2016/09/29 - Walter's Blog: History Unfolds Before Our Eyes as We Look to the Future
September 29, 2016
History matters. O’Fallon was established in 1854 and decisions made since then still resonate in our community. Two unrelated events over the past few weeks have brought history back to the forefront.
Alderman Michael Bennett’s last meeting was Monday, September 19. After 21 years on the City Council, Alderman Bennett resigned because he is getting married and moving out of O’Fallon. Along with Alderman Jerry Mouser’s resignation in April, we lost the two longest-serving aldermen on the City Council. They were effective representatives for their wards as well as leaders of the community. A lot of knowledge and institutional memory walked out the door and will be sorely missed.
Bennett and Mouser presided over the most dynamic period in O’Fallon’s history. Their decisions set the stage for O’Fallon’s development of the past 20 years: Bennett served as Chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee and Mouser served as Chairman of the Community Development Committee. Their leadership will reverberate for years to come as these committees coordinated the annual budget and development projects that have steered O’Fallon’s future.
At the September 19th City Council meeting, Alderman Bennett explained that he served for so long because he was committed to improving O’Fallon. Some may say that one person cannot do anything on a City Council with 14 members, but in the end it always depends on one person: someone has to decide to run for office, someone has to become informed on the issues facing the city, and someone has to govern by forming a common vision with other aldermen to move the community forward. History will thank Michael Bennett and Jerry Mouser for volunteering to be that someone to make a difference.
History made another mark this week, underground. The 2nd Street reconstruction project has begun and it resembles an archeological dig as much as a public works project. The concrete street had not been replaced for at least 50 years so there was no telling what was underneath.
Well, when the concrete was removed we saw history revealed: layer after layer of coal slag and ash that had been used for decades as a dirt road, then a gravel road, and finally a concrete street. While that material may have been acceptable at the time, those soils are deplorable as a base for a new street so the contractor has been forced to dig almost two feet deeper than originally planned to establish a firm base.
We also discovered old, hand-dug 100-year old water lines and sewers pipes we did not know existed. While working on a storm drain at the corner of Lincoln and 1st Street, crews unexpectedly discovered an old sewer line that caused a sinkhole in the street.
Whenever you work in an older part of town, you never know what you will find. Infrastructure plans from 100 years ago are not accurate so we can only guess where things are located. So history unfolds before our eyes as we look to the future.