City Commission - Regular Meeting

The public hearing scheduled for 6:55 p.m. will come to order. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts, here. Mr. Riggsby, here. Mrs. Tacket, here. Mr. Wallace, here. Mr. Rue,

has proper legal notice been given for this hearing. Notice of a public hearing for the purpose of considering the vacation of the first alley east of West or excuse me, east of South Yellow Spring Street from West Clark Street south to the first east west intersecting alley was published in the Springfield News Sun as newspaper of general circulation within the city. Attached here too are true and correct copies of the legal notices published on February 13th, 2026 and February 20th, 2026. I move that the communication be ordered, received, and recorded in a minutes and filed. Second.

Motion has been made and seconded. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts. Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. May we have the staff report?

Good evening, everyone. The applicant here wishes to vacate the 16.5 ft wide public alley between the two parcels as shown on slide and consolidate the surrounding parcels to prepare land for future development. This alley is part of a subdivision plat and uh the al the vacated alley will be divided equally and deed to adjoining property owners. The adjacent parcels are under the same ownership. There are a few notes from city staff. Uh unimproved public alleyways are to be maintained by adjoining property owners and each owner maintaining portion of alley that runs till the middle of the alley. The requested alley is unimproved and partially grow overgrown with trees. Return reports from utility companies. Columbia Gas has commented that it does not have any facilities in the vacation listed. Ohio Edison has commented that it has overhead primary facilities in this right of way which may include direct service lines for customers in immediate area. Approval conditional upon securing easement rights in maintaining occupation and access. Proper clearances must be maintained to these facilities in adherance to NESC and OSHA regulations. Written reports from city staff. State no objections and recommend approval. City planning and zoning division has commented that the re the recommendation of approval is with condition. Utility easement rights are to be retained and alleys cannot be blocked off as it needs to remain open for easement access. No structures,

sheds, garages and pools can be built on required utility easements and it will be the owner's responsibility to locate any easements before new construction. Um, that is all. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any comments from the commissioners? Have we received any objections from uh any of the surrounding properties or neighbor? No objections received late. Thank you. Are there any comments from the audience? Is there a motion to adjourn the hearing? So moved. Second. Clerk, call the role.

Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Yes, Mr. Wallace. Yes.

This month, we're proud to recognize March as Women's History Month here in Springfield and to celebrate the incredible impact they have on our community every day. The first Friday of March kicked off Women's Month with the 8th annual International Women's Day celebration. Thank you to everyone who helped organize this event and who all attended. We have a proclamation to share this evening in regards to Women's History Month. Whereas March is recognized nationally and internationally as Women's History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements, leadership, and lasting contributions of women throughout history in our in our communities today. And whereas International Women's Day observed annually on March 8th highlights the social, economic, cultural, and civic impact of women across the globe. And whereas the city of Springfield proudly recognizes the women of Springfield and Clark County whose leadership, innovation, and service strengthen our neighborhoods, businesses, public institutions, and civic life. And whereas women across Springfield and Clark County serve as entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, educators, health care professionals, elected officials, public servants, mentors, and volunteers, helping to shape a vibrant and resilient community. And whereas womenowned businesses are a vital component of Springfield's local economy, creating jobs, expanding opportunity, fostering innovation, and contributing to the character and vibrancy of our city. And whereas the city of Springfield remains committed to supporting women leaders and entrepreneurs through partnerships, small business development programs and initiatives that promote inclusive

economic growth and long-term prosperity. Now therefore, I, Rob Rue, mayor of the city of Springfield, Ohio, and president of the city commission, do hereby proclaim March 2026 as Women's History Month in the city of Springfield, encouraging all citizens to celebrate and honor the women whose leadership, dedication, and entre entrepreneurial spirit continue to move our community forward. While we honor women everywhere for their contributions this month, it's important to shine a spotlight on the remarkable women in Springfield who are leading, building, growing businesses in our community. By doing so, we are truly catching the spirit of Springfield. I want to recognize two trailblazing leaders, Jill Allen, the city of Springfield's first female law director, and Allison Elliot, Springfield's first female police chief. Their achievements significantly impact our community. We also want to acknowledge the important efforts of Reggie Troutman, Karen Graves, and Cassie Scott for their commitment to supporting womenowned businesses through their roles at the city of Springfield. Additionally, we want to recognize all the dedicated female workers of the city of Springfield for their invaluable contributions. We are fortunate to have a number of women business owners with us this evening. Thank you for choosing Springfield for investing in our neighborhoods, enriching our community, and helping drive our local economy forward. I would like to invite each of you to come to the podium on this end or that end and briefly introduce yourself just

your name and business so we can recognize you please. Let's go girls. Come on. It's your it's your night. Come on girls. Let's get up here. ma'am, please start. My name is Shawanta Bishop and I own Bishop's Training Service. Thank you for being here.

Harry Johnston, Reimagine Gifts and More. THANK YOU. VALERIE BLOCK, building block play studio.

Sarah King, Buckeye Towing and Recovery. Uh Britney Crabtree, Ros City Wellness Massage Therapy. Evans with the cardiac bear. Liliana Venuea Viva Laaf FIESTA Grace Brown's Cafe 1010 North Murray Street. Good evening everybody. Netti Carter Smith, DJ Divas, uh, DJ and Photo Booth, uh, Core for Soul Kitchen, Core for Connection, Bassmith Connection, a nonprofit, and I would be remiss if I did not recognize uh, my sidekick and best friend, Sana Bass, who's also part of that as well.

Thank you, Patty Young, the owner of Young Hair Incorporated. Patty. Patty, how many years have you been in business? My age. Do it, girl. I've been in business 55 years.

Amazing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. It's truly inspiring to see the range of businesses and leadership represented here. We're proud you've chosen to call Springfield home. I'd like to invite all of you to come up and join us for a group photo with the commissioners.

pass it around. Thank you, Kim, for being here and for everything you do for Springfield. We're proud to support your continued success. For anyone interested in starting a business or looking for resources, our economic development team is here to help. Please visit the economic development page on our website for more information and contact details. You can reach us at springfoot.gov. Thank you. The informal meeting of the city commission is called to order. Clerk, call the role.

Mr. Rickettts here. Mr. Riggsby here. Mrs. Packett here. Mr. Wallace here.

Mr. Rue, If anyone in the audience would like to address the commission, you need to complete a comment card and hand it to the clerk. There is a three minute limit per person. The city commission remains committed to creating a conducive environment for constructive and productive dialogue and engagement for the community. Those wishing to speak must fill out a public comment card and provide their name and address for the record. The a stateisssued ID or driver's license must be provided when billing out a card and only those residing within Springfield and Clark County will be permitted to speak during the public comment period. Comment cards will be accepted up to 15 minutes after the start of the formal legislative meeting. Those who are determined to have been have provided false information on the card will not be permitted to speak at this meeting as well as the next regularly scheduled city commission meeting. We are truly committed to making the meeting an environment where people have the opportunity to share their ideas, thoughts, and concerns. While we fully respect the First Amendment rights of all individuals, disruptions or any conduct that impedes the orderly progress of the meeting will not be tolerated. Should any individual be escorted or asked to leave due to disruptive behavior on three separate occasions, they will be notified that they are considered trespassed and barred from attending any further city commission meetings. As a reminder, the citizen participation guidelines allows comments on the legislative agenda items. Each citizen may comment on up to three agenda items per meeting with a

total speaking time of 3 minutes for all agenda items. We have four cards. Mr. Gary Armstrong. My friends tell me not to come down that I just look like an old I said, "You know what? The old part's right. But I come down because I've seen my absentee guy tonight that I really wanted to throw some things at cuz when he threw at me that uh I make statements and that we all have free speech, I said, "Yeah, free speech." But I never disperse or go down on anybody uh with a statement that I think is mean or not accurate. So that means I think it's accurate and I think you are deserving of it. And the same thing, his replies can be a rebuttal of what I said, but if it isn't the truth, there is penalty. If you're under oath and we're in a courtroom and things that have gone down and I dug this old newspaper out September 3rd of 23 when honest Abe O'Neal got up said, "Well, we need to leader ask for audit and hotel." No, you needed to ask who the staff was that uh violated many ethical and what I consider illegal things uh to buy purchase those and you know when people can't speak the truth I find it very discerning cuz I like to be very honest when I'm speaking of and I'm sure there's somebody can go back 50 years and say that I told a lie and I

probably did But for the last 50 years, I don't say too many lies. This guy doesn't really care. That's elected. He says he's serving the people. And now we were down here and you have this data thing and you had your people saying how good it is and that we only use a little cuz Melissa Restro brought it up and oh, it's not going to affect. We got plenty of water. It's going to kick all our butts. All our butts. And across the nation, everybody else is going against it. And I would like to see everybody in this town go, the rich are just going to dig deeper. I have a $600 Columbia gas bill this month on my fixed income. And I know other people, and I know the tax rates for the houses went up. I'm disputing mine, but I see one of the mayor's properties went down $400 and mine went up times 10. You know, these are things that affect us, the citizens, and he says he's helping them. You had a temporary fix for homeless for 6 months to use 6,000 $6 million almost, but it was temporary. Based on the manager's statements, temporary. I went, "Is that legal?" A friend of mine was uh lecturing me and said, "Yeah, if you go into the guidelines, there's a time frame and they can maneuver." Well, that's called being not very upfront. We wanted it temporary. Well, you told us it was permanent with that we were going to help the homeless.

We haven't helped them for 3 years. Thank you. Thank you,

Miss Diana Daniels. 1988 was a very interesting year. I had spent two years in Dallas, Texas teaching at the Hakaday School and decided that I needed to make a move and was recruited to come to Wittenberg. I spent two years at Wittenberg and uh it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but that was all right because I was in Springfield, Ohio. And Springfield, Ohio at that time in 1988,89 90 was a pretty interesting place to live. It looked an awful lot like where I grew up. It was enough of an industrial town that you could recognize those roots, but it was also nestled in miles and miles and acres and acres of green land and parks and places to play and run and ride my bike. They're also close enough to metropolitan areas like Columbus and Dayton that if I wanted the big city life like I experienced in Dallas, Texas, which I didn't like by the way, too fast, um that I could 20 minutes, half an hour, be in those locations. And of course, things changed a little bit in Springfield and we got the Chris Center and I didn't have to travel all the way to Columbus to see a good theater, to watch a good to hear a good concert. That was 1988. Things started to change in 2002, 2003 when the city needed to change their their community schools. And I understood why because I was at Emerson. Oh my god, that was an oil boiler. And let me tell you how hard that was to light at 5:30 in the morning. But we lost our community schools when we started to build new ones. And that's when things started to change. We had the mall and I saw what the mall did to downtown. And we've been making attempts to rectify that situation by

trying to restore some of our old buildings. Some of it has been good and some of it not so good. Then there was another major change and that was 2020 with the pandemic. But what it brought out in me was an was an inquisitiveness that I needed to know more about what city government was doing because I didn't exactly like what I was seeing. That we were investing our money in places where we shouldn't be. We were leaving our central core, Emerson, where I taught my first 12 years, the most exciting years of my life. We were failing the south end of Springfield, and we were putting our eggs in one basket, which was to grow Springfield at the expense of those neighborhoods that I spent 12 of the best years of my life at. We need to refocus our direction and look more closely at those neighborhoods, which I dearly loved, and get them back to where they were. And I'd just like to say some of you have misjudged me. I love this city. In 2019, I went home from my first um class reunion and I took two baskets of stuff from Springfield. I was so proud of this city. I'm not anymore. I But I think we can make some changes and get back to where we were. Thank you so much for listening.

Thank you, Diane. Jean Barnett. Good evening, uh, Vice Mayor, city commissioners, and city manager. I would like to endorse another site for the proposed new jail. East Works was opened in 1882 as the second largest building in the world. It's now called the Cooper Energy Site between East Street, Kenton Street, and Birch Street. This zoned area is over 27 acres and has been vacant with decaying buildings for over 30 years. This nearly centrally located land right off of East High Street needs cleaned up and redeveloped if it already has water, sewer, electrical, and gas lines. It has sidewalks with curbs and access from four different directions on four well-paved roads. No problems with severe weather or multi-car accidents or interstate chem chemical spills to prevent access to and from the jail. And Cooper Energy is close to the courthouse. Land acquisition and contingency funds total 6.4 4 million that could be used for soil environmental assessment, cleanup of hazardous materials, and demolition of existing vacant buildings. The 185 bed jail currently has 220 inmates. I do not think we need a 100,454 mega jail uh when crime rates have been coming down the last four years. This is too large for Springfield. 300 beds would give us 80 empty cells. Currently, Columbus, Ohio is near 1 million people

and their jail only has 1,285 beds. Uh $26 million could be saved with the Cooper Energy location. And currently, we are losing 2,000 acres of farmland a day for concrete and asphalt development. And what about local farmers and residents and their property rights? Uh the example I'm using is sloopy solar project that offered stability and farmland conservation because farmers can remove their soil solar panels after 20 years. They have an opportunity for the soil to recover after being seated with pollinated uh ground cover. Uh these visionary farmers had their project voted down because residents thought said the farmland would be lost. This wasn't true. But now the situation seems reversed for local residents in their neighborhood south of I7 who shall lose their farmland forever to build a 100 million 140,000 square ft concrete jail with many additional acres of parking. 78% of voters said no to this regressive sales tax. And I'm afraid a 454 bed could be used by ICE agents to jail people of color with racial profiling and holding them until deportation much like Butler County is doing now.

Thank you. Thank you,

Andrew Dyber. How are we all doing this evening? Uh, thank you city commissioners and everybody. I'd also like to put a thank you to Brian Hec. He's been working very personally with me with something that I feel is very necessary for all of us to hear. I know we've all been through a lot these last many years and I love the energy here tonight. We came in, we were all welcoming the women for their business and just everything they brought to the community. And it's good to see because truthfully, I was very nervous about what I'm about to talk about. And that is I am a victim of somebody who ran a stop sign that literally just shouldn't have been in the road. He had already ran a stop sign in Shelby County months before. Prior to this, he was working at Honda. Yes, he was a TPS status individual, but I want to make it very clear to everyone here that should not make a difference. your color, your race, your religion, any of it. Public safety is about all of us. President Trump and JD Vance, I have very mixed emotions towards. They made comments about cat and dogs, and no offense to everybody, but we all know the truth. They won their votes in the positions they hold now off of our city, off of our suffering, and we will not go silent anymore. I am proud of the people who spoke up against the data centers. Nature and life must be respected over money above all else. And it's what all Americans need to learn and including our government. Now, I've had a lot of people talk. I've heard a lot of stories and I've listened because I've had the time. I've been stuck at home. I received an aortic aneurysm and a swollen spleen I did not have before my accident. I already did

have a bad spinal injury and now it's so bad I've barely been able to get out of my home. I am tired of not having proper medical care. I am tired of feeling helpless all the time because I do not like to accept help. I like to just do it myself and help others. I try have tried to help nature for a very long time because I'm a three-time felon who has served my time and tried to do better. I had a job. I wasn't I was at an income and unfortunately due to the action I no longer can. So I'm going to read to you today a letter I wrote to the Supreme Court justice because for all the politicians in this country especially Dwine Trump and anyone else that had something to say about the cats and dogs in our city and continues to I want to make something very loud and clear. We are tired. We are tired of the pointing fingers. We are tired of the blame. We are tired of the violence. We are tired. Our city, everyone, even including the president in his inaugural address said we were destroyed, overwhelmed, and everybody knows the city unfortunately, these poor bastards. No offense, but Brian had his own family threatened, his children. How dare any of you? when months and months for years before the immigration issues, people around this country and nation spoke out against

Thank you, Andrew. Thank you for being here. Can I ask I might be able to speak after this when everybody speaks. I did not get a chance to read my letter or address victims who else tried to reach out to me with recent posts on Facebook. If three minutes for everyone, I'm sorry. Are there any comments from the commissioners? City manager Hec, any comments. Is there a motion to adjourn? So move. Second. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Mr. Rickettts. Yes. Mr. Riggsby, yes.

Mrs. Tacket, yes. Mr. Wallace, yes. Meeting is adjourned. The formal meeting of the city commission is called to order. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts here. Mr. Riggsby here. Mrs. Packet here. Mr. Wallace here.

Mr. R. Before we begin, let's take a moment to reflect on the responsibility we all share to serve our community with integrity, respect, and a commitment to the greater good. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, justice for all. Is there a motion to approve the minutes?

So moved. Second. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes.

Clerk, proceed with the first readings by title only. vacating the first alley east of South Yellow Spring Street from West Clark Street South to the first east west intersecting alley. authorizing the city manager to enter into amendment C to the engineering services agreement with Black & Beach Corporation for the Erie Express Pump Station pre-treatment facility project to increase the agreement in an amount not to exceed $492,455 for a total agreement amount not to exceed 1,715,762 authorizing participation in the 2026 2027 ODOT winter contract for road salt authorizing and directing the city manager to select certain identified parcels of real estate that constitute non-productive land and to notify the prosecuting attorney or the county auditor of Clark County, Ohio, as the case may be pursuant to sections 5722.03 and 5722.04 04 of the Ohio Revised Code that the city wishes to acquire said parcels pursuant to the provisions of Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5722 and ordinance number 98-293 passed August 25th, 1998 and to do all things necessary to acquire said parcels authorizing the purchase of one K Rose Snow and ice package for truck number 545 of the newest model year available for an amount not to exceed $162,200 from Rush Truck Centers through the Ohio Department of Transportation Cooperative Purchasing Program in accordance with the provisions of section 5513.01B 01B of the Ohio Revised Code authorizing this the purchase of one K

Rose Snow and ice package for truck number 347 of the newest model year available for an amount not to exceed $176,800 from Rush Truck Centers through the Ohio Department of Transportation Cooperative Purchasing Program in accordance with the provisions of section 5513.01B of the Ohio Revised Code. Authorizing the purchase of one Ford F550 of the newest model year available from Rush Truck Centers for an amount not to exceed $133,35360 through Source Well, pursuant to the Sourcewell contract purchasing cooperative program in accordance with the provisions of section 9.48 48 of the Ohio Revised Code authorizing the purchase of one HX520 SFA sewer vac truck of the newest model year available from Rush Truck Centers for an amount not to exceed $885,510 through Sourcewell pursuant to the Sourcewell contract purchasing cooperative program in accordance with the provisions of section 9.48 48 of the Ohio Revised Code authorizing the purchase of one HV507 SFA salt truck of the newest model year available for an amount not to exceed $263,95165 from Rush Truck Centers through the Ohio Department of Transportation Cooperative Purchasing Program in accordance with the provisions of section 5513.01B 01B of the Ohio Revised Code authorizing the purchase of one Ford F550 4x4 gas chassis of the newest model year available with remount services from Frasier Limited for an amount not to exceed $228,125 plus tradein credit of $1,000 for a net purchase amount not to exceed $227,125

through the HGAC. C cooperative purchasing program in accordance with the provisions of section 9.48 of the Ohio Revised Code. City Manager Hec, would you like to comment on any of the readings?

Yes. Uh so starting with 089-26. Um I know we don't want to think about next winter, but uh this is the time to get in and participate with ODOT's uh winter contract for road salt. Uh so this puts us in line. This has been a program for a number of years now. uh when there were issues with uh communities procuring uh the road salt and were able to work under ODOT's bid uh to get us the most uh efficient effective bid uh for this um road salt purchase for our community and other communities you see take advantage of this across the state. Um I also want to call attention to 090-26. Uh this is utilizing the land reutilization program uh to take in parcels that have been uh tax foreclosed on and not purchased. Um and so what this specific program relates to is our MOT to own program. Uh so this is six additional parcels of land that we're able to make available to uh those that fit the criteria of the requirements for MOA own. And I'm proud to say since 2016 when this program started, we've had 228 parcels that we've been able to work through the Moto own program and they are put back into productive use uh by the neighbors uh that live by these vacant properties. Um the next several items uh the rest of the first readings all relate to purchases of vehicles and upfitting of of trucks. These were all items included in the 2026 budget and we're getting to the uh the purchase of those now. Uh the first two are uh cabin chassis that have been um sitting waiting for us to be able to get in in line for the snow and ice package uh to be able to be added to those. The first one is a sewer uh vehicle uh and then the second one is for our street division. Um the new uh Ford F550

uh is a small dump. Um I will say this is the total package for snow and ice too. So we won't have a period of time of waiting for it to be upfitted. Uh this is also for the street division. And then we have uh the purchase of the sewer back truck. Um this is an international vehicle uh replaces our current recycler truck uh and um uh within that sewer uh division. And then we also have another salt truck uh the HV507. Again, this is a full-size plow truck and this includes all of the upfitting uh and is for the street division is another international vehicle. Uh and then the final one was the purchase of a Ford F550 4x4 uh gas chassis. Uh this is as we are looking uh our medic units that have been replaced. Now we're getting in the cycle of rechassing those. Uh, so we're able to take the box off and put them on a new cabin chassis. Uh, and we were able to do this several different times, which cuts the cost down versus buying a completely new medic unit. We're able to still utilize that box and put it on uh, a new cabin chassis. And I will say we've been working with fire and our fleet uh, division have been working collaboratively on finding uh, the right cabin chassis that works perfect for the the size and the weight of the box that uh, we currently utilize. Any comments from the commissioners from the audience?

Yes, sir. Since our neighborhoods are falling down and we've let deliberately let them fall down, don't you think we get more medic units and police units into these uh ghetto areas now and that we wouldn't have to worry about the longevity cuz they got to go out constantly in those neighborhoods. I think that's part of the Thank you. Any other comments? Clerk proceed with second readings and emergencies.

Amending the Melody Parks Plan development for 4.09. Excuse me. Sort of. Amending the Melody Parks Plan development for 409.3 acres located at 4025 East National Road, Springfield, Ohio. Are there any comments or questions from the commissioners? We I think we need a motion and a So moved. Thank you. Second clerk. Call the role. No. No. Thanks. No comments. No comments. Are there any questions from the commission? From the audience. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickett.

Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace?

Yes. Confirming and approving approving amendment number three to the grant agreement with the Federal Transit Administration to increase grant funding in an am in an amount not to exceed $300,000 for operating assistance. Authorizing an additional local matching expenditure in an amount not to exceed $300,000. Authorizing the city manager, law director, and the director of finance to perform all acts and execute all documents they consider necessary to fulfill the city's obligations under said grant amendment and to comply with all relevant local, state, and federal legal requirements and confirming and approving all related expenditures incurred from December 1, 2025. Have a motion.

So moved. Second. Are there any questions from the commission? Brian, can you just touch on this just a little bit? Yeah, this is our annual FTA funding uh as it relates to uh the operation of our public transportation system. And so each year we are able to allocate and appropriate the 300,000 um for operations of that system. Uh again, 80% of our uh public transportation system is funded at the federal level. Um and so this specifically applies to field trips uh the microtransit service that is offered inside the city.

Thank questions questions from the audience please go to the mic sir. me. What is going to be the safety and security for hiring the drivers to make sure that they people getting transported around are safe? Because if you actually look at most of the overall it's 50/50. 50% of people online are coming. It's perfect. It's good. They're they're liking it. It's working. The other half they're concerned with safety. So, can we please get a more detailed answer on exactly how we're going to or how the city is going to make sure and oversight this company to make sure that the drivers they hire are indeed safe for all of Thank you.

Thank you. Any other questions?

Transportation system. I thought we did away with the buses. What transportation system are there? And to address what he just said, in the last 5 years, I'm coming out onto ward onto North Limestone near the Hickory. I check out these women holding their phones out driving a school bus. So having qualified people that can stay off their phone makes sense. Uh as this relates, this is uh yes, we no longer have the large scale buses that are operating. This is the field trip system. So, they're the vans uh that many communities the size of Springfield has started transitioning uh to what's called a microtransit model or an ondemand service model. Um uh think of it almost like an Uber type system. As far as the employment, um I know Via Transportation has a pretty rigorous um application background uh check uh to require drivers to go through that before they hire those drivers. Uh but the company is vetting those and so forth. And I know uh Jason B uh deputy director of public safety and operations works very closely with VIA and any of the issues concerns um that uh he's heard in the community. He is making sure that they're aware of those and trying to address those. And I know uh they've had to fire drivers, they've had to uh retrain drivers and so forth. So I know those comments and that feedback is getting back to them and they are taking it uh very seriously. I was under the assumption and maybe that's probably my fault. Assume you make a you know what out of you and everybody else around you. Um 300,000 is that what we're paying to to operate the public transportation system. It's actually more than that on an annual basis. Um Katie, I don't know if you want

It's actually closer to $2 million. And as Brian mentioned, 80% of that funding is typically coming from the federal or state level. And actually with field trips, we have seen a decrease of roughly 7% compared um to using the mass transit with buses. And we've also seen more covered by federal dollars, which saves our general fund dollars with that local match component. Is at any point in time are these going to become self-sufficient? I I would not believe I mean the whole idea around public transportation is that it is government subsidized transportation and that's in communities all across the country.

Yeah. The only way to add to that financially for that to be self-sufficient would be for us to increase our rate which then will be not sustainable to our residents. Any other comments? Clerk call the role. Mr. Mr. Riggsby. Yes. Mrs. Tucket. Yes. Mr. Rickettts. Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes.

Authorizing the purchase of two Ford Police Interceptors of the newest model year available from National Autofleet Group for an amount not to exceed $15,51312 through Sourcewell pursuant to the Sourcewell contract purchasing cooperative program in accordance with the provisions of section 9.48. 48 of the Ohio Revised Code. So moved. Second. Are there any questions from the commission? From the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Riggsby?

Yes. Confirming and approving change order number one to the contract between the city and Peterson Construction Company for the Erie Express Pump Station pre-treatment facility project to increase the contract in an amount not to exceed $562,35 for a total amount not to exceed $8,930,35 and to extend the contract completion date to May 27, 2027 and authorizing the city manager to execute said change order number one. I moved. Second. Been moved and seconded. Are there any comments from the commission?

Brian, can you talk about this a little bit?

Yeah, I'll actually have Chris Moore, our service director, speak to the project in its entirety and this specific change order. So the the the overarching project is to um take care of a rag and grease problem we have at our Eerie lift station which sits at the end of Skinner Lane kind of behind Wilbur Mustard. As part of that project, we included the cleaning of our digtor and repairs to the dome, which when you go to our wastewater treatment plant, there's a floating dome right as you pull in the entrance. We have bid the cleaning and repair of the dome out multiple times uh over the years and have had no luck getting anyone to do it. So back in 2011 or 12, we included it in a larger project. The person won the larger project, so they did the undesirable one. In this case, we included the cleaning and repairs to the digtor with this eerie project. And once they got the digtor clean to where we could inspect everything, everybody came to terms with the fact that the 65-ish year old dome was beyond repair. So, we looked at the the allowances for the repair and looked at what it would take to replace it and made the decision that if we replace it with a modern dome, we will then be able to in the future bid out the cleaning and repair separate and we will have a dome that hopefully will last us 60 years into the future.

Thank you. Mhm. Any other questions or comments from the commission, from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Wiggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. We'll move to emergency ordinances authorizing the exercise of the city's option to renew the contract with with Gillum Lawn Care and Landscaping LLC for the mowing of Boulevard for an amount not to exceed $59,591 and declaring an emergency therein. So move. Second.

Are there any comments from the commission, from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Wallace, yes. Mr. Riggsby, yes. Mr. Rickettts, yes. Mrs. Tacket,

yes. Confirming and approving change order number four to the contract between the city and Major Enterprises Incorporated for the Henry Street Sewer Replacement Project to decrease the contract in an amount not to exceed $158,181 for a total amount not to exceed $1,733,64569 and to extend the contract completion date to May 29th, 2026 authorizing the city manager to execute said change order number four and declaring an emergency therein. So move second. Are there any questions from the commissioners?

I I have a comment. Oh, go ahead. No, you go ahead. I'm happy. Anytime there's a decrease in contract like that,000 is pretty substantial. Could you could you explain why? Yeah. So, this is a final change order uh for the project. There's a total of 25 items uh in this final change order, but the the bulk of the decrease comes from uh pipe and manholes that did not need to be removed uh that originally were planned or uh bid as part of the project and they did not have to actually be removed. So, the contractor didn't perform the work. So, they're not paid for that.

Any other questions or comments from the commission, from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Riggsby, yes. Mr. Wallace, yes. Mrs. Tacket, yes. Mr. Ricketts, yes. Authorizing the exercise of the city's option to renew the geotechnical engineering services agreement with SNME Incorporated for professional engineering services for an amount not to exceed $30,000 and declaring an emergency therein. Moved. Second. Been motioned and seconded. Are there any comments or questions from the commission, from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Wallace, yes. Mrs. Tacket,

yes. Mr. Rickett, yes. Mr. Riggsby, yes. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a subgrant award agreement to accept $25,780.80 80 cents through the state of Ohio bodywn worn camera grant program from the Ohio office of criminal justice services authorizing the city manager director of finance and law director to perform all acts and execute all documents considered necessary to fulfill the city's obligations under said subgrant award agreement and to comply with all relevant local state and federal legal requirements and declaring an emergency therein. So move second

and motioned and seconded. Any comments or questions from the commission from the audience? Clerk call the role. Mrs. Packet. Yes. Mr. Rickettts. Yes. Mr. Riggsby. Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes. Confirming purchases and the obtaining of services for the city and providing for payments therefore and declaring an emergency therein. So moved. Second. It's been motioned and seconded. Are there any comments or questions from the commission from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Emergency resolution

confirming and approving the acceptance of the material terms of the six remnant defendants settlement agreement pursuant to the one Ohio memorandum of understanding regarding the pursuit and use of potential opioid litigation settlement funds and consistent with the material terms of the February 3rd 2026 six remnant defendants settlement agreement available at nationalopioidslement.com um and declaring an emergency therein. Moved. Second. Been motioned and seconded. Any comments or questions from the commission? Ryan, you want to?

Yeah. So, this is part of the one Ohio memorandum of understanding. So, uh, communities throughout, uh, Ohio had the option to opt in with the state, uh, to pursue litigation as it relates to the distributors and manufacturers and so forth of, uh, opioids and, you know, uh, around the opioid crisis that we all experienced. There were six additional defendants uh, that have been named that are pharmaceutical distributors. And so, uh, the state of of Ohio will pursue settlement with these six, uh, defendants. And us opting into this allows us to, uh, be able to capture a portion of that, uh, because of the impacts effects uh, of opioid uh, the opioid crisis in our community.

Any other questions or comments from the commission, from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket. Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Any new items on the agenda? No. Any commissioner announcements and acknowledgements?

Yes. I would like to uh notify the public and uh I sometimes I hear uh the public in the public comments that there's not a lot to do for our youth. Um, so I'm offering uh for you guys to come out and see uh what goes on at the dome. It's called the dome experience. It's the old South High. We are having an open house tomorrow from 4:30 to 6:00 and it will show you all the things we do. um from our video games, from our music uh studio to our welding shop, our wood shop, all of our activities, they will actually be in pro pro uh progress. Kids will be there as you are touring the place, the John Legend Theater, and just other resources that you may not know that the Springfield City School District uh is doing on a day-to-day basis, which probably averages about 140 kids a day that goes through there. and uh participate in the activities that we provide. So 4:30 to 6:00 tomorrow. Um that's March 25th. Please come out and see what we have available for our youth right now today. Um and um just want you guys come see it. Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Wallace. Any other

Yeah, I've got just a couple of things. Uh first I I talked about last meeting uh the cleanup day to be held on April 25th. Uh it'll be a community cleanup day at 8 a.m. April 25th at West Jefferson Street behind Clark County Main Library. Uh it's free event for city residents dispose of all unwanted household items, yard debris, furniture, such. Uh volunteers are needed to help with traffic directions, surveys, check-in, and more. Uh if in order to volunteer, go to the springfield.gov website. uh you have to show proof of residency if you're going to participate in the cleanup day. Uh the second thing I have is I just wanted to take a second to talk about Clark County Parks. Uh this is a vitally important park system for our community. 33 parks, 30 plus miles of bike trails, 13 nature preserves, over 2100 acres. Uh this park system is is and should be the crown jewel of our city. Uh it's critically important for all of our residents, both county and city. And uh just to let you guys know, we spend less per acre than almost any other city maintaining our parks. So, the NTPRD, Clark County Park System, gives you about the most bang for the buck of your tax dollars of any organization running a park anywhere. So, I just thought you ought to know that.

Thank you, Commissioner Riggsby.

Just quickly, the uh community beautifification committee uh is uh opening up their adopt a bed program. And what this is is there are uh 30 uh flower beds basically in public rideaways. and you can adopt one. Uh and what they what what your part would be is that you clear and prepare prepare the flower bed and plant the flowers that are actually starter flowers are provided to you uh from us uh as is mulch and the initial watering is also taken care of uh by the city. And you can also put uh your own add your own touch uh into the beds, put your own types of flowers in there. And if you're a business and you do this, you can actually put a small sign in there to promote your business as a sponsor of one of these beds. Uh if you'll go to the city's website, uh there's information on there and u find out how to adopt one of these beds. Thank you,

Commissioner Rickettts. Thank you to the commissioners for staying engaged in the community and all that you do. Is there a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts. Yes. Mr. Riggsby, yes. Mrs. Tacket, yes. Mr. Wallace, yes. Meeting is adjourned.