Board meeting begins with concerns raised by complaint letter

This morning’s meeting of the Citizen’s Advisory Board began with an examination of the elephant in the room.

The board, which advises Springfield City Council on how to allocate funds from a half-cent portion of the Spring Forward SGF sales tax, came under critique through a letter to council from a city resident with concerns about its composition and potential conflicts of interest influencing its funding decisions.

Linda Simkins, a close observer of Springfield city government, penned the Feb. 23 letter alleging that the board is in “direct and blatant violation” of the city charter, particularly Section 15.5. That section of the charter holds that members of city boards must reside in the city and that boards have nine members.

For CAB, two members, Chair Erin Danastasio and Christina Angle, reside outside the city limits. Additionally, the council resolution that established it permitted seven to 11 members, and the board has eight.

Danastasio sought advice from city staff about the issue at the start of the meeting.

“A couple of us do not reside within the city limits – it’s something that when I personally applied I asked about,” she said. “I just want to make sure that that is resolved.”

She said she also wanted to address the question about the number of board members.

Deputy City Manager Collin Quigley offered a reply, saying the board was established under ordinance by City Council, and the city attorney offered a legal opinion that is being reviewed.

“It’s entirely in the City Council’s hands at this point, so you continue to serve until you’re replaced on the board, like any board,” he said. “The board is still seated, and that’s really a decision of City Council.”

Danastasio suggested adding an additional board member, “sooner rather than later.”

“Again, that’s really up to City Council’s discretion and their timeline,” he said.

In an email from city spokesperson Cora Scott, she said Mayor Jeff Schrag is sending a committee referral memorandum to council members for consideration at the March 9 meeting to provide an opportunity for public discussion on boards and commissions.

Danastasio also apologized to her fellow board members for her vote on one of the funding decisions that the Simkins letter cited as a conflict. Danastasio is a member of the Visit Springfield, Missouri Board of Directors, and the first funding decision made by the CAB was to provide $30 million in matching funds for a downtown convention and events center.

“From my shoes, I think I was looking at it as it was a project being brought forth from the city,” she said. “I don’t own a hotel; I’m not personally benefitting from it, and honestly just didn’t think that it would be a conflict.”

Quigley said council has the final authority on funding decisions, and the board is merely advisory.

CAB member Angle, the other member who lives outside the city limits, asked City Attorney Jordan Paul for clarification, saying that all members serve in a lot of capacities in the community on a mostly volunteer basis, and CAB is another example.

“None of those represent any kind of personal benefit to us,” she said.

Paul said the charter provision deals mostly with contracts overseen or administered by a board, which is not the case with the CAB.

CAB member Clif Smart said Danastasio has nothing for which to apologize.

“We wouldn’t be on this board if we weren’t significantly engaged in the community in dozens of different ways, and that brings the experience you bring and the work that you do,” he said.

He said he is no longer a lawyer, but nevertheless he offered his perspective.

“We’re an advisory board. We do nothing except give them our opinion, and our opinion is based on our collective experience living in Springfield for decades and working in dozens of things to benefit the city,” he said.

Added Smart, “When you get attacked by people like this, it’s because we’re doing really good work, and I think you should view it as a compliment.”

In an interview prior to the meeting, Angle said she could spit from her front door and hit the city line. She added that she had not read media coverage of the complaint, but she said she would follow whatever process the city needs to take.

“I’m just here to serve, and if that doesn’t fit the rules, I’ll step aside gracefully,” she said.

CAB member Leslie Forrester was also singled out in the letter for a conflict with her membership on the Visit Springfield, Missouri board.

“I think I put it in the application – I don’t know, that was a while ago,” she said.

She added that she is proud to serve on the tourism board, but if the two are in conflict, she’ll need to make a decision.