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REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

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

Monday,January 21,2020

The Regular 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

Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky

Police Chief Paul Adams

Building and Safety Officer Wes Woodhall

Streets Superintendent Walt Landers

Veolia Water, Andrew Bowns

Absent:

None

Presiding:

Mayor Seth Goodman

Public Comment:

Mayor Goodman called upon citizens registered to speak. Abigail O'Brien and John Andrews of the Lincoln Park District came forward, Mr. Andrews said the council received a proposal today, and he was hoping they read through it. He said he needed to light a fire under the council to do this - he said he thinks it's best for the community to sign the park over to the park district. He said he would like to see It go through.

Mr.Andrews said Abigail is taking over. He called it a great benefit for the community.He called it a straightforward proposal. They would like a response by the end of the month.

Alderman Hoinacki weighed in and referred questions to City Attorney John Hoblit. Mr. Hoblit said there should be a deed or a contract, saying if it did not work out - the site would return to the city's ownership. Mr. Andrews referenced a matching grant and they want to try to develop the parks. He said it was up to the council.

Alderman Downs said the park district already maintains the parks . . he asked which ones they maintain.Mr. Andrews listed off which parks they do maintain. Mr. Downs wanted to know how much money would be available via a grant. Mrs.O'Brien weighed in, saying it was a grant for recreation. They would have to come up with a master plan on how they would incorporate recreation into the parks. She mentioned a splash pad, ADA compliance and more.She said it is for the community, she said this is the same grant that helped the district get the new pool.

City Administrator Kavelman asked a question about jurisdiction for patrolling and keeping the parks safe. Mr. Andrews said he did not see anything changing. Mr. Downs asked if you did get this grant - you would pursue a wheelchair swing?

Alderman Welch asked about raising taxes to fund the development. Mr. Andrews said he did not think the parks would get developed if they did not receive the grant. He referenced a bond. The item will be placed on next week's Committee of the Whole Meeting agenda.

Mayor Goodman then called on Jason VanWinkle and Christopher Davis of Lincoln Local 3092 came forward to talk about their contract article 22.2 - City of Lincoln - health insurance and a high deductible plan.The article referenced a $1,500 deductible - unless parties agree otherwise.

Alderman Bateman asked a question about how the city would come up with $144,000 -he said this is a real cost, insurance goes up, up and up. He said he's been in union negotiations where there's a hardship - he said $144,000 is nothing to sneeze about - he wanted to know what Mr. VanWinkle's solution was for coming up with $144,000.

Mr. Vanwinkle said he did not have a solution - and it is the burden of the city to come up with the funds. He said if there is a hardship than that could come out in arbitration.

There being no further public participation, Mayor Goodman moved down to other agenda items.

Consent Agenda by Omnibus Vote:

A. Payment of Bills

B. Approval of minutes December 2, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting,January 6, 2020 Regular City Council Meeting,January 14, 2020 Committee of the Whole Meeting

Alderman Welch made a motion to approve, seconded by Alderman Keller. Mayor Goodman called for further discussion, there being none, City Clerk 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: (0)

Mayor Goodman moved to other items on the agenda.

Ordinance and Resolution:

A. Resolution 2020-402 proclaiming the week of January 27-31, 2020 as Catholic School's Week in the City of Lincoln

Alderman Horn made a motion to approve, seconded by Alderman Welch. Mayor Goodman called for further discussion, there being none, City Clerk 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: (0)

Mayor Goodman moved to other items on the agenda.

B. Resolution 2020-403 providing for a three-percent (3%) increase in salary for the City Administrator, retroactive to July 17,2019

Alderman Keller made a motion to approve, seconded by Alderman Bateman. Mayor Goodman called for further discussion, there being none, City Clerk 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: (0)

Mayor Goodman moved to other items on the agenda.

C. Ordinance 2020-915 establishing the Cannabis Dispensary Licensing fee at $5,000 annually Alderman Bateman made a motion to approve, seconded by Alderman H Alderman Ron Keller said we talked about this last week - saying they are all kind of shooting in the dark, as this is new territory across the state. He said the $5,000 was a number they threw out, it would bring in revenue and detract dispensaries from obtaining a license. He said to that end, he was not sure this was the route to take. He said to make this more business friendly - he wanted to change it to $2,500.

Mayor Goodman said he would agree, he said he would not want to pay a $5,000 fee right off the bat, if he had just come to the city. He said this is going to bring more money into the community. He said they really need to take a step back and see what is more respected and that the community has a voice as well.

Mr. Keller said Chicago posed a fee of $500 to $1,500. He was proposing $2,500 - but personally would like to see less than that.

Mr. Parrott wanted to know why the fee was at $2,500. He continued.

Treasurer Conzo said the council was giving away money here . . . he said the council is effectively granting a franchise and the city would be incurring more costs with policing etc. Mayor Goodman relayed more feedback he received.

The fee was amended to $2,500. Mr.Parrott said he would like to amend it to $10,000 - and asked if anyone would take it for $10. He said if this is about money, and making money - did this council not take a vote to tax the sale. He said that was to make money. Alderman Bateman said they were settling for $2,500 for one business he said the 3% tax is what they put on for the sale of that product. He said

$2,500 for a single business is the highest in the city.

Alderman Welch said he received a call from someone about the topic tonight at 6:25 p.m. He said the 3% will help pay for those incurred costs. He said he goes back to $2,500 and being business friendly.

Alderman Parrott said the council would rather take money from the citizen than the business owner. Mr. Welch said the 3% is going toward the costs that the city would likely have to incur. He said the 3% is just a small amount of what people are paying. He said the business itself - it really is more about sending the message to businesses and people, than about the money itself.He thought $2,500 is fair.

Alderman Hoinacki said this is an annual fee that is done by ordinance and it could always be raised. Alderman Keller made a motion for $2,500 - Alderman Bateman seconded it.

Yeas: (6) Alderman Tracy Welch, Alderman Sam Downs, Alderman Ron Keller, Alderman Kevin Bateman, Alderman Jeff Hoinacki, Alderman Kathy Horn

Nays: (1) Alderman Steve Parrott

Abstain: (0)

Absent: (0)

Mayor Goodman moved to other items on the agenda.

Reports:

A. City Treasurer's Report for December, 2019

Treasurer Chuck Conzo began talking about the General Revenue Fund balance and said it is down a bit from last month due to December bond payments, he then talked about the 2019 series bond that  the city was working on in the fall - saying it had been issued. He then mentioned fund 43 - the general obligation bond. He mentioned tax revenues and revenue streams from the state, including the Municipal Sales Tax, it is up to $286-plus thousand dollars.He said the city is up for the year, from where it was a year ago.

He then went into talking about State Sales Tax and the State Income Tax - he said these numbers are good for the November month of liability.

He said you can see the city is up about $150,000 for where the city was to-date.

He then talked about the Personal Property Replacement Tax - it's a fund the state has an obligation to pay into.He said if you look at 2016 in particular - he said it is up to $370,000 which is  more than what it was in 2018.

It is $69,000 more. He said that this is the calendar year-to-date. He also wanted to point to page two and the considerable growth in the stock market and improvements with the Police Pension Fund and Firefighter Pension Fund, the city has gone up and both funds are in the millions.

He then wanted to talk about the first page of the report - investments in the amount of $549,584.He said if you go back every month .. .you can see the investments, he said this started out in the range of $300,000. He said this is money that is part of the General Revenue Fund (GRF) he said this is not a secret account, rainy day fund or slush fund. He said this is money that is accessible within 1-5 days, it is liquid. He said it is invested with IMET. It was money that was shifted from checking to an investment account.

He said it is almost $3 million.He said if you had $3 million that you won in the lottery, or worked alot of overtime for ...or had a horse that won the breeder's cup - he said if you have this kind of money - would you put it in your checking account? He said he would hope not.

Alderman Bateman said he appreciated Treasurer Conzo clearing this up - he said he's heard people talking about the same thing.

City Administrator Kavelman asked when the $200,000 was put in there. Mr.Conzo said he thought it was started in June 2014. More discussion ensued.

B.  City Clerks Report for December, 2019

City Clerk Peggy Bateman opened discussion saying the city collected $343,209.11 in sewer payments.

And from the State of Illinois, both prisons submitted $100,167.30 in sewer payments to the city.

She said the sewer fees will increase by $5 on residents' next bill, she said there were roughly 1,400 residents that changed levels. She said it went up and down, both ways, but either way it is going up $5.

Alderman Parrott asked if there was a way to find out what their payment would be before the next bill. She said some people have called in and asked, and the girls have looked it up.

C.  Department Head Reports for December, 2019

These are either on file or will be shortly.

New Business/Communications:

A. Approval of invoice #71 from Hanson Professional Services for work on the Fifth Street Road Project in an amount not to exceed $22,957.61

Alderman Downs wanted to make an amendment to that - he motioned to include a payment -Invoice #72 to Hanson for $1,987.27.

Alderman Bateman seconded it. He said just for discussion purposes - he wanted to know if anyone knew how much the city has spent on the 5th Street Road Project to date. He wanted to know why the city was purchasing properties and paying for properties on a hope and a dream that they might build something. Alderman Bateman said he did not understand why they were doing this and what amount has been spent so far.Alderman Bateman said he was just stating a complaint of this own and many others.

Alderman Parrott asked what the additional $1,900 was for. City Administrator Elizabeth Kavelman said it was for the professional management of the survey. She said that would bring the city up-to-date with what they owe them right now. Alderman Parrott asked a follow up questions. Mrs. Kavelman said this was for the removal of the bike path. Mayor Goodman weighed in.

Alderman Bateman said he did not expect the city administrator to dig into his ask, he just said it bothers him, and will continue to bother him for years to come.

Mrs. Kavelman mentioned that removing the bike path means the city is buying less property which could help move things along.

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: (0)

Mayor Goodman moved to other items on the agenda.

B.Approval of cancellation of contract between NIXLE and the City of Lincoln for city public announcements

Alderman Parrott made a motion to approve, seconded by Alderman Hoinacki. City Police Chief Paul Adams said people are not losing NIXLE. Mrs. Kavelman asked about the savings.It would be $3,500. Mayor Goodman called for further discussion, there being none, City Clerk 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:(0)

Mayor Goodman moved to other items on the agenda.

C.  Approval of revised Great Seal of the City of Lincoln

Alderman Keller made a motion to approve, seconded by Alderman Parrott. Alderman Bateman said he knew where everyone was coming with this - he said we hold a special place in the universe. He said he could not vote for this because overwhelmingly -a beard and a top hat is what people think of when they think of Mr.Lincoln. He said the cost is probably nominal for the patches and police vehicles - but he cannot wrap his head around, and either can his constituents about Mr. Lincoln not wearing a top hat.

Alderman Welch mentioned the stars in the outer circle - he said they could be perceived as a religious symbol or as a symbol associated with witchcraft . He said it is a six sided star. Alderman Parrott asked if the stars could look more like the stars on the police badges.

Alderman Keller said he supposed it could be seen that way . . . he was proud this was the Abraham Lincoln that came to the town. Mayor Goodman called for further discussion,there being none, City Clerk Bateman called roll.

Yeas: (6) Alderman Steve Parrott, Alderman Tracy Welch, Alderman Sam Downs, Alderman Ron Keller, Alderman Kevin Bateman, Alderman Jeff Hoinacki, Alderman Kathy Horn

Nays: (1) Alderman Kevin Bateman

Abstain: (0)

Absent: (0)

Announcements:

Mayor Goodman asked if anyone had any announcements.

  • Ribbon cutting at 1411 N.Kickapoo Street on Saturday
  • Rio Grande is opening at its new location at 11a.m.on Jan. 21
  • Alderman Bateman said the city recently ordered and approved a new pickup, and in the vote, they made it clear that they wanted the truck ordered in yellow, he said the truck came in white - he said that directly went against what the council approved - Alderman Welch posed wrapping it and keeping it yellow - Mr.Walt Landers - Mr. Parrott wanted to know if it was ordered incorrectly or if it came in wrong.
  • Comcast brought back WGN Alderman Parrott said he has a constituent who wanted the city to look at other options as costs continue to rise with comcast. Alderman Welch said other companies can compete in the city, there is not a non-compete.
  • City Administrator Kavelman brought up that there were seven new hard drives purchased, Chief Adams said Chris' hard drive was failing, her computer crashed, he said that had to be replaced. Since all computers were bought at the same time -
  • Cresco labs will hold a job fair over the weekend - they intend to hire 100 people

Executive Session I 2(C)1 and 2(C)11:

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

Present:

Alderman Tracy Welch

Alderman Steve Parrott

Alderman Sam Downs

Alderman Kevin Bateman

Alderman Ron Kelle

r Alderman Kathy Horn

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

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: (0) 

Executive Session:

The council recessed from the meeting at 8:08 p.m.in order to enter Executive Session.Mayor Goodman announced there would be no further city business conducted upon reconvening.

Return from Executive Session:

The council reconvened from Executive Session 10:31 p.m. in order to reconvene the regular meeting. Roll call was taken.

Present:

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

Absent:

None

Adjournment:

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Keller motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Parrott. Mayor Goodman adjourned the meeting at 10:31 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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Lincoln, Illinois 62656

(217)735-2815

 

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