Northwest CID approved, second considered

Council approved a new Northwest Area Community Improvement District while entertaining the idea of another district for Airport Plaza.

The Northwest Area CID encompasses the planned Chestnut Crossing development at the southeast corner of Chestnut Expressway and West Bypass.

The second district, the Airport Plaza CID, would cover the new Airport Plaza development, located on the northeast corner of the West Bypass and Kearney Street intersection.

The two districts are set up on similar terms. Both would allow businesses in the district to assess an extra one-half cent sales tax on purchases, proceeds from which would go toward improvements in the district.

City Manager Tom Finnie said that city staff and council have been looking at the CID system as a method for neighborhood revitalization.

“We look at CIDs as a way of encouraging certain activity centers to develop more quickly and also to develop at a better quality,” Finnie told council at the meeting. “You hopefully will see a series of these coming forward in the next few months.”

In return for administering the CID programs, the city receives 1.5 percent of gross sales revenue from the district.

“Hopefully we get a higher scale of retail development, and on top of that, it’s a revenue source for us,” said Mike MacPherson, Springfield’s construction development specialist. “For the developer it’s a proactive movement, which increases their revenues to pay for their infrastructure costs and increases their marketing capabilities because they have a better looking facility.”

He added that the program gives retail developments a better chance to blend in with their surroundings.

“What we don’t want is a great big building with a great big black parking lot,” he said. “What we want are things that include increased landscaping, monument signs that have a functional and uniform look, pedestrian walkways.”

The two districts would be added to the only existing Community Improvement District in Springfield, the Downtown CID, created in 1999.

Safety tax

Council also passed a resolution that the city join with Greene County in recommending that a one-quarter cent sales tax be put on the ballot in November. Funds from the tax would go toward a new Community Safety Initiative, to fund early childhood education programs, renovations of the Regional Crime Lab for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, extra staff for the jail and other Springfield law enforcement agencies.

“I think it’s very important that a significant portion of this is in prevention,” Councilman Bob Jones said. “Rather than building cells to contain more people who have gone off of society’s main pathways, we have people early in their lives who are getting the education they need to keep them on the right track.”

The law enforcement list of priorities includes extra officers to patrol Jordan Valley Park, Commercial Street and Park Central areas, as well as for improvements of the Police Department’s outdated computer systems. Money also would go to the city and county prosecutors and the 911 emergency system.

Also on the agenda

The proposed redevelopment plan for the Springfield Heer’s Building Redevelopment Corp. was tabled until council’s Aug. 22 meeting. City Attorney Dan Wichmer said his staff and the developer’s Jefferson City attorney are still finalizing the plan. Among the items being discussed is applying the city’s Chapter 353 Master Redevelopment Corp. to the project.

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