[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

Springfield City Council Meeting, Tuesday, January 6, 2026

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