2026-09-08 - City Council

00:01.23] The city council meeting is called to order.

00:03.15] Please rise and join me for the pledge of allegiance.

00:05.61] Remain standing for a moment of reflective silence.

00:09.54] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic

00:15.57] for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

00:21.54] justice for all.

00:34.62] Please be seated.

00:39.69] Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are seeds.

00:42.27] You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds. Ms. Cotter, please call the roll.

00:49.47] Mc gull?

00:51.28] Horton?

00:52.11] Here.

00:52.92] Jensen?

00:53.64] Here.

00:54.21] Hardinger?

00:54.81] Here.

00:55.50] Carroll?

00:56.01] Here.

00:56.67] Lee?

00:57.34] Here.

00:57.99] Adeyazi?

00:58.92] Present.

00:59.79] Hosmer?

01:00.84] Here.

01:01.50] Schrog?

01:02.19] Here. Before we begin, we ask everyone to silence your devices and cellular

01:07.80] phones. We remind everyone this is a public meeting of the Springfield City

01:11.10] Council, and we ask all attendees to observe the rules of civility and decorum.

01:16.62] Outbursts, applause, or other disruptions are not permitted so the city council may

01:20.73] conduct the city's business in an orderly and respectful manner.

01:24.78] Thank you very much for your attention. Ms.

01:28.11] Cotter, do we have any minutes to approve?

01:30.81] Yes, city council members have received the minutes of the August 24th 2026 City

01:35.49] Council meeting and the August 31st 2026 Special City Council meeting in their

01:39.75] packets.

01:40.95] Does anyone have any changes to those minutes?

01:44.40] May I have a motion to approve the minutes?

01:46.68] Move.

01:47.42] I have a motion to approve. Is there a second?

01:49.23] Second.

01:50.25] I have a second.

01:52.74] Council members, please vote.

02:35.97] We have one member of council that's still signing in.

02:38.07] Could I do a roll call vote just for the minutes?

02:39.96] Yes, ma'am. Please call the roll.

02:42.48] Horton?

02:43.89] Aye.

02:45.00] Jensen?

02:45.51] Aye.

02:46.23] Hardinger?

02:46.92] Aye.

02:47.61] Carroll?

02:48.12] Aye.

02:48.69] Lee?

02:49.47] Aye.

02:50.13] Adeyazi?

02:51.06] Aye.

02:51.84] Hosmer?

02:52.86] Aye.

02:53.70] Mc gull? Schrog?

02:55.92] Aye.

02:58.23] The minutes are approved.

03:02.49] The consent agenda.

03:08.07] I have had a request to remove item 19.2 from the consent agenda first reading

03:12.63] bills. This will become item 14.9 under first reading bills requiring two readings.

03:18.87] Okay. Just a note for the audience and for those watching at home,

03:23.61] item 19.2 on the agenda now becomes item 14.9 under first reading

03:29.46] bills requiring two readings. Does anyone in the audience wish to remove the other

03:33.84] item from the consent agenda? Does any member of council wish to remove the other

03:37.92] item from the consent agenda?

03:40.95] Please, council members, please vote on the consent agenda as amended.

03:52.59] The consent agenda is approved. Mr.

03:54.75] Cameron, please present your city manager's report.

03:57.24] Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of council.

03:59.76] I want to give an update on the administrative delay for the data center

04:03.18] discussion. The city and the city utilities have concluded two public engagement

04:07.11] sessions on the topic of data centers last week.

04:10.77] We have hosted over 508 community members fielding more than 500 questions in

04:15.12] breakout sessions related to a variety of concerns and ideas.

04:20.91] As of this moment, we have 755 responses to the public input survey.

04:24.84] In addition, we've collected 126 comment cards.

04:28.59] Based upon what I've seen in these listening sessions, and I want to thank the

04:31.92] community and all those that have participated in these events of being civil and

04:35.82] having these conversations. But with seeing it, being at both, and seeing kind

04:41.70] of overflow and people not getting in from the start,

04:45.09] I do believe we're going to host another one in September at, where are we talking

04:49.65] about? Wilson's Logistic at the fairgrounds.

04:51.69] So we're trying to get the logistics of that in order for an additional opportunity

04:57.00] to have one more listening session.

05:00.36] Our current administrative delay applications run through November 17th.

05:05.40] So we still have a number of important questions to work through at this point.

05:08.70] Staff would like to recommend extending the delay, which we will.

05:12.78] But I'm anticipating at the end of September, there'll be a summary report of what

05:16.65] we found, and so we'll provide that to council at that time.

05:20.07] So some will ask, "Well, where's this going?

05:21.63] What's it look like?" Making sure we have that last meeting and adding that

05:25.71] information to that is very important.

05:28.38] Also want to clarify some information that was circulating because there is a

05:30.99] rezoning issue regarding 2900 South National.

05:35.31] It is accurate that a previous application was submitted for data centers at this

05:39.27] location under its existing zoning, which is a planned development, not under the

05:43.68] new zoning of CMX-1 or CMX-2. However, a new application for rezoning

05:49.89] has been filed and stated purpose used for a veterinarian

05:54.36] clinic hospital. The question's been presented to me how the other veterinarian

05:58.86] clinics came in under the new zoning. Why would this one be there?

06:03.33] This new CMX-2 zoning was not even a part of the previous zoning.

06:07.77] So just to clarify that piece. As such, the proposed use was not specifically

06:12.78] allowed in the original zoning status.

06:14.88] The applicant is requesting to rezone the property to the CMX-2 zoning district.

06:20.55] But the CMX-2 zoning district does not establish information for a data center.

06:25.95] So that is not something that staff is working in or something that's in and around

06:29.69] the public process. We want to compile all the information.

06:32.67] Just to be transparent, this was a conversation that was there, and I agree that I

06:36.06] would address that in my comments tonight.

06:39.03] But the first meeting before the commission on that rezone is Thursday, September

06:42.93] 10th. Renew Jordan Creek,

06:46.29] phase one remains on schedule and on budget with completion anticipated by the end

06:50.25] of this year and a community celebration for spring of 2027.

06:53.79] We're already beginning to think about how the space will be used.

06:57.57] We will be bringing other stakeholders around this.

06:59.50] This is a big topic of how it's going to be utilized, so looking forward

07:03.48] to doing that. But speaking of downtown, we continue to make progress on the

07:07.20] quality of life issues brought to our attention by those living, doing business,

07:11.37] and visiting downtown. The feedback that I'm receiving regarding the downtown about

07:15.18] our enforcement of the permitting, actually enforcing the laws we have on the

07:18.84] books, and actually having an increased policing presence, but also working on the

07:22.89] things that are taken on, I think that that messaging is working, and looking

07:26.85] forward to rolling more of those efforts out.

07:28.38] But I want to thank the police department and the feedback that we're receiving

07:31.89] from the downtown businesses has been very positive, but we're going to continue to

07:34.86] work on those areas. And lastly, I'd like to thank President Williams and Coach

07:41.07] Casey Woods for representing Springfield Saturday night at Texas

07:46.95] A&M Kyle Field. If you didn't notice, they had the Springfield logo on their

07:50.70] helmets for that football game on a nationally televised game.

07:54.48] I think it just speaks to the community, but also that the team and the coach and

07:59.56] the leadership of Missouri State thought in that capacity to add that to their

08:02.94] overall look to highlight our community as part of it, not just the university, but

08:07.26] this community as well. And Mr. Mayor, that concludes my report, and I'll be happy

08:11.52] to answer any questions.

08:12.60] Are there questions from members of council?

08:16.17] Thank you, Mr. Cameron.

08:18.96] Council Bill 2026-184.

08:25.50] Council Bill 2026-184, a general ordinance amending Section 1-9 of the Springfield

08:30.48] City Code, city limits in Section 46.1 of the Springfield City Code, boundaries of

08:35.46] wards, precincts, and council zones for the purpose of annexing approximately 33.54

08:40.02] acres of private property generally located at 5534 West Chestnut Street and 5965

08:45.69] and 6057 West Independence Drive into the City of Springfield as annexation A4

08:51.54] 2026.

08:52.86] Public comment was taken on August 24.

08:55.56] Are there comments from members of city council this evening?

08:58.56] Council Member Jensen.

08:59.97] Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. A question of staff, if I might inquire.

09:05.06] Mr. Cameron, is this annexation intended to support any development activities

09:10.40] adjacent to the Sports Town facility?

09:13.79] I believe it is, but I'll ask Amanda Olden-Salen to answer that question.

09:23.39] Good evening.

09:24.46] Good evening.

09:24.50] Hi. Amanda Olden-Salen, Director of Economic Vitality and Workforce Development.

09:29.30] It is my understanding from reading the report from Planning and Zoning that this

09:34.46] annexation would support an expansion of the Sports Town facility as you have

09:38.48] asked.

09:39.08] Okay, thank you. Do you anticipate any incentive

09:44.81] requests to be coming to support that expansion project?

09:48.92] Yes. The development team with Hillcrest Properties, who developed Sports Town, has

09:54.23] reached out to have conversations with city staff about potential future incentive

10:00.08] requests in addition to what had been previously approved by City Council in the

10:04.64] past.

10:05.33] Okay. And how is that previously approved project performing against its

10:10.37] projections?

10:11.84] So, the original Sports Town project did include a community improvement

10:17.48] district, SDF Sports. That community improvement district was established to help

10:22.94] to reimburse the public infrastructure, the $2.1 million extension of utilities to

10:27.80] the project. To date, the CID has

10:33.56] generated fairly minimal revenue.

10:35.75] So again, this is something that was approved prior to my arrival at the city, but

10:41.21] I do believe that the CID was intended to reimburse that public infrastructure

10:45.17] cost.

10:46.10] Okay. So we outlayed costs for the infrastructure anticipated to be reimbursed

10:50.44] through the CID, and it has generated minimal revenues?

10:53.72] Correct. Yes. The city actually outlayed the cost to pay for that.

10:57.92] That's not always how a CID or the extension of utilities is handled.

11:03.08] But in this particular case, yes, the city outlayed the upfront cost for that.

11:09.05] Okay. And it is possible for us to approve the annexation without approving any

11:14.81] future incentive packages?

11:16.31] Yes, correct. Unrelated. This annexation is unrelated to any incentive request at

11:21.80] this time.

11:22.40] All right. Thank you.

11:23.21] All right.

11:25.79] Thank you very much.

11:28.08] Other questions? Council members, please vote.

11:41.87] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-185.

11:48.35] Council Bill 2026-185, a special ordinance authorizing the issuance of not to

11:53.18] exceed 3,358,000 principal amount special obligation bounds, bonds, excuse me,

11:58.97] series 2026 of the City of Springfield, Missouri, for the purpose of extending and

12:03.02] improving the city sewerage system, amending the fiscal 2026-2027 budget of the

12:08.39] city in the amount of $6,778,000, which includes the bond principal amount, an

12:14.21] amount for bond issuance cost, other financing cost, and the federal grant funds,

12:18.74] prescribing the form and details of the bonds and agreements and made by the city

12:22.83] to facilitate and protect their payment, as well as authorizing the execution of

12:26.30] such agreements and prescribing other related matters and declaring an emergency.

12:30.71] Public comment was taken on August 24.

12:32.80] Are there comments from members of council this evening?

12:36.53] Council Member Hosmer.

12:39.26] David, I don't know if this is something you could answer, but these bonds are

12:44.72] going to be paid for by sewer fees? Is-

12:49.61] I believe that is correct, but I also believe someone from Environmental Services

12:52.75] is here can answer that.

12:53.44] And I guess that's sort of my question.

12:55.85] Ultimately, this taxpayers of the City of Springfield support

12:59.90] are going to be paying these bonds if something happened?

13:04.22] Good evening.

13:05.99] Ron Petering, Assistant Director with the Environmental Services Department.

13:10.20] No, the recourse on these bonds is solely the revenues from the Clean Water Fund.

13:14.70] So the general fund is not in any way at risk with this particular.

13:20.78] But what happened if we don't have the resources to pay? I'm not saying that's...

13:24.95] But what happens if we don't have the resources to pay these bonds back?

13:28.49] What happens to the credit of the city?

13:31.31] And I'm all for it, but I think what I'm trying to get at is the citizens of City

13:36.50] of Springfield

13:39.17] ultimately are on the line for the sewers in City of Springfield.

13:43.55] We provide sewer service outside the City of Springfield, and

13:48.33] those residents don't pay any surcharge like they do to city utilities for gas,

13:53.96] water,

13:55.83] electricity. And it seems like as we expand sewer, and I'm all for expanding the

14:01.28] sewer, but I think we need to also look at that surcharge outside the city

14:07.08] limits of the City of Springfield to recoup some of those costs because ultimately

14:10.43] the taxpayers in City of Springfield are on the line.

14:12.58] And I'm not against this at all. I'll support it.

14:16.37] I support going out and doing sewer projects outside the city limits of

14:21.71] Springfield, but I think it's smart for the city to recoup some of our costs from

14:28.01] people that aren't citizens of the City of Springfield.

14:30.17] That we're taking the obligation of doing that, and I think we need to look, and

14:33.68] we've been talking about a surcharge on sewer uses because all of the utilities in

14:37.95] the City of Springfield, if they're servicing areas outside the City of

14:41.78] Springfield, pay these surcharges, and sewer is the only one that doesn't.

14:46.01] And I just think that's something that it's sort of short-sighted.

14:48.89] And I know that's a policy decision that we make, not your department.

14:53.87] But I do think it's something we need to talk about.

14:56.45] We've been talking about it for a long time, but I'd like to find out what the, if

15:00.68] it was a 5% rate like we have on water and

15:06.33] electricity and 10% on other services, what that would generate for the City of

15:11.12] Springfield. Is there a way to figure that out?

15:14.93] Yeah, we can get you that information.

15:16.43] Okay. Thank you.

15:20.75] Other questions?

15:23.12] Council members, please vote.

15:32.93] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-186.

15:39.77] Council Bill 2026-186, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

15:44.63] to accept Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Title 1, Adult and Youth

15:48.77] formula grant funding from Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce

15:52.20] Development in the amount of $497,307 and amending the fiscal year

15:57.26] 2026-2027 budget of the Department of Economic Vitality and Workforce Development

16:01.85] in the amount of $231,081 in adult funding and

16:06.02] $266,226 in youth funding.

16:11.12] Public comment was taken on August 24.

16:13.70] Are there comments now from members of council?

16:17.09] Council members, please vote.

16:26.15] The council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-188.

16:34.88] Council Bill 2026-188, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

16:39.74] to enter into a joint funding agreement for water resource investigations with the

16:43.52] United States Department of the Interior in the amount of $71,350 for the purpose

16:48.86] of operating and maintaining six stream gauges.

16:52.55] Public comment was taken on August 24. Are there comments from members of council?

16:58.31] Council members, please vote.

17:07.05] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-189.

17:13.67] Council Bill 2026-189, a special ordinance authorizing the City of Springfield,

17:17.90] Missouri to enter into a contract of obligation with the Missouri Department of

17:20.84] Natural Resources, whereby the city agrees to financially secure the future closure

17:25.49] and post-closure care of all currently active and previously completed portion of

17:30.01] the city's Noble Hill Sanitary Landfill.

17:33.08] Public comment was taken on August 24.

17:35.08] Are there comments from members of city council?

17:38.30] Council members, please vote.

17:48.47] The council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-190.

17:54.89] Council Bill 2026-190, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

17:59.81] to enter into a torch relay agreement with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and

18:04.07] Paralympic Committees and the City of Springfield as a selected partner city for

18:08.54] the Olympic Games of 2028.

18:11.57] Public comment was taken on August 24.

18:13.63] Are there comments this evening from members of council?

18:16.88] Council members, please vote.

18:27.11] Council bill passes. We will now move to the public hearing portion of this

18:31.02] evening's agenda. If there's a council bill on the agenda that you wish to speak

18:35.52] to, particularly items 10.1 through 14.9, you must sign up with the city clerk

18:41.57] before she reads the title. Please indicate whether you support or oppose the

18:47.00] bill. This time is for your comments only, not to ask questions of city council,

18:52.51] staff, or members of the audience.

18:55.04] The time allotted for your comments will be reflected on the display screen at the

18:58.37] front of the room. Please observe the rules of civility and decorum, or you may

19:03.08] forfeit your right to address us this evening.

19:06.83] Council Bill 2026-192.

19:11.06] Council Bill 2026-192, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

19:15.71] to apply for and accept a grant from the United States Department of

19:18.32] Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement Program to the

19:23.24] city by and through the Springfield-Branson National Airport in the amount of

19:27.40] $13,519,919, of which

19:31.57] $6,120,000 of the grant portion was not budgeted, for the purpose of providing

19:37.49] funds for the reconstruction of portions of taxiways N, D, S and rehabilitation of

19:42.56] Runway 14-32, and requiring the airport to provide matching funds in the amount of

19:48.10] $1,502,214, of which $680,000 has not been

19:53.84] budgeted. Amending the budget of the Airport Board for fiscal year 2026-2027 in the

19:58.82] amount of $6,800,000, and declaring that this ordinance qualifies for approval on

20:03.50] one reading pursuant to City Charter Section 2.16, subsection 25.

20:09.35] Good evening.

20:10.19] Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

20:12.41] Dave Schaumburg, Director of Aviation for the Springfield-Branson National Airport

20:16.28] as of about 70 some days ago. And thrilled to now be talking about

20:22.25] carpet. We're taking a lot of our capital improvement program for this next year

20:28.40] outside the building. And as you can see in the exhibit, this is a project that

20:34.02] we've been working for planning, programming, and designing for, for several years

20:38.78] now. We've dedicated a lot of funds to that from our traditional grant funding that

20:44.78] we get from FAA. And, we had two bid alternates in this.

20:48.86] We weren't positive we were going to be able to get the entire project done, but we

20:52.67] did secure an additional $6.1 million in discretionary funding, which we normally

20:57.56] would not get had we not taken the careful planning.

21:00.92] So ultimately, we had not planned for the extra 6.1 million, but it's a

21:06.47] 90/10 match where we participate with 10%.

21:10.67] We use airport capital reserves for that.

21:13.79] So, we just need to match that additional 6.1

21:19.46] million with 680,000 from capital reserves. Happy to answer any questions.

21:25.13] Are there questions for the speaker?

21:28.58] Thank you, sir, very much. Does the clerk have any scheduled speakers?

21:32.54] No, sir.

21:33.83] The public hearing is declared closed. This bill is a grant.

21:37.22] It will be voted on this evening. Are there comments from members of city council?

21:42.23] Council members, please vote.

21:51.53] The council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-193.

21:59.96] Council Bill 2026-193, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article 4, Section

22:05.75] 4.01B of the Land Development Code official zoning map by rezoning approximately

22:09.94] .51 acres of property generally located at 52528 and 536 West Locust

22:15.71] Street from a single-family residential district to mixed density neighborhood,

22:19.82] medium district, and adopting an updated official zoning map.

22:23.81] Good evening.

22:24.47] Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

22:26.15] Justin Crichton, Assistant Director of Planning and Development.

22:29.15] This first case before you this evening is Z18-2026.

22:33.95] There we go. This is a request to rezone about half an acre of vacant land from RSF

22:38.87] to RMX-2. The applicant's stated intent is to build an eight-unit, two-story

22:43.55] apartment building. The comprehensive plan identifies this property as within the

22:48.32] Center City Neighborhood plan site, which does list low-intensity, multifamily

22:52.02] development as a supporting use. The RMX-2 zone already adjoins the site to the

22:56.96] east.

22:58.61] One note about this property, so this lot is directly adjacent to the Dollar

23:04.10] General on Division Street there, and it shares a stormwater facility with it.

23:08.52] Stormwater let them know that that facility will have to be improved to accommodate

23:11.17] the additional flow from this multifamily development and be improved up to the

23:16.67] current standards. Planning and Zoning Commission did recommend approval of this

23:21.44] with a single condition that would limit all buildings on the site to either 35

23:25.16] feet or into stories. Staff also recommends approval, and I am available for

23:30.32] questions, Mr. Mayor.

23:31.52] Are there questions from members of council for staff?

23:37.49] Council Member Adebayosi.

23:40.04] Thank you, Mayor. Hey, Justin. Thanks for the presentation.

23:43.04] And just curious, CMX-1 would... I mean, RMX-1 would not, given the density

23:49.04] of eight on this lot. Is that correct?

23:51.74] Not with the building type and the overall size of the lot.

23:54.08] RMX-2 is the correct zone, and it already exists pretty close proximity as well,

23:59.21] so.

23:59.35] Right. Thank you.

24:01.34] Council Member Jansen.

24:02.90] Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Crichton, since this is one of the first proposals

24:08.42] to come through under our new zoning code and it's a housing project that's

24:13.25] addressing our much needed shortage, did you receive any feedback on how the codes

24:19.13] are operating or do you have any insights?

24:21.74] I'll let Mark about it. He had some nice things to say about the code and its

24:26.90] flexibility during the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing.

24:29.39] I will say it's a work in progress, and we're continuing to improve it

24:31.94] continuously.

24:32.81] Okay. Thank you.

24:35.45] Other questions?

24:37.91] Thank you very much. Does the clerk have any scheduled speakers?

24:41.63] Yes, sir. Mark Young.

24:45.80] Good evening.

24:46.55] Good evening. I'm Mark Young. My address is 9283 North Farm Road 75,

24:52.55] Walnut Grove, Missouri, but I have an office at 2136 West

24:57.47] Chester Field. It's hard to say sometimes.

25:03.38] So I'm a long-term Springfield area person, and

25:09.35] I am

25:11.84] going to take this opportunity to thank you guys for the changes I've seen, both in

25:17.48] the comprehensive plan and in the resulting planning and zoning regulations that

25:23.09] are part of that. So thank you very much.

25:26.06] This allows a lot more freedom for me as a dreamer and

25:31.94] a planner and a designer to try to make Springfield better. So thank you.

25:39.47] Specifically on this project, I think it was clear that we're looking at an

25:43.49] eight-unit building. I wanted to refine that just a little bit.

25:47.61] There will be four one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units.

25:52.67] They are small units. We are aiming at providing housing

25:58.52] for

26:00.47] the not rich part of the people,

26:03.32] and the fact that it's next door to a Dollar General makes the area just a little

26:08.21] bit more walkable for folks, and that was why the site was chosen.

26:15.17] There are other factors I could rattle for a while.

26:18.50] I think that's probably inappropriate in a council meeting, and so I won't do that,

26:22.61] but I'll be happy to take questions.

26:25.34] Are there questions for the speaker?

26:28.19] Okay. Council Member Adebayosi.

26:31.58] Thank you, Mayor, and probably less of a question, maybe more of a comment.

26:35.42] I appreciate you taking the initiative to take a look at this kind of development,

26:39.59] this kind of property.

26:42.17] I usually don't bring my professional expertise to the dais here, but I

26:48.17] work with a company that looked at multiple properties in this area where a four

26:53.81] square, four units on the corner of these older neighborhoods was pretty

26:59.66] standard and pretty common in lots of these older neighborhoods.

27:02.53] And I feel like that could really bring a little bit of vibrancy to some

27:06.89] intersections, and I think that this kind of development is what we're looking to

27:10.94] have done. So thank you for bringing it.

27:13.46] Thank you.

27:15.56] No other questions. Thank you very much, sir.

27:18.29] Thank you.

27:19.64] Are there any scheduled speakers? Any more scheduled speakers?

27:22.34] That was our final speaker.

27:23.87] Then the public hearing is declared closed.

27:25.64] City Council will vote on September 21st.

27:30.82] Council Bill 2026-194.

27:35.50] Council Bill 2026-194, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV,

27:41.20] Section 4.01 of the Land Development Code Official Zoning Map by rezoning

27:45.07] approximately 11.53 acres of property generally located at 3520 East Olive Street

27:51.04] from Planned Development number 298 to General Commercial District and adopting an

27:55.12] updated Official Zoning Map.

27:57.91] Good evening. Good evening, Mr. Mayor.

27:59.47] Z-19, which is this request before you, is a request to rezone from PD-298 to GC,

28:04.88] or the General Commercial District.

28:06.70] The applicant's stated intent is to build a church.

28:09.25] The current planned development, or PD-298, does not allow places of worship as a

28:14.02] permitted use, so rezoning to a new district is needed.

28:18.35] The property is located in the City Corridor place type, which lists places of

28:21.94] worship as supporting uses. Because this is a planned development that is going to

28:26.38] a base district, there are some partial specific provisions in that PD that are

28:32.05] going to go away. Specifically, there's three of them.

28:35.59] There's a 20-foot buffer and fence that was required along the south and east

28:38.92] property line. There's a floor area ratio or maximum lot coverage area that the PD

28:43.33] established as well. And then this particular PD had a provision in it where as the

28:49.21] development came in in bits and pieces, the Administrative Review Committee would

28:52.72] review the final development plans that would then recommend them to Planning and

28:55.33] Zoning Commission, and then they would ultimately come to you for your review and

28:58.60] approval as part of this plan development.

29:00.85] If this zoning is changed to the base district, all those three provisions go away.

29:05.83] The new code does apply buffers that are sized specifically to the use instead of

29:09.82] design district. For a church and a parking lot, like is contemplated here, that

29:14.59] would be about a 10-foot buffer with a fence.

29:16.63] Anything more intense would require that 20-foot buffer be reestablished.

29:22.03] The Commission, Planning and Zoning Commission, voted to approve this eight to

29:26.59] nothing. We did have one neighbor speaking in opposition that had raised some

29:30.85] specific issues about the stormwater detention pond and traffic.

29:34.90] Staff does recommend approval, and I'm available to answer any questions, Mr.

29:38.36] Mayor.

29:38.92] Are there questions?

29:41.68] Seeing none, thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

29:45.61] Will Hoy.

29:56.05] Good evening.

29:56.98] Good evening. Will Hoy, 550 St. Louis Street.

30:00.22] I'm here on behalf of the developer, and happy to answer any questions you might

30:05.23] have on the development.

30:07.36] Are there any questions for the speaker?

30:10.87] Thank you, sir, very much for coming out.

30:12.43] Thank you.

30:12.62] You're excused. Are there more, speaking slowly, scheduled

30:18.19] speakers? No. Then the public hearing is declared closed.

30:21.25] City Council will vote on September 21st.

30:24.61] Council Bill 2026-195.

30:30.94] Council Bill 2026-195, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV, Section

30:36.40] 4.01 of the Land Development Code Official Zoning Map by rezoning approximately

30:40.49] 0.44 acres of property generally located at 1836, 1838, 1842, and

30:46.09] 1844 East Bennett Street from Commercial Mixed Use Neighborhood District to

30:50.71] Commercial Mixed Use Community District and adopting an updated Official Zoning

30:55.27] Map.

30:56.17] Proceed, sir.

30:57.04] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

30:58.96] Z-20 is this request before us now, and it's a request to rezone this 0.44-acre

31:03.67] property from CMX-1 to CMX-2. This site is the location of the Valiant Group's

31:08.65] office building, and they're seeking this rezoning in order to build an addition

31:13.18] onto the rear of their current building.

31:15.07] The CMX-2 district has a smaller rear setback and will accommodate their building

31:19.84] footprint better than the CMX-1 district, which is why the reason for this request.

31:23.89] But the use is not changing. This property is located in the City Corridor place

31:28.60] type, which lists office as a primary use.

31:31.58] There were two neighboring business owners that attended the neighborhood meeting,

31:34.39] according to the packet, both supporting the request.

31:37.42] Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of this item unanimously, and

31:41.62] staff also recommends approval. I'm available for questions, Mr. Mayor.

31:45.55] Are there questions for staff?

31:49.03] Thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

31:51.55] Yes, sir. Ethan Dahl.

32:01.75] Good evening.

32:02.65] Good evening, Council. Ethan Dahl, I work for Cochran Engineering.

32:06.34] I'm one of the civil engineers working on this project.

32:10.24] Yeah, I'm here on behalf of Valiant Group, just for the rezoning.

32:14.47] Simply, he covered it completely, rezoning to CMX-2, so we can have a little bit

32:20.56] smaller rear and side setbacks, so we can

32:24.67] use our space as efficiently as possible for the

32:29.47] addition onto the rear of the office building.

32:32.74] Are there questions from Council for the speaker?

32:37.21] Yes.

32:38.83] Is there a question?

32:39.82] Yeah.

32:42.76] Thanks for being here on behalf of the developer.

32:45.04] Just curious, the expansion of this business, as I'm guessing to maybe expand the

32:50.05] number of staff members they have and expanding their operation-

32:52.81] Correct.

32:52.82] Can you tell us a little about what the nature of the addition is?

32:55.99] Yeah. It's going to be two stories, and I think, I can't tell you the exact number

33:01.42] of offices that they're adding on.

33:03.28] I'm not sure about that, but it's going to be two stories max.

33:08.29] And the dimensions are on that exhibit that was provided.

33:14.29] Other questions?

33:16.78] Thank you very much, sir. Are there any other speakers?

33:20.35] No, sir.

33:21.28] Then the public hearing is declared closed.

33:23.32] City Council will vote on September the 21st.

33:26.86] Council Bill 2026-196.

33:31.27] Council Bill 2026-196, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV, Section

33:37.15] 4.01 of the Land Development Code Official Zoning Map by rezoning approximately

33:41.20] 6.18 acres of property generally located at 535 West Weaver Road from Commercial

33:46.57] Mixed Use Neighborhood District with Conditional Overlay District number 176 to

33:51.34] General Commercial District and adopting an updated Official Zoning Map.

33:56.64] Mr. Mayor, this request is to rezone this property from CMX-1 with Conditional

34:01.06] Overlay District 176 to the General Commercial District, and the applicant's stated

34:04.99] intent is to develop a residential and commercial mixed use development.

34:09.01] This property is in the City Corridor place type, which lists both multifamily and

34:12.64] retail as primary uses. It's also surrounded by GC on all sides.

34:17.35] This rezoning action would remove COD 176 and enforce the regular district

34:21.70] standards.

34:23.68] One thing I will note, there is a floodplain and a 100-foot stream buffer along the

34:26.95] north side of this property. Those are both platted, and everybody is aware of

34:30.76] those. Commission recommended approval of this item unanimously with no conditions,

34:36.34] and staff recommends approval as well. I'm available for questions, Mr. Mayor.

34:39.79] Are there questions from Council for staff?

34:42.43] Council Member Jenson.

34:43.75] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. What were the COD requirements that will be removed?

34:50.17] So I'm not specifically sure with this one. So this was a CMX-1.

34:57.01] It would've been a CMX-1 with a... The conditional overlay district probably

35:00.79] would've allowed some kind of residential use. I'm not specifically sure.

35:04.00] Okay. Would you be able to send that to us before our next meeting?

35:06.94] Absolutely.

35:07.42] Thank you.

35:09.28] Other questions? Thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

35:14.17] Yes, sir. Jade Pavia.

35:24.49] Good evening.

35:25.28] Hi. My name's Jade Pavia. I'm a land surveyor with Garrett Engineering located at

35:29.41] 1011 West Main, Buffalo, Missouri.

35:32.98] Here as the applicant's representative and here to answer any questions if you guys

35:36.13] have any.

35:36.85] Are there questions for the speaker?

35:40.21] Thank you very much for coming out, sir. Next scheduled speaker?

35:43.87] That was our only speaker.

35:45.31] Then the public hearing is declared closed.

35:47.02] City Council will vote on September 21st.

35:50.38] Council Bill 2026-197.

35:54.67] Council Bill 2026-197, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV,

36:00.43] Section 4.01 of the Land Development Code Official Zoning Map by rezoning

36:04.94] approximately 1.50 acres of property generally located at 4285 South Kansas Avenue

36:10.45] from Commercial Mixed Use Neighborhood District with Conditional Overlay District

36:14.53] number 130 to Residential Mixed Density Neighborhood District and adopting an

36:19.24] updated Official Zoning Map.

36:21.91] Good evening again.

36:22.72] Good evening again, Mr. Mayor. This is Z-24-2026, and it's a request to rezone this

36:28.39] 1.5 acres of land from CMX-1 with COD-130 to RMX-2.

36:33.61] The applicant intends to build a multifamily development that's limited to about 40

36:38.17] units in total, or about 29 units per acre.

36:41.23] This property is located within the City Corridor place type, which lists

36:44.71] multifamily as a primary use. There's a church to the north, apartments and senior

36:49.39] living facility to the east, single family detached and attached homes to the south

36:54.91] and the west. This request does carry one condition with it that was agreed to by

36:59.44] the applicant. The rezoning takes effect only after an administrative replat

37:04.00] separates this 1.5 acres from the larger Southland subdivision, and if that's not

37:09.25] completed by March 31st, 2027, the rezoning is void, and the property stays

37:14.71] CMX-1 with the existing Conditional Overlay District.

37:18.82] So this is a situation where we have a- A church that has some excess property that

37:24.21] they're trying to develop for a housing project.

37:27.42] At the end of the day, if for whatever reason, the rezoning doesn't fall through or

37:31.05] the project falls through, the applicant was concerned that the church would be

37:34.53] left with a piece of property that was zoned for a very specific thing, and not

37:37.95] many

37:39.96] options for dealing with it if should this deal not go through.

37:43.35] So that was the remedy, that if the plat doesn't happen within that certain

37:47.55] timeframe, then the rezoning will revert back to the original

37:52.92] district and with the COB. Staff does recommend approval of this.

37:56.97] Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval unanimously.

37:59.76] I'm happy to answer any questions.

38:01.23] Are there questions from council for staff? Council Member Carroll.

38:06.63] So a couple questions. I know that there are several people here tonight, coming to

38:12.27] speak, and I just want to make sure that we have all the facts.

38:14.91] So,

38:16.53] first, just so you can be aware, area residents in the area,

38:22.62] some received an unmarked letter that had no return address on it.

38:29.67] Not with a lot of facts, but explaining that there is a meeting tonight.

38:33.68] And in highlighted letters, it basically said, "This is a proposed low-income

38:38.82] housing community of up to 40 units with a focus on serving the homeless."

38:45.42] Can you first explain what the area median income

38:51.32] to be considered low income would be?

38:54.00] So I'm not sure of the specific figure, but that figure is typically a lot higher

38:57.72] than people think. So-

38:59.31] So when I look it up, and I'll speak for someone who's better at me, knows more

39:05.16] about this, but it's around $50,000, is 60% of the-

39:09.48] Mm-hmm

39:09.49] ... is what I'm seeing. I would be happy if...

39:13.08] I know Brandon does a lot in this realm.

39:19.08] Yeah, if I may, Mr. Mayor.

39:21.38] Please.

39:21.39] All right, so,

39:23.37] I'll look to the developer, to answer maybe some of the specific questions about

39:29.34] the project, but Kelly or Councilman Carroll's correct that for a one-person

39:34.77] household making 60% of the area median income, they would have to have an income

39:40.29] of about $50,000

39:43.35] annually to qualify to live in this housing.

39:46.08] Mm-hmm.

39:46.11] So that's a salary that many of our public officials and our public staff make.

39:52.11] So, these are folks.

39:55.86] I do believe that this project is intended, or at least a portion, to serve a

40:00.81] specific population, but I'll let the developer answer later.

40:04.92] Thank you.

40:07.38] Other questions from members of council?

40:11.07] Thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

40:15.12] Yes, sir. Dan Shannon.

40:26.88] Good evening.

40:27.69] Good evening, Mayor, council members.

40:29.97] Dan Shannon, my address is 8689 Gorley Road, Mountain Grove, Missouri.

40:35.49] I'm here as a project representative for the owner on the civil engineer on the

40:39.54] project, and happy to answer any questions if y'all have any.

40:42.72] Are there questions for this speaker?

40:45.42] Council Member Jensen.

40:46.80] Thank you. Do you know, is anyone else from the development team?

40:50.58] I'm not sure if you're the best person to answer the question about the income

40:54.36] guidelines that are going to be used.

40:56.46] Are you able to speak to that, or do you know will someone else be speaking on

40:59.73] that?

41:00.27] I believe the project owner should be able to answer those questions.

41:03.81] Awesome. Thank you, sir.

41:04.57] Mm-hmm.

41:05.73] Other questions? Thank you very much for coming all the way from Mountain Grove.

41:09.72] We appreciate it very much. Next speaker.

41:13.14] Austin Gardner.

41:17.67] Next speaker.

41:20.55] David Hall.

41:26.40] Well, good evening, sir.

41:27.93] Hi there. David Hall, 4470 South Quail Creek Avenue.

41:33.39] I am speaking in support of the rezoning.

41:36.54] I believe that adequate housing options are key to a thriving community.

41:42.81] I do not believe this will negatively impact the traffic in the area.

41:47.64] I do think that it's critical that water detention is properly addressed with

41:52.08] whatever development occurs. I know some are concerned about the possible

41:57.99] development for a project with low-income housing tax credits associated with the

42:03.87] rezoning. I know many young families and older residents need this type of

42:09.54] development that is proposed. I know firsthand because when I had a young

42:15.12] family, I lived in subsidized housing.

42:18.45] It was critical in allowing us to be able to eventually purchase our first starter

42:23.49] home. It can be easy to stereotype low-income families, but I know

42:29.16] most are scraping by so they can better their lives.

42:33.27] Regardless of the type of housing that's developed, I think the rezoning is

42:37.89] appropriate for this property.

42:41.67] Thank you, sir.

42:44.13] Thank you.

42:46.08] Gaye Griffin.

42:50.49] Next speaker.

42:52.95] Debbie Shanthart.

43:02.64] Good evening.

43:03.51] Good evening, mayors, mayor, members of council. I'm making you multiple mayors.

43:09.45] I understand.

43:09.64] I'm Debbie Shanthart, my address is 1520 East Meadowmere, Springfield, 65804.

43:14.76] I am part of the development team of Cherry Vale Development, and we are the ones

43:18.27] that are proposing this 40-unit apartment complex.

43:22.95] This location was very intentional for us because it is in a corridor that

43:28.89] has access to transportation. It

43:32.43] has good access to public transportation, which is hard to do in Springfield,

43:36.33] Missouri. But it also is very important because we have eight of these 40 units

43:41.85] that will be set aside for disabled veterans and veterans exiting homelessness.

43:47.37] This location is next door to the Gene Taylor Veterans Clinic, and we think that is

43:53.34] very important in proximity so veterans that are needing care will be able to

43:59.01] literally walk to get the care that they need.

44:02.97] The project is strongly supported by the Veterans Administration.

44:07.14] It is also strongly supported through services.

44:09.84] We have a partnership with Community Partnership of the Ozarks, which will serve as

44:13.53] a resource coordinator on site. And they will serve not only the veteran component,

44:18.63] but the rest of the development, which you guys were talking about what that is,

44:23.04] and that is individuals that are earning 60% and less of the area median income.

44:28.11] And Councilman Carroll, you are absolutely correct. It is around $50,000.

44:32.46] It's a sliding scale based on family size.

44:35.25] So if there's a couple, that number goes up, but $50,000 for a single individual.

44:40.41] These apartments are all one and two-bedroom apartments.

44:43.65] It will have community space within the development.

44:47.19] I would say that it would look very much like the apartments that are surrounding

44:52.26] it. There are apartments immediately across the street on Kansas, on the east side

44:57.72] of the street. There's a senior development that is just to the south, and this

45:03.30] development will look comparable to all of those.

45:06.21] Although, we like to think ours are cuter.

45:09.36] The project will be professionally managed. We will have an on-site manager.

45:14.61] We

45:16.29] have stringent requirements that we have to comply with for our

45:21.06] financing, and there are multiple inspections that we go through.

45:25.86] We think this will be a great asset to this area of our community where we need so

45:31.65] much affordable housing all over the community, but specifically in this location

45:36.51] and with this special needs population. I'm happy to answer any questions.

45:40.92] Are there questions for this speaker? Council Member Jensen.

45:43.41] Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and Ms. Hart, thank you for being here to speak.

45:47.40] First, I just want to recognize your comment about the lack of available public

45:52.66] transit in our community. And just note, as you're probably aware, something that

45:58.05] the Finance and Admin Committee is working on. So, your comments are duly taken in.

46:04.41] The fact that you're focusing on a set-aside for veterans, I think, is incredibly

46:09.87] important because these are folks that have served our community, oftentimes

46:14.25] putting their lives on the line and are-

46:18.65] Our society does not do a very good job of taking care of them, so thank you for

46:22.43] answering that call. The last thing I'll note is with that 60% income guideline,

46:28.67] for a household of three people, that's $65,800 annual

46:33.89] income. So if I had two kids, I would qualify to live in this housing.

46:39.44] If that gives folks any context, echoing Mr.

46:42.98] Hall's comments earlier about folks just need a hand up to be able to get started,

46:49.04] and this type of housing exactly answers that call.

46:51.95] So I was honored to write a letter of support to the MHDC for this project, and I

46:57.44] appreciate the work that you're doing.

46:59.24] Thank you.

47:01.19] Council Member Biasetti.

47:03.17] Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Ms. Jones, for being here.

47:06.29] To the question of just the scale and size of the project that you're proposing,

47:10.13] can you talk a little about number of stories and how it's going to be in relation

47:15.05] to the single-family housing or single-family attached housing that's there?

47:19.10] Sure. So, this site is a very difficult to develop site because there is an

47:24.62] easement that cuts through the property, which is now being used for a fiber optic

47:29.27] easement. So we had to work around that.

47:32.60] One of the concerns that the city had as we were working through the process is

47:36.44] what the-- I'm going to butcher this, and this is a question for Dan, but the-

47:41.72] Angle.

47:42.65] That's it. The angle, the plane. And so we were working to make

47:48.53] sure that we satisfied all the city requirements.

47:50.58] So we were pushing as far away from the duplexes that are to our south as we

47:56.54] possibly could. Still staying, obviously, within the parameters of our site plan.

48:01.73] Thank you.

48:03.71] Any other questions? Thank you very much.

48:06.71] Thank you.

48:07.43] Next speaker, please.

48:08.15] That was our final speaker.

48:09.56] And the public hearing is closed. Council will vote on September the 21st.

48:16.22] Council Bill 2026-198.

48:25.40] Council Bill 2026-198, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager designate

48:30.08] to accept Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Title III, Wagner-Peyser Act

48:34.70] funds from Missouri's Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development in

48:39.53] the amount of $500,000 in amending the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget of the

48:45.05] Department of Economic Vitality and Workforce Development.

48:48.32] Good evening.

48:48.98] Good evening. I'm Erica Smickle, assistant director for the Economic Vitality and

48:52.79] Workforce Development Department.

48:54.56] We're here seeking permission to accept an additional $500,000 in WIOA Title III

48:59.30] Wagner-Peyser funding. That funding is from the Missouri Department of Higher

49:03.08] Education and Workforce Development.

49:05.24] These funds were awarded to the Ozark region for the purpose of modernizing the

49:10.79] Springfield Job Center. This funding will be used to replace aging public access

49:16.07] computers, staff workstations, and

49:20.75] replacing equipment for the improvement of the job center overall for job seekers

49:25.61] and employers. The funding will follow our regular WIOA funding cycles and requires

49:30.83] no match. Happy to take any questions on that.

49:33.86] Questions. Council Member Jensen.

49:35.45] Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Erica, for being here.

49:38.54] So is this funding only for computer equipment, or is it going to be used to

49:44.27] address some of the facility repairs that need to be done?

49:47.81] It will be used to address those issues.

49:50.49] We're working very closely with Public Works to make sure.

49:54.14] So this funding does have some restrictions that have to follow the Wagner-Peyser

49:57.74] guidelines. It can't be used for capital improvement projects, but it can be used

50:01.94] to purchase the items. So, for example, we will be purchasing three

50:07.91] water fountains that are ADA accessible and can be used by staff and customers.

50:13.01] We just can buy the unit with this funding and then utilize the additional CDBG

50:18.47] funding to install those. So we're working very closely with them to be able to

50:22.70] purchase units of items that can be used in conjunction with other funding.

50:28.76] Okay. I did recently visit the facility, and there are some structural

50:34.52] elements that need to be addressed.

50:37.10] So those elements aren't anticipated to be addressed with this funding?

50:41.99] It cannot be used to update anything to a building itself or any kind of

50:47.69] capital improvement, no.

50:48.99] Okay. I'll look forward to whenever a solution is brought forward for that.

50:55.16] Thank you.

50:55.97] Yeah.

50:56.24] Other questions? Thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

51:01.22] Yes, sir.

51:01.97] Public hearing is declared closed. City Council will vote on September 21st.

51:06.89] Council Bill 2026-199.

51:12.38] Council Bill 2026-199, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

51:17.18] to appropriate up to $500,000 of the city's opioid settlement funds to conduct a

51:22.13] substance use and mental health asset mapping project and amending the fiscal year

51:27.53] 2026-2027 budget of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department in the amount

51:32.33] of the selected project bid.

51:34.82] Good evening.

51:35.78] Good evening, Mayor and members of council.

51:38.06] Katie Townsend, director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

51:43.22] For tonight, I'd like to start by giving you a little context about this request.

51:47.96] Back in 2016, mental health and substance misuse was identified as a priority

51:53.06] health issue in partnership with Cox Health and Mercy in the first iteration of our

51:58.52] community health needs assessment.

52:00.83] Since then, it has remained a priority for our community.

52:04.64] But back when we first identified that, public health had not really had that much

52:09.80] interaction with mental health and substance.

52:11.91] And so we knew pretty quickly that we were going to have to do some additional

52:15.35] study. In 2017, we announced to the community with two stories

52:21.74] from some very courageous moms who told us of the loss of their children.

52:26.75] One died by suicide as a freshman at Missouri State University, and one was a high

52:32.54] school cheerleader who became addicted to opioids after an

52:37.55] injury. Both of those lives were lost, unfortunately, to

52:43.46] this epidemic. And so we launched and commissioned a study to really dive in and

52:49.46] understand what the impacts were for our community.

52:52.73] In 2019, we published a report that showed the result with recommendations,

52:58.94] and they came down to three areas of priority.

53:02.31] Awareness and stigma, crisis stabilization, and access to appropriate care.

53:08.75] Along with the partners in our community that are involved with these efforts,

53:12.35] we've created a tremendous amount of success in the past several years.

53:17.45] A few of those, and some that came from the recommendations of the study, were the

53:22.61] launching of the Behavioral Crisis Center that is now run by Centerstone, formerly

53:26.99] Burrell.

53:28.55] There have been reduction in wait times, so access to mental health care is much

53:34.07] more timely. The Community Partnership of the Ozarks has trained thousands

53:40.04] of people in our community with mental health first aid.

53:43.28] Borrow My Angel is telling stories about people in our community who are overcoming

53:47.72] mental health challenges. Stigma has been reduced.

53:52.46] The Springfield Fire Department and AIDS Project of the Ozarks have dramatically

53:56.54] improved access to naloxone, and that has helped to stabilize overdose deaths in

54:01.64] our community. Additionally, I'd like to thank you all because the Jail Diversion

54:06.38] Program has also been a result of some of those recommendations.

54:10.73] We still have lots of work to do, and one of the things that we weren't able to get

54:15.68] to is that access to appropriate care.

54:19.76] In 2024, when we were sort of winding down some of the efforts related to the

54:24.11] pandemic, we reintroduced some of the work that had been done

54:29.99] and launched what we have called the Greene County Overdose Fatality Review Board.

54:34.52] This is a board that is a cross-sector team with representatives that are in the

54:39.50] field working on these issues on a day-to-day basis.

54:43.43] Since that time, they have reviewed over 40 cases, and they've been looking for

54:48.41] themes. And what they have found is that oftentimes these mental health challenges

54:53.99] are co-occurring, so addiction is also coupled with mental health challenges.

54:59.03] There's a lot of fragmented service delivery, and follow-through care is often

55:04.64] difficult to assure. Overall, the system needs improvement.

55:09.28] And in that first iteration of recommendations and effort, we hadn't really

55:13.69] scratched the surface of getting into the system improvements.

55:17.11] And so with these opioid funds that are very specifically

55:23.02] targeted at how we can improve systems that are keeping us

55:29.08] getting the same results, we are recommending that we listen to the recommendation

55:34.84] from the Overdose Fatality Review Board, and that we use an RFP

55:40.63] to do much like we did in 2017 and launch a deep dive into the

55:45.91] systems within our community that create the continuum of care, and that we look

55:51.01] for ways that we can improve that system.

55:54.10] We will be looking to do an inventory of resources to define those resources by

55:59.14] category, things like prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery.

56:04.66] Look for how we can assess accessibility, the capacity to care for people,

56:10.57] insurance coverage, access points.

56:13.29] And then finally, that we look not just within the healthcare and mental healthcare

56:17.86] treatment sort of segments, but we also look at how this interrelates with

56:22.54] educational school-based resources, the judicial system, and other systems at

56:27.76] play. Finally, we will ask that this report bring findings and recommendations that

56:32.98] you all might be able to use to use the additional opioid settlement dollars to

56:38.17] improve the systems that we have in our community.

56:41.95] The health department is seeking up to $500,000 of that opioid settlement funding

56:47.65] to pursue this recommendation and to issue an RFP to secure a partner in this

56:52.39] endeavor. With that, I'd be glad to answer any questions.

56:56.65] Any questions from members of council?

56:59.77] Yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor Pro Tem.

57:03.07] Katie, thank you for being here. How does this

57:07.12] study interact with the call for proposals from community organizations that it

57:13.00] may have already closed, but I know it had previously opened?

57:16.42] So that's an open portal, and you all gave us $250,000 of

57:21.85] authority previously for opioid settlement dollars.

57:25.81] Some of that has been used already to hire a person that is helping to coordinate

57:30.10] the Overdose Fatality Review Board.

57:32.86] And then there are some additional projects that have been

57:36.91] submitted recently, and they are in the process of review right now.

57:41.11] So things from fire and from police.

57:45.58] And what we do is make sure that they fit within the guidelines of the opioid

57:49.54] settlement. And so this would be in addition to that authority that you have

57:55.36] already given us.

57:56.74] Okay. And if you were to spend that full 250,000 previously allocated

58:02.68] and this full 500,000, what would be the amount remaining roughly?

58:07.87] So I checked with David Holtman, and he said as of the end of last week, there was

58:13.51] 5.7 million in that opioid settlement.

58:16.51] Okay. Thank you.

58:17.50] You're welcome.

58:19.69] Councilman Brosmer.

58:22.00] Actually, that was going to be my question about the opioid fund.

58:25.15] What funds are left? But I guess you hope to get with this mapping project.

58:30.61] Is it to utilize future funds? Is it to-

58:34.54] It would be to-

58:34.74] ... coordinate delivery of services, or?

58:37.36] It's sort of both and. We want this to be a systematic look.

58:42.70] So where are the gaps that are currently sort of allowing

58:48.58] people to slip through the process?

58:50.47] And then how do we use the integration of the

58:56.11] system, so judicial, education, healthcare, to really find ways that we can make

59:02.14] that fragmentation become more assured and have a continuum, a coordination of

59:07.60] those assets that exist within those different systems.

59:12.22] Because I think sometimes we don't realize how much we're spending already-

59:16.42] Mm-hmm

59:16.44] ... with police officers, with firefighters, with services that we provide our

59:22.45] hospitals. If anybody goes to the emergency room of late, knows that there are

59:28.12] people there that have acute mental health issues that are in our waiting rooms,

59:32.44] that are in hospitals, and

59:35.26] that's not the right place for those people to be, and I think it costs us all

59:41.86] a lot of resources. So I think we have to do something smarter, and I don't know if

59:46.36] this is going to give us a plan, but I think that's the thing that we sort of

59:50.26] lacked as a city. We don't really have an overarching plan on how we deal with

59:55.15] mental health and how we deal with alcohol and drug problems because I know police

60:01.18] officers I talk to, they said they spend about 40% of their time shuffling people,

60:06.73] moving people along. I don't know what firefighters do, but I would guess that

60:09.87] firefighters spend probably equal amount of time, and EMS people.

60:14.98] Mm-hmm.

60:15.37] They're already spending those resources, and I think we've got to have a better

60:19.42] plan because if you don't have a plan, you're not going to find a solution.

60:23.26] So I think this is a good start. You think it'll take $500,000?

60:27.46] It seems a little high to me, but.

60:29.56] So the original study cost around $250,000, so with adjustments for

60:35.38] inflation, we expect about 3 to 350 for the actual study portion,

60:41.65] and then that additional 150 is reserved for any sort of

60:48.52] items that might come up along the way.

60:50.29] In our first iteration, we ended up with a few different subject areas that the

60:56.17] consultant said they would recommend we study further, but we ran out of resources.

61:01.30] And so this gives us a little bit of additional in case there are things

61:06.55] that fall out of scope that we might not have anticipated.

61:11.50] For example, I have just learned that there's a model in St.

61:16.39] Louis that we're looking at currently.

61:18.91] It's called the Behavioral Health Network, and they're doing some of that exact

61:22.65] thing that you just talked about, working across sectors to coordinate care, and

61:27.10] they've generated some success already.

61:29.59] So being able to go and explore that and even possibly put some resources into

61:35.50] creating as we go. We don't want to wait until the end of this product to come.

61:41.17] If we find things along the way that we can stand up, we'd like to go ahead and get

61:44.95] that initiated.

61:46.09] And so you envision getting concrete things that we could do as a city to address

61:51.94] this, or at least attempt to address these problems?

61:55.20] Yes, absolutely. That would be-

61:56.59] When would you expect there to be recommendations by the-

62:00.67] So like I said, we'd like to be able to bring those to you along the way, but we're

62:05.23] modeling this much off of our first version, which took about 18 months to

62:09.31] complete. So I would imagine anywhere from 12 to 24 months, we'd have

62:15.67] at least good portions of recommendations coming, and then more at the end that we

62:20.32] can continue to work on in the future.

62:22.57] All right. Thank you.

62:23.43] Thank you.

62:24.82] Additional questions?

62:27.58] Thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

62:30.67] Yes, sir. Marietta Hagan.

62:38.29] Good evening.

62:39.07] Good evening, Mayor and council members.

62:42.01] My name is Marietta Hagan, and I've served on the Greene County Overdose Fatality

62:45.85] Review Board since its inception.

62:48.37] I hold credentials with the Missouri Credentialing Board as a recovery and public

62:52.21] safety specialist and a prevention specialist, and I also serve on the steering

62:56.26] committee for the Southwest Missouri Drug Poisoning Coalition.

63:00.13] The reason why I do these things is because I've lost two family members to opioid

63:05.71] overdoses, and I have several family members that are currently struggling with

63:08.71] opioid use disorder. And so that motivates me to be an advocate for preventing of

63:14.32] overdose. I'm here tonight to add my support to what you've heard regarding the

63:18.94] proposed asset mapping project. One of the most important things that I think we

63:23.50] can do with opioid settlement funds is to make sure that we are making informed

63:27.64] decisions so that those funds are being spent where they are having the greatest

63:30.97] impact. Our community has several organizations that are already working

63:36.82] to prevent overdose, to extend access to treatment and recovery support, and that's

63:41.92] a huge strength in our area. But having resources available and knowing how to

63:47.23] access those resources and understand them is two different things.

63:52.12] Right now, it's very difficult for our Overdose Fatality Review Board to answer

63:56.02] some very basic questions, such as what services are available?

63:59.88] Where are they located? Who can access them? What are those gaps?

64:04.51] And so an asset map can help us answer those questions, and that's why the board

64:08.92] has recommended that project as our first step.

64:12.31] Opioid settlement funds are very limited, and we have an opportunity and a

64:15.55] responsibility to invest them wisely.

64:18.25] This project is about understanding what we already have, so that we can strengthen

64:22.21] what is working and identify what is missing, and make better decisions about what

64:26.86] comes next. The asset mapping itself will not reduce overdoses, but what it does do

64:32.80] is it improves our ability to invest in interventions that are targeted,

64:37.15] coordinated, and more effective.

64:39.57] Asset mapping gives us a roadmap, which will help us make better investments in

64:43.39] reducing substance use, drug poisoning, and overdose deaths.

64:47.41] And so I am here to encourage the council to support this use of opioid settlement

64:51.37] funds. Thank you.

64:53.11] Thank you very much. We have a question. Just one second, ma'am.

64:56.02] Sorry to cut back to the-

64:57.19] Sorry.

64:58.87] Councilor Jensen.

64:59.77] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Maybe just more of a comment.

65:01.99] I was just going to note, I think asset mapping is going to be incredibly important

65:06.79] for that sort of coordinated system that Ms. Towns was talking about.

65:10.93] Just to make sure you all are able to operate as efficiently as

65:16.63] possible, I just wanted to note the 211 helpline.

65:20.40] It does have a pretty robust database of many of the service providers in the

65:25.99] 14-county area, and is a free resource for anybody to call.

65:30.43] So that may be a good place to start for at least building out that list of

65:34.48] organizations.

65:35.46] Yes, thank you. 211 has been a great partner, as well as 988 that's run through

65:39.76] Centerstone. They have an awesome list of resources. Thank you for that.

65:43.27] Thank you for the work you do.

65:46.18] Other questions? Thank you very much. Any other scheduled speakers?

65:50.83] Christopher Roush.

65:56.14] Good evening. Good evening, Mayor, Council. My name is Christopher Roush.

66:00.40] I'm the Battalion Chief of EMS and Special Operations for the Springfield Fire

66:03.52] Department, and I'm here to speak in support of this bill.

66:06.91] The Springfield Fire Department is a founding member of the Greene County Overdose

66:09.76] Fatality Review Board, and I have the privilege of serving on that board, which is

66:13.87] the first of its kind in Missouri since the review started in 2023.

66:18.37] Director Towns really did a great job of kind of painting the picture of the need

66:22.21] for this program, so I'm really just here to offer my additional support.

66:25.93] The purpose of this board, as stated, is to identify and recommend solutions for

66:30.43] gaps in our community's ability to serve people suffering with substance use and

66:34.72] addiction. Through dozens of case reviews, we've identified many missed

66:38.35] opportunities where the death of a community member could have been prevented.

66:42.58] And while we can see where services and other resources may have helped save a

66:45.34] life, we do not yet have a comprehensive, intentional, in-depth list of those

66:49.69] resources to connect the dots and ensure we close the gaps.

66:53.50] Asset mapping will help us connect those dots, close those gaps, and reduce

66:57.16] overdoses and fatalities in our community.

66:59.65] This will help ensure Springfield remains strong, resilient, and healthy as we

67:03.55] continue working together to improve the life for our community members for many

67:07.57] years to come. Having reviewed several proposals for opioid settlement funds, I

67:11.50] believe this is an extremely relevant and worthy use of those dollars, and I look

67:15.16] forward to the continued progress of the Overdose Fatality Review Board and seeing

67:19.00] how asset mapping will help us increase the impact of our work.

67:23.98] Thank you very much. Oh, wait a minute. Councilmember Hosmer.

67:28.30] I'm just going to ask,

67:30.85] SPD says they spend about 40% of their time shuffling the problem that they have

67:36.07] with mental health issues, drug and alcohol issues.

67:39.70] Is it comparable, or do you have an idea of what the percentage of time fire

67:44.89] services are utilized?

67:46.71] Sir, it'd be difficult to put a number on that.

67:48.91] I certainly can do some research and bring that back to the council.

67:51.25] What I will say generally is that we rarely encounter a patient who has a physical

67:55.93] problem who doesn't also suffer from some sort of mental health issue, or someone

68:00.99] who's not touched by drug use, abuse, and overdose in our community.

68:05.23] What I will say as a positive comment is that we've gone as an agency from

68:09.91] responding to 400-plus overdose calls in a year down to about 150, and I credit the

68:15.04] work being done by members of the board and by this council and the community to

68:18.73] get naloxone access

68:21.28] extended into the community, and to ensure that our providers are ready to respond

68:25.15] to those calls as part of the reason we've brought down deaths and overdoses.

68:30.06] And I would like to find out an estimation of what the

68:36.04] percentage of calls are that you have that are linked to mental health issues,

68:40.30] linked to drug and alcohol issues, linked to overdoses, that type of...

68:44.98] Because I think it's something that's important, that these people are not getting

68:49.63] services where they really should.

68:51.07] They're getting emergency services, firefighters, EMS, police officers, and

68:54.94] sometimes it's not the best place to meet that person and try to get that

69:00.79] person some assistance, and I think also the ERs.

69:03.76] And it just seems like we're spending a lot of money.

69:07.63] Your officers, I know they have to go to these calls, and they should go to these

69:11.05] calls, but that's not the best use of firefighters or police officers, or

69:17.02] we should treat this problem differently than we have.

69:20.98] But I would like to find out, if it's readily available, that the department could

69:25.66] give us some idea of what percentage of time fire services are utilized for those

69:30.58] type of calls.

69:31.93] Sir.

69:32.56] Thank you.

69:34.63] Other questions? Thank you very much. Next scheduled speaker.

69:39.40] Samantha Sudduth.

69:45.34] Good evening.

69:46.18] Good evening, Mayor and council members. My name is Samantha Sudduth.

69:50.14] I'm the Senior Director of Access and Engagement Operations at Centerstone,

69:54.01] formerly Burrell Behavioral Health.

69:56.05] And I'm here to express our strong support for investing in the comprehensive asset

70:00.88] mapping in Springfield and Greene County.

70:03.46] Seven years ago, our community completed one of the most comprehensive behavioral

70:07.12] health assessments ever conducted in Greene County, and that assessment brought

70:11.35] together healthcare providers, public health leaders, law enforcement, educators,

70:16.15] employees, and people with lived experience to identify where our behavioral health

70:20.68] system was succeeding and where we were falling short.

70:24.28] The report found that access to care was one of the community's highest, excuse me,

70:29.17] highest priorities. In fact, increasing the number of substance use treatment

70:32.89] providers and expanding access to treatment services were ranked among the top

70:37.03] needs identified by stakeholders.

70:39.55] The assessment specifically recommended expanding medicated assisted treatment,

70:43.99] increasing provider capacity, improving system coordination, and identifying

70:48.49] barriers that prevent people from reaching care.

70:51.76] Since 2019, our community has made significant investments in treatment and

70:56.65] recovery supports. Centerstone, our hospitals, our federally qualified health

71:01.81] centers, recovery organizations, courts, and many others have expanded those

71:06.49] services. But the reality is that we do not currently have a clear shared picture

71:11.50] of where the remaining gaps exist.

71:14.05] We cannot strategically solve problems that we have not fully mapped.

71:19.56] Asset mapping would show us where services are available, where those wait times

71:23.35] still exist, where transportation remains a barrier, where underserved

71:27.82] neighborhoods are located, and where individuals seeking opioid treatment still

71:31.69] fall through those cracks. Most importantly, it would give city leaders, healthcare

71:36.61] providers, and community partners a common roadmap for making future investments.

71:41.56] This is not simply a study. It's an investment in smarter decision-making.

71:46.72] The 2019 assessment gave us direction.

71:49.39] Today, our community deserves updated information on where we can align resources

71:54.46] where they will have the greatest impact.

71:56.86] Centerstone strongly supports this funding initiative and stands ready to partner

72:01.18] with the city, Greene County, the health department, hospitals, and community

72:04.99] stakeholders to ensure that results lead to meaningful action.

72:09.25] The question isn't whether opioid treatment gaps exist.

72:12.43] The question is whether we are willing to invest in identifying them, so that every

72:16.57] dollar spent moving forward has the greatest possible impact on saving those lives.

72:22.06] Thank you all for your leadership and your commitment to addressing one of the most

72:25.39] urgent public health challenges that currently faces our community.

72:30.10] Other questions? Councilmember Horton.

72:32.44] Thank you. I was wondering, you mentioned a lot of different elements of

72:39.61] the parts of the mapping that needs to occur.

72:44.74] Based off of the previous study, did you see where health insurance itself

72:51.04] was a barrier to individuals? And if you had health insurance,

72:57.94] is health insurance even covering

73:01.15] Mental health services.

73:03.52] Well, at Centerstone, we are a certified community behavioral health center.

73:07.39] 80% of the clients that come in for services are funded through Medicaid.

73:13.03] And so we have seen an increase in those services.

73:17.86] I actually oversee our Medicaid navigators at Centerstone.

73:21.73] Last month, they did over 200 applications for Medicaid, so that people can get

73:27.01] those access to services. So we have seen an increase and be able to serve that

73:30.70] population. I do think that there are still a lot of gaps that exist for

73:36.61] people who don't have Medicaid and access to those services, who have employee

73:41.11] health insurance. We don't see that necessarily covering all the services that

73:46.60] someone might be in need of.

73:48.43] Are you all kind of forecasting too, should, at the federal level-

73:54.28] Yes

73:54.68] ... individuals end up losing their Medicaid?

73:59.11] Is that going to be factored into the asset mapping in terms of just the health

74:04.93] insurance coverage?

74:06.31] Yeah. It will have to be. With the changes for HR1 that are coming in

74:12.16] the new year, in 2027. If you're not familiar, I really encourage you to look at

74:16.18] the changes that will come for those who do receive Medicaid.

74:19.90] We are currently at a state level and at a local region level, making sure that all

74:24.52] of our providers are aware of this change that's coming, and that we are touching

74:29.35] those clients,

74:31.51] as much as we can, to inform them of these changes that are coming to their

74:35.56] Medicaid. And we are predicting that is going to

74:40.03] be a pretty big barrier that's coming up in this next year.

74:43.78] My final question is related to supply side.

74:47.74] Sure.

74:48.10] So is there going to be an element of the mapping where

74:54.01] there can be some addressing access to drugs?

74:58.06] Like, the supply side and what needs to happen to cut it off-

75:02.74] Sure

75:02.99] ... cut off the supply to, and access to, drugs that is in

75:08.95] our community. And I know that that's more of a law enforcement type of question,

75:13.54] but I know that perhaps the group that you're a part of, is there any

75:19.57] focus on addressing reduction in the supply and the access to the drugs themselves?

75:26.29] I would look to the health department for how they're going to do that in this

75:30.88] asset mapping. But I think because we will involve those stakeholders, that that

75:34.99] will be something that will be brought to the table.

75:37.96] Thank you.

75:38.47] Thank you.

75:40.42] Any other questions? Thank you very much.

75:43.73] Thank you.

75:43.75] Are there any more speakers?

75:44.95] No, sir.

75:45.97] Public hearing is declared closed. City Council will vote on September 21st.

75:50.89] Council Bill 2026-200.

75:55.51] Council Bill 2026-200, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager--

76:01.21] Excuse me. A special ordinance authorizing the City of Springfield, Missouri,

76:04.27] through the city manager or designee, to enter into a scheduled equipment number

76:07.57] three, which will become a part of its existing master equipment lease purchase

76:11.17] agreement. The proceeds of which will be used to pay the cost of acquiring and

76:14.32] installing equipment for the city's Parks Department and certain hardware and

76:17.86] software for use by the city to do all things necessary to carry out the lease

76:21.37] purchase transaction, including the execution of certain documents in connection

76:25.30] therewith, and amending the budget of the city fiscal year 2026-2027, in the amount

76:30.46] of $1,418,720.

76:34.21] Good evening.

76:35.23] Good evening. Good evening, Mayor, members of City Council.

76:40.09] This bill is being presented to enter into a third schedule with US Bank to finance

76:45.28] equipment and improvements needed within the Parks Department and the Information

76:50.44] Systems Department, and to amend our current fiscal '26, '27

76:55.51] budget. The proceeds will be used to purchase parks equipment, and hardware and

77:01.24] software that is used by the city.

77:05.08] The city has been utilizing a master lease program for years, allowing us to

77:09.82] acquire much needed capital equipment and spread the cost out over a five-year

77:13.90] period. This lease schedule totals just over $1.4 million,

77:20.02] requiring the city to make quarterly payments for five years, at which time we will

77:25.03] own the equipment. The interest on this transaction is

77:29.38] 4.36%. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to address

77:35.38] them.

77:35.77] Questions from members of council? Councilman Jensen.

77:38.20] Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Holden, I just want to make sure I was understanding

77:42.19] the schedule correctly.

77:44.44] Sure.

77:45.77] So you said we're paying 80,000-- Well, it's about $79,000

77:51.25] quarterly,

77:53.62] throughout the life of the five years.

77:56.50] Mm-hmm.

77:58.21] At which time would we have to make any payment after the end of that five-year

78:03.19] span?

78:03.61] At the end of the five-year period, we own the equipment, free and clear.

78:08.80] Okay. So we, in total, will be paying about a

78:14.65] little under 1.6 million.

78:16.45] Correct.

78:17.17] And what the total cost of the-

78:21.79] Of the-

78:21.91] If we were to purchase the equipment outright?

78:24.25] It'd be $1,412,000.

78:27.61] Okay. Thank you.

78:28.72] Mm-hmm.

78:29.86] Additional questions?

78:32.59] Thank you very much.

78:33.59] Thank you.

78:33.59] Are there any scheduled speakers?

78:35.14] No, sir.

78:35.83] Public hearing is declared closed. City Council will vote on September 21st.

78:40.99] Council Bill 2026-201.

78:46.00] Council Bill 2026-201, a special ordinance authorizing and directing the issuance,

78:50.44] sale, and delivery of the City of Springfield, Missouri, of special obligation

78:53.95] improvement bond series 2026, in a principal amount not to exceed 9,200,000, for

78:59.11] the purpose of providing funds to pay costs related to improvements to the city's

79:02.98] Public Works Administrative Building, construction and improvement of the Police

79:06.55] Property Evidence Building, as well as

79:11.29] acquisition of a new fire truck and amending the fiscal year-- I'm so sorry.

79:15.28] Skipped a line. As well as construction, furnishing, and equipping of new West Fire

79:19.87] Station Number 14, including acquisition of a new fire truck, amending the fiscal

79:23.98] year 2027 budget of the city in the amount of 9,200,000, authorizing and approving

79:29.16] certain documents in connection with the issuance of the bonds, authorizing certain

79:32.83] other documents and actions in connection therewith, and declaring an emergency

79:36.34] pursuant to Section 2.12, Subsection 3 of the city charter.

79:41.44] Good evening again.

79:42.70] Good evening once again. So this is another financing activity that we have

79:48.52] before you, authorizing the sale of special obligation improvement bonds in a

79:54.37] principal amount not to exceed $9.2 million, for providing funds for the noted

80:00.91] City Public Works Administrative Building, the Police Property and Evidence

80:05.89] Building, and the construction of the planned West Fire Station Number

80:11.23] 14.

80:14.44] This bond issue is the final of three bond issues

80:21.13] that have been issued using the city's Levelized Property Tax

80:26.65] program as a funding source for the repayment, and that was identified and

80:32.47] discussed in the 2017 level property tax

80:37.84] campaign.

80:39.94] With that, I'd be happy to take any questions.

80:42.88] Are there questions from council for staff?

80:46.33] Thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

80:49.03] No, sir.

80:49.87] Public hearing is declared closed. City Council will vote on September 21st.

80:55.42] Council Bill 2026-204.

81:00.64] Council Bill 2026-204, a general ordinance approving the City Utilities fiscal year

81:06.52] 2027 operating budget for its fiscal year ending September 30th, 2027.

81:12.97] Good evening.

81:13.72] Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

81:16.72] This evening, we are pleased to present City Utilities' 2027 operating budget and

81:21.85] rates adjustment. I am Alina Lennert, and tonight I speak to you as the

81:27.82] current City Utilities board chair and also a resident of Springfield.

81:32.56] I reside at 2715 South Forest Heights Avenue.

81:37.27] The board appreciated the recent

81:40.99] opportunity to present and discuss the budget and rates with you at our joint

81:46.78] council and board study session on August 13th.

81:51.28] As you are aware, this budget has a continual focus on the resiliency of our

81:56.95] infrastructure and advancing the quality of life in our community through the

82:02.47] ongoing investments in our critical assets.

82:06.43] Included in the budget is funding to complete the installation of a battery energy

82:12.55] storage system near James River Power Station and the installation of three

82:18.49] new 50-megawatt natural gas turbines at McCartney Generating

82:24.19] Station. These items seek to meet the increased

82:29.65] Southwest Power Pool planning reserve margin requirements and provide local

82:35.44] supplied resources. The budget's strong focus on infrastructure has

82:41.41] a continual emphasis on natural gas and water main renewals,

82:46.84] electric pole replacements, and vegetation management.

82:51.55] The board deems this budget to be prudent and aligned with the needs of our

82:56.56] community while providing exceptional value to our customers.

83:01.69] Lastly, we are bringing water rate adjustments and a transmission cost

83:07.03] adjustment. The water rates support the current and the long-term needs of our

83:12.25] water system, including replacement of aging infrastructure, securing

83:17.95] long-term water supply, regulatory compliance, and projects that

83:23.59] improve the resiliency of our water system.

83:26.86] These rates also support increased cost of operating and maintaining the water

83:32.62] system. The proposed rate adjustments will also help ensure that our water

83:37.90] supply and our distribution system provide safe, reliable drinking

83:43.78] water for our community. The board is also asking for approval of a

83:49.12] transmission cost adjustment, which would allow the Board of Public Utilities to

83:54.28] approve an annual true-up to pass through only the actual cost of

84:00.16] regional transmission system improvements.

84:04.00] Thank you on behalf of the Board of City Utilities, and I will now turn over the

84:08.92] presentation to our chief financial officer, Ms. Amy Dearduff.

84:13.96] Before you leave, real quick, are there questions for the speaker from members of

84:17.80] council?

84:18.55] I have a question.

84:19.15] Council Member Horton.

84:20.74] Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Ms.

84:22.81] Leonard, for being here and presenting the budget.

84:26.41] I just had a question about, since you're the board president of City Utilities,

84:33.25] the board anyway,

84:36.07] can you talk about what types of conversations the board had around this

84:41.68] brand-new TCA? So this is a brand-new cost.

84:47.08] Can you summarize for us and for the public what has that

84:53.11] conversation amongst board members been like to introduce a

84:58.96] new

85:02.74] type of cost-

85:04.09] Sure

85:04.44] ... or a new type of expenditure?

85:07.44] Sure. Thank you. Thank you for that question.

85:10.03] And I would say that the board looks at the transmission cost

85:15.40] adjustment as a variable rate because there is some unknowns

85:21.37] of the future regional transmission dollars that will be spent.

85:27.40] The board wanted to make sure that the actual cost to our

85:33.07] customers can be adjusted so that only what needs to be paid at

85:38.98] that future time will be paid at that time to our customers.

85:44.41] So that sounds like that was the explanation.

85:46.69] Did the board have any discussion about what you were presented at the

85:52.48] board meeting concerning that additional cost?

85:55.78] Did you all have any discussion at all about it amongst yourselves?

86:00.40] Well, I'm not sure if I understand the question in the sense of we

86:06.22] have to pay the transmission cost

86:12.49] assessment or the rate, and we do that through a variety of different levers in

86:18.34] other situations. And maybe Amy might be the best person to

86:23.83] explain the specifics for the transmission cost adjustment.

86:30.55] Okay. Thank you.

86:31.36] Okay.

86:32.62] Any other questions? Thank you. I'm sorry, Councilman Adamski.

86:38.23] Thank you, Mayor. And you took one of my questions, so thank you for that,

86:41.95] Councilwoman Horton. You talked about the aging infrastructure, and I would just

86:47.23] make a comment that some of that aging infrastructure was pulled out of the ground

86:51.67] in my neighborhood. And if anybody saw pictures of what's coming out of the ground,

86:55.72] I think it'd be very instrumental in showing people what really needs to be done.

87:00.55] So, I think it's an important thing to keep the water flowing, so to speak.

87:06.55] You mentioned this very early in your little conversation there, can you give a

87:10.84] one-minute overview of our relationship as City Utilities and the Southwest Power

87:15.31] Pool?

87:17.86] Well, we participate with the regional authority to be

87:23.74] able to share costs when we need to.

87:29.11] It's kind of like the highway, not the highway controlled, but the FAA in terms of

87:34.06] our transmission lines. And we

87:38.86] sell our supply into the market, and then we also buy it back when we

87:44.80] need it. In times of our storms that we have gone through, any time that

87:50.32] our power in our area might be down, one of our

87:55.69] generators, not our generators, but

87:58.72] the Don Twitty generator might be down, then we are able to call on the assets of

88:04.00] the Southwest Power Pool to buy the energy that we need to get the lights on in our

88:08.62] town.

88:10.33] So, we're part of a much larger grid, literally, so to speak.

88:16.18] Absolutely.

88:16.24] Can you give us an idea of the extent of Southwest Power Pool geographically?

88:22.15] Yes. It runs from, I believe it's 15-

88:26.53] From Texas to-

88:28.33] Yeah, from Texas to North Dakota. And it's continuing to expand to the West as they

88:34.66] look at expanding those resources.

88:36.82] Yeah. I think it's important when you mentioned that we had to make these

88:39.67] infrastructure improvements and increase generation power as a result of being part

88:44.62] of this Southwest Power Pool grid.

88:47.47] It's important to understand it is a relationship of a much bigger variety than

88:51.34] just our local customers.

88:52.93] That's exactly correct. Yes. Thank you.

88:56.53] Additional questions?

88:59.17] Thank you so much.

89:00.39] Okay.

89:00.46] Now we'll turn it over to-

89:02.41] Okay

89:02.43] ... part two.

89:06.40] Welcome.

89:07.12] Thank you. And there are my slides. Okay. Well, very good.

89:12.31] Well, thank you for your time this evening, and thank you for your time in the

89:15.97] budget study session that we had on August 13th.

89:19.69] Many of the slides that you see today will be the same, and we will

89:25.57] go through those rather quickly. If you have questions, please let us know.

89:32.32] All right.

89:34.57] So one of the most important things that we start out with are exactly what

89:38.89] Councilman Adamski just asked about, and that would be where our energy comes from.

89:43.78] And this slide is representative of the sources that serve CU load, so where our

89:49.33] energy comes from on a daily basis.

89:52.21] And every day, we offer our units into the market, and we tell the market what we

89:58.12] need as a utility. And when it is more cost-effective for our customers

90:04.09] to be served by a unit outside of one that City Utilities owns, that is served by

90:09.82] the Southwest Power Pool. And that is what is labeled market purchases on the

90:14.32] screen that you see. And we're showing you two actual years of results, and in '25

90:20.05] and 2024, about 25% of our energy did come from the Southwest Power Pool,

90:26.20] and that is an integrated system. And we do rely on them, as Alina said,

90:32.29] we do rely on them when we might have an outage.

90:35.71] When we've had storms in the past year, in 2025, for example, we had

90:41.56] an outage at that unit, and it was critical for that energy to be available to flow

90:47.44] into the city of Springfield when that was needed.

90:51.16] Overall, on the left-hand side, you see the coal, natural gas, our hydro contract

90:57.19] that we have, wind contracts that we have through purchase power agreements, and

91:01.33] then the little smallest sliver that we have of solar through our purchase power

91:04.66] agreement. But again, focusing on the SPP market purchases that we have.

91:10.30] And as part of that, for example, when we went through Winter Storm Uri in 2021,

91:15.82] for those of you who were present for those eight days of the extremely cold

91:20.26] weather, we did rely also on SPP, and SPP relied heavily on

91:26.23] us to provide some much needed energy and provide safety and security to our

91:30.76] customers.

91:35.76] As we look at our electric rate comparison, this is provided by the Energy

91:40.08] Information Administration and focusing on the overall customer rates as we look on

91:45.90] the left, city utility rates are 28% below the overall national average, and they

91:51.48] are 10% below the state average.

91:57.69] Natural gas rates are more competitive overall in the state average.

92:02.97] We are about 40% less than the rest of Missouri, and then we are 37%

92:08.55] below the national. And we are looking at all kinds of utilities when we look at

92:13.77] the Energy and Information Administration.

92:16.29] That is for cooperatives, that is for investor-owned utilities, and the municipal

92:21.36] or public power, just like city utilities.

92:28.83] So our electric power supply, we want to focus on some of our projects and Chair

92:33.66] Leonard already spoke about these, talking about the battery energy storage system,

92:37.71] and those are zinc batteries that we are installing at the Blackman Water Treatment

92:42.54] Plant facility. Adjacent to that, we have five megawatts and we have 31 megawatts

92:47.43] going in at the James River Power facility.

92:50.52] The McCartney Generating Station, the 350 megawatts combustion turbines that are

92:54.84] going in are being installed presently, and we have significant amount of work

93:00.48] going on there. Overall, we discussed already the SPP planning reserve margin

93:05.52] needs. Other electric initiatives that we have are

93:11.07] maintenance. And when we have maintenance on the John Twitty Energy Center, that is

93:14.76] a very large, expensive piece of equipment, and that takes a lot

93:20.76] of planning and a lot of effort. And so we will start an outage at the first of our

93:25.20] fiscal year in October. The transmission line, Republic to the Pick West

93:30.15] substation, that creates redundancy.

93:32.16] We want to make sure that we have more than just one feed to critical substations

93:36.78] such as this. We have overall improvements to our transmission and distribution

93:41.79] system. We have pole maintenance, and that would be a replacement.

93:46.08] Most of those are planned. We have some unplanned, like we had last evening when a

93:50.61] car happened to take out one of our poles. But most of those we do plan.

93:54.93] Vegetation management, making sure that our beautiful trees are trimmed

93:59.13] appropriately, so they are not interfering with the power lines, and that helps

94:04.14] create resiliency when we do have some of our Southwest Missouri storms.

94:08.61] We have the substation transformer and switchgear replacements, and that's

94:12.15] programmatic replacements of critical assets in our infrastructure.

94:16.80] Our natural gas initiatives, so we have our pipeline integrity management system

94:21.57] and our AC mitigation program. Again, these are all safety related that are on

94:26.01] those natural gas transmission lines.

94:28.12] It's a very cost-effective fuel that we use, but it also has some volatility, and

94:32.52] it's important that we focus on safety.

94:35.37] Our main and service renewals program would be the replacement of those mains that

94:40.50] we have running throughout our city.

94:42.72] They do age over time, and the programmatic replacement of those is very important.

94:49.64] We have the valve replacement programs, and those valves exist within those mains,

94:53.85] and should we have a natural gas leak or an excavation damage, we can shut off the

94:58.59] natural gas flow at those valves to further support our safety initiatives.

95:03.99] District regulator stations bring the natural gas into the city where that needs to

95:08.10] go. Our SCADA system, which is a supervisory control and acquisition data

95:14.19] system, we are upgrading that to make sure, again, we can see where all that

95:18.18] natural gas is flowing and where we might have issues on the system.

95:22.08] And there are main tie-ins that we have.

95:25.26] On our water initiatives, we have our compliance with our lead and copper rule.

95:30.07] We have, I say, federal regulations that we are required to comply with, and Austin

95:35.55] is going to talk a little bit more about that in his presentation.

95:39.18] We have our main tie-ins. How do we create redundancies and loops so we are not

95:44.34] having to flush water at the end of a main?

95:46.98] We have supply and infrastructure treatment and renewals.

95:49.95] The more that we rely on our overall water treatment plants, the more that we need

95:55.74] those renewals to ensure that we have available water to our customers.

96:01.20] We have rapid mix repairs, our main and service renewal.

96:05.01] That's also what Councilman Adamyasdi referred to earlier within his area.

96:10.94] And we have the Stockton Booster Pump Station, which will help ensure that we can

96:15.12] receive our full allocation of water should it be needed from the Stockton Lake

96:19.95] allocation that City Utilities has.

96:22.08] And then lab instrumentation upgrades, very important to know that we

96:27.81] have a good data on our water quality and testing in our two

96:33.09] labs. We have our transit initiatives, our diesel

96:38.10] bus purchase, our bus shelter improvements, which we've seen recently, and then

96:42.72] shelter pad replacements.

96:45.42] For technology and customer experience, we have our geographic information system.

96:50.04] We have relied on that, fortunately and unfortunately, significantly over the last

96:55.80] two years when we've had significant storms in Springfield.

96:59.36] And then we have our North American Energy Reliability compliance for our

97:04.89] utility-wide systems, as we have a very, I'll say,

97:10.83] what's the word? Just a very important infrastructure in the electric system.

97:14.90] There's an oversight of that that we are a part of.

97:18.09] We have our IT enterprise applications.

97:20.19] You all hear many times from City how important those are.

97:24.42] And we have our customer experience initiatives trying to improve that on behalf of

97:28.36] our customer, as well as our cyber initiatives, and cyber attacks certainly don't

97:33.60] slow down.

97:35.70] We have our active energy services programs.

97:39.21] The most popular one that we have right now with 2,400 people enrolled is our Peak

97:43.95] Rewards program. And we've had a few events related to Peak Rewards, and that's

97:48.93] where customers agree to sign up for this and then have their thermostat raised in

97:53.91] the summer or lowered in the winter, and they receive

97:59.01] some compensation for that. And that helps us shave the peak off of

98:04.77] those loads. So when we have very hot times, we want to make sure that we are

98:10.74] reducing that peak, which effectively helps us reduce that cost that we incur

98:15.93] within the Southwest Power Pool. Our other two most popular programs are HVAC

98:21.42] rebates, as well as our overall smart thermostat rebates.

98:30.45] For transit operations, this is the exact slide that you saw at the

98:37.17] study session, with the exception of this being focused on the two years that we

98:41.76] have, the current year that we're in, as well as the 2027 budget.

98:47.20] So operating revenues, those come from advertising revenues for bus wraps.

98:51.33] They come from also our passengers.

98:54.09] We have operating subsidies, which are primarily from the FTA.

98:59.34] Then we look at our total operating cost, and we'll focus on 2027 of $16.3

99:04.68] million. And then anything that is not funded by fares or by those

99:10.62] subsidies is funded by our overall electric, natural gas, and water customers.

99:15.89] And that is funded based on a proportionate share of what their revenues are.

99:20.11] And in the 2027 budget, that has changed just slightly.

99:23.37] So 67% of that is funded by electric customers, 21% natural gas customers,

99:29.67] and 12% water customers.

99:36.33] Our community dividend focuses on the value that our community-owned utility

99:42.24] provides to the city of Springfield, as well as the surrounding area.

99:46.53] Payment in lieu of taxes, cash payments that are made to the city, will total $18.4

99:51.84] million in 2027, and we pay payment in lieu of taxes or PILOT on electric, natural

99:57.60] gas, water, and transit. Our right of way fee is what we pay on our fiber miles for

[100:03.36] our SpringNet business, and that's 900,000.

[100:06.18] We provide $13.4 million of utility services that are paid for by

[100:12.18] the ratepayers within City Utilities.

[100:14.73] And public transit services, the $10.1 million subsidy is what I referred to on the

[100:19.44] previous slide. Overall dividend for the community, in particular the city of

[100:25.02] Springfield, is 6.9%. On the right-hand side, you will see relocations that City

[100:30.96] Utilities pays for of their infrastructure, and we expect that to be $8.3 million

[100:36.48] in 2027. We also fund some items outside of the city, such as when we

[100:42.33] have certain expansions of roadways that require our infrastructure to be moved.

[100:49.24] Lastly, our expenditures that we have total $797

[100:53.95] million. And the fuels, as we look at those, those are costs that are passed

[100:59.08] through directly to our customers dollar for dollar.

[101:02.86] There is not any mark-up or mark-down on those fuels.

[101:07.12] Operations, customers, and administration are the lion's share of our other

[101:11.83] operational costs, and that would include, for example, the power generation

[101:16.81] overhaul that I mentioned earlier.

[101:19.09] That also includes our Main Avenue remediation of our subsite that we recently

[101:24.25] began work on. Capital dollars are going to be less in 2027, and that is

[101:30.16] because of where we are in our construction plan for the power supply assets that I

[101:34.87] mentioned earlier. Debt service is for our public utility revenue bonds

[101:40.96] and our certificates of participation that we have outstanding.

[101:44.68] And the non-utility would be items such as those dollars we bill wastewater fees

[101:50.68] on behalf of the City of Springfield and remit to the City of Springfield.

[101:55.18] We also have sales tax that is in there. That's another item.

[102:02.08] Lastly,

[102:03.88] disbursement authority is what we are requesting, and that is a total of

[102:08.08] $874,042,900. That does include

[102:14.17] overall planned disbursements of $799,042,900, as well as a

[102:20.00] $75 million business volatility and fuels contingency, and that is something

[102:25.78] that we can use if the board provides further approval, and that would be something

[102:31.63] that would be used in an unforeseen circumstance such as we dealt with Winter Storm

[102:35.62] Uri if there were extenuating circumstances and cost that we needed to

[102:41.20] incur. And with that,

[102:44.98] that will conclude my remarks, and I would be happy to answer any questions.

[102:49.51] Thank you very much. Questions of members of council, beginning with Council Member

[102:52.84] Jensen.

[102:53.60] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[102:55.66] First, just a couple of compliments.

[102:57.73] The first is you all answered the many questions that I sent to you in advance of

[103:02.29] tonight, so thank you for providing such thorough responses.

[103:05.47] And secondly, I want to compliment your staff who do the energy services program

[103:09.73] outreach. I had the opportunity to see them present at a neighborhood meeting in

[103:15.64] my zone, focusing on a neighborhood with pretty persistent poverty, and you can

[103:20.74] tell that their hearts are really in the services that you guys provide.

[103:23.68] So, I just wanted to thank you for that work.

[103:26.35] Thank you.

[103:27.55] I had three, well, two questions for you and a question for staff.

[103:31.42] The first one, I saw something that I didn't know, so I'm just kind of curious.

[103:37.09] On slide two, you had a note that City Utilities sells environmental

[103:42.73] attributes of wind and solar energy-

[103:45.08] Right

[103:45.26] ... that's generated. Can you help me understand what that is?

[103:47.71] Yeah. Those are just exactly what you said.

[103:50.44] Those are renewable energy credits, and they do have a value in the marketplace.

[103:55.72] And so those can be sold, and we have sold some of those to help pay

[104:01.27] for the environmental projects that we have.

[104:04.36] So the Main Avenue site remediation, that is how we are helping fund that.

[104:08.38] Okay. Who are the buyers of those types of credits?

[104:11.95] You know, I can get that for you.

[104:14.17] Okay, thank you.

[104:14.80] Yeah.

[104:15.28] I didn't know that happened, so-

[104:16.75] Yeah

[104:16.90] ... I was curious. Secondly, I saw in your

[104:22.54] presentation there's a 7% year-over-year increase in generation from coal.

[104:27.88] Mm-hmm.

[104:28.21] And between '25, I don't know if these are related or not, so that's the nature of

[104:33.49] my question. But in '25, City Utilities spent

[104:37.73] $163 million in fuel, and this year

[104:42.79] it's budgeted to spend $219 million,

[104:48.37] which is an increase of $56 million over two years.

[104:52.69] I'm looking at page A7 of the budget.

[104:55.94] A7.

[104:56.29] And I'm just curious, what's driving that pretty significant increase

[105:02.23] in fuel costs?

[105:04.69] Page A7. And are you looking solely at...?

[105:08.83] I'm looking at the top line of the project expenditures table on page A7.

[105:14.02] So going back to actuals for-

[105:16.75] Yeah.

[105:17.29] I will follow up on that and get you the specific answers of that.

[105:21.43] Okay. Thank you. And then my question for city staff.

[105:26.15] This may be something you need to research and get back to us, but how does the

[105:31.00] city utilize the $18.4 million in PILOT payments that we receive from CU each year?

[105:38.35] I believe David Holton, if he's still here, can answer that question.

[105:42.35] He's gone.

[105:42.56] He's gone, so I'll find the answer.

[105:43.75] But most likely, what I presume, it goes into the general fund, but I would like to

[105:47.80] get a better answer to that question.

[105:49.24] Okay. Thank you.

[105:50.98] Call him, shake his head yes.

[105:52.21] Council Member Hosmer.

[105:55.18] Amy, I'm going to ask you the same questions I always ask.

[105:58.81] Okay.

[105:58.87] The surcharge that we have for water, for service that we provide

[106:04.18] outside the city of Springfield is 10%.

[106:07.36] Mm-hmm.

[106:08.08] And what is the surcharge City Utilities charges for gas? Is it five?

[106:13.72] Electric is 5%, natural gas and water are each 10%.

[106:18.91] So it's both natural gas, water are 10%?

[106:23.32] And electric is 5%.

[106:25.42] And yet we don't charge anything for sewer services. There's no surcharge?

[106:30.94] That is my understanding. The sewer rates are set

[106:36.46] by the city, not by City Utilities.

[106:39.40] We do bill on behalf of them,

[106:43.00] or behalf of you, but we do not set those rates.

[106:46.54] And I know we're talking about the budget right now, but on the rate increases, are

[106:50.35] the rate increases... Can I talk about the rate increases if you'd like?

[106:53.65] They're next, but you're... Okay.

[106:56.02] I'll wait.

[106:56.75] Mm-hmm.

[106:57.07] All right. Thank you.

[106:57.97] Or-

[106:58.69] I'm ready if you would like to.

[107:00.44] It's up to you.

[107:01.60] Well, I was just going to ask,

[107:04.00] there's always a concern that the rate increases are impacting residential

[107:07.81] customers more than they are commercial or industrial users.

[107:13.90] What is the assurance from the-- And again, I think City Utilities does a fantastic

[107:19.30] job. You do a lot of things that nobody else in the city does and nobody else in

[107:24.16] the city wants to do, but City Utilities does it, and I think you do an excellent

[107:27.28] job. You have excellent employees. You treat your employees well.

[107:30.58] They provide great services, and you have some of the lowest rates in the country.

[107:34.03] So, I'm a big fan. But what assurances can you give us that the

[107:39.61] rates are fair as far as

[107:44.20] what the rate increases are affecting residents, residential properties versus

[107:49.12] commercial and industrial users?

[107:50.80] So I said I was ready, and I will answer part of this, and then I will allow Austin

[107:54.76] to elaborate on that when he comes up for the next council bill reading.

[107:59.35] But we do a cost of service study to see what does it cost to serve our pool

[108:05.38] of residential customers, our pool of commercial, and our pool of industrial

[108:09.37] customers. And we make sure that those revenues or those rates that we are charging

[108:14.95] those customers are distributed appropriately.

[108:18.19] Each time when we have a rate increase, we look at what the cause is of that rate

[108:23.11] increase, and we determine should those be spread at a very equal percentage across

[108:29.05] those customer classes, or we determine if one class should have a

[108:34.87] slightly higher increase than another class.

[108:38.23] Because we do try to align with that cost of served to make sure that we are

[108:43.87] charging the customers appropriately.

[108:46.31] And again, Austin will go through some of that in his, and I know he's listening,

[108:50.35] so he will follow up on some of that in his presentation, if that's all right.

[108:55.27] That's fine. Thank you.

[108:56.74] I was overcome.

[108:58.09] Additional questions?

[109:01.39] Thank you very much.

[109:03.07] Appreciate it.

[109:03.11] Are there any scheduled speakers as to this bill?

[109:06.04] No, sir.

[109:07.18] Then the public hearing is declared closed.

[109:09.13] City Council will vote on September 21st.

[109:12.10] Council Bill 2026-203.

[109:17.89] Council Bill 2026-203, a general ordinance authorizing revisions to water rates

[109:23.02] charged by City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri, and related terms and

[109:26.23] conditions.

[109:27.91] Good evening.

[109:28.69] Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

[109:30.91] I'm Austin Beshears, Director of Rates and Fuels at City Utilities.

[109:34.21] Tonight, I'll provide a brief summary of the proposed water rates that we reviewed

[109:38.20] in detail with you all at the joint study session in August.

[109:42.97] Slide two. So, we talked about the history of water rate adjustments and how prior

[109:47.44] to the inflationary increases that we've had in recent years.

[109:51.04] If you look back at the fiscal 2011 through 2016 timeframe

[109:55.42] We have had the need for larger percentage increases for water to ensure our water

[109:59.80] rates can support the cost of maintaining and operating the water system, which is

[110:04.09] very capital intensive. We've also seen some neighboring communities and others

[110:08.29] across the Midwest that have had the need to make some larger percentage water rate

[110:12.64] adjustments in recent years as they address aging infrastructure, cover rising

[110:17.38] operating costs, and meet the level of growth in their communities.

[110:20.89] And we know that water utilities across the US are facing similar challenges and

[110:25.48] cost pressures.

[110:27.90] The CU's water system does have some larger funding needs than what we have seen in

[110:32.11] recent years. So we're bringing for approval a series of three annual base rate

[110:35.98] adjustments, averaging 8% for each year and effective beginning in October of

[110:41.74] 2027. While these are larger percentage increases than customers have seen really

[110:47.05] over the last decade, the typical monthly residential bill impact is estimated to

[110:51.85] be in the $3 range for each phase. The total average residential

[110:57.85] cost per gallon of safe, reliable water treated and delivered to customers' homes

[111:02.47] remains at around a penny per gallon, which continues to be a value for our

[111:06.46] customers. And Councilman Hosmer, to answer your question, when we looked at our

[111:12.67] cost of service study with this particular water rate design, it did show that

[111:18.55] our residential rates and our non-residential rates are generally very closely

[111:22.90] aligned with the overall cost of service.

[111:24.88] So that, coupled with the overall larger percentage increases, the increases are

[111:30.37] consistent for both rate classes with the proposed rates here.

[111:37.48] And as we look at our 2027 through 2031 operating plan, the funding needs are in

[111:42.46] part driven by some very essential water initiatives to ensure CU can maintain safe

[111:48.16] and reliable water service for our customers.

[111:51.04] To highlight some of these, that includes a Stockton Lake allocation, which helps

[111:55.06] ensure long-term water supply for Springfield, a Stockton booster pump station to

[112:00.31] increase our pumping capacity from Stockton Lake, replacement of the rapid mix at

[112:05.47] our Blackman Water Treatment Plant, costs to comply with EPA's lead and copper

[112:10.45] rule, construction of a new elevated storage tank in the northeast part of

[112:15.31] Springfield,

[112:17.26] along with completing additional main tie-ins to improve the resiliency of our

[112:21.58] distribution system, and we maintain our program of renewing aging mains and

[112:26.95] services. So as you would imagine, many of these are multi-year projects and all

[112:31.87] take significant planning efforts to ensure we're able to complete them.

[112:36.01] That's another reason why we bring rate adjustments in a series of three.

[112:40.51] In addition to helping to ease that bill impact for our customers, it helps ensure

[112:45.04] that we know that we do have funding for these projects, and that we can move

[112:49.99] forward with these projects that take often multiple years to complete.

[112:55.60] In addition to those essential water projects, the cost of everything does continue

[113:00.52] to increase. So here in the chart, you'll see our water rate adjustments in blue,

[113:05.41] consumer inflation in gray, and our recurring water expenditures in

[113:11.08] orange. And what this illustrates is really over the last five years, our rates

[113:15.16] have not kept up with the level of consumer inflation or the rate of change of our

[113:20.62] recurring water system expenditures.

[113:24.30] So just to provide a couple quick examples of the cost increases we've seen, the

[113:28.99] average cost per mile of a water main renewal has increased by about 40% since

[113:33.82] 2019. And when we look at the most commonly used materials for our water

[113:39.67] system, we've seen the average cost per unit of material, such as pipe,

[113:44.53] increase by over 70% since 2019. Then as we've started planning to

[113:50.47] construct that new elevated storage tank, we've learned that the cost of building

[113:55.00] those tanks has increased by about two to four times that it cost the utilities to

[114:00.64] build our last elevated storage tank in 2019.

[114:05.83] Of course, we understand that any rate increase impacts our customers.

[114:09.70] We do everything we can to manage our costs and to manage the impact to our

[114:14.20] customers, and that does include phasing in rate adjustments over a period of

[114:18.64] years. But for residential customers, this gives you a little more detail on what a

[114:22.45] typical monthly bill looks like and what those estimated impacts would be.

[114:29.59] So to summarize, the series of three annual water rate adjustments beginning in

[114:33.67] October of 2027 are necessary to help CU maintain safe and reliable water service

[114:39.79] for our customers by supporting increased operating costs and funding the essential

[114:44.71] water initiatives that we have in our operating plan.

[114:48.43] That's all the information I have on water rates.

[114:50.41] All right. Questions from members of council. Council Member Jensen.

[114:53.34] Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and thank you, Austin, for being here.

[114:56.14] I sent these questions over in advance.

[114:58.72] You all provided answers, but I think it's important the community knows as well.

[115:04.39] We haven't talked about Project Share, but I think that's a really incredible

[115:08.50] program that's operated by City Utilities, to help with emergency

[115:14.50] utility assistance to prevent shutoffs.

[115:17.14] What is the current balance of funding available for disbursement?

[115:22.12] I do not have that information. Unless Amy has that, we can follow up with you on

[115:25.93] that.

[115:26.89] Okay.

[115:31.48] Sorry, I should have asked it earlier, but I believe it was about $25,000.

[115:37.96] I had also asked how many disbursements were made during the last fiscal year,

[115:42.67] which was in the hundreds, and the average amount was about $250 per payment.

[115:47.68] I'm speaking very generally, but I just wanted to call attention to that,

[115:53.53] because like I said, it's a really important program to our community.

[115:58.57] The need is greater than the funds that are available, and so if

[116:05.47] a household donated just $20 a month on their utility bill towards Project Share,

[116:11.29] it would mean that one household would prevent or would evade utility shutoff.

[116:16.84] So,

[116:18.76] I just wanted to call that out because it's an incredible program. Thank you.

[116:25.03] Council Member Adeyemi.

[116:26.68] Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for being here tonight.

[116:29.17] I think can you go back to your maybe second slide that you had?

[116:33.73] I thought it was important to note you had the multiple years of increases over the

[116:38.14] years right there. Yes. And you can see that we've had some modest increases in

[116:43.96] 2018, '19, and '20 for water specifically, and then no increases for the next three

[116:48.64] years during the COVID era.

[116:51.28] I know you kind of went over that slide really quickly, but I wanted the folks that

[116:54.13] are watching online and everything to see that again. Thank you.

[116:58.48] Council Member Hosmer.

[117:01.24] On the

[117:03.01] compliance, I guess the federal requirements for lead and copper and

[117:08.68] galvanized piping.

[117:10.12] Mm-hmm.

[117:10.60] What is the cost to city utility? I guess you're not doing the service lines,

[117:16.15] you're doing the system. Are you going to be doing individual property owners?

[117:21.46] Or how's that going to work? Because I have heard from constituents where they've

[117:24.79] got some concern.

[117:26.68] Yes. Sorry to cut you off there. I'll ask Krista Schultz, our Vice President of

[117:32.11] Natural Gas and Water Operations to-

[117:33.58] And one other question before she gets up is on the water, and since water and

[117:37.96] sewer,

[117:39.70] their billing is linked, and your sewer bill is linked to your water usage-

[117:45.31] In general, yes

[117:46.33] ... and

[117:48.16] how does that impact the

[117:51.07] rate for the sewer bills?

[117:53.68] This would not have any impact on sewer rates.

[117:56.38] So, customer usage is accounted for when determining the sewer

[118:02.41] usage that a customer would be billed for, for their sewer services.

[118:06.73] But-

[118:07.62] Great

[118:07.62] ... the water rates are separate, and then sewer rates are managed separately.

[118:11.20] Okay. Thank you.

[118:15.51] Welcome.

[118:16.26] Thank you. Good afternoon. You asked about the lead and copper rule and our

[118:20.01] compliance with that. We have been doing a water service line

[118:25.58] inventory of our customers' service lines. So we don't own those lines.

[118:29.96] We own up to the property line, and then from the property line to the home is our

[118:34.31] customer's line. And so by this EPA rule, we're required to go ahead and figure out

[118:39.27] what that material is. So we've had really great success in partnering with our

[118:44.12] customers. We did a survey, and we had a good response from customers who did their

[118:50.01] own inventory and submitted pictures, and then we were able to get information that

[118:54.23] way. We have our information, some in our GIS.

[118:57.77] But at this point, we are potholing.

[119:00.35] You might see a vacuum truck that we have out in the community.

[119:04.10] So we're working strategically with our construction crews to go through

[119:08.21] neighborhoods and identify lines that we haven't either received information from

[119:13.28] customers or we don't have records on our file.

[119:17.54] So we're having our crews out in neighborhoods.

[119:21.89] We've applied for a grant, and with the grant, we'll be able to, in some

[119:26.63] neighborhoods that qualified as disadvantaged, we'll be able to use a contractor to

[119:30.98] go out and help us collect more service line inventory.

[119:35.20] And then just recently, Department of Natural Resources, this is just in the last

[119:39.56] week, that we received word that they're going to allow us to use predictive

[119:43.19] modeling. Other states across the country have been already approved of this

[119:48.11] methodology, but we can use. We have about 68% of our service lines identified just

[119:53.42] in the last couple of years by working with customers and doing our own

[119:59.54] identification. So with this predictive modeling, we'll be able to do some

[120:04.16] analytics with a consultant to identify other service lines.

[120:09.86] So right now, I think you were specifically asking on cost.

[120:13.79] We're using our own construction crews.

[120:15.62] We're partnering with community

[120:18.65] through the survey. And then as part of this water rate increase, we have

[120:24.44] additional plans with working with contractors and

[120:29.84] continuing working with our contractors, our own crews out into the community.

[120:35.30] Do we have any idea what percentage of the service lines in the city of

[120:41.03] Springfield don't comply?

[120:45.38] So we have 90, I should know this number, 90 some thousand water service

[120:51.20] lines. We have found two lead lines in our community so far, and those customers

[120:56.63] have been notified. We found a third, it was to an abandoned lot.

[121:01.07] So that one we'll remove. So we have found two, but

[121:06.47] thankfully, our community doesn't have a history of putting in lead service lines,

[121:10.52] and City Utilities has no lead in our water system.

[121:14.57] Okay. All right. Thank you.

[121:17.62] Thank you. Additional questions? I've got a few questions.

[121:23.32] Yes, sir.

[121:23.38] So in looking out over the three-year period, do you have the money budgeted

[121:29.39] for extending water service lines as necessary throughout the service area?

[121:34.26] We have some dollars for extensions.

[121:38.30] I don't know if we have any for particular areas offhand.

[121:43.73] I'm just curious as to this, we're looking three years out.

[121:46.40] In that three-year model, you have planned ahead for extending water line service.

[121:51.56] Is that correct? That's part of the modeling you do?

[121:53.57] Yeah, we do have some dollars in there for extensions. Yes.

[121:56.99] Great. So dollars for extension.

[122:01.49] So what about funding for relocation of utilities?

[122:05.36] For example, the city is beginning a project with the neighborhood works, where

[122:09.98] we're doing new things in different neighborhoods.

[122:12.65] So if the adding of a sidewalk requires the moving of a water line or something,

[122:17.29] are those funds also included in this three-year modeling relocation costs?

[122:21.98] I might have to call on Amy to answer that question, Amy.

[122:25.04] Okay. So yes, every year we include dollars for both revenue

[122:30.27] producing and developer installed services.

[122:32.86] So going back to your first question, we do have those, and we include them in all

[122:37.28] categories for electric, natural gas, water, as well as our Spring-Net system.

[122:42.27] We do the same for municipal relocations, as we call them, and we have that for

[122:48.11] all of our commodities. So in the first

[122:54.20] or in the five years of our operating plan that we put together, that totals $72

[122:59.39] million. So we have a significant amount that are in there.

[123:04.34] Sometimes we know exactly what those are going to be used for if we have a

[123:08.54] significant relocation program, and sometimes we do not.

[123:12.44] But we do put dollars in the budget to plan for those items.

[123:18.95] So three years is a long cycle, but one that you've worked on for a while.

[123:24.23] Mm-hmm.

[123:24.25] So in the unlikely event that something is wrong, would you come back to us for

[123:29.50] amendments to these rates? How would you handle that?

[123:32.54] So for it would--

[123:36.80] I say wrong. If there were a significant project, and I will use Booster 3.

[123:42.77] We've talked about that for quite some time, and that was a project that we looked

[123:47.01] at previously with the city that we were able to fund the work we've done so far

[123:52.67] within our current rates. But when that project started, we had a base

[123:58.67] water rate increase that we had planned in a series of three years that we brought.

[124:04.99] And how we presented that is that would be if we needed to fund that

[124:10.37] external to those three-year increase in rates, we had that layered in as

[124:16.37] a supplemental rate increase. And so in your question, if there were to

[124:22.28] be a need for additional funding and additional

[124:28.28] rate increase, we would bring that back on top of these rates.

[124:34.49] That one was like a 2% adder, for example, that we never had to use, but that was

[124:39.05] our financial plan to do that.

[124:41.42] Great. So what I heard you say is absent a significant project, as much as we can

[124:45.38] in this human world, you've planned for these various contingencies.

[124:48.97] Yeah.

[124:48.98] But if something was wrong-

[124:51.56] Yes

[124:51.58] ... with that or unanticipated may be a better word, you would in fact come back

[124:54.86] with a supplemental request.

[124:55.79] Yes, correct. And we do have different, I would say, levers that we can pull, if

[125:01.73] you will, and then we would have to determine do we need to go take out a borrowing

[125:07.10] or take out a loan in order to fund that to be able to

[125:15.11] pay for that within a certain time period before coming back for another rate, for

[125:19.13] example.

[125:20.06] Well, my congratulations to you for three-year modeling.

[125:22.46] Okay.

[125:22.64] That's very impressive.

[125:23.63] Well, I should say that's Krista and the budget team and Austin.

[125:27.83] They do a great job.

[125:30.11] That concludes our questions on this bill.

[125:32.39] Are there any scheduled public

[125:35.03] speakers?

[125:35.81] No, sir.

[125:37.02] Then the public hearing is declared closed.

[125:38.87] City Council will vote on September 21st.

[125:43.70] Third and final City Utilities bill of the evening, 2026-202.

[125:50.57] Council Bill 2026-202, a general ordinance authorizing establishing a

[125:56.12] transmission cost adjustment clause rate schedule, and authorizing revisions to

[126:00.02] include the transmission cost adjustment clause and electric rates charged by City

[126:05.18] Utilities of Springfield, Missouri.

[126:07.97] Again, we also reviewed the transmission cost adjustment in detail with you all at

[126:12.35] the August study session. This would enable the Board of Public Utilities to

[126:16.31] approve an annual adjustment to true up and pass through certain SPP transmission

[126:21.68] costs. So SPP does manage the regional electric grid across many states,

[126:27.68] and CU is an SPP member and a transmission customer.

[126:31.70] As Amy talked about earlier, SPP transmission service is very important to our

[126:36.08] ability to provide reliable and cost-effective service to our customers.

[126:41.06] It allows us to import energy when demand exceeds local generation and also when

[126:46.28] energy pricing is more favorable in the market.

[126:50.09] For our fiscal year to date through July, purchased energy from SPP made up about

[126:55.02] 28% of SPP, or excuse me, CU's system load.

[127:00.47] So here on the screen are the highlights of the transmission cost adjustment, or

[127:04.43] TCA for short. So this is a new way to recover an existing cost that we're

[127:10.43] currently recovering through our base electric rates.

[127:13.49] The TCA would enable, again, an annual board approved true-up of our rates to

[127:18.20] recover just specifically the cost of SPP regional transmission improvements.

[127:24.29] These are costs that City Utilities is required to pay as an SPP transmission

[127:29.12] customer, and while we do participate in the SPP stakeholder processes, we don't

[127:34.94] have direct control over these costs.

[127:37.96] And so just to clarify, if you all were to approve the TCA, we're

[127:43.88] not committing to new costs. It is just a new, more accurate way for us to

[127:49.37] recover these costs. We do expect these costs to increase over the next several

[127:55.30] years, as SPP has approved a number of these regional transmission upgrades, very

[128:01.18] large transmission projects. We currently estimate the typical monthly residential

[128:06.35] bill impact to be in the $1 range for the first annual adjustment in October of

[128:11.17] 2027, with similar impacts in the $1 to $3 range after that based on

[128:17.02] current cost forecasts, just as we look out in our five-year plan.

[128:21.76] However, we will need to recover these costs, whether it's through the TCA or

[128:25.99] through future base rate adjustments. This is a rate schedule.

[128:30.43] Again, we're proposing it to be effective in October of 2027.

[128:34.43] It does require board and council approval to establish, and then the board would

[128:38.08] approve annual adjustments after that.

[128:41.44] So it would have the same ongoing board oversight as we do for our electric fuels

[128:46.42] expenses.

[128:48.55] Each year in March, we would bring updated TCA factors to the board.

[128:52.42] Those would be effective six months later in October, giving our customers some

[128:57.13] notice of those bill impacts from that.

[129:01.18] We also included in the TCA a cap to limit how much the

[129:07.18] cost recovered through the TCA can increase year over year, which would limit

[129:11.95] customer bill impacts if we were to see very large increases in these costs from

[129:17.23] SPP. Again, it would function very similarly to our electric fuel

[129:22.75] adjustment clause, which allows us to pass through the actual cost of our

[129:27.58] generation fuels and our purchase power for electric.

[129:31.27] And similarly, it would just allow us to true up and pass through the cost

[129:36.46] to transport that energy to Springfield.

[129:42.43] And then I just also wanted to add, this isn't a new concept.

[129:45.49] While it is a new concept for city utilities, we've seen other utilities, at least

[129:51.46] eight other utilities in SPP, recover transmission costs in a similar

[129:57.55] fashion as a pass-through mechanism.

[130:00.82] So we're proposing this now because it's difficult to forecast what these costs are

[130:05.44] going to be with reasonable accuracy over a three- to five-year

[130:11.38] time horizon, and that's really due to the unknown of what the actual project

[130:17.14] costs for these regional upgrades are going to be, along with the unknown timelines

[130:22.21] for project completion. We don't start paying our share of these costs until the

[130:27.55] projects are completed. They're very large projects that take anywhere from three

[130:32.53] to 10 plus years to complete. So predicting what they're going to cost with

[130:37.48] precision and when they'll be completed is very challenging.

[130:41.50] And there's also just a lack of clarity around exactly what CU's share of these

[130:46.87] costs are. So currently, we pay about 1.2% of these costs in the overall

[130:52.45] SPP footprint. That's based on our share of the 12 monthly system peaks in SPP.

[130:58.84] And because that's based on how our

[131:03.40] peak load is relative to SPP's peak load, as SPP's load changes over the years,

[131:09.37] it's very unknown what our share would be in the future.

[131:14.44] So that makes it challenging to forecast for base rate adjustments.

[131:18.46] And so the TCA and the annual true-up would ensure that our current customers are

[131:23.26] paying for current costs, ensures that we have the ability to return any

[131:27.67] over-recovered dollars back to our customers in a timely manner if our actual costs

[131:32.62] come in lower, and then it gives us an ability to true up any under-recoveries as

[131:37.09] well. So if we do not have a TCA mechanism and we were to overestimate

[131:43.09] the cost and include that in our base rates, then that means that our customers

[131:47.38] would end up paying higher base rates than they needed to until we are able to

[131:52.84] bring another base rate adjustment, which oftentimes that's every three to

[131:58.66] five years. If we underestimate the cost in the base rates and the costs are

[132:03.43] higher, that can create some challenges with having under-recoveries

[132:09.85] for the utility, potentially needing to pass on higher base rate increases in the

[132:15.04] future. So the TCA would be a separate line item on the customer's bill to

[132:20.77] transparently show the cost being recovered through this mechanism.

[132:24.85] This is just an example of how that might look on an average residential customer

[132:28.84] bill. But again, ultimately, we need to recover these costs over the long run,

[132:32.83] whether it's through the TCA or through our base rates, which currently we're

[132:38.56] covering that through our supply and delivery charge.

[132:43.48] So in summary, it is becoming impractical for us to continue

[132:49.18] recovering these costs through base rates due to the unknown future cost.

[132:53.26] This TCA would function just a lot like our electric fuel

[132:58.99] adjustment with board oversight, ensuring that our customers only pay what we pay

[133:04.36] for these costs and no more.

[133:07.54] With that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

[133:09.79] Questions from council. Council Member Adegbile, yes.

[133:12.82] Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for the presentation.

[133:14.56] The second time I've seen it, it's still confusing in some ways.

[133:17.59] But I think it's important to note that this is a cost that ratepayers

[133:23.38] would pay regardless of-- Right now it's just kind of, what I would just say,

[133:28.03] buried in their base rate, right?

[133:30.91] Correct.

[133:31.27] You adjust the base rate based on things you might need to do.

[133:35.26] Base rate can't change from there unless you come back.

[133:37.90] So in this case, this is now pulling that cost out of the base rate and putting it

[133:43.36] on a separate line on the bill so it's very transparent as to what they're going to

[133:47.02] get charged for that, and then you're only going to do that as those costs come in

[133:51.25] for projects that the SPP is doing on a regional basis.

[133:54.79] Yes, essentially. So we currently recover about $9 million for this in our base

[134:00.07] rates now. So we're leaving that there, and then we would only recover through this

[134:04.96] any cost above that mark.

[134:07.28] Above that. Yeah. And you answered my other question, that we were roughly 1.2% of

[134:11.80] that total SWPP, Southwest Power Pool-

[134:14.77] Yes

[134:14.78] ... aggregate. So thank you.

[134:19.60] Yes.

[134:19.63] Council Member Gensler.

[134:21.28] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And thank you again, Austin, for being here.

[134:25.42] Again, you all answered many of the questions that I had.

[134:27.79] I had one that came up just while you were presenting, and I guess I'm curious, how

[134:33.73] does the SPP allocate TCAs among the different

[134:39.07] utilities within their network?

[134:41.41] So they do that based on-- Currently, their allocation method is called the

[134:47.08] 12 Coincident Peak or 12CP. So it's basically an average

[134:52.78] of what each transmission customer's share of-- It's looking at

[134:58.51] the average monthly peak loads for a transmission customer and looking at that as a

[135:04.54] share of the SPP footprint as a whole.

[135:08.36] Okay.

[135:08.38] And so currently we're about 1.2% of the average peak load in SPP.

[135:13.78] Okay. And so for example, if there were a significant increase in utility usage

[135:19.03] that required transmission system improvements in another utility system, our

[135:24.58] customers wouldn't experience an increase, correct?

[135:27.76] It depends. The way SPP-- They go through a whole project planning

[135:33.52] process really on an annual basis.

[135:35.59] And so, they identify what are the needs on the

[135:41.38] grid, the SPP region. And so, it depends on the project.

[135:45.97] So they're looking first and foremost at ensuring reliability.

[135:49.94] They're looking at reducing congestion, which allows energy to flow where it needs

[135:55.06] to go. They are looking at projected load growth as well on the system.

[136:00.92] And so not every project gets shared across the whole footprint.

[136:05.29] It depends on the size of essentially the transmission line that's going to be

[136:10.60] constructed or upgraded. And so smaller projects that really impact

[136:16.57] more local systems, so 100,000 volts and below, those are paid for really

[136:22.54] by that local area. If it's above that but below

[136:27.55] 300,000 volts, it is in a more

[136:33.40] I think it's a sub-region, and then it's the larger projects

[136:39.31] that have a larger impact on the footprint as a whole.

[136:42.34] Those are the ones that really are getting spread across all SPP transmission

[136:47.89] customers.

[136:48.66] So if there's a new large load user that's added in North Dakota, regardless of how

[136:54.52] we vote on this tonight, city utilities could potentially bear some additional cost

[137:00.19] for that transmission.

[137:01.45] Potentially, and that is one thing that SPP is taking a very close look at right

[137:06.07] now.

[137:06.33] Yeah.

[137:06.34] So they put together, it's called the Cost Allocation Review

[137:12.28] and Evaluation Team. I think they call it the CARE team.

[137:14.83] And so it's a working group essentially tasked with looking at how do we

[137:20.59] allocate costs, and in particular, looking at helping answer that question, how do

[137:24.49] we handle large loads and make sure that they're paying their fair share.

[137:28.09] So, there's likely going to be some recommendations that comes out of that to help

[137:32.95] ensure that does happen.

[137:34.42] Okay, and then I just have a similar question, but looking at our local system.

[137:38.32] So if a

[137:41.50] new large load user were to come into our community,

[137:46.54] how might that impact the TCA charges from the SPP, if it required new

[137:52.24] transmission infrastructure? And then how would those costs be allocated among our

[137:58.18] user classes?

[137:59.23] So our expectation and all the things that we're working on to address potential

[138:04.14] large loads on our system, number one, we are working to design a large load rate,

[138:10.12] and that would ensure that those customers would pay their fair share.

[138:14.62] As far as any transmission upgrades, that would be something that that

[138:20.10] customer, we would ensure they're paying for directly.

[138:24.61] With the TCA itself, just with the potential that there is

[138:30.61] a change in our load, we did include in the TCA design itself that

[138:36.82] we kind of put a placeholder for the title of the large load rate for now, but we

[138:41.59] did clarify that any transmission costs that are recovered

[138:47.56] through the TCA,

[138:49.75] any costs attributable to a large load would be directly

[138:55.45] assigned to any customers in that rate class to ensure that there's no

[139:01.36] cost impact for our existing customers or the customers that pay the TCA rate.

[139:06.64] Okay. Thank you, sir.

[139:09.16] Council Member Horton.

[139:10.93] I don't have any further questions.

[139:12.46] I think Councilman Jensen actually was along my line of questioning, so thank you.

[139:17.11] All right. Any further questions from council? Seeing none, thank you very much.

[139:22.50] Are there any scheduled speakers?

[139:23.92] No, sir.

[139:24.91] Then the public hearing is declared closed.

[139:27.33] The city council will vote on September 21st.

[139:29.80] We're going to take a break at this time, and we're going to reconvene about two

[139:34.78] minutes after 9:00, and we will proceed.

[139:39.43] Council Bill 2026-205.

[139:44.20] Council Bill 2026-205, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

[139:49.39] to accept the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant in the amount of

[139:54.18] $204,045 from the United States Department of Justice to enter into an interlocal

[139:59.11] governmental agreement with Greene County, outlining the division of grant funds

[140:02.86] and amending the budget for the Springfield Police Department for fiscal year

[140:06.13] 2026-2027 in the amount of $204,045.

[140:11.74] Good evening.

[140:12.55] Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

[140:13.99] Police Chief Paul Williams here to ask for your approval to accept this year's

[140:20.02] iteration of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant.

[140:23.11] For about 40 years, the Department of Justice has administered a grant program for

[140:27.13] law enforcement to help combat violent crime in the name of slain NYPD Officer

[140:31.54] Edward Byrne. This year, as has been the case in years past, Springfield was

[140:37.45] awarded one of those grants, $204,000.

[140:42.52] We have to split it with Greene County because, as per the DOJ rules, if another

[140:47.86] entity provides assistance in housing for violent criminals and prosecuting them,

[140:53.19] which Greene County does, we need to split the funds with them.

[140:55.84] So, we determined that allocation years ago at a 60/40 split, 60% for Springfield

[141:01.51] PD, 40% for Greene County, and that's what we are asking for you to approve today.

[141:06.37] So two things. One, allow us to accept the grant, and two, enter into an

[141:10.54] intergovernmental agreement with Greene County to split those funds.

[141:15.55] Also, in the application, had to say specifically what we're going to spend those

[141:20.65] monies for. Greene County is going to use theirs to purchase a patrol truck, light

[141:25.90] bars, and transport cages for their patrol vehicles.

[141:29.02] And SPD is going to use the money for equipment for our mobile field force,

[141:33.82] Clearview AI software for our crime analyst unit, and replacement batteries for our

[141:39.52] Shadow drones, which are already in service.

[141:42.19] And with that, I would take any questions you might have.

[141:44.65] Are there questions from members of council? Council Member Jensen.

[141:48.52] Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. And thank you, Chief, for being here.

[141:51.55] Sure.

[141:52.21] Could you just clarify what is the function of the Clearview AI software?

[141:56.50] Sure. It's a facial recognition software program that our crime analysts use when

[142:01.66] helping the investigators to investigate violent crimes.

[142:05.41] Okay. Is that something we're currently using now?

[142:08.20] We had a pilot project last year, and it was very well received by the crime

[142:13.30] analysts, and we worked with our IS department to make sure this was something that

[142:18.04] would fit within the city's framework, and provide the protections and security

[142:22.99] needed. Got all those answers

[142:26.74] approved, and so what we'd like to do is instead of just a pilot project, go ahead

[142:30.99] and buy the software and install it on their computers.

[142:33.55] Okay, and what is the cost for that element specifically of the 88,000?

[142:39.97] And I'm sorry, I do not have that in front...

[142:41.65] Our portion of the grant was 122,000 and I

[142:47.29] believe-

[142:50.65] It's okay if you don't have that here

[142:51.63] ... it was about 40 or 50,000 for the software program, I believe, right?

[142:55.36] And about 40 or 50,000 for the

[143:00.10] mobile field force equipment. Both those things, I'll just add to that, those were

[143:03.64] both things I submitted as part of my FY26 budget request.

[143:09.28] When we were getting the grant, I was able to pull those out of the budget request

[143:13.45] and free up those monies potentially for other uses in the city.

[143:17.11] Okay. Thank you, sir.

[143:18.16] Thank you.

[143:20.44] Any splitting of this with the Marshals Service?

[143:23.59] No, sir.

[143:24.25] All right.

[143:24.61] No, only Greene County.

[143:25.90] Great question. Other questions, members of council? Thank you very much.

[143:31.09] Are there any scheduled speakers?

[143:32.47] No, sir.

[143:33.52] Public hearing is declared closed. City council will vote on September 21.

[143:39.67] Council Bill 2026-207.

[143:44.05] Council Bill 2026-207, a special ordinance authorizing the Director of Planning and

[143:48.79] Development to accept the dedication of public streets and easements to the City of

[143:52.12] Springfield, Missouri, as shown on the preliminary plat of Cape Point Place,

[143:55.57] generally located at 901 Southwest Bypass, 849

[144:00.55] South Suburban Avenue, and 3652 West Cape Point Boulevard, upon the applicant

[144:05.26] filing and recording a final plat that substantially conforms to the preliminary

[144:08.59] plat and authorizing the city clerk to sign the final plat upon compliance with all

[144:12.37] the terms of this ordinance.

[144:15.10] Welcome back.

[144:15.76] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is a preliminary plat request, and it's before you to

[144:19.87] accept the dedication of public streets and easements that are shown on the

[144:23.17] preliminary plat. This is for Cape Point Place, and it has 37 lots,

[144:29.32] about 30 acres, located roughly in the 900 block of Southwest Bypass.

[144:34.21] The property is currently zoned RSF and GC with the conditional overlay district

[144:38.80] number 228. All 37 lots meet the subdivision regulations and

[144:45.79] excuse me, and all the district standards.

[144:49.00] The conditional overlay district requires a public street connection from Cape

[144:52.15] Point Boulevard,

[144:54.49] Lombard, and Suburban to Grant Street at West Bypass, and this preliminary plat

[144:58.54] does provide that.

[145:01.12] Plat also identifies features such as sinkholes and female flood plain, which are

[145:06.46] both present on the site. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the plat

[145:10.09] eight to nothing at their August meeting.

[145:13.93] And under the commission's rules, a preliminary plat is an administrative action,

[145:17.47] so if it meets the regulations that are set forth in the ordinance, approval is

[145:20.80] required. Additionally, with this plat, Ozark Greenways asked that a trail corridor

[145:25.51] be preserved somewhere on the plat, either from lot 28 to 31, or there's

[145:31.51] a sewer easement that runs through the property as well.

[145:35.47] Those aren't shown on the preliminary plat, but the applicant's engineer did

[145:39.46] confirm during a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing the developer's intent to

[145:43.75] provide all those easements, and the exact alignments will be worked out at the

[145:47.14] time of the final plat. Kind of council's action tonight would accept the streets

[145:51.77] and easements and the final plat, the one after this, must be filed within two

[145:56.41] years. And all public or all required improvements must be built or bonded before

[146:01.99] the final plat can be released for recording.

[146:04.81] That concludes the report, and I'm happy to answer any questions, Mr. Mayor.

[146:08.44] Council Member Adi Yesnie.

[146:11.41] Thank you, Mayor, and thanks for the presentation.

[146:13.90] And you sort of answered one of the questions that I had, but I know we've got

[146:18.13] provisions for sinkholes and sinkhole boundaries, and while I don't like the idea

[146:23.23] of having houses right next-- There's a sinkhole on this property that's split on a

[146:28.27] lot line between two houses. Not the best ideal thing, but I know we've got

[146:32.47] provisions to let those happen. My question was about the Greenway Trail

[146:36.73] connections, and I've pulled out the Ungap the Map section, and this particular

[146:41.50] property is one of those parts that is absolutely critical to

[146:47.29] connections to the south, down to Wilson's Creek and then on into downtown.

[146:51.88] To the east, Jordan Creek, I'm sorry, Wilson's Creek to the south, Jordan Creek to

[146:57.52] the east.

[146:59.29] The newly formed neighborhood association for Young Lily up through that part of

[147:04.18] the city, and then north all the way to the Frisco Trail.

[147:08.89] And to not have it on the preliminary plat just seems like the opportunity for us

[147:14.14] to miss the chance to have these in place.

[147:16.39] I know you said that the developer and their engineers said they would take care of

[147:19.81] that at the planning commission meeting, but is there any way to have that

[147:24.49] graphically identified on this preliminary plat?

[147:28.84] So I don't want to give you a definitive answer, but I would say that probably

[147:34.76] not because it isn't a requirement of the code, and the plat is reviewed against

[147:38.71] the specific requirements of the code and then approved or disapproved based on

[147:43.24] that. So the fact that there is a trail is something that staff can certainly

[147:47.17] advocate for and bring back to the discussion, but I'm not sure that there's a

[147:52.03] specific requirement that we can put on this preliminary plat.

[147:57.31] Thank you.

[147:59.29] Council Member Horton.

[148:00.85] Thank you, Mayor. This particular property had already been-- It came

[148:06.73] before city council for a rezoning request, correct?

[148:09.14] Correct.

[148:10.37] And we've already approved it, and this is just a ministerial action to accept

[148:16.24] the public streets and easements.

[148:18.61] Yes, ma'am. Correct.

[148:19.18] Okay. Thank you.

[148:22.72] Okay, one question. So keying off what Council Member Adi Yesnie said, has the

[148:27.55] developer or the owner, like, put in writing their intent to include the trail

[148:34.24] as something that could attach as an addendum?

[148:36.97] Not to my knowledge. I haven't seen anything in writing.

[148:39.97] But again, it's just been verbal commitments, and it's been part of the

[148:43.57] conversation around this location, this preliminary plat, and all the cycles that

[148:47.36] I've been involved in. This is the second renewal for this preliminary plat, and

[148:50.05] it's continually identified as a need.

[148:53.50] The topography over there is kind of tricky, so the exact alignment is going to

[148:58.03] be-- I think that's part of the reason why they're not willing to commit fully to

[149:01.90] it yet, is that the alignment is going to be pretty tricky to figure out where it

[149:05.08] goes over there.

[149:07.00] Thank you. Any other questions?

[149:11.08] Thank you. Does the clerk have any scheduled speakers?

[149:17.38] Yes, sir. Richard McLean.

[149:25.81] Good evening.

[149:27.07] Evening, sir.

[149:31.15] Mayor, Council, thank you for this opportunity to speak on this. I am Rick McLean.

[149:36.07] I've been a resident of this area for 33 and a half years next week.

[149:41.38] I've been in construction for over 30 years, retired from the military with 26

[149:45.37] years. This is the third time a COD has come up for approval for this lot in the

[149:50.08] past 10, 15 years. There are three points to consider.

[149:54.70] Safety at West Bypass and Grant. The West Grand Quarter, which on the third slide

[149:59.14] that staff put up, shows that the city has it plotted, but it's not built.

[150:04.54] And the Ozark Greenways, which has been mentioned, will have a permanently cut-off

[150:09.40] gap at the West Bypass. If you talk to any of the citizens in the area, they will

[150:14.32] probably say the same thing that I am if they knew that this was taking place.

[150:18.25] The COD District 28 requires a public street from K Point, Lombard, Suburban, and

[150:23.95] Grant at West Bypass. The staff

[150:26.80] report says the traffic counts are not available. I found them.

[150:31.36] The Missouri MoDOT says that there's likely to be a right in and right out at the

[150:37.30] street. Now, think what that's going to do at Grand, okay?

[150:41.50] For those who live on east of Grand.

[150:45.28] The MoDOT's public volume map that was found, and the destination and the traffic

[150:50.77] counts were found in Destination 2045.

[150:53.80] US 160,

[150:55.96] Grand, Farm Road 146, and MoDOT's 2025 count is seventeen thousand one hundred and

[151:00.91] eighty-eight vehicles a day, up 37% from 2020.

[151:05.38] Destination 2045, West Bypass

[151:09.19] at sixteen sixty-five. Sixteen thousand sixty-five against a capacity of seventeen

[151:14.20] thousand seventy-five. It's about 91% of capacity.

[151:17.86] What are we going to be doing with West Grand here in a few years?

[151:21.79] West Grand itself jumped from fifteen hundred and twenty-one vehicles in 2024 to

[151:26.75] nineteen hundred and eighty-seven vehicles in 2025.

[151:29.77] Part of that might have been because of the closure of the Sunshine Bridge.

[151:33.07] The stub that is being required to connect West Grand at Northwest Bypass, if you

[151:37.66] take northbound and west bypass, go to Mount Vernon at traffic times,

[151:43.57] the stacking lane is blocked, and northbound becomes one lane.

[151:48.34] The problem is geometry. A left turn across an expressway carrying seventeen

[151:51.97] thousand vehicles. Missouri State Highway Patrol lists several accidents that have

[151:58.00] been there, two injuries, and multiple deaths that have happened at Grand and also

[152:03.22] Farm Road 146. I have personally attended some of those accidents, and it will be

[152:08.74] permanently emblazoned on your mind when you see something like that happen.

[152:13.27] They don't have any traffic lights there.

[152:16.21] MoDOT says that they want to do a right in and a right out.

[152:20.71] The housing west of 160 already feed to Mount Vernon, Farm Road 146, and these

[152:26.32] intersection sections. Thirty-seven more new homes to two commercial lots, a new

[152:31.18] public street adding turning movements to an intersection that has already taken

[152:34.84] two lives. Don't accept these streets as a full movement until the counts of

[152:39.82] turning movements and crash numbers are included in the record.

[152:43.33] MoDOT's right in and right out finding without a signal will cause a grievance for

[152:47.02] those east of West Bypass and those

[152:52.36] west of West Bypass designed to make a left turn and go north.

[152:57.50] The plat, the greenway. This sits, which the council staff has already mentioned.

[153:02.80] This is going to cut off the greenway.

[153:05.53] Ozark Greenway is after the trail easement across Lot 36 and Lots 28 through 31.

[153:12.31] The city greenways and county already own multiple parcels.

[153:16.15] Farm Road 123, Icicle Lane, West Grand Wedge, Rutledge-Wilson Farm

[153:21.88] itself, the spur east of the bypass, and Overhill.

[153:26.02] Reserving these lots does not invent a corridor.

[153:30.97] It keeps the gap permanent, and the plat does not fund an access for these

[153:36.70] 37 lots.

[153:38.80] The acreage for usable park. You know, K Point has a park, but it's for K Point

[153:43.87] residents, and you have to pay to use it. Rutledge-Wilson has 207 acres.

[153:48.79] It closes at 5:00 PM.

[153:52.27] There isn't a park available for anyone in that area.

[153:55.72] Overhill Park is there, but have you ever been to Overhill Park?

[153:58.00] You can't use that. I have never seen anybody ever over there.

[154:02.35] Wilson Creek Greenway next to the farm is open from sunrise to sunset.

[154:06.49] That helps a walker. It has seven vehicle parking spaces.

[154:10.18] There's no pavilion, and they don't replace the neighborhood park with tables open

[154:15.43] from dawn to dusk. Young Lily has three picnic tables, no pavilion.

[154:19.54] There's no short walk to either one from K Point West, K Point Place, or the

[154:25.15] Westgate subdivision. There's actually a three-acre Westgate park right next to the

[154:29.47] neighborhood market. Sorry, I didn't look at the time.

[154:31.75] You're good, sir. Thank you so much for coming.

[154:36.25] Yeah, we have a question. Sir, just a second.

[154:37.91] There's a question from member of council.

[154:39.91] I'm interested in what else you have to say.

[154:42.07] If you

[154:43.63] can wrap up your statement.

[154:49.12] Safety is a big thing. If they put in a right in, right out at West Grand-

[154:55.21] Everybody that comes out of Grand headed west has to turn right.

[155:01.60] If you saw the traffic from Sunshine, that thing was packed way up over the

[155:07.48] top of the hill. If you see it at night at

[155:12.46] Mount Vernon, the traffic is backed up clear past the nursing home.

[155:16.48] There's not adequate signaling or capacity at those intersections for capacity

[155:22.27] or also for safety.

[155:27.10] That

[155:29.83] right turn, right in, right out, is going to sit well for the

[155:32.53] community, and this plat is going to

[155:38.44] tie into an existing sewer. And if you've ever seen that manhole cover right next

[155:43.57] to

[155:46.00] Will Fisher, that thing pops off, floods sewer all over the Wilson Creek.

[155:51.85] And then they put lye out there, and now they're going to tie in there.

[155:56.77] Somebody needs to address that sewer capacity that is there.

[156:03.40] I've looked up the developer. I don't have any confidence in this developer

[156:06.19] whatsoever.

[156:07.72] All right. Thank you.

[156:11.23] Thank you very much.

[156:15.13] Anna Grobe.

[156:20.02] Good evening.

[156:20.71] Good evening. Mayor and members of council, my name is Anna Grobe, and I am a

[156:26.68] concerned resident of the Young Lily Neighborhood Association that is directly

[156:31.63] affected by the proposed development.

[156:33.28] I'm speaking tonight in opposition to Council Bill 2026.207, which is

[156:39.22] item 19.9, I do believe, or 19.8, concerning the Kay Point Place Preliminary Plat.

[156:45.49] My opposition is not to responsible development.

[156:48.04] My concern is that council is being asked to approve the framework of this

[156:51.19] development before several safety-critical questions have actually been answered.

[156:55.72] First, traffic. The city's own staff reports a traffic study will not be required

[156:59.89] until prior to the final plat approval, and the traffic

[157:05.50] table provides no traffic counts, yet this plat establishes a public street

[157:09.97] connection to Grant Street at West Bypass.

[157:13.21] Most importantly, MoDOT has not approved the final access configuration.

[157:17.42] MoDOT specifically states that access will likely be limited to right in and right

[157:22.12] out because of the crash history at this location.

[157:24.94] That should be a major warning sign.

[157:26.38] Before this plat moves forward, council should see the traffic study, crash

[157:29.89] analysis, turning movements, queue lengths, and the exact MoDOT-approved access.

[157:35.29] Not receive those answers after the street framework has already been accepted.

[157:40.81] That analysis also needs to look beyond the property line.

[157:43.66] The development does not exist in a transportation vacuum.

[157:47.95] The traffic study should evaluate the cumulative effects on West Bypass Corridor,

[157:52.60] including Grand, West Bypass Mount Vernon, and West Bypass Chestnut Expressway, and

[157:56.80] West Bypass, as well as Farm Road 146 and Sunshine and West Bypass intersections to

[158:02.11] the south. We need to know where the additional traffic will actually go, whether

[158:06.34] the existing queues will worsen, whether drivers will divert through residential

[158:10.33] streets, and whether the proposed improvements are sufficient before, not after, we

[158:15.46] approve the development framework.

[158:16.84] Second, we have a once-in-a-generation greenway connectivity issue, as our greenway

[158:22.21] specifically recommends preserving a linear trail easement to Lot 36 and says

[158:26.56] constructing the connection during the initial development avoids the difficulty

[158:31.04] and expense of retrofitting it later.

[158:33.01] But the easement is not presently an approval condition.

[158:37.27] Once houses, fences, and utilities are built, that opportunity may be lost.

[158:42.13] Third, I have a serious stormwater and drainage concern.

[158:44.68] The city's own report states that the existing detention basins on the property

[158:48.46] currently serve Westwood Hills first and second additions, yet I do not see clearly

[158:52.78] identified replacement detention basins on the preliminary plat.

[158:56.12] The development will add substantial impervious surface on property containing

[159:01.33] Wilson's Creek floodplain and floodway, a required stream buffer to two known

[159:05.77] sinkholes, and a suspected intermittent spring.

[159:08.29] The report also states that the site will discharge to both known sinkholes before

[159:13.12] council accepts these streets and easements.

[159:15.88] We need clear engineering

[159:18.52] answer where will the stormwater be detained, what replaces the existing detention

[159:24.61] functions serving neighborhood subdivisions, and what prevents increased runoff,

[159:28.42] flooding, erosion, and unsafe discharge into these karst features.

[159:32.77] Therefore, I respectfully ask council not to approve Bill 2026.207 tonight.

[159:38.68] At minimum, require the completed traffic and crash study, written MoDOT access

[159:43.09] approval, enforceable greenway easement preservation, a documented detention and

[159:48.04] drainage plan that protects the neighboring subdivisions' floodplain and stormwater

[159:52.27] verification sinkhole, and geotechnical evaluation, and confirm a compliant

[159:56.92] emergency access before approval proceeds.

[159:59.74] Development can occur, but it should occur only after we can demonstrate that

[160:03.82] transportation system, neighboring resident emergency access, Greenway Network, and

[160:08.92] Wilson Creek's watershed are being protected.

[160:11.68] Please vote no tonight and require these

[160:14.83] questions to be answered first. Thank you.

[160:17.86] Thank you. If you hold on a second, I think there's some questions.

[160:20.02] Council Member Jensen?

[160:21.10] Yeah.

[160:21.58] Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Ms. Grobe, thank you.

[160:23.92] My question is more for staff, but the second

[160:28.75] council member's questions may be for you.

[160:32.11] I don't need an answer now. I understand our function as ministerial or

[160:37.45] administrative whenever we're approving plats.

[160:41.26] When I look at the review criteria, item G states, "The design does not impede

[160:47.15] the construction of anticipated or planned future public infrastructure." When

[160:52.24] we're talking about a greenway trail system, it would seem that requiring the

[160:56.98] dedication of easements is necessary to ensure that

[161:03.04] we are able to do the very well-documented planned public improvements.

[161:08.56] So if you could research why we're not allowed to require an easement for the trail

[161:14.11] system as part of this preliminary plat, I would appreciate it, because that seems

[161:18.93] to be clear grounds for an ability to deny this even as an administrative

[161:24.34] consideration.

[161:25.31] We'll get you an answer on that.

[161:26.56] Thank you. Council Member TeBese.

[161:29.29] Thank you, Mayor, and not a question for you again, so thank you very much.

[161:33.40] You may sit down. Thank you.

[161:34.34] Thank you.

[161:37.42] Following that

[161:39.31] conversation, I heard Councilwoman Horton say, "Is this a preliminary plat that's

[161:43.24] already been approved once and is now coming back for an extension, or is this a

[161:47.65] new preliminary plat?"

[161:53.26] This is a renewal of a previously approved preliminary plat.

[161:55.99] Okay. Thank you.

[161:59.35] Other questions?

[162:02.11] Other speakers?

[162:03.88] No, sir.

[162:04.48] Public hearing is declared closed. City Council will vote on September 21st.

[162:10.51] We will now begin petitions, remonstrances, and communications.

[162:13.63] Here are a few reminders of our ground rules. Please adhere to the time restraints.

[162:18.61] Remember, this is a time for council members to hear residents' comments.

[162:22.63] Please make your comments to city council only and not to staff or any other member

[162:26.74] of the audience. The time allotted for your comments will be reflected on the

[162:30.25] display screen at the front of the room.

[162:32.32] Please observe the rules of civility and decorum, or you may forfeit your right to

[162:36.04] address us this evening. Ms. Cotter, please call the first speaker.

[162:41.41] Tanya Claiborne.

[162:46.39] Good evening.

[162:47.62] Good evening, Mayor and Council members. I'm Tanya Claiborne.

[162:51.34] I'm a resident of the West Side. Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you

[162:55.48] about data centers. Despite the

[163:01.00] attempted marketing campaign at the recent community engagement sessions, the

[163:05.77] people overwhelmingly and emphatically do not want data centers within the city

[163:10.66] limits of Springfield. City after city has banned data centers.

[163:14.86] For example, the community of Peculiar, Missouri, banned data centers and has

[163:19.93] experienced nothing but growth since.

[163:23.65] Data centers are wanted only by those who stand to profit from such ventures.

[163:29.47] There is no adequate compensation that developers could offer for destroying our

[163:35.08] way of life. In the engagement sessions, we did learn a lot about what city

[163:40.57] officials don't know. The repeated theme was something to the effect of, "We

[163:46.60] don't know enough to properly regulate such a facility.

[163:50.59] It would depend on that particular project." As an example, we were initially told

[163:56.20] that the proposed rezoning of 2900 South National Avenue to allow for a veterinary

[164:01.90] clinic would not allow for a data center to go into that location.

[164:06.52] But when pressed by audience members, the presenter acknowledged

[164:10.34] That there are many unanswered questions about what a CMX-2 zoning

[164:16.46] will and won't allow. He begrudgingly admitted that a data center is still within

[164:21.41] the possibility that could be allowed under zoning, although not presently under

[164:26.33] consideration. Of course, I will address this with planning and zoning on Thursday,

[164:31.13] and I will ask clarification for the city manager's remarks tonight.

[164:35.60] As far as I am aware, a working definition of a data center has not even been

[164:40.91] established by the city. Mere racks of servers that only require

[164:46.82] air cooling do not compare to potentially massive or incredibly densely packed

[164:52.85] centers that require water cooling to supposedly prevent fires and other

[164:58.88] catastrophic events. So I offer you this working definition for the level of

[165:04.88] data center that we should not allow in or near the city limits.

[165:09.65] That would be any such facility large enough or dense enough to require

[165:15.47] water cooling. When you add the need for water cooling, you get

[165:20.60] into significant unknowns about safety and utility usage.

[165:27.74] I had a little bit more, but I see I only had three minutes instead of five.

[165:32.45] Basically, you need to listen to the people.

[165:34.97] It was very clear

[165:37.73] at those listening sessions that the people don't want data centers.

[165:41.78] If you dismiss this, you do so at your personal political peril, as well as risk

[165:47.18] economic consequences through boycott of any business with which you are

[165:51.35] associated. Remember-

[165:53.99] We had an error on the time, so you've got your full time.

[165:57.35] Okay.

[165:57.84] So I'm sorry to interrupt you.

[165:59.75] Okay. All right. Remember, an entire city council in Festus, Missouri, was thrown

[166:05.66] out for green-lighting a data center project. We will hold you accountable.

[166:11.21] Do the right thing. Ban data centers now.

[166:14.45] Since I have more time, I'm going to go back to some items that I skipped.

[166:19.94] Again, it was clear from the presenters at the engagement sessions that they don't

[166:25.58] have sufficient information to say that data centers would be safe in our city or

[166:30.74] our neighborhoods. I have personally heard from several community members that say

[166:36.50] that they want an all-out ban on data centers here in Springfield.

[166:40.49] We will not waver on that. Short of an immediate ban,

[166:45.23] we need to at least significantly extend the moratorium.

[166:49.26] I was glad to hear tonight that that is being considered.

[166:52.52] 120 days, though,

[166:55.67] might be sufficient enough to present a marketing campaign to the people, but it is

[167:00.86] not even close to enough time to truly evaluate the safety of such centers.

[167:05.96] The moratorium needs to be extended at a minimum to an additional 12 months.

[167:12.02] This time should be used to understand the true impact on safety and quality of

[167:17.99] life and not to insult the public with more marketing.

[167:22.14] The people have spoken loud and clear, but you must listen.

[167:26.52] The beauty of the Ozarks and the accompanying outdoor recreation are key reasons

[167:31.85] that people want to live here. Instead, data centers offer a polluted environment,

[167:36.89] nosediving property values, and a skyrocketing increase in the cost of living.

[167:41.99] And we all know those large load users of utilities

[167:47.63] have the resources to fight higher rates and penalties rather than have to

[167:53.51] pay them. So I ask you all to do the right thing once again.

[167:57.68] Thank you very much. Next speaker.

[168:01.22] Jackson Priest.

[168:10.61] Good evening.

[168:11.42] Hello, good evening. Hi, my name is Jackson Priest. I'm a Springfield resident.

[168:16.49] I live at 3915 South Gatlin Court on the south side of town by Cox South,

[168:22.19] and I'm very passionate about the Ozarks, the James River, and local angling

[168:26.54] opportunities. And I'm here today to speak against the closure of the tailwater

[168:30.77] access at Lake Springfield,

[168:33.38] and I'm advocating that the city explore options to reopen that fishing access.

[168:38.48] So a little bit about me. I'm a graduate of Missouri State University.

[168:42.14] There, I worked for Dr. Barnhart in his malacology lab, and we worked frequently on

[168:45.89] the James River, grabbing river water and clams and mussels.

[168:49.76] We use the Joe Crichton access a lot.

[168:52.46] After graduation, I now work in the public health field.

[168:55.40] And as part of my role, I take water quality samples frequently from the Shelton

[168:58.73] Rock Access and the Delaware Town Access to inform recreational water users of E.

[169:03.38] coli concentrations, and so they can make informed decisions about safely

[169:07.10] interacting with our water. So, and in my personal life, I am a father and an avid

[169:11.70] angler, and I frequently take my daughter floating and fishing on streams

[169:14.66] throughout the Ozarks, including most often the James River, because it is so close

[169:18.20] to home. So, and if I ever get the itch to catch a fish, which happens quite often,

[169:23.39] I will say, the place I go is the tailwater access to Lake Springfield.

[169:27.75] It's the closest spot I can grab a chair and just sit down and enjoy fishing on the

[169:31.70] James River. So suffice it to say, I'm a huge fan of the James River and public

[169:36.56] access to it, both professionally and privately. And I was surprised... Excuse me.

[169:43.34] I don't public speak a lot, sorry. I was surprised and dismayed last week when I

[169:47.06] visited the tailwater access like I always do, and found it closed.

[169:50.51] There was a sign on the gate that said you could call and ask for access, and I

[169:54.80] figured maybe they're doing improvements or pumping out the vault toilet there or

[169:58.37] something. So I called and they told me it was now indefinitely closed to public

[170:02.36] access due to security concerns. They said they were having issues with drug use

[170:05.99] and people doing burnouts down there with their cars, which I don't dispute.

[170:09.65] I've seen the tire marks and everything down there.

[170:12.23] They also suggested it might've been due to the tragedy on June 14th, where those

[170:17.21] folks drowned. So I didn't really know what to do, and I was pretty let down and

[170:22.32] heartbroken, and so I went and posted on Facebook and I started a petition, which I

[170:27.47] think maybe got some negative comments that I didn't expect, and I apologize to any

[170:31.34] staff or anybody that that affected. I didn't realize how that was going to go.

[170:35.60] But eventually the news did pick it up and CE released a statement saying that it

[170:39.47] was due to that tragedy.

[170:42.38] They said that the dam meets all current safety requirements, but they were

[170:45.74] installing additional signage above to alert boaters and kayakers to the present

[170:49.16] danger, but they were going to indefinitely close the tailwater access

[170:54.26] due to those safety considerations and security concerns.

[170:57.23] And I understand that there are certainly issues there.

[170:59.57] Low water dams are extremely dangerous, and there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

[171:03.41] People did drown there. But I don't downplay those risks or any struggles in

[171:09.14] managing the site with funding and things for police response.

[171:12.50] But I just feel that there are options out there that should be explored to reopen

[171:16.43] that and keep it safe for the public.

[171:18.71] For example,

[171:21.20] they are putting signage above the dam.

[171:22.67] I feel like if that's enough to reduce liability and to increase safety, then it

[171:27.14] should be enough below the dam as well to produce some signage to put up.

[171:31.49] Alternatively, places at like Powersite Dam have lines painted on the side of the

[171:35.21] dam wall that says, "Do not cross. No trespassing." So that you do not go too close

[171:39.59] and get entrained in the undercurrent there, and things like that.

[171:44.03] So,

[171:45.89] and I believe, of course, now that there is a gate, they can close that at night,

[171:49.01] like they do at the boathouse, and things like that to cut down on those negative

[171:51.50] uses. Or if they put traffic barriers to cut down on burnouts, so you couldn't spin

[171:55.58] your car around as much. So, I just feel that there are options out there that

[172:00.62] should be explored in a public way.

[172:02.51] We should have maybe meetings with city utilities and the parks board and you guys

[172:06.98] and public stakeholders that could come together and try and find a resolution that

[172:10.55] works for everybody. Because I'm really disappointed I can't go fishing.

[172:13.25] I know it's kind of small potatoes and whatever compared to some of the stuff folks

[172:17.00] are dealing with. But it's really valuable to me.

[172:19.94] I think the tailwater access is a valuable asset to the Springfield community.

[172:23.09] And it does provide unique angling opportunities, such as paddlefish.

[172:27.62] They run up to the dam and get stuck there, and people snag paddlefish there, and

[172:30.47] it's a big fishery. That's very unique to our area, and it's difficult to get that

[172:34.70] anywhere else near Springfield. And I just really enjoy going out there and having

[172:39.05] a nice cold iced Coca-Cola and sitting in my chair and catching some panfish and I

[172:42.98] don't know, I'm just really disappointed I'm not there fishing tonight.

[172:45.41] I'm here instead. So yeah. So I think it's a great loss for the public, and I

[172:49.94] believe that there are possible solutions to balance safety, security, and public

[172:53.81] access. And I hope that as civic leaders, you guys can facilitate those

[172:57.23] conversations, and hopefully we can have something productive and get us back

[173:01.79] fishing, but in a safe way. And again, I totally understand there are safety

[173:05.21] concerns, and I want to make sure those are addressed. But I want to fish too.

[173:08.21] So, I appreciate your time, and thank you so much for your leadership.

[173:12.26] Thank you. There's a question. Councilmember Adebiyi.

[173:14.69] Yeah. Thank you, Mayor. Thanks for coming out tonight, Jackson.

[173:18.05] Yeah. Thank you.

[173:19.07] I think that you said this is small potatoes compared to maybe some other things

[173:23.42] that we're dealing with or talking about, but quality of life things like having a

[173:29.27] place to go fish like that,

[173:31.76] and the variety of kinds of things that can happen at a tailwater versus on the

[173:35.48] lake versus from a pier on a dock-

[173:38.30] Yes

[173:38.45] ... a completely different scenario for a lot of different people, and I see a lot

[173:42.14] of people using that facility. I just appreciate you coming out tonight and saying

[173:45.14] your piece about that.

[173:46.01] Yeah, thank you. And I don't want to steal any more time, but I did also start a

[173:49.25] petition, and I've got over 1,000 signatures that people are asking to see you to

[173:53.24] have that conversation. So, I don't know if I can get those recorded or anything.

[173:56.60] I don't know if that's something you could help me with just for the public record

[173:59.57] of these names, but okay.

[174:01.13] Yeah. Please give that to the clerk. Thank you very much.

[174:07.67] Yes,

[174:08.99] thank you.

[174:12.53] Next speaker, please.

[174:14.87] Kimberly Atkins.

[174:20.06] Next speaker, please.

[174:23.93] Michael Underwood.

[174:31.64] Good evening.

[174:32.93] Hello, City Council, Mayor. So my name is Mike Underwood, and I live in the

[174:38.45] southeast corner of Springfield, Zone 4. And I've lived here for about 10 years.

[174:43.19] I'm a transplant, so I made the choice to come here.

[174:46.88] I think there's a lot of great reasons why I did that.

[174:49.70] I look at Springfield, and it has a great value proposition, right?

[174:53.00] You have a low cost of living. There's a lot to do. I love going downtown.

[174:57.98] I love C Street. I love going to Pickwick and Cherry, having a taco, having a beer.

[175:03.26] And I absolutely love our Greenway trails. Ozark Greenways does a fantastic job.

[175:07.85] So I think about when I'm riding my bike, and I'm on the Fulbright Springs

[175:11.99] Greenway, and I see that mural that says, "The future is bright,"

[175:16.31] that's how I feel about Springfield.

[175:18.68] The future is bright. This is a city that is going places.

[175:22.34] We have a bright future, but we have this cloud.

[175:26.09] To me, that cloud is the Flock security system that we've seen pop up all around

[175:30.69] the country, and in Springfield, in the past year, it just kind of popped up out of

[175:35.36] nowhere. One of the things that really concerns me about that is that right now,

[175:39.74] with the Flock security cameras, we have mass surveillance in Springfield, in

[175:45.65] our little town. And not just mass surveillance, but mass surveillance that's

[175:50.93] controlled by a private company. That's a black box.

[175:54.56] That's not something transparent.

[175:56.00] It's not something that has to report to any of us.

[175:58.58] It's just something that we have to trust.

[176:01.10] So, our cars are recorded, and yeah, maybe they're just taking pictures of our

[176:06.08] license plates. But, if you listen to Flock, they'll say, "Well, we're just taking

[176:11.03] a snapshot. We're taking a snapshot."

[176:14.66] But, if you take enough snapshots, you can link those together, and you end up with

[176:19.76] a correlation. You are seeing where citizens are going throughout their day.

[176:25.43] If you stack that, and you think about weeks and months, what you're looking at are

[176:29.36] patterns of movement of citizens.

[176:33.26] Privacy is something we don't have as much as we used to.

[176:36.77] It always seems like it's getting eroded. We have our cell phones.

[176:41.30] Yeah, I use social media. I have Google, I have Facebook, all these things.

[176:44.54] I opt into those. There's a little trade. I'm going to get some kind of value.

[176:49.28] You're going to try to sell me some stuff. That's the rub of it, right?

[176:52.16] We like our technology. I can't opt out of stepping outside and going to get

[176:56.75] groceries. I can't opt out of getting on my bike, enjoying the Greenway trails.

[177:02.78] I'm opted in, and I have no choice. And that's what the rest of Springfield is, I

[177:07.13] think, dealing with right now. And I think for most of Springfield, they just don't

[177:11.81] know it. So that's why I'm here tonight, just to talk about these Flock security

[177:16.73] cameras and basically say we don't need Flock in Springfield.

[177:20.69] And not just that, we don't need mass surveillance in Springfield.

[177:23.87] I believe that everyone here is trying to do the right thing.

[177:26.87] I believe that Springfield Police Department is trying to do the right thing.

[177:30.08] But I believe in police doing policing, not private companies coming into our city

[177:35.51] to try to sell us a system to do it for us.

[177:39.56] I've been a software developer for nearly 20 years, and so I know the industry

[177:44.40] pretty well. And there's no system out there that is completely secure.

[177:49.58] There's a gradient, right? Safety.

[177:53.00] These systems are safer, some are less safe, but there's no such thing as 100% safe

[177:58.97] system. So we have all this public data that's tracking us, and it's going into

[178:04.13] some system that we don't have access to, and we have no idea what's going to

[178:08.18] happen if that gets leaked out. We don't know how long that data is being retained.

[178:13.13] Flock might say they take a snapshot and only keep it for a month.

[178:16.70] They might get rid of the footage. Let's say we take their word for it, and they

[178:19.82] get rid of the footage, but they're recording a lot of data about our movements.

[178:23.57] So that data they extrapolate, those are valuable insights. Where do those go?

[178:29.00] Who do they sell that data to?

[178:31.58] That's a big question.

[178:33.74] And I don't think we have answers for it.

[178:35.78] So, kind of in summation, I don't blame anybody at City Council.

[178:39.86] I don't blame anybody with the Springfield Police Department.

[178:43.31] But I think we have to look at this past year and look at what we're learning about

[178:48.08] Flock cameras all around the country and go, we have more information now,

[178:53.87] so we need to reevaluate and say, is this the right thing for Springfield?

[178:58.34] Is it the right thing to give up so much privacy just for this modicum of

[179:04.34] security, if you could even call it that?

[179:07.43] So I'm calling on you guys to cancel our contract with Flock.

[179:11.54] I don't think we need this in Springfield.

[179:13.07] We have seen other municipalities around the country, even close by, our neighbors

[179:17.39] in Bolivar, Flock's gone. They have bags over the cameras, and they're working

[179:20.78] right now to get out of their contract.

[179:22.73] If other places can do it, I think we can look at what we know now and say, this is

[179:27.44] not right for Springfield, and let's end mass surveillance and cancel our contract

[179:32.96] with Flock. Thank you, City Council. Mayor.

[179:35.21] Thank you very much. Hold on a second for a question. Councilmember Jensen.

[179:38.33] Yeah, Mr. Underwood. I just want to thank you for being here tonight and sharing

[179:42.08] your thoughts. I'll note that there are, I believe, several people after you

[179:45.65] intending to speak on the same thing.

[179:47.45] So, I just wanted to share that these concerns relate to concerns that have been

[179:52.43] brought to council for several months now.

[179:55.79] I've met with several folks who brought these types of concerns forward, and I've

[180:00.62] prepared a resolution that's going to be on our following City Council

[180:06.41] meeting agenda, September 21st. A copy of that resolution is available at the City

[180:11.48] Clerk's desk there for anybody that would like to view a copy of it, but it

[180:15.71] requests disclosure on the types of data that's collected, who has

[180:21.41] access to that data, the information security

[180:26.72] protections surrounding that data, how the city communicates both in terms of

[180:32.57] its contract with Flock, disclosing a bunch of that information,

[180:38.24] and then also requests information about what public safety benefits the use of

[180:43.73] this technology is actually providing, as well as an analysis of

[180:50.12] recent legal decisions, recent trends in municipalities.

[180:54.56] So it requests all of that data to come back to us by March 1 of '27.

[181:00.83] So I hope that's responsive to your concerns, and I would encourage the other folks

[181:06.35] listed tonight to come up and grab this and see if it's responsive to your

[181:10.01] concerns. Of course, you can still speak tonight if you would want to, but there

[181:15.77] will be an opportunity at our next council meeting to share your thoughts on the

[181:19.73] proposal.

[181:21.35] Thank you very much.

[181:22.43] Thank you.

[181:24.26] Next speaker.

[181:26.12] Thomas Hunt.

[181:38.48] Good evening.

[181:39.56] Good evening, Mayor, and good evening, council members. My name is Thomas Hunt.

[181:44.36] I've lived in Springfield for virtually all of my adult life. And like Mr.

[181:48.71] Underwood, I am here to speak on the subject of automated license plate reader

[181:53.27] cameras, popularly known as Flock cameras.

[181:56.76] And Councilmember Jensen, I appreciate your resolution.

[181:59.99] I'm going to go ahead and give the rest of my speech.

[182:04.52] These cameras are sold by a variety of names to local governments.

[182:08.12] It's not just Flock. And there are dozens of these cameras in Springfield at

[182:14.06] major intersections throughout downtown and along a lot of high-traffic city

[182:18.02] streets My speaking time is limited here, so I'm going to cut straight to my point.

[182:22.73] These mass surveillance devices have no place in our community.

[182:27.47] As an American, they represent a violation of our constitutional right to

[182:32.54] privacy and our right to live free from unreasonable government searches.

[182:38.57] Our tax dollars should not be spent to build an apparatus that forces every citizen

[182:43.22] to be recorded whenever they are out in public.

[182:46.91] We've been told that these cameras exist for our safety and for our protection, but

[182:51.17] that does not seem to be the case. These cameras have led directly to false

[182:54.98] accusations against multiple innocent people throughout the country, often

[182:59.81] involving police detaining them at gunpoint.

[183:03.08] To make things worse, there are dozens of documented incidents of police officers

[183:07.55] abusing these surveillance cameras to observe and harass their ex-wives, their

[183:12.23] ex-girlfriends, or even just ordinary people going about their lives.

[183:16.64] A USA Today article on August 28th of this year went into great detail about it,

[183:21.62] and a cursory web search will turn up incident, after incident, after incident

[183:26.39] where ordinary, innocent people had their lives upended by the way these cameras

[183:31.13] are constantly watching us.

[183:34.40] To make things worse, the companies that make these devices refuse any measure of

[183:39.26] accountability themselves. The Flock Corporation recently changed their internal

[183:44.66] software to prevent public scrutiny of search logs.

[183:48.44] The Flock Corporation recently held a so-called public conference in Florida, and

[183:54.05] then they denied access to journalists.

[183:57.08] Notably, Flock CEO Garrett Langley publicly complained when his home address was

[184:02.33] revealed on social media. These companies want every American to live under

[184:08.09] constant surveillance, but they will not allow anyone to hold them to

[184:13.97] any standard of behavior, thus ensuring that the abuse of these devices

[184:19.67] will continue.

[184:22.85] Today, I have nothing to hide from the government and certainly nothing to hide

[184:27.02] from you all on City Council.

[184:30.14] But laws change, and governments change, and the freedoms we treasure as Americans

[184:35.54] today to speak as we see fit, and to protest as we see fit, and to worship as we

[184:40.97] see fit,

[184:42.83] they can come under attack tomorrow by people who wish to destroy our way of life.

[184:48.62] I hope that you good people on City Council will do the right thing to protect our

[184:53.03] community and terminate the use of these mass surveillance devices at the earliest

[184:57.83] possible opportunity. Thank you all for allowing me to speak.

[185:02.18] Thank you very much.

[185:04.61] Next speaker, please.

[185:05.60] Thomas Hammond.

[185:14.27] Good evening.

[185:16.07] Hello, Mayor, City Council. My name is Thomas Hammond.

[185:20.60] I live at 1716 South Lancaster Avenue, and I am here on behalf of Springfield Devs

[185:26.15] and their board to share our unanimous opinion on the presence of Flock Safety

[185:30.05] surveillance devices within our city.

[185:33.62] Springfield Devs is a non-profit professional organization that has been operating

[185:37.79] in Springfield for seven years. We proudly claim over 170 members, and we are

[185:43.01] sponsored by many of the largest tech employers in the city.

[185:46.67] We serve the broader community with the goal to educate, inspire, and support

[185:50.21] developers in the greater Springfield area.

[185:53.03] And it's because we care about technology and our greater community that we feel

[185:57.53] compelled to state that Flock Safety represents a great risk to the members of our

[186:02.06] community. I want to reiterate that this is not a political position.

[186:06.95] This is our professional opinion.

[186:09.77] Simply put, at its most generous evaluation, Flock Safety represents a serious

[186:14.42] potential hazard, not just to Springfield citizens, but to any travelers within our

[186:19.15] city as well. Our concerns focus around two main places, the type of information

[186:23.84] being collected, and the inadequate security in storing that information.

[186:29.21] Flock Safety gathers information about your physical location and travel habits

[186:33.17] through the use of an ALPR, or automatic license plate reader.

[186:38.00] Despite the name, they also gather information like the make, model, color, or

[186:42.47] anyone standing on the street nearby, for that matter.

[186:46.25] Information of a person's physical whereabouts is directly tied to that person's

[186:51.11] safety. If a bad actor gains access to this data, they could track the

[186:56.80] daily habits and routines of much of our city.

[187:00.13] They could follow people of interest, whether it be politicians or personal

[187:03.41] acquaintances, and they could target individuals if they can figure out when they

[187:06.98] would be less likely to be home, and even track the movements of law enforcement.

[187:11.96] We have seen this play out as there have been numerous documented cases of bad

[187:16.01] actors using Flock cameras to stalk women, for instance.

[187:20.48] The issue is made even more urgent by their incredibly dangerous lack of security.

[187:25.72] There are over 50 confirmed cybersecurity vulnerabilities discovered with Flock

[187:30.35] cameras. Most concerning among them is that anyone who can physically touch these

[187:35.69] cameras can activate hidden Wi-Fi networks that would allow them to log into the

[187:41.00] camera itself. Or if you prefer to be quicker, anyone with a step stool and a $5

[187:46.88] flash drive could be capable of extracting dangerous information from

[187:52.91] these cameras and fleeing the scene. This is not hyperbole.

[187:58.12] I wouldn't trust them with my Netflix password, let alone my physical location.

[188:03.80] Many municipalities have come to realize that these aren't security gaps, they are

[188:08.00] security canyons. Places as close to home as Willard, Bolivar, and Pulaski

[188:13.70] County have chosen to remove Flock from their communities.

[188:17.90] As the Tech Times noted on June 29th of this year, more than 53 municipalities

[188:22.64] across 20 states have terminated or rejected contracts with the Atlanta-based

[188:27.59] company, citing data sharing violations, unauthorized federal access, and a pattern

[188:33.02] of surveillance that operated well beyond what cities were told they had signed up

[188:37.37] for. In summary, we have seen a growing pattern of Flock Safety

[188:42.92] gathering dangerous information and failing to secure it.

[188:47.51] By unanimous approval of the board of Springfield Devs, we urge the city to suspend

[188:51.71] its contract and remove cameras until our citizens can be completely sure that they

[188:56.36] promote safety instead of degrade it.

[188:58.90] I have also prepared a packet filled with sources and additional information to

[189:03.38] support my claims, if anyone in City Council would be interested. Thank you.

[189:07.91] Thank you. If you get that to the clerk, she'll disseminate that to the rest of us.

[189:11.63] Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.

[189:17.21] Raylee Crockett.

[189:30.11] Good evening.

[189:31.28] Hello. Is this loud enough? Okay. Hi, my name is Raylee, and I live on the north

[189:37.13] side. I'm a proud fourth-generation Springfieldian.

[189:40.31] My mom, my grandma, and her parents live life here, maintain a shared sentiment

[189:45.26] that Springfield they grew up in was full of life, community, and simpler times.

[189:49.07] People used to have trust in each other. People used to respect authority.

[189:52.72] They used to trust the police. These are sentiments I hear all the time.

[189:56.12] Flock Safety claims that the AI-powered cameras do not have facial recognition

[189:59.75] capabilities, but only track vehicle-related data.

[190:03.10] These claims might have been enough for the Springfield Police Department to become

[190:06.28] a customer and install 52 and counting Flock cameras in the city, but it is not

[190:10.76] enough for me. Why? There's too many cases of misuse and abuse in the supposedly

[190:15.71] secure system. An Ohio officer pleaded guilty to stalking an ex-girlfriend by using

[190:20.96] Flock camera systems to look up information on her.

[190:24.20] A Michigan officer pleaded guilty of using the systems to look up home addresses of

[190:28.07] women he found attractive, and two Miami-Dade officers found guilty of running

[190:32.66] checks on a journalist after he aired unflattering stories about the department.

[190:36.65] Something I'm sure many of our parents and grandparents also told us growing up

[190:40.37] was, if you did nothing wrong, then you have nothing to worry about.

[190:43.70] But just like it stated on the Defuck website, just because you're not doing

[190:47.00] anything wrong today doesn't mean that you won't be watched tomorrow.

[190:50.72] Just like these ALPRs have given us countless evidence of various forms of misuse

[190:54.83] and abuse, ALPRs are also not immune to having faulty tracking and dangerous

[191:00.47] errors. So was the case for a San Franciscan woman that was pulled out of her car

[191:05.09] at gunpoint because of an ALPR error, or for the Black woman and her children that

[191:09.62] were handcuffed and held at gunpoint by the Aurora, Colorado Police after a license

[191:14.09] plate reader misidentified her car as a stolen vehicle.

[191:18.41] It also wasn't the case in a lawsuit involving deputies in California after a false

[191:23.00] ALPR hit led to guns out traffic stop of a California privacy activist.

[191:28.15] And it certainly wasn't the case for a Denver woman that had to prove her innocence

[191:32.24] after detectives relied on Flock cameras to pin a $25 package theft on her.

[191:37.28] As history has shown, when governments or third parties gain unchecked surveillance

[191:41.48] powers, they're eventually used against people who weren't doing anything wrong

[191:45.32] until someone decided they were. Almost exactly a year ago, President Trump signed

[191:51.05] the National Security Presidential Memorandum 7.

[191:53.93] It's a directive that says that the government should use its law enforcement

[191:57.08] resources to focus on domestic terrorist organizations.

[192:01.19] On the official White House website, this coined term, domestic terrorist ideology,

[192:05.69] could include anti-capitalist views, people who have extreme views on race and

[192:10.01] gender and immigration, and even people who are opposed to what the directive

[192:13.82] described as traditional teachings on marriage and family.

[192:17.53] This is not the America I believe in.

[192:19.70] This is not the America that the Constitution supports.

[192:23.33] Flock cameras go arm in arm with enabling these infringements on our constitutional

[192:27.17] rights and liberties. We should be able to go about our lives and live in our

[192:30.86] cities without fear of being tracked and watched, accused and abused by third-party

[192:34.76] supplied AI cameras. Police have long used LPRs without the need for these new

[192:38.99] outsourced sketchy Flock cameras.

[192:40.94] Personally, I'd like Springfield to join the growing list of cities canceling

[192:44.42] contracts with Flock and all other surveillance companies that come after.

[192:49.61] I believe they call them Flock cameras because they see us as sheep.

[192:53.85] This isn't about if you're on the left or the right.

[192:56.58] It's about not standing by to be herded and taken as a fool, as you're seeing

[193:01.83] injustice happen left and right. If we have to respect the law, I would hope that

[193:06.09] those in power and authority would want to do the same.

[193:09.27] I believe that the Springfield I am generationally connected to is better than

[193:13.11] this, and I will not be complacent as these shady mass surveillance companies

[193:17.19] infiltrate our city. Neither should you.

[193:21.30] Thank you very much. Next speaker.

[193:23.76] Alice Prager.

[193:35.28] Good evening.

[193:36.21] Good evening. My name is Alice. I have lived in Springfield for the majority of my

[193:42.27] life, and I would like to address some concerns about these Flock safety cameras.

[193:48.57] As a citizen of this community, I find it to be unfair and unconstitutional to have

[193:53.01] put these cameras up in the first place without public knowledge or vote.

[193:56.94] We deserve to have a say in the devices that are tracking our patterns.

[194:00.89] They're proposed as license plate readers, but they're not only being used in that

[194:04.41] manner. There are safety and security concerns regarding Flock.

[194:09.12] Misuse of the database has already occurred in various places.

[194:13.08] The EFF has conducted research and found evidence of agencies using the database to

[194:18.45] conduct hundreds of searches related to political demonstrations, like the Hands

[194:24.36] Off, No Kings 5051. Let's see. Mm.

[194:31.50] And then in October, they obtained documents showing that an agency in Texas

[194:35.52] investigated a case regarding an abortion, and they were given access to over

[194:39.24] 83,000 cameras across the United States.

[194:42.99] This is public surveillance and an attack on our privacy.

[194:47.04] Flock has come out with other devices like Condor cameras and microphones, and this

[194:52.83] is just a very slippery slope into a mass surveillance.

[194:57.39] We do not want adjustments or guidelines for these cameras.

[195:01.38] We want them out of Springfield completely. Thank you.

[195:04.50] Thank you. Next speaker, please.

[195:07.71] Sam Schwartz.

[195:21.47] Good evening.

[195:28.05] Hey, good evening. Thank you so much for having me, and thank you for your role

[195:34.02] in that report coming out. I'm so excited to hear that there's going to be research

[195:38.73] being done. I am worried that March is a pretty long way away.

[195:43.50] I understand this is a long process, but like someone said, Bolivar has canceled

[195:48.69] theirs pretty quickly. I heard about it being in discussions, and then it was done.

[195:55.29] I have been here before, you may remember, and I will be again until the contract

[195:59.58] is cut, maybe unfortunately on both of our ends, but that is what that is.

[196:04.23] I've only heard about these cameras for the past year, and if I'm remembering

[196:07.86] correctly, when I first heard of them, there was about 80,000 in the country, and

[196:11.73] now there's 120,000. That is a big jump in not a whole lot of time.

[196:18.39] I've shared stories of abuses here before, and I have another one to share today.

[196:24.48] You've heard many from me and from other folks.

[196:26.82] There are more than any of us will ever be able to share with the time we have

[196:29.49] here.

[196:31.83] I don't know when it's going to be bad enough or close enough.

[196:35.01] If it was to happen in Springfield, would that be enough to call it now?

[196:39.54] 200 miles away in Lenexa, Kansas, there was a journalist that wrote an article

[196:44.22] criticizing their local police department.

[196:46.41] Around the same time, there was somebody putting up posters talking about ICE and

[196:51.78] the way they were harming the community.

[196:53.91] And their police department decided to connect those two for maybe reasons that

[196:59.43] were using the Flock cameras and tracking things like his shoes,

[197:04.95] seemingly. But they started this really large, legally questionable manhunt for

[197:10.95] him, and the chief of police had told his force that he has only been seen

[197:16.92] on the cameras wearing this one pair of shoes. I'm a little confused.

[197:20.49] If these can only pick up license plates, why two and a half hours away, they're

[197:24.84] saying that you can use it to watch someone's shoes?

[197:28.53] That doesn't sit super right with me.

[197:32.40] The American Civil Liberties Union explains three stages of the abuse that we keep

[197:36.24] seeing. One, target someone who the authorities dislike but have no evidence has

[197:41.66] done anything wrong. Two, fire up powerful surveillance technologies that have been

[197:46.17] sold to the public as a way to stop serious dramatic crimes and keep the public

[197:50.34] safe. Three, use those technologies to watch the

[197:56.04] disenfranchised person in the hopes of drumming up something that they can be

[197:59.31] charged with, even to the point of scraping the bottom of the barrel and going

[198:02.85] after something like damaging glue use, in that man's case.

[198:07.53] Abuses like this keep happening. How many people have to have their privacy

[198:10.77] violated before those of us with the power to stop this will listen to their

[198:14.16] communities and say, "No more"?

[198:17.75] In an even more dangerous case,

[198:20.91] there's been many of this type, as I think it was Thomas alluded to.

[198:24.93] There was a man removed from his car at gunpoint. I saw the video myself.

[198:29.67] He had a wife and child, I guess, a woman and child in the car, and they got him

[198:35.61] out and handcuffed him in front of her, and they were saying that the car had been

[198:40.53] stolen. It hadn't. The Flock had misread a number, a letter on the plate, and

[198:45.27] thankfully, in that man's case, he wasn't physically injured, he wasn't killed, he

[198:49.71] wasn't taken into custody, which would be increasingly traumatic for everyone

[198:54.00] involved. But unfortunately, there was another man that wasn't as lucky.

[198:58.14] It was a similar misread, and he was attacked by the cops and his dogs, and

[199:02.70] suffered injuries from that. This is unacceptable that this is happening to people

[199:07.83] in our country when we have the rights we do that people have fought so hard for.

[199:11.82] Flock claims that there's 93% to 99% accuracy in their

[199:17.49] searches and in their

[199:20.85] plate searches, whatever.

[199:23.61] They have 20 billion a year, which ends up looking like 200

[199:29.40] million errors a year. And when so much is at stake in an interaction with

[199:35.13] police and the public, when who knows what's going on on either end, that can be

[199:38.76] really dangerous. And it's not just Flock.

[199:42.09] There's other companies that sometimes will be replaced with Flock when a contract

[199:45.96] is canceled, then it moves into 20 other ones.

[199:48.54] But they are functionally the same for all intents and purposes.

[199:51.06] They have the same risks. When they're used, they have the same abuses pretty

[199:55.20] consistently. It's not just this company.

[199:58.23] It's selling out your people's privacy to a company when there's so little

[200:03.72] oversight.

[200:05.67] I don't want to be watched. You don't want to be watched.

[200:08.19] There's a camera a mile away from here at the Kansas and Battlefield intersection.

[200:13.14] Maybe you've seen. I passed it coming here.

[200:16.02] I'm going to pass it again going home, as well as many others.

[200:19.95] My family even feels the same, I may have mentioned before.

[200:22.74] I told them I was coming tonight. "Oh, no." Well, they don't like it either.

[200:27.48] I'll tell her. Sorry. My mom was hoping to share a thought with you, but thank you

[200:31.41] for the time.

[200:32.34] Thank you very much.

[200:35.07] That was our final speaker.

[200:35.97] That was the final speaker. With no other business before city council tonight, may

[200:40.59] I have a motion to adjourn?

[200:42.17] Motion to adjourn.

[200:42.18] I have a motion to adjourn. Is there a second? I have a second.

[200:44.67] Council members, please vote.

[200:57.27] The meeting is adjourned.