Residents press Galena council for clearer sidewalk plan as budget hearing spotlights $30,000 project

GALENA, Ill. — Residents urged the Galena City Council on April 14 to clarify how money in the proposed 2025–26 operating budget will be spent on sidewalks, saying a $30,000 line item listed for Galena Square Drive lacks context and that residential sidewalks have been overlooked for years.

At a public hearing on the budget, Christine Baxter, 215 South Prospects, said the budget document’s description — “replace existing sidewalks, Galena Square Drive” — was confusing because she said there are no sidewalks there and asked why the city would fund replacement of commercial entrances rather than neighborhood sidewalks. “I hope you’ll consider that in your discussion because you have budgeted $30,000,” Baxter said during public testimony.

The concern was echoed by Sydney Apple of 218 South High Street, who reviewed decades of capital-improvement notes and budget materials and said the city has repeatedly marked sidewalk projects without producing a clear, consistent residential sidewalk replacement program. Apple said taxpayers have paid substantially more for downtown sidewalks than residential ones in recent years and called the disparity unacceptable.

City staff replied during the council’s budget discussion that the $30,000 item is intended to create a new sidewalk connection near McDonald’s and industrial/retail parcels on Highway 20 — not to replace an existing panel on Galena Square Drive — and that some funds previously shown in the general fund were redistributed to capital and maintenance funds to better match project types. Matt Oldberg, who was appointed city administrator earlier in the same meeting, said the administration moved a $150,000 sidewalk allocation out of the general fund and increased the public works maintenance projects fund so curb, gutter and sidewalk work could be done alongside street projects.

“We put $30,000 in there as an estimate to try to address that,” Oldberg said, describing a proposed crosswalk and sidewalk tie-in near McDonald’s that staff say will provide a safer walking route so pedestrians do not have to walk on Highway 20.

Staff also described other planned work this year, including sidewalk or curb-and-gutter work on White Street, Bridal Street and South Street between Green and White, and said the city will produce a GIS-based map showing sidewalk and street improvements to make project priorities clearer for residents.

Speakers at the hearing cited numbers from past documents: Apple said the capital-improvement plan has shown a range of earmarks in recent years (examples mentioned in testimony included figures previously cited in draft CIP materials), and she said taxpayers have paid about $1.46 million on downtown sidewalks versus roughly $161,000 on residential sidewalks since 2018, a disparity she argued the council should address.

Council members and staff acknowledged sidewalks have been under discussion for many years and said they are trying to coordinate replacements with street projects to be efficient. Staff noted recent work on the city’s east side and said the city used “foam jacking” to raise several panels this week and will replace panels where that technique is not feasible.

The public hearing on the fiscal 2025–26 operating budget closed after the testimony. The council later approved the operating budget and other agenda items during the regular meeting.

Why this matters: Sidewalks affect pedestrian safety and daily mobility for residents, including schoolchildren and older adults. Residents said the budget documents did not make project intent or priorities clear; city staff committed to publishing a map of planned work and to coordinating sidewalk work with street rehabilitation to give the public better visibility into where money will be spent and why.

Looking ahead: City staff said the draft comprehensive plan will be presented April 23 and that additional sidewalk and street work will be carried out as part of planned capital projects; staff also said they will post a living map showing completed and planned sidewalk projects so residents can track work.