Newly seated members of the Galesburg city council have put forth topics and agenda items representing their initial legislative priorities.
The new council has four members who were elected April 4 and sworn in May 1, including Bradley Hix, who is serving his second term, and newcomers Evan Miller, Heather Acerra, and Steve Cheesman.
On May 2, Hix and Acerra met with City Manager Gerald Smith to discuss topics and agenda items, saying they also had the support of other council members.
Some of those items will be considered at the council meeting on Monday, May 15.
A lease for 120 E. Main St.
The council will consider a resolution to negotiate a lease for 120 E. Main St., where Diane Crock operates the Galesburg Downtown Depot in a portion of the building.
The Depot is a once-a-week food, hygiene, and clothing pantry that grew out of Blessing Boxes in the community during the pandemic.
Crock said it’s like a community platform where people donate items and people can get them, no questions asked.
“I think it’s a really good way for people to get their needs met, with dignity and to feel good about it,” Crock said.
Former Mayor John Pritchard granted Crock use of a portion of the city-owned building in late 2020 but no formal agreement has ever been in place.
Now Hix and Acerra have asked for a list of all city properties occupied by third parties and an explanation of the city’s liability on such properties.
There was also a request for a historical overview of the arrangement with Crock and for the council to consider a lease, according to emails obtained by TSPR through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Crock said she believes she’s being singled out and targeted personally.
“This was great we could use this space,” Crock said. “I just don’t understand why the rush, why the first full meeting that you have, that this would be the first thing on the agenda.”
Crock said the downtown location is helpful for people. Because she doesn’t take in any money for the pantry, she said having to pay rent would force the Depot to close or find a new location.
City emails show Hix asked questions about the property in January, but the agenda item was not requested until the new council was seated.
Crock’s partner is Steven “Champ” Coleman, who ran against Hix in this year’s consolidated election. Crock and Coleman run the Galesburg Downtown Depot together.
Hix did not respond to a request for comment, but Acerra did.
She said the goal is to examine all city-owned properties and develop policies for their use.
“There is concern for fairness in the criteria we use to determine what entities use city-owned properties, the terms under which such use is defined and managed, as well as insurance requirements,” Acerra said.
The resolution on the agenda for Monday’s meeting is solely about 120 E. Main St., not any other city-owned properties.
The city accepted the donation of 120 E. Main St. in June 2019 as plans were underway for significant renovation of adjacent Park Plaza, according to Director of Community Development Steve Gugliotta.
Then the city spent $675,000 to repair the east wall and for a new roof.
In late 2021 and early 2022, while a portion of the building was being used by the Depot, the city renovated 550 square feet on the first floor for storage of items needed for Park Plaza such as chairs and a stage, Gugliotta said.
Except for the storage area and the portion used by the Galesburg Downtown Depot, the building is vacant.
Changes to public comment
Hix and Acerra also requested the city prepare an amendment to the public comment policy.
That will be considered on first reading at Monday’s meeting.
They are asking to move public comments to the beginning of the meeting, require people to sign in and state the topic related to city business they would like to discuss, and limit comments to two minutes.
The amendment would also limit closing comments for council members to two minutes.
Hix did not respond to a request for comment, but has been criticized regularly during public comments in recent months, in part over social media activity.
Acerra was also criticized during public comment in the May 1 meeting regarding her motion and vote to table a contract for the interim public works director.
But she said she was concerned about public comments before she was elected, and she believes meetings would be more productive if public input was limited to discussions of city issues, not personal attacks.
“Severe personal attacks discourage good people from running for office and create an embarrassing image for our town. If we wish to attract new businesses and residents to Galesburg, we should demonstrate a sense of decorum in meetings,” Acerra said. “Performative, emotional outbursts and name-calling do not help Galesburg’s image.”
Other priorities
Here are other requests put forward by Hix and Acerra.
These are not on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, but could be considered at future council meetings and work sessions.
- Direct city staff to prepare RFPs to find developers interested in transforming the former Churchill Junior High into a residential development. The previous council approved Churchill as the site of a proposed community center.
- A report from the finance department outlining options and potential impacts of repealing a .25% sales tax increase approved by the previous council, proceeds from which would support the community center and other projects.
- An agenda item reallocating a $5 million bond issue that was approved by the previous council for the community center.
- A report from the finance department on the city’s hotel/motel tax and how those funds are allocated.
The city council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 15 in council chambers.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
