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ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS
Obernuefemann and State Street Roundabout
IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) has approved all of our right-of-way (ROW) and easement acquisitions needed to construct the roundabout. The plans and specs will be going back to IDOT engineers for a final review. The project bids will likely be accepted in January 2008, and construction should begin in the March/April time frame.
Storm Water Utility (SWU)
 Work is almost complete on determining the impervious (rain-shedding) surfaces of commercial, church, school and government
facilities. The next step will be the educational component where information on the utility and its benefits as well as costs will be presented in public meetings. Whether O’Fallon residents want a utility or not will be the decided by a referendum vote to be held in February 2008. Standby for news! In the meantime, a copy of the advisory committee’s presentation to Council members is on the City’s web site under Engineering & Public Works - Storm Water Program, see SWAC Meeting Materials.
Water System Capital Improvements
In 2006, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) cited the City for not having enough water storage capacity. In response, the City is in the process ofawarding a $985,000 contract for construction of a new booster pump station on the west side of Fairview Heights along St. Clair Avenue. Additionally, the designs for two one-million gallon elevated water storage towers are being advanced towards bid. One of the towers will be located along Pausch Road, north of the Bluffs at Ogles Creek subdivision, and the other tower will be located across from Fulton Junior High School on Kyle Road. The tower across from Fulton will be designed to eventually house restrooms and storage for the Parks & Recreation Department. That location will be the bicycle trail head
for a planned trail from O’Fallon to Troy along an abandoned rail line that the Metro-East Parks District is working toward developing. Due to delays in finding a suitable site for the tower that is now sited along Pausch Road, construction of the water towers will likely be delayed until the summer of 2008 when the availability of a low interest loan from the IEPA Water Infrastructure Fund is determined.
 2007 Concrete Repair ProgramPlease be alert to this ongoing project that touches every part of the City. Due to its nature, the workers and barricades are in many different locations during the day. Repairs are being made to sidewalks, streets, and drainage structures.
Homeowner’s Sanitary Sewer and Water Lines
Most homeowners aren’t aware that they own both the sewer and water lines that run from their house and connect to the City’s sewer and water lines. The cost to replace a private sewer line runs between $2,000 and $4,000 depending on the length and depth of the replacement line. A water line replacement costs between $1,500 and $2,500, also depending on the length and depth of the new line. Failing water and sewer lines can occur in both older or fairly new residential property. O’Fallon voters will be given the opportunity in a February 2008 referendum to decide if they wish to approve a Water and a Sewer Line Repair Program where every home or facility that uses City water or sewer service will pay a monthly fee to insure replacement cost for collapsed or
failing water or sewer lines on their private property. If the referendum passes, it would take six to eight months to accumulate the dollars needed to begin processing requests. The proposed program is patterned after a popular and successful program in St. Louis County, Missouri where the St. Louis County voters approved their program overwhelmingly. We know that it may seem to you on first review to be a program that is not needed, but the proposed program deserves a close look. Replacement of private water and sewer lines through a street and subsequent repair to the street is not inexpensive. More information on this issue will be made available for your review in the near future.
Waste Containers Near the Curb
Kudos to those who heeded our request to place the wheels of the Waste Management-provided waste containers and any other refuse for pickup in the  gutter line ofcurbed streets and on the edge of the paved section of non-curbed streets. This reduces the stress on the edge of the road when the large trash trucks get too close to the edge of the pavement. The short period that these containers are at the edge of the road does not impose a safety
hazard any greater than cars parked in the area do. Also, remember to keep the carts, etc. away from the mailboxes. Thank you!
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