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 Those present for the meeting included Mayor Marty Neitzel,
Aldermen Michelle Bauer, Rick Hoefle, Jeff Hoinacki, Kathy Horn,
Todd Mourning, Steve Parrott and Tracy Welch. Department heads
present included Police Chief Paul Adams, Fire Chief Mark Miller,
Waste Treatment Manager Tim Ferguson, Street Superintendent Walt
Landers, and Building and Safety Officer John Lebegue. Other
officials on hand for the meeting were Treasurer Chuck Conzo, City
Clerk Susan Gehlbach, City Administrator Clay Johnson, and recording
secretary for the council Risa Riggs. Others present for the meeting
included constituents Bill Hoagland and Bill Meyer, and members of
the media.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Neitzel; then the floor was
given to the city administrator. Johnson opened by expressing
appreciation for those who had committed to spending their Saturday
afternoon participating in the review of the 2015 Strategic Plan. He
noted that his intention for this meeting was to review what is
already in place and said that it would not be like the labor
intensive meetings that were held in Normal in 2015. He said that he
wanted the meeting to be an open forum, with aldermen and department
heads free to discuss topics as they arose.
 Johnson added that as changes were suggested or recommended for the
current plan, they would be recorded, and written into the existing
plan. The modifications would then come back to the Council for
their final approval.
A review of Lincoln Demographics
(click
here for copy of Powerpoint presentation)
Over the next 75 minutes, Johnson walked through a PowerPoint
presentation from last year. It included information compiled by
former Mayor Keith Snyder; a review of the demographics of the city
of Lincoln, a comparative to the whole county, as well as to the
state and other nearby cities.
For much of the presentation, there was little comment from
aldermen. Slides that did peak an interest involved the median
income for the city of Lincoln at $39,000 (slide 9) and the
information regarding the age of residents, with 17.6 percent (slide
12) of the population being over 65 according to the 2010 census.
Referring to information in an earlier slide (Slide 4) that said the
total retail sales per capita was at $16,817, it was noted that
Lincoln residents are spending a large chunk of their annual income
locally. Hoefle noted that with the aging population, it made sense
that many of the dollars made in Logan County stayed in the county.
He noted that with age 65-plus, population tends to leave town less.
The group also talked about the information that showed that less
than 20 percent (slide 13) of the population has a Bachelor’s Degree
or higher at the 2010 census. Hoefle wondered how the local colleges
would have affected that statistic since 2010. Was Lincoln Christian
University a four-year college in 2010? And, was Lincoln College
offering four-year degrees then. The answer was that yes, LCU was a
four-year college, and yes, Lincoln College did have four-year
programs in 2010. Bauer pointed out that from the Lincoln College
perspective, one part of the demographic that is changing is that LC
is drawing in more local students, tagged as “commuter students.”
These are students who live within driving distance of the college.
Parrott noted the demographic that says the average household size
in Lincoln is 2.11 persons (slide 15), wondering if that was correct
for today. Johnson said based on work that had been done recently
for the Enterprise Zone application, those numbers would hold true.
Parrott then commented that if that were the case, there are many
households in Lincoln that with only $39,000 a year, and 2.11
persons to support, could not afford to leave town for shopping and
entertainment. Bauer agreed with that also saying that it was all
the more reason that Lincoln should offer its constituents the
shopping and entertainment options they need and want.
The presentation also included slides based on a 2013 survey of the
Peoria County population age 30 and under. The “what the ‘kids’
want” (slides 19, 20, & 21) slides showed that the younger
generation is looking for safety first when moving into a
neighborhood, then character, affordability, access to services, and
last of all, schools. Their entertainment choices are food first,
then cultural events, performing arts, sporting events, and rounding
off the top five was nightlife.
The same survey asked ....
- If the central Illinois lifestyle was conducive to physical
health
Fifty-eight percent said “no.”
- If the central Illinois lifestyle was conducive to mental
health and well-being?
Sixty-seven percent said “yes.”
Johnson said that these answers seemed odd, that we are not
physically healthy, but we are mentally healthy. Bauer surmised
that the reason could go back to a previous slide that showed
the 30-something generation feels the central part of the state
is a safe place to live. They have better mental health because
they have a sense of security.
 These same slides also showed that those answering the survey
wanted more activity in their lives from outdoor sports and
activities to gym memberships, walking and biking, and organized
sports groups.
Hoefle talked about when he first came to Lincoln; it seemed
like there were more physical activities than there are now.
Johnson said maybe so. He added that the Lincoln Park District
is trying to answer some of the need by initiating more adult
sporting activities such as softball and volleyball. Hoefle also
noted that the city has a desire to have safe bike paths,
though, to date, he noted they have not been established.
Welch went back to the median income in Lincoln and noted that
there are gyms and other recreational sports memberships
available, but with the lower income, he would expect that many
Lincoln residents couldn’t afford the memberships. Bauer said
that too was probably true, and a good reason why there needed
to be more low or no cost opportunities. She noted that when
there are children involved especially, limited dollars earned
are invested in the wellbeing of the children, and the adults
put themselves last.
Parrott said that he felt the cost of living in this area was
already pretty low, but the problem is that there needs to be
higher paying jobs so people can afford to take care of their
families and do extra things as well.
Mourning said that he thought the community is shifting to being
more physically fit, and there are people who are helping work
toward a more fit society, such as the Healthy Communities
Partnership.
As talk on this presentation wrapped up, it was noted that the
demographic for the state of Illinois, on the whole, is not
good. Jobs are leaving Illinois (slide 17) with manufacturers
going to other states and taking good jobs with them. The bottom
line for the city of Lincoln then, is not only does it have its
own shortfalls to deal with, it also has to suffer the
consequences of the shortcomings of the state on the whole,
meaning that changing the demographic in the city of Lincoln is
going to be a very big challenge.
2015 city of Lincoln Satisfaction Survey
(Note: on the survey slideshow, the date is incorrect. The
survey was conducted in January of 2015, with the results being
compiled in February 2015. Survey information begins with slide
27).
Moving on to the next topic, Johnson began a review of the
results of a survey conducted specifically for the city of
Lincoln in January of last year. He began by noting that the
online survey had been completed by 755 people. He said that
generally speaking, that is a much larger participation rate
than anyone expected. He said that alone shows that the
constituents of the city are engaged. While the population of
the city is more than 14,000, Johnson noted, normally there are
only a very few in any community who will take the time to
complete such a survey.
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Going through the slides, the group stopped to discuss how they are
working to improve communications between city government and
Lincoln residents. It was noted that at the time of the survey, 44.9
percent of the responders said they never go to the city website
(slide 32). At the same time, those who do, find it very helpful.
The survey had also showed that responders would be interested in
communication with the city through a quarterly newsletter (slide
35), and a mobile app for news and to send in complaints.
Johnson said that the city has initiated the newsletter, but even
with it, there are still problems. First, it publishes quarterly but
is sent out with the sewer bills, which are distributed over a three
month period – one-third of the city per month. Johnson said the
city still sends out press releases as well as doing a weekly
posting on social media. Even so, some of the services offered by
the city are unknown to the constituents (slide 38), such as the
tree planting program, leaf collection, and brush and yard waste
collection services. Neitzel pointed out that even though the city
is doing a good job on the internet, there are still those in the
community that do not have computers, so they do miss out on
information. The newsletter does help in that area. Landers said he
believes sometimes people just don’t pay attention. They may see
something published regarding the city, but they don’t read it.
Throughout the survey, the consensus was that the survey takers were
happy with the services offered by the city. Regarding public safety
(slides 39 through 45), the survey showed that constituents do feel
safe in their neighborhoods and throughout the town. The place where
they feel the least safe is at the Amtrak station.
The survey also indicated the survey respondents were satisfied with
the services of the city fire department.
 Johnson did point out that in the survey, responders said they would
be interested in implementing a Neighborhood Watch program. Johnson
said that the city police department was doing more to engage the
community. Chief Paul Adams said the department was doing more for
education in the public schools. He said the school resource officer
and the DARE program were both working well. In the survey
questions regarding the downtown area (slide 53), the city received
high grades for safety and cleanliness, and a low grade for the
convenience of parking. This statistic was no surprise to the
council, but at the same time, Hoefle wondered if there was a
misconception. Johnson said that had come up last year as well. The
council had pondered was there truly a parking problem or just the
perception of a parking problem. Hoefle commented that people want
to park right in front of the establishment they are visiting, so
when they can’t, to them it is a problem.
Also, not surprisingly, the survey indicated that responders were
very dissatisfied with the condition of the city streets and roads
(slide 57). Sixty-three percent of the responders said that road
conditions have a negative effect on the quality of life in their
neighborhoods.
Hoinacki noted that poor road conditions were not a problem just in
Lincoln. He surmised that anywhere one would go, residents are going
to say their streets are an issue.
The survey wrapped up with information on the demographic of the
responders. Most had lived in Lincoln more than ten years, were
employed in the city, and had no children in the household under the
age of 18. Gender was a near split with 55.3 percent being female
and 44.4 percent being male. There was also a near split in the
level of education. 23.8 percent said they were high school
graduates or GED, 27.1 percent graduated a two-year college, and
31.2 percent had four-year degrees. Only 16.8 percent had graduate
or professional degrees, and less than 2 percent of the population
said they had not finished high school.
 At the end of the presentation, Bauer asked if the city could do a
new survey. Johnson said they could. It was also mentioned that some
of the questions and answers almost contradicted one another. For
example, the survey had shown that a lot of the respondents didn’t
know about services offered by the city, but on the other hand, they
expressed that they were satisfied with the services of the city.
Hoinacki agreed the city should continue to do surveys. He wondered
if it would be best though to do shorter surveys, four or five
questions at a time, more frequently, maybe even monthly. Johnson
said that normally a complete survey would be done every two years,
but the council had discretion over what they wanted. They could do
simple surveys at any time they wished, or could do a single, more
detailed survey; it was their choice.
The group also talked about doing surveys at the point of service.
Johnson said that in the city of Aurora when someone utilizes a city
service, they answer a survey about that service immediately. It was
also discussed, could the city offer some incentive for constituents
to take the survey, suggestions made were sewer rebates or chamber
bucks on the completion of a survey.
Going back to one hot button issue, Ferguson said that indeed road
conditions in the city were an issue for everyone, but there are a
lot of dollars involved in road repair. He wondered if the city
could ask constituents, not only what they want, but how willing are
they to pay for it. (Though not clearly stated, the implication
appeared to be pay through taxation.)
Johnson said that there needed to be a conversation soon about brick
streets in particular. Many of the brick streets in Lincoln are
approaching impassable, and restoration of those streets is going to
be very expensive. The council needs to make some decisions on what
streets can be saved and what streets will have to be replaced.
Ferguson reinforced that, saying that re-laying brick would be at a
staggering cost though long term maintenance would cost less. It was
also mentioned that when looking at road repair and reconstruction,
the consideration of cost must include upgrades, repairs, or
relocation of city utilities, again a very costly endeavor.
City of Lincoln 2020 Strategic Plan
(Click
here for PDF copy of final document)
Johnson moved on to the last segment of the slide presentation, the
2020 Strategic plan.
 He said that when the sessions ended in 2015, the council did not
set the wording for a mission and vision statement. The current plan
includes suggested statements for each (pages 5 & 6), but the
Council should go forward with selecting the specific wording for
both.
The group had identified four strategic priorities for the next five
years and set goals with timelines of what to accomplish inside each
priority.
The goals were (pages 8 through 10):
- Improve communication with residents, employers, and
visitors.
- Identify and address the barriers to economic development.
- Provide safe, reliable, and sustainable infrastructure
systems.
- Improve the quality of life among Lincoln residents by
supporting recreation and tourism.
The next step for the group on Saturday was to look at a
second copy of the four priorities provided by Johnson. In that
copy, notes had been added in red lettering to show actions that
had been taken and the date that such actions were completed.
The aldermen and department heads would review the document and
discuss its accomplishments on the whole. Later in the day, they
would break into smaller groups, each taking one goal from the
plan, and discuss whether or not additional action steps should
be added in order to accomplish the final goal fully.
Part two of Lincoln 2020 Strategic Plan 2.0 will cover the
discussion of the goals, as well as discussion about the capital
projects plan.
[Nila Smith] |
