The Springfield city government is the recipient of more than $1.9 million in grants for health, environmental and crime prevention programs, sidewalk projects, stormwater improvements and other upgrades, which were either accepted or laid out to the City Council at its Oct. 16 meeting.
Some grants not voted on Oct. 16 will return to council members at the Nov. 6 meeting, due to the funding being tied to additional agreements.
Sidewalk, stormwater improvements
The majority of the grants considered relate to safety improvements for commuters — pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
A $555,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant awarded through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will be used for stormwater improvements at the intersection of Division Street and Ohara Avenue in northwest Springfield. The city will provide matching funds from the ¼-cent Capital Improvement Sales Tax and ⅛-cent Transportation Sales Tax.
The project will consist of additional culverts and an open channel in an effort to relieve flooding to Division and a nearby business, as well as improve water quality, according to Stormwater Management Principal Engineer Chris Dunnaway.
Dunnaway said that they hope to begin construction on the project early next year.
A pair of grants were accepted, in the amount of $130,385 and $115,242 for the design of a sidewalk on Mt. Vernon Street and Miller Avenue near where they intersect and the design and construction of a multi-use path in Smith Park, respectively.
Still awaiting approval are a couple of grants contingent on Carbon Reduction Program Agreements with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission that will fund the design of pathways downtown and near the Battlefield Mall.
In addition to a 20-percent local match funded by the City of Springfield's ⅛-cent Transportation Sales Tax Walkability Program, $61,295 will precede the unfunded construction of a pedestrian and bike path along Sherman Parkway between Chestnut Expressway and Jordan Valley Park.
Evan Clark, a Springfield resident who commutes along this route on his bike, said he is “excited” about the proposed multi-use pathway and anticipates safety improvements for cyclists.
The second Carbon Reduction Program Grant, at $96,641 and also supplemented with a 20-percent local match, will be used to fund the design of a pedestrian pathway along Sunset Street between Fremont Avenue and Glenstone Avenue.
Though not yet secured, federal funds could become available for both Carbon Reduction Program projects to finance the construction costs, in addition to grant funding from the Ozarks Transportation Organization.
More funding for Family Connects
The City Council approved a pair of grants for a new Springfield-Greene County Health Department program to provide newborn babies and mothers with at-home visits from registered.
A $39,604 Musgrave Foundation Grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and a $100,000 grant from the Missouri Children’s Trust Fund were awarded to the Health Department to help implement Family Connects, which is set to launch next year.
The grants will supplement ARPA dollars allocated by the city and Greene County, as well as funding from the Missouri Foundation for Health.
EPA grant to fund environmental job training
The fifth and largest installment of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Job Training Grants, at $500,000, will be used to fund the Springfield Department of Workforce Development’s Green for Greene Environmental Job Training Program.
The five-week program will certify individuals across 13 areas for environmentally-focused “green” jobs and be provided at no cost to participants.
The Brownfields Job Training Program aims to, “put unemployed and underemployed citizens back to work by training them to clean up and revitalize brownfields and other hazardous waste sites, as well as, addressing other environmental issues in their respective communities.”
The grant will fund the program through July 2028 and provide training for more than 100 participants, according to Interim Director of Workforce Development Ericka Schmeeckle.
Computers, monitoring equipment for law enforcement funded by DOJ grant
Lastly, the City Council is set to vote on a $217,128 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the Department of Justice, which will be split between the Springfield Police Department and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
An intergovernmental agreement and a joint application were required because Greene County bears more than half of the cost of prosecution and incarceration for certain crimes.
The Springfield Police Department will use its 60-percent of the grant for mobile computers for patrol vehicles, new video cameras to monitor Park Central Square and equipment for a Cyber Crime Investigations vehicle while the Sheriff’s Office will use the remaining $86,851 for license plate reader camera systems for patrol vehicles.
