Lincoln Park council ends code-enforcement contract, adopts event-cancellation policy; HR manager agreement fails

Lincoln Park — The City Council voted Sept. 8 to terminate its code-enforcement contract with Net Solutions Inc. and to adopt a standard operating procedure for cancelling city events. The council also awarded a $13,135 bid to replace interior doors at the Lincoln Park Community Center and authorized a temporary contractor for code-enforcement work; a separate employment agreement with the city’s human-resources manager failed to pass.

Why it matters: The termination of Net Solutions affects day-to-day code-enforcement operations and paperwork verification. Council members said the city will use an interim vendor while soliciting a new contract, and a recently adopted event-cancellation policy clarifies who may cancel events that use city resources.

The council voted 5–2 to adopt the city’s standard-operating procedures for cancelling events, with Councilperson Salcedo and Mayor Tobin voting no. The policy was presented as the council’s guideline for when and how events using city facilities or permitting city support are to be canceled.

Council action on contracts and bids included:

• Termination of Net Solutions Inc.: The council unanimously approved a resolution terminating the city’s contract with Net Solutions, effective immediately, and authorized the city to use RFC Incorporated at the company’s 2024 pricing for code-enforcement services until a new contract is bid and awarded. City staff described multiple performance problems with Net Solutions, including missing documentation and billing inconsistent with the contract. As the city summarized: “we've had problems ranging from them not submitting proper documentation and pictures to falsely telling us about meetings with city officials, falsely stating that they did work that we could not verify…the billing was not in line with the contract.” That summary was provided by city staff during the meeting.

Vote: Yes — Councilpersons Nichols, Dupree, Ross, Salcedo, Zor, Baer, Mayor Tobin (roll calls recorded as unanimous on the termination motion). (The motion text read: “terminate the contract with Net Solutions Incorporated effective immediately; authorize the city to utilize RFC Incorporated under their 2024 price for the code enforcement program until a new contract is bid out and awarded.”)

• HR manager agreement: The council considered an agreement with Human Resources Manager Jennifer Richardson. Several council members expressed concern about a clause that would preserve an employee’s prior city position if the specialized position were later eliminated. After discussion the motion failed on roll call.

Vote: Motion failed (roll call: Nichols — yes; Ross — yes; Salcedo — no; Zohr — no; Baer — yes; Dupree — no; Mayor Tobin — no). The motion text on file was: “approve the attached agreement with HR manager Jennifer Richardson and authorize the mayor and city clerk to execute the agreement.” The council did not adopt the agreement.

• Jan Door bid for Lincoln Park Community Center interior doors: The council awarded the bid for interior-door replacement to Jan Door for a cost not to exceed $13,135, from a FY25–26 capital-improvement allocation budgeted at $15,000.

Vote: Unanimous approval on roll call. Motion text: “award Jan Door the bid to replace the interior doors for a cost not to exceed $13,135 with funds to be determined; mayor and city clerk authorized to sign contract documents.”

• Temporary contractor for code enforcement: As noted above, RFC Incorporated will provide code-enforcement services at 2024 pricing while the city prepares a new contract and solicits bids. That authorization passed together with the termination of Net Solutions.

• Special-event permit: The council approved Special Event Permit No. 7 for the Lincoln Park Moose Lodge trunk-or-treat event, scheduled for Oct. 26, 2025, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 1600 Fourth Street. The motion included standard conditions: applicant cleanup, enforcement of parking restrictions, paid fees and filed insurance.

Vote: Unanimous approval. Mayor Tobin noted for the record he is a Moose member but voted in favor.

Discussion and dissent: Council members questioned language in employment agreements during debate on administrative contracts, saying some clauses seem outdated and should be reviewed across city agreements. One member urged regular review of long-standing contract language rather than keeping the same provisions year after year.

Public comment and appointments: The council approved two-year appointments for department directors — John Kizzou as director of public services, Dennis Anderson as director of parks and recreation, and Monique Guerrero as director of community planning and development — for terms beginning Jan. 1, 2025. These appointments and several consent-agenda items (minutes, accounts payable, training approvals and scheduling of public hearings) were approved earlier in the meeting.

What’s next: City staff will onboard RFC Incorporated temporarily and prepare solicitation documents for a new code-enforcement contract. The city will also review administrative employment agreements flagged during the HR-manager discussion, per council requests.

(For evidence, see meeting transcript passages introducing the event-cancellation policy, the Net Solutions termination, the Jan Door bid award and the HR manager vote.)