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Galesburg Council approves bid to demolish West Theater, adopts comprehensive plan

Galesburg City Council last night approved a bidder to demolish the West Theatre on Prairie Street.

Shawn Stoneking Corporation of Macomb was the low bidder at $251,000 and also the company promising to finish the soonest, targeting April 1 as their completion date.

Alderman Wayne Dennis questioned why there was such a large discrepancy between the range of bids. The difference was almost $600,000.

Director of Planning and Public Works Wayne Carl says that discrepancy to some extent has to do with different contracts current workload and how serious they are about the project.

“So we can look at things in total, the [$251,000] was close to what we had estimated and was within our estimates,” Carl said to aldermen. “Sometimes, like I said, it just depends on how aggressive the contractor wants to be and if he wants to really be working here or not.”

Council additionally approved moving $251,000 from the TIF II to TIF IV fund to cover the demolitions expense.

Also, the firm designing Park Plaza was approved for a $12,000 supplemental agreement to try to get the designs within the $1.4 million budget.

The city’s Comprehensive Plan has officially been adopted after Galesburg aldermen voted last night 6-1.

Council member Russell Fleming was the one alderman that voted against.

He said that he would’ve supported receiving the document, meant for general long-term planning, but would not adopt it because there are things in the plan he disagrees with.

City Manager Todd Thompson says that state law prefers adoption of a comprehensive plan.

Devin Lavigne with Houseal Lavigne Associates that constructed the plan says aldermen shouldn’t necessarily worry if they didn’t agree with everything in the document.

“It’s a flexible guiding document and so it’s not set in stone, so not rigid. It’s to provide policy direction for future decision-making.”

Lavigne said the city should refer to their counsel on the difference between adopting and receiving but he suspected the latter would “substantially undermine” the plan.

But ultimately the plan was adopted although Thompson says it can be adjusted at a later date.

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