 In addition to Snyder, Alderman Tom O'Donohue was also absent,
leaving nine alderman present to discuss and establish the agenda
for next week.
CITV-5 tapes meeting
Tim Rogers of CITV-5 was on hand Tuesday evening with filming
equipment to tape the meeting as it progressed. Busby said that for
now the meetings are being taped and will be aired on Lincoln's
local programming channel Wednesday evening.
Busby noted that while he would prefer that the meetings be shown
live, the city would give this a try for the next couple of weeks
and see how it goes.
Anderson notes a need for changes in the budget and
appropriations
Alderwoman Melody Anderson said there have been personnel
changes between City Hall and the city police department that are
going to warrant some changes in the appropriations ordinance for
the 2010-11 fiscal year.
These are the result of moving Brenda McCabe, former payroll
clerk for the city, from City Hall to a vacant position at the
police department office.
She said with that change needing to be made, she would encourage
all committee chairmen and department heads to take a look at their
budgets and their share of the appropriation document and contact
her within the next two weeks if there were other changes that
needed to be made.
LCHS makes a request too late
Lincoln Community High School is gearing up for their homecoming
weekend, which will begin Sept. 24 with a parade that will include a
marching route from Wyatt Avenue to the downtown square.
Each year they make a request to do whitewashing on certain
streets in the city.
Alderman Jeff Hoinacki said he had that request and wanted it put
on the agenda for Monday. However, it was soon noted that the
request was asking permission to do the whitewashing on Sept. 19.
The council voting session will be on Sept. 20, so the request has
been made too late.
There was some discussion as to whether or not a vote could be
held immediately, and city attorney Bill Bates said that was not
possible. It was noted, though, that there have been occasions in
the past when the mayor made the decision to approve a request
without taking a vote.
Busby said that as mayor pro tem, he was not comfortable with
doing that.
In the end, the item went on the agenda for a vote. Busby said
Snyder may choose to offer his approval prior to the vote, but if
not, the high school will just have to wait until after Monday to do
their whitewashing.
Seelye voices concerns in her area
Lincoln resident Joyce Seelye asked to address the council
concerning activities going on in her neighborhood.
Seelye began with a concern about dogs being allowed to run
unleashed in Ray White Park.
The park, which is located on Short 11th Street, is being used as
a dog run, according to Seelye. She said that dog owners are
allowing their animals to run freely off the leash and use the park
as a space for the animals to relieve themselves.
She said the park is a nice little spot where area children often
play. Of late, some of the children have been disturbed by the dogs
chasing them around the park.
She noted that there was more than one pet owner and at least two
to three pit bulls involved.
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City police Chief Ken Greenslate addressed this, saying that when
Seelye witnesses the dogs running free in the park, she needs to
call the police station. He advised her not to call 911 unless she
felt a child was in imminent danger, but to call the office, and
they would send an officer out to the scene. He said there are laws
that would be enforced if dog owners are allowing their animals to
run unleashed.
Seelye said she has called the police in the past, but the
dispatch office had told her to call animal control, and she has a
very hard time finding a phone number for them.
Greenslate said she should instead tell dispatch that she needs
to talk to a city police officer, and then the call will come to his
department.
Seelye also talked about a neighbor with a drinking problem that
often leads to time spent by the city police, fire department and
Logan County Paramedics taking care of him. She wondered if there
was anything that could be done about this, such as a mental health
evaluation.
Greenslate said there is very little that anyone can do for this
gentleman because his circumstances do not fit into the guidelines
for a mental health evaluation.
Brownfields and land revitalization grants discussed
Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership director Joel
Smiley addressed the council regarding brownfields and land
revitalization grants that are available through the Environmental
Protection Agency.
As he spoke, defining the program and how it works, he was
interrupted by Busby, who said that the city is familiar with these
grants and has worked in the past to apply for them.
Smiley said the grants are currently being fueled by the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and that there are two grants
applicable for the city.
One grant would be for land revitalization and would apply to
properties that are in need of repurposing. He noted that the
grounds of the old Lincoln Developmental Center could benefit from
this grant.
He said the second grant had to be used to revitalize or
repurpose properties where there has been a presence of petroleum
products -- more specifically, abandoned gas stations.
Smiley was told that the city did do work on putting together
grant applications and had hired Randolph & Associates out of
Peoria to assist with developing an action plan for the grants.
Busby asked city engineer Mark Mathon to locate the information
Randolph's had put together and share it with Smiley.
It was also noted that the properties to be addressed by these
grants are privately owned, and part of the problem with the last
application was in getting property owners to cooperate in the
process.
[By NILA SMITH]
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