City Commission - Regular Meeting

order clerk call the roll Mr. Ricketts here Mr. Rigsby here Mrs. Tackett here Mr. Wallace here Mr. Rue here Mr. Franzen good evening commissioners so tonight we have a work session with the Clark County Land Bank or the Clark County Land Reutilization Corp commonly known as land bank. So the land bank is a quasi-governmental organization formed in 2014 with the mission to restore value to the community by acquiring, developing, and selling vacant and abandoned properties in cooperation with stakeholders who value responsible ownership. The city is one of those partners. But joining us tonight is Land Bank Executive Director Ethan Harris and Kara Van Zandt, who is recently promoted, I understand, to Assistant Executive Director. Congratulations on that. And then I'll go ahead and turn it over to them. They're going to give us an update on their activities as well as recently completed Project Euclid Park.

Yeah, thank you city commissioners for having us tonight. So just a quick overview. Mr. Franzen did a great job of explaining when the land bank first got started. The land banks came out of the housing foreclosure crisis. Our revised code permitted them to be enacted by each county back in 2015 timeframe. So over the course of our 12 years, we've welcomed numerous families and individuals into homes of new construction or properties been rehabbed, improved industrial and commercial businesses such as the Kroger site on South Limestone and the Upper Valley Mall. demolished over 145 blighted structures transferred nearly 400 tax foreclosed properties and since the land bank's inception and partnered with countless community organizations been working extensively in the engaged neighborhood over the past five years or so i'm just going to go through so it's been just a little over a year since we were last in front of the city commission and a significant amount of work has been done over the past year so some of this will look familiar however there are updates on the individual projects zero south plum street the environmental assessments have been completed and Kara are we prepared to share those results yet are they still preliminary so they just submitted the results to us today so we're still going through those but it does look like we have a remediation action plan which means that we can move forward in one direction or another it just depends on what in use is anticipated at the site we recently completed the phase one basketball and pickleball court at the euclid avenue park project and we'll be going out to bid for phase two which is the larger scale of the project which is the playground We'll be talking about that here in a minute in more detail. The sunflower field, the NFA was completed and that's being prepped for future housing development. The NIP lots where five residential structures were demolished about seven or so years ago, we're now doing infill residential construction on those properties. More to come on that. And Core 4 has opened their permanent location there on West Southern. So the Euclid Park project, that is not an AI generated photo up there, but it does look like it because it's so fresh and new. It's beautiful. We were hoping to have a city versus county basketball game last Friday, but that got rained out as part of our ribbon cutting for the project. but it is nonetheless open to the public and we invite folks to use the park and hopefully we'll get a good bid here for what is being proposed. This isn't exactly what it will look like, but this is a rendering of what we are shooting for to have built ideally by end of this year and open to the public by the end of this year. We continue to fundraise. We have a little under $600,000. Our goal was actually double that, but we've been able to engineer some of those costs down. One of the biggest costs that we've omitted from the bid is the material that is that more foam cushioning material as opposed to mulch. So this will be mulch just because it's significantly cheaper unless we get a big donor to provide the funding for that. Moving on to the affordable homes project. Kara, would you like to, Kara's done an amazing job with this. She's done 99% of the heavy lifting on this. So super grateful for her and I'm excited for what she's gonna share with you

So the two homes that you see here, the dark blue one and then also the gray in the corner on East Liberty there have now been sold. So we have our two new homeowners within the last month. Both families who were excited to move in and be close to the school that their children go to. We still have two homes that are on East Liberty that are available for sale. We are processing applications. So if someone is interested in participating in the program, they have to submit an initial application, which makes them income qualified. They become eligible for any of the homes to purchase. The purchase price on these homes are about $165, but we do have a down payment assistance up to 20%, which is about $30,000 comes off of there at 0% interest. It is depreciating over time. So if they live there for 10 years, they never have to pay a dime for that. they sell it within that time year 10 years then it's pro-rated basically so there's a couple of qualifications which I believe we have in here a little bit later for this program but we are really excited to see new homes going on site that were back door closed and up This is just an extension of that. As Ethan mentioned with the multi-layer map that we had before, this is on West Grand and West Southern. We had five houses there before that were scattered site that have been demolished. And over a number of years, those have now turned over to what will be ten new houses. We have two that are nearly complete, anticipating to be completed by the end of July and open for the application for people to move in. And then the additional 5 that we are moving on to build, which are completing out West Grand there and then down on Southern, which will be right to 4-4 and where they're there and right off the bike path.

And we're seeing strong demand for this particular site. And I think that just goes to show the overall investment that we're seeing is working along the bike path and the engaged neighborhood with the park, the remediation of the sunflower field and having the sunflower field core for, and then these homes. So hopefully that just continues to build and grow on itself. Here's the qualifications. We won't get into the weeds on this, but if you are interested, there is a QR code here to get further information, and please feel free to reach out to Kara. In addition, we have sold 69 vacant lots for an infill housing project to USA Housing Fund. They plan to build approximately 60 duplexes or double housing units in the city of Springfield. That would bring about 120 new units online for the city of Springfield. which just helps work towards over, you know, in the post housing foreclosure crisis, hundreds of duplexes and single family residences were demolished. And, and it's good to be back to a place where we're now building as opposed to demolishing. So again, just participating in that overall strategic goal to, to backfill and do infill housing and, and it moved approximately 10% of tax foreclosed properties into productive use. The Clare County Land Bank is also looking and strategically investing into the west side and revitalization on that part of town. The highlighted areas in red are acquisitions the land bank has already made. The land bank has demolished the former meat processing plant that was on the far west side. That's that triangular shape parcel acquired from Speedway 7-11, the former MRO site. They're on the right side of the former rail line. And then Duplex Mills, a manufacturer, owned the bottom part of the railroad spur there. They donated that land and the other parcel came with the Speedway 711 parcel. There's a lot of I think potential public use to an overall large acquisition and remediation of the former industrial site here. One being recreational use. So there is a plan in place to use this section of the former rail line and connecting it all the way down to the cliffs over to George Rogers Park. Those plans are in motion. And the TCC, Transportation Coordinating Committee, is coordinating that with the parks and us. Hopefully, in the near future, you will be able to start at Snyder Park and ride your bike all the way to George Rogers Clark with little to no getting onto roadway. Just the overall view of the work that the land bank has done since 2015 in terms of returning blighted, vacant, underutilized property, vast majority of which were tax foreclosed property sitting, not paying property taxes. That's where land bank receives the majority of its property from is property that's sitting idle. And that concludes the formal part of our presentation, but happy to take any questions.

Well, I just want to thank you for all the work you do. I do get to work with you on the board, and this group is very passionate to see that properties are best utilized for residential use and other use. I'd like you to speak quickly to the funding that is happening at that one park. I know that this has been a community effort, and maybe just not that park, the very first one, Euclid Park.

Yeah, but that reminded me something on this. I am going to bounce back to that, but I'll answer your question there. Yes. Thank you for bringing that up. So the city of Springfield actually provided, it was $125,000 or $150,000. to build the pickleball and basketball court. Land Bank made up the difference on it. And Land Bank has put in $500,000 for the overall park project. We have received community donations from United... Springfield Foundation, Community Health Foundation, and the Great... Yep. And that's how we've gotten to the approximate...

Just under $600,000.

Yep. But we certainly would be happy to take any additional funding that may be out there because it's only going to, I mean, we could easily put a couple million dollars in there and build a really amazing community asset that would just continue to grow value in all shapes and forms when I use the word value.

I just think it's important to bring that up because I know there's groups like the foundations you mentioned that are interested in investing in these type of projects. So just wanted to bring up that they have been participating and others find interest in this. They can participate as well.

Absolutely. Thank you. Yeah. But fresh off the press today, the governor, I believe it was governor, the governor announced that we will be awarded remediation funding for the former MRO site here. So we will be able to clear those structures and just continue to prepare the property for additional future use. And it was approximately 500,000. So very, very excited to bring those funds. That was a competitive.

So that was a part of the set aside, but there were a number of groups that were participating across the state of Ohio. Those were brownfield dollars from the state of Ohio, Ohio Department of Development.

maybe just briefly for a point of clarity, explain how important these brownfield dollars are for communities to receive that these are, these costs, it costs a lot of money to get these situations, these, the soil remediated.

It's incredibly expensive. I mean the, the land bank, um, you know, just through land sales and stuff, we may be a hundred thousand dollars a year and just normal revenue operating funds. Um, just a basic site of this nature is going to be a couple million dollars you know from from beginning to end to full remediation so yeah I mean you don't go into any type of project assuming it's anything less than a million dollars so if we didn't have those funds coming down from from the state we would be stuck with all of these brownfields and blight in our community

I'm going to keep you on a roll. Then why don't you speak to one of the highest producing brownfield projects here in Springfield that has aided us to pray.

I am probably not the best expert on that. I think Tom Franzen probably is better suited.

But it was through the Brownfield project that was helped to help get that ready. Am I right?

That predates me. I have to defer to Tom. I know we got a young guy up here. It wasn't the land bank that can take credit for that one.

Actually, city manager Brian Heck led that project for the city, but that was the Clean Ohio Fund was a big piece of that. um and then once it was cleaned up uh working with jobs wasn't jobs ohio's department development at the time to provide 629 funding for the road work and stuff that went in there but very much same track same same program they've just tweaked it a little bit over the years thanks i will also say that we have a number of projects that are in the pipeline for these dollars so

We see today that we have two projects that are being funded through the million dollars that was a set aside. The city has a project and the land bank has a project in the next year or two. But there are a number that we're constantly conversating to be able to move forward with these funds. If they don't continue, then those are projects we won't be able to see come to fruition for a number of years.

Yeah, we've had to do a lot of work to do the assessments, right? So getting to understand where, it works in several processes, but the main part is you have to test and understand what the problem is and then you remediate it. Bigger communities, we say they have those on the shelf. They've got the studies on the shelf. communities our size and smaller we first had to access those funds to do the testing it would be a real shame if we didn't spend all the money on testing those and then the funds don't continue so we can actually do the remediation because those those tests do have an expiration date on them they're only good for maybe a year or so because the environment changes um you know just precipitation groundwater movement so um We definitely need to continue to bring those funds back home and hopefully the state continues the program as we move into the next state budgetary cycle.

Other questions from commissioners?

I just have a comment on the going back to the brownfield in case there's anybody out there that doesn't know what a brownfield is. It's actually a site that was a former it could be anything from a gas station that had tanks that were still in the ground to a construction site or a type of manufacturing site that has been torn down. And if it's designated as a brownfield, you can't build anything on it. You can't do any of it. We've had some brownfield sites that have been around for decades. And so, again, that's why this program is, and we get the monies to clean up those brownfields because it's very expensive to do sometimes.

I just want to say it's exciting to see all the different projects you guys are working on. So thank you for that. It's going to impact a lot of different citizens. So thanks. Assuming National Trails will maintain the park?

We have a development agreement with them that as we develop, we will transition the property to them. Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you. It's a reminder to thank the citizens for passing that levy and the important work that National Trails does for us. So thank you.

Okay, is there a motion? Thank you so much. Is there a motion to adjourn the work session?

So moved.

Second. So moved and seconded. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

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

Yes. Thank you for coming. We have a hearing that'll start just in two minutes.

Hearing scheduled for 6.55 is called to order.

Clerk, 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 purpose of considering the proposed change in zoning for 2.94 acres located at 2725 to 2727 Columbus Avenue being parcel number 315-07000-23208051 from Springfield Township I-1 Industrial District to City ILI Light Industrial District 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 25th, 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. Packett. Yes. Mr. Wallace. Yes. Mr. Rue.

Yes. Staff report.

Good evening, everyone. So the applicant wishes to rezone the subject parcel shown on slide highlighted in yellow from Springfield Township zoning to a city industrial zoning. This parcel was annexed in 2003 and had retained its Springfield Township zoning of I-1. The applicant wishes to install a sign and was recommended by staff to rezone the subject parcel to a city zoning district. and the existing structure here was built in 1950s for light industrial uses the current zoning of springfield township does not provide regulatory standards for this parcel so the proposed zoning district of ili will ensure that any new expansions or projects at this parcel can be regulated per city's zoning ordinance And the Clark county comprehensive plan shows this future character area as industrial and envisions this parcel to be manufacturing industrial use the proposed zoning district compliment surrounding area, which is mostly a mix of manufacturing and light industrial uses. The property fronts Columbus Avenue, which is classified as 80 feet wide secondary arterial public right-of-way by the Clark County Thoroughfare Plan of 2018. There are no public alleyways surrounding this parcel. There is a DTNI railroad to the south of the property. The owner or developer is responsible for locating any utility easements prior to making changes on the parcel. I would also like to add a note for future owners and applicants that this parcel and property is on the FEMA floodplain. So any changes, modifications or addition of structures will need to go through a floodplain development permit process. Return reports from city staff state no objections and recommend approval of applicant's request. City Planning and Zoning Division recommends approval, commenting that the proposed zoning district complements surrounding residential area. If request is approved by city commission, any new structures, accessory uses, or site improvements will have to comply with the city's zoning code. So the overall staff recommendation is approval of applicants request and the city planning board recommended approval for this request as well.

Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any comments from commission?

Were there any objections given to the planning department from any of the surrounding areas?

None received so far.

Thank you. Are there any comments from the audience on this hearing only? Hearing none, is there a motion to adjourn the hearing? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

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

Yes. Thank you. Before we begin public comments, we have a special proclamation and presentation. We as a commission are taking the opportunity to honor Dr. Joe Blondin, who is our retiring Clark State Community College president. And Dr. Blondin has been a strategic and important leader in our community for many years. 13. And so we have a proclamation we'd like to read her. We are also going to present her with the key to the city, which we don't get to do that very often, but anyway, so we'll do that. And then we just look forward to hearing from you as well. So I'd like to read this proclamation. Whereas Dr. Joe Alice Blondin has devoted 33 years to higher education, including 13 years as the fifth president of Clark State College. Dr. Blondin led transformational growth, including more than $40 million in technology and infrastructure investments, the expansion of academic programs to include four baccalaureate degrees, significant growth in federal and state grants, and the strengthening of workforce responsive programs in high demand fields. And whereas Dr. Blondin championed innovation and opportunity for students by founding the nationally recognized SOAR, serving our own through advancement and retention mentoring program, expanding support for military members of their families, and elevating Clark State's national reputation as a leader in student success, workforce development, and community engagement. And whereas Dr. Blondin was instrumental in fostering collaboration between Clark State College and the City of Springfield to establish and support the Fire Academy, helping to create valuable training and career opportunities for future firefighters and first responders while strengthening public safety services throughout the region. Whereas through her collaborative leadership, dedication to faculty and staff, and commitment to the Springfield community, Dr. Blondin has left an endearing legacy that has strengthened Clark State College, supported local employers and organizations, and inspired countless students to achieve their educational and career goals. Whereas Dr. Blondin enduring commitment to student success earned her the title of President Emerita and inspired the creation of the Dr. Joe Alice Blondin Student Opportunity Fund Endowment, which has raised more than $1.5 million to help students overcome financial barriers to completing their education. Now, therefore, I, Rob Rue, Mayor of the City of Springfield and President of our Commission, do hereby proclaim June 30, 2026 as Dr. Joe Alice Blondin Day in Springfield. And we do commend Dr. Blondin for her exceptional leadership, devotion, higher service to education and enduring contributions to the Springfield community. On behalf of our citizens, we extend our sincere gratitude, congratulations, best wishes to Dr. Blondin on the occasion of her retirement again. Dr. Blondin, I've been able to work on a few boards with you even before I was on commission and your passion for our community, you have been an exceptional leader and have been passionate about everything you've been involved with and you've been a change maker and about everything you've been involved with. And I've just so appreciated watching and inspired by your leadership. I'd like to offer an opportunity for each one of the commissioners to speak to you.

I'll start off. Dr. Blondin, I didn't know much of you, but I would always see you around a lot of people that would mentor me. And I see one with you today. And that spoke a lot about you. And one of the things that stuck with me, and I'm leaving short, you were given a speech. at a luncheon, and one of the, I don't remember what you said, but what I took out of was, you can walk into a room for the first time and be nervous about if you're worthy of being in that room, But it's okay because you are there and project yourself like you are supposed to be there and be comfortable with being uncomfortable. So I appreciate everything you've done for this community. And I know you're still going to have your hands in on things. So I'm excited about that. And thank you for everything you've done.

Dr. Blondin, I've enjoyed watching your work, especially as another female leader in the community. You're inspiring, and the growth of Clark State is a true reflection of your passion and love for our community. Don't wipe your eyes. You're going to make me cry. I wish you the very best.

Dr. Rolandon, thank you so much. This community owes you a great debt of gratitude. What you've done in the last 13 years at Clark Tech, excuse me, I went to Clark Tech, Clark State, has really just been phenomenal. uh you know you're being recognized nationwide for that and it's and it's just it's really well deserved and we're going to miss you but uh as chris said i know you're going to you're going to stay involved with the community and that's very important so thank you very much well maybe not least or last but

Dr. Blondin, I'd like to offer you a personal congratulations on your retirement and thank you so much for shepherding Clark State through many times that maybe weren't so good and protecting a valuable asset to our community. All of our educational services we offer in Springfield are vitally important. none as much as Clark State. And I say that as a graduate of Clark State's paramedic program. I think I need to also say your successor has some maybe small but mighty shoes to fill. So good luck in your next endeavor and know that you always have a place here.

Thank you. Dr. Blandon, would you like to go and speak to us, please? Thank you so much. Then we'd like to meet you over here and present you with the proclamation.

So first and foremost, I want to thank you, Mayor Rue and the commission for this recognition. This means I'm not a crier. I cry once a year, whether I need to or not. This, it means the world to me. This community has given me more than I have given it. My husband and I are very happy with our choice of Springfield. We have settled here. Our daughter is here. And more important, all of our friends are here. We've made lifelong friends, including Our board chair, Sharon Evans, who has helped me lead this college with such dignity. When people ask me, they say, and of course, I have to recognize the team who is here. Melanie Tolles, Dr. Adrienne Forget, Erica Daggett, Dr. Dwayne Kirkman, and of course, our incoming president, who I'll introduce in just a second, Dr. Walters. When people ask me what am I the most proud of, I could point to buildings, infrastructure, programs, and technology. But this is what I'm most proud of. We've created an environment where it is more important to be included than to be excluded. Everybody is welcome at Clark State. Every human being is welcome at Clark State College. Thank you. This is an absolute point of pride for our college. Many colleges are notable for the people they don't accept. But we are notable for those who we do. And by that, I mean every single person. So with that, I would like to say thank you. And I would also like to introduce my successor, Dr. Yvonne Walters, who will more than fill these size seven heels he is accomplished in his own right but he is ready to lead and we've already experienced such a seamless transition so dr walters will you please stand and be recognized So we are staying at 209 Ardmore Road. And I love this community. And while I may be taking a few gigs here and there out of town, my home is Springfield, Ohio. And of course, this is where my heart is, where my family is, and where my home is. So I want to, again, say thank you to everybody.

Thank you so much.

Haha!

Okay, the public comment period for city commission is called to order. Clerk called to 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 for the community. Those wishing to speak must fill out a public 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 those residing in Springfield and Clark County will be permitted to speak during the public comment period. Comment cards are accepted up to 15 minutes after the start of the comment period. Those who have determined to have provided false information on the card will not be permitted to speak at this meeting or the next scheduled 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 the First Amendment rights of all individuals, disruptions, or any conduct that impedes the orderly progress of the meeting will not be tolerated. Should any individual be escorted or asked to leave due to disruptive behavior on three separate occasions, they'll be notified that they're considered trespassed and bar from attending future City Commission meetings. As a reminder, citizen participation guidelines allows comments on legislative agenda items. Each citizen may comment up to three agenda items per meeting and total speaking time of three minutes on the agenda matters. Leading off tonight will be Diane Daniels.

Good evening, Diana Daniels. We are tired. We are tired of the NGO administrative industrial complex here, right here in Springfield, that is getting financially fat and powerful off the backs of the Haitians and other immigrants at the expense emotionally, financially, and physically of the citizens both left here and those who have fled this city. We are tired, but we will not bend. We will not break. We will not falter. This is certainly not about the Haitians or the other immigrants who feel they have been left out of this discussion. And they are not happy. No, no, no. We will not back down. We will persevere and hold those who have had a hand in this in any way, in any form, in the attempt to demographically change this city with cheap labor and third world culture, whoever they may be. We will find you. Civic organization, I'll name just the several. The Springfield Partnership, the Springfield Foundation and the Chamber of Commerce. NGOs, St. Vincent de Paul, the Nehemiah Foundation. My favorite, Carl Ruby's Welcome Springfield, G92 and Love Thy Neighbor. Businesses like First Diversity, Topre, Dole, KTH, Amazon, and the list goes on. The City Council. AND MAYOR OF 2014 WITH THE PASSING OF RESOLUTION 5844 WHICH WE HAVE ASKED TO BE REMOVED. YOU AND THE ABOVE SELECT NAMED HERE AND MANY MORE TURNED YOUR BACKS ON US, THE HERITIES CITIZENS. TIME'S UP. TIME TO PAY THE PIPER. We begged you for an opportunity to have a seat at the table, not just for our concerns for our safety and security, but as well for the Haitians and Hispanics and others and their safety and security. How many times did concerned citizens come to you to look into the many, many, many instances of Haitians forced to live like so much livestock, like the 60-plus at the old St. Joe Rectory, how long before anything was done for them? You refused us. We were repeatedly refused, mocked, mean, dismissed, defamed, and called racist. And we were none. Fun fact. Haiti is a country, not a race. You will reap the rewards of what you have sown. Don't come pegging to us to pick up the pieces. In the words of William Wadigan, your time's up. Hold the line. Stay on track. They all go back. Thank you.

Stephen Harbaugh.

Thank you. I want to thank the City Commission for allowing me to get up here and talk. And I want to do, first of all, many things tonight. First, I want to thank the City Commission. A couple months ago, when you passed the ICE resolution, asking agents to forego masks and carry IDs with them. If when and if ICE comes in the city, I hope that they will abide by your resolution and wear their mask and show their IDs. Now, next I want to talk about is the cameras. It seems to be in the agenda. I didn't really know what cameras were. I saw them on the FBI every week where they looked and they found these cars and they would trace the bad guys and they would get them. So I Googled it. Now, what seems to be the problem with these cameras? Well, I found one thing that really hit me, stood out for me, unauthorized federal assets. Many municipalities terminated their network after discovering that their local data was being swept up and accessed by federal agencies, including the US Border Patrol and ICE. In many cases, this data was shared without any knowledge or consent OF LOCAL CITY COUNCIL. THAT SCARED ME. SO, YOU KNOW, I REALLY FEEL THAT WE DO NEED TO GET RID OF THEM IN THIS CITY. GOING ON, JUST FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION, THIS FRIDAY ON JULY THE 3RD, FROM 6-7-30 AT CITY HALL, THE INDIVIDUALS OF SPRINGFIELD WILL BE HAVING A RALLY. SPRINGFIELD STANDS WITH IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORS. I just hope everyone here will be able to attend this rally and show the support for the Haitians that are still here in Springfield. Going on, I got a minute to go. Great.

You don't have to use it. No, I'm just kidding.

I was thinking, you know, if the Statue of Liberty could shed tears, she would really be shedding a lot of tears right now. for the way this country is treating the immigrants that are living here. And the other thing I'd just like to mention at 36 seconds, I'm just also sad with the Republican policies that politicians, I should say, that won't support Governor DeWine and then his trying to get TPS extended in the city. So thank you for your time. And I got about 13 seconds. And like I said, thank you for everything you guys do for the city.

Thank you. Well, I'm gonna ask the police chief, Chief Allison, to speak to our use of flock cameras. This is for information only, not for argument, but I'd like her to speak to the use of those. And then while you're doing that, I wanna clarify the resolution that we passed was that we would ask federal agents that would come into our community would follow our local police policy. I wasn't specific on drop the mask, wear the mask, whatever, because sometimes our police officers have to wear masks into certain things they have to do. We ask them to follow with dignity and respect our local police. Go ahead, Chief.

Yeah, good evening, Mayor Rue. Thank you, Commission. Thank you for having me here this evening. And I do want to recognize, I know we spoke about it a couple of Commission meetings ago about concerns with flock cameras. I just want to reiterate public safety and privacy, they're not competing values and both are essential and we recognize that. So with our cameras, obviously with the deployment of them in 2023 through grant funding, they were specific to violent crime, related to violent crime and specifically gun crime. So we use that data and correlation for the placement of our cameras and understanding the concerns that come up with new technology as it evolves over time. We are continuously reevaluating our policies and procedures as new things come about with the implementation of the system. And as they upgrade the systems, we are making sure that we're paying attention to that and being mindful of that. But as far as the use of them, we have guidelines, we have policies and procedures that are binding. anytime an officer uses that to search for legal law enforcement purposes. And that is the expectation for anyone who is using that plot camera system. Now we understand that that is not flawed. And anytime you have humans operating a system similarly to our other law enforcement databases, whether that be the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, the law enforcement automated database system that is nationwide that we subscribe to and that we all utilize as a law enforcement a local law enforcement agency nationwide, we understand the importance of ensuring that we are using these for legitimate law enforcement purposes and there needs to be oversight. And we recognize that and we honor that. So with these concerns that do come about, we welcome those conversations that people bring up to us. We understand when you don't know necessarily the capabilities of each database or data system that we're using as law enforcement and technology is ever evolving. We recognize that and we want to make sure that we continue to have this open dialogue. If people do have additional questions, you can always contact me or our agency. We have some subject matter experts who are really working to learn all of the capabilities. When we talk about Drona's first responder program, we understood that there were concerns with that as well. So again, public safety and privacy are not mutually exclusive. They're essential. And we're going to continue to keep that in mind. But what I will say is the benefits that the flock cameras have provided for us, you know, providing victims the justice they deserve, when incidents do occur, they need to know that we as law enforcement agencies are using and utilizing our tools legally and lawfully, every tool that we have to our advantage to bring justice to them. And that's the way we view our flock camera system as well. And I can share a few brief words about some specific cases that we've had because I know there's concerns about sharing with other agencies and things like that. So we've had numerous cases where we know minutes matter and the first 48 hours matter. significantly, especially when you're talking about serious gun case, gun crimes and homicides specifically. But when an individual is, you know, involved in one of those incidents and we are able to utilize that system, which should not replace an officer and proper thorough investigative work by an officer, we recognize that that is a tool that we can use within those first 48 hours or minutes when a crime occurs to locate individuals and suspects involved in these cases. For example, we had an individual who made threats to kill law enforcement and to kill other individuals. And that individual fled from the city. And because we had flock sharing capabilities, we were able to track that individual and locate them in two states away safely before another incident could occur or an incident could occur. So it's risk mitigation, it's mitigating those additional risks that come when a crime is committed. We've had a situation where an individual kidnapped a child and fled out of the city. And because we had those sharing capabilities, we were able to track that individual and locate them and locate the child safely. And again, those are just two examples of the importance of being able to utilize those systems, but that does not come without the understanding that we realize we need to make sure there is proper oversight. Our policies and procedures are up with best practices. And with that being said, since we first implemented our policies and procedures, we have gone through the Ohio collaborative law enforcement accreditation program, also known as Oakley, to achieve state accreditation. We were one of 10 first agencies in the state to go through the pilot program and we achieved accreditation. And part of that is taking a look and a deep dive into our policies and procedures and making sure that we're continuing that process and updating that information. And we do that as we do get new information related to these flock camera systems.

Thank you for the information. Thank you. Thank you for the question. Terry Atkins.

Good evening. Terry Adkins, Springfield, Ohio. Born and raised a couple different things on Clark State. I went there, got my certificate. I delivered food for over five and a half years. Many people in here ate because of me and the company I worked for. My wife went through their nursing program, spent 16 years in the OR. Scrubbed open heart. So there might be lives in here she might have saved. Very proud to be alumni of that. A couple of the other things. There is a book coming out in October, Joshua Lysak, called The Haitians of Springfield. And his thing he says is he debunked the debunkers. He did quite a bit of research. A lot of things that people claim never happened, didn't happen. He did a lot of research and found out a lot of truths that aren't being distributed by the media. Be a good read for everybody. If they get the chance to get it, it'll probably sell fast. A couple other things when it comes to, I know they were talking about the basketball court. I know when I was quite a bit younger, Springfield, you know, the Parks and Rec had one of the best softball programs in the state, seven nights a week between Davey Moore and Lagunda Fields. I played two nights a week, sometimes three. I'd love to see, because I go by the facility at Selma and Tibbets. they've got really nice basketball courts and it's not uncommon to go by there and see 25 30 kids playing basketball it'd be awesome to see city parks and wrecks try to get something like that started like softball was back in the day it was just awesome um on a different note just curious as to if and who pulled the permits for the event down here on the plaza last time And who's pulling them for this Friday? Kind of curious. For anybody, doesn't matter if you're Democrat, Republican, Independent, I was asked to host a training session for door knockers and phone solicitors for the upcoming election season. So if anybody is interested, we can get with you and we can help set that up. On the 6th of July, the Americans for Prosperity Concerned Veterans of America, our combined group, we're having another organizational meeting at Bogey's out by Rocky Lakes Golf Course. Free food, free to attend. It'd be a wonderful thing to see everybody come out. Thank you very much.

Thank you. I'm going to ask Tom Franzen, our city manager, acting city manager, speak to the permits or if there is such a thing for the plaza.

Yeah, I'm going to actually defer to Regina. I don't know those permits pulled a permit required to host downtown.

There's not on the plaza. That's what I thought on the plaza itself. There's no permits required just to gather and have an event. It's a public space. That's what it was designed for. Block party types, events where traffic is altered, things like that. Those are things that require permits. Correct. Okay. Thank you. Amanda Richardson.

Hi, my name is Amanda Richardson. I was born in Springfield and I've lived here most of my life. I do have a couple questions specifically about flock cameras with City of Springfield. What is the data sharing agreement? Because in general, you can have flock cameras and they could just be for you, but then you can't search anybody else's and nobody can search yours. So the way that flock kind of gets people and gets municipalities and such involved is, well, if you share with everybody, then you can track, like you can search everybody else's data too. I forgot my second question. I'll come back to it. i usually have prepared remarks and i don't say but speaking on flock cameras the problem with flock cameras is really oversight and the reason i say that is flock as a company their answer to oversight is well we provide you audit log that's great who's looking at the audit log because the reality is most police departments don't have dedicated ip staff like a lot of police departments maybe ours do I don't know. Please don't be mad at me, Chief Elliott. But a lot of smaller ones don't. Their IT is a sergeant who's better with smartphones than the rest of them. It's not an IT professional. So they're not looking at the logs. They're not checking things. For example, 404 Media, great outlet if you want to follow some reporting about flock cameras, but recently pulled a camera that was completely open on the internet. And flock's like, well, Verizon sent us the wrong SIM card. I'm sorry, there should not be publicly viewable data like that just on the internet for anybody to look at. The reason that the problem is you'd be like, well, how would you find it? With my gaming PC at home, I can scan the entire internet in less than an hour. That's how good these scanning tools and penetration tools have gotten. So I can find open camera systems if I felt like going home and doing that, but I'm too busy with other junk, clearly because I didn't come prepared. So... Point is the oversight is the big issue and block gets away with putting it back onto the city and the police department who don't generally have enough time to do it until it's too late. And then we find somebody who's already searched somebody a hundred times. They shouldn't have. I know for state agencies, Ohio Revised Code, it's a criminal act for somebody who worked at JFS or somebody who works at BMV to look up somebody's information with no legitimate business reason. I don't know that that's the case necessarily for the city ordinances, because I didn't take the time to read it and find out. The problem with that is you guys could deal with people within the city, you deal with our law enforcement officers. How do you deal with the others that have access? You could cut their access, but that doesn't, there's not much else you can do beyond that necessarily, right? That's part of where my issue is. So I'll let you have the last set back because I forgot my other question.

I'm a little disappointed with your presentation. No, seriously, though, I thank you for the questions. The chief's going to come back up. But I want you to know that your questions are important. This information is important. We want to be as transparent as absolutely safe and possible for the community when it concerns technology. Chief?

Yes. So thank you. And again, I appreciate bringing up those concerns as well. I'm going to try to remember everything as we go through, because there may be additional questions this evening.

So I will say- Which may just require follow up, which is fine.

Yeah, I'm happy to. Yes, sir. Happy to follow up on that. Again, law enforcement is ever evolving. We know technology is ever evolving. We know it doesn't come without error at times. It's when those errors are brought up or brought to our attention that we need to remain committed to making sure that we're addressing that and looking into it. for instance, you know, a live camera, a mistake on maybe the installer's part or something like that. We want to make sure that we pay attention to that and that we're mitigating those risks. As far as IT related questions, we do not have a designated IT person at our agency to review that information. But similarly, as those other law enforcement databases, the OLEG, the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway and the LEADS databases, there are what's called criminal justice information systems, FBI, or excuse me, federal, criminal justice information systems, security and compliance rules. And part of that to go with Ms. Richardson's question is how, you know, when you log into that system, you know, there is a disclaimer understanding that you're subscribing to that information and that any unlawful search could result in, you know, disciplinary action, criminal cases or criminal investigation into the information. Similarly to what she talked about with Department of Job and Family Services and some of those safeguards in place, the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway and leads also have similar compliance rules and audit rules. So we do review that information. And again, with the auditing process, we are improving that as we've learned through our Our other databases, we're trying to make sure that those are up with best practices and how we handle that and look at that information.

So would you say you and your department are open to accountability for this software and technology?

Absolutely, sir. And we will continue to get better with every piece of information we receive.

I knew I knew the answer, but I wanted her to say it. And this is true. We want, and like I said, if this just requires a smaller scale follow-up meeting, we'd be glad to have that.

Happy to do that. I could have been a little more succinct, sir. You're fine, ma'am. Thank you.

Thank you, chief. Jill Potter Bonzo.

Hello. wanted to thank the City Commission again for all that you've done for our city and all you guys have been through the last couple years and for Chief Elliott for being willing to have this public conversation with all of us um I too am here about the flat cameras well let me know it's here so um my understanding it I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong hopefully you will my understanding is that The current situation with the settings on the flat cameras in Springfield are that if other entities search for something in Springfield that's categorized as immigration, they're not able to do that. And the federal entities aren't allowed to access our cameras. The issue is if... surrounding county in Ohio does cooperate with somebody like ICE or Department of Homeland Security if they request to access it we don't necessarily have something in place to stop that or if they just categorize it as something other than immigration there's not necessarily something in place to stop that so I print off a map we have today i think uh 48 cameras in springfield i think last week there were less so i don't know if they're growing but um per capita that's a lot more than dayton um even though dayton's a bigger city and has more people um so i'm curious about why we have so many here but i know dayton has recently um bagged their cameras, Cleveland's gotten rid of their flock cameras. And part of that is because flock has openly worked with border patrol and there's been a lot of discretions where even if the city doesn't think they're sharing information, flock's sharing the information. So they're not always truthful about those things. The cameras are also easily hacked. There's a lot of information out there and just like how-to videos on how to hack a flat camera. So obviously that leaves a lot of concern. They're not regulated by state and local law. And obviously, with so many TPS holders suddenly without legal status after the Supreme Court decision, we're at a high risk for ICE to use flat cameras to target immigrants in our community. My understanding is that our current contract is up for renewal. I don't know if it already expired, if it's about to expire. But that's part of why we're pushing to have this conversation now and to request to not renew that contract because there's just a lot of concerns about safety, not just for immigrants, for all of us. As the flat cameras track our license plates, but they also create patterns about where all of us go every single day and when we go to the gym and when we go to the coffee shop and all of that so there's a lot of surveillance privacy concerns um and people have tried to audit to get the public records with FOIA requests and we're told that they didn't know how to find that information thank you your time's up I appreciate it thank you so just before you answer um I mean

I mean, just as far as how flock cameras have been used, they have stopped bad people who have harmed people from committing additional crimes. I've found value in that. The technology you're talking about is also available on your phones, and you can be tracked with your movements on your phone and your shopping habits, and it's just not hard to be found out. Now, I'm not disagreeing about flocks, and I understand that there needs to be accountability, what the chief is going to reemphasize in a minute. but there's just many, many ways that we can be tracked and sought after. So anyway, I understand your concern, but I just want to hear from the chief again. She heard something to highlight.

Thank you. And thank you again for the question. So I think it's important to understand with our flock camera system that we have implemented because they are evolving that technology and making changes to the products that they do sell. Our cameras are fixed license plate cameras and, They read license plate information as far as a snapshot of your license plate and then the description of your vehicle as far as identifiers on your vehicle, color, make, model, things like that that can be seen with that snapshot. Now, that does not provide, FLOC does not provide personal information related to that. It does not provide your name, address, anything that is related to your vehicle. That would have to be then looked into additionally by the law enforcement officer through another database. So the system that we utilize is fixed. It is not like a full-time pan tilt zoom running camera. It is just for license plate reading capabilities. So I just wanted to make sure I did clarify that because there is some concern about new cameras out and the capabilities that they have. Microphones were brought up the last time. Shot spotter capabilities, things like that. Our cameras are not that currently the ones that we do.

We've been approached about using shot spotter, which is used in Cincinnati and Columbus. We do not have that. Obviously gunshots can be detected.

Yeah, and as far as our camera system, so we purchased them through grant funding, the ARP funding for violent crime reduction. And so with that funding, there were a certain number of cameras that were allotted. We purchased, we have a total of 40. Now it gets confusing because we did have to send two back. So technically 38 that we deploy here that are in fixed locations around the city. So those additional cameras, I would have to look into that data just as to what you have, because I know the number that we have purchased and that we have currently out on deployment. As far as the ability to search, and I will go back to Ms. Richardson's question about the accessibility. So FLOC does not grant permission to other agencies once the agency allows another agency to search the database that's based between law enforcement agencies So FLOC does not give blanket permission from my understanding. Once you enter into the ability to search for it, you have to request through that agency to be able to search that information or that camera database. I think I might be missing one more question.

No, but I'd hang out there.

I will. Yes, sir.

Laura George.

Thank you for letting me speak today and thank you for all you continue to do to strengthen our city. I also want to express concern around the use of the FLOC cameras in our community. While the intent and the use of these AI tools, such as FLOC, may have initially made sense and seem beneficial to our community, examples have been identified in neighboring communities where FLOC is sharing data outside of the community and without community knowledge or consent. FLOC is using our data, not just for criminal cases. They're sharing our data as means to track movements of those within the community. This is an overreach and not what I think any of our local leaders would have intended. FLOC is not being transparent with local officials and they're violating our right to privacy along with no oversight on how our data is being used. I ask that you please consider making a change just to stop the use of the flock cameras until the community has had a chance to understand a little bit more about the impacts around flock and the powerful AI tool that it is and how our community data is collected and will be used and also how we are safeguarded from other entities without our consent. Thank you.

Thank you. Tanner Church.

Good evening, commissioners. I'd like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today. I'm also speaking on the Flock camera. And I'd like to speak about the security Flock has as a company. Flock has had cameras searchable through a commercial search engine on the open internet. This allows anyone, including stalkers and abusers, to access them. These cameras are only as safe as whoever has access. So if they have the live feed, they can access the camera, even though they only take a snapshot for a searchable data. If you're able to watch the live feed, that's accessible, and you can make your own reports. Another issue with security culture, their sales team has used live cameras without the consent of the city leadership in Dunwoody, Georgia, and without the knowledge of the citizens. This seems like a reasonable thing for a sales team to do. but this included a private gymnastics room in the city. It seems like a huge abuse of what they're able to do. Block security is not proactive, but reactive. The response to these incidents is we fixed it. It won't happen again. You can trust us, but I think these incidents have show that we thank

Thank you. Brad Soles.

Good evening, commissioners and citizens. I'm not going to talk about flat cameras. But I really want to stress to the community, if you are really concerned about what's going on in our town, in our city, please take the Citizens Academy, the government academy that the city puts on. You will be impressed by what you learn and what you find out. A lot of stuff that you're scrolling on social media and looking at is a lot of misinformation. Please, if you've not signed up to take the class, take the class so you can get informed about that information. I'm sure that one of the commissioners can tell you when the signups is going to be, but it was really impactful for me. And I know the other people that I took the class with, I run into daily in the city and they are still sharing that same information. So I want to leave everybody with this. There are two types of people. who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world, those who are afraid to try, and those who are afraid that you will succeed. Thank you.

Thank you. Robert Anderson.

Talking about blocked cameras. and I want to say I really appreciate Chief Elliot's clarity and willingness to engage on this it has been very helpful for me as I have also been pursuing these questions my concerns about block also boiled down to their culture of legal liability and their mindset as a company. Flock is developing itself as a technology startup. And famously, Mark Zuckerberg in the early stages of Facebook came up with a slogan for Facebook's approach to business, move fast and break things. The idea was, If you move fast enough, legislation can't keep up with your developments. And by the time lawmakers understand how things work enough to potentially legislate problematic aspects, you'll already have a foothold in the door and an established relationship and be able to work in a developed environment that you helped create. Flock is using that same development. block databases don't require a warrant cert. If in one perspective, that is a huge asset because warrants take time. And as chief Elliott said, um, there are violent crimes and dangerous criminals where time is of the essence. And in that case, having a massive database that you can use to access information on people's locations without taking the time to go through a warrant search is extremely useful. It's also extremely exploitable and abusable. I don't think that our police department is going to be performing those kinds of abuses, but we have a database that is shared with thousands of other police departments. Uh, out of the police departments that we do have it, uh, our database shared with 150 of them have agreements with ice and have cooperated with ice in assisting deportation. Those departments do have permission as chief Elliott said, uh, this is not something that is globally available for searching, but 150 departments who are confirmed to have, uh, contracts with ice and who have been assisting ice and deportation. do have access to our network. That is a concern for me personally. And so I urge you to consider terminating your contract to close out your relationship with Block Safety immediately. It is not safe. Thank you.

Thank you. I would be comfortable with our law director and chief to work at providing us some more information based on some of these concerns before we do enter into another contract. I don't have that date. I have no idea, and that's okay right now. as far as when we're supposed to renew or whatever. But based on these concerns and based on, I know this is not just it, it's been, the concern has been ramping up in a respectful way. So you could go ahead, if our law director, Jill, and then the police chief in your department, if you could find out some more information for us and maybe dive into some of these concerns. I do like hearing the fact that you don't believe that our police is using it in a wrong way. So thank you for saying that.

Yay.

Jen Casto.

good evening commissioners mayor rue thank you for your time and the opportunity to speak this evening i'm not here to tell you that crime is not real and that public safety doesn't matter it does to all of us i'm here because i love this city and i believe we can keep it safe without giving away something we can never fully get back which is our privacy that brings me to the reason why i'm here this evening to discuss the very popular topic of flock cameras Let's start with what these actually do. They don't just photograph a license plate. Each scan builds what the company calls a vehicle fingerprint. Your plate number, vehicle make, model, collar, and unique identifiers like bumper stickers or frocks, or even damage patterns. Every time you drive to work, to church, to a doctor's appointment, or to pick up your kids, that's logged, timestamped, geotagged, and stored in a cloud database that law enforcement and sometimes private property managers and even HOAs can search. This is not a hypothetical privacy concern. A federal court in Virginia just this past February found that a city's use of this exact technology to track residents' movements was notably similar to carpenter v united states the supreme court case holding that piecing together someone's location data over time without a warrant violates the fourth amendment the court allowed that lawsuit to move forward specifically because residents had alleged that officials could create maps of where people have been where they tend to drive and even who they work tend to meet up with without a warrant or probable cause and here's the part that should concern everyone in this room this data is not safe once it is collected security researchers have found credentials being transmitted in plain readable text from these camera systems reporters using nothing more than a basic google search found dozens of completely exposed camera administrative systems sitting wide open on the internet as was previously mentioned U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthy formally requested that the FTC investigate Flock Safety Company in November 2025 over critical cybersecurity failures and data privacy abuses. I'm not asking you to ignore public safety. I'm asking you to recognize that safety and mass surveillance are not the same thing, and that the city can choose tools that solve crimes without quietly cataloging the daily lives of every resident who has done nothing wrong. One additional thing to note, a FOIA request was previously submitted within the last couple of months to obtain flock camera audits, and they were advised that it was not certain on how that information could be obtained. I am asking the same. Thank you.

Thank you. Andrew Deibert.

Good evening, Commissioners. I'd just like to say first, I know we've had our differences and I can get a little over emotional tonight. I'd like to say globally to all leaders of this world, I forgive you because sometimes we don't remember that maybe we're not doing what we shouldn't be because we can make rash decisions being over emotional, worked up, overwhelmed, pointing fingers between sides. I'm really happy of the tech talk tonight and the misinformation to make what I'm about to say a lot easier. so rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened JFK he spoke here at Wittenberg we should be able to respect his word misinformation you got to ask the right question a lot of good points were brought up tonight about the clock hammered I'm a person who thinks quickly gathers all the data and asks what's the one question no one's asked So since everybody likes to talk about the Epstein files, and I personally don't like to have conversations about them, we do know globally that one citizen's stuff was leaked. They were forever known, forever not protected. And yet that's exactly what I say. So I can understand. And no, I'm nowhere near faces. It's just a road wreck I have. And I just wrong place, wrong time. Someone runs a stop sign. So you got to ask, who can use it? Who can utilize it? They could really hurt people. What about the cartels? Don't tell me they don't have hackers. Just had a lady sit here and said her PC could do it by herself. They could easily be tracking people and targets, people that want to hurt all Americans or globally, anyone, anyone they have a problem with. Now that's a big problem, a big safety concern we should all ask. Now, same thing with data centers, misinformation. And this is personal. I'm going to read from, this was from the 17th of February. after I went from the first visit from Fallen and they said a burka rib. This dictation was created with voice recognition software. While attempts have been made to review the dictation as transcribed, on occasion, the spoken word can be misinterpreted by technology, leading to omissions of inappropriate words, phrases, or sentences. So basically, they got it wrong between two days, and it did actively threaten my life. Now, Tecumseh is someone from our valley everybody knows globally. Leon Roth was the war carrier who ended World War I for the ally who was from here. World War II, we were there at Pearl Harbor when James Ward went down saving 18 soldiers, holding his light above the water as he drowned. That's something to be proud of. So this is what I'm calling on all leaders in our nation and globally. Realize that AI messing with people's medical information, just like taking water, The earth, land, the sea is to come to himself said could not be sold. You also, how many thousands of lives, millions are affected by everybody walks in a hospital daily. And their medical information isn't correct. And they have to go back the next day with something life threatening. I could have had a heart attack. Now, I didn't luckily.

Mr. Diver, thank you for sharing. Your time is up. Thank you for being here. Nick Heimlich.

Are we not going to talk? I thought you said we were going to have an open discussion, me and you. I mean, we've emailed. I'm just saying, last time you told me to leave and said we could have an open discussion. I'm asking you, could we please do that at the end of these comments tonight?

I'll have a formal meeting after this, but we can set up a time at a separate point.

Well, I'd like to deal with this now because I could have a heart attack and die. I mean, I might not make it here two weeks from now.

Sir, could you please step away, please? Okay. Thank you.

The other thing I'd like to say, go ahead.

Your time is up. Nick Heimlich, please.

Our veterans. Thank you. Housing.

We love our veterans. I agree.

Um, since I'm going to speak towards flock as well, um, I'm going to choose to use an image worth a thousand of my words and probably 10,000 of my words, but mayor commissioners, esteemed city officials, thank you for this opportunity. Um, So my image is all of us are on board a fire engine. Imagine that coming from me, right?

You look so different from the last time I saw you speak at this point.

I know, I do. I went to the sink or swim version of the Springfield Government Academy. I don't think it's the same one Mr. Soles was thinking about. So we're all on this fire engine and we're racing downhill towards a fire and we're debating what we're going to do when we get there, but there's no brakes on our fire engine, right? So my concern starts with the fact that, oh, man, I hate people who use the phone. I apologize. This is terrible.

Technology.

Yes. And I'm sorry. To the point. It's a dad joke moment. Sorry. Go ahead. Please go. So a community like Springfield used to feel small enough that what happened here stayed here, for better or worse. That included public safety methods, practices, and those grew out of things that specifically served our community and the nature of the people that resided here. In response to the increasingly mobile nature of our society, it became obvious that standardization of public safety services would not simply be desirable, but it would be actually a necessity. State and federal financial incentives have dramatically driven change in that regard. We can also see equally dramatic implications of mission creep in that same process. This has been most effectively demonstrated by the recent demands from the Secretary of Defense for Anthropic to provide unconstrained access to all of their work product. Now consider the position of Flock and the many other vendors who rely on federal and state dollars for the acquisition and build out of their systems. Why is it that we continue to assume that despite evidence to the contrary, once drawn into that relationship, we will actually have any control over the work product of the local public safety forces and our personal information. Those directors and commissioners involved in the initial decision were not adequately prepared nor capable of appreciating the implications we're facing today. That's why we're on the fire engine. I urge you to rescind any and all contracts with ALPR systems, drones, facial recognition, any of the invasions of personal privacy over which you cannot guarantee absolute and complete total control, and consider any new such contract only with sufficiently critical review along with robust community-wide participation. Thank you. Thank you.

good evening i am here on behalf of the gammon house tonight um so we just had juneteenth we just did our big festival and if you're unfamiliar with the gammon house uh it's a historic underground railroad and it's here in springfield it's one of only three underground sites in ohio that was originally owned by a family of color but there's a whole bunch of exciting things happening so i'm going to kind of run through the list really quickly first I just want to express our gratitude to the city city council everybody who was able to help you guys have had tremendous leadership partnership and continued support for um the our ability to offer the Juneteenth Festival free to the community. So that's really fantastic. We appreciate your support in the festival. And ironically, when Councilman Ricketts came and did the proclamation, we had a gloomy morning going on. We were kind of wondering if the rain was going to overtake everything. And the moment he finished the proclamation, the sun burst through the clouds and the whole place turned from gray to bright. And it was a really fun moment. And we're so grateful for you.

Thank you. Yes, that environmental touch.

yeah he had we all like raised our hands you're like what that's amazing and so obviously the city has been fantastic with in kind in financial support and you also provide officers to help you know we hire them to keep the events safe And we even had one of our officers dance a lot with our community. And that was really fun as well. We also just got the Ohio's part of Ohio State's capital funds. They just gave the Gammon House $50,000 for purposes of increasing the commission. I'm sorry, the interpretive center and the interpretive center is going to be a place that we just finished our feasibility study for it. And we are going to take the interpretive materials that are inside the house and put them into a different building so we can move the Gammon house back into 1850. and it can go back and be a historical landmark that it needs to be and honor those Gammon family members. And when that capital campaign is right now kicking off and we're so excited, you can look at things on the website. Part of the reason we were able to do that is because We just, we have had local recognition. We've had county, we've had state recognition, but this last month in June, we just officially got national underground railroad network to freedom recognition from the national park service. um which means that the um two plus documents that are primary sources from dr thomas burton and reverend john scurry um helped document that the gammon family really did do those things and so we have lots of underground activity in town as we know but this is certified and final so that we're really really proud of that um and um That is, of course, the same year as we celebrate the America 250 and Springfield 225. Gammon House is an 1850 house, so we're basically at 175. We're celebrating 175. I know it's 176. But you can see my shirt, and on the back, I have the artist's rendition of it.

Thank you for sharing.

Yay.

There you go. Claudia Fett.

city commissioners mayor rob rue deputy city manager logan cobb's and folks attending this june 30th springfield city commission meeting it is so very important for people in our city and county to get to know one another to respect and listen to each other speaking of listening to others i would like to thank police chief elliott for being such a good listener She is attentive, thoughtful, and models caring to others. I would also like to thank the police force for the attentiveness and kindness to the homeless folks in our town who learned of the closings of the place where they found shelter. From what I understand, individual police persons checked on these places, kindly communicated, didn't push, but let individuals know when those shelters would close. I recently learned that respite homes are being formed until the new homeless shelter has been completed. We need a strong communication venue in which all organizations can easily respond to disperse the kind of help that is required in our community right now. Thank you to individuals at the Nehemiah Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank, St. Vincent DePaul, Springfield City Firefighters and EMS, McKinley Hall, local church organizations, and Springfield City police persons for your continued kindness to our neighbors. Due to recent decisions made by the United States Supreme Court, there is much concern and frustration in Springfield. We have many people in our city who are affected by this recent SCOTUS decision. These individuals have been strong employees, tax-paying families, kind individuals, and good friends. Many of us are worried about their safety, food supply, and basic needs. My hope for each of us in this room and those watching this City Commission meeting is that each person shall pass kindness forward, be attentive, be thoughtful, and be a good listener now and into the future. Thank you.

That is the end of our public comments. I have a statement to read about the Supreme Court decision. I want to say that the Supreme Court decision allowing federal government to move forward with ending TPS for certain Haitian and Syrian nationals. Many of the people affected by this decision are part of the Springfield community. They are neighbors, coworkers, business owners, parents, and friends. While we respect the rule of law and the judicial process, our responsibility as a city remains the same. The enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility. Our responsibility as a city is to provide essential services, maintain public safety, and serve every resident of Springfield. I encourage everyone to treat one another with dignity and respect during this time. People have the right to peacefully express their views, and I ask that they would do so lawfully and with respect for one another. Our police division will continue to do what it has always done, focus on keeping our community safe. Springfield has faced many difficult moments before, and we have always been strongest when we choose to work together instead of pulling apart. Court decisions may shape policy, but the strength of a community is shaped by the people who show up every day and build it. Let's continue to move forward with compassion, with resilience and unity. Springfield's future does depend on us. Thank you very much. We're going to conclude our comment period. We'll be taking a five-minute break and then start the formal legislation. I think somebody has something to say down here.

Sorry, Mr. Rue. Someone said they turned in a card and she wasn't called. Do you have an extra card over there by chance?

Sorry, I went through the ones I had. So you have more to add to what we've talked about tonight, or is this a different topic? Well, wonderful. If it's a different topic, go right ahead.

All right, let me get this, okay.

So just a side note, I didn't write this. This was my husband, but he's with my daughter. So I said I would come in his place. Most of this was written in the morning. And so most of the stuff that you're speaking about, some of this is, as I said, it was funny. Some of the stuff that's here, we've already talked about. But our family has had the good fortune of traveling outside of Ohio this year. This shows us how often other areas are celebrating our country's milestone birthday. I don't like saying that this, we are a divided country and our city is in a similar boat these days. It seems like our country's 250th birthday would have been easier unified, but the city managed to fumble that as well. Our country is reaching that type of event that most people once in a lifetime get to see. My mom doesn't get to see this. She's passed away a few years ago. Other cities have signs, banners. Xenia even allowed a volunteer to paint their fire fire hydrants red, white, and blue. And I said, this was this morning. We have like two flags close to the water fountain, but nothing else that I'm aware of until I saw them when I was coming back from work about 1 30. I know we have the symphony and the fireworks as well as the flags close the front cliffs, but we have that event every year and most of grateful, but such a milestone. We should been recognizing that at least some people finally removed the holiday in the city signs that been up since April or may. And I find this appalling for our citizens, especially for those who have served our country. Those who continue to serve our country, like my son, It was an active duty army. At this point, excuses wouldn't be empty. Even though you finally put something up today, why not do the right thing before Memorial Day? An apology would not be decent start right now. On a separate note, we have also seen how the city handles panhandling. I know this is on the thing today. And I'm happy to see that the commission discussed the ordinance related to the traffic islands and some of the busiest streets. That said, this still needs to be enforced, especially in no pedestrian zones like we already have such in the intersections of 41 to Bechtel. They also have campaigns that you can see in other states where they show a sign that says, please give to this organization. instead of giving to the panhandlers. So it can be done. We just need to do it more as a city. I enjoy the city, but I don't like the way it's been turning here lately. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Sorry, I missed your card. We'll take a five minute break and we'll start the formal meeting.

Conclude the comment period.

So moved.

Second.

We move to second it. Call the roll.

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

Yes. That was a lot of comment time. Okay. Very good. The public, let me see, 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 the pledge. God, I just thank you for a community where citizens care about their community. I ask for your peace in our town, and I ask that you give us wisdom as we go through the night for a formal meeting. In your name, amen.

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

Is there a motion to approve minutes?

So moved.

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

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

Yes. The clerk will proceed with first readings by title only.

Amending the zoning map of Springfield, Ohio by rezoning 2.94 acres located at 2725 to 2727 Columbus Avenue, Springfield, Ohio from Springfield Township I-1 Industrial District to City ILI light industrial district. Amending ordinance number 91 90 past March 12th, 1991 and commonly known as the codified ordinances of the city of Springfield, Ohio by enacting section 371.061 entitled pedestrian safety and median and traffic island. Imposing a temporary moratorium on the establishment development processing review and approval of high density computing facilities within the city of Springfield, Ohio for a period of six months in order to allow for the review study and analysis of high density computing facilities. Authorizing the purchase of one E88 R2 series Bobcat compact excavator with accessories from Doosan Bobcat North America Incorporated for an amount not to exceed $142,156.77 through SourceWell pursuant to the SourceWell contract purchasing cooperative program in accordance with the provisions of section 9.48 of the Ohio revised code. Authorizing the city manager to enter into a public improvements and replot agreement with the Community Improvement Corporation of Springfield and Clark County, Ohio for the Prime Ohio II public street extension project. Authorizing the Finance Director to purchase up to 3,450 tons of rock salt for the 2026-2027 winter season from Morton Salt Incorporated for an amount not to exceed $294,837 through the Ohio Department of Transportation Cooperative Purchasing Program in accordance with the provisions of Section 5513.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Authorizing the city manager, law director, and the city engineer to do all things necessary to release the performance bond posted with the city in connection with the Bridgewater subdivision phase two. Authorizing the city manager, law director, and the city engineer to do all things necessary to release the performance bond posted with the city in connection with the Bridgewater subdivision phase three. Authorizing the city manager, law director, and the city engineer to do all things necessary to release the performance bond posted with the city in connection with the Bridgewater subdivision phase four. Authorizing the city manager to enter into amendment number one to the subrecipient agreement with Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield Incorporated to reallocate funding among project phases.

Thank you. I'm gonna ask the City Manager to speak to some of these first readings for clarity.

Sure, thank you, Mayor. I'll cover a few of the first readings and I'll ask Law Director Jill Allen to address, provide an overview for item 158.26 related to the pedestrian safety and median and traffic islands item, as well as item 159.26 regarding the temporary data center moratorium. But I'll start with item number 160-26 related to the purchase of the Bobcat excavator. That's for use at the wastewater treatment plant. It'll replace a 2016 backhoe. And as you know, our policy or practice is then to take that vehicle and then pass it down through the organization to make sure we get full utilization of that asset. Item 161.26 is related to the new roadway at Prime Ohio, or excuse me, Prime Ohio 2 off Prime Parkway. So that's a replant of that original agreement basically just to allow for the new road as well as the dedication of easements, utility easements necessary for the operation and maintenance of the public facilities associated with the new roadway. The cost estimate, just for your knowledge on that, is about $2.6 million. It's a good project. We'll allow a better marketable site out there. There's 60 acres remaining on that site. Item 162-26 is for the purchase of the rock salt, preparation of our winter season of note on that. And Kurt Tyson is here, our assistant service director, who can answer any follow-up questions you might have. But that's up 23% over last year, so that salt has gone up quite a bit. And then items 136.20, 106.21, and 304.21 are all related to the release of performance bonds related to the Bridgewater housing development, which is fully built out and all the related public improvements associated with that have been completed to the satisfaction of the city engineers. So that's releasing those performance bonds. Thank you.

Alder.

Yes, for item 158.26, This ordinance establishes reasonable restrictions on pedestrian presence in the roadway, medians and traffic islands to improve public safety and reduce conflict between pedestrians and vehicles while preserving exceptions for lawful crossing. And on item 159 26, this ordinance establishes a six month moratorium, which can be renewed on new high density computing facilities, such as large data centers and artificial intelligence computing campuses. The purpose of this moratorium is to allow the city sufficient time to study the impact these facilities may have on our infrastructure, utilities, environment, long-term planning goals, and determine whether additional local regulations are appropriate.

One of these items is because we had a few concerns from citizens. We looked into it, see what kind of ordinance we could pass for safety. So that's the median ordinance that we'll be voting on next time. But that is a direct from listening to folks in here, looking into it and see if there's something we could do and we can. The second one, I just want to thank Commissioner Ricketts for looking into the moratorium. I plan on supporting this when it comes to vote next time. I think it's important that we halt or at least take a pause at what we're looking at with these data centers and how they're being funded and how they're using resources. So I just want to thank you for doing that. Other comments from commissioners?

Yeah, Mr. Mayor, I actually had a question about 162.26 with the rock salt, recognizing we had some record snowfalls. I know rock salt went up 26% from the last time we made the purchase. Does this bring us back up to sort of full rock salt status? And how did our usage kind of compare this year versus prior years.

Thank you, commissioners and Mayor Rue. Yes, this will get us back up to what we consider our normal rock talk capacity. Right now, we're sitting at about 3,160 tons, give or take. This last storm, it was an average year. Average years, we average about 16 events every any given year. We used 3,157 tons this last year. So this $3,450 replaces that, gives us a little bit of cushion, additionally to what we already have.

Thank you. I just want to say thank you to the crews who are out there in the probably worst of all conditions. A lot of times we give consideration to our public safety forces and the fact that they're out in these environment and we don't think about all the road crews that are out there, the men and women driving plows, doing that kind of work, risking their lives and their safety so that we can all get to wherever we need to go in a safe manner. I just really want to appreciate that.

I hope we report next year you didn't have to buy any salt. And you guys are fully rested over the winter. Thank you for the question. Anyway, thank you. Any other comments from commissioners?

Yes, just quickly on 159.26. I've had some people ask me why a six-month moratorium. Two reasons. Number one, the General Assembly is considering House Bill 646, which will address a lot of our concerns. We really can't do anything as far as an ordinance and be very specific without the guidance from the state. If we were to just say, well, we want to do this, and then the state comes back and says, you can't do certain things, we would have to rescind the ordinance. Am I correct on that? Yes, that's correct. That's one thing. And the state is... in recess for four months, so we can't do anything. And hopefully when they get back in November, they will give us some guidance and we will be able to be more specific with our ordinance. If they don't give us any guidance and we're still waiting on them, we can pass another ordinance or extend this ordinance.

Are there comments from the audience on first readings only? Ms. Amanda, podium please.

Amanda Richardson, I appreciate the data center moratorium. My concern is that a community like ours, because we're well positioned geographically, right, with Interstate 70, we're not far from 75, we're in a really sweet spot. that we don't become the home to a lot of these and end up like Lake Tahoe. If you have heard about half the residents of Lake Tahoe are going to have to find new electric in February of 2027. And how do you do that when you have like a sole electric provider? You don't. And it's because the utility company is going to make a lot more money selling that power to generative AI, high density compute data centers. So I just wanna make sure we don't end up in a situation like that because unfortunately, much as I love you guys, I don't think you could start an electric utility within 12 months or whatever. So thank you for Commissioner Ricketts for the order.

Thank you. Clerk will continue with second readings.

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. So moved.

Second.

I moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? From the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

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

Yes.

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. I'll move.

Second. I moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? from the audience or 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 subrecipient agreement with project woman of Ohio to provide funding for emergency solutions grant allocations in an amount not to exceed $38,425. So moved. Second.

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

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

Yes.

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 13, 2026.

So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. I kind of would like to ask Logan Cobbs to update us on how things are going thus far with Homeful and the homeless facility.

Yes, sir. Things are going fairly well, I would say. I received an update from Homeful earlier this week. They continue to onboard and train staff. They continue to hire, which is great news. They are currently only sheltering those that were formerly at Sheltered Inc. As you all know, Springfield is part of the Ohio balance of state continuum of care. And so they are waiting on final approval from Ohio to begin conducting intake. Did speak with Ohio last week. So I'm hopeful that that intake will begin sometime next week. However, they continue to utilize their wait list. and things are going well.

Thank you. Comments from the audience or call the roll.

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

Yes.

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.

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

Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

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

Yes.

confirming and approving the acceptance of a fiscal year 2025 Bulletproof Vest 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.

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

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

Mr. Ryu? Yes.

emergency ordinances authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with the shelley company for the cla cr351 509 10.23 2.09 project also known as springfield miscellaneous resurfacing 2027 project selma road and east main street paving project PID number 118647 for an amount not to exceed $2,690,398.90 and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? This is a timing issue. My understanding is why this is on emergency.

Yeah, it's okay. I'll have Mr. Tyson speak to it.

Yes, Mary, this is a timing consideration. Uh, it says as federal money involved with it, we, we don't get those funds. So after July one, we have to get everything in place to get those funds, be able to get it done yet this season. Gotcha. This is the follow-up to a three-year project for anybody that lives in that neighborhood. Selma, uh, we've done urban gutter and we've done the water services. Now we're coming in to pave the road. And this also includes a piece of East Main Street from Spring Street to Greenmount.

It'll be the first phase of the East Main Street project. Great. Thank you so much. Any comments from the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

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

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a real estate purchase agreement with Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company, LLC, for the sale of certain real property located at 1520 North Belmont Avenue, which is no longer needed for municipal purposes and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners?

Just curious. Bell is, yeah, Cincinnati Bell is buying this property from us.

They are. It's an excess piece of property that the city owned, but our economic development manager, Cassie Scott, worked this project, so I'll let her speak to the particulars.

Good evening. They'd like to use this to place a 14 by 36 foot utility building there. That would be the first part of the process to become a provider in our community. It doesn't preclude them from going through any of the other requirements. This just gets that need out of the way. And I won't have to have to mow the grass anymore.

Thank you.

I don't know. Is there any other comments from the audience? I think she should mow the grass. I don't know if I'm going to vote on this. This takes a super majority, so four votes. You do a great job, Cassie. We appreciate your energy. Is there any comments from the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

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

Yes.

We have one add-on item.

Mm-hmm.

reappointing Bruce Sigmund to the Civil Service Commission and declaring an emergency therein. So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. I just want to thank Bruce. He's a retired police officer and has spent years on civil service as well. And his dedication and professionalism is much appreciated. So I just appreciate his continued willingness to serve. No comments from the audience or call the roll?

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

Yes. That concludes our agenda. I've got just a simple announcement for the next meeting. On the 14th, we're going to be honoring the entire Kent Ridge softball girls team here. So I want to welcome any individuals who'd like to come celebrate.

One of our area schools for achieving folks that now the businesses, there's actually four businesses open on Sundays down here. um to help energize the sunday downtown beat down here so uh firefly reimagined um who is it scouts yep i think they've always been and then um viva la fiesta is open um pasta's open on sundays but Again, just trying to energize the business down here on Sunday. So please come visit them. Mr. Soles brought up the Government Academy, but I also want to give a shout out to the Citizens Police Academy. Also a good opportunity to learn more about policing in our community. I had a great experience when I went through. So just want to give them a shout out for what they do and that that is available to the citizens as well. When is the next one? Fall? Oh, thank you. Okay. Competing. Okay. Also, America 250. So there was a publication back in March inviting the community to be a part of that conversation. And last year, Um, as we were planning for celebrating this year, um, I know invited everyone to come be a part of it. I was there. And there was discussion around what we were going to do. And actually you haven't missed it. We have the Crable Homestead Picnic. It is an open house and old fashioned fun at the Crable House. And it says, grab a spot on the lawn with your own picnic basket and enjoy a special sweet treat while supplies last. There will be long games, fun activities, and sweet treats. This is Saturday, July 11th, 2026 and 12 to 3 p.m. There will be free homestead tours and that is 2800 Croft Road, 45503. So again, thank you for the folks that worked on that. That is an America 250 celebration for our whole county. And I want to thank the folks that came to the Beyond Hunger event that the city manager and I put on last week. As we keep hearing about being more transparent and offering more conversations into the community, that was an answer back. That was a call back to the community to join us and have those conversations. And that was the Beyond Hunger event that city manager Heck and I just had. And is the season for fireworks. So I would like to ask Jill Allen, our law director to share out what our ordinance is in the city.

So just a friendly reminder, we do have an ordinance on the books. It's 1513.04 that generally prohibits the discharging possession or sale of fireworks.

And that was established in 2022.

It's been some years. It's not a new ordinance.

Okay. And Chief Elliott, Chief King, can you share on the safety aspect of the fireworks happening in the city and what that looks like in enforcement?

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Rue, Commission. Thank you for this opportunity. So again, just a reminder, the city did opt out, even though the house bill in 2022 allowed for consumer grade fireworks to be let off or set off essentially. But the city of Springfield has opted out of that. So they are still illegal. And we just want to reiterate that we understand folks want to have a good time. They want to enjoy the 4th and the celebration. But there are obviously other ways to do that. And some things to just think of in addition to serious and potentially fatal injuries that they can create. The additional risk of fire. Not to steal Chief King's thunder. But we did do a chief chat on this. If you want to go back and look in June, we did do a chief chat. that kind of covered some of those concerns. But with the heat, especially the extreme heat we're experiencing this week, and Commissioner Rigsby, you can attest to that as well, that increased risk can occur and you can be arrested. It is an arrestable offense. if you are caught setting off fireworks or if you're lighting off fireworks within the city limits. And again, just being good neighbors, right? Being mindful with where we live in this community, you know, houses are close together. We have to be mindful of our veterans and those who are sensitive to loud explosions and our pets, right? We have seen a lot of pets, a lot of dogs who are seriously injured or end up lost

and as they're trying to escape so just be mindful again and and still on the fireworks topic professionals can host fireworks within our city like how the baseball team does we put it on with national trails correct that's correct that's part of our ordinance to allow that yes and I've had questions why do we have our fireworks in Springfield where it used to be at the fairgrounds so I checked in with National Trails. It was moved from the fairgrounds because there was horse show that always contradicts time. So that is why it is moved into the city. Thank you.

There's also some more people could experience the firework too. I remember that conversation, but horse show started it.

I have one announcement. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a volunteer driven nonprofit organization whose stated mission statement is no kid sleeps on the floor in our town. This is a fairly new nonprofit to the area here, but they are a nationwide organization. Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds, assembles, and delivers beds to children who do not have a bed of their own. Every bed is provided free of charge and includes a mattress, pillow, and bedding. So anybody in the Springfield or Clark County area that needs a bed for their child, this is a great organization. And I have a phone number for them. It is 937-536-9332. If you will contact them, they will not only provide you with the bed, they will deliver this bed. It's a great organization and they're doing great work. And we really appreciate it. Thank you.

A motion to adjourn.

So moved.

Second. And moved and seconded. Clerk, call the roll.

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

Yes. Thank you for coming.