 A: (with a laugh) Oh, no! Not at all. I thought I had a
little bit of experience, being on both the school boards and
working in Springfield and working in the Legislature. But this has
been different. You're "Charles in charge" and the buck stops with
you.And thus began a one-hour conversation with Mayor Keith
Snyder as he reflected on what has happened in his first four years
of being mayor for the city of Lincoln and touched on what he hopes
for in the next four years.
Snyder said he has been blessed to work with a good group of
aldermen. He said on the whole he sees the aldermen as people who
care not just for their own ward, but for the city as a whole.
"People have different interest(s), different backgrounds and
different personalities, and sometimes those are more challenging to
juggle, but there has never been a question of someone fighting for
their own ward at the expense of someone else. Everyone is very good
about keeping the betterment of the city in the forefront," Snyder
said.
In this past four years there has also been a lot of change in
the membership of the council. Alderman Dean Henrichsmeyer resigned
his position in Ward 1 just 19 days into the mayor's new term.
Henrichsmeyer's departure brought on Stacy Bacon as an appointee
by the mayor. That same election year, David Wilmert was elected to
fill the seat previously held by Verl Prather for Ward 2, and Nathan
Turner was elected to Ward 4.
The council lost Nathan Turner when he died suddenly from
complications with a heart problem, which led to the mayoral
appointment of Tom O'Donohue to fill that position.
Alderman Buzz Busby also died, and his chair was filled by Bruce
Carmitchel.
Snyder commented on the deaths of the two aldermen. "The hardest
things I have had to do as mayor is to call the other aldermen and
share that with them," he said.
"The neat thing about them (Turner and Busby) -- they looked like
two different people who would have nothing in common, but they both
were two very progressive members of the council. Neither one of
them were locked into the present; they were both looking out to the
future."
He added that when he spoke to Sarah Turner and Judy Busby about
naming the new little park after the aldermen, he commented to them
that both Turner and Busby were taken too soon.
Snyder chose to speak specifically about one appointment he made,
that of Tom O'Donohue to fill the position left vacant by Nathan
Turner.
O'Donohue was at the time well known to the community as being a
critic of city government. He had run for mayor in 2005 against
Republicans Beth Davis, Pat O'Neill and Dale Voyles and Democrat Jan
Tabor.
About that appointment, Snyder said: "I think people initially
kind of wondered what I was thinking, but I had interviewed people
for that slot, and he had told me he was interested in serving. He
has really added a lot; he's thrown himself into it and has been a
great addition to the council."
The city also saw changes in the size of government. With the
latest census figure reporting that the city had less than 15,000
residents, two wards of the city had to be eliminated, bringing the
number of alderman down from 10 to eight. Bacon and David Armbrust
decided not to run for election, thus leaving the door open for the
eight remaining aldermen to run in their new wards unopposed.
Snyder talked about all these changes: "Everyone brought their
own different piece to the council. Each one of them had their own
strengths and added to the fabric of the council. We've been blessed
to have very good people."
Snyder said the council on the whole is made up of people who do
think things through for themselves. He noted that while there are a
lot of unanimous votes in the council, it isn't because they are
doing what he wants them to do; it is because they have weighed out
an issue on their own and made their own decision, the best decision
for the city.
Other changes that occurred in Snyder's first four years included
the retirement of Les Last as zoning officer, the resignation of
Kent Hulett as fire chief and the retirement of Stuart Erlenbush as
chief of police. This resulted in the hiring of John Lebegue, Mark
Miller and Ken Greenslate, respectively, to fill those positions.
Snyder commented first on John Lebegue. Lebegue was hired for the
position of building and safety officer in March of 2010.
Lebegue came to the city with a bachelor's degree in political
science, a master's in public administration and several years of
experience working as a building and zoning commissioner as well as
owning his own private consulting business.
Snyder commented on Lebegue, saying: "We're very fortunate that
John was looking for an opportunity. He has brought a new energy and
a new perspective to that office."
Snyder moved on to Chief Ken Greenslate with the police as well
as Mark Miller with the fire department. Both men were well known to
the city administration because they had served many years on their
respective forces before becoming the chiefs. "It is a neat thing
that both Ken and Milo have come up through their departments,"
Snyder said.
In addition, Susan Gehlbach took over as city clerk when Denise
Martinek resigned. In the early part of 2009, Melanie Riggs had
resigned her position as city clerk after allegations of misconduct,
for which she was later prosecuted. Gehlbach was at that time deputy
clerk and stepped in to fill the clerk position on a temporary
basis.
That happened to be an election year. Riggs' name was the only
one scheduled to appear on the ballot. Right before the elections,
Martinek filed to run for city clerk unopposed and won that
four-year seat. Gehlbach stepped back into her role as deputy.
In December of 2011, Martinek resigned from her position to take
a new position with the Logan County assessor's office. Gehlbach
once again stepped in as an interim, but very shortly thereafter,
the city asked her to take on the position permanently and she
agreed to do so. Snyder commented that this, too, was a positive
move for the city and that Gehlbach has been an asset in her role.
[to top of second column] |
There has also been a change in the office of city treasurer. Les
Plotner had served the city well as its treasurer for many years.
But in May of 2010, Plotner officially retired from the position. It
was filled by mayoral appointment in June of that year, and Chuck
Conzo became the city's new treasurer.
"Chuck has been great." Snyder commented, "He picked up things
very easily, and he wanted the job. It isn't a high-profile job, it
isn't a glamorous job. He puts in a lot of hours and probably is
earning pennies an hour considering the time he puts in."
Other changes included the resignation of Mark Mathon as city
engineer and the appointment of Lisa Kramer and Darren Forgy of
Prairie Engineers to fill that position.
And the city saw a change in attorney as well. While it is still
the attorney firm of Woods & Bates that represents the city, Bill
Bates, who had served with the city for several years, decided to
step back from that role, and his son, Blinn, stepped in.
"This almost makes it sound like I can't keep good people!"
Snyder laughed. "But, I think we have a pretty good team. There is
the analogy of getting the right people in the right seats on the
bus. Sometimes it takes a little while, but I think we've got that,
and I'm anxious to move forward."
When Snyder took office in 2009, one move he made that wasn't
widely discussed was the formation of the "Gang of 5." Snyder wanted
a face-to-face interaction with the community leaders outside of
city government. The five consisted then of Joel Smiley from the
Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership, Andi Hake from the
Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, Wanda Lee Rohlfs from Main
Street Lincoln, Geoff Ladd from the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau
of Logan County, and Snyder.
The group made an effort to get together monthly in a casual
meeting in Snyder's office. They talked about what they were doing
inside their organizations and worked to build a better
communication system with each other and with the city.
Over the first four years, that group also saw several changes.
Snyder commented last week that of the original group, he and Hake
are the only two remaining.
At the development partnership, Smiley left and Mike Maniscalco
then filled the position of executive director. Maniscalco took the
position in August of 2011 but left in July of the following year.
During his time with the partnership, Maniscalco was well liked
and worked hard to accomplish things for the city and the county. He
added to his resume the completion of an electric aggregation
program. He worked closely not only with the city of Lincoln, but
also with other outlying communities to create and implement a
countywide aggregation program.
Maniscalco was also the driving force, along with Hake, in the
"Save Logan" movement, when the prison was on Gov. Pat Quinn's
chopping block.
Maniscalco left his position in July of 2012. Brian Bergen was
then hired in October of 2012.
Snyder commented on Bergen, saying he had brought with him a
wealth of knowledge and experience. In Bergen's profession, one of
the downfalls is that the public doesn't see what is going on inside
that office.
"There are many things that he can't talk about that he is
working on," Snyder said. "He is doing great things and has a lot
going on. He has brought a wealth of experience that is serving us
well now and will serve us well in the future."
In April of 2012 Wanda Lee Rohlfs resigned as director of Main
Street Lincoln. The board conducted a nationwide search for a new
director and filled the position with a Lincoln native returning
home. Bill Hoagland grew up in Lincoln and was well known in high
school sports. His career took him out of the city and even the
state as he worked for large companies in the arena of marketing and
business development for 25 years. Included in his resume were
positions with Liberty Media, Starz Entertainment, United Artists
and Maytag.
"Bill has great experience as well. There have been changes in
their board, and everyone is trying to find their way," Snyder said.
"Bill is doing a great job and has branched off into different
areas, such as the monthly ‘Square Talks.'"
Hoagland is working to promote the downtown area with more
activities that are designed to bring people into Lincoln to do
shopping, take in a movie or grab a meal.
Geoff Ladd recently left the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of
Logan County as its executive director. A search for a new director
has been conducted, and an announcement on a new director is
expected soon.
While Snyder did not mention it, weekly he is involved in many
personal and professional community activities, many beyond the
scope of mayoral duties. These relationships also contribute to the
health and safety, quality of life, as well as the prosperity of the
city's citizens.
In review, as the leader of the city of Lincoln, Snyder has
fostered relationships and regular communications with other
community leaders and organizations, aldermen, city department heads
and administrators, and others, both inside and outside the
community.
___
In Part 2, Mayor Snyder talks about the best and the worst of the
last four years, what he sees as his successes, and what have been
his disappointments.
[By NILA SMITH] |
