Notes from February 25, 2011. Here’s highlights of my record on City Council. I’m going to revise it as I find links to media accounts of these events and as the City Clerk finds documentation. Keep in mind that for my first two years, Council was almost completely preoccupied with a crisis caused by the disappearance of more than 200 million dollars from our Police and Fire pension account. The full story of this missing money has not been told. The first of two sales taxes that will be required to restore the fund is in place.
For those of you who like pictures, you can see candid images of my career on Council here.
Dan Chiles, Springfield, Missouri City Council, General Seat D.
Elected in April, 2007 (following a primary election) with 59% of the vote.
Public Involvement Committee 2007-2008.
Mayor Pro Tem, 2009-2011. I presided over 19 City Council lunches and 13 City Council meetings over two years.
Chair: Finance and Administration Committee: 2009-2011.
Member: Plans and Policies Committee: 2009-2011.
Member: Missouri Municipal League Resolutions Committee.
Member: National League of Cities Environment & Natural Resources Committee.
Founder, board member and current President: Ozarks New Energy Conference.
Board Member: Waste District O.
Council seat on the Board of the Urban Districts Alliance
I made a public case for the preservation and restoration of the Lawrence Halprin landscape at the center of Springfield. I was the only vote on City Council against the plan to demolish the Halprin landscape, but I worked with outside advocates who knew that we had a minor masterpiece by one of America’s greatest landscape architects. Someday the whole story will come out, but the upshot is that despite relentless pressure and public accusations from city staff and fellow city council members, the Halprin survives and is being restored along with the perimeter area around it. I actually talked with Halprin on the phone and he agreed to help us redesign the Square for $10,000. I regret that I couldn’t get any support for that payment. Halprin died soon afterward.
I worked closely with the Sustainable Resources and Alternative Transportation volunteers to find new and safer ways to bicycle in Springfield. I made it a point to ride my bike to as many public meetings as possible. In 2010 Springfield was named a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community.
I spoke for and helped sponsor the City’s first green building policy in 2008. I spoke against the Section 6 amendment that allows the City to ignore an updated version of the policy (adopted by City Council in February, 2011). The City should show leadership in this regard, but the fact that we get free energy from CU has always made that a tough decision. What’s the payback on free?
I sponsored a Resolution for the first Ozarks New Energy Conference to be held in Springfield. City Council gave unanimous support and a cash contribution. The Conference is planning our fourth meeting following three extraordinarily successful events. ONE brings together the best regional ideas for alternatives to carbon and mercury pollution from coal burning: solar, wind, biomass, energy conservation, fuel crops, fuel cells, algae propagation, alternative transportation and local food production.
I sponsored a resolution supporting the first Oral History Project for Springfield City Council. I raised the first funds from former members and set up an account for a future Alumni Committee of Springfield City Council members to administer the money and to meet on topics of civic interest. We have conducted our first interview with the help of historians at MSU and the Springfield Greene County History Museum and we hope to do more. The Alumni association will be, I hope, a good way to apply previous city council experience to current issues.
I sponsored the resolution, wrote the plan and found the first Springfield City Council intern, Tanner Smith (of Ozark and Arizona State University). Council approved the idea at a retreat with some misgivings. But, Tanner was hired and worked during the summer of 2010 on a number of projects with a focus on sustainability. By all accounts, Tanner was a great success. MSU has promised to follow up with Council to make the Intern Program a long term success. This will, as in most things, depend on Council support going forward.
I helped create new rules for city gardening following a request for a new zoning category for a commercial garden in town. After a series of public meetings, Planning and Zoning meetings and City Council meetings, we amended decades old laws that had practically outlawed gardening in Springfield. Our revisions created three new categories: commercial gardening, community gardening and private gardens. In the middle of all this, we made sure the local Farmer’s Markets had permits to operate, an oversight that had gone unnoticed for decades.
I led the public discussion to allow 6 chickens for personal use in the city. This got a lot of attention (including from Diane Sawyer) for some reason, but it is a strong trend in American cites. It got a lot of support from all sides and it narrowly passed the Council, 5-4. I’ve worked closely with the local food movement specifically the 1000 Gardens and WellFed Neighbor organizations. I’ve spoken at their meetings and conferences and my brother, Mike and I made a substantial donation to help fund a business plan for a local food cooperative.
I made the pubic case in KY3 and the News-Leader for the use of medical marijuana following my diagnosis and treatment for prostate cancer. Doug Burlison and I chaired the first public meeting in Springfield to discuss medical marijuana and found the standing-room-only crowd to be receptive and willing to meet again. Throwing people in prison for marijuana is immoral and in my case; hypocritical.
I helped pick Springfield’s first city auditor and then chaired the Finance and Administration Committee to supervise the auditing process . We also set the priorities for our first two auditors: April Lathrom and Kristy Bork.
In spite of my respect for City Utilities, I tussled regularly with them in public. I voted against their budgets in 2010 and 2011 and their last electric rate hike. My objections centered around their continuing blind-spot for new technologies and markets including compressed natural gas for truck fuel, reformed bus routes, meaningful energy conservation, a smart grid, electric cars and most important: expansion of the Springnet broadband system. Springfield stands defenseless against rising prices for rail contracts when our short term contract with BNSF expires as well as new pressure on prices from Chinese competitors for our Wyoming coal supplies. If CU is a business, they should innovate; if they are a bureaucracy, they should be paid on the same scale as any other well qualified City Employee. CU is great, but the stinky new coal plant known as SW2 is certainly not a new technology for our uncertain future.
I asked Mayor O’Neal in public meetings to assign the issue of electric car charging stations to the Finance and Administration Committee and we held the first public meeting to learn more about preparing our city for the arrival of electric cars.
I suggested that we install a public wi-fi in City Council chambers. This has been well received. It lead to rise of new bloggers who could report live from the Chambers.
I suggested that the city manager make a report at the first of the city council meetings. This has been well received.
I encouraged the EAB to submit their recommendations to Council regarding toxic Coal Tar sealants in Springfield and then asked the Mayor to assign the issue to a Committee. I followed the issue through the whole process and worked to bring scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey to Springfield for public testimony. Major institutions responded to these public hearings by banning the use of Coal Tar including the City of Springfield, Greene County, St. Johns Hospital, Cox Health Systems, Bass Pro, Springfield R-12, OTC and others. Local environmental agencies and the City of Springfield are conducting studies to measure the build-up of toxic coal tars in our environment and to begin to measure the long term damage to our water and fish habitats. Coal Tar is the asbestos of our generation and someday it will be banned. I couldn’t get this done and it is my greatest regret.
I wrote a plan, built a website and convened the first meeting of volunteers to visualize the future of Greene County. This is called “Our Greene Future”. With an estimated 400,000 new residents in Greene County in the next 40 years or so, it is time that we use modern tools to visualize what our community will look like with so many new residents. http://web.me.com/danchiles/Our_Greene_Future/Home.html
I supported the outlawing of cigarette smoking in public restaurants. We lost that vote 5-4. With the lowest taxes on cigarettes in all 50 states, Springfield is the smokers paradise. Freedom’s just another word for lung cancer.
I wrote planks into our annual city legislative priorities document supporting the current fee structure at Department of Natural Resources, long distance passenger trains, the environment and local food. I urged the Plans and Policies Committee to streamline the legislative process and get the Council directly involved with ranking focusing on our critical priorities.
* * *
Our first responsibility
With sincere apologies to all the people who actually know something about the subjects below, please allow me to record these ideas for the consideration of Springfield City Council.
Our first responsibility is policy and that includes issues large and small.
In general, the ideas below are networking strategies that depend on the cooperation of volunteers to hold public hearings and work through the details with the cooperation of City Staff.
In a perfect world, we would see more State and Federal attention to these priorities, but in most cases, Springfield will have to find our own answers.
I apologize in advance for interested groups who are not included in the "proposed partners" list. This is my fault and those lists should expand to include stakeholders.
The items below are a partial list and certainly do not include every important priority in our town. But, it's a start.
thanks!
dan
Contents:
1. Convene a Fifty Year Flyover.
2. Convene The New Fuels Conference.
3. Encourage Green Building Practices.
4. Expand CrimeSeen Into a Crime Prevention Plan.
5. Sponsor a Scientific Climate Change Symposium.
6. Find New Transportation Strategies.
7. Improve Primary and Preventative Health Care.
8. Begin a City Garden Program.
9. Convert Springfield's Trash to Treasure.
10. Select a New City Flag.
1. Convene a Fifty Year Flyover.
The Idea: We can't possibly make good decisions about the future of our town until we can visualize what Springfield and the surrounding community will be like in fifty years. The area of interest for this exercise will be the Springfield economic area of about 400,000 current residents.
The Plan: Ask a number of people from many occupations and backgrounds from Springfield and economic area to attend an all-day conference known as a Fifty Year Flyover. Everyone sits at large tables around scaled maps of our region. A presentation from community planners will outline the expected rate of growth and the requirements of the growing population for homes, commercial buildings, intersections, water supplies, churches, schools, sewage disposal, police, schools, recreation, electrical distribution, landfills and etc.
a. The group can listen to projections and then make reasonable assumptions about the cost of fuel, energy, water and food. Planning staffs from all participating communities should have met and worked up projections in advance of the Flyover in three categories: High estimate, low estimate and the middle.
b. The group will be given a pile of scaled markers (each representing a certain amount of improved area, lakes, waste treatment, etc.) and asked to distribute these markers over the region to see how we are all going to fit into the land we have available. This could be done by professionals, sure; but the people who live here should be heard.
c. This exercise is not only about people want, but how everything will fit.
d. The media should be invited to attend and record the process.
e. The group should be asked to provide their opinions to city planners and everyone else including a document to be provided to residents in fifty years.
The Proposed Partners: City of Springfield, Greene County, Christian County, Webster County, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Springfield R-12 Schools, interested local institutions of higher learning, Springfield AIA, Ash Grove, Walnut Grove, Fair Grove, Republic, Strafford, Rogersville, Nixa, Ozark, Willard, and Battlefield. Other nearby cities that are interested are welcome to attend.
The Cost: We'll need to use a building and provide lunch, maps, tables and chairs. Planning staff time will be required from Springfield and the surrounding communities.
2. Convene The New Fuels Conference.
The idea: The Springfield Metropolitan Area spends an estimated $500-600 million dollars annually on fossil fuels including coal, natural gas, gasoline and diesel fuels. This money leaves town and most of it never returns. For security reasons alone, our community needs sustainable, secure forms of energy. As an economic stimulus, retaining that cash in our community will be a remarkable annual investment.
The Plan: Convene a New Fuels Conference to investigate the use of Miscanthus grass as a locally produced source of fuel for electricity and transportation.
a. The President of the United States encouraged the use of a similar type of high carbohydrate fuel (switchgrass) in his State of the Union Address.
b. Springfield is surrounded by lands that are suitable for growing Miscanthus. This can be a cash crop with low production costs and guaranteed prices for many nearby farms.
c. This perennial plant can be harvested and mixed with coal to produce electricity and it can be rendered and distilled to produce ethanol fuel.
d. The local Universities at MSU, Drury and Evangel are needed to research improved versions of Miscanthus suitable for our area and to develop improved enzymes to covert the cellulose into liquid fuels. The University of Illinois is a valuable resource for the work they have done. Descriptions of their work to date are widely available and were showcased at the recent American Academy for the Advancement of Science.
e. Local manufacturers will find opportunities to produce equipment that can convert grass and other plants to bio-fuels.
f. This conversion may be done with water from our existing city treatment plants.
g. Suppliers who sell equipment for harvesting and distilling Miscanthus can find new sales opportunities.
h. Local utilities including City Utilities and Associated Electric may find that Miscanthus fuel provides a carbon offset under proposed "Cap & Trade" proposals. Projected shortages of coal caused by rail congestion and over-demand can be relieved with locally produced fuels.
i. In addition to Miscanthus, we should also examine Rapeseed as an agricultural source of lubricating oils and diesel fuels. Other bio-fuel alternatives to liquid carbon fuels like wood should be examined.
The Proposed Partners: Southwest Area Manufacturer's Association, City of Springfield, Greene County, Christian County, Webster County, Ozarks Technical College, City Utilities, Associated Electric, John Deere, Department of Energy, Farm Bureau, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Missouri State, Drury and Evangel.
The Cost: This project will need research, development and consulting beginning with The New Fuels Conference to bring the idea to the public. We should solicit funding from the Department of Energy, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, farm equipment foundations and the utilities. This is an R&D proposal with an uncertain outcome, but a strong upside.
3. Encourage Green Building Practices.
The Idea: Communities across America have adopted new practices to help their citizens build and remodel homes and buildings that save energy and produce less waste. Springfield should create and promote our own green program.
The Plan: Ask local volunteers to form a self regulating body of citizens from the greater Springfield community to research and bring recommendations to the Staff and the Council. Many American cities have created Green Building initiatives, so the job of the volunteers would be to sift through the success stores and collect the features that worked the best. They will be asked to hold public hearings for all their deliberations.
a. A volunteer committee should look at programs from other cities along with the recommendations of non-profits in order to identify the best practices for our town.
b. We will submit a detailed plan to stakeholders like homebuilders, architects, engineers, developers, environmental groups for their comments.
c. Ask Greene County and the City Planning professionals to reconcile the proposals and comments into amendments to existing regulations for consideration by oversight committees.
d. Hold a joint meeting with City Council and the Greene County Commission to write the defining and operating measures necessary and then adopt these changes into our jurisdiction's policy manuals.
e. Hold periodic meetings to review the success of the new guidelines and to amend them as necessary.
f. Identify a means to certify that a local building or remodeling project is following the recommended best green practices.
g. Remove institutional barriers to appropriate green practices. An example is rain water collection. We need to give this important practice recognition in our building standards.
h. We need to identify tradeoffs in construction practices that allow for green choices. For example, subdivision plans that prohibit south orientation to allow for service by emergency vehicles may find alternative measures that allow for lower energy costs and still allow emergency access.
i. Create incentives and recognition for builders and developers who produce better structures.
j. Ask our local institutions of higher learning to attend the meetings and contribute their expertise.
The Proposed Partners: Volunteer committee, Homebuilders Association of Springfield, AIA of Springfield, Springfield ASHRAE chapter, City of Springfield, Greene County, Christian County, Webster County, Ozarks Technical College, City Utilities, Associated Electric, Department of Energy, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Missouri State, Drury, Evangel and Ozarks Technical College.
The Cost: Staff time to work with the citizen group and to help incorporate the recommended changes.
4. Expand CrimeSeen Into a Crime Prevention Plan.
The idea: CrimeSeen is a feature on the City website that compiles statistics over time to help people understand what crime is happening where. It needs to be expanded to give realtime information and to do more to get our town involved with crime prevention.
The Plan: Leverage Police information, the curiosity of our citizens about security and the modern technology of video and web design to show people where crime is occurring and help them understand what they can do about it.
a. Currently, Springfield's crime data is compiled on a vintage hardware/software system that cannot be updated or improved. It must be replaced. Find the best system for the money and put together a budget.
b. Work with the City IT department and local internet web content programmers to build a sample interface that expresses the daily crime data in colors and animations that mimic local weather maps. Rough out a dedicated website.
c. Take this presentation to the local Chamber of Commerce and ask for a meeting of interested businesses. These would include criminal attorneys and companies that specialize in security systems, alarm systems, weapons, fences, security lighting, security guards, K-9 patrols as well as any business that benefits from better policing. Ask them to raise the money for the new crime compilation system needed by the Police. In return, provide them with contracts for sponsorships on a dedicated Springfield CrimeSeen website. Once the new computer system is paid for, charge the sponsors for banner ads on the new CrimeSeen website.
d. Ask local media companies to give a brief daily exposure to this dynamic, colorful map in print and local TV broadcasts. Direct viewers/readers to the website where they can examine the animation and look at longer trends for arrests in town. Viewers can focus on violent crimes or look at pedestrian mishaps, or property crimes, or gang graffiti or look only at specific neighborhoods.
e. Ask the Police to send a representative to the City PIO office to record a daily report. This brief video will be posted on the CrimeSeen website to give a daily weather report overview and highlights of what is going on in town. The officer should be filmed with a bluescreen in the background that keys the most recent crime animation. He or she explains what is happening in the city just like a weatherperson, giving special attention to trends, special events, patterns of arrests or incidents that people can be on the watch for.
f. None of this will work without daily data from Springfield police. The system should be dynamic, robust, upgradable and secure. Local businesses that benefit from more sales of services/equipment or from greater security should be willing to pay for the equipment/software to make this possible.
g. When people know what is happening in their neighborhoods, crime prevention will follow.
h. I recommend that after the new data compilation equipment is paid for, all net proceeds from the website should go to the police and fire pension fund.
The Proposed Partners: City of Springfield Police Department, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Springfield News-Leader, Springfield Business Journal, KY3, KOLR 10, KOZK, KSPR & KSFX.
The Cost: The City will have costs associated with reporting crime and recording a daily report. The significant cost of a new crime data tracking system and the operation of a dedicated CrimeSeen website should be presented to the business community as an investment for them to consider. We should explore a not-for-profit structure for the enterprise that will provide a tax deferment for any business support.
5. Sponsor a Scientific Climate Change Symposium.
The Idea: We need to know the truth about climate change and get qualified answers to our questions about this subject. Springfield is blessed with accomplished and accredited scientists and we should ask them to examine the data for and against global warming.
The Plan: Ask the Presidents of MSU, Drury and Evangel to select their most qualified scientists to form a panel. If there are scientists in the vicinity not associated with a local university, they should be considered too. Scientists from Rolla come to mind.
a. They will select their own chairperson and determine their own rules.
b. They will take the time they need to examine the data and hold a series of public hearings where the public is invited to attend and observe.
c. When their work is complete, they will present their conclusions and invite public questions and comments about their observations and conclusions.
d. They may wish to make recommendations to City Council and we should entertain these along with any dissenting views.
The Proposed Partners: Missouri State University, Drury University, Evangel University, University of Missouri at Rolla, City of Springfield.
The Cost: The panel will have no budget unless they have requests for photocopies or etc. We will depend on the generous support of the local Universities for the contributions of their professionals.
6. Find New Transportation Strategies.
The Idea: Springfield is facing a perfect transportation storm: over-used intersections and roads, rising fuel costs and a large baby boom population that will be unable to drive in the next few decades. We need better ways than cars to move people. Because our transportation system is almost completely dependent on cars powered by liquid fuels that are sourced in places where America is not well liked, we have placed our security and economic well being in jeopardy.
The Plan: Fashion an integrated plan for better transportation in our region. Build on the work of the OTO, add City Utilities, involve MODOT and bring the feds into a discussion of how we can provide a more secure means of travel.
a. We should examine the idea of a regional transportation authority to take into account the current and future needs of our economic region including Branson.
b. We need an improved bus system that operates in zones with better service for more people. This service should be expanded to neighboring towns and it can be operated on alternative fuels (see #2).
c. We need to plan for rail, light rail and monorail service to serve our region. Although our population density is low for traditional rail service, the growth of housing and commercial development around rail lines and the absence of viable alternatives will make rail an important alternative. Rail service to major nearby cities like Kansas City, St. Louis and Tulsa should be given serious consideration and our suggestions passed on to State and Federal officials.
d. We need more ways to walk and bike safely around town. I'd like to see a color trail system that identifies the safest streets for family bicyclists to use to get to and from major city activity centers. Plans for expanding our biking and Greenways need attention and support.
The Proposed Partners: Ozarks Transportation Organization, City Utilities, MODOT, Department of Transportation, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, SpringBike, Ozark Greenways and other exercise, rehabilitation, cycling and outdoor advocacy groups.
The Cost: Staff time to participate in the discussions and bring recommendations to City Council.
7. Improve Primary and Preventative Health Care.
The Idea: At an average estimated cost of $7,000 per person, our 400,000 person economic region is spending $2.8 billion annually for medical care. In spite of that remarkable expense, we have over a hundred thousand people with no health plan and overall, we experience substandard health results compared to many industrialized countries. Cancer, heart disease and diabetes disease rates are bad and will get worse as Baby Boomers age. Hospital infection rates are at epidemic levels. H5N1 influenza and other contagious diseases are on the horizon and the most cost effective answer to all of the above issues is improved primary and preventive health care.
The Plan: Convene a series of meetings with the major hospitals, health departments, social agencies, business groups, citizens and other stakeholders to find ways to improve preventative care without spending more money.
a. Business groups will respond well to any reasonable plan for better preventative care at lower cost. Lower health costs will make Springfield businesses more competitive.
b. A national health care program will arrive someday and we should experiment with best practices in our city that focus on prevention of disease. This practice has the potential to reduce the cost for everyone who pays taxes or purchases health insurance in Springfield.
c. The State of Missouri and the Feds should be given copies of our findings. When those levels of government implement health care reform someday, they need to hear from us.
The Proposed Partners: City of Springfield, Southwest Area Manufacturer's Association, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Cox Health, St. Johns Health System, Greene County and others.
The Cost: Staff time to participate in the discussions and bring recommendations to City Council.
8. Begin a City Garden Program.
The Idea: The Ozarks is a good place for a garden. Our town should rediscover the virtues of home grown food as a healthy practice and a hedge against rapidly rising food prices.
The Plan: Organize land, resources and instruction to help people grow their own food.
a. Find city land that is centrally located, viable for growing plants, located close to a water supply and sunny. Solicit support from neighborhood associations and get their recommendations.
b. Fence off or otherwise divide the land into plots. Plumb up hydrants nearby.
c. Research other city plans to create rules of behavior and land use.
d. Ask a board to volunteer to oversee the project.
e. Try to build a multi-generational client base: grandparents teaching kids how to grow food.
f. Ask the Ozark Empire Fair to recognize the best produce from the City Gardens.
g. Build partnerships with local businesses that supply gardening supplies, seed, fertilizer and advice for growing food.
The Proposed Partners: City of Springfield, City Utilities, University of Missouri Extension, Master Gardeners of Southwest Missouri, Springfield R-12 Schools, Missouri State University, Ozark Empire Fair, local seed and implement companies.
The Cost: Prepare the City Gardens for public use. Enforce the provisions of the Oversight committees.
9. Convert Springfield's Trash to Treasure.
The Idea: Natural sources of metals, raw materials and chemicals are in decline and costs are rising. We should do more to harvest the remarkable resources that are sent to our landfills and step up our recycling programs for businesses and residences.
a. The original MERF project was a failure and we should not repeat those mistakes.
b. But since then, many advances have been made in materials recovery. There are modern facilities that operate as good neighbors and we should study them.
c. Convene a panel of materials recovery professionals, businesses and stakeholders to look into best practices from around the world.
d. Compile these results and hold public hearings. Submit the results to City Council with recommendations for action.
The Proposed Partners: City of Springfield, Greene County, waste haulers, Chamber of Commerce and others.
The Cost: Staff time for hearings and analysis of the proposed solutions.
10. Select a New City Flag.
The Idea: Our town needs a new flag. We need to differentiate ourselves from all the other Springfields out there and a new flag will help.
a. Announce a contest open to all citizens for the design of a new city flag.
b. All submissions should express one or several themes about our town, but there should be two important criteria for success. The winning flag should be bright and beautiful.
c. Solicit volunteers for a Selection Committee that will review all the submissions and narrow the field to five finalists. Focus on art instructors and fine art professionals for the panel. Fortunately, we are blessed with many gifted persons who fit this description.
d. Ask the local media to publicize the finalists and then conduct a voting campaign through their internet sites to determine the winner.
e. Announce the winner at a luncheon.
f. Find local companies to produce the first run of flags (Pamlyn Enterprises is an example). Ask the winning designer to personally autograph the first 100 flags and sell these as Limited Edition Autographed Springfield Produced Flags. After that, ask local vendors to reproduce and sell the mass produced flags.
The Proposed Partners: All visual media companies in Springfield. City of Springfield, Chamber of Commerce.
The Cost: Use the proceeds from the first 100 flags to defray any expenses for managing the campaign. Give a thousand dollar prize to the winner out of the proceeds.
* * *
April 20, 2007. Right after the swearing in, I wrote this commentary and sent it to the new Council and the News-Leader. This is what I wanted to accomplish over four years and you can decide how much got done.
Over four years, I sponsored or co-sponsored 63 Council Bills. While some of them are assigned randomly, many represent a public policy position on the part of the Councilperson. Many thanks to Brenda Cirtin for this research.
