St. Charles City Council to discuss meat packaging plant odors

ST. CHARLES – City Council members recently raised concerns over the odor from the Smithfield processing plant on Kirk Road, and will hear from a representative of the company at tonight’s Government Operations Committee meeting.

At their last meeting on June 19, First Ward Alderpersons Ronald Silkaitis and Mark Foulkes raised concerns over the smell from the plant and cited concerns from their constituents.

“The odors seem to be getting worse over the last few weeks,” Foulkes said. “I’ve been getting a few calls with complaints.”

“This is not getting better, it’s getting worse,” Silkaitis said. “It’s getting really bad, and it’s never been this bad, so I would like some progress reports or something.”

City Administrator Heather McGuire told the council that Smithfield representatives would be giving a presentation on the odors at their July 17 meeting.

Smithfield Foods is a manufacturer of packaged meats.

According to a memo from the city’s Economic Development Director Derek Conley, Smithfield has implemented measures to mitigate the smell following discussions between city staff and Smithfield leadership.

Smithfield leadership will present and discuss the topic at tonight’s government operations meeting to provide insights into their organization and elaborate on the steps taken to alleviate the odor issue, according to the memo.