City briefs

[August 13, 2009] 

Knuth cost the city $8,000 in overtime

City Police Chief Stuart Erlenbush said that the city police department expended about $8,000 in overtime guarding Michael Knuth while he was a patient at a Springfield hospital.

He indicated that a bill can be submitted to the state's attorney if and when there is a disposition of the case.

Alderwoman Melody Anderson asked why a guard was necessary. Erlenbush said that at the time, Knuth had not been arrested, but he was a suspect in the attempted murder of a police officer, and it was important that Knuth not be able to walk out of the hospital. In addition, he said that the posted guards prevented Knuth from having any visitors.

Knuth was arrested and charged in Lincoln after he was released from the hospital.

Letter from Gavin Street constituents

Alderwoman Joni Tibbs asked the clerk to read a letter from 14 of her constituents in the vicinity of Gavin Street.

The letter addressed four properties that are not only eyesores, but potential health hazards, as the buildings are said to be harboring vermin and rodents.

The properties are located on Gavin and North and on First and College.

Tibbs said that Les Last, city zoning and safety officer, has sent out letters to no avail.

Mayor Keith Snyder said he had also received the letter from citizens and had shared it with Last. He asked Last to update the council.

Last said that part of the problem is that these are rental properties and the landlords continue to rent them out to "the same kind of people."

He also noted that one of the properties involved belongs to a person who is currently in the nursing home and that the city has been doing the mowing there for a couple of years.

Tibbs said she had seen that one of the houses has holes in the walls that have been repaired with cardboard.

The mayor asked Tibbs what she would recommend.

Tibbs answered, "I don't think it's my job to recommend, but what I would like to do is have them torn down immediately."

The mayor explained that this is an issue that is being addressed in a change in the ordinances that would put the burden on the homeowner to stop demolition.

He said that the revision in the ordinance that he is hoping for would start a clock, wherein the homeowner has so many days to clean up and thus save the property; otherwise, the city will demolish it.

Petition for two stop signs

A petition for two new stop signs at the corners of Williamette and Sheridan has been submitted by area residents.

Alderman Jeff Hoinacki said that he understood the petition to be for two signs but that Tibbs had indicated it should be a four-way stop.

Tracy Jackson, street and alley superintendent, indicated that there are stops within one to two blocks of the intersection on the east-west streets.

It was agreed that two signs might be placed on the street running north and south at the intersection.

There was an inquiry about the safety check that the city police department was to perform. Erlenbush said it was done while he was away.

Hoinacki said that he believed the check came back as having no safety concerns.

Tibbs, however, said that she had spent an hour with a homeowner at that intersection and saw firsthand the speeding going on.

She noted that 28 people signed the petition and that there were a lot of children living in that area.

The subject will be decided on by vote next week.

Fire department to replace retiring firefighter

Alderwoman Kathy Horn said that she wanted to vote next week on hiring one new firefighter.

Jeff Singleton will retire Sept. 1 and Assistant Chief Rick O'Hara will retire Sept. 15.

Alderman Buzz Busby questioned whether or not the city had hired replacement firefighters already, and fire Chief Kent Hulett responded that they had hired one, so they had been one up on staff, but come Sept. 15 they'll be one down.

Hulett wants to get a new firefighter hired in time that he can be sent to training at the University of Illinois in September.

Federal reimbursement arrives for firefighters

Sept. 3, 2008, four area firefighters, a fire truck, pickup and trailer were sent to Louisiana to assist during cleanup and recovery after Hurricane Gustav.

Hulett said that nearly a year later, the federal government has sent out a reimbursement in the amount of approximately $5,400 for the services provided.

The city and county's involvement was the result of a call to action by the governor and was part of the Illinois mutual aid program.

Those who went from this area were Assistant Chief Tom Martin and Darrin Coffey from the city of Lincoln and Assistant Chief Andy Dexter and Ryan Sheley from the Lincoln Rural Fire Department.

Easement for Castle Manor

City engineer Mark Mathon explained that Castle Manor has concluded most of their underground improvements to the sewer system. He said that a portion of that included work done in the parking lot area between the old Wal-Mart and Kroger.

Castle Manor wants the city to accept that portion of the improvements prior to everything else so they can wrap up their contracts.

Mathon said that the work has been inspected and meets city requirements.

Security grant application being tweaked

Erlenbush said that he has received the city's grant application back from the Department of Justice. It "needs a little tweaking" and will be resubmitted in the next couple days.

The chief said that he was also applying for a Justice Assistance Grant for in-car computers for the department. The grant, administered through the Illinois Department of Justice as part of the Federal American Recovery Act, allows recipients to purchase new security equipment such as radios, computers or even vehicles. The grant stipulates that it cannot be used for maintenance or repair of existing equipment.

City contest in conjunction with art and balloon fest

The mayor said that this year the city will have a contest in conjunction with the Lincoln Arts & Balloon Festival.

The contest will be a drawing for two grand prizes, one first prize, two second prizes and four third prizes.

The grand prizes will be a balloon ride at the festival, two admission wristbands, two art and balloon collector pins, and a festival T-shirt.

First prize will include $100 in "Art Bucks" to spend at the festival, two wristbands, two collector bins and a T-shirt.

Second prize is $50 in Art Bucks and everything else remains the same as the first prize.

The third prize will consist of wristbands, collector pins and T-shirt.

The drawing will be on Aug. 25 at 5:30 in City Hall. Winners need not be present at the drawing.

Entry boxes will be placed at City Hall, the Lincoln Public Library Annex and the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce office.

The contest is not open to city employees, elected officials, appointed officials or their families.

Safety concerns prompt changes in street closures

The mayor said that at a recent safety meeting the closure of certain streets for the art and balloon fest became a concern that had to be addressed with the chamber of commerce.

Originally the plan had been to close Kickapoo from Pekin to Clinton, and Broadway from McLean to Kickapoo.

At the safety meeting, the chiefs of police and fire both felt like closing Broadway would pose a hazard to the community, in that it would slow down response times for their respective departments.

Snyder said that a new plan has been developed in talking with the chamber.

Broadway will remain open, and Pulaski Street will be closed from McLean to Kickapoo.

Half of the intersection at Pekin will be closed. Cars will be able to turn right onto Pekin from the north. The street in front of the library will be open, but the west half of the block will be barricaded off.

Tibbs said that the closing around Pekin in particular sounds like the same setup as last year, and it seemed to work out well for everyone.

The council will vote on the changes at Monday night's meeting.

Sidewalk committee meeting

The sidewalk committee met Tuesday evening prior to the committee-of-the-whole meeting.

Committee chairman David Armbrust said that at the previous meeting he had asked for ideas and suggestions on how to handle the repair or replacement of brick sidewalks in the city.

He noted that to date, no one had responded to the request.

Armbrust suggested a program that would over time replace the brick sidewalks with concrete.

He said that his proposal would be for sidewalks that were a safety concern and not just for cosmetic purposes.

The plan includes an annual budget of up to $5,000, with the money going to replacing entire sections of sidewalk, not just providing patches in specific areas.

He noted that one of the issues is that one homeowner may petition for the patching and get it, while the homeowner next door has equally bad sidewalks but doesn't petition.

He said that to avoid stepping on the toes of those homeowners who wish to maintain their brick, the city would offer a reimbursement to them if they do their own replacement.

He stressed that the reimbursement would be prorated according to the cost of laying concrete.

Tibbs said that she was in favor of preserving historically significant sidewalks as long as they don't pose a danger to the public. She also stated that she was very much in favor of doing away with the patches.

Alderman David Wilmert thought that giving the homeowners the option to do their own brickwork was a good idea.

Anderson asked if the city had a stockpile of brick that they could provide to homeowners.

Jackson said that one problem is that there are several styles of brick throughout the city, so finding the right match might be an issue.

The street department does collect the brick that is still usable and generally gives it away to homeowners for patios and such.

Horn said that in her ward most of the folks do not want the brick, and doing away with it has been a problem in the past, but with this plan the concrete would be allowed.

Alderman Dave Armbrust said that the big thing is that this is not for cosmetic purposes. The brick sidewalk must be unsafe. He added that the homeowners need to clean up the sidewalk before it is inspected by the city.

Anderson reiterated that the cleaning of the sidewalk is not the city's responsibility, and Armbrust confirmed that.

Armbrust will work with Jackson to develop a policy for the street department. Once the plan is completed, they will bring it back to the council.

Roof nearing completion

Mathon said that all the slope and guttering work is done on the City Hall roof. He added that thus far there have been no unexpected repairs needed to the roof.

Weather permitting, work on the flat portion of the roof was set to start on Wednesday.

[By NILA SMITH]