Hello, everyone. Welcome to the City Council meeting, Galesburg, Illinois, September 15th, 2025. I'll note that the room is sort of full. If you need to sit, there's a room just to my right that you're welcome. I think there are seats there. We will begin with the roll call, Ms. Benowitz. Council Member Hunnigan. Here. Miller. Here. White. Present. Achera. Here. Saul. Yes, ma'am. Cheeseman. Here. Mayor Schwarzman. Here. Seven are present, Your Honor. Thank you. We'll have the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the invocation by Bonnie Erickson. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your unending love for your kids. And sometimes we're a mess, but Lord, you love us anyway in spite of ourselves. I thank you for these who are here to serve. Thank you that they're willing to give their time and their energy and their knowledge to lead us. And Lord, I pray for your wisdom for us to do what is best for the entire community. And Lord, that we would be a blessed city because we're doing things in obedience to your wisdom. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, Ms. Erickson. We move to approve the minutes from the September 2nd, 2025 meeting. We need a motion and a second. So moved. Thank you, Mr. White and Mr. Chair. Any questions about the minutes from the council? Seeing none, I call for a vote on those minutes. September 2nd, 2025. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheesman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We've reached the public comment portion of the meeting. If you came here to speak, please step forward. You have three minutes to speak to the dais. And I will... The clock starts now. Please say your name. My name is Michael Bennett. Mr. Mayor, Council, I've had the privilege of meeting with many of you one-on-one, and I want to begin by saying thank you. You've taken the time to listen, and I know my words in those meetings haven't always carried the passion I feel, the thunder I tried to convey. So tonight, I want to leave no doubt in my basest form, I am nothing if I am not an advocate for seniors in our community. For 100 years, A full century, V&A has been here for Knox County seniors. Through wars, pandemics, recessions, this community never let its elders be forgotten. That is our legacy. And tonight, you have the chance to help carry it forward. Today, that legacy looks like 3,400 meals delivered every month, and with it in unison, $22,000 in food costs alone. And here's the reality. through title three programs we must raise nearly a hundred and twenty thousand dollars locally each year just to unlock seven hundred thousand dollars in federal funding what we are asking from this council is not to cover it all but to give us a strong dependable base a fifty thousand dollar yearly commitment that says to every senior in knox county you will not be left waiting the city stands with you these are just numbers Jill, a stroke survivor, told us if this place closed, people would be alone, and that's the hardest part about aging. And here, here are more than 25 pages of signatures. Neighbors, churches, cafes, families, over 850 individuals within this community, and they're saying seniors matter, stability matters, V&A matters. This is the voice of Galesburg. the heart of Knox County, rising together. We didn't come here with pitchforks. We came here with proof. We are inviting you to join us to put the city's voice alongside the people's voice so that when history looks back, it can say in 2025, Galesburg chose to stand tall with its seniors. That is leadership. That is legacy. That's Goosebumps. That's hurrahs. That's Galesburg taking care of its own. When you see these badges, know this. They are not just trinkets. We are here tonight to say with clarity, we are V&A. We stand with Knox County seniors. The question isn't can we afford to do this. It's how can we afford not to. This is Galesburg's moment. and history will remember how we rose to it. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Debbie Sugai, and I currently serve as the president of the Galesburg Historical Society. And as you already know, the building that housed the Churchill Middle School is now owned by Mr. Rob Benedict. The school building as such is all still intact to include the church bell. The bell was given to Churchill by Mrs. Rose Hoban. We have the plaque that went with the bell when it was given to the school. The Historical Society was given the bell early this year, and Mr. Benedict asked me earlier last week when I talked with him what our intentions were for the bell. We would like to take the bell and have it remounted in the original site of the Churchill Junior High School, which is on the south corner of Broad and Simmons. Mr. Benedict said that he thought that was a really great idea and wanted to be a part of that. And as a response to him, we were excited to hear that from him. This project won't cost the city of Galesburg anything. The Historical Society will handle the project in full. And also this... The logistics are still a lot to work on. We won't be doing this this week. We won't be doing it next month. We won't be doing it in three months. But the first step here is getting the approval from the city to be able to do this. Thank you. Thank you. Next person, please step forward. Anyone else here for public comment? Please state your name and you can begin. Good evening. My name is Mark Kelly. Mayor Schwartzman, the council, and other officials. Thank you for letting me speak. I'm here to urge you to continue and ideally expand the city's support for the V&A community services so they can secure full federal funding and avoid major service disruptions and ensure our neighbors are not left behind. The city has, I will try not to repeat what Mr., what Michael said. The city has... Supported and the county supported the VNA in the past. He's discussed what the local match requirements are. I'd like to note that it would be deeply unfair, potentially harmful to cut off the VNA funding without giving them sufficient time to secure other sources of matching funds. And many of their programs are. Planned year to year. and they may be unable to deliver those services, the meals, counseling, and other services. The seniors who rely on the home meals, social contact, would suffer serious harm to their nutrition, health, and mental well-being. Home delivered meals, congregate meals, and other programs. Additionally, if V&A couldn't provide their services, caregiver burdens would increase. Family members might have to step in without the respite that the VNA programs and services provide them. Seniors might require more intensive interventions without the services VNA provides. Hospitalization, commitment into assisted living. Seniors would increase their isolation and... perhaps poor nutrition, deteriorating health. These are real concerns. The city would receive a return on any investment it makes with the VNA because the more federal dollars that are brought in, the better for the entire community. It's leveraging the outside money. The city has a moral obligation to support the seniors' dignity and independence and support the volunteer efforts that are already underway in the city. If the VNA funds are cut, other parts of our local system will increase their burdens, emergency services, medicalization, hospital costs that have to be covered by charity care or other county social services. Higher burdens investing now would reduce those costs in the future. The city may worry that funding one nonprofit here means funding them all. Mr. Kelly, I hate to say it, your time is up, sir. Thank you for hearing me. Please step forward, next person. Hi. My name is Catherine Packingham. I am an agency director for a small business. Here in Galesburg, we employ 77 caregivers, and we take care of 84 of your seniors in our community and surrounding areas. I have been working with the V&A for roughly five months. I am a mother of three beautiful but stubborn teenagers, and we've helped... as much as we can with the VNA. I've seen their reach and I've seen what they can do for our community. I really feel as though some of the money that we have in the city of Gillsburg should go to our seniors because I've dedicated my entire life to taking care of seniors in our community, making sure that they have what they need. Of course, we are a for-profit company. So there's a lot of times where I can't provide them what they need. I can't provide them meals. I can't provide them the care that they need. So I turn to companies and organizations like the VNA in order to get that supplement for our seniors. I love being a referral source and spreading this message for the seniors who have no idea where they can turn. I would just like to say that thank you very much for your time. And it would be a shame if we let our most vulnerable fail. Thank you. Thank you. Next person. Please state your name. Good evening. I'm Reverend Vince Merola, Ward 7. I'm here this evening to ask that the Council and City leadership assist in funding the V&A. The V&A provides services to senior citizens in Galesburg and Knox County. It's important to know is that while they will accept donations for their services, they do not charge. No one is turned away from what the V&A does because they cannot pay. For two years, V&A director Michael Bennett has been bending the ears of anyone who will listen to try to attract necessary funding to allow this organization to continue to serve the community. Now about 2,000 years ago, a very wise person reminded us that where our money is, there is our heart also. So funding the VNA is not about money. It's about compassion for those in need. It's about our commitment as citizens and elected leaders to address the needs of the vulnerable. It's about putting our money where our heart is. Now I know people will throw up the idea that we don't have enough. but we have more than enough financial resources to crack open $700,000 for the VNA. The money is there, but I ask is our commitment there also? A month ago, this council voted to give another community not-for-profit over $900,000. And if you look at the minutes of the last two council meetings, it was pointed out while this organization has some subsidies, It does not grant membership to people who cannot pay. And the programming that they do is limited to members, not the entire community. The V&A serves anyone in need. Everyone in this room can be served one day by the V&A. Well, unless you die first, but. For years, the city had chosen to assist in funding this vital organization. Now that commitment is needed more than ever. Where are your hearts? With the vulnerable in need served by the V&A or with keeping the coffers full just in case we need to fix a street or something else deemed important. The day-to-day needs of the people that the V&A serves are vital to a healthy community for everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else here for public comment? Please step forward. State your name, please. Good afternoon, my name is Shirley Chu. I'm here not representing anybody but representing myself as a daughter and as a mom and at the same time as a business owner here in Galesburg community. Galesburg always been like part of me. I am not from this country but Galesburg has been very, very kind to me and they adopted me as their own. I'm very, very, I'm very emotional right now. You know, just thinking about our seniors being taken away, what their rights are, what their privilege is, is gonna make me, it makes me really, really sad. As you all know, I own a restaurant and 80% of our customers are seniors. And at Tres Cafe, we do our own new way to help them if we could. And you know, when Michael Bennett told me about what is going on, and it just makes me sad. And I'm here to ask, please, please, if you guys help them. I wish, you know, as a business owner, there's almost probably more than 50 businesses here in town. If each businesses can give 200 or 300 a year for V&A, that would be good. But right now, My thought is not everybody's thought, but if you councilman, if you guys can help them, we would really, really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay, we'll move on. Thank you much. Next item on the agenda is the consent agenda 2025-18. All matters listed under the consent agenda are considered routine. by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There's only one item under consent agenda this evening, 258017, approval and warrants drawn in payment of same. I need a motion for the consent agenda. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Saul. Second. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Any questions about any of the items? I guess the item. Seeing none, I ask for a vote on this item, consent agenda. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Six-foot, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We have two items under the passages of ordinances and resolutions. The first is on first reading, 25101016, sale of surplus city property. Mr. Hanson, can you tell us what... That's all about great. Thank your honor. Staff is recommending approval of a special ordinance authorizing the sale of surplus property through an online public auction. The city conducts such auctions annually requiring Council approval via ordinance with two readings. Items will be sold through purple wave auctions, a platform which manages listings, payments, 10 title transfers at no cost to the city. Proceeds will be deposited into the appropriate funds to offset future purchase purchases. We've obviously used purple wave before. happy to answer any questions. Mr. Hanson, if this were to pass in the subsequent meeting, when would be the date that packets would go out to the community? I'd have to get the exact date from purchasing. Ms. O'Hearn, do you know? Yeah, we can get that for council before the next meeting when it's on final reading, but I'm not, you know, from the time that it's approved, there's usually a Not a significant lag before it hits availability. Yeah, Mr. White asked how many properties this time? I'm sorry, this isn't actually property. To clarify, this is like file cabinets and things that... miscellaneous property we don't use anymore, so I apologize. I didn't quite grasp your question. So this is just miscellaneous items that we either no longer use or need, but because they were purchased with taxpayer money, they can't just be disposed of. They have to be disposed of through a process. We use the Purple Wave function for miscellaneous property because it's the lowest cost to the city. Thank you for that clarification. Mr. Honigan? If this is a truly successful sale, I mean the biggest sale we've ever had, how much money could the city receive from this auction? I think it'll be more than pennies and nickels, but the city's budget is not going to move significantly with the sale of these items. Mr. Miller? I'd like to make a motion to move this to second reading. Do we have a second on that motion? Second. Thank you, Mr. Saul. That's not something to be discussed, so it needs to be voted on. If you want this to move to second reading, vote yes. If no, vote no. It'll come back in two weeks. Hunnigan, no. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, no. Four, yes. Two, no, Your Honor. That constitutes a passage. And I mean, Mr. Hanson, I suppose that's not an issue for the city. I'm not aware that it's in violation of the procurement policy, but like I said, I think the ordinance is what's requiring the two readings. I think council has the ability to advance it and we would just move up our timeline to get the stuff up for sale. Thank you. I missed the chair. Can you tell me, I'm sorry if I missed you explaining this process, the Purple Wave. Is this like an online auction? Can you just, did you say that? I'm sorry. Okay. So it's an online auction. And so if people watching the city council meeting were interested, where will that be published? Well, I know we publish it on our website. We may or may not, although we certainly can put it out through our social media as well. Website's obviously the most, obvious place to put it out it's also all the information is actually in the packet currently which is obviously available as well so every item that's out for or will be placed following council action so uh... any number of ways they can they can get to it uh... but certainly uh... the website's probably the most prevalent the reason i'm move this to a second reading is A lot of this is, like he said, file cabinets, dump trucks, police cars, that type of stuff. And I know that in the past we've had trouble with storing all the stuff. And it's something that the city is not going to be using. And so... Sometimes it's just better to speed this process up so that we can get, especially get rid of it before winter time comes here. I know that there's a lot of snow plowing around where like the vehicles are stored and stuff like that. So it's just nice to be able to get, to move this forward enough where we can get rid of this surplus equipment. uh... office equipment that type of thing thank you mister white yes uh... can i ask uh... i have uh... tried to show people how to use our website and some of it you have to go through two or three sub menus to get to it so some things are hard to find even after practice is there a way that we can put this on the front page of our home page that people have Easier access to it instead of having to search it. The website that is. Sure, we can place it prominently and also because I know you're a champion of this. On the front page, you can also find notify me and you can sign up for these things and you will automatically get notification. Fantastic. Thank you. Anyone else? Mr. Cheeseman? Yeah, Mr. Mayor, and I have the greatest respect for Mr. Miller. here and the folks that voted for this. I just feel like that if we have, and there are times that I voted for something to be moved to the first reading where I felt like there was nothing to be gained by going to the second reading. But I think that many of these things are on a first and then second reading for a reason. To allow whatever needs to be done by the public, this isn't about us here, to take a look at these kinds of things so they can find out the information or do some more exploring or research so they have a chance to find out whatever they need to find out. And in this kind of situation, I feel like that they need that time here. So that's why I'm voting that we should stay with this, the regular format and the procedure of going to a second reading. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Cheeseman. Anyone else? Okay, now... It has been moved to a second reading. We still need, well, we need a motion to actually discuss it further and vote on it. So we need that motion now. Mr. Miller and Mr. Chair. Anything to add, Mr. Hanson? No, again, it's miscellaneous equipment, miscellaneous vehicles that have used and, you know, are at their end of life that we're no longer going to use. Information's in the packet. It's council's prerogative, but obviously staff is supportive of moving forward either tonight or at the next meeting. Thank you. Any last questions by the council? Seeing none, I'll ask for a vote on this item 251016. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, no. Five, yes. One, no, Your Honor. Thank you. The second item is the Resolution 25-2026, the authorization to accept 1970 East Main Street for demolition, including a license agreement. We need a motion and a second. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Honegan. Thank you, Mr. White. Mr. Hanson. Thank you, Your Honor. Staff is recommending approval of a resolution authorizing the acceptance of title to 1970 East Main and a license agreement granting the prior owner temporary access to the property. The property is in unsafe condition and not economically feasible to repair. The owner has agreed to deed the property to the City at no acquisition cost, subject to outstanding taxes. In exchange, the City will release the owner of any liability related to the structure and demolition. A four-month access period will be granted to allow for removal of personal belongings prior to the demolition. Acceptance of the property will support timely clearance and future reuse of the prominent site along East Main Street. No additional funding is required. Acceptance will reduce anticipated legal expenses related to demolition proceedings. Obviously, if you're not familiar, this is the old, what I can only assume was a general store right just to the west of Hy-Vee on East Main, which is also the reason why that... Road is a one-way only road because it obstructs view back to the west. This is something that I know the city has been working on for at least 20 years and council is encouraging support so we can finally get this corner cleaned up. Thank you. Any questions about this item? Mr. Cheeseman. I just appreciate that we're seeing a lot with this council and our administration and the public doing the same thing. a sense of urgency about doing some things that I know sometimes take time because of legal aspects and the steps are involved. But the sense of urgency to get some things taken care of that have been pushed, pushed, pushed, pushed, and pushed to the next level. And it's nice to see that lots of these things are being addressed now and it's to everybody's benefit. So I appreciate all of that. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Hunnigan, do you have a comment? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You have taken a blighted property off one of our important lots and made it basically more safe for the community. Thank you. Appreciate that. I appreciate the work of Mr. Alcorn, who was instrumental in getting this negotiated, so I don't want that to go unnoticed. But appreciate it. I agree. It's a property that needs to be cleaned up. Mr. Miller? Okay. Seeing none, I'll ask for a vote on 25-20-26. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Very well. We move to bids, petitions, and communications. We have two items that require our attention. 25, 30, 39, firearms purchase. We need a motion and a second. Thank you, Mr. Miller. Second. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Hanson. Thank you, Your Honor. Staff is recommending approval of a $57,729.96 bid from TW Gunworks here in Galesburg to purchase new firearms, optics, and holsters for the police department. The department is replacing its 2019 issued Sig Sauer P320 handguns due to growing safety concerns and use restrictions by other agencies. After evaluating alternatives, staff selected Glock handguns with... TW Gunworks submitted the only qualifying bid. Other vendors were either not Glock dealers or not licensed in Illinois. New equipment will ideally be issued by November 1st, 2025. Sale of the existing firearms is expected to offset a portion of the cost. Funding is available in the special enforcement funds. Did talk a little bit about this on WGIL this morning, and obviously the chief is here if you have specific questions. Staff is urging approval of this matter tonight. Thank you, Mr. Hanson. Anyone? Seeing none, I'll call Mr. White. What happens to the old ones, the old guns? Will they be sold? What happens to them? So we'll take them back in, and then we'll probably come back to the council to see if we were wanting to go through a gun dealer to sell the guns. Okay. I know what a Glock 47 MOS is. MOS is. What's the wholesome 507CX3 red? What is that? Sure. So that's the red dot optic that we are going to allow officers. We have some officers now that currently have the optic sights on their, on the firearms that are issued. We're going to be able to provide those to officers in the training necessary if they, if they want to. All right. So both of all the holes are just optics, either optics or braces for the other. Is the adapter plates or the braces? Correct, it's to be able to put the hollis on. All right, thank you. Thank you. Mr. Saul? Is that an option, those optic? Yes, we'll make it an option going forward. We want the officers to obviously be efficient and comfortable, and some prefer iron sights, some prefer, or the trend is going to this optics option. So we will at least provide the optics and be a department issued optic if they want to go forward with that. Thank you. Next question then. If they are an option, are we going to purchase 58 of them? Or are we just going to purchase the ones that want them? So we're going to go ahead and purchase all of them at this time. That way that we already have the same model, same everything supplied if the officers do want that. we'll already have them ready to be equipped. So how many do you anticipate that will want one? And how many of those will be sitting around at $200 a piece? I don't have that number on me right now. Okay. Anyone else? Seeing none, I ask for a vote on 25-30-39. and again yes miller yes white yes a cherry yes saw yes cheeseman yes six foot yes your honor thank you next item for bid is twenty five thirty forty this is tower work we need a motion in a second thank you mr miller thank you mr white mr hansen thank your honor staff is recommending approval of a twenty nine thousand five hundred dollar proposal from kcom technologies of bartonville for antenna and conduit installation on city towers to support a backup wireless communication network the project is part of a broader effort to improve redundancy in the city's fiber system installed conduit will protect current antenna cables and support future equipment upgrades the city received three proposals with kcom submitted the lowest responsive bid meeting all the specification work is expected to be completed by november of this year funding is available in the general fund under the IT budget. Happy to answer any additional questions. Thank you. Any questions by this item by the council? Seeing none, I call for a vote on 25, 30, 40. Honigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Mr. Hanson, we've reached the city manager's report. Anything to add? Nothing specific unless council has any questions. Any questions for the city manager this evening? Okay, we'll move on. Miscellaneous business. We have four items to consider here. First is 25-40-55 fiscal year 2025 budget adjustment. Do we have a motion? Salute. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Second. There's a course over there. I'll give Mr. Cheeseman the tie. Okay, Mr. Hanson. Thank you, Your Honor. Staff is recommending approval of a budget adjustment number one to align the city's accounting with generally accepted accounting principles. Adjustments include carryover purchases ordered from 2024 and new grant-related revenues and expenditures not available at the time of the original CY 2025 budget. Prior year purchases, purchase orders were committed before December 31st, 2024, and will be funded from unspent balances carried forward. Grant funding includes state and federal sources with matching funds from the capital project funds. Sufficient fund balance is available to support these adjustments. Staff is recommending approval. Thank you. Any questions, comments? Mr. Honigan? Yes, being new to the council, I'm not clear as what you're asking us to do. We have a budget. Are we expanding the budget or maintaining the budget, decreasing the budget? I'm not quite sure. Yeah, so every year, you know, we do this once or twice a year. We... We work diligently to try and anticipate every single expense that comes through the city, but obviously that in some cases unanticipated grants become available that we apply for that we have to put in or unanticipated expenses occur. And so twice a year, typically we will come back to the council and say, These are the adjustments that we made that were anticipated and approved expenses. As it mentions, there are some things that are ordered late in the year that were approved by the council in 2024, but obviously weren't expended because the items weren't available until sometime this year. And we have to account for those things as well. I'm probably missing something, so I'll certainly defer to my colleague, Ms. O'Hearn, and finance. But this is essentially just going through the formal process a motion of officially cleaning up items that have already been approved by council and to align the budget so that we can close the budget out at the end of the year. We're asking for more money, less money? Well, it depends. In the case if it's a grant that was awarded, it would be more money because there's now a revenue source that comes with it, an expense that goes with it as well. If it was a carryover, so an item that was budgeted in 2024 and spent in 2025, as the report says, the money was then carried forward to account for the expense. So I'm going to use this only as an example, but we ordered a truck in 2024. It didn't become available until 2025. We had the money in 2024. We carried it forward. We paid for it, and then we account for it in this year's spending plan. Is that helpful? That's helpful. Ms. O'Hearn, am I missing anything? No, but that is exactly correct. The 2024 POs that didn't get spent, it's money that was unspent in 24. So basically you had a surplus in 24. So now you're spending it in 25 instead. And so it's just kind of matching up the fiscal years. So it's really just cleaning the budget up. Correct. For this year. Correct. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Honigan. Any other further questions? Seeing none, I'll call for a vote on 2541. 55. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Next item under miscellaneous business is 254056. 1% better LLC at 331 to 3370 Main Street. facade grant agreement the motion in a second so moved i heard mr cheeseman i heard mr on again mr hansen i'm sorry thank your honor staff is recommending approval of assad grant improvement grant not to exceed eighteen thousand five hundred twenty five dollars and seventy cents for renovation at three thirty one to three thirty seven east main street as unanimously supported by the facade advisory committee on september second twenty twenty five The project includes painting the metal facade, installing a circular design, and replacing the awning across the full storefront. The improvements support the opening of the new orange cup side car, which is expected to create three full-time and up to 10 part-time jobs. Total project costs are estimated at $37,051.40 for the facade work, with the grant covering up to 50% and the remainder funded by the owner. Work is expected to begin in September 2025. Funding is available in TIF Fund 4. This is part of the downtown facade grant program that's been in place for multiple decades. Obviously, excited for those that love bagels. I think they'll be excited that this store is opening up. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Mr. Hanson. Any questions about this item? We've been bribed with food before. I'm always willing to take a bait on that, especially with bagels. So are folks going to be making bagels there? Yes, I believe that's the plan, part of the plan, along with some other goodies. Scott and Melanie and their entire team at Orange Cup have done great things in our community, and I think it adds to the other businesses and similar businesses that we have in downtown. you know, in the region. Covered this a little bit again this morning on the radio, but appreciate their continued investment in the downtown and obviously them matching up with the others that are already there and continuing. I think just a couple weeks ago we had the pet shop on East Main as well. So, you know, seeing some redevelopment along the Main Street corridor is always a positive. Thank you. I believe this is located between Jerry's Barbershop and El Baril. Is that correct? Yeah, it's the big green right now. It's solid green. I don't know, 20 years ago when I was here, there was an educational technology training center there, and I think they're taking the whole space. Obviously, KCAP representatives are here as well if there's specific questions, but that's the area that they're improving. And it's going to be a noticeable improvement. Very well. Okay, I'll call for a vote on 25, 40, 56. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Next item. is 254057, Major Project Grant Agreement with Threshwood Farms, Quality Meats, Incorporated, 2860 West Main Street. We need a motion and a second. Mr. Cheeseman, I heard you loud. Who else? And Mr. Chair, Mr. Hanson? Thank you, Your Honor. Staff is recommending approval of $100,000 major project grant to support a $22 million expansion at Thrushwood Farm Quality Meats Incorporated at its 2860 West Main Street facility. The project will increase production capacity and create 50 new positions with an average annual wage of $40,040. Rules will include packing, processing, and maintenance technicians, with hiring expected to begin in the fall of 2025. This grant is separate from the previous agreements and is based on additional investment and job growth at the site. The Knox County Area Partnership and city staff support the request. Funding for this program comes through the Economic Development Fund, Fund 24, which is part of the Economic Development Sales Tax that was put in place back when the logistics park went into existence. I believe this program has been in place for 10 plus years, if I'm not mistaken, or close to it. Again, this is, we're excited to continue to work With WSP, this will move that particular location up to 191 employees, and then they're also still working on the other 150 to 180. I think they reported this week that they'd be up over 350 manufacturing jobs by the end of the year, which is no small feat and certainly appreciate. uh... everything the western smokehouse is done and appreciate our partners that k cap for helping put this deal together happy to answer any questions thank you mister hanson any questions for the council mr cheeseman no questions in the answer to how many total jobs were looking at but i think it is absolutely significant to mention and i know thank you mister springer his staff and mister hanson all those are involved in this that this is the single biggest economic event to occur in our city and community in a long, long period of time. And to have manufacturing jobs that will pay well in a company that is just very, very respected with owners that are local. I mean, this is good news in all kinds of ways. And it just continues to build good momentum for us economically in a time when it's been difficult to do. And we're seeing lots of good things, just like you just saw here with the Orange Cup. These are locally owned solid people that give back to their community and there's so many of those folks like this in our entire area. This is all good news and this is a real significant addition along with the other stuff they've done. So thankful to all of them and I know we're going to really reap the dividends down the line here. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Hunnegay. Any idea when this plant will open? This phase, I'm not sure that, you know, the expansion, because I think the facility is already there. So I think they're anticipating and I'll certainly invite Mark or Ken up relative to the exact timing. I know they're trying to get their Maytag location up and running by October 1st. And I believe that this is by the end of the year or shortly into the first quarter of 2025, given that it's mostly equipment and job adding. as well. So I think they fully anticipate and are going to try and hire these folks before the end of the year. Thank you. Mr. Chair? Just a brief comment. This is great news, and I just think this underscores the importance of our working on some housing development for the area. And I know I don't need to say that to anybody here on staff because you've been working very hard at that, but it just... I just want to, you know, emphasize my commitment to the degree that we can promote that sort of thing because we definitely need more homes if we're going to have more jobs here. So just want to make that comment. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. I'll ask for a vote on 254057. Heineken, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Yeah, that's remarkable, all of that, what I heard. I'm surprised none of the councillors asked for samples. That was our one chance. But well done, gentlemen in the front. You and your staff are doing a marvelous job. And, I mean, as mentioned by several of the people on this dais, you know, lots of... Lots of our local people are stepping up and doing marvelous work to expand the programs that they have started here in Galesburg. Well, I said it after the vote, so it's too late now. It's all about timing, Mr. Miller. It's all about timing. Okay, our next item, last item. Miscellaneous business 256005. This is appointment memo. First ward city council member need a motion and a second. We hear Mr. Miller and we heard Mr. White. Mr. Hanson. Thank your honor. The mayor is recommending appointing. Angelica Manjiri to complete the unexpired term of council member Bradley Hicks in Ward 1. A Galesburg native and business owner, Manjiri founded Community Grow in 2020 to address food access and sustainability. She has served as vice president of the Downtown Community Partnership and helped lead events such as Cafe in the Park and Holiday's Parade. Selected from eight applicants, Mangieri will bring a collaborative approach, strong community ties, and a focus on youth and family issues. Her experience is expected to be a valuable asset to the council and Ward 1 residents. Thankfully, this is not something that the city manager takes part in. So, Mayor, I'll turn it back over to you. Thank you. Anyone have any questions, comments? Mr. Cheeseman. I got to speak with Mrs. Mangieri. last week and asked her a number of things and had a nice conversation. I was very impressed. I thought she was very willing to, she mentioned how much that she would look forward to working with folks to, like all of us do, listen and learn and contribute. And I think she'll make a fine member of the council and add much to our group here. So I support that, her addition. without question. Thank you. Mr. Miller. I had the privilege of sitting down with Ms. Mangieri for two hours Friday. It was a very good meeting. We had a lot of things that we discussed, basically city business that we, things that, strategic planning that we had done a year, year and a half ago, kind of filled her in on some of that. So I 100% support appointing her. Thank you. Mr. White. My reason for wanting her is she can cook. I've tasted her food. Priorities. Okay. Thank you, folks. I guess I'll call for a vote on 256005. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. And I'll just want to say, I mean, this is the third time I've had the privilege of putting up a nominee. And I would say this time, I think the council's attention to the matter was what I would hope. You know, the due diligence you guys have done is very... is very well appreciated and I think speaks well to what Mr. Cheeseman just pointed out, that we have built the ability to talk to one another and work together and this person will be a valuable member of this dais and moving the city forward. Does she take her seat now? No, she doesn't take a seat today. Okay. But thank you. We need a motion to sit as the town board. So moved. I heard several voices. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? We are cities and a town board. We have one item on the town business. I'm sure everybody knows what it is. The bills. The bills. 259022, the bills. We need a motion. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Saul and Mr. Miller. Any questions about the bills? Okay, I call a vote on the bills. 259022. Hunnigan, yes. Miller, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We now need to resume as a city council. We need a motion. Heard several voices. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? We are sitting as a city council. We move to closing comments. I ask if any member wants to lead off this evening. Baseball is coming up soon. Mr. White, are you going to lead off? No, but I will. Okay. When Ms. Deb came up to speak about the Churchill Bell, I looked at that thing. I've actually got a picture next to it. I've had the opportunity to go out and take a picture with it. And that's a piece of pride because I remember when Churchill was over here. That's a great move that you guys are going to move it. And I do believe the city is going to be very, very helpful. Thank you for the Historical Society. I was really pleased when I found out that the weapons that we're gonna be buying for the police officers are gonna be locally resourced. That's a great, get it in Gettysburg, I'll never forget that. I think it's a slogan we had years and years ago. Today is September the 15th. In 1963, four African American school girls were killed in a bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Idy Collins, Denise McNair, Carol Robinson, Cynthia Wesley were the victims. They were just three weeks after Martin Luther King made his famous I Have a Dream speech and three months after Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi. This act of racial violence galvanized the civil rights movement. Two of the murders are dead. one while in prison for the crime. The others two were subsequently indicted. On the morning of the bombing, the white man was seen getting out of a white and turquoise Chevrolet car and placing a box under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Soon after, at 10.22 a.m., the bomb exploded, killing Denise McNair, which was 11, Addie Mae Collins, which was 14, Carol Robinson, which was 14, and Cynthia Wesley, which was 14. The four girls had been attending Sunday school classes in the church. 22 other people were also injured by the blast. The civil rights activists blamed George Wallace, the governor of Alabama, for the killings. Nicknamed Bombing Ham, the city has had more than 40 bombings since World War I. Only a week after the bombing, Wallace had told the New York Times that to stop integration, Alabama needed a few first-class funerals. A witness identified Robert Kambliss, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, as a man who placed the bomb under the steps of the 16th Street Baptist Church. He was arrested and charged with murder and possessing a box of 122 sticks of dynamite without a permit. On October the 8th, 1963, Chambliss was found not guilty of murder and received a $100 fine and a six-month jail sentence for having the dynamite. The unsolved case was until Bill Braxley was elected Attorney General of Alabama. He requested a original firm Federal Bureau of Investigation files on the case and discovered that the organization had accumulated a great deal of evidence against Chambliss and had not been used at the original trial. On May the 18th of 2000, the FBI announced that the 16th Baptist Church bombing had been carried out by the Ku Klux Klan Spinner Group, the Cahaba Boys. It was claimed that the four men, Chambliss, Herman Cash, Thomas Blackson and Bobby Cherry have been responsible for the crime. Cash was dead, but Blackson and Cherry were arrested. Both have since been tried and convicted. We have murders and violence. When are we going to stop? When are we going to stop and treat each other as human beings? We have to stop. We're not going to have a society. We're not going to have a nation in the country. We're arresting people on the streets. It has to stop. This partisan tribal junk has to stop. Thank you for listening to me. Yes, you've exceeded your time. Thank you. Mr. Chair. I'm still going to speak about my weekend and being downtown. I do feel that after those remarks, it is important to just recognize that we need to see the... We need to see the spark of God in everyone and be kind to everyone. There have been some horrible things happen of late, just absolutely horrible, where people are refusing to see the humanity in one another. So I feel your passion, and we just need to be kind to one another and, again, just see the God in everyone. But, you know, I also want to mention things that are of a lighter nature and of a more positive nature. And I do think we have a lot to be proud of with regard to Galesburg. I had a fantastic time this weekend enjoying our downtown. I think that the work that is being done downtown looks fantastic. The sidewalks, the landscaping, I know it's not quite done yet, but it was so fun. I had kind of a girl's night out. I went out with two friends, went to the new Fisk Beer and Wine. I highly recommend it. Lovely charcuterie boards, lovely drinks, and then went to see Mama Mania at our Orpheum Theater, the jewel of downtown. It's my understanding they just received a grant, which is something that's wonderful, a preservation grant. So to see that just so vibrant, the place was packed, people had a terrific time, and it was a great experience. So we have a lot to be proud of, and I think we do have a lot of kind and caring people in this community. So we have a lot to be thankful for. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Saul? I, too, feel that things have gotten carried away. I mean, as far as what people say, you shouldn't die for what you believe in. I don't know what happened to the old saying, sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Some people take things to heart. on what other people say. And I don't think it should be that way. They're just voicing their opinion, but some people get too carried away. I just turned 68 years old Saturday. I don't know what happened between when I was younger and when I got older, but... Something drastically happened and we need to do something about it. I feel you, Dwight. It's ridiculous that somebody dies over what somebody else says. You know, it's crazy. I just don't get it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Saul. Mr. Cheeseman. Concur with your remarks, Dwight. You're right on the money with all of that. There's certainly things that can be said about all that and that's for another time at least with what's going on, but these things have to stop some way or the other. And again, we can all control our own actions and that's where it needs to start being accountable for your own actions. Seniors, heard you, you make so much of a difference in our world, our community. You've built what we have. and grateful for that. And that's always been a priority for me in this job and just a priority in general to make sure that folks are taken care of. So heard you loud and clear here tonight. Again, with the Thrushwood Farms news, the Orange Cup news, all the other things that we're seeing with business, local business doing things here, they're the backbone to the success of our community economically. And we need to continue to pay attention to that and do everything we can to foster their success because they give back so much to our community, especially in these areas we're talking about in nonprofits and charity and things like that that help so many things run so well. So again, thank you for that great news. Thank you to all of them. And we need to continue to do things to be of help to them. I know that Dwight talks about finding out about your city. There are a variety of places to do that. I want to mention one more. Every day in the morning time on WGIL with Jay Redfern, who just does a superior job and is a wonderful journalist, Mr. Hanson and he have a conversation along with Tyler Gump about what's going on at the city council meeting as well as going into those topics and other topics in depth. And that's a great resource too because they both do such a good job of explaining all that. So that's something to another... vehicle that you can get information on. And again, thank you for how we work here together. We do a really good job, and I think we're all okay when we have a disagreement. We're working to find common ground and find good results that help you folks. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Cheeseman. Mr. Honigan. Thank you, Mayor. I want to say that an involved electorate is critical for the health and vitality of our community. I want to take this opportunity to thank a coalition of nine constituents from my ward for their willingness to attend a session at City Hall on September 4th. It was conveniently scheduled to conform to their workday schedule on a Thursday afternoon to discuss some of the problems which are facing my ward, which is Ward 2. The session at City Hall with my neighbors lasted well over an hour. Deteriorating properties and vacancy, which included abandoned cars left to deteriorate in driveways were top issues during our session. City administrators heard Ward 2 residents also complain about speeding cars, illegal burning, noise and unwillingness of some landlords to cut their grass or maintain their property. My residents made it quite clear that poorly maintained property throughout the city affects property values, it decreases government revenue, increases crime, there are fire risks, and it creates really a cycle of decay. I personally want to thank City Manager Eric Hansen for making this session possible. And again, I personally want to thank him for making this session possible. Not only was he present, he went out of his way to recruit and invite key members of his staff and city administrators to be present there too. This was truly an example of participatory democracy, also city engagement with city officials can solve many of our pressing problems. Again, I thank everyone who made this session possible. Also from September 18th to the 20th, I will be attending and joining my first Illinois Municipal Conference at the Hyatt Regency. in Chicago, Illinois, where over 2,000 elected officials are expected to participate. I hope my goal is that I will find a visionary or a city planner or an official which will give me ideas about renovating the abandoned Weston School site. on Mulberry Street. Again, I thank the taxpayers of this community for allowing me to attend this conference. Finally, we live in unsettling times. We live in turbulent times. We live in perilous times. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Domingan. Mr. Miller. Mr. White. I asked to go last night and it was all around where you had your scene. We've had three terrible, terrible incidences in the last two weeks. Had a 22 year old lady get her throat slashed. on a subway train going home. We've had a radio personnel that was shot. We had another school shooting. Folks, you can do all the gun control you want. The illegals are going to get the guns no matter what. I own guns. Not a one of my gun has ever, ever been pointed at anybody, never has shot anybody. So it's an individual that is causing all of these problems. We have a problem with mental health in the United States. I've said it once, I'll say it again. I am not a mental health expert. And at this point, I do not see anybody that has come up with a plan on how to deal with mental health 100%. This is something that we need to do desperately is to help people with mental health. Also, we as a city, which is a wonderful city, we have many, many good residents in this city. We all need to get along. I've seen being on the council, hate. Hateful things happen in this chamber. We are all trying to work together. And if you look at what this council has done in the last year and a half, since I've been on longer than that, but the first six months was pretty rough. But after that, 95% of everything that comes before us, you have a unanimous vote. And we're all pretty much in unison on issues that's addressing the city. I've had a sit down meeting with the mayor a couple times. We're gonna have another one this year. All I ask is everybody, let's get along and work together for the betterment of our city thank you thank you mr miller um yeah i think it's it's hard to reflect uh the community watching and sees i mean the people who watch regularly these meetings have seen a transformation in this council and the civility that we we show one another and i think that's wonderful where hopefully continuing to grow in that regard and that can be projected out in the community and something we can be proud of as we continue down this road. We have a lot of things to do, as Mrs. Chair pointed out. So a lot of continued investment required to bring people, we bring in some jobs, thanks in part to the two gentlemen in the front row. But if people don't have a place to live, then that's a lost opportunity. And I know Mr. Hanson and many others, the entire board of KCAP is very much recognizing the importance of that. So thank you for all your comments tonight. A couple of things I want to mention. Yes, Mr. Hunnigan pointed out, well, there is a conference this weekend. I don't know how many of us, I think the majority of us are going for the three or four day conference. IML conference in Chicago, and it's an opportunity to meet other council members to share ideas, other mayors, other city managers, and really get a sense of what's going on in our state. There are people from all over the state that come to this, and this will be my fifth year attending. I'm looking forward to it, and hopefully we'll have learned some things, and we'll bring those ideas back to our community. Wanted to mention, especially if you have loved ones and the Linwood Cemetery, both Linwood and East Linwood will be, cemeteries will be cleaned up as it were this coming, the following week. So if you have things there, you want to contact the city. There's a nice post on the first page of our website that kind of talks about that, but I didn't want that to become, you know, to go unawares. So if you're watching, and you have loved ones there, be sure you read what's posted on the city website. Today we had convocation at Knox College. We opened the year and we have, I saw the report, I think 32 states and 20 countries in the world are represented by student in our school. This is my 28th year teaching at Knox. It's a long time. It's half my life I've been teaching at Knox College. And we had a convocation, the opening ceremony. And the person who was asked to speak is a colleague of mine, Mr. Mark Schroer. It's quite unusual for the college to invite a faculty member to speak at a convocation. But he was chosen. And he's a physics professor. He's been here, I think he came in 2004 or 2005. Raised his family here. They're both, both of his children are in college now. But his speech was profound, very moving. And I've asked him to share it with the community. What I did, I had no idea what he would say, right? But what I can tell you, and I encourage you to listen or read his speech when it becomes available. Here's a gentleman who did not grow up here. He moved here and has been here almost as long as I have. But his attention to our community, his respect for our community, his ability to transcend the divide between the college and the city is really clarified in this presentation that he gave to, for the most part, the new students that are coming to the college. It was profound. I was very moved and I was very thankful. to have him give that speech. And I think if you were here in this body today, you would be very moved by many of the comments made by the council. On a lighter note, I spent the weekend in Galesburg playing Scrabble. You may have read a lot about it. It's the one thing I get a lot of attention for, but I can tell you it was a marvelous event. I want to thank Tuesday Chetton, who's the director of the Community Arts Center downtown. That's where it was held. It was a fabulous event. We had tremendous support from many of our local restaurants and organizations. The people who came, we had 45 players. About eight or nine of them are from Galesburg area, but the other 30 plus were from places far and wide, including Georgia and Maryland. And they, without exception, are so impressed with our community. And sometimes you have to hear it from outside. to fully appreciate what we have. Not just the free parking. That's something that they recognize and really appreciate. But it's more than that. It's when they go into a restaurant and how they're treated. It's how when they walk down the street, they're appreciated. And our downtown, as Ms. Chair pointed out, looked really sharp this weekend. So all in all, it was a great weekend for Galesburg. And on that note, I ask for closure of the meeting. All right. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. We are... We are closed.