2026-10-15 - Citizens' Advisory Board

00:01.24] All right. Good afternoon. Welcome, everyone.

00:04.26] We're at our appointed hour. I want to start off by just saying

00:08.08] happy Springfield Engineers Day.

00:11.10] Yay.

00:11.14] Many of you may not know, but-

00:12.92] That's all me

00:15.16] ... we're celebrating that today, and very thankful that Missouri State and Drury

00:19.10] both produce engineers here locally.

00:21.34] And

00:22.78] I am not an engineer, but I work alongside many talented folks,

00:26.72] and anyway, so I just thought I'd start that off.

00:29.20] Plus, we have many engineers that work with the city and are helping us with our

00:33.02] projects here. So,

00:35.74] if you see an engineer, pat them on the back today.

00:37.90] So, with that, we will call the meeting to order.

00:41.18] And, Ms. Greer, can you please do roll call?

00:45.26] Yes. Frederick?

00:46.76] Here.

00:47.96] Benetti?

00:48.80] Here.

00:49.34] Smart?

00:49.98] Here.

00:50.46] Volz?

00:51.00] Here.

00:51.56] Watson? Here. Forster?

00:53.44] Here.

00:54.06] Shaunt?

00:54.62] Here.

00:55.52] Lee?

00:56.14] Here.

00:56.80] Wherley?

00:57.42] Here.

00:58.96] All right. You were sent the September 17th meeting

01:02.68] minutes.

01:05.04] Just with that, are there any corrections or questions

01:08.92] on those?

01:13.04] Hearing none, is there a motion to approve as presented?

01:15.80] I'll make a motion to approve them.

01:17.86] Second.

01:18.52] Second.

01:20.10] Any further discussion? All those in favor say aye.

01:23.24] Aye.

01:23.84] Opposed, nay.

01:25.18] You have to do roll call.

01:26.16] I'm sorry. That's it.

01:29.44] Benetti?

01:32.10] Aye.

01:32.90] Smart?

01:33.62] Yes.

01:34.08] Volz?

01:34.68] Yes.

01:35.08] Watson? Yes. Forster?

01:36.94] Yes.

01:37.36] Shaunt?

01:38.00] Yes.

01:38.44] Lee?

01:39.38] Yes.

01:39.52] Wherley?

01:40.54] Yes.

01:42.30] I promise I'll do better on that. It's a hard habit to break after

01:46.40] many years of nonprofits, so.

01:48.84] All right. With that, we have Mr. Holtmann here to

01:52.44] provide us our financial report presentation and update on where

01:56.44] we stand with collections.

02:00.70] Good afternoon. My name's David Holtmann, and I'm the city's

02:04.28] finance director. You should all have a schedule here that

02:08.08] recaps the last two and a half years' worth of

02:12.40] activity for this new sales tax that went into effect

02:16.78] April 1 of 2024,

02:21.36] after our three-quarter cent police, fire, and pension tax

02:24.86] expired.

02:26.86] You can see in the first year, the first orange column, we collected about

02:31.18] $7.2 million.

02:35.18] In fiscal 26, starting out in the green column,

02:39.74] we show what our budgeted revenue was projected at

02:43.12] $32,322,000.

02:47.18] Good news for last year, we collected about

02:51.14] 600,000 more than that, right at almost $33

02:55.14] million in total. The other thing that we also have

02:59.16] identified here is we had about three quarters of a million dollars worth of

03:03.20] interest revenue. So,

03:06.12] in the green column, you can see

03:09.78] under the projects,

03:13.30] underneath the revenue items, you can see the

03:17.06] different allocations that were recommended

03:20.36] by CAB and were approved by City Council.

03:24.46] There was about $32.9 million

03:28.48] worth of expenses,

03:30.82] expenditures that were approved.

03:33.86] To date,

03:35.68] only

03:37.16] $1.4 million of that had

03:40.94] actually been spent. The rest of that is carried over into

03:44.26] the current year.

03:47.02] So, moving into the current year, fiscal 27,

03:51.84] our revenue projections

03:55.34] were to increase the sales tax to

03:57.22] $34,182,000.

04:01.92] To date, we've only collected

04:04.34] about $3 million of that. There's a two-month lag

04:07.68] for our sales tax to be received by the city.

04:11.36] And

04:13.54] the items of interest that

04:16.84] have already been recommended by

04:20.90] CAB and approved by City Council,

04:24.88] you can see we have about

04:26.08] $34,182,000

04:29.96] that has been allocated,

04:33.06] including the very last item that's highlighted in

04:36.78] yellow. That's for the Neighborhood Plus program.

04:41.02] That was brought before City Council Monday night

04:45.38] and is pending approval at the next City Council meeting.

04:49.28] So, I wanted to include that in there so you could see what those totals

04:53.20] were

04:54.40] with

04:55.42] that last recommendation anyway.

04:58.70] So, all that to say, looking at the bottom of the

05:02.48] page,

05:04.22] to see what has not been allocated

05:07.88] in total for this fund, and we have just under

05:11.76] $40 million worth of fund balance at the end of fiscal

05:15.40] 26.

05:17.36] We have about $6.8 million

05:20.32] in our reserve

05:22.06] that

05:23.28] we typically target for

05:25.92] funds that

05:28.84] we have

05:30.68] operating expenses in. This one's a little bit different.

05:34.10] So,

05:35.24] that's something that could be considered at a later date

05:39.24] as we get closer to the end of the 10-year term of

05:43.12] this program.

05:46.14] We had about $31.5 million from fiscal

05:50.18] 26 that had

05:52.22] not been expended.

05:54.18] They had been allocated but not expended.

05:56.80] And then in the current year, we have $2 million remaining that

06:00.70] has not been

06:02.38] allocated.

06:04.22] Totaled up just under

06:06.16] $3,180,000

06:09.38] for

06:10.84] funds remaining

06:12.94] in the current fiscal year. So

06:15.64] I went through that quickly.

06:17.54] I'd be happy to take any questions that anyone might have.

06:22.92] Yes, sir.

06:24.24] What's the overhead fee? Where does that go?

06:27.64] Yeah, that goes back to pay for all of the support services that are

06:31.44] provided by the general fund.

06:35.10] Like, for example?

06:36.70] Like city attorney's office, finance,

06:40.86] city manager's office, all of

06:43.60] the administrative activities that are conducted.

06:48.08] We have a cost

06:50.16] allocation study done

06:52.94] that

06:54.26] indicates what our

06:56.72] overhead costs are, and that's what that represents.

07:01.14] What's the percentage?

07:02.84] 4%.

07:03.64] 4%. Okay.

07:05.04] So further question on administrative services.

07:08.26] Is that,

07:10.00] other than staff, what do you call administrative services?

07:15.96] So really the cost to run the city, what we do is we take a

07:19.86] look at

07:21.70] all of the administrative costs,

07:24.28] and try to allocate that out by function, based on the

07:28.26] efforts that's been placed into that activity.

07:33.02] We can provide the board more detail on this.

07:35.44] We

07:36.46] do this with all of our funds, and we have a cost allocation model for that, and

07:40.44] it does represent 4%.

07:41.28] We have, yeah. So this last time we had...

07:44.78] I'm trying to think who did that.

07:45.90] It wasn't KPM, no.

07:49.28] We just recently updated-

07:50.50] I don't believe it was Forvis, but it was our internal audit firm that

07:54.36] performed the cost study, gave us an active

07:57.82] worksheet that we can adjust each year,

08:01.60] with that in mind, being able to go back and update it on a 5 to

08:05.64] 10 year basis. So

08:09.44] good questions.

08:11.70] I don't believe that overhead fee was in the prior financial information

08:15.62] we got last year, was it?

08:18.34] When we were getting regular updates, I don't think it was listed.

08:22.36] I don't think it was listed as an expense, so we didn't show it this way.

08:25.84] We just showed the available revenues, and so I think it was taken off the top of

08:29.10] available revenues, and so it was always there, but it wasn't listed out in the

08:32.73] financials like this.

08:34.88] Okay.

08:35.73] Because we do fund accounting with governmental accounting, we're very siloed on

08:39.70] how we approach these things, whether it's quarter cent, eighth cent.

08:44.84] There's the cost allocation of the general fund, it's assigned a certain percentage

08:48.60] of the cost across the board since everything is siloed.

08:52.00] So that's why we do the fund accounting, cost accounting

08:55.76] study, and we follow that model, and

08:59.70] we'll provide that information. But yeah, it was there last year.

09:02.46] It just was basically off the top, and it wasn't part of the

09:06.08] allocation process because it wasn't included.

09:13.94] We've been looking at a three-year planning horizon.

09:17.24] And so you've looked at the first-

09:20.48] I believe the first two years

09:22.60] ... first two years plus a quarter.

09:25.46] If we were to add the next fiscal year to that,

09:29.40] it would roughly be probably about $35 million more,

09:33.66] given that this next year's about $34 million.

09:36.56] Yeah.

09:37.94] Okay.

09:40.36] So one thing to keep in mind, you all did make the

09:44.22] recommendation for the second half of the art museum

09:48.00] contribution. So that represents a pretty good chunk of

09:52.04] fiscal '28's revenue at $15 million.

09:56.06] So you can see the middle of the page, our art museum project, we just showed in

09:59.98] parentheses FY28 commitment of 15 million.

10:02.98] Since we're not yet in FY28 and it hasn't gone through the process

10:06.88] of it being formally part of the budget,

10:09.64] it's not listed here, because we're not showing FY28, but we want to make sure we

10:12.78] track that along. Council did approve the resolution

10:17.32] from the recommendation of this board, so that's something council's already

10:21.26] done in terms of resolving to fund that in the FY28 budget,

10:25.86] phase two.

10:27.18] Sure.

10:30.86] Are the funding for the neighborhood plans and parks

10:34.62] master plan,

10:37.48] not having that amount in the second column, does that mean

10:41.22] no

10:42.82] portion of that has been expended, just allocated?

10:46.98] Or all of that has already been allocated for both of those things?

10:51.70] So if you look at the far right column,

10:54.78] the last green column, that shows you what's remaining

10:59.14] in that particular line of funding.

11:02.32] Thank you.

11:02.62] Beyond the encumbrance. So we haven't yet spent that 406,000.

11:06.96] We've just started, and we'll get an update on neighborhood plans.

11:09.44] Just started with the consultant on that.

11:11.34] Right.

11:12.50] But we've encumbered those funds.

11:13.66] Got it. Thank you.

11:18.18] Any other questions?

11:20.78] David, thank you for the update.

11:23.08] Thank you.

11:23.50] This is the first of a series of updates that we'll be

11:27.04] providing on activity that

11:30.30] we've had from

11:32.22] over the past year. But for our new folks, let us know if you

11:36.20] have questions.

11:38.20] We can also,

11:40.12] toward the end of the meeting as we look at next steps,

11:43.28] hear from you all as far as,

11:46.00] do we need to schedule a supplemental

11:49.22] orientation or deeper dives into some of these.

11:52.96] So we'll see how the conversations go.

11:55.22] But we want to make sure you feel like you're up to speed on these projects

11:59.24] and

12:01.14] so

12:02.42] it'll take a little bit over the next couple of meetings, but we'll get everybody

12:06.76] to the same level here. Okay?

12:09.24] All right, let's go ahead and we have a program manager

12:12.80] discussion. Tim Rosenberry will be leading this, so Tim?

12:16.36] Thank you.

12:20.60] You have, as a handout,

12:23.80] an outline.

12:26.92] It's titled Summary of Requested Services of a Program Manager.

12:31.86] And

12:33.32] this text is just simply an edited down

12:38.42] version of what was included in the request for

12:41.88] proposals that the city issued

12:45.26] within the last 30 days.

12:48.38] And

12:50.86] this first paragraph, I guess, is worth reading.

12:53.40] It says, "A program manager will provide program-specific

12:56.82] services to assist in the development and management of Spring Forward

13:00.80] SGF." We're looking for people who have

13:06.00] consulted to municipal agencies on a multi-year,

13:10.08] multi-project capital programs intended to

13:13.80] produce transformational results through investments of

13:17.30] unprecedented quality and scope.

13:19.62] So this is a really special

13:21.90] project, and we need a really special consultant who's been

13:25.42] around these kind of projects before.

13:29.20] The program manager, we're asking them to essentially do three

13:32.94] things, to provide some administrative services,

13:37.38] to

13:39.52] help you all and city staff and city council

13:44.32] do program project identification,

13:47.90] and then to do an implementation plan.

13:52.98] So

13:54.50] under the administrative support services, one of the things we're going to ask

13:58.38] them to do is to participate in all

14:02.42] CAB meetings in person.

14:05.54] So you will

14:07.72] hear from them, and they will hear from you.

14:12.34] And the cadence of their work is probably going to be monthly, because

14:16.36] if you see

14:18.38] paragraph

14:19.80] 1D,

14:21.52] they're going to be reporting back monthly.

14:25.16] So,

14:28.70] their administrative support services are

14:31.88] primarily

14:34.74] coordinating staff, coordinating the public

14:38.76] input, coordinating you all's input, and coordinating

14:42.64] council.

14:48.38] Regarding program project identification

14:55.04] , the program manager will be asked to

14:57.80] be the person to put that log

15:00.70] of projects together,

15:02.70] to

15:05.96] build that catalog of all the projects that have been

15:09.78] suggested from the community, from staff, from CAB,

15:14.06] from council.

15:15.58] And that is an ongoing effort.

15:20.22] Then we're

15:21.64] asking them to be a pre-screener

15:25.38] of each of those projects

15:28.36] and to help us develop a clear

15:33.06] set of criteria,

15:35.36] which has

15:37.00] already been developed in large part, but it needs to be rounded out,

15:41.00] I think.

15:42.70] And then do the research on each

15:46.72] project and then to,

15:50.80] as it says in item D, formulate a screening method for projects

15:54.74] to be reviewed and recommended by you all.

16:00.38] Then

16:01.48] from your recommendation, it goes into the

16:04.72] implementation plan if council approves.

16:08.50] And so that's the next thing is item implementation plan

16:11.82] preparation.

16:13.74] And

16:14.96] I would just go to the last two bullets under

16:18.74] paragraph A,

16:20.90] and these show up at the top of the second page where

16:25.16] this

16:28.50] implementation plan would have project

16:31.86] descriptions of each one,

16:34.24] including the scope of work.

16:37.20] And then

16:39.98] some will have sub-projects, much like the neighborhood works that you all

16:43.62] approved last month.

16:47.38] And then

16:50.10] we need to be able to just have that all in one

16:53.94] place, in one catalog. We also want those project

16:57.86] budgets organized or broken down into

17:01.56] major cost categories.

17:06.02] It's important also to have a program schedule, particularly when we think about

17:09.90] the cash flow of this project. And that's

17:13.84] what this, in paragraph B, the second sentence

17:17.60] makes clear is that to the offerors

17:21.32] that we're asking for a cash available

17:24.96] approach

17:26.38] and sequencing the project so that

17:31.40] we can deliver what's been asked for on time in

17:35.38] the right priority.

17:41.80] Oh, then

17:43.22] paragraph C, we're asking for an online tool

17:47.26] for real-time program reporting and scenario planning

17:51.48] so that

17:53.14] staff can use that

17:56.00] for project management,

17:58.78] that the PIO can use that for

18:03.28] communicating back out to the public where we are on the

18:06.84] project, and where the CAB and council can

18:10.74] use it just to know where the heck we are at any

18:13.66] one given time.

18:16.31] And then there are bullets there that describe

18:20.21] each of the things that we ask for in that.

18:26.91] The end result will probably be a

18:30.79] fairly thick document that shows the implementation

18:34.83] plan and the project schedule.

18:37.61] We've asked them to be able to deliver all that in the next 12 months,

18:43.25] and then to monitor it as we go

18:46.79] forward.

18:48.53] And this would be for the

18:51.33] entire 10-year tax.

18:54.73] Knowing that

18:56.61] we're looking at 10 whole years,

19:00.27] this very last sentence at the bottom of page two, it says, "It's acknowledged

19:04.21] that projects may not be fully identified for the final

19:08.15] three years of the tax, and in that case, the

19:11.39] implementation plan may include placeholder projects in

19:15.27] lieu of fully

19:17.13] identified initiatives."

19:19.45] So, this is what we've asked

19:21.93] consulting firms to

19:26.85] propose these services. We've received

19:30.43] five proposals or proposals from five

19:34.25] firms,

19:35.45] and we are still in the process of evaluating those

19:39.41] proposals.

19:43.29] What questions do you all have of Tim?

19:48.93] Is there a part in this process where we're

19:52.33] able to ask questions to the firms that are being considered?

19:56.69] This

19:57.73] is an extension of staff, and typically,

20:01.15] boards aren't involved in

20:04.45] selecting consultants. So,

20:08.89] I don't know that there will be that chance.

20:13.07] You view this as a consulting arrangement, not an employee?

20:16.31] That is correct. What we're

20:19.91] ideally looking for is a firm that has done this.

20:24.51] And the

20:25.79] difference is this is managing the program but not managing the projects.

20:29.41] The individual projects would be managed by the city?

20:31.67] That's correct.

20:35.81] And that's a great distinction, Jeff.

20:37.35] That is the key way to distinguish

20:42.47] where their services end and where the-

20:46.45] City staff, yeah

20:47.91] ... city staff picks up on a solo basis.

20:51.29] So we've been at this for almost two years.

20:55.63] Why do we think this is necessary now

20:59.21] when we've been operating without it?

21:03.51] I'll

21:05.99] invite others to

21:08.07] state why it's useful.

21:12.17] But

21:13.27] I'll offer what I think, Cliff, is that

21:17.65] I feel like

21:20.55] we need more guidance from people with this kind of

21:24.49] experience. When I say we, city staff does.

21:29.19] For example, the MAPS program, which has often been used as a

21:33.05] reference to this,

21:36.41] Oklahoma City has a city staff focused

21:40.37] on MAPS of 16 people,

21:44.19] and they have a consultant that does this work.

21:48.91] And so

21:52.77] this has been a challenge for city staff,

21:57.01] frankly,

21:59.15] for us to be able to do this work adequately and

22:02.65] effectively, and at the same time, do our daily

22:06.67] work that

22:08.23] we're doing.

22:09.93] And I think that after we saw how

22:13.87] the Neighborhood Works program

22:17.09] was accelerated by having an outside consultant involved,

22:21.85] that that made a difference, and that we

22:25.41] believe that doing that for the entire program could make a difference.

22:30.21] Would it take a significant amount of work off the

22:34.25] plates of the people who

22:36.69] are in the room and who have been supporting us?

22:39.03] So I jump off that, what Tim said, the last part's really accurate, that

22:42.67] it's been a significant

22:45.09] amount of work for staff that already have full-time jobs. It's been a big lift.

22:50.59] I see some of that shifting a little bit with bringing in someone

22:54.89] or a firm or a group that can focus on this full time.

22:59.47] And

23:00.55] I think there'll still be a lot of time working with staff because we've

23:04.47] got a lot of

23:06.43] heavy staff involvement in this, but the actual coordination and scheduling and

23:10.39] all of the things that need to take place, I think will be

23:14.99] a shifting of the burden from staff to an extension of

23:18.85] staff. And so we're able to be able to assist them.

23:22.37] We'll be heavily involved, or have to be, as we go through each of the

23:26.45] plans as we present those to council or to the board here.

23:30.31] But,

23:32.03] I think there'll be a shifting and kind of expansion of our capabilities and

23:36.49] to serve this board in a way that's hands-on 100% full

23:40.17] time.

23:43.17] I have no expertise in this area, but I would say one recommendation

23:46.97] is to track that.

23:49.05] Figure out a way, once you have determined who the consultant is and they're doing

23:52.73] the program management, figure out some sort of mechanism to assess how

23:56.59] much load you lifted off city employees.

24:00.29] Because at some point in time, someone's going to ask the question, particularly if

24:03.13] the funding for this comes out of the tax.

24:05.41] Right.

24:08.97] Just to clarify, that is the intent, is the funding for this consultant would

24:12.65] come out of the resources here, and what's your

24:16.41] estimate for the services?

24:19.63] I'm guessing anywhere between a half a million and a million dollars

24:23.72] Every year?

24:25.22] No, for this scope of work.

24:28.50] Okay.

24:28.58] Yeah.

24:30.12] Well, then I would redouble my resolution that-

24:32.64] Yeah

24:32.92] ... you track the

24:34.72] effective

24:37.82] deliverable in terms of freeing up the city on the projects in

24:41.58] whatever mechanism makes sense to you all.

24:42.34] I think that's a good point.

24:43.94] Do you mean the million over the 10 years?

24:47.16] Or could you re-explain what-

24:49.84] Yeah

24:49.98] ... your answer was to Jack?

24:51.16] Yeah. This is to formulate a 10-year plan.

24:54.28] Okay.

24:55.58] And

24:57.00] I'm estimating the fee to be somewhere between half a million

25:01.54] to a million dollars to do all of that work.

25:06.08] That would be paid in the first year.

25:08.20] It would likely be paid, yeah. Yes, in the first

25:12.12] year.

25:12.60] To the firm that you end up hiring.

25:14.36] Correct.

25:14.82] Do you anticipate this person to get more of

25:18.44] the community's projects on board, that we haven't seen a

25:22.38] lot

25:23.84] of projects. Do you anticipate that too?

25:26.40] Yes. That is one of the differences I expect to see out of

25:30.42] using this role.

25:39.64] Without seeing the proposals,

25:43.18] one of the things is looking at the value add, and

25:47.08] what do they bring to the table that

25:49.50] we'll get a million dollars plus in value out of their

25:53.54] services. And can you talk more about what you would anticipate

25:58.28] that you would see?

26:00.60] Are projects going farther? Or-

26:02.54] Yeah

26:02.54] ... some more tangible examples?

26:04.34] Yes.

26:06.74] I think, for example,

26:09.86] a firm that has done this for other cities, other

26:13.56] communities, can bring that knowledge of what they learned

26:17.48] to this. Sometimes,

26:20.38] at least speaking for myself, and my other colleagues may

26:25.16] have a similar kind of testimony,

26:27.66] is that I feel like I've been sometimes kind of

26:31.24] going in the dark, because this is

26:34.84] a new approach for us.

26:38.52] And

26:40.16] quite often, we

26:44.14] know what the project is before it's funded.

26:46.98] Now we have something that's funded, but we don't know what the project

26:50.86] is. And so this has been part of the challenge,

26:55.12] and the burden for me is to make sure that

26:58.96] we're, and for you all, clearly, and council, for all of us,

27:02.94] is to make sure that

27:06.72] we're spending every bit of money wisely.

27:10.76] I believe this is a wise expenditure given how small

27:14.54] a percentage it is of the total to bring in

27:18.44] outside expertise, both in terms of how these kind

27:22.52] of programs are run and

27:27.82] who's been through

27:31.08] the pitfalls of this kind

27:34.42] of program.

27:36.00] So

27:38.34] that's why I think this makes sense.

27:44.48] So I just want to--

27:46.98] Looking at the Neighborhood Works Plus

27:50.50] project that went out and all of the responses that came, we see

27:54.34] that there is requests for projects more than what even our

27:58.50] 30 million a year would be.

28:01.02] Oh, yeah.

28:01.30] So there's lots of projects that the community wants, but this

28:05.30] specific 30 million is designated from the ballot

28:08.98] language into three different categories.

28:11.76] So we have to be very specific, right?

28:14.16] We can't just, "Oh, this part of town wants

28:17.96] this infrastructure done over here," so we can't use that

28:21.62] half-cent to do just random

28:25.34] projects.

28:26.04] Yeah.

28:26.32] Because we have many projects that we need to do.

28:29.96] So we're going to be real specific on our three categories,

28:33.76] right?

28:35.14] I'll jump in on that.

28:37.36] Council's approved the ordinance for the Citizen Advisory Board.

28:41.22] It's the same

28:43.00] 11 criteria that you've kind of gotten used to seeing.

28:46.64] The eight original and three additional criteria. It's not a granting program.

28:50.98] It should meet those three categories.

28:53.78] They're kind of large categories, capital projects that are

28:56.92] transformational-

28:57.94] Yeah

28:57.94] ... neighborhood improvement projects, and parks and trails.

29:00.76] So that's still a focus. It's voter approved that way. It has to be that way.

29:04.74] It will be that way. That's what the consultant, if we go that way, has

29:08.50] to make sure they plug in.

29:10.22] Okay.

29:10.30] That they're going to take all those ideas that maybe we haven't seen some ideas.

29:14.32] We do have a portal out there and

29:16.76] had some limited interaction with the portal and providing input from

29:20.58] citizens on projects, but it isn't a granting program.

29:23.66] It's not giving money for projects that are just simply out there.

29:27.60] This is specific to those three categories.

29:29.50] It has to be in that area, and it has to be one of those three categories.

29:32.20] Good. That's what I wanted to clarify. Thank you.

29:35.88] So

29:37.18] I could wait and do this during discussion, but I want to give you a chance to

29:40.76] respond.

29:44.96] I have some concern over spending money like this.

29:49.88] When you recognize that

29:52.68] we're already paying $1.3 million for

29:56.26] staffing

29:57.74] per year here,

29:59.88] now you're adding another $750,000 to

30:03.78] that.

30:05.00] One concern is the people out there that voted for this

30:09.46] hate to spend money on this kind of thing.

30:12.70] Even though I would concede it has some value.

30:16.10] You spend money on marketing, you spend money on administrative costs.

30:20.22] It's

30:21.58] money that's not going into a project.

30:23.74] Yeah.

30:25.12] And so to Becky's point, we got a lot of projects.

30:29.48] We got arts projects, we got trails projects, we got

30:33.12] parks projects, we got street improvement projects.

30:39.78] I have a real concern that this both won't be supported generally and

30:43.78] will be thought of as being wasteful, that we have in-house people that we're

30:47.56] already having money allocated to help us with this.

30:50.96] We've been working for a couple of years.

30:52.74] We haven't had any problem allocating money.

30:56.64] Frankly, why wouldn't I, as a board member, rather have 750

31:00.62] grand go into improving a park

31:03.66] than hiring a consultant to tell me, "Well, we ought to improve a park"?

31:09.90] Yeah. I

31:11.66] have a hard time responding to that

31:15.14] other than

31:16.46] I hear you.

31:22.48] I guess the measure of how much

31:26.42] time that it takes staff away from other things that should

31:30.44] be being taken care of. I'm just curious

31:34.38] also why we need an additional consultant, unless it

31:38.30] indeed is going to make life much better

31:42.36] for the rest of you guys to

31:45.76] do what you're sitting on your desks to do.

31:50.22] So

31:52.24] I'll try to answer that. I don't know if I can answer it really much better than I

31:55.28] did before. It's been a heavy lift.

31:58.66] Every month-

31:59.04] It's been a problem

31:59.12] ... having a meeting and preparing for that, but it's part of our job to make sure

32:02.74] that we're presenting to the board what you want to be

32:06.66] seeing, and to help you make decisions, providing that

32:10.32] information you're asking for to make those decisions.

32:14.52] I see it shifting a little bit. I do see a tremendous amount of staff work still

32:18.40] needed because,

32:20.68] if you're talking about parks or an art museum or trails or

32:25.88] road improvement, beautification projects, enhancements, and

32:29.58] neighborhood issues, it's going to take a lot of staff work, and

32:33.74] we're still going to be heavily involved in that. I don't know.

32:37.30] It's hard to know now in advance exactly what kind of a

32:40.72] shift of the burden will be there.

32:45.68] That's hard to answer. Yes.

32:48.80] Would you anticipate seeing some cost savings on the overhead

32:52.78] fee?

32:54.66] Yeah, I was thinking-

32:55.38] Would it come out as a wash to some extent?

32:56.44] I was thinking we want to look at those categories for cost allocation.

32:59.96] We want to make sure we're not duplicating it.

33:02.40] If it's a shift to somebody somewhere else, I don't know if it

33:06.40] really will be that much in terms of the cost allocation study and

33:10.12] the overhead that is necessary, but we'll want to look at that.

33:14.32] Yeah.

33:14.60] I guess the other question I'd have for this person or group of

33:18.28] people,

33:20.50] their work, like this report you're talking about with the real-time program

33:23.96] reporting, is that something that's going to be publicly available?

33:26.42] Yes.

33:26.44] Or are those tools internally? So in theory, the community's going

33:30.36] to have a really good real-time update about as things are progressing?

33:34.60] It's the latter.

33:35.36] So it's a communication tool that way?

33:37.54] Yeah. That is public-facing as well as private

33:40.94] or internal

33:43.96] data reporting.

33:47.48] Okay, I have one more.

33:49.42] So since we've looked at Oklahoma City and their MAPS program and the

33:53.22] person that runs that,

33:55.70] can we hear any examples of how that

34:00.24] person really made that

34:04.02] impact on Oklahoma City? Do you know what I'm

34:07.64] getting at?

34:07.92] Yeah, I

34:09.54] do.

34:09.72] Can you help us make sense of the impact this will have?

34:14.00] Well,

34:16.08] I do know that the

34:18.00] program management consulting

34:21.74] firm on that has been the same one

34:25.16] for every one of the MAPS projects, and I think they're on

34:28.96] MAPS

34:30.22] four,

34:31.48] maybe.

34:33.42] And it's been for

34:36.30] multiple decades.

34:38.44] And

34:40.56] it's my understanding that

34:42.98] the consultant

34:45.64] also does

34:48.12] some project management.

34:52.16] But

34:53.60] a lot of this information

34:57.24] was derived from what we could find out from Oklahoma City

35:01.86] and the scope of work that

35:06.76] Oklahoma City, even with a MAPS

35:10.62] office on staff of 16 people,

35:14.54] still go out on a consulting basis for

35:18.40] this work.

35:20.16] I guess I'm trying to understand using Oklahoma City as an

35:23.76] example. Was this person instrumental in

35:27.82] changing their whole downtown design and-

35:30.74] I think the MAPS program has transformed Oklahoma City.

35:35.06] Okay.

35:36.84] No question about it, with Bricktown,

35:40.54] an arena, a minor

35:44.58] league ballpark, a new convention center.

35:50.78] Now doing trails and neighborhood improvements.

35:55.88] Oklahoma City even did something called MAPS for Schools.

36:01.06] Because the MAPS brand

36:03.76] over the decades had become so

36:06.42] trusted that

36:09.16] Oklahoma citizens,

36:11.82] I think, have come to expect it, and they see the

36:15.38] results.

36:18.66] So just to ask a more specific question, what I'm hearing is it's both the

36:22.64] amount of work and the level of expertise-

36:26.00] Correct

36:26.22] ... that the consultant would provide.

36:28.22] So once these two pages of deliverables are

36:31.60] accomplished

36:33.15] Is it then that the city could take on further work for

36:36.77] successive years, that the city could pick up this task and run with it?

36:40.59] Or we might be, a year or two years from now, entertaining

36:44.61] a motion to extend this contract in some way?

36:48.15] The way

36:50.17] the RFP was written was that

36:53.93] anything that's asked for after they

36:58.15] submit those deliverables will be considered additional

37:01.85] services.

37:05.41] And

37:06.85] the RFP was written in such a way that when they're done

37:10.89] with this,

37:12.77] we may not need them unless things change.

37:17.63] And if things change, then

37:21.59] we would either go back to them or staff could take care of it,

37:26.33] particularly with staff's exposure

37:29.21] to

37:30.85] what the-

37:32.37] And how they did

37:33.23] ... yeah, program manager did.

37:38.05] This may be a Colin or a Jordan question,

37:42.35] because the ordinance and the ballot language was referenced.

37:45.71] Knowing how the ballot

37:47.83] language was written and the ordinance was written, is this a

37:51.45] legal use of these funds if not considered a project?

37:56.85] It says that...

37:58.91] I had actually pulled it up here.

38:06.13] And I'm not an attorney, so I don't pretend to know, but

38:08.95] You're pretty close, though, right?

38:21.59] I think funding projects

38:27.45] almost has to contemplate the overhead

38:30.51] that is

38:32.59] tied to that.

38:34.95] You have overhead in any construction project,

38:37.87] right?

38:42.07] I don't know if that is a short enough answer to the question.

38:44.59] Thank you.

38:45.35] We certainly can look in that a little deeper just to make sure that

38:49.57] it

38:50.55] fits that. It has to be a part of what voters approved.

38:54.91] So is this an action item today?

38:57.65] We are not asking for your approval because we

39:02.31] haven't finished vetting

39:04.25] the proposals.

39:08.69] Up to this point, I think we've leaned on our content experts

39:12.99] for parks and greenways, for the art museum, and others, and they've

39:16.79] been the experts out vetting those projects and then working with the

39:20.73] consultants, because they're on the front lines of these areas, and

39:24.65] they know what the needs are, and they are in the industry.

39:27.97] So we've depended on their expertise.

39:30.37] Plus, they're the ones that stand to gain the most by new parks and

39:34.15] greenways and new art museum. So they have a

39:37.87] significant amount of skin in the game.

39:40.19] That's where our focus has been up to this point.

39:43.43] I think

39:44.59] now that this has been out here and we've had a chance to hear some of the

39:48.41] pros and cons, maybe you can go back and think

39:52.37] about some of the questions or concerns that were raised, and we can have it

39:56.37] on the agenda to talk about in our next meeting,

39:59.85] maybe ways to respond to some of those concerns.

40:02.83] I think we really want to maximize the value that

40:06.75] we have for these funds, and that

40:09.93] if a consultant can help us realize much more value,

40:13.63] then I think it's something to consider.

40:16.31] But we want to see as much go to benefit our

40:19.43] citizens as possible.

40:21.81] So,

40:24.37] trying to think through this,

40:30.41] and following up on Rusty's thought there, do we expect

40:34.31] this

40:36.17] brings us a plan

40:38.91] that says, "Here are eight projects

40:42.55] that we should fund over the course of the next

40:46.51] eight years?"

40:49.35] They're going to put a plan together that

40:52.81] outlines the work generally to be done?

40:57.05] Or is it something less than that?

41:00.17] No, it's casting the vision with

41:04.59] specific

41:07.59] implementation steps over the 10-year period.

41:12.87] So that we know at the end of this work, we

41:16.49] know here's an expansion of youth sports,

41:20.21] here's meeting facilities, here's an outdoor arena,

41:24.67] here's X money for neighborhood projects, here are

41:28.49] four street beautification projects we're going to have done.

41:31.87] They're going to work to outline an overall plan?

41:34.69] And

41:36.05] here is the schedule for delivering them, and here's what the cash flow looks

41:40.05] like, and

41:42.29] all of those things, yes.

41:43.57] Okay.

41:44.77] Yes.

41:45.35] So rather than us taking it

41:50.53] project by project or trail project by trail

41:54.17] project, this person is going to integrate all of that

41:57.73] thing into one big plan, one big project

42:02.07] that we'll then approve as they come up and as we knock them off?

42:05.99] I think the way the consultant will work, Cliff, is they will be

42:09.85] meeting with you monthly, and you all together will be building

42:13.87] that 10-year stack.

42:15.77] Over the course of the next year?

42:17.39] Correct.

42:19.87] Okay. One last thought.

42:22.85] So since the funds for this consultant will be

42:26.64] Part of the funds from the half-cent tax.

42:30.36] Is that something that has to be approved with council?

42:32.50] Will this position have to go to council for approval?

42:36.22] It's not a position, so no, it wouldn't require council approval.

42:39.46] Okay, so it doesn't require us saying, "Yeah, let's spend some of our money

42:43.46] on a consultant," and then that doesn't have to go?

42:45.72] Well, I may have answered too quickly. We need to make sure.

42:49.88] Previously, we had approvals for

42:52.78] bringing on a consultant to work with

42:55.78] parks and others, so. But that was expenditure of your fund, so we need to

42:59.80] vet that fully. I may have answered too quickly.

43:02.54] The

43:03.54] proposals that I've seen,

43:05.60] just looking through their proposed personnel,

43:09.84] is they're proposing teams of at least

43:14.14] five, maybe even 10 people to work on this project.

43:18.34] And so when we talk about this program manager, we're not talking

43:22.36] about a person-

43:23.38] Okay

43:23.38] ... we're talking about a team of experts.

43:26.48] Okay.

43:26.54] That's helpful.

43:27.26] People who

43:28.92] are involved in city planning, in capital budgeting,

43:32.92] in urban design, in facilities.

43:39.36] When I talk about bringing in expertise, it's not one expert,

43:42.94] it's a team of experts.

43:45.02] That's helpful.

43:46.12] Right. So as far as being an action item, it's not

43:51.00] hiring or making this decision, or saying, "Yes, spend the money for this

43:54.52] position." We don't need to make a decision on-

43:56.98] We're not asking for anything from you today.

43:59.70] Okay.

44:01.04] But your questions have been tremendous.

44:03.80] But I think you would want to know that if the sense of the room

44:07.54] is, we don't want to fund this.

44:09.46] Yeah.

44:10.16] Right? You need to know that, otherwise

44:13.16] you're wasting time.

44:14.34] Right.

44:15.78] I've heard you.

44:17.22] Exactly.

44:18.14] And it may be possible, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it may be

44:20.62] possible that some amount of the funding could be taken out of the 4% overhead.

44:24.74] We'll look at that.

44:27.24] We certainly don't want any duplication of what overhead

44:31.02] is being provided, it could be removed from that. We'll look at that. Yes.

44:34.58] So the only thing I would point out on that, though, is

44:37.98] it costs money to

44:40.42] make things happen.

44:42.46] And the assumption that it can just happen at the cost of another

44:46.06] program, that's not the board's role here, that's

44:49.92] city council.

44:51.94] So,

44:53.36] I say that as the protector of the general fund and of

44:57.44] all city budgets.

45:00.14] We can't pass that cost onto something else, and

45:04.02] that's what I just want to leave with this board.

45:08.00] With that in mind, and understanding that this is a unique program then, is there

45:11.06] also just an example of when the city has gone into a similar

45:14.52] consulting relationship that we could even just see and understand

45:18.44] what the impact would be, and how that would work?

45:20.32] Well, and certainly, I think Tim mentioned it, Neighborhood Works+, just

45:24.40] is a microcosm of what that looks like at the neighborhood project level,

45:28.98] which was very successful in bringing those plans

45:32.86] forward, those projects forward, vetting those projects, having multiple

45:35.80] neighborhood meetings, bringing that proposal back here for

45:40.08] the $5 million and then bringing it to council.

45:42.32] Putting that together, that's been a very successful working relationship

45:46.30] with that consultant.

45:48.80] So I guess that's probably the closest example to this, perhaps.

45:53.64] Tim, I don't know if there's others?

45:55.14] We probably have a lot of ones, others, but that's the closest.

45:58.06] Has Public Works retained consultants to design whole

46:02.00] programs or...

46:03.02] Not on the program level. For us, mostly it

46:06.88] is designing specific projects.

46:11.02] All right, well appreciate everyone's feedback.

46:13.56] We have this information.

46:16.90] If you have additional questions, let us know, but we'll have this on the agenda

46:20.08] for next meeting. So thank you, Tim.

46:21.56] Thank you.

46:22.68] All right, let's go ahead and proceed.

46:24.38] We have our next update that we will get from Parks and Greenways, and Ron

46:28.26] Schneider is going to kick that off. Ron?

46:38.76] Greetings, everyone. My name is Ron Schneider, I'm the director of parks for the

46:42.80] Springfield-Greene County Park Board, and I was asked to give

46:46.78] an update on the parks and trails projects that have been

46:50.50] funded so far,

46:52.64] recommended by the Citizens Advisory Board, approved by city

46:56.28] council earlier this year. With me today

47:00.32] is Ben Tegeler, who's going to talk specifically about the trails

47:03.74] projects, and then Jackson Thompson is also here

47:07.62] from the Dickerson Park Zoo. So I think distributed

47:11.54] to each of you is a list of all the parks and trails projects that

47:15.50] have already been approved.

47:18.38] In that spreadsheet is the total project

47:21.86] amount for each project, the amount that's been

47:25.76] allocated by CAB to go towards that project, and then if it's a

47:29.30] continuation project,

47:31.92] it has prior investments noted for each

47:35.58] project, and then our estimated timeline of

47:38.88] completing each of those projects.

47:41.36] So,

47:42.74] I'm going to run through each of them individually, at least the park projects, and

47:45.92] then I'm going to turn it over to Ben.

47:47.70] So over $11 million has been allocated so far towards parks and

47:51.68] trails projects. Beginning with the park

47:55.74] master plan development, and this is for five

47:59.70] of our most beloved parks, including Sequoyah Fast Night,

48:04.05] Silver Springs, Grant Beach, and Nathaniel Green Close

48:07.91] Memorial Park. The primary objective of these plans is

48:11.87] to shape the future of the parks through extensive public

48:15.79] engagement and stakeholder input that will provide a roadmap

48:19.81] for future improvements. So $500,000 in funding

48:23.77] was approved for this initiative.

48:25.75] We went through an extensive request for qualifications

48:29.39] from

48:31.27] planning firms, landscape architects.

48:33.99] We had 13 responses, so really

48:37.89] a lot of interest in this project. Playing Designs Studio was hired to perform the

48:41.87] work, and they're actually doing interviews and

48:47.03] collecting data currently. So they're doing internal

48:50.65] stakeholder meetings, meaning they're meeting with our staff right now

48:54.51] to talk about maintenance, operations, and programming at each of those

48:58.41] parks. They have a multi-phase approach that includes data collection,

49:02.45] two rounds of public engagement,

49:05.75] visioning and concept development, and then master

49:09.53] plan adoption support. And we expect these plans to be completed

49:13.97] and delivered to the Park Board and City Council in the second

49:17.91] quarter of 2027. We're eyeing May

49:21.67] of next year for those plans to be completed and presented.

49:25.87] The second project on your list is the inclusive playground at

49:29.53] McDaniel Park.

49:31.35] This was the third phase of planned improvements at McDaniel Park.

49:35.43] Phase one and two included the addition of a new bicycle pump

49:39.47] track, which is being donated by the Trail Spring

49:42.65] organization.

49:44.47] And phase two

49:46.37] was the construction of a very nice pavilion and

49:50.23] restroom facility that will serve the park, and that was a

49:53.67] donation from the Hatch Foundation.

49:56.07] So altogether, there is nearly $2 million in private

49:59.95] investment or donations that are going into the project at McDaniel

50:03.87] Park.

50:05.33] And phase three adds an

50:08.93] inclusive destination playground.

50:11.45] The estimated cost of that playground is $800,000,

50:15.35] with about $650,000 coming from the Half Cent

50:19.23] for SGF funding.

50:21.63] We recently went through a competitive bid process for the construction

50:25.75] of

50:27.43] the pavilion

50:29.33] and the site work for the park,

50:32.91] and just awarded the construction contract.

50:35.67] So we expect dirt to move on this project

50:39.59] fairly soon,

50:40.99] more likely right after the first of the year, once the contracts are

50:44.39] finalized, and we expect completion to be in probably

50:48.41] mid-summer, July or August of 2027.

50:51.57] So that's the first of the park projects that you'll really see dirt

50:55.55] moving on, so excited about that.

50:58.85] The third project is the Meader

51:01.45] Park Pickleball Complex,

51:03.93] and this project was roughly $3.6 million.

51:07.25] This replaces the existing

51:10.85] courts at Meader Park that are in poor condition.

51:14.27] As you recall, they are an adaptive reuse of old tennis courts.

51:17.75] So with this project, we fund

51:21.59] the construction of at least 16 dedicated

51:25.31] pickleball courts,

51:27.41] a restroom pavilion, which we currently do not have at that park,

51:31.91] site amenities that will support pickleball play and tournaments

51:35.53] there.

51:36.85] So a great project, very well received.

51:40.77] And we recently went through a competitive RFQ process

51:44.81] to hire a design firm for that project.

51:47.17] So we have Plane Design Studio who's helping with that, Own

51:50.97] Engineering, and Hood Rich Architects have teamed up

51:55.09] for that project. So

51:57.25] we expect to have final design in the second quarter of the summer of

52:01.25] 2027, followed by bid administration for the project,

52:05.17] and then tentatively, we're looking at construction starting in the fall of

52:09.25] 2027 and the project being completed in the spring of

52:12.87] 2028.

52:16.47] Improvements to Lafayette Park

52:20.17] is the next project on your list.

52:22.95] And in 2025, we engaged with

52:26.17] neighborhood residents, the neighborhood

52:29.53] association, other stakeholders to develop a master plan

52:33.59] for Lafayette Park. We did this in-house with our planning team.

52:38.25] Recommendations from the plan included updated walkways that were

52:42.19] ADA compliant, new playground equipment,

52:45.73] replacement of the old tennis court with a new tennis court, and combined with

52:49.71] pickleball,

52:51.11] new landscaping, signs, and site amenities.

52:54.13] So the total investment

52:56.35] in Lafayette Park would be roughly $1.4 million,

53:00.69] and we are working on final design for this project and

53:04.55] anticipate construction starting

53:07.23] probably late summer or early fall of 2027.

53:11.29] And then the last park project that I have to report on is the Dickerson Park

53:15.33] Zoo, which you funded $850,000 worth

53:19.25] of improvements there. That include the construction of a bald eagle exhibit,

53:23.51] installation of a new playground, and the development of a

53:27.49] master plan and strategic plan for the zoo that will lead

53:31.49] us through the next several years of potential improvements.

53:35.73] For the playground project, we recently solicited proposals for a

53:39.75] natural-themed playground that will complement the Tropical Asia animal

53:43.31] exhibit.

53:44.75] And staff is leveraging the $400,000 of CAB

53:48.53] funding with

53:50.99] donor support as well as

53:54.95] some grants that will expand what we could do with that playground project.

54:00.19] We expect completion of the new playground

54:04.29] To be completed in the summer of 2027.

54:09.47] And then our zoo crew is also working on a free-flight

54:13.49] bald eagle aviary that will house three fully flighted

54:16.93] eagles and incorporate natural features, immersive viewing,

54:21.17] and conservation-focused interpretation.

54:24.77] This habitat will be located right next to the bear exhibit,

54:28.95] which we just opened up a new boardwalk earlier this year.

54:32.81] So more great improvements coming to that area of the zoo.

54:36.81] And then last, we are just really getting started on the

54:41.09] master plan process, and we're still in the

54:44.67] RFQ stage of that, where we're putting together

54:48.77] a request for qualifications that will go out to

54:52.59] firms that could do this work on our behalf.

54:55.45] So with that being said,

54:58.43] that's the park projects that I have to report on.

55:00.85] I'll stay here and I guess turn it over to Ben to

55:04.75] present the trail projects, and then we'd be happy to take any questions you may

55:07.81] have.

55:09.25] Thanks.

55:12.63] Thanks, Ron.

55:13.21] Mm-hmm.

55:14.91] Like Ron said, I'm Ben Tegler. I'm the executive director of Ozark Greenways, and I

55:18.71] just want to reiterate the why of why I'm here from a trail

55:22.63] perspective. Trails have ranked in the top three of most of our park surveys

55:26.65] in the past five years, and it's a top 10 priority in our comprehensive plan

55:30.47] forward SGF of ungapping our map. While our network is strong and we have

55:34.49] a lot of greenway trails, the priority is being laser-focused on connecting those

55:38.39] gaps, connecting neighborhoods, parks, or commercial areas, and making this a

55:42.23] better place to live and a higher quality of place.

55:45.77] So from what was approved in February by city council, we had $4.3

55:49.59] million, 1.8 for the Chadwick Flyer.

55:52.01] That's for construction from the Kisik, where the power plant is north

55:56.05] to the Trail of Honor, so connecting that segment on the south.

55:59.87] We've got a million dollars for planning and design of Grant Avenue North from

56:03.37] where it terminates currently at College Street all the way north to Lost Hill

56:07.39] Park. That's about five miles all the way north and having

56:11.75] basically from Lost Hill Park all the way to Wonders of Wildlife and connecting

56:14.97] tons of neighborhoods, amenities, schools,

56:17.87] and commercial areas along that corridor.

56:20.69] We also got a million dollars for an Ungap the Map.

56:23.83] This is kind of an opportunity fund when we have small gaps

56:27.77] or planning engineering acquisition that we can

56:30.99] leverage

56:32.39] when an opportunity arises. We've had a lot of those happen in the past few years

56:35.53] that we're trying to focus on and get connected and fix long-term

56:39.19] problems where trails have been closed.

56:42.39] Again, kind of that

56:44.67] leverage fund. And we also got $500,000 for the Frisco High

56:48.63] Line connector. Basically, the whole northwest quadrant of the

56:52.53] city

56:53.67] has zero trails and how do we connect to the 35-mile rail trail all the

56:57.67] way to Bolivar and also have local and regional connectivity?

57:01.03] And there's a big idea behind this of square to square.

57:03.45] How do we connect Bolivar to Willard, to Springfield, to Ozark,

57:08.33] and have one continuous regional trail system?

57:11.07] But at the same time, how do I leave my front porch and be at a coffee shop on

57:15.01] C Street or

57:17.11] at a ballgame downtown? So these are also multi-year

57:20.93] projects, not one-year projects. Our timing's a little different from parks.

57:24.47] We're working with the railroad, we're working with preliminary engineering,

57:28.49] concept engineering, right of way acquisition, and some other things.

57:31.29] So a lot of these are more kind of in this public works domain that we've been

57:35.15] partnering with those project managers and Dan's team.

57:38.07] That's been great. There's definitely when we talk about heavy lift for staff, I've

57:42.07] experienced that with some of the public works staff of

57:45.25] them having full-time jobs and being burdened of taking on this extra

57:49.15] of negotiating contracts. Us as Ozark Greenways aren't able to

57:53.07] negotiate that, so we depend on our partners at public works, and it definitely

57:56.77] adds a little bit of strain to them.

57:58.19] So we're doing everything in our power to help move that along, but

58:02.23] just want to throw that out there. Where we are today, the Chadwick Flyer, we had

58:06.19] $3 million of previous ARPA funding that was completely

58:10.33] there to survey, get it engineered, and final construction documents.

58:13.33] That is completely wrapped up.

58:15.67] We are waiting on just the acquisition between the city and BNSF,

58:20.01] which my understanding is that we're close.

58:21.89] We have some agreements in place, and it's just the timing of working with the

58:25.77] railroad.

58:27.39] Everything inside of Ozark Greenways control and parks control is

58:31.11] done, and again, that acquisition.

58:32.77] But once we get that railroad corridor, we are ready to move

58:36.77] forward going out to bid for a construction consultant,

58:40.19] and we assume it would take about 12 months to get that

58:43.61] completed.

58:45.53] For the Frisco connector, we are currently working to get under contract

58:49.73] with the consultant to expend about $38,000 of that

58:52.93] $500,000 for a feasibility study.

58:55.55] A lot has changed since we last met with the 444 project that

58:59.35] MoDOT's doing of Interstate 44.

59:01.77] And a lot has changed in a positive way that gives more opportunity while

59:05.29] they're doing surgery on that or at division and at

59:09.09] Kearney and making a lot of changes that allows us the opportunity to get in

59:12.95] there and not only plan and engineer, but maybe take a look at constructing some of

59:16.77] these. So what was just funded for this was engineering and design, but we may be

59:20.51] coming back to see if we can carry those dollars further and just get

59:24.39] away from the design engineering and have some construction improvements and make

59:28.29] that connectivity happen sooner than we originally expected.

59:32.73] So that feasibility study also opens up with the $25 million

59:36.83] RAISE grant of a north-south connector connecting Young Willie all the way

59:41.01] north-south.

59:42.53] And then again, Nichols and connecting to Grant Avenue.

59:45.07] I wish I had a map to show you, but just verbal now.

59:49.05] This helps us expend those dollars, make sure we're being great stewards of this,

59:52.29] and have

59:54.01] a gut check of feasibility before we get into preliminary engineering and make sure

59:57.89] that we're picking the most direct route that has the biggest bang for our buck.

60:01.57] So we've got about 460,000 preserved for design right away and possibly

60:05.23] construction

60:08.18] Moving on to Grant Avenue North corridor, we're leveraging public works

60:12.06] in-house surveying. We got some bids back that were about a

60:15.88] half a million dollars to survey the entire corridor.

60:18.32] So we've kind of pivoted to say, how can we not spend that just in surveying,

60:23.46] and get farther along in engineering,

60:26.88] and being a little more focused on that?

60:28.50] They've been great to identify that work in-house, and then they have some new

60:32.82] technology and lidar data coming through that helps us evaluate those

60:36.80] right of way constraints, and essentially saving budget to focus on what was

60:40.36] funded.

60:42.10] We're hoping to have all that wrapped up by the end of the year and having a

60:45.08] consultant in spring of '27. And then

60:49.04] coordination again with MoDOT, Grant Avenue to the north is expanding,

60:53.70] with access to 44, which has changed a little bit of

60:57.60] the scope, and again, allowed us to change and try to work together with

61:01.60] their team. And we've been very close of how to make that connection happen with

61:05.62] more vehicle traffic now coming down Grant.

61:07.64] It kind of changes our design parameters from a completely multimodal,

61:11.66] because we'll have a lot more cars coming on and off 44 into the north

61:15.58] side of Springfield.

61:18.98] So that's all happening. And then our Ungap the Map fund, that million-dollar

61:22.76] opportunity fund, we've been working with MoDOT on some trails along Kansas and

61:26.70] Grand. We've been re-looking at Ward Branch, near the library center of the

61:30.16] underpass there, of how to reopen that.

61:32.98] Also Sunshine to Bennett. The city's doing a complete street

61:36.64] project from Bennett at Enterprise, all the way west to the art museum.

61:40.50] The Chadwick Flyer currently dies at Sunshine, so there's a small gap between

61:44.18] Bennett and Sunshine we'd like to figure out and get that engineered, and final

61:48.02] design and construction, so when dollars arrive, that we're able to capitalize on

61:51.80] those.

61:53.00] And then wrapping up the final design for the Lake Springfield Bridge,

61:57.64] which crosses over to Lake Springfield Park and connects us to Chadwick and

62:01.98] the Trail of Honor, which came before this board last year,

62:06.34] for FY27.

62:09.02] So where we're going, we're dependent on MoDOT a lot for some of these corridors

62:12.46] and negotiating with them and trying to figure some things out and build the trail

62:15.74] while the road's already open.

62:18.42] We plan to come back to this board and council to try to get as much to change

62:22.28] just from design engineering to add some construction to these.

62:25.98] So if there's an opportunity for us to build that, we build it and get

62:30.00] that connection and ungap that map right then and there.

62:34.92] And so we funded planning. We're trying to turn the planning into shovel-ready

62:38.18] projects and turn the trail into the ground, and get things

62:42.16] moving.

62:44.78] I think that's basically it for my update.

62:47.70] Be happy to answer any questions.

62:50.74] I have one question. Would you say again, the Young Lily connection, where does

62:54.36] that go?

62:55.64] Sure.

62:56.00] You said that was $25 million that you're looking-

62:58.68] The Raized grant goes west from

63:02.38] essentially Scenic, or downtown all the way west to

63:05.70] Rutledge-Wilson. There's no connection when you get west of West Bypass,

63:10.00] north to Young Lily. That entire neighborhood, and they just became a registered

63:12.82] neighborhood association, is disconnected from Rutledge,

63:16.68] and it is kind of in a pocket. So, we're looking at, in that feasibility

63:20.50] study, how do you connect them north-south, not only to the Frisco Line, but to

63:24.44] Rutledge-Wilson and to each other in that west side of West Bypass there and to the

63:28.46] Walmart and some of those amenities there.

63:31.48] But again, that's just the feasibility of that $40,000 out of that

63:35.26] $500,000 to explore if there's a feasible route.

63:39.00] And we've also been talking to the developer at Grand and West Bypass there

63:42.78] of connecting directly to Rutledge because again, K Point and those subdivisions

63:46.36] don't have any connectivity. Even though the park is outside their back

63:50.38] door, they can't get to it without driving.

63:54.06] Thank you.

63:55.66] Any other questions?

63:57.98] Thank you, gentlemen, for your updates.

64:00.34] To me, these are some of the shining stars of what the Forward

64:04.28] SGF dollars, Springforward dollars can do.

64:07.06] And when it's invested, this is overwhelmingly what the citizens told

64:10.94] us they wanted in

64:13.28] Forward SGF, and it's great to see these plans coming to life.

64:17.24] And so keep up the good work, and we want to continue to cheer you

64:21.28] on and see results so our residents can get out and enjoy

64:25.28] these spaces. So thank you.

64:27.92] Thank you very much.

64:31.08] And then we'll turn to Nick Nelson,

64:35.98] for an art museum update.

64:38.04] So Nick?

64:41.94] Good afternoon. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Nick Nelson.

64:44.92] I'm the director of the art museum and excited to be here

64:48.80] and give you guys an update on the art museum.

64:52.48] Unfortunately, I don't have slides, so

64:55.42] I'm a little bit of a disadvantage.

64:57.84] After we received the funding, or the council approved the funding for

65:01.74] the half-cent Springforward tax for the art museum, that was in

65:05.66] February 2026,

65:08.26] we shifted focus from completing phase one to planning

65:12.20] for phase two of the project.

65:15.36] So we continued working on items in phase one that would carry into

65:19.22] phase two,

65:21.04] while our design team worked on a transition plan.

65:25.04] On August 14th, the full phase two construction documents were

65:28.68] released

65:30.10] by our design team. Our construction manager at risk

65:33.96] began pricing work packages with their

65:37.20] subcontractors, and a little over a week ago, they gave

65:40.84] us the preliminary

65:43.66] guaranteed maximum price. If you recall, the construction manager at risk

65:47.96] provides a guaranteed maximum price of the

65:51.68] full construction cost of the project.

65:54.90] We have faced a few challenges.

65:58.14] The guaranteed maximum price came in higher than expected.

66:02.06] So we've had some longer lead times on steel

66:05.96] procurement as well as some higher price

66:09.40] escalations. These are really due to market

66:12.60] conditions, including higher demand for steel,

66:16.60] some uncertainty related around things like tariffs

66:20.36] and fuel costs and things like that.

66:23.00] These are really kind of market conditions that are driving that.

66:26.46] So we're currently working with our design team and our construction

66:30.48] manager at risk to bring those

66:33.02] costs in line with our budget.

66:37.60] We do have some timeline extensions too related to

66:41.36] the steel procurement,

66:45.76] and some

66:47.00] expected delays there.

66:49.32] In the coming week, we hope to have the

66:54.02] GMP, the guaranteed maximum price, finalized, and to

66:57.98] council for approval so we can move forward

67:01.04] with construction. So,

67:05.58] probably the big question is: What is that difference?

67:09.54] We're looking at anywhere between

67:13.92] $700 to half a million dollars over

67:17.80] what our budget was. It was higher, and we've been

67:21.98] kind of whittling it down. In fact, this morning I was in a meeting

67:25.80] talking about the height of doors and how many

67:29.54] outlets we need on a wall, or in the amphitheater.

67:32.54] So we're really getting into the weeds, trying to figure out ways

67:36.26] to

67:37.78] value engineer the project without value engineering.

67:40.96] Value engineering.

67:41.34] So

67:42.42] we are

67:44.02] absolutely committed to bringing the highest quality-

67:47.64] Yes

67:47.74] ... to our community

67:50.54] in a timely manner. And we feel like we're in the right direction.

67:54.68] We've come a long way with it, and we'll be,

67:59.34] I shouldn't say hopefully, we will be getting it into a point

68:03.08] where we'll be confident moving forward and again, next week or

68:06.92] so,

68:08.00] getting that

68:09.70] pinned down.

68:11.50] The timeline for the project is, as I said,

68:15.20] impacted by steel procurement. There's a lot of demand for steel

68:19.22] currently.

68:20.62] Our original

68:22.48] target for final completion was January 2028.

68:27.06] Our most recent projections are we don't

68:30.90] think we'll

68:32.14] be able to deliver final completion before June 2028.

68:36.04] So that puts us about six months

68:39.38] behind. But we are going to, again, continue to work to

68:44.08] figure out ways to deliver as quickly as possible

68:48.62] within the current market conditions.

68:52.08] So,

68:54.16] in all, the project has been

68:57.72] moving forward in a really good way.

69:00.40] We've done

69:01.70] public hard hat tours prior to moving into phase two

69:05.72] and had some great public

69:08.24] response from the project, and we're just really excited about

69:12.48] getting underway on phase two and reopening our

69:16.24] museum.

69:18.64] Anybody has any questions? Yeah.

69:20.00] Nick, how's your fundraising going?

69:22.74] It's going well. We've been able to

69:25.92] identify some name spaces, and

69:29.20] we continue to raise money,

69:32.86] and we'll continue to raise money.

69:34.08] What we're looking at now is, as we

69:36.98] finish off fundraising for the project, shifting

69:40.78] into operations and endowments so that we'll be ready to go when we've

69:44.28] reopened. There is a point where we have to

69:47.92] commit to a project, so there's

69:51.62] going to be a point where we have to stop capital fundraising

69:55.70] just because we have to move forward with a contract and

70:01.06] a complete project. So we're kind of getting to that point, and if we

70:05.06] can bring the cost

70:07.16] down through

70:09.10] these efforts of finding efficiencies,

70:13.42] that'll bode well for that sort of shift of fundraising for

70:16.76] operations.

70:19.76] Yeah.

70:21.28] Is there an area now at the museum that is

70:25.62] available for a public function or meeting?

70:29.96] Is it open for anything like that?

70:33.62] What's the auditorium scheduling? And then what's the big lobby?

70:37.30] Can anybody have a-

70:39.10] Unfortunately,

70:41.68] the whole west part of the museum is actually getting demolished.

70:45.14] Oh, okay.

70:47.36] And I'm happy to give anybody on the committee a tour of the

70:51.22] facility.

70:52.58] The project really touches almost every single room in the

70:56.26] museum. So if you go there,

70:58.26] there's no space to...

71:03.24] Everything's under construction.

71:05.68] But we have been activating our outdoor spaces.

71:09.48] We have launched a program called On the Lawn, where every second Saturday we do

71:14.70] concerts and yoga and art activities out in

71:18.70] the Hatch Lawn

71:20.66] by the amphitheater. So we are still using the site.

71:23.98] We are continuing with our great partnership with Parks to do Pops

71:27.94] in the Park,

71:29.44] which will be coming up in June. And so we're trying to keep the

71:33.32] site as active as possible considering the

71:38.16] scale of the construction project.

71:43.86] Any other questions?

71:46.88] Hearing none, Nick, thank you for the update.

71:50.34] We can talk about some of this in next steps, but one thing I

71:54.54] would throw out kind of along that line is, especially for any of the new members,

71:58.38] if there's an interest in tours, Nick and his crew have been

72:02.44] great ambassadors, giving tons of hard hat tours.

72:06.36] But that's something we'd need to coordinate with Colin and the

72:10.24] city clerk's office. We don't want to violate any special meeting laws

72:14.24] or

72:15.80] regulations. But giving tours,

72:19.74] it helps to be on the ground and go through those facilities,

72:23.58] both with art museum, but greenways and parks as well.

72:27.76] And so that may be something over the next few months, we look at having

72:32.08] some opportunities to get on the ground and get to see some of

72:36.08] these spaces.

72:37.92] I think each of these partners have great stories to tell,

72:41.72] and so we can also work with Cora on that.

72:45.02] But let's all be thinking of maybe some potential field trips.

72:49.30] We've given 85 hard hat tours to, I think,

72:53.56] 500 people or something like that in the past.

72:56.20] So we're kind of old hats in hard hats.

73:01.10] Old hard hats.

73:02.20] Hey, Nick, is there a timeline? Because I know demo's starting.

73:04.96] Is there a timeline if we're going to do a tour?

73:07.06] It probably needs to be expedited, correct?

73:10.00] Either that or we'll have to figure out.

73:11.82] We can certainly work around their demo schedule.

73:16.93] And yeah, either-

73:18.39] So they've paused tours for a minute, correct?

73:20.73] Yeah, we have paused tours, but we can figure out how to make one

73:24.63] work.

73:25.93] Probably either before or after the major demolition

73:29.79] happens would be best.

73:32.75] And I can coordinate with everybody on when would be the best

73:36.59] time, especially our construction-

73:37.99] As long as we don't have

73:39.79] five people going in this board. If it's a

73:43.47] few at a time to work with Nick on just a tour of that, that's not

73:47.23] a stunted meeting. Just work with him on just taking a look at that if

73:51.23] you're interested.

73:51.45] If you're interested.

73:52.39] Yeah.

73:52.67] Yeah.

73:53.25] Yeah.

73:54.29] I think in particular, the art museum, for those who are new,

73:58.09] we talked about having the art museum be a hub or

74:03.15] having activities radiating out of that.

74:05.55] And so when you're on the art museum site, you're not only seeing what is happening

74:09.25] there, but you're thinking of, well, how does it connect with Phelps

74:13.21] Grove Park? How does the Greenway Trail reach out down Bennett all

74:17.19] the way to the Chadwick Flyer?

74:19.83] What are the new tennis courts going to look like right outside the French fries?

74:23.57] So,

74:25.09] you see all those pieces coming together, which is what we want all of our projects

74:29.59] integrating and building on one another to create momentum.

74:34.01] And so anyway, again, keep that in mind.

74:36.99] I think

74:38.23] that the idea of getting out and about, now we're getting into...

74:42.11] We had summer yesterday, and

74:44.93] we're going to turn into fall, and it'll quickly be Thanksgiving before we know it.

74:48.89] So some of this may need to wait till spring, but

74:53.11] I would be very interested in getting out and getting folks on the

74:56.95] ground.

74:58.71] All right. Thanks, Nick.

75:00.63] With that, Steve is going to lead us in an update of the

75:04.55] neighborhood plans, which we funded.

75:07.37] Oh.

75:09.13] Well, hello, everyone. Good to see you. My name's Steve Childers.

75:12.63] I'm the Director of Planning and Development.

75:14.31] I just have a brief update to tell you where we're at, and happy to answer any

75:17.21] questions. I have taken a hard hat tour.

75:19.93] It's really cool, so if you do get to do it.

75:22.95] You may actually think when you're there, "How does this museum and the

75:26.49] park fit into the greater neighborhood?" Well, we're going to deal with that

75:30.45] when we get to the plans.

75:32.61] So,

75:33.99] you may or may not recall, but the CAB

75:38.13] had

75:39.59] recommended approval, and it was approved by the city council to budget

75:43.27] $500,000 for completing

75:46.77] neighborhood plans for each individual registered neighborhood.

75:51.51] When we did that, we had 24 registered neighborhoods.

75:55.99] Now we have actually 26 registered neighborhoods, Lily

75:59.99] being one of those.

76:01.93] Another one that we have added was actually East Central.

76:05.79] So,

76:07.03] I think as we get through this process, we're going to learn a lot over the

76:10.81] next 18 to 24 months, and then staff should be able to

76:14.65] conduct the plans individually for those coming forward.

76:18.69] So I think we're going to be just fine.

76:21.41] So earlier this year, we put out a request for a

76:24.71] proposal to select a consultant to guide us through

76:28.61] this 18 to 24-month process.

76:31.67] We have chosen a consultant. The consultant is Freese

76:35.61] and Nichol Incorporated.

76:38.25] We've already had a couple Zoom meetings with

76:42.19] them to get prepared, but they are going to come make their first visit

76:46.19] physically here to the city on November 9th.

76:50.33] At November 9th, they're going to meet with both the Planning and Zoning

76:53.73] Commission as well as the City Council in a City Council lunch meeting,

76:58.23] so that they can give a presentation to the City Council,

77:01.71] so they can set expectations, and make sure that

77:05.69] everyone understands what these neighborhood plans will be and what they're not

77:09.31] intended to be.

77:11.25] So we want to make sure that everybody is comfortable with what's going to be the

77:14.59] outcome of that.

77:16.55] That is also going to include

77:19.53] a neighborhood open house event. So while they're in town, there

77:23.49] will be a neighborhood open house event.

77:25.79] Our neighborhood team is currently working with them right

77:29.73] now to kind of structure what that's all going to look like.

77:33.43] But I was texting just a minute asking some questions of the staff,

77:37.44] because I anticipated a question, and whether you have this or not.

77:42.23] We have had the question, "Well, how are you going to prioritize these

77:45.11] neighborhoods?" And to be honest, there's really not going to be a

77:48.39] prioritization of the neighborhoods, like we'll do one, and then two, and then

77:51.87] three. We're going to do these simultaneously.

77:54.57] So we're going to have

77:56.89] consultant leads that will consist of two or three

78:00.41] individuals that are on that team, and there are going to be six

78:04.35] groups of four neighborhoods. So we're going to try to get this

78:08.31] done. This is a lot of work to have individual plans done for

78:12.33] over 24 registered neighborhoods, and we do think we can do this

78:16.09] in 24 months. There will be a lot of citizen

78:19.79] engagement.

78:21.33] So I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be exciting.

78:25.01] It's going to be a really cool project.

78:26.79] We can come back and give you as many updates as you want, as frequently as you

78:30.59] want. Just let us know. But that's where we're at right now, so...

78:35.83] Steve, you might add that it would be good to keep this body updated

78:39.67] on when those open houses are taking place-

78:42.63] Sure

78:42.71] ... because it will be helpful for you all to see what's going on with those plans

78:46.61] and that engagement. I just want to applaud the planning department for taking

78:50.49] this on simultaneously because it's what's best for the community, and it'll get

78:54.35] all of the neighborhoods excited that they're going to be a part of something

78:57.27] really big. And we'll make a big deal about it along with them.

79:00.31] And we're working hand in hand with PIO.

79:03.41] We've brought them onto the team. We have regular meetings, and so as we're

79:07.27] communicating with P&Z and City Council, we'll communicate with you guys, too,

79:11.29] and we'll make sure that we settle those out, all the dates, any meetings, any of

79:14.33] that stuff. So attend what you'd like or as many or not as many as

79:18.33] you want and be a part of it, so...

79:22.42] I would just like to say this is progress as promised.

79:25.20] Yes.

79:25.94] Because

79:28.54] from an ACT position, we've been asking for this for about four or

79:32.24] five,

79:33.72] is that or longer, years? So I am

79:37.10] ecstatic. Thank you.

79:39.26] This is a recommendation from Forward SGF as well.

79:43.08] It does say that we need to do this, so it's really cool to be able to

79:46.98] see one of our recommendations in Forward SGF move forward

79:50.96] as well.

79:51.40] It is remarkable because typically a neighborhood plan can take up to

79:55.36] 18 to 24 months.

79:58.08] So

79:59.38] it's hard to keep those plans fresh when it takes that long-

80:02.96] Yeah

80:02.98] ... especially over 24, but having this effort to get

80:06.96] everyone, everyone will be on a similar playing field then.

80:10.70] And we won't have one neighborhood with a fresh plan and someone whose plan

80:14.80] is 10 years old. So some of the things I would hope

80:19.70] is that, in each of those neighborhoods, we highlight the

80:23.78] Spring Forward projects that are already committed.

80:27.00] And so parks projects, greenways, that those are really

80:30.60] highlighted- ... as these are coming attractions coming soon

80:34.48] and have that be part of the discussion and the

80:38.14] visioning for that.

80:40.92] The other thing is,

80:42.92] would love to see, we've talked about using our funds to

80:46.92] spur additional development, both on the residential and neighborhood

80:50.88] hub side. So,

80:53.30] will they be looking at, for each neighborhood, doing a

80:56.60] GIS review of vacant or

80:59.96] underutilized properties?

81:02.32] I think that's definitely going to be a part, and thank you for your first part of

81:05.34] the comment.

81:06.98] We have already made sure

81:10.72] to engage the other initiatives that are being funded by

81:14.44] CAB as well. We probably had our first joint meeting

81:18.40] with Parks and Planning the other day because we knew that we

81:22.26] needed to talk about that. Because the parks that

81:26.24] Ron mentioned, they're in neighborhoods, and so we know that's going to

81:30.22] be a significant piece. So we're going to be meeting on a quarterly basis, Ron, I

81:34.24] think, just to make sure that we're in tune with that.

81:37.10] We're going to make sure that their consultants and our consultants are talking

81:40.64] about those things so that we don't,

81:43.84] we don't want to have duplicative efforts-

81:46.38] Mm

81:46.46] ... but we also want to have coordinated efforts. So that's going to be one thing.

81:49.66] So we set up those regular meetings.

81:52.34] The second thing is, on the Neighborhood Works Plus,

81:56.50] actually have two members of the planning staff that

82:00.36] are on the team and have been through the whole consulting

82:04.56] process with them. So we're staying very engaged.

82:08.14] Those silos have been broken down, and we're all working really good

82:11.96] to have interdepartmental discussions about that stuff.

82:15.84] But yeah, I think

82:17.64] we've really talked a lot about opportunities and what might exist.

82:20.88] And the exciting thing is, is that you're going to talk to the neighbors and the

82:24.86] neighborhoods and say, "What opportunities do you see in your

82:28.18] neighborhood that you think could be a potential project?" And

82:32.52] you're going to get it directly from them.

82:34.02] So yeah, I think the vacant lots, the opportunity areas, the

82:37.72] intersections that could have potential redevelopment

82:41.46] opportunities, I think all that's in play.

82:43.88] Yeah.

82:44.12] So.

82:45.16] Well, I think, yeah, that's our chance to...

82:47.62] It's so hard to communicate with people these days.

82:51.06] For those who come to the meeting, we want them to know what's coming,

82:54.68] and that they can tap into that. I think we also need to make sure that the Spring

82:58.68] Forward branding is prevalent,

83:01.30] because again, we are going to want this renewed in eight years,

83:05.26] and we want them to see their support in

83:09.00] action, so.

83:09.82] I don't think you have to worry about the branding.

83:13.14] We get reminded of it all the time. And so, trust me,

83:17.20] yes, it will be a part of it, so.

83:18.70] We should have 30 signs rolling out-

83:21.24] Yeah

83:21.34] ... relatively soon, letting our residents know about

83:25.16] these projects. Of course, this body is

83:28.44] responsible for the recommendations for Spring Forward SGF, so these are

83:32.60] Spring Forward dollars. So you are starting to see

83:36.34] videos roll out as these things get started, and it's a three-prong

83:40.34] approach of

83:41.76] it's coming, we're in the middle of it, and then, wow, look at what,

83:46.78] it's done. Okay? So we would love to have your participation in

83:50.70] building that excitement and communicating about it, but more to come on that.

83:54.30] And to elaborate on Steve's point, the different departments, Parks, Public

83:58.12] Works, and Planning, the triple P,

84:00.80] coming together and making sure that all of these things

84:04.76] are aligned with one another is a game changer.

84:07.76] You think that those things happen naturally.

84:10.86] Mm.

84:11.06] They don't always, for many reasons, but under this Spring Forward

84:14.60] SGF, it provides an umbrella brand that we can make

84:18.60] sure we're communicating just how exciting this $300 million

84:22.68] over 10 years is. Big deal for Springfield, so FYI.

84:27.16] Where's your signage going to go? You got 30. Where can, what do you think?

84:30.28] Every Neighborhood Works Plus project, which is 20.

84:33.16] Yeah.

84:33.62] So those individual projects. What else, Kristen? Kristen designed this.

84:36.78] She goes here.

84:37.26] There it'll be one-

84:37.90] And this is based off of what we do for the quarters and the 8 Cent completed as

84:41.00] promised, based off of that concept.

84:42.86] So we've got

84:44.76] larger billboard-sized signage for where we've got the right of way to do that for

84:48.56] some of those bigger projects, as well as potentially more like

84:52.58] pole-sized neighborhood-type signs that would go near

84:56.32] sidewalks and traffic calming and some of those more neighborhood-level

85:00.08] projects. But we're still in the concepting of this to make sure that it'll print

85:03.56] and be visible by drivers.

85:06.20] And we can't violate our own sign laws.

85:08.52] Right. Or sad.

85:11.48] You can, but-

85:12.36] But it wouldn't be a good thing.

85:14.10] This might be a

85:16.54] good topic for one of your future meetings, just an update on our

85:19.92] communications plan and strategy to show some of the branding, take a few minutes

85:23.86] to show that

85:25.57] Because I think it's a big piece of making sure that voters know, citizens

85:29.33] know what we're doing, what you've approved, which is part of what we're doing here

85:33.17] is

85:34.41] you've recommended and councils approve two and a half years of funding

85:38.47] for these projects already. There's a lot, as you can see, that's going on, that's

85:42.45] taking place since you've recommended and these things have been approved.

85:46.41] Sometimes it's hard to see these things, but we want to make sure, and that was

85:49.07] part of-- appreciate Rusty and Lauren wanting to make sure that we did the update

85:52.29] so you can see exactly where we've been and what's happened since you've

85:55.93] recommended these projects.

85:58.21] Last meeting, you talked about NeighborWorks Plus.

86:00.03] That's $5 million of projects that council's approving that will be going forward

86:04.07] out of the $70-plus million of potential projects in neighborhoods in

86:07.93] that bucket. So there's a lot of potential areas for projects to

86:11.97] be looked at.

86:14.05] And to follow up on that, I'd like to have a

86:17.67] communications update as part of every agenda.

86:21.23] Just taking a few minutes for Cora and Kristen to give us an update, and

86:25.51] so we plan. For those who maybe haven't seen the latest

86:29.85] social media on Renew Jordan Creek-

86:32.87] ... we've had Kirkland out giving a video tour

86:36.75] of the latest fun stuff around that.

86:40.09] Our airport team does a great job. So using social

86:43.83] media to, in fun ways, highlight what we're doing

86:47.39] together with these investments.

86:49.65] But if we could have a standing item on the agenda for communications

86:53.59] each month.

86:54.55] Sure.

86:54.85] I think it needs to be two-way. Something that Lauren and I have talked about is

86:59.33] we want to get an update and a regular report of the portal,

87:03.89] so that-

87:04.51] Mm-hmm

87:04.57] ... those ideas that are coming from the community, that we're getting those

87:08.89] reports on what's coming in, what's come in to date.

87:12.55] And we see how many have we been able to address, and still what's

87:16.45] out there.

87:17.89] So that will be one of the other items on the agenda for next

87:21.85] meeting. So with that, any other questions for

87:25.51] Steve on neighborhood plans?

87:28.73] Thank you.

87:29.23] Thank you, Steve.

87:29.69] You're welcome.

87:30.53] Thank you.

87:32.95] So shortly after our last meeting, Lauren and I were able to meet with

87:36.99] Colin and go through the next few months of generally what we

87:40.97] saw as some of the major topics. So today

87:44.95] was a flurry of updates,

87:48.81] but getting a community applications update for

87:52.91] November.

87:54.77] We anticipate we'll be getting an expo center update at that

87:58.65] meeting.

88:00.11] A city projects update.

88:03.05] You recall Tim in Public Works provided a list of city

88:07.05] projects shortly before we took our hiatus,

88:11.01] and so we'll have that back in front of us.

88:15.43] And then corridors. The initial presentation on corridors.

88:20.09] We'll be working with Public Works, and Dan, his team will be giving

88:23.89] us some ideas. And corridors are called out in Forward

88:27.45] SGF, and there's seven different

88:31.09] high-profile corridors that are listed in Forward SGF.

88:34.59] We're not going to tackle all seven, I don't think, but we can start with one or

88:38.55] two and having that conversation.

88:40.87] So those will be the items that we anticipate for November.

88:45.55] We have penciled in for December, economic vitality and

88:49.27] housing.

88:50.67] Housing is a topic that we haven't yet been able to get to,

88:54.27] and so we're looking on that. And like we've

88:58.25] had for parks and greenways, having the industry experts

89:02.55] come together and come to us with consensus recommendations is the goal

89:06.85] of what we would like to see in both those categories.

89:11.27] We've asked Colin,

89:13.57] we're interested in having another joint meeting with city council.

89:17.49] Last year, that was in January at the airport.

89:20.55] I think we found value in that, and we want to make

89:24.25] sure that we're on the same page with city council and the things that we're

89:27.95] doing

89:29.61] are in line and aren't going to be dead on arrival when it

89:33.61] comes to their dais. So,

89:36.29] if there's interest from council, I think we would certainly want to

89:40.31] have that joint meeting and do an update.

89:43.45] And then

89:45.19] after that, start making some recommendations and

89:49.03] start digging into next level of funding.

89:52.13] Yes, sir.

89:52.55] Please.

89:53.21] That last piece, though, to me, is to some extent connected

89:57.19] to

89:58.77] are we hiring a consultant or not?

90:01.31] Because if we're hiring a consultant, I think we've got to be careful

90:05.23] about getting out in front and funding projects.

90:08.63] If we're not hiring a consultant, then it's

90:12.25] a different deal. Is that...

90:15.99] Absolutely. Yeah. So we'll have that continued discussion next

90:19.93] month. And Lauren, you've had some thoughts about just

90:23.97] a process for evaluating potential projects and initiatives and

90:28.15] so-

90:28.39] Yeah, and it calls it out a little bit in there.

90:30.03] I would just love to see for this group, and of course, want everyone's feedback.

90:33.99] I think it would be helpful from a public perception piece on

90:37.81] how,

90:39.33] matrix may be too strong of a word, but how we're making decisions toward funding

90:43.35] in terms of why we're funding X over Y.

90:45.47] I think we have the 11 criteria, but we're not always sort of utilizing those in

90:49.43] terms of a

90:50.75] checklist when we're looking at these things.

90:52.55] I just think as we're thinking broader about storytelling and the brand of

90:56.49] Spring Forward, how are we having an objective

91:00.69] view on some of that? But it read a little bit in the RFP that that may be a piece

91:04.09] of that if that's the direction we go, but I'd love to see something like that.

91:07.93] We didn't really hit on that today in the Tim lead.

91:10.31] That would be one of my questions of vetting. I love the idea of a plan.

91:13.15] I think that's great. I geek out over efficiency, but a piece of

91:17.17] that being if this is making it easier for people to apply

91:21.05] and easier to vet the projects, that makes me way more

91:24.87] likely to lean into it than-

91:27.66] Because we are answering to our community.

91:29.62] And so I don't want to get so focused on the deliverable

91:33.48] of the plan and what we're funding that we lose the piece of like, how does this

91:37.08] make it easier for our community to get engaged?

91:40.86] Yeah.

91:41.08] Okay.

91:43.96] What other feedback, thoughts?

91:47.48] Yes.

91:48.30] So, one thought I had, and I don't mean to be critical

91:51.88] by saying this, but

91:58.10] as I listen to the tenor of the meeting today,

92:02.80] in my mind, and we got around to it at the end through Cora and

92:06.96] Steve talking about what an amazing opportunity

92:10.98] this is.

92:13.40] We've got almost $400 million

92:17.42] over 10 years to make transformational

92:20.86] projects in our community.

92:24.74] And yet I heard a lot of, but kind of like this was a

92:28.56] burden for people to work on this.

92:31.42] This should not be a burden to work on this.

92:34.44] And I know we get sucked into the tyranny of the urgency and all the

92:38.70] stuff we have to do in our routine jobs, et cetera.

92:43.32] My encouragement to staff would be minimize that,

92:47.48] shift that away, because here's an opportunity to

92:51.50] work on $400 million of cool stuff.

92:56.08] My guess is you don't have a lot of other things that are more important

93:00.02] than this.

93:01.52] I think about Ron, and Ron wasn't a part of this, but Ron's got to

93:05.56] deal with hundreds of employees and all sorts of issues, and

93:09.54] programming, and on and on and on. This is the only

93:13.46] opportunity he's going to have to have real difference.

93:17.24] And so this has got to be the priority,

93:21.14] not returning some crank's call about some b***h they have

93:24.98] somewhere, right? It's got to be focus on the cool

93:29.32] stuff we can do, and

93:33.58] this isn't a burden. This is an opportunity.

93:38.10] What I would just throw in there, and maybe as

93:41.12] a defense for the people who have a lot of work, is

93:44.88] that our city

93:47.04] works for the public

93:49.06] and have to respond to the public, and having worked in

93:52.64] similar situations, even though they should be focused

93:56.48] on our $400 million,

93:59.18] then they have to answer that phone.

94:01.34] They get interrupted. So

94:04.44] I'm torn

94:07.14] with how many interruptions, how many thousands of calls.

94:11.06] Should we answer that cranky person's call or should...

94:16.66] So

94:19.22] it happens.

94:21.58] Maybe Colin doesn't have to answer the cranky person's call.

94:24.88] Well, to hear you use the word transformation, because that's the critical part of

94:28.44] this, is that if we don't come to these meetings imagining what this

94:32.62] city and MSA look like in 10 years and in 20 years, we're not doing our

94:36.68] job to start thinking big because

94:39.82] we have some advantages on other places.

94:42.44] And I've

94:43.76] only been here two and a half years, but I've said this a lot over town.

94:47.06] It's time to mash the gas pedal. It's time to get ahead.

94:49.64] And this $400 million lump of clay has been

94:53.44] handed to us. Let's do big things.

94:56.80] Let's do it.

94:58.86] And this group has all-- as we have surveyed ourselves, we have,

95:04.16] at least as originally composed, everyone in this group was

95:08.04] like, "We have to do big things with this."

95:12.18] Yes, we got to fix sidewalks. Yes, they're small projects that we can fund.

95:16.88] But we may never have another opportunity to do really big

95:20.68] things. And so let's continue to think

95:24.44] big.

95:25.88] I have a question.

95:27.10] Excuse me.

95:27.70] As far as that goes, big things and the future of

95:31.34] Springfield,

95:33.10] I personally was very disappointed when the convention center

95:37.04] didn't pass in the vote, and I think it's because, at least in my

95:40.98] neighborhood, people didn't understand what that means for

95:44.72] Springfield and how we don't have anything

95:48.62] of that scope right now that can take that

95:52.20] place. "Oh, we already have a convention center." No, that convention

95:56.22] center is nothing. It doesn't

96:00.00] perform to the

96:02.98] greater scope of where we would like to see ourselves

96:07.00] in the United States as a city that

96:10.62] invites bigger things to Springfield.

96:14.62] So is there a way for us to revisit the

96:18.26] convention center in some way that can

96:22.46] bring it back to life? Can we

96:24.96] look at that and find a way to

96:29.58] maybe

96:30.82] educate

96:32.60] people on what a convention center means to

96:36.24] Springfield?

96:37.98] So I can just jump in a little bit there. I would say stay tuned.

96:43.06] Obviously, the convention center as a convention center concept with the

96:46.72] additional tax is not something that's being proposed.

96:49.62] However, we still own the Expo and Events Center

96:53.28] facility. That project,

96:56.44] as proposed, it's a transformational project, which is part of

97:00.36] one of the three buckets, large scale transformational project, economic

97:04.10] development project, that's

97:06.28] a downtown project that

97:10.82] leverages dollars,

97:12.88] goes way beyond the cab funding, potentially.

97:16.18] So I would say stay tuned. There's certainly--

97:19.86] the 30 million is there for that type of a project, and I think

97:23.62] we'll leave it there maybe for now and come back

97:27.64] because it's something that needs to be

97:29.93] Really discussed and vetted in

97:32.43] this arena and others to make sure that it's exactly what the

97:35.99] community's looking for.

97:38.23] Well, maybe the community doesn't understand what they're looking for.

97:44.83] It's finding that balance of listening to what are the concerns,

97:48.81] and then

97:50.09] seeing what's the path forward-

97:51.67] Mm-hmm

97:52.47] ... to best utilize facilities and the assets the city has.

97:57.49] We have a pretty big lever to make some things happen.

98:00.61] So,

98:01.73] all right.

98:01.85] I think the more we can do to celebrate that, because to Cliff's point,

98:07.05] the whole goal of this fund is to really make investment in a big way, and a

98:10.91] lot of what we've done thus far,

98:13.37] outside of the convention center, which failed, has been

98:16.83] planning, design.

98:20.21] Ground hasn't been broken. Art museum is in progress.

98:24.27] But we have to be celebrating these things and making sure through the branding

98:27.77] it's known that it's happening and what it's tied to.

98:30.93] And beyond that, this is not all the city's doing.

98:34.28] You may want potholes to be fixed. That's happening, too, just not

98:38.19] with CAB money.

98:39.05] Mm.

98:40.13] So I think it's just a broader communication strategy of like...

98:43.65] Because I've heard, you all may have too, that, "I thought CAB money was for

98:48.01] XYZ, or for this specific thing, not what's being proposed." And it's just that

98:51.95] constant reminder of

98:53.89] we really are looking at transformational things, and you may not see them built

98:57.85] tomorrow,

98:59.33] but they're in progress, which is really important. So.

99:03.29] That's good.

99:05.45] Well said.

99:07.33] All right. Given that high note, which I will say

99:11.25] is a breath of fresh air, we need more of this type of

99:15.09] optimism and hope that we can point our community towards, because

99:19.03] we do have a lot of good things to build on.

99:21.89] So with that, I would entertain a motion to adjourn.

99:26.43] So moved.

99:28.01] Second.

99:28.77] Okay. Mrs. Greer.

99:32.45] Smart?

99:32.99] Yep.

99:33.65] Boltz? Yes. Watson?

99:35.49] Yes.

99:35.99] Forster?

99:36.69] Yes.

99:37.19] Shaunce?

99:37.91] Yes.

99:38.82] Lowe? Yes. Sutcliffe?

99:41.23] Yes.

99:41.79] Nattie? Yes. Worley?

99:43.55] Yes.

99:44.73] Thanks everyone.

99:45.41] Good.

99:45.61] Good meeting.

99:45.85] Thank you.

99:46.35] Good meeting.