No. 10: City, parks get new leaders, new visions

Changes started at the top, when in April, longtime City Manager Tom Finnie retired from his post after more than 15 years.

Then-Deputy City Manager Bob Cumley took the reins of the city that same month. Cumley, 62, was familiar with the job, having been assistant city manager when Finnie first came to town from Charlotte, N.C., in 1990. Cumley canceled his retirement plans – he intended to leave the city some time in 2006 to try his hand at something new – to assume the city manager post.

Cumley has taken over the job of keeping the city’s numerous development projects on track, from the new airport to the Heer’s Tower and College Station downtown, to the continued growth of Jordan Valley Park and the nearby Jordan Valley Innovation Center.

Finnie, meanwhile, has maintained ties with the city, working as a consultant on various issues and projects.

New developments are also under way in the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department, where an agreement with City Utilities signed in May allows the utility to lease available space to the city for the development of new parks. Agreements have already been approved for three such facilities – one on Lake Springfield, one at Valley Water Mill and a third on Blackman Road.

The Blackman Road facility is a reminder of other changes in the parks department this year – the park will be named the Dan Kinney Park and Family Center in honor of Dan Kinney, who retired from his position as parks director in January after 35 years with the department.

Longtime assistant Jodie Adams was promoted to the position, and she takes over as the parks system begins a large-scale expansion and a slightly different take on the idea of parks in general.

The new plans call for four new “metropolitan community parks,” which Adams has said will better meet the needs of the growing population.

“It really gives people a sense of getting back to nature, getting people back to wide-open ranges, so they don’t feel so cramped in their environments,” Adams told SBJ in May. “There’s a lot of building going on around these parks, but as the city grows and the county grows, they need these areas so they can handle the load of people within the metropolitan area.”

Four metropolitan parks are planned: in addition to Lake Springfield and Valley Water Mill Equestrian Center, the 207-acre Rutledge-Wilson Farm near Sunshine and West Bypass and the 132-acre Lost Hill natural resource park north of Hillcrest High School are also in the works.

All four of those parks are planned for completion in 2007.

Much of the money for those facilities will come from the quarter-cent parks sales tax, which generates $9.8 million a year.

Voters approved a renewal of the sunset portion of that tax in August.

Public Progress

Sept. 29, 2005: City Manager Tom Finnie announces his retirement in a letter to Mayor Tom Carlson and Springfield City Council after 15 years of service.

Oct. 3: Council votes in closed session to promote Deputy City Manager Bob Cumley to the top post.

Oct. 14: Dan Kinney, director of the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department, announces his retirement; Park Board approves promotion of Jodie Adams to the position.

Jan. 1, 2006: Kinney officially retires.

April 24: Finnie’s last day as city manager.

May 15: Council approves master agreement between City Utilities and the parks department, allowing leasing of CU land for new parks; 140 acres on the shore of Lake Springfield is the first site.

Aug. 8: Voters approve renewal of a portion of the quarter-cent parks tax.

Oct. 23: Valley Water Mill site approved as second piece of CU land for park.

Dec. 11: Third CU site is approved for a new park; the site on Blackman Road will be named in honor of Kinney.