Springfield Business Journal_2020-06-15

40 · SBJ.NET JUNE 15-21, 2020 ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT by Geoff Pickle · gpickle@sbj.net City Utilities of Springfield on June 11 announced the hiring of two associate general managers. Amy Derdall was named associate GM and chief financial of- ficer, and Brent Baker was chosen as associate GM over customer operations and communications. While both are outside hires, they have prior experience with CU, according to a news release. Derdall worked 1998-2009 on CU’s finance team, including the role of director of financial reporting. She most recently served as director of regulatory and finance for Rapid City, South Dakota- based energy company Black Hills Corp. “I’m excited to again be part of City Utilities of Springfield and look forward to the opportunity to work with a leader in a com- munity-owned utility,” she said in the release. “CU is well known and respected for its forward thinking and ability to provide exceptional services to the customers.” Derdall succeeds Mike Finch, who is retiring after serving as CU’s CFO since 2010. Baker joins CU from Liberty Utilities in Joplin, where he worked as vice president of national customer experience opera- tions, according to the release. He served 1998-2000 as a co-op engineer for CU’s water engineering group. “I look forward to working with not only the staff at CU but also directly with our customers,” Baker said in the release. “This is an exciting time in the utility industry with many changes on the horizon. Helping to implement these advances and educate our customers of the benefits is rewarding.” Baker takes over the role left vacant by Gary Gibson, who last year became general manager of CU. Derdall and Baker report di- rectly to Gibson, according to the release. by Christine Temple · ctemple@sbj.net The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on June 10 awarded the city of Springfield $300,000 to clean up contaminated brownfield sites. The funding is part of $6.9 million awarded nation- wide to 25 Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund grantees, according to a news release from the EPA. The funds will be used to reuse vacant and abandoned proper- ties, opening them up for community assets such as housing, recreation and open space, health facilities, social services and commerce opportunities. Olivia Hough, the city’s senior planner and brown- fields coordinator, said the city is currently accepting applications for new projects. One project that has been preapproved is O’Reilly Hospitality Management LLC’s The Moxy hotel. The project, at 430 South Ave., is in the design phase. Hough said a loan amount has yet to be determined, pending a bid to remediate lead paint and asbestos. The grant brings Springfield’s RLF fund to more than $1 million, Hough said. The grants provide low- interest loans to private companies for environmental remediation, as well as sub-grants to nonprofit orga- nizations. “Brownfields incentives are often the first step in breathing new life into abandoned, contaminated and blighted properties,” Hough said in the release. “Springfield’s long-standing partnership with the EPA to fund environmental cleanups has resulted in far-reaching and long-lasting benefits to improve the health, safety and economic conditions in our com- munity by removing hazardous waste, adding many acres of greenspace, creating jobs, and repurposing strategically located properties that utilize existing infrastructure and preserve cultural assets.” During the past decade, the city of Springfield’s RLF has committed $2.2 million to nine cleanup projects, leveraging $58 million in investment, according to the release. Projects included the History Museum on the Square, two affordable housing projects, Fairbanks Community Center and Jordan Valley West Meadows. “Every community receiving additional funding today from EPA has opportunity zones within their jurisdiction, meaning these cleanup activities at lo- cal brownfield sites will not only address legacy con- tamination, but also spur new economic opportunities where they are needed most,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, in the release. C O M M E R C I A L & R E S I D E N T I A L C O N S T R U C T I O N 3 4 3 5 N 2 1 S T S T R E E T , O Z A R K , M O 6 5 7 2 1 C O N S T R U C T - C O M . C O M Built to earn RELATIONSHIPS EPA awards city $300K for brownfield sites CU hires associate general managers GEOFF PICKLE O’Reilly Hospitality Management’s planned boutique hotel site has been preapproved for brownfield funding.