Friday, February 08, 2013
 
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City approves further research into federal dollars for Oglesby bridge

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[February 08, 2013]  Monday evening eight members of the Lincoln City Council were present for the first voting session for February. Aldermen David Armbrust and David Wilmert were absent for the evening.

Also absent was Mayor Keith Snyder, whose father-in-law died late last week. Melody Anderson served as mayor pro tem for the evening. She began by explaining the mayor's absence and expressing condolences on behalf of the council.

Anderson also noted the presence of the new city administrator, Sue McLaughlin, introducing her to the group and welcoming her to Lincoln.

City engineers may "look into" obtaining federal funds for Oglesby bridge

On the agenda Monday evening was a motion to "approve conceptual plan to apply for federal grant to remove Oglesby Avenue Bridge."

Alderman Bruce Carmitchel made the motion and it was seconded by Jeff Hoinacki.

Tom O'Donohue opened the discussion of the motion, asking how long it would take to get the money for the project.

Lisa Kramer of Prairie Engineers was sitting in the city engineer seat in Darren Forgy's absence. She said that if the proposal for the bridge removal meets the requirements of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the money would probably be available early in 2014.

She recapped that the funding is going to come from a federal bridge replacement program and actually belongs to Logan County. The county is willing to give the money to the city for this project, but beforehand, it has to meet all the IDOT requirements. Submitting and going through the review process will take time.

She also noted that if the design engineering costs were taken out of the proposal, it could speed up the process, and the money might be available in mid- to late fall this year.

Kramer was asked how much the design engineering costs were, and she said approximately $16,000. She cautioned, though, that this would mean getting no reimbursement for the engineering costs from the federal funding; that would have to come straight from city coffers.

McLauglin asked what the total cost of the project would be. Kramer said the cost of the project would be approximately $120,000, with the city being responsible for 20 percent, or approximately $24,000.

Anderson asked if the motion had anything in it to indicate if the engineering would be included or excluded. Kramer said she thought the city could go either direction with this motion. She told the council that she felt they needed to put together a preliminary concept to send to IDOT.

Carmitchel expanded on this, saying it was his understanding that they should put together a preliminary document to go to IDOT to show that the city plans to apply for funding.

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O'Donohue then asked if there would be costs to the city to do the preliminary work proposed. Kramer said yes, but she felt it could be done within the regular engineering agreement the city has with Prairie Engineers.

McLaughlin then asked how the city engineers were paid, whether by contract or by hour. Kramer said the contract is set up to run through the end of April, the end of the fiscal year for the city, with a certain number of hours they will work.

O'Donohue asked if Kramer thought the preliminary work that needs to be done could for sure be done without it costing the city hours away from other projects. Kramer said she felt it could. It was also noted that part of the work for the preliminary plan has already been completed.

Marty Neitzel then summarized what was being voted upon, saying the actual motion was to approve a plan to submit without committing to actually doing anything now. Kramer agreed, saying what they were actually approving was allowing Prairie Engineers to contact IDOT and see if the project is eligible for federal bridge replacement funds. Neitzel added one last comment: "But without commitment to doing it until then."

When the item came to a vote, it passed unanimously 8-0. However, O'Donohue did hesitate long enough in his vote that City Clerk Susan Gehlbach actually called his name a second time seeking his vote. Typically the council members will demonstrate their hesitation to go along with a popular vote through such a hesitation. It indicates that they are perhaps not satisfied with what they have heard but don't have sufficient grounds to actually cast a negative vote.

[By NILA SMITH]

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