|
 Lebegue submitted a multiple-page written report to the council,
but was invited by Mayor Keith Snyder to give some additional
comments.
Lebegue opened by saying that 2013 was a very good year for his
office and for the city of Lincoln in respect to new construction
projects and fees from the projects.
He said that in 2013, the city had earned a record $100,441 in
fees through his office. This is compared with only $27,000 for the
calendar year 2012.
Lebegue said this increase was the result of a few things. First,
he said there was an increase in construction in 2013, but other
factors also entered in. Lebegue has been working to realign the fee
structure for building permits in Lincoln. He thus far has
recommended several changes the council has agreed with. The result
is that the fees are more in line with what neighboring communities
would charge, and it is increasing city revenues. In addition,
Lebegue said the council decision to change the language in the
enterprise zone made a big difference. In the past the city had
agreed to waive 100 percent of the construction fees on enterprise
zone projects. However, last year they changed that and said they
would waive 50 percent of the fee.
Lebegue told the council he is seeing good things happening in
Lincoln. He said the new housing project, Plowfield Square, is very
close to completion of its first building. Lebegue said the
developer is planning to open the buildings up for rental perhaps
two at a time.
He noted the Timber Creek assisted living facility is set to open
in June.
He noted that Habitat for Humanity built another new home in
Lincoln this year. In addition, through a grant received from Eaton
Corp., Habitat is adding on to their existing warehouse on Woodlawn
Road.
[to top of second column] |
Downtown, David Lanterman is preparing to open a new coffee shop
called By the Bean Coffee Shop, next door to Beans & Such. Just off
the square, the Row Motors building is being redone and a new
accounting office is moving into the building.
Lebegue told the council: "When people say Lincoln is dying, this
shows that they are wrong. I see good things happening here."
In his written report, Lebegue also addressed the move Mission
Mart will be making in the near future and offered a brief update on
the "twin sisters houses" on Pulaski Street.
___
Click here to
read Lebegue's full report on construction projects.
(PDF) Click
here to see the 2012 versus 2013 comparison presented to the
council. (PDF)
Click here to
see a summary of new construction over the past 10 years.
(PDF) Click here
to see a summary of construction values and permit fees for 2012 and
2013. (PDF)
[By NILA SMITH]
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