Mayor Patty Gregory's Message - July 7, 2023

As the summer days and evenings roll by, I am reminded of my own days as a child. Sundays were always an adventure to the big town of Belleville, Illinois, as my family traveled from Granite City to Grandma's home in Prairie De Rocher. It was so exciting to go around the beautiful fountain in the center of Belleville, bigger than life. This beautiful structure continued to call me throughout my life as I knew someday, I would make Belleville my home.

And now, as we all struggle through the construction mayhem happening on our Public Square, I would like to remind everyone that with progress usually comes a little anguish in one form or another. I keep reminding myself that the Fountain and our Public Square will be better than ever once Illinois American Water completes the project replacing our 75-year-old infrastructure. Once the project is complete, I hope we can all look back with fondness as water flows again to the center of our beautiful city.

As the project continues, I would be remiss if I did not remind all our residents to visit our businesses downtown, especially during this construction. The essence of our downtown is thriving. We hope you will assist us in making sure that all our businesses continue to succeed, especially those immediately affected by the construction on the first block of East Main Street. Please venture out to get coffee, baked goods, sandwiches from Joe & Onie’s, or dinner at Seven. You can schedule a party and visit the new boutique inside Sawdust & Glitter. Before you leave the first block of East Main, stop by Blanquart’s Rusty Gem or Elated Hearts for something special for you or your home.

Our Engineering Department has made progress this summer with the completion of the newly refurbished Mascoutah Avenue and Forest Avenue projects in Ward 7 on the east end of town.

The Economic Development Department is working around the clock as well. We anticipate the groundbreaking of the new Aldi on Carlyle Avenue, the opening of the new Take 5 Car Wash at Belleville Crossing, and the expansions of Farm Fresh on North Belt West and Ashland Storage Centers on Carlyle Avenue.

Belleville's Street Department has also been out this summer, continuing our Oil & Chip resurfacing, and finishing up areas on the west end of town which are continued work from last year.

Our entire staff continues to work diligently for our residents and our businesses. We hope you can see, as we do, all the progress we are making day after day to foster growth in our Great. Big. Small Town.

Matt's Cafe, on the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus is now open to the public!

Southwestern Illinois College, in cooperation with the City of Belleville, has refurbished Matt's Café, on the bottom floor of the Main Building at the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus, located at 2300 West Main Street, This fabulous coffee shoppe, proudly serves Starbucks beverages, and provides breakfast and lunch items Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 3:30pm.

According to James Grinnell, Manager of Auxiliary Services at SWIC, " The refurbishing of Matt's Café was vital for the students here on campus, and for the continued growth of the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus. We will be proudly serving Starbucks, along with breakfast and Lunch items daily, Monday through Friday. Having the opportunity to serve the public through this endeavor, is pretty exciting too! This new space on campus will provide a study area for students, complete with WI-FI, and an amazing coffee shoppe atmosphere. We hope that local residents will join us here on campus too, to get their morning coffee fix, or to enjoy everything else we have to offer from 7:30am to 3:30pm.

Mandy Gain and Winston in Housing Department

New Office Manager, Mandy Gain, and her service friend Winston, take on the Health, Housing & Building Department!

As in any municipality, change is inevitable. As employees find different positions, or retire, each department within the City has to evolve and change with the constant flow of employees. But for our Health, Housing & Building Department, they were able to move a seasoned professional in their department, to take on the reins as Officer Manager. Please meet Mandy Gain, and her service dog Winston. They are available Monday through Friday in our Health, Housing and Building Department, on location at the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus, and are ready to serve our new residents, and businesses, with a smile!

Everyone within the department seemed almost giddy with this new change, and their constant comrade being with them in the office. According to Scott Tyler, Director of Health, Housing & Building, "Even though we were sad that our previous Office Manager Angel Edson was retiring, we are excited to see Mandy in this new role within our department. Her wealth of knowledge regarding procedures within our department, is second to none!"

Make paying your Sewer bill simple & easy, each and every month!

The City of Belleville Sewer Department would like to remind you, that you can access our Direct Debit to pay your sewer bill, thus avoiding late fees. To set up direct debit for your bill, please visit this link https://www.belleville.net/DocumentCenter/View/553/ACH-Form-for-Sewer-and-Trash-Payments, fill out the form, and return it to our Sewer department with a voided check. Our Sewer Dept staff will set up your Direct debit from your account, and your bill will be automatically paid each and every month, direct from your checking account. It's that easy!

The City of Belleville has a new Director of Maintenance...

Meet Mike Schaefer!

The City of Belleville is happy to share the news that we have secured a new Director for our Maintenance Department. Mike Schaefer comes to us with an Associates degree, and over 25 years experience in Maintenance. We asked Mike to share a few more "fun things" about himself with us, and this is what he had to say..."I grew up in St. Charles, Missouri, which is where my parents still reside today. I moved to Belleville, Illinois quite a while back, when I met my wonderful wife Tammy. Between us, we have a rather large family with 6 kids - (2 boys and 4 girls). Our children live as close as Columbia, IL, but we also have children in Cincinnati OH, and over in Brookfield MO too. We have been blessed with 6 grandchildren so far, all under the age of 9...so Christmas around our house is chaos! Hobbies for me are pretty standard, and include hunting, a little fishing, and to teach my grandkids a thing or two. My favorite Saturday morning adventure consists of taking a grandchild to get donuts, when they stay over. Something that lots of people don't know, but I don't mind sharing, is that I thoroughly enjoy watching Medieval time history, anytime I can! I find it very fascinating, and I can't wait to see these areas, and castles, in person. I also look forward to working on building improvements throughout the City of Belleville, and facing the challenges that will come with the endeavor."