Location, funding, security and programming. Those were the focus Tuesday night as around 30 residents met with Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman to talk about a proposed community center.
Schwartzman gave an overview of the project before engaging the small but vocal and curious audience in a nearly 2-hour Q&A at The Vault event venue.
Among the activities Schwartzman envisions at a new community center are a gym for athletics, a one-stop shop for information and services, classes for cooking and carpentry, a place for community events and rental space for weddings and birthdays. The mayor also sees space for E-gaming, a recreation room with pool and ping pong tables and educational stations for mentoring and tutoring.
“I thought the turnout was great,” Schwartzman said after the meeting. “There were new ideas presented. I think people are getting a little anxious about it — they want to see something done. Historically, we haven’t moved on some of these projects, but on this one, we are.”
The City Council has settled on the former Churchill Junior High School as the location for the community center, but Schwartzman acknowledged the location could change, depending on the outcome of the April election which has four aldermanic seats up for grabs.
Deb Moreno and Tom Simkins, leaders in the Heart and Soul project, spoke during the meeting and suggested the proposed site of the former Gunther Construction Company between East Main and Mulberry streets would be a better location than Churchill.
Schwartzman tells WGIL, “There are obviously differences of opinion, but I think more than ever there’s a consensus that we need a community center. I don’t think that’s an issue. Now, it’s a question of where.
“Churchill presents a lot of opportunity at a certain price and risk. The Gunther site might be a more ambitious project, and we still don’t know about the environmental aspects of that site. Based on tonight’s meeting, I think we at least need to look at that.”
Schwartzman noted building a community center on the Gunther site would be more expensive.
“Fundamentally, it depends on what our resources are,” said the mayor. “The city has resources, but the community has resources as well. If someone out there wants to contribute financially in a significant way, they should let us know. I haven’t done any asks, but I’m going to begin doing that very soon.
“This project is going to be in Galesburg for the future, and whomever takes the lead on it financially is going to have a legacy.”
One resident also raised concerns over security at a new community center.
“I know there was some concerns about security and safety,” Schwartzman said. “There an idea that there’s going to be a lot of people coming in and out of the building, and how do we ensure that it’s safe. I made a point that it’s critical, when we open this building that we make it as safe as possible. So I have no concerns with safety.”
