Springfield Business Journal_2021-05-10

Joselyn Baldner Central Bank of the Ozarks Saehee Duran Life360 Intercultural Church Heather Hardinger Springfield City Council Debbie Shantz Hart Housing Plus Dee King Community Volunteer Angie Mullings Century 21 Real Estate Krista Peryer The Geek Foundation Francine Pratt Missouri College Access Network | Queen City Soul Kitchen Christie Snelson Obelisk Home Katie Towns Springfield-Greene County Health Department S E A S O N 2 L I S T E N N O W Local women share their journey to the top of their professions and the challenges and triumphs they faced along the way. Listen at SBJ.net/NoCeiling or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes released weekly. PRESENTED BY PRODUCED BY PREMIUM SPONSOR Host: SBJ's Christine Temple SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 27 MAY 10-16, 2021 hospitalizations in COVID-19 isolation and a vaccination rate of 25% of the eligible population of Greene County. To move into the next phase, which would fully lift restrictions including face masks, the Health Department has outlined the following thresholds: less than 20 new cases per day, under 20 hospitalizations and a vaccination rate of 50%. As of press time, there were 30 new cases per day on average during the past week, 35 hospitalizations and 33% of the population was fully vaccinated, with about 40% par- tially vaccinated, according to the Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard. Despite previous progress on lowering COVID-19 case numbers, Towns said she is concerned about the decline in interest in COVID-19 vaccines in Springfield and case numbers trending upward. All Missouri residents over age 16 have been eligible for the vaccine since April 9. Over the week of April 26, the case count jumped 80% to 32 positive cases per day, with 75 new cases reported April 30, Towns said – the greatest number in one day since Feb. 23. “Unfortunately, demand for the vaccine continues to decline and the pace of daily vaccinations is slowing down,” Towns said. “We’re concerned because at this point, we’re unlikely to reach our Finish Strong goal of vaccinating 50% of the population by Memorial Day.” To increase the percentage, the Health Department has held multiple vaccine events, including a mega vaccine event on April 8-9 which vaccinated over 6,100 people, and a vaccine clinic offered at the Springfield Cardinals opening day on May 4. Towns said based on current trends, the city isn’t likely to reach a 50% vaccina- tion rate until late June or early July. Prior to April 9, when the final vaccine rollout phase began, Towns said an average of 930 Greene County residents were vaccinated daily. Since April 9, the number has dropped to an average of 526 people per day. “We’re now bracing for the fact that COVID-19 will become a regular and per- manent part of our lives,” Towns said. “Without enough of our community will- ing to get vaccinated, we will have to start preparing for this to be part of our everyday lives.” Towns said Health Department officials believe the increase in cases is due in part to COVID-19 variants within the communi- ty, including a total of five confirmed cases of the highly contagious U.K. variant. CARES Act Council unanimously approved the ac- ceptance of $55,000 in additional Corona- virus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act grants through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for the Health Department. Council originally approved an ordinance accepting a grant of $71,150 from DHSS in November 2020 to expand the Health De- partment’s capacity to support COVID-19 response efforts. The new funding will be used to contin- ue contact tracing, case reporting activities and laboratory testing, Towns said. Acceptance of the bill amends the Health Department’s fiscal 2020-21 budget to ap- propriate the additional grant funds. Annexations Council unanimously approved two res- olutions of intent to annex a total of about 30 acres into the city. The first resolution is for approximately 25 acres of private property at 5505 W. Sunshine St., at the intersection of West Sunshine Street and James River Freeway. According to city documents, the an- nexation was petitioned by the property owner, West Sunshine Development LLC, which is registered to Springfield devel- oper Mike Seitz of Triple S Properties Inc. Seitz could not be reached for comment by press time. In February, Council approved a prelim- inary funding agreement for development of the property. At the time, Springfield Economic Development Director Sarah Kerner said the intent of the agreement is for the developer to deposit funds, starting with $15,000, to cover the city’s legal fees while pursuing economic development in- centives. The second resolution initiates the an- nexation process for roughly 5 acres of Missouri Department of Transportation right-of-way along the 5900-6200 block of West Chestnut Expressway, an area near Deer Lake Golf Course and the Flying J Travel Center. The right-of-way to be annexed bor- ders the north side of SGF Sports LLC’s proposed athletic facility which recently broke ground near the golf course. The proposed $10 million facility is set to include soccer fields and an indoor com- plex with basketball and volleyball courts. Council previously approved a $2.1 million reimbursement agreement for public in- frastructure at the development. The city will be reimbursed through a community improvement district. The annexation of the right-of-way is necessary for the project, according to city documents, because sidewalks and other infrastructure must be within city limits to quality for the CID. The resolutions do not annex the prop- erties but initiate the process of annexa- tion. According to city documents, the council will hold a public hearing on the annexation bills on June 1 and vote on the bills on June 14. NEWS C I T Y B E AT from the May 3 City Council Meeting • Health Department budget is adjusted by additional CARES Act funding. • Council approves two resolutions of intent to annex 30 acres into the city. Full City Council coverage is at SBJ.net/citybeat Council: Health Dept. gets $55K in CARES funds Continued from page 3