 To say that Alderman Busby has been through a lot in the last couple
of years would be a definite understatement. But the man is like the
Energizer Bunny; he just keeps on going, always surprising the
council that in spite of some serious health issues he is still
dedicated to his work as a city alderman.
Mayor Keith Snyder said he'd had a chance to visit with Busby
this week, and Busby is hoping to return to the council for the
March 26 budget workshop.
Around the room, several commented they look forward to having
him back in his seat, and at the first budget workshop his emphatic
"NO" was greatly missed as department heads submitted their
requests.
Approval of second annual Lawnmower Run goes to consent agenda
Vienna Perdue appeared before the council seeking permission for
Lincoln's second annual Lawnmower Run on June 4.
Perdue said the event was a success last year, raising
approximately $1,000 in cash for the Lincoln/Logan County Food
Pantry.
Last year's event began at the back parking lot of the Lincoln
IGA and ended at Mr. Lucky'ss tavern on Chicago Street. The mower
drivers participated in a rolling parade through Lincoln, hoping to
collect food for the local pantry along the way.
Perdue said some food was collected, but the greatest
contribution came from the silent auction after the run.
Alderwoman Marty Neitzel said she spent time uptown last year
during the run and noticed that the rules the city had given them on
conducting a rolling parade were followed, which pleased her very
much.
In the end, the council agreed to add the Lawnmower Run to the
consent agenda for next week. Consent agenda items are those the
council can determine ahead of time that they want to approve with
no further discussion needed.
Enterprise zone revisions presented by D'Andrea
Will D'Andrea, Logan County zoning officer, appeared before the
council Tuesday night to once again discuss errors in the Logan
County Enterprise Zone documents.
When the enterprise zone began in Logan County in 1987, several
types of business and industry were afforded eligibility for
property tax abatements when moving into the county.
However, a rewrite of the zone ordinances in 2004 resulted in
narrowing the selection of businesses that were eligible. This was
an unintentional change on the part of the county and city, which
went unnoticed until D'Andrea took over as the enterprise zone
manager.
D'Andrea discovered that since 2004 several businesses have
benefited from enterprise zone incentives they were not actually
eligible for.
The city and county agreed the language should be put back into
the zone document.
D'Andrea has completed that work, and he brought it before the
council for their approval. He noted that as of now, the document
doesn't include any incentives for offices. He said the county had
been in favor of adding that to the list but had not done so,
because they felt the decision should be at the discretion of the
city.
In addition to this language change, D'Andrea said there were a
couple of other things that needed to be addressed.
He explained that there is a provision in the zone document for a
zoning management organization. The organization is supposed to
consist of the Logan County Board chairman plus one Logan County
representative appointed by the chairman, the Lincoln mayor plus an
additional representative appointed by the mayor, the president of
the village of Elkhart, and the Sangamon County Board chairman.
D'Andrea said no such organization has ever existed and he
wondered whether or not, after all this time, it was actually
needed. He's proposing taking that section of the code out
altogether.
In addition he said the language that defines what is included in
a tax abatement is confusing. He wants to rewrite those paragraphs
to make them easier to understand, without changing the actual
meaning of them.
In the enterprise zone, Logan County and the city of Lincoln are
the lead governing bodies, but there are others involved. The zone
currently includes Atlanta, Elkhart, Hartsburg and New Holland in
Logan County, as well as the counties of DeWitt and Sangamon. These
additional entities are generally expected to follow the lead of
Lincoln and Logan County, but they do have some say in how the
enterprise zone is maintained.
During discussion, city attorney Bill Bates said in regard to the
management organization that D'Andrea will be opening a can of
worms: first by telling these groups they have a greater voice, then
by taking it away.
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Bates also said that he has contacted Steven McClure of
Opportunity Alliance and spoken with him about this situation.
McClure, along with Andrew Hamilton, has throughout the history
of the enterprise zone been heavily involved in assisting with
creating new zone areas and preparing contracts.
Bates said McClure has agreed to assist D'Andrea in presenting
the problems and solutions to the other involved parties, free of
charge.
During discussion it was decided that before bringing McClure in,
D'Andrea, Bates and Mayor Keith Snyder will meet and review the
language in question, with Bates and Snyder offering assistance in
amending the rewrite to fit the city as well as the county.
City considers selling property they didn't know they owned
In November last year Mannie Gaston approached John Lebegue, city
building and safety officer, hoping to purchase a parcel of land he
believed the city owned on South Kickapoo Street.
At that time, it fell into question whether or not the city
actually did own the property. Tuesday evening Bates said that while
he's still not thoroughly convinced, it does appear the city owns
three lots on South Kickapoo, and Gaston is still interested in
purchasing them.
Bates said a city sewer Rubicon is on the corner of one section.
He advised the council they should not sell that corner of the
property, but if they wish to sell the rest, there are a few methods
they can use to do so.
The property can be sold by sealed bid, it could be sold at
public auction, or it could be sold directly to Gaston.
If the city chose to sell directly to Gaston, the property would
have to be surveyed and appraised. Gaston would then have to agree
to pay no less than 80 percent of the appraised value, and the
council would have to approve the sale by no less than a two-thirds
majority for the transaction to be completed.
There is a wrench in the works in that sometime this year the
city street and alley buildings located on Third Street are
scheduled for demolition. This is being done as a result of a soil
contamination study that found benzene and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons in the soil.
At this time, the city doesn't know where they will relocate that
department, according to Tracy Jackson, street superintendent.
Bates asked Jackson if this was a property that he might need in
the near future. Jackson said it depended on the actual size of the
lot, which at this time is unknown.
As the discussion concluded, it was decided that before dealing
with the Gaston request, the city needs to determine the size of the
lot and decide whether or not it can be used by the city.
City still considering downtown parking issues
City engineer Mark Mathon said he has gotten one map, from
Alderman Tom O'Donohue, suggesting what portions of the city should
be included in the two-hour parking limit.
This is the result of discussion a few weeks ago when aldermen
were asked to take a blank map and draw out their suggestions for
Mathon to review.
O'Donohue's map draws the two-hour parking zone into the
immediate area around the downtown square, adding a distance of only
one block in each direction off the square.
Alderwoman Melody Anderson said she had asked Andy Anderson about
the zone and that his suggestion, as one who serves to enforce the
parking laws, was similar to O'Donohue's but added two blocks along
Chicago Street from Clinton to Broadway.
As the group discussed it, Lincoln Police Chief Ken Greenslate
also noted that the block on Chicago that hosts the Depot and Amtrak
station should be included.
At this meeting, the council only reviewed what has been
submitted thus far. Formal discussions and decisions will be made at
a later date.
As the evening came to a close, the council entered into
executive session for the purpose of discussing issues of wages,
fringe benefits and collective bargaining. Council guests and media
were dismissed for the night.
[By NILA SMITH]
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