[January 26, 2018]      

On Thursday the sun was shining brightly and though temperatures were below 40 degrees, it felt "mild" for those who were venturing outside.

On Fifth Street there was a bustle of activity at the construction site of the soon to be Lincoln Police Department. Harold Goodman Excavating was working to take out some trees and clear the lot north of the building that will be a parking lot with a large garage when all is finished.

At the old Jefferson School building, where the department will be housed, workers were busy on the Sallyport on the north side that is a new addition to the building. For those who may not be familiar with the terminology, a Sallyport is a secure, garage-like building that is linked to the police department. It is used to assure public safety when criminal suspects are being brought into the station for questioning, or when being transferred to the Logan County Jail for incarceration.

This week the Lincoln City Council heard from Assistant Police Chief Matt Vlahovich that construction was well underway. Vlahovich talked about some change orders that needed to be implemented including one that was time sensitive. Because the changes were under $20,000, Mayor Seth Goodman can approve the changes without council's vote. Vlahovich asked for a nod of approval from the aldermen, and Goodman verbally authorized Vlahovich to move forward with the change order.

Vlahovich also explained that within the list of change orders, one was going to decrease the construction costs by more than $80,000, so in spite of the call for additional funding in one area, the decrease in another area meant that currently the construction project is under budget by about $70,000.

[Nila Smith/Karen Hargis]