Session focuses on rezoning, firefighter pay

City Council's actions in closed session Oct. 11 may have garnered more attention than the action it took during its regular meeting, but the council did vote to approve several bills and raised questions about a bill for a proposed patio home development at Grand and Scenic.

The bill would rezone 27 1/2 acres at the southeast corner of Grand and Scenic from manufacturing and retail to residential townhouse. The requested zoning change would allow Community Housing and Development to build homes that are to be 1,000 to 1,400 square feet and cost $65,000 to $80,000. The homes are to be sold to first-time home buyers and the elderly.

Councilman Ralph Manley inquired about the quality of the proposed homes. Officials from the companies developing the homes assured him the homes would be made of quality building materials.

"This is certainly not some cheap development being thrown up," said Tom Barnett, executive director of the Housing Authority of Springfield, a group that works with Community Housing and Development.

The development would contain 766 units. The two groups involved in its development are related, in that they share a mailing address and some board members, but are two separate corporations, Barnett said.

No one spoke in opposition to the housing development, which is also designed to be a residence for those making the transition from public to private housing. Council will vote on the zoning change in two weeks.

Carson's Nursery also had a zoning request before council. The plan would rezone about two acres at the southwest corner of Sunshine and Mayfair from residential use to a planned development district. Craig Lowther, who represented the nursery before council, said the planned development had been modified to meet the requests of neighbors in the area.

Council also held a public hearing on a bill to approve the plat of Queen City Warehouse for an industrial park in the Oak Grove and Chestnut Expressway area. Ed Deck, who made the request and represents Queen City, asked the council to consider waiving the deed for sidewalks included in the agreement.

Council moved to draft a resolution to waive the fee for sidewalks. Both the plat and that resolution will be voted on at council's next meeting.

Council also held a first reading on a bill to change the way Springfield firefighters' work week is calculated for overtime. The bill calls for overtime to be defined as hours worked in excess of 212 hours in any 28-day work period. The current ordinance sets overtime as being time worked beyond 204 hours in a 27-day work period.

The current method is not consistent with the city of Springfield's biweekly payroll system, said City Manager Tom Finnie. The change is in compliance with the current Fair Labor Standards Act law and regulations, Finnie added. The city now has to use a manual override of its system to calculate the firefighters' pay.

Mike Peltz, president of the local firefighters' union, said extending the overtime period in this way is effectively dropping wages for the firefighters.

"If this is just for computing our pay periods, then I suggest we go to a 14-day cycle," Peltz said.

Fire Chief Steve Strader said, "The payroll system has been challenged a number of times based on its credibility and accountability."

[[In-content Ad]]