A Forward Vision For Sister Cities

Story And Photos By Hannah Lester

Auburn Mayor Ron Anders has lived in Auburn almost his whole life. He was born and raised in Auburn, attended Auburn High School, Auburn University and served on the city council before becoming mayor.

“My family moved to Auburn in late 1965, opened Anders bookstore in January of 1966, I was a bouncing one-year-old baby,” he said.

Anders said he remembers as a child being given the freedom to play in the city, walk to various parks and spend time with his friends during the day.

“My parents would bring my brother and I down there and as they were working late, especially during the fall when football season aws going on, my brother and I would just spend time running around in the business.

“... Auburn was a different place then. My father would give us a little bit of money and we’d go get us a lemonade or go down the street and buy us an ice cream or we’d go over to Samford Park and play with our friends, we’d meet over there and play football.

“It was just a wonderful, special, unique opportunity to grow up in a town that was much smaller than it is now. But to me, and to people I grew up with, we thought there was plenty for us to do and to see.”

Anders only moved away for a couple of years following his time at Auburn University but returned to the city he calls home.

“It’s just in my blood, it’s just the only place that I’ve really ever been in love with, it’s what I want to do, it’s where I feel comfortable, it’s where I know that I’m most beneficial to the world and I believe it’s, with all my heart, that this is where the Lord wants me to be,” Anders said.

Anders and his wife, a local business owner, raised their three children in Auburn. Two of whom attended Auburn High School and all three of which attended Auburn University, like their father.

Auburn does look different than it did several decades ago — there are more businesses, and taller businesses, there are more people, but also more opportunities.

“The world has evolved such that people are able to come back and do life here, and so what you’ve seen is more schools have had to be built in our community,” he said. “We now have a hospital in our city. There are more places to eat in Auburn than there used to be. There are more places to shop. We are continuously having to improve our road network all the time. We have got to upgrade our parks and rec facilities

because of the capacity limitations that we currently have.

“And so that’s been the biggest change, without question, is that those people that loved Auburn as a student found ways to come back here and now that has changed into Auburn’s just a great place to do business, start a business, raise a family and that’s where we want to live.”

Not everyone is a fan of Auburn’s growth, but there have been measures put in place to promote strategic growth.

“The downtown design review team has done an excellent job of being conscious to developers and their plans and their desires to build certain buildings in downtown Auburn and I believe, by and large, Auburn has gotten better products from that,” Anders said.

“Initially, we didn’t have downtown design review in place and so a couple buildings were built without that being there, but I can tell you that the new developments that have come to Auburn since downtown design review has been in place have by and large followed a lot of their recommendations and I believe the city has gotten a better product.”

Some of Auburn’s future developments will include a new fire station, the upcoming inclusive park and playground and may include a full-service hospital, Anders said.

“I believe Auburn will turn into a place where people want to spend a three-day weekend, regardless if there is a ballgame going on here or not because there will be that much to do,” he said.

Opelika:

Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller wasn’t born in Opelika, but he did grow up visiting an aunt who lived in the city.

“I can remember as a member of the Dadeville High Marching Band participating in the Opelika Christmas Parade,” he said.

Fuller moved to Opelika in 1974 and said that since that point, although he’s seen change in Opelika, overall it has kept the “small town ‘feel’” with the added benefit of “big city amenities.”

“There is no question we have worked to keep our charm, character and historic homes and buildings,” Fuller said. “It has been intentional and didn’t happen by accident. I give Mayor Barbara Patton a lot of credit for helping create three historic districts that remain in place today.”

As the city looks to the future, Fuller said that the vision is to grow consciously.

“We are future-focused and I’m excited about where we’ll be in 10 or 20 years from now,” he said. “We have to be careful not to ‘out kick’ our coverage and by that I mean as we continue to build and develop new subdivisions that we have a good transportation plan, provide city services like police and fire protection, water and wastewater as well as schools.”

Some of Opelika’s previous accomplishments and growth included becoming Alabama’s first ‘gig city’.

“It put us on a different map with digital technology,” he said.

He said another big development for the city was the Opelika Sportsplex, built 12 years ago.

“Our continued strong investment in Opelika City Schools has made a significant difference, not only the new high school, but with First Class Pre-K,” Fuller said. “… Our new library sends a strong message about what we value as a community and what we want our citizens to have easy access to. We’ve continued to invest in public safety with a new headquarters Fire Department, a new Police facility as well as a new Municipal Court building.”

In the future, some of the city’s projects include West Ridge Park improvements, including new softball fields.

“We’re working on plans to improve Floral Park and other green spaces,” he said. “Soon we’ll begin construction of a new firehouse, number five, to improve our coverage of a growing city. We continue to recruit industry and goodpaying jobs.”

Fuller said it is Opelika’s people that make the city special.

“People always make the difference,” he said. “Great people live in our community. They’re smart, hard-working and desire a great quality of life for their families. [Opelika’s] a really cool place to call home. Warm, caring people who love their neighbors and want a great education for their children. We’re also home to many great families of faith. Our churches have been the cornerstone of our success and there is no question we’ve been blessed.”