City Beat: City Council approves 2016 legislative priorities

Ken McClure: Calling for a minimum wage hike to $10 an hour is not a priority.

Springfield City Council approved its 2016 legislative priorities, but not all council or city staff members were pleased with the outcome.

Prior to approval during the Oct. 26 meeting, council members removed one listed priority and nine public speakers weighed in – largely asking city leaders to back efforts to expand Medicaid and fight poverty.

Making the cut were ethics reform, a statewide tobacco tax increase, a cap on interest rates for payday loan companies, Medicaid expansion in Missouri and an Internet sales tax. City leaders identified 16 new pieces of legislation to support, as well as five broad policy positions comprising 24 detailed policies.

One priority – calling for an increase of the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour – was removed from the list with a 7-2 vote.

“I’m a businessperson and the way this impacts my business is my prices would go up,” said Councilman Craig Fishel, who owns Fishel Pools and voted to remove it from the list.

The resolution included several broad policy positions, such as “maintain local control and avoid unfunded mandates” and “protect the natural environment.” Within those categories were more specific calls to action, such as “support tourism funding,” which falls under the banner of “economic development and fighting poverty.”

Councilman Ken McClure said two priorities – Medicaid expansion and the statewide minimum wage increase – were not debated in committee meetings or during council luncheons.

He opposed the minimum wage increase introduced by Councilman Mike Schilling, saying Missouri’s minimum is still above the federal minimum wage and most of its surrounding states.

“In my experience, minimum wage levels do not impact or reduce poverty. I think research has shown that the potential for fallout with job elimination is great. If we were to support going to $10 an hour; that would be a 31 percent increase from what is now in place,” he said, adding he supported Medicaid expansion but believed it should have been debated prior to a public hearing.

Councilman Craig Hosmer countered that Medicaid expansion was discussed during a council luncheon, and the issue carries economic weight.

“We always talk about economic development for the city of Springfield, but the two largest employers – Cox and Mercy systems – hire more employees than anybody else in the city of Springfield and this impacts them greatly,” Hosmer said. “If we really wanted to be good stewards of our economy, the single biggest thing we could do is Medicaid expansion.”

Hosmer also supports a tobacco tax increase despite its unpopularity among state lawmakers.

“Our job is not to pass those in Jefferson City; we can’t,” he said. “Our job is to instruct our representatives to do what we think is right.”

Councilman Justin Burnett shared his concerns about promoting tax increases as a legislative priority.

“The tax system is broken at both the state and federal levels. But the way this is packaged would simply increase the size and scope of government, which I am adamantly opposed to,” Burnett said.

A handful of the nine public speakers who addressed council about legislative priorities were members of Faith Voices of Southwest Missouri – an advocacy group representing the community’s most vulnerable residents. Most supported the priorities, but a few took issue with council eliminating support for a minimum wage hike.

Mark Struckhoff, executive director of Council of Churches of the Ozarks, was among speakers who cited Medicaid expansion and capping payday loan interest rates as important in the local fight against poverty.

“Missouri makes it harder than almost any other state to qualify for Medicaid. A mother with two children who earns more than $3,504 annually is not eligible for assistance, and there is no coverage for childless adults,” Struckhoff said. “The failure to expand Medicaid in Missouri has already forced many in Springfield into debt and bankruptcy.”

Burnett and Councilwoman Kristi Fulnecky – who wanted separate bills for the various priorities – cast the two votes against the policy package.

Traffic vs. development
Seven speakers addressed council about plans for a high-end, apartment complex on vacant land designed for professionals who want to live near the Medical Mile on South National Avenue.

Five neighbors cited traffic and stormwater runoff concerns as reasons council should deny developer Luke Warmwater Construction Inc.’s request to rezone 5 acres south of Kimbrough Avenue and Walnut Lawn Street to a low-density multifamily residential district from a residential townhouse district.  
Jason Finley of Finley Homes LLC said he and silent partners were behind the apartment plans, which include widening Kimbrough to 37 feet to handle additional traffic caused by the 83-unit complex. He said rezoning was necessary to make the project financially feasible.

“By the time you buy the land, by the time you widen Kimbrough, it just doesn’t make mathematical sense. The only way to make it work financially is to increase your units. If you increase your units, you increase your density, and then the math works,” Finley said.

He said rental rates for the gated community would range between $850 and $1,600 per month.

Neighbor Gene Croy took issue with one of the apartment’s outlets being on East Arrowhead Street.

“I measured that street this morning. From curb to curb it is 25-foot 5-inches wide. With parking on one side, assuming 8 feet, leaves you 17 feet for two cars to meet, assuming that cars aren’t parked on the other side. So you’d have approximately a foot and a half of clearance between you, the mailbox, parked cars and other cars. Parking presently is allowed on both sides,” Croy said. “I can’t believe we are talking about putting more traffic on a street like that.”

David Ward, a nearby homeowner, said the neighborhood is united in its opposition to the project.

“I have physically walked and talked to every house that joins this 4.9 acres. There has not been one person who lives at the locations who wants this,” Ward said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff recommend the rezoning. Council is scheduled to vote Nov. 9.