City briefs: Futbol approved, sewer bill woes, street closure for video project and more

[November 03, 2009] 

Lincoln Futbol Club final score: 7-2 in favor

Nine aldermen were present for the Monday night voting session, with Alderwoman Kathy Horn being absent for the evening.

When a motion was made to allow the Lincoln FC use of the 27 acres located behind the Walmart Supercenter, the council approved with a vote of 7-2.

Alderwoman Joni Tibbs read the motion, which included specific guidelines for the terms and conditions of the lease.

The terms included:

1. Description of the permitted use of the land.

2. Provisions for termination of the lease if tenant fails to operate within a specific time frame.

3. The tenant will pay all utilities.

4. The tenant will comply with all drainage laws.

5. The right of either party to terminate the agreement with a mutually acceptable length of notice.

6. The tenant will carry liability insurance and name the city as additional insured.

7. Rent will be a minimum of $1 per year.

8. The length of the lease will be no longer than five years.

9. Other provisions deemed necessary and acceptable.

The motion also provided that the lease would be negotiated by city attorney Bill Bates, Mayor Keith Snyder and the board of the Lincoln FC.

Alderwoman Melody Anderson made the second.

When Snyder called for discussion, Alderman Buzz Busby said that he felt like the city should at least collect enough rent to cover the property tax on the land.

Because the land is not identified as being held for a governmental purpose, the city currently pays about $400 per year in property tax.

Bates said that he needed to investigate the matter, as he thought there should have been an exemption filed on the property.

Busby noted that the city also pays taxes on property near the sewage treatment plant.

When the motion came to a vote, it passed with seven in favor and two opposed. Those who voted "no" were Busby and Alderman David Armbrust.

Council hears from Ivan Crawford

Lincoln resident Ivan Crawford has written a letter to the city asking for some relief on his sewage bill.

In the letter Crawford said that when he established his home in Lincoln in 1967, his sewage bill was $16 every four months. It is currently $80 per four-month period, and he is finding it difficult to pay the bill.

He asked that the city reduce his bill to $49.53 per billing period so that he can afford to make the payment.

During discussion of the letter, Armbrust said: "We don't raise the sewer rate just to raise it. We are mandated by the state of Illinois that the sewerage department must be self-sufficient. In order to do that, this is the rate we have to charge."

Busby said: "To add to Mr. Armbrust's statement: A number of years ago the EPA came in and was going to shut the city down as far as growth was concerned. It was either that or update the sewer system, so we decided we had to update the system."

He continued: "When you have to come up with 6, 8, 10 or 15 million dollars, the rates have to go up. We didn't want to raise them this much, but the EPA said you have to make it this amount. We didn't have a choice; it was mandated by the EPA."

Snyder asked Busby, as chair of the sewer committee, to take the letter and follow up with Crawford.

Street closure approved by the mayor

Snyder said that he had received a request, too late to put on the agenda, for a street closure at the intersection of Clinton and McLean streets.

The media communications class and National Honor Society at Lincoln Community High School want to film an accident prevention video at this intersection between 9 and 11 a.m. Thursday.

Snyder said that the groups had received grant funds from State Farm Insurance to do the video, which could then be chosen to be part of a nationwide campaign about accident prevention.

In cases such as this, the mayor has the authority to approve the request without a council vote.

In this process, the mayor advises the council of the request and his intent to grant it. He asks if they object to his decision, and if not, he moves forward. In this case the mayor approved the request.

Committee of the whole meets prior to voting session

Snyder called a meeting of the committee of the whole Monday evening prior to the voting session to hear a presentation from J.F. "Chip" Rodgers of Buxton Co. This presentation was informational only.

Rodgers is senior vice president for the company's Community ID Division. He defined the company as being a retail site selection firm. The company also works with municipalities, helping them to understand what retailers should be in their area, what the opportunities are for their existing retailers and how to market their city to the retail world. The firm works with approximately 1,500 retailers and also 480 municipalities in 40 states.

The company uses data tracking to discover what local consumers are buying, based on credit card usage and other factors. Based on the information gathered, the firm identifies potential markets for an area and then plays matchmaker, so to speak, bringing retailers to the demand.

He said that if the city of Lincoln signs up with Buxton, the company becomes a lifelong partner with the city, continually following through on information gathered.

The initial cost to the city for Buxton's services would run about $55,000. There is also a refresher fee of $10,000. After the initial research, the refreshers would occur about every four to five years.

Rodgers said that the study for Lincoln would take 45 to 60 days and that the city would start seeing results in 18 to 24 months.

Petitions approved

A petition for a curb repair at 1633 Rutledge Drive was approved unanimously.

A second petition for repair of portions of the sidewalk on Sherman Street at Washington-Monroe School was also approved unanimously.

It was noted that this was going to be repair or replacement for only portions of the sidewalk and not the entire area.

[By NILA SMITH]