O’Fallon City Council advances development at Richland Creek at latest meeting
A Tidal Wave Express Car Wash is the latest development in The Shops at Richland Creek coming to O’Fallon.
The O’Fallon City Council advanced a zoning amendment for final approval to its next meeting Sept. 8, which is a Tuesday because of the Sept. 7 Labor Day holiday.
To be located at 1691 Frank Scott Parkway, which is the northwest corner, the car wash was approved on first reading, but with a staff recommendation to allow a directional sign at the entrance to be a maximum of 8 square feet and to be scaled to height appropriately.
Mace Nosovitch of Edison Real Estate sought an amended planned use for the construction of a new 4,900 square foot tunnel car wash with 20 vacuum stations. The property is currently under construction with The Shops at Richland Creek development.
The development includes more than 17 acres near Interstate 64’s Exit 16, which is bordered by Green Mount Road, Frank Scott Parkway and Central Park Drive. While no leases have been signed yet, restaurants and shops from national and local retailers are planned for the 18,400 square foot of strip retail. There are eight outlots. Two new traffic signals are expected to be installed.
Through an ordinance amending the city’s speed restrictions, the council lowered the speed limit from 40 to 35 mph on Kyle Road from Lincoln Avenue to Simmons Road at its meeting Monday.
Residents in the Illini Trails subdivision had raised concerns it was too high, especially with the high volumes of pedestrian and bicycle traffic in the residential area. Fulton Junior High School and the Goshen Bike Trail are located there as well.
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 O’Fallon Police Department will continue to supply a School Resource Officer to O’Fallon Township High School District 203, which is a joint cooperative effort. The council approved an intergovernmental agreement with the District 203 School Board and must be signed each year.
The SRO program is for both the Smiley Street campus and the Milburn School Road campus. The school district funds the officer’s entire salary and benefits during times school is in session. During the summer, when the officer is not working, the school district pays 75 percent and the city pays the remainder.
The officer is on the campuses from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and if needed, for school events.
The SRO Program has been in effect for years and is to prevent and reduce school-related violence and crime. By creating and maintaining a safe and orderly learning environment for students, teachers and staff on the school grounds, the officer serves as a positive role model. The officer is expected to develop and enhance rapport between youth, police officers, school administrators and parents, establish a trusting channel of communication and to promote citizen awareness of the law.
Other action taken by the council
In other action, the council approved issuing $3.3 million in general obligation refunding bonds, and for a tax levy to pay the principal and interest on such bonds.
According to Budget Director Sandy Evans, the conservative estimate of the annual interest savings is $22,000, for savings of between $65,000-$70,000.
Jim Snyder with Ice Miller is serving as bond counsel. The city has used him in the past.
The city’s general obligation refunding bonds, Series 2010, became callable Jan. 1. Interest rates are at an all-time low right now and the refunding bonds have a chance to be refunded once again to capture annual savings. PMA would be serving 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. 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.
A 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 city is not extending the terms or increasing the principal amount of these bonds, which will mature Jan. 1, 2024.
Mayor’s report
During his report, Mayor Herb Roach said a Town Hall meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, and residents could sign up at city hall to attend in person — although attendance is limited — and continue to register for Zoom, which will be the teleconferencing platform.
The mayor will be available during Saturday office hours from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 22.
A Committee of the Whole meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, with limited space for citizens at City Hall, but they can join in with the Zoom platform.