St. Clair County will add new walking, biking trail at park near Belleville
A public park just south of Belleville is getting a new 1-mile trail for walking and biking.
The St. Clair County Board voted Monday night to award a $354,231 contract for the work at Foley Park to the lowest of five bidders, Stutz Excavating, Inc. in Alton.
The park is located at 5119 Douglas Road in Smithton Township, the site of a former coal strip mine. It has four fishing lakes and a baseball field, in addition to pavilions with picnic tables, benches and restrooms.
The contract with Stutz Excavating calls for the work to be “substantially completed” on or before Sept. 30.
The county will request a reimbursement from the Metro East Park and Recreation District, which awards grant money for park and trail projects completed in St. Clair and Madison counties.
Brian Buehlhorn, St. Clair County’s parks and recreation superintendent, told board members during Monday’s finance committee meeting that the county could get $150,000 back when the Foley Park trail project is done.
The Metro East Park and Recreation District is supported by revenue from a sales tax.
St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern said after the meeting that the county’s share of the project cost will also be covered by revenue from a tax specifically for parks.
This project comes after the County Board voted in late April to transfer ownership of another of its parks, St. Ellen Mine Park, to the city of O’Fallon along with a $400,000 grant for improvements.
Kern said Monday that the county and city, which has a new mayor after the April 1 election, are still working through the transfer.
The chairman said in April that the move would have allowed county officials to direct their attention to the former Freedom Farm property in rural Freeburg, which they want to turn into a community park.
“We’re still working toward that,” Kern said Monday.
Four County Board members were absent from Monday’s meeting: Democrats Ken Sharkey of District 11, Jerry Dinges of District 15, Scott Tieman of District 17 and Richie Meile of District 25.
