2026-09-21 - City Council

00:00.27] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the

00:05.88] Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible,

00:11.94] with liberty and justice for all.

00:28.74] Please be seated.

00:33.21] Be the change you wish to see in the world. Clerk, please call the roll.

00:39.87] Jensen?

00:40.86] Here.

00:41.67] Hardinger? Carroll?

00:43.95] Here.

00:44.73] Lee?

00:45.30] Here.

00:46.02] Adyasing?

00:46.95] Present.

00:47.79] Hosmer?

00:48.57] Here.

00:49.20] McGold?

00:49.92] Here.

00:50.70] Horton?

00:51.39] Here.

00:52.05] Schrung.

00:53.25] Here. Before we begin, we ask all individuals present to please silence or turn off

00:58.86] any cell phones or electronic devices.

01:01.53] We also remind everyone that this is a public meeting of the Springfield City

01:05.31] Council. We ask all attendees to observe the rules of civility and decorum.

01:10.59] Outbursts, applause, and other distractions are not permitted so the council may

01:14.70] conduct the city's business in an orderly and respectful manner.

01:18.69] Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Ms.

01:21.75] Cotter, do we have any minutes to approve?

01:25.23] Yes. City Council members have received the minutes of the September 8th, 2026,

01:29.43] City Council meeting in their packets.

01:32.16] Does anyone have any changes to those? Echo.

01:37.65] Minutes.

01:41.16] Seeing none, may I get a motion to approve the minutes? We have a motion.

01:44.37] Is there a second?

01:46.92] Second.

01:48.84] Please vote.

02:20.25] The minutes are approved. Ms. Cotter, have you received any requests to remove an

02:24.09] item from the consent agenda?

02:26.43] No, sir. But before we continue, can I just make a note for the record?

02:30.60] The last vote showed a 7-0 vote. That will actually be an 8-0 vote, with

02:36.27] Councilman Lee being in the affirmative.

02:38.76] Thank you. Let the record reflect that.

02:41.04] And I do not have any requests to remove items from the consent agenda.

02:44.52] Does any member of the audience have an item they wish removed from the consent

02:47.40] agenda? Does any member of council have an item they wish removed?

02:52.59] Council members, please vote on the consent agenda.

03:02.67] The consent agenda is approved. Mr. Cameron, please present the manager's report.

03:07.41] Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of council.

03:10.86] I just want to provide a reminder that tomorrow night, it's from 6:00 to 8:00,

03:16.77] the last data center engagement will take place,

03:20.91] at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds Eplex.

03:23.58] We've expanded the space and added the ability to use breakout rooms based on

03:27.51] feedback from the first two sessions.

03:29.76] Also want to point out that the fact that we're actually having the additional ones

03:33.15] because there was folks that could not even get into the first two.

03:35.61] And seeing that, making sure that we create this additional opportunity with larger

03:39.60] space,

03:41.28] is important.

03:43.14] After that, we'll bring everything together that we've heard, compile the

03:46.50] information, not just from the in-person sessions, but all the feedback we've

03:49.71] received on our online surveys via email and things of those natures.

03:55.41] In the first week of October, those will be provided, or we'll summarize them.

03:59.76] But I do want to reiterate that there's not a predetermined position of this.

04:03.93] We did the pause to give time for us to stop and look at what language potentially

04:08.88] would need to be done in our zoning, and to have those discussions and to listen.

04:13.68] But it's better to understand the standards and protections that would be

04:16.95] appropriate if and when the city ultimately establishes a framework or a

04:23.04] ordinance for data centers. The second item is Renew Jordan Creek.

04:27.09] The project remains on time and on budget for completion of phase one at the end of

04:31.44] the calendar year. We're already beginning to think beyond construction and into

04:35.55] what happens when the space opens, about how we activate the property, how do we

04:40.08] program around the property, but also how do we build around the property as well.

04:44.07] But just to make sure that there is an active program that goes with Renew Jordan

04:47.85] Creek. You're seeing more of the storytelling.

04:50.01] I know we brought members of the Springfield Regional Arts Council, DSA, Downtown

04:53.64] Springfield Association, and our own PIO team took a look at it.

04:57.90] I believe there was a video before tonight's meeting that we've also rolled out

05:01.50] around that. I think it's important before it's done, I believe the completion date

05:05.49] is around December 31st, that we actually have what our plans are going to be and

05:09.75] to roll those stories out even more.

05:13.65] Importantly, the city received a $3.5 million

05:16.83] EPA grant for phase two, that gives us initial funding source on that effort as

05:21.93] well.

05:24.03] On another item, there are several significant infrastructure and community

05:26.73] development initiatives moving forward, as well.

05:29.70] Council will consider, the good news, acceptance of a $24.8 million federal RAISE

05:35.70] Grant tonight for what we are calling Connect West SGF, a

05:41.34] project to un-gap the trail map. The project will add about 3.14 miles of new

05:47.16] greenway trails and connect west side neighborhoods to parks, downtown, transit,

05:51.63] healthcare, and other destinations.

05:53.85] We're also preparing for public engagement on the Bennett Street improvements

05:57.72] between Glenstone and Enterprise.

05:59.67] That project is being driven by documented safety concerns, including 85 crashes

06:04.41] over the last decade, and will address sidewalks, trail connectivity, crossing

06:08.85] stormwater, traffic operations, and corridor appearances.

06:13.44] We're also working on the South Campbell portion of the transportation that we got

06:18.69] about $11 million grant on. So there'll be more information coming out about that

06:22.44] as we move forward. So with that, Mr. Mayor, that concludes my report.

06:26.70] Are there questions from members of council? Council Member Horton.

06:29.97] Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to offer an acknowledgement,

06:34.20] Mr. Cameron, to your staff. Last week was the Missouri Municipal League conference,

06:39.18] and I had the opportunity to attend.

06:41.73] And out of the hundreds of people, we had members of your staff that were

06:45.72] recognized, one of which was from the Public Works department, Alicia Smith,

06:50.82] receiving her credential as a certified municipal official, and also the

06:56.58] deputy city manager, Maurice Jones, also received an outstanding

07:02.40] assistant director award, by the Missouri Municipal League on last week.

07:07.41] So congratulations to your team members.

07:10.14] Thank you.

07:11.16] Council Member Hosmer.

07:12.99] To inquire, City Manager.

07:15.75] David, when will the moratorium on data centers-- When does our 120-day moratorium

07:20.49] end?

07:22.71] Well, we extended it to have this additional meeting.

07:25.77] But the summary that we will compile will be at the 1st of October based upon what

07:31.05] those pieces will be, and then basically we'll prepare language or an ordinance

07:35.55] language to bring before the council.

07:37.02] So we are going to plan to extend that moratorium?

07:40.50] We need to just for this additional meeting.

07:43.11] It was not one of those that was included.

07:44.70] We considered to, but to allow the time for us to have the third meeting, it will

07:49.32] extend it by about 30 days.

07:51.27] All right. Thank you.

07:53.28] To be clear, I think you'll have something coming back to council.

07:57.60] That is correct.

08:01.23] Thank you very much. Now we'll begin with council bills for second reading and

08:05.94] final passage. Council Bill 2026-193.

08:11.10] Council Bill 2026-193, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV, Section

08:16.86] 4-01 of the Land Development Code official zoning map by rezoning approximately .51

08:22.32] acres of property generally located at 525, 228, 536 West Locust Street from

08:28.23] single-family residential district to mixed density neighborhood, medium district,

08:32.43] and adopting an updated official zoning map.

08:35.58] Public comment was taken on September 8th.

08:37.92] Other comments this evening from members of council?

08:41.76] Council members, please vote.

08:50.76] The council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-194.

08:56.04] Council Bill 2026-194, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV, Section

09:02.13] 4.01

09:04.90] B of the Land Development Code official zoning map for rezoning approximately 11.53

09:09.43] acres of property generally located at 3520 East Olive Street from Planned

09:13.27] Development number 298 to General Commercial District and adopting an updated

09:17.53] official zoning map.

09:19.51] Public comment was taken on September 8.

09:21.79] Are there comments this evening from members of council?

09:24.97] Council members, please vote.

09:33.25] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-195.

09:40.33] Council Bill 2026-195, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV, Section

09:46.06] 4.01 of the Land Development Code official zoning map by rezoning approximately .44

09:50.95] acres of property generally located at 1836, 1838, 1842, and 1844 East

09:56.98] Bennett Street from Commercial Mixed-Use Neighborhood District to Commercial

10:00.82] Mixed-Use Community District and adopting an updated official zoning map.

10:05.53] Public comment was taken on September 8.

10:08.08] Are there comments this evening from members of council?

10:11.20] Council members, please vote.

10:19.81] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-196.

10:24.88] Council Bill 2026-196, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV, Section

10:30.55] 4.01 of the Land Development Code official zoning map by rezoning approximately

10:35.08] 6.18 acres of property generally located at 535 West Weaver Road from Commercial

10:40.69] Mixed-Use Neighborhood District with Conditional Overlay District number 176 to

10:45.16] General Commercial District and adopting an updated official zoning map.

10:49.24] Public comment was taken on September 8.

10:51.31] Are there any comments from members of council?

10:54.61] Council members, please vote.

11:07.45] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-197.

11:12.52] Council Bill 2026-197, a general ordinance amending Chapter 36, Article IV, Section

11:18.34] 4.01 of the Land Development Code official zoning map by rezoning approximately 1.5

11:23.02] acres of property generally located at 4285 South Kansas Avenue from Commercial

11:28.12] Mixed-Use Neighborhood District with Conditional Overlay District number 130 to

11:32.71] Residential Mixed-Density Neighborhood District and adopting an updated official

11:36.73] zoning map.

11:37.93] Public comment was taken on September 8.

11:40.03] Are there comments from members of council? Council members, please vote.

11:51.40] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-198.

11:58.03] Council Bill 2026-198, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

12:02.56] to accept Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title III Wagner-Peyser Act

12:08.14] funds from Missouri's Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development in

12:11.59] the amount of $500,000 and amending the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget of the

12:16.57] Department of Economic Vitality and Workforce Development.

12:19.63] Public comment was taken on September 8.

12:21.76] Are there comments from members of city council? Council members, please vote.

12:33.28] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-199.

12:40.54] Council Bill 2026-199, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

12:45.58] to appropriate up to $500,000 of the city's opioid settlement funds to conduct a

12:50.41] substance use and mental health asset

12:55.09] mapping project and amending the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget of the

13:00.04] Springfield-Greene County Health Department in the amount of the selected project

13:03.97] bid.

13:05.14] Public comment was taken on September 8.

13:07.51] Are there comments from members of council? Council members, please vote.

13:18.58] The council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-200.

13:24.97] Council Bill 2026-200, a special ordinance authorizing the City of Springfield,

13:29.38] Missouri, through the city manager or designee, to enter into a Schedule of

13:32.38] Equipment number three, which will become a part of its existing Master Equipment

13:36.43] Lease Purchase Agreement, the proceeds of which will be used to pay the cost of

13:39.88] acquiring and installing equipment for the city's Parks Department and certain

13:43.72] hardware and software for use by the city, to do all things necessary to carry out

13:47.56] the lease purchase transaction, including the execution of certain documents in

13:50.68] connection therewith, and amending the budget of the city for fiscal year 2026-2027

13:55.51] in the amount of $1,418,720.

14:00.82] Public comment was taken on September 8.

14:02.86] Are there comments from members of council?

14:06.28] Council members, please vote.

14:15.04] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-201.

14:20.74] Council Bill 2026-201, a special ordinance authorizing and directing the issuance,

14:25.36] sale, and delivery by the City of Springfield, Missouri, of special obligation

14:28.51] improvement bonds, Series 2026, in a principal amount not to exceed $9,200,000 for

14:34.51] the purpose of providing funds to pay costs related to improvements to the city's

14:38.32] Public Works Administrative Building, construction and improvement of the Police

14:42.22] Property Evidence building, as well as acquisition--

14:47.11] I'm so sorry, as well as construction, furnishing, and equipment of new West Fire

14:51.16] Station number 14, including acquisition of a new fire truck, amending the fiscal

14:55.42] year 2027 budget of the city in the amount of $9,200,000, authorizing and

15:01.21] approving certain documents in connection with the issuance of the bonds,

15:04.42] authorizing certain other documents and actions in connection therewith, and

15:07.96] declaring an emergency pursuant to Section 2.12, subsection [3] of the City

15:12.55] Charter.

15:13.81] Public comment was taken on September 8.

15:16.24] Are there comments from members of city council? Council members, please vote.

15:28.87] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-204.

15:35.80] Council Bill 2026-204, a general ordinance approving the City Utilities' fiscal

15:40.69] year 2027 operating budget for its fiscal year ending September 30th, 2027.

15:47.80] Public comment was taken on September 8.

15:49.72] Are there comments from members of council? Council members, please vote.

16:01.57] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-203.

16:07.48] Council Bill 2026-203, a general ordinance authorizing revisions to water rates

16:12.46] charged by City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri, and related terms and

16:15.61] conditions.

16:17.89] Public comment was taken on September 8.

16:20.47] Are there comments from members of council this evening?

16:24.10] Council members, please vote.

16:32.83] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-202.

16:38.83] Council Bill 2026-202, a general ordinance authorizing establishing a transmission

16:44.02] cost adjustment clause rate schedule and authorizing revisions to include the

16:48.52] transmission cost adjustment clause in electric rates charged by City Utilities of

16:52.99] Springfield, Missouri.

16:54.37] Public comment was taken on September 8.

16:56.77] Are there comments from members of city council? Council members, please vote.

17:09.61] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-205.

17:16.81] Council Bill 2026-205, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee

17:21.85] to accept the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant in the amount of

17:25.57] $204,045 from the United States Department of Justice and to enter into an

17:31.06] interlocal agreement with Greene County outlining the division of the grant funds

17:35.38] and amending the budget for the Springfield Police Department for fiscal year

17:38.29] 2026-2027 in the amount of $204,045.

17:44.77] Council Member Jensen.

17:46.60] Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I had intended to offer an amendment tonight to

17:50.77] eliminate one of the expenditures proposed under this grant for the Clearview AI

17:56.26] technology. After

17:59.32] receiving a response from staff, it's pretty clear to me that it would not be

18:04.24] possible to eliminate that without significantly impacting the process of accepting

18:10.06] and receiving the grant.

18:13.93] But-- Sorry, my computer just did some weird thing

18:20.08] So I would like to note some of the concerns that I have with the program, despite

18:26.95] voting to approve the grant application tonight.

18:30.25] So,

18:31.93] just last month, we received a report from the police chief asking us to answer

18:37.12] four key policy questions about how the city should manage public safety.

18:41.80] And one of those questions was, "Should the city consider automated tools as part

18:46.12] of its enforcement strategy? And if so, under what guardrails to ensure public

18:50.95] trust?" So I don't know very much about Clearview AI, but I did try to find some

18:56.47] information on their website, and I learned that they maintain a database of over

19:01.75] 70 billion facial images scraped from social media and other public sources,

19:07.78] which they have been the subject of lawsuits for doing so.

19:13.21] It allows for the functionality to save an individual's face in

19:19.24] the system, and then receive a notification anytime an image is uploaded to the

19:23.80] public, for which a match is made.

19:28.63] And it does allow for the capability to collaborate with other agencies on a

19:33.85] regional and national level, and they specifically note the Department of Defense

19:38.83] on their website. So, recognizing that most of us have social media or have a

19:44.02] friend that's posted a picture of us on social media,

19:49.24] probably almost every Springfieldian is in this private corporation's database,

19:54.25] which they maintain for access to every level of government.

19:57.55] So,

19:58.90] I don't know the usefulness of this software.

20:02.92] I don't know the safeguards that exist around how it can be utilized.

20:07.42] But in response to the chief's question, it would seem like this is a technology

20:12.85] that is at least worth a discussion by this body.

20:17.17] But the ship has already sailed, and as I find happening often on council, it is

20:23.11] too late for that conversation to happen now.

20:25.45] So I will be voting in support of the agreement.

20:28.78] So I wanted to note that public comment was taken on September 8.

20:31.75] Are there additional comments this evening from members of council?

20:36.76] Council members, please vote.

20:48.64] The council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-207.

20:55.66] Council Bill 2026-207, a special ordinance authorizing the Director of Planning and

21:00.43] Development to accept the dedication of public streets and easements to the City of

21:03.82] Springfield, Missouri. As shown on the preliminary plat of Cape Point Place,

21:07.24] generally located at 901 Southwest Bypass, 849 South Suburban Avenue, and 3852 West

21:13.15] Cape Point Boulevard. Upon the applicant filing and recording the final plat that

21:16.69] substantially conforms to the preliminary plat, and authorizing the city clerk to

21:20.38] sign the final plat upon compliance with all the terms of this ordinance.

21:27.97] Council Member Lee.

21:30.88] Yes, I have an amendment

21:34.21] to make to this council bill. The

21:38.23] developer's representative reached out to me, and they would like this

21:43.84] amendment. The amendment basically-

21:48.55] Council Member Lee, if we could just do a very brief summary, then we'll see if we

21:51.46] have a second, and then we can have you... You have time to explain it.

21:55.81] I move that Council Bill 2026

22:01.18] be amended by conditioning acceptance of the dedication of public streets and

22:06.46] easements to the City of Springfield, Missouri, on the inclusion of a trail

22:10.39] easement on the final plat, generally consistent with the Ungap the Map initiative

22:15.73] and map referenced in Chapter 11 of the Springfield Comprehensive Plan,

22:21.28] pursuant to Section 36-3.06C3 of the Land Development

22:27.28] Code.

22:28.39] Thank you. Is there a second? We have a second.

22:31.06] Now, Council Member Lee, please explain.

22:34.12] So the developer's representative reached out to me, and they said they would

22:40.15] like this amendment to move forward.

22:42.61] All this amendment says is that they're going to follow the regulations that

22:47.44] require the easement to be dedicated.

22:50.83] I reached out to the city attorney and to Ben Tegeler, who's the head of

22:56.59] the Ozark Greenway Trails, and both of them assured me that greenway trail

23:02.56] easements are required for all plats, as well as trail heads.

23:08.23] But the developer would like this language to be added just so that we all know

23:13.57] that they worked with the Greenway Trail people. It's their intent to do it.

23:18.73] This will delay it two weeks,

23:22.30] but I'm doing this at their request.

23:25.27] Okay. Are there any additional questions as to the amendment?

23:30.19] Any comments as to the amendment? Council members, please vote on the amendment

23:35.50] only.

23:44.62] The motion passes, so the bill is amended.

23:48.61] So, the public hearing will now be continued as to the amendment only until the

23:54.01] October 12 city council meeting. Any member of the public who wants to speak as

23:58.63] this amendment may come to the October 12 council meeting and vote.

24:02.38] We should note that city council is expected to vote on the amended bill on October

24:06.85] 12.

24:09.10] Now we move into the public hearing portion of the agenda.

24:12.79] If there's a council bill on the agenda you wish to speak to, particularly items

24:16.69] 10.1 through 14.5, you must sign up with the city clerk before she

24:22.69] reads the title. Please indicate whether you support or oppose the bill.

24:27.88] This time is for your comments only, not to ask questions of city council, staff,

24:32.02] or members of the audience. The time allotted for your comments will be reflected

24:37.48] on the display screen at the front of the room.

24:39.43] Please observe the rules of civility and decorum, or you may forfeit your right to

24:44.53] address us this evening. Council Bill 2026-208.

24:52.18] Council Bill 2026-208, a resolution directing the city manager to conduct a

24:57.49] comprehensive review of all relevant contracts and Springfield Police Department

25:01.21] standard operating guidelines, as well as any other relevant municipal policy for

25:06.10] alignment with the recently adopted Public Safety Council priority as it relates to

25:10.42] the usage of ALPR cameras.

25:13.87] Good evening.

25:14.77] Good evening. Jordan Paul, city attorney.

25:16.87] This resolution was introduced by Council Member Jensen, as the clerk indicated

25:21.25] through the title. It directs the city manager to conduct a comprehensive review of

25:25.87] contracts, Springfield Police Department standard operating guidelines, and any

25:30.67] other relevant municipal policies for alignment with the Public Safety Council

25:34.60] priority as it relates to ALPR cameras.

25:37.21] The report would be due by January 31st of 2027, with a city council presentation

25:43.03] by March 1st of 2027.

25:46.87] Thank you. I move that we refer this matter to the Plans and Policy Committee.

25:51.85] Mr. Mayor, I respectfully raise a point of order.

25:55.21] Please.

25:56.86] Under Section 2-42F of Springfield City Code, as the sponsor of the bill, I have

26:02.74] the express privilege of opening debate.

26:06.28] According to Section 241, city ordinances supersede Robert's Rules of Order, so a

26:11.32] motion to refer is out of order and cannot be entertained until I've exercised my

26:16.84] right to give opening remarks under debate for the bill.

26:20.77] I will defer to the city attorney on that.

26:26.62] I've not had that question come up before.

26:29.08] We maybe have a five-minute recess to look at that?

26:31.87] Absolutely.

26:38.20] We're going to call this back to order.

26:43.45] The meeting's going to come back to order as soon as folks could be seated so we

26:47.05] can proceed with the meeting.

26:50.80] Is the microphone working and everybody is set? Okay.

26:54.49] So, the way we'll do this is I will in fact call on Council Member Jensen as his

26:59.83] call to order was correct. But once he begins speaking, I have the right to make my

27:05.02] motion, and the motion to refer is in fact in order and takes precedence

27:10.27] over the debate. So,

27:13.12] we'll go back to this, and I will call on Council Member Jensen as the sponsor of

27:17.35] the bill.

27:18.52] I look forward to the debate

27:21.03] Thank you. I move that we refer to plans and policies for the referral submitted to

27:26.40] City Council. Is there a second? We have a motion and a second.

27:34.32] It is my opinion that referring this to committee would allow for the most

27:38.61] thoughtful review of this issue,

27:42.36] and I

27:44.22] therefore make that motion. Council Member Jensen, I will turn it over to you.

27:48.09] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So I want to be perfectly clear about what this bill actually

27:53.19] does. It does not establish any new regulations, it does not spend city

27:59.13] funds, and it does not alter existing police operations.

28:03.21] It simply requests an objective, factual data report on the use of ALPR cameras in

28:08.97] our community. This data already exists, but it is data that only city staff, not a

28:14.34] council committee, can compile and provide to both this body and the public, who

28:19.53] have clearly expressed some interest in this topic.

28:23.79] The two sections of code which are the basis of this referral are irrelevant

28:28.77] because they both predicate an ordinance that substantively affects operations.

28:34.26] This resolution does not do that. For months, our constituents have stood at the

28:39.06] podium during petitions and remonstrances voicing serious

28:43.77] privacy and public safety concerns about these surveillance systems.

28:48.00] They have repeatedly asked for clarity, and we have not given them answers.

28:52.74] This resolution is a genuine attempt to provide both them and us with answers to

28:56.94] those questions, not based on news stories or social media, which may have a grain

29:01.74] of truth, but on facts relevant to our community.

29:06.03] I'm fully aware that there is an intention to refer this to a committee

29:12.21] after I finish speaking. To do so now would be a disservice to the transparent

29:17.85] governance of Springfield. Moving to refer this bill before allowing our

29:23.52] scheduled public hearing to take place effectively silences the community members

29:28.20] who came tonight to share their opinions. I ask that we let the public speak first.

29:34.86] We should not use a committee referral as a procedural shield to dodge an important

29:39.93] public conversation. If this council ultimately decides that a committee needs to

29:45.00] review a simple data request, so be it.

29:47.94] But let that decision happen after we honor our mission statement to lead with

29:52.47] clarity and serve with purpose. So, with that, Mr.

29:56.25] Mayor, and recognizing that several community members have signed up to speak on

30:01.05] this agenda item, I move that the motion to refer be laid on the table until after

30:06.57] the scheduled public hearing has concluded.

30:10.95] We have a motion to table. Is there a second?

30:14.10] Second.

30:15.06] We have a motion and a second to table.

30:17.19] Council Member Jensen, anything else you'd like to say?

30:19.68] No, sir. Thank you.

30:21.03] Then the motion to table has precedence,

30:24.78] so council members, without anyone else speaking, please vote.

30:32.94] I'm sorry, Council Member Hosmer, is there something?

30:36.00] It's a motion to table what?

30:39.36] A motion to table the vote on the committee referral until after we've held a

30:44.13] public hearing tonight, recognizing that committee meetings do not allow for public

30:49.41] input.

30:51.54] Well, I think that's a misstatement of

30:55.20] what committee meetings can do. Committee meetings can take in public comment.

31:00.06] And I think that probably is what should happen.

31:03.03] I'm sympathetic on the issue, but I think that the-

31:07.38] Okay. If there are any outbursts from the audience again, I'll have to clear the

31:10.53] audience. So please, everyone, be pretty please.

31:12.48] But I guess I think people have come to council and made very good points.

31:17.40] But I don't think that the people talking to us, we can't really engage in those

31:22.20] type of things. In a committee, we can. We can get involved with law enforcement.

31:25.89] We can have the public come in. People can testify, get good information, try to

31:30.81] make an intelligent decision, rather than trying to make a decision based on

31:35.31] information that we're not getting full information on.

31:38.58] So I think the committee-

31:41.46] Okay. I'm sorry. This will be the last time I'll say this.

31:43.62] I'll have to clear the audience if we continue to have outbursts from the audience.

31:46.77] I'm sorry. This process will-

31:47.25] The committee process, I don't know how many of you have been to committees, but

31:49.98] committee process works very well.

31:54.30] You can say it doesn't, but I think it does.

31:56.13] I think it works very well because people can have an opportunity to hear both

31:59.16] sides of an argument and make an intelligent decision on what should be the public

32:03.18] policy for the city of Springfield.

32:04.62] So I understand Councilman Jensen's position, but I think it's

32:10.71] better to send this to committee so that the committee can study it and get a

32:14.49] better handle of what's going on.

32:17.55] Is there other council members that want to speak? Council Member Horton.

32:23.61] I actually just wanted to speak after we vote-

32:27.30] Thank you. Okay

32:28.05] ... on the table.

32:29.37] Council Member Adegbile.

32:30.99] Yeah, it seems to me, Councilman Hosmer, that in this case, we're not

32:37.65] asking for a policy change, a change in funding, a new procedure, or

32:43.56] anything like that. What we're asking for, what Councilman Jensen's asking for, is

32:46.62] some information. And

32:49.74] information is not something that we need to go to a committee and have them debate

32:54.78] whether we need the information or not.

32:57.30] For me, I see this as a request for information and with a significant

33:03.21] timeframe to give it in. So,

33:06.33] I appreciate your comments, but I think this is a request for information, not a

33:09.54] request to make a policy.

33:13.08] Council members, please vote on the motion to table.

33:18.60] Mayor, to be clear, so the motion to table is

33:23.91] on the main motion, not the subsidiary motion, correct?

33:28.29] I don't believe you can table a subsidiary motion.

33:34.17] Then it has to be to table...

33:37.47] It does take precedence over the motion to refer.

33:40.86] Could you restate that?

33:42.30] Sure. So the motion to table does take precedence over the motion to commit, but

33:48.18] that motion applies to the underlying bill, not to the motion to refer.

33:52.20] So if the councilman wants to get rid of the motion to refer, it's to either vote

33:57.00] it down or to move for previous question on the motion to refer.

34:01.86] On moving to table it, you would actually be tabling the underlying resolution.

34:06.27] The entire bill. Okay. Do you want to continue with your motion then?

34:10.77] Or would you like to withdraw it?

34:12.42] Apparently, I have been outmaneuvered procedurally, so I will withdraw my motion.

34:17.37] Is that okay with the second?

34:21.93] Council Member Horton?

34:22.86] Yeah, that's fine.

34:23.79] Okay. So the motion to table has been withdrawn, and the motion to refer to a

34:28.65] committee is now back on. Any more speakers about that?

34:33.18] I just want to take a moment and just say, I believe that by referring it to

34:37.47] committee, we're actually increasing the number of eyes, the number of resources,

34:41.70] and the scope of the review that we could do on this important issue.

34:46.23] Council Member Horton?

34:47.79] Thank you. I did want to just speak on procedure.

34:52.05] So back in February, the city council

34:57.03] approved a resolution

34:59.73] that's very similar to this one, and we did not send that to committee.

35:05.61] We did go ahead and follow through with the police department, conducting a

35:11.49] comprehensive review of standard operating guidelines.

35:16.17] Last council meeting,

35:18.54] Mr. Collin Quigley came and reported out on the

35:24.27] standard operating guidelines from the resolution.

35:28.56] With this particular bill, it sounds as though it's identical to what the council

35:34.35] has already done, and it sounds as though this particular maneuver

35:40.05] is designed for something completely different than what we've already done.

35:45.42] So we have a record, we have a history of approving, and we

35:51.45] did this with VDS as well a few years ago.

35:54.87] We have a history of requesting comprehensive reviews via resolution, and it

36:00.81] sounds as though this one is being treated a little differently, and there hasn't

36:05.25] really been an explanation as to why would we treat this procedure different

36:10.11] compared to what we did earlier this year, as well as three years ago.

36:15.99] And that's why, for me, I will

36:19.83] not support that this topic go to committee because we can treat the same

36:25.62] resolution just like what we did when Councilman Hosmer, as well as Councilman

36:30.78] Jensen, had sponsored a bill to conduct a comprehensive review of the

36:36.51] Springfield Police Department's standard operating guidelines.

36:39.99] We are treating the situation different, and really, it shouldn't be.

36:44.79] So that's how I feel about that. To be consistent with our process, we

36:50.64] shouldn't be treating this process any different, unless staff had come to us

36:56.58] and said that there was a burden or something like that that caused for

37:02.61] resources to be diverted. But the way that Mr.

37:05.70] Collin Quigley came and presented that report

37:10.72] Within the timeline that we as council had approved back in February,

37:16.93] it doesn't seem like we should be deviating from the process that we put in place,

37:23.02] or that we actually went through with and voted on and affirmed back in

37:29.26] February. So, I will not be supporting this particular

37:34.87] resolution going to committee when we can use the same process that we did

37:40.90] back in February.

37:43.18] Council Member Jensen.

37:46.03] Thank you. I'm just going to note that all I'm trying to do is get people answers

37:51.67] to some real questions that they brought to us for months.

37:54.73] And it's a shame that it comes down to this sort of,

38:00.40] I guess, theater that I'm a part of to try and help-- Please do not.

38:04.63] To try and help get those answers. This isn't how government is

38:10.18] supposed to run.

38:13.45] It's just disappointing.

38:15.94] And we're not even allowing the folks to speak who clearly came out to share their

38:19.87] voices tonight.

38:21.55] Are there other comments from members of council?

38:26.89] Council members, please vote on the referral.

38:49.75] The bill is referred to committee.

38:52.51] B******t.

38:54.43] Yeah. Please stop the outburst and we'll move on to 2026-209.

39:01.63] Thanks for being a service to the people.

39:04.39] I'll give a second for the oh, oh, oh, pause the meeting.

39:14.26] This council is a joke. Officers, please,

39:20.29] can we take a five-minute recess?

39:23.14] Council Bill 2026-209.

39:35.80] Council Bill 2026-209, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager designee to

39:41.59] accept childcare health consultation grant funds from the Federal Department of

39:45.19] Health and Human Services through the Missouri Department of Elementary and

39:48.43] Secondary Education for use by the Springfield-Greene County Health Department to

39:52.45] implement CPR/First Aid Certification and/or Renewals, and to enter into necessary

39:57.13] agreements to carry out the grant, amending the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget in the

40:02.02] projected amount of $81,000 to appropriate the grant funds, and declaring that this

40:06.55] ordinance qualifies for approval in one reading pursuant to City Charter Section

40:10.93] 2.16, subsection 25.

40:14.62] Good evening.

40:15.58] Good evening, Mayor and members of council. My name is Jordan Coyner.

40:19.18] I'm the Administrator of Chronic Disease Prevention with the Springfield-Greene

40:22.30] County Health Department.

40:24.52] This evening, I bring to you an opportunity for the Health Department to receive

40:28.00] childcare health consultation grant funds for the second year in a row.

40:32.47] This would allow the Health Department to continue to offer free CPR and First Aid

40:36.91] Certification to local childcare providers.

40:40.57] We continue to operate the Childcare Health Consultation program through the Health

40:45.22] Department. This program works with childcare providers to promote education,

40:49.60] training, safety, and health promotion.

40:52.57] Because maternal child health remains a priority for our department, we want to

40:56.44] support caregivers in our community in any way we can.

41:00.16] This funding will help remove barriers and increase safety for children in our

41:04.00] community. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will reimburse the

41:08.59] Health Department $75 per childcare provider who completes CPR certification.

41:15.25] This would amend our 2027 fiscal budget and is projected at $81,000.

41:22.09] I will let you know that since June of 2026, when contracts were finalized,

41:27.79] 125 individuals from those local childcare providers have been CPR certified.

41:35.32] Thank you.

41:36.31] Thank you. Are there questions from members of council for staff?

41:41.98] Thank you very much. Does the clerk have any scheduled speakers?

41:45.16] No, sir.

41:46.84] Public hearing is declared closed.

41:48.58] This bill is a grant and can be voted on this evening.

41:51.49] Are there comments from members of City Council?

41:56.77] Council members, please vote.

42:06.79] Council bill passes. Council Bill 2026-210.

42:15.70] Council Bill 2026-210, a special ordinance authorizing the city manager designee to

42:20.77] enter into the United States Department of Transportation Rebuilding America

42:24.04] Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity agreement with the Federal Highway

42:29.11] Administration for the purpose of funding the design and construction of three

42:32.38] trail gaps, including Jordan Creek Greenway, Wilson's Creek Greenway, and Trail of

42:36.61] Tears Greenway, amending the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget in the amount of

42:41.89] $24,822,313 to appropriate the federal funds for

42:47.77] this project, and declaring that this ordinance qualifies for approval in one

42:51.73] reading pursuant to City Charter Section 2.16, subsection 25.

42:57.34] Good evening.

42:58.54] Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

43:00.40] My name is Amanda Olin Salin, and I'm the Director of Economic Vitality and

43:03.88] Workforce Development for the City of Springfield.

43:06.67] Tonight's action will allow the city to formally accept nearly $25 million in

43:12.94] federal RAISE funds and appropriate funding for the Connect West SGF

43:18.70] Ungap the Map project.

43:21.37] This grant will actually reimburse 100% of the project's eligible design and

43:26.32] construction cost and requires no local matching funds.

43:31.81] The city applied for these competitive federal grants, and we were awarded back in

43:36.61] 2024. This is a fiscal year '24 federal award.

43:40.75] And we have now received the final grant agreement from the Federal Highways

43:44.41] Administration. And so the project can finally officially move forward.

43:49.03] As was mentioned, this project will close three significant gaps in our trail

43:53.20] network and continue to support connectivity and active transportation throughout

43:58.15] Springfield. This project and improvements will improve and connect

44:04.27] 3.14 miles of Greenway trails and create more than 25 miles of

44:12.22] our continuous trail network throughout the city.

44:15.79] And this is much more than a recreational trail project.

44:18.85] This really helps to support economic development and the city's economic vitality

44:23.20] and operational excellence priorities.

44:26.35] This project will include pedestrian bridges, separated bicycle and pedestrian

44:31.18] facilities, ADA-accessible sidewalks and ramps, safer crossings, traffic calming

44:36.52] measures, culvert removal, stormwater improvements, and green infrastructure.

44:41.62] Several of these improvements will actually eliminate dangerous at-grade crossings,

44:46.48] such as the trail routes that connect under Kansas Expressway and West Bypass.

44:51.82] This project also directly implements some of the priorities in Forward SGF.

44:57.64] Ungap the Map is one of the top 10 priorities in Forward SGF, and this is a great

45:02.89] example of how we've been able to leverage in federal dollars to accomplish our

45:07.21] goals. Staff, of course, recommends approval, and I'm happy to answer any questions

45:11.68] that you may have.

45:14.80] Are there questions from council for staff? Council Member Horton.

45:19.57] Thank you. So, this is a huge win, and I'm so glad that the federal government

45:24.79] finally released the funds. We were awarded these funds back in 2024.

45:31.33] I just had a question about grant cycle.

45:35.35] Are there going to be any more competitive grant cycles so that we can continue

45:41.44] to fill in the gaps in our Ozark Greenway Trail system?

45:46.24] Yeah. So of course, we continue to always be monitoring any federal, state, or even

45:52.78] private grant opportunities that are released.

45:55.63] This is a top priority in having an active and connected transportation network,

46:00.40] not only for recreational opportunities, but being able to provide opportunities

46:04.72] for people to get to employment hubs and have more diverse choices as far as how

46:09.43] they get around Springfield. So we're always trying to align our priorities and our

46:15.04] goals with those federal funding opportunities, and so we will continue to pursue

46:20.14] those. Public Works and the City of Springfield have been awarded other federal

46:25.69] transportation grants since this one.

46:28.42] So again, this grant agreement just took a little bit longer with some of the

46:31.87] backlog, so we're really excited to be able to get to work and get this project

46:38.32] started.

46:39.67] So that means, yes, there are more grant cycles coming?

46:43.06] Yeah.

46:43.27] Okay. Thank you.

46:44.80] Yes. The RAISE has been now rebranded back to BUILD, so it's no

46:50.74] longer necessarily called RAISE, which is something that happens pretty typically

46:56.20] in the federal government with different administrations or different priorities.

47:00.25] Thank you.

47:02.68] Council Member Antibiaz.

47:04.03] Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for that report.

47:07.00] And yes, a huge win for our city these days when we really need one.

47:13.72] Past president of Ozark Greenways,

47:17.26] has been seeing these gaps since the early 2000s and glad to see them getting

47:21.13] connected. My question is, what is the timeline for the

47:27.01] sort of design completion of these particular gaps?

47:30.76] Absolutely. So,

47:33.31] the RAISE grant deadlines,

47:37.00] those have not been changed, even though it's taken some time to get the grant

47:39.91] agreement finalized. So we want to get this executed and kicked off as soon as

47:43.90] possible. So all RAISE funding must be obligated by September 30th of 2028.

47:50.41] And so that obligation means we will be under contract with the design build team.

47:55.21] And then those funds,

47:59.02] the actual full funding, must be expended by September 30th of

48:04.81] 2033. So we still have time. Again, we're trying to meet that 2028 deadline, so

48:10.84] this will be a design build project.

48:13.42] The first step that we will take is we will procure an owner's representative for

48:18.01] the project. So we'll go out for a request for qualifications and advertise that

48:22.81] for a selection process as soon as possible, so that we can meet those milestones.

48:28.09] But we have worked very closely with the Federal Highways Administration to outline

48:32.95] that timeline so that we can meet those obligations.

48:37.27] Thank you. Has any part of the design been completed yet?

48:40.60] No.

48:40.84] Like preliminaries, conceptuals, any of that?

48:43.90] No.

48:44.23] Just like the alignment maybe.

48:45.58] Correct. Yeah. We have the alignment and what we submitted as a part of our grant

48:49.57] agreement, but we will bring on the owner's rep and then do the full design.

48:55.27] Thank you.

48:57.34] Any other questions from council?

49:00.49] Thank you very much. Are there any scheduled speakers?

49:03.91] No, sir.

49:05.14] Then the public hearing is declared closed.

49:07.15] This bill is a grant, and we put it on this evening.

49:09.76] Are there comments from members of city council?

49:13.66] Council members, please vote.

49:25.78] Council bill passes. Ms. Cotter, please read the next three items.

49:30.01] That's agenda items 14.1 through 14.3 together.

49:34.96] We'll hold a single public hearing on these.

49:39.43] But then in two weeks when we have the vote, each of these

49:45.43] will be voted on separately. Ms. Cotter, please proceed.

49:49.48] Council Bill 2026-211, a general ordinance amending Chapter 38 of the Springfield

49:54.31] City Code, Building Development Codes, by repealing Article III, Building Codes,

49:57.91] Article V, International Property Maintenance Code, Article XI, International

50:02.41] Residential Code, and Article XIV, Existing Building Code, in their entirety and

50:08.05] enacting in lieu thereof a new Article III, Building Code, Article V, International

50:12.19] Property Maintenance Code, Article XI, International Residential Code, Article XIV,

50:17.68] Existing Building Code, to take effect January 1, 2027.

50:22.03] Council Bill 2026-212, a general ordinance amending Chapter 38 of the Springfield

50:27.49] City Code, Building Development Codes, by repealing Article IV, Electrical Code,

50:31.09] Article VI, Plumbing Code, Article VII, Mechanical Code, Article XII, Fuel Gas

50:36.28] Code, Article XIII, Private Sewage Disposal Code, and Article XVI, Swimming Pool

50:42.04] and Spa Code, in their entirety and enacting in lieu thereof a new Article IV,

50:46.84] Electrical Code, Article VI, Plumbing Code, Article VII, Mechanical Code, Article

50:51.31] XII, Fuel Gas Code, Article XIII, Private Sewage Disposal Code, and Article XVI,

50:56.95] Swimming Pool and Spa Code. Council Bill 2026-213, a general ordinance

51:02.62] amending Chapter 38 of the Springfield City Code, Building Development Codes, by

51:06.76] repealing Article XVII, 2018 International Energy Conservation Code,

51:12.88] in its entirety and enacting in lieu thereof a new Article XVII,

51:18.49] 2018 International Energy Conservation Code.

51:23.20] Good evening.

51:24.01] Good evening. My name is Martin Google, Director of Building Development Services.

51:28.27] So these three bills,

51:30.64] after months of

51:34.24] not only study by staff but engagement with the stakeholders, we're putting forward

51:40.00] these codes for your consideration.

51:43.57] We are proposing the adoption of the amended Senate Bill 2024 and an amended 2018

51:49.33] Energy Code, in order to enhance safety and clarity, and

51:56.26] affordability align with the industry standards in the community and modernize

52:02.02] essentially our building code that we have here in the city of Springfield.

52:08.29] The family of amended building codes we currently are under are the 2018 across the

52:13.54] slate. Listed are some of those codes, but essentially every

52:19.27] development construction that occurs in the city of Springfield is governed by

52:24.43] these International Code Council codes.

52:29.47] The ICC will update their codes about every three years.

52:33.70] Historically, we have updated on a six-year cycle so that we essentially are

52:38.20] staying as close to current as we can without necessarily being at the most

52:42.64] current.

52:44.29] And that has worked well for us historically.

52:47.47] The current codes were adopted with the exception of the energy code, which

52:50.89] actually I believe was in 2021 or 2022 when it was adopted.

52:55.69] The rest of the codes were adopted by city council in 2019.

53:01.60] So again, our goals going into this was to modernize our building codes by going to

53:07.72] 2024 amended codes, to coordinate with Greene County and bring our codes closer in

53:13.18] line with each other so we have consistency as much as we can between the urban

53:18.82] city limits and the more rural

53:22.09] outer county. And then also amend these codes in a way

53:28.12] that fits the City of Springfield model.

53:32.38] So,

53:34.03] our process, we did engage with stakeholder groups listed here, Greene County Home

53:38.86] Builders Association, the Springfield Contractors Association, White River Group of

53:43.27] Missouri Sierra Club, the Growth and Development Advisory Council, the

53:47.77] Springfield-Area Chamber of Commerce, and the American Institute of Architects.

53:52.36] In engaging with these stakeholder groups, we sat down.

53:54.79] The goal for this was not for us to present them with what we were thinking.

53:59.38] It truly was to sit down with them to go over the differences between '18 and '24,

54:04.48] identify things that could be difficult or challenging, or if there were concerns,

54:10.57] or if there were certain items that

54:13.09] they wanted us to consider, whether, again, that's keeping or amending.

54:16.87] We discussed this with each of those groups and really with those groups came up

54:21.13] with the codes that you see before you tonight.

54:25.81] Each code has tailored administrative rules that are specific to each code.

54:33.28] That helps, again, with the clarity across the board.

54:37.51] With the new code, we will reduce our confusion and conflicts.

54:41.17] The idea is, again, to try to take out things that seem like they contradicted,

54:46.39] which honestly the ICC did with the 24 codes.

54:50.14] They, through new definitions, clear definitions and clear processes,

54:55.63] put together a code that has much fewer conflicts within the regulations.

55:00.94] And really the goal for everything that we do is consistency and predictability.

55:07.30] Regardless of what project that you're doing, whether that's if you're a home

55:11.02] builder building homes or if you're dealing with commercial development, we want to

55:15.40] be consistent and predictable to our customers.

55:20.60] So the first bill,

55:23.30] 2026-212,

55:27.95] proposes to adopt a

55:30.44] series of codes. This is really the core codes: the building code, the residential

55:35.45] code, the existing building code, and the international property maintenance code.

55:39.95] So with some of these items, with this new code,

55:43.85] the main differences between 2018 and 2024, new modern construction regulations are

55:49.82] present.

55:51.50] There are new safety provisions in place with the '24 code, and it has standards

55:57.44] for emerging technologies such as 3D printing for buildings, shipping

56:01.70] container-type buildings, things that we have seen and tried to work with

56:07.10] developers with as best we could under the 2018, but just basically trying to fit,

56:12.44] as best we could, a new technology with the old code.

56:16.88] We found a way to make it work, but this streamlines it because, again, we're not

56:21.26] maybe the most modern code, but we're close to-- We're not on the

56:27.26] leading edge of adopting it, but we

56:30.08] will now have those procedures in place, those definitions in place, to do a better

56:35.03] job for our customers.

56:38.07] The second bill, which is 213, primarily deals with trades, the trade codes,

56:43.88] mechanical, electrical, fuel, gas, plumbing, swimming pool, and private sewage.

56:47.99] And again, modernizing them,

56:51.68] updated definitions, more clarity, and the goal with all of these, or the end

56:56.16] result of all of these, is a higher threshold of safety.

57:00.89] And then the final bill, which is 214,

57:05.78] is the adoption of the-- basically retaining the 2018 energy code

57:11.69] with changes to the amendments that were passed back in '21, '22.

57:18.80] There was a lot of discussion as we talked to different groups.

57:21.57] What we were trying to do in working with these groups is balance

57:25.41] two primary things. One, move things forward as far as energy conservation is

57:29.21] concerned, not staying pat, but trying to advance on that, but also keeping in mind

57:34.76] the affordability of construction as well, not just residential, but that was a

57:38.48] primary concern, but also commercial. Everything ties into...

57:44.60] And where we're at in the Midwest, it's difficult sometimes, as we found out with

57:48.62] the '18. The reason why the '18 had the amendments that it did was because, being

57:52.38] in the middle of the country, it's slower to get those materials, those particular

57:58.38] shipping schedules. The supply is not necessarily readily here like it might be on

58:04.01] the East or West Coast. So what we did was, by amending it back again in

58:09.44] '21, '22, what we did was allow for

58:15.59] this part of the country to catch up.

58:16.94] And that's why we revised some of those amendments, in order to basically

58:22.61] recognize the fact that we do have that supply chain in place now.

58:26.36] Things that you had to order, and there were months of a delay in getting, you can

58:31.22] now go to Lowe's or Home Depot to pick up.

58:33.29] So again, just trying to move that needle in a positive direction as far as energy

58:38.18] conservation, but balance that with the

58:43.43] characteristics of Springfield and keeping an eye on making sure that we're not

58:48.38] outpricing things beyond what our customers can handle.

58:54.71] So again, when we coordinate across all the ICC codes, it gives us uniformity as

58:59.78] how we administer those. It gives that support for modern technologies that did not

59:04.88] exist when the '18 codes were put into place. It simplifies compliance.

59:09.66] If we simplify things through this code, it not only simplifies things for the

59:14.72] customer, it simplifies things for staff doing that review.

59:18.78] And then we're all successful if that occurs.

59:21.78] But reducing that confusion, adding that clarity, and therefore supporting economic

59:26.24] growth, and also it plays a part in the housing market as well

59:32.24] within the city of Springfield.

59:36.41] By retaining an amended 2018 energy code and adopting the amended '24 codes,

59:42.66] again, it's going to be more consistent, more clear, and more affordable for

59:46.76] Springfield's development, and we would recommend the adoption of the amended 2018

59:52.28] energy code and 2024 set of building codes as presented.

59:56.84] And I'd be happy to answer any questions.

59:58.67] Are there questions from members of council?

60:00.98] Yes.

60:02.12] Council Member McGall.

60:04.16] Yeah, Martin, I'm glad to see that you did take that into consideration, that

60:08.28] affordability. Now, I'm just curious, though,

60:13.13] the way things are inflation-wise, did the Home Builders Association approve this?

60:19.25] Was there any considered discussion about the cost of new home construction adding

60:24.95] these new guidelines?

60:27.08] Absolutely. In fact, they work both with the city and with Greene County.

60:31.13] Greene County potentially could've been making a bigger jump.

60:34.88] They were operating primarily under 2012 building codes, but then kind of their

60:40.73] own energy code. They looked at and they ran numbers on a typical three-bedroom,

60:46.34] two-bath, single-family home and the cost differential.

60:50.09] So I will say from those numbers,

60:52.85] will it increase the cost? Yes. But we're

60:56.00] not talking about tens of thousands of dollars.

60:57.57] We're talking about

60:59.54] hundreds of dollars from where we're at. Now, that's the upfront costs.

61:04.19] Obviously, with any improvements they make or changes to their building

61:09.50] methodologies, there's going to be an ongoing energy savings cost that will

61:15.26] appear as well, and that actually with the amended 2018 is substantial.

61:21.03] Well, I think it's quite a feat for you to get the Sierra Club and the Home

61:24.68] Builders Association to support this bill, so kudos to you.

61:29.28] They've been very good partners, and we're going to continue.

61:31.16] This is not a one-time dialogue. We're going to continue that dialogue with all the

61:34.16] groups.

61:36.17] Other questions?

61:37.38] Over here.

61:38.78] Councilman Bradabias.

61:40.34] Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Martin, for the presentation.

61:42.86] And as you presented this to us at our council lunch some time ago, we talked about

61:48.26] engaging the architectural community in that process, and at that point afterwards,

61:53.18] you mentioned in your presentation that you engaged them.

61:57.20] Number one, I don't see a letter from them, any sort of a support.

62:00.68] Do you have any feedback from that group that you can share with us?

62:03.92] Sure. So, when we presented to AIA, we told them any comments they had, we would

62:09.41] not only take them up to the point that we've had this bill in front of council,

62:12.14] but we would continue to take feedback.

62:14.91] I will say that

62:17.75] all these, as you see them amended in front of you, were all emailed to membership

62:22.70] for AIA soliciting that feedback.

62:25.82] Honestly, we didn't get a lot of written feedback back from the group.

62:31.67] We did hear some at the committee meeting.

62:34.88] Again, as we explained, the balance we were trying to strike here.

62:39.50] But as far as written emails, we didn't receive any.

62:43.97] We had a few phone calls from some

62:48.11] of the architectural community just asking questions or getting some clarification

62:52.25] on what was being proposed.

62:54.95] Well, maybe then some of the emails that I got that I forwarded didn't make it to

62:58.70] your desk.

62:59.75] I did get those. But again-

63:00.92] Okay

63:01.04] ... if you're asking what we received ourselves,

63:05.66] because we'd asked them to be returned to us, and we didn't get anything addressed

63:09.11] to us.

63:10.07] Okay. Yeah, I think part of the issue there was simply the timing and the short

63:14.36] timeframe in which they were being asked to review and look at a fairly significant

63:18.17] number of documents that are fairly complicated in nature.

63:21.35] So I think part of that was a timing effort.

63:23.84] There was one particular one that I wanted to point out that I think if we haven't

63:27.44] taken into consideration, we should, and it was the deletion of a particular

63:33.57] section 1207, enhanced classroom acoustics,

63:37.64] and it was deleted in its entirety.

63:39.66] And what I understand from the folks that deal with those kinds of codes is that,

63:45.50] his words were, "I suspect they don't simply understand the meat of that

63:48.89] requirement. It simply standardizes the maximum reverb," which is a technical term,

63:54.71] "and background noise. We should not build classrooms that don't meet these

63:57.66] standards. It's unethical." And so I feel like that comment alone by itself,

64:03.44] somebody dug into it a little bit deeper and found one thing, the timing.

64:07.70] I got several emails and forwarded them on that said they really would like more

64:11.93] time to absorb and sort of engage in that process.

64:15.35] But

64:18.68] I'm not sure at this point what can be done about that.

64:21.66] And then relative to your comment, Councilman

64:24.94] On the Sierra Club. They did come back and write a second letter, and I would ask,

64:29.47] it says that we're going to still adopt the 2018 IECC, and that second letter's in-

64:34.12] It is. I have it

64:34.75] ... there. I saw that. But I just wondered why.

64:38.29] Can you give me a rationale as to why we wouldn't adopt the 2024 energy code along

64:43.51] with the rest of them and make the amendments to take out the onerous parts of that

64:47.38] code and carry it forward all the same years' worth of codes?

64:52.45] Well, I'll just say from what we had looked at with the different groups as we went

64:55.81] through this process, the amount of stuff that we would initially looking at that,

65:00.25] that we would have to remove by amendment, honestly pretty much leaves us with the

65:03.82] 2018 anyway. So just based off the volume that we have to come in order, what was

65:09.79] being found, again, maybe too much too soon, as far as the stakeholder groups were

65:15.28] concerned.

65:17.23] That was our take from that. Now we'll say that as we move forward, this is not a

65:21.88] thing where we're only going to be coming back to council every time it's time to

65:25.39] adopt a new code. Our intention is to continually review these codes, not only

65:31.06] whether that be through administrative rulings that we give as time goes on, as

65:34.96] things are brought to our attention, but if there's something that comes up through

65:38.95] these continued discussions with, again, the contracting group and the designers,

65:43.93] and the Sierra Club, we want to continue that dialogue.

65:47.32] And if there's something that's worth coming back with something amended, or we get

65:50.83] to a point where the '24 code is a little more digestible as far as the energy code

65:55.51] is concerned, we're definitely open to that. We would do that.

65:59.59] The thing is, this is just the recommendation for it this time, and we're going to

66:02.77] continue to work, as we move forward.

66:05.23] Again, this idea is we're not going to be letting this just lie until another three

66:10.78] or four years to come back for a new set of codes.

66:15.16] Thank you.

66:17.89] Council Member Hosner.

66:19.90] Martin, I was just going to ask a couple questions about the energy efficiency

66:23.35] code.

66:23.92] Sure.

66:25.96] It seemed, a few years ago we were on the 2006 code, and it took us a while to get

66:31.69] back. And it seems like when we don't do the codes consistently, we get

66:37.45] further and further behind the

66:41.14] lead. And it seems like we also are comparing apples to oranges sometimes.

66:47.05] The home builders will say it's going to cost X amount.

66:49.60] The Sierra Club will say it's going to save this amount, and I don't think we

66:52.27] really know. And I've been saying this for a few years, but I think it would make

66:58.00] good sense for the city to invest in building a property to the 2024 code.

67:03.88] Somebody else build it to the 2018 code, compare the costs, and then track the

67:09.43] savings over time. Because the citizens of the city of Springfield, we own our own

67:13.99] utility. So we should be doing things a little differently than an investor-owned

67:17.62] utility. But if we can make utility costs less per home,

67:24.19] that's keeping money. And if it's a $2,000 investment, it's going to save you

67:28.90] $20,000 over 10 years or 20 years, whatever it is, the payback.

67:33.55] It seems like that would be a smart investment.

67:36.16] But, and I understand that there's competing interests, and I think for a long time

67:41.05] we didn't really include the Sierra Club and people that are-- I think we make

67:46.57] better public policy when you listen to both sides because the home builders

67:51.07] certainly aren't right. The Sierra Club's not always right.

67:54.10] But I think the truth's always somewhere in the middle.

67:56.59] But I really do think it'd be nice if we could compare apples to apples and have an

68:02.47] idea of what the actual cost is to build the structure in accordance with the '24

68:07.00] code and then build it to the 2018 code, and then measure what your savings would

68:12.25] be and see if it's worth doing. Because right now, policymakers, we don't really

68:16.90] know. And again, I think you do an excellent job, but I'll bet you don't really

68:21.64] know what the actual cost is going to be or what the actual savings are.

68:25.15] Yeah, we could talk theoretical, but for actual cost, you're correct.

68:29.35] And then there are so many other factors that go into the actual cost as well,

68:32.05] whether that be inflation, other things too.

68:34.78] So peeling back, if you have projects that were going on at the same time under one

68:40.57] code and one under the other, it would be able to paint that clearer picture, I

68:43.78] would agree.

68:44.23] We're doing a pilot project for it.

68:47.92] Maybe we could look at that and try to do something to measure what

68:53.32] the cost effectiveness of these modifications are to see if they're worthwhile

68:56.98] doing. If they're not, don't do them.

68:58.33] But if they are, if there's a payback, I think that we should look at that a little

69:03.07] differently and try to figure out what the truth is.

69:06.61] I would agree. And I would add that the development community, and that's on the

69:10.72] commercial and residential side, we've got a great development community that

69:16.66] most of them, even with the 2018 we're designing at, they may not have been

69:20.59] designing at the '24 code level necessarily, but we're not seeing a lot

69:26.20] of builders that come in, that just come in at the minimums.

69:30.88] That they're coming in, they're exceeding what we currently have as the '18.

69:37.69] Again, as they feel comfortable, they're basically broadening their view on certain

69:42.76] items and trying to stay ahead of the curve

69:46.12] for many different reasons. And for one, it's a draw.

69:50.74] Honestly, if you can have a building from an energy code standpoint that is more

69:53.86] energy efficient, more green, that's a selling point, whether that be for a

69:59.65] home or for an industrial complex or a commercial strip center.

70:05.68] Thank you.

70:06.25] Mm-hmm.

70:07.66] Council Member Jensen.

70:09.34] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Google, a few months ago, the Office of Emergency

70:14.38] Management brought forward a change to the All Hazards Mitigation Plan,

70:19.12] specifically identifying the dangers of extreme heat.

70:23.38] I know within the-- and I don't understand these codes intimately, but I know

70:27.97] within some of the codes, there's a requirement that heat be provided within

70:33.37] residential units to ensure a minimum

70:36.97] temperature of habitability. With the heat vendor we just came off of, that is

70:42.94] just going to continue to get worse year after year.

70:45.37] Is there anything within this code that establishes a maximum temperature threshold

70:51.01] of habitability?

70:52.51] So in this code as presented, no. But I will say that what we do, and this is the

70:56.38] current code as well as the proposed code, if an air conditioner is present, it has

71:00.37] to be working. So that's always been-- And I will say from an International Code

71:04.27] Council standpoint, how they've looked at heating and cooling both historically has

71:09.49] been that from a-- They both have health life safety concerns,

71:14.98] obviously. But from a heating standpoint, there

71:19.15] can be more because of with the lack of heating at a particular minimum level,

71:25.33] then you've got people trying to do other alternatives in order to get warm,

71:30.19] whether that's

71:33.19] heaters that shouldn't be in an enclosed space, so you've got the carbon monoxide

71:36.22] issue. Fires being built where it's not appropriate for that to

71:42.19] happen. And cooling has been looked at, and again, I'm not saying that to minimize

71:46.00] that at all. I'm just saying the cooling has been looked at as more of a comfort.

71:49.54] It does have a life health safety component, but the idea that in some ways it's,

71:54.88] whether that's through air movement, dehumidifiers, there's other things that

71:59.05] aren't quite as--

72:01.03] There's a higher forgiving threshold, I guess if you will, for those things to be

72:04.27] brought in that don't increase the sensitivity to the life health safety.

72:09.01] I will say one of the things that we're looking at, we're monitoring what ICC is

72:12.19] discussing. They are having those discussions whether they should identify, like

72:16.78] they do with heat, a threshold that has to be maintained.

72:22.27] We don't necessarily have to wait for ICC to do that.

72:24.55] But what we want to do, again, is put more study in that, just to make sure that

72:29.05] what we're doing is not going to cause hardship,

72:32.41] where maybe it's not present right now as far as being out of compliance and having

72:37.78] to bring something up from a property maintenance standpoint.

72:40.84] I'm not talking necessarily about rentals, I'm talking about homeownership too.

72:44.56] We want to figure out a pathway, I guess is the best way to put it, to get to that

72:49.54] point where we're not

72:52.57] creating people that are in violation that today aren't.

72:56.86] But recognizing the fact that probably at some point something does need to

73:00.40] increase with that. So again, like I said, we're not opposed to it, but we're

73:04.90] trying to keep researching that and also keep an eye on what ICC, and

73:10.60] also participate in those conversations with ICC, and to where at some point, maybe

73:16.00] in the next code, probably not the next code because we're writing that right now,

73:18.79] but maybe the next one, we get more of an industry international standard for that.

73:24.16] So the answer is no?

73:25.93] Yes.

73:26.50] Okay.

73:28.54] Council Member Adeyemi

73:30.43] I'll make it quick. Thank you, Mayor.

73:32.86] Councilman Hosmer, to your point also, just to follow up your comment about our own

73:37.93] personally owned utility here,

73:40.33] just increasing the usage of energy or not decreasing the use of energy over

73:46.18] time is going to, at some point, put us in a position of adding additional power

73:51.43] generation. We're already going to be adding power generation for lots of other

73:54.76] reasons. This is just going to exacerbate that.

73:57.19] And so I just think we've got to be thinking a little further ahead than the

74:01.72] dollars that we might save today, a few hundred dollars in a house.

74:07.36] Other questions?

74:10.12] Thank you very much.

74:11.14] Thank you.

74:11.74] Are there any scheduled speakers?

74:14.20] Yes, sir. Megan Herzog.

74:25.45] Good evening.

74:27.10] Good evening, Mayor Schrock and members of council. My name's Megan Herzog.

74:31.87] I am the executive director of the Springfield Contractors Association.

74:35.83] I signed up specifically to address you all tonight and

74:40.60] briefly just say thank you. This process, this has been a long time

74:46.60] coming. This has not been a quick one meeting.

74:49.69] I really appreciate the work that Martin and the entire department have done,

74:55.48] meeting with the Springfield Contractors Association, the Springfield Chambers,

74:58.63] GDAC, the Growth and Development Advisory Committee.

75:02.35] The opportunity for not just contractors, but general contractors, subcontractors,

75:07.66] architects, engineers, for all of us to come together to allow for feedback.

75:12.70] We have 330 companies including every aspect of that, and for them to open that up

75:17.53] for communication, being open to every single issue we've ever had, and to really

75:23.41] look at this as what is best for our community.

75:26.38] I really appreciate this entire process.

75:29.20] It has been

75:32.05] so much easier than some years have been in the past, just from the point that

75:36.58] we're all on the same team. Everybody here.

75:39.52] I love that this year we all were able to come together.

75:41.65] This was not a one group versus another, because that's not what it's meant to be.

75:45.91] It's meant to be what's best for our community. So, we support this.

75:49.99] I am happy with the end product of what we have, and we are really looking forward

75:54.10] to a continued partnership with council, with each of the different departments,

75:58.51] and we just appreciate your consideration of these bills.

76:03.40] Thank you.

76:03.94] Thank you.

76:06.76] Sean Devineaux.

76:13.57] Good evening.

76:14.47] Good evening, mayor and council. I just wanted to get up here, I don't know, that's

76:19.24] close, but supposed to go. But anyway, just to let everybody know on council what a

76:24.88] great job that the city has done as far as engaging everyone.

76:29.08] I sit on several of the committees that supported this and boards.

76:33.61] It wasn't an easy process. It was a lot of reading and a lot of things.

76:36.91] It started with the fire code. We got through that really well.

76:40.87] And also,

76:43.15] I like the fact that Springfield has been thoughtful about how they did this.

76:46.72] Last year, Kansas City was not and went ahead with the 24 codes, or the year

76:52.36] before. Yeah, the year before, they went ahead full boat 24 codes, and then there

76:56.98] was a House bill, I believe it was 2384, that was introduced to wipe out any energy

77:01.90] code in the state of Missouri past 2009, and actually got a whole lot more traction

77:06.49] than I thought, which is not what we want.

77:09.28] We want smart, efficient buildings in Springfield, but they need to fit our area.

77:14.59] A blanket code does not do that. The amended 2018 code, I believe, is good for

77:19.63] development, good for residential.

77:22.72] Councilman Hosmer, there is a report out there that the HBA has.

77:25.96] It's 11 pages, and it shows the cost savings from 2009 to

77:31.93] 2024, and the construction, the cost expanse versus

77:37.84] the savings. And the most efficient one was to do the one that we did, and I think

77:42.55] it added $328 to the cost of a home, and still was in it by the time you realize

77:48.25] the savings from the efficiency. So there's a lot of information out there that's

77:52.36] been done from people a whole lot smarter than me.

77:55.99] So, we did one on the commercial side for a warehouse down in Joplin.

78:00.91] We found out that if we'd build it to the 2024 code, it would've been 400-year

78:05.44] payback, so not something we want to try to advertise for business in Springfield.

78:10.63] But I just want to say great job. Thank you for everybody that engaged, and I

78:15.16] appreciate the city of Springfield.

78:18.04] Thank you.

78:20.98] JJ Hethington.

78:27.07] Good evening, council. JJ Hethington.

78:28.66] Good evening.

78:30.25] Sean's already stole all my thunder. Thank you.

78:32.86] Sorry about that.

78:34.06] I just want to iterate again, yes, I'm with the HBA.

78:36.61] I'm the chair of the Codes and Standards Committee, and we did put out a study.

78:40.57] We basically built a virtual home, and we did it in two different square footage

78:45.16] sizes, 2,100 square feet, three bedroom, two bath, 1,500 square feet, three

78:49.81] bedroom, two bath. And we compared 2024 IRC, which is what we

78:55.93] knew we were going to be adopting anyways, and compared that to different energy

78:59.77] code cycles across the board. And what we learned was

79:04.54] a lot of important facts. Now I got to turn this back on and see, and I do have the

79:09.19] calculation this time.

79:14.44] So when you look at a 2024 IRC and the 2009 energy code, the energy

79:20.29] return on that is 111 years for a homeowner.

79:23.11] That's how long it takes them to pay back the extra cost to move to 2024 IRC.

79:29.38] So we know there's going to be cost increases going to 2024 IRC.

79:33.76] There's no question. But the question is what energy codes I could put with that.

79:39.01] When we look at 2024 in 2024 IRC, that adds almost

79:44.47] $30,000 to the cost of the home, and the payback on that is 30 plus years,

79:51.25] 30.54 years. So like Sean was saying, through our analysis, and we used

79:57.10] Ecotrope through a friend of mine at Missouri State, who is certified in energy

80:03.10] ratings, put together the homes and isolated seven

80:09.04] different building methods and then put energy costs to those based upon current

80:14.32] city utility costs. And what we came up with was 2024,

80:20.41] 2018 with an increased cost of almost $11,000, but an

80:26.26] energy return of 11 years. And data will say that most homeowners right now are

80:31.93] staying in their homes 12 years. It used to be five years, six years, but now the

80:36.34] common stay time is 12. It was really uncanny that our math and calculations worked

80:42.28] out to that same time period. So through our work with the city of Springfield and

80:47.62] Greene County, and I'm telling you, we worked months on this, and there was a group

80:52.03] of us of 15 builders

80:54.85] and remodelers that all took different parts of the code. We broke it down.

80:59.32] We asked so many questions and came up with what we think is the best solution for

81:05.20] us moving forward.

81:08.89] Thank you very much.

81:09.88] Yes.

81:12.25] We did have one individual sign up after the deadline for this.

81:18.16] If-

81:19.69] Remind me the procedure for that. We'd have to vote to suspend the rules?

81:22.90] Yes.

81:23.47] Is there a motion to suspend the rules? We have a motion to suspend the rules.

81:28.09] Is there a second? Second.

81:32.86] Any discussion? Council members, please vote.

81:47.47] Motion passes to suspend the rules, so please allow that additional speaker to

81:50.77] speak.

81:54.40] I apologize. I think it's Miley Heider.

82:06.46] Good evening.

82:07.57] Good evening.

82:11.92] Hello, my name is Miley Heider. I'm a Springfield, Missouri constituent, and I'm

82:16.27] here to oppose the usage of ALPR cameras, most commonly made by Flock

82:21.70] Safety. These cameras are not just surveillance-

82:24.82] I'm sorry, ma'am. The bill-

82:25.84] They are an invasion of our privacy and are being abused-

82:30.10] I'm sorry, ma'am

82:30.82] ... by those in positions of power.

82:32.86] You're under arrest.

82:33.46] Flock camera-

82:36.34] Sorry, ma'am

82:36.73] ... all night. Anybody else?

82:47.21] Does this conclude the public hearing?

82:49.79] Yes, sir.

82:51.17] Public hearing is declared closed. City Council will vote on October 12th.

82:56.36] Council Bill 2026-214.

83:02.42] Council Bill 2026-214, a general ordinance amending Springfield City Code Chapter

83:07.88] 98, Street, Sidewalks and Public Places, Article 7, Encroachment on City Property,

83:13.31] to expand the types of encroachments that may be administratively approved and

83:16.70] modify the requirements for obtaining an encroachment license.

83:22.40] Good evening.

83:23.12] Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of Council.

83:24.77] My name's Brett Foster, Assistant Director of Public Works.

83:28.49] This bill makes several straightforward updates to Chapter 98 of the city code

83:32.93] related to the city's right of way encroachment permitting process.

83:36.38] The proposed changes remove outdated language and simplify the permitting process,

83:40.91] hopefully making it easier for both city staff and the applicant to obtain those

83:44.24] encroachment permits. The amendment would allow more routine, low-risk

83:48.62] encroachments to be approved administratively while maintaining those high-risk

83:53.84] encroachments for Council to approve as they do today.

83:57.50] Overall, the goal is a clear and more efficient process while maintaining the

84:00.86] city's authority to protect public safety and the public right of way.

84:06.08] Are there questions from members of City Council for staff? Council Member Jensen.

84:10.07] Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for being here.

84:13.40] I noticed that

84:16.22] change includes the elimination of allowing for sidewalk cafes.

84:20.21] Is it because those types of uses are now able to be approved administratively, or

84:24.53] is it completely eliminating that as an option in the future?

84:27.44] It is not completely eliminating.

84:29.27] They would be allowed to be approved administratively through the process.

84:32.78] If they were a more permanent installation, those are the things that we would

84:35.18] bring to Council. It's just that was a item that was added to during the COVID

84:41.24] to allow that to be done administratively and faster.

84:43.43] So that language is being removed, and it just falls under the regular encroachment

84:46.61] process.

84:47.21] Okay, awesome. I think that was, if anything, a really good thing that came out of

84:51.83] the COVID era, was an ability to activate our streetscape in a way we don't see

84:57.26] often. So, thank you.

84:59.63] Council Member Hosmer.

85:02.21] Brett, we require insurance coverage, right?

85:06.11] Correct.

85:06.47] What's the amount?

85:08.66] I'm not sure the amount we require today on those.

85:11.81] I think it varies depending on the magnitude of the encroachment.

85:16.97] I know there has been some complaint by some people that the insurance

85:22.91] is too high and that it costs too much.

85:26.21] Have you looked into that, or-

85:27.65] Yeah, I think-

85:28.13] Or how do-

85:28.13] ... what that does provide some flexibility for that.

85:30.35] We can get those specific amounts and get back to you.

85:32.33] It does change how those insurance requirements are reported, which was a lot of

85:35.39] the issue. It does require the individuals to carry insurance.

85:38.60] We'd have to get back with you on the specific amount.

85:41.15] I'm not-

85:41.75] And I'm not saying that there shouldn't be insurance, there should.

85:44.12] But I guess the question is, is there a history of claims, or have there been

85:49.28] claims so we could adjust the insurance rate to make sure it's-

85:52.64] Yeah, we had that discussion. That's part of the reason this change occurred.

85:55.28] We found very little to no evidence that there'd ever been claims against the city

85:59.00] regarding encroachments that were permitted.

86:00.77] So, this ordinance reflects that and still keeps those protections for the city,

86:05.48] but reduces some of that overhead and paperwork for the applicant.

86:09.38] All right. Thank you.

86:10.64] The council minute's at currently a million dollars.

86:17.09] Other questions for the speaker? Thank you very much.

86:20.27] Are there any scheduled speakers?

86:22.16] No, sir.

86:23.06] Then the public hearing is declared closed. City Council will vote on October 12th.

86:27.35] Council Bill 2026-215.

86:32.33] Council Bill 2026-215, a special ordinance approving a budget adjustment amending

86:36.92] the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget of the Public Works Department in the amount of $5

86:42.26] million by appropriating funds for the Spring Forward SGF half-cent capital

86:46.64] improvement sales tax, as will provide funding for completion of a group of

86:50.63] projects recommended by the Neighborhood Advisory Committee assigned subcommittee

86:54.95] for the Neighborhood Works Plus program.

86:58.19] Good evening.

86:58.76] Good evening again. As noted, this council bill appropriates $5 million from the

87:03.53] Spring Forward SGF funding for the first round of the Neighborhood Works Plus

87:06.92] program. As previously presented at the council launch, this program has been a

87:11.30] significant collaborative effort.

87:13.43] More than 560 ideas were submitted by the community, and through extensive review,

87:18.41] public engagement, and the direction of our NAC subcommittee, those ideas were

87:22.55] refined to projects that were

87:26.60] recommended for implementation.

87:28.67] The $5 million funding recommendation was unanimously approved by the Citizens

87:32.18] Advisory Board on September 17th.

87:35.75] I do want to take the opportunity to specifically thank the community and the NAC

87:39.14] subcommittee, and our city staff and consultants that have spent a tremendous

87:43.16] amount of time cooperating and working through this process.

87:47.03] I feel like this has been a very positive process, and it provides a strong model

87:50.84] for how the city and our neighborhoods can work together.

87:53.75] They can find compromise, sort priorities out, and move projects to completion.

87:58.79] So, pending your approval, we're very excited to get started on this process and

88:02.00] are ready to hit the ground running. So, happy to answer any questions.

88:05.09] Are there questions for the speaker?

88:08.27] Seeing none, thank you very much. Does the clerk have any scheduled speakers?

88:11.72] Yes, sir. Nancy Williams.

88:18.71] Good evening-

88:19.61] Good evening

88:20.09] ... Mayor and Council. So my name's Nancy Williams.

88:23.03] I'm here as the chair of Neighborhood Advisory Council.

88:26.57] I've been in that position since July.

88:29.30] I've also been part of the subcommittee for the Spring Forward tax

88:35.06] recommendation for the Neighborhood Works Plus program.

88:39.47] I don't have a lot to add to what Brett said, but I do want to thank the dream team

88:42.95] of Dane Seiler from TEC and Brian Sayer from Public Works at the city.

88:48.86] They made the process very simple, not easy, but they made it as simple as possible

88:54.71] for us to review that subset of those 560 projects that were submitted.

89:00.56] One thing that I do want to say is that the process was different than the regular

89:04.31] Neighborhood Works program.

89:07.19] In that program, neighborhoods will get together and submit applications for a

89:12.68] cohesive project. In this case, these submissions came from anybody in the

89:17.60] community, and they may have been grouped by neighborhoods after the initial

89:22.85] revision. But then they were further refined by the zone sessions where people came

89:27.80] in and prioritized based on what their interest was in their area.

89:32.57] So, I just feel like it was a great process to hear the voices that wanted to be

89:36.59] heard, and I thank you all for your consideration of this recommendation.

89:41.39] Thank you.

89:46.16] Are there any other scheduled speak... I'm sorry, Council Member Horton.

89:50.03] I had a question for you, Nancy.

89:51.59] I'm sorry, Nancy.

89:52.76] Sorry about that.

89:53.24] Please come back up.

89:56.51] Please proceed, Council Member Horton.

89:57.80] I just had a question. Were you a part of the, I guess you would

90:03.77] say, the Forward SGF Advisory Council back in 2019, 2020-ish?

90:09.20] Were you a part of that process?

90:11.36] A little bit, yes.

90:12.44] Okay. I was just curious, because you have seen several phases of this process.

90:18.32] And the very fact that we have gotten to the place where tax

90:23.93] dollars are going towards

90:29.48] being actionable towards Forward SGF quality placemaking,

90:34.67] I'm just wondering, you've seen this

90:40.16] process from its infancy. And even before we started the engagement process before

90:45.44] Forward SGF, I'm just wondering, what are your thoughts from the

90:51.41] time when we did the engagement in 2019 for Forward SGF to

90:57.38] now we're at the Spring Forward tax, which is supposed to fund Forward SGF.

91:02.09] What are some of your thoughts kind of looking back at the infancy of this process,

91:07.37] and even you standing here today requesting that we adopt these

91:13.37] projects for neighborhoods?

91:16.31] I think it's been understandably slow given what's happened between 2019 and now

91:21.20] with the pandemic and all of that, and a new city manager, all that sort of stuff

91:26.39] that's happened in the interim, new mayor, new council members.

91:30.38] But I feel like the process has been as transparent as possible with all the

91:34.58] listening sessions, with the input from different groups in the

91:40.10] community.

91:43.23] I feel like when we see these things starting, and I just told Dane that he's

91:49.71] going to need to call Brian tonight and get him to get his shovel ready.

91:53.61] But a lot of these were traffic-calming projects, and I think when people start

91:59.55] to see whatever is designed for that street that people are speeding down, whether

92:04.86] it's speed cushions or bump outs or whatever, I think they're going to see this

92:09.60] come to fruition.

92:11.73] Obviously, we're not doing the rest of the

92:14.43] 72 million or so right now.

92:21.06] But at least this will be a huge start and bigger than the Neighborhood Works

92:25.08] program has been in the past on an annual basis.

92:28.35] Well, thank you for helping to carry on the work.

92:31.32] Thank you.

92:33.69] Any other questions? I assume not. Thank you very much.

92:37.47] That was our only speaker.

92:38.61] That's our only speaker. The public hearing is declared closed.

92:41.04] City Council vote on October 12th.

92:43.68] Now we begin petitions, remonstrances, and communications.

92:47.40] Here are a few reminders of the rules. Please adhere to the time constraints.

92:51.45] Remember, this is a time for council members to hear residents' comments.

92:55.23] Please make your comments to City Council only, not to staff or any member of the

92:59.43] audience. The time allotted for your comments will be reflected on the display

93:03.66] screen in the front of the room. Please observe the rules of civility and decorum,

93:07.83] or you may forfeit your right to address us this evening.

93:11.61] Please call the speakers.

93:15.27] Theresa McGatha.

93:21.54] Next speaker, please.

93:22.74] John Ecker.

93:30.72] Good evening.

93:31.74] Good evening, City Council. I'm John Ecker, and I'm with the River Access

93:35.55] Coalition. We're a nonprofit group, and we formed in response to the closing

93:41.61] at Lindenalore.

93:44.22] We took the matter to court, and we won there and eventually had it reopened.

93:48.81] Now our goal is to educate the public about the importance of keeping public

93:53.55] accesses clean and open. I've recently become the community outreach coordinator,

93:59.64] and I have to say the community has really reached out.

94:02.70] The loss of the Tailwaters access has been deeply felt by many.

94:07.74] Younger adults have reached out, remember going there as kids with their parents

94:13.08] and hoping to do the same with their own someday.

94:16.32] Senior citizens who have been going for decades

94:20.22] left without easy access to any place like it.

94:24.24] A closure means the loss of something special for so many in our community,

94:29.79] closed without any input from the public.

94:33.21] Now, we understand the need for a change given the activities that have taken place

94:37.20] down there, the tire burnouts that could be addressed by a speed bump

94:42.45] and/or closing the park at dark. The Springfield Lake Park has

94:48.18] remained a clean and safe area, primarily from closing the gate at night.

94:53.79] And conveniently, the Tailwaters access is located very near the park.

94:59.70] A good solution would be to adopt a similar policy for the Tailwaters access,

95:05.49] resulting in a safer and cleaner area without restricting all public use.

95:12.15] It has been our experience that when the community comes together, it really brings

95:16.29] out the best of them. Lindenalore is now cleaner than it ever has been before,

95:22.83] not through closure, but by getting the public involved.

95:26.76] The amount of signatures on the petition shows that involvement.

95:31.23] RAC will provide the signs encouraging a clean-up after yourself policy, as well

95:37.20] as plan community clean-up days for the access.

95:41.73] And we would also work to address any CU or city official concerns with the areas.

95:48.69] So in closing, we would just ask you to consider all your options, as well as

95:53.55] what's best for the community. Thank you, City Council.

95:59.94] I do have a question for you.

96:00.84] Yes, sir.

96:01.77] Are you also addressing these concerns to city utilities?

96:05.22] I am.

96:06.09] Great.

96:06.51] Yeah.

96:06.63] I just want to encourage you to continue to do that.

96:08.28] Well, thank you. I appreciate that encouragement.

96:11.28] And, yeah, I'm meeting them on Thursday afternoon at 3:00 for their meeting.

96:15.84] Great. Thank you very much.

96:17.73] Absolutely.

96:18.36] Next speaker.

96:19.47] Mitchell Budd.

96:24.09] Next speaker.

96:26.52] Matt Morrow.

96:34.92] Good evening.

96:35.58] Good evening, Mayor, members of council.

96:37.02] Thank you so much for the opportunity tonight to speak with you.

96:40.38] My name's Matt Morrow. I'm the service president of Springfield Area Chamber of

96:43.08] Commerce, and the chamber exists to help businesses thrive and communities prosper.

96:47.19] And we value our longtime partnership with the city of Springfield.

96:50.88] I want to just specifically thank each and every one of you because I know that you

96:55.68] choose to serve in this capacity not out of anything other than just your love for

97:00.18] our community and your willingness to serve in that capacity.

97:03.18] And I know that that's not always handled with the highest degree of respect or

97:07.98] care, but I just want you to know there are a lot of us out here who appreciate

97:10.95] what you do, each and every one of you.

97:13.11] Tonight, I wanted to share with you an update from when we spoke about a month ago.

97:18.51] I was here talking about our economic outlook and the growth that we're seeing in

97:22.17] Springfield, and that growth is a good thing.

97:24.66] Growth requires planning, and it brings challenges.

97:27.12] But just last week, I was with peers of mine who lead chambers of commerce from

97:31.83] around the country, and some of their communities are growing, and many are not.

97:36.42] And their first-hand accounts were very clear.

97:40.44] Whatever challenges come with growth, and there are challenges that come with

97:43.35] growth, those challenges are far preferable to the problems that come when a

97:46.95] community is not growing, not drawing investment, and not creating new jobs and

97:51.84] opportunities. So growth is good.

97:54.51] It's necessary if we want people here to prosper and enjoy opportunity, but growth

97:58.38] also does create certain challenges that we have to tackle.

98:02.19] One of the biggest is housing supply that struggles to keep pace and which can then

98:06.69] drive the overall cost of living higher, and we're seeing some of that here in

98:10.17] Springfield. For the chamber, the goal isn't simply to be a low-cost community.

98:14.49] We're much more interested in being a healthy, growing community that remains

98:18.48] affordable for people to live here, and that equates to a high-value community.

98:23.37] The Brookings Institution work that I mentioned when I was with you last month

98:27.06] makes that point. Many of the nation's lowest-cost metros perform poorly on growth

98:32.67] and prosperity. In some places, low cost reflects weak demand or population

98:38.46] loss or fewer opportunities, and that's not, of course, the kind of affordability

98:42.54] that we're after here. We want people choosing to be here, businesses investing

98:46.65] here, and jobs being created here with enough housing to support that growth

98:50.76] without putting affordability out of reach for the people who live in Springfield

98:54.48] and the surrounding region. Now, that combination is pretty rare.

98:57.06] In fact, Brookings found that there are only 10 metros in the country that combine

99:01.98] strong growth, so GDP, jobs, and income rising, with relatively stable costs of

99:07.65] living. And the common thread for all 10 of those communities was that they

99:11.34] expanded their housing supply faster than their population grew.

99:15.57] They stayed ahead of growth with housing. That was the key to their success.

99:20.43] That doesn't mean that housing supply is the only answer, but it does mean that it

99:23.88] belongs very near the center of the conversation about how we thrive in the future.

99:28.38] And the next part of that conversation is how we do this well.

99:31.98] Developers and lenders have to make projects work financially.

99:35.25] Residents have honest questions about neighborhoods, infrastructure, and quality of

99:39.24] place. The city has, of course, responsibilities around planning, utilities,

99:44.46] transportation, and standards. And employers see all of this through a workforce

99:48.87] lens because housing availability quickly becomes a talent issue for those who need

99:53.73] to hire. The point is that none of us sees the whole picture all by ourselves, that

99:59.01] we actually need each other if we want to understand all of what's going on.

[100:03.48] And that's why I'm especially looking forward to the chamber's community leadership

[100:06.30] visit to Indianapolis in early October.

[100:08.94] Several of you, along with city manager and with city administration, will be

[100:12.21] joining businesses and business and community leaders from across our region on

[100:16.50] this trip to Indy. Housing investment is one of the areas that we're really looking

[100:20.49] forward to studying when we go, alongside workforce, economic development, and

[100:24.63] quality of place. I don't expect Indianapolis to hand us a playbook that we can

[100:29.10] bring home and copy. That's really never been the value of these trips.

[100:33.12] The value is really that we're able to see a community together.

[100:37.32] We hear the same things. We ask questions from different perspectives.

[100:40.92] We learn what worked and what didn't work and where there are still some issues

[100:45.30] that they're wrestling with even today.

[100:47.67] On housing, I want to understand how their public and private partners have

[100:51.42] approached investment. What helped certain projects move while others don't?

[100:56.13] Where do they create more predictability in their processes?

[100:59.25] How do they address legitimate community and neighborhood concerns?

[101:03.06] What lessons might actually fit here that we can learn together?

[101:06.72] Because you know Springfield's answers need to be Springfield's answers, not some

[101:09.96] other community's answers, and we don't have the ability to discover every solution

[101:13.83] all by ourselves, nor should we try. But we have a healthy and growing region.

[101:17.82] There are pressures that come with that growth, but there are also tremendous

[101:20.67] opportunities. If you'd like to learn more about the comparison between the city of

[101:24.39] Springfield and Indianapolis, you can go to springfieldchamber.com/clvdata where

[101:30.39] you can do a deep dive on how our communities compare in preparation for that trip.

[101:34.08] I'd be happy to field any questions you might have.

[101:37.47] Questions?

[101:39.57] Thank you very much. With no additional business--

[101:44.67] I'm sorry. We'll now move to the new business portion of the agenda. Ms.

[101:47.94] Cotter, please read item 16.1.

[101:50.97] As per municipal 109.230 subsection 4, city records that are on file in the city

[101:56.04] clerk's office and have met retention schedules will be destroyed in compliance

[101:58.98] with the guidelines established by the Secretary of State's office.

[102:03.09] With no additional business to come before City Council, may I have a motion to

[102:06.57] adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Is there a second? I have a second.

[102:10.29] Council members, please vote.

[102:21.63] The meeting is adjourned.