City of Alton - Committee of the Whole Meeting
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
ALTON – An Alton property owner is calling on city officials to take action on power lines she says are dangerously close to her building and have gone unaddressed for 15 years.
Erin Frew, owner of the historic “Snyder Block” building at 301 Piasa Street, spoke up at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Sept. 22 and City Council meeting on Sept. 24, 2025.
“I’m here tonight to put on the record a public safety hazard that the City of Alton has ignored for 15 years,” Frew said at the committee meeting.
She said immediately after purchasing the building in 2010, she raised concerns about the overhead power lines she says are “less than six feet from the building’s facade.”
“The National Electric Safety Code requires a minimum of seven feet of clearance,” Frew added. “That means no tenant, no contractor, [and] no worker can safely be on the front of my building. This is not just my problem, this is a public safety hazard.”
Frew expressed frustration with a lack of response from city officials since she first raised her concerns in 2010.
She called on city officials to not only acknowledge and document the problem, but also require Ameren to prepare a compliance determination to address the violation and move the power lines further from the building. Alderman Michael Velloff asked for an update on the situation from Director Greg Caffey, who said the city is “waiting on a response from Ameren.”
“The city does not regulate or permit utilities,” Caffey said. “All public utilities in the State of Illinois are regulated by the Illinois Commerce Commission, so the information that she’s asked for from the city, we cannot provide.
“We have made repeated efforts to assist her in communications with Ameren to get the issue resolved, but the information that she’s seeking can only be provided by Ameren, and likely through the Illinois Commerce Commission.”
After scheduling an on-site meeting with Ameren officials on Aug. 21, 2025, Frew said none of the city leaders she invited showed up. Ultimately, she said the responsibility falls on the city to require Ameren to make the power lines compliant with city codes.
Frew added at the following City Council meeting that this lack of action from the city may discourage future development and investment in downtown Alton.
“Nothing deters investment faster than neglect and lack of accountability,” she said at the council meeting. “I stand here tonight not because I want to criticize my hometown, but because Alton faces a public safety problem and a leadership problem.”
A full recording of the Sept. 22, 2025, Alton Committee of the Whole meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
