2022/02/14 - Mayor's Column: EMS Birthday and New Wards
“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
In the excitement of the snowfall event, you may not have noticed that there was an important birthday in O’Fallon. On February 1st, O’Fallon EMS celebrated its 40th birthday. In 1982, the O’Fallon City Council and Mayor Mackey, decided to take over the ambulance service on a six-month trial basis.
The minutes of the meeting (which can be found at https://publicdocs.ofallon.org/Public/0/doc/371384/Page1.aspx.). The minutes from the 1982 City Council Meeting are also an interesting time capsule on how the government functioned back then: there is a report on the great 1982 snowstorm that included Fire Department rescues of 49 people and 30 high school students. Thirty-three people stayed in the Police Station basement and 330 meals were served to stranded individuals.
O’Fallon EMS celebrated the milestone birthday with a cake from Wood Bakery.
Over the years, we have been blessed to have the best EMS employees. It is no surprise that the six-month trial period was extended, and it has since greatly benefitted O’Fallon. O’Fallon EMS is now up to three ambulances and multiple support vehicles running 24/7/365.
On a separate note, the O’Fallon City Council will soon approve the new ward map. The proposed map was reviewed on January 31 and there has been no opposition to the proposal. The City’s wards must be redistricted due to the new census information. Redistricting is the once-every-decade process of redrawing wards within the City of O'Fallon to reflect population changes after the completion of the decennial federal Census. According to the new U.S. Census Bureau figures released, O’Fallon’s new population is 32,289, a 14.1% increase.
For Ward redistricting, our guidance is from the Illinois Constitution regarding State redistricting and best practices regarding redistricting in general. The proposed Ward boundary Map satisfied all of the above guidance. No current members of the O'Fallon City Council will move Wards with the proposed map. There are two major changes in comparison to the previous Ward Map:
The existing Ward Seven became too large due to continued residential growth. This problem would have continued to grow if left to current ward boundaries. Therefore, Ward 7 and Ward 1 are adjusted to comply with the population requirement and prepare for further growth.
The southern boundary of Ward 1 no longer includes the residential area near the O'Fallon Family Sports Park. This residential area now resides in Ward 3.
The proposed ward map is on display at City Hall. They will also be available and discussed at my upcoming Town Hall Meeting on March 16th. Once it is approved, we will update our website and everywhere the ward map is displayed.
As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open.