A group is trying to make Auburn a thing of beauty.

The city formed a beautification committee, but these members aren't just planting flowers.

The nine-person committee will tour the city to find ugly areas and unappealing items in Auburn's neighborhoods and along its main corridors.

When committee chair James Kent went around the city, he was surprised by the number of signs along Grant Avenue, from the cluster of a half-dozen political signs to the retail signs that go beyond simple advertising.

The group is striving to earn the status of a nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with city government, Kent said. The board of directors plans to make the agency a member-based organization. They aim to create a brochure to enlist members, both citizens and corporate sponsors.

Collecting membership dues is the most obvious method to obtain the “backbone” of operational funding. Also, this system would provide the group with a pool of people to draw from to keep the board of directors fresh and encourage new perspectives, Kent said.

“In any organization if it's the same people running it, the board of directors ... can be stuck in a rut,” he said.

Once they get it set up, members also will hit the grant circuit, seeking grants and funding opportunities to assist them in projects throughout the city.

The organization will stand apart from the city, removed from the politics and changing hands of elected officials. However, it will cooperate with city and Cayuga County officials, as well as school administrators.

Board members have discussed improving entrances into Auburn to ensure good impressions. Other ideas include allowing food vendors in now empty areas around the city, offering an award for people who encourage design or visually pleasing projects, and steward programs so people take responsibly for parks or city blocks.

One future objective is to offer free access to designers, architects, and landscapers for residents who want to update their homes or landscaping or business owners who want to replace their facades. Hopefully people will have a pool of professionals to consult with through the membership, Kent said.

As autumn descends on the city, Kent predicts the committee wouldn't get any projects off the ground this year. However, the board aims to spend the winter brainstorming, fundraising, and structuring bylaws and guidelines.

“We (will) make a little splash in the spring,” he said.

The city is full of potentially beautiful parks, such as the Market Street Park, that have gone by the wayside as the number of maintenance staff has decreased as have available funds, Kent said.

“They thought a group like this could fill the gaps,” Kent said.

Cuts to the city Department of Public Works translated to fewer employees doing more work with less resources. The committee offers an opportunity for residents to provide help where the city no longer has many resources, city manager Mark Palesh said.

“We'll talk to the DPW so we're not duplicating efforts,” Kent said. “What they are doing on their budget and with their workers is nothing short of a miracle.”

He understands the budgetary constraints municipalities face, but sees something needs to be done with the school buildings, county and other public facilities. His work as an environmental planner and designer brings him to the forefront of seeing people make the decision between aesthetic and other priorities as money grows tight.

“It's unfortunate but aesthetic priorities always move to the back of the bus,” he said.

However, it's one of the first things people judge a city on when they visit for the first time.

As people seek locations to move their business or live, they take a visual tour of the city. A friend told him that central New York is lacking engineers but the spot isn't a place that draws people.

“It's about quality of life,” Kent said.

City manager Mark Palesh first broached the concept of a beautification committee during budget talks during the spring. Leadership Cayuga alumni approached Palesh about the idea of the group.

“The cost to the city is zero but the benefit to the public will be astronomical,” Palesh had said while discussing the committee in July.

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or jessica.soule@lee.net