Maryville Heritage Museum’s zoning corrected

By Kathy Turner • The Maryville Heritage Museum, located at 112 E. Zupan Street was an action item at last week’s Maryville village board meeting. 

The museum, which is currently undergoing major changes thanks to grant funding, was previously sitting in an area of the village zoned for multi-family residences. Action on July 1 changed that zoning to planned development business, more aligned with the facility’s use.

Several other ordinances were passed to amend regulation of parking and solar installations. The two ordinances on parking revised the village’s desire to determine limitations on off-street parking and the number of parking spaces required for developments. The final ordinance addressed the regulation of land use for any future commercial solar energy facilities. 

The board also approved a resolution allowing for the application for grant funds for Drost Park. The grant is sponsored by the Metro East Parks and Recreation District’s Park and Trail Grant Program. 

A future trail along Vadalabene Drive was also discussed. The board approved Juneau Associates, Inc., P.C. to provide engineering and surveying services to complete a grant application through ITEP for funding for a shared-use path along Vadalabene. This will be the first step in developing shared-use paths in the village.

Tonya Flannery, the village administrator, reported that a drone flight of village property was conducted by SIUE to determine mine subsidence analysis. The resulting report shows that there are areas of the village campus that have subsided more, making them the best locations for potential new construction. This is under the theory that these areas have settled more and minimizes the odds of future settling. The village will get information on grouting those locations. 

The village is also looking at costs of constructing a two-story replacement building. It would house the police department on one level and the village administrative offices on the other. It is believed that the smaller footprint will be more cost-effective.

The village is looking at two bond underwriting firms to find potential alternatives to financing of new construction. There is also the potential for USDA Rural Development funding which might come in the form of a loan and/or a grant.

Firemen’s Park was approved for funding to build a new fence. The fence will cost $6,654.72. The streets department has already begun the work to prepare for the homecoming. 

As this was the first meeting of the month, department heads reported on activities for June. The fire department had a total of 163 calls for service in June, a 50% increase over June of 2025. The new ambulance was placed in service July 8 after completing all inspections. 

The Maryville Police Department held its Cones with a Cop in June and is making plans for similar events in Collinsville and Caseyville. The three departments work together with the events to raise money for the Shop with a Cop event in December. 

Chief Tony Manley reported that two programs that work with youth in the community – School Youth Academy and PACT camp – have concluded with good attendance and successful results. Student Resource Officer Frank Leffler was in charge of both programs. He also attended the Illinois SRO Conference in June. 

The building and zoning department reported 11 permits were issued in June. In addition, several problem properties have been addressed and progress was being made through the courts for further action. 

Flannery also reported that she has researched the possibility of a special census. It is believed that special censuses increase tax revenue for communities who feel their population has grown considerably since the last census in 2020. However, Flannery found that the cost of a special census would be $736,498, making it very unlikely that the tax impact would match the cost. 

The next meeting of the board will be held on July 15 at 6 p.m.