City of Lincoln Committee of the Whole met Jan. 28.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
The Committee of the Whole (COW) Meeting of the City Council of Lincoln was called to order by Mayor Seth Goodman at 7 p.m., with proper notice given. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.
PRESENT:
Alderman Tracy Welch, Ward 1
Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1
Vacant, Ward 2
Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2
Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3
Alderman Ron Keller, Ward 3
Alderman Kathy Horn, Ward 4
Alderman Jeff Hoinacki,Ward 4
STAFF PRESENT:
City Administrator Elizabeth Kavelman
City Attorney John Hoblit
City Clerk Peggy Bateman
Treasurer Chuck Conzo
Recording Secretary Alex Williams
Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky
Police Chief PaulAdams
Building and Safety Officer Wes Woodhall
Streets Superintendent Walt Landers
Veolia Water, Andrew Bowns
ABSENT:
None
PRESIDING:
Mayor Seth Goodman
PUBLIC COMMENT:
None.
APPOINTMENT OF WARD 2 ALDERMAN TO CURRENT VACANT SEAT:
Mr. Colby Leith came forward to present his interest in the vacant seat. He is 25-years-old and from the City of Lincoln. His family owns Leith Plumbing. Alderman Keller asked him about his interest.
The item would be placed on the agenda.
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY UPDATE AND 2020 SCHEDULE BY ADAM MACKEY:
Mr. Adam Mackey came forward to talk about an event happening October 1-3, 2020 at the race track. He said it will be a national event. The item would be placed on the consent agenda.
Mayor Goodman moved to other items on the agenda.
Illinois American Water Project Update by Gabe Bowden, Manager of Lincoln,Illinois Office: Mayor Goodman called on Mr. Gabe Bowden who came forward to talk about a one million gallon storage tank and a donation from the Woods Foundation. The sign location would be looked at on a later date.
MISSION LINCOLN 2021, HOME-REPAIR WORK CAMP PRESENTATION AND ASK BY TODD HENRY,CO- SPONSOR REPRESENTATIVE:
Mr. Todd Henry came forward, he is a teacher at Central School and was present to talk about a project Mission Lincoln. He shared a video promotion of the WORKCAMPS. He said teenagers work with
adults to work on repairs and construction projects for people. Their team is aiming to help some 50-70 homes and families. There is an anticipated investment of $160,000 during the week of the teenagers' time. Alderman Keller asked about materials and supplies how they are required - if local or at box Mr. Henry said they aim to keep it local, however, the organization does have relationships with big box stores. He said it is in their court and it is their decision.
Alderman Parrott asked if there would be any local teens volunteering. Mr. Henry said most students want to go out of state to volunteer. Treasurer Conzo asked what cities they have carried this out in within the State of Illinois.
Discussion came to sponsorship and the writing of a resolution to support the effort.
LINCOLN PARK DISTRICT'S (LPD) REQUEST FOR THE CITY TO DEED ITS FOUR PARKS - ALLISON PARK, MELROSE PARK, POSTVILLE PARK AND RAY WHITE PARK, TO THE LPD FOR BETTER ACCESS TO GRANT MONIES FOR FUNDING UPDATES, PROPOSED NEW FEATURES AND ADA ACCESSIBILITY FOR CITIZENS AT THE CITY"S PARKS:
Alderman Tracy Welch said he has had some reservations about the topic and while he wants to make the parks better, he was not ready to vote on this at this particular time.Alderman Keller asked about a potential deadline for the district. Mr. Keller wanted to know what they would need from the city. Mr. Welch said they just need the parks, but that it would not guarantee that they would receive the grant.
Alderman Parrott said he did not think there was a hard deadline, however, he said there is zero possibility of the grant, if they do not have ownership of the parks. Mr. Parrott said only one individual has contact him. He said with budgets being what they are...he said we're not putting any of the city's money toward the parks.
Alderman Downs said he too thought there was a soft deadline - that they had through February. He said he has had a few meetings with Abby O'Brien (LPD) and he said she is in favor of the ADA swing. He said as Mr. Parrott mentioned, he was trying to raise some money for a wheelchair swing at the park. He said if the city wanted this swing, the city may need to pay some of their own money for this.
Alderman Keller wanted to know what some of Mr. Welch's issues were. He heard feedback about giving city property to another taxing body. He said someone who lives in the City of Lincoln will pay more to use the facilities than someone who actually lives outside of the community and is not taxed. Mr. Welch said that some of the things the city can do to improve the parks have not been done because maybe the parks have not been a priority. Alderman Bateman said mentioned splitting the difference with the parks. Alderman Hoinacki talked about leaving the idea on the burner. Alderman Welch mentioned adding a stipulation about the parks returning to the city - should development not occur. And the LPD would have to commit in writing to not raising fees or taxes.
City of Lincoln Insurance Renewal,presentation by R.W. Garrett Agency Inc.:
Alderman Keller invited Joshua Garrett and Sara Schwantz of R.W. Garrett Agency Inc. of Lincoln forward to discuss alternative health insurance plans. Mr. Garrett touched on alternative PPO, HMO and HSA plans. He ran through the gist of the plans on the pages that were handed out to members of the council.
City Clerk Bateman asked about some of the differences in the plans. Alderman Keller clarified that this brought Springfield Clinic back in-network. City Administrator Kavelman thanked them for coming forward and for their flexibility.More discussion ensued.
Alderman Bateman said his suggestion is that the city has already made their offer and it is not up to the unions to counter. More discussion continued with City Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky. City Administrator Kavelman shared the idea of the city employees being asked to attend an informational session.
Alderman Parrott asked how employees who would be working would voice their opinions.
Alderman Welch brought up that union officers were not on the insurance panel, rather union members. Alderman Hoinacki said the leaders were not a part of the selection. More talk continued about having a public hearing and the question of whether or not people will show up.
City Clerk Bateman would give documentation to the department heads who would then cascade the information to their teams. There would be a meeting at 5:30 p.m. and the regular meeting to follow at 7 p.m.
Ordinance Amending Section 7-8-1-11 of the City's Health and Sanitation Codes for Residential Users on Wells:
Alderman Welch began talking about water readings and pocket readings from the sewer upgrades. He said this was a gap that the city did not close when correcting ordinances. This would impact a dozen or less individuals who would then fall into the $30 or less tier. Alderman Welch asked that is be placed on the regular agenda, Alderman Hoinacki agreed.
City Attorney John Hoblit mentioned that for new construction - a meter would need to be added at their cost.
Stahlhut Drive Dedication:
City Attorney John Hoblit said he would be creating an ordinance to accept the creation of Stahlhut Drive and the amendment of an ordinance regarding city code surrounding parking. Mr. Walt Landers said there is a three-way stop, and it is now up and running. The item would be placed on the regular agenda.
Discussion on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Solar RFP/Bids:
Mr. Andrew Bowns of Veolia suggested that the councilseriously needed to consider moving forward on one of the bids. He said based on the bids that they got back, he would recommend moving forward with a bid from Keystone. Alderman Bateman said he wanted Veolia to make the recommendation as the plant is the largest consumer of electricity that the city has. He said he trusted their judgement. He said he would be voting in favor for this as it would be a cost-saving step for the city's residents.
Mr. Bowns said there was the potential of saving one million dollars over the 20-year period.
More talk and questions continued about the number of acres needed and what the cash rent typically received on the land. Treasurer Conzo said it has fluctuated. Alderman Bateman said he said he has never heard of the city going out for bid for cash rent on farmland. Alderman Welch asked if the council wanted to place it on the agenda to accept the RFP. The item was added to the agenda.
AREA DISPOSAL PROPOSED CONTRACT AMENDMENTS:
Alderman Bateman said one thing Area Disposal would like to change, is that they cannot pick up trash any earlier than 6 a.m., but they would like to change the time to 5 a.m. due to time constraint.
Also, in the agreement, it says that the residential trash falls on the homeowner. He said they would like to go after the home owner for the amount. He said there is no recourse to go after the debt and Lincoln residents are a large holder of debt. They would like to final responsibility of the bill to fall on the owner of the property. More talk continued about what might need to be included in the ordinance - Mr.
Bateman said he would like to see the ordinance amended so that the trash bill is the sole responsibility of the homeowner. He said that gives them plenty of time to bill the tenant or add it to the rent.
More talk continued about totes (trash cans) and people giving feedback about the placement of their trash cans after Area Disposal empties them. Mr. Walt Landers said as far as the 5 a.m. start time - he said they (Area Disposal) has been starting at 5 a.m.for the past 20 years. This would be placed on the regular agenda.
CRAWFORD,MURPHY & TILLY, INVOICE #0207448, FOR LINCOLN UNION STREET PUMP STATION CONSTRUCTION COSTS FOR PROJECT ENGINEER II,PROJECT ENGINEER I,AND TECHNICIAN I,FOR A TOTAL COST OF $1,018.28: THIS WOULD BE PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA.
Crawford,Murphy & Tilly, Invoice #0207681,for Lincoln WWTP Boundary Detonation for Project Engineer I,Project Engineer I, Land Surveyor, Technician II, and Technician I,for a total cost of $2,752.34:
This would be placed on the regular agenda.
LINCOLN, ILLINOIS BALLOONS OVER 66 WEEKEND REQUEST TO USE THE CITY'S LOT AT 315 EIGHTH STREET FOR FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 28, 2020, AND SATURDAY MORNING AND EVENING BALLOON FLIGHTS AND SATURDAY EVENING'S BALLOON GLOW, AUGUST 29, 2020:
Third Friday's Downtown Lincoln would then be on the fourth Friday of the month. The item was added to the consent agenda.
UPDATE OF NEW TIF JOINT REVIEW BOARD MEMBERS (ALL TAXING DISTRICT BODIES INVITED PLUS ALDERMAN SAM DOWNS TO BE ANNOUNCED BY THE MAYOR AND VOTED ON AT JANUARY 20, 2020'S REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING:
This item was tabled.
UPDATE OF THE PROGRESS ON THE CITY'S PORTION OF THE FIFTH STREET ROAD PROJECT AND EMINENT DOMAIN PROGRESS:
City Administrator Kavelman said she had some good and bad news - so far there is about $3.4 million.
SEWER 10 PERCENT DISCOUNT, POCKET READINGS:
Alderman Welch wanted the council to reconsider reinstating the discount for prepaying for one year on the account. City Clerk Bateman shared that the bills are for the previous month, then Treasurer Conzo weighed in. Alderman Keller said he was in favor of reinstate the discount, however, he did not want to put anything out of kilter with what the city needed to raise. He proposed doing some number crunching. Alderman Welch said he thinks the amount needing to be raised could be in the ballpark of some $45 million less.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
"The Big Table: Rural Matters" Economic Event to be Held at Lincoln College, Johnston Performance Arts Center, January 30, 2020, 4 m. to 7:00 p.m., Sponsored by the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council (GPEDC).
A Lincoln College Charter Day ceremony (every five years) will be held at the Johnston Center, the city would have the resolution presented at the
Alderman Parrott asked about the yellow truck versus white truck issue, Andrew Bowns said it was an ordering delay with the truck.
The High School's building trades class is working on completing a house in Lincoln, they are not in the business of making a
The Comcast contract is moving closer; details will be coming to get it added to the Alderman Welch said the city held its ground and took feedback about level of service, amenities, etc.
Alderman Bateman looked up membership fees for the Lincoln Park Di
Andrew Bowns of Veolia mentioned a preconstruction meeting on Thursday before the pump station is
City Clerk Bateman said new sewer bills will be sent out, and there will likely be a di She encouraged people to open their bill and review their auto pay.
Mayor Goodman is looking for people to step up on two commission
The proposed public hearing at the city council chambers will allow for 45
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Keller motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Welch. Roll call was taken. Mayor Goodman adjourned the meeting at 9:06 p.m.
PRESENT:
Alderman Tracy Welch
Alderman Steve Parrott
Alderman Sam Downs
Alderman Kevin Bateman
Alderman Ron Keller
Alderman Kathy Horn
Alderman Jeff Hoinacki
ABSENT:
None
https://www.lincolnil.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1026:january-28-2020-committee-of-the-whole-meeting&catid=50&Itemid=82
Alerts Sign-up