Slow down! O’Fallon residents want lower speed limit on Kyle Road
The O’Fallon City Council plans to lower the speed limit from 40 to 35 mph on Kyle Road from Lincoln Avenue to Simmons Road after residents in the Illini Trails subdivision raised concerns it was too high.
The ordinance amending the speed restrictions portion of the city’s code of ordinances will be up for final approval at the next council meeting Aug. 17.
A speed study showed the lower speed was appropriate. O’Fallon Police Department deployed traffic counters at the intersections of Kyle Road/Sauk Trail and Kyle Road/Tazewell for five consecutive days.
“This reduction of speed would create a safer environment for the high volumes of pedestrian and bicycle traffic in this residential area. The reduced speed would also be more consistent with the similarly classified roadways in the city limits,” the police report said.
Kyle Road is an east‐west major collector road that is 0.85 miles long. The 2018 average daily traffic along this roadway is 3,300 vehicles per day. The current geometric configuration is a two‐lane roadway with a bi‐directional turn lane.
The lane widths are currently 12 feet each with a barrier curb and gutter located along both sides of the roadway. A sidewalk is along the entire south side of the road. Fulton Junior High School and the trail head for the newly completed Goshen bike trail are there, which results in high pedestrian and bike volumes.
Infrastructure improvements around city
Needed improvements to O’Fallon’s infrastructure moved forward after aldermen approved contract services at the council meeting Monday.
Venita Drive will be reconstructed from Taylor Road to the Porter-Simmons Roundabout. The south half of the project received a federal STP grant to cover 75 percent of the construction cost but the north half was unsuccessful in being awarded grant funds. The reconstruction of the two phases will be combined into one project that is planned to be completed summer and fall of 2021. The council OK’d paying the Lochmueller Group $94,703.48 for engineering services, which is the amount they will use from local Motor Fuel Tax.
A water main along Longacre Drive from Union Hill to Illinois 159 and Ashland Avenue from Illinois 159 to Old Collinsville Road is a 16-inch ductile iron main that needs to be replaced. The council approved a contract for $74,000 with Thouvenot, Wade and Moerchen Inc., who will provide topographic and right of way surveys, design services, construction staking, construction drawings, bids and specifications. They will also submit IEPA permits.
The council approved paying $498,000 to Trikote for water storage tank improvements at State Street and Seven Hills. Five bids were received, with Tricoke being the low bidder. Inspections conducted last year recommended painting be performed at the water towers. The construction will include exterior painting of the Seven Hills Tower and both exterior and interior painting at the State Street Tower.
PMA Securities, interest savings
In other action, the council agreed to pay Steve Adams, with PMA Securities, $7,500 for financial advisory services, which is the savings from the private placement of the city’s general obligation refunding bonds, Series 2010.
Interest rates are at an all-time low right now, and the refunding bonds had a chance to be refunded to capture annual savings. PMA served as the city’s financial advisor on the transaction to place the 2020 bonds with a banking institution to capture the potential savings from lowering the interest rate.
Right now, a conservative estimate of the annual interest savings is $22,000 for a total savings of $65,000 to $70,000. The lack of a levy for these bonds allows the city to allocate the funds saved by the reduction of the interest rate to other projects or funds.
According to Budget Director Sandy Evans, the placement is a private sale of securities offered to a limited number of investors. A placement generally leads to a lower cost of issuance than a public offering due to the absence of an underwriter, rating, certain legal fees and official statement preparation. However, the absence of a public sale may lead to higher interest rates. PMA has assessed the issuer may potentially benefit from a placement in lieu of a public offering.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted a temporary conditional exemption for registered municipal advisors, such as PMA, to directly solicit qualified providers, as defined in the order, of municipal securities, subject to certain requirements, through Dec. 1, 2020.
If the conditions set forth in the order are met and the city chooses to utilize the temporary exemption for the purchase of the Securities, PMA will identify qualified providers, disseminate information to them and collect their timely submission of offers to purchase. PMA will analyze such offers to purchase and make a recommendation to the issuer regarding the acceptance of one or more offers to purchase the securities based on the issuer’s best interest.
Other action taken by O’Fallon City Council
The council approved the final plat for the second addition to Bethel Ridge Farms. Applicant is Rich Goradz and it includes 39 single-family lots on 20.23 acres. This is the third and final phase of the development and is part of the larger 101.17-acre development located about half of a mile northwest of the Bethel Road and Lincoln Avenue intersection. The subdivision has 101 homes.
The council approved an ordinance that prohibits groundwater as a potable water supply in the Southview Plaza area. The owner is working to close out the demolition. One of the items required by the Illinois Department of the Environmental Protection Agency is to have the city pass a prohibition on any wells to be used as potable water supply surrounding the vicinity of the project area, where environmental contamination was detected. The site has been remediated and this is the final step for the owner to receive a “No Further Action” determination for the cleanup.
The city had passed a similar ordinance when the old Texaco site was demolished and remediated for redevelopment of the Dairy Queen. The city has no knowledge of any wells in the area and all the property affected by the ordinance have access to the city’s public water supply.
Town Hall meeting, mayor’s report
Mayor Herb Roach announced residents can now sign up at City Hall for a Town Hall meeting Aug. 19 starting at 6:30 p.m., and that Zoom will also be available. City staff will discuss ongoing projects.
In his mayor’s report, Roach said St. Clair County’s coronavirus numbers are at a high level, with the county reporting 108 new cases Monday. He urged businesses and people to try to control and prevent the spread.
Monday’s meeting was the first one back at City Hall with in-person attendance since mid-March. However, the Zoom webinar tool was still used, and the council meeting was recorded so the video would be available on the city’s website. Because of social distancing and crowd restrictions, several aldermen participated on Zoom. Masks are recommended for inside City Hall. One must sign up in advance to be in council chambers.
The council approved a request from the Knights of Columbus to conduct a roadblock at the intersections of State and Lincoln and State and Smiley from 8-10 a.m. and from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 2 and from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 3 pending proof of Insurance.