 There were nine aldermen present. Mayor Keith Snyder noted that
Alderman Tom O'Donohue had been called out unexpectedly on a
work-related emergency.
Also absent from the meeting was city attorney Bill Bates;
attorney Blinn Bates was present in his stead.
With a light agenda for the evening, the most significant events
included the promotion of three firefighters and the rehiring of one
police officer.
Firefighter promotions
The first order of business was the promotion of three city
firefighters to new ranks within the department.
Chief Mark Miller took the podium, offered a brief biography of
each man and awarded them with their promotion pins. They were then
sworn into their new positions by Bates.
Before introducing the three, Miller spoke directly to the
council, saying, "This is a special moment for these guys tonight.
"There are a lot of responsibility changes within the job
description of firefighter once he becomes an officer. As a
firefighter you have a responsibility to the equipment, the
firehouse and the people you serve. Once you make that promotion to
an officer, you are also responsible for the people underneath you
as firefighters.
"You have to lead them and they look up to you. You have to be
able to lead them into fires, into training, on EMS calls and
sometimes into situations that are not very pleasant."
Assistant Chief Darren Coffey
Miller first introduced Darren Coffey, who was being promoted to
assistant fire chief.
Coffey is a Logan County native who grew up in Hartsburg. He is
the son of the late Wayne Coffey and Twilla Coffey, who was present
for the swearing in, along with Coffey's wife, Barb, and daughters
Kendall and Morgan.
He served from 1988 to 1992 in the United States Marine Corps and
is a veteran of the Gulf War, serving in southwest Asia. He was
honorably discharged in 1992.
Coffey joined the city fire department in 2000. He served as a
temporary inspector while one was off duty. He also spent time in
New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
In 2010 he was ranked as lieutenant. After completing his Fire
Officer 1 training he was promoted to captain. He has now completed
Fire Officer 2 and has earned the rank of assistant chief.
Capt. Chris Harding
Harding's wife, Katie, and children Taylor and Drew were in the
gallery to witness his swearing in.
Harding joined the department in 1999. He has served as a
firefighter, fire inspector and investigator for the department. He
was promoted to lieutenant in 2009.
He received a letter of commendation in 2007 for his involvement
in the rescue of a man pinned under a car. He also has received
letters of recognition for his work during hazardous material
spills. In September of 2008, he along with Miller received the Life
Saving Medal for saving a person who was having a heart attack at a
local circus.
Lt. Jason Van Winkle
Van Winkle is the son of Kenneth and Patricia Smith of Lincoln
and Dale Van Winkle of Aledo.
He served in the U.S. Navy Reserves aboard the USS Abraham
Lincoln from February of 1994 to December of 1995. He served in
Southeast Asia in Desert Shield. While in the military he was
awarded the Life Safety Medal, a Battle Service Medal, letters of
commendation from the Fifth Fleet admiral and letters of
appreciation from the captain of the USS Abraham Lincoln. He
received an honorable discharge in 2002.
He joined the Lincoln Fire Department in 1997 and was promoted to
fire inspector and investigator in 2000. He has been in charge of
the city department's "Remembering When" program, which deals with
smoke detectors and fall prevention for seniors. He's also been
highly involved in the smoke detector program with Together for
Lincoln.
[to top of second column] |
 Consent agenda, travel allowance and Paint the Town Red
After the swearing-in event, the council unanimously approved the
consent agenda, which included permission for the Knights of
Columbus to have their annual Tootsie Roll drive at the intersection
of Broadway and McLean on Sept. 16 and 17.
Next they unanimously approved the issuing of expense checks to
city officials for their annual trip to the Illinois Municipal
League Conference in Chicago.
Snyder reminded them that anyone attending is to turn in receipts
and unused cash to the city clerk upon their return from the trip.
Alderwoman Melody Anderson also reiterated: no receipts -- no
reimbursement.
Alderwoman Joni Tibbs said she'd had a conversation with Kathy
Vinyard, who last year helped head up the Paint the Town Red
project, in which red tulips were planted throughout the city.
Vinyard has said that she would like to go forward with the project,
planting even more tulips this year. Tibbs said she wanted to let
everyone know who didn't participate last year that they now have
another chance to get involved.
Executive session and the rehiring of an officer
The mayor asked for an executive session, and the motion was made
by Anderson, saying they wished to discuss personnel and litigation.
The session lasted about 15 to 20 minutes.
When the public was invited back inside chambers, the motion to
accept the rescinding of a resignation from city police Cpl. Matthew
Vlahovich was approved by unanimous vote.
At the workshop meeting on Aug. 23, police Chief Ken Greenslate
informed the council that Vlahovich had tendered his resignation for
another job offer.
After this week's meeting, Greenslate said that in the weeks
since then, Vlahovich had come to the conclusion that he would be
better off staying with the city department and had asked for his
job back.
Greenslate said he supported having Vlahovich return and was
pleased that the council had agreed.
Other news
Snyder said that the Fraternal Order of Police had signed off on
a letter of understanding regarding an offering of early retirement
for officers who are at least 50 but not yet 55 years of age. The
plan will include the city paying 50 percent of the health benefit
for the retiree until he or she reaches age 55.
Snyder said he has heard from Dave Anderson, who is a former
administrator for the city of Normal.
Anderson belongs to a group of retired administrators and city
management professionals known as Range Riders. The organization is
part of the Illinois City/County Management Association.
Anderson has offered to meet with Snyder, O'Donohue and Alderman
David Wilmert to assist them with the writing of a job description
for the city administrator position the city is hoping to fill by
the early part of 2012.
Before the council adjourned, Alderman Buzz Busby asked if the
city attorney's office had received any signed contracts from
Illinois American Water on the shut-off agreements.
Bates said he would investigate it, but to the best of his
knowledge the signed contracts have not been received back.
Busby noted that it was time to "get on with it" as delinquent
sewer account balances have risen by $32,000 since the water
shut-off measures were approved, but with no signed contract, the
city cannot move forward.
[By NILA SMITH]
 |
