|
The meeting began with a moment of silence in memory of Art Neitzel.
Bridge construction
County engineer Bret Aukamp provided some announcements
concerning a few roads in the county:
-
The rail crossing
at Bell Station will be closed next week for replacement. This
is about four miles north of Lincoln on old Route 121 to
Hartsburg. The closing will last through Friday.
-
The Deer Creek
bridge on Primm Road, south of the high school, should be open
soon. The concrete was still curing as of Friday. Aukamp said he
is still receiving information from the Illinois Department of
Transportation as to new weight restrictions, if any.
-
IDOT has plans to replace a bridge on
Lincoln Parkway. Work should begin in the fall, with closure
occurring from March through November in 2014.
Concerns over Logan cemeteries
Larry Howen and Ron Ritchhart of the Logan County Cemetery
District were present at the meeting to address some concerns that
have been brought to the board's attention. Multiple board members
said they have heard complaints from county citizens over the
maintenance of county cemeteries.
The county board does not have complete authority over the
cemetery district, other than appointing members to the district
board. The cemetery district has five full-time employees and two
part-time employees to maintain 44 cemeteries.
Board member Chuck Ruben asked Howen about the conditions of the
Hartsburg and Bethel cemeteries, as those two have been mentioned to
him several times. Howen said the cemetery district recently heard
the opposite from people in the county, and that he had received a
letter of thanks from Bethel Cemetery.
Board member Kevin Bateman asked Howen about the state of the
Mount Pulaski Cemetery. Bateman said he has seen tombstones in the
cemetery that are covered with grass after the mowing is finished.
Howen said the employees are instructed to clean the tombstones
after mowing, but he has also seen the same problem.
[to top of second column] |
Terry Carlton said the complaint he has heard concerns those who
are mowing the grass in the cemeteries. Carlton said that when
people bring these issues to the attention of the mowers, they are
met with disrespectful replies.
Howen agreed with the board members on their concerns and said
that these issues will be discussed at future meetings of the
cemetery district personnel. Howen also said he would be willing to
speak with board members again at future county meetings.
"My goal when I joined the board was to make the cemeteries
better, and we're listening to what you are saying," said Howen.
Economic development considerations
On the subject of economic development, Bateman brought up a
piece of information. Bateman said he had heard that the city of
Lincoln is looking to hire a consultant to determine how to bring
businesses to Lincoln. Bateman said he was under the impression that
the Lincoln & Logan Development Partnership had someone for that job
already, and it seems like an unnecessary expenditure.
Ruben said he imagines the city of Lincoln is looking for someone
who will help Lincoln and not the whole of Logan County. Ruben also
said he agreed that such a move seems redundant.
Hepler said that future meetings of the Executive and Economic
Development Committee may explore this development.
Board members present for the meeting were vice chairman David
Hepler, chairman Robert Farmer, Rick Aylesworth, Bill Martin, Andy
Anderson, Kevin Bateman, Pat O'Neill, Gene Rohlfs, Chuck Ruben,
Terry Carlton and Jan Schumacher. Larry Howen, Ron Ritchhart, Bret
Aukamp and Mark Hilliard were present as guests.
[By DEREK HURLEY] |
