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 With the death of Mayor Scott Cooper, the meeting will be
conducted by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Neitzel. Neitzel will continue to
lead the city until such a time as the council can discuss and
determine its next steps in appointing a mayor. There is also now a
vacancy in the Ward One aldermanic seat which will need to be filled
as well.
Library to kick in more dollars for parking lot renovation
An ongoing project for the city of Lincoln is to develop a larger
parking space on Pekin Street adjacent to the Lincoln Public
Library. The lot that exists currently is owned in part by the
Library and in part by the city. There is a green space on the
corner of Pekin and North Kickapoo that will also be incorporated
into the parking lot design.
Tuesday evening, City Administrator Clay Johnson said the library
had originally agreed to invest $10,000 in the parking lot project
to cover the work done on the portion of the property they own.
However, in looking at the plan, it was determined that based on the
library-owned percentage of the entire parking lot, and the scope of
work that would be done on the library-owned property, the library
should pay more than $10,000.
 Johnson said that the library has increased its offering, and will
now pay ten percent of the total with a “not to exceed” clause
capping their share at $35,000.
During the discussion, the question was asked as to where the city
was getting it’s share of the funding. The cost of the parking lot
was originally funded by a grant through the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Due to the state’s financial
crisis and lack of approved budget, that grant has been suspended.
Johnson said the city had budgeted its own funding for the project
so they could still move forward with the state grant. Mayor Scott
Cooper had speculated on if the state would disburse the grant money
later after the budget was settled. Johnson said it was a
possibility, but until all the issues at the state level are worked
out, the city shouldn’t count on getting that money.
City asked to sign Memorandum of Understanding regarding the
Tropics sign
On Tuesday evening, the Lincoln City Council agreed to place on the
Monday voting agenda approval of a Memorandum of Understanding
regarding the restoration of the Route 66 historic Tropic’s Sign.
City Administrator Clay Johnson said the MOU has been written,
reviewed, and signed by members of the Johnson/Goodrich family and
the Logan County Tourism Bureau, with the city being the last to
sign, if they so choose.
Johnson said the Memorandum outline the “what ifs” including what
happens if the sign can’t be restored? In the discussion that
followed, questions were asked about the ownership of the sign.
Johnson said that for now the sign is in the possession of the
Tourism Bureau, who will take the lead on the fundraising and
restoration. If the sign cannot be restored, ownership will go back
to the Goodrich’s.
The aldermen wanted to know how the restoration would be paid for,
and Johnson said the Tourism Bureau is planning to have fundraisers.
The Bureau will establish a Tropic’s Restoration Committee and the
fundraising will be one of the first tasks.
Johnson was asked if the bureau knows how much money they need to
raise. Currently, the only estimates the bureau has are those that
were received and shared by the city of Lincoln. The cost is
expected to be somewhere in the range of $30,000 for transporting
the sign to the location of restoration as well as the restoration.
Fire Department asks for tax-deferred contributions to pension
On Monday evening, the Lincoln City Council will vote to move the
employee contribution to the Firefighter Pension Plan to a
tax-deferred plan. This means that the contribution by the employee
to the pension plan will be deducted from the paycheck before income
taxes are calculated. The result will be that the employee with
receive a larger paycheck, but will have a tax liability upon
retirement.
Several of the aldermen were surprised by the request, thinking
aloud that this would add a tax burden to the retiree and wondering
why the union would want to impose that burden. For the city, it is
a matter of changing the way the deduction is handled in the payroll
department and will have no effect on the firefighter payroll budget
figures.
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High-Speed Rail to reimburse costs of electrical study
City Administrator Johnson told the iuuuuuuu18council that he had negotiated a
payment from the High-Speed Rail program for work it requested the city do, that
ultimately, went to the wayside.
Johnson said the city had been advised that work at the depot would include the
relocation of up to three decorative lights. The city was to pay for a new
electrical plan for the area due to the relocation.
In the end, though, the lighting did not have to be relocated at all, so the
work done and paid for by the city was for naught. Johnson said he had talked to
representatives from the High-Speed Rail project and explained that even though
the plan didn’t end up being needed, the city still paid for it. He said the HSR
project agreed to reimburse the city $3,412, the cost of the work performed.
City hears request for Façade Grant under TIF program
On Tuesday evening, the Lincoln City Council reviewed a request for Façade Grant
funding through the city’s Tax Increment Financing program. The request from
Amanda Cross has been reviewed and recommended for approval by the city’s TIF
Review Committee.
Cross is asking for a grant of $4,400 for façade improvements to 501 South
Kickapoo, the former White’s Auction House. Cross purchased the building earlier
this year and plans to establish a sports training center focusing on softball
to start. During the discussion, City Administrator Johnson said that Cross will
begin her business with softball training but has indicated that she may expand
to other sports as well at a later date.
Railsplitting Association requests financial support for annual festival
On Tuesday evening, Bob Rankin addressed the Lincoln City Council regarding the
upcoming National Railsplitting Festival to be held at the Logan County
Fairground in September. In the past, the city has offered financial support for
the festival, and Rankin was on hand to request that the aldermen vote to
continue that support this year.
He told the council that the Logan Railsplitter Association has new items on the
agenda for this year including live music throughout the days on Saturday and
Sunday. Also, there will be a nationally recognized performer offering up a show
on Saturday night.
Rankin said that the Association had worked with Tracy Welch to design a new
website that was very user-friendly and offered up some great information about
the festival and also provided a schedule of events for the weekend.
Marty Neitzel asked how much money the city had given to the festival in past
years. The city provided $1,000 last year. Jonie Tibbs suggested that this year
the city should double that amount to $2,000. City Administrator Clay Johnson
advised the council that during the budget-building process in April, $1,500 had
been designated to go to the festival. Tibbs said then she wanted to see the
group get that full amount.
The council by a nod of head agreed. The item will be placed on the Monday night
agenda for approval.
Council to meet again September 8
This year, the council has reduced their monthly meeting schedule to three
meetings per month during the summer, which means there will be no Workshop held
on August 24. The council will return to its four meetings per month schedule in
September. Due to Labor Day on the first Monday in September, the council will
meet on Tuesday, September 8 and it will be a voting session.
[Nila Smith]
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