City Beat: Council OKs Ozark airport bill, funds for Springfield airport

In its Aug. 21 meeting, City Council unanimously approved a bill authorizing the city to enter into an intergovernmental cooperative agreement with the city of Ozark for the establishment of a general aviation airport in Ozark, with the airport to be owned by the city of Springfield through the Airport Board.

The new airport would be located on 126 acres and would improve and expand the current Ozark air facility on Tracker Road, which Springfield-Branson Regional Airport Director of Aviation Rob Hancik said is "pretty derelict." Hancik said the hangars at the Ozark facility consist of pole barns, planes are not able to land there and there is no fuel available for sale. He said the Ozark airport project could take as long as five years to complete, and work could begin in October.

Council also unanimously approved a bill authorizing the city to accept a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation to construct general aviation hangar taxiways at the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport. The grant would provide 80 percent of the cost, up to $260,000, for construction of the taxiways, with airport revenue providing the other 20 percent of the funding, up to $65,000.

James River Basin gift

Other second reading bills included the approval of a $5,000 contribution by the city to the James River Basin Partnership, to be combined with a $15,000 contribution by City Utilities and a $5,000 contribution by Greene County. Councilman Bob Vanaman was the only council member to vote against the bill. Four other bills calling for $5,000 contributions by the city to the Salvation Army, Family Violence Center, Boys and Girls Club of Springfield and Victory Mission, failed.

A second-reading bill passed unanimously amending the Springfield City Code, Tax Abatement and Tax Increment Financing Advisory Commission, to bring the ordinance into conformance with recent revisions to the Missouri statute.

Three second-reading rezoning bills passed unanimously. An acre of land at the northeast corner of Silverleaf and Homewood was rezoned from a Greene County R-3 district to a residential townhouse district. Approximately 1 1/3 acres at the northwest corner of Kearney and Mulroy Road were rezoned from a Greene County M-1 district to a commercial service district. An acre of land at the corner of Ridgecrest and Crenshaw Road within the James River Power Plant property was rezoned from a Greene County A-1 district to a government and institution district. A bill rezoning a quarter of an acre of land on the north side of West Seminole east of Campbell from a single family residential district to an office district failed.

A bill approving the establishment of electric rates for green power and power factor correction for large electric customers by CU passed unanimously.

A final second-reading bill authorized the Springfield-Greene County Park Board to enter into a real estate contract in connection with the McGregor Elementary School project. The city will contribute part of the purchase price paid to Jason and Sherri Merkling for acquisition of their property at 720 S. Fort by deeding to the couple excess property owned by the city at 831 S. Fort.

Appoint TIF Commission

Four resolutions before council passed unanimously. The first bill declared the results of the special municipal election held Aug. 8. The second resolution accepted the report by The Larkin Group on the Republic Road concept design.

The third resolution accepted the mayor's appointment of six members to the Tax Abatement and Tax Increment Financing Advisory Commission. Councilman Bob Chancellor abstained from the vote. The last resolution before council authorized the city manager to file a precertification application with the Missouri Department of Economic Development regarding the Jordan Valley Park Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Plan.

First readings

Two first-reading bills involving public nuisances were heard by council. A bill to amend Chapter 114 of the City Code, Vegetation, clarified that trees on private property that overhang the public way so as to obscure visibility of traffic control signs are nuisances. It would authorize the city manager to abate such nuisances and to certify the costs of abatement to the director of finance for collection. A related item was a bill to amend Chapter 74 of the City Code, Nuisance and Housing Code, to authorize the director of finance to certify the costs of the abatement of weeds and other nuisances which are incurred by the city to the Greene County collector of revenue. The costs would be included as part of the annual real estate taxes assessed against the parcel of land upon which the nuisance was located.

Another first reading bill would amend Chapter 78 of the City Code, pertaining to library theft, to clarify conduct that constitutes theft of public library material.