People in Cahokia Heights voted to dissolve a public water utility. What happens next?

Nearly three months after residents in Cahokia Heights voted to dissolve Commonfields of Cahokia Public Water District, the controversial public utility continues to operate as officials work on developing its replacement.

“We are very close to getting that (done),” said Lynn Branson-Matchingtouch, who will lead the new Cahokia Heights’ Water and Sewer Department. “As you know, we’re merging three cities and a public water district, and that is not an overnight job.”

Branson-Matchingtouch doesn’t know exactly when the new department will be officially formed, but she said it’ll happen soon. She was appointed to lead the department in May. Mayor Curtis McCall’s office did not respond to the BND’s questions about the new department.

Cahokia Heights is southwestern Illinois’ newest town, created by the merger of Alorton, Centreville and Cahokia, which voters approved in November.

Dissolving Commonfields and incorporating its responsibilities into the new town are among the final phases of the consolidation’s four-part plan.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the referendum to dissolve the utility during the April 6 municipal election, with 79% voting yes, and 16% voting no. Only Commonfields customers were allowed to vote. Commonfields serves 7,000 customers in Cahokia Heights.

Branson-Matchingtouch said a new department, which has yet to be formed, will take over the duties of Commonfields and Cahokia’s Water and Sewer Department. She said the change will be more convenient for residents, considering the two entities shared some of the same responsibilities. Although she doesn’t know how the billing process will work for the new department, she said customers will be notified of any changes as soon as they’re made.

“We have the same customers,” Branson-Matchingtouch said. “They may have the water, we have the sewer. Then we both have water and sewer, and then we both have sewer-only because we also share customers with Illinois American Water, even though we’re in the same city, that is combining.’’

A resolution for Cahokia Heights to assume responsibilities for Commonfields was unanimously approved during a city council meeting earlier this month. It’s unclear if the same workers for Commonfields will work for the new water and sewer department.

“Everybody will have to re-apply,” McCall told the BND in April. “Commonfields is dissolved. Cahokia is dissolved. Centreville is dissolved. Alorton is dissolved. So all of these people will have to re-apply for new positions.”

Water and sewer customers in the area also overlap with Illinois American Water and American Bottoms, which provides wastewater treatment services. The merger won’t include those entities. However, McCall mentioned during a city council meeting that he’ll explore options to consolidate American Bottoms into Cahokia Heights.

Commonfields of Cahokia Public Water District has been the source of scrutiny from residents who’ve complained about poor management of the area’s sewer system and aging infrastructure. Last year, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Centreville residents against Commonfields and other local government entities and officials for failure to fix the city’s infrastructure. McCall, who previously served as the district’s board chairman and Centreville Township supervisor, is also listed as a defendant.

Trenise Hill, who’s lived in Cahokia since 2012, knows about the lawsuit. The lawsuit and residents voting to dissolve Commonfields are two reasons why she wants her Commonfields bill to be eliminated.

She’s a customer of Commonfields for water services, Village of Cahokia Water and Sewer Department for sewer services and American Bottoms for wastewater treatment services. She said she currently pays about $160 per month for all of them.

“I’ve been questioning that since I moved here,” Hill, 50, said about paying the three bills. “Why are we paying those three bills? Commonfields got dissolved ….Commonfields should no longer be.”

A new department

Branson-Matchingtouch said she understands how the overlap in duties between the four companies can be complicated. She doesn’t know the process for how billing for the four companies was mapped out.

She said the decision predates her time serving in the city, but she’s confident that when the new department for Cahokia Heights officially absorbs Commonfields and Cahokia’s water and sewer responsibilities, it’ll be easier for customers in the area.

Branson-Matchingtouch, 55, has been the leader of the Village of Cahokia’s Water and Sewer Department since 2015. Before that, she worked in the billing department for Commonfields, beginning in 1997.

Branson-Matchintouch initially was listed as Cahokia Heights’ new director of finance, a position that came with a $72,675 salary (Rory Morgan, the former associate director of the Village of Cahokia’s Water and Sewer Department, was initially listed to lead the new city’s water and sewer department).

Then McCall appointed Branson-Matchintouch to lead Cahokia Heights’ Water and Sewer Department shortly after he was sworn in last month. Her salary will be $72,675 as head of the department.

Sharlin Pfeffer, the former office manager and human resources director for Commonfields, will be Cahokia Heights’ new finance director.

Branson-Matchingtouch said it was a “welcome change”.

A native of the area, Branson-Matchingtouch is happy to continue serving in her hometown.

“I was born and raised in Centreville, as well,” she said. “I left this area after I graduated to attend college and then I went into the military, so I’m also a veteran of the Army. Just to be able to come back and still do for the community, that’s done so much for me. I still have a lot of family here, very close family in all of the cities….it’s just good to know that you’re still able to participate and help things move forward.”

The new water and sewer department for Cahokia Heights will be located at 900 Upper Cahokia Road. Commonfields and the Village of Cahokia Water and Sewer Department moved there in March and will independently operate from there until the new entity is ready to take over. Matchingtouch said the building was initially the home of a Regions Bank.

Arianna Norris is a Cahokia Heights resident and customer of the Village of Cahokia Water and Sewer Department. She said she doesn’t understand why changes for the new department weren’t already in place, given voters approved the merger of Alorton, Cahokia and Centreville into Cahokia Heights.

“This was pushed through during a pandemic, and it stinks to high heaven...the whole thing, it reeks,” Norris, 60, said.

Norris said she didn’t know about Branson-Matchingtouch being recently appointed to lead the new water and sewer department.

“That means we haven’t had anybody in that position, but everything was a done deal last November,” Norris said. “I mean, once the primary was over, everyone knew what was coming, including the administration that was coming in, so why wasn’t everything ready to go? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Tom Stahl, a Cahokia resident, said he understands the time it could take to create a new water and sewer department because of the three towns merging. He’s a customer of the Village of Cahokia’s Water and Sewer Department.

“The legalities of everything are really complicated and certain steps have to be taken in a certain order for it all to be legal and you can really move forward with a lot until the legalities are straightened out,” Stahl, 66, said.

“People voted overwhelmingly for the merger,” Stahl said. “I was against it, but now that it has gone through, I want it to succeed.”

He added: “I believe they have a plan, and I’m willing to give them time to institute that plan for the betterment of the community.”

Branson-Matchintouch said she knows that people are frustrated. She wants customers to know that they’re her top priority.

“It’s a lot going on, but we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Branson-Matchingtouch said. “I just believe once everything settles and is finalized, they will see. I know at times it seems like things are just all over the place...I can assure all our residents that are customers of ours that we are doing our best. They are always foremost and upfront .... If we cannot serve our people, then shame on us.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 1:00 AM.

DeAsia Paige

Belleville News-Democrat

DeAsia Paige joined the Belleville News-Democrat as a Report for America corps member in 2020. She’s a community reporter covering East St. Louis and surrounding areas. DeAsia previously interned with VICE and The Detroit Free Press. She graduated from The University of Kansas in 2020.