.
Jim Wellehan, who has helped organize the “Protect Lake Auburn” campaign, said once he was notified of the requirements, he had stickers made that could be added to signs with the required information. But, he said, due to the rules on when temporary signs can be in place, he’s not sure many will be put back up until the fall election season — if the petition effort is successful.
The petition effort must collect at least 1,648 signatures by mid-July.
On the Water District website, the “Love Lake Auburn” section asks residents to pause before signing any petition.
“Ask questions to understand what your signature supports,” it states. “Pause to understand the facts.”
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