Report

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

Lincoln City Hall, Council Chambers

700 Broadway Street | Lincoln, Illinois

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

 

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 Kevin Bateman, Ward 3

Alderman Ron Keller, Ward 3

Alderwoman Kathy Horn, Ward 4

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki, Ward 4


Staff Present:

Elizabeth Kavelman, City Administrator

John Hoblit, City Attorney

Peggy Bateman, City Clerk

Chuck Conzo, City Treasurer

Remotely:

Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2

Bob Dunovsky, Fire Chief

Wes Woodhall, Building and Safety Officer

Andrew Bowns, Veolia Water, Project Manager

Paul Adams, Police Chief

Walt Landers, Streets Superintendent

Jeanette Harris, Diversity Commission

 

Absent:

Presiding:

Acting Mayor Tracy Welch 

 

Public Participation:

There was no one present or on the phone for public participation.

Jeanette Harris, Chairperson City of Lincoln Diversity & Inclusion Commission update.

The Commission has had the opportunity to meet several times so far.  The Commission did receive a grant in the amount of $7500.00 from the United Way for racial equity.  This Commission has decided to use those funds to assist The City Police in finishing sensitivity training for any officer that has not received the training yet. The Commission also plans to create a website that will have resources for community members to get any assistance that they may need.  They are also working on a logo.  There will also be a Juneteeth event planned.   

 

Superintendent for Illinois American Water, Nathan Pennisi, update of status of projects that are taking place in the community.

There is a new 5 million gallon south water treatment plant being built at the south end of State Street.  This will replace the current plant that is in a flood plain, was built in the 80s and does not have the redundancy between equipment and capacity that the town deserves.  This will be a 1.4 million gallon upgrade per day.  A 3.6 million gallon collector well was constructed last year that will supply the plant.  Three of the current wells were rehabilitated completely and can be used as back up in an emergency.  The new plant will have enhanced treatment that will be better to meet current and future State and Federal regulations.  There will be increased security levels to protect the plant during an emergency to maintain water supply.  Construction began in Feb 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. 

The second project is the new elevated storage tank on the West end of town.  This will replace the old Stetson tank and will help in the event of an emergency to maintain pressure in the system and fire protection.  This is a $3 million project.  This tank is expected to go online in the fall of 2021. 

The third project is $500,000 worth of main replacements that will be going on throughout the City.  This will replace of 22,000 feet of aging water mains.

The moratorium for shutoffs for customers with hardships is going to be slowly phased back out.  There is a H2O program that can help people who meet the requirements.  IAW has partnered with Salvation Army for this program.   

 

Update and discussion on Mulligan Solar Farm request.

This item was moved up during the meeting due to Erin Baker being present via Zoom. 

The County Board had a meeting last week and discussed this item. After discussion, they decided not to rescind their approval, so their approval of Solar Farms being an acceptable use in the Enterprise Zone still stands.

In the agreement given to the Council, there will be a $50,000 stipend for this project, paid to the City of Lincoln.  There is also a section for decertification.  This will allow the project to be completed and for the Company to receive the tax incentives.  Once the project is complete, Mulligan can then decertify and those Enterprise Zone miles will be given back to the City and County for other projects to use. 

There will be an intergovernmental agreement established to keep all parties accountable. 

 

This item will be placed on the regular agenda. 

Request to permit: Use of Postville Park for vendors for the Route 66 Garage Sales event June 11th, 12th, 13th 2021.

 

This item will be added to the consent agenda.

 

2020 Bond Expenditure item for Fire Department Battery-Operated Extrication Equipment to replace 25 year old hydraulic system. 

The fire department applied for a grant to be able to replace their 25 year old jaws of life equipment.  They were denied.  They appealed the denial, and was again denied.  In preparation of the second denial, there was money budgeted in FY 20/21 for this equipment.  

The pump in the current equipment has been receiving costly annual repairs.  The system is outdated and will cost $8,000 to convert it to a newer system that meets regulations.  There is $60,000 earmarked for this purchase, the equipment that was chosen (after testing three) will cost under $30,000.  All equipment comes with a 10 year warranty.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.     

Approval of a Lincoln Economic Development Grant Application for $6,500.00 for the Lincoln Woman’s Club structural building work as recommended by the Lincoln Economic Development Grant Commission. 

 

This item will be placed on the agenda, pending approval from the Historic Preservation Society.  This item will be out of the FY 21/22 budget. 

Ordinance creating Section 8-12 if Lincoln City Code “Parklets”

Parklets are an extension of the sidewalk and are primarily used for outdoor dining.  They can consume goods and services that are provided by respective businesses.  Acting Mayor Welch did a search on the e-code section of Codifier and found a city in New Jersey that had an ordinance for parklets that seemed to cover everything the City of Lincoln wished to cover.  Acting Mayor Welch tweaked it a little and sent it to the City Attorney to review. 

This ordinance will include permit fees for businesses to rent parking spaces.  There will be requirements for fencing/barriers. 

Alderman Keller would like to make changes to the language in the draft ordinance to include all businesses in Lincoln, not just downtown businesses. 

Alderman Bateman would like to set the permit fee to $100/per parking spot with a maximum of 2 spaces per business.  If there is an adjacent business also utilizing a parklet, then 4 spaces could be used in combination.  A time frame where parklets are allowed will be April 1 – Nov 1.  Fencing will need to be of rigid material, no flexible fencing.  Proof of insurance will be mandated.  The city will provide the traffic barrier(concrete block).  Tents or awnings will need to be approved by Street & Alley and Zoning. 

City Attorney will create language regarding the safety of certain items that could potentially cause damage during storms.   

There was discussion about cost of the permit fee, possibly waiving the fee this year since business owners will have the expense of building their parklets.  There was concern of liability for when/if a car would hit a parklet. 

Alderman Parrott would like to see no more than four parking spaces used for parklets per side of the square.  There are approximately 113 parking spots around the outside of the square. 

The changes discussed will be made to the draft ordinance and brought back to the next COW for review.

 

Discussion regarding Committees

Going in to the next term of Mayor, the Council has decided to explore the use of Committees and Committee structure therefore not renewing the contract for City Administrator Beth Kavelman.  Acting Mayor Welch thanked Mrs. Kavelman for her tremendous help with the 5th Street Road Project, grants and numerous other duties. 

Acting Mayor Welch listed the current committees that he was aware of..

CSO Improvement Project – Alderman/Acting Mayor Welch, Alderman Bateman, and Alderman Fleshman

5th St Road Project – City Administrator, Alderman Downs, and Alderman /Acting Mayor Welch

Union negotiations

Municipal & Residential Aggregation

Grant writing

Meeting Minutes & Transcription

Waste & Recycling Franchise Agreement – Alderman Bateman & Alderman/Acting Mayor Welch

Commissions & Committees

Employee Insurance Committee

Budget & Finance – Alderwoman Horn & Alderman Hoinacki assist Treasurer Conzo & City Administrator Kavelman

Liquor Commission

Diversity & Inclusion Commission

Business Sustainability Commission

Lincoln Economic Development Grant Committee

IT Committee

TIF Review Committee – has been dormant

City Representations on outside Committees

Alderman/Acting Mayor Welch sits on the VAC

Alderman Hoinacki and City Administrator Kavelman sit on the Regional Planning

Alderman Keller sits on the Rotary Club Veteran Banner Committee and Dept. of Public Health

Alderman/Acting Mayor Welch and Alderman Parrott represent Tourism

Acting Mayor Welch recognizes that there are duties that City Administrator Kavelman did that went unnoticed. His thought is to hire one full time administrative assistant and possibly one part time position, salaries to stay within the current City Administrators budgeted salary, to assist the Council and the Mayor. 

Alderman Parrott had some concern to the commitment that would be required for a Committee structure for the individuals that work out of town during the day. 

City Attorney Hoblit stated that there really wouldn’t be any change to the form of government since there are already Committees and Commissions.  He advised that the Council may be more limited to what duties they could assign to the Administrative Assistants than they could to a City Administrator because the position of City Administrator was created on a State level.   He also reminded the Council that an ordinance would need to be created to hire those positions. 

A job description will be compiled and then analyzed to determine how many people will need to be hired to fulfill the duties.   

 

Discussion of F.Y. 2021/2022 Budget

The council received a draft of the 21/22 budget from the City Treasurer. 

 

Revenue projections are based off the 20/21 budget but also on the expectations that those lines will improve.  The City was approved for the CURES grant in the amount of $598,334.00. 

The 10% increase to the police and fire pensions from the utility tax is included. 

$60,000 was included for the Economic Development Grants. 

A new line for façade grants has been added and will need discussed. 

A new line for IT services has been added with an amount of $10,000.

Liability insurance went up around $100,000 this year and the health insurance went down about the same. 

There will be a budget workshop on April 5th.    

 

Announcements:

  • The State Farm grant gave the City 25 laptops.
  • Union Street Construction: Is now in full swing. Please avoid the area if you can.  There is a metal bump that goes across Broadway St near the intersection of Broadway/8th St and Union.  You can drive over it but do so very slowly.  Anyone living along Union St should have received a door hanger, however if you have questions or concerns please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Include your name and the issue you are having and either Acting Mayor Welch, Alderman Bateman, Alderman Fleshman, Andrew Bowns, Christy Crites, Shannon Brady, or Keeley Construction will respond. You can also call your Alderman. 
  • CURES Grant: The City was approved for $598,334.00 from the CURES grant. City Administrator Kavelman requested and additional $2.345 million to pay for First Responders payroll during COVID. She has yet to get a response for that request.  Just last week she received notification that the City could possibly receive $1.67 million dollars from American Rescue Plan.  She’s hoping all of these funds will come soon.
  • The City of Lincoln Police Department received Gold Level Recondition Award.
  • City Cleanup will take place April 17th at the Lincoln Municipal Services Building. Flyers will go out in the April Sewer bills.
  • The City also received the 3rd installment of the Rebuild Illinois Bond in the amount of $159,311.78. This will give the City enough money to complete the Heitmann Dr project this spring will money left over.
  • General election is on April 6, 2021

Adjournment:

 

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Keller motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Parrott. All were in favor. Acting Mayor Welch adjourned the meeting at 9:25 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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