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 Chief Paul Adams, Lincoln Police Department
Adams began by saying that much of what is going on in his
department is not directly related to the strategic plan. However,
the department is working on a few of its own initiatives. He said
that with the city’s plan and its vision for the future, his
department is attempting to build along those same lines within the
department.
As a result, the department has begun to hold supervisor meetings on
a quarterly basis. They began doing that this last fall. The
department is also working to revise its mission statement. Adams
said the department has always had a mission statement, but it is
long and very few of the officers know what it is.
Adams moved on, saying he’s very pleased with the city’s D.A.R.E.
program and gave kudos to Officer Christy Fruge’ for the good work
she is doing with that program. He noted there were other officers
in the department who are also interested in becoming involved with
D.A.R.E.
Changing topic, Adams said that one of the biggest issues the
department and city have had for several years now is the issue of
space. He noted, “You’re asking these guys to essentially eat their
food, clean their guns, package hazardous materials, mess with
drugs, all in the same spot and we don’t have the room. Those should
all be separate facilities inside a bigger facility, not the 1,200
square feet that we’re trying to operate out of for almost $30,000 a
year.”
 Adams next addressed the patrol vehicles in use saying that six of
the cars have over 150,000 miles and need to be replaced. He said
the cars were costing a lot of money in maintenance, and that he has
almost “shot through” that budget line this year. He also noted that
the maintenance budget had been increased by $10,000 for this fiscal
year.
Alderman Rick Hoefle asked what size of building the department
needed. Adams said that FGM Architects had done a size need study,
and what they came up with, he couldn’t remember exactly, but he
knew it was several times the size of the facility the department
now has.
Kathy Horn asked about implementing a Neighborhood Watch program, as
it was mentioned in the city survey as something constituents would
like to have.
Adams said, first of all, there is always the issue of people saying
they want such a program, but when it comes time to get involved,
they back out. He said there was also the problem of manpower. Adams
said Officer Tim Butterfield could do a neighborhood watch, but with
only 26 officers in the rotation, the department didn’t have the
manpower to implement the program. Adams also noted that when he
began with the city police department, there were 29 officers; today
there are only 26.
Talking about staffing, the question arose as to how much is spent
annually in overtime. City Administrator Clay Johnson said for this
fiscal year the budget allowed for $67,000 in overtime. Adams was
then asked if the city hired more officers would the overtime issue
go away. Adams said probably not all of it, though it might help. He
went on to say that part of the problem in the city is drugs,
specifically heroine. Right now the department has only one
detective, and it needs more.
On a positive note, he said that with the department moving from
nine-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts, which had helped with the
staffing issues. He concluded that the greatest need is for
detectives and narcotics officers.
As a post script, Johnson referred back to the space needs and said
the official number was 13,000 square feet, but that include
parking, public and common areas, and more.
Chief Mark Miller – Lincoln Fire Department
Miller said his goals within the city’s strategic plan involved
safety. He said a big part of that was doing site inspections for
local businesses. The visits include giving business owners ideas
and suggestions on what they can do to make their establishments
safer.
Miller talked about the new site plan review process and said it was
a good practice. In the site plan review process, all the city
departments that impact a construction project work at the same time
to give contractors specific information about what is required in
new construction to be compliant with city code and meet safety
regulations. Miller said he thought this was a good plan that showed
all the city departments are on the same page and work together to
provide continuity in what they deliver to prospecting developers.
 The department continues to offer the smoke detector plan to city
residents, where the department will install detectors, or change
batteries when called upon to do so.
Again space is an issue for this department just as for the police.
Miller said that he had equipment that cannot be stored in the fire
station because of its size. He noted that it is also a big issue
when making new purchases because fire apparatus are getting larger
all the time.
One project the chief is working on is to obtain a generator that
would power all of City Hall in an emergency. He said without power,
City Hall is unable to function. In an emergency the City Hall needs
its communication systems to keep things moving along, so a
generator for the entire building is a necessary piece of equipment.
Miller also shared that the city’s new emergency medical services
vehicle is arriving in the week ahead (the vehicle was on hand and
shown to the city council on Tuesday, January 12th). Miller said the
pick-up truck sized vehicle with a utility bed would be utilized in
emergency medical runs. He noted that using the smaller vehicle was
more cost effective than taking out one of the full-size fire
apparatus.
Miller was asked if the city now only uses the smaller vehicles for
EMS services. Miller said if there is more than one call at a time,
then the larger fire trucks must be used.
Staffing numbers are down for the fire department, and Miller
reported that this year his overtime expense will be approximately
$100,000. He continued saying that the money in overtime would not
pay for three new firefighters, and new firefighters would not
eliminate all of the overtime. He said that right now, with minimal
staff, his biggest concern is if he would have firefighters with
illness or injury. He said if this were to occur, it could affect
the city’s ability to serve the community.
Rick Hoefle asked if it were possible to hire part-time
firefighters. Miller said maybe, but there would still be a large
investment in getting a firefighter prepared to serve. Jeff Hoinacki
noted that doing a part-time program would also probably be an issue
for the union.
 Talking about the size of the current fire station in relation to
the size of vehicles, Miller said that new fire apparatus for the
department normally had to be custom ordered, in smaller sizes to
accommodate the station. Miller said this adds to the cost of the
city purchases. He noted a custom order apparatus could cost $1
million or more, where something not custom designed could cost as
much as $100,000 less.
Talking about a new fire house, Miller said that the studies that
had been done indicated that more than 50 percent of the calls
received are from Jefferson Street east, and only eight percent of
the calls come from the far west side. Consequently, looking at fire
station locations on the far west side of the city would not be a
good idea.
Steve Parrott asked how the calls broke down from the EMT
perspective. Miller said that 45 percent were calls for an
ambulance. He said, however, this was not a duplication of services
between the city and the Logan County Paramedics Association,
because there have been many occasions when the ambulance service
was on other calls, and the fire department was the first to arrive
and provide emergency treatments.
Parrott posed a question to Adams and Miller collectively regarding
the declining population of the city. He wondered if as the
population of the city declined, would that equate to fewer calls.
Both Adams and Miller said no, the two factors were not related.
Building and Safety Officer John Lebegue
Lebegue opened his discussion commenting on the 'New Site Plan'
protocol, saying that it had been a good move for the city and was
working well. He said that with the Site Plan Review, all the
affected city departments can give their input and provide valuable
information to developers so that design plans can be done in
compliance with the city the first time. He noted that the new
protocol was used in the development of the plans for the Copper
Creek Memory Care Center, and it worked out very well for everyone.
 Lebegue’s office has just completed an Annexation Plan for the city.
Throughout the town there are areas where a property is not legally
part of the city, but at the same time is surrounded by properties
that are legally part of the city. The new plan will work to close
those holes and make the city footprint more contiguous.
Lebegue said that his office is also now working to put together
city code for landscaping and signs. He said that when developers
come to town his office needs to be able to show them the codes. He
noted that if they tell a developer that landscaping needs to be
managed in a certain manner, their first question will be “show me
the code.”
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Right now the city has no code for landscaping, and an inadequate
code for signs. Lebegue went on to say that the code for signs will
have to be two tiered. One aspect of the sign code would apply to
the outlying portions of the city while the other would need to
apply specifically to the downtown area.
Todd Mourning asked Legebue if he had any staffing issues. Lebegue
said his office was well staffed with very competent individuals,
and he didn’t see that he needed anyone else.
Mourning also asked about a grant Lebegue had received to purchase
“Surface” notebook computers for field work. He asked how they were
working out for the department. Lebegue said it was still a work in
progress, but his office is working through software needs to make
work in the field more efficient.
Tim Ferguson – Waste Water Treatment
Ferguson began by saying that the city sewer system, much of it
dates back to the 1930’s, and was installed when there were very few
regulations regarding waste water. He noted that the city was
by-and-large, a combined sewer and storm water system. Though some
improvements have been made over the years, the system is much the
same as it was when first established.
The hurdle the city is going to have to jump is the situation
involving a Long Term Control Plan for the combined sewer. The plan
addresses the control of storm water runoff and how to address
instances where untreated sewerage is going into public waterways
via overflow events. Ferguson said the city had hired Crawford,
Murphy and Tilly to develop a Long Term Control Plan that will pass
the Environmental Protection Agency requirements. The completed plan
had been submitted to the Illinois EPA. That party had responded
back with a few comments and items to be addressed. Ferguson said
that by the end of this week, the city would re-submit its plan with
the EPA comments addressed, and that hopefully the plan would be
approved.
Regarding the buildings at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ferguson
noted that the lab building is one of the originals, built in 1936.
He said it is a flat roof building, and it leaks, and the boiler
system in the building is quite old. Ferguson said upgrading the
building is not a critical issue, but it is something that could be
added to a list for future improvements.
Ferguson also made a comment on the cost of sewerage services in the
city. “Some people say we’re too high, but if you look at other
communities, we’re on the lower end of what some communities charge.
The one point I want to make out to people that they don’t
understand is that being a combined sewer, we’re not just dealing
with the sanitary, we’re dealing with the storm sewers. So that
amount they pay not only has to take care of the sanitary sewer, but
also all the catch basins in town, all the culverts in town, that
all comes out of it. When you combine that into what the actual
sanitary is, that is a very, very low number compared to what some
have to pay.”
Johnson added to that comment explaining that in some cities, there
is a separate storm water run-off fee that covers some of that. The
city of Lincoln does not charge a storm sewer fee.
Ferguson also commented on what would be coming as a result of the
Long-term Control Plan. He explained that the plan would address
current regulations of the EPA, and it would be at a very
significant cost to the city. He also noted that the city could
expect that ten years from now, the federal regulations will have
changed again, and there will be additional regulations the city
will have to address.
Michelle Bauer noted that the costs being talked about were
something the city can in no way avoid. The work must be done
whether the city has the money to do it or not. Ferguson said that
was correct; there were no options that would allow the city to
avoid the costly upgrades.
Walt Landers – Street and Alley Superintendent
Landers opened up with a review of current roadway projects on the
Capital Plan.
He said one of the big projects was the reconstruction of Kickapoo
from Clinton to Wyatt Streets. He said there is currently $420,000
tagged for this project, and it is short by about half.
Another project on the list is Fourth Street from Carroll Catholic
School to College Street. He said this is an old concrete road that
is having a lot of issues with a lot of constituent complaints.
As talked about earlier, Landers said the brick streets in the city
are becoming a big issue. He said some are close to impassable, and
the city needs to decide on a plan soon. As an example, he noted
Lincoln Avenue from College to North Union Streets are a big
concern.
There are sidewalk and curbing projects on the list for this year.
Landers said that the city had gone out for bid on the projects
early last fall and received no responses. They will put the
projects out for bid again this spring with the hopes of getting
some responses.
Bridges over Brainard's Branch are still a concern. Landers said
that traffic is now being limited on the State Street bridge. That
bridge is scheduled to be replaced soon. He added that the bridge
projects will be ongoing. The next bridge to be addressed will be
the Jefferson Street bridge, then the Palmer Street bridge.
The Landscape Waste Facility has issues that stem to past
mismanagement. He said there would be no easy fix for the problems,
but they do have to be addressed. There is an incinerator at the
facility for waste burning, but Landers said that it is not
sufficient for the amount of work that needs to be done there. He
will be looking for someone to contract for grinding and mulching.
Hoefle asked if there was mulch on hand right now. Landers said
there was and that people do come out and get mulch from the city.
He noted that there were also those who come and cut firewood from
the facility.
Traffic signals are going to need work at Heitman and Woodlawn Road,
as well as at Woodlawn and Union Street. The city has to pay for
repairs and upgrades to the signals, and then a portion, not all, of
the expense is reimbursed by the Illinois Department of
Transportation.
Tracy Welch asked how far behind the city is in its schedule of
street improvements. Landers indicated that most all of the projects
on the 2014 list have been completed, but the city has fallen behind
on its 2015 projects.
Landers reported that the sidewalk inventory has been completed as
was part of the 2014 plan, but the tree inventory has not been
completed.
Of course, part of the issue with projects not being completed is
the need for dollars to complete the projects. The city is working
on the road improvements as their budget will allow.
Ferguson pointed out that in addition to the road repairs, there are
other issues that come into play that also cost more dollars. He
noted as an example that when working on North Kankakee Street the
city identified several sink holes that are related to the sewerage
system. Ferguson said that at that time, the city had no choice but
to fill those holes in with gravel and move on because there was no
money to do anything else. He said that because of this, the city
can expect that those sink holes will be a returning issue that will
need to be addressed in a more permanent fashion.
Landers was the last department head to address the council on
Saturday. After he had finished, Johnson broke the room into four
groups to go into the discussion on the four strategic goals. When
the group returned, they as a whole reviewed the suggestions of the
individual groups for adding new action items to the strategic
goals.
With the clock ticking past 5 p.m. Johnson quickly went through one
more topic. The topic came up as the council discussed being
involved in festivals and other events held in the city. Bauer at
that time posed the question, should the city be looking at holding
its own event, separate from what is already being done.
Johnson said he had decided to put the topic on hold, but seeing as
how it had just come up; he would go forward with discussing a new
idea for the city; "Third Fridays Downtown Lincoln." Before
discussing the idea, Johnson said he wanted to make it perfectly
clear that this was only a suggestion, and that if the city chose to
pursue it, there would be a lot to do before it could be
implemented.
In the final segment of this series, Third Fridays Downtown Lincoln
will be defined.
[Nila Smith]
Lincoln 2020
Strategic Plan 2.0
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