Galesburg Council heard a presentation on Monday that showed sketches of what a community center could look like at four different sites, as well as what each would cost. Caius Jennison with Farnsworth Group presented his findings after studying Churchill Junior High, the Hawthorn Pool/Gym Facility, the current Galesburg Public Library, and Gunther Construction. Jennison met with each Council member before the study, allowing them to talk about their priorities for a community center. From there he distilled that into a template, as a model to test against different potential sites. That model included 11,000 sq. ft of community space including a reception and resource center, two classrooms, a teaching kitchen, a teen center, a computer lab, office space, and storage. It also includes an event room that could fit 200 people and a single-court gym. A community room that could fit about 200 people, and a single basketball court gym is also part of the model. The Gunther site is the most
Galesburg City Attorney Bradley Nolden apparently has resigned his position as City Attorney as of Sept. 3. Whether Nolden's resignation has any link to the sudden announcement appointing a City Manager is unclear. The Galesburg Council has an agenda item on Tuesday night to hire the law firm of Barash and Everett to handle city legal services in Nolden's absence. Specifically, Attorneys Leslie Day and former Judge Paul Mangieri would be handling the city's legal issues. Day and Mangieri will be present at City Hall no less than two days a week. The Barash and Everett contract will be worth $8,333 a month and can be canceled by either party with 30 days notice. Nolden has been Galesburg's City Attorney for the past 7 years with his position taking on increasing duties through his tenure. Todd Thompson resigned as City Manager to work for Rock Island in May and since then Director of Public Works Wayne Carl has acted as City Manager. Galesburg Aldermen on Tuesday can
The Galesburg Downtown will get another big hand towards its ongoing beautification efforts in the form of a $2 million grant. Interim City Manager Wayne Carl announced at Monday's City Council meeting that Galesburg's been approved for one of the three submissions for the State of Illinois' Rebuild Downtowns and Main Streets Grant program. The grant will fund reconstructing Parking Lot H, the lot across the street from the Orpheum Theater. The work would include landscaping and resurfacing the lot, and adding covered areas for both parking and use for events. This plan was first put forward in the Downtown Development Plan that Aldermen approved in 2016. The grant will also cover reconstructing sidewalks and curbing on Simmons from Cherry to Kellogg. Galesburg Council also breezily passed a new mural ordinance that would clear the way for more public art in town. It was clarified that although the ordinance doesn't allow murals in residentially zoned districts- th
Galesburg Aldermen tonight will discuss authorizing the purchase of Churchill Junior High. This isn't the final vote but the discussion is sure to be lively as there seems to be a 4-3 split in opinion on Aldermen's preference to turn the school into a community center. The meeting will also have a vote on a resolution to ask Galesburg voters a non-binding referendum question; should the city spend $5 to $10 million to turn Churchill into a community center. The District 205 School Board recently authorized the purchase on their end, and the purchase would not be finalized until the end of the school year, as students are currently attending classes there. The school board ended up adding a right of first refusal clause. That would end up giving them a chance to get the property back if the city wants to dispose of it. Galesburg Council will meet tonight with such agenda items as appointing an interim City Manager. Director of Public Works Wayne Carl is up for approval in that