Lincoln aldermen table DJJ request pending further development of street plan

 

[November 17, 2021] 

Monday evening, the Lincoln City Council struggled with a decision on the vacating of the section of South State Street that cuts through property that will used for a new Juvenile Detention Center. There were two points that brought about uncertainty on whether or not to approve a motion relating to this topic. There was concern over the wording of the motion and what the council was actually saying if they approved. Another concern was that of the condition of West Kickapoo Street and how the road would be able to accommodate the change in the flow of traffic.

Mayor Tracy Welch read the agenda item. “Approval of design and re-alignment of State Street and College Street to accommodate the Department of Juvenile Justice Facility.”

The motion to approve was made by Kevin Bateman and seconded by Kathy Horn.

Welch began the discussion saying that he wanted to make a clarification of the motion. He said the motion pertained only to the vacating of South State Street and was not an approval of the overall project.

He opened the floor for questions. Steve Parrott asked what type of road the new South College would be. Bill Peyton was on the zoon call with the city and said that the road construction was yet to be determined but that it had been specified that the road would be built according to city qualifications.

Welch said that Bateman had questioned the width of West Kickapoo and should that street be made wider to accommodate turns for larger vehicles. Peyton said yes that was being discussed.

Sam Downs asked if there was potential for increased traffic on West Kickapoo. Welch said there was potential for increased traffic. He went on to say that what the city would be approving this night was not a final permission to close South State. He said that there would have to be additional votes before it was all finalized. City Attorney John Hoblit explained that the next steps would be to draft an ordinance for the vacation of South State. A Notice of Public Hearing would need to be published and the hearing held 15 days later. The community would have an opportunity to weigh in on the changes, then the council would be called to make the official decision. It was noted that basically the Monday night vote was only a show of support for the plan thus far. Downs said he would not be able to support a motion that did not include a plan for West Kickapoo.

Wanda Lee Rohlfs asked if the detention center project has already been fully approved. Peyton said yes it has been approved by the state. He expanded saying that his crew had conversed with city staff and had looked at a few different options on how to address transporting youth from the east side of the street to the west. In the end the DJJ representatives and city representatives had agreed that vacating South State was the best and safest plan. He added that even if the city does not approve this plan, the state will move forward with the development of the detention center.

Welch questioned the ownership of the property for the proposed new South College. Bateman answered the question saying that the state owned all the way to the far east side. He said that the state would build the road on their own property then turn the ownership of the road over to the city.

Rohlfs then asked if the people who live in the area have been consulted concerning the proposed change. Hoblit said that the people would have the opportunity to speak at a public hearing. He said again, the vote on Monday night was a support vote only that additional actions would need to be taken to finalize the deal.

Rick Hoefle said that in reading the motion, it says that the city “approves” the closure of South State Street, not “supports.” Hoefle said he doesn’t know anything about the real plan for building the roads. He knows that the change is going to “load up Kickapoo.” He said that the existing section of College Street is half the width of State Street and it is going to be a problem.

Hoblit said that if the DJJ thinks that they are going out on Tuesday and put up barricades and close South State, they would be wrong. There is still a process that must be followed. Welch said yes. The council was giving support to the proposed plan. Once that support is given, the DJJ can move forward with the design plan for the roads. That plan will then be brought back to the city for final approval of the actual vacation of South State and the extension of South College.

Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky said that the discussions about the street changes had taken into consideration traffic safety. He said the idea of linking the new road right to South Kickapoo had been discussed, but that intersection would become too dangerous if another intersection was made. He said the connection to South College was the best.

Dunovsky and Hoefle talked about how the fire department would access areas at the detention center or south of it. Dunovsky said that there were few city fire vehicles that could pass under the viaduct at South Kickapoo, so the route to emergencies south of the center would alter only in the fact that the trucks would come out on Fifth Street as they always do, go south on State as they always do, but then would have to turn back east on West Kickapoo and continue south on the new South College. He said time wise, it would add nothing to response times. He added the city does have one fire truck that will go under the viaduct, so response times for that vehicle would not be impacted at all.

Bateman said that he supports closing South State but, he wants to see the site plan include widening West Kickapoo Street. Bateman explained that folks who take advantage of the city’s landscape waste landfill use South State. They will in the future have to take South State to West Kickapoo to the new South College. He noted that a truck pulling a trailer cannot make the turn off of South State onto West Kickapoo without encroaching on someone’s property or crossing the lanes of traffic. He wants the DJJ to incorporate in their plan widening West Kickapoo using DJJ owned land, so as not to disturb the property of the seven homes on that street. Bateman added that he would feel better about the “support” of the project if the improvements to West Kickapoo were included in the motion. He suggested that the item be tabled until that the change was made.

Rohlfs said she agreed with Hoefle that the motion as written was misleading. She said the motion uses the word “design” and the city doesn’t have a design in front of them. Rohlfs said that if the city were to approve the motion what would be the actions of the DJJ. Hoblit said he would assume that with the confidence that the DJJ has the support of the city, it would move forward with design for the overall project that included the elimination of State Street through their property. Hoblit said he doubted that the DJJ would want to invest engineering funds in creating a design that the city was not going to support.

Welch asked Peyton to clarify what the “ask” of the DJJ was at this time. Peyton said that the ask was for the city to show its support of closing South State so that engineers can move forward with designing the precise plan for the detention center.

Downs said he wanted Peyton to know he supports the development of the detention center. His issue is the concerns about West Kickapoo Street. He agreed that the motion should be tabled for a better design.
 

Steve Parrott said that he would be in favor of amending the language to the current motion so that the city can approve it and allow the DJJ to move forward with their design work.

Bateman worded a proposed amendment to say that the city would support the requested changes by the DJJ, with the addition of improvements to West Kickapoo Street.

Hoefle said that he too supports the project, but his issue is the lack of a plan. He said he wants to see the design and that is what he wants to approve.

Hoblit said that regardless of the language of the motion and what the city approves at this meeting, this is not a done deal. He said nothing can be physically done to State Street or West Kickapoo until the public hearing is held and the ordinance is passed.

Welch said that the city has a proposal in front of them. It is the draft that the council saw at the Tuesday, November 9th Committee of the Whole. He said that design proposal was presented with the support of city department heads and the DJJ team. He said if the city asked the DJJ to tweak the current proposal was this something the city could approve or do they not like the plan at all? He said the DJJ needs to know if they are to move forward with this concept or scratch it all together and start over looking again at a tunnel or overhead walkway.

Rohlfs said again that the motion says the approval of a design, and the city has not seen the design. Hoefle said that what it comes down to is that the city wants a “better picture” of the replacement plan for the vacation of South State Street.

Downs said he didn’t want to throw out the proposal, he only wants to see the plan and see the changes the city has discussed.

Welch suggested that the city approve tabling the item.

Bateman tried once again to come up with an amended motion that would keep the DJJ moving forward.

Rohlfs said she could not vote yes to a motion for a “design” that she hasn’t seen. She again said she was concerned that the residents in the area have not been included in the consideration.
 

Welch said if the city tables the item, they should be considerate of the DJJ and not delay it more than two to four weeks. In that time he said aldermen could discuss the situation with constituents in the area if they wish and they can discuss it with each other. Rohlfs questioned if the council could discuss the topic with each other when the item is tabled? Welch said yes they could, but the council needs to be reminded of the rules under the Open Meetings Act. With eight aldermen on the council, no more than two aldermen can hold a private conversation on a city topic. He said that three members speaking privately constitutes a meeting.

Bateman made a motion for the item to be tabled and for DJJ to present a proposal for changes to West Kickapoo for the new motion to be made at a later date. Downs seconded the motion.

Street Superintendent Walt Landers was on the zoon call and said that there also needed to be an official traffic study including the types of vehicles using the streets.

Wes Woodhall had also done an unofficial traffic survey over a two-day period. He determined that the change in traffic flow would actually reduce the amount of traffic on West Kickapoo. Aldermen said that it was hard to understand how that could be so.

Woodhall was also on Zoom and explained what he had done. He said the reduction in traffic was the result of those that are currently coming south to north on State Street. He said the vehicles that come from the south now, turn right onto West Kickapoo, take that street to South Kickapoo and drive into town. With State Street closed, the traffic would come up the new College Street and would turn right just east of the intersection of West and South Kickapoo and then proceed uptown without actually driving on Wet Kickapoo. He said that the number of vehicles going on north on State Street where it intersects with West Kickapoo was small, as was the number of vehicles coming from the north to south on State.

After Woodhall’s report, there was a call for the vote to approve tabling the topic to a later date. That vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0 with Alderman Tony Zurkhammer being absent for the evening.

[Nila Smith]