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Dual Fifth Street Road news
The city approved an agreement
with the Illinois Department of Transportation to take over an
additional section of Fifth Street Road. The city actually accepted
IDOT's offer on Jan. 6, 2003. It was just the agreement portion that
was yet to be approved.
The city will receive $188,920
from the state in the transaction. That's the state's estimate for
25 years of upkeep. The city already takes care of the state's
portion of that road without compensation. The payment will go into
the motor fuel tax pool and can be spent on any city motor fuel tax
project, including the Fifth Street road project.
The reason for the transfer is
an ongoing plan by the state to get out of upkeep and management of
local roads.
The jurisdiction takeover
starts at the railroad tracks and goes seven-tenths of a mile west
toward Connolley Road. The city already owns from Lincoln Parkway to
the tracks, and the county picks up the remainder of the road to the
west.
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Mayor Davis also gave an update
on the Fifth Street Road project. The city and county applied for
the federal grant together and each is scheduled to receive
$400,000, for a total of $800,000. With the addition of a sewer line
and most of the city section becoming three lanes, the city's
portion of the road project would run upward of $4.2 million.
Mayor Davis said she learned
more about the funding coming through U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood's office.
The money can be kept earmarked for the project up to six years, and
more grant funds, as much as another $400,000, may become available
during that time.
The council voted unanimously
that they would accept the $400,000 committed to the project through
the congressman's office and follow through with the work when and
if the city has the funds to do it.
The county has offered to pay
for the initial engineering cost study for the section that includes
the city portion of the road. Both city and county see it as a vital
gateway for economic growth.
["Fifth
Street Road focus of Lincoln and Logan County infrastructure plans"]
Campus View Drive residents'
petition soaked
Once again flooding issues on
Campus View Drive that lead to septic woes for a couple of residents
failed to find resolution. The area receives drainage water off a
city-owned street that floods a couple of back yards, and according
to two homeowners, Kevin Bateman and Mike Robbins, the flooding
causes to their septic systems to back up into their homes. The
residents requested the city for compensation to make adjustments to
their septic systems that might remedy their ongoing septic
problems.
However, it was a general
consensus of the council in previous discussions that paying for
work on privately owned septic systems would open the city to
demands from every homeowner asking for their private property sewer
repairs.
The petition was denied.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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The city did look extensively
at other possibilities, including controlling the street runoff and
running the city sewer line out to the subdivision, as well as
researching the latest in subdivision sewer control: cluster
systems. All proved too costly to provide at this time. Alderman
Benny Huskins said he hoped something could be done for the people
out there in the future.
["Round
two of Campus View drainage problems"]
["City
looks for new solutions to old problems"]
Crumbling sewer line
The city will go out for bids
to repair a sewer line that is collapsing all along Pulaski Street
from downtown to Union Street. The line is a single-layer brick that
has recently had emergency repairs to portions of it.
City attorney Bill Bates saw
two reasons to take time for bids:
It does not fit the legal
definition of emergency, since the sewer line is still functioning
To replace the whole line is a
huge sum of money, at $286,000. Competitive bids might get the costs
down.
Wastewater treatment manager
Grant Eaton will get bids for the project, and the bids will be
opened before the council session on July 6.
Building permit fee waiver
requested
Rob Orr, director of the
Lincoln and Logan County Development Partnership, urged council
members to support a day-care center in its request to waive the
building permit fee. Orr said the site for His Precious Little Ones,
on North Kickapoo Street across from Budget Inn, is a great
location, and it will be an economic benefit to the community. In
addition the business will offer something that doesn't exist here:
first and second shift child care.
The council agreed to waive the
fee, which is estimated at $500-$700, dependent on the day care's
acceptance into the enterprise zone. The business will pay the fees
first and then get a refund.
Sewer substation upgrade
A bid of $71,786 by Petersburg
Plumbing and Heating Co. for the upgrade of the Kmart lift station
was accepted.
No sign
A request by Charles Banister
for a "Caution Children Playing" sign for the 1000 block of Decatur
Street was denied. Alderman Dave Armbrust said the city has
discussed signs like this in the past. "IDOT recommends not to do
this," he said.
The petition was denied.
Groundhog Day has passed
It
is believed that the groundhog explosion on Limit Street is now
over. Forty of the creatures were caught by wildlife professional
Les Wood, Alderman Jonie Tibbs reported.
[Jan
Youngquist] |
