Surely, 2017 can’t top the excitement of the Bicentennial year, but Monroe County residents should still keep an eye out for changes and developments in the offing.

Here are some things to keep an eye on locally in 2017:

• The municipal elections will take place April 4 with some candidates of note for Waterloo City Council.

Recently retired Waterloo Police Chief Jim Trantham is running for the Ward 2 alderman seat after his wife, Rita, chose not to run for re-election.

An unusual situation is occurring in Maeystown, wherein three village trustee seats are up for election but only two of those seats have candidates who filed petitions.

Village trustee Linda Coats’ seat will not have a candidate to fill the position. After the elections, the mayor can appoint someone to the seat, but the board would need to vote to approve the appointment.

It is unknown at this time whether any municipalities or school districts will have ballot measures for the public to vote on. Monroe County Clerk Dennis Knobloch said the deadline to file a final Certification of Ballot is Jan. 20.

• The Regional Office of Education, along with the Monroe County Coalition for Drug-Free Communities and other entities, will continue suicide prevention efforts after schools come back from winter break. Regional superintendent Kelton Davis said stakeholders in the community will need to get together and plan out the year.

• Finishing touches on the $21.2 million Route 3 improvement project in Waterloo are expected this spring. The Illinois Department of Transportation cannot finish the roundabout on Route 156 at Lakeview Drive and the three-mile shared use bike path that travels from North Market Street to Vandebrook Drive until the asphalt plant opens in April. IDOT said the project should be completed by late April or early May.

• Construction of the Main Street Abbey multi-use development in Columbia will continue to move forward at the former Immaculate Conception Church. Developer Gregg Crawford said he hopes to have the event center inside the church open by spring, and the convent and rectory later this spring.

• Gateway Urgent Care will officially open at 8 a.m. next Monday on the first floor of the 11 South medical office building on Sandbank Road at Route 3 in Columbia. Additionally, the 7,000-square-foot ATI Physical Therapy facility will open in February.

Mokka Cafe, at 180 Columbia Centre in Columbia, will soon operate as Proving Ground Roasting Co., with plans to open a second location inside 11 South later this year. More 11 South tenants are expected to announce their openings throughout the year.

• A spokesman for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office told the Republic-Times last Thursday that lease arrangements are being finalized for a new driver services facility location in Waterloo. The proposed space sits next to Sears Hometown Store in the 1300 block of Jamie Lane. A lease on the current driver services facility at 511 Illinois Avenue is up at the end of January and the owner has put that property up for sale at a price of $140,000.

• Ss. Peter & Paul Field in Waterloo is receiving a major facelift, with baseball legend Whitey Herzog contributing $40,000 to the initial phase of the project prior to the 2017 baseball season. A secondary campaign is underway for new fencing and batting cages, among other improvements.

• Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo, steeped in soccer success, continues its fundraising campaign to build a new synthetic turf soccer complex at its campus with an estimated cost of $1.6 million. There are several donation opportunities available, from naming the field to sponsorships on the scoreboard and around the field, to commemorative bricks with family names. Corporate sponsorships for advertising and field naming rights are also available. Interested sponsors should contact Russ Hart or Sev Kovarik at 939-3883.

• The process to get food trucks in Columbia is moving ahead. An ordinance is anticipated to appear before the Columbia City Council committee early this month, and should then appear before the full city council shortly thereafter for a vote.

• Hopskeller Brewing Co. at 116 E. Third Street in Waterloo will look to pick up the pieces and reopen to the public sometime in 2017 after a devastating fire tore apart the inside of the business. Hopskeller founder and master brewer Matt Schweizer said the brewery has received a lot of support in the way of donations. The St. Louis Brewer’s Guild took it upon itself to raise funds for Hopskeller through its 2016 Halloween party and ended up donating $7,500 to help with rebuilding efforts. Ferguson Brewing Co. in Ferguson donated $3,000 to Hopskeller, having suffered a fire itself about a year ago. The brewery had been open for about a month before disaster struck.

• Oak Hill in Waterloo plans to open its transitional care facility Evergreen Pointe in May.

• Monica VanPelt recently moved to Columbia to build a parrot sanctuary for the midwest region. Before beginning construction, which she hopes will take place in the spring, VanPelt must raise between $10,000 and $20,000. To make a donation visit the website at ParrotIsle.com or go to www.facebook.com/parrotisle/.

• Peter and Julie Ingold of Columbia are working to turn 1160 Bluff Road, in the area previously thought to be the site of Piggott’s Fort, into a bistro called Sunset Overlook. They began construction in mid-October. For more information, go to facebook.com/SunsetOverlook.

• No-Jacks Bar & Grill in Smithton looks to expand with a second location coming to Columbia this year. The business plans to open in the Admiral Trost Development near Hampton Inn.

• Valerie Skinner and her husband, Chad, will bring Fast Fitness Boot Camp to Monroe County with a Waterloo location hosting a grand opening Jan. 17 at 1301 Jamie Lane.  An open house will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 14.

• Bountiful Blossoms estimates it will move locations at the end of January to the former Gem Cleaners building at 113 W. Mill Street in Waterloo. The floral and gift shop is currently located at 121 S. Main Street. For more information, call 939-9883.

• Construction of a car wash and quick lube just north of George Weber Chevrolet on Columbia’s Old State Route 3 began in December. George Weber general manager Dave Vogel said he does not have a good estimate for when construction will finish but is hoping for late spring or early summer. The site will be owned and operated by George Weber Chevrolet.

• Red Bud residents rang in the new year Sunday at Red Bud City Hall to kick off the city’s year-long 150th birthday celebration. Next is a Glo Bingo event that will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Feb. 3 at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Red Bud. For a listing of Sesquicentennial events, go to redbud150.com or facebook.com/redbud150/.

• The Illinois General Assembly will return to regular session next Monday to discuss the budget stalemate, among other items. Human Support Services in Waterloo, the Monroe County office of the Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois, the Western Egyptian Economic Opportunity Council and other institutions in Monroe County rely on state funding that would not come without the passing of a budget.