Voters want to know what’s the rush to merge Alorton and Centreville into ‘Alcentra’
Not everyone in Alorton and Centreville are onboard with the idea of combining the two municipalities.
Some who may still be on the fence want to know what’s the rush?
A merger of Alorton and Centreville into a single municipality called “Alcentra” will be decided on by voters on the March 17 primary ballot. Additional plans to bring in Cahokia and other unincorporated areas through future referenda also is being pushed by leadership from the cities.
At a town hall meeeting in Centreville Tuesday, resident Barbara Muharram questioned why information on a merger is first being presented to citizens less than 30 days before they were expected to vote.
“We don’t even know what we’re voting on and you’re giving us less than 30 days to take all of this information in,” Muharram said. “That doesn’t seem quite right to me.”
Mayors JoAnn Reed of Alorton and Marius “Mark” Jackson of Centreville and Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall Sr. say the plan is the best way for their cities to survive and rebuild.
The plan has been in the works for roughly two years, McCall Sr. said, and has included input from past and current local leadership, economic developers and urban planners.
Not all residents were moved, however, by promises of lower taxes, new housing and growth leaders say would come with a merger. During question-and-answer segments at separate town hall meetings in Alorton and Centreville, some stated their support of the referendum while others were angered by it.
Several other residents questioned the true motives of the merger and why information is being made available with only a few weeks until the primary.
A town hall meeting in Alorton last week spiraled into a yelling match between residents and leadership after Valerie Marion, a resident of Centreville, questioned why residents should believe that merging would correct years of sewage issues in her neighborhood in the northern part of the city.
Residents had other questions for leadership regarding the eventual combination of cities with Cahokia, the type of government that would be instated and specific benefits of the merger.
Former Centreville Mayor Riley Owens said he agreed a merger was the right decision but said he didn’t agree with every aspect of the plan. He said for the merger to be successful, Cahokia and Parkfield Terrace would need to be included in a November referendum.
Former Centreville Mayor Frankie Seaberry, who said she pushed a merger between Alorton and Centreville during her tenure, also spoke at the town hall meeting. She said the merger makes sense geographically and economically.
Two sisters from Centreville, Sierra and Alexis Corley, said they support the merger. Without the merger, they said, populations will continue to dwindle.
“There has been little to no progress, we can no longer do the same thing we’ve always done,” said Sierra Corley. “It’s time for a change. This merger is new but there needs to be a change.”
Corley said she believes a merger could bring new revenue to support police and fire departments and launch new projects like building a library. She said it’s up to the community to hold the leaders of the proposed new city accountable to bring those projects to life.
“I want a fire department that doesn’t have to beg on the corner for donations,” she said.