COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

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

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

The Committee of the Whole Meeting of the City Council of Lincoln was called to order by Mayor Tracy Welch at 7:01 p.m., with proper notice given. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.

Present:

Alderman Greg Miller, Ward 1

Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1

Alderman Tony Zurkammer, Ward 2

Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2

Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3

Alderwoman Wanda Rohlfs, Ward 3

Alderwoman Kathy Horn, Ward 4

Alderman Rick Hoefle, Ward 4

Present:

Peggy Bateman, City Clerk

Chuck Conzo, City Treasurer

John Hoblit, City Attorney

Joseph Meister, Deputy Police Chief

Ben Roland, Assist Fire Chief

Andrew Bowns, Veolia Water, Project Manager

Walt Landers, Streets Superintendent

Remotely:

Wes Woodhall, Building and Safety Officer

Absent:

Bob Dunovsky, Fire Chief Matt Vlahovich, Police Chief

Presiding:

Mayor Tracy Welch

Public Participation:

There was no one present to speak for public participation.

Alice Roate Executive Director of Logan County Tourism - 4th Quarter Report, Funding Agreement between City of Lincoln and Logan County Tourism Bureau.

4th Quarter Report

Financials - $53,710.58 was received in the 4th  Qtr. and is up 87% from last year. 165 people come into the Tourism Bureau, 51 of those had Route 66 passports Christmas Parade was a success

An Administrative Assistant was recently hired and completed her third week. Funding Agreement for 2022 - No changes from the 2021 agreement

Pay application #16 from Plocher Construction Company in the amount of $336,272.45 for Lincoln CSO Project.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Pay application #17 from Plocher Construction Company in the amount of $227,725.45 for Lincoln CSO Project.

There are 5 open pays apps, including the two on tonight's agenda. Mr. Andrews feels the 90% threshold of the project will be met after these payments however the City should not expect to start paying on loans until closer to the end of this fiscal year.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Hiring of replacement Police Officers

There are currently 2 vacant positions, Retired Chief Paul Adams and Retired Detective Sergeant James Rehmann. One of those positions has already been approved by the Council to fill. Corporal Kitner is looking to retire in a couple months. The department is also expecting to lose another experienced officer to another agency. Deputy Chief Meister stated that with the way things are now in law enforcement, the department could always lose other officers that are getting out of the profession. They would like to get out ahead of these changes and have approval to hire so that when qualified candidates become available, the department can act quickly, and offer them a position and not risk losing them to another agency. The department has saved $139,087.00 (and climbing) as of last pay period, due to several officers retiring or taking positions elsewhere.                                                                                                                 Looking ahead into Aug 2022, the department will be hiring another officer that will be fully paid for by CEL and WLB school districts.

The department is asking for a total of four officers plus the one that was previously approved.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

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Ordinance amending 5-1-4-2 of the Lincoln City Code allowing the appointment of temporary Fire  Inspectors.

This amendment is for the instance that a fire inspector is deployed (which is the current case) or injured, that there is authority to appoint a temporary fire inspector.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Ordinance Amending 7-16-2 of the Lincoln City Code stating Landlords are only responsible for basic trash service.

The landlord will be responsible for basic trash/recycle service only.  Should the tenant have a bulk item pickup or request extra totes, they are responsible for that.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Ordinance Annexing Certain Real Estate to the City of Lincoln, Logan County, Illinois.

This county parcel was swapped with a parcel that the City of Lincoln owned.  The use of this parcel is to install solar panels for the Sewer Plant. Both of these parcels were farmland and not uninhabited.

This parcel is at the end of S. Kickapoo St near the Sewer plant.  Now that the City owns this parcel, it will need to be annexed into the City of Lincoln.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.

Revised Request to Permit

Alderman Bateman brought this item to the Council for discussion.   In some recent cases, there have

been last minute requests to permit city property for an event. Currently, the process for these requests take 2-4 weeks for approval from the Council. The item must go on the COW agenda for discussion then placed on the regular agenda of a voting meeting for a vote. This revised application will have a 4 day turnaround and will only apply to smaller events, such as blocking 1-2 parking spaces.  It will get to the pertinent people for review and approval. Larger events, that involve closing down multiple streets, will need to the 2-4 weeks for approval.                                                     Proof of insurance will still be required.

There was concern from several members of the council of what criteria made an event a small vs large event. Street Superintendent Landers would not want events that closed intersections or interrupted the flow of traffic to be considered without Council approval.   Alderman Hoelfe and Alderman Parrott would rather the council approve these permits, and not give their vote up.  City Attorney Hoblit felt research needed to be done to see if this was even legally possible due to an ordinance that is already in place.

Mayor Welch asked Alderman Bateman to work with City Attorney Hoblit on this item and to bring it back to the next COW.

Announcements:

• Alderman Miller approached Mayor Welch after the recent meeting where the council voted on an agreement with Bird Alderman Miller says it isn't fair that we make Bird have an agreement with the City when the City doesn't require that from other businesses. Mayor Welch spoke with City Attorney Hoblit regarding this. There will be research done and the item may be brought back to the council to rescind the vote.  Alderman Bateman is concerned that if the council rescinds the vote leading to removing the agreement, the City will give up the parameters for scooter speeds and geo fencing.

Executive Session 1 2 (C) (11) Litigation:

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

Present:

Alderman Greg Miller, Ward 1 Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1 Alderman Tony Zurkammer, Ward 2 Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2 Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3 Alderwoman Wanda Rohlfs, Ward 3 Alderwoman Kathy Horn, Ward 4 Alderman Rick Hoelfe, Ward 4

Yeas: (8) Alderman Greg Miller, Alderman Sam Downs, Alderwoman Wanda Rohlfs, Alderman Kevin Bateman, Alderman Rick Hoelfe, Alderwoman Kathy Horn, Alderman Steve Parrott, Alderman Tony Zurkammer

Nays: (0)

Abstain: (0)

Absent: (0)

The council recessed from the meeting at 8:26 pm in order to enter into Executive Session. Mayor Welch announced there would be no further city business conducted upon reconvening.

Return from Executive Session:

The council reconvened from Executive Session at 9:44 pm in order to reconvene the Committee of the Whole meeting. Roll call was taken.

Present:

Alderman Greg Miller, Ward 1 Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1 Alderman Tony Zurkammer, Ward 2 Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2 Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3 Alderwoman Wanda Rohlfs, Ward 3 Alderwoman  Kathy Horn, Ward 4 Alderman Rick Hoelfe, Ward 4

Adjournment:

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Bateman motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Hoefle. All were in favor. Mayor Welch adjourned the meeting at 9:45 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted By:

Charity Hutchison, Recording Secretary