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2024/01/29 - Mayor's Column: Ice Storm Monday

­“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH
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On Monday, January 22nd, the day of the early morning ice, is a very good example of why I’m proud of our staff and the little extra effort that they put forth to serve our citizens and businesses.

I had received a few calls from other cities on Sunday before asking what we were going to do. I said that our plans are to be open and operational with those that can safely make it in.

On Monday morning, I was reading about the many city halls and other governmental buildings closing for the day. We decided to delay opening O’Fallon City Hall until 10 AM to give everyone extra time to get in carefully. And we had a great turnout. Our staff at City Hall were busy handling all types of citizens’ calls and conducting business.

While that was going on, our Public Safety Staff were responding to calls. A perfect example of the city team working together is that Public Works had a truck stationed and ready to escort any ambulance call that might involve icy streets so that they get to and from those calls and give proper care to the citizens in need of medical attention.

All of this is in addition to the work the night before and morning of the ice storm by our Public Works Staff. Our Police and Community Service employees were aiding citizens that needed some extra help and our Parks Staff were out salting City driveways and parking lots so that our emergency vehicles could respond quickly.

Too often people don’t realize the extra things that our staff do to aid our citizens. So that is why I wanted to give them recognition for a job well done. In this case they were serving our citizens while other city and government buildings were closed.

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.