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FROM THE MAYOR...
“Traditional Values, Progressive Thinking”
 My column in the City Quarterly typically covers a single topic or theme. For this issue, I will be departing from the norm a little and talking about several items
that will set our community apart from other Metro East communities for years to come.
A positive and exciting event that just recently occurred in our City is that the City Council approved an ordinance that recognizes the Fire Department as a full-fledged city department within the Department of Public Safety. The ordinance makes current volunteer firefighters part-time City employees and for at least the next couple of years, the Fire Chief position will remain part-time, with the current Chief continuing in that position. The daily operations of the Fire Department will not be altered in any way. These changes were adopted by the City Council in response to recommendations that came from our recently completed Fire Study. Our elected officials are proud of the excellent services that our volunteer firefighters have demonstrated in our community for generations,
and it is our goal to keep our Fire Department a volunteer department for the next 20 years and beyond. We are committed to keeping your tax dollars as low as possible and are not interested in spending an estimated $4 million a year for a full-time department when our volunteers are as highly rated nationally as full-time departments and have excellent response times.
An item that has been on our radar screen for a number of years is a new railroad overpass. We have extensively researched possible locations, cost factors and train statistics and have come to the conclusion that there are no easy solutions or answers. Twelve to 15 cargo trains, with an average length of one mile, pass through our City per day. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine what times these trains pass through O’Fallon. Schedules for cargo trains vary widely and are adjusted accordingly to meet the demands of the industries using rail transport service. I, along with many of our residents, am very frustrated with the amount of time I spend waiting for a train to pass. If the train keeps moving and doesn’t need to stop to switch
tracks, the wait time is dramatically reduced. For example, if the average length train is traveling at 60 mph, it takes one minute for it to clear a crossing. If traveling at 30 mph, it takes two minutes and at 15 mph, four minutes. The problem occurs when a train needs to switch tracks. Needless to say, the switching can take quite some time. Under law, the train is allowed 20 minutes to complete the switching. If the tracks are blocked for more than 20 minutes, a ticket is issued to the railroad company. The problem arises when the train moves a fraction of an inch during the switching process, which starts the clock over again. So what’s the solution? Initially, we talked about building an overpass at Venita or Obernuefemann. In 2005, the cost for an overpass at either of these locations was approximately $5 million. With inflation, the cost today would more than likely be over $6 million. We are
currently exploring the idea of adding a siding that the trains use for switching, which would dramatically alleviate the delays and cost approximately $1.5 million. If the overpass is built at approximately $6 million, or if we can provide one and half miles of new siding track at the cost of $1.5 million, we still must find the money. As I shared with a resident last week, it isn’t that we as a City don’t want to build an overpass, it’s that we will need to raise property tax rates (which I oppose), or secure state and/or federal grants. We have chosen the plan of trying to get state and federal money, which is a very slow process. If you have additional ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them.
Another item that is currently being discussed amongst our elected officials is the possibility of placing a Storm Water Utility Referendum on the February 2008 ballot. A referendum allows you, as voters, to decide if you want to fund the repairs of drainage problems in the older sections of town, the flooding along creeks, and the clean up of the retaining pond along Wesley Drive, just to mention a few of the many needed projects. The City Council and I would like to fix each and every drainage problem in the City but the stark reality is that to do that, our tax rates would be so high that none of us could afford to live here. Therefore, we will need to chip away at our problems on a piecemeal basis in accordance with what you, as taxpayers, are willing to pay. If this ballot
issue moves forward and the voters approve the establishment of a storm water utility, the monthly fee assessed to residents and businesses would be used to fund storm water infrastructure repairs and regulatory compliance issues. Our City has been plagued with storm water drainage issues for generations. It is estimated that it would take $50 million to fix most of our problems. We simply do not have the revenue source needed to tackle all of these issues unless the residents of O’Fallon are willing to assist. Some citizens have accused the City of not solving the storm water problems (that have existed for the past 70 years) with the Proposition S Funds. When Prop S (the 1/2 cent sales tax) was passed, all literature spoke of $250,000 per year being dedicated toward storm water repair and that has been spent, as advertised. The truth of the matter is that if we spent the full $1.2 million per year that is raised via Prop S, it
wouldn’t cover the $30 million (estimate) needed to correct the drainage problems just on the Presidential Streets. Public meetings regarding the possible Storm Water Utility will be held in the near future and I encourage you to attend and provide your input about this important issue.
It is an honor to serve as your Mayor, and I appreciate being given the opportunity to work for the residents of O’Fallon. I am willing to meet one-on-one with anyone who has a concern about any issues related to our city. I welcome your suggestions and comments and encourage you to contact me at 624-4500. It is through your input and dialog on important issues that we will make O’Fallon an even better place to live and work.
Gary L. Graham
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