COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

Lincoln City Hall, Council Chambers

700 Broadway Street | Lincoln, Illinois

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

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

Present:

Alderwoman Robin McClallen, Ward 1

Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1

Alderman David Sanders, Ward 2

Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2

Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3

Alderwoman Wanda Lee Rohlfs, Ward 3

Alderwoman Rhonda O’Donoghue, Ward 4

Staff Present:

Peggy Bateman, City Clerk

John Hoblit, City Attorney

Walt Landers, Streets Superintendent

Wes Woodhall, Building and Safety Officer

Ty Johnson, Fire Chief

Joe Meister, Police Chief

Andrew Bowns, Veolia Water, Project Manager

Remotely:

Chuck Conzo, City Treasurer

Absent:

Alderman Craig Eimer, Ward 4

Presiding:

Mayor Tracy Welch

Public Comment:

There is no one present for public comment. 

Oath of Office – Police Officer Edwin Negron Colon

                            Probationary Fire Fighter Jarrett Rohlfs

                            Probationary Fire Fighter Brandon Tietsort

                            Probationary Fire Fighter Koltyn Grant

                            Probationary Fire Fighter Demitri Harris

Fire Chief Johnson asked Firefighter Damien Larson to come in the council chambers.  Mr. Larson has decided to move on to different employment.  The City thanks him for his 3.5 years of service. 

Lori Milosevich-Lahr with Estes, Bridgewater & Olden – Presentation of 2023-2024 Audit

Ms. Milosevich-Lahr was present via zoom.

She stated that the 23-24 audit was 95 pages.  The council was given a copy.  Lori briefly went over the main funds; General Fund, Motor Fuel Tax and ARPA.  Lori stated it was a clean audit and there aren’t any recommendations to the board. 

Due to the zoom call the rest of her report was difficult to hear on the recording.

This item will be placed on the regular agenda. 

Franchise agreement between the City of Lincoln and Comcast

This agreement only pertains for cable service, not internet.  The only change from the previous agreement is the term.  The new agreement will be for 7 years.  Also, this is a non-exclusive franchise agreement and will not prevent other companies from coming in. 

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.  

GPS Vehicle Monitoring

The council expressed the desire to have GPS put on each city vehicle.  The cost is just over $32,000.00 for three years.  The primary benefit of this would be for a safety factor for the city/employee.  Other benefits are to track maintenance, geofencing and performance reporting. 

Alderman Bateman would like to see the Building & Safety official get a second vehicle for his use. Discussion for this will be at a later date due to cost. 

This item will be placed on the regular agenda.  

Mayor Welch moved on to other items on the agenda.

Announcements:

• Regular meeting will be on Tuesday next week due to the holiday.
• Beginning on Jan 16^th, the 200 block of Decatur will be closed for a sewer repair. Expectations are that the street will be closed until the 19^th.
• Sewer mailings went out regarding the 10% discount.
• Sewer/water line insurance mailers went out
• Tomorrow, non-emergency phone lines at the police department will be down for a short amount of time. 911 will not be affected.
• Scaffolding will be removed from the Courthouse blocking off Kickapoo Street.

Adjournment:

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Downs motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Parrott. All were in favor. Mayor Welch adjourned the meeting at 8:02 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted By:

Charity Hutchison, Recording Secretary