 Awards
were handed out to the winners of the Arbor Day coloring
contest; a resolution was passed and presented regarding National
Historic Preservation Month; Andi Hake, executive director of the
chamber, discussed what is going on in her office right now; and
Lynn Laughlin, special assistant to the president of Lincoln
Christian University, asked to speak to the council about a request
for road maintenance on Campus View Drive.
Council votes no on Campus View Drive request
When Laughlin was called on to speak to the council, Mayor Keith
Snyder said that he needed to excuse himself from the room. Because
Campus View Drive is a private street belonging to Lincoln Christian
University, which employs Snyder, his involvement in the discussion
would be a conflict of interest. He asked Alderman Buzz Busby to
take his seat as mayor pro tem.
The university is asking that the city provide equipment and
manpower while they provide materials for patching and resurfacing
on Campus View Drive.
When Laughlin took the floor, he began by saying that he
understood that the city of Lincoln is facing a tough financial
year. He said LCU also had a tough budget this year, which is why
they had sent the letter to the city, in the hopes of working out a
resolution that would work for everyone.
He said the residents along Campus View are not LCU employees as
they have been in the past, and they do pay taxes to the city.
Laughlin said he was concerned about the consistency of the
city's policies regarding private drives, as it was his
understanding that there are private drives in town that have been
maintained by the city.
He added that if the city couldn't obligate themselves to
something right now, he would ask that they at least maintain a
dialogue with the university, and hopefully at some point in the
future they will be able to work out some kind of agreement.
Alderman Tom O'Donohue asked if Laughlin could name the private
drives that the city has maintained in the past, and Laughlin said
Meadow Lane and Hoaglin Drive.
O'Donohue asked if anyone knew how recently those drives had been
serviced by the city, and no one was able to clearly answer that
question as Tracy Jackson, city street and alley superintendent, had
left the meeting early for another obligation.
Alderman David Armbrust said that before the council could
officially discuss the issue, he needed to make a motion. He did so,
moving to deny the university's request.
During discussion Alderwoman Melody Anderson said that she didn't
have a problem with helping LCU in particular; it was simply a
matter of money and manpower. She went on to say that if the
residents along Hoaglin or Meadow Lane came before the council, she
didn't feel that the city could help them this year either.
O'Donohue said he agreed that the city could not afford to do
anything at this time, but he was also concerned about the question
of consistency in policy.
"If we are doing this for other places in Lincoln, we need to
make sure we are doing it constantly or not doing it at all," he
commented.
Alderwoman Kathy Horn said that keeping an open dialogue is
important and that the university should come back again rather than
let it go and allow it to be forgotten.
Anderson advised Laughlin that it would be good for the
university to submit their request when the council is working on
the annual budget. She said it would be good for them to come back
next year in March.
Nine aldermen were present for the evening, with Alderwoman Stacy
Bacon being absent. When the issue of the city becoming involved in
the work came to a vote, the council agreed 9-0 to deny the petition
at this time.
Is it in the budget?
Newly appointed to the Ward 4 alderman position, O'Donohue told
the council that this will always be his first question: Is it in
the budget?
On Monday evening he said that he had listened to the report from
Les Plotner, city treasurer, who had told the council to be cautious
in their spending this year and not to count on the state of
Illinois to make payments to the city on time.
O'Donohue said that Plotner had stated it very well and that the
council needed to take heed.
He concluded that as the year progresses, it may reach a point
where approving petitions and requests is not in the budget.
Alderman Jeff Hoinacki said that in prior years, especially in
regard to sidewalks, there have been times when the city has run out
of money, so it is a valid point.
Alderman David Armbrust said that the council and city had to
consider the safety issues, and if it came to that point, they would
give up a sidewalk to pay for a sign.
On this particular evening the question was posed three times by
the new alderman when the council acted on signage requests.
In the end, a request was granted for a three-way stop at the "T"
intersection of Pekin and Beason streets; a resolution was passed
regarding a four-way stop at the intersection of Frorer and
Sheridan; and the council agreed to an Americans with Disabilities
Act-compliant handicap parking space on Pekin Street at the corner
of Chicago Street.
All the votes were unanimous except the request for the ADA
parking.
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 ADA parking space approved
The Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society had originally
requested that there be a handicap parking space designated in the
middle of the block where their building is located, at 114 N.
Chicago St.
However, the city does not often authorize cuts in the sidewalk
in the middle of a block; plus, other problems presented themselves,
in that the sidewalk on that block is raised several inches higher
than in other parts of town, and the parking along that street is
parallel, which brought up a question of whether or not there would
be enough room for an ADA-compliant space.
The society request was then amended to adding handicap spaces at
the corner of Broadway and Chicago and also at the corner of Pekin
and Chicago.
When Armbrust made the motion to approve the petition, he amended
it once again to delete the space on Broadway.
During discussion, Wilmert asked if this really addressed what
the society had requested, and Armbrust explained that it was the
only option. Hoinacki concluded that it was really a compromise to
the original request.
Wilmert noted that there were handicap parking places in the
area, including one on Broadway near the State Bank of Lincoln and
one at the Amtrak depot across the street.
Wilmert said he didn't know if the traffic to the society really
warranted an additional parking space. He said that as they voted,
the council needed to consider that they were taking away one more
parking space for the general public.
When it came to a vote, eight voted yes, with Wilmert voting no.
Other business
A resolution regarding the coming year's expenditures of motor
fuel tax funds was approved by unanimous vote. The motor fuel tax
fund pays for city street improvements and repairs that meet the
criteria set by the Illinois Department of Transportation. This year
the total sum coming from the motor fuel tax will be approximately
$760,000.
A correction to the annual budget was explained by Anderson, who
chairs the finance committee.
When passed on May 3, the total budget for the year came to
$15,152,664. Anderson said that there had been a simple addition
error that had no effect on any line or department, but that the
correct figure was $14,849,579.
In addition, she had found that in the budget given to the city
leaders on May 3 there were a couple of pages that were not correct.
She said that it was a matter of old pages copied instead of new
ones.
Those were changed out and the council received corrected
versions of the budget. Again she said that the erroneous switch had
no effect on the end totals.
Mayor assigns new committees
At the end of the meeting, the mayor handed out new committee
assignments to all the council.
The committee members for the coming year will be as follows:
-
Finance and
Policies and Procedures:
Chair: Melody Anderson
Vice chair: Kathy Horn
Members: Marty Neitzel, Joni Tibbs, Buzz Busby
-
Fire, Water and
ESDA:
Chair: Kathy Horn
Vice chair: Buzz Busby
Members: Melody Anderson, David Armbrust, Stacy Bacon
-
Buildings and
Grounds:
Chair: Joni Tibbs
Vice chair: David Wilmert
Members: David Armbrust, Buzz Busby, Kathy Horn
-
Insurance:
Chair: Stacy Bacon
Vice chair: Tom O'Donohue
Members: David Wilmert, Kathy Horn, Melody Anderson
-
Ordinance and
Zoning:
Chair: Tom O'Donohue
Vice chair: Jeff Hoinacki
Members: Joni Tibbs, Melody Anderson, Marty Neitzel
-
Police:
Chair: Jeff Hoinacki
Vice chair: Joni Tibbs
Members: Kathy Horn, Marty Neitzel, Tom O'Donohue
-
Sanitation:
Chair: David Wilmert
Vice chair: David Armbrust
Members: Buzz Busby, Jeff Hoinacki, Joni Tibbs
-
Sewerage Treatment
Plant:
Chair: Buzz Busby
Vice chair: Marty Neitzel
Members: Jeff Hoinacki, Stacy Bacon, David Armbrust
-
Streets and
Alleys:
Chair: Marty Neitzel
Vice chair: Stacy Bacon
Members: Tom O'Donohue, David Wilmert, Jeff Hoinacki
-
Sidewalks, Forestry, and Lighting:
Chair: David Armbrust
Vice chair: Melody Anderson
Members: Stacy Bacon, Tom O'Donohue, David Wilmert
[By NILA SMITH]
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