City Commission - Regular Meeting

Order.

Call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts.

Here.

Mr. Rigsby. Here. Mrs. Tackett. Here. Mr. Wallace.

Here.

Mr. Rue.

Here. Has proper legal notice been given for this hearing?

Notice of a public hearing for the 2027 tax budget was published in the Springfield News Sun, a newspaper of general circulation within the city. Attached here to is a true and correct copy of the legal notice published on May 24th, 2026.

I move that the communication be ordered, received, recorded in the minutes, and filed.

Second. Motion's been made and seconded. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes.

Mr. Ryu?

Yes. Staff report?

Good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. First, I'd like to acknowledge a couple of key finance staff members at the meeting tonight that play a vital role in producing our 2027 tax budget, among many other things. We have with us Adam Lipp, who is the city's treasurer, and Nikki Weber, who is the city's assistant finance director. So now jumping into the 2027 tax budget, tonight marked the formal beginning of our 2027 budget process with the presentation of the tax budget. In many ways, this is not a new conversation. It is an update on the financial trends and challenges we have been discussing through the 2025 and 2026 budget cycles and during our commission retreat over the past two years. We remain at a critical point financially. income tax revenue, the primary source of funding for our general fund, has flattened or declined after several years of strong post-pandemic growth. In 2021 and 2022, income tax revenues increased by more than $9.2 million combined. By comparison, from 2023 through 2026, year to date so this will be taking three and a half years compared to two revenue growth has totaled only about 4.1 million dollars a decline of more than 55 percent from those post-pandemic rebound years in 2021 and 2022. I know that this is something that we've discussed a lot but I just want to emphasize the magnitude of that so another way to understand the shift is to consider where we might be had those growth trends in 2021 2022 continued had that pace continued annual income tax collections could have approached 75 million dollars by 2026 generating more than 26 million in additional revenue since 2022 instead that actual growth is that 4.1 million dollars roughly 22 million less than the post-pandemic trend would have produced I think this also highlights the um difficulty in predicting income tax revenue trends and also we'll talk about it more in the tax budget presentation our heavy reliance on it and predicting that trend with these numbers how challenging that can be while that level of growth was never guaranteed the comparison illustrates how dramatically that revenue environment has changed in just a few short years often outside of our control and city government Because income tax funds the majority of general fund operations, this slowdown has significant implications for the city's ability to sustain services. Demand for public safety, infrastructure maintenance, code enforcement, and other core services continue to grow, while inflationary pressures have increased the cost of actually delivering those services. In short, revenue growth has slowed dramatically, while the cost of providing services continues to rise. several factors have contributed to this slowdown including permanent changes to remote work tax laws state level impacts related to net profit tax liabilities and net operating loss which we've discussed and that continues to be part of that broader challenges that have impacted us at the state level that are outside of our control and broader economic uncertainty As a result, the general fund is under considerable strain. In recent years, we have relied on one-time resources, including American Rescue Plan Act funds, property sale proceeds, and transfers from other funds to help balance the general fund. Without those temporary revenues, the service reductions we have already experienced would have occurred sooner and more dramatically. Because we do not have a separate rainy day reserve, changes in income tax collections are felt immediately in our day-to-day operations. There are positive developments underway. Our transition to the Regional Income Tax Agency, or RETA, has strengthened tax compliance and collections. We see that through our withholding revenue, where we are seeing declines in our net profit collection. And new residential development and economic investment continues across the city, which we all see every day. These efforts are encouraging, but they will take time to generate meaningful recurring revenue that we can rely on. Until then, we must remain disciplined, focused on core services, and committed to identifying efficiencies wherever possible. It's also important to understand what tonight's discussion for the tax budget actually represents. The tax budget is fundamentally a conversation about revenues and the financial environment that we expect to face in 2027. The discussion about expenditures will continue throughout the budget process and culminate with the hearing, the public hearing on the city manager's 2027 budget later this year in November. What the tax budget makes clear is that we have significant work ahead of us. Our responsibility is to make thoughtful, sustainable decisions that preserve essential services, align resources with community priorities and position the city for long-term financial stability. The tax budget simply provides an early look at our revenue outlook for 2027 and serves as the foundation for the budget discussions that we will continue to have in the months ahead. On this slide, we're just summarizing that annual budget timeline. In May, we are working on the tax budget bringing that before you in june ohio revised code requires that we adopt that by july 15th and again as a reminder the tax budget is a revenue document then in august september october we are working with departments on their operating budget for expenditures that they will submit going through many meetings looking at what those projections are for our actual budget and comparing revenues and expenditures. The city manager and I work together extensively and with you in October and November. Our charter requires that we have the city manager's preliminary budget on file by November 1st. So that's the target that we are hitting each year for our overall budget. Mid-November, we have two budget meetings of the evening with commissioners for input on the budget. And then early December, we bring that budget back for the public hearing that I mentioned earlier, similar to this, but that's a focus on our operating budget. And then mid-December, we bring back that annual appropriations ordinance, which sets the budget for the following year, the expenditure budget. And then in the following year, in early spring, in the March timeframe, we provide an update on where we are at retreat. So again, tonight we are talking about revenues. The tax budget is a revenue document. And again, we are doing this in June of 2026, talking about 2027 revenues, trying to forecast those out because Ohio Revised Code requires it and requires that certification by July 15th. So the tax budget establishes or requests millage for real estate tax collections, which I'll talk about on the next slide. It establishes the base of revenue estimates for the upcoming budget year. And then it combines estimated receipts with estimated end-of-year unencumbered cash balances. Receipt means the revenue that we expect to receive and then our end-of-year cash balances, thereby establishing the maximum appropriation capacity in the upcoming appropriations budget. Simply, it sets that limit for cash that we have on hand that we can appropriate for expenditures in the following year. For the general fund, again, the main dominant source of revenue that we are reliant upon is income tax. However, the city does receive real estate taxes for a few specific or earmarked purposes. For the special police levy at three mills, we are expecting to receive close to $4 million. To put that into perspective, the overall operating budget for police, including capital expenditures, is roughly $21.3 million. So this close to $4 million offsets that overall expenditure. There's a 0.6 mil levy for police and fire pension debt, bringing in roughly $800,000. That offsets our pension obligations. And then the Conservancy District at $400,000 is simply a pass-through. you'll notice here at the bottom the 2026 total assessed valuations for property are at 1 billion 330 million that number is up about 304 million or 30 percent compared to 2025 and attributable to new housing stock and property evaluations from the county So next we'll move into general fund estimated revenues and discuss those more in depth. Again, our reliance on income tax as the city's primary revenue source accounts for 77% of general fund revenues here at $45.8 million. At the time the tax budget was prepared, income tax collections were down 4%. If we were to annualize that, that's $2 million annually. Annually, a percent is equal to about a half million dollars. Based on that trend, we have projected a 2% or $1 million overall decline in total income tax revenues to be collected for 2026 compared to what we collected in 2025. The 2027 forecast assumes that income tax revenues will be flat with 2026. Interest earnings looking here at $940,000. Those are projected to decline by approximately 25% in 2027, reflecting lower cash balances and continued uncertainty in the interest rate environment. Looking at fines, licenses, and charges there at 6%. That includes things like building permits and municipal court fines. Other shared taxes, which is less than 1% here, is liquor, cigarette, and a newer tax that the city is collecting from the state level for adult use cannabis that's bringing in roughly an additional $400,000 each year. then the local government fund just a reminder for commission and the audience at its highest combined with the estate tax generated over five million dollars annually and accounted for over ten percent of our revenue in the general fund as you see here with that 2.5 million dollars that's now at four percent and essentially equates to tens of millions over the past decade that the city would have received had those changes to the local government fund not occurred and looking at all other at 5.9 million dollars for the 10 percent this is reimbursements from other funds back to the general fund for administrative services provided to other fund other funds so for example engineering is paid out of the general fund water and sewer are reimbursing the general fund for those engineer engineering activities related to that similarly community development activities are paid for out of the general fund so the grant funds that we rely on to support those activities like the community development block grant and those head entitlement funds are part of that 5.9 million dollars that is coming back to the city through those grants As part of the tax budget process and looking at revenues, we are also required to prepare a preliminary expenditure forecast for the upcoming year. For 2027, the forecast assumes no changes to current operations, a 4% increase in personnel costs. And defining what those personnel costs would be is salaries, health insurance, pension expenses, and things like that, and a 5% increase in all of our other operating expenditures. Under those assumptions, projected general fund expenditures total approximately $63.4 million compared to the projected revenues in the general fund that you see up here of $59.4 million, resulting in a projected gap of roughly $4 million in 2027. It is important to emphasize in providing those numbers that this is not a proposed budget. Rather, it is a planning tool that highlights the financial challenge before us. Certainly a $4 million gap is not a sustainable outcome, nor is it a budget recommendation as we move into 2027. It simply illustrates the magnitude of the adjustments that will be necessary as we develop the actual operating budget, the city manager's budget for 2027. The expenditure decisions necessary to close the gap will be developed and presented later this year as part of the city manager's 2027 budget and in those conversations with commissioners and department heads as we prepare that. For tonight, this forecast helps frame the financial environment in which those decisions will be made. as you've already seen on the real estate taxes slide the special police levy here and looking at our other major operating and capital funds includes the property tax amount along with a subsidy from the general fund so that's bringing in 4.1 million dollars for those operations utility funds consist of water sewer and storm water charges for services We have increased that in the tax budget by 3% or roughly a million dollars. We will be coming back to commission in the third quarter as we prepare our rate models for the recommended rate increases to sustain the operation of those services for the coming years as currently the last legislated increase took place on January 1st of 2026 so that is something that will be coming before commission at a later time the street fund which is mainly gasoline tax funds are streets and traffic divisions you see that here at 4.8 million dollars

And then the permanent improvement fund, which we see here at close to $5.6 million, is supported by 10% of every income tax dollar.

So our charter, as a reminder, requires that every dollar that comes in in income tax revenue, 90% of that is distributed to the general fund and 10% goes into our permanent improvement fund for those capital expenditures. this final chart highlights just how dependent the city is on income tax revenue to support general fund operations for 2027 income tax revenue is projected to account for again approximately 77 percent of all general fund revenues making it by far our most significant revenue source and I'm going to sound repetitive here but is what funds our core services that we carry out so as you review the trends here and see the different percentages year over year for that reliance on the on income tax as it relates to our overall general fund revenue it's important to recognize that several years include one-time revenues reimbursements federal relief funding property sales or other accounting adjustments such as the transition to rita in 2025. that affect year over year comparisons. While those items influence individual years, they do not change the broader story for that reliance on income tax. Its performance directly impacts our ability, again, to fund those essential services such as police, fire, EMS, street maintenance, code enforcement, parks, and community development. And we remain grateful to Springfield voters for their continued support of the city's income tax levy. We would certainly be having a very different conversation today and be in a very different place if not for the support of our income tax levies. Again, that remains critical to maintaining the services that we currently provide to our residents and that they rely on every day. As we conclude tonight's discussion, the message is straightforward. Revenue growth has slowed significantly. Financial pressures continue to increase and the city must carefully plan for the future. The tax budget provides an important first step by helping us understand the revenue environment that we expect to face in 2027. And again, we'll return in the fall with the city manager's 2027 budget, which will be a balanced and sustainable financial plan designed to preserve essential services, maintain fiscal responsibility, and continue moving Springfield forward together. And with that, I am happy to answer any of your questions.

Thank you. Could you highlight a couple of things that, once again, that we have not, things that came to us from different laws, things like that, unfunded mandates that have caused where we're at right now? Could you highlight that again?

Certainly.

So as it relates to... Just to be clear, like when we went, when the local government fund shifted drastically years ago, that was one thing that affected municipalities across the state.

Yes. So back in 2012, when the local government fund was cut in half, the estimated impact to Ohio municipalities was a billion dollars annually. And certainly that is... that has not been restored it is something that we continue to advocate for and essentially what that has done has made municipalities more reliant on income tax revenue and in speaking to that reliance on income tax revenue we have the current challenge in front of us with the state level changes to net profit collection and allowing businesses to fully recognize 100% of their net operating loss when they file their taxes. So that results in less revenue for us and large refunds back to those businesses when they've paid their estimated taxes because they want to be in line with that. But then we get requests for large refunds, which makes it very difficult to track. One of the things that we continue to monitor is there are conversations at the state level currently. Right now, there's a five-year look-back period for those net operating losses on net profit returns. The conversation at the state is to remove that five-year look-back period and make it indefinite.

So could you just make that as simple as possible? Explain that as simply as possible.

So if that were to be removed.

No, I'm talking about the net gain and the collections and things like that. How that just as simply as you can explain that to somebody doesn't have their heads in numbers all the time and understanding.

Certainly. So our tax collection. Roughly the city's breakdown is 85% is withholding. So that is the taxes that you pay as an employee to the city if you live or work in the city of Springfield. 15% of that is net profit, which is taxes on the profits that businesses earn. And so when they are filing their taxes, annual tax returns being able to look back indefinitely at this point it's just five years to look at their net operating losses which does include those pandemic years then they are able to offset their profits to reduce the tax liability that is owed to the city effectively what that does in allowing that five-year look-back period to cease the five-year look-back period already makes that very challenging for us But effectively eliminating 15% of our income tax revenue, if that's what that resulted in, is certainly significant for the city. And that's part of the trend that we've started to see going into this year. When through April, our net profit collections were down 30%, although withholding was holding steady around a 4% increase.

So to your understanding, what is the reason that is happening? What is the reason that is popular to pass that in the state?

The state could likely look at that as promoting businesses to locate in the state of Ohio. What I would advocate for is if we are doing that, we're not seeing the changes in withholding that offset that change with net profit is that we have to look at things like restoring the local government fund and other ways that the state who has a historic rainy day ballot can fund the local work that's happening that is most important.

Thank you for doing that. Other questions from commissioners? Comments from the audience on this hearing?

Ms. Diane?

I JUST HAVE TO SAY, KATIE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. YOUR JOB HAS GOT TO BE THE HARDEST TO DO, TO JUGGLE 18 DIFFERENT BALLS AND THEN HAVE THE STATE SAY, WELL, HERE'S FIVE MORE, TRY THIS. AND THEN A WEEK LATER SAY, WELL, LET'S TAKE THREE AND ADD FIVE. i appreciate your candor and presenting the information to us is the tough situation that you find yourself in and i don't i don't envy brian and any of you with the decisions that you have to make but i do have a couple of suggestions the hardest thing for citizens in the city of springfield is to look at your salaries and go oh really um so that would be a suggestion from a citizen to take a look at a rollback and tell the citizens we're going to do the hard part now it's your turn and then we'll pick up the slack and do the hard part as well thank you thank you is there a motion to conclude this hearing so moved second it's been moved to second clerk call the roll Mr. Ricketts yes Mr. Rigsby yes Mrs. Tackett yes Mr. Wallace yes Mr. Ryu yes

The public hearing is scheduled for 6.50. It's called to order. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts? Here. Mr. Rigsby?

Yes, here.

Mrs. Tackett? Here. Mr. Wallace?

Here.

Mr. Rue?

Here. Has proper legal notice been given for this hearing?

Notice of a public hearing for the notice of 30-day public comment period and public hearing for the fiscal year 2021. 526 consolidated annual performance and evaluation report was published in the Springfield News Sun a newspaper of general circulation within the city attached here to is a correct true and correct copy of the legal notice published on May 13, 2026.

I move that the communication be ordered received recorded in the minutes and filed.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Yes. Staff report.

Mayor Ryu, Commissioners, good evening. My name is Logan Copps, Director of Community Development. I am before you all this evening for a public hearing regarding our HUD funding. Just a quick overview for you and the community as a whole. The city of Springfield receives CDBG home and ESG funding from HUD as an entitlement community. So each year the city is required to report and assess the progress that we've made toward achieving our goals outlined in the city's annual action plan. AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE PROGRAM YEAR. SO SPRINGFIELD'S 2025 CAPER REALLY REPRESENTS THE FIRST YEAR OF THE CITY'S FIVE-YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN WHICH WILL RUN US FROM 2025 TO 2029. SO LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IS THE CAPER. IT'S OUR ANNUAL REPORT TO HUD FOR OUR CDBG HOME AND ESG FUNDS. IT REALLY SUMMARIZES THE CITY'S PERFORMANCE FOR THE YEAR. So we're required to comply with our citizen participation plan, which is outlined in HUD's regulations of the CFR. And the city's participation plan requires a 30-day public comment period. I know our clerk spoke to that earlier for review specifically of the CAPER. In addition, our plan requires that a public hearing be held prior to submission to HUD, which has me before you all here tonight. so an advertisement of the public hearing was placed in the new sun last month copies of the reports were made available to the community here at city hall in the community development department and the caper was also posted on the city's website and made available by request via email So public comments are accepted for 30 days, and that public comment period did close today. So in accordance with our public participation plan, this CAPER was also presented to CCAB, our Community Grants Advisory Board, who recommended approval. Let's talk a little bit about our priorities. You'll see three priorities listed on the screen here. The first one being to provide decent housing. And we're doing that by preserving the affordable housing stock that we have here in the community, increasing the availability of affordable housing, reducing discriminatory barriers, increasing the supply of supportive housing for those with special needs, and transitioning homeless persons and families into housing. that next bullet point speaking to suitable living environments and that's done through safer livable neighborhoods greater integration of lmi residents throughout the community and increased housing opportunities and really reinvestment in some of our legacy neighborhoods and then also expanding economic opportunity through an increased number of jobs that pay self-sufficient rates homeownership opportunities and development activities that promote long term community viability and the empowerment of low to moderate income individuals. So all of our projects that we all come to you before seeking approval, all of those projects, HUD activities must address one of these priorities. So the CAPER can be a little bit confusing just because it comes at kind of a strange time of expenditures versus the programmed year of the funds. So the top graphic really shows our funding allocation for fiscal year 25, while the bottom graphic shows what we've actually expended. So program expenditures include funding available through prior years as well. I think that's important to note, especially as you see CDBG THE FUNDS THAT WE'VE EXPENDED OBVIOUSLY SURPASS THE FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVED IN FISCAL YEAR 25. AND THE ANNUAL ACTION PLAN OUTLINES HOW WE USE THESE FUNDS FOR SPECIFIC PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. BUT THE CAPER REALLY REPORTS ON WHAT WAS ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED AND PROJECTS THAT WERE CLOSED OUT DURING THE PROGRAM'S PROGRAM YEAR. TO TALK THROUGH JUST A FEW KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS. WE'LL START WITH CDBG. YOU CAN SEE SOME PROJECTS COMPLETED ON THE SCREEN. THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO CLOSE OUT IN OUR SYSTEMS. THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THESE PROJECTS BEGAN IN 2025, BUT THEY WERE CLOSED OUT AND THEY ARE INCLUDED IN THE FUNDING AMOUNT THAT YOU SAW ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE. FOUND AVENUE REPAVING, STREET IMPROVEMENTS CAN BE SEEN IN THE SPRINGFIELD. CITY STREET REPAVING, ALL OF THESE ROADS THAT, AND I'LL DISCUSS A COUPLE, ALL OF THEM ARE IN LMI QUALIFIED AREAS. THOSE INCLUDING MARYLAND AVENUE FROM BEACON AND BELMONT, WASHINGTON STREET BETWEEN YELLOW SPRING STREET AND PLUM, MIAMI STREET BETWEEN LIBERTY AND PLEASANT, LIBERTY STREET BETWEEN WESTERN AND YELLOW SPRINGS, AMONGST SOME OTHERS ARE INCLUDED IN THAT PROJECT. ON THE SCREEN YOU CAN ALSO SEE SOME PARKS IMPROVEMENTS. funding our home repair program this year's contracts are actually on the agenda tonight so that's great timing and then homeless operation support as well do think it's important to note and you see it here on the slide that we met our timeliness test I feel that I've been extremely honest with you all as elected officials as well as you know CGAB and the community as a whole about the importance of timely expenditures of our funds specifically our CDBG funds so that means holding our sub-recipients accountable to their contract periods keeping strict project deadlines, especially for infrastructure projects. I know we work really closely with our service department on some of these projects and Chris and his leadership team are always hearing from me like, We got to keep moving. We got to keep moving. They do a great job of that as seen through expenditures this program year. But yeah, so we did meet our timeliness test and I think that's worth noting and really worth celebrating as well. Looking at home very briefly, one project that I thought was worth noting and it really speaks to projects not necessarily taking place in the program year are two homes on Clifton Avenue. Those projects finally being closed out. in our system and those were for the development of single-family homes for low-income homebuyers and we also have an item on the agenda tonight to kind of keep that momentum going and then as we kind of close out here with ESG we have a total of 536 clients served under ESG programs for shelter operations and and for rapid rehousing. So Shelter Inc. reported 402 clients served, where Project Woman reported 134 clients served. So that concludes my presentation. We've made a lot of great progress this year, especially on the home side, as you saw. So we're really excited to keep the momentum going. Do not need any action from you all tonight. This is simply ensuring that we're complying with requirements. So, of course, I'll open it up to any questions you all may have at this time.

Any comments or questions from commissioners? Do a great job. Appreciate you. From the audience? Okay. Is there a motion to conclude the hearing? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Yes. Give me one or two minutes, please. Okay, before we begin our public comment period, we have a proclamation to do and a board certificate. So I'd like to, we'd like to honor Women's Veterans Day. I'm gonna read our proclamation and then Kim Norman will come up and receive that. She is the new president of the BAR. So the proclamation reads, whereas on June 12th, 1948, the Women's Armed Services Integration Act was signed into law granting women the right to serve as permanent regular members of the United States Armed Forces. And whereas for generations, courageous women have answered the call of duty serving with distinction, bravery, patriotism during times of peace and war. And whereas Women Veterans Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the unique challenges faced by women veterans and to recognize the enormous contributions they have made on behalf of our nation, state, and community. And whereas the Luganda chapter of the National Society Daughters of American Revolution is dedicated to historic preservation, education, and promoting patriotism within our community. And whereas the Luganda chapter seeks to acknowledge the courage and the impact of military women in our community and throughout history who continue to inspire future generations of young women to answer the call to serve. Now, therefore, I, Rob Rue, Mayor of the City of Springfield and President of our Commission, do hereby proclaim June 12th, 2026 as Women's Veterans Day in Springfield. We urge our citizens to join in celebrating the strength, service, and sacrifice of all women who bravely have served in our military. I will say before Ms. Kemp speaks, she has served our country faithfully, her and her husband, and we just appreciate your long service in the Air Force.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, commissioners. I'm honored on behalf of the Daughters of the American Revolution to accept this proclamation. As part of our mission, it is very important to us to recognize our military and to help support our military and our veterans. And as a woman veteran of 34, for 35 years um something like this is very meaningful to me as well so i appreciate being here to accept it on behalf of the daughters of american revolution but personally i appreciate uh the proclamation as well thank you ma'am thank you so much would you join us over here for a picture

We have a special recognition. Senator Kyle Koehler is here to honor our Springfield Professional Fire Department.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. It's great to be here tonight, especially when you're talking about the budget. You went a little bit nicer on me than Mayor Copeland would have, so I appreciate that.

I just held back, Kyle.

Thank you. It's an honor to be here tonight to recognize the Springfield Fire Division. On behalf of the Ohio Senate, we're here to recognize the fact that the Ohio Department of Public Safety and Division of Emergency Medical Services has awarded the Springfield Fire Department their Fire Department of the Year Award. And it is wonderful to be here. Mayor, I know you know as well as some other folks that 30 years ago this year, I had to make that 911 call to the fire department, say the house that I just built and had four kids in with my wife was on fire. And as we were doing that thing that we all talk about, what would you carry out of your house if your house is on fire? While we were doing that, the fire department showed up and they told me I couldn't go in anymore. But they ran in. the men and women of the fire department ran in in my place and saved my house so i know how important this is i know how important it is the city of springfield um we have the fire department come through our business here in downtown on a regular basis and a lot of times we focus on the fires that are put out and and the magnificent heroic stories to me sometimes the most important story is the fact that we don't have those fires that chief king and his folks are going into our businesses and making sure that they don't have to be called that the smoke detectors work so that when there is smoke, somebody puts out the fire long before it becomes something catastrophe, horrible. So on behalf of the Ohio Senate, I won't read the whereas, but it says, whereas the members of the Senate of the 136th General Assembly are pleased to extend special recognition to the Springfield Fire Rescue Division on being presented the 2026 Ohio Fire Department of the Year Award by the Ohio Department of Public Safety Division. and emergency medical services and then it goes with a number of whereas's i won't read but it says resolved that we the members of the senate of the ohio 31st the 36th general assembly in ohio is adopting this resolution commend the members of the springfield fire division rescue division for their loyal service to the community and salute them as exemplary first responders and be it further resolved that the clerk of the senate transmit a duly authenticated copy of this resolution to the springfield fire division so on behalf of the clerk the president of the Senate, and my office, I want to commend Chief King for what he's done. I've worked with him when he was in the Wright-Patt Fire Division, when he was at Bethel Township, and now at Springfield. He's always been an honorable man. So thank you to his men and women that support him because it is about his men and women.

The public comment period of the City Commission is called to order. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts? Here. Mr. Rigsby?

Here.

Mrs. Tackett? Here. Mr. Wallace? Here. Mr. Rue?

Here. The City Commission remains committed to creating a conducive environment for constructive and productive dialogue and engagement of our community. Those wishing to speak must fill out a comment card and provide their name and address for the record. A state-issued 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 comment time. Those who are determined to provide false information on a card will not be permitted to speak at this meeting or the next scheduled meeting. We're truly committed to making sure this meeting has the 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 a disruptive behavior on three separate occasions, they'll be notified that they're considered trespassed and barred from attending future commission meetings. As a reminder, the citizen participation guidelines allows comments on legislative items. Each citizen may comment up to three agenda items per meeting with a total speaking time of three minutes for all agenda matters. We're going to start tonight with Gary Armstrong.

Thank you. You know what, for my elderly years, all I look forward in people down here is honesty and represent the people. And I've said this the last couple of meetings because to me it's outrageous that this country is now being overtaken by who's always owned the people from the beginning of time, from Attila and Alexander the Great, the rich rode on the backs of the working people. But now it's never been so blatant that they bought the presidency, they bought the country, and the people aren't going anywhere. And they voted for this situation because they've been stonewalled for the last 20 years, and their financial growth has gone this much, and the rich has bought. No, in the last 15, 20 years, their wealth is 50, 100. You do the math. The figures are out there. They've just. had extreme wealth people don't and you know what i'm i'm an abnormal man money doesn't mean anything to me i made some good money working at international for 40 hours and for myself 50 hours and i actually made 150 or whatever in 2021 pretty good for a poor guy but I just wanted to do things. I want to build other houses. I want to have, I didn't have allegiance, but when people, and I'm looking for the people here to not be working for our rich people, but for them and us, because when you let money dictate and you leave out the people in the middle, that's why they're mad. And they should be mad because they, The one thing I couldn't do when I was elected to a little official at International is lie to people because you spit on them. You disrespect them if you can at least say, come on, sit over here and let's have meetings. I saw what Aaron said. Now, you don't have time for him. You can't come and discuss it. If I was heading this place, I'd say, hey, we can have an hour meeting three months in a row and let people bring ideas out in discussion because there's no harm in it. There's benefit in it. Anyway, I see Melissa's not here. The data deal, I didn't know until a week ago about this deal. the stalled data center regulations, the House versus the Senate, wanted to cut tax breaks for giant techs from 100% to 50%. Bottom line is they estimated 11 times higher, the projected estimate, $1.6 billion lost for what you gave the local, the state, the feds keep giving to the rich, and they all got the trillion-dollar tax break at the beginning of his term, and that's taken us, the country, and especially the poor people down. It's a sad commentary that we don't care about the people. Thank you, Mr. Armstrong.

Your time's up. Diane Daniels.

Good evening. I'm going to check my phone. YES, OH, MY E-MAIL IS WORKING. OH, WELL, HOW ABOUT THAT? I WAS WONDERING BECAUSE LAST WEEK, TWO WEEKS AGO, I ASKED SOME QUESTIONS AND I'VE BEEN CHECKING MY E-MAIL FOR ANSWERS AND I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY. IMAGINE THAT. ONE OF MY QUESTIONS THAT I NEEDED ANSWERED WAS THE LAST TIME A SPEAKER WAS VIDEOED WAS DECEMBER 30TH. WHAT CHANGED AND WHY? I'LL WAIT. I asked for a current copy of the charter on the record. That's not coming through my email either. I asked at that time what any future meant. I noticed up here there is a city of Springfield city commission guidelines for citizen participation, but that doesn't coincide with a little paper that you read TWO WEEKS AGO AT THE BOTTOM WAS WOULD BE TRESPASSED FOR ANY CITY COMMISSION MEETING AND NOW THAT WORD ANY HAS BEEN CHANGED TO FUTURE SO IT SHOULD CHANGE THIS WITH THE WIND WHATEVER SO HERE'S QUESTIONS I HAVE FOR YOU TONIGHT IN REGARDS TO THE CHARTER WHERE WILL I FIND THE PAGE OR PARAGRAPH OR ARTICLE OR RESOLUTION REFERRING TO THE MANNER OF CITIZEN COMMENTS that's number one number number two is who wrote the little list that you read list up why does it change so much and why is it so ambiguous why was this list of rule when was this list of rules voted on did you all vote on that well no one of the things I think you should probably understand you probably already know this already As your continued silence attempts to silence your citizens, you have done so at your peril. And you're probably going to find out on October 6th how wrong you were to silence your citizens. Thank you.

videos of residents or folks commenting stopped because people did not want to come up and speak because they felt their privacy was being violated because they were being videoed. So we leave the cameras on us and not on the citizens to give even a greater opportunity for people to speak. There is no charter amendment or anything about meeting procedures. It's not a charter item. It's set by the commission. It was set before I was here and before anybody that was sitting up here was here and we're just following it. What we read is because at one time we had over 30 comments a meeting lasting about two hours in comments. And we tightened up the regulations and make sure people understood them so we can have a controlled environment where everybody would have a chance to be heard in a peaceful way and not a chaotic way. So those are answers. A copy of the charter is available on the website on your phone that you checked our email. You can go to springfieldohio.gov and see the full charter right there and you can search it. Jennifer Apel. Mayor, real quick, I just want to add too.

After the meeting, if you could just confirm with Regina your email address, because she copied me in on an email that she sent with the copy of the charter. So I want to make sure, and then it bounced back. So I just want to verify what email address is on file. So I know she wants to get that to you.

Go ahead, please. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mayor Rue and Commission. You are a great group of individuals. that have a very great appreciation for your community. I am here to introduce myself because you haven't met me and I have very, very deep roots in Springfield. You can find out a lot about me by going to YouTube and I have a channel there. It's called Pool Change Ontario 32. It's the name of a type of boat. I've been doing microscopy work since 1996. What that means is looking under a microscope, whether it was histology for blood or whether it was compost tea, tissue samples, anything. I have a really good history in that. And when you go there, you're going to see a bunch of microscope slides. and micro videos and what I want to get at and I'm grateful that you started with the budget because you have drinking water utility of synthetic biology and the treatment of industrial waste waters and I think the things that we're using in the contract we're breaking up the biosolids is getting back into the water supply. And I say that because I tested eight different sites in this city for water quality to see if they would match up with the diseases that people are having on their skin from these crazy little bumps and itches. And they do. Microscopists around the world are looking at this because everyone's looking for a solution. The problem is the water that we have here. May I bring these out for you?

We'll get them for you after the meeting or you can give them to the clerk.

Cool. You can also see them on YouTube. It's synthetic biology. The synthetic biology we're using is turning people This is what's happening to your blood. This is the blood clots.

I don't think...

The tech is increasing. What we're drinking in the water here is actually toxic. And I want to talk to you about solutions to solve this. And I'm grateful for the time that you've given me. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your information. Stephen Harbaugh.

Thank you for letting me stand up here and talk tonight. I'm up here as a volunteer of Second Harvest Food Bank. I'm also representing Second Harvest Food Bank tonight. And we want to thank you for the grant that you supplied back in our food bank for the food that we were able to give to the citizens of Springfield, Ohio, a couple of Saturdays ago. We had a lot of volunteers, had a lot of rain, but the thunderstorms and the lightning just went some other way. We were able to continue distributing the food as we were all getting soaked out there. It was a very good time. I just want to pass on some numbers to, you, the Commission, and also the citizens of Springfield, because of your grant, we were able to give 1,836 citizens of Springfield food, and of those 1,836, 568 of them were children. So 568 children were going to be able to eat this summer because of the grant that you supplied. And Like I said, I am the volunteer and also representing Second Harvest Food Bank. We want to thank the City Commission for that grant and also the City of Springfield. And thanks again.

Thank you for your help.

And also, if you can ever find any other grants for the Second Harvest Food Bank, we'll be more than happy to take them.

Thank you for your volunteer. Thank you for your passion. I want to thank the staff for making the recommendation to do a grant for the Second Harvest Food Bank. So I appreciate the staff bringing that to us. And it was an honor to be able to vote on that. So yes, thank you. Ms. Clara Copeland.

Well, for starters, I want to thank you for being there, because I know how much money you five get, and it's not that much. Thank you for your service. I had one thing I wanted to say, and I will in a minute, but it hasn't been addressed. I just want to say, Juneteenth is this Saturday. If you have never been to the Gammon House, If you have not walked the path behind the Gammon House to know the history of the Underground Railroad in Ohio, you need to be there. So please, if you can work it out Saturday between 11 and 7, go to Juneteenth. And today I want to thank you for the fountains. The fountains that out here, the fountains at the Espionage, they just... brighten up the city. Last year, I thanked her for flowers. This year, it's the fountains. But somebody in my family who loves the fountains pointed out that they don't come on until after homecoming. Is that right? Yeah. And then they... And then for prom, they're not on yet. And so if you want to take your kids' pictures in front of the fountains, they're not on for those two big dances. And so I just wanted to share that when you look at the schedule, if there's any way to make sure you can get through homecoming and also for prom, then that would be appreciated. Thank you.

It's Chris's fault why they weren't on.

no we love the fountains too thank you claire thank you for everything you do scott wolf good evening mayor ryu commissioners city staff and citizens my name is scott wolf i'm the president of springfield professional firefighters local 333. As an FYI, today the Fire Division has 128 members on the roster. On April 21st of this year, I spoke in this forum, making you aware that the Fire Division had suspended mandatory overtime and was going to intermittently, temporarily, close a fire station. Thankfully, in the past eight weeks, mandatory overtime has been reinstated, and the division has stopped rounding out Station 6. At that meeting, City Manager Heck and staff were tasked with presenting a plan to commission to increase manning thereby reducing the burden to the members of the fire division. My question, has the commission been presented a plan yet? The underlying problem of inadequate staffing has not been fixed. As much as Local 333, its members, and I would like a magical solution of immediately increasing staffing level to around 150, we realize that only a more incremental plan is feasible. Staffing levels must be increased and maintained and level proportionate to the number of calls for service and additional services that the fire division provides thank you thank you

I believe the only thing that comes before us is a budget item when it comes to staffing. So that would be during the budget. We do not vote on plans for staffing unless it has to do with budget. So no, we've not seen a plan. We don't vote on a plan. Again, we stay in our lane. When it comes to budgeting and manpower, that's when we'll see these items and discuss these. Thank you for your information, though, and service. Is there a motion to conclude the public comment period?

So moved.

Second. Move to second. Clerk call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts.

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby. Yes. Mrs. Tackett. Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes. Mr. Rue.

Yes. Okay, the formal meeting for city commission is called to order. Clerk call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts. Here. Mr. Rigsby. Here. Mrs. Tackett. Here. Mr. Wallace. Here. Mr. Rue.

Here. Please stand for the invocation and pledge. God, we thank you for our community. We ask for your peace in this community. We ask for wisdom as we govern tonight in your name. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty.

Is there a motion to approve minutes from last meeting? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Abstain. Clerk will proceed with first readings by title only.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a subrecipient agreement with Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield Incorporated to provide CDBG funding for the Safe Homes for Springfield Health and Safety Repair Program in an amount not to exceed $100,000. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a subrecipient agreement with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton to provide CDBG funding for the Safe Homes for Springfield Health and Safety Repair Program in an amount not to exceed $50,000. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a subrecipient agreement with Project Woman of Ohio to provide funding from emergency solutions grant allocations in an amount not to exceed $38,425. authorizing the city manager to enter into a subrecipient agreement with Homeful Incorporated to provide funding from emergency solutions grant allocations in an amount not to exceed $115,486.62 and confirming and approving related expenditures incurred from May 13th, 2026. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a community housing development organization operating agreement with Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield Incorporated in connection with the general operation of affordable housing development activities for an amount not to exceed $21,957.70 and confirming and approving related expenditures incurred from June 1, 2026. confirming and approving the acceptance of a fiscal year 2025 Bulletproof Fest Partnership Award in an amount up to $18,603.50 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, confirming and approving a local matching expenditure in an amount not to exceed $18,603.50 and authorizing the city manager finance director law director and chief of police to perform all acts and execute all documents they consider necessary to fulfill the city's obligations under said grant and to comply with all relevant local state and federal legal requirements okay the city manager is going to go ahead and give us more detail on the first readings

Yes, Commission, the first two items are interrelated in the fact that we're awarding subrecipient agreements to two community partners that will implement what was formerly known as our emergency repair program that is called the Health and Safety Repair Program. But these dollars, the first item being $100,000 to NHP or Neighborhood Housing Partnership, the second one with the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton at $50,000, allows for them to work with low to moderate income families homeowners who have issues, ADA accessibility, roofs, water heaters, HVAC, electrical, those types of big major projects to their homes that help keep them in their homes and safely in their homes. And so we're awarding those two entities, those program dollars to help implement those programs. The next two, similar to that, as we continue around our entitlement dollars from the federal government. The next two are related to our emergency solutions grant, which helps with homeless prevention, rapid rehousing, homeless shelter operations. The first award is to Project Woman for $38,425. So we know Project Woman provides a vital service to helping those individuals impacted by domestic violence in our community. And then the next one with Homeful, who provides emergency shelter operations. at the former fire station five on commerce there. The next item you saw NHP was received as a recipient, sub-recipient for our health and safety repair program. They are also our identified community housing development organization. chodo for the community so being an entitlement community we have or identify a chodo that helps carry forward affordable housing development activities throughout the community and NHP does a great job of that from the variety of different programs including their first-time homebuyer program that they offer and have offered for a long time and then finally a 50-50 grant 50-50 match grant that we receive annually through the bureau of justice assistance as it relates to our bulletproof vests so this helps us and supports us in buying vests bulletproof vests for our new officers as well as those officers that are at their five-year rotation they have an expiration date of five years so we work to replace those

Thank you. Any comments from first readings from the commissioners?

Yes, regarding 146-26. I'm the city's representative on the Neighborhood Housing Partnership Board. And I just want to say, I go to these meetings and I'm astounded at the amount of work that they get done. for the amount of money that they spent. Oh, I see Rachel's there. They do a great job and they provide a valuable service. And this is money that is very well spent, very well spent.

Any other comments from the audience on first readings only? Hearing none, we'll continue with second readings.

amending ordinance number 9190 passed March 12 1991 and commonly known as the codified ordinances of the city of Springfield Ohio by amending certain provisions of chapter 1721 entitled tobacco retailer retailer licensing and sales so moved second been moved and seconded are there comments from Commissioners I actually have one comment um

Our ability to do this is at risk right now. The General Assembly twice in the last couple of years tried to pass legislation that would prohibit locals from any kind of regulations as far as tobacco, vaping, that type of thing. Twice it was vetoed by the governor. So the tobacco industry is now taking this to the Ohio Supreme Court. And I think they had hearings, initial hearings on it, I believe this month. I would encourage everyone, if you can contact, look up the contact information for the Ohio Supreme Court. This falls under home rule. And it's a situation, we know what we need in our community. And we need to keep things like this at the local level. So please think about that.

The minute the home rule becomes open where it's violated like that or when cities lose our ability to be home rule, the state or large government agencies can tell us what we need and how we would need to spend the money. For example, they would tell us you only need 100 firefighters, not 150 or 130, or we only need 100 police officers, not 125. So we need to continue to do all we can at the state level to defend home rule for all cities in the state that's why we need home rule because we know what's best at our level of municipal government or other citizens okay thank you larry and then we'll continue on is it yeah thank you chris good evening mayor rue assistant mayor tackett

City commissioners and city staff. My name is Chris Cook. I'm the health commissioner at the Clark County Health Department, serving both the city of Springfield and the rest of the county. I want to thank the commission for considering these updates to the back of retail licensing program and the codified ordinances. I'd like to extend a special thank you to the mayor, the assistant mayor, current commissioner Larry Ricketts, former assistant mayor Dave Estrop, city manager Brian Heck, and Law Director Jill Allen for following the data and listening to the experts in this community who have the best interests of our kids at heart. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Tobacco retail licensing ordinances like the one we're fortunate to have here in Springfield are evidence-based public health tools that reduce youth access to tobacco and nicotine product. In our recently published youth risk behavior survey, surveying over 6,000 students in our community, we found that overall 10% of students reported in middle and high school that they've tried a cigarette and 19% have tried a vape at some point in time. While percentages are a great way to describe the impact in our community, I also look at actual numbers. What does this equate to? That means 600 of our kids have tried a cigarette and over 1,100 have tried a vape. Those are kids, they're grandkids here in our community. These enhancements that you're considering tonight are going to reduce youth access to to tobacco, nicotine, and vaping products. It will also improve retailer compliance and support a healthier future here in Springfield. My staff stands ready to use these new tools through education and enforcement. These enhancements are one of several goals that we have in our countywide community health improvement plan spanning the next three years. Changes like this matter. Please don't let anybody tell you that they don't. I've heard people say kids will find another way to get them. They'll get them from siblings or parents or they'll buy them online. I don't think this should dissuade us from acting. Robert Shuler said it's better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly. I'm happy we're adding one more strategy of prevention here in our community tonight. My hope is tonight is that as you pass this amendment to the tobacco retail license ordinance, you don't do it for the health department that you don't do it for the data, but you do it for our kids because our kids are the ones that are going to be occupying those seats one day and my seat one day at the health department. Thank you.

Thank you. Other comments from the audience, please go ahead, Gary.

When I was at OIC five, six years ago, I'd look out through the window and at break, there'd be four or five of my students. I couldn't see them. The car was filled with vape. And I read a lot about it. But it's just, it's a thousand times worse than smoking a cigarette. It injects bacteria and et cetera stuff that I don't know. It's not a health official. But it's so dangerous, what he just said, times 100. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Diane?

Okay.

Okay. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into an amendment to the contract with Windstream to provide for telephone services at various city facilities to update the vendor's legal name to Unity Group Incorporated and confirming and approving related expenditures for May 1, 2026. I'll move.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? From the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Authorizing the renewal purchase of 625 Google Workspace business licenses and support from CDWGLLC for an amount not to exceed $425,875 for a five-year term through Sourcewell pursuant to the Sourcewell Contract Purchasing Cooperative Program in accordance with the provisions of Section 9.48 of the Ohio Revised Code.

I'll move. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? From the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mrs. Packett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Authorizing the issuance of a purchase order for the purchase of eight double-acting rotary vein actuators in training from APA Incorporated for an amount not to exceed $229,600. They'll move. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. What's the year we're replacing?

Yes, so this is for the water treatment plant and helps with the filtering process, but we are replacing the original pneumatic actuators, which were installed in 1958. Okay. Okay.

My comments from the commission, from the audience. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with Parham Electric Incorporated for the South Burnett Road and Kenton Street Traffic Signal Project for an amount not to exceed $80,273.70.

So moved. Second. We moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners from the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Authorizing the exercise of the city's option to renew the contract with Southern Ionics Incorporated for the purchase of liquid sodium bisulfite for use by the city's wastewater treatment plant for an amount not to exceed $78,800. So moved.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? From the audience? Or call the roll?

Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager, law director, and the city engineer to do all things necessary to release a portion of the letter of credit posted with the city in connection with the Fountain Village subdivision in proportion to the amount of public improvement work which has been completed for phase one.

So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? From the audience? Clerk call the roll.

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mrs. Hackett? Yes. Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Adopting the tax budget of the city of Springfield, Ohio for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2027 and submitting the same to the county auditor and declaring an emergency therein. So moved.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? From the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Providing for the issuance and sale of notes in the maximum aggregate principal sum of $1,191,800 in anticipation of the issuance of bonds to pay the cost of constructing sidewalks, curbs, and gutters comprised in the 2024C sidewalk, curb, and gutter program at various locations throughout the city and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Ms. Tack, do you want to explain this or Ms. Cady?

Certainly, Mayor and Commissioners, this legislation continues the financing for the 2024 sidewalk curb and gutter program, which was lane addition and west of Burnett areas. Because these projects are taking multiple years for a variety of reasons to complete and close out, we've now renewed the note twice. So we issued an original 2024 note 2024B and are now requesting 2024C. The original note was issued to front the homeowner share of project costs. Since the project is not yet ready for final assessment and bond issuance, we're issuing the new interim note for $1.19 million at a lower interest rate of 2.81% to pay off that maturing 2024B note. And once the project is complete, property owners will have the opportunity to pay their assessment directly to the city. Any remaining balances will then be placed on there or assessed to their property taxes over 10 years, and the city will then issue a 10 year bond. that matches that assessment revenue. So simply, this is just a routine financing step that allows the project to continue until final cost and assessment can be determined and those assessments can be levied. And as we move to the next item, which is 2026, we have certainly noted that these projects take more than a year to complete. So we are now issuing those interim notes for two years to avoid coming back with a B or a C note submission.

You're welcome. Other comments from the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Providing for the issuance and sale of notes in the maximum aggregate principal sum of $1,065,700 in anticipation of the issuance of bonds to pay the cost of constructing sidewalks, curbs, and gutters comprised in the 2026 sidewalk, curb, and gutter program at various locations throughout the city and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? From the audience?

call the roll Mr. Rigsby yes Mrs. Packett yes Mr. Wallace yes Mr. Ricketts yes Mr. Rue yes authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with CW Tree and Outdoor Service LLC for the 2026 sidewalk curb and gutter program for an amount not to exceed $1,427,253.10 and declaring an emergency therein I'll move second

It's been moved and seconded. You want to explain where this project is going to take place?

Yes, Commission, so this is the award of contract for the note that we just approved for the 2026 sidewalk curb and gutter program. And this is the Northern Estates neighborhood, south of Providence. So all the streets south of Providence there. So this year, we actually have been paving the streets north of Providence. Last year, they would have gone through the sidewalk curb and gutter program. So again, with water, sewer, gas, sidewalk curb and gutter and then paving it's a three-year process and so we are moving on to the sidewalk curb and gutter piece for again the area south of providence known as the northern estates neighborhood thank you so it's easy to think if your sidewalks and curbs are getting worked on you're probably going to get paved in a couple years yes i have a quick question brian i know in the past we've had difficulty getting multiple bids on these projects yes specifically on concrete work sidewalk curb and gutter we were getting where we were lucky to get one maybe two bids and i believe we received seven this time seven oh great okay comments from the audience or call the roll

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Confirming and approving change order number three to the contract between the city and A&B Asphalt Corporation for the CLA-CR374-333-00.79-10.66 project, a.k.a. Springfield resurfacing fiscal year 26 project PID number 118635 to decrease the contract in an amount not to exceed $91,924.98 for a total amount not to exceed $1,236,997.32 and to extend the project completion date to May 29, 2026 authorizing the city manager to execute said change order number three declaring an emergency there so moved second it's been moved and seconded the comments from Commission from the audience clerk call the roll mr. Wallace yes mr. Ricketts yes mr. Rigsby yes mrs. Packett yes mr. yes confirming and approving the submission of a grant application through the Ohio Department of Transportation Aviation Division in an amount up to $521,502.50 for the replacement of taxiway edge lighting and cable for taxiway E south of runway 624 at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, authorizing an expenditure of up to $27,447.50 to be used as local matching funds, authorizing the city manager, law director, airport manager, and the director of finance to do all things necessary for the submission of the application and to comply with all relevant local, state, and federal legal requirements and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved.

Second.

I moved and seconded. Can we go ahead and hear more about this?

Yes, I will ask our airport manager, Drake Huffman, to explain the project. Good evening, Mr. Rue, Commission. My name is Dre Cuffin. I'm the new airport manager here for Springfield. So this evening, I'm bringing you a Ohio Department of Transportation direct grant. This is an annual grant we like to apply for that, if awarded, would be paid for 95% of our project. This project is currently in the airport's capital improvement program. This would upgrade all of our old halogen edge lights, guidance signs, as well as the cabling in between them to current standard LED bulbs. Um, this project, like I said, is currently in our capital improvement program, um, for fiscal year, 2027. Um, all of our lights currently are over 25 years old, um, require routine maintenance, um, and are routinely considered unreliable by my staff. Um, this project will sustain, uh, safe operations for two of our based MROs, our maintenance, paranormal hall facilities here on the field, um, as well as any additional, um, general aviation and corporate.

Excellent. Any other comments from commissioners? from the audience or call the roll, thank you.

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Yes, thank you.

authorizing the city manager to execute an interlocal agreement by and between the city and the Board of County Commissioners of Clark County, Ohio to accept $35,743.50 in connection with the 2025 Burn Justice Assistant Grant Program Award and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved.

Second.

Been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? From the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a community housing development organization home program agreement, West Euclid Avenue development with Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield Incorporated in connection with the construction of five affordable housing units on West Euclid Avenue for an amount not to exceed $540,596 and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? Maybe you want to explain this a little bit more, Brian?

Yes. So as we approved earlier, setting Neighborhood Housing Partnership as our community housing development organization, this shows or is an example of the great work that we can do through partnerships in our community. And so this project here awards $540 and some change, $1,000 to Neighborhood Housing Partnership. It's going to construct five new single-family homes in the 600 block of West Euclid. And this program allows individuals that are 80% of AMI or Area Immediate Income and are first-time homebuyers the opportunity to purchase their first home right in the heart of the engaged neighborhood area. Comments from the audience? Ms. Diana?

All I have to say is woohoo. One of my favorite neighborhoods, by the way. How much will these cost? We have a figure for... When you say affordable, tell me what...

I'll ask Rachel from...

Perfect. Again, woohoo.

They will be selling for 170,000, but please note that the city also includes 30,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance. So the loan could be potentially starting at 140,000. Thank you, Rachel.

Call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Yes.

authorizing the exercise of the city's option to renew the contract for demolition services with tony smith doing business as tony smith wrecking and trucking for an amount not to exceed four hundred thousand dollars confirming and approving related expenditures incurred from june 1 2026 and declaring an emergency therein move okay it's been moved and seconded other comments from commissioners from the audience clerk call the roll Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a client services agreement with Medi-Count Management Incorporated for the medical billing services and accounts receivable activities for a period of three years with an option to renew for two additional one-year periods for an amount not to exceed $567,000 for the initial three-year term and declaring an emergency therein.

I'll move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? From the audience, clerk call the roll.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Ryu?

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 moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? From the audience? Clerk call the roll.

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby? Yes. Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Ricketts? Yes. Mr. Ryu?

Yes. No new items? Okay. Go ahead and comment from Commissioner Announcements and Acknowledgements.

Yes.

Go ahead.

I have one. Our first annual Commissioner Connect will be July 15th at the Clark County Public Library from 5 to 7, Larry Ricketts, Commissioner Ricketts and myself will be there to answer questions and have a good engagement process. Thank you.

Congratulations to the Kenton Ridge softball team bringing home state again two years in a row. I'm looking forward to hopefully having them back at commission again this year.

The plan is July 14th right now.

Perfect. That is wonderful. So congratulations to the girls. I want to remind everyone that the Springfield Arts Council Summer Arts Festival has kicked off their 60th year. You can visit Springfield Arts, springfieldartscouncil.org for their lineup. And you can also look on there for other information about being involved with that great nonprofit in our community. And then I want to share with the community that we will have a panel and open discussion in partnership with partners such as the Hall Hunger Initiative, Clark County, Head Start, Clark County Combined Health District, and the Second Harvest Food Bank. So again, panel discussion. It's going to be an open discussion beyond hunger and understanding the challenges of Building Community Solutions. This event is gonna take place June 24th, 5.30 to 7.30, Family and Children Services Visitation Center, which is 525 East Home Road. City Manager Heck and I will be there, and we're looking forward to seeing you there for open discussion and workshop. And thank you, Gracie's here, and Chris from the Health Department for being a part of that. And then the last thing is a question. Can we have an update on what's going on on South Limestone Street? Just a refresher as citizens are asking about all the cones and what are we doing over there?

Yes, I'll have our service director, Chris Moore, talk a little bit about that project.

Good evening. South Limestone Street is getting a major overhaul. The primary thing everyone will notice is the sidewalks are getting moved back. If you've ever walked south Limestone, it's not a fun place to walk. The street light poles are right up against the road. You're right up against the road. So what you're seeing right now is on the east side, they're removing all the curb, the sidewalk, the drains, moving everything back. They will get that done. They will flop over to the other side, do the same thing there, get everything moved back. We're working on replacing a traffic signal at Leffel and Limestone. Traffic signal will get upgraded at John Street and Limestone. And you will see some pedestrian islands that will be at different places. So as folks want to cross, say, around Johnson or Auburn, some of the mid-block areas, they'll have a safe place to stop in the middle of the road. And then from Lansdowne, the level lane, there will be an island in the middle of the road, like you've seen in a lot of other communities, to restrict the left turn movements around that major intersection area. to help keep everything safer as people try to navigate that busy area. The contractor optimistically wants to be done this year. I personally think we should look at next May to see everything totally done. I would love for you all to say the contractor was right and I was wrong in a few months. Right now things are going very well, so I hope they'll continue that way, but expect to be slowed down for at least the balance of this year as you're traveling through that area.

Thank you so much.

Over the last couple of months, there's been a lot of discussion about data centers, not only here in Clark County, but across the state of Ohio, across the nation. I have asked staff to put together a language for an ordinance which if passed would put a moratorium on any new data centers being approved in the city of Springfield until such time as the Ohio General Assembly passes statewide rules regulations governing them. They attempted to do that this last session and they could not reach an agreement. The proposed ordinance would be for an initial six month period and could be renewed statewide regulations are not in place so just to be clear this does not affect the ongoing work at the data center that is being constructed right now but it does put the the ordinance would put in language that we wouldn't entertain any new data center decisions for a period of six months it's very possible that the state could pass legislation that would forbid us again this goes back to home rule as we talked about earlier but we're being proactive on this and the staff is looking at language from other cities that have that have done this the commissioners we will all discuss this and we will come up with something hopefully we'll have something for a first reading in a couple of weeks and and then a vote two weeks after that thank you

Again, I just want to commend Commissioner Ricketts for looking into this and bringing this to the commission. I think it's important. I think this is something that needs to slow way down. I agree with you. I mean, we all use data, so they're going to be around, but they need to be more responsible from what we're hearing and just answer the questions that a lot of communities have. This is a statewide concern. nationwide concern, really. But, you know, it's important that we do what we can to take a hard look at this and to slow it down so we're not forced to make decisions on advancing data centers in our area until we have a better look at it. So thank you, Commissioner Ricketts. Is there a motion to adjourn?

So moved.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk called the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.