SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – People fighting for affordable housing had a lot to say at Monday night’s Springfield City Council meeting.
City Council must decide whether or not to approve over a million dollars in remaining COVID-19 funding to renovate city hall and update a sports complex.
“How do park upgrades address the profound financial impact that COVID-19 had on individuals all across the city?” said Sarah Barnts with Springfield Tenants Unite (STUN).
So far, Springfield has used nearly $15 million in ARPA funds for housing projects. However, STUN says some places remain in disrepair.
“We must prioritize the people that live in Springfield because this helps our community remain safe, helps workers keep showing up for work, helps students keep going to school without interruption, and keeps us spending and providing tax revenue in Springfield all year round,” said Alice Barber with STUN.
City Council heard for the first time a bill that would take the last remaining $1.4 million of ARPA funds and use it as additional money for renovations to city hall and the Cooper and Killian Park Project.
More than half a million dollars would go to city hall and nearly a million would be used to change the grass fields into turf at the Cooper and Killian Sports Complex.
“I want you to think about what kind of message you’re sending when you know people here in Springfield are living with broken windows, broken appliances, broken elevators, mold and bugs, and you want to spend $900,000 on a sports complex,” said Elvester Kennedy, a resident at Jenny Lind Hall.
Members of STUN asked the city council to table the bill and think of other uses for the money, like affordable housing projects.
“Do you really think pouring almost $2 million into a sports complex is really what the people of Springfield want? Or is it just what’s convenient for you?” asked Kennedy at the city council meeting.
No one spoke in favor of the current city hall/sports complex renovation plan during the public comment section.
It could be voted on at the next city council meeting on March 25.
