By Kathy Miller and Dianne Sudbrock

The New Melle Board of Aldermen met at the city hall on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. 

Mayor Richard West, Aldermen Nik Bradley, Don Hendrich, Janet Karrenbrock and Gary Schneider were present and the City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Engineer.

The minutes from November 9 were approved with two corrections.

Open Forum:  The City Clerk, Marcia Gay, stated that a concerned citizen from Sycamore Creek Subdivision called and asked if the speed limit on Highway Z near Foristell Road would be reduced because of the new firehouse. The citizen said it is difficult to pull out of the subdivision because the vehicles traveling south are going very fast, making it rough to pull out onto Highway Z safely. The mayor believes that the 45 mph speed limit is the correct speed for that location, and the issue is the drivers who violate the speed limit. He also stated he has seen a lot of drivers not stopping at the stop signs in town. The City can request more speed enforcement from the St. Charles County Police Dept. The mayor also stated that he had seen the Police out in the area pulling drivers over. Alderman Nic Bradley asked if the City could get a Police log of the stops in the area to see what tickets were issued. The mayor said he could ask for those logs.

Editor's Note: The main entrance to the new firehouse will be on Foristell Road. The speed limit was reduced from 35 mph to 25 mph on Foristell Road because of line-of-sight issues. The only access to Hwy. Z will be for the fire trucks responding to a call. Trucks will pull out of the bays, onto a concrete pad, then onto Hwy. Z. No one should enter the property from that Hwy. Z access. Firetrucks returning to the station will use the Foristell Road entrance and pull back into the bays from the backside of the building.

Introduction of Ordinances:  Bill 474 passed as an ordinance to approve the 2022 Fiscal Year Budget for the City of New Melle. To view the 2022 budget, visit https://cityofnewmelle.com/meetings/board-of-aldermen.  

Engineering Report: 

• New firehouse for the NMFPD update—The plans were resubmitted with revisions and are currently under review. 

• Peter Street update—The plans are done, and the project manual is being updated, and a date to go out to bid should be approved at the January meeting. 

• Mills Street update—Mill Street work will begin the concept phase and will include the 2nd phase of Peter Street as well. 

• Sycamore Creek update—The concrete slab repair is currently getting bids for concrete and sealant, which is due January 24.

Old Business: None

New Business: Please note that the Board of Aldermen meetings will be on the 2nd Thursday of each month until further notice. The next meeting will be Thursday, January 13, 2022.