Galesburg Aldermen on Monday night, with little fanfare, granted Galesburg Public Library trustees eminent domain authority by a 4-1 vote, with Wayne Allen opposed.
The authority would be a stool that trustees could use to acquire properties on the block of Simmons, Academy and Main Streets, the site of the future library.
However, Library Director Noelle Thompson says they are unlikely to exercise their eminent domain authority.
Negotiations with the properties on the block that the library doesn’t already own are ongoing.
7th Ward Alderman Larry Cox voiced his approval…
“I think the library is really an arm of the city and so whatever authority we have should be granted to these professionals that operate this facility and will take care of these negotiations,” Cox says.
The library’s trustees are hopeful that state funding for a new library will soon become available.
Aldermen also opened a discussion regarding applying a fee for the 156 video gaming terminals in the city.
Council entertained a motion on the fees in 2017 but ultimately decided to not approve them.
Council documents note that these fees are fairly common, and the annual $250 fee per gaming terminal is also comparable to other cities.
City Manager Todd Thompson says this would bring in about $39,000 in annual revenue.
Aldermen on Monday also approved the purchase of 12 new police vehicles. The bid for about $476,000 comes from Yemm Ford in Galesburg.
These vehicles are normally replaced on a four-year basis and the last purchase was made in 2016.
The city originally got a bid for replacing 14 cars but scaled back the replacement of two detective units because the bids came in over budget.
