The city of Auburn will have its hands full this weekend, with thousands of visitors and some high-profile politicians coming downtown for the first-ever Founders Day.

But city officials are saying there will be more hands than usual Saturday. Public safety and other departments will have an added presence for what is expected to be a big crowd. And the city is making special parking arrangements to make for a smooth event.

Auburn City Manager Mark Palesh said Monday that the Auburn Police Department, Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and the state police will likely all participate in some way. They are expected to focus much of their efforts on traffic control and security, Palesh said.

Extra public works staff will also be on hand for parade control and cleanup.

“Our first priority is to make sure everyone has a good time. We don't want to over-control it,” Palesh said. “But it won't be a normal Saturday downtown.”

That is accentuated by the fact that Alaskan governor and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be in attendance. Palin is on a list of elected officials expected to show up that includes U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, state senators Michael Nozzolio and David Valesky, and Assemblyman Gary Finch.

City officials have said Gov. David Paterson also received an invitation, though they have not heard back.

Palesh said the city has not yet heard if the Alaskan governor's office will provide security.

Some of the overtime expenditures will be covered by grants from the state and from the Stardust Foundation, he said.

“We're going to be political central for a little while,” Palesh said.

This will be the first Founders Day, which organizers are expecting to be an annual celebration of Auburn's history. Palin was invited because of this year's theme - the 50th anniversary of Alaskan statehood. Auburn native son William Seward played a pivotal role in the country's purchase of Alaska while he served as secretary of state.

Along with an 11 a.m. parade and kickoff address, the festivities will include dozens of events and attractions that will last through the day. Genesee Street will be closed to traffic between North and William streets beginning at 7 a.m., and South Street will close from Logan Street to Loop Road beginning at 9 a.m.

There will also be special parking arrangements. Don't expect to be able to park through the morning on Genesee Street between Fulton Street and Seward Avenue, as it will not be allowed from 9 a.m. to the end of the parade. The downtown parking garage will also close at 9 a.m., so no one will be able to go in or out during the day, and the lot adjacent to city hall will be closed to the public.

Instead of parking downtown, people are asked to park at one of four satellite locations. Centro buses will offer free shuttle services from all four locations to Dill Street beginning at 10 a.m.

“There is not going to be a lot of on-street parking available downtown,” Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta said.

Giannotta said attendees can probably expect law enforcement to handle Founders Day much like the city's popular Memorial Day parade and festivities.

But there are a lot of unknowns with a big, first-time event like this, he said, the most obvious being the crowd size.

“We don't know what the draw is going to be. We can wind up with 2,000 (people), or we can wind up with 20,000,” Giannotta said.

However, city officials do have some precedent when it comes to planning for events with high-profile guests. Giannotta said Hillary Clinton twice visited Auburn while she was first lady.

“It's not like this is totally foreign to us,” Giannotta said.

Where to park

Founders Day attendees will be able to park at the following locations beginning at 10 a.m. and take a free shuttle to the downtown event:

• P&C West, 315 Genesee St.

• Cayuga Community College, 197 Franklin St.

• Holiday Inn rear parking area, 75 North St.

• Auburn High School, 250 Lake Ave.

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