 BlueStar returns to field questions Michael Maniscalco of
the Lincoln & Logan County Development Partnership and George
Voorhees of BlueStar Energy Solutions were in attendance at the
Monday evening meeting.
Mayor Keith Snyder told the council the two were there to answer
any questions that may have come up since last Tuesday night's
introduction of an alternative utility source for the citizens of
Lincoln.
Alderwoman Marty Nietzel asked Voorhees to once again explain how
this would work for the citizens. She asked if their involvement
with a new utility company would be similar to their agreements with
Comcast.
Her point was that the city of Lincoln has chosen Comcast as the
provider of cable services for the city. While residents can use
other means of obtaining television transmissions, such as dishes,
if they want cable, they have to go with Comcast.
Voorhees said it was very similar. The bottom line is that
residents will be given an opportunity to make a choice. They can
choose to stay with Ameren Illinois for their electric service, or
they can choose to go with the second provider, which will be chosen
by the city.
City attorney Bill Bates said BlueStar had sent him a contract
for their services. He has reviewed it once and does have a few
issues with the contract, but not as many as he had expected.
He said his real concern for the city would be in the agreement
it would have to sign with the actual utility provider. Bates said
he wanted to review that contract carefully, as he could well
imagine there would be many issues with it.
Voorhees said he could get Bates copies of what he needed, but
the agreement the city will enter into with an energy provider is
not truly a service agreement. He said what the city will be signing
is really only going to allow citizens of Lincoln to enter into
their own agreements with an alternative provider. He said the real
service contract will still be between the consumer and the
provider.
Voorhees said, "What you are doing is building in an option for
your citizens."
He also reminded the council that because Ameren uses multiple
rates, some homes may benefit a great deal from a change, and others
may not benefit at all. He said small homes with limited usage will
see the greatest benefit, while larger homes with larger consumption
may not see all that much difference.
Water shut-offs to be a reality soon
By unanimous vote, the council agreed to amend the city code
language so that the city has the authority to order Illinois
American to shut off water service to homes in the city with unpaid
balances on their sewage bills.
Alderman Buzz Busby said he wanted to get started on this as
quickly as possible, as the total amount in arrears in the sewer
department continues to grow. He noted that as of this month, the
city has $293,747 in uncollected sewer bills.
City approves concept plan for new parking lot
By unanimous vote the council approved a concept plan for
expanding the parking next door to the Lincoln Public Library. The
plan calls for turning the green space at the corner of Pekin and
Kickapoo streets into additional parking for the city.
The city has funding for downtown improvements through the
state's capital plan. In order to receive the funding, city engineer
Mark Mathon will need to submit the concept plan to the state. Once
it is accepted, then the city will be on the list of distributions
to be made out of capital plan funding.
During discussion, Alderman David Wilmert asked if the concept
plan was the final plan and was told it didn't have to be. The
concept plan will give the state a close idea of what will be done
with the money, but the city will still be able to change the
overall design of the lot if needed.
Treasurer delivers annual report for fiscal year ending April 30,
2011
Chuck Conzo, city treasurer, delivered copies of a summary report
of the financial state of the city for the year ending April 30,
2011.
He spoke briefly on the report, saying some of the notable points
included the increase in building permit fees, as well as increased
income from violations and court fines. He attributed these
increases to the building and safety officer, saying that John
Lebegue has done a great job of cracking down on violators.
Another noteworthy item in the revenues was the fact that parking
violation fines have increased substantially. Snyder said this was
due to the hard work of the volunteer parking monitors and the
police department.
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Conzo concluded that in the areas where the city can control the
revenue, such as those mentioned, the city is doing a very good
job.
He also noted that in the area of interest earned, revenues
remain on a downside. He noted the problem is not unique to the
city; everyone is suffering from lower earnings on interest and
investments.
Click here for a PDF copy of the treasurer's report.
(Click here for a copy on a Web
page.)
EMC prepares to hire new waste treatment manager
On the agenda, was a motion to send a letter to Environmental
Management, the company that provides services to the city for the
sewer department, reminding them they were out of compliance with
their contract because the city has no waste treatment manager.
However, Busby said he wanted to remove the motion from the
agenda because EMC is very near to selecting a new manager for the
city sewer department.
David Kitzmiller of EMC told the council they have a candidate
with 27 years of experience who is retired from the Rockford
plant. The candidate has been interviewed by a variety of EMC
officials, including Kitzmiller, and it is expected that a formal
announcement will be made soon.
Council approves the hire of one part-time worker for the clerk's
office
The council approved by unanimous vote the hiring of a part-time
staff member for the city clerk's office. Denise Martinek, city
clerk, said the person hired will fill in for Doris Anderson, who is
currently off work due to the serious illness of her husband.
Alderman Tom O'Donohue asked what the new hire's responsibilities
would be and was told her main responsibility would be on the sewage
billing. Martinek said a person has been hired and is currently in
training.
42 apply for city administrator position
O'Donohue presented a motion to approve a letter of engagement
with Dave Anderson of the Range Riders. Anderson will assist the
city administrator selection committee in screening applicants for
the position.
According to O'Donohue, the deadline has passed for applications,
and the city has heard from 42 candidates.
City tables request for support from EMA
Snyder told the council that Dan Fulscher of the Logan County
Emergency Management Agency is asking them to sign a letter of
support for a 911 surcharge to be placed on cellphones.
This is not a local surcharge and will have to be passed by state
legislators.
In discussing this, several questions came up. Wilmert said he'd
heard from a constituent who felt there was going to be some
doubling up of charges because of this. Wilmert said there are still
those out there who have landlines, and the surcharge is paid
through their phone bill. If they also have cellphones, then those
people are going to be paying more than their fair share.
Another question that came up is whether or not this will be a
household charge or a "per phone" charge. Again, if there are
multiple cellphones in the household, will those people be paying
more than their fair share?
Alderwoman Marty Neitzel said she was not in favor of taking a
vote on the letter now. She would like to hear from Fulscher more
about this and how it would work. She moved to table the signing of
the letter, and the ensuing vote passed unanimously.
[By NILA SMITH]
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