ROCHELLE – City of Rochelle staff is continuing with its downtown beautification project by planting islands in the parking lot located off Main Street.
Work will begin on Saturday, July 20 at 10 a.m., and the parking lot will be closed during the planting and reopen later in the day once work is complete
The parking lot is often used to host many of the big events throughout the year including the Food Truck Festival and the Lincoln Highway Heritage Festival among others, and city officials want to improve the surroundings.

“We have put brand new LED street lights in and they look amazing, we have also increased the electricity so now when vendors are there, they have a place to plug into at the base of those lights,” explained Michelle Pease, community development director.
All of the plants will be provided by Hagemann Landscaping and all of the planting will be done by community volunteers. Each plant will be color coated to match the designated area for it to be planted.  The city is seeking close to 20 people with shovels to sign up to come out and help with the planting.
To sign up for the event visit the city’s Facebook page and fill out the form. The Kitchen Table staff will also be selling lunches at the event.
“People will be able to help and volunteer with the beautification program and then be able to purchase lunch from the Kitchen Table,” Pease added. “The lunch will include pulled pork, macaroni salad and cookies.”
The beautification program has brought many new additions and upgrades to Rochelle’s downtown, including murals of Hollywood icons, new street lights, barrel planters and more. Pease said the city has more plans for future projects.
“We are talking with Hagemann’s Landscaping about continuing the beautification, maybe some hanging baskets from the poles that are downtown in our corridors coming into the downtown itself. We are just going to start in the middle and keep working our way out,” Pease added. “We use this space for a lot of events, so I am pretty excited to see it get a face lift. We are going to add some color and height along with enclosing the dumpsters. It’s just going to be a great space for the community to use.”