St. Clair County gives park to O’Fallon with grant money for upgrades
An O’Fallon park will soon be getting $400,000 worth of improvements as part of an agreement between the city and county.
St. Clair County is transferring ownership of St. Ellen Mine Park to O’Fallon and giving the city a $400,000 grant for renovations, according to the agreement, which the County Board approved at its meeting Monday night.
The park is located at 610 St. Ellen Mine Road in O’Fallon, the site of a former coal mining operation. It offers walking trails and small lakes for fishing, motorized boating and paddling.
The agreement states improvements will include: bathroom repairs, roof repairs, parking lot and trail resealing/resurfacing/lining, trailer parking, camera/IT installation, dumpster enclosure, playground, dog-park area, picnic tables/chairs and/or benches.
The grant will be awarded in two installments of $200,000 on or before June 1, 2025, and on or before June 1, 2026.
During Monday’s meeting, St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said transferring the park will allow the county to start focusing on the former Freedom Farm property in rural Freeburg.
The County Board earmarked $660,000 in COVID-19 relief money for the Freedom Farm in December, including $640,000 it agreed to pay the George E. Hilgard American Legion Post 58 to purchase the property.
The Freedom Farm was once a recreation area with a campground and lakes that hosted scout camps, military gatherings, fish fries, concerts and festivals. Over the years, it became overgrown and littered with derelict buildings. The county plans to turn it into a community park.
“We look forward to O’Fallon taking ownership,” Kern said of St. Ellen Mine Park. “This then clears the decks for us in July to then direct attention to the Freedom Farm, which we believe has a lot of potential. So we’ll be embarking on that project when we complete the transaction this summer.”
