District
27 sets referendum
for construction funds
![](../../images/083100pics/centralschool-old.jpg) [AUG.
31, 2000] Lincoln
Elementary School District 27 will put a referendum on the ballot Nov.
7 asking district voters to authorize the sale of $4.1 million in
bonds to cover the district’s share of the construction of two new
schools: a new elementary school to replace the present Central
School and a new junior high school. If the referendum passes, the
rest of the cost of the $12,400,000 construction project — $8,318,181 —
will be paid by a grant from the Illinois Capital Development Board.
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The
school board voted last spring to build new schools rather than try to
renovate the two present buildings.
At a
special meeting Wednesday evening, the board heard a presentation from
Kevin Heid, representative of the investment banking firm First
Midstate of Bloomington, which will handle the issuance of the bonds.
The board then voted 6-1 to authorize the referendum, with Leta
Harrington casting the only "no" vote.
The plan
chosen by the board will keep the tax levy at its present level, 47.43
cents per $100 of assessed valuation, by borrowing money from the
district’s own working cash fund to help abate the levy for the
current outstanding bonds. Heid presented several other plans to the
board but pointed out this plan will save the district about $33,000
in interest. The $4.1 million bond issue will be repaid in 18 years,
using revenue from the district’s bond and interest fund. Interest
on the bonds, estimated at 6.5 percent, will total $3,060,460.
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"Taxpayers
will not see a difference in the tax rate," said District 27
Superintendent Robert Kidd.
Most
school districts keep a working cash fund, which can be used for
interfund loans when needed and save the district from paying interest
on bank loans, Kidd said. He said the district has never had any
problem selling bonds. The school district will invest the $4.1
million until it is needed, and interest on the investment will be
used for the building project.
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The
$8,318,181 from the Capital Development Board (CDB) comes as a result
of a special program approved by the state legislature to help
communities build new schools. Kidd pointed out that next year will be
the last year a school district can apply for these school
construction grants unless the legislature renews the law. However, a
school district must pass a referendum approving payment of the local
share of the costs before receiving the state funds.
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Kidd
told the Lincoln Daily News that the estimate of $11,324,757 given by the CDB
for building the
two new schools is not a realistic
figure, according the district’s architect, Dave Leonatti of
Springfield. The CDB bases its estimate on a specified number of
dollars per square foot, and Leonatti believes the cost of
constructing the new schools in Lincoln will be closer to $12,400,000.
Leonatti does not think the state’s allowance would permit the
school to construct the quality of building it wants, and said there
may also be additional costs of site preparation because of the type
of soils in the Lincoln area.
If the
referendum passes, the project will go into the actual design phase,
Kidd said. "Right now we have just a footprint. Teachers haven’t
had anything to say about what they want in the new buildings. The
architect will talk to the teachers and then come up with a floor
plan."
For
Central School, which some residents believe should be preserved, Kidd
said the architect will be asked to design a building that fits into
the neighborhood. "It will not be a space-age building," he
said.
The next
step in the building project would be to construct a replacement for
Central School on the Seventh Street side of the present site.
Construction would probably begin in the summer of 2001, with a
timetable of 18 months to two years.
When
that phase is finished, Central School students would be moved into
the new building, while Lincoln Junior High students would move to
Central. The present junior high school would come down and a new one
built on the same site. The last phase of the construction would be
taking down Central School. The whole project would take about four
years, Kidd said.
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When all
construction is completed, students in grades six through eight would
all go to the new junior high school, and all elementary schools in
the district would be kindergarten through fifth grade.
Kidd said he anticipates
some opposition to the bond issue from the Save Our Schools group,
which has advocated the renovation of both Central and Lincoln Junior
High School. "The group said they will oppose the referendum, and
I know they are organizing to do that," he said.
[Joan
Crabb]
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Youth
violence prevention
for a safer community
[AUG.
31, 2000] Once
again Lincoln has something to be proud of about our community. The
efforts of the Lincoln Police Department have brought in a $25,500
grant that will enable them to continue their Violence Prevention
Program.
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It is
with vision the Lincoln Police Department proactively reaches out to
our youth using many different programs and avenues. Through the
efforts of Officer Rich Montcalm and the support of Chief Richard
Ludolph, the "Youth Violence Prevention for a Safer
Community" program was established and will continue. Officer
Montcalm solicits the funding, organizes and implements the program.
This is the third year that Lincoln has received funds. When the
program began in July 1998, Lincoln received $15,000; in July 1999 the
amount was $14,800.
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The program primarily
centers around going into the schools and educating youth in violence
prevention. It seeks to provide instruction for students in primary
grades about violence prevention. It has been focused on working with
kindergarten through third grade students during at-school and
after-school programs.
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This
year, Officer Montcalm says, "We will expand our program to the
fourth grade students to increase the importance of cooperation."
The program will provide multiple interactions with the police.
"Teachers,
YMCA and the local Youth Speak Out have recognized that such programs
are greatly affecting the children in a positive manner to prevent
violence," Montcalm says. He believes that the program will
greatly reduce the chance of the participants becoming involved in
acts of violence, and therefore greatly benefit the community of
Lincoln and the surrounding area.
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The department also received
a copy of the tape that was made for the program this past spring.
Lincoln Police Department and several other Illinois police
departments are featured in the tape, which teaches youth the
principles of violence prevention. The tape is being given by the
state of Illinois to the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. to
be distributed nationwide to other police and law enforcement agencies
to use in their communities.
[LDN]
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Council
hears opinions
for, against rezoning
[AUG.
30, 2000] The
Lincoln City Council heard arguments at the Tuesday evening work
session both for and against rezoning the property at 404-416 Woodlawn
Road, east of the Kroger store, to allow the construction of an auto
parts business. The Plan Commission has already rejected the petition
for rezoning the properties from R-2 residential to C-1 commercial,
but the final decision will be up to the council.
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The
property, owned by Don and Marilyn Buelter, consists of a garage-type
building used for storage and a house that has been damaged by fire.
The proposed use is a 6,080-square-foot auto parts store with 27
parking spaces. The developer of the property has asked that his
identity remain confidential.
Gary
Johnston, who lives on the corner of Woodlawn and Palmer, asked the
council not to rezone the property because of safety hazards. He said
he had no information on the number of accidents at that site but
called the traffic "horrendous."
"School
children come down Elm Street," he told the council. He suggested
that council members "sit there from 4 to 6 p.m." and then
decide how important the safety issue is.
Julian
Johnson, who lives across the street from the proposed development,
said he was also against changing the zoning, because of traffic
congestion. "Traffic on Woodlawn is terrific, and a new store
would make it worse."
He noted
that the shrubbery was untrimmed and the condition of the site was
"the worst I’ve ever seen it."
Frances
Kendrick, who lives across the street and said she had just celebrated
her 85th birthday, also asked the council not to change the zoning,
because of the traffic.
Marilyn
Buelter, who with her husband, Don, owns the property, said the
prospective developer came to her and "didn’t ask for a tax
abatement or an enterprise zone." She said the developer is
interested in the property because of the high volume of cars going by
on the combined state routes 10 and 121.
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Realtor
Dan Bock spoke of "internal growth, new uses for older
properties," and said that with the zoning changes, the city
would receive about $16,000 more in taxes. He
said statistics show 17,800 vehicles pass the site each day.
Alderman
Benny Huskins said he believed the council should take the
recommendation of the Plan Commission and reject the zoning request.
City Attorney Jonathan Wright pointed out that the council would need
a two-thirds vote, that of seven members, to rezone against the Plan
Commission’s recommendation.
Huskins
also said he thought it was "only fair to know who is going to be
building there." Bock replied that the developer had asked for
confidentiality. Mayor Joan Ritter said that in her meeting with the
developer, he had stipulated that he would build an auto parts store.
Alderman
Patrick Madigan said he believed the opinion of the current residents
was important. "I live one and one-half blocks from the area. I
would like the council to give some thought to the safety factors and
the people in the area."
In other
business, the council discussed postponing the proposed road
improvement on Wyatt Avenue until the school year is over, because of
the traffic problems that would result.
The
council also heard an opinion from City Attorney Wright that there is
no conflict of interest for Alderman Steve Fuhrer in voting on a
liquor license ordinance. A letter from Lester C. Van Bibber III, of
Citizens for Justice, Inc., requested that Fuhrer not discuss or vote
on liquor license issues because his wife is owner of the Blue Dog
Inn, which has a city liquor license.
Wright pointed out that
Fuhrer is not an owner of the establishment and "the simple fact
of marriage" to the owner does not constitute a conflict of
interest.
[Joan
Crabb]
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Birds
bring problems
to Mayfair residents
[AUG.
30, 2000] Although
many people try to attract birds to their yards, some residents of
Mayfair are trying to do just the opposite — find a way to get rid of them. This
group would like to have a city ordinance revised so they can legally
use a noise-making device called a "bird-banger" to chase
away large flocks of grackles and starlings that roost in their trees.
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The
birds, which come in flocks of hundreds, even thousands, according to
the Mayfair residents, are not only a nuisance but a health hazard.
Patricia Birk of 160 Eaton Drive told the Lincoln City Council at its
work session Tuesday evening that she fears her husband, who is being
treated for a severe pulmonary condition, may become infected with
histoplasmosis, a viral lung disease sometimes spread by birds.
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She
introduced Brendon Bacon, a Lincoln boy who has recently had the
disease, and his mother, Stacey, who also addressed the council.
Brendon does not reside in Mayfair but visits grandparents who live
there.
Birk
also spoke about the nuisance caused by the roosting flocks.
"Three years ago my back yard was so bad I couldn’t take a step
without walking on bird droppings and feathers." To frighten the
birds away, she said, "I stood outside for hours banging
two-by-fours together."
She said
bird droppings had ruined the paint on cars parked in the streets, and
the odor was so pervasive people could not sit outside.
Several sources, including
the Illinois Department of Public Health, recommended the use of the
bird-banger, a pistol-like device which shoots a cartridge into a tree
full of roosting birds. The cartridge does not kill or injure the
birds, but frightens them by exploding with a loud noise, Birk
explained.
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The
noise, however, has brought complaints from nearby residents who say
it disturbs them and their pets. After responding to these complaints,
Police Chief Richard Ludolph told the Mayfair residents that the
device violated the city noise ordinance and suggested they talk to
their aldermen, Joseph Stone and Michael Montcalm.
The
officers who came out as a result of the complaints were "very
professional," Birk added.
"We
just want you to let us use the effective means we have," Birk
told the council. "If you want to make us get permits, that’s
fine." She presented the council a petition with the signatures
of 86 Mayfair residents and a note from her husband’s pulmonary
specialist.
Chief
Ludolph said he has visited the Mayfair area and agrees the residents
have a legitimate problem with the roosting birds. However, he also
noted that the bird-bangers are very loud, and shooting 10 or 15 of
the devices could be disturbing to people and pets.
"It
is a difficult problem," he told the council. One solution might
be assigning specific times when it would be legal to use the devices.
Alderman
Montcalm said he believed the health issue should outweigh the noise
problem and asked that the ordinance be amended quickly so the council
could vote on it at the next meeting Sept. 5. The committee agreed to
meet at 6 p.m. on Sept. 5, before the regular board meeting, to
discuss the ordinance change.
"I’d like to see it
moved on quickly," Alderman Stone said. "The birds are there
now."
[Joan
Crabb]
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