Council revamps Citizens’ Advisory Board in committee meeting

Five members were selected for the Citizens’ Advisory Board at a meeting of the Springfield City Council Committee of the Whole yesterday.

The five included one reappointment and four new members, chosen from among 120 applications submitted.

Lauren Shantz, resident of Springfield City Council Zone 2, was reappointed to a three-year term on the CAB by a 6-2 council vote, with Monica Horton and Craig Hosmer opposed and Bruce Adib-Yazdi absent. Her term expires in 2029. Shantz’ LinkedIn profile says she is vice president for public affairs for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Also appointed to three-year terms ending in 2029 were Zone 4 resident Jhasmine Watson, chief operating officer for children’s charity Care to Learn, and Zone 1 resident Jeff Frederick, president of Drury University, according to their applications.

Elected for terms ending in 2028 to maintain staggered exits from the board were Zone 2 residents Mary Ann Bonetti, president of the Robberson Neighborhood Association, and Alia Lee, business owner, according to their applications.

All candidates confirmed that they were willing to serve prior to the meeting, according to City Clerk Anita Cotter.

The board membership with the new appointments includes five members from Zone 2, two from Zone 1 and one each from Zones 3 and 4.

In discussion, Horton said a handful of applications did not respond to questions, like one asking about their community involvement. Horton said she did not find other questions – such as ones about past board experience or employer – to be as important, but including no community involvement makes a candidate less attractive than those who do list it.

Prior to the selection process, Horton also urged council to think about the kinds of people who are not currently represented on the CAB.

“I’m hoping that council will consider who is not represented on the CAB and the types of skillsets, the types of connections,” she said. “I’m hoping that we want not to have certain overrepresentations of certain skillsets and individuals, but also looking at who would typically go under the radar.”

Horton said council members have certain connections.

“I’m hoping that we are looking for a little bit more of a broader cross-section of our community, other than just who you know,” she said.

The CAB was established in May 2025 but ceased operations on March 2 after it was determined to be out of alignment with the city charter because three of its eight members – Chair Erin Danastasio, Christina Angle and Andy Peebles – were not residents of the city. Additionally, the charter requires boards to have nine members and for members to elect their own chair – two other areas where the CAB was out of compliance.

The CAB is the body that makes recommendations to council on expenditures of the half-cent portion of the three-quarter-cent Spring Forward SGF sales tax during a 10-year period authorized by voters in 2024. The half-cent portion of the tax distributes more than $30 million per year toward initiatives that are in keeping with the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan. These include transformative capital improvement projects, community and neighborhood initiatives and park projects, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.