COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

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

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

The Committee of the Whole 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

Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2

Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3

Alderman Ron Keller, Ward 3

Alderman Kathy Hrn, Ward 4

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki,Ward 4

Present:

Seth Goodman, Mayor

Elizabeth Kavelman, City Administrator

John Hoblit, City Attorney

Peggy Bateman, City Clerk

Alex Williams, Recording Secretary

Chuck Conzo, City Treasurer

Paul Adams, Police Chief

Assistant Fire Chief Darren Coffey

 Wes Woodhall,Building and Safety Officer

Walt Landers, Streets Superintendent

Anthony Harper, Veolia Water, Project Manager

Absent:

Alderman Kathryn Schmidt, Ward 2

Public Comment:

Mayor Goodman called upon citizens registered to speak. There being no public participation, Mayor Goodman moved down to other agenda items.

Logan County Tourism Bureau's Funding Agreement for CY 2020:

Morgan Gleason came forward to talk about the funding agreement - between the city and the bureau - it needs to be 90 percent, not 85 percent. She then provided a yearly update. The bureau opened three new welcome centers in the county. Aldermen Welch and Keller thanks her. Mr.Keller then asked about what was planned for next year pertaining to signage.She addressed his question.

Cindy Smith was hired recently. Treasurer Conzo thanked her for the job she has been doing.The funding agreement would be placed on the agenda.

Discussion Regarding Revised City Employees' Health Alliance Insurance Plans Selected by the City's Employees/Management Insurance Advisory Committee (EMIAC) for Calendar Year 20201 and Possible Motion to Rescind the City Council's 11.18.2019's vote of all "Alternate,' Health Alliance Health Insurance plans and revote to accept all "Renewal" Health Alliance Health Insurance plans discussed in EMIAC meetings:

City Administrator Kalveman said this is a new request the committee - they panel wanted to move to the Renewal insurance plan and it would require a revote. Alderman Parrott wanted to know what the vote was - the 50/50 split.

Alderman Welch said the dollar amount for this is about an $11,000 increase for the plan. His question was if the bill was going to $75,000 -what would the city's portion be. Mr. Conzo said 90 percent is what the city would be paying.

City Attorney John Hoblit was asked to weigh in - he was unsure what the question would be. Mr. Hoblit said there are some things that transpired since this vote occurred, a conversation would need to be have before moving forward. The item could be discussed in executive session.

Alderman Parrott asked about coming back into the COW meeting, if an agreement was made during executive session. The council would have to return to add the item to the agenda.

Tax Levy Approval for Tax Year 2019:

Treasurer Conzo shared information on what was outlined in the document he provided - it was a digital copy.

He touched on the general obligation bond - he said $177,480 - it will be closer to $178,000. He said this could vary a little bit.

Alderman Bateman said he was going to vote to keep it flat and he was going to try to get the other council members to do the same thing. He said there's the potential to add $12,000 to the bottom line, but then tack more property taxes on the back of the citizens by raising their levy one percent. He would be voting to leave the property tax levy flat, he didn't think it was fair to add two taxes to the citizen's wallets. He also references the underfunded pension system.

Alderman Bateman said this is kind of double edged sword - he had a problem doing both - he was going to abstain from the insurance vote - but he wanted to keep the tax levy flat.

Treasurer Conzo said the day is coming when there will be a mandatory amount that they will have to contribute to the pension system. He said it will be operated in ways similar to the IMRF - where there will be statements of what the contribution would be - he said the tax levy will only provide part of that. He mentioned the GRF and police and firefighters as also potential sources. He called it a moderate increase in taxes. He called it a very small increase.

He said the money has to come from somewhere. He said the tax levy funds a part of it as it is now. Mayor Goodman asked for any further discussion - there being none, one percent would be placed on the agenda.

Discussion Regarding Sewerage Treatment Plant's Spreadsheet Detailing Solar Panels Facility Bids Received by 12.06.2019 for Construction at the Sewerage Treatment Plant:

This item is being tabled. The bids are sensitive. It would be tabled until the next COW meeting.

Ordinance Amending 6-4--24,of the Lincoln City Code's Possession of Cannabis:

Mr. Hoblit said the rules are changing come January - he said it appears that his edits are blurred - but Illinois Residents at the age of 21 - will be permitted to possess certain amounts of cannabis. He said the rules are different for Illinois residents. He said he goes into detail regarding where you can use - cannabis - it can only be used in the privacy of your home. He continued on talking about it being a class one substance.

More discussion and questions from Aldermen Keller and Bateman continued. Mrs. Kavelman said this brings up the idea - that you cannot bring cannabis into someone else's home for a party or what not.

More discussion ensued - about how much 30 grams of cannabis would cost. He said if they can afford to buy marijuana then they can afford to pay a $250 fine. More discussion continued about unsealed containers - and hitting violators with the misdemeanor.

Discussion regarding the City of Lincoln's Legalized Cannabis Dispensary fees:

Alderman Bateman outlined the fees and fines - he wanted to see a $3,5000 first offense. He outlined his ideas that would then lead to pulling the license. He wanted the wording to reference the third strike and pulling the permit - that the company would not be permitted to apply for a second permit.

He said first, second and third - then they are out of business. He said they will either have to take this serious and follow the rules . . .and the state is going to sting the heck out of these people.

Mr. Parrott thought the second offense could bring a $10,000 fine. Alderman Bateman weighed in, then Treasurer Conzo said they might be talking about two separate things. Mr. Bateman said the one they are talking about now is no different than the liquor ordinance.

Alderman Keller did not want to throw out numbers unless they have a purpose. Mr. Bateman said it is a more lucrative business. He said everyone talks about the money and considers the money. He said it is a very strict business. He said he has been contacted - and he is trying to keep it in an area where they will only get serious inquiries from people who want to open a dispensary and seriously run it.

Mr. Welch said - so money will prevent problems from happening? He said humans are going to make mistakes - and that it sounded like setting the amounts based on the ability to pay. He said other businesses might not get a hefty fine - even if they have the ability to pay. He said it does not seem right and it seems like they are trying to punish people.

Mr. Parrott said this is an unknown and there should be consequences for mistakes. Mr. Bateman said he is throwing numbers out there because no one else has. He said he thinks a lot of the ordinances need to be changed - to put some teeth in the people who take advantage of the situation - the grey areas.

Mr. Downs said he wanted to see an expiration date on some of the items. Mr. Conzo said he thought he would have suggested higher fines and fees, he then touched on the idea of increasing fines in increments of $5,000.First offense is $5,000 then $10,000 and $15,000.He said we can generate some revenue out of this. He said the companies might not be nationwide companies and they will make a lot of money selling this product.

Mr. Welch said the stance is - the ability for one person to pay. He said it does not seem fair and equitable. Mr. Welch said you can get liquor in this town and the fines are not steep.

Mr. Welch said we do have a bit of an economic development issue in town and he wanted to know what kind of message this sends to people who want to come here and open a business. Mr. Conzo weighed in. Mr.Welch said these rules put in place now will impact everyone.

Mr. Hoblit stepped in addressing the potential to revisit the issue in 5-10 years. He said things change - things get adjusted.

Alderman Parrot touched on the fees too -- about potentially increasing fees for alcohol. Mr. Downs asked if they had black and white violations - he asked what reasonable explanation a store would have. Mr. Downs said he would not expect a cashier to prevent someone from consuming the product in the store. Chief Adams weighed in, then Mr. Bateman said you can't stop a guy from walking away - opening it.

Mr. Hoblit said they had already talked about no - on-site consumption.He said an easy way to relieve liability is to report it themselves.

Mr.Keller said he did not feel comfortable throwing numbers out that did not have any basis. He was willing to do some leg work on other municipalities. Mr. Hoblit said if he did want to do some research - he encouraged them to look into smoking violations.

Mr. Bateman made a motion to place this on the next Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting in January.

Discussion regarding the installation of water meters on wells within the city and who is to pay for the costs incurred:

Alderman Welch said he was glad the council was moving onto another topic. He said some residents in the community have wells for their water - he said the council seems to have questions about the costs of these meters. The city paying to install the equipment could open up the city to some sort of liability. An idea was that all new homes -will have to have a meter installed.He said it would replicate what is on the commercial side.He said if the council would like - he would like to work with the city attorney to bring back an ordinance change.

Mr. Bateman asked if they could add language referencing single language only. He said he did not have a problem with it, but he wanted to limit it to single family dwellings only.

Mr. Hoinacki asked if the councilwas aware of any multifamily wells. Mr. Bateman wanted it to read - single family dwelling - Mr. Welch said there should be a more equitable way to do it. He said he thought they would have to have time for the city attorney to work on this. They could add it to the next COW - if it could get ready. Mr. Welch said he would work with the city attorney.

Discussion of purchasing eight new cameras for the squad vehicles for an estimated total of $41,560.00 from Guard/Motorola and City approval of expenditure:

Chief Adams began by talking about the current situation - he said the cameras in their squad cars are failing - he said they started investing in a new camera system through Watch Guard.He said the county and the state use Watch Guard.He said it's a really good, stable platform. He said they can share videos with the states attorney much better than the current system that they have in place now. He referenced a grant he was hoping to secure to cover the costs - but it did not go through. He wanted to purchase new cameras for the new cars.

He said he would rather they buy new cameras now (rather than wait for a grant later) - so it is nice and seamless. He said $41,560 is the cost of new cameras and there are about $50,000 left in the police fund for the new building. Then, his team will apply for the grant to get the reimbursement. He said he was asking for the authorization to move forward with the purchase.

Mr. Bateman said he has installed these at the dealership where he works - he said it is expensive and it is a very extensive installation process ...it said it's quite a few hours per car and it would be time consuming to take out the old cameras. He said they are the gold standard for video recording in the police and fire industry.

He said you can go on YouTube and watch some of the videos. He said it is very much worth the money. Alderman Downs asked the chief how old the cameras were . . . Chief Adams said most were installed in 2012 or 2010. Then Alderman Parrott asked about the three-year warranty. Mr. Parrott said it sounded like the life expectancy isn't more than seven years. Mr. Adams weighed in.He said these are nice cameras. He said they provide a 180-degree view of the front. Mr.Parrott said it might be worth getting a four or five year warranty for a couple hundred bucks.

Mr. Bateman continued to talk about the tool. There being no further questions or discussion, the item would be placed on the regular agenda.

Ride share (Uber/lift) discussion as a proposed amendment to the City's current Taxi Ordinance: Alderman Bateman said the would place this item on the agenda in January. He said there is already a service like this offered in Lincoln called lnstacart. He said as soon as he got more information on the ride share portion - be would bring it forward. Mr. Welch weighed in. He said with lnstacart - it's different than ride sharing. Mr. Bateman just wanted to stick with ride shares. He referenced Uber and Lyft.

The item would be placed on the COW agenda.

Update of the Progress on the City"s Portion of the Fifth Street Road Project and Eminent Domain Progress:

Some deeds arrived in the mail today - per City Administrator Kavelman.

Announcements:

• Mayor Goodman said he wanted to discuss the closure of city hall on December 24, the whole day off - it would be added to the consent agenda.
• City Clerk Bateman had executive session minutes - in need of approval She had thumb drives. Then in a January meeting - they would go into executive session, and then come out of the session and vote. Mr. Hoblit said theoretically they could go into executive session at the end of their next meeting. Mr. Welch asked if they only needed to go into executive session if they had issues with them. Mr. Hoblit said it was about agreeing that they be released to the public. Mr. Bateman said they could on Jan. 16 - vote to approve the minutes as recorded. Then someone would ask if someone needed to release the minutes.
• Mr. Walt Landers said the last pass was made on leaf pi The landfill is going to go back to regular hours.
• Projects are all complete under budget (sidewalks, oil and chip ). Mr. Bateman asked if he could confirm or deny that they will be working on Woodlawn Road.
• Parrott asked about the street sweeper and its ability to pick up leaves. Mr. Landers said it happens. In January the council would vote to approve the minutes.
• The street sweepers use water - so unless it's high 20's above freezing - they cannot do the operation. They cannot operate in the freezing temperature.
• Mr.Welch asked how the wrestling tournament went this

Executive Session:

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

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

Nays: (0)

Abstain:(0)

Absent: (1) Alderman Kathryn Schmidt

Executive Session 2(C)11:

The council recessed from the Committee of the Whole meeting at 8:35 p.m.in order to enter into Executive Session. Mayor Goodman announced there would not be any further city business conducted upon reconvening.

Return from Executive Session:

The council reconvened from Executive Session 10:42 p.m. in order to reconvene the Committee of the Whole Meeting. Roll call was taken.

Present:

Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman Steve Parrott Alderman Sam Downs Alderman Kevin Bateman Alderman Ron Keller Alderman Kathy Horn Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

Absent:

Alderman Kathryn Schmidt

Motion Made:

Alderman Hoinacki asked to place the approval for the calendar year 2020 alternate health insurance plan on the agenda. Mr. Bateman seconded it.

Adjournment:

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Welch motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Keller. Roll call was taken. Mayor Goodman adjourned the meeting at 10:42 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted By:

Alex Williams, Recording Secretary