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Council advances Fifth Street
project, approves event requests
[March 18, 2026]
The Lincoln City Council approved
several financial agreements and community event requests during its
regular meeting held March 16 at City Hall.
Mayor Tracy Welch called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. Following
roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance, Welch opened the floor for
public participation, but no residents came forward to speak.
The council first considered the consent agenda, which included
payment of bills, approval of minutes from the Feb. 2 regular
council meeting and the Feb. 10 and Feb. 24 Committee of the Whole
meetings, as well as a request from the Lincoln Park District to
close several city streets for a 5K race associated with the
Balloons Over 66 event.
The motion to approve the consent agenda passed unanimously with no
conflicts.
The council then moved to reports, beginning with the February
treasurer’s report presented by City Treasurer Chuck Conzo.
Conzo explained that the city’s fund balance is slightly lower than
it was at the same time last year and said officials will need to
monitor spending closely.
“You see there are…comparable fund
balances. They’re comparing the same things to where we were a year
ago, and we’re down a little bit there,” Conzo said. “One of the
ways we can bring that up is to spend less money.”
Conzo also reviewed several state revenue streams, including
municipal sales tax, motor fuel tax and video gaming revenue. While
some categories were slightly higher year over year, others showed
declines that he said may simply reflect timing differences in how
funds are distributed by the state.
City Clerk Peggy Bateman then presented the clerk’s report for
February, noting the city received $744,006.33 in sewer receipts
during the month.
During the department head reports discussion, Alderman Steve
Parrott asked about residents who fall behind on sewer payments.
“Just roughly, do you know how many outstanding residents have not
paid for their sewer?” Parrott asked.
Bateman said the report includes a breakdown of overdue accounts but
noted that most residents eventually bring their accounts current.
“There are people that are always behind, but then they come
through,” Bateman said.
Under new business, the council approved a request from organizers
of the 15th annual “Up in Smoke on the Square” barbecue competition
to close several streets downtown from Aug. 28 through Aug. 30 to
accommodate the event, which also includes Doc Dogs competitions and
other activities.
Council members approved the renewal of two certificates of deposit
for city funds. One CD valued at $367,141.20 will be renewed for
nine months at an interest rate of 3.65 percent, while another
valued at $363,874.38 will be renewed for 12 months at 3.60 percent.
Both measures passed unanimously.
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Another item
approved by the council was an intergovernmental agreement
between the city and the Lincoln Park District for mowing
services at city parks.
The council also approved a loan agreement between Heartland
Bank and Trust Company and the City of Lincoln for the Abraham
Lincoln statue located at the Lincoln Depot.
In addition, members approved a proposal from Lexipol for a fire
policy manual at a cost not to exceed $18,016.80 and adopted a
revised city employee handbook.
Two major items related to the Fifth Street Road project were
also approved during the meeting.
The council voted to authorize the issuance of $2.25 million in
general obligation bonds as an alternate revenue source to
support the project. Members also approved a construction
engineering agreement with Crawford, Murphy and Tilly for an
amount not to exceed $1.66 million.
Following the approvals, Mayor Welch asked City Street and Alley
Superintendent Walt Landers about the timeline for construction
to begin.
“We have a pre-construction meeting with IDOT and the
contractors on the 27th of March,” Landers said. “They want to
get started the first of the month, somewhere around the fifth
or the sixth.”
Landers said the project will significantly affect traffic
patterns during construction and asked residents for patience as
the work begins.
“We’ll try to keep the citizens updated, because there’s going
to be a big change in traffic flow at times,” Landers said.
“It’s going to be difficult, but we’ll do our best.”
During announcements, Welch thanked Police Chief Joe Meister and
Alderman Kevin Bateman for participating in a recent “Coffee
with the Mayor” event and said the discussion generated a wide
range of questions from residents.
Parrott also congratulated the Hartsburg-Emden seventh grade
girls volleyball team for winning a state championship over the
weekend.
Landers announced that the city’s landscape waste facility will
reopen for the season, operating Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8
a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
The council then voted to enter executive session to discuss
litigation. No further city business was conducted following the
closed session.
[Sophia Larimore]
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