Minutes of the City of Lincoln City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting held in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, November 10, 2015. 

Acting Mayor Neitzel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  There were seven Aldermen present (Alderman Hoinacki, Alderman Horn, Alderman Mourning, Alderman Neitzel, Alderman Parrott, Alderman Tibbs, and Alderman Welch) and one absent (Alderman Bauer). Also present were Street Department Superintendent Mr. Landers, Building and Safety Officer Mr. Lebegue, and Police Chief Adams.  Also present were City Administrator Mr. Johnson, City Clerk Mrs. Gehlbach, City Attorney Mr. Blinn Bates, City Treasurer Mr. Conzo and Recording Secretary Mrs. Riggs.  

Acting Mayor Neitzel led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Public Participation:

Acting Mayor Neitzel recognized The Courier’s Citizen of the Year, Chuck Conzo.

Presentation by Retail Strategies:

Mr. Joe Strauss, Director of Retail Development.  Research of demographic reports, tapestry segmentation analysis, work with developers, market analysis, peer analysis, gap analysis, site selection process, planned expansion 2015, boots on the ground, big box development, recruitment process (represent at Chicago for the Illinois market), leverage, communicate to local real estate professionals, and initiate. Retail Strategies brought in Factory Connection.  There is another business that is looking at Lincoln but things are not finalized yet. 

Alderman Mourning asked if Retail Strategies check with the companies that locate in a town to see how these new companies are doing.  Mr. Strauss said the companies have done their own strategic plan to see what markets and where the markets are going.  Alderman Hoinacki asked if retailers look at properties that are currently ready for a business to come in.  Mr. Strauss said each business has its own way of looking at different markets.  Mr. Strauss said the main national retailers look for a certain population where they feel that it is feasible to place a business.  Mr. Strauss said he knew the markets grow if people are dining in the Lincoln and shopping in Lincoln.

Presentation by the Logan County Alliance and Logan County Tourism Bureau:

Maggie McCurtrey talked about the summer months and what worked and didn’t work for Tourism office being open on the weekends.  They found it was not viable to be open on Sundays and they are not sure whether they will be open on Saturdays during the summer months.   

Andi Hake stated that she is currently working on her continuing education for her certification and Ameren has sponsored her and paid those fees.  The Alliance is looking to see what areas they can assist the different businesses and will use a questionnaire that they can get information from site visits.  The downtown committee meets monthly.  The alliance has been working on lunch and learn program.  Next year there will be some business training for new businesses through SCORE.  The O’Donohue building has been sold and the building is going to be rehabilitated and the business probably won’t be up and running until sometime the middle to late 2016.  There was a meeting with the Department of Commerce that was very productive.

Ordinance: Authorizing an Addendum to Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Agreement:

City Administrator Mr. Johnson said this is the group as a whole and part of the intergovernmental agreement for services over eight (8) hours.  Acting Mayor Neitzel asked to have this on the agenda for Monday, November 16, 2015. 

Ordinance: Establishing Areas of No Parking During Snow Events:

City Administrator Mr. Johnson said this is the next step in the Snow and Ice plan.  There will be signage placed in the areas that have new parking regulations. 

Alderman Hoinacki asked to have this on the regular Agenda for Monday, November 16, 2015.

Citizen of the Year Nomination Reminder:

Acting Mayor Neitzel asked if everyone wanted to do a citizen of the year.  It was decided to do something different since there were so many new Aldermen.  

Other Discussion:

Mr. Landers said with the possible severe weather the storm basins could be flooding with the roads being filled with the leaves.  Mr. Landers said they had a great turn out for the leaf pickup and it was good to see the citizens taking advantage of the service. 

City Administrator Mr. Johnson said an email was received this evening from the Illinois Municipal League stating the house has passed HB4305, which is the release of municipal funds. Those funds are motor fuel tax, video gaming fees, casino fees, 911 service fees and the Illinois Lottery winnings.  This still has to go through the Senate before anything can happen and signed by the Governor (indicated he is in support of this bill).

Executive Session:    

There was no Executive Session. 

Upcoming Meetings:

Council: Monday, November 2, 2015 – 7:00 p.m.     

Committee of Whole:     Tuesday, November 10, 2015 – 7:00 p.m.

Alderman Tibbs made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Alderman Horn seconded it.  There were seven ayes (Alderman Hoinacki, Alderman Horn, Alderman Mourning, Alderman Neitzel, Alderman Parrott, Alderman Tibbs, and Alderman Welch), zero nays, and one absent (Alderman Bauer); motion carried.

The City of Lincoln Committee of the Whole Meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Risa Riggs

Recording Secretary