Tensions escalated as the Community Center Task Force concluded its tenure with an emotionally charged final meeting Tuesday at Carl Sandburg College.
The task force completed its mission of adopting a plan to present to the Galesburg City Council, but did so without its Chairman Tony Franklin, who abruptly resigned and left the Crist Student Center 45 minutes into Tuesday’s meeting.
Chairman steps down during meeting
Franklin stepped down after a majority of the then 13-member Task Force made a motion to dismiss the Community Center Task Force Consolidated Report that he had compiled. Those in opposition said Franklin’s report ignored a plan that the majority of the task force preferred.
Franklin made several failed attempts to present his Power Point report before he resigned. Task Force member Anthony Law served as chairman for the remainder of the meeting.
Demarkius Medley tells WGIL that Franklin ignored several requests from fellow Task Force members to include the majority-preferred plan in the chairman’s report and on the agenda for discussion.
“We received Tony’s report Friday night, and it was supposed to be a comprehensive report that included our plan,” Medley said. “But he tried to assert himself as whatever he says was going to go in the report. We begged him to put our plan on the agenda for discussion and he refused. We asked him over and over and over, so we could pick it apart and talk about it.
“He refused to, and I think that was a mistake by Tony, because it turned a democracy into a dictatorship.”
Law said, “Some parts of our proposal were utilized, some parts were left out, and that was a concern. It was modified without discussion. We were supposed to be working collectively.”
Law said some members of the Task Force felt like the group needed to come up with a proposal, instead of simply a report.
“Was a report what we were being asked for?” Law said. “Or, based on our information gathering, were we being asked for a more detailed proposal?”
Medley and Law, however, both said they believe Franklin should have been able to present his report Tuesday.
“He definitely should have been able to,” Medley said. “But I think since Tony wouldn’t let us present our proposal, some people on the Task Force felt like Tony shouldn’t be able to present his.
“He is the chair and he deserved that respect.”
Law added, “In my opinion, and I stated it at the time, I felt like Tony should have been able to present his report. He put in work, and that deserved to be heard. But I do understand that many members of the Task Force felt like they were not heard. I wish that part would have turned out different.”
Franklin respectfully declined to comment on his decision to step down as chairman.
“I don’t have any comment,” Franklin said. “What people saw, they saw. I think that speaks for itself. Nothing I say now is going to make a difference, so I’ll just let it roll.”
Task Force votes 10-1 to adopt proposal featuring Y, library
The task force eventually voted 10-1 with one abstention to adopt a proposal that would include utilizing both the Knox County YMCA and the soon-to-be former Galesburg Public Library as a multi-site community center option.
Voting in favor of the proposal were Law, Medley, Connie Dennis, Cassie Cirimotich, Debbie Clague, Adam Sampson, David Hix, Ted Hoffman, Maria Salsman and Sharon Custer. Darla Krejci voted against the amended proposal, and Jaclyn Smith-Esters abstained.
The majority of the Task Force supported the plan originally conceived by Medley and Sampson. Medley is a farmer and owner of Galesburg-based Greenlords Pharms, and Sampson is the executive director of the Knox County YMCA.
In summary, the revised plan recommends:
- Allocate $1.5 million for the purchase and upgrade of the current Galesburg Public Library to become a community center.
- Grant/Allocate $800,000 to the Knox County YMCA to assist in the building of an indoor playground and child watch space (named City of Galesburg Play Zone) to serve youth (birth to 11-years-old) to enhance opportunities of youth for free play especially during the colder months of the year.
- Allocate in general $200,000 to be used for future needs for transportation and marketing/communication of transportation options.
“I’m comfortable with 10-1-1,” Law said. “With 15 people to start out with, I knew it wouldn’t be unanimous. It would have been more difficult to live with 7-5 or 8-4.”
The Community Center Task Force met nine times spanning from Aug. 17 through Tuesday.
Law said despite plenty of scrutiny from the public and even some members of the City Council, he’s confident the Task Force accomplished its mission.
“This has been a very emotional and trying topic, not only for the Task Force but also for the Council,” Law said. “I’m sad that we weren’t all there at the end, but I’m glad we were able to at least get to the point where we were able to submit something, so these last four or five months haven’t been wasted.
“The goal was to get something done for our community. This has been drug out for a very long time, and I felt like we needed to move forward. But even our best proposal is based on what the Council decides. Personally, I wanted to give them something to work with. If we were to submit something that was against what the Council was interested in, it was a waste of time.
“The City Council told us what they were willing to invest. I think they made it quite clear. Let’s see what we can do with those perimeters.”
Law said the Task Force’s efforts will only be worthwhile if the Council takes its findings and final proposal seriously.
“It all depends on the Council,” Law said. “Are they going to use any of our recommendations? We put in the work, they determine the value of it. We came up with our best collective plan to what we thought was the best for our community. Something that met the needs for our city, something that was sustainable and manageable and would have the biggest impact.
“If they don’t do anything with it, then it was a waste. Even if they take some of it and move forward, I view that as success.”
Members concerned with intimidation tactics
Law and Medley both said they were disappointed in “intimidation tactics” attempted by some “elected officials” and members of the public who were in attendance Tuesday. Some of those questioned procedural acts taken by the Task Force, including accusations it violated the Open Meetings Act.
“If a majority of the people who were upset were worried about the legality of how we got there, then we did OK, because they didn’t tear apart the plan,” Law said. “We’re not career politicians. We’re just community members who tried to help our community. It’s easy to pick on the legalities, and say there was coercion and collusion.”
Mayor Peter Schwartzman, First Ward Alderman Bradley Hix, Second Ward Alderman Wayne Dennis and Seventh Ward Alderman Steve Cheesman were in attendance to start the meeting, but remained seated in the gallery and did not participate in any way.
Knox County Board Member Pam Davidson arrived 90 minutes into the meeting and spoke critically of the Task Force during public comment, noting she was going to report the body for a violation of the Open Meetings Act. Fourth Ward Alderman Dwight White arrived at the meeting shortly after Davidson and hovered close to where the Task Force was seated.
“I felt like last night, some people came out with the sheer purpose of trying to intimidate us,” Law said. “It’s fine to sit back in the audience and observe, but why were some up sitting and standing up by the Task Force members?
“It was unprofessionalism by those who you would expect to be professional.”
The target date for the group to complete its work was Nov. 30. The Task Force is scheduled to present its findings to the City Council on Dec. 4.
