City Beat: Hammons, Sansone present joint plan to City Council

In an unlikely alliance following Tony Sansone Jr.'s Oct. 6 announcement of his intention to bring a baseball stadium and minor league baseball team to Jordan Valley Park, Sansone and John Q. Hammons presented a joint redevelopment plan for the park to City Council in its Oct. 9 meeting.

In the plan, Sansone would build his $24 million ice arena on the land formerly occupied by Thompson Pontiac-Cadillac, and Hammons would build his $16 million baseball park at the corner of Trafficway and John Q. Hammons Parkway, as well as renovate the University Plaza Hotel and Trade Center, to add rooms and exposition space, and build an office building.

Mayor Lee Gannaway, council members and city officials were pleased with the surprise announcement, by Sansone, who attended the meeting, and Hammons, who was not present at the meeting but was represented by his attorney and other members of his organization.

Sansone announced Oct. 6 that he had gathered a group of potential owners, consultants and advisors for a minor league baseball franchise for Springfield. Included in the group is actor Mark Harmon, Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace and former major league baseball player Rick Sutcliffe, who is now a broadcast analyst for ESPN Radio.

Council tabled eight of the 11 first-reading bills pertaining to Jordan Valley Park.

Council is expected in its Oct. 23 meeting to vote on two bills that would approve and designate redevelopment project No. 1, which comprises Jordan Valley Park itself, as part of the tax increment financing plan and approve and designate redevelopment project No. 9, which comprises the existing commercial and retail uses of the TIF plan. Council will take up the remaining Jordan Valley Park bills, which will designate specific projects for the park, in November.

Public hearing bills include towers

In other business, council tabled and sent to the Telecommunications Committee for review five public hearing bills concerning use permits to allow five telecommunications towers in the vicinities of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in south Springfield, the intersection of West Chestnut Expressway west of Grant, the northwest corner of West Bypass and Waddill Street, the intersection of I-44 and U.S. 65 interchange and the east side of North West Bypass north of Commercial Street.

Other public hearing bills included an ordinance to annex about 112 acres of private property on the west side of the 1500-2100 blocks of North Westgate, as well as four ordinances to rezone a third of an acre at the southwest corner of Battlefield Road and Parkview Avenue from a single-family residential district to an office district, a quarter of an acre on the west side of North Benton north of Central from a medium-density multifamily residential district to a government and institutional use district, three-quarters of an acre on the north side of East Redrex east of Fremont from a single-family residential district to a medium-density multifamily residential district and less than an acre at the southeast corner of National and Brower from a residential townhouse district to an office district.

The Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff recommended approval of the rezoning bills, with the exception of the rezoning of the land at National and Brower, which city staff recommended denial of.

Council adopts legislative policy

Council unanimously approved two resolutions and an emergency bill in its Oct. 9 meeting.

The resolutions adopted the city's Legislative Policy for 2001 and approved the Loop Alternate Concept Plan for the Glenstone/James River Freeway interchange.

The emergency bill authorized the city manager to enter into an agreement with KPMG LLP to provide professional auditing services to City Utilities for the next three years.

Two second-reading bills tabled

Council tabled a bill to rezone about five acres at the southeast corner of Lone Pine and Southern Hills Boulevard from a single-family residential district to a planned development district, as well as a bill to permit on-site storage in trailers and storage containers in general retail, highway commercial and industrial commercial districts.

The Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff recommend approval of the rezoning bill, while the Plans and Policies Committee, Planning and Zoning Commission and Planning Department staff recommended denial of the storage containers bill.

Council unanimously approved an amended bill to amend the city's budget for the Public Works Department in the amount of $2.5 million to provide funds from the retained earnings of the sanitary sewer system for repairs made to the James River force main and anticipated replacement costs for additional portions.