Galesburg City Council approved two grants under the Women and/or Minority-owned business programs on Tuesday night. President of the Knox County Area Partnership for Economic Development Ken Springer spoke to the council in support of the applicants; Brittany's Beautique and All-Star Sports Academy both located on E. Knox St. Michael Spinks, Owner of All-Star Sports Academy, received a southside occupancy grant in the Summer of 2022. Since the summer, Spinks has had an opportunity to take over the skating rink. He says he's already been open for a few days. He also previewed that he hopes to possibly have a few free or discounted skate days a month. Owner Brittany Tate will open Brittany's Beautique selling clothing and accessories both in-person and online. Mayor Peter Schwarwtzman announced a public meeting later this month for citizens to discuss the programming and functions of a community center. In other action, Galesburg Aldermen passed a resolution giving $60,00
There will be a warming shelter for those in need this winter in Galesburg. Once again the shelter will be located at the Hawthorne Gym after a variance denial by Galesburg Aldermen on Monday prevented the shelter from being located at the Salvation Army. Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Knox County Housing Authority for a $76,000 grant. The warming shelter is funded by the City, KCHA will administer, hire staff, and receive the grant, while Salvation Army will oversee day-to-day operations and direction of staff. Salvation Army's location at 510 N. Kellogg was formerly a church and the change of use requires the installation of a sprinkler system according to Community Development Director Steve Gugliotta. The Overall Code Review Commission unanimously denied the variance request. Council could have overrode the commission's recommendation, but the motion failed by a 2-2-3 vote, in which Members Bradley Hix, Larry Cox, and Jaclyn Smith-Esters abstained. Haw
Galesburg Aldermen are set on Monday to discuss an increase in the home rule sales tax but are already showing some differences of opinion. The increase would see this part of the local sales tax go from 1% to 1.25%, generating an estimated $950,000 in additional revenue annually. Some of the revenue would be used to pay the principal and interest for bonds the council has plans on issuing next year, one for a community center, and the other for city infrastructure. Alderwoman Jaclyn Smith-Esters says she will be a yes vote. She says the rate would put Galesburg close to about 47 other similar communities. Smith-Esters says she wants Galesburg to continue to grow and to do that we need to maintain what we have and invest in the future. She points out that purchases under a dollar would see no increase and every $100 spent would only see a quarter more paid in tax. Smith-Esters says she's confident the public supports the tax increase because of numbers provided in a community surv
Galesburg Aldermen on Monday night got a look at a community survey that was conducted in August by a hired contractor, the ETC Institute. When it comes to Parks and Recreation there were two areas rated as 'very high priority.' Those are programs for youth and teens, and programs for senior citizens. Respondents both said that these parks and rec categories were most important to them, and where they were least satisfied. Only 22 percent of respondents were satisfied with the city's offering of youth and teen programs, while 1 in 3 were satisfied with senior citizen programs. Hawthorne Pool/Gym was a 'High Priority' service, just below the youth and senior programming. A quarter of respondents said that Hawthorne was their top priority for parks and recreation, while only about ⅓ are satisfied with the facility. An area that residents not only considered very important, but also gave positive marks on was maintenance of city parks. 77 percent respondents wer
Galesburg Aldermen have a work session planned for Monday night where they likely will hire a new city manager and may provide direction on the future of a community center. Peoria-based Farnsworth Group was hired by the council to create a "master plan" for a new community center. Farnsworth officials are expected to provide details about converting four different spaces into a community center; including the Hawthorne Pool and Churchill Junior High. Farnsworth has already done a survey of council members, mayor, and city staff in order to identify priorities and program needs. But first, on Monday, the council's expected to vote on approving Gerald Smith as Galesburg's new City Manager. Smith brings with him 25 years of working in public administration including stops in Creedmoor, North Carolina; Maquoketa, Iowa; and Junction City, Kansas, and Kansas City Missouri. Director of Public Works Wayne Carl has filled the interim City Manager role since May when Todd Th