O’Fallon, IL – What the standard is now won’t be the standard years from now, according to Mary Jeanne Hutchison, director of O’Fallon Parks and Recreation Department, which is why a comprehensive plan for a Sports Park Village at O’Fallon Family Sports Park is needed. 
   O’Fallon City Council members approved a consulting agreement with Kansas City-based Game On Sports, a sports park development company, at its meeting Monday night. Game On Sports will conduct the plan at a cost of $17,500. Game On Sports and its strategic partners are interested in developing a tournament destination village located at or near the Family Sports Park. 
   “What they will do is develop a list of partners or possible partnerships or people who are interested in renting and investing in that site, our site,” Hutchison said during the council meeting Monday night. “They will put a whole…business plan together.” 
   She said the plan will be used “down the road” to develop those fields into artificial fields. “What we did 10 years ago is not going to be the same as what we will need five years from now to attract those tournaments and keep tournaments we already have and provide those fields for our own kids,” Hutchison said. “It’s becoming standard to play on the artificial fields. This is a way to look at that without hopefully utilizing any taxpayer money so we are partnering with this development plan to look at the possible partnerships.”

▪  A comprehensive plan for a sports village concept within both the existing O’Fallon Sports Park and O’Fallon’s 80-acre tract of land adjacent to the park.
▪  A list of likely users of the sports village concept
▪  A list of operators for the operations of the various attractions
▪  Concept drawings, business plan and deal structure, funding sources, potential strategic partners, estimated design-build construction costs and operations of the sports village concept
   Public-private partnerships would develop the sports village for lease to Global Sports Inc. for an agreed amount of weekend tournaments, according to paperwork filed with the city. 
   The city of Belleville is currently working with Game On Sports Development to build a sports complex with 11 soccer fields and a restaurant off Illinois 15 near the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The complex has an estimated value of more than $10 million.
   O’Fallon council members also approved moving forward with construction of the Milburn School Road sidewalk and pedestrian bridge project. The project, which cost $391,290, is currently slated for construction this summer. 
   Jeff Taylor, director of public works for the city, said O’Fallon’s cost is about $78,000 or 20 percent of the project. The remaining $313,000 is covered by a federal grant that’s administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation. The grant is through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. 
   O’Fallon City Administrator Walter Denton said the bidding for the project is done by IDOT. 
   City council members also approved an Illinois Department of Transportation Construction Engineering Services agreement with Rhutasel and Associates for the Milburn School Road sidewalk and pedestrian bridge project at a cost of $34,500. The agreement with Rhutasel & Associates, Inc. is for construction staking and material testing required by IDOT. 
   The pedestrian bridge will go from Pausch Road to Red Hawk Ridge over Ogles Creek, according to Taylor. 
   “It will provide a continuous pedestrian way from Simmons Road to the high school,” Taylor said. “It will fill a gap for those folks in the area.”
   He said the hope is to have the bridge constructed before the start of next school year and in conjunction with the Milburn School Road roundabout project.
   In other business, the city council approved the following resolutions: 
▪  An agreement with Korte and Luitjohan Contractors, Inc. for the Union Hill water main extension in an amount of $366,035. The project is to extend and improve water service to the Union Hill area in unincorporated Fairview Heights.
▪  Agreements with Horner and Shifrin for the design of the Green Mount Road water main relocation in an amount $16,000. The existing water main on the west side of Green Mount Road between U.S. 50 and Cambridge Boulevard is in need of relocation to avoid conflicts with the Green Mount Road widening project.
   The council also had a first reading for the planned use development of Skyline Community Church. Dennis Wagner with the church filed an application requesting a planned use for land at 870 Milburn School Road, zoned single family residential, for construction of a 17,386-square-foot, one-story church. The proposed church has a large auditorium with seating for approximately 400 people and nine classrooms. 
   Skyline Community Church began in September 2003 and has been meeting at the Smiley Campus of O’Fallon Township High School since then, according to a letter from Lead Pastor Lance Johnson, which was submitted to the city as part of the application. 
   The next city council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 15.