GALESBURG, Ill. -- The Galesburg City Council will be asked Monday to approve a resolution supporting the downtown location of the National Railroad Hall of Fame and, if needed, help find a place to put the Hall of Fame.
The regular 7:30 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 55 W. Tompkins St., will be preceded at 6 p.m. by a work session dealing with rental inspection and neighborhood improvement.
Officials of the Hall of Fame confirmed months of speculation Feb. 29 when they said the Hall of Fame will be built downtown, rather than in Kiwanis Park, near I-74, as originally proposed. Monday's resolution, if approved, would commit the city "to work with the National Railroad Hall of Fame to locate publicly-owned property (downtown) on which the National Railroad Hall of Fame can construct their facility, the scope and scale of which will be determined as the Hall of Fame completes its feasibility studies and initiates its national fundraising efforts."
Plans released earlier this year called for a 35,000- to 40,000-square-foot building, with an estimated cost of $30 million. The Kiwanis Park site was to be an 85,000-square-foot building with a $60 million price tag. The plans were refined after an economic feasibility study done by Economics Research Associates. However, National Railroad Hall of Fame Executive Director Julie King said Friday that officials will not be able "to define the size and scope of the building" until fundraising is completed.
King said the portion of the resolution pertaining to the city helping acquire land would come at the completion of fundraising.
"The general intent is, at that point, we would be ready to say, 'OK, we need this much space and we know the size of the building.'
Public Works Director Larry Cox admitted there is not much publicly-owned property downtown, mainly Colton Park and the site of the former O.T. Johnson building.
King said, depending on how much land the Hall needs and what is available, "that may be property the city already owns, it may be property the city may acquire."
Community Development Director Roy Parkin said the city wants to show it is supportive of the Hall of Fame as national fundraising begins. He explained the Hall has had some difficulty negotiating to buy property.
"In the event the Hall of Fame is unable to find property on its own, we would work toward trying to find some city-owned property to help located the Hall of Fame on. 'Should the need arise, we're going to be there to help find a location for you,'" Parkin said is basically the message the resolution sends.
As for council support for the location, that would come as little surprise as officials hope the Hall will be a major tourist draw, making it a major building block in the city's downtown redevelopment plans.
"We just hadn't had anything in writing," King said.
(The preceding article by Zack Creglow was published August 15, 2008, by The Register-Mail.)
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