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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

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

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

 

The Committee of the Whole Meeting of the City Council of Lincoln was called to order by Acting Mayor Tracy Welch at 7:00 p.m., with proper notice given. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.

Present:

Alderman Tracy Welch, Ward 1 Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1 Alderman Colby Leith, 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

Present:

Elizabeth Kavelman, City Administrator John Hoblit, City Attorney

Peggy Bateman, City Clerk Chuck Conzo, City Treasurer Paul Adams,  Police Chief

Walt Landers, Streets Superintendent

Remotely:

Bob Dunovsky, Fire Chief

Wes Woodhall,  Building and Safety Officer Andrew Bowns, Veolia Water, Project Manager

Absent: Presiding:

Acting Mayor Tracy Welch

Superintendent Landers presented Assistant Street Superintendent Russell Wright with a plaque honoring his 40 years of service with the City of Lincoln.  Mr. Wright retires on July 31, 2020.  The City appreciates  his dedicated service.

Public Comment:

Wanda Lee Rohlfs was present and spoke regarding Item #10 on tonight's agenda; Ordinance Creating the City of Lincoln Economic Development Grant Program and the Economic Development Grant Commission.  After referring to Treasurer Conzo's comment to not spend money that the city did not need to, made at the beginning of FY 20/21, Mrs. Rohlfs feels the ordinance contradicts the Treasurer's advice.  She also questions whether this grant is legal.

Acting Mayor Welch encourages anyone that has questions to contact the City Administrator.  He also shared that many of the buildings around town are being bought by people from out of town for back taxes, hoping to flip it for a profit. The purpose of the Ordinance is to get people to refurbish these buildings and utilize them to enhance our city. He also stated that $7500 is a drop in the bucket compared to the renovations that need to be made and the grant money will not be issued to anyone until all work has been completed.

City Attorney Hoblit will research the legality of the ordinance. Alderman Bateman would like to see a copy of grant application.

Mrs. Rolhfs suggested maybe a tax break for these businesses rather than giving them money.

Mayoral appointment to the Fire & Police Commission - Stacy Bacon with the resignation of Joe Haning. 

All terms for the Fire & Police Commission have expired. Mrs. Bacon, as a former alderwoman, was suggested for appointment by Mr. Hanning. Acting Mayor Welch reached out to Mrs. Bacon to see if she was interested and she was.

The Council approves this appointment.

Mayoral reappointment of Marilyn Montgomery to the Fire & Police Commission

The Council approves this appointment.

Mayoral reappointment of Christopher Herzog to the Fire & Police Commission

The Council approves this appointment.

Approval to hire two (2) new Fire Fighters for September Academy

Chief Dunovsky shared that his department has been down 3 firefighters since 2003.  In 2003, the department responded to 1,370 calls.  In 2019, they responded to 2,691 calls.  Currently, there are 2 spots being held at the academy for these individuals.  If the council does not approve the new hires at this time, the next academy is in Jan/Feb of 2021.  New hire equipment and new hire training costs have already been accounted for in the 20/21 budget, salary and benefits have not.

Treasurer Conze suggests waiting a couple more months to see how the revenue does.

Chief Dunovsky understands the revenue side of things but is more concerned about the safety of his staff and the citizens in regards to COVID-19.  His staff is currently very stressed due to the pandemic.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly invoice for professional services from May 30, 2020- June 30, 2020 for preliminary Engineering Services for Land Acquisitions for 5th Street Road Project.

 

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly invoice for Professional Services from May 30, 2020 - July 3, 2020 for Lincoln Waste Water Treatment Plant Property Boundary Determination

 

This work was done to determine access to the CSO project.  Exact property lines was extremely important to determine setbacks for the project.

 

This item was placed on the regular agenda.

Ordinance Creating the City of Lincoln Economic Development Grant Program and the Economic Development Grant Commission

 

This Commission will consist of Acting Mayor Welch, City Administrator Kavelman, City Attorney Hoblit, Treasurer Conzo, Alderman Keller, Building and Safety Official Woodhall and local Realtor/Broker Sonnie Alexander.  The hopes will be to add 2 more individuals to the Commission.  One from a downtown business and one from a business not in the downtown area.

City Administrator will send the council a final copy of the grant application draft. This item will be added to the regular agenda.

Resolution for the City of Lincoln Diversity and Inclusion Commission

 

This current resolution calls for nine members.  Alderman Bateman would like to see no less than 12 members.  Only one being a city official, one from the police department and one with an education background.

City Attorney Hoblit will make the change from 9 to 12 members.  Once the change is made, this item will be added to the regular agenda.

Ordinance amending the City of Lincoln's Animal Control provisions to allow poultry 

Permits will cost $25 with a yearly inspection .

Chicken at large fines will be the same as dog at large fines.

This ordinance will be under the jurisdiction of the Building & Safety office and the Police Department not Animal Control.

Current residents with chickens will have 30 days from the date of passage to get a permit and bring coops up to code.

There will be additional fines, $100, $200, and $500, if permits are not obtained or coops are not compliant.

This item will be added to the regular agenda.

Proposal to purchase property at 201 9th Street (Tabled from voting session 7/6/2020) 

Title work has come back.  There was one lien on the property from Child and Family Services, amount is unknown.  This item will remained tabled until that dollar amount can be determined.

Lincoln Salvation Army request for a covered/enclosed  parking area for its emergency disaster vehicle 

Through a grant, the Salvation Army is purchasing an Emergency Disaster Vehicle and is looking for a covered building to house it with 24 hour access for emergencies.  They are willing to rent the space. The city garage is not a solution because the building is not in great shape.  Alderman Bateman suggested contacting the Logan County Fairgrounds.

Announcements:

  • Superintendent Landers is looking for approval from the council to hire a replacement laborer to replace a retiree. The salary cost will be a savings to the city. This item will be placed on the regular
  • Any city officials or department heads have been invited to a ceremony on Thursday at 6pm inside the fairgrounds near the corner of Habitat for Humanity for the reveal of a billboard stating "Hate is not welcome in our Community". Area individuals pooled their money to purchase this billboard.
  • There is a boil order in effect until Wednesday
  • IAW has received the go ahead to shut off water beginning September 1st, if a sewer bill is 90 days past An insert will be included in all sewer bills that are in danger of shut off.
  • More information has been received for federal Anyone interested should log on to www. gpcovid.com or http//:mytada.org or contact City Administrator Kavelman for assistance.

Adjournment: 

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Keller motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderwoman Horn. All were in favor. Acting Mayor Welch adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted  By:

Charity Hutchison, 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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Contact Information

 

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City Hall
700 Broadway Street
Lincoln, Illinois 62656

(217)735-2815

 

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