O’Fallon City Council addresses upcoming developments as mayor praises local workers

Upcoming developments will soon begin construction, as the O’Fallon City Council has rezoned properties that will bring in new business while several others are pending.

Now that an ordinance — approved at the council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 16 — provides for their expansion, 1st Street Lounge owners Tom and Tracy Moreland are adding a 12 by 32-feet space to the back of the bar and restaurant at 119 W. First St. Wanting to upgrade their food menu, the addition will create a better workflow for the kitchen.

The council passed another ordinance clearing the way for Birch Market at 227 W. First St., adding new retail tenant space for a grab-and-go food market. A resolution established property owner Richard Huskey’s request for a right-of-way to make the improvements.

A new concept in food service, Birch Market owners Greg and Christie Maggi will sell take-home meals and ancillary retail alcohol. The gourmet pre-made meals will be carry-out only, no on-site consumption. People will be able to heat them in their oven.

Business moved to next council meeting

In a 9-3 vote, the council advanced Awesome Pets for final approval March 1. Aldermen Gwen Randolph and Chris Monroe were not in attendance. Those opposed included Aldermen Jerry Albrecht, Matt Gilreath and Dan Witt; in favor, Aldermen Kevin Hagarty, Ray Holden, Jessica Lotz, Mark Morton, Dennis Muyleart, Nathan Parchman, Todd Roach, Ross Rosenberg and Tom Vorce.

Veterinarian Dr. James Bollmeier of Jimel Enterprises wants to operate a drive-in veterinary clinic on the old site of Dr. Hi-Fi, a home and car audio business, at 102 Homestead Ave.

Remaining on the site is a 3-bay garage that is 1,500 square feet, which they will use to provide veterinary services, including exams, vaccinations and other routine veterinary services.

Hours of operation will be limited, closing by 8 p.m. Hours proposed are Monday from 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. and Friday from 3-7 p.m. Depending on the business’s success, more hours would be added but would not start earlier than 8 a.m. or go past 8 p.m.

More on Awesome Pets, Augusta Greens

In a letter at the Feb. 8 Community Development Committee meeting, Bollmeier explained if the traffic queues result in long lines, the staff would instead set up appointments.

Conditions were added to the original proposal because CDC members expressed concern over the fence blocking visibility of vehicles pulling out onto Homestead Avenue and exiting through the neighborhood instead of U.S. 50.

The two conditions are that vehicles must all remain on-site and not block traffic on Homestead Avenue, and a sign and striping of an exit lane will direct traffic to exit only onto U.S. 50.

In other action, the council moved on the proposed final plat for Augusta Greens. The next phase includes 24 lots, and each lot owner would be responsible for annexation and park land dedication fees.

Honoring Food Service Workers

Mayor Herb Roach was at O’Fallon City Hall for the meeting and presented Rich Hoenig, manager of the Schnucks Seven Hills store, with a plaque. Roach said he did not hear back from Aldi and Walmart but wanted to thank all 1,144 food service employees in O’Fallon for being “Supermarket Heroes.” He said they have kept shelves stocked and customers safe during the pandemic, dealing with unprecedented challenges.

In other action, the council agreed to issue a special event permit for a Carnival Food Corner, which will be held from April 30 to May 9 at Gateway Classic Cars, 1237 Central Park Drive.

Anticipated attendance is no more than 10 cars/20 people at any given time. Two to four food trucks will be parked in the outer lot closest to Central Park Drive, selling carnival style food.

Under the new Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines, meetings are now open at City Hall, but residents must sign up, as attendance is limited to 10, for the time being. The meetings will still be available through Zoom as a webinar; people must register in advance.

Winter Storms Impact in O’Fallon

Winter storm weather has impacted city services, as noted by Roach. The city has about 170 miles of roadways and crews worked around the clock starting Sunday evening through Tuesday.

As a result of recent storms, Roach canceled the quarterly Town Hall Meeting, which was scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 18. It will be rescheduled. During the council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 16, the mayor thanked the street crews and noted the police department has not been called to any serious accidents during the recent travel advisory.

“I want to recognize their dedication. Our roads are in as good of shape as any. Everyone has been doing a great job, and I thank you,” Roach said. “The temperature is critical, especially with melting and freezing over again. It’s much more hazardous for people to drive on than they realize.”

The city staff assembled these public work statistics:

• Between Feb. 6-16, staff compiled 296 regular labor hours and 514 overtime hours to treat snow and ice-covered roadways.
• They used 600 tons of salt and 5,000 gallons of fuel, which is a cost of $53,000 to date.
• As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, they plowed every street in the city, but the side streets only had one pass in and out. They are working on clearing the side streets curb to curb.
• The city does not plow secondary streets and will only take care of snow routes if the snow is less than 4 inches. Once the depth of snow reaches 2 inches, residents are asked to remove vehicles from the main streets. If a vehicle is in the way of a snow plow, it might be towed at the owner’s expense.

Waste management update

Waste Management updated its service plans, resuming Wednesday, Feb. 17, to pick up Monday and a portion of Tuesday’s accounts. On Thursday, Feb. 18, they planned to catch up with Tuesday (Feb. 16) and Wednesday services; with Friday (Feb. 19), the remainder of Wednesday (Feb. 17) service and a portion of Thursday (Feb. 18) service and Saturday (Feb. 20) service and the remainder of Thursday (Feb. 18) and Friday (Feb. 19) services on the schedule.

Yard waste pick-up is suspended this week. People can log into their account and find out when their pick-up is scheduled.

This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 1:16 AM.