Lincoln approves Part A of LCA agreement, drops Part B

[January 22, 2015]  LINCOLN - This week due to the Martin Luther King Holiday the Lincoln City Council met for their voting meeting on Tuesday. There were six members of the council present for voting. They were Michelle Bauer, Scott Cooper, Jeff Hoinacki, Kathy Horn, Todd Mourning and Marty Neitzel. The seat vacated by Melody Anderson has not yet been filled, and Jonie Tibbs was absent for the evening.

Among several motions to be voted upon was the city’s involvement with the newly formed Logan County Alliance (LCA). The Alliance came to the city recently seeking monthly financial support for their work. At the same time, an offer was made to do a branding program.

After much discussion at the workshop session held January 13th, this week Mayor Keith Snyder said the original draft of the agreement had been modified to eliminate the branding program or Part B of the contract.

He told the council there were several tweaks to the agreement including the branding agreement. He said that the city may consider doing the branding study on its own at a later date. If it does, the LCA may then at that point assist with the work, but the city would be the one to hire the marketing firm for the study.

Other changes, he said, include adding language that better spells out the LCA’s obligation to offer progress reports and updates, and its financial accountability to the city.

Language was also added to allow for the termination of the contract if needed, and clauses to assure the city would be held harmless in any defaults by the LCA.

During discussion, Marty Neitzel asked if the city’s monthly contribution to the LCA would be used to pay wages. She noted that the contract specifies there will be an Executive Director, which at this time is Andi Hake. She said she understood that the LCA would be working toward economic development in the city, and she wondered if the city’s cash would go to pay Hake’s wages.

The agreement offers the following:

A. Employ an Executive Director who will work on development services for the City of Lincoln, IL. This includes providing continuing education and ongoing learning opportunities for said employee.

Bauer said that she took that to mean that the executive director would be the one to take the lead on economic development projects, and really didn’t imply that the money was going to Hake’s salary.

Neitzel said she understood, but she feels there is going to be a balancing act for the director on keeping track of when she is working for the city and when she is working for other portions of Logan County. She commented, “I just want to make sure the city gets its money’s worth.”

Bauer indicated she understood the concern, but she said, “With the economic development partnership, look back at what we gave compared to what we got, which in my opinion was nothing.”

Neitzel agreed with Bauer on that observation.

Mourning commented that the city is starting this agreement with only a three-month contract. He said he felt that could be considered as a live trial, and that the city will soon have an opportunity to see if the LCA is doing what it has promised.

Bauer on the other hand said she felt that was a little abrasive. She explained that this is a new organization, working to get all the wheels in motion and become productive. She wasn’t sure that three months would be long enough.

Hake was in the gallery for the vote and commented the LCA does not officially roll out until February 1st. The first report back to the city is due by April first, after only two months.

Snyder also commented that, even though, the LCA is not in control as of yet, Hake as the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce director is already working on economic development for the city. He said he knew of one business that the Chamber is working to bring to Lincoln. Hake added to that saying there are two other businesses she in contact with that are also showing interest.

As the discussion died down, Snyder called for the vote. When the role was taken, all six aldermen voted “yes” to enter into the agreement with the LCA.

[Nila Smith]