Galesburg City Council can give final approval Monday night to an updated ordinance regarding where murals are allowed and the process for their approval.
Right now the ordinance only allows murals in the B3 zoning district, Central Business District, and the CPD, Comprehensive Planned Development District. The update would allow murals in any non-residential zoning district.
Murals would have to be approved by the Development Review Committee but the administration says the committee wouldn’t be reviewing the content of the mural.
They would be more focused on making sure the building owner is ok with the mural and that the materials used would keep the art looking good for a long time.
Any murals on public buildings would also have to be approved by the City Council.
The Council can also approve a new greens mower for Bunker Links golf course at a price of about $67,000. Council documents say the machine is replacing one bought in 2013 and it’s just about at its useful life expectancy.
Aldermen could also pass a resolution that would create incentives to recruit police.
The Galesburg Police Department has seen similar trends to departments around the country, with a shortage of job applications.
Currently, GPD has 6 officers less than what is budgeted for. There will also be another vacancy in a few weeks, bringing the number to 7 soon. There are also two officers that are in training for almost 30 weeks before they’ll be able to work a full shift.
There’s a $2,000 hiring bonus that an officer would be paid upon completing the training academy, or upon hiring for lateral hires. Those new hires would then receive $2,000 per year in bonus that they stay on, maxing out at 4 years or $10,000 in bonuses overall.
The Council can also approve two workers’ compensation settlements for city employees, including one for a Galesburg Police officer.
The settlement says that the officer injured his knee moving a dead body and missed work for four months. In exchange for releasing claims, the officer would be compensated $28,000.
