Thursday, October 09, 2014
 
sponsored by

City approves annexation of Heritage Packaging

Send a link to a friend  Share

[October 09, 2014]  LINCOLN - At the Monday evening voting session of the Lincoln City Council, the seven members present voted unanimously to annex the property on Fifth Street Road belonging to Heritage Packaging Company.

Mayor Keith Snyder introduced the topic saying that Heritage Packaging is poised to take on an expansion project that will grow their business in Lincoln. However, because they are not currently in city limits, they do not have city sewer services. The expansion planned is going to produce more waste water than the company’s current septic system can handle. Because of this, they need to be connected to the city’s sewer system so they can continue to grow their business.

Snyder said in discussing the annexation, an agreement had been reached with Heritage in which the city would waive the sewer tap fee and also reimburse the company $35,000 for the construction of the sewer connection.

He told the council that the annexation would bring new revenue into the city through property taxes paid by the company and that gaining that revenue would re-coop the city’s investment in the sewer construction over time. In addition, the company will be paying a sewer bill to the city.


Greg Basford of Heritage Packaging was on hand to address the council about the future of his company. He explained that Heritage in Lincoln has been successful and growing and wishes to continue to grow in the area. He said in Lincoln his company has found a “good recipe” for growth and had a good team of staff and employees to keep the company moving forward.

Up until now, the company has been manufacturing corrugated paper products using an oil based ink for the printing on the products. Basford said the next generation of printing equipment utilizes water based ink, and with it comes a large amount of waste water. He said being connected to the city sewer system was key to being able to upgrade to this new equipment.

He said that he had worked with Tim Ferguson of the city waste water treatment facility and Mayor Keith Snyder on this project, and had a good experience with both men. Basford concluded saying his company was strong, and growing, and he has a strong desire to keep his company in Lincoln, to help grow this community, and add more jobs for residents.

Ferguson spoke about the impact on the city’s current sewer drainage in the area and said there was plenty of capacity there to handle the additional waste water. Ferguson also reported that the ink being used is a biodegradable product so there will be no threat to the environment or local water supply as a result.

[to top of second column]

During the discussion, Marty Neitzel spoke up saying she felt this would be money very well spent by the city of Lincoln. Melody Anderson added that it was a “win-win situation for both the city and Heritage Packaging.”

Scott Cooper was in support of the project but wondered how long it would take for the construction of the sewer line to take place. He was asking because the construction will cross the road, and he said he was concerned about adding further disruption to traffic in that area. He commented that folks in that part of town are already dealing with the closure of the Salt Creek Bridge, and he didn’t want to make things worse for them.

Ferguson said that typically it would take three to four days of the street being closed to get all the work done. He also noted that it isn’t uncommon for there to be issues that arise that cause that period to stretch out into a week. Because of this, he felt like he should say the street would probably be closed a week.

In a somewhat related matter, Snyder said that the Illinois Department of Transportation is reporting that they are on schedule for the completion of the Salt Creek Bridge, so it should be reopened by November 15. He also commented that Basford wanted to get started on his project as soon as possible, and Basford confirmed that he wanted to get this done as soon as possible.

A motion to approve the annexation was made by Cooper and seconded by Neitzel. The vote came in 7 – 0, with one alderman, Tom O’Donohue, being absent for the evening.

[Nila Smith]

 

< Top Stories index

Back to top