O'Fallon staff outline three-tier plan for roundabout landscaping, flag maintenance costs and safety options

O'Fallon landscape division staff presented design concepts for the city's new roundabouts on July 24, showing three maintenance levels and sample public-art approaches and asking the council for feedback.

Bob Dierduff, who identified himself as the landscape division lead, said the division is responsible for grounds care on city-owned property outside parks and outlined three options labeled A (enhanced), B (irrigated lawn) and C (basic). He gave annual maintenance estimates for each: “A ... is probably $9,000 a year per roundabout,” he said, adding B is just under $8,000 a year and C about $1,900 a year. He also recommended duplicating downtown hanging-basket floral displays for roundabouts nearest Main Street.

The presentation included daytime and nighttime renderings and a placeholder obelisk for proposed artwork. Dierduff described possible deterrent measures for motorists who cut across roundabouts, suggesting stacked, breakaway rocks and a 24-inch crown of mounted soil to elevate art bases so plants do not obscure visibility. He described the cobble stone option as cost-prohibitive after a $17,000 estimate and said staff is considering lower-cost gravel alternatives.

Mr. Snowden, a city administrator present during the discussion, said staff intends that landscaping costs be incorporated into project budgets where feasible, rather than treated as separate city expenditures. “It is our intent that moving forward the cost is part of the project not an additional cost,” he said when explaining how downtown A-level plantings might be covered.

Councilmembers pressed on practical issues. Councilmember Ragsdale asked for some height in plantings to deter drivers from cutting through; Dierduff said engineering allows roughly a 3-foot crown for soil with an 8x8 concrete pad for artwork. Councilmember Keoughan asked whether rock barriers would be continuous or spot-placed; Dierduff said rocks would be placed in each quadrant near drivers’ lines of travel.

The council and staff also discussed who would select artwork for roundabouts. Snowden recommended involving the Cultural Arts Commission to run calls for artists and judge submissions, describing the installations as semi-permanent pieces that would move only if damaged. Staff did not seek a formal decision at the meeting; councilmembers asked staff to return with specifics about placement and budget integration.

Next steps: staff will refine placement plans and budgeting and seek further direction from council and the Cultural Arts Commission before construction.