It was a night of change at Monday’s Council meeting as Gerald Smith was given the oath of office as the new City Manager.
Smith was welcomed by the council and community before the meeting with a reception. He joked that the Illinois weather would be tough to get used to after living in North Carolina, but considers Illinois home after going to college in Chicago.
Smith took his place on the dais, but in the interim since May, Wayne Carl largely handled the duties for the evening, since Smith just started Monday.
Galesburg City Council approved a resolution to call on the Illinois General Assembly to continue working on parts of the SAFE-T Act.
There was once again much discussion over the pros and cons of the legislation itself as well as the relevance of passing a resolution. The resolution was discussed a month ago but tabled.
State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin asked the resolution be tabled until unanimous consent could be achieved. Karlin wasn’t able to be at Monday’s meeting.
City legal counsel Paul Mangieri said legally all the resolution does is say to lawmakers to take another look at the legislation. The final vote was 6-1 with Dwight White the lone opposition.
White felt that there were too many positives in the act and also felt it wasn’t the council’s place to tell the General Assembly what to do.
Council did vote to approve a new contract with the Knox County landfill that will last 5 years. There will be incremental increases in the rate that the county charges the city for Waste Management to pick up residential refuse.
There was also a new recipient from the Women/Minority Startup Assistance and Southside Occupancy grant programs for Haynes Beauty LLC. The KCAP Review Committee approved $8,300 in total grants for the business, and the council followed suit on Monday night.
Haynes Beauty is planning to lease space at 1220 Mulberry St, and perform pedicures and manicures with eyes set on more spa treatments down the road.
