D o we need a traffic light at
the intersection of Fifth and College? Horn and Wilmert seek public
opinionAt the Tuesday night city council
committee-of-the-whole meeting, Alderman Nathan Turner said he had
letters from the Illinois Department of Transportation regarding
resurfacing work that the agency will be doing inside the city
limits this summer. Before the work is done, though, a resolution is
required from the city.
Mayor Keith Snyder explained the work that was outlined in the
letters. Included on the state's list for this year is the
resurfacing of Fifth Street from Adams to Keokuk and the resurfacing
of Route 121-10 from Kickapoo to Pulaski Street.
Additional work listed included an upgrade of the traffic signals
at College and Woodlawn and the installation of a new signal at
Fifth and College.
The council is asked to pass a resolution that will commit them
to help bear the cost of resurfacing parking lanes on both roads and
pay a portion of the cost for the new signal on Fifth Street.
Alderman David Wilmert asked whose idea it was to put a stop at
Fifth and College.
Tracy Jackson, city street superintendent, provided the answer.
According to Jackson, this topic came up in the council a couple of
years ago. The council was approached by then-Ward 2 Alderman Verl
Prather, who wanted to ask IDOT to do a traffic study to determine
whether or not a stop was warranted.
Jackson said that the council agreed with Prather's suggestion;
the request for the study was submitted to IDOT; and these letters
are the result.
City engineer Mark Mathon said the state determined that the
light was warranted. They added it to their appropriations then, and
it is just now coming to be scheduled.
Wilmert then asked: "We're not locked in, though? Do we have to
do it, or is it just something that if we have the money we can?"
Mathon responded that he didn't know.
Wilmert then asked Alderwoman Kathy Horn how the Ward 2
constituents felt about this light two years ago. Horn responded
that there were some who were very much in favor of it and others
who were not very happy about it. She surmised that the division was
probably about 50-50.
City attorney Bill Bates spoke about the city's obligation,
saying the city is not obligated legally go along with this.
However, he went on to say that the city did ask for the study.
"When we start asking IDOT to do things and they do them, then come
back and offer to pay for the project (and we decline), we're going
to start getting very little cooperation from IDOT," he said.
During the course of the discussion Snyder asked how the light
would work. Would it be one that stayed green on Fifth until a
vehicle arrived at the intersection on College? Mathon responded
that, yes, it would.
Also discussed was where the city would find the funds to pay for
this. Alderwoman Melody Anderson asked about whether these projects
would have to go in the 2010-11 budget. Mathon responded that they
would, but the funding for IDOT projects is taken from revenues
generated through the motor fuel tax.
After the meeting adjourned for the evening, Horn and Wilmert
spoke with the media, saying that they wanted to seek public opinion
on this subject.
To contact Wilmert, Horn or any other member of the city council,
go to the city's Web site,
http://www.cityoflincoln-il.gov/, and click on "Contact
Us." From there you can obtain a phone number.
Many of the aldermen also have e-mail addresses. You can click on
the alderman's name and send an e-mail message via the next screen.
EMC will cover the balance of the erroneous electric bills
Alderman Buzz Busby said that he has heard from Environmental
Management Corp. that they will reimburse the city approximately
$1,500 as a result of the erroneous switch of utility services that
occurred last year.
At last week's voting meeting, the council accepted a check from
Ameren in the amount of $6,000. The reimbursement was for services
that were charged to the city when certain locations were switched
to Mid-American Energy by mistake.
Busby said last week that he was talking to EMC about the
difference between the approximately $7,500 the city paid and the
$6,000 Ameren reimbursed.
EMC was directly involved with obtaining services through
Mid-American Energy and was responsible for overseeing the switch.
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Fire truck damaged in hit-and-run
Chief Kent Hulett of the Lincoln City Fire Department said that
one of the department's fire trucks had sustained approximately
$2,000 in damage in a hit-and-run accident.
Hulett said the incident occurred while the truck was at the
scene of another accident.
He also noted that a police report was filed on the incident and
that the damage is covered under the city's insurance policy.
Update on "fast track to demolition" projects
The process has been completed for demolition of two problem
properties in Lincoln, one at 417 N. Madison and another at 718 S.
College.
Snyder said that government entities had to conduct asbestos
testing on condemned properties. The testing cost about $700 per
location and resulted in the discovery of asbestos in both
buildings.
The house on Madison has asbestos in the siding, and the one on
College has it in the interior plaster as well as other components
of the building.
The asbestos will have to be professionally removed before the
buildings can be destroyed. Snyder said that estimates for removal
came in at $5,300 for the Madison property and $13,500 for the
building on South College.
In addition, bids on demolition thus far on each building are
ranging from approximately $4,700 to $7,300.
The city had originally budgeted $10,000 for the demolition of
both properties. Consequently, they will probably be able to handle
only one demolition from this year's budget.
Snyder said that this has been a very interesting experience, and
a somewhat frustrating one for Les Last, the building and safety
officer.
The mayor jokingly said, "I've caught Les several times in the
hallway wearing a hard hat and carrying a sledgehammer on his way
out there to tear them down himself."
Anderson calls budget workshop meetings
Finance committee chair Anderson has set the dates for the city's
annual budget workshop meetings. They will be on two Saturdays,
March 6 and 20, each from 8 a.m. until noon.
Monday night voting session moved to Tuesday
Next week the voting session of the city council will be on
Tuesday night rather than Monday, due to the Martin Luther King
holiday.
The meeting will begin at 7:15 p.m. and is open to the public.
Items on the agenda for next week will include a resolution
dedicating Jan. 30 as Cronin Brothers VFW Day in Lincoln.
At 6:30 there will also be a finance committee meeting to review
changes to be made to the current fiscal year's appropriations bill.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related article
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