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With careful timing, the streets will
get their resurfacing before the city celebrates its
sesquicentennial with a 10-day-long 150th birthday party, from Aug.
21 to 31, 2003.
At Monday night’s regular meeting, the
council voted to authorize the project, using Federal Aid-Urban
funds to resurface three streets around the square and beyond.
Streets that qualify for the 80/20 funding are Broadway from
Hamilton to Union, Pulaski from Hamilton to Logan, and Kickapoo from
Broadway to Clinton.
To qualify, the streets must be rated
collectors or higher by the Illinois Department of Highways, a
designation based on traffic flow. The fourth street on the
courthouse square, McLean from Broadway to Pulaski, doesn’t qualify
as a collector but will be resurfaced with city funds, according to
Mark Mathon, city engineer.
The FAU program sets aside money each
year for specific projects for cities, counties and townships.
Lincoln currently has a balance of almost $600,000 in the fund,
enough to finance the current project. The FAU funds are not held by
the city, and the city does not collect any interest on the money.
The fund is used only to pay for work that meets very specific
guidelines.
The city must pay 20 percent of the
cost of the total project, estimated at about $132,000, to qualify
for $528,000 from the FAU funds. The city will begin paying its
costs by allocating about $60,000 for engineering costs, to be paid
from the general obligation bond funds. Funds from the GO bonds have
been allocated to use for upgrading the city’s infrastructure.
Mathon told the council last week it is
necessary to move quickly to get the street resurfacing project
under way because of state deadlines. Plans must be in to IDOT by
mid-March, he said, and work will probably not start until late June
or early July.
Alderman Benny Huskins asked if the
city would save money on the project if it had a certified engineer
on staff. Mathon does not yet have that qualification. However,
according to Grant Eaton, sewer plant manager, even when the city
did have a certified engineer it still used an outside engineer for
Illinois Department of Transportation projects.
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Mathon said IDOT "programs money to be
spent for engineering" on such projects, which can be very
time-consuming. He said it is also good to have a consulting
engineer who regularly deals with IDOT and is familiar with its
requirements.
In other business, the council formally
approved the 2002-2003 tax levy ordinance, totaling $1,414,643. Of
that amount, $1,241,873 is for the general fund and $172,770 for the
general obligation bond fund.
Alderman Verl Prather, chair of the
finance committee, told the council he received a letter from
assistant chiefs in the fire and police departments asking for a
meeting with the finance committee about salary increases. Because
of the budget crunch the city is facing, salaries of department
heads have been frozen. Prather said he would contact the assistant
chiefs after the first of the year.
Mayor Beth Davis reported that a
$10,000 state grant to restore the Lincoln Well on Fifth Street has
been approved and the money will be released shortly. She also said
approval of the city’s request for $150,000 from the Department of
Commerce and Community Affairs and a $500,000 grant for the proposed
industrial park is still on hold.
Davis appointed council member Mary
Neitzel to be vice-chairman of the sidewalks, forestry, and lighting
committee, replacing Steve Fuhrer, who is also vice chairman of the
grounds, buildings and local improvements committee as well as
chairman of the ordinance and zoning committee.
The council
voted to change the Dec. 24 committee-of-the-whole meeting to 6:30
p.m. on Jan. 6, prior to the regular voting meeting, and to pay city
employees early.
[Joan Crabb]
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