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City of Lincoln
Aldermen establish voting agenda for Monday, August 3rd
[July 31, 2026]
At the Tuesday, July 28th
meeting of the Lincoln City Council Committee of the Whole, seven of
the eight alderpersons were present including Stan Anderson, Kevin
Bateman, Tim Becke, Dennis Clemmons, Sam Downs, Robin McClallen, and
Steve Parrott. Rhonda O’Donohue was absent.
In addition to the three large topics already covered by LDN, the
council addressed several topics requiring less discussion.
Playground equipment
City of Lincoln Administrative Assistant Ashley Metelko shared
information about proposed playground equipment for the Eighth
Street Park. The Woods Foundation has given the city $25,000 for
park improvements. Metelko said that at the suggestion of Bateman,
she searched for a child size zip-line and found one set that could
be purchased for $25,000. The installation and incidentals would
have to be covered by the city and would cost in the range of
$9,000.
Metelko presented this equipment to the council at a previous
meeting, however, Bateman asked for her to look for something more
toddler friendly. He noted the equipment she found had a bar that
children hung on to as they rode the line. He had seen equipment
where there was a seat small children could sit on to ride the line.
Metelko found that set and it is
more expensive and additional cost was previously reported to the
council. When she gave the previous report, she was asked to go back
to the Woods Foundation and ask if they might increase the grant
award. The Woods Foundation declined to increase the grant. Metelko
explained that if the council wants to go forward with the toddler
friendly equipment the city will have to provide more money. The
total cost of the equipment, installation and incidentals would
increase from approximately $34, 000 to just over $41,000.
Bateman said he was still interested in doing the toddler equipment
and asked that a motion be made at next week’s voting agenda for an
increase in city spending.
Request to place $7,000,000 in short term certificates of deposit
City Treasure Chuck Conzo was absent from the meeting but called in
with a request to distribute $7,000,000 across six short term
certificates of deposit. The money is set aside for the Fifth Street
Road Project. Conzo wants to scatter the money into six CDs to earn
some interest for the city while awaiting the various stages of the
road project to be completed.
The council agreed to place the item on the agenda as presented.
Conzo is requesting $2,000,000 in a CD with a maturity of three
months. The other five are $1,000,000 each and would have six-,
seven-, nine-, 11- and 12-month maturity dates.
Updates from CMT
Shane Remmert of Crawford Murphy and Tilly offered updates on
various projects the company is overseeing in Lincoln.
Fifth Street is going well.
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He said that there
has been a delay with work for the Tremont project because
weather conditions have put contractors behind schedule. It is
anticipated that work will begin on Tremont in August.
The pavilion at Eighth Street Park is
coming along, and the date for completion is still late August/early
September. He reported that the frame is in place and work remaining
includes the metal roof, tongue and groove ceiling, screen wall at
the back of the pavilion, and decorative brick around the columns.
He added that the project is coming in on budget thus far. There is
about $2,400 in that budget for electricity to be run to the
pavilion. Remmert said that was work the city could contract out on
its own when it chooses.
Structural & Façade Grants
Aldermen reviewed two structural grants that have been approved by
the city’s Economic Development Commission, for $7,500 each. The
first is to Sacred Armor at 414 Pulaski Street for roof
replacement/repair and the second to Robert Becherer for 303 South
Kickapoo for widow replacement.
Request to permit
The council reviewed requests to permit street closures from the
National Railsplitting Festival and Z-Culture Productions.
The Railsplitting festival will be Friday, August 28th through
Sunday, August 30th. Street closures include one-block areas of
Sixth Street, South Madison, and South Monroe that border the
Postville Courthouse.
Z-Culture Productions is making a short-film entitled “LIFT”
involving protesting about a new fictitious drug.
The protest will take place on McLean Street, from just south of the
post office to Pulaski Street.
Robin McClallen asked for details of the protest scenes. She said
that she was interested in knowing if there would be loud noises and
smoke bombs or other such things that the community might find
disturbing. Welch did not have details.
The item was placed on the voting agenda along with the request from
Railsplitter.
The next meeting of the Lincoln City Council will be a voting
session held on Monday, August 3rd commencing at 6 p.m.
The public is invited to attend.
[Nila Smith]
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