[0:00] It's got, uh, depend that Scott
[0:02] I go there looking for. I wear
[0:04] that all the time, 529, right,
[0:06] for, sorry, clerk
[0:11] I got, I, I kind of married
[0:15] The January 6, 2026 meeting of
[0:17] the City council is called to
[0:19] order. Please rise for the
[0:20] pledge of allegiance.
[0:22] I pledge allegiance to the flag
[0:24] of the United States of America.
[0:27] and to the Republic for which
[0:28] it stands. One nation under God.
[0:32] Indivisible with liturgy and
[0:34] justice.
[0:36] Clerk Redpath, can you please
[0:37] call the roll? Yes, ma'am.
[0:41] Alderman Cox here, Alderman
[0:43] Gregory here. Altman Williams
[0:45] Alderman Rockford.
[0:47] Alderwoman Purchase
[0:50] Al the woman Natriano.
[0:51] Alderman Carlson.
[0:55] Alderwoman Connelly presents
[0:56] Oman Donlin here, Altman
[0:58] Hanauer, Mayor Busher, Mayor,
[1:00] you have a quorum. Thank you,
[1:01] clerk. I appreciate it. The
[1:03] Civility pledge in the interest
[1:04] of civility, I pledge to
[1:06] promote civility by listening,
[1:07] being respectful of others,
[1:08] acknowledging that we are all
[1:09] striving to support and improve
[1:12] our community and understanding
[1:13] that we each may have different
[1:15] ideas for achieving that
[1:16] objective. There are no
[1:18] proclamations or presentations
[1:19] this evening.
[1:20] The chair will now entertain a
[1:21] motion to dispense with the
[1:22] reading of the minutes of the
[1:24] December 16, 2025, regular city
[1:27] council meeting and approve the
[1:28] minute. So move, We have a
[1:29] motion and a second any
[1:31] discussion from the alders.
[1:32] Seeing none, all those in favor
[1:33] of the motion please say aye,
[1:35] those opposed, nay. The ayes
[1:37] have it. The chair will
[1:37] entertain a motion to
[1:39] incorporate the pre-council
[1:40] first reading of ordinances
[1:41] into the record of this council
[1:43] meeting. We have a motion and a
[1:44] second. Any discussion from the
[1:46] alders on first reading?
[1:47] Seeing none, all those in favor
[1:49] of the motion please say aye.
[1:50] Those oppose nay. The eyes have
[1:52] it. The next item on the agenda
[1:54] is the consent agenda. The
[1:55] chair will entertain a motion
[1:56] to incorporate the pre-council
[1:57] reading of the consent agenda
[1:59] into the record of this council
[2:01] meeting. We have a motion and a
[2:02] second. Any discussion?
[2:04] Seeing none, all those in favor
[2:05] of the motion please say aye.
[2:07] Those opposed, nay. The eyes
[2:08] have it.
[2:09] The chair will entertain a
[2:10] motion to place the consent
[2:12] agenda on final passage. The
[2:14] motion is 2, Alderman Hanauer.
[2:16] Yes, uh, I would like to make
[2:18] sure I'm a present vote on uh
[2:21] 2025518, please.
[2:27] Uh, Alderman Hanauer will be
[2:28] voting present on
[2:32] Ordinance 2025-518. We're good
[2:34] there? OK. Any other discussion
[2:35] from the alders on the consent
[2:37] agenda.
[2:37] Seeing none, the voting will
[2:39] now be open. All those in favor
[2:40] of the motion will vote yes.
[2:41] All those opposed will vote no.
[2:47] Well, it's
[2:48] Yes sir
[2:50] OK. And the motion passes with
[2:52] 8, voting yes, none voting no.
[2:53] The next item on the agenda,
[2:55] I'm sorry, agenda items 2025497
[2:59] and 2025, 499 remain tabled or
[3:02] in committee at this time.
[3:03] The next item on the agenda is
[3:05] 2025-527, an ordinance amending
[3:08] Chapter 90, Section 90.15 of
[3:11] the 1988 City of Springfield
[3:13] Code of Ordinances as amended
[3:15] by adding a new liquor
[3:16] classification of P.
[3:17] The chair will now entertain a
[3:18] motion
[3:19] a motion that we adopt an
[3:24] amendment number
[3:25] I guess it's number one. Second.
[3:27] OK, we have a motion in a
[3:30] second to adopt Amendment
[3:32] number 1 on this. God bless you,
[3:34] on this particular, um,
[3:35] ordinance, is there any
[3:36] discussion on the amendment
[3:38] from the Alders first. Um
[3:39] sorry.
[3:41] Older woman kindly of
[3:41] discussion on the amendment.
[3:42] Yes, ma'am. Um ma'am ma'am. Um,
[3:44] I was just wanted to make sure,
[3:46] um
[3:47] I, I'm assuming this went
[3:48] before the liquor commission. I,
[3:49] we're, we're limiting the sales
[3:51] to, um
[3:53] I'm just looking at real
[3:55] quickly, permanent structures
[3:56] and mobile units. So basically
[3:58] anyone
[3:59] it's, it's, I'm sorry, if, if
[4:00] we could just have a little,
[4:01] it's, it's still within the
[4:03] confines of an air of a sports
[4:06] park area so there, there can
[4:08] be mobile units, uh, within
[4:11] that, within the designated
[4:12] area, um, but those cannot
[4:14] leave, so like, like a, like a
[4:16] cart can be can be put or a
[4:18] mobile concession stand can be
[4:20] put out there, but it can't
[4:21] leave
[4:21] the premises, which will be the
[4:24] fenced in area as you envision
[4:25] it. So, like, if, um, if
[4:27] someone has a food truck that has would that be
[4:31] something that would be
[4:32] considered a mobile unit
[4:33] because that leaves after the
[4:35] end of the day? Um, no, that, would not because one that
[4:39] wouldn't be allowed into the
[4:41] licensed premises, um, and then
[4:44] to that that food truck, no, no
[4:46] food truck would be eligible
[4:47] for a Class P license. OK, but
[4:49] if, if someone owned a food
[4:50] truck that they set up a booth
[4:51] there as
[4:52] a mobile unit
[4:54] Well, they, they would still
[4:56] need to be, uh, the, the
[4:59] licensee would still fall under.
[5:01] or the alcohol would still be
[5:02] sold under the class P license,
[5:05] so the license holder would
[5:06] need to um
[5:08] they would need to apply for
[5:09] that license and I, I don't
[5:11] believe that's the, that's the
[5:12] setup that's intended. This
[5:13] would be for the for the sports
[5:16] park operator to sell alcohol
[5:18] within the sports park. That's, kind of what I wanted to
[5:20] get it. This is, this is really
[5:21] just intended for the operator
[5:23] of the sports park.
[5:24] um, with, with specific limits
[5:25] on, on how the, the sales can
[5:27] occur. That's correct. OK,
[5:28] thank you very much. Appreciate
[5:30] it. Any other discussion,
[5:31] alderwoman? No, thank you,
[5:32] Mayor. OK. Any discussion from
[5:33] any of the other alders on the
[5:34] amendment itself.
[5:36] OK, so we have a motion and a
[5:37] second to adopt the amendment.
[5:39] So I'm gonna just do a voice
[5:41] vote on the adoption for the
[5:42] amendment. All those in favor
[5:44] of the amendment will say aye.
[5:46] The ICE have the amendment. Now
[5:48] the chair will entertain a
[5:49] motion to
[5:53] uh place 2025-527 as amended on
[5:57] So move, Mayor.
[5:57] for, would that be for approval?
[5:58] Yes. Thank you. We have a
[6:00] motion in a second to move
[6:03] 2025-527 for approval as
[6:06] amended. Um, any discussion on
[6:08] the ordinance itself.
[6:09] seeing none, voting won't, oh,
[6:11] did someone click their button
[6:12] for? OK, seeing none the voting
[6:13] will now be open, all those in
[6:14] favor of the motion will vote
[6:15] yes. All those opposed will
[6:17] vote no.
[6:19] and the motion passes with 8
[6:20] voting yes, none voting no.
[6:22] So, and then there is a
[6:24] proprietor here that is in the
[6:25] sports park if anyone wanted to
[6:27] hear from that person that
[6:28] supports this. So I think that
[6:29] everybody's pretty fine with
[6:30] that. Thank you for being here.
[6:32] Um, so the chair will now, um,
[6:36] ask the council, is there any
[6:38] unfinished business to bring
[6:39] forward.
[6:41] Any alders have any unfinished
[6:43] business?
[6:44] Alderman Gregory, ma'am, um, I
[6:46] guess this will be, um.
[6:50] unfinished and new, um, so, so
[6:53] in our cannabis grants, um,
[6:56] contracts it it has come to my
[6:57] attention that we have some
[6:59] language in there, um, about
[7:02] felons and um About what sorry
[7:05] about felons felons. I'm sorry
[7:07] I didn't hear what you said and
[7:08] you know, which is
[7:11] sort of crazy because you know
[7:13] the whole cannabis law was to
[7:15] address
[7:16] um
[7:17] the harm by the war on drugs.
[7:20] Um, 500 g or less, that would
[7:22] be a, a felony um.
[7:26] a lot of records was expunged
[7:27] from, from, from corporation
[7:29] council before.
[7:31] So, so to have that language in
[7:32] there, um, not that we, we've held that
[7:36] but it's troubling to, to, to, have that because it does
[7:40] scare others off when, when, they see those agreements
[7:44] and and you you know with this
[7:46] whole cannabis thing there, you
[7:47] know.
[7:50] some of these grantees that they've gone out and
[7:53] they've taken loans.
[7:56] some up to $100,000
[7:58] That's another barrier
[7:59] but
[8:00] heck of a job going to do that
[8:02] to try to try to do something
[8:03] like that.
[8:05] So what are you asking for, so
[8:06] then I'm not, I'm, just hear me
[8:08] out. OK.
[8:09] Then we go on and we're we're calling their vendors
[8:14] they have to um um
[8:17] show their bank accounts. I
[8:19] mean it, it, it just seems like
[8:21] the standard.
[8:23] for this particular fund.
[8:24] is, is just so high and and it
[8:26] doesn't need to be, um, I did
[8:29] look into many of the rules,
[8:31] the, the, the state.
[8:33] The, the law, um, that that's
[8:36] quoted in this section is about
[8:38] um
[8:39] procurement and contracts and
[8:41] bids with the state.
[8:43] um, it has nothing to do with
[8:45] local cannabis tax sales and
[8:46] what we do with those funds.
[8:48] um
[8:50] in fact there is no state law
[8:51] that prohibits.
[8:53] a felon from getting a grant.
[8:55] Um, there, there's some things,
[8:57] um, on the federal level for
[8:58] three things of that nature
[9:00] that disqualify them from from
[9:01] getting a grant through an
[9:03] organization um
[9:05] so, so that's troubling so
[9:07] what I have asked is, is, is
[9:08] that we look at that language
[9:10] and we take that language out.
[9:12] um of that uh you know, I don't
[9:14] care how long it's been there,
[9:15] maybe it's been there for,
[9:17] since the first mayor. I, I
[9:18] don't know, but, um
[9:21] it's troubling
[9:24] So your request is to look at
[9:26] the way the grant was set up.
[9:29] originally. I, we never, I know
[9:31] that's not in the ordinance.
[9:33] that's something that was done
[9:36] once it leaves the council.
[9:38] OK, I'll get with the economic
[9:40] government director, we'll have
[9:41] someone follow up with you. Um,
[9:42] but, but, you know, so not only
[9:45] that though mayor, but you know
[9:48] if
[9:50] these grantees are gonna be
[9:52] going through all of this, then
[9:54] I would ask that the same be
[9:55] for all.
[9:57] when we pay anybody.
[9:59] they would have to show their
[10:02] bank receipts we should call
[10:03] their vendors
[10:05] check up on them. We should
[10:06] treat everybody the same you'd
[10:08] like to have a meeting on
[10:09] grants, we can, but a lot of
[10:11] our grants are reimbursable,
[10:12] and we have to have proof that
[10:14] they've paid it if it's a
[10:14] reimbursement, sir. Right. But
[10:16] this is not, this is a cannabis
[10:19] but you were just comparing it
[10:19] to other grants. I, I know, so
[10:21] that's even worse because we're
[10:21] not, we're not, we're not doing
[10:23] that to them, we're not when we pay the sports complex
[10:26] $4 million. We didn't say, hey,
[10:28] send me your bank account and
[10:30] show me that you paid $4
[10:31] million for the work that we're
[10:33] about to reimburse you back. We
[10:34] didn't call.
[10:37] the uh uh
[10:39] turf
[10:40] vendor
[10:41] and make sure that that's not a
[10:44] grant, it grant, it, it doesn't
[10:45] matter. It's just the, the, the, payments, this is, a uh uh uh.
[10:52] fun grants or about payments in
[10:54] general? No, it's just about
[10:55] how we, how we're doing things
[10:57] as a um administration mayor
[10:59] and it just appears because we
[11:02] always deal with we always have
[11:03] to call and get involved that
[11:05] after it leaves this council
[11:07] that any fund
[11:09] that we get has to go through
[11:11] over here on the east side
[11:14] anyway has to go through so
[11:16] many steps, so many steps and
[11:18] it's just unfair to do that. So
[11:21] can you please define what
[11:22] you're asking.
[11:23] So,
[11:25] break down the barriers that you've set up take out
[11:29] this this felony thing
[11:31] pay the contractors directly.
[11:33] Do, do some of the things that
[11:34] we need that we need to do to
[11:36] get the fun this administration
[11:37] set up anything that's
[11:38] different. I will check with
[11:39] the Economic Development
[11:40] director on your cannabis
[11:41] grants. But we will still
[11:43] follow grant regulations and
[11:45] laws with federal and state
[11:46] grants. This administration
[11:47] will follow, so this is what I
[11:48] want to do because this system
[11:49] in general and how we do things
[11:51] is very old is very outdated so
[11:53] this is what I wanna doordo.
[11:54] There's a, I, I have drafted an
[11:56] ordinance and it's called it's
[11:58] a commission that we that we
[11:59] need to put together to look at
[12:01] everything and it's gonna be
[12:03] called the 1908 race riot
[12:06] repair commission and this
[12:07] commission is gonna be designed
[12:09] just like all of our other
[12:10] commissions to look at our
[12:11] systems of where we can do
[12:13] better at.
[12:15] because here we are, got a
[12:17] grant that has some language in
[12:19] there that is a clear barrier.
[12:26] post to help the, the, the, the
[12:28] community and uplift the
[12:29] community.
[12:32] We talk about felons, the only
[12:34] place that many times when I
[12:35] get the call from a fellow that
[12:36] we can send them is to a
[12:38] to the laborers, to a union
[12:40] contractor.
[12:41] So that same person can't come
[12:43] work.
[12:44] on a project in this community
[12:45] with under this language.
[12:48] or, or, or hold a business or
[12:51] qualify for this grant.
[12:57] so we need things like this
[12:58] because
[13:03] if we're serious about
[13:06] equality and making sure things
[13:07] are equal
[13:10] then when we see barriers we
[13:12] fix them.
[13:15] but I can't, I, I, I it is
[13:17] selfish for me to think that
[13:19] anybody else can understand how
[13:21] I feel, right?
[13:22] Or how people
[13:24] who look like me feel
[13:28] So that's why we need a
[13:30] commission like this to put
[13:31] more eyes on our systems to
[13:33] help them get better so we can
[13:35] be better so our communities
[13:36] can grow.
[13:38] because if we can get that
[13:40] community growing and if we can
[13:42] make it
[13:43] easier and accessible for that
[13:45] community then everybody we've
[13:47] heard the rumors right it's
[13:48] hard to do business in
[13:49] Springfield if we can, if we
[13:51] can get this portion of our
[13:53] city together
[13:55] everything else gonna be
[13:56] beautiful.
[13:57] even more easier
[13:59] than what it is right now
[14:03] The contractors when they go,
[14:04] they, they tell some of these people,
[14:07] yeah, we.
[14:08] don't go through this
[14:10] sometimes on other projects.
[14:12] because they don't
[14:13] and we know they don't
[14:15] Next week when, when, when
[14:17] Broaden and the other company
[14:19] want their $100,000 for for
[14:22] that thing.
[14:22] for their for their snow uh
[14:24] removal?
[14:25] bank statements
[14:27] showing that they paid all
[14:28] their employees they got the
[14:28] money to do it.
[14:31] Call one of the guys and make sure they got
[14:34] paid.
[14:35] That's what we should do
[14:36] because that's what we're doing
[14:37] to our people.
[14:42] so
[14:45] you know, we read that pledge
[14:47] every day civility, civility,
[14:50] you know there's another piece
[14:51] of me that wanna act a
[14:52] different way.
[14:54] but really I, I just want our
[14:57] community to be better. I just
[14:59] want for others to get a chance.
[15:02] that's it
[15:05] and I have to let all of y'all
[15:07] know this because this is a
[15:08] serious topic.
[15:10] and if we truly truly care
[15:11] about making our city better.
[15:14] you guys should know about
[15:16] things like this because I'm
[15:17] gonna come up here and always
[15:18] talk about it.
[15:20] Roy, Keesha always gonna come
[15:21] up here and talk about it.
[15:25] but some of the people in this
[15:26] room that I respect.
[15:29] when y'all gonna stand up
[15:31] Politics aside
[15:33] and be like, no this is wrong,
[15:35] we need to get the money out
[15:36] quicker.
[15:38] We need to fix whatever is
[15:39] broken.
[15:44] That's what we need as a
[15:46] community for other people to
[15:47] step up.
[15:49] or else it look like I'm just
[15:50] clowning.
[15:54] but the truth is those things
[15:56] was wrong.
[15:58] and no we don't like coming up
[16:00] here talking about this all the
[16:01] time. No to ain't all your
[16:03] fault, mayor.
[16:04] but this system
[16:06] sucks
[16:07] for us
[16:12] It really truly does.
[16:15] Thank you. Thank you. Older
[16:16] woman Notriano.
[16:18] Thank you, Mayor. Um, so,
[16:21] this
[16:24] I wasn't going to say anything.
[16:25] I didn't know, uh, Alderman
[16:27] Gregory was gonna bring this up,
[16:31] um, but I would absolutely
[16:33] support a commission like that,
[16:35] um, I think that
[16:37] yeah, but of course, you know,
[16:39] we, we should, um, be making
[16:42] sure that all of our programs
[16:44] are equitable, um, based on who
[16:47] the target, uh, audiences, so I
[16:51] support that. I would only
[16:52] suggest that
[16:53] if there's a way that we can
[16:55] create this commission to where
[16:56] it's controlled by the council,
[16:58] um
[16:59] that would be even better, um
[17:01] so.
[17:03] uh, but what I was gonna say is
[17:06] sort of related to, to what, um,
[17:09] you're talking about so y'all
[17:11] remember a couple of meetings
[17:12] ago we, um
[17:17] uh, passed funding and award to
[17:20] uh a resident of mine who lives
[17:22] in the 1600 block of, uh, South
[17:24] Pass Field for exterior home
[17:27] improvements. He had, um
[17:30] a water line that was broken,
[17:33] um, and he's been unemployed
[17:35] for a while, and, um, he lives
[17:38] in the house. He owns the house,
[17:41] and so he definitely qualifies
[17:43] for the program, um, he thought
[17:44] he was going to get paid by
[17:47] CLBLP because they also had to
[17:49] do some work related to the
[17:52] lead line, um, but that didn't
[17:54] happen, that didn't turn out.
[17:55] And so he came to me asking, um,
[17:58] for us to, uh
[18:00] at least pitch in and, and, you
[18:02] know, reimburse them for half
[18:03] of the work that was done, and
[18:05] we did that and when I asked
[18:09] for um for us to write
[18:11] something up, um, to reimburse
[18:13] them. I had asked that there be
[18:17] no stipulations, no clawback,
[18:19] no anything like that, um, and
[18:20] unfortunately that was left out,
[18:22] and he has been asked to sign a
[18:27] 5-year clawback agreement, um,
[18:29] and I just think that in this
[18:31] circumstance, uh, he should not
[18:34] have to do that, and um, simply
[18:38] because
[18:38] you know, this him replacing
[18:40] his water line was something he
[18:42] had to do to keep the house
[18:43] livable, and it will in no way,
[18:47] um, benefit him when he goes to
[18:48] sell this home, so, uh, I
[18:51] understand the intention of the
[18:53] five-year clawback, uh, as
[18:55] written, but, um, this.
[18:57] case just really doesn't apply,
[19:00] um, so I hope, uh, in the
[19:03] coming weeks we'll see that
[19:05] revisited with a new ordinance,
[19:08] um, to get him this money and
[19:10] not have any stipulations on it,
[19:12] so, um, wanted to let you all
[19:14] know that that was coming and
[19:17] to again request your support,
[19:20] um, thank you, thank you. Any
[19:21] excuse me, any other unfinished
[19:23] business from any of the alders.
[19:24] Let the record show that Alder
[19:25] woman purchase has joined us
[19:26] too. Welcome old
[19:27] er woman. Um, any new business
[19:29] then since we're done with
[19:30] unfinished business, any new
[19:31] business to come before the
[19:33] council.
[19:35] Seeing none. Oh, Alderwoman
[19:36] Connolly. You, you are getting
[19:38] faster than me these days.
[19:39] Um, mine is, is, is minor, um,
[19:42] in, in some ways compared to
[19:43] the other topics so far, but,
[19:45] um, just wanna, and I, I'm
[19:47] assuming Director Fuchs is in
[19:48] the room, um, continue to get
[19:52] complaints of about garbage
[19:54] that comes out of waste haulers
[19:57] and or the last one was from
[19:59] the Coymill area, recycling, um,
[20:01] you know, I got a picture today
[20:02] and I'll, I'll share this with
[20:04] the director, but of what
[20:06] really looks like recycling
[20:07] that was just, you know, it, it
[20:08] blows out, it's on the side of
[20:09] the
[20:10] road. Coie Mill's a busy road.
[20:11] We do get a lot of, I think,
[20:14] window fly dumping on that road,
[20:16] but it would be nice, um, just
[20:18] kind of reach out to the, the, waste haulers, um,
[20:22] especially the ones with, you
[20:23] know, the Republic has the big
[20:24] arm. I, I know, um, they're the
[20:27] ones who have it to make sure
[20:29] that they're, they're, they're
[20:31] watching when, when they're, doing the dumping,
[20:33] and it goes into the truck and
[20:35] not blowing around the
[20:36] neighborhoods, um, you know,
[20:38] we've
[20:39] Oli and Gregory, I, I can't
[20:40] imagine how many times we've
[20:41] talked about fly dumping. We
[20:42] certainly don't want our
[20:43] garbage trucks to be part of
[20:44] the fly dumping, even
[20:46] inadvertently, which I know
[20:47] they're, I know they're not
[20:48] doing it deliberately, but
[20:49] inadvertently, we are seeing
[20:50] this and, and Coki Mill is such
[20:52] a busy road, it's just one
[20:54] example. I've seen this in
[20:55] other neighborhoods too, so, um,
[20:57] I'll be getting that email out
[20:58] to the director, but, um, if
[21:00] anyone else has examples of it
[21:01] and just want to make, you know,
[21:02] share those with the director
[21:03] Fuchs. I, I know it's not
[21:05] limited to just one ward where
[21:07] those, those big armed trucks
[21:08] can
[21:09] create some garbage. Director
[21:10] is here and he can have
[21:11] Christina call and check on
[21:12] that. Thank you very much.
[21:13] Thank you, Mayor. That's all.
[21:15] Alderman Rockford. Yes, so
[21:17] director Fuchs, um.
[21:21] sit
[21:28] my, my question is, in, in
[21:32] corporation council maybe sorry,
[21:33] Davy may not even had to come
[21:34] up, but what's, what's the
[21:36] rules on these, these garbage
[21:38] cans when they dump these cans
[21:40] and they leave them in the
[21:41] roads, is there, is there an
[21:42] ordinance? Is the rules that, that these things things
[21:45] have to be taken out of the
[21:47] street by the resident or I
[21:49] mean they're not, they're not
[21:50] supposed to be on the uh in on
[21:52] the pavement in the street, no,
[21:53] sir. OK, so it, it, they're on
[21:55] the street. So my question is, do we have an ordin
[21:59] ance in, in, in, sorry that I
[22:01] haven't investigated it, but I
[22:03] got a couple calls over the
[22:05] weekend about 40 garbage, you
[22:07] know, cans in the streets and
[22:09] looks like, you know what and
[22:11] so my question is, is we've, we,
[22:13] we've had people get tickets
[22:15] for not shoveling their
[22:16] sidewalks.
[22:17] OK, my question is, do we
[22:19] ticket people for not taking
[22:21] their garbage cans or or is
[22:22] that even on the books?
[22:23] Do we know the garbage, the, the garbage cans in the
[22:27] streets, you know, I know it's, just common
[22:29] courtesy to you when your
[22:30] garbage is dumped to go get
[22:32] your cans and even move them on
[22:34] the the boulevard, you know,
[22:36] but again, you know, even
[22:38] during the snows when the cans
[22:39] were sitting out in the road,
[22:40] you know, the, the, the plow
[22:42] trucks have to go around them,
[22:44] uh, because you are on the main
[22:45] drags too, Loving Street,
[22:46] Converse, and I'm just giving
[22:47] you a couple in the North end,
[22:50] but they are sitting in the
[22:51] streets and they become an
[22:52] obstacle, you know, either
[22:53] they're lay
[22:54] ing down the, the high winds
[22:55] the other day would knocked
[22:56] cans down. There's garbage all
[22:58] over and, and not
[22:59] I know that the the garbage men
[23:01] have a hard time keeping the, garbage in their trucks,
[23:05] but again, you know, is there a
[23:06] rule or is there an ordinance
[23:09] stating that these things have
[23:10] to be pushed back to the house
[23:13] or to the, yes, I can send you,
[23:14] I, I can send you that
[23:15] ordinance. I don't have it off
[23:16] the top of my head, but the
[23:18] property owner is responsible
[23:20] for ensuring the cans are
[23:22] brought back up to the house,
[23:24] um, I will also inquire with
[23:25] code enforcement to see if we
[23:27] ever have written a ticket or a
[23:29] complaint on that. I'm, I'm
[23:30] just
[23:31] not sure, but I can get you
[23:31] that information, you know, and, again, um.
[23:34] looking back, you know, in
[23:36] years back, you know, the, the
[23:38] trucks went up and down the
[23:39] alleys, and they picked up your
[23:40] garbage. I know on the west
[23:42] side with no alleys and that
[23:43] kind of stuff, you, you gotta
[23:45] make your, uh, pick and choose
[23:46] what you do, but, but I just
[23:48] don't understand
[23:49] we've moved everything out, we, we've had the waste haulers
[23:52] up there talking about our
[23:53] trucks got bigger. We didn't
[23:55] ask them to make bigger trucks.
[23:56] It's easier for them, but you
[23:57] know, now our roads are getting
[23:58] tore up. We leave garbage cans
[24:00] in the street. It's common
[24:01] courtesy for the, the resident
[24:03] or the or the person that's
[24:05] renting to drag him up on the
[24:06] boulevard, at least in the
[24:08] boulevard, you know, uh, get
[24:09] them out of the streets. People
[24:11] can't park out there, you know,
[24:13] over my, my neck of the woods
[24:15] we don't have driveways in a
[24:16] lot of places.
[24:18] cause they're renters and they
[24:19] got to park on the streets, not
[24:21] with 50 garbage cans up and
[24:23] down the roads. So my question
[24:25] is, corporation council, if you
[24:26] could check, I just, I just
[24:28] think it's, you know, we, we
[24:30] sit in front of a an audi
[24:32] audience on Tuesdays, put out
[24:35] newsletters and and bills or
[24:36] whatever and and remind people,
[24:38] you know, when you're garbage
[24:39] gets dumped.
[24:40] drag your cans back up
[24:42] you know, you, you, you'd, have to carry your
[24:44] garbage out to the street to
[24:46] put them in the cans. It'd be
[24:48] simpler for the people just to
[24:49] reach out the door and put it
[24:50] in the can and then haul it out
[24:52] once a week. So I mean it's, common courtesy but, but
[24:55] again it's just, it's an
[24:56] eyesore, you know. Yes, sir.
[24:58] And if you have specific uh
[24:59] locations I'd be glad to to.
[25:01] whole North End. No, I, I don't
[25:03] need that. That's not, there's,
[25:05] yeah, no, no, I can, I can give
[25:08] you but blocks and, and blocks,
[25:09] you know.
[25:11] so thank you, thank
[25:14] you. Alderman Carlson, do you
[25:15] need the record, just quickly,
[25:16] all of them are offered a good
[25:17] point on the garbage, but you
[25:18] brought up and
[25:19] do you know, have we written a
[25:21] ticket for someone not
[25:22] shoveling their drive you, we
[25:24] have, we have done that.
[25:26] wow. OK. Did, did you need the
[25:28] director?
[25:30] We have done that for not
[25:32] shoveling their sidewalk. I've
[25:33] had, I've had a, uh, I can't
[25:34] say we haven't. But Larry, you
[25:35] know, we, I, I know I'm a guy
[25:37] that called me that he got a
[25:39] ticket and to shovel his walk.
[25:41] Now whether his neighbors just
[25:42] don't like him, I don't know
[25:43] that, but and and those are
[25:46] generated by specific
[25:47] complaints. That's exactly what
[25:48] you know
[25:49] it wasn't your house, was it?
[25:52] I'm not gonna tell you who, but
[25:53] I'm just kidding.
[25:56] I'm kidding. mine's always
[25:56] shoveled.
[25:58] Thank you, Mayor. That's all I
[25:59] have. All right, thank you.
[26:00] Anything else, Ottoman Rockford?
[26:01] No, thank you very much, thank
[26:02] you, thank you, Director. Uh,
[26:04] with that, we will go to
[26:05] citizens who have signed up in
[26:06] advance to address the council,
[26:07] Clerk Redpath.
[26:09] and
[26:34] evening everybody. Happy 2026.
[26:37] Hopefully we do better this
[26:38] year, all of us, not just you
[26:40] guys, me included. We've all
[26:42] got work to do.
[26:43] And I think Sean brought up
[26:44] some really important points
[26:45] about the work that needs done.
[26:48] We've watched at this council
[26:50] in the last year and a half and
[26:52] before that, black
[26:53] organizations come up here for
[26:54] money, as well as the East Side
[26:56] divisions. And I have done
[26:58] everything short of being
[26:58] forced to put on a minstrel
[27:01] show for a pittance of money.
[27:04] $30,000 50,000 dollars.
[27:06] Money that we watch flow out of
[27:07] the door. You guys literally
[27:09] shoved that entire agenda out
[27:11] the door. That was millions of
[27:12] dollars, guys.
[27:14] And yet I've sat here for an
[27:16] hour and a half, watch Better
[27:18] Life, Better Living for Kids.
[27:20] Have to do everything short to
[27:21] tell you their secret, their
[27:23] absolute secrets, right? Like
[27:24] literally like stuff they
[27:25] wouldn't even tell their wives
[27:27] to get some money from you guys.
[27:28] That was actually ready to be
[27:29] imbursed.
[27:30] It's fascinating
[27:32] The amount of work that we make
[27:33] the East side do to receive
[27:35] money for things.
[27:36] And the idea that a cannabis
[27:38] grant, which by the way was
[27:40] established by the governor
[27:42] here in Illinois to help do
[27:43] what?
[27:45] Repair the damage done by
[27:47] decades of an erroneous war on
[27:48] drugs that we're now seeing our
[27:50] president drag the corpse out
[27:52] of the closet and put on
[27:53] display again.
[27:55] The war on drugs failed. Drugs
[27:57] won everybody. I can go buy
[27:58] some right now, and you guys
[28:00] get benefits from it.
[28:01] And one of the explicit
[28:04] instructions about where that
[28:06] money went was the
[28:08] neighborhoods that were
[28:09] disenfranchised by an undue
[28:11] police presence that created a
[28:13] school to prison pipeline that
[28:15] put 1 in 4 black men under the
[28:17] age of 40 in prison.
[28:19] And yet we're saying that
[28:20] felons don't have access.
[28:23] Why, why don't they have access?
[28:25] Are they not disenfranchised
[28:27] enough for you fine folks?
[28:29] Have we not gotten our blood
[28:31] from them yet?
[28:33] with their time served in a
[28:34] society that fails to forgive
[28:36] people that have in fact served
[28:38] their time.
[28:39] I had somebody this week print
[28:41] up my county record for the
[28:42] crimes I committed in my youth,
[28:45] and try and disparage me for
[28:46] the choices I made.
[28:47] In a neighborhood they never
[28:49] grew up in and circumstances
[28:51] you've never considered
[28:53] and it's frustrating to think
[28:54] about the idea that there are
[28:55] people who had it 10 times
[28:57] harder than me.
[28:57] cause I'm not going to play a
[28:58] tiny violin for my life, but
[29:00] quite frankly, those things
[29:01] still haunt me.
[29:03] So it's frustrating to think
[29:05] about the idea that a program
[29:06] that was created with the
[29:08] intention of helping repair
[29:10] some of that damage has a
[29:11] barrier in front of it that
[29:13] would prevent the very people
[29:15] that were disenfranchised in
[29:16] the first place from accessing
[29:18] it. Additionally, the idea that
[29:20] a lot of that funding, where
[29:21] does it go?
[29:22] You guys just approved it
[29:23] tonight. I'm sure you know.
[29:26] to the very police force's
[29:29] pensions.
[29:30] Some of the very officers that
[29:32] participated in that war on
[29:34] drugs.
[29:35] We fund their retirement with
[29:36] that money.
[29:38] What's their barrier
[29:40] Do they have one
[29:42] I'm not aware of one. I don't
[29:44] see anything in front of them
[29:45] to get that money.
[29:47] We pushed the button on that
[29:48] the second it comes up. You
[29:49] don't want to piss off the
[29:50] union, do you?
[29:52] But you don't mind upsetting
[29:53] the east side.
[29:55] You don't mind creating another
[29:57] feasibility study and stacking
[29:58] it on the shelf with decades of
[30:00] them, talking about developing
[30:02] my side of town.
[30:04] When's that gonna happen? It
[30:05] took 40 years to get sidewalks
[30:07] fixed in front of my house. 40
[30:09] years, it's the number one
[30:11] reason they stopped. Young
[30:12] black men on the east side,
[30:14] walking in the street.
[30:16] I mean, these things are all
[30:17] connected and, and a thing like
[30:19] the 1908 Race Riot Commission.
[30:20] I hope you guys approve it 10
[30:21] to 0.
[30:22] because if you don't, your
[30:24] motives will be suspect at this
[30:26] point.
[30:26] The idea that somebody who
[30:29] recused themselves from voting
[30:31] on a city contract for a family
[30:33] member who, by the way, was
[30:34] employed by the city for over
[30:35] 20 plus years. He retired two
[30:38] years ago, and now we're paying
[30:39] them 50K for a consulting
[30:41] contract.
[30:43] What's the fine line work on
[30:44] that one.
[30:46] We make him do a dance for that
[30:48] or we just go, ah, go on. Ralph
[30:51] and Scotty gets some more money
[30:52] out of the city.
[30:55] That's a joke. It should
[30:57] embarrass all of you.
[30:59] that we have to consider
[31:01] creating a commission to access
[31:03] money. that was specifically
[31:04] earmarked to help a side of
[31:06] town that has been
[31:07] disenfranchised in a way that
[31:08] is almost indescribable.
[31:11] The quiet indignity and
[31:13] humiliation of living with a
[31:14] felony in this world and not
[31:16] even being able to receive a
[31:17] decent job because of it.
[31:18] Despite serving your time in a, world that is focused on
[31:22] making you be punished for
[31:23] those crimes.
[31:26] It's absolutely disgusting. I'm
[31:27] gonna spend my last 5 seconds
[31:29] talking about the budget
[31:30] workshops on January 14th, 15th,
[31:33] the 22nd, February 3rd,
[31:35] February 10th, and February
[31:36] 17th. If you're a citizen of
[31:38] Springfield, please come out.
[31:39] They're gonna be talking about
[31:41] the budget for 2026 for every
[31:44] major city department. I
[31:45] encourage you to Thank you.
[31:47] Alderwoman Matriano, did you
[31:48] have something you wanted to
[31:49] say? I did. Thank you, Mayor.
[31:51] Um, I just wanted to correct,
[31:54] uh, what Mr. Pacia just said,
[31:57] um, Alderman Hanauer did not
[31:59] recuse himself. He asked to be
[32:01] counted as present. I guess he
[32:03] was not given any advice on how
[32:05] he should vote.
[32:06] Thank you
[32:09] Laurie Laurie, um, McKiernan.
[32:21] Good evening. My first topic
[32:22] tonight is funding for an IRP.
[32:25] On my days and nights these
[32:25] days are filled with data
[32:26] centers right now, so I don't
[32:27] know if I'll be able to attend
[32:29] the CWLP budget hearing or city
[32:31] council meetings leading up to
[32:32] it.
[32:33] In the FY 26 budget, you
[32:35] approved $600,000 for an IRP,
[32:38] um, CWLP delayed and didn't
[32:40] begin the IRP process, so the
[32:42] money was forfeited as it was
[32:43] explained to me. It doesn't
[32:44] carry over into the next budget.
[32:46] Mayor Busher and Doug Brown
[32:48] convinced me not to worry that
[32:49] the money, money would be
[32:51] included in the FY 27 budget.
[32:53] So I didn't see a line item for
[32:55] the IRP in the budget when I
[32:56] looked online. I don't know if
[32:57] it warrants its own line item,
[32:59] but I'm here tonight just to
[33:00] remind you that Sergia, the
[33:01] clean and reliable grid
[33:04] Affordability Act requires
[33:05] municipal utilities to do an
[33:07] IRP by 2027. So I hope to hear
[33:09] an IRP mentioned in the, the
[33:11] budget hearing for CWLP.
[33:13] So speaking of data centers
[33:15] um, I want to tell you about
[33:16] Batavia, Illinois's recently
[33:17] approved data center. Batavia
[33:19] operates its own municipal
[33:21] utility via Nimpa. Nimpa is the
[33:23] northern Illinois municipal
[33:25] Power Agency. It's similar to
[33:26] IMEA that we see down here. Um,
[33:28] they get their electricity from
[33:29] Prairie State, the coal-burning
[33:31] power plant southeast of St.
[33:32] Louis, and they use comE
[33:34] transmission lines and grid.
[33:36] Hut 8 is the developer in
[33:37] Batavia, the same developer
[33:40] proposing a 500 megawatt data
[33:41] center in Logan County. Hut 8
[33:43] will be building a 500 megawatt
[33:45] data center in Batavia.
[33:47] So Batavia's similarity to
[33:48] Springfield in that that it has
[33:50] its own municipal utility, even
[33:52] though they don't generate
[33:53] their own power.
[33:54] In Batavia's contract with the
[33:56] developer, the city required
[33:57] the developer to buy their
[33:59] power directly from PJM. That's
[34:01] their grid operator, similar to
[34:03] Myso down here. Batavia did
[34:05] that because they, they don't
[34:06] have enough power to support
[34:07] the data center.
[34:09] The developer is proud to claim
[34:10] that they're paying for the
[34:11] grid updates. They'd like to, make shiny promises. Um,
[34:16] however, the substation that
[34:17] will service the data center is
[34:19] owned by Batavia's municipal
[34:21] utility. It has a capacity of
[34:24] 150 megawatts. Batavia's
[34:26] utility can reach a peak of 85
[34:28] megawatts in the data center at
[34:29] its peak will, um, use up to 50
[34:31] megawatts, leaving only a spare
[34:34] 15 megawatts of capacity on
[34:36] that substation for future
[34:37] energy users once the data
[34:39] center's online.
[34:40] So until that substation is
[34:41] upgraded, the city is limited
[34:43] on the economic development
[34:44] they can do.
[34:45] So in their negotiations with
[34:46] the developer, the city
[34:47] neglected to require the
[34:48] developer to pay for that
[34:50] substation upgrade, so the
[34:51] customers in Batavia are paying
[34:52] for it.
[34:53] So my point with all that
[34:54] information is that a municipal
[34:57] muti municipal utility made a
[35:00] contract and approved a data
[35:01] center without using their own
[35:03] power. CWLP has said several
[35:05] times that Springfield will
[35:06] never have a data center
[35:07] because they don't generate
[35:08] enough power to support one and
[35:10] Springfield doesn't have land
[35:11] available to build on.
[35:13] But Batavia has shown that it
[35:14] can be done. There are
[35:16] annexations from county to
[35:18] cities and re rezoning from
[35:20] agricultural to conditional use
[35:22] to accommodate data centers all
[35:23] over the state, all over the
[35:24] country
[35:25] Data centers are being built
[35:27] purely for investment and
[35:28] profit for tech billionaires
[35:30] and private equity firms like
[35:32] BlackRock. They rarely provide
[35:33] any benefit to communities.
[35:35] Even the projected tax revenues
[35:37] are just that projections,
[35:40] their promises, promises of tax
[35:41] revenues that can be appealed
[35:42] and reduced after the data
[35:44] center is built.
[35:45] So again, my point is it can
[35:46] happen here. Data center
[35:48] developers have the financial
[35:50] backing to fund just about any
[35:51] obstacle put in front of them.
[35:53] The only thing stopping them is
[35:55] zoning re regulations and once
[35:57] a permit has been filed, it's
[35:58] difficult to change those
[36:00] regulations and make them apply
[36:02] to an open permit applications.
[36:04] So my ask is that you Mayor
[36:05] Busher, City council, and Mr.
[36:07] Murdock begin looking at what
[36:09] Springfield can do regarding
[36:11] data center zoning regulations.
[36:13] We already have a data center
[36:14] knocking at our back door,
[36:15] ignoring this issue is reckless
[36:17] and has the potential to allow
[36:18] the blight of a data center on
[36:20] our front steps. Thank you.
[36:23] clerk.
[36:24] Vanessa Knox
[36:44] Good evening
[36:47] Thank you for allowing me to be
[36:48] here.
[36:51] um, I just wanna reiterate, uh,
[36:54] last part of
[36:55] He's.
[36:56] plea, we are asking the
[36:58] community to make sure that
[37:00] they come out for
[37:03] the budget workshops starting
[37:05] next week, Wednesday, January
[37:06] 14th at 5:30. All of this
[37:09] information is on the the
[37:10] website sometimes it's a little
[37:12] hard to get it so I just want
[37:13] to reiterate, uh, January 14th,
[37:16] that's the first budget
[37:17] workshop, uh, that we'll be
[37:19] dealing with the overview,
[37:20] treasurer, city clerk, city
[37:21] council, mayor, and the SCVP is
[37:25] dealing with the visitors, uh,
[37:27] bureau for Springfield.
[37:29] Thursday, January 15th at 5:30
[37:32] will be the second
[37:33] budget workshop, uh, dealing
[37:35] with library OPET, uh, human
[37:37] resources, Public works, OBM,
[37:40] I'm not sure on that one if
[37:41] Amira could let me know what
[37:42] OBM Office of Budget Management, OK. Thursday,
[37:46] January 22nd, 5:30, 3rd budget
[37:49] workshop that will be dealing
[37:50] with police, fire, and CWLP.
[37:53] A lot of groups come down here
[37:54] more are of course watching
[37:56] that can fit down here. We need
[37:59] everyone to come out if you
[38:00] have concerns, if you have
[38:02] things you just wanna talk
[38:04] about or ask questions please, please come to these
[38:08] workshops. Money is what makes
[38:10] a lot of these efforts happen
[38:12] in Springfield, so we're asking
[38:14] that you come out
[38:16] voice your concerns, ask your
[38:19] questions, uh, be there to be
[38:21] part of the solution for some
[38:22] of these things. Thank you.
[38:23] Clerk
[38:25] Roy Walton.
[38:30] Mr. Walton, are you here
[38:32] Sitting here. All right
[38:33] Motion
[38:35] Do adjourned second. We h