Council member Rawley Alger brought up the issue of Lisbon City Park’s parking spaces being too close to the road at the Lisbon City Council meeting on Monday, June 22.

For the portion of the parking at the Lisbon City Park that stretches north from Junction Auto Sales to the splash pad, Alger expressed that cars were too close to the road and suggested that the parking posts be moved five to six feet inward.

Alger’s concern wasn’t necessarily with the way cars were parked, but more the safety of children running into the road from between the cars.

“It’s just so busy. I mean, with vehicles parking in there, it’s only a matter of time that a little kid dashes out. […] We would all feel terrible if something happened,” Alger explained.

Public works director Travis Bagby shared that underground water and sewer systems in that area need to be taken into consideration; however, they do not make the moving of the parking posts impossible.

“They’re going to be driving over top [of them], but these are the curb boxes like what’s in your grass, so we’ll have to do something to protect those,” Bagby explained. The water and sewer systems in that area service the park’s pavilion and splash pad.

The project would stop at the splash pad to avoid interfering with the ramp and walkway around the pavilion, as well as the swing set.

Financial Discussion

The Lisbon City Council discussed a change to the Downtown Reinvestment Grant that Bill’s Tap had previously received.

Initially, the grant was approved for $5,000; however, due to contract issues, some of the work needed to be done in-house, which was not covered by the grant.

“The plumbing portion was the only thing that could be covered by the grant,” Brandon Siggins, Lisbon’s city administrator, said.

After reviewing, Lisbon’s Historic Preservation Commission and the Lisbon City Council decided to approve $3,500 instead of the original $5,000.

414 W Main St. to become two lots instead of one The house at 414 W Main St. in Lisbon has officially been demolished, and planning and zoning meetings have begun.

“They want to turn that back into two lots: Parcel A is Lot 113 and Parcel B is Lot 114. They’re going to put two new houses in each. This is the first step before that can be complete,” Siggins said.

According to Siggins, one home will be built and sold before the second home begins construction. The city council unanimously voted to approve the project.

Lisbon facing difficulty with Lakeshore Recycling Systems The City of Lisbon has a contract with Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS) until June 30, 2028. However, with the recent issues with LRS not completing pickups on schedule or at all, the Lisbon City Council is looking at their options.

Siggins met with the city attorney, who has since drafted a letter to be sent to LRS.

“He’s recommended an opportunity to cure, even though it’s not required. He advised us it would look better in the courts—if it went that direction—our letter would let LRS know of the errors, that if they’re not corrected and cured in 45 days, and compliance is not satisfactory for at least 60 days, the city will cancel the contract,” Siggins explained.

Providing LRS with this letter would allow the city to avoid being sued, according to Siggins. The city keeps a log of every complaint that is received regarding yard waste, recycling, or trash pickup, which was used to draft the letter by the city attorney to LRS.

When considering their options, council member Rick Scott suggested that the city buy a garbage truck and complete pickups on their own, using Mechanicsville as an example.

“[Mechanicsville] bought a 22-yard truck for $314,000, paid $30,000 for the trash cans, and they do it themselves. This town would probably take one shift to do it. […] We just passed a franchise fee for so much money that they said we can use it for anything. Maybe that might be the way to go; we buy a garbage truck,” Scott said.

The only action taken by the council was to send the letter from the city attorney to LRS, which the council voted unanimously to approve.

City Engineer Report

City engineer Dave Schechinger shared progress on the Well No. 5 project at the Lisbon City Council meeting on Monday, June 22.

According to Schechinger, the building frame has been completed, and plywood has been put on the roof and the outside, which also has had house wrap put on it.

“They’re going to continue to work on the exterior. I’m trying to get a schedule for the metal guys for the roofing and the walls, and then we’re also waiting for a little bit of equipment on the inside. But now that they’ve got it framed up, they should be able to continue to work in there,” Schechinger said.

Public Works Report

Public works director Travis Bagby had little to share at the June 22 council meeting, his primary focus being on the east portion of Main Street, in which the north and south sections of the road come together.

“We set aside money for chip and dip. […] It’s pulling apart and leaving a gap. They couldn’t get in here for this budget to get it done, so we’re going to combine this budget and do next year’s budget together. So, we’ll do one big job,” Bagby explained.

The numbers haven’t been determined but will be shared with the council at the next meeting.

Fire Chief Report

At the June 8 city council meeting, two air packs and a radio were approved by the Lisbon City Council for the fire department. According to Lisbon’s fire chief, Brandon Siggins, the money used to purchase one of the air packs will come from their fundraising fund.

“This will put us to our new air packs that fill out the two pumpers. So, then we’ll have three of four remaining going forward. We try to stagger them so that they’re not all due at the same time,” Siggins said.

City Administrator Report

As Lisbon’s city administrator, Brandon Siggins shared that Los Cuñados, the Mexican restaurant that took over 125 E Main St. in Lisbon, opened Thursday, June 25 at 5 p.m. for dinner for the first time.

Going forward, Siggins and the city attorney will be working together with Southeast Linn Community Center (SELCC) to create a lease agreement for the building that houses the SELCC.

“There’ve been a lot of issues in the past on who pays for what, so we’re meeting with them and drafting up a lease,” Siggins said. Siggins will return to the council for approval on the subject in a couple of months.