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2022/02/18 - Mayor's Column: Working Together

 

­“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
­­­                                                    

I have always felt that governmental bodies should try to work together for the betterment of the citizens that they serve. That is why over the last few years, O’Fallon has reached out to many of our other local communities and governmental bodies to see how we can work together for the betterment of all concerned.

Here is a list of some of the actions the city has done to work with others:

  1. Went out for bids on a waste hauling contract, which had not been done for 15 years. To help reduce costs and create savings for other governmental bodies, we included our schools and the Township. This resulted in some significant savings.
  2. Developed an agreement with the OTHS to do a major overhaul at Blazier Field at Community Park. This will be completed over the next few years.
  3. Struck an agreement with Shiloh to treat sewer waste at our Sewer Plant.
  4. Did a joint three-way agreement with Caseyville Sewer District and the St. Clair County Transit District for the development of a new bike and walking trail by St. Ellen Mine Park.   
  5. Worked with Madison County and St. Clair County Transit District on the bike trail that comes down by Fulton School and connects O’Fallon with the Madison County Trails.
  6. Put together an agreement with Caseyville Sewer District on furnishing water readings for businesses that use O’Fallon water but are on Caseyville Sewer.
  7. Formed a buying consortium with the City of Belleville on office supplies and offered the opportunity to our schools and other communities.
  8. Reached out to our schools and the county for use of our salt storage for treating streets and parking lots. There is no need for a county truck to have to run back to Belleville for salt when they are treating nearby county roads that service O’Fallon residents.
  9. Worked with the State of Illinois on the repairs to Route 50 over I-64.

And we continue to reach out and talk with others to see how we can work together on various projects that are beneficial to all concerned. 

This is in addition to the joint agreements that our Police and Fire Departments have with other local agencies and our dispatching of 911 for Fairview Heights and Shiloh.

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.