COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
Lincoln City Hall, Council Chambers
700 Broadway Street | Lincoln, Illinois
Tuesday, September 29, 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 Ron Fleshman, 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
Remotely:
Bob Dunovsky, Fire Chief
Wes Woodhall, Building and Safety Officer
Andrew Bowns, Veolia Water, Project Manager
Paul Adams, Police Chief
Walt Landers, Streets Superintendent
Absent:
Presiding:
Acting Mayor Tracy Welch
The Council had a moment of silence for the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Retired Sergeant Darrell Sisk. Sergeant Sisk had 31 years of service with the Lincoln Police Department and was the City’s first DARE officer.
Public Participation:
Jonathon and Melissa Cox phoned in regarding a letter they received from Building & Safety Official Wes Woodhall informing the Cox’s that they were required to obtain a permit to have chickens within the city limits. The Cox’s have had their chickens for a few years with no objections from their neighbors. They don’t have a backyard to speak of so they have been using their side yard to house their chickens. In order to obtain a permit and keep their chickens, The Cox’s will need to obtain a variance through the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Cox’s would rather not go through the Zoning Board of Appeals and asked for leniency from the council since they only have side yards on their property. City Attorney Hoblit replied that there is a process and it must be followed to be fair to everyone. The Cox’s questioned why there was $25 permit fee and the $150 variance fee. Treasurer Conzo explained the $25 permit fee goes into the General Fund and is used to run the City just as other permit fees are used. Alderman Bateman explained that the $150 variance fee is used to pay the board members on the Zoning Board.
Eric Larson with Illinois American Water (IAW) phoned in to address water shut offs due to COVID. The council will then have discussion on how to proceed from the City standpoint.
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and private utilities have been engaging in a moratorium for non-pay water shut offs due to COVID-19 and financial strains it has caused to some individuals. The expiration date has been moved back several times, with the current expiration date is October 1st, 2020. The ICC and private utilities recently decided to extend the date to March 31, 2021 for anyone who self certifies that they are having financial hardship. IAW asks that the City partner with them and not enforce sewer shut offs for anyone that self certifies financial duress until March 31, 2021. Mr. Larson said there is no proof of financial hardship required, only a verbal recording to self-certify.
Acting Mayor called for discussion:
There are currently 197 sewer accounts past due. Late fees were waived briefly after COVID but have been reinstated.
The City may need to implement Tier 3 for sewer accounts to cover operation costs due to delinquent accounts.
The Council is concerned with how cumbersome 197 individualized payment arrangements could be on the Clerk’s office so Alderman Fleshman will work with the Clerk’s office to find the most ideal plan then add that plan to the agenda.
Stark Excavating Change Order 1-3 for Union Street Pump Station
Christy Crites was present remotely and gave an update.
Change order 1 and 2 total $70,000. These are closing costs and ancillary outstanding changes. Change order 3 is zeroing out the contract. This will take it down to just what Stark has completed to date. The total payout to Stark is $1,184,076.77. The majority of these costs are for materials.
The next contractor cannot begin work until all the lien waivers have been received and turned in to the IEPA.
Ameren and Illinois American Water have moved their lines while the Contractor switch is being processed.
This item will be placed on the regular agenda.
Invoice from Crawford, Murphy & Tilly for the CSO Improvement Construction Phase Services from August 1, 2020 through August 28, 2020 in the amount of $49,649.93.
This item will be placed in the regular agenda.
Invoice from Crawford, Murphy & Tilly for 5th Street Road Professional Services from August 1 Through August 28, 2020 in the amount of $6,111.23.
This item will be placed in the regular agenda.
Invoice from Hanson Professional Services for the 5th Street Road Project in the amount of $11,896.78.
This item will be placed in the regular agenda.
Employee HSA Contributions for Calendar Year 2021.
There will not be a rate increase for insurance this fiscal year. The council will vote at the next regular meeting to approve and continue the $215/month HSA contribution.
This item will be placed in the regular agenda.
Enhancement to the existing language regarding Social Networking to the Employee Handbook.
Language was added to reference other city policies and statement of protected classes defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This item will be placed in the regular agenda.
Discussion of Bids presented for one (1) new 3/4 Ton and one (1) new 1/2 Ton truck for the Fire Department.
Bids for a new truck for the Fire Department were received from Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, Jim Xamis, and Graue. Lowest bid was from Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep for both trucks. The ½ ton truck bid was $26,200 and the ¾ ton truck bid was $31,213 plus licensing and fees. $65,000 was budgeted for the two trucks. Red will be the color of the new vehicles. All bids will be emailed to the Council.
This item will be placed on the regular agenda.
Discussion on "Say No To Panhandling"
Panhandling is not against State law. Panhandlers are exercising their rights to free speech. There has been some concern with panhandlers standing in public right of way. Chief Adams said there isn’t any difference with them standing there then with pedestrians walking in the public right of way. Both will need to be treated the same. There has been discussion in other municipalities to put up signs that say “Say No to Panhandling” and encourages people to give to charities instead. These signs would be placed at the intersection at Walmart. 6 signs total would be needed. The only alternative to the signs would be creating an ordinance against panhandling. These types of ordinances have been contested in the past and could possibly bring forth lawsuits against the City. There is concern of individuals coming off the median to receive donations and some have left debris.
City Attorney Hoblit said many ordinances have been recently repealed due to the Constitutional right to free speech.
Mr. Hoblit will do more research regarding this and this item will be brought back to another COW.
An Ordinance Authorizing the Issuance of Taxable General Obligation Refunding Bonds (Alternate Revenue Source), Series 2020, of the City of Lincoln, Logan County, Illinois in an Aggregate Principal amount not to exceed $1,915,000 for the purpose of refunding certain outstanding obligations of the City and paying for costs related thereto.
Treasurer Conzo explained that when this bond, Series 2014, was issued it was at a much higher interest rate making the annual payment between $173,000 - $176,000. This bond was issued to fund the TIF. There are two refunding options he’d like the council to consider.
1. Annual payments would be approximately $160,000-$165,000 with payments going down after that. An overall savings would be $146,000.
2. Take the savings up front. The payments for the next three years would be $137,000-$144,000 then increase to $168,000-$171,000. An overall savings of $132,000.
Cost of issuance would be $40,000 for both options. Treasurer Conzo prefers option #2. These payment amounts are an estimate and depend on the interest rate at the time of issuance. This ordinance will need to be created by the end of the current Council Session which is in April 2021.
This item will be placed on the regular agenda.
Discussion on moving forward with the 5th Street Road Project
Ambra Knox from CMT was present and shared with the council that there are 12 total parcels not finalized. 3 are signed by the property owners and at IDOT for review. 4 are just receiving their revised offers from the design changes. 4 have verbal agreements with the property owners. And 1 is outstanding due to not being able to get in touch with the property owner.
City Administrator Kavelman recommends to the council to continue with this project. By pulling out now, the City could lose federal funding and the integrity with IDOT for future projects and the integrity with the citizens for starting a project and not completing it.
The Council will look over the recent information they were given regarding the project and this item will be brought back to the next COW.
Announcements:
- Permit request from Spirited Republic to close road between the Arcade and Kickapoo on Pulaski Street on Friday October 16th from 4pm-11pm for outdoor entertainment. This item will be placed on the Consent Agenda.
- Halloween/trick or treating discussion: The department of public health does not have any restrictions for trick or treating but recommends to maintain social distancing and to wear masks. The CDC recommends not doing traditional door to door trick or treating.
- Business Interruption Grant: $220 Million in grant funding. Anyone interested apply online with Illinois Department of Commerce or www.gpcovid.com.
Executive Session | 2 (C) 1 Personnel:
There being no further announcements to come before the council, Alderman Parrott made a motion to move into Executive Session, seconded by Alderman Keller. City Clerk Bateman called the roll.
Present:
Alderman Tracy Welch, Ward 1
Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1
Alderman Ron Fleshman, 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
Yeas: (8) Alderman Tracy Welch, Alderman Sam Downs, Alderman Ron Keller, Alderman Kevin Bateman, Alderman Jeff Hoinacki, Alderworman Kathy Horn, Alderman Steve Parrott, Alderman Ron Fleshman
Nays: (0)
Abstain: (0)
Absent: (0)
The council recessed from the meeting at 9:15pm in order to enter into Executive Session. Acting Mayor Welch announced there may be city business conducted upon reconvening.
Return from Executive Session:
The council reconvened from Executive Session at 9:27pm in order to reconvene the Committee of the Whole meeting. Roll call was taken.
Present:
Alderman Tracy Welch, Ward 1
Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1
Alderman Ron Fleshman, 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
Adjournment:
There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Bateman motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Parrott. All were in favor. Acting Mayor Welch adjourned the meeting at 9:28 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted By:
Charity Hutchison, Recording Secretary
City of Lincoln