Thursday, July 17, 2014
 
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City Briefs:
Council tours depot
Geriets announces retirement
412 Oglesby to be demolished

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[July 17, 2014]  LINCOLN -  Council tours Depot - Tuesday evening before their regular city council committee of the whole meeting, Lincoln aldermen took a tour of the Lincoln Depot. The group met at the front door at 6 p.m. and did a walk-thru with Mayor Keith Snyder.

Snyder pointed out that there were several holes punched in the drywall throughout the building. He explained that the architects from the Illinois Department of Transportation had been on site doing some preliminary research. He said their goal had been to get a sense of what was behind the walls, between now and the original brick structure.

Snyder pointed out the brick walls that had been added to the structure in later years. He explained the pass-thru area between the original station and the freight house, and said that the newer walls would come out, and the pass-thru would be restored.

The group also talked about the basement area, saying no one had gone down there. Walt Landers of the city Street and Alley Department said some of the kids who are working to clean up the building had gone down and said it was moldy.

Tim Ferguson, the city’s sewerage treatment plant manager went down and checked it out. He came back saying, yes, there was some mold, and one corner that was wet, but it wasn’t as bad as he would have expected.

Throughout the tour, the group talked about the depot when it was a fine dining establishment, recalling that it was a real draw for the community and that many people had commented how much they enjoyed going to the Depot.


 

Amtrak plans to use the baggage/freight room as its waiting area for travelers. The original depot will be utilized by the City of Lincoln. To date, no decisions have been made as to what the city will do with their portion of the building.

Geriets announces retirement

Lincoln Police Department, Chief Ken Greenslate, told the council that Deputy Chief Mike Geriets will be retiring from the force effective August 15.

He said that Geriets will be attending the Monday night voting session in order to address the council and say his good-byes to the city.

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Greenslate said he would ask the council to approve a new lateral hire as soon as Geriets’ retirement is official.

Snyder clarified the request, saying there would be a number of moves in the city department, with one opening left at the end of the process.

Greenslate had indicated at an earlier meeting he would like to promote a current officer into Geriets position. Through the promotion process, when all is said and done, a new officer will need to be hired to fill the lower-level gap.

Fast track demolition for 412 Oglesby

Building and Safety officer John Lebegue asked the council to add to next week’s agenda approval of a 'Fast Track' demolition. He showed the aldermen a slideshow of a residence located at 412 Oglesby, pointing out the house was vacant with weeds and grass growing in the front and back yards. He also showed the shots of the back yard scattered with junk and debris.

Finally, he had a shot from the street looking into the front door of the home, which is constantly being pushed open, he said. Inside he said there was so much stuff one couldn’t even walk through it.

Lebegue said he had contacted three demolition companies to get estimates on taking down the building. The lowest estimate had come in at $6,200 from Jim Moody Excavating, a firm the city has used in the past.

With very little discussion after Lebegue’s comments, Snyder asked if this item could be placed on the consent agenda for Monday night. By nod of the head, all aldermen agreed.

[By NILA SMITH]

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