Thursday, May 20, 2010
 
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City briefs: City tells LCU to come back next year, announces committee assignments and more

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[May 20, 2010]  Monday evening's voting session of the Lincoln City Council proved to be longer than usual as several guests were on hand for special recognition as well as addressing the council.

Awards were handed out to the winners of the Arbor Day coloring contest; a resolution was passed and presented regarding National Historic Preservation Month; Andi Hake, executive director of the chamber, discussed what is going on in her office right now; and Lynn Laughlin, special assistant to the president of Lincoln Christian University, asked to speak to the council about a request for road maintenance on Campus View Drive.

Council votes no on Campus View Drive request

When Laughlin was called on to speak to the council, Mayor Keith Snyder said that he needed to excuse himself from the room. Because Campus View Drive is a private street belonging to Lincoln Christian University, which employs Snyder, his involvement in the discussion would be a conflict of interest. He asked Alderman Buzz Busby to take his seat as mayor pro tem.

The university is asking that the city provide equipment and manpower while they provide materials for patching and resurfacing on Campus View Drive.

When Laughlin took the floor, he began by saying that he understood that the city of Lincoln is facing a tough financial year. He said LCU also had a tough budget this year, which is why they had sent the letter to the city, in the hopes of working out a resolution that would work for everyone.

He said the residents along Campus View are not LCU employees as they have been in the past, and they do pay taxes to the city.

Laughlin said he was concerned about the consistency of the city's policies regarding private drives, as it was his understanding that there are private drives in town that have been maintained by the city.

He added that if the city couldn't obligate themselves to something right now, he would ask that they at least maintain a dialogue with the university, and hopefully at some point in the future they will be able to work out some kind of agreement.

Alderman Tom O'Donohue asked if Laughlin could name the private drives that the city has maintained in the past, and Laughlin said Meadow Lane and Hoaglin Drive.

O'Donohue asked if anyone knew how recently those drives had been serviced by the city, and no one was able to clearly answer that question as Tracy Jackson, city street and alley superintendent, had left the meeting early for another obligation.

Alderman David Armbrust said that before the council could officially discuss the issue, he needed to make a motion. He did so, moving to deny the university's request.

During discussion Alderwoman Melody Anderson said that she didn't have a problem with helping LCU in particular; it was simply a matter of money and manpower. She went on to say that if the residents along Hoaglin or Meadow Lane came before the council, she didn't feel that the city could help them this year either.

O'Donohue said he agreed that the city could not afford to do anything at this time, but he was also concerned about the question of consistency in policy.

"If we are doing this for other places in Lincoln, we need to make sure we are doing it constantly or not doing it at all," he commented.

Alderwoman Kathy Horn said that keeping an open dialogue is important and that the university should come back again rather than let it go and allow it to be forgotten.

Anderson advised Laughlin that it would be good for the university to submit their request when the council is working on the annual budget. She said it would be good for them to come back next year in March.

Nine aldermen were present for the evening, with Alderwoman Stacy Bacon being absent. When the issue of the city becoming involved in the work came to a vote, the council agreed 9-0 to deny the petition at this time.

Is it in the budget?

Newly appointed to the Ward 4 alderman position, O'Donohue told the council that this will always be his first question: Is it in the budget?

On Monday evening he said that he had listened to the report from Les Plotner, city treasurer, who had told the council to be cautious in their spending this year and not to count on the state of Illinois to make payments to the city on time.

O'Donohue said that Plotner had stated it very well and that the council needed to take heed.

He concluded that as the year progresses, it may reach a point where approving petitions and requests is not in the budget.

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki said that in prior years, especially in regard to sidewalks, there have been times when the city has run out of money, so it is a valid point.

Alderman David Armbrust said that the council and city had to consider the safety issues, and if it came to that point, they would give up a sidewalk to pay for a sign.

On this particular evening the question was posed three times by the new alderman when the council acted on signage requests.

In the end, a request was granted for a three-way stop at the "T" intersection of Pekin and Beason streets; a resolution was passed regarding a four-way stop at the intersection of Frorer and Sheridan; and the council agreed to an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant handicap parking space on Pekin Street at the corner of Chicago Street.

All the votes were unanimous except the request for the ADA parking.

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ADA parking space approved

The Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society had originally requested that there be a handicap parking space designated in the middle of the block where their building is located, at 114 N. Chicago St.

However, the city does not often authorize cuts in the sidewalk in the middle of a block; plus, other problems presented themselves, in that the sidewalk on that block is raised several inches higher than in other parts of town, and the parking along that street is parallel, which brought up a question of whether or not there would be enough room for an ADA-compliant space.

The society request was then amended to adding handicap spaces at the corner of Broadway and Chicago and also at the corner of Pekin and Chicago.

When Armbrust made the motion to approve the petition, he amended it once again to delete the space on Broadway.

During discussion, Wilmert asked if this really addressed what the society had requested, and Armbrust explained that it was the only option. Hoinacki concluded that it was really a compromise to the original request.

Wilmert noted that there were handicap parking places in the area, including one on Broadway near the State Bank of Lincoln and one at the Amtrak depot across the street.

Exterminator

Wilmert said he didn't know if the traffic to the society really warranted an additional parking space. He said that as they voted, the council needed to consider that they were taking away one more parking space for the general public.

When it came to a vote, eight voted yes, with Wilmert voting no.

Other business

A resolution regarding the coming year's expenditures of motor fuel tax funds was approved by unanimous vote. The motor fuel tax fund pays for city street improvements and repairs that meet the criteria set by the Illinois Department of Transportation. This year the total sum coming from the motor fuel tax will be approximately $760,000.

A correction to the annual budget was explained by Anderson, who chairs the finance committee.

When passed on May 3, the total budget for the year came to $15,152,664. Anderson said that there had been a simple addition error that had no effect on any line or department, but that the correct figure was $14,849,579.

In addition, she had found that in the budget given to the city leaders on May 3 there were a couple of pages that were not correct. She said that it was a matter of old pages copied instead of new ones.

Those were changed out and the council received corrected versions of the budget. Again she said that the erroneous switch had no effect on the end totals.

Mayor assigns new committees

At the end of the meeting, the mayor handed out new committee assignments to all the council.

The committee members for the coming year will be as follows:

  • Finance and Policies and Procedures:
    Chair: Melody Anderson
    Vice chair: Kathy Horn
    Members: Marty Neitzel, Joni Tibbs, Buzz Busby

  • Fire, Water and ESDA:
    Chair: Kathy Horn
    Vice chair: Buzz Busby
    Members: Melody Anderson, David Armbrust, Stacy Bacon

  • Buildings and Grounds:
    Chair: Joni Tibbs
    Vice chair: David Wilmert
    Members: David Armbrust, Buzz Busby, Kathy Horn

  • Insurance:
    Chair: Stacy Bacon
    Vice chair: Tom O'Donohue
    Members: David Wilmert, Kathy Horn, Melody Anderson

  • Ordinance and Zoning:
    Chair: Tom O'Donohue
    Vice chair: Jeff Hoinacki
    Members: Joni Tibbs, Melody Anderson, Marty Neitzel

  • Police:
    Chair: Jeff Hoinacki
    Vice chair: Joni Tibbs
    Members: Kathy Horn, Marty Neitzel, Tom O'Donohue

  • Sanitation:
    Chair: David Wilmert
    Vice chair: David Armbrust
    Members: Buzz Busby, Jeff Hoinacki, Joni Tibbs

  • Sewerage Treatment Plant:
    Chair: Buzz Busby
    Vice chair: Marty Neitzel
    Members: Jeff Hoinacki, Stacy Bacon, David Armbrust

  • Streets and Alleys:
    Chair: Marty Neitzel
    Vice chair: Stacy Bacon
    Members: Tom O'Donohue, David Wilmert, Jeff Hoinacki

  • Sidewalks, Forestry, and Lighting:
    Chair: David Armbrust
    Vice chair: Melody Anderson
    Members: Stacy Bacon, Tom O'Donohue, David Wilmert

[By NILA SMITH]

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