Council Minutes

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

Lincoln City Hall, Council Chambers 700 Broadway Street ILincoln, Illinois

Tuesday, September 10, 2019 Presiding:

Mayor Seth Goodman

The Committee of the Whole Meeting of the City Councilof 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

Alderman Kathryn Schmidt, Ward 2

Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2

Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3

Alderman Ron Keller, Ward 3

Alderman Kathy Horn, Ward 4

 

Staff Present:

City Administrator Elizabeth Kavelman

City Attorney John Hoblit

City Clerk Peggy Bateman

Treasurer Chuck Conzo

Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky

Police Chief Paul Adams

Building and Safety Officer Wes Woodhall

Streets Superintendent Walt Landers

Veolia, Project Manager, Anthony Harper

Absent:

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki,Ward 4

Public Comment:

Mayor Goodman called upon citizens registered to speak.

Mr. Paul Carder of 505 4th Street came forward. He said he is a medical cannabis patient. He called it good medicine. He said it is not an addictive drug, it is not a gateway, it does not cause any serious harm,it cannot kill you like tobacco .. .he said recreationalis going to belegal. He called it a good opportunity if it comes to Lincoln -for the tax base.He saidit would really deplete that street market. He called it quality product. He said he would rather spend his money here in Lincoln than anywhere else. He encouraged the council to allow it to come if the state selects the city.

Mrs. Wanda Lee Rohlfs came forward to talk, she said she believed she sent everyone here - she had a question after last week's meeting about some information that was printed in the minutes.She wanted a line changed in the meeting minutes relating to the marijuana presentation.She said the second sentence - she wanted the language changed to what was said. She typed what was written on the video. She said there were statements included that were not accurate to what she said. She requested an amendment to the minutes.

Alderman Ron Keller then invited Kelly Crooks forward, she is mental health expert. Mr. Keller said she is licensed social worker who has worked in mental health and social work. She said marijuana has been helpful on a short term use. She said long-term people tend to increase their usage or turn to, "other things." She said sometimes it's similar to tobacco where people increase their use.

Alderman Bateman asked about the studies she was looking at on the long-term use. He asked if the study she was looking at looked at long-term use - daily use. He said there's a difference between recreational use and "use." He asked if it differentiated from this.

Miss Crooks responded. She has a master's degree in social work and is studying for a doctorate as well. Alderman Parrot asked if she works with doctors.She said she works with patience on all sorts of substances. Her patients are ages three to 99 - or however long.

Alderman Parrott asked about their issues. She said sometimes people don't have any coping skills. He said he wanted to get someone who could speak to the medical side of things. She said you'd have to ask them.

Next, Allison Gomez came forward to present her research - she said you can pull data supporting both the pros and cons of marijuana. She said the question she wanted to pose to the council - is what is our vision for the community - what are our values? She said she values a community where her kids feel safe. She continued on. She said when you think about community culture, economic development etc. - it matters.

Alderman Keller said as the mayoral appointed representative of the Logan County Health Department - he could say he has some good faith and confidence in the Logan County Department of Public Health. There being no further public participation, Mayor Goodman moved down to other agenda items.

Proclamation for the City of Lincoln's Recognition of the 232nd Year Anniversary of the drafting of the U.S.Constitution;Submitted by Lincoln.IL's Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR):

The item would be placed on the consent agenda.

Request to Permit whitewashing on Wyatt Avenue from South Kickapoo Street to the Lincoln Community High School on the Wednesday and Thursday evenings of September 18 and 19, 2019, for Homecoming Festivities at the same timewill whitewash on the streets in front of the Senior Players' Homes Submitted by Tara Morris of the LCHS Football Boosters Club - a Certificate of Insurance is Included with the Application:

Alderman Welch opened discussion - reiterating he was in favor of this - saying it was nice to see this support displayed in the community. He wanted them to use washable chalk rather than paint this year. He asked that this be conveyed. The item would be placed on the consent agenda.

Hanson Professional Services,lnc.'s Supplement of $15,438 for work to date on the Fifth Street Road Project Design:

City Administrator Kavelman opened discussion, saying this is the bill the group has been holding. The item would be placed on the consent agenda.

Replacement of Sewerage Treatment Plant's John Deere Gator for a 2018 John Deere Gator for $18,675, with trade-in:

Alderman Kevin Bateman asked if the treatment plant 1001<eC1 at similar vehicles - such as the Kubota. He said the Lincoln City Fire Department owns a CASE vehicle. Mr. Anthony Harper explained who they looked at when considering this vehicle. Alderman Welch asked which line it would come from.

Treasurer Conzo said he believed it was under the vehicles - capital expense vehicles, under the Sewer Treatment Plant - number 50-7200-7862. He said it would seem to him, but that this replacement exceeds the amount in that line. He said he knew there were several transitions with the company, but there may need to be a budget amendment in order to do this. Alderman Schmidt asked about the condition of the vehicle.

Mr. Harper said it's actually a four-wheeler, spark plugs are being replaced, he said it is 10 years. He invited the council to observe the condition. He said the John Deere vehicle was selected based on price and their current vehicle had lasted under the conditions. The item would be placed on the consent agenda.

Bid Opening for CMT Union Street Lift Station Project:

Next Mrs. Christy Crites of Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (GMT) came forward. Two bids were within $100,000 of each other. She submitted her thoughts to the council. She called four different communities who have worked with Stark Excavating and she had not received any comments. She said overall - very satisfied. She would get everything submitted to the Illinois EPA.

Alderman Bateman said he was at the bid opening, all four companies were present, and a general contractor was observing. He said he hadn't spoken of the bid amount to anyone. He thanked her and said he felt confident in her research.Treasurer Conzo said in the budget we have funds for the lift station and the long-term control plan. He said he assumed the intent was for some of this to come out of those lines. She responded saying the way the numbers are set up, they will execute the funds for the loan amount, then the city would need to decide if they wanted to be reimbursed. She also noted principal forgiveness. She said all they have left is to wrap up the design of the CSO project and take it to construction - then this loan would be executed. She called for sitting down and discussing the numbers. She said as it looks right now - the city should be adequate.

The item would be placed on the agenda.

Bid Opening for General Cleaning Services of City Buildings:

City Clerk Peggy Bateman said the cleaning of the depot and city hall was put out for bid - this did not include the Lincoln City Fire Department's quarters. They would clean up the public area. The city clerk's office would take care of the area behind the doors.

Royce Scales - $780 police station, $550 a month for city hall, the depot waiting station, $1,040 a month (daily basis) - $2,370 (total)

Resilient - $110 city hall, police station at $130 a month for actual cleaning, they did not list as if it were weekly or monthly, the depot was listed as $52. She said there was no way this was monthly. She did not know if it was daily or weekly or monthly.The stripping and waxing of the floor was also listed -$330.

Alderman Welch asked if only two companies bid. He wanted some clarification and for her to bring it back to the next COW. He said it did not sound like it was apples to apples.Alderman Bateman asked for it to stay on the next COW. That was the consensus as there was nothing to vote on.

Lincoln Sewerage Treatment Plant's CSO Solids Removal Project Update:

Mrs. Christy Crites of CMT came forward again to talk about the loan application for the CSO construction project - to get that submitted to the Illinois EPA. She said everything is going to be so super easy, to get things in line and breeze through the process. She did not want to confuse the two projects together. Alderman Kavelman said the other issue is CSO sludge removal project, she wanted to know if this was something they would take over. She said that was not theirs, that was a maintenance at the plant. She said that would be Anthony.

Mr. Harper said they had access to eight trucks last week - they worked as a team to get all of the dry bits cleaned out, to move out of the CSO tanks. He said they will start Monday, pending the weather - to get out as much sludge out as possible. Now the plant will not need the four-wheel loader. And they would be able to transport in 25 loads instead of 50. Administrator Kavelman thanked them both.

Solar Energy Panels RFP:

Mr. Anthony Harper said he would try to have this together before the next meeting. Alderman Bateman said as soon as the RFP's go out, they could get it on the agenda. Alderman Welch was not in favor of a 25 year contract with them, he said he would want to see something smaller than that. Alderman Bateman said the term could be a question mark. He also mentioned buyout. Mr. Welch said yes, this was something they should ask everyone. Alderman Bateman made note.

Legalized Marijuana Dispensary City Council Endorsement Resolution:

Alderman Bateman opened discussion - saying he was assuming everyone got the emailfrom the city attorney on the resolution, so they would have something to look at before next week. He asked it to be added to the agenda for next week. Alderman Welch said he was not sure there were any unanswered questions and called for putting it on the agenda for a vote. Alderman Parrott mentioned the county meeting that took place the previous week and wanted to hear what, "transpired."

Alderman Bateman said the county is considering the same thing. He said the county does own properties inside city limits, so they too have the option of passing the same things and allowing it inside the city limits - it would be a county approval. The idea was to get a joint meeting on this. He said the email he received today was that the county board was going to bring it off a floor for a vote at tonight's meeting. Alderman Schmidt asked a question.

City Attorney Hoblit said the county is in their purview to do as such. He said he would look into it. Alderman Parrott said he had "heard" some of the conversation that took place. About Chief Adams' support he said he heard that he is in support of it, but Alderman Parrott said he has not heard that he is in support of it. But he wanted to know if the councilmembers were speaking on behalf of the city's Chief of Police.

Alderman Bateman said marijuana is already here, they were going to deal with it no matter what - but he thought the chief was saying that they will have to deal with it either way - to allow it or not allow it. He said it's here already. Alderman Parrott said that was different than being in support of it. He did not think an alderman should speak on behalf of the chief, he said he did not get that from the chief. He said they could review the meeting minutes.

City Attorney Hoblit weighed in saying he did not see the chief as raising any kind of support. He said he is not an elected official, he will give the council legal opinions, but as appointed officials they are more hesitant to say if they support or do not support something.

Alderman Keller said he would like to confirm, he said no one said the chief was in support - he cited Alderman Bateman, City Administrator Kavelman and himself - saying they were present at the meeting and he did not hear this. Alderman Bateman then referenced the Logan County Sheriff -who he said also thinks that they will have to deal with it, because it is here. He said his answer was nearly identical to what the City of Lincoln Police Chief had said.

Alderman Bateman said he had never tried it - only in Cheech and Chong movies - that was all he knew.He said there are people who do not want their name out there - that they are users for whatever reason.He said he was not elected to push his values on people - but he was elected to govern.He said he feels passing it gives the city the opportunity some kind of controland some kind of voice of where the money goes that is collected. He said marijuana deaths are zero - for every year recorded. He said,"governing it is where Istand: He said he brought it forward, but in the research he has done, he thinks the city should allow it.

City Administrator Kavelman said the county is at a 3.5 percent tax on it while the city is at a 3 percent tax. She said the chairperson mentioned maybe a collaboration between the city and the county.

Alderman Bateman said the county was going to bring this off the floor at the workshop and then decide to vote on it at the voting session. He said the taxing part of this - they have until October 1.

Alderman Downs said he thought they were elected to represented their wards. He referenced a poll online - he called for people to voice their opinions - to get on there and vote. Mr. Bateman said at his last check, 78% were in favor of allowing it. The item would be placed on the regular agenda.

Legalized Marijuana Dispensary 3% Tax Ordinance:

Alderman Keller talked about the tax allocation - he wanted to know if there was anything in the statute if the taxes had to go to anything in particular. Mr. Hoblit said his research did not encompass this and referred to the city treasurer. He thought the state statute did not dictate municipal tax.The item would be placed on the regular agenda.

Overall Update of the Progress on the city's portion of the Fifth Street Road Project and Eminent Domain Letters fromthe city sent to Non-Responsive Fifth Street Road Property Owners:

City Administrator Kavelman said they are chugging along. There were still a few who have not signed, there are verbal agreements. More have signed since the last time they spoke. Alderman Schmidt askedif anyone they sent a letter to who has still not contacted the city. City Administrator Kavelman said yes, some had received the letter but have not taken any action back.

Alderman Welch said the verbal agreements are not legally binding until signed.He wanted to know how many had signed. Mrs. Kavelman explained the process. She said she thought they had narrowed down three more since the last time they spoke.Alderman Welch asked if they were to gauge how long it would take - how many would exceed the 60 day letters. He wanted to know if she could guestimate.

She would rather talk about this in executive session. He wanted some very vague information. She said we might know more after Thursday. Alderman Bateman said he was still with,"Steve and Tracy." He wanted to know how many people have actually signed the documents and its onto the next phase.

She said it is variable, it is hard to explain.Alderman Weich asked if it was possible going forward, to get a weekly - status update on the project. Alderman Bateman said he wanted a number - he said that would greatly help him. She said we also need to work on the money aspect of this as temporary easements are coming up.

Alderman Schmidt asked once they sign - do they sign again. She said once they issue the check, that is the final movement.

Committees Structure:

Alderman Bateman said he is leaving this out there every month. Alderman Welch said no offense to Mr. Bateman, but he thinks they have, "Beat this horse to death." He said he would like to see this particular topic die. Alderman Bateman did not want to see this die yet. But he said since he has been sworn in, there has been a change, he said he has asked to take some of the smaller projects off of the City Administrator - he said if things keep moving in that direction - he thinks it's working - he is open to any projects people want to give him.

Alderman Downs said he wanted to touch on what Mr. Welch had said - he thinks things have gotten way better since he has been here - he did not know if it should die, but he thought maybe they should look back at it in another six months or so. Alderman Welch just did not want it to pop up on an agenda in the near future. He said we have had great strides since the councilhas turned over. He did think they could improve their transparency in the community. He said there are individuals who like to reach out.

Alderman Bateman said to him, the example of where a committee structure would worK - not everything needs to be a committee - but to him, "5tn Street Road" we would have been a lot further down the road, finished or if not, in construction phase if they had had a committee talk about it monthly, quarterly etc. He said he knew they went months or a year . . . he said it got brushed under

the rug, or tossed on the lap of the city administrator. He said those are the kinds of things that he feels should - [be reason to] form a committee. Alderman Parrrott asked how long the project had been going on - it was 22 years, with 13 years of having committees.

Alderman Schmidt asked about reporting amongst council members. She thought everyone could talk about it. Treasurer Conze weighed in next. He touched on issues with financing that surround the project. Alderman Horn said if you're on one thing - and you need to talk about it, then get it on the agenda and talk about it with everyone.

Alderman Keller said the City Administrator did email the council following the meeting with the county. He said it is theirjob to remain apprised with everything going on with the city. Alderman Bateman said it had nothing to do with the money - they never had the money. It was the properties, getting people signed. He said there were all kinds of things that went wrong in this thing. He said we're up against the gun again, we're up against the gun on the sewer mandate - he said this council is constantly standing at a wall with the "firing squad" against them. He said you have to have forward thought and forward vision with projects coming down the road. He said certain projects need that round table discussion and you cannot just rely on the administrator. He said we should not be having this conversation. He said, "we put the gun to the head to the city," and moved it forward.

Alderman Welch said he did not think the county's pressure forced them to move forward. He referenced the loans that need to be paid back or applied to project. He said this council rolls over every two years. He said it was not a priority for them. He said now we have to move forward and try to make this work. He said he did not think anyone here knew if they committee structure could have fixed the problem or not.

Announcements:

Mayor Goodman asked if anyone had any announcements.

  • The City of Lincoln's Waste Water Treatment Facility has been nominated for an award, it's a group two facility - one of five cities nominated in the state including Chilicothe, Carol Stream, Carbondale and Collinsville.
  • Alderman Welch mentioned getting tours of the landscape waste facility. He said it's interesting what they are dealing with. He took a tour and his eyes were opened a bit about why Mr. Landers is asking for the things that he is asking for.
    • Alderman Bateman suggested everyone take a tour of Veolia. He said it is very impressive.
    • Alderman Keller mentioned the gathering on September 21 - the attempt to break the Guinness World Record for people to dress like President Abraham Lincoln. Alderman Bateman said one of the requirements is that you cannot have a mustache.
  • Mr. Landers said the railroad crossing on Route 121 is closed, on the way to Mt. Pulaski. He then touched on Route 10, toward Clinton saying it will be closed next week, and then North Kickapoo Street's Railroad Crossing with also be closed, for construction during the following week.

Executive Session I2(C)1,Personnel and 2(C)11,Possible or Potential Litigation:

There being no further announcements to come before the council, Alderman Welch made a motion to move into Executive Session under 2(C)1, personnel and 2(C)11, possible or potential litigation, seconded by Alderman Keller. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.

Present:

Alderman Tracy Welch, Ward 1

Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1

Alderman Kathryn Schmidt, Ward 2

Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2

Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3

Alderman Ron Keller, Ward 3

Alderman Kathy Horn, Ward 4

Yeas: (7) Alderman Steve Parrott, Alderman Tracy Welch, Alderman Kathryn Schmidt, Alderman Sam Downs, Alderman Ron Keller, Alderman Kevin Bateman, Alderman Kathy Horn

Nays: (0)

Abstain: (0)

Absent: (1) Alderman Jeff Hoinacki,

Executive Session:

The council recessed from the Committee of the Whole meeting at 8:24 p.m. in order to enter Executive Session. Mayor Goodman announced there may or may not be future city business conducted upon reconvening.

Return from Executive Session:

The council reconvened from Executive Session 9:02 p.m. in order to reconvene the Committee of the Whole Meeting. Roll call was taken.

 

Present:

Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman

Steve Parrott Alderman

Kathryn Schmidt Alderman

Sam Downs Alderman

Kevin Bateman Alderman

Ron Keller Alderman

Kathy Horn Alderman

Absent:

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

Adjournment:

There being no further discussion to come before the City Councilof Lincoln, Alderman Keller motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Welch. Roll call was taken.Mayor Goodman adjourned the meeting at 9:02 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted By:

Alex Williams, Recording Secretary

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

Information is available on the following sites:
Logan County Current Statistics

Memorial Health System  - Includes daily statistics for MHS and a COVID-19 Risk Screening

Local Business Resources
Logan County Department of Public Health
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

 

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