Lincoln Aldermen say, “Yes” across the board
Part 1 - Christian Village expansion; Lincoln College/Comcast broadcast; Appointment of Susan Pegram to police department
 

[January 22, 2015]  LINCOLN - On Tuesday evening the Lincoln City Council voted several important issues with the six aldermen present approving all the requests unanimously. Those present were Michelle Bauer, Scott Cooper, Jeff Hoinacki, Kathy Horn, Todd Mourning and Marty Neitzel. The seat vacated by Melody Anderson has not yet been filled, and Jonie Tibbs was absent for the evening.

Approval to vacate two blocks of Seventh Street

The evening began with a public hearing regarding the vacation of the 1400 and 1500 blocks of Seventh Street at the request of the Christian Village.

The Village is looking to expand its Lincoln facility. It is asking that 7th Street be vacated between their nursing home facility and congregate living building so as to build a new structure between the two on the far east end.

There were no members of the public present to address the council during the hearing. There was discussion by the council members regarding the relocation of utilities for the vacation.

City administrator Clay Johnson said that the utilities were on board with the vacation and relocation of their service lines. Phil Martin of Martin Engineering spoke about this as well. As the engineer for the project, he said the utilities involved would be Ameren Illinois, Illinois American Water and Frontier Communications. He said all three utilities were on board with the changes. He also noted the Village has written the checks to the utilities reimbursing them for relocation costs.

Johnson said the action needed was to approve the applicant petition for vacation. Once approved, there will then be an ordinance, and a new site plat drawn up and brought back to the council for approval.

The vote to approve the application was conducted during the hearing, and the request received unanimous approval.

Before adjourning the public hearing Marty Neitzel congratulated the Christian Village on their expansion and said she was pleased to see them choose to expand their Lincoln facility. She added that she was proud of all expansion within the city of Lincoln.

Lincoln College/Comcast broadcast agreement

When the aldermen moved from the public hearing to the adjourned voting session, the next order of business was to vote on the Lincoln College/Comcast broadcast agreement. This item has been tabled for quite some time. Hoinacki and Horn provided the motion and second to remove it from the table, and then Horn and Hoinacki provided the motion and second to approve the contract.

During the discussion, the only comment came from Mayor Keith Snyder who said he wanted to make it clear agreeing to the Education-Government channel for the college in no way lessens the city’s belief that Comcast should provide a Public Access channel for the city.


Council approves Susan Pegram as administrative assistant for the police department

Snyder told the council he would seek their advice and consent on the appointment of Susan Pegram as the city police department’s new administrative assistant. Brenda McCabe is currently the office manager for the department but will be officially retiring this Friday, January 23rd.

Snyder said he believed Pegram was an excellent choice for the position because she has a great deal of experience in local government. Pegram has several years of experience working for the Logan County State’s Attorney Office, and most recently has been employed in the Logan County Clerk’s Office.

The request received approval from the Council with a unanimous vote.

[Nila Smith]