Ideas and Issues Page
1.
I have worked on a community effort to establish a Technology Park
to bring more opportunities and better jobs to the people of
Springfield and
southwest Missouri. Presently the City (through City Utilities and
the County) are putting money into the Second Industrial Park.
I
believe that since the second Industrial Park is mainly empty the
best solution is to change the Name and Concept of it to a Technology
Park. For more information please see www.technologypark2006.org.
Clearly countries like China, India, Japan and many others have been
moving quickly to develop plans to create new companies and job infrastructure
in the areas of Technology, from agricultural to environment, or
creating new products that will make life easier. The United States
does not have such a policy, so the states and local cities must
put plans in place.
2.
I have spent over 12 years Promoting and gathering support across
the state for Rail Passenger Service from St. Louis to Springfield
and Branson. This summer MODOT, the state transportation department,
made statewide news stating they are working to get funding for AMTRAK
to service these and other Missouri cities. I believe the City
of Springfield needs to pass a Proclamation supporting such an effort
and set aside $100,000 to establish a location for a Train station
in Springfield. Such an effort promotes safety by getting auto
traffic off of I-44 and by bringing Business and Commerce to the
areas, including downtown Springfield.
3.
I helped promote and start the Audit of Springfield city finances
in order to ensure effective and efficient city government. The
Audit uses the concept of Managerial Accounting to find what
areas are going well for the City and will primarily locate areas where costs
can be cut in order to better serve the people of the City. I
have asked the State Auditor’s Office to hold a public meeting
and allow a phone number for people to call with their possible issues
they would like to be looked at. A response from the Auditors
office said the Audit will not be done until next summer. Any issues
you have please email them to moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or call their
office to speak to Donna Christian, audit manager at 1-800-347-8597
--- Missouri State Auditor's Office. I strongly believe that the
City should work in a positive way to reap the most benefits possible
from the audit process for the citizens.
4.
I want to see more People getting involved in running for City Council
and more Citizen Involvement in general issues concerning the Citizens.
Some of the current members have been on the council for many years
and even decades and this is why we need to allow for fresh and
new ideas.
5.
I recently attended the founding meeting of the Oak Grove Neighborhood
Association. I live in the area and want to help promote it
and get people involved in the new organization. The area is
one of the safest crime-free areas in Springfield and we want to
keep it that way. An Association such as this allows the citizens
to get to know their neighbors and creates friendship but more importantly
a tighter community.
6.
We need an Ordinance that will require all motorcycles in Springfield
to have mufflers.
7.
From a safety perspective we need to look at an Ordinance that
prohibits the use of Cell Phones by the drivers of autos and
moving vehicles unless they use hands off equipment.
8.
I would like to see an ordinance that will allow Springfield
Police to close down major streets for ice and snow removal.
Major streets such as National, Sunshine, Battlefield, Chestnut Expressway,
and Glenstone should be cleaned during late night hours during
major winter storms for the safely of the people and to clear off
to prevent refreezing the next night. A log of how many trucks
cleaned the streets and when should be kept. The storm of November 30 and December
1, 2006 was a major storm, but the above streets were not touched or
were barely touched by day two. The city should work with the
state and county to make sure roads are taken care of period.
Please send Your Concerns and Ideas as Soon as Possible!
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