Council OKs Olde Ivy, hears Health Department complaints

City Council finally put the Olde Ivy subdivision sewer lagoon issue to rest at the Jan. 14 meeting by approving the final plat which calls for installation of a lift station.

Only one citizen voiced opposition to the lift station.

James Many, who lives at 2721 E. Vincent, said lift stations require daily maintenance. If the station broke down, which he has observed first-hand, then sewer effluent would back up and the situation would be worse than the existing lagoons.

Marc Thornsberry, director of Public Works, assured council that lift stations are designed with back-up generators in case of a power loss and are rigged with an alarm system in case of problems.

He added that a gravity sewer system would be a better solution, but because the community didn't want to disturb the land any more than was necessary, the lift station was the only way to rid the area of the smelly lagoons.

Olde Ivy borders the environmentally sensitive Springfield Nature Center and has a losing stream, which could have been adversely affected if a sewer line were dug.

Councilman John Wylie, who represents the area, said he talked to most residents and the lift station was the preferred resolution.

Council also heard from Missourians for Rail Passenger Service. Retired Judge George J. Donegan asked council to consider getting behind an initiative petition drive to put the issue on the ballot.

Donegan, who recently was in Italy, described how accessible passenger rail service was there and that the "terminals were huge and magnificent," as well as being retail business centers.

Steven Reed, statewide coordinator for the organization, also urged council to join with other area towns and chambers of commerce that, like Aurora, have endorsed the petition drive. It takes 1.2 million signatures to get the matter on the ballot, according to the Web site for the organization.

Council also heard complaints about lack of enforcement of the housing code by the Greene County Health Depart-ment. Jim Casada and Kim Loftice, each a home renter, described the slow re-sponse by the Health Department when they complained about living conditions that violated the housing code.

Loftice said she had no roof over her bathroom for four months because that was how long it took for the Health De-partment to force the landlord to make the repair. The Health Department found 14 violations in her rented house, she said.

Casada cited similar slowness of response for his complaints there were at least 10 violations and said the "slumlords" are known to the city and he doesn't understand why nothing is done to help tenants.

City Manager Tom Finnie was asked by Mayor Tom Carlson to look into the matter and get back to council by letter.

Council also made it unlawful to use roller blades or skates, skateboards, bicycles or scooters on certain city property. The ordinance was specific with Found-ers Park and Jordan Valley Park in mind: no skating, etc. on: "any amphitheater, bench, brick border, concrete artwork, culvert fence, fountain basin, hand railing, monument, pedestrian ramp, planter, pillar, public parking garage facility, retaining wall, sculpture, stage, stairway, step, stonework, stormwater drainage channel, streetscape feature, table, water feature or similar structure" on city property, exempting the city's skate park from the ordinance.

Zoning bills

Council passed bills rezoning land as follows:

10 acres at 634/636 and 656 W. Republic Road from single-family residential to a planned development district;

5.17 acres on the north side of the 1500 block of West Republic Road from single-family residential to a general retail district;

2.97 acres at 4120 S. Fremont Ave. from single-family residential to a residential townhouse district;

about one acre at 1745 E. Atlantic St. from Planned Development 76 to a restricted industrial district;

0.9 acre at 607 W. Battlefield Road from single-family residential to an office district;

3.9 acres at 825 E. Central St. and the west side of the 700 block of North National Ave. from a general manufacturing and residential townhouse district to government and institutional use at the request of the Junior College District of Central Southwest Missouri;

Council also approved a resolution asserting its intention to annex 20.35 acres of private residential property in the 4200 and 4300 blocks of East Cherry Street and 1.86 acres of Greene County street right-of-way on East Cherry, and to initiate a rezoning request for the 4100 and 4300 blocks of East Cherry from county suburban residence district to city single-family residential district.