Mayor’s view: City of Belleville’s accomplishments in 2021-22. What’s next?
Dear Residents:
It’s a new year! Let’s take a look at some of the major accomplishments we’ve made for the City of Belleville!
Director Scott Tyler and the Housing Department issued 1,650 occupancy permits throughout the past year. He and Director Jason Poole have also been instrumental in implementing our Q-Alert system making it easier for residents to report problems throughout the city.
With the new 2022 contract, the Belleville Police Department has hired 23 additional officers, bringing the total to 74. The addition of these officers has substantially improved our ability to respond to 35,780 calls in 2021, and 35,047 calls in 2022. The promotion and leadership of Chief Matt Eiskant, Lt. Col. Mark Heffernan, Capt. Todd Keilbach, and Capt. Chris Mattingly also promise a safer city for our businesses and residents.
Newly hired Fire Chief LLoyd Stinson comes to our city with over 30 years of military fire experience. His expertise and commitment to fire safety promises to breathe new life into our current department.
Spearheading our current economic growth boom, is the Economic Development, Planning & Zoning Department, led by Director Clifford Cross, AICP. The department has brought multiple new businesses to Belleville, including: a new Aldi on Carlyle Avenue; a new Discount Tire at Belleville Crossing; the construction of two new car washes; an lmmunoTek Bio Tech Lab; the opening of two cannabis dispensaries in 2023; and a new senior housing residential community, Trolley Circle, slated to begin construction in 2023.The department issued 105 business occupancy permits since May 2021, and all these enterprises will increase revenue to the city and offer good jobs. Finally, Mr. Cross’s department oversaw the demolition of the derelict Executive Inn, a promise I made during my campaign.
Complementing our economic development strategy is our Marketing Department, led by Director Kathy Kaiser. Working in conjunction with the mayor’s office, a comprehensive marketing plan was implemented for the city in October 2022 to make our Great.Big.Small.Town a destination site for tourism, new businesses, and families wanting to make their homes here.
City Engineer Sal Elkott, P.E., and his department are implementing major capital improvements projects. These include street resurfacing and sidewalk improvements, as well as numerous storm sewer rebuilds, necessitated by the historic July 2022 flooding.
Director Jason Poole wears “many hats” for the city of Belleville, supervising three departments: Sanitation, Streets and Parks and the Recreation departments. His team also supervised the construction of our new splash pad, completed in late 2022. It will be available for use by families this summer and residents can also access our new playground, built in East End Park.
The Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus continues to grow and evolve and is a major anchor for our central corridor. The campus houses programs offered by Southwestern Illinois College; Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; SILAC; the Southern Illinois University School of Law; the Illinois State Police; and the JETS youth sports program. I am justifiably proud of the partnership between my administration, the State of Illinois, SWIC, and a determined group of citizens to make this facility the successful institution it has become.
Another source of pride is the partnership between the City of Belleville and St. Clair County. Joining forces has brought the city many opportunities including the acquisition of the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds, a vital component in any countywide emergency response and an intergovernmental agreement for redeveloping and maintaining a countywide emergency alert siren system.
Thank you again for giving me the opportunity of serving as your mayor. To an even bigger and brighter 2023!