AUBURN - What will the city of Auburn look like and how will it operate five or 10 years from now? City officials will seek to answer that question during a special meeting next week.

On Wednesday, the city council and City Manager Mark Palesh will meet at the Seward House for what they are calling a strategic retreat. The event will serve as an open forum for the council and staff to discuss how the city will approach economic topics, planning and other issues in the coming years.

The retreat will be an open event, though it will not take the place of one of the body's four monthly meetings.

City councilors approved the special session Thursday during a work session meeting.

Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said the point of the retreat is to create an involved plan to be implemented over the next few years.

However, Quill would not specify any topics he expects the council to discuss.

“Until I get a framework as to what the discussion will be, I can't say,” Quill said.

A similar strategic retreat at Stella Maris in Skaneateles was planned earlier this year. However, the event was postponed after the city did not offer proper notification to the public.

Under the state's open meeting law, the public and the press must be informed of meetings that involve the entire council.

Councilor William Graney said he expects the council to look at issues faced by specific neighborhoods. Councilor Matthew Smith said economic development could be a major focus.

“It gives the city manager a chance to get direction from the council on what kind of a path we want to take.” Smith said.

In other news:

* Local animal advocate Rita Sarnicola gave councilors some of her own thoughts on feral cats.

If the city adopts a program to control the feral cat population, it needs to organize a coordinated effort, she said after the meeting. The program should focus on locating and mapping feral colonies in order to keep track of their numbers, she said.

Sarnicola, who runs the Animal Resource Center, also suggested giving local residents vouchers that will allow them to participate in monthly spay-neuter clinics.

“Any effort has to be coordinated,” she said. “It has to be done in a systematic manner that can be accounted for.”

City council recently contacted numerous local organizations to discuss feral cats. Earlier this month, Feral Cat Friends gave a presentation at a council meeting about its efforts.

Quill said the city would like to offer some funding to one of the organizations. The only questions are, which group and how much, he said.

“We just heard the bad news from Albany, so we can't guarantee anything” Quill said, referring to the recent state budget cuts.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.