Together for Lincoln addresses an abbreviated council meeting

[July 21, 2009] 

No quorum

Prior to the roll call of the Monday night city council voting session, Mayor Keith Snyder called on Greg Wooten and Dustin Fulton of the Together for Lincoln organization to speak. (See information below.)

When they finished and roll was taken, Snyder said that with only four aldermen present, no business could be conducted and the only motion that could be voted on was one to adjourn the meeting to a later date.

Alderwoman Melody Anderson made the motion to adjourn the meeting to July 28 at 7 p.m.

Agenda for July 28

Next Tuesday's meeting will begin with a public hearing on the appropriations ordinance for 2009-10. Following the hearing, the voting session will convene.

Snyder said that there would be one item added to the agenda at that time: a vote on allowing the sale of beer on Aug. 7 at the Logan County Fair.

When the voting session is finished, the committee-of-the-whole meeting will be conducted.

Together for Lincoln offers overview of 2008 events and outline of 2009 program

Together for Lincoln premiered last year as a group of citizens banding together to do community service for the residents of the city.

Fulton said that even though it is recognized as a religious organization, those who volunteer and those who receive services do not have to be members of any certain faith in order to participate.

Greg Wooten said that Together for Lincoln came to be in 2008 when 13 area churches banded together to do community service projects in the Lincoln area. There were over 1,000 volunteers who did a variety of things, including assuring that every nursing home resident received a visit that day, building wheelchair ramps, cleaning yards and gutters, and other residential services. In addition they offered services to Community Action and did roadside and park cleanup.

This year the project day is Sept. 27. The day will be spent working on a variety of projects and will conclude with a worship service at the Lincoln Christian College chapel.

The group is now gathering applications for projects and soliciting volunteers. It was explained that there is a chance that not every request for help will be answered or that they may not be fully answered. For example, a long list of needs at one residence may be prioritized and the most important work done, while lesser projects may have to be let go.

Dustin Fulton offered a handout that included a cover letter to the council, a brief explanation of the organization, who they are and what they hope to do, an application for volunteers, and an application for services to be performed.

Fulton explained that while the organization is faith-based, there are no faith requirements to be a volunteer or a recipient of services.

He said that though it was a church effort, the group was most interested in mobilizing local citizens to take pride in the community for at least one day.

Fulton said that one of the more important aspects of their work is the building of wheelchair ramps. Many sources of funding for that type of service have dried up, but Together for Lincoln is trying to step in and fill the need. He noted that the group will spend the next three weekends building ramps at city residences.

He emphasized that it was not their intention to take business from local contractors, but rather to perform work that is not going to get done any other way.

Also on the "to do" list for the group is a painting project at the city garage across from Latham Park. That work will be done this weekend, weather permitting.

Snyder said that the group had wanted to do the city garage work last year, but an issue of liability came up and the city asked them to delay the work.

Since then, Anderson and other aldermen have researched the insurance liability, consulted the city attorney and found that it is OK for volunteers to paint the building.

Fulton also said that if there were any other city projects that could be done, to please contact the group.

He encouraged the aldermen plus the police, fire, street, and building and safety departments to give out applications to folks in the community who might need help.

In addition, applications for service will soon be available on the organization's Web site. Fulton said the applications are not posted yet, but should be very soon, and can be obtained by going to www.togetherforlincoln.org.

[By NILA SMITH]