City Commission - Regular Meeting

Hey folks, thank you. The public comment period 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. We have a statement from our law director to read first.

Thank you, Mayor and Commissioners. We understand that members of our community continue to have questions about the investigation involving City Manager Brian Heck and want to know where things stand. At this time, we do not have any new information to provide. BCI has begun its investigation and the facts we have previously shared remain publicly available and are the most current information available to us. As shared at the last commission meeting, I have advised the mayor and commissioners to limit their comments while the investigation is underway. The allegations remain unverified and the city will not make any assumptions about guilt or innocence. It is important that we respect the independence of the investigative process and allow it to proceed without interference or speculation. We know that there are questions and we understand the desire for answers. When there is verified information that we are able to share, we will promptly provide an update to the community. Thank you.

Thank you, Law Director. Also have a statement to read about some of the activities in our town concerning ICE. I want to take a moment tonight to provide some clarification regarding federal immigration enforcement activity in our community and the role of the Springfield Police Division. We understand that there have been questions about why Springfield police officers may sometimes be seen in the same area as ICE officers or other federal authorities. I want to be very clear about that distinction. If the Springfield is Springfield police officers are present during or near federal immigration enforcement activity, they may have, they may be there because they have received a separate call for service requiring a local law enforcement response. Our police officers continue to carry out their responsibilities to maintain peace and order, respond to calls for service, address criminal activity, protect the safety of everyone present, and enforce the laws of the state of Ohio and the ordinances of the city of Springfield. The Springfield Police Division does not have a 287G agreement with ICE. They do not have that agreement. Our officers are not authorized to act as federal immigration officers or independently enforce federal immigration laws. ICE operations are directed and controlled by federal authorities, not the city of Springfield or the Springfield Police Division. We recognize that seeing multiple law enforcement agencies in the same area can create questions or uncertainty. We want our community to understand that the Springfield Police Department will continue to respond when its services are needed, regardless of who may be present at the scene. Our responsibility remains the safety and wellbeing of everyone in Springfield. And our officers will continue serving this community with professionalism, dignity, fairness, and respect. I want to go ahead and we're going to continue with our comments. I have one more statement to read for guidelines for tonight. The City Commission remains committed to creating a conducive environment for constructive and productive dialogue and engagement for the community. Those wishing to speak need to 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 within Springfield and Clark County will be permitted to speak during the public comment period. Comment cards will be accepted up to 15 minutes after the start of the formal 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 regularly scheduled meeting. We're truly committed to making sure this meeting's environment where people have the opportunity to share their ideas, their thoughts, and concerns. While we fully respect First Amendment rights of all individuals, disruptions or any contact 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 they're considered trespass and barred from attending future commission meetings. As a reminder, citizen participation guidelines allows comments on legislative items. Each citizen may comment up to three agenda items per meeting with a total speaking time of three minutes on all agenda items. Our first guest tonight is Amanda Richardson.

My name is Amanda Richardson. I was born in Springfield and I lived here most of my life. Sorry, Mayor Rue, being a childless cat lady takes up a lot of my time, so I don't have prepared comments today. I wanted to mention on flock cameras, Dr. Viet Tran from Ohio State University had some really great comments at a recent Columbus City Commission meeting and made some really good points about Block cameras are essentially investigating everybody who's traveling on the roadway before something happened. And I don't need to rehash what he said, but I recommend everybody go take a look at it because as much as I hate Block for being sloppy, he makes some really good points about everybody giving up their privacy for maybe a benefit i don't know right it'd be one thing if you said amanda you gotta give up your privacy so we can protect everybody in springfield and clark county i would consider that but when we're talking about everybody giving up their privacy in order to do a little bit i you know i know i have a problem with that the other thing i wanted to mention was In Ohio, we only have one immigration court. It's in Cleveland. And the reason we have immigration courts separate from other types of courts, like I know we have like bankruptcy courts, and I think there's one in Dayton that serves like the Southern District of Ohio, and I think the other one's in Cleveland. Immigration matters are generally not considered criminal, right? Crossing the border illegally is criminal. I think it's a federal misdemeanor. All the other types of immigration cases are not considered criminal in the same way that people think, like overstaying your visa is criminal, sure. But you're not guaranteed an attorney to defend you, right? Because our laws don't consider those to be the same thing. I encourage people to look at and read a little bit more about how the immigration process works and how immigration courts work and get a better understanding of how that all happens. Additionally, It's hard for me to look at the data and believe, for example, that everybody at Clark County JFS and JFS at the state and Springfield PD and the city and Clark County Sheriff's Office are all colluding to protect immigrants to get benefits. Like everybody, all of those people, I'm sure there's Republicans. I'm sure there's MAGA Republicans that work at these entities because people are allowed to have whatever political opinions they want. So, yeah, that was all I had to say. Sorry, I'll try to be more prepared next time. I know I got to F this time.

Gary Armstrong.

Oh. I'm not Aaron.

Are you a Carrie? Is that right? I said Gary Armstrong. Gary Armstrong.

You're not Armstrong, are you?

Yeah, Gary, go ahead, Gary.

Listen, the expression, every chicken flies home to roost. When I read about the city manager, I knew that was just a possibility because I've listened. I've listened and heard more lies here than any place I've ever been. And a lie is easy to tell. Very easy. And when I came in, because the commissioner, as I've always said 10 times, 100 times, build a four unit illegally. Wow, it's almost empty this month. What's he up to? Nobody did anything. But there was a person on this panel, Crystal, that asked me about it. And then Tracy asked me about it. So I knew two people by their actions were honest and wanted to know why, because the rest of them didn't care why you allowed people to break the law and profit. The house across the street that he turned into four unit has an appraisal of 110 this year. Mine was 250, and he has four brand new kitchens, four brand new bathrooms. And I went, well, these LLCs that you are protecting that I've seen in the last couple years, and they're getting, if they have a four unit that's commercial water, you're letting them get water, cheaper taxes, and they're benefiting from it financially. And when you told me that you couldn't sue a city, if you're benefiting from malfeasance in office and there is enrichment, you could be liable. And I've seen too much of it. Why are we in Springfield? Who do you want to vote for? I want to vote for smart, honest, accountable people. Because the opposite of that is you're voting for dumb people that aren't going to do anything for you. This body isn't voting for the people that vote. They're voting for the development corporations, the foundation right over here, the rich people of this county. That's their impetus. They're taking theirs and they're running with it.

Can you direct your comments to me?

I'm going to make them to the universe, my brother.

Mr. Gary, just direct it to me. That's what you're to do. Direct your comments to me.

You're on an agenda. You brought the Haitians, and I have no problem with the Haitians, but you should have told the people up front you were there. Now, Mike, somebody texted me yesterday. Haitian Mike DeWine gave Haitian Rob a, what, a... What was that accolade he gave you till 20 or 31? Because you're in business with them. You do business with them. That's fine. But don't misrepresent the people that are out here voting. The voters want you to talk to them.

Eric, your time's up. And I don't want to hear anything more from you tonight because you've had three minutes. But I will tell you that you speak many lies from that podium. And since you throw accusations at me, I'm just going to tell you, you're speaking so many lies from that podium. So that's all that you, you don't have to speak anymore. You had your time. Okay. And I did talk to you for 45 minutes about your duplex. You just forgot about that on the phone. We had a conversation, David Kaiser or Barbara, either one. Okay. Thank you. Hey Foley.

Good evening. I am grateful for the opportunity to gather in a peaceful manner and express my views and hear the views of others. And Mayor Rue and commissioners, I thank you for your service during these difficult times. And I also appreciate the work of your team, our city employees during these times. I am very concerned about our immigrant neighbors and our community as a whole. Every person in our city and state and country is entitled to due process. When one person is denied that right, it is a detriment to all of us. Some of our neighbors have been abducted and detained by federal entities. Some have lost their jobs and the ability to provide for their families. Some are so filled with fear that they are afraid to leave their homes. This is not right. I think about what can I do to stop this? What can we do to stop this? I urge all of us to write our senators, Senator Moreno, Senator Husted, write and call Congressman Turner and urge them to extend TPS and provide some kind of pathway for legal residence or citizenship for our immigrant neighbors. I urge all of us to support organizations that are providing food and housing assistance and mental and emotional support to our neighbors. And I urge all of us to vote in November and elect people who act with compassion, uphold human dignity, and respect our constitutional rights. Thank you.

I'm going to say Mr. Rex because I will not pronounce your last name correctly. Say it for me.

Nagel. I appreciate that. Thank you.

Thank you.

I just want to thank everybody for their time tonight. Just wanted to address some of the comments from last town hall meeting that we had about the jail. I ran out of time, so I just kind of wanted to dive in a little deeper or at least bring these points up to acknowledgement for you guys and for the community. But you mentioned stuff around the new jail being like $3 million more to maintain yearly. if you do it downtown, if you build a skyrise. You also mentioned things that it would cost 30% more to do things downtown as well. So I was just curious, how you guys came to those numbers. It sounds like you guys have done an evaluation for a downtown location. You guys have details on that to get to those kind of numbers. I was wondering if you could share specific details with the community about a downtown location. The reason I'm asking for that is because I feel like um a majority of your city is going to want to keep the jail downtown and the reason i'm saying that is i think if you guys put it on a ballot the ballot will speak uh the reason i probably failed two times in a row is because we didn't have clear acknowledgement what you were going to do with this jail um 70 of the people turned it down that's big And I feel like it's not because people don't want a jail. It's they don't know what you're going to do with it, where you're going to put it, whose backyard is it going to be. Currently, it's in the North End's territory is where you guys are thinking. But it was in the South End. So if it's not good enough in the South End, why is it good for the North End now? It shouldn't be good for any of the sides of Springfield. We should just keep it downtown. If you guys do that on the ballot, I'm telling you, people will vote in favor of it. you will get the tax money that you need to build your jail. So please just share the details of downtown location with us. If it's a skyrise, so you're talking about building, it sounds pretty cool, actually. Maybe people might actually like seeing that from the skyscape. Who knows? If you build it pretty, people might like it. But my point is, though, if you keep the jail anywhere exterior, especially the north end, they're going to have access, released inmates will have access to the bike path. They're going to walk through the entire city to get back to where they are. if it doesn't matter if it's anywhere like the South end, they have to walk along the border. So if they live in the center of town or if they live South into town and you build it on the North, they're going to walk through Fountain Avenue. They're going to walk down Ross Commons. It's just going to trickle down to lots of different places. They have to get these places. You guys say you can provide rides for them, but inmates don't have to take the rides. They can walk. They're free to do. The sheriff said that himself. So I'm just asking you guys to please consider sharing the details of a downtown location with Springfield City.

I need to be clear. Building the jail is completely a county decision. And I want to encourage you to go to the county commission meeting on Wednesday morning because they're the ones that are going to make decisions. We are in the discussion because it's a property discussion. And we wanted to have an open forum over that. but your points are good points. But I do, you need to ask the sheriff, you need to ask the county commissioners about these details and they should be able to share those with you.

I really appreciate that feedback. Thank you. Thank you, law enforcement. Denise Williams.

Denise Williams.

Good afternoon. And what I'm about to say, though, Mayor, is not in no way towards you or any commissioner up here. I'm just kind of venting a little bit. It is such a huge civil rights violation for not just Haitians or anyone without a criminal background to have shackles on their feet. I have never in my lifetime seen such, except for back in the sixties. It feels as if we're going backwards. I'm just sharing this with you so you can share it up to the higher ups. Cause I know this is way beyond your control and I get it, but I'm just letting you all know that this is a huge violation of our civil rights that you're going to put shackles on folks' feet who do not have a criminal background. I would have, if I was the queen for the day, I would have done my due diligence in checking everyone's backgrounds before they are shackled. I DON'T KNOW WHO I NEED TO SPEAK TO OR WHO I NEED TO TALK TO OR DO I NEED TO CALL AND GET AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE PRESIDENT, BUT I'M HERE TO SAY I'M NOT BEYOND THAT. FOR THOSE THAT KNOW ME, NO, I'M NOT BEYOND THAT. BUT IT'S A DISGRACE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY TO SHACKLE OUR NEIGHBORS WITHOUT A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK. And I think it is disgusting. They're putting everyone in harm's way. This is so disorganized. And I think it needs to be revamped. I think we need to sit down with whomever's in charge of these ICE folks in Springfield. And they need to be better organized. Because right now, civil rights violations are being wronged and violated. And I'm not fussing because I know you and I talk regularly, but when you go up to your meetings, please give that message from me. It is a violation of civil rights for all people on all levels. Thank you.

Thank you.

Cap, cannot say your last name or read it. Say it for me. Can you get that there?

Opportunity, it's Willoughby. Thank you. Yeah, hey, thank you.

Thanks for the opportunity. You all have a very difficult job. I understand that. A lot of this may have to do with the county, but since it's a city parcel, I want to read the following statement.

my dad's a vet just brought this burial site i'm a vet i think appreciate small government i think morgan yellow spring said uh democracy is the basis of small government here we go got a statement i don't agree with that post side again i'll do it with the county but i'll be assertive um No one wants a jail in their neighborhood. Each commissioner asks each commissioner if you would like to volunteer to have the jail complex in your neighborhood. Of course not. No one does. The first proposed site on the south side was canceled by the commissioners due to community protests, concerns of safety, traffic, transported prisoners. And I applaud everyone on the south end for coming out, being community organized. They were successful in having you or having the county say, no, we're not going to do it there. And now it's clear on the other side of town. And we're saying the same thing. We don't want it over there. It's a recreation complex for many reasons. The sheriff commissioners have made a case for new jail. The cost funding location are yet to be determined. This is not the issue. The current proposed location is the issue. Appropriate facilities are needed for prisoners. There are human beings, many with mental health issues, many repeat offenders, many violent offenders. Currently, inmates are released downtown. So why downtown as opposed to a neighborhood? They're already released downtown. I understand the cost is an issue, but let me continue. The police station is located down there. The police, sheriff, deputies, highway patrol have a heavy presence. This is not an established neighborhood with dense woods. Or children unaccompanied riding their bicycles. A path heavily wooded on both sides passing through other neighborhoods all the way to downtown Springfield. The court system, the jail inmates, attorneys, visitors, police, sheriff, visitors, municipal workers, city government, county government. They're all downtown and prisoners convicted in court. They're escorted around the corner to jail, I believe. No police or sheriff cars transporting them have to be moving from one end of town to the other. The proposed site moves all this to an extreme far side of town. What is the 10 year cost of taxpayers? I'd like to see that study. moving prisoners from courts to the proposed site, paying for police, sheriff, highway patrol vehicles, and gas and maintenance, moving them back and forth for court dates and appeals. I'd like to see that study. The sheriff stated at the meeting that the prisoners would be released in front of the new proposed jail and they would be free to walk anywhere that's been brought up. Sheriff stated he was concerned that the inmates might walk onto Route 334 and be a danger to themselves and others. post site is a recreation area heavily wooded next to a bike path community pool a soccer complex we've been over all that the inmates will be released here to go anywhere they wish do parents want their children to ride up and down and heavily wooded bike path your time's up but i do encourage you to again go to the county commission meeting tomorrow morning and and share your concerns and they actually may have some of the answers that we just wouldn't have

Yeah, thanks.

I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for speaking again.

Where is the location of that tomorrow morning?

Do you know the time?

It is at the Springview Center on east of town.

Thanks. Do you have the time, please?

Is it 10 or 10.30? I'll check it. Thanks. 8.30? Look on the county website for it. Rex? They have once a month, I believe they have a 5.30 meeting. I don't know. Yep. Okay. Melissa Rexroth.

One of Springfield's slogans is say a good word or nothing at all. Have you heard of positive toxicity? Because this is a prime example of that. I completely understand not wanting to be a negative Nancy, but at some point, shouldn't you face problems head on and work on solving them? Or would you like to continue the pattern of ignoring them and the resentment builds? I know it may seem I only talk about the negative things, but I'm aware of the positives and I appreciate them. The reasons I do not address them is because that's all you want to talk about. You don't want to face the major obstacles the city is in the midst of. I appreciate the good things, but the bad is far outweighing the good at this point. I didn't start coming here until my life was directly affected by the happenings of Springfield. I believe many people are blind to the corruption going on, and I was too, until I witnessed it firsthand. It affected me personally. So I come to these meetings to try and educate people on what is really happening in Springfield. They can listen or not. I don't look at things from the perspective of what practices can do for me. I tend to look at the big picture. I want to know what's being done at the top. What are the real reasons things are being done? In business, you learn propaganda. You point out all the positives and have rebuttals for any concerning issues. It's easy to trick unsuspecting people with pretty words. You paint pretty pictures for the citizens, and most of them believe you because they trust you. Many people have lost critical thinking skills, but once you start reading and learning, you realize all is not what it seems. The problem is most people don't read anymore. They trust you. And it doesn't appear things are researched before you take votes. If you do, why did Rob and Tracy both approve a tax abatement for the data center, essentially inviting them here? Tracy, you're running for Congress. What is your stance on data centers? When I tried to ask you, you wouldn't look at me or acknowledge me. And it appeared you recorded me or took my picture as your husband drove away. May I ask why? I recently formally asked you to stop approving tax abatements for big business, TIFs, et cetera, and I see the new business was given yet another tax abatement. The city is drowning in debt and you approve this? You already approved the 100% abatement for the data center. That alone is going to cause many issues from health problems, ecological disruption, pollution of air, noise, land, and water. None of it makes financial sense. You invite businesses to come that will only use our resources and pollute. You sold your citizens' health and well-being to big business. Let a single mom come in and help you budget. I guarantee you one of us would have stretched that millions out that were squandered away. Roads would be repaired. All these new positions that pop up wouldn't be happening. Dilapidated buildings would be repaired on a budget. Real live people would be paid for jobs and not computers and AI and more. When we as citizens face financial difficulty, we don't get to raise taxes so we get more money. We have to figure it out. I guarantee almost every single mom could help you budget better and trim the fat.

Thank you.

If you need my help, call me.

Thanks for your passion for the community. Deb McClendon.

Good evening. I just have two quick questions. Saturday I was driving to Durr Road Kroger and I live on the West End. And when I got to Western Avenue and Columbia, there were no traffic lights working. So I safely was able to travel on, and the only traffic light I encountered was that at the hospital. Kept going onto Limestone, and when I got done shopping and came back, there were still no traffic lights working on North Street heading west. Just wondered what was going on. There was no sign of any patrol cars, so I didn't know if it was just a really short matter of time or if the whole city had gone down or downtown.

Chris Moore? We can get an answer quick. We get it.

Okay. There was a power outage. It stretched really from about Spring Street to Bechtel Avenue, really following that Columbia North Corridor, made it up to Buck Creek. Our fire station one was without power also. Lasted about four and a half, five hours.

Okay, thank you for that. And secondly, there are some rumors going around that our city police and the county sheriff's department have each received $150,000 to operate with ICE. Any truth?

Not at all. With confidence, I say that. Not at all. Thank you. Jen Casto.

Good evening, City Commissioners, Mayor Ryu. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. To those in this room and beyond who've decided what is going on in this city is not your problem. I'm talking to you directly tonight. Springfield is afraid, not of crime, but of ice. Afraid of a car in the driveway that is not a neighbor's. Afraid to drop kids at school. Afraid to go to work. Afraid to sit in a pew on Sunday. that fear is real it is happening right now and some of you have decided it doesn't concern you that is not good enough anymore so let me say this plainly to the people who mock compassion like it's a flaw there is no such thing as toxic empathy that phrase is not real it was invented by people who got tired of feeling anything when a family gets torn apart so they gave their numbness a clever name and called it wisdom empathy is not weakness it is the minimum requirement for sharing a community with other human beings if you have to talk yourself out of caring when a father is zip tied in front of his own children the problem is not empathy it is you I want everyone to sit here with one question honestly. If it were white families being pulled off job sites and out of their homes, would you feel the same? Would the silence be the same? Most of you already know the answer is not yes. Many of you know that that gap between how you'd feel then and how you feel now, that is the whole problem laid bare right in front of you. To everyone in this community with privilege, citizenship, a face that does not get profiled, a job that won't vanish because you spoke up, that privilege is not something to feel guilty about, it's something to use. It is your duty right now to stand between fear and the people living in it. Speak at this podium, show up at the school board, walk your neighbor to their car. Silence when you have nothing to lose by speaking is a choice and it's the wrong one. How can we call Springfield a community if half of it is too afraid to leave their homes? This is a reminder that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. Thank you.

Robert Anderson thank you for having me last time i came to city council we spoke on ice uh i didn't hear anyone say anything positive about it We just renewed our contract. We need to end our contract with ICE. We need to end it today. We do not need, sorry, I misspoke. We need to end our contract with Flock today. We do not need Flock. When I spoke, the police department was here. They spoke about how Flock has been very helpful in giving rapid responses in potential cases. Flock has bad security. It leaks its information. It allows abuses of power. It allows police in dozens of counties across the U.S. to stalk prior partners. There is no oversight with Flock to prevent that here. Hopefully that's not happening. How would we know if it is? We cannot know. Flock is strenuously avoiding any kind of oversight, any kind of accountability, any kind of protection. It is actively lobbying to ensure that there are no oversights. One of the primary reasons why Flock is so beneficial to law enforcement is that it doesn't require a warrant. That is a violation of privacy. Flock is built on Fourth Amendment violations. It is a bad system. when people say, yeah, but you already have a phone in your pocket and police need a warrant to use a phone record. They don't need a warrant for flock. Anyone with access to the Springfield block database can make a query to find out anything to find out a crime to find out whether their girlfriend is at someone else's house and then they can act on that information there is no legal difference between an abusive ex stalking and a law enforcement officer defending the law those are not the same thing and they are treated as the same thing this is wrong secondly Two weeks ago, I saw one of my neighbors out on the lawn. She's a Haitian girl about the same age as my son. And they've become friends over this summer. Every time they see each other outside, they go and play together. She asked me if my son and my daughter were able to play. They were out of town that day. I said, no, when they come back, you're welcome to play. I haven't seen her in two weeks. Hopefully she's just stuck in her house because her mom very appropriately is not letting her come outside because she's worried that she will be picked up off the street. We are allowing evil in our community and it is wrong.

Or George.

Thank you for allowing me to speak with you tonight. Today I want to talk about school children in our city, specifically to make the city commission aware that currently children are unable to get to school. You may say this is not a city commission problem. This should fall under the school district. However, what I want to say is this should be everybody's problem. It should be everyone's concern that parents are too scared to walk their children to school. THEY ARE SCARED THEY COULD BE FOLLOWED BY ICE WHILE THEIR CHILDREN ARE AWAY. THEY ARE SCARED THEY WILL BE SEPARATED WITH THEIR CHILDREN. AND EVEN WORSE, THEY ARE SCARED THEIR CHILDREN COULD BE LEFT ABANDONED. TRANSPORTATION TO SCHOOLS SHOULD NOT BE A PRIVILEGE THAT SOME CHILDREN HAVE AND OTHER CHILDREN DO NOT. CHILDREN SHOULD HAVE A SAFE AND RELIABLE WAY TO GET TO SCHOOL SO THAT THEY CAN RECEIVE THE EDUCATION THEY DESERVE. I understand that there may be mileage radius requirements, and that makes sense under normal circumstances, but we are not operating under normal circumstances right now. When there's a heightened level of fear and uncertainty in our community, I believe we should be willing to look at whether exceptions or additional transportation options are appropriate. Perhaps there could be different walking radius tiers based off of a child's age. Perhaps families within a certain radius could have an option to pay for that transportation fee. Or perhaps we could simply make an exception when there are extraordinary safety concerns. I did already call the school transportation office and I was told that no changes would be made. That's why I'm standing here before you today. I'm asking that this commission support advocacy for transportation options and exceptions for families who are facing these circumstances. I'm asking you to work with the school district and help find a solution because these children are in our city and whether that responsibility technically lies within the city, the school district or someone else, I believe we all have a responsibility to make sure children can get to school safely. I've always heard the phrase that it takes a village to raise a child. And I believe this is one of those moments when our community has an opportunity to be that village. These children are vulnerable. They're innocent and they deserve to get to school without fear. They may lose their parents. I'm asking you to please make that possible. Thank you.

Thank you. Aaron Armstrong.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm here tonight because of the Maggie Coon quote, speak up even if your voice shakes. I'm sure we all know ICE is in our city, terrorizing our neighbors and friends, keeping our children's friends hunkered down inside their homes when they should be excitedly attending their first days of the school year. Our federal government has sent a group of armed and masked thugs with unlimited resources and no accountability into our neighbors to track down and detain hardworking mothers, fathers, pastors, and friends, often grabbing them off the street and disappearing within a matter of minutes, leaving their kids to wonder why mom or dad didn't come home from work. While this breaks my heart, the loudest and most ignorant members of our community are are cheering loudly. For those of you cheering and constantly defining the word temporary, save your breath. We all know what temporary means. TPS was put in place to protect nationals of specific countries from unsafe conditions. The U.S. State Department has Haiti listed as a level four do not travel advisory. According to the U.S. Department of State, violent crime is rampant in Haiti. There has been an increase in gangs, organized crimes, and terrorist activities. These are the conditions our Haitian neighbors and friends fled. These are the conditions that some are cheering for them to go back to. There may come a day when our children ask, what did you do in 2026 when Haitians were being profiled and grabbed off the streets? Some of you may say, I was glad. The majority of you will have to say, I did nothing. I was too busy, too scared, or just couldn't be bothered to interrupt my life. Both groups will be on the wrong side of history. This brings me to my request for the board. I want to ask first that the resolution that the city made in January asking that federal agents be unmasked and easily identifiable be upheld. Second, I want to ask that the city pass an order banning federal officers from using any city-owned property to conduct operations. Third, and I appreciate you clarifying this at the beginning, I ask that the city, Springfield Police, and the Sheriff's Department does not enter into a 287 agreement. Fourth, I ask that you work with local and state officials and local schools to provide a safety net for parents who are too scared to leave their houses and take their children to school. And I ask that they either provide an online option, transportation, or an exemption from truancy enforcement. And I ask that We all work together to make that possible. And I'll close by asking everyone, especially our leaders, to speak up for our friends and neighbors and speak out against the terror and harm that our federal government is inflicting on them. Thank you.

Thank you. I do encourage you to go also, along with this meeting, to the city school meeting, the board, and speak, just say these same things to the board as well. Go to the county meeting too. Okay? Thank you. Rachel Sayers.

I have lived in Springfield my entire life, and I've never been afraid to live here. But right now, it's currently terrifying living here. People are being taken from their families. Our families are scared to go to church, school, and the store, and they're unable to do anything. I'm just asking that you please help us. Please help us get to school safety. Please help us by banning ICE agents from governmental properties and uphold the no mask rule. And please help us by getting rid of and removing our flock cameras like Dayton did. Thank you.

Thank you. Lee Foster. Lee. Foster. Antigone Smith? Is there Mr. or Ms. Smith here to speak? Okay. Jeff Allen?

Okay. Mr. Allen? Good evening. Been a while. About a year, maybe, maybe less. Well, here we are. One year later, we're still playing the skin game. Some people are very happy around here. Those who like that skin game. We had passed this a long time ago, but our president drug us back into it. So here we are again. I'm going to stop right there, and I have to admonish the order that this thing happened tonight i was here at 6 6 25 in the door at 6 30 signed my paper and i'm just now getting up here i didn't intend to be here that long it's okay you guys got a chance to fix that i'm just here to you know tell the people everybody hold your head up You know, keep fighting. Don't let the racists win. You know, and to the racists, you should hold your head down. You should really be ashamed of yourself. Don't be proud of this. It's terrible. Thanks, Zappy.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioners. Thank you for your time tonight. I had planned on making some comments about the new jail, but in the interest of saving time, I'll save my comments for the county meeting. Thank you. Thank you for being here.

Catherine Payrock. Thank you. It's writing.

JUST LIKE THE LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRY, WE CAN ALL SAY THESE WORDS. I'M KATHERINE PEIRU. THANK YOU. FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE YOU, OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, IN MATTERS THAT CONCERN US ALL. FOR THE FOLKS IN OUR TOWN PAYING ATTENTION IN SUCH A POWERFUL AND IMPORTANT TIME FOR OUR I'm seeing reporting on pastors apprehended while going about their daily lives. I am meeting elderly grandmothers, pregnant women, new mothers with newborn infants in arms, in shackles. Churches' services have been disrupted by AIDS. It's feeling like we are taking an open book test, and for those who profess an ethical competence, much less an allegiance to Christian ethics, it's not looking great for our people. I can imagine that you will have familiar exculpatory narratives that excuse you from responsibility for action on this, saying there's nothing we in city government have an obligation to do for these taxpaying residents, This is someone else's concern. These are federal issues. That's the most easily spoken sentence. But I hope you can do better. That you can act creatively. That you can meet the moment. That you have read the scriptures that you so often profess to follow. That you can pass that open book. With the increase in ICE activity in Springfield, we are seeing Springfield residents detained even when they have a pending immigration status. I am supporting folks' trips to immigration court in Cleveland who are fully and legally enmeshed in pursuing open asylum cases. Yet individuals with active asylum proceedings are being detained. What, if anything, can the city do to intervene or support this? Can the city provide resources like legal aid clinic or know your rights information for affected families? Ask yourself, what legal authority does the city have to advocate for residents, ensure due process and connect families with support? Thank you.

Thank you. Nancy Finch.

Hello, I'm Nancy Funchal. I live at 305 North Broadmoor, and I'm very concerned about the presence of ICE in our city and the federal policies that are encouraging them to be here to remove immigrants who have been living here peacefully and contributing to our economy and our community. Two Haitian pastors have now been arrested and detained. I'm worried about the impact this has on all of us emotionally, as a community, and economically. I know that the city of Springfield did not invite ICE, and I want to thank you For the restraint our police has shown to maintain order and to protect our safety. I also want to thank the City Commission and our Police Chief Elliott. I've heard for many years that our police department doesn't have the resources needed to deal with crime and other problems in the city, so I'm just asking that they continue to focus on those causing problems rather than assisting ICE in their work. The federal policy to get rid of immigrants make no sense to me other than it's very racist. My ancestors were immigrants. We are a nation of immigrants. I believe that our diversity makes us strong. Our businesses are being stripped of hardworking employees. Our city is losing good people who face death if they are deported to Haiti. I cannot remain silent in the face of such evil being perpetuated by our federal government. And I have been contacting my senators and representatives about this. Like Peg Foley, who spoke earlier, I encourage others to do so. Thank you.

Thank you. Terry Reisenkos. Bill Potter, Anzal.

Hi, thank you guys for all you're doing. As you've heard, another Haitian pastor was detained yesterday. That makes two Haitian pastors of churches in Springfield who have been detained in the past week. Over 30 people have been taken from Springfield. Let us be clear, they're not targeting criminals. They're targeting people going to church on Sunday mornings. They're targeting people going to work. They're targeting people in their homes. They're targeting people on the streets. I've spoken to immigrants through cracked doors because they've locked themselves inside and they don't know who to trust. Immigrants in our city are terrified to leave their homes. Americans with brown and black skin are afraid of being targeted because racial profiling is happening. People are afraid to go to the store to get groceries. And as you've heard, many parents are afraid to take their children to school and are just keeping them home instead. Springfield city schools will not allow kids to move to online schooling, and they're not offering to provide transportation options. In regards to the behavior of the ICE agents themselves, community members have experienced ICE agents harassing them, being aggressive, using facial recognition technology without consent, wearing masks and driving recklessly. Will our city leaders and our law enforcement protect us from the harm that the ICE agents are causing in our city? I have a few questions that need to be answered. As you mentioned, Clark County Sheriff deputies have been seen with ice when they're knocking on people's doors. They've been seen escorting ice vehicles around town and using government property to do their immigration work right here downtown. The government of Springfield does not have to allow them to be on government property. If the city commission and city leaders say they support keeping everyone in our community safe, we must ban ice from using government property. I've spoken a few times at these meetings about the concerns with flock cameras. Most people are being detained on their way to and from work. It's very possible that flock cameras are being used to predict these people's routes in order to detain them. The Springfield Police Department is still sharing flock data with over 900 counties that have contracts with ICE. The new public portal has offered some helpful information like that, including the fact that Springfield shares much more flock data with other entities than most cities do, even including private security companies who could not possibly need access to our information. We predicted that this would happen and now it has, so now's the time to do something. The people being detained will be sent to dangerous places where they may be killed. My question is, can you live with yourself if you do nothing? We know what you can't do, but what can you do to help? Thank you.

Thank you. Tabitha Randall.

My comments are more directed towards the jail. So I had a lot of information that I wanted to share. I know you've talked about it being something that we need to bring up with the county. So I had some questions about that. As far as I understand it, the city has the right to decide about rezoning that land. That's correct. Has that already been decided?

No, there'll be a zoning hearing on this in the future and it'll be publicized and you'll have an opportunity to speak with that as well.

So that's a place that we can come and address some of these issues. Okay. And is it also at that or another meeting where they will decide where to sell the property?

No, the city commission will not see this in front of us to vote on it or not.

Okay, so there'll be a rezoning hearing and we can bring concerns up there. When do you decide whether or not sell the property? Is that you?

That would be an action of the commission to sell the property.

And we're not there yet.

That will be an action to sell it, but it has to be rezoned to even get to that point too.

Okay. Can you tell me again when that rezoning meeting or where I can find the information?

I don't know if it's been publicized yet. Jason, has it been, it's not been publicized. It's not even in scheduled yet. So when it is, it has to be publicly, there'll be a public notice about it where people have an opportunity to speak at the hearing. They are monthly. The hearings are. okay so will there be another opportunity that we can bring concerns up to you before you sell you guys decide whether or not to sell the property it would be an open action the commission and the agenda would be published publicized just like it is now uh but there's nothing on our agenda for now now um i do encourage you to get some of your questions uh answered also at the county commission not putting it off just saying this is they're the ones that are responsible to build the jail

Yeah, I sat down with Sasha Rittenhouse today for an hour and a half, and we talked about a lot of the concerns that we have.

You have good concerns.

Do you guys have the power to bring a vote about locations, about options, like bring a vote, like north side versus south side versus city? Who would do a vote like that if we were to be able to have something like that?

It would be the county commission that would bring that up. The county commission are the one that did the survey the last time and gathered in the information and publicized it. If this was something that was going to be on the ballot, it would be a decision of the commission put on to a vote.

Okay, so if we were to petition for a vote, it would be to the county?

And I would find out what those requirements are.

Yeah.

Yeah, but it would be the county's decision to put that on the ballot.

I just want to make that little point that I feel like if this jail was to be like many have mentioned people don't want it in their backyards in different places but if we had a vote for it and it was voted that everyone wanted it on my side or on other sides then at least I could say we had a chance to be heard and that means a lot to us there's a lot of concerns that I have here and I don't think this is necessarily the right time to bring up all of these again rehashing details and stuff but if you have any influence in talking about locations because it is so hard for so many people and I understand people not wanting it there or here or anywhere except for downtown it seems we agree on that but that's a hard thing there's not exactly a spot so um if you have that opportunity i would i would petition you to do that because because it does affect us and if something were to happen in the future to my family who's right across the road from that what recompense would there be there's no changing that it would just happen and so who's gonna be affected and how matters. And so we at least have that opportunity to vote that, that would make a big difference to us as the people. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to address you tonight. I also am concerned about the jail being built on the north end. And I understand that it's the city that will be rezoning that, and it will be the city that is selling them the land. So while I understand the county, is integrally involved in making that decision, this body also has a vested interest in that. And I want you to know the mind and the will of the people. we're not in favor of this proposal. I think the city lost an opportunity when they put the levy up for a vote to sell this to the people. I think if most of the good people of Springfield had heard the sheriff speaking last week about why they need the jail, and what it can do for those that are incarcerated and those who need those services. they would have been more inclined to vote for it. So I'm hoping that this body will take that chance to put that levy up again and actually disseminate the information that is important for the people to understand so that they can pass that levy. Because Where the jail needs to be is where the jail is now. It needs to be in this downtown location. Understand it's more expensive here, but that's why the levy was to be put out so that we would have the funds to do that. And so I think it's critical that we're putting forth that levy again for the people to vote on it. And not only just put it out there, but put it out with the sufficient information so that people can make an informed choice. Because without information, people are more often than not, as elected officials you know, they see a tax, they don't understand it, they're going to vote it down. So we need to do a better job of convincing them of the need, which is significant in this area. As a homeowner and business owner in this area, I'm concerned that this is going to impact our property values significantly. I'm concerned about something that I heard you say, Mayor Bob, last week about the South 72 site being rejected because of potential development. And I'm concerned if that is the situation where we're putting development for the city over the current safety and concerns of citizens now. So that is what I came here to say. So if you could comment on whether or not the development is an issue with that southern city site or not, personally, I think downtown would be a better site.

Just to be clear, it would be the county that would decide to put this on the ballot, any tax levy or increase. And that's what was on the last ballot was like a 0.5% increase on sales tax. And so that would be a county's decision. We don't have any influence on that other than the conversation we had here the other night with you. There's no slated development. I mean, the property was zoned in the past on the south end for development in the past. I'm not telling you that was the reason it wasn't. People were just asking in the open forum we had of why this didn't happen, why that didn't happen. There was strong opposition. They didn't want to see the jail right on a main exit of a corridor in our community. So for whatever reason, the county decided to stop pursuing that property. And again, that's not our decision. I'm not doing this. I'm just telling you what we actually have say about.

I appreciate that clarification.

And again, I think that it would be important I think you should also read these comments in a county meeting. Absolutely. And ask for some answers from them as well. Absolutely.

We invite you back here as well. And I strongly urge you not to sell the property.

Jeff Engel?

Jeff?

Mr. Philiston?

miss yes hello everybody sorry my name is lucky philistine uh i'll try to keep this as brief as possible thank you guys for allowing us to speak and to come out here uh today uh you already addressed the rumors of the police not working with ice so i won't go into a ramble about that but let me tell you why it's important I'm a young black Haitian American, fatherless due to ICE removing my father from our home. At such a young age, my mother was forced to raise three girls alone just because she wanted to give us a better life. Now 20 something years later, I'm wondering what that better life is. As I look around and see people just like us trying to do the same thing that we did fail, but not because they did something wrong, but just because they decided to trust the government that let us in just to kick us out. Seeing this crime is one thing but living it day to day is another. Imagine speaking to your family in Haiti as they tell you that they were forced to leave their homes or hearing that they've been kidnapped or slaughtered. just to turn around and hear the family that you have here in America that did everything right just to leave that place, be forced to go back to it. My team and I, just a bunch of immigrants with some status, doing the best that we can to make a difference, want to take this opportunity to share that we have been working to bring together Haitian community members who are U.S. citizens, lawful residents, and longtime members of Springfield to stand together during these difficult times.

Sometimes it's not visible to see that we have Haitian community members who are U.S. citizens, lawful residents, and longtime members in Springfield to stay together. during these difficult times. It's not visible. Many people think that Haitians are not US citizens or residents. There are many of us here, and we are continuing to pay taxes. We are business owners, workers, parents, and neighbors. We have deep roots here. Today, we want to remind everyone that our community is part of the fabric of Springfield. We have brought together community leaders, faith leaders, and residents not to interfere with the work of ICE or the authority of federal agencies. Our goal is to promote understanding, communication, and support for families who are experiencing fear and uncertainty. We are asking for respect for due process, accurate information, and for every person's rights to be respected under the law.

We invite everybody to stay connected as we continue organizing a peaceful gathering where community members can come together, share concerns, and stand united. We are blessed with the land to live in it, not on it. God help us all. Thank you.

Thank you for speaking. Marcy to Jeffrey.

Our community now has to have different conversations with our children than we used to have. Being a black female, we had to sit our children down all the time and tell them, you can't do this, you can't do this. Be careful where you go. Make sure you always have this, that, and other. I find myself doing that again. Make sure you have your driver's license. Make sure you have some type of ID on you. Make sure you be careful. Make sure your car is in order. You have your driver's plate on there. Nobody's messed with them. Your lights are all right. We're giving our children new conversations. I was lucky enough to have one of my great-grandchildren spend the summer with me. She's only 12 years old. And she was terrified. Terrified that she might be taken away. She left on Tuesday during the big storm. On that Thursday, I was getting in my car to go to work. And I saw a young Haitian lady coming down the street. And from her voice, it was very loud. And from her cadence, I could tell that she was praying. I watched her. And when she got almost even with my car, she collapsed. My yard man was there with me. We both went over to pick her up. And I just held her in my arms while she cried. I couldn't understand anything that she was saying. The only thing I understood was ice, husband. Her pain was so great. I hate to make a comparison, but it reminded me of when my son passed. Her pain was so great. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I was able to get her to some of her people where they could understand her and help her. I stood here a year or more ago and told you people that we would be here. And so many of you are happy. Our children will remember. And we won't let them forget. And we're not going to let our government forget. Thank you.

I just want to thank you for those that came out to speak for the humanity of our community, that you expressed your heart, your compassion. And it is very difficult and very sad to hear these stories. And I was aware of many of them before we got to this point. it's, it's just really, it's really hard. And, um, there's, I wish there is more that we could do as a local government. I really do. Some of you brought some suggestions. I'll certainly be there for discussion, but, um, just don't want you to think that your comments are not being not, not heard particularly about individuals that are being, um, so negatively affected and being torn apart. As human beings, they're being torn apart from their families and it's heart wrenching. Thank you for your comments tonight. I'm gonna ask for a motion to, before I do that, Is there any commissioners that would like to have any comments? I want to make sure and ask that the last couple of times. Any commissioners have any comments before about tonight's concerns before we conclude this board of our meeting? Is there a motion to conclude public comment period? I moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Clerk call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

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

Yes. We're going to begin the formal meeting in about four minutes, four or five minutes. I'll take a break.

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. Okay, for those in the room, we're going to stand for the invocation and the pledge. Amanda? I would just like us to have a moment of silence and reflect off some of the comments that were made about folks in our community, particularly about individuals being affected by Haitian. Okay. God, I ask that you would bring peace to our community. Father, I ask for the families that are being affected by decisions that cannot be in their control, that you would give them peace, that you give them a way. God, I ask that you would give us wisdom, that you give us courage, that you give us boldness as leaders in this community. In your name, amen.

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

Hey guys, if we could have comments, if you could go ahead and leave folks in the back.

If you wanna go ahead and hold your comments out.

You were speaking during the pledge. You know that, right?

Wow.

It's not off guard, folks.

Okay. Is there a motion to approve minutes?

So moved.

Second.

So moved and seconded. Clerk, call the roll.

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

Yes.

Mr. Rue?

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

Amending ordinance number 9190 past March 12, 1991 and commonly known as the codified ordinances of the city of Springfield, Ohio by repealing and replacing section 911.02 entitled service charge rates, section 911.04 entitled bulk water purchases, section 917.02 entitled service charge rates and section 917.11 entitled septage septage discharge discharge fees confirming and approving the renewal of the contract with cinegro central llc for the removal and land application of biosolids for an amount not to exceed 135 000 Authorizing the city manager to enter into a brownfield remediation program grant agreement to accept funding in an amount up to $541,100 from the Ohio Department of Development for the demolition and site remediation of 827 Dibert Avenue. And authorizing the city manager, finance director, and law director 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. Authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration to reimburse expenditures for officers involved in joint operations for the period of October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2031. 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 agreement. and to comply with all relevant local, state, and federal legal requirements.

Thank you. I'd like our finance director to speak to 19526, then also have questions about 19626 and 19726.

Certainly, Mayor and Commissioners. If you'll look up at the screen, this will also be available on our website to explain how we determined and just some historical data for these rate increases that we are recommending. And so this evening is the first reading of the proposed utility rate adjustments that would take effect January 1st of 2027. The legislation proposes a 15% increase in water rate and a 5% increase in sewer rates with no increase in stormwater rates. For a typical residential customer, the combined monthly bill would increase from $68.74 per month to $74.10 per month. That's an increase of $5.36 or 7.79% overall. These recommendations are based on our long-term utility rate modeling, which finance completes annually. That model considers revenues, operating costs, capital needs, debt obligations, regulatory requirements, and our consumption trends. And one of the significant factors in that modeling is declining water usage, which you see up here reflected in the top right-hand side of this slide. There is a direct relationship between usage and rate. As that consumption declines, we bill fewer gallons and generate less revenue for our utilities. while many of the cost of operating and maintaining the system remain fixed and are increasing. We still operate the same treatment facilities, maintain the same infrastructure, meet regulatory and debt obligations, and make necessary and often mandated capital investments for these utilities. At the same time, those costs continue to increase. So since 2021, which you see in the bottom, left side of the screen here, the cost of installing a six inch water main has increased approximately 154%. Chlorine has increased 183%. Lime, 100%. Labor costs, 27%. And we've seen significant increases in equipment and electricity. So the city is not immune to those cost increases like with electricity. um that many of us feel at home as well so we're seeing pressure from both sides usage and build consumption are declining while the cost of operating maintaining and investing in the system continued to rise with this proposed increase again the typical combined bill of 7410 is what those increases would result in that compared to the state average from 2023 for a utility bill That number is $85.28 compared to $74.10. So with these increases, we still remain among the lowest in the Miami Valley. These adjustments are what our current modeling indicates are necessary to responsibly maintain both the short and long-term financial health and reliability of our utility systems. This legislation, again, will return for your consideration and a vote next meeting as it's just a first reading tonight.

Thank you. Yes, good evening, commissioners. So 19626 is a brownfield remediation grant, and it is for a former school building located at 827 Divert Avenue. The grant itself is for $541,000 through the Ohio Department of Development. and it requires no local match. That building is vacant and partially collapsed at this time and is considered a safety hazard. moving down to 197.26. That is an annual agreement with the Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. So that partnership has been in place since 2012. We have officers who are deputized to enforce federal drug enforcement violations. And this allows us to leverage that partnership for additional resources and training and reimburse overtime.

Thank you. Other comments from commissioners?

the comments from the odd actually i just have one uh i don't know if you can answer this or not once that property is remediated and the brownfield is gone then then somebody can build on there then somebody can put housing or anything else on there correct yep so i'll have our um economic i'm sorry our community development uh deputy director steve thompson

Good evening. Yes, this grant will demolish and remediate the property, so it will be ready for redevelopment. Now, what type of redevelopment? That will be part of the remedial action plan. So I can get you more information about whether that will be qualified for residential or commercial only.

Thanks, Steve. Thank you. Other comments from the audience on first readings only? Hearing none, we'll move to second readings.

Okay, for first reading, go ahead. I just had a question on the utilities. Do we know known factors that's contributing to the lower usage?

I'm going to ask Deputy Director, or I'm going to get there, our Service Director, Chris Moore, to speak to that. There's certainly a lot of federal things that have done that, but then also just overall awareness of water consumption and water conservation efforts, but I don't want to steal everything that you said.

So what we found as we've looked into it is in almost all cases, it is people using higher efficiency appliances, We visited our 100 largest customers to make sure everything, the meter was working fine and ask them questions. And as we talked to them, it's all conservation. And, you know, I think about if you stay in a hotel recently, they push really hard for you to use your towels for that extra day or two. They all have low flow toilets. Every time we replace an appliance at home, it's lower flow and all of that starts to add up. And as the big industry, we're, you know, a food processor where water is an input, anytime they upgrade their equipment, they're looking to find ways to use less water and reuse water that comes in until it has to be sent out into the waste stream.

Thank you. We'll continue with second readings.

amending ordinance 91 90 past March 12 1991 and commonly known as the codified ordinances of the city of Springfield Ohio by amending certain sections of part 11 entitled zoning code so moved second it's been moved and seconded other comments from commissioners from the audience or call the roll Mr. Ricketts yes Mr. Rigsby yes Mrs. Tackett yes Mr. Wallace yes Mr. Rue yes Amending ordinance 21-138 to modify the residential rehabilitation tax exemption available within the Springfield revitalization community reinvestment area pursuant to Ohio revised code sections 3735.65 through 3735.70. I'll move.

Second. I moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners?

Yes. I've spoken about this before, and I want to reiterate the original purpose of this program. According to the Ohio revised code, this program was to promote revitalization and depressed areas by offering tax exemptions by my problem with making the entire city limits, uh, all under this we're saying that the entire city of springfield is a is a depressed area according to the ohio revised code i know there's all kinds of reasons for doing this and and and part of this the uh community uh revitalization part that has to do with remodeling old homes and things like that i have no i have no problem with But I do have a problem with saying that all areas of Springfield are depressed so that a developer can get a tax break. And my biggest example is what we have up on North Limestone now. We now have houses up there that are being sold for $400,000 or more. And on their signage, they're boasting that you get a 15% tax break on this. So I just, I really have problems with saying the entire area should fall under this. And as a result of that, I will not be supporting this amendment, this ordinance.

Comments from the audience on this?

Go ahead, Jason.

guess we'll have our economic development manager Cassie Scott share a few words about this thank you for your comments I would just like to add to that that the code says that it must be an area where new housing construction and repair of existing facilities or structures are discouraged and that's kind of been left wide open to meet a variety of definitions so that can be aging or poor housing stock that can be vacant or abandoned properties that can just be insufficient new housing construction or even where there is a gap that exists in that pro forma where um we need to encourage development using the incentive so i hear you i do um and thank you for your comment is this also something we can revisit annually This is something we will look at every single year. And the intention is not to leave this wide open forever. We are saying we need more housing right now. Let's keep building. And as that housing stock continues to grow, we can in fact scale this back.

Just one more quick question from you. If this passes, any new housing development would still have to undergo a review? It wouldn't just be an automatic tax rebate that each individual project is individually looked at, correct?

Actually, for residential, every project would be eligible for commercial. every one of these is negotiated on a case by case basis.

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

Mr. Rigsby.

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett. Yes. Mr. Wallace.

Yes.

Mr. Ricketts.

No.

Mr. Rue.

Yes.

implementing sections 3735.65 through 3735.70 of the Ohio revised code, amending the Springfield revitalization community reinvestment area in the city of Springfield, Ohio, and designating a housing officer to administer the program.

So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Cassie, could you come up and explain just the differences again and what we're doing here?

So the last item was the recommendation that we increase residential rehab from 10 years, 100% to 15 years, 100%. What you are voting now is an expansion of the area as a whole to incorporate the remaining parts of the city that are not already covered by TIF. Yes.

Can you explain the housing? Who is the housing officer to administer the program?

That is me, and it will continue to be me as long as I'm here.

Okay.

So that's intended to stay the economic development manager's responsibility.

We're not hiring anyone now?

No, ma'am.

Any comments from the audience? Or call the roll?

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

No.

Mr. Riv? Yes. Establishing a fee structure for the City of Springfield Community Reinvestment Area application processing the annual monitoring administered pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Sections 3735.65 through 3735.70.

So moved.

Second.

I moved and seconded. We could have Cassie come back up and explain the reason for the changes here.

This is a very simple administrative fee to cover the cost of processing these applications. So very low fee comparable to our peer cities. It's $100 for single family, $2,000 for multifamily, and $3,000 for commercial. And the intention of that is so that if it increases, it's not draining our general fund. So if we did need to hire somebody, we'd have money set aside or to cover my position. Gotcha.

Was this structure set in place already?

We had a fee in place for commercial, an application fee, but no other fees other than some commercial agreements have a fee included in their agreement with the city. But for residential, nothing.

So you're adding a residential fee?

A very small $100, and that's just to account for the time it takes to process it.

I think I'm glad to see the fee structure going in place. I think it's important. One of the sort of debates around both tax incentive financing and CRA, any tax abatement is that the claim is that we're giving away things. And I think it's incredibly important that we, when we negotiate TIFs, we say we make schools whole, we make the public services whole. With this, we're going at least some way towards making the administrative functions whole. um i was a little bit we we came down from the original uh fee structure lowered it slightly i would have preferred to see it stay at the level that that you had talked about with us the first place i understand why um but i think it's important to know that anytime we're talking about any kind of tax rebate or abatement um we're not giving away the services. We're just allowing an upfront payment to cover the costs. And then it lets it be more predictable cost for the developer and the people going forward. And I think that's incredibly important.

I think we should also note, we're not just talking about developers. Who else will benefit from this?

So your average Joe who wants to fix up his home or your average Jill who wants to buy a new home and get a home with a tax abatement, they will also benefit. Or you yourself, you could go pick a piece of land, build new there. And if it's in the zone, you too can benefit from this. So it really benefits everyone from your big scale developer to your little guy.

Other comments from the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with Rumpke of Ohio Incorporated for trash pickup at various city facilities for a period of three years with an option to renew for two additional one-year periods or an amount not to exceed $110,143.19 for the initial three-year period.

So moved. Second. Been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? Yes.

Were there other bids on this, or was this the only bid? Yes, thank you for your question on that one. So this is specific to the trash pickup for our city facilities, and we did only have one bidder on this, which is one. Thank you.

That was my question.

Other comments from the audience? Or call the roll?

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

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

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with Lorenzo Anderson doing business as all things truck hauling and dumpsters LLC for nuisance abatement services as needed by the city for a period of one year with an option to renew for two additional one-year periods for an amount not to exceed $50,000 for the initial contract year.

I'll move. Second. Been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? From the audience? or call the roll?

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

Mr. Rue? Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with Gary Gilbert Jr. doing business as Gilbert's lawn service for nuisance abatement services as needed by the city for a period of one year with an option to renew for two additional one year period for an amount not to exceed $50,000 for the initial contract year.

I'll move. Second. They moved and seconded their comments from commissioners. From the audience. Call the roll. Mr. Wallace. Yes.

Mrs. Tackett. Yes. Mr. Ricketts. Yes. Mr. Rigsby. Yes.

Mr. Rue. Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with OMAC Calling Incorporated for nuisance abatement services as needed by the city for a period of one year with an option to renew for two additional one-year periods for an amount not to exceed $50,000 for the initial contract year.

So move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners from the audience or 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 contract with RestLives LLC doing business as hero clean home savers for nuisance abatement services as needed by the city for a period of one year with an opt-in to renew for two additional one-year periods for an amount not to exceed $50,000 for the initial contract year.

So moved. Second. I moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? from the audience or call the roll.

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

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

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to submit an application for financial assistance and accept a grant from the state of Ohio, Ohio Public Works Commission to obtain funding in an amount up to $522,368 for the CLA and authorizing the city manager, law director, finance director, and city engineer to do all things they consider necessary for the submission of the application for financial assistance and the acceptance of the grant.

I move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. You want to re-explain what we're doing here?

Yeah, absolutely. So this is for a grant through the Ohio Public Works Commission for $522,000. These funds are specific for the match funding for the urban paving grant for State Route 41 at the far east part of the State Route to the Corp line.

Thank you. Other comments from the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes. Mr. Wallace? Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into a flat agreement subdivision development between the city and Sycamore Ridge Project 1 LLC for phase three of the Sycamore Ridge development and authorizing the city manager, law director, and finance director to do all things necessary to implement the said flat agreement subdivision development.

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

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

Yes.

Accepting the recommendations of the Tax Incentive Review Council for Enterprise Zone Agreements and Community Reinvestment Area Agreements.

I move.

Second.

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

Cassie, I've read this document from the meeting that was held, I believe on August the 14th. And one thing that I noted in there was that you stated that even though it's the, that you're having a problem with some of the developers turning in their paperwork or, yep. those right here, you brought it up, that it's the developer's responsibility to file the paperwork and that they're not doing it in a timely fashion. And can you, I mean, we weren't there for the discussion, but could you enlighten us a little bit on why the developers who are getting these tax breaks are having trouble getting their paperwork in?

Before you answer that, could you explain what this commission is and when it meets and why it meets?

so this is our annual tax incentive review council we meet every single year to review all of the agreements that the city has what you're not have and then we remind the developer to file it if they don't they don't get that money that's not my prerogative but for the um abatements i oversee like the enterprise zone and the cra all of that paperwork was filed um

I see it's the developers that aren't submitting the paperwork. And looking at this report, it says if they don't file it in the year that they were supposed to get it, they do not get it.

The auditor oversees that, and she's monitoring that process. So if they didn't submit it, they don't receive those monies.

So they're just leaving the money on the table.

Some of them could be.

Thank you.

Comments from the audience?

clerk call the roll Mr. Rigsby yes Mrs. Tackett yes Mr. Ricketts yes Mr. Wallace yes Mr. Ryu yes authorizing the city manager to enter into amendment e to the engineering services agreement with black and beach corporation for the eastern pressure district water line upgrades project to extend the project completion date to december 31 2026 confirming and approving related expenditures incurred from may 31 2026 and declaring an emergency there so moved second been moved and seconded are there comments from commissioners

from the audience? Clerk, call the roll.

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

Yes.

Confirming and approving change order number one to the contract between the city and Milcon Concrete for the Miracle Mile Water Line Replacement Project to increase the contract in an amount not to exceed $17,349.68. for a total amount not to exceed $1,198,299.68 and to extend the project completion date to October 30, 2026, authorizing the city manager to execute said change order number one and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners? Can you explain that increase?

Sure. So I'll actually have our service director, Chris Moore, explain this. It's about a $17,000 change order.

So this increase is primarily due to field conditions being different than were originally on the plans. As they went out there and started digging, the water line was in a different location for a portion of the project. That caused them to have to dig through bigger parts of some of the driveways and replace some drainage ditches or drainage pipes under the driveways. Thank you.

Other comments from the audience or call the roll?

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

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

Yes.

Authorizing the city manager to enter into an airport improvement program grant agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration in an amount up to $149,694. Authorizing an expenditure of up to $7,879 to be used as local matching funds. authorizing the city manager law director airport manager and the director of finance to do all things necessary for the execution of the agreement and to comply with all relevant local state and federal legal requirements and declaring an emergency therein moved second

been moved and seconded. Other comments from commissioners?

Yeah, my understanding is that we're just approving these matching funds, but these are actually not city funds being used for the match. So in fact, we've found a way to leverage 100% of the funds for this part of the project without touching our funds, which I think is pretty incredible. It's

Great. Yes, sir. You are correct about that. I want to give our airport staff credit for that. Our airport manager, Drake Huffman, is here to share some more.

Yeah, thank you, Jason. Good evening, Mayor and Commissioners. So yeah, this grant is a 95% matching FAA grant for the design phase of the electrical vault relocation over there at the airport. That remaining 5% will be made up for with an ODOT matching grant in the near future. So this is a 40-year-old vault with intermittent failure, so it's in good need of replacement.

I think the stuff going on at the airport's exciting. It's literally game changing for our community. And I would be remiss if I didn't thank the staff out at the airport for working as hard as they do to make this gem of our city better for businesses to want to come in and do business and make things here. It's just fantastic. Thank you, Mr. Rigsby.

Comments from the audience. Go ahead, Ms. Amanda.

So just more generally about the emergency ordinances like this one, why do we have some of these emergency ordinances? Like, why is it an emergency? Is it like FAA got us a paperwork late and we have to pass it by a certain date or You know, is it Amanda works for Chris Moore and she never gets her paperwork done on time?

No, it's nothing like that. These are all timely reasons. They try to keep the emergency ordinances. If you look on here, there's only five.

Yeah.

Which is not very many. And most of them have to do with timing issues and payment issues. Correct?

Certainly, I would add here too, if you go to our website and look at the agenda and then look at the detailed attachments that are there, when we are presenting an RCA that is an emergency item, there's a justification for that emergency action provided out there on our website. So specifically for this one, emergency action is necessary due to FAA timelines requiring the grant agreement to be formally executed and returned no later than September 2nd to prevent the forfeiture of the fund.

Okay, cool.

Good question.

Not that I want you to pick on specific city employees if somebody's not doing their job, but you get what I'm saying? If the holdup is the state or the feds, I get that.

It's the fed. No, I'm just kidding. I have no idea. Okay. Yep. Call the roll.

Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Wallace? Yes. Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mrs. Tackett? Yes. Mr. Rue?

Yes.

providing for supplemental appropriations within various funds and declaring an emergency therein.

So moved.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. Here again, Ms. Amanda, these items come in that need to be taken care of, and that's why these are always on the emergency ordinance. Correct? Ms. Cady?

Certainly, and in this case, for supplemental appropriations, this is actual budget money, so this prevents things like moral obligations, so we're able to increase POs in a timely fashion with those budget money.

Great. Comments from the audience for the roll?

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

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

Yes.

Confirming purchases and the obtaining of services for the city and providing for payments therefore and declaring an emergency therein.

I'll move. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Any other comments from commissioners from the audience? Call the roll.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes.

Mr. Wallace?

Yes.

Mrs. Packett? Yes. Mr. Ricketts?

Yes.

Mr. Rue?

Yes.

And we have one addition to the agenda, consenting to the reappointment of Scott Hootman to the City Planning Board.

So moved.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Are there comments from commissioners? Appreciate Scott being willing to serve on one of our boards. Comments from the audience? Call the roll.

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

Yes.

Mr. Rigsby?

Yes. Mr. Rue? Yes. Commissioner, announcements and acknowledgements? If there's none, is there a motion to adjourn?

So moved.

Second. It's been moved and seconded.