ROCHELLE — On Sept. 11, Rochelle City Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh celebrated his fourth anniversary on the job. 

On Sept. 13, the Rochelle City Council unanimously voted to renew his employment agreement until May 2023. 

“It means a lot,” Fiegenschuh said. “I love my job and I love working for the City of Rochelle. My staff is amazing and the community is amazing. It's been a wild ride, but our team has accomplished a lot and we still have a lot to do. It meant the world to me."

Fiegenschuh’s new agreement runs concurrent with Mayor John Bearrows current term ending in May 2023. Because Rochelle is a non-home rule unit of government, under a state statute the city manager’s contract can’t go longer than any mayor that’s in office. 

Rochelle’s city manager said that his tenure has included “ups and downs,” but he believes “quite a bit” has been accomplished in his four years. 

“I don't take any credit for anything,” Fiegenschuh said. “It's a team effort and we have great department heads and more importantly a great mayor and city council. From Mayor Chet Olson when I first came here to Mayor Bearrows now, and we've had two new council members come on. We've got a good leadership group.”

When asked about the work that’s been done in his tenure, Fiegenschuh highlighted the purchase and work done to demolish Hickory Grove later this year along with working to bring “Project Jackpot” to town, a still-anonymous business that plans to announce its intention later this year to fill the vacant Nippon-Sharyo buildings and invest over $130 million and add 150 jobs to Rochelle. 

He’s also proud of the recent announcement that Starbucks will be building a location on Illinois Route 38 next to Walgreens. But, the city’s work during COVID-19 likely tops his list. 

”Probably the thing I'm most proud of is getting through this pandemic and what we were able to do to help support our small businesses,” Fiegenschuh said. “I'm happy we're getting Starbucks, but I'm happy we've got other places in town that are already here that serve coffee. Just supporting our current businesses in town and what we've been able to do to help them has been amazing.” 

Fiegenschuh said challenges have included the potential early closing of the Prairie State Energy Campus. The city has a $150 million stake in the coal plant until 2042. Recent legislation states it will be able to open until at least 2038. Now, the city has to begin planning for that economic impact and how to replace that power. 

The city manager is happy with the work Rochelle has done on its finances and hopes to stay on that trajectory and continue improvement. 

The city is nearing a new union contract with its police department. It has broken ground on one electrical substation and is planning another. Fiegenschuh is excited to see those completed. 

“There's just a lot of good stuff going on,” Fiegenschuh said. “We have a great mayor and city council and a great staff to work with. The other thing we're doing that I'm excited about, when I came in we implemented a new strategic plan and we're updating that plan. Because we have a new mayor and two new council members, I thought it was important for them to be able to have input in the vision of where they want to see the community and the city go."

The city is also lobbying the state to reconstruct and widen Illinois Route 251 from near Flagg Road to just south of Illinois Route 38 in the near future. That will be “a great project,” one Fiegenschuh wants to see through to the end. 

“Getting Project Jackpot in and being able to announce,” Fiegenschuh said. “The Illinois Route 251 corridor improvements and Hickory Grove over the next couple of years, those are all just off the top of my head.” 

The thing Fiegenschuh loves most about city government is that each day something new comes up. He believes that in six months he could have a complete new list of issues or priorities. He hopes to be Rochelle’s city manager long after his new contract expires in May 2023. 

"I'd love to retire from here,” Fiegenschuh said. “It's a great community and a lot of great people. It's home now."