BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Belleville, Illinois, is set to develop a solar farm at Mount Hope Cemetery, a historic site dating back to the 1800s, to help offset maintenance costs.

The city of Belleville, which currently owns the cemetery grounds, is collaborating with Shine Development Partners, a Texas-based company, to lease land at the western end of the property for the solar farm project.

Belleville Mayor Jennifer Gain Meyer supports the initiative as a necessary step to manage the cemetery's upkeep expenses.

During a public meeting on Thursday, Mayor Meyer, Rachael Cornick, and Dan Hancock from local solar company Straight-Up Solar presented changes to the solar farm plan based on community feedback.

The system has been downsized by 31% to address concerns, with measures implemented to minimize impact on wildlife and a land trust established for the local area.

Resident reactions to the solar farm project remain mixed. Some community members view the initiative as a cash grab, while others believe it is a viable solution for maintaining the cemetery.

Dan Hancock from Straight-Up Solar announced that construction is expected to begin in October, with a timeline of 18-24 months for completion.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.