O'Fallon Progress

O’Fallon worried about local economy enduring COVID-19 pandemic hardships

By Lynn Venhaus For the Progress

As metro-east cities deal with the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, O’Fallon continues to help businesses and residents out during an unprecedented time.

The recent rollbacks, as of Sept. 2, may be removed or lessened after the state’s current 14-day monitoring period is finished Wednesday, Sept. 16. So, it’s a wait-and-see on St. Clair County positivity rates.

“The city is doing everything we can to help local businesses and residents weather the storm. Since the pandemic began, we have extended the renewal period for many city licenses, including business registrations, liquor, gaming machines and hotel/motel tax,” Mayor Herb Roach said.

In mid-March, Governor J.B. Pritzker’s shelter in place order helped flatten the curve and not overwhelm the health care system, slowing the spread of COVID-19, yet the shutdown affected the regional economy.

“This has been hard on everyone. Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have worked with both county and state officials and health departments to keep our community safe from this virus and keep our businesses operating to the maximum limits allowed,” Roach said.

However, the local economy was inevitably hit.

“There was a lasting impact on many local businesses that had to close down, lay off employees, and watch their inventory expire,” Roach said.

Then in Phases 3 and 4 over the summer, indoor dining and other services returned. However, after Fourth of July, once summer was in full swing and restrictions were lessened, COVID-19 numbers in St. Clair County rose to a dangerous level. Because of the high positivity rate in the metro-east (Region 4 includes Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties), there was a roll back into Tier 1 of the coronavirus Resurgence Mitigation Plan.

The restrictions began on Aug. 18 and are still in place, for the positivity rate must drop below 6.5 percent. The county has surpassed the 8 percent positivity rate on multiple occasions, climbing to 10 percent the week of Labor Day.

Patrons are asked to wear face covering over their nose and mouth when approached and serviced by establishment employees, such as when orders are taken, food and beverages are delivered and any interaction at the tables, whether indoor or outdoor dining. This is also in effect for picking up carry out orders and at drive-thru windows.

No dancing or party buses were part of the new guidelines. Public gathering are limited to either 25 or 25 percent room capacity, whatever is the least amount of people.

St. Clair County IMEA clarified the tighter 25 or less gatherings includes all public and private gatherings, social events and meetings regardless of where they are held. This includes funerals and events at a place of worship, such as halls or churches.

On Sept. 1, the governor reinstated a ban on indoor dining. O’Fallon has more than 115 bars and restaurants, which employ 2,750 people. Their lost revenue is estimated a $1 million.

People gathering in large groups were a major concern, according to St. Clair County health officials.

According to Susan Bleasdale, a medical director of infection control at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, the virus spreads quickly and easily indoors even from people who aren’t showing symptoms, and bars and restaurants are one of the primary causes of the spread.

She said people lose inhibitions when they are at bars, talking loudly, dancing or singing around people they don’t know. This makes for ideal conditions for the virus to spread through tiny droplets suspended in the air, Bleasdale said.

As of Sept. 14, the positivity rates were slowing down in St. Clair County. O’Fallon-Shiloh zip code, 62269, had two new cases for a total of 522 so far. On Aug. 31, there had been 449 cases.

On Sept. 14, the metro-east’s positivity rate dropped for the fourth consecutive day, officials said.

The state reported the region’s rolling seven-day average positivity rate fell to 9.4%, Monday, down from 9.6% on Sunday. It needs to be closer to the 8% threshold set by the state. If the region falls under an 8% positivity rate, it may avoid further restrictions from the state.

Wear masks, practice COVID-19 safety protocols

Officials in O’Fallon urged people to wear masks and social distance.

“We ask that you help us control the spread of this virus by following and encouraging your fellow residents, friends, and family members to follow these mitigation measures. We want to get out of these additional restrictions as soon as possible, but we need everyone’s cooperation,” Roach said.

O’Fallon received 60,000 masks from St. Clair County.

“We are working with our local schools, churches, and Scott Air Force base to get them handed out to the community,” said Grant Litteken, assistant city administrator.

Free masks are available to pick up at O’Fallon City Hall (255 S. Lincoln Avenue) and the O’Fallon Public Safety Facility (285 N. Seven Hills Road). The masks can be picked up from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Masks are limited to two per persons.

O’Fallon PD, St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department on lookout

The O’Fallon Police Department say they investigate violations of the Illinois Department of Public Health and the governor’s new rules only when a complaint is made.

“We will continue to respond to complaints regarding the mandates. We are not actively conducting compliance checks on our businesses,” Captain Kirk Brueggeman said.

He said most places have been working hard to comply.

The O’Fallon police department will continue to inform the public on their social media platforms about information from the CDC and IDPH, he said.

St. Clair County Sheriff’s deputies have been out on patrols making sure places are following the rules.

Captain Bruce Fleshren, the sheriff’s department’s public information officer, said deputies are checking to make sure bars are not in use and barstools are removed. They also are randomly visiting places throughout the county to see if people are wearing masks and distancing themselves from one another while inside bars and restaurants.

“Just when the local economy was starting to reinvigorate, this newest order has once again forced many local businesses to close. This time, we fear that many may not have the ability to survive and reopen,” Roach said.

Roach, Vernier, chamber write to Pritzker

On Sept. 3, Roach joined Shiloh Mayor Jim Vernier and the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce in a joint letter to the governor and IDPH in support of small businesses and asking them to reconsider the restrictions because of the detrimental effect on local businesses.

“Throughout the course of this pandemic, the food and beverage industry has been and continues to be forced to bear the brunt of the COVID response plan. Restaurants and bars have experienced loss of inventory and staff. This industry has been hit the hardest during COVID and many won’t recover,” they wrote.

“New restrictions make it nearly impossible for local fraternal organizations who provide necessary help to those in the community to function. Many residents and veterans need support from these groups to survive. Small locally owned restaurants and bars are severely limited, yet the fact that casinos can remain open is simply incomprehensible,” they wrote.

‘Many will be forced to close’

“Another shut down or restriction to the food and beverage industry will be unsustainable. Many will be forced to close causing a devastating economic ripple effect. We urge you to consider developing a separate set of criteria for business based on the size of their operations.

“For example, a locally owned pharmacy shouldn’t have the same rules imposed upon it as a national pharmacy chain. We believe a unique set of guidelines could be created to allow small businesses to operate safely and equitably,” they wrote.

The O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest in southwestern Illinois, with more than 600 members. The mayor of neighboring town, Belleville, wrote a similar letter to the state, as did the Glen Carbon-Edwardsville Chamber of Commerce.

In the meantime, O’Fallon is putting some measures into place to help its restaurants.

The city council will act at the Sept. 21 meeting to extend sidewalk dining downtown through Dec. 31.

Special event permit likely will be extended in O’Fallon

A new special event permit, which allows restaurants to use parking lots and streets as additional outdoor seating in the Downtown District (Second and Cherry streets) to comply with the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, is expected to be extended from the existing June permit.

That permit was set to expire Oct. 1, and if approved at the Sept. 21 meeting, this will extend it for an additional six months to help restaurants through the fall and potentially during nice days in the winter.

The ordinance change will allow for sidewalk dining to occur year-round, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. Previously, the code said the timeframe was from March to Dec. 31. The staff still recommends an annual permit.

As fall approaches, the city staff is researching any means possible for restaurants with tents to be able to utilize a heating element. However, the International Fire Code prohibits the standard patio heaters from being placed under tents.

The staff is working with local tent companies to provide alternative methods for those restaurants that would like to continue outdoor dining as the weather gets colder. Restaurants with patios can utilize the patio type heaters as long as they meet the required separation requirements from the building.

O’Fallon Public Library

To keep up with the latest recommendations, items are now being quarantined for four days instead of the O’Fallon Public Library. The library asks patrons to allow five days for items to clear from their account once returned. No late fees will be assessed on returned items while they are in quarantine. However, fines are now accruing as of Sept. 1 for overdue items.

Tutoring available thorugh SIUE America Reads

The SIUE America Reads tutors will be returning at the O’Fallon Public Library. These student tutors will be on-site to help kindergarten through eighth-grade students with core subjects. Tutoring will be scheduled online with reminders arriving via email.

Please complete the Tutoring Form located at https://ofpl.info/tutoring-2020 if interested, and they will make contact when the program is in place.

Tutoring is made possible through funding provided by Americorp and administered by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Additional websites

The Illinois Department of Public Health has provided the COVID-19 positivity rate since June 26 at dph.illinois.gov/regionmetric.

Here are additional websites for COVID-19 information:

This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 11:14 AM.

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