City Commission - Regular Meeting

Call to order. Cler call the role. Mr. Rickettts here. Mr. Riggsby here. Mrs. Packet here. Mr. Wallace here. Mr. Rue here. City Manager. Yes. Uh we have one work session item tonight commission and that is an update on the field trips transportation service. With us is deputy director of public safety and operations Jason Vi and our Clark County Transportation Planner Glenn Massie. And uh we also have representatives from uh via transportation and field trips. And Jason's going to have them introduce themselves tonight to you.

Good evening, mayor and commissioners, and thank you for your time tonight. As Brian, as the manager mentioned, we're here to provide an update on field trips, our new microtransit service. As you know, this has represented a significant shift from our traditional fixed route system to a more flexible ondemand model. We do have some newer team members with here with us here tonight. So, I'd like to um let them introduce themselves and then we'll turn it over to them to talk about the operation. Hello everyone. My name is Isaiah Torres. I am the local field manager here in Springfield.

Hi, my name is Florian. Uh I'm the general manager for Springfield trips and uh very excited to be here today. Amazing. Um, first of all, thank you for giving us the chance to introduce not only field trip but also what VIA does uh on an everyday basis. Um, I know that this might be a repetition for the some of you, but um, as I've heard, there's a few new commissioners on board. So, uh, I think getting everyone on board on what VIA does and and what the service is, uh, good starting point. Um, so VIA is the world's leading uh, provider of public mobility solutions. um with over 800 partners worldwide and serving in over 40 countries. Um we do have over 165 uh million rides served so far. Um so quite an extensive um uh portfolio of services we're looking down on. Um while VIA is sort of a tech company first and foremost, um we do operate quite a lot of services ourselves and have an extensive portfolio in services that we do operate completely ourselves. um with over 5,000 drivers globally um over 6 million miles driven monthly and over 250 people working in central operation support to make those rides happen. Um we understand that public transit um we as a global company right we understand that public transit is very very local um so we try to be as as hyper localal as we can and we're quite invested in the in the state of Ohio already with uh in quite a large amount of partners that we're serving in all different kinds of setups um both turnkey solutions um as we do here in in in Springfields with field trips but also SAS solutions um in in other partners and we're almost always looking for to extending our portfolio and our our footprint and and further investing into the city itself. The way we look at public transit right is both from an operational perspective but also from a technology itself. Um we

look at um the the whole lifetime of a public transit solution. So we try to deploy technology where it works the best and where it has the most impact. Um so this is from actually sort of designing the service solution for each service itself. So understanding how do we impact the community the best? Um what does the service design look like? What is the service zone we're serving? Where should we actually put the different virtual stops to make microtransit um the most accessible and safest place at um then we also look at sort of the the lifetime of a rider with us. So how do we make the rides most accessible? How do we make it most transparent where to go and how to how to contact us? How to get in contact with an agent? How to book a ride? Um, so we try to deploy as much technology over the lifetime of our services that we run. So just sort of recapping a little what microtransit is for us, right? Um, so I like to put it very simply which is we come to you and get you where you need to be. Um, so it is an ondemand service. Um, but we do try to make this on demand service as costefficient um, as we can. We do this by sort of designing a service zone in which people can actually book rides from where they want to go from where they from where they are to where they want to go. Um and then we use algorithms to sort of dynamically route our veils and um aggregate as many rides we can in order to uh really serve and operate um a costefficient service for the city and for the community.

Our field trip service launched this past July. Uh this was in response to community stakeholder needs, declining ridership and increasing costs in the previous fixed route system. The goal was to move to a model that better matched how people actually travel in our community today. As you can see in the uh slide, we are currently providing u 60% greater coverage um than that of the fixed route. Just wanted to highlight here also that the the system what it really does is provide flexibility for riders. Instead of having to work around that fixed route or that fixed schedule, they can request a ride when they need it. And we've seen uh strong adoption of the um the service so far. And it really just I think has brought some greater efficiencies to the service. And the map here depicts um popular destinations that we've tracked so far. So I think uh one thing that really is close to our hearts and something we focus on a lot is the safety and well-being of both our riders, the drivers, but also the communities around it. Um, but we do want to highlight some of the safety procedures and technology we deploy to make this such a safe service. And I think Field Trip especially has a great track record being a very safe service um for ridership. Um, so it all starts for us with uh choosing the right driver partner to work with, right? And these driver partners have to go through an extensive um onboarding and vetting service all starting with the background checks that we do, drug and alcohol testing that we do. We do this once before they start working with us. Then also regularly over the lifetime of them working with us. After sort of passing

that first betting process, they then go into an extensive onboarding service with our local uh managers um that onboard them on both sort of safe driving practices um how to interact with riders um how to troubleshoot um and and how to fix uh problems once they occur. Only then they're allowed to drive with us, right? Once they're actually on the road with us. um we deploy a lot of technology and and and try to aggregate as much data on driving behavior, driving patterns and and and safety um potential safety hazards that we see. Um so we have uh AI enabled cameras in all of our vehicles um both monitoring the drivers behavior as well as the road around them constantly. We use this data then to um both of teachers where it's need most needed but also disaffiliated those drivers that don't adhere to our safety rules and standards. Um we more recently rolled out something that we like to call the safety portal um which basically assigns a safety score to each driver partner out there. We analyze each driver partners. It's a multiffactor analysis. So we look at both sort of are they speeding, are they not speeding? um their distracted driving going on. Do they keep the distance to the to the vehicles before them and after them? Um really watching out for unsafe driver patterns. This driver scores then has sort of multiple implications. So number one, we try to gify safe driving. Um so you can actually unlock achievements when you start driving safer and safer over the course of time, right? which I think uh in modern times everyone likes to sort of track their own behavior whether that's sleep efficiency or I want to read every day I want to drink water every day um and this is just doing that on top of that we try to align incentives by giving early access to the driving slots only to the safest and best drivers in our driver pool um so only once you've passed a certain safe driving threshold you'll actually

get first access on all shifts that we publish and those drivers that don't adhere to these driver to safety um patterns or don't reach that threshold will not have will only have access to sort of the slots left over. Um this really helps us sort of aligning incentives on on driving safely. Um and we've seen great invest return on investment on this um with like 70% plus of our drivers actually driving a lot safer than than before. But I don't think we only use that technology for ourselves in our operations but we also give the same transparency to all of you right the cities and the partners that we've worked with um giving them an extensive sort of reporting suite they have access to whether this is supply KPI data operations KPI data safety data but also reporting for FDA NTD reporting whatever might be out there so really just giving all the transparency um of both how the service is run but also what the wrership's out there doing righting ridership pattern origin destinations um demand flows and all of that to really understand how public transit being used by the riders of the community. So since launch we have seen just a lot of excitement and strong engagement from the community. People are not just trying the service they are continuing to use it. It's becoming part of how riders are getting to work, school, their regular appointments, and it's really just become part of daily activity.

And I'd like to ask a question and interrupt the presentation. And going back to the AI camera, was that something that you had when you first introduced this to the city of Springfield? We've been rolling it out quite fairly quickly. I don't think we've started with 100% coverage on Tempar AI, but we've been rolling them out since I think October of last year. We've pretty much had 100 100% coverage on on all the vehicles. To me, that that is a very strong selling point and cuz I know that uh safety concerns have been expressed when we were first starting this with the drivers and even we, you know, we've numbered our vehicles so there'd be more accountability. But now you can sync that up to actually their behavior and how they were responding at that time.

Exactly. That's just very safe, very excellent. I'm sure that's doing well for you. 100%. I think both zooming in sort of individual driver behavior, but also aggregating it and understanding patterns, seasonality in what means unsafe driving, what drives unsafe driving. That helped us a lot also to keep the vehicles, the riders and all of that maintain. if you eventually monetize it or promotion or for like I mean I'm sure you have a threshold but I mean to be able to increase your hourly or something for your employees.

Not yet. Um it's nothing we're looking into now. I think the monetization mainly comes from driver partners actually getting sort of the first choice in shifts and most driver partners want to have long shifts and and those will be all gone when you're an unsafe driver.

Understand? Okay. Thank you. Yep. Aside from the um AI and safety data, one of the other advantages of the system is that it's not static. So we are constantly receiving feedback both from the riders, community partners, and just collecting data itself. And this has allowed us to make adjustments, improve service in real time. As you can see above, our ridership has grown month over month. Uh to date we've provided over 70,000 rides and we've increased our ridership um from approximately 3 to 400 people up to now we have 1,500 riders. So it's really just showed us that um the community wants the the new system and can adapt to the new technology um which then is also helping because it provides feedback to us as well. I just want to oh just want to talk about a few things uh from the stats side working in transportation planning. I am a transportation nerd. I've been doing this for close to 25 years now. We didn't have a lot of data with the old system. Now we're inundated with data and it's very good data. So I can tell you that uh just a few stats that I'd like to share is that u our average number of riders per vehicle hour is at 4.2. We were somewhere in the mid twos with SCAT. So we've improved there. Uh we've kept the uh cost per ride down. As you know, uh this is a subsidized system. We received federal money to run this. Uh it was a little more expensive to run the fixed route buses. Uh we uh and the writership helps to keep that down. Now we have a set rate for passengers of $2. Anywhere in in the

Spring Springfield area is $2 if they have a disability or if they're over the age of 65, they can ride for $1. And you know, you can't really even start a car for that. Um and then as uh Jason mentioned, we've increased our rider numbers, our unique rider numbers by 60%. Uh this uh this slide here just indicates what we've got as far as fleet. The blue would be uh non-wheelchair accessible vehicles. Uh the black would be wheelchair accessible vehicles. So we're running about 40% of the fleet with wheelchair access. Uh our current times, we we get asked this question quite a bit, but our current uh pickup times are averaging about 16 1/2 minutes and our onboard time is about 13 just about 14 minutes. Uh I can tell you that one complaint we had with the fixed drop bus system was that we had 1 hour headways on the buses. So, if you board a bus downtown, you may be on that bus an hour, possibly longer than that hour. Um, and if you miss the bus, you're going to have to wait another full hour before it comes back around. Uh, if somebody misses a trip with this, they just simply call back, reorder the trip, then the the vehicle will come back out. So, to have a vehicle there in 16 1/2 minutes is very impressive. Uh, I've seen times as as low as 5 minutes and they were getting there so quickly in the beginning that you really didn't have an opportunity to get your things together to get out the door. But you do have options in the app to select a few different uh, ride offerings. So, use of the app was also a question when this was first introduced. What's been the feedback ultimately once this got rolling after a few months on the app usage from your writers? We'll go into that.

You're going to go into that. I'll just be quiet now. No, you'll be good. No, you continue.

Um, so we just quickly wanted to before we jump into the the the application adoption, we just quickly wanted to sort of outline how we try to match supply and demand as best as we can in order to serve as many riders as we can, but also at the same time aggregate as many riders as we can and drive an efficient service. Um, so the way we do this is right demand patterns change. they change over weeks, over seasons, um over years. Um so we actually monitor weekly demand patterns over the course of Monday through Friday, the different the different hours and try to have the right amount of vehicles on the road at any given time in order to serve the public best, but also drive a very efficient service. Um we have technology that helps us sort of outlining on on when to deploy shifts and vehicles the best. Um but just sort of giving a an an overview there. Now this is I think coming to your question in terms of app adoption. Um we've seen an amazing uh progression to app adoption and we're up uh to almost 88% of all requests done um over the over the mobile app right coming from somewhere in the low 70s mid70s to um now being up to 88% and seeing that trend obviously continuing. And I think that only goes to show both the the adoption but also the trust that people have in the service and how comfortable they feel actually using the application itself. This I think and after that I'll I'll I'll be done. I just quickly wanted to give an overview on the feedback from the writers that we get right. Um so we always look at sort of customer satisfaction scores. Um and the industry average customer satisfaction score is about 78%. We are always running in sort of the low 90s which is exceptional for a service of that size. Um at the same time we have over 90% of the rides completed give us a fivestar review on this ride which I think just sort of mirrors the service that we deploy in the city and um the

way the ride is actually sort of conceiving the service that we deploy.

Yeah. And as Florian said that that feedback as well as the stats also comes in the form of um and notes and uh comments on the ride. So we've been getting very consistent feedback. People value the service and the main thing that we hear is they're asking for more of it. They want more hours. They want more availability and expanded service areas. And these are just things that we we frankly could not capture beforehand. So I I guess in summary, we're we're using that feedback to guide our next steps. Um it's really going to help us identify where the gaps are, where the demand still exists, and ensure that um our future decision-making processes are um rooted in that data driven So recently I I met with the uh TCC director Lewis Agressa and we talked about where we go from here. How do we plan things for the county and what makes sense and we reviewed the success of the field trips program and uh uh we really came up with some good ideas. uh we're going to begin putting together a stakeholder group of a lot of different uh uh individuals, but I just want to go back and and say that uh some of the key things we mentioned, the hours, the service, and then possibly even countywide service. Um we'll be forming this stakeholder group. It will involve our human services transportation council which includes uh TAC industries, United Senior Services, um mental health services, Mercy Health, Veterans Office, Health District, and and much more. We would also include uh TCC member organizations such as the

city of Springfield, City of New Carile, Enan, and other elected officials. We would of course involve our chamber of commerce, job and family services, private employers, uh and uh and the biggest part of this with the private employers is we've had a huge call and this all kind of started off of uh Commissioner Estrop and what he was hearing from from employers and he challenged us to get something working here and uh I've got to give him credit on this field trips project too. uh he he stayed he stayed on task with it as well. Um interested townships and villages and then of course temporary employment agencies. Goals for the group once we meet we're going to actually meet up uh in in the next few months and we're going to roll it out at our August TCC meeting the annual meeting and we'll we'll discuss more on that. By that time we'll have one year's worth of data from field trips that we can build off of. I think we've got great data thus far and we got data we can work off of, but we we want to get that full year in. Um but we would like to determine demand for expanded service, determine unmet needs of current services, devel develop countywide service models, determine cost of expansion, identify funding sources, identify uh obstacles and solutions for expanded service and then uh I mentioned that the group will meet up the annual meeting and discuss it more. Um, we are very excited about this and we will build a study off of that. This actually began from a study turned into a plan and now we see the fruits of it. So, I think we can make this happen countywide and get more people connected. What what we've seen since launch is that Field TRIP is delivering a better um more flexible, more efficient service

that is really aligned with the community needs. And so now that focus is on how do we build on that success in a a thoughtful data-driven and sustainable way. As uh Glenn shared, we'll be working through some of those next stages with a regional stakeholder group, but ultimately this is about improving access, opportunity, and quality of life for all of our residents. Um, thank you again for your time tonight and glad to take any questions.

Thank you. Commissioner Riggsby had a question. I just I just was wondering I I saw your growth uh numbers. Do you have a sense of what the wrership is growing month? Um in other words, I I get that you're at 70,000 and next month you'll be at 80,000 so on so forth. The number's never going to go down, but what's the what's the wrership growth look like? That particular slide with the 70,000 was building from the starting point through the seven months. Uh we're averaging a averaging right around 10,000 trips per month which is far more than we did with uh Springfield City Area Transit.

Oh absolutely. Do you have a sense that that 10,000 is growing a month? Okay. That's I also look at day-to-day numbers to monitor some things like uh uh travel patterns uh involving weather, if schools in, if school's out. And by the way, we've done very well working with the uh Springfield City School District. they have been amazing to work with and uh they've they've they've got a lot of students that are currently using the service. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. And and just I want to say I've taken a few rides myself uh particularly here recently and I was well pleased.

Could I also add that we we didn't mention that uh the app is actually offered up and the call center in three different languages, English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. That was one of the things that the VIA team brought to us in the beginning was that they would work hard to get the Haitian Creole language added and they did that for our system. So, we appreciate that very much. Outstanding. Other questions from commissioners?

I would just like to make a statement that um it's it's helped some of our kids in athletics. our coach. Um, and when we don't have school, our attendance would be very low, but that attendance has climbed and I would see them getting out of the vans and, you know, headed into practice. So, I appreciate what you're doing and it's it's helping on things that people are probably not even even not even really looking at, but it's definitely helped. Thank you. Has the hours of service shifted since you started or have they been what you set from the beginning?

Uh they're actually the same as they were. But one of the top things that we discussed when we started this was uh maybe in a first phase if we expanded anything would be to expand the hours to to possibly like 11:30 p.m. so we could get third shift workers to work, second shift workers home from work and then we roll back around to the morning, get the third shift workers home and first shift in. Excellent comments. Thank you so much. What a great report. Thank you. Is there a motion to conclude this meeting? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace?

Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes.

Public hearing scheduled for 6:55 is called to order. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Ricketts, here. Mr. Riggsby, here. Mrs. Tacket here. Mr. Wallace here. Mr. Rue here. Has proper legal notice been given for this hearing?

Notice of a public hearing to consider the application of codified ordinance section 1126.05A and section 1126.05E 05E of the city's zoning code to a proposed annexation area, commonly known as the 2425 Mechanicsburg Road annexation area consisting of approximately 4.6223 acres, now located in Morfield Township, which annexation shall be considered by the city commission on the date first above written was published in the Springfield News Sun, a newspaper of general circulation within the city. Attached here two is a true and correct copy of the legal notice published on February 27th, 2026.

I move that the communication be ordered, received, reported in the minutes, and filed. Motion's been made. Is there a second? Second. The clerk call the role. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes. Staff report? So this property is being annexed from Morfield Township into the city and it will be zoned um residential low density and this property is not within the flood plane and it is also tied to the previous annexation from the same uh developer and property owner. Yep. there any additional

I was just going to add too so if you recall commissioners when the original uh property was proposed for annexation and housing development with the residential low density one of the concerns was access coming through the East View Heights neighborhood and so the developer worked to acquire this property to provide access out onto State Route 4. Excellent. Are there other comments from commissioners? Just out of curiosity, um the that's the access that's going to be um developed there is that that's all paid for by the developer.

Yes, correct. Stop signs, everything.

Yes, they would re be responsible for the public infrastructure as it relates to the develop. Thank you. Other comments from the audience on this hearing only if you'd like to go to the microphone. Mr. Armstrong here. I'd like to hear what discussions you guys do have because you've come up with some stuff and you just uh don't you're pretty vague about I know the area. I grew up on Torrance half mile away. So, how much density of traffic and they want to come out on Route 4, which makes sense cuz you guys allowed housing down there where Luigi, you guys just built row of houses so close to the road, you can't expand four lanes cuz there's no front yards. That was poor planning cuz those areas going across there on home and coming out on Vern Road and Miracle Mile and etc. is like the rest of this city. This city was designed, the inner city was designed in 1800. That expanded later. It grew up when Hoppus developed home orchards in 1950, 52, 53. We moved out there in 53. I'm old. I know the history of all this. But you guys will allow things like I'm going to say later, six unit on McRite. You didn't think that out. Now, I want to know what you're thinking about this. I want to hear what you're saying in your minds as representatives and what what people that do engineering that do the right thing so that this isn't a cluster. You know what later I appreciate the question. Uh, I think what the commission would be most concerned about is safe entry and exit to this housing development along with

the lease obstructive to the existing neighborhood around it. I think this is a proposal uh by the developer to do that. So, in many ways, the developer has answered the question to us and some of your questions by actually doing this particular entrance and exit off of Route 4 instead of moving through the existing neighborhoods there, which was a significant concern in one of the hearings that we had in the original annexation discussion. So my thinking is uh we asked the developer to look at an opportunity to have safe entrance and exit into this development and he's done that. So when it comes to a vote, Mr. Armstrong, I'll be supporting this and would encourage my fellow commissioners to do the same. That would be my thinking. If you'd like to go back to the microphone and make another comment. Well, I would hope and think at least when I was started as subdivision, I came down here and spoke in front of all the commission. When you open a housing, you should make this well known to all the neighbors to come in and be part of the neighbors should be part of discussion because it's who is affected closest. Thank you. U we have uh done those steps. Okay. Other comments? If you'd like to go to the microphone, please Miss Yaley, Miss Diane,

just to kind of clear the air. I have been at all the county commissioner meetings where the developer has had an opportunity to present his story and the process by which he has come to the proposal that you see now. He has jumped through every single hoop that you have asked and the county has asked and the neighbors have asked. And if you look at the property, it's landlocked. I did a research on the property itself as to arable land. It has not had crop rotation in a number of years. So, it's very landlocked. And the developer worked with Morfield Township, worked with the school district to make sure that when it came to, we always talk about tiffs and how it hurts the school districts and so forth. This developer went back to the drawing board, met repeatedly with Morfield Township, met repeatedly with the school district and came up with an amicable um decision as to who was going to get pieces of the pie. So, I walked out there and walked around it, walked the field, and went, there's nothing else you can do with this property. You can't farm it anymore. um and to make it from high density to low density and to accommodate some of the needs that the city has expressed and those were for less dense houses, senior living and he's jumped through all the hoops. So I think you all have done your due diligence. This is what been 2 years almost 2 and 1/2 years more than that um to bring this he spent an awful lot of money out of his own pocket to make this come true. So I just wanted to put that out. I'm not a big fan of a lot of expansion. In fact, I think we should go. No more urban sprawl. And I'll be talking about that later. You're done.

However, this land, you know what I'm saying? It's land law. What else you going to do? Thank you, Miss Yale. Do you have some comments?

Hi. Um, I apologize cuz I'm playing catchup. Um the question is is like on this development what about all these tax abatements to where people don't have to pay taxes for a certain amount of of years? Miss Mr. E or Miss Katy, you want to answer that? This specific development is outside of a current CRA area. Uh we have not had any conversations uh with this developer regarding TIF for this project. Um so I to this specific hearing I can't speak speak to any specific uh abatement or tiff activities as proposed right now.

I'm just becoming very concerned about all these new developments that are coming and these people aren't having to pay taxes for a lot of years. So, so yeah, I I understand. And the the tiffs and things like that that are not very popular are a tool that every city and municipality uses in the state of Ohio and was set up by the uh state government so we could actually grow our cities or have new developments like this. I understand the concern and that's why I appreciate the creativity of this particular developer who has worked with school system and townships to u get the best opportunity for all people involved not just one side and and that's what he has done.

I can understand where where you're coming from. Yeah. But my concern is that seems like you've got more people coming but that makes a bigger tax burden on the people who are already paying tax. But like I said, I'm I'm playing catch-up. So, I'm trying to figure all this out. But that's a major concern for me. It's definitely forward casting, forward thinking. When you're looking at developments like this, you're you're trying to plan the best for the community in the future when you're really not going to be around here to affect those things. You want to do the best we can. And so, if the community is larger in 25 years, the tax base is larger, the residents are better off to have a better test. So, that's that's why. But I'm here today. I I we all have I don't want to suffer. I understand.

You know what I mean? Yep. I understand. Just keep that in mind. It's one of those difficult things that we look at. So, don't put the burden on the people that are already here. I understand what you're saying. Thank you. Is there a motion to conclude this hearing? So move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. The informal meeting for city commission is called to order. Clerk, call the role. This is for public comment.

Sorry, I get the right paper here. Mr. Rickettts here. Mr. Riggsby here. Mrs. Tacket here. Mr. Wallace here. Mr. Rue

here. 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 comment card and provide their name and address for the record. A stateisssued ID or driver's license must be provided when filling out the card, and only those residing in 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 provide false information on the card will not be permitted to speak in this meeting as well as the next regularly scheduled city commission meeting. We're truly committed to making the meeting an environment where people have an opportunity to share their ideas, thoughts, and concerns. While we fully respect 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 be escorted or asked to leave due to disruptive behavior on three separate occasions, they will be notified they are considered trespassed and barred from attending any further city commission meetings. As a reminder, citizen participation guidelines allow comments on legislative agenda items. Each citizen may comment up to three up to three agenda items per meeting with a total speaking time of three minutes on all agenda items. I have a couple comment cards. Uh after you've had your three minutes to speak, we'd like you to stay there. If there's any dialogue, we can answer your questions immediately. We will do that. Mr. Armstrong, if you would like to go ahead to the microphone, please. As I mentioned uh a couple minutes ago, I had a question on three weeks ago that it was brought up a six unit on North Plum in Mccrite. said I couldn't talk cuz I was talking about the one that was

already built by the guy that was held up cuz he didn't go about getting any permits. Then I find out cuz Logan called me. It was a nice call and explained to me that this is on the lot next to it which he bought two lots for 55,000. Proceeded to double or triple the square footage of the one and I thought she meant six units for that that could hold it. This lot next door is 40T by 100. How do you get that? That's my question. How do you get that? And explain to me later that you can okay six units on that small lot on that busy neighborhood. Uh and my next thing is uh you know the hotel thing that I've I'm not let go because there's going to be some futation. You said I can't go against the city or file suit, but I can file suit against individuals. And I'm going somebody's got to pay for what is kind of the most ridiculous plan I've ever seen. two hotels. Number one, 141 rooms, 40 to six usable. Number two, 78 rooms, 34 maybe. Tracy had people go through. She can give you the definitive amount. That's millions wasted, few weeks of use to the homeless. I call that a failure. A failure. And I I'm going to tell you, the city manager type of government I found years ago when I was in my 20s was idiotic because it's the rich people that get in his ear and tell him what he wants. And we're still being influenced in today's politics by big money. It should be what's good for the people of each area. So, uh, the city went to Toledo Appraiser and then to Columbus for a cover up appraisal because it was ridiculous because how can you buy half a hotel and it'd be worth the full price? No, it was an exorbitant price for what rooms were available. Why the city went through with that is the

unethical part of it that I want answers in the end of all this. They said in the appraisals that the units were in average condition. What's average condition? You got 100 rooms and only 50 you could use. That's not average. I sold real estate. I built homes. It's moronic. That statement's moronic. Don't tell me as a taxpayer that's good business. It's unethical. You add that to that we gave people 92% raises down here and I'm going, why did they get 92%. How do you get that much raise? Well, there's a deliberate reason for that and you and I both know it. I'm not going to say it right now. I'll say it later the next meeting, the later meetings, but whatever. These things don't make sense. They're not logical. Therefore, it's illogical nonsense that you've wasted our money. Nobody, no personnel inspected either hotel for condition and have reports to back that up. Then you had fires in a water man that broke and you said they were destroyed. I want to see those reports and the photographs of the damages that you had four buildings and one pipe broke. A water man's usually in the street. You had four buildings. Okay.

Thank you. That's your time was up a little bit ago, but um we we have a few answers. I'm going to speak to the six units on

Well, as far as the six units are concerned, uh what is looked at when a project is submitted to the city of Springfield? Does it meet zoning? Uh and then it goes through the building code. And so if it meets the zoning code uh and the allowable uses on that lot uh and then follows up through a building permit and meets the Ohio basic building code that we enforce, then yes, we approve that because that is private property. If it meets the code that the developer or the individual that is uh investing in that property, if it meets the zoning code and the building code, um then we have no reason to deny it.

Thank you. As far as the form of government that we have, the city manager counts the form of government, the charter um decision which is voted on by the people. Uh we don't choose the type of government we have for the city of Springfield. It is very similar to cities our size. Um because um cities our size, we have city managers that run the cities and and basically the commission like the board of directors that holds a city manager accountable. We're responsible uh for the manager and the folks that we hire, but it is the former government voted by the people decades when we are established in our charter. Um so that's the way that's set up. Uh the raises are 2% not 92%, just want to correct that for the record. You made mention that we've given 92% raises. Uh I think there was a 2% increase on one of our recent contracts. Uh, and there'll be others that we'll bring before the the community. Um, and then is there any other answers?

Certainly. In regard to the hotels, um, just clarifying that we've answered these questions before and provided many reports as it relates to the insurance as well. Um, there's no basis for the claim that the hotel properties were purchased unethically or illegally by the city. All of our financial transactions, including the purchase of these hotels and any involvement the city has in property matters, are conducted in full compliance with state law and more importantly when it relates to the hotels with federal law as those were purchased with revenue replacement dollars afforded by the American Rescue Plan Act. So those purchases are also reviewed by US Treasury and reports that are submitted quarterly to them. So, I just want to be very clear when we're talking about the purchase of the hotel properties that those purchases have been audited. We've submitted reports to the federal government as well, and there is nothing unethical or illegal about those purchases. All procurement guidelines were followed for the appraisals. We secured um a qualified appraisal firm and a review appraiser, which was required for use by federal dollars. So, we went above and beyond when looking at the appraisal of those properties and what we paid for them.

So, you know, you're you you've spoke to us many times accusing us of unethical behavior, lying or anything like that. I just I don't really answer them because I, you know, absolutely don't agree with your opinion about that. But again, you're allowed to have that opinion. You're allowed to say the things you say on the microphone even though they're absolutely 1,000% wrong. So, that's all we have to say. Right. I I don't know if that was really the reason why we had bought them originally that each one was available.

I I just don't think there's any more to discuss back and forth, but I am absolutely willing to talk offline with you and if that has to be public in the next meeting, that's fine. So, not hiding anything. We can talk more about this which we want to remind the entire citizenry. You don't have to wait every two weeks to come and talk about these things. We can have longer conversations and and in meetings outside of the city meeting while we're conducting business. But thank you for your comments. Miss Daniels.

Hi Diana. Um, I'm here tonight as three and a half almost three years of interacting with city residents and county residents and I was chastised as I am not a representative of much more than 2% of the population and Saturday night I was at a meeting with the uh Harmony Farmland Preservation Coalition and came to realize that that's not true. that I do stand before you as a representative of a lot more than just 2%. And the common phrase that I hear from everyone is it's time to put the brakes on. Clark County is not for sale in any way, shape, or form. Our soil is not for sale to the highest bidder from Microsoft or Google or Amazon. Our water is not for sale or for use for purposes by by Amazon, Microsoft or Google. Neither is our heir. We have to make sure that we are very prudent and using our resources judiciously or we're going to end up with and I'm surprised that some of you are not voicing concerns of another Tmont city that will never be cleaned up. So, we need to make sure that we are being using our resources widely and not wasting them. The expansion done. We've got lots of land inside the city limits to be expanding upon. We don't need to be scraping the soil and making dirt or wasting our water. There are other ways to go about that. And that's that's basically all I have to say.

We don't seek growth projects. They come to

all government agencies and municipalities. That's the way it's always been. Every annexation that comes before any city commission is brought to us by the property owner who has a right by state mandate to ask to be annexed in the city if it's inaccessible property for development. U private property rights are private property rights. So if a farmer has a thousand acres and chooses to sell it to somebody maybe we wouldn't agree with who they sell it to, they still can do that. It's a private property, right? They can sell their property and do with it what they want. A water is very much for sale. Now how we use it is is very important and we all have concerns about data centers and and the state at the state level. This is being looked at and and we continue to get hold our keep our eyes open for those projects and and how they affect our area. you know, not everybody's just super excited about mega data centers coming in. We want to make sure we're using our resources and our ability to bring those in the best we can. So, you know, that's I I I do agree. We want to make sure we're using our water well, but it is for sale cuz it's wonderful water and it tastes really good. So, right, Larry. Okay. But it's true. And um and then uh like I said, we want to continue to be prudent. I I thank you for your questions and comments. We hear you. You are an activist. You do go to a lot of different meetings and you care about the community. You always show that and your passion for that. Thank you.

Okay, that's all the comment cards I have. Are there any um comments or questions or announcements from commissioners? When's cleanup day? April. April 26. Cleanup day. April 25th. 25th. 8 a.m. Where you like? I'll have Logan if she wants to. Logan or Steve, I guess.

Mayor Rue, commissioners. Good evening. I'm Logan Cobbs, director of community development. Community cleanup day is scheduled for Saturday, April 25th from 8:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. Um, really excited about this year's event. Um, there is plenty of information available specifically on our social media, on our website about materials that are accepted, materials that are not accepted. um for the community. Um it's right next to uh the event will take place right next to the Clark County Public Library um right here downtown. Um so we do have a map online as well that'll talk through kind of the traffic flow, but uh we're two weeks away. We're really excited and hope the community comes out and utilizes this great free event.

Thank you. Uh proof of residency is is required for that event, correct? so that we don't have people from out of the county bringing stuff in. Great com great question, Commissioner Rickettts. Yes. Um, proof of residency is required and will be validated on site. Thank you. Okay. Is there a motion to adjourn this portion of our meeting?

Um, during this time, we ask that you fill out a comment card. Hey, why don't you go and go to the microphone and say your name and address for us below. Andrew Diver Beverly Avenue, Ohio.

Um, I'd like to thank again citizens for speaking up against our centers. Nobody's going to agree on anything. It's going to profitable to some and some are going to go, "Yay, we have jobs. We might even have people in this county training for something like that that are out of job right now." So, I understand both sides, benefits and loss. But what I would like to say to the overall government, and this isn't just our local government, I mean all the way to the federal government. I think the data centers have become a real talking point for the entire nation. And again, it's air, water, you know, everything we're given. Again, I want to remind people right now of something in our constitution. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and they are endowed by their creator with the certain right unalable rights that among these life liberty and pursuit of happiness. Now for that life must be able to be lived meaning surv not just survival and unfortunately in America right now we're seeing mostly just survival. So what I'd like to say is that prioritizing military and corporate tech expansion in our nation like data center over the immediate survival of the citizens, government has inadverted its purpose. If the people are the sovereign as established in constitutional principles and any spending that ignores widespread domestic suffering in favor of global power or data centers is a breach of the public trust. The responsibility for life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness is not a suggestion. It is the reason for the government's existence for the people. When the majority of the population cannot afford the basic pursuit of happiness due to policydriven hikes and misallocated trillions to again data centers and war, what I'd like to ask of my government is why can't we spend trillions on life and our citizens? Thank you.

Thank you. Cler call the role. Have a motion to adjurnn. I thought we did went into a motion. Is there a motion to adjurnn this portion of the meeting? It's been It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ruth? Yes. Before we begin the formal legislative meeting, I have a proclamation to read uh for community development block grant uh month. Who will be receiving this? Uh, cler, do we know who will be receiving this? Um, Logan.

Logan's going to That makes sense. Thank you. Okay, I'm going to read this. Whereas the week of April 6 through uh the 10th, 2026 has been designated by the National Community Development Association as National Community Development Week to celebrate the community development block grant CDBG program. And whereas the CDBG program provides annual funding and flexibility to local communities to provide decent, safe, and affordable housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunities to low and moderate income people. And whereas the city of Springfield recognizes the the importance of community development and the CDBG program and fostering vibrant, inclusive, and resilient neighborhoods. Whereas over the past three years, our community has received over $5 million in CDBG funds and has funded a variety of activities and projects that have directly benefited our citizens and neighborhoods. And whereas the city of Springfield remains committed to leveraging federal resources through through the CDBG program to build a more prosperous future for all residents. Now therefore, I Rob Broom, mayor of the city of Springfield and president of our commission to proclaim the week of April 6 to the 10th, 2026 as community development week in Springfield. And we urge residents to support and endorse this valuable program and has tremendous contribution to the viability of housing stock, infrastructure, public services, and the economic well-being of our community. Thank you.

Good evening again, Mayor Roo Commissioners. Thank you. Um, thank you. Thank you for recognizing National Community Development Week. This is an incredibly important week for communities like Springfield. Each year, CDBG home and ESG funds bring critical resources to our community. supporting affordable housing, strengthening infrastructure, and helping us meet the needs of our most vulnerable residents. These dollars are not just funding streams. They're investment in the quality of life of our community, particularly for low to moderate income individuals. This work would not be possible without our strong network of local partners. um from housing providers and service organizations to neighborhood leaders, these partners are at the front lines every single day turning these resources, these funds into real tangible impact. Um at the same time, this week's also a reminder of what's at stake. Um the president's proposed fiscal year 27 federal budget includes elimination of CDBG and home dollars. We just talked about how much um funding Springfield has received over the last few years. Um so really advocacy is more important than ever um about the importance of these funds to to communities like Springfield. So we must continue to elevate um the local impact of these programs and share the stories behind our data. So thank you again for the recognition and for your continued support of community development, more specifically the community development department here in Springfield. And thank you.

Thank you. Thanks to you and Steve's hard work in the department as well. Okay. The formal meeting for the city commission's call to order. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts here. Mr. Riggsby here. Mrs. Tacket here. Mr. Wallace here. Mr. R here. Please stand for the invocation and the pledge.

Father, just thank you for the beautiful day we had today. I ask that you would give us wisdom as we uh lead the city and that you would give our city peace. We ask all this in your name. Amen. To the flag nation. Is there a motion to approve minutes? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. R?

Yes. Cler, proceed with first readings by title only.

Accepting the application for annexation of certain territory containing 4.6223 6223 acres more or less in Morfield Township and commonly known as the 2425 Mechanicsburg Road annexation area to the city of Springfield, Ohio. confirming and approving change order number two to the contract with Tony Smith doing business as Tony Smith Wrecking and Trucking for the demolition of various parcels throughout the city to decrease the contract in an amount not to exceed $9,000 for a total amount not to exceed $326,200 and authorizing the city manager to execute said change order number two. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a plat agreement subdivision development between the city and Premier Property Sales Limited for the North Point section 2 development and authorizing the city manager, law director, and finance director to do all things necessary to implement the said plat agreement subdivision development.

Thank you. Um ask the city manager to speak to 10126.

Yes. Uh so the last one 10126 is related to uh a subdivision plat agreement with a developer for what is North Point Section 2 development. So this is a single family housing development uh right off of North Limestone Street in the area uh Englewood dead ends right into kind of the end of the North Point subdivision. the first phase. Uh the second phase includes 11 lots. And so a plat agreement is put in place that uh puts the engineering specifications and and uh asurances for the work in place between the city of Springfield and the developer as the developer is installing public infrastructure.

And this something done each time or development in place.

Yes. Uh so specifically performance and payment bonds or letters of credit are secured as part of the project uh and are required to ensure that public infrastructure investment is protected. Uh so specifically um you know if the developer uh installs the public infrastructure incorrectly uh and is refuting or refusing to pay pay to fix the issue or the challenge. Um, this allows us to pull that bond or letter of credit to be able to fix the public infrastructure that is a long-term asset. Uh, that then does become part of the uh the city's responsibility for maintenance. So, we want to make sure that we're protecting that investment and that it's installed correctly. Uh, or, you know, if the developer falls into other financial challenges, goes uh under, bankrupt, whatever it may happen, uh, this protects uh, again that investment. Uh if a project's already started and part of the public infrastructure has been installed or completed, uh we again can pull that performance and payment bond or letter of credit to finish out the project and the work. Okay. Thank you. The comments from commissioners on first readings comments from the audience on first readings only.

Mr. Chester.

Hi everybody. Clay Chester with Premier Property Sales. Um, one thing I want to a I appreciate everybody the support of the community and the commission. Thank you. um this particular situation on the the flat agreement um with the assurance bond. One thing that we're hitting as a smaller developer and on this particular project it's not it's not the end of the world and it's not huge but we the engineers estimate for this project is I believe 365 grand. Generally a a performance bond is 2% of that 7,200 bucks. Not like I said, we understand that when we're taking this or recording the plat, which is what we need the plat agreement for to record, we've already have approximately 80% of the work done on this project. the way that I've I've spoke with the city's uh council, you have to fully bond this project and after that we can go back to the commission, get it approved to lessen just just on the 20% remaining. My question is is why can't we skip that step and just at this point a like take a bond out for the 2% of the 20% remaining work that needs to be done instead of having to do the full 2% of the full estimate of the project. Like I said on this project it's it's three it's 365 or 75,000. So I I hopefully I'm explaining myself properly. But on the next project, say we're doing millions of dollars project, you know, Skyri for example, could be a $2 to $3 million infrastructure that has to be bonded on

an annual basis. If we're going in and doing a a majority of that work upfront that out of our money, putting it into the project, and then to record the plat, if we have to bond that, it's it's really the insurance company's the only one winning, the the uh city has already signed off on all the work that's been done. And I guess I I mean that I was going to say this is the time and the place to try to get this discussed, but I I feel like it's kind of hurting the small guy.

I I appreciate you bringing that here and you know that you know I've supported your products in the past and and you can you really do good work. Um when you say the word skip in a government meeting, I know I fluttered a little bit. I can't imagine what our law director did,

but and also this is one of the conversations that we would probably get accused of of having behind the scenes, which you're not doing that. You're not asking us behind the scenes. you're here publicly asking us if we can make us skip this step to me the way I understand that this is standard operating and if we made any kind of change with you this would be a precedent for future developers they would they could ask us to do the same thing so for my understanding is this is something we do for every contractor every development and it's standard and so I think I mean we would have to continue to do that if we change any of that then it it it could really work that the city has already signed off on it as complete.

Most times though in larger developments, so you mentioned the larger scale projects, what we have found through those housing developments is the developer wants to begin selling lots uh even prior to completing all of the work. Um the only way they can actually sell a lot is that it becomes a fee simple lot, which means it's been recorded. Well, you uh most of the times all of the work is not completed or not as far in advance as what this one which is 11 lots is uh before a plat agreement and the work is actually begun. So typically the steps are they're going ahead and recording that plat so that they can start to sell those lots as they're starting the work and completing work uh and getting so far ahead. So in those larger projects to to cash flow uh the developer is wanting those lots recorded even prior to them completing all of that work. So which requires us to have the assurance and bond so that if the developer just ends up sells a lot uh and they don't complete out all the infrastructure we have recourse to go back on so that we can finish out the public infrastructure for the lots that have already been sold. But can we make a change to where we can only assure the work that's not been completed? Whether that's the beginning of the project or the middle of the project when the plat is recorded, the developer only should have to take a bond on what's remaining. I've already paid I've already got through, you know, 80% of this work complete that I'm just giving to an insurance company. It's already done.

Yeah. Typical practice though is that that plat agreement is in place well before where you're at in this project. This project is further along than where the plat agreement this plat agreement should have been probably in place uh a longer period ago. So you would not have had to work. Does the plat agreement have to be in place to start a project?

Uh not to start the project but the plat agreement should be in place before public infrastructure is installed. So I'm going to fully assure this project and then on the and once we assure it then it can come back to you guys to get it lessened in the you know in the next four to 6 weeks. That's not what our codified allows. So what we're doing is fal our codified ordinances which is the process that you're talking about right now. If you want to talk about that further I'm happy to talk with you directly about that. Okay. I I think I I spoke with Jason Irick regarding that. He said that uh once I take a full bond on it, I just bring it back in front of commission to get it lessened.

I think there's some discretion codifies that talk about that. So, I'm happy to speak with you about that, too. Okay. All right. Thanks everybody. Appreciate it. Thanks for your comment. Any other comments on first readings only. We'll continue with second readings. vacating the first alley east of South Yellow Springs Street from West Clark Street South to the first east west intersecting alley. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts. Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes.

Mr. Rue? Yes. 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. So moved. Second. Been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? Ryan, can you can you give just give us a brief rundown of what?

Yeah, so uh specifically this is related to the Erie Express pump station pre-treatment project as well as uh commission approved uh a change order that brought in uh the replacement of the dome digtor or the uh dome that's over the digtor at the treatment plant. Um and so what this does is provides for uh inspection and construction management services for the project's completion. So both for the Erie Express pump station as well as that additional item which was the repair uh replacement of the digtor dome. Any comments from the audience? Cler call the role. Mr. Riggsby yes. Mrs. Tacket.

Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes. Mr. Rickettts. Yes, Mr. R. Yes. Authorizing participation in the 2026 2027 ODOT winter contract for road salt. So moved. Second. Been moved and seconded. Are the comments from commissioners from the audience? Cler call the role. Mrs. Tacket. Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes. Mr. Riggsby. Yes. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes. authorizing and directing the city manager to select certain identified parcels of real estate that constitute non-productive lands 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 the Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5722 and ordinance number 98-293 passed August 25, 1998 and to do all things necessary to acquire said parcels. So moved. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners want to speak to these said parcels?

Uh yes. Uh commissioners, this is related to our mode to own program that has operated since 2016. Uh this specific item brings six additional parcels into the program. So what happens is a a property owner with a thou within 1,000 ft of a vacant parcel can apply through code enforcement uh and our community development department to take the property through the moto program. uh they would then commit to actually maintaining and mowing the property uh for a entire mowing season and then we come back uh and work through the land reutilization program. So these are properties that have been forfeited to the state, have gone through tax foreclosure and are just sitting uh uh vacant from ownership. Uh and so it allows for these properties to be put back into productive use by a neighbor uh to the property and you know whether they want to expand their current yard, have a garden, those types of things, uh it allows for them to do such. Since the program's been in place uh 2016, uh 228 parcels have been taken through the MOA to own program. comments from the audience. You'd like to go um please. Thank you. And if you don't mind, just say your name again for the record. Thank you.

Andrew Dyber. Thank you. I'm just curious is uh is it only apply to just the citizens or does also incorporate like if a business owns a property and then they have one of those lots next? I believe it allows for nonprofits, businesses to also participate in the program. They would apply the same way through our code enforcement/ community development department.

Okay. Okay. Uh I I know there's probably not a lot of people in our town. It's probably been known. I didn't know about it till today until you mentioned it, but maybe there might not be people that do know about it. So maybe we can see about doing some sending some pamplets out to people to update them and just let everyday citizens know because again, it's good. Nonprofits and businesses can do it, but everyday people don't own businesses. is they can't get business loans. They work paycheck to paycheck. So, they need to be informed if they don't. I just want to make sure I'm right about this. Are most of these properties uh maintained by residential residents? Most of these end up getting taken by a residential property. It's like if there's an empty lot that's been vacant for a long time next to your house like on one of the the avenues, then they can apply to that. Then they get a larger I just want to make sure it's a

sure definitely can market it more. It's it's something that's I understand and I think we can recommunicate that out on social media and places like that to make sure it's one of those programs that is available within the community. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Cler call the role. Mr. Wallace. Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. R?

Yes. 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 of the Ohio Revised Code. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners from the audience or call the role? Mr. Riggsby, yes. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes. Authorizing 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. So moved.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Um, just curious, these trucks that we're replacing and and these ordinances are these what years? So, these two items are actually cabin chassis that we've taken uh ownership of quite some time ago. Um, and then we are finally able to upfit them uh for the snow plow packages. Um, but they do replace uh older models both in our sewer and street. Um, and if you give me one second, I will. Uh, so the first one that we approve is replacing a 2015 in the sewer side and then this one that's currently on the uh up for consideration is replacing a 2017 uh and will be in the street department. Now understand we do not just get rid of uh these vehicles. They get filtered down in the system uh and utilized in other departments and divisions. Thank you. Comments from the audience. Clerk, call the role.

Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mrs. Packet? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. 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 Sourcewell. pursuant to the source well contract purchasing cooperative program in accordance with the provisions of section 9.48 of the Ohio Revised Code. So move second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners?

Yeah, I'd like to just say uh this is this is going to be a a rechassie for a medic unit. Is that correct? Uh this specific item is uh the purchase of a Ford F550 for our street division uh and is a replacing a 2016 model and it's a tok total package for a small dump. Later on we do have an item uh that was a first reading at our last meeting that will actually uh be for that rechassee. Comments from the audience call the role. Mrs. Packet. Yes. Mr. Wriggsby. Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes, Mr. Rickettts. Yes, Mr. R. Yes.

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 of the Ohio Revised Code. So move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners from the audience? Clerk, call the role. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. R? Yes.

Authorizing the purchase of one HV507 SFA salt truck of the newest model year available for an amount not to exceed $263,951.65. 65 cents 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. So move second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners from the audience. Go ahead.

Thank you. Yeah. Andrew, D. Uh, just one quick question. The I understand buying new, but have we ever looked at options at maybe getting like a last year's model that nobody bought before, maybe saving money? I I don't know if that's possible. And some of the equipment that's that's an opportunity that I know that some of our departments do look for. Uh, in some of the equipment, it is more cost effective to purchase new. So, so yes, in answer to your question, not this particular case, but I knew there are I know there are certain departments we do look for that opportunity. That's great.

Yes, sir. And actually, we recently had to uh after COVID, we started putting that of the newest model year uh because we were trying to buy vehicles of maybe let's say a 2024 and those were no longer available. So, we had to take a 2025 and we had to relegate it to even purchase it. Um, so it is it's a challenge. Every time you guys have to do more paper, it cost the city more money. So, okay, I get it. Thank you guys. Thank you. The comments from the audience. Cler, call the role. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Ritz? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. R? Yes.

Following e Oh, sorry. authorizing the purchase of a Ford F550 4x4 gas chassis of the newest model year available with the 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 cooperative purchasing program in accordance with the provisions of section 9.4A of the Ohio rev revised code and declaring an emergency therein. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners?

Yeah, I'd like to say this is nice to see. Um I one thing to note there uh the tradein credit shows you exactly how much use the old medic unit got. Uh the fact that uh we're replacing medic units on a regular schedule is uh a pretty good testament to the city and its commitment to providing good quality equipment for our public safety pro providers both police and fire.

I'll I'll add to that too. Um it's nice to be in the position now of rechassing. Um, if you recall back when we asked the voters to approve the levy in 2017, one of the items was to invest in our uh public safety equipment and that included uh over time replacing all of our medic units. Uh, and now we are in that process of being able to rechassee those first ones that were purchased. So, this actually uh replaces a 2018 which was medic 4 that has well over 100,000 miles on it. One of the things we're doing with this rechassee is we're actually upsizing the cabin chassis uh because we found that the uh box was too heavy uh for the older chassis that we were using or the older model chassis uh and it was creating a lot of suspension issues, brake issues, those types of things. And so we are upgrading that. Uh and then also uh what this allows is you saw a purchase earlier uh for a F550 for a small dump body uh and and full package truck for our service department. After this truck is utilized for a medic unit, we can rechassee this box again uh and we can pass that F550 down into our service fleet.

Excellent. The comments from the audience. Cler, call the role. Mrs. Tacket, yes. Mr. Rickettts, yes. Mr. Wallace, yes. Mr. Riggsby, yes. Mr. Rue,

yes. Authorizing the city manager to enter into amendment one for the purchase and installation of a Bryx Advantage brine maker from Henderson Products Incorporated to increase the contract in an amount of $1,300 for a total amount not to exceed $94,149.40 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 and declaring an emergency therein. So move second. It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners from the audience? Cler call the role. Mr. Ricketts?

Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. T. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with Chemical Services Incorporated for the purchase of liquid feric sulfate 60% for an amount not to exceed $176,400 and declaring an emergency therein. So moved. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? I I would like to ask Chris, um I know your costs for the last couple of years for these chemicals have gone up quite a bit. Are they starting to stabilize at all or is it getting worse? We we are seeing them start to stabilize. Um, Eric this time was up 5%. Um, versus, you know, we we'd seen 34% increases in recent years. 5% is, you know, that's barely covers extra transportation costs. So, we were we're happy with the price. And just to put that into perspective, that equates to about $9,000. So, it's it's not a a life-changing amount of money for that fund. Comments from the audience. Clerk, call the role.

Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. R? Yes. Confirming and approving change order number one to the contract between the city and Tony Smith doing business as Tony Smith Wrecking and Trucking for the demolition of 325 West Columbia Street to increase the contract in an amount not to exceed $25,000 for a total amount not to exceed $123,900 authorizing the city manager to execute said change order number one and declaring an emergency therein. Move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are the comments from commissioners from the audience? Cler call the role. Mr. Riggsby? Yes.

Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. Authorizing the city manager to enter into amendment number three to the agreement with Strand Associates Incorporated for the chemical storage and feed building improvements project at the water treatment plant to increase the agreement in an amount not to exceed $669,000 for a total amount not to exceed $884,000 and to extend the agreement completion date to March 1, 2028 confirming and approving related expenditures incurred from September 1, 2020. 25 and declaring an emergency therein. So move. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners from the audience? Cler, call the role. Mr. Rickettts. Yes. Mrs. Tacket. Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. Providing for supplemental appropriations within various funds and declaring an emergency therein. So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are the comments from commissioners from the audience? Cler, call the role. Mrs. Packet? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. Confirming purchases and the obtaining of services for the city and providing for payments therefore and declaring an emergency therein.

So move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners in the audience or call the role. Mr. Riggsby, yes. Mr. Rickettts, yes. Mr. Wallace, yes. Mrs. Packet, yes. Mr. Rue, yes. That's all we have. Okay.

All right. I just want to say um Commissioner Tacket and I uh were able to sit in a small meeting with uh the new president Wittenberg that's been there for few months and I'm get a nod here that we were both yeah both uh glad to be in that uh room just kind of vision casting for the community. I mean for the school and uh uh he's been on uh multiple meetings just promoting Wittenberg. It's super important that Wittenberg does succeed in our community. Uh I I personally believe that uh under his leadership it has a very very very good chance of writing the ship and and doing well. Uh there are uh one of the meetings is going to be held uh you know he kind of goes around and talks to alumni and I know the last one's going to be uh in Springfield and would encourage him to maybe open that up and invite as many people like to come here um his vision for Wittenberg and the and the one that the board supports. And also, we're going to be getting a new uh president at Clark State College uh in the summer. And uh longtime um president, Dr. Joe Blondon's retiring. And we're certainly appreciative of her leadership in the community. She's been very active, more than just a president of a college in our community. She's been extremely active and uh we're very uh grateful for her as well. So, just wanted to say that. Are there other uh announcements or um acknowledgements before we conclude? Just a reminder that um voting takes place three to four weeks and I it's so important, we can't stress this enough, that people get out and vote for this parks levy. Um this this is not a new tax. This is just a renewal of of of a property tax that was already in place. But if we keep in mind how much park space we have here in the trails,

the hiking trails, the riding trail, the bike trails and everything, how how much this gets used and what it how little it costs each of us. Um I think this is just probably one of the most important uh votes you can cast this year. So just um reminder to please vote yes on the park issue.

I I just want to kind of piggy back onto that. We've got 33 parks, 30 mi of bike trails, 13 preserves, over 2100 acres. Uh the other thing we we kind of hear quite a bit is the lack of things for our youth to do. The park system offers a whole host of programming related to youth sports, youth activities. Uh it's vitally important for this neighborhood both for our current residents and any future residents we may have. Uh I just can't I can't you know talk enough about how important our parks and our nature areas are for the citizens of Springfield.

I I would move that we would uh pass a resolution supporting once again uh this important vote to support the parks levy. Uh, I would make that motion. Is there a second? I would second that a motion. Okay. Thank you. That a motion and motion. It's It's a must pass. It needs to happen. It's not a new tax or we want to reemphasize that this is not a new tax. So, we'll go ahead and call uh roll on that.

Yes. Thank you. We want them We want our parks to thrive, not just survive. Right. Okay. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Rickettts? Yes. Mr. Riggsby? Yes. Mrs. Tacket? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. Any other announcements or acknowledgements? Is there a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Clerk, call the role. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Riggsby?

Yes. Mrs.