Board of DirectorsRobert J. Hilgenbrink, Chair IL Green Economy NetworkFrank O. Miles, Vice Chair Southwestern Illinois College Lester Harnetiaux, Secretary Bond County Realtors Darrell Brink, Treasurer Brink Brothers Grain & Trucking William BoardmanFirehouse Contracting, LLC Jane Eckert Eckert AgriMarketingDennis KirkamLand Owner Terry Lammers Regions Charles Meier IL State RepresentativeRon O’Connor O’Connor & Partners Cliff Schuette Schuette Seed Company Robert Weck Southwestern Illinois College

2013 Building Greener Communities

Advisory Committee Frank O. Miles, Chair Southwestern Illinois College

Sarah Coffin Saint Louis UniversityMarcia Lochman Southwestern Illinois College Jennifer Pensoneau JFires’ Market BistroStacy Robben Lawrence GroupPhil Roggio City of AltonTed Shekell City of O’FallonKathi Thimsen SIU-EAmie Toberman PNC BankRobert Weck Southwestern Illinois College Matt Willman City of Greenville

We are excited to share with you the highlights from the past year of HeartLand Conservancy’s Building Greener Communities program.

During the course of the year, we have had the great honor to meet and listen to community mayors, staff, business leaders, and residents. What we hear is the great passion within our communities to make our communities great places to live and work. We have a great quality of life. As our communities grow, we must retain the qualities we treasure so that we can keep and improve our quality of life.

HeartLands Conservancy’s Building Greener Communities program area strives to create a network of communities which are engaged and active in improving their communities. We assist communities in addressing complex development issues with an emphasis on complete streets, green infrastructure, and regional leadership.

This letter highlights successes during the past year in:• Community Memberships• Awareness and Education• Policy• Funding and Advocacy• Implementation • Planning and Leadership

We look forward to continued partnerships with our communities in 2014 and working toward a vision of communities with healthy and sustainable air, land and water resources for current and future generations.

Allie McCreary

Dave Eustis Stephen Ibendahl

Sarah Vogt Janet Buchanan406 East Main Street | Mascoutah, IL 62258

T: 618-566-4451

2013 Highlights

Building Greener Communities

2013 Highlights - Building Greener Communities www.HeartLandsConservancy.org

2013 HeartLands Conservancy Community Members

City of BellevilleCity of CollinsvilleCity of Columbia

City of Fairview HeightsCity of Granite CityCity of Greenville

Collinsville Area Recreation DistrictCity of Mascoutah

City of O’FallonCity of Waterloo

Randolph CountyVillage of BethaltoVillage of Shiloh

Village of SmithtonWaterloo Park District

HeartLands Conservancy was pleased to start a Community Membership program in 2013. The Membership program was a great success with sixteen communities, counties, and park districts joining in the first year! Benefits of being a Community Member include:

• HeartLands Conservancy’s monthly e-newsletter, CommonCents, which provides communities information on current grants, articles, and news. CommonCents also recognizes community stewards, volunteers who are working to make their communities a better place.

• Invitations to programs and events that are informative and educational for community officials and staff including a ticket to HeartLands Conservancy’s Annual Dinner and Green Infrastructure Breakfast.

• A shared voice as Southwestern Illinois communities.

HeartLands Conservancy provides programs and educational events that help keep community leaders, elected officials, staff, and other stakeholders aware of important community and regional topics. 2013 highlights included:

May - First Annual Green Infrastructure Breakfast Close to 100 attendees came to our first annual green infrastructure breakfast to learn more about the importance and value of a green infrastructure. Nancy Williamson from Chicago Wildnerness was the keynote speaker.

June - Complete Streets Deeper Dive We assisted the St. Clair Complete Streets Committee with a training session for community officials and staff on complete streets best practices.

September - Illinois Statewide Bike Plan Luncheon This was our second year in a row partnering with the Transportation Engineering Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (TEAM StL). Over 60 attendees came to hear this year’s speakers Gabe Sulkes with IDOT and Craig Williams with Alta Planning.

Community Members

Awareness and Education

Close to 100 attendees came to HeartLands Conservancy’s first annual Green Infrastructure Breakfast in May. The event showed the interest in the benefits of green infrastructure.

2013 Highlights - Building Greener Communities www.HeartLandsConservancy.org

Policy is not always flashy, but good policies can have the greatest impact toward helping make our communities great places to live and work.

Complete Streets PolicyWe were thrilled this past year to assist six communities in adopting a Complete Streets Resolution. The communities included: Belleville, Fairview Heights, Freeburg, Mascoutah, Shiloh, and Smithon. Communities are realizing the importance of biking and walking in their communities to attract and retain families, residents, and businesses. By adopting the resolution, communities are giving a greater regional voice for bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Zoning We assisted Alton in developing and writing a new zoning district for a future mixed-use district as part of their new high speed rail station. As the station area develops, the zoning regulations will help ensure a mixed-used, sustainable development.

Whether it is parks, open space, complete streets, green infrastructure, or clean water, HeartLands Conservancy is a strong advocate in helping make our communities a great place to live, work, and raise a family. This past year, our work with community bicycle and pedestrian facility planning led to multiple southwestern Illinois communities submitting Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grants. In addition, we have seen additional funding and investment towards improving community bicycling and walking from the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Department of Health, and the Federal Highway Administration. By advocating for green infrastructure, we hope to see additional investments in programs like OSLAD (Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development), flood and stormwater mitigation, and clean water.

We will continue to strive to advocate for issues that benefit the quality of life and natural resources of our communities.

Policy

Funding and Advocacy

Bike commuters in O’Fallon on Bike to Work Day on May 17, 2013. HeartLands Conservancy advocates for issues that benefit the quality of life in our communities.

The City of Belleville adopts a Complete Streets Resolution. Six communities in St. Clair County adopted complete streets resolutions in 2013.

2013 Highlights - Building Greener Communities www.HeartLandsConservancy.org

The highlight of the year was the opening of the Arlington Wetlands Interpretive Site in Pontoon Beach, near I-255 and Horseshoe Lake Road. The ribbon cutting in September was a celebration of a multi-year effort. The success at Arlington included:

• Over 80 acres of restored wetland and prairie areas.

• Numerous partners including Madison County and the Collinsville Area Recreation District.

• Demonstration of storm water best practices including a permeable paver visitor parking lot.

• Over 100 volunteers working over three months to build the longest floating boardwalk (over 400’) in Southwestern Illinois.

• Numerous community groups including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, high school and college classes using Arlington as an outdoor classroom and for stewardship activities.

Communities, agencies, and partners often ask HeartLands Conservancy to provide leadership through planning, facilitation, and administration of projects throughout Southwestern Illinois.

A few of the projects for which we provided leadership and planning in 2013:

• Scott Air Force Base Shift Your Commute• Kaskaskia Regional Port District Strategic Plan• OneSTL Regional Plan • Clinton County Methane Digester Feasibility Study• Kaskaskia Basin Water Supply Plan• Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan• Route 3 Economic Impact Assessment• St. Louis Regional Water Infrastructure Summary• Green Up O’Fallon - Vegetative Swales Feasibility

Study• Explore Waterloo - Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility

Master Plan• Mounds Feasibility Study

Implementation

Planning and Leadership

The ribbon cutting at the Arlington Wetland Interpretive Site in September celebrated a successful project involving numerous partners and over 100 volunteers.

Attendees at a public open house for the Kaskaskia Regional Port District Strategic Plan, which is being led by HeartLands Conservancy.