Washington Park asks state for help after fire destroys uninsured village building
This story was updated Wednesday, Feb. 16, with emailed comments from State Sen. Chris Belt.
City leaders in Washington Park held a press conference Tuesday morning demanding support to help the village recover from a fire that displaced its police, fire and public works departments.
“This meeting is about resources” Assistant Fire Chief Ronnie Harris said. “When can the surrounding communities and surrounding agencies help us? That’s all that we’re asking for.”
Last fall, a fire destroyed the building on Forest Boulevard that housed the city’s police, fire and public works departments. Various records and equipment were damaged in the fire. Authorities said that the cause of the fire is undetermined.
The city doesn’t have the funds to replace what was lost in the fire, including new building, according to city officials. Washington Park Mayor Leonard Moore said the building was uninsured and wasn’t sure how long it did not have insurance.
Moore said the city’s police department is currently operating at Washington Park Senior Citizen’s Hall on Park Avenue and public works meets in the parking lot of city hall. The city’s fire trucks are housed with a local trucking contractor.
“It’s hard in the village of Washington Park because, again, we don’t have the finances we need to do our job,” Harris said. “If we can find a way to get the finances we need in Washington Park, we can be like Cahokia Heights, we can be like Belleville, we can be like Fairmont City, we can be like Caseyville. We can be like ‘up the hill’.
“If ‘up the hill’ helps ‘down the hill’, it’ll be a better community in St. Clair County for a whole.”
Moore said he’s had calls with state representatives LaToya Greenwood (D-East St. Louis) and Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) and Senator Chris Belt (D-Swansea), but hasn’t received a definitive response about getting help.
The state legislators could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, but in an email sent Tuesday evening, Sen. Chris Belt said that he, Hoffman and Greenwood have allocated $200,000 for the city.
“The fire at Washington Park’s public safety building in October is devastating,” Belt said in an email. “Together, Leaders Jay Hoffman and LaToya Greenwood and I quickly came together to pledge our support to work with Mayor Leonard Moore to remedy the situation. During a meeting with the mayor on Jan. 13, Hoffman, Greenwood and I made him aware there has been various discussions with the governor’s office relative to finding a remedy for the loss of Washington Park’s public safety building.”
He added: “Here we are a month after meeting with the mayor, receiving backlash for misinformation. Leaders Hoffman, Greenwood and I stand together, as we told Mayor Moore, that we are committed to rebuilding the public safety building that was lost in a fire.”
Moore said he’s aware of the allocation, but his office hasn’t received any funds. He said that during the meeting with state leaders last month, he was informed that they’re still trying to find ways to help.
“At some point, just still looking is not good enough,” Moore said. “We need help now because if they prolong it, sooner or later, they’re just going to push us under the rug and completely forget about us. Three years from now, we’ll still be standing in front of this building saying that we’re looking for help.”
Moore said getting a new building would cost a least $500,000 — money that Washington Park doesn’t have.
“How do they expect us to just function?” Moore said. “That was our police department, fire department and public works, so everything just went. I had to make the contact. I wasn’t getting calls from anybody. I had to do the reaching out.”
Mayor Moore, who was elected last year, wants residents in Washington Park to know that the city will do the best that they can to provide for them, with or without the state’s help.
“A change is coming, and I still stand on that,” Moore said. ”I am going to make a change in the village.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 2:58 PM.
