Council OK’s housing rehab project, considers landfill expansion

Springfield City Council last night passed a resolution to issue $16 million in multifamily housing revenue bonds to the city’s Housing Authority for Pinnacle on the Park LP.

The bonds would finance the acquisition and rehabilitation of a 142-unit multifamily housing project, currently called Stillwell Columns Apartments, at 525 S. Campbell Ave.

Katie Anderson, CEO and executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority, said the project is the second of four planned to upgrade housing in the city, the first being the completed Keystone Family Homes upgrade. She said the current project, to renovate housing units built in 1982, requires critical repairs.

Councilmember Brandon Jenson noted there is a severe housing crisis in the city, and he appreciated the focus on rehabilitation and preservation.

“We’re seeing a lot of units that are falling into disrepair throughout the city,” he said.

He also asked if the Housing Authority has talked about expanding its portfolio, and Anderson said it has.

“We have already started discussions and strategic planning,” she said. “Our full goal is to expand the portfolio.”

She added that the authority is a good partner in the community and experts in the affordable arena.

“We intend to utilize all the ability that we have to expand, so you will see us coming forward in a later session with expansions. It’s absolutely in our plan,” she said.

Landfill expansion
Council held a first reading of a trio of bills to develop three new cells to accept waste at the Noble Hill Sanitary Landfill. Emery Sapp & Sons Inc. submitted the lowest of four bids at $23.8 million. Other bidders were Crossland Construction Co., $24.2 million; Bloomsdale Excavating, $26.8 million; and Kolb Grading, $27.5 million.

All bids were under the engineer’s estimate of $30.5 million. Special obligation bonds in the amount of $35 million are proposed to cover the expenses, including construction costs, contingency and auxiliary professional services and related matters.

The cells, permitted in the city’s 2019 landfill expansion plan, includes excavation and rock removal, two liner systems, a drainage layer, a leachate collection system, rain cover and stormwater infrastructure components.

The project would provide seven to nine years of disposal capacity at the planned 1,075 ton per day operating level.

The city has previously identified landfill capacity as an issue. At a City Council luncheon last week, a new report identified the shrinking life span of the 1,200-acre landfill, for which only 213 acres are approved for trash disposal. Waste volume has doubled in the last decade, according to Ashley Krug, market development coordinator for the city’s Solid Waste Division. 

The three measures – to award the construction contract, to issue bonds and to execute a subsidy escrow agreement of up to $35 million with state offices and UMB Bank – will be voted upon on April 21.

Family cemetery dispute
A zoning measure for a proposed 25-acre gated residential subdivision, called Hidden Gem Estates, brought members of the Doran family to last night’s meeting with concerns about having continued access to their ancestral cemetery, which the family has been maintaining for generations.

Council members, led by Derek Lee, encouraged dialogue between developers and family representatives to address the concerns.

The proposed rezoning is at 6116 S. Farm Road 175, recently annexed into the city on the southeast side and currently zoned with a Greene County suburban residence designation. The council measure would change the zoning designation to single-family residential at the request of Tag Property Development LLC.

The Doran family homesteaded the area in 1831, according to Lee Doran.

Addressing council, Dwayne Doran said the family felt disrespected after signage was removed and a chain-link fence torn down.

“We also want to make sure that we have access to it to take care of it like we have, and it’s treated correctly,” he said, noting the family found out secondhand and rather late that something was going on in the site.

The family did not attend neighborhood meetings because they were not aware of them, Doran said.

“We want to make sure that we get that respect from whoever is applying the pressure to develop – which is fine; we need to develop, but we need to take care of those that mean so much to us, as many of them are close to us.”

Missouri law holds that families have a right to visit burial grounds surrounded by private land, which would be the case with the residential development.

The Dorans also were concerned about an offer by the developer to erect a new fence, described as a wooden privacy fence – an option that was not acceptable to the family, who do not want the cemetery to be hidden and prefer a chain-link or wrought-iron option. Lee Doran said the developer has offered to provide a gate code to the family, who weed and maintain the plots monthly.

The Dorans’ concerns took city staff by surprise, since there was no record of conversations that took place between the family and the developer, according to Steve Childers, the city’s director of Planning and Development. Family member Glenn Doran noted Lee’s phone number was on signage at the cemetery, and the matter could have been solved with a phone call.

Councilmember Lee suggested postponing a vote on the rezoning measure, which would otherwise be up for a vote on April 21, the next meeting of council, but after further discussion, a postponement motion was not proposed, and council is scheduled to vote on the matter on April 21.

“I think it’s a good thing, but I think it would be better if you took some time and spoke with the neighbors or spoke with the people who own this,” he said.

He asked what a two-week delay would do to the project, and developer’s representative Lyndel Link of Global Link Land Surveying said he did not think a delay would be preferred by the developer.

Lee maintained that discussions are needed between the parties.

“Here’s my issue. If you haven’t spoken with them and you don’t know anything, how do you know that you can’t work with them and figure something out if you haven’t had the conversation?” Lee asked.

Councilmember Matthew Simpson agreed, noting the family needs access and there should be some kind of assurance that a future homeowners’ association will not change whatever is decided.

“The whole thing with the cemetery, we’re going to make that a whole lot better,” Link said, adding the family would have access to it at all times and agreeing to building a fence around it.

Councilmember Craig Hosmer suggested the family and the developers get together to determine the fencing material and plans for access.

Childers said the language of the agreement ideally would be placed as notes on the preliminary plat so that it would be permanently recorded.

Lee said the developers need to talk to and work with the Doran family, giving them access in an appropriate place.

“If you tore their fence down, you should probably put their fence back up. There’s some things that you need to do,” Lee said. “From my viewpoint, for my vote, I think you should take care of things.”

He added that staff may have issues with the plan that the parties come up with. He added that he would like the option of postponing the vote if necessary at the next meeting.