Report

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

Lincoln City Hall,Council Chambers

700 Broadway Street ILincoln,Illinois

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Presiding:

Mayor Seth Goodman

The Committee of the Whole Meeting of the City Councilof Lincoln was called to order by Mayor Seth Goodman at 7 p.m., with proper notice given. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.

Present:

Alderman Tracy Welch,Ward 1

Alderman Sam Downs, Ward 2

Alderman Kevin Bateman, Ward 3

Alderman Ron Keller, Ward 3

Alderman Kathy Hom, Ward 4

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki,Ward 4

Staff Present:

City Administrator Elizabeth Kavelman

City Clerk Peggy Bateman

Treasurer Chuck Conzo

Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky

Police Chief Paul Adams

Building and Safety Officer Wes Woodhall

Streets Superintendent Walt Landers

Veolia Water, Greg Pyles

Absent:

City Attorney John Hoblit

Alderman Steve Parrott, Ward 1

Alderman Kathryn Schmidt, Ward 2

Public Comment:

Mayor Goodman called upon citizens registered to speak. Mr. Dale Nelson of 430 Southgate came forward to discuss the financial decision of the purchase of new police vehicles. He had a few questions to ask, after watching the meetings over the past couple of months. He also touched on asbestos removal from the building in the amount of $20,000.

He challenged saying we bought eight new cars last year and never received justification for that purchase. He then said the asbestos removal did not offer any structural damage or anything, he suggested spending the money elsewhere. He said he was just curious why the city council would choose to invest the money in police cars. He said they were not necessarily needed at this time.

Alderman Bateman offered his perspective on the wear and tear of police vehicles. He said it's more cost effective to replace the cars than to keep the old ones going. He said what you try to do is in your fleet, you get into a cycle where you get half, and then the next year you get half and then you go for some time without replacing them. He mentioned the climate for purchasing vehicles and the price of steel etc. He said the city was taking the opportunity at this time to take the aged fleet and ... he said he understood where Mr. Nelson was coming from . .

 

.but that the savings for the next couple of years will justify the purchase of the new cars. He said that was the justification for buying it now.

Mr. Nelson then talked about sharing police cars rather than taking their vehicles home at night. He said the way vehicles are made now, they last a lot longer. He said it's 16 new vehicles in two years. He said he still did not see the justificati on or hear anyone challenge the current situation. He said he did not agree with it and he still saw other options. He said the council is supposed to be the leaders in the city.

Chief Adams weighed in, saying when he first became chief, they were replacing two vehicles every year and were spending some $30,000 per year in maintenance. They did not have a cycle before, so three years ago, they bought eight vehicles. They took $10,000 out of the maintenance fund and put it into an eight-pack deal where the city secures better financing etc. It's easier to outfit the cars. He said the vehicles they are replacing are over five years old and have over 150,000 miles on them. He referenced the potential for more liability issues if an officer were hurt or something of that nature.

Alderman Bateman said what the public does not understand is that 100,000 miles on a police car-the car will have 100,000 miles on it because of the electronics on the car, but that hour meter has miles on it, because a car sits in idle etc. He said vehicles at his job are on a cycle program such as this. He said you get into a cycle, and it ends up costing the same amount of money and over time you're buying eight cars every three years . . . he said the way it cycles out, that's the way it is.

Mr. Wes Woodhall weighed in on the asbestos, saying the roof is leaking heavily, but they did not have the money to do the asbestos and the demo, so he meant to say, removing the asbestos will not make the building less structurally sound, but it's still not in good shape.

Mr. Nelson again questioned the need to spend the $20,000 this year, whether it was justified so he questioned why the spend this year, rather than investing the money somewhere else. Mr. Woodhall said it had been talked about for years.

Alderman Hoinacki said by removing the asbestos, does that compromise the structure of the building-but the answer was no. He said the $19,000 for this year to remove it, he said kicking the can down the road, it would be $25,000 etc. He said the cost would not go down. Mr. Nelson again reiterated that it did not need to be done this year.

Mr. Landers then weighed in. Alderman Welch said he could offer his justification, he said when he came on the councilfour years ago, they were talking about the same thing. He said it was not leaking water when he came it, but for him, it's a liability issues. He said people do go into buildings where they're not supposed to.

He said this will open up that parking lot and potentially make something with it, maybe parking for Amtrak riders. He said it's kind of a multifaceted problem. He said he'd love to take $20,000 and put it toward curbs and gutters, Tasers, etc. He said we had the funds available to finally take action. Mr. Nelson said when he maintains his budget, he said he questions what he is going to get in return when he spends money-he looks at the investment and the return back.

More discussion ensued about potential liabilities. Alderman Welch said it probably does sound on film like we just push things through, but the councilmembers do talk things over with department heads before they get up to the meetings. He said they are all taxpayers too.

He said great questions, but that he assures him that they are always looking into things. Alderman Bateman then said on the outside looking in, that government has to look at, is . . he then referenced his time on the Logan County Board and a swing replacement reference, where there are other factors . . .in government. He said he wished they had the money to take the building down all at one time, but the first step is removing the asbestos. He said it's falling down, it's beyond repair and for him personally, that was what justified spending the money.

Next, Mrs. Teri Baker of 1441 12ootti Street came forward to talk about city dump rates. The council then let her know it was going to soon be up for discussion.

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly - Authorization discussion to bid Union Street Pump Station and Resolution for the Union Street Lift Station,to begin the project:

Christy Crites then came forward, the bid opening is Sept. 4. It is a public bid opening at 11 a.m. They will be reviewed and referenced, then presented during the next Committee of the Whole meeting. Then documents would be presented to the Illinois EPA Then a loan will be developed and the principal forgiveness would be discovered at that point. She said the project is on the intended use plan, the money has already been set aside for the city so there is already guaranteed funding. She said that guarantees that the city will stay on scheduled. She said everything is moving on, and there was nothing to report other than good news.

Treasurer Conzo asked a question about if it was a resolution or ordinance. Mrs. Crites said she did speak with the City Attorney, John Hoblit this morning.

She said as long as they have certain documents they should be good to go. Then Alderman Welch asked a question. She then walked through the steps, including the notice of award, then a request to the mayor for the ordinance . . . she then touched on executing the agreement. The last step is the notice to proceed, to execute the contract to hold.She said as it's looking, it's starting very late in the fall and she really want to get them authorized to start working ASAP. She said anyone can have access to the documents.

Alderman Hoinacki said he was in agreement with having the mayor move things along.

Alderman Welch proposed placing the bid process and document approval, on the agenda. Then Alderman Bateman reiterated what the two items would be, regarding paperwork and going out for bid. She would touch base with the attorney as well.

Financing for eight new Police Department squad vehicles:

Chief Adams listed off various banks that offered financing to the city for the purchase of the vehicles. One at - 3.24 percent was the lowest bid, it comes to around $72,000 in principal paid every year. He suggested that they go with that offer. The item will be placed on the regular agenda.

City landscape facility rates:

Mr. Walt Landers said the landscaping waste removal was a convenient services provided to citizens, but discussion was about just how much the charges were for various sized vehicles, trucks and trailers. He said it was not equitable, because of the different sizes of the vehicles.

He shared a scenario where one person has an eight-foot dump truck and a 16 foot trailer, but is charged more for loads when he uses the truck. He posed making it more equitable per

vehicle and depending on what the type of load was being disposed of, e.g. logs, weeds, grass.

He said annually it costs around $14,000 for staff on site and another $5,000-$8,000 more for other costs. Plus some $64,000 in other costs.

He provided pricing options, in cubic yards for soft and hard waste. He did say there is a community that charges $7 per cubic yard for waste.

Alderman Keller said if he understood him correctly, it is currently free for residents, but nonresidents pay fees at various rates. The price for residents would not change.

Alderman Keller asked what percentage of the use was done by non-residents. He said around 1O contractors are non-residents. He said 75 percent of contractors put the material there, and that's where the costs come in.

Mr. Landers then mentioned the city owned incinerator and an air curtain obstructer. He shared other data points as well.

Mrs. Teri Baker of Baker and Son Tree Service came forward and said it would cost her $480, and that the dump is only open two days a week. She said $480, she has 60 yards, at eight bucks a yard. It's currently costing $50 a load. Her vehicle is currently 20 feet. She said this is an extravagant amount and would force her to charge more for her residents.

Alderman Bateman said since they were not voting on this tonight, this gave her some time to come up with an idea. He said as Walt said, these are all suggestions, they just had to come up with a number to get grind it. He said the service is around $70,000 per year. She said she gets

it and she gets that the city needs to clean this up.

Mr. Landers said he did not want to scare her, but that this is the start of a conversation.

She asked if they would take volunteer work to move debris. Alderman Welch a question. Mr. Landers said it's about starting a conversation and maybe scaling things up. He said the city becomes responsible for the stuff that gets hauled in. He's looking for a way to generate some revenue.

Alderman Bateman referenced something Mr. Landers had mentioned earlier. He said you can put a lot of stuff on a big trailer. Mr. Landers posed a unit of measurement to make things more fair and equal across the board.

Alderman Welch asked - who measures this stuff? Mr. Landers said most contractors use the same vehicle all the time.

Mr. Welch was talking about the average residents, who just load up their truck. Mr. Landers said more than likely they will be hauling their debris in on something of a standard size. Mr. Welch said asked him to explain what the current process is for soft waste. Mr. Landers said he has to move it or do something with it.

Mr. Welch said in the economic climate we live in today-he did not want to nail businesses that are out there trying to make a living. He said he'd rather work on tweaking the numbers and phase it in over a few years to get a better gauge on cost. Mr. Welch said he could have an offline conversation with Mr. Landers.

Discussion ensued about charging residents for a service they're already paying taxes for, such as what's done with the Lincoln Recreation Center swimming pool. People must pay to use the pool.

Mr. Welch said this was starting to become a pattern, we're in a situation where we're going to have to charge our residents' more. Mr. Welch said he wanted to soften the blow.

Mr. Landers said he was just trying to educate, that he's trying to deal with a hand that he was dealt.

 

Proposed City of Lincoln IFY 2019-2020 Appropriations Ordinance:

Treasurer Chuck Conzo referenced the revenue projections, line by line for the General Revenue Fund and a listing of revenue projections by source.

He continued on about the revenues and transfers and then turned things over to City Administrator Kavelman. She said it looks in pretty good shape, from what the budget has been.

She said the appropriations ordinance usually needs to be approved by the last meeting in July and she said we're getting pretty close.

Treasurer Conzo said there will be a notice of public hearing the Lincoln Courier tomorrow, July 10.

He said assuming that the city goes ahead with a public hearing on July 23, he trailed off about putting it on the

Administrator Kavelman mentioned breaking down for better transparency. She said in yellow on page 5, then you see yellow and blue.

She said there is no line for the city treasurer, but there is a line for the city clerk's office, but that he is spending money out of her line. She said the treasurer needs a line for contract services.

Treasurer Conze said it has always been included in the elected officials, with the mayor and city councilbudget line items. He then said the other thing is supplies and occasionally some

contractual service they have had with the new software, but that they have been included in the city clerk's line. But he said educational opportunities have also come out of the city clerk's line.

She said it would be more transparent, he is an elected official. He should have his own line.

Alderman Welch said in reading this, are we supposed to read the blue. She talked about centralizing, and going with approximately what they spent, to show more transparency and to show where each of the items is being spent under Building and Grounds/City Hall.

Alderman Keller wanted to know about transparency if it was for public purposes or for auditing. She said it would be good for an auditor to see the expenses broken down. Then bundling for purchasing was brought up.

Treasurer Conze referenced a general ledger. He said you may want to consider waiting until the next fiscal year. He said it does have merit.

Chief Adams said this came up because Mark Miller used to take care of Building and Grounds, but bills are coming back to department heads. He referenced toilet paper, and said Mr. Miller used to determine how much needed to be dispersed where.

The item will be placed on the agenda for the public hearing.

Alderman Welch said if we're going to move the budgeted amount out of the clerk's line item, for the treasurer, he asked then are we going to take the mayor's budget and split that out too. This will be taken care of next year.

Alderman Welch posed putting this on the agenda for the special meeting on July 23. There will be another Committee of the Whole meeting on July 16.

FOP Three-Year Union Labor Contract Approval by the City Council and Committees Structure Discussion:

These items have been tabled.

Announcements:

Mayor Goodman asked if anyone had any announcements.

 

    • Mr. Greg Pyles referenced a sink hole repair on College Street and he said the hydraulic breaker, jack hammer attachment had issues. The estimate on the breaker was $4,500. The equipment is 20 years old. Mr. Landers weighed in on skid stirrers. Alderman Bateman then talked about an agreement in the line with Veolia. Money is allocated to the maintenance and repair. Mr. Welch weighed in. He posed putting it on the agenda.
    • Mr. Wes Woodhall said the city took in nearly 7.5 tons of tire during the citywide cleanup efforts. He said it was a success.
    • Mr. Landers said Jefferson Street will be closed, Jefferson and Feldman Drive's intersection will still be open for awhile. The street closure will begin on Monday, July 15. He said he hoped things would be wrapped up by mid-October.
    • Mr. Welch touched on 3rc1 Friday's Downtown Lincoln - the first event will be held on July 19 from 5:30-8:30. The other event will be held on August 23. It will align with the
    • Balloon Fest. For July, the committee is working with local groups for volunteer assistance. Four inflatables will be offered. New games will be there, as well as the bags tournament.
    • Immunizations are available at the Logan County Department of Public Health
    • There being no further announcements to come before the council, Alderman Welch made a motion to move into Executive Session under 2(C)1, 2(C)2, and 2(C)11.Seconded by Alderman Keller. There would be no further business to come before the councilupon reconvening the Regular Committee of the Whole meeting. Peggy Bateman called roll.The council recessed at 8:27 p.m.

Present:

Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman Sam Downs Alderman Kevin Bateman Alderman Ron Keller Alderman Kathy Horn Alderman Jeff Hoinacki

Absent:

Alderman Steve Parrott Alderman Kathryn Schmidt

Return from Executive Session:

The council returned from Executive Session at 9:43 p.m. Roll call was taken by City Clerk Peggy Bateman.

Adjournment:

There being no further discussion to come before the City Council of Lincoln, Alderman Bateman motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Keller. Roll call was taken. Mayor Goodman adjourned the meeting at 9:44 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted By:

Alex Williams, 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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