All right, folks, it is 6 o'clock, and we've all convened in City Council Chambers in Galesbury, Illinois, for the City Council meeting. Ms. Benowitz, can you call the roll, please? Council Member Mangieri? Here. Hunnigan? Here. Miller? White? Present. Achera? Here. Saul? Here. Cheeseman? Here. Mayor Schwartzman? Here. Seven are present, Your Honor. Thank you. We'll stand for Pledge of Allegiance, and then we'll have followed by a... Short moments of silence. First order of business tonight is the approval of the minutes from the October 6th, 2025 meeting. We need a motion and a second. Thank you, Mr. White, Mr. Chair. Any questions about the minutes? Seeing none, I ask for a vote on the minutes of the October 6th, 2025 meeting. Manjari, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We have reached public comment. If you came here to speak or if you will to speak, please step forward. You have three minutes to share your thoughts with the council. Anyone here tonight? Please step forward. Please state your name. Thank you. Michael Spinks, Ward 5. My business is in Ward 2 with Mr. Hunnigan. First, I want to make it clear that I'm not up here standing to complain, put a cloud over any other business, not-for-profit or for-profit. I'm here to change the narrative of the perception of those sitting up on council, those behind me, and those watching online. I'm going to try to use my three minutes wisely here. I have a whole thing here, but you're only going to get the three-minute version. Kind of like the last time when I approached you about the floor, which I was told that if you do help me with that, you'd have to help everyone else with that. And with the blessing of the mayor's fundraiser, Rebecca Hawkins and Knoxville American Legion, we raised around $16,000. What's left, $107,000 remaining, which I ended up just getting a personal loan for. What I'm here for today is to kind of, you know, let you guys know as a group, because I've talked to most of you individually, and I kind of feel like I'm getting put on the back burner again. I've been told I've received a startup grant. You know, what else do you want us to do? This summer we did run an enrichment program, Monday through Thursday, April through August, from three to seven. We had over 300 kids enrolled. That was made possible by a grant from the mental health board, Knox County Mental Health Board. It was a free program, kids come in, we did field trips, we fed them. Since obviously United Way, they moved and the YMCA couldn't fit us in. We have different programs which I look forward to talking to you as a group again or individually with the newest one being the laundry service that we offer. Not only offering a free community laundry service We teach kids how to do their laundry. I understand that there's a chain of command on how to do things. In a certain way, I've had the meetings with the city manager and everyone else, but I'm not asking for the keys to the city. I'm just asking for support. I'm not asking for help or a handout. I'll say that again. I'm not asking for a handout. In return, which I'm running out of time, the word Carver Center is taboo around here. I've been told that's the closest thing I've been doing for the past two and a half years is close to the Carver Center. There's not a week that goes by to where someone says, you know, go to city council, go here, you know, we can come up and support and do that. I don't want to waste your time with two hours of public comment. It seems like the common thing to do, and I'm just putting it in this forum. Hopefully this way something can be done to where I can be put on the agenda and taken care of. In closing, I'll just say, I know I'm out of time, but in living in Galesburg, it's a lot. You know, I've been, you know what, I'll save that for my next time. Thank you guys for your time. Thank you. Please step up. You have three minutes, if you wish. Anyone else? Okay, we'll move on. Thank you for those who spoke. The consent agenda 2025-20. All matters listed under the consent agenda are considered routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion. There are five items currently on that agenda. Number one is 25-2031, resolution for 2026 fill material MFT. 25-4064, employee assistance program contract renewal. 20... 4065, administration of EPA brownfields grants. And 254066, repairs to bus 1701. And lastly, 258019, approval and warrants drawn in payment of same. Do we have a motion for this item? So moved. Thank you. Second. Thank you. You have any questions about it, Mr. White? I know people in the audience, they have no idea what material MFT stand for. Can you explain that for them? Sure. It's motor fuel tax related money that's used to purchase items that are needed to repair the roads. Thank you. Thank you. Any further questions? Seeing none, I ask for a vote on the consent agenda 2025-20. And Jerry, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We move to passages of ordinances and resolutions. We have two items, one calling for a vote. The first is on first reading, 25-10-17, Revenue Adjustments. We don't need a motion. I'll ask Mr. Hansen to give us more edification. Sure, thank you, Your Honor. Staff is recommending approval of updates to the master revenue fee schedule as part of the fiscal year 2026 budget process. The proposed changes include standard increases to various licenses, recreation and refuge fees, reflecting cost recovery goals while avoiding undue burden on residents. Five existing recreation fees not previously listed have also been added to the list for consistency and transparency. All updates are routine in nature with no unusual unusual usual increases proposed. If approved, the revised rates and fees will take effect in January of 2026 and reflected in the 2026 budget. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions on this item? Okay, we'll move on to the next item. 25-2032. This is an estimation of property tax levy. It does require a first and a second. Thank you, Mr. Cheeseman. Second. Mr. Saul, thank you. Mr. Hanson. Thank you, Your Honor. Staff recommends that the resolution to limit the 2025 property tax levy to no more than 105% of the 2024 property tax levy extension be passed. Prior to the first and second readings of the property tax levy, the City Council must pass the resolution indicating whether they intend to exceed the 5% increase threshold, which would trigger a Truth in Taxation public hearing. This resolution confirms the intent to stay below the 5% increase, therefore eliminating the need for such hearing. The 2025 property tax levy revenues will be budgeted for the 2026 calendar year. Happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Any questions about this item? I have one question. Yes, Mr. Hunnigan. So we are not increasing property taxes this year? We are not. All this resolution says is that we will not have a levy that's 5% more than last year's. As we discussed in the budget workshop, based on the levy that was put forth in the budget workshop, we're anticipating the city's property tax rate to decline slightly. Oh, decline? Yeah. Okay. That's been the case the last few years. I think, if I remember correctly from the data, the tax rate will be the lowest it's been since 2008. if it's adopted as was presented and recommended by the city staff. And where does most of this revenue go in regard to the budget? The vast majority of the property tax levy goes to pay public safety pensions. Okay. Thank you. Any further questions? Mr. Cheeseman. Because this is always a very difficult type of concept to understand. Thank you for explaining that. Would you also mention, because our plan, and we've talked about this, is to keep our tax rates down and do our part in this. What other groups are involved in this that can have or create the tax rates that they want, which when people get their tax rate, they see their tax go up. I don't mind ever getting the blame for things that I do, but in this situation, it's not something that we're responsible for. Can you explain to the public what other groups are involved in their overall property tax? Sure, there's a number of groups, and for those reference, Mr. Redfern was gracious enough to give me a little time this morning to talk about this on GIL, so I covered this in more detail this morning. But within the tax bill, the city is about 20%. And then another 5% of what you allocate goes to the library. The rest of the bill goes to the various other taxing bodies. If you want more detail, either A, it's obviously available on your tax bill, but also on the city's website. We put a whole page on this in the city's annual report, which breaks down the various entities that receive property tax revenue. Thank you. So there are a number of other taxing bodies that are on there. Thank you. Mr. White? And that information that you said that the city can get is on the front page of our website where it says get informed? Yeah, it's in the annual report. I think there's a link on the front page, but certainly within there, there's a tab relative to resources and or residents. I'm drawing a little blank here exactly where it's at, but it's there. Obviously, in the search function, annual report is there. Yes, it's readily available. The annual report is readily available, and in there is a specific page that discusses the property tax and its layout. There also on the front page is the latest budget workshop presentation that also had two or three slides on this particular topic for reference. I just wanted to make sure that citizens knew how to find it because it's there for you. Thank you very much. Seeing nothing else, I'll call for a vote on 25-2032. Banjiri, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We move now to bids, petitions and communications. We have three items in this area of the meeting, 25, 30, 43. This is 2026 supply of bulk rock salt. Anyone want to motion that? Mr. Chair, thank you. All right, Mr. White seconds. Mr. Hanson, tell us what we're going to do with this rock salt. I hope we're going to stave off winter is what I hope we're going to do. But no, staff recommends approval of the use of the 2025-2026 state bid for bulk rock salt priced at $84.88 per ton from Morton Salt Incorporated. Annually, the city participates in the State of Illinois Central Management Services bid to purchase rock salt at a discounted rate due to volume purchasing. This also ensures timely availability of salt for winter operations. The proposed rate applies from November 2025 to April 2026, with a minimum purchase of 1600 tons required. The city typically uses between 2000 and 2500 tons of salt each winter, though usage varies depending on the severity of the season. Currently, the city has approximately 2500 tons of salt in storage. Historical rates for the past several years show fluctuations based on demand with 2024 rates at $84 803 per ton the city has budgeted sufficient funds for 2025 2026 winter season from the motor fuel tax fund essentially this we're just buying the minimum this year because obviously we're full we'll take it over the period of time and store it so if if and when we begin using salt we can we can acquire and store to make sure we have plenty of salt obviously that is not something you want to run out of around here And, you know, hopefully the almanac is wrong and it's not a winter full of moisture, but if it is, we'll be prepared and ready to treat the streets, having to answer any additional questions. Thank you. Anyone? I have one question. Mr. Honigan. I'm new to this. Where is this stored? Well, if you go down Henderson Street, there's a gigantic building just past the tracks that's covered that is... full of salt. And it's a sight to behold. We'll be happy to give you a tour. But there's rock salt storage there currently. Thank you. Yeah, bring some fries next time. Okay, anyone else? We will call for a vote on 253043. Manjeri, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Six-foot, yes. Your Honor? Thank you. Next item, 253044, purchase and installation of car cameras, interview room cameras, and body-worn cameras. Need a motion and a second. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Second. Thank you, Mr. Saul. Mr. Hanson? Thank you, Your Honor. Staff recommends approval of a five-year agreement with Motorola Solutions for the purchase and installation of 13 car cameras, 55 body-worn cameras, and two interview room systems, totaling $435,342.85. This purchase replaces aging equipment and integrates all camera systems to enhance advanced collection and officer accountability. Motorola's proposal was selected from four submissions meeting all technical specifications and offering added features such as translation services and integration with portable radios. The city anticipates receiving a $100,000 matching grant towards the purchase. Insufficient funds are budgeted in special revenue and capital project funds. This particular item is replacing current outdated equipment. So this is independent of the next item on the agenda. They kind of do coexist, but we already have body-worn cameras. We already have car cameras. This is updating the technology to newer and better equipment. Happy to answer any questions. One question I have is, is there a percentage of this that is used for storage of the material that we receive with these cameras? I think this is just the actual camera equipment itself, but I'll let the Chief jump in on the total proposal. Yeah, this also includes cloud storage and we have unlimited cloud storage. So we'll be able to store unlimited data. Thank you for that. Because I've heard in some other cities there's been some challenges with keeping all that information. There's a ton of information if you think about it. Okay, any other questions from the council? Mr. Hunnigan. I'm going to vote yes on this. But why is this equipment so expensive? Well, I'm not sure. I'm not sure I'm the most qualified. Obviously, it's proprietary technology. But, Chief, do you have a handle? I'm not trying to punt to you because that's really unfair of me to do. But I really can't speak to the cost of the technology, honestly. Yeah. As we stated earlier, the storage is really the most expensive part of all this. The cameras itself. Obviously, it would be new technology that we definitely need, but the storage is where the cost is. With it being passed in Illinois under statute that it's required by all law enforcement officers to have it, that's probably helped increase some of the cost in body-worn cam systems. Thank you. How old is the equipment that we have now? We just hit the five-year mark. So it's five years old. Correct. And it's changed that much in five years. Yes. Well, and like the cameras itself, like our cameras are having a battery life right now, the ones we're using. We're probably lucky to get about four to five hours out of them. The officers have to dock them in the docking station in the car just to charge them up. And if they, on a hot call, run out without them, you know, obviously they're not – following policy or statute, but they need to charge up their batteries. The cameras that we're looking to purchase have removable batteries, so you can have a battery charging while it's going and just make the swap out real quick. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. White? As you know, I'm always concerned with security of the storage. How secure is that? Who can have access to it? What's the proprietary for that? Well, I'd definitely pass this off more to the IT, but it is a cloud-based storage that we will have a login and a password to. But I believe I would have to get some more information on that for you to really answer it correctly. Okay, thank you. Okay, seeing no other questions, I'll call for vote on 25-30-44. Mangieri, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Next item, last item in bills, petitions, communications, 25-30-45, purchase and installation of mobile and portable radios. Need a motion and a second? Thank you, Mr. Saul. Thank you, Mr. Cheeseman. Mr. Hanson. Thank you, Your Honor. Staff recommends approval of a one-point... $240 million bid from Motorola Solutions for the purchase and installation of 27 mobile and 84 portable radios. This upgrade will transition the police and fire departments to the statewide Starcom 21 interoperable radio system, allowing improved communications with regional and statewide first responders. The city issued a request for proposals based on department specifications requiring compatibility with Starcom 21 LTE compatibility, factory trained, and installation, on-site training, and a five-year warranty. Motorola Solutions was the sole proposer, meeting all the requirements and offering additional battery packs and LTE support services. Sufficient funds are available in the Special Revenue and Capital Projects Fund. Starcom 21 is a statewide initiative that's been going on for several years. As I said, these... These items are together, but they're completely different in terms of what's driving them. And as discussed before, currently our peer organizations, I believe the county and state police are already on the Starcom system. We are not in our systems. We cannot actually talk to our regional folks. We have to actually go through the dispatch center to actually communicate with them. the county and the state police on issues. So from a safety standpoint, I think it's prudent for us to do this. Plus, it's a statewide initiative to move everyone to this system. It's obviously expensive, which is why people are doing it at different times. This was anticipated expense and obviously something that, while significant in cost, staff and especially public safety staff believe is necessary. Happy to answer any additional questions. Thank you. Any questions about this item? I'll call for vote on 25, 30, 45. Manjari, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Six vote yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We move now to the City Manager's Report. Mr. Hanson, do you have anything to add? The Traffic Advisory Committee report was in your packet if you have any questions. Otherwise, I don't have anything additional this evening, Your Honor. Does anybody have anything for the City Manager this evening? Okay, we'll move on. We have three items under Miscellaneous Business. The first is 254067, the RMA Insurance Renewal. We need a motion and a second. We have first, Mr. Jerry, okay. Second. And Mr. White, second. So, Mr. Hanson, tell us about it. Thank you, Your Honor. Staff recommends the City Council authorize the purchase of insurance policies from the Illinois Municipal League Risk Management Association for January 1 to December 31, 2026. Since 2021, the City has received excellent service and favorable renewals. COVERAGE INCLUDES GENERAL LIABILITY, PROPERTY DAMAGE, AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY FOR CITY VEHICLES, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT LIABILITY WITH A $10,000 DEDUCTIBLE. THE ANNUAL PREMIUM IS $494,440, WHICH IS A 4% INCREASE, BUT WITHIN THE 2026 BUDGET, A 1% EARLY PAYMENT DISCOUNT REDUCES THE PREMIUM TO $489,495.60 IF PAID BY NOVEMBER 15, 2025. The invoice also includes a $2,000 membership fee, which is budgeted. Sufficient funds are available for this purchase. And obviously, you know, the insurance speaks for itself. Happy to answer any additional questions. Thank you. Any questions about this item? Mr. Hennigan. How many items are we going to be insuring under this policy? Is it mostly buildings? Is it mostly vehicles or? All of the above. I'm just kind of interested exactly how many things are being insured under this policy. We can get you a complete list from your teaching days. It would be D, all of the above. It's vehicles, it's buildings. It's also just general liability for the city, protects the city against claims against us, which vary in nature. But it's... This is an umbrella policy that really protects us on pretty much everything except work comp is separate for us. But this is covering a myriad of things that we deal with. But we can get you a more complete list if you'd like it. But is it like hundreds of things? That's what I guess. Yeah. You know, like I said, vehicles, certain pieces of equipment. uh... all of our buildings are most of our buildings have some type of coverage in them computer equipment uh... yeah it's it's a myriad of things thank you anyone else seeing that i call for a vote on twenty five forty sixty seven Manjari, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Next item, 254068, installation or initiation. I don't have my glasses. Initiation of property demolition process. We need a motion to second. So moved. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Second. Thank you, Mr. Cheeseman. Mr. Hanson. Thank you. Staff recommends demolition of nine severely dilapidated and damaged structures, which are in an unsafe condition and repairs are not economically feasible. Notices were sent to all property owners and there was no change in the status of the property or attempt to repair. Upon approval, staff will begin the process to seek orders for demolition through the court system. Just for clarification, this is the beginning of the process, not the end of the process. The city may, with this authorization, will proceed. If the properties come into compliance, the process stops. If they don't, ultimately, you know, we seek orders to demo. But this action tonight is for the beginning of the process. As I think I've stated to council before, we've got, you know, roughly 60, 70 properties that we're working on. that are included in this group. Some of them are referrals by neighbors, some of them are referrals by council members or concerned individuals, but this is not an action tonight that is the demolition, but rather is the start of the process. As council knows, depending on the interactions with the owners, this can be A MONTHS LONG PROCESS BUT MORE THAN LIKELY YEARS LONG PROCESS TO GET TO THE FINISH LINE IF ULTIMATELY THE PROPERTY IS DEMOLISHED. SO HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS BUT JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE COUNCIL UNDERSTOOD WHAT THIS PARTICULAR PIECE WAS. THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL DEMOLITION OF THE NINE PROPERTIES. THANK YOU. MS. MINGIER. SO IF THE PROPERTIES ARE DEMOED, ARE THERE FUTURE REDEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR THAT OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? Well, the city currently, after we get control and they're all cleaned up, there is a bid process to sell off properties, which we do every year. Or they're purchased by adjoining property owners or so forth. So it varies by property, but that's the process. But that's quite a bit down the line. Okay. Anyone else? Thank you. I'll call for vote on 25, 40, 68. Manjari, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. Last item here is 25, 40, 69, Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging. service contract with galesburg public transportation need a motion in a second thank you mr white thank you mr cheeseman mr hansen thank you staff recommends approval of a service contract with the western illinois area agency on aging to provide transportation for riders age 60 and older from october 2025 through september 2026 This contract will count WIAAA payments as local match funds, helping the city maximize the downstate operating assistance program funding, which covers 65% of transit operating costs. The contract based on a cost per ride model is capped at $34,894 in state and federal funding. As a result, Galesburg Transit will track rides and bill WIAAA monthly, increasing fare revenue for paratransit and bus subsidy budgets. This is in line with some of the other agreements that we have to provide access and also to provide additional funding to expand transit services. Happy to answer any additional questions. Thank you, Mr. Hanson. Any questions by the council? Okay, I'll call for vote on 254069. Manjari, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Achera, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. I need to ask for a motion to sit as the town board. So moved. Thank you. Need a second? Second. Thank you. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? We are now sitting as a town board. We have one item under town business, the bills, 259024. Anyone want to make a motion on the bills? Move. Thank you, Mr. White. Second. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Anybody have questions about the bills? Okay, we're going to vote on the bills now. 259024. Mangieri, yes. Hunnigan, yes. White, yes. Aceri, yes. Saul, yes. Cheeseman, yes. Sixth vote, yes, Your Honor. Thank you. We now need a motion to sit as a city council. Thank you, Mr. Stahl. Thank you, Ms. Mangieri. All those in favor of sitting as a city council, say yes or aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? We are now sitting as a city council. Who wants to lead off? The World Series is about to start on Friday. Time to get your licks in. No one? Mr. White? All right, you lead off here. I'm always glad to see young faces and a full audience. I mean, that's important to me. Get involved, stay involved. This is your community and we're your representatives. So always be ready to ask us questions, call us up, and that's our job to represent you. I'm asking everybody on the city council, To go to the Gilbert City Transit Building, there is a bus stop outside. Get on the bus and ride it. We are authorized for people for aging to get on it and ride it. Get on it and ride it and see what it's like to go from one end of town to the other end of town and back to help you understand what the problems are for people that are seniors that probably get on the bus or people that have to get from one side of town to the other side of town. And after you experience that one, go to another end of town and do the same thing. So you can understand how our transit system is good, but it's lacking. I wanna thank the police officers that were at the No Kings Rally. I went by, stopped by. I can't keep my head in the sand. I'm an ex-veteran. I'm a military veteran. And I've been to war. And I just can't keep my head in the sand and not see what's going on around in my nation and the country. And I'm very concerned. As African American, at one time, I wasn't a citizen. And they can take that away. Also, the Supreme Court's going to be looking at voting rights. I'm just concerned. Actually, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm very afraid of what's happening in this nation, in this country. And if you are human, please pay attention. I don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal. Everything is going to affect you. Health care, taxes, all of it's going to affect you. Please, don't keep your head in the sand. Get involved. Look out and see what's going on in government. I think this tribalism is killing us. We need to get together as conservatives, liberals, Democrats, and Republicans. We need to get together. Please speak with each other, talk to each other, because it's going to be a rough time. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. White. Mr. Chair? Thank you. I want to give a shout out to a couple of our libraries in town, Galesburg Public Library and Knox College Library. I've been researching the people that built my home at 325 North Prairie Street. And the people that built the home had three boys and one girl. And that woman, Inez, went to Lombard College as well as Knox College. She went to a seminary out on the East Coast. But she was really tremendous in terms of the things that she accomplished not only locally, but also for the world. So she was a member of a sorority called Pi Phi back in the day that was extremely focused on community work. And one of the things that she did was she actually ran the... The Galesburg and Knox County Free Kindergarten, or she was a member of their leadership, they had 40 children that they cared after, and they actually placed orphaned children in homes in Galesburg. This is before government did it. They had private people that just did that. They placed these orphans in different homes. And so that was something she did here. But then at one point, she went to visit some friends who were working for the Near East Relief Association, organization. And this was during the time of the Armenian genocide, when many, many Christians in Armenian were murdered. And so she was, after going and getting some training in Corfu in Greece, she made her way to Syria to look after it. She was basically left in charge of hundreds of these kids, many of them mostly little girls. And then she later wound up running the largest orphanage in Russia. So this is a woman from Galesburg, Illinois, who just really lived her values. Her family were... part of the founding of Lombard College. They were universalists. Many people may or may not know that we had really, we had two colleges here. So Knox College being founded by the Congregationalists and the Presbyterians, and then Lombard was the universalists. So they had a friendly rivalry. Her family was associated more so with Lombard College. So I'm just really enjoying the research. I appreciate the help from folks at the library And I encourage others to learn more about our city because it has a rich history and individuals such as and as Webster have made a profound impact, not only on our community, but on the world at large. Thank you, Mr. Saul. All righty. Many of you may not know, but this was the last weekend of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. I bring this up because a young man named Aaron Gebhardt, won the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Aaron Gebhardt is from Indianola, Iowa, Mr. Hansen. Also, his father used to be the balloonmeister at our event in Galesburg for many years. So I learned from him how to be a balloonmeister and took over the event from him basically. So that's why I brought this up. Also this last week, I was in South Padre Island, Texas and got to see the SpaceX launch. from South Padre Island, quite an event. There was a lot of people down there, exciting event. It was great to see it. And I videoed it. So very exciting, neat thing to watch. I'd never seen a space launch before. So it was a lot of fun. Michael speaks. I hope you get the help you need because brother, I use your facilities quite regularly. So I hope we can do something for you or just try and fundraise for you. If nothing else, I'll be glad to help you with that. But we need to keep that building open because Youth go there and you teach them a lot. So I hope you can keep it going. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Saul. Mr. Cheeseman. I appreciate the comments that my colleagues make and they are in my mind, something that folks I hope consider and think about. A couple of just different topics to touch on very briefly. I think the point that Mr. White said concerning a number of things is really good, but about the seniors and riding, I know that we have a lot of folks that use public transportation, and we want to do everything we can to help facilitate that, and especially with seniors. But I know our bus study, our transit study is one of those things that I hope out of this that we can find a way to make this better. It's got to be one of our top priorities. With the demolition stuff, I hope that citizens understand that that these are things that we do that we do not take any joy in. I wish that things could be different with this. I know we have a number of options there, and I think we want to continue to educate and do everything we can to save property, but by the same token, encourage folks to take care of their property the best that they can, too. Again, as we ask Mr. Hanson to reiterate, and he does that so nicely, he did it this morning on... the city council meeting preview with Mr. Redfern, that we are very, very conscientious. That's not the word I want to use, but very aware of how much that we do not want to do anything with our taxes in terms of what we can control here. And we want to keep us tax rate as low as we possibly can to still do the things we can. And we're doing that right now. And finally, I went to the NAACP Gala on Saturday night, well done. I've went to a number of these other types of events like this where they educate, they inform, they help raise money. They are things that bring folks together and create a genuine sense of good feelings. And I think that our community has so many of these, both from nonprofits, to fundraisers for individual organizations. I know we did things like that with American Legion Baseball. We did things like that with Galesburg Silver Streaks Basketball. And folks do it, just fundraisers to help out their fellow human being. And it shows the character of our citizens. They do a marvelous job with this. When you have opportunities or it meets your needs or things that you support, I sure hope you can go to those things because they... They again do so much for our community and its citizens and the causes they represent. So it was nice to be at the one the other night and all these other ones are so good to thrive. The Latino scholarship and there's too many to mention here. They're really, really good. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Cheeseman. Ms. Mangiere. To what Dwight was saying earlier about the transit system, it's actually something we talked about last week. So I will be riding the bus on Friday afternoon if anybody wants to join me, and that includes the general public. I was going to treat it as like an actual grocery store trip for myself and my family and see. And we're a family of six, so I need a lot of groceries, and we'll see if it's even doable to do on a bus and the ride and how long that takes. and whatnot. So I'll be reporting back next week or next meeting on that. And then I also attended the NAACP gala and that was, so Mr. Tuesman, thank you for reminding people to attend New Saints. It's not just for certain people. It's for everyone because the support, it's for everyone. So I would love to see more community engagement in that way as well. I don't want people to feel like they're not allowed in certain spaces. So Also, I understand social anxiety, but take some friends. If you don't know anybody going, bring your people too. Thank you, Ms. Mangieri. Mr. Hunnigan. There is a deep concern about the direction of our divided nation. On Saturday, October 18th, National politics arrived in Galesburg in a big way. Over 1,000 citizens gathered at our town square in the downtown where they took part in the No Kings protests against President Donald Trump. Like the Tea Party protests during the Obama administration, These protests were about executive overreach in the Trump administration and the major rollback in public health and the environment and putting healthcare and social security benefits at risk for millions of Americans. While I was there, I saw no mayhem or anyone causing harm. I saw no one from Antifa or Hamas dressed in black. But I did see lots of concerned people concerned about executive overreach and about a man who hints that he would like to run for a third term. One observer at a Denver rally said it best, there is no king in America and we will not be silenced by an authoritarian. The protest on the square showed me that there's a lot of people are paying attention to the actions of our politicians in Washington, and there are a lot of people who are going to vote next year. To repeat, Americans have the right to protest. It is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution as the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government. God bless our Constitution. God bless America. And finally, it was also an honor yesterday to participate in the 93rd anniversary of Full Gospel Church at 719 West Knox Street. This church was founded by Evangelist Daisy Huff Walker in a tiny storefront on Brooks Street. and continues to grow and serve the community under the leadership of Antonio S. Franklin and his wife, Marie. It was a pleasure to be there. Thank you. Thank you all. We have a lot of guests here, probably have never been to a council meeting before. I think our counselors showed up fully today, sharing their thoughts, and you can see the rich diversity we have in our community. which makes Galesburg a very special place to be. And we're thankful you're here tonight, but generally thankful you're here in Galesburg with us. A few comments of my own. I attended the NAACP gala this weekend. Dr. Dwight Ford, who is currently running Project Now in Rock Island, a phenomenal speaker. If you've never heard him speak, one of the most passionate speakers and intelligent and just heartfelt speeches you're gonna find, but very thoughtful in terms of its relevancy to us today. He is actually about a generation away from Martin Luther King. And he actually worked and was trained by someone who worked with Martin Luther King. And I see quite a bit of Mr. King, Dr. King in Dwight Ford. So if he's ever back in town or if you're ever in the Quad Cities, you should take a chance to listen to him and convene and talk with him. We had our big budget meeting a few weeks ago, and this is the time. If you're a citizen of Galesburg, this is the time for you to share your thoughts, your dreams, your aspirations as it relates to next year. If something that you wish to happen is not being thought of. This is a good time to share it with me or the councilors, the city manager, and do not be afraid to do so. We know in this community, we have a lot of growth, a lot of really sensational things are occurring here. And almost all of those came about because we had citizens, residents who had the audacity to dream about a better future. And on that note, I'm going to be holding a party November 15th. It's a Saturday night. Location will be announced shortly. But it's a party. It's a gathering. Everyone's invited. Everyone listening. Everyone who's not listening is invited. The theme is celebrating Galesburg's successes and its future. And I hope people can attend and enjoy what we have. It's very often you turn on the television. and that the future is dark and dire. And there's truth in that, but yet locally, we can really be proud of the accomplishments we've made and the future growth that we will have. So with that, I'm gonna ask for a closing of the meeting, adjournment. Do I have a motion? So moved. Thank you, Mr. Saul. Second. Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? And I'll tell the students here, we got out within an hour. So you guys got lucky this time. Take care, be safe.