 Farm lease between
city of Lincoln and Kent Cross approvedThe city of Lincoln
owns 40 acres of farm ground in the Lincoln Lakes vicinity. In past
years this ground has been leased to Darrell and Sarah Benner.
The city's 40 acres is somewhat landlocked, with no access except
to pass through the Benner property. Because of this, city attorney
Bill Bates has said that it is difficult to bid this property out.
This year the lease is up for renewal, and at last week's
meeting, Bates announced that there may very well be a new tenant
for the farm because the Benners have sold their property to Kent
Cross.
Bates said that he has talked to Cross and they have worked out
an agreement, pending the city's approval.
In the past the city has participated in a fixed-rate lease on
this ground that allowed them $150 per acre in cash rent.
The new lease with Cross, however, is what is called a variable
rent lease and will provide the city with opportunities to realize
greater income from the property, depending on yields.
The city will always receive the base $150 per acre. But in years
when yields are high, the city may receive an additional share of
the income from the farm.
Bates said that using grain price averages over a 10-month period
and average yields, he and Cross have agreed that the base gross
income from the ground should be $600 per acre. Each year after
harvest, the true gross revenue will be calculated, and anything in
excess of the $600 per acre will be divided equally between the city
and Cross.
As an example, Bates said that using current figures, if this
year's corn crop came in at 180 bushels per acre, the gross revenue
would be $720 per acre. The $120 over the set $600 would be divided
equally between the two parties, giving the city an additional
$2,400 of income from the farm.
Bates reminded everyone that the 40 acres in question is part of
a flood plain, and yields vary greatly from year to year depending
on the weather, so increased income will not be guaranteed. He said
there have been years when the ground yielded 200-bushel corn, but
there have also been years when the yield fell well below 100
bushels per acre.
At the Monday night voting session, Alderwoman Joni Tibbs made
the motion to approve the lease agreement.
During discussion, Bates said that he had been in contact with
Cross, who said that the agreement was acceptable to him and he will
sign it as is.
The lease was approved with a vote of 7-0.
Enterprise zone amendment is tabled
Attorney Phil Montalvo is acting on the city's behalf for the
most recent amendment to the enterprise zone.
The additions being made to the enterprise zone are to benefit
Hartsburg Grain Co., Farmers Grain Co., Taloma Grain and Elkhart
Grain and will include the communities of Hartsburg, Atlanta and New
Holland.
Bates disclosed last Tuesday night that his son is the attorney
for the village of New Holland as well as Atlanta. Therefore, he
felt that he needed to step aside as the city attorney to avoid any
conflict of interest.
Montalvo said that in reviewing the documents presented by Andy
Hamilton of Opportunity Alliance, he feels there are some problems
that need to be addressed, especially in the area of the
intergovernmental agreements.
He said he has talked to Hamilton and will be discussing this
with him further. He suggested that the council table the vote and
plan to discuss the enterprise zone document in detail at the next
committee-of-the-whole meeting.
Alderman David Wilmert made the motion to table the matter, and
it was approved by unanimous vote.
Bid awarded for bar screen
At last week's committee-of-the-whole meeting, bids were opened
for the bar screen replacement at the Palmer lift station.
Those who submitted bids were E & I Corp. at $36,163 for bid one
and $36,831 for an alternate plan; JWC Environmental at $95,500 and
$111,792 for the alternate; and Fairfield Service Company of Indiana
at $52,000 and the alternate quoted at $57,000.
Busby explained that the huge gap in the bids was due to the fact
that E & I is the original fabricator of the bar screen for the
city, and thus already has all the engineering and design work done,
while the other two companies will have to start from scratch.
Monday night Busby said that he would move to accept the bid from
E & I for the alternate plan at $36,831.
During discussion he said that the alternate included stainless
steel construction, which will have a longer life than conventional
metals, in the long run saving the city from having to replace the
bar screen for a very long time.
The motion was approved by unanimous vote.
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Bids being sought
By unanimous vote the council approved seeking bids
on two separate projects.
The first invitation to bid will be for the
maintenance of Brainard Branch bridges. The work will be limited to
only two bridges, those on Union Street and Grand Avenue. Bids are
due at the city clerk's office no later than 5 p.m. on April 13.
The second project going out for bid will be for
work on Omaha Street from Logan to Rutledge. The work is to include
overlay, curb and gutter. Bids are due at the city clerk's office
no later than 5 p.m. on April 27.
Proclamations
Included in this week's consent agenda were two
proclamations.
The month of March was named as American Red
Cross Month.
The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 by Clara
Barton. The original congressional charter, signed in 1900,
designated the purposes of the organization to include giving relief
to and serving as a medium of communication between members of the
American armed forces and their families, and providing national and
international disaster relief and mitigation.
After World War I, the Red Cross focused on service
to veterans and enhanced its programs in safety training, accident
prevention, home care for the sick and nutrition education. It also
provided relief for victims of such major disasters as the
Mississippi River floods in 1927 and severe drought and the
Depression during the 1930s.
After World War II, the Red Cross introduced the
first nationwide civilian blood program, which now supplies nearly
50 percent of the blood and blood products in this country.
Today, American Red Cross employees and volunteers
help keep the public prepared to respond to disasters and personal
emergencies. The organization provides training in lifesaving skills
such as CPR and first aid, collects and distributes half the
nation's blood supply, and helps victims of more than 67,000
disasters annually.
The week of April 11-17 was proclaimed as
National Public Safety Telecommunicator's Week. The Association
of Public-Safety Communications Officials - International asks that
everyone set aside this week each year to recognize and honor those
who serve as the first responders in emergency situations, those who
take the call.
The proclamation offered special recognition and
gratitude to all 911 call center staff; radio dispatchers for fire,
police and emergency medical responders; and many others for their
dedication to providing rapid and professional response to the
emergency calls they receive each day.
Budget meeting canceled for March 20
Alderwoman Melody Anderson said she was canceling
the budget workshop meeting scheduled for March 20.
She said that, to date, she has not received the
information they will need to complete the process, so there is no
need to continue until she does.
She was referring to estimates on insurance premiums
for the coming year.
Fill out the census form
Snyder said he had received his census form, and it
took him only about five minutes to complete it. He reminds everyone
that census information is very important to the community and
encourages people to spend the five minutes and fill out their form.
[By NILA SMITH]
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