Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman looks forward to 2018 with a positive attitude

[January 05, 2018] 

LINCOLN

January first for many Americans marks the turning of a leaf, a time to start a new chapter or at least a new page in history. For many that includes resolutions or promises, goals or visions for the coming year. In Lincoln, Mayor Seth Goodman is no exception. As he looks forward to completing his first year as mayor his vision for 2018 has a simple theme – team work and unity.

But even so, the task before the mayor is a large one, with many changes in the new year, the city of Lincoln aldermen and mayor have a lot on their plate in the months ahead.

To see what lies ahead, it is good to first look at what has past. Since being sworn in on May 1st 2017 Goodman has played a role in some big accomplishments for the city.

Though it was 90 percent complete when Goodman took office, he was the mayor who had the honor of snipping the ribbon on a new Municipal Services Building. The multi-million dollar project was paid for by a state mandate that Common Wealth Edison and Nicor Gas clean up the old gas/electric plant site on Third Street. That site housed the city’s street department buildings. The end result, the city received funding to build a new facility on Limit Street in Lincoln. What came out of the deal was a location that is larger, newer, and houses the offices for the Street Department and also the city’s Building and Safety Office.

The build was not without its challenges, including errors made by the engineering team that resulted in a couple of “do-overs.” Those errors, coupled with other issues has brought several Lincoln aldermen to question whether or not Farnsworth Group is the right engineering firm to represent the city. Discussions on how to address the need for a city engineer began before the end of the year, and will undoubtedly continue in 2018.

A big accomplishment for the city was the completion of the Lincoln Depot. Again this was a project where the lion’s share of the money to do a complete rehabilitation of the site did not come from city coffers. The Depot was purchased and renovated through the High Speed Rail Program, paid for by the Illinois Department of Transportation with federal funds.

Goodman hosted the grand opening of the Depot that included an open house well attended by the public. The day included a number of guest speakers from state representatives to representatives of Amtrak, the design engineers for the project and more.

But, the Depot, which is now city property, comes with new responsibilities for the city of Lincoln. The city will be responsible for upkeep of the property including the most mundane of details such as providing trash removal and janitorial services for the Amtrak waiting room located in the old baggage shed on the north end of the depot proper. The city will need to provide insurance (and at least until it is rented - utilities) for the property as well.

Then there is the issue of what to do with the city occupied portion of the property. The main building, which has been beautifully remodeled is the city’s do with as it sees fit. When the project was first announced several years ago, the consensus was that the Logan County Alliance and its collaborative organizations the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce and the Logan County Tourism Bureau would occupy the building. With the dissolution of the Alliance and the Chamber currently hanging in limbo, the Tourism Bureau is still very much interested in taking up at least a portion of the space. In 2018 Goodman and the aldermen of the city will need to decide the future of the property, including, who will occupy it.

Soon after the 2017 election, Goodman and the council dealt with the issue of mandating trash services in the city limits. This was a volatile topic with the council clearly split on how to proceed. In the end, a decision was made to designate Area Disposal as the exclusive service provider for all residents in Lincoln.

The process began in the second half of 2017 with a projection that the new program would begin January 1st. However, working out the finite details of a contract with Area Disposal proved to be a challenge for the mayor and aldermen. Therefore, the program has not yet officially begun. For Lincoln residents, this will be a change that requires them to adapt to a new way of doing things, something not everyone handles well. As the process unfolds, Goodman and Lincoln aldermen can look forward to hearing from constituents about their issues with this change.

In 2018, for the first time in several years, Goodman the city council, city department heads, city treasurer and clerk, will be on their own for building a budget for the coming fiscal year. On February 4th, 2013, the city welcomed its first city administrator. Sue McLaughlin took the position as a temp, coming to the city through GovTemps, an agency that specializes in providing temporary personnel to municipalities. That year, McLaughlin played a large role in preparing the city budget. Her successor Clay Johnson also took on that task during his term with the city.

In 2017, Johnson tendered his resignation to the city. Bob Mahrt was hired as a temp in September, but left in December to take a different temp job in Bloomington. Lincoln aldermen have voted to move forward with a search for a new administrator utilizing GovHR an offshoot of GovTemps, but the best case scenario is that a new administrator could be on board by mid-April, too late to assist with this year’s budget process.

Of the eight aldermen, there are only two, Jeff Hoinacki and Kathy Horn, who have gone through the budget building process, the old fashioned way, without assistance from a city administrator. Even so, Goodman is not intimidated by the prospect of building a budget for the city of Lincoln.

Goodman said he will be working with a group of competent leaders and is confident that the process will go well. He noted that in his departure, Johnson had left behind a good supply of information about the process. Goodman also noted that City Treasurer Chuck Conzo and City Clerk Peggy Bateman will be a great asset to the city in this process, along with the department heads, who have always played a huge role in determining their own department budgets.

Goodman commented, “With the aid of Mr. Conzo and Mrs. Bateman, and the department heads, the city council and I are preparing for the budget season to the best of our ability. I personally believe that we will be very much able to handle this thanks to the available information/re-sources/knowledge.”

In 2017, during the budget process, aldermen talked about their great dissatisfaction with the current Downtown Streetscape plan. Pulaski Street has been designed according to the plan, on the south side of the Logan County Courthouse Square. It did not meet the expectations of the council, the downtown businesses, or the Lincoln constituents. General consensus is that the bump outs are too large, are causing traffic issues and difficulties in turning onto and off of Pulaski Street at the Kickapoo and McLean intersections.

Goodman was asked if the city should address this in 2018. He noted that in 2017, the city took on some big projects, such as wrapping up on the Municipal Services facility and the Depot, and getting started on the new Lincoln Police Station. He said he felt that perhaps, that led to the downtown streetscape plan taking a back burner. However, he would like to revisit the topic soon.

Goodman said, “I hope that it resurfaces soon. However, with all of the larger projects that have been going on as of late, this topic seems to have been pushed to the back of the line. I have heard from a few council members who have expressed their thoughts on this previously at meetings, but should it resurface, it would be interesting and worthwhile to hear the thoughts of the others, and explore potential ideas moving forward.”

Another interesting turn of events in 2017 came when the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce suddenly closed its doors, noting financial difficulties that would make it impossible for them to continue operations in their current form. After several weeks with the offices closed, in late December, the Chamber hosted a meeting for its membership to discuss how the organization might be able to save itself.

The reorganization plan includes a leaner Chamber of Commerce with less staff, lower costs, and no community events dubbed as tourism activities by the chamber. This includes the elimination of the Lincoln Balloon Festival.

Talk began immediately as to who could or would take over and keep the Balloon Festival going. Monetarily, the Logan County Tourism Bureau Board does not feel that they can afford to take full responsibility for the balloon festival, though they might be willing to help if someone else were willing to take the lead.

Goodman was asked about the festival, should it be allowed to fade away or is there hope it could be revived. He is adamant that the festival could be revived, with the right people involved.

He said, “I absolutely believe that it could be revived.”

“I think a new committee could be formed with a love for our community and the event. I personally, as well as several other local pilots, have insight that could go a long way in redesigning the event to make it more practical.

"Having attended various other hot air balloon festivals across the state, I have seen how many have found success with little overhead and still had a wonderful time and outcome. To me, it is not about the funds or the grandeur of the event as much as it is simply making it a fun accessible event for all.

"If you build it, they will come. Sometimes greater success comes from starting over rather than flat out giving up. The balloon festival in my opinion is not a chapter we can afford to close here in Lincoln.”

Looking at other events from 2017 going into the new year, Goodman is excited that the Third Friday’s downtown will continue. He believes it is a great way to bring people to the downtown area, but it is also a great way to create ‘community’ within the city.

After taking office, the new mayor implemented a few other community recognitions; the Home of the Month, Hometown Heroes, and in November a Citizen of the Week project. Goodman is excited about these, and intends to keep bringing the people of the town to the forefront through similar recognitions.

He noted that the Home of the Month is on hold during the winter months, but will be revived in the spring.

In 2018 he hopes to also start recognizing the value of our youth in the community, saying, “I would like to spotlight students more to help empower them and show the good they are doing in our community, even at a young age.” He added, “So many efforts in this community, in my opinion, go unnoticed.” Something the mayor wants to change in 2018.

Asked if he has a vision of goal for the city of Lincoln in 2018, Goodman said he most certainly does. His vision is not about achieving material wealth or grandeur with big building projects and lots of dollars. His vision is about creating a better, closer community.

“I want to unite the city as much possible. To find pride in what has already been established and hope for a prosperous future. Yes, we are a small city, but we can truly thrive. However, that will stem from a unity among our people. We must all work together, not against one another, if we want to succeed in a world that now-a-days seems so full of negativity.”

Goodman went on to say, “In highlighting our people, many of which hide from the spotlight but deserve recognition, our businesses, our homes, and more, we as a city can be seen in a positive light. To many this may be a small thing, but empowering the local population oftentimes leads to productive citizens which in turn, in my opinion, will lead to a thriving city.”

Finally, Goodman was asked if he has a message to the people for 2018, and he does, a very simple one, “Think positive.”

“Even with the negativity and losses that our community has seen this past year, we have great people, great businesses, and a great location. We are all here for a reason, why not work together rather than against one another to build our city up. Also, bring your ideas to the forefront, no idea is impossible with the right work and backing. I am for Lincoln, always have been, and always will be. Help us (city leaders) help all of you. This is a team effort. Let’s see our City succeed and thrive in 2018!”

[Nila Smith]