Sangamon Sun

City of Lincoln Committee of the Whole met May 29.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

The Committee of the Whole Meeting of the City Council of Lincolnwas called to order by Mayor Seth Goodman at 7 p.m., with proper notice given. City Clerk Peggy Bateman took roll.

Present:

Alderman Steve Parrott Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman Ron Fleshman Alderwoman Michelle Bauer Alderman Ron Keller Alderman Jeff Hoinacki Alderman Rick Hoefle

Staff Present:

Treasurer Chuck Conzo

City Clerk Peggy Bateman Fire Chief Mark Miller Police Chief Paul Adams

Waste Water and Treatment Manager Tim Ferguson Building and Safety Officer Wes Woodhall

Streets Superintendent Walt Landers

Absent:

Alderwoman Heidi Browne City Attorney Blinn Bates

Presiding:

Mayor Seth Goodman

Public Comment:

Mayor Goodman called upon citizens registered to speak. There being no public participation, Mayor Goodman moved to other agenda items.

Block Party Application: July 14, 2-10 p.m., James Cosby, 200 Block of Pekin Street:

Mr. James Cosby came forward to discuss the block party he'd like to throw on July 14.Alderman Hoefle said itis a coolidea.Treasurer Conzo asked if the street would be closed-just the block. The sides streets would still be open.Alderman Keller asked how far the block party stands. Mayor Goodman called for further questions.The item will be placed on the consent agenda.

Request to Permit: July 18, 4-7p.m.,First Presbyterian Church 8th Annual BBQ:

Mayor Goodman called upon people registered to speak. Alderman Hoefle asked about insurance. Alderman Hoinacki said it draws a pretty big crowd.The item will be placed on the consent agenda.

Request to Permit: July 28, 6 a.m.-5p.m., Open Arms Christian Fellowship for a 3on 3 basketball tournament:

Mayor Goodman called upon anyone in the audience who would like to speak. A woman came forward. Alderman Hoefle asked if their insurance was onfile with the city. City Clerk Peggy Bateman said, not yet. Alderwoman Bauer asked about parking availability.Alderman Hoefle then asked how many games/teams would be at the event. Mayor Goodman called for further questions. The Item will be placed on the consent agenda.

RFP Contract for Uft Station Alarm Replacement:

Waste Water and Treatment Manager Tim Ferguson began discussion. He said this was previously mentioned during budget discussions... he has researched cellular based programs that have apps that can be downloaded and used on a smartphone. He has looked into several different companies. The technology can share data on how pumps are running etc. He was asking the council to allow for a Request for Proposal (RFP).

Alderman Fleshman asked if this was a single alarm in each station.Mr. Ferguson said it would be 10 alarms at each pump station in town,but they all go into one account. He described it as being similar to a family cellphone plan. Alderman Parrott said there might be a cellular company that is not compatible with the pump station, given the location.Mr.Ferguson said the city currently goes with AT&T. But he sees no issues, they currently have Verizon cellphones. Alderman Hoinacki asked about a timeframe. Mr. Ferguson said he'd like to get it taken care of pretty quickly-potentially out for bid and back by July, then wrapped up by summer's end. Mayor Goodman said the item will be placed on the agenda.

Design Contract for Treatment Plant CSO Upgrade:

Mrs.Christy Crites came forward representing Crawford, Murphy and Tilly (CMT), she talked about getting better bids when items are part of a larger contract. She talked about making improvements to the existing laboratory, improvements to a mechanism, and potentially getting an enclosure around the bar screen. She said these alternate jobs would be added to the base work.She said this could help the city take advantage of some efficiencies. Mrs. Crites said contractors in the Metro East, Peoria, and some others, are interested in the project and the city could take advantage of this.

Alderman Keller mentioned a loan to cover all of this, he said not knowing how all of this works.. he said we haven't secured it and is worried about the timeline. He said thisis a contract not to exceed $1 million. He wanted to know when the financing has to be secured in order for the projects to be covered under the loan program.

Mrs. Crites said they submitted the facilities plan, there is likely a six to nine month window to get everything included-everything is included so it is covered under the State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan program. She said once that gets approved, CMT can submit the loan application. Loan number one would cover the pump station, under the same plan, and loan number two is for the second part of the project. The loan is given based on what the actual bid is for, plus a contingencies for changes during construction. CMT has made estimates of what they think it will cost-they submit the application, get them to review everything, then submit the bids. Then the loan will be originated and the awards will come.As soon as the loan is executed, CMT can execute the contract with the contractor.

Once the city is on an SRF Intended Use Plan (IUP)-(plan must be approved first) this means money has been set aside for the city's projects. She said next year the city canget onthe IUP. This is why CMT was pushing the city to get the facility plan approved,because that's the next step-so the city could get on the IUP.CMT has already notified the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (!EPA)- telling them that the city is planning to come in. For this past year, the IEPA had money leftover and the agency was asking for projects.

Once this is executed-CMT will know what the interest rate is and what incentive programs the city can qualify for. There could be a lower interest rate that the city could qualify for based on "hardship." IEPA assesses the city's population, median household income, plus unemployment rate. Her hope would be that the city would qualify for hardship and principal forgiveness. She claimed that the best case scenario is that the city would qualify for both of these. Illinois EPA is trying to help out the smaller communities.

Alderman Hoefle wanted to know how the city fairs based on her work with other communities. She said that she hadn't ran the numbers yet, but shared an example, saying that when working with Mattoon, IEPA wanted to get their community pushed through because they qualified for hardship.

IEPA is asking about projects that are shovel ready. The Federal Government wants to agency to give away a certain amount of money based on how much money they get-so year to year they don't know how much money they have to give away.

Mayor Goodman called for further questions. Alderman Welch asked if everything works out, when does she anticipate the city to lock in the interest rate and get the loan information submitted? He said the city gave out the sewer rates based on estimates. He said there will become a time when they have actual numbers. She said actual numbers don't come untilthe city takes the bids. She said they are fairly close on those projections. She said principal forgiveness could be a bigger factor in that. She said based on what they have seen in recent years, it's an opportunity that is out there. She said right now there are not very many projects on the street. She has reached out to a contractor who has not come this far north before..she said they are really trying to get people up to Lincoln to secure some competitive pricing. The item will be placed on the agenda.

Discussion on Union Street Pump Station Property:

Mrs.Christy Crites from CMT gave an update on the project. She said not much is happening on Union Street. The sewer routing is going down the street, but CMT is waiting on access to the property. They are on hold until they can get soilsamples. They don't feel comfortable going any farther.

Waste Water and Treatment Manager Tim Ferguson said the city should look to CMT, they are already under contract, they should prepare some sort of offer for the council to review in order to get the ball rolling. He said as soon as they can start something formal, the better off the city will be.

She said we have time. At least this isn't hurting the overall deadline-they just don't want to get too far behind schedule. Semiannually they have to report their progress to Illinois EPA. Alderman Hoefle said the chicken or the egg, when talking about property-does the city make a presentation to the owners of the property, is there a value CMT is considering. She said there are some folks who can do an appraisal but she thought initially they could have a conversation to feel them out. They want to get to higher ground, but she does not think anyone has a feel for the college or what they want to sell the property at. She said Ithink it was 2.5 acres-in that ballpark. Buying an acre would have left the college with an odd shape of property with the creek on it.

She said she does not know what they want, she said it has been a little bit questionable not knowing how they would want to move forward. Alderman Hoefle asked if there is an alternative if this cannot be acquired. Mr. Ferguson said there are alternatives, there are potentially some other options, they are not dead-set on this.

Mrs. Crites said, "I think we want it to be fair." Alderman Hoefle said without a doubt. She said we are fortunate that we are not stuck with just one alignment. She said this is one landowner,so that in and of itself makes life easier. She said there are a lot of ways you can do it, there is not one answer to how much we should buy. She said what is most convenient for them-as the city is trying to work out a deal. For the city, is it to just buy that one strip and have an acre and be done with it? But she is not sure what they want. She does not know the value each square foot is to them. She said that will be the conversation, what are they looking at.

Alderman Hoefle asked if Mrs. Crites or Mr. Ferguson would be reaching out for the acquisition. She said originally that was going to be based off of whoever had a relationship with the college.She said on the highway project CMT was doing everything, but Mr. Clay Johnson thought he could negotiate things out. Mr. Ferguson said the next steps would be some sort of offer, plan A, B, and C to be brought back for councilto review and then they would decide what is the best fit.

Alderwoman Bauer said-so who is drafting those three proposals? Are we asking CMT to do that, and if so, is that an additional cost? Or are we asking City Attorney Blinn Bates? Mrs.Crites said she'd have to go back and look, but she is not an acquisition expert-she is not sure how much the city has to do, if there are multiple acres, are there multiple appraisals?

Mr. Ferguson said he would envision that for this purpose, a set amount of ground, the council can decide if they want proposals to be adjusted. CMT would fine-tune the initial part, but this is more along the lines of getting something concrete down and in front of the other party involved. Alderman Hoinacki asked for direction to move forward. Mrs. Crites asked if CMT should just work with Mr. Ferguson on this-he said, and the mayor.

Mr. Ferguson said they will not proceed, this is just to bring information back to the council-to get the ball rolling.

Resolution: Changing name of designated signer for annuitiespayable to the Lincoln Firefighters'Pension Fund:

Treasurer Chuck Conzo began conversation, saying this pertains to annuities approved-annuities on retired and active firefighters. The annuities for retired firefighters have all been paid out. The annuities on active firefighters-since some time ago, the pension board has become aware that the city is able to take a $75,000 payout annually. The board has voted to exercise that option. He said we went to execute all this and then found out that Mr. Les Plotner, the former Treasurer for the City of Lincoln is still listed as the designated signer. The councilneeded to pass an ordinance to designate the current treasurer as the signer.

Alderwoman Bauer pointed out a typo in the spelling of Treasurer Conzo's name. She said that needs to be amended. He said he did not type it so he did not misspell his own name. The item will be placed on the agenda.

Discussion regarding City Ordinanceproviding regulationsand restriction of the Use of parks within the City of Lincoln:

Alderwoman Bauer opened discussion saying she'd like the councilto have a meeting with the Lincoln Park District prior to making any decision on this.They need to find out if the district wants to be involved.They need to discuss ownership and rights.She said they need at least two weeks.She said the two of us, meaning Mayor Goodman and herself would be part of the conversation with the district. The item will be brought back at a later date.Alderwoman Bauer said she would reach out to Mrs. Angela Stoltzenberg as well. Mayor Goodman said, "very good."

Resolution: Abraham Llncoln Healthcare Foundation install fitness court on Real Estate owned by the City Of Lincoln:

Alderman Welch opened discussion about the description of the real-estate in the resolution-he said the ordinance seems to describe the entire lot. He said he is concerned about the entire lot being called out in the resolution. He said at a minimum the parcel where they are going to put the equipment needs to be put in there while other parcels need to be omitted and it ties the city hands for further development.

Alderwoman Bauer said City Attorney Blinn Bates said this was doable. She said he had a discussion with Police Chief Paul Adams about jurisdiction and policing. She said the city could designate the whole space as a park for the purposes of being able to deal with violators-but the council could sign something to address this specific space.

Alderman Welch wanted to know if this was a separate action, a separate ordinance. Designating the space as a park. He said he thought this was just for the installation of the equipment.

Alderwoman Bauer said Attorney Blinn Bates had done the resolution so that it fit the opportunity for the council to have oversight of the whole property-and just adjust the resolution to address that parcel.

Alderman Welch asked if the city designates this as a park, then what hurdles would they face in the future if they want to sell the property or develop it? He said the city does not know what they face in the future. She said she thought the councilwould just have to go back and amend the ordinance. He wanted to know if it is policed today.

Chief Adams said they cannot enforce anything, unless they kick everyone off the property-during nighttime hours, he said this designates that entire area as a park. He said if the council only wants to designate a section, there has to be a survey. He said it is one of those fights we don't need to have, let's just designate it a park.

Alderwoman Bauer said if you read the resolution, ALMH will install fitness court on real-estate owned by the city... all of the city portions, she said they can clarify the language to say ALMH is only installing the equipment in this particular quadrant. She said she thought it had already been surveyed. Alderman Welch asked if the City Attorney is already aware that this may have been the council's intention to be more specific. She said yes.

Alderman Hoefle said he thinks it is very important that the fit part is in the area that you folks approved it in. he said if we designate it all as a park, they might not put it in the spot that the city wants them to have it in. He said Ithink it is very important that we have the two separate things. But that the city should make sure that the fitness court is in that area that is close to the parking lot in front of ath Street. He is hoping they can amend it and tweak it-with them being designated in that specific area.

Alderwoman Bauer said she thinks the city needs to ask for an amendment to the resolution so the park can be situated in an agreed upon area. They will also need to get clarification from the Lincoln Park District with the way they want to move forward naming the parcel in order to police it effectively.

Alderman Hoefle asked if there is a need to hold up on the vote for the court until such time that Alderwoman Bauer had met with the park district.

She said Idon't think so, Ithink we just need to adjust the parcel portion and that was her position. Mayor Goodman mentioned it may need to be resurveyed first. She was looking at her email.

Alderman Welch asked if Mrs. Stoltzenberg had shared what the installation date was. Mayor Goodman said he had not heard a definite date. He then asked how everyone wanted to move forward.

Alderwoman Bauer suggested leaving it off of the vote-until there is clarification. She mentioned June 1Blh as the date. Alderman Welch asked if it was clarification on if it had been surveyed. And she added that they also needed the clarification on the ordinance of it being designated a park. Mayor Goodman called for further questions.

Superintendent Lnders said they wanted to start construction about the second week of July. He was not exactly sure, but that was a rough timeline. Mayor Goodman called for further discussion, there being done, he moved to announcements.

Announcements:

Mayor Goodman asked if anyone had any announcements.

New firefighter James Cosby starts work on Friday, June 1 and will need to be sworn in

Ameren Illinois will be doing a presentation on June 18 on the benefits of having a mini-review of the energy efficiency of households

There was a ribbon cutting on Friday at CEFCU, and others are coming up-Heartland Community College and the Welcome Garden

Pigs and Swigs events start on Saturday, June 2, beginning with DockDogs®--streets will be closed starting Thursday afternoon

The Nathan Turner Fishing Derby is Saturday, June 2 in Atlanta

Sewer bills with trash included go out starting Thursday, May 31--discrepancies should be taken up with the City of Lincoln, staff will work through any issues as needed

Nominations for Home of the Month will be coming back, nominations are welcome by Friday, June 1 at 5 p.m.

Executive Session I 2C2 Collective Bargaining:

There being no further announcements to come before the council, Alderman Welch made the motion to move into Executive Session under 2C2 collective bargaining, seconded by Alderman Hoinacki. City Clerk Peggy Bateman called roll.

Present:

Alderman Steve Parrott Alderman Tracy Welch Alderman Ron Fleshman Alderwoman Michelle Bauer Alderman Ron Keller Alderman Jeff Hoinacki Alderman Rick Hoefle

Yeas:(7)Alderman Steve Parrott, Alderman Tracy Welch, Alderman Ron Fleshman, Alderwoman Michelle Bauer, Alderman Ron Keller, Alderman Jeff Hoinacki, Alderman Rick Hoefle

Nays: (o)

Absent: (1)Alderwoman Heidi Browne

Executive Session:

The counciladjourned from the Committee of the \/\thole meeting at 7:52 p.m. in order to enter Executive Session. Mayor Goodman announced there would be no further business to come before the Committee of the Whole upon reconvening.

Adjournment:

The Council returned from Executive Session at 8:24 p.m. There being no further discussion to come before the City Councilof Lincoln, Alderman Parrott motioned to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Keller. Mayor Goodman adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m.

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