The city of Galesburg has created a new department, but without hiring any new people or raising taxes. Monday night, the city council approved the formation of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
The director is Larry Cox, who's led the public works department for the last 14 years. Until now, parks have been part of public works, while recreation programs were run by community development.
He says the budget for the new department will be 4.9 million dollars.
The new city department in Galesburg has 21 full-time employees, plus up to 150 seasonal workers during the summer. And it's responsible for 26 parks, 16 playgrounds, recreation facilities, cemeteries, the municipal airport, and several miles of paved trails.
Taking Cox's place as head of public works will be Wayne Carl, who'll also continue to be the city engineer.
