It’s the free world equivalent of the restaurant server passing by the table and dropping off the check.
The menu in Springfield’s Galloway Village featured an election in a referendum zoning case. Voters from all over Springfield turned down Question 1 by a 70.5-to-29.5-percent margin Nov. 8. More than 32,800 people voted against rezoning 4.2 acres of land for a mixed use development.
The City of Springfield will pay an even $90,000 to cover the cost of the election, according to a bill up for the City Council’s consideration Feb. 21.
Springfield Budget Coordinator Teresa Allen explained the need for a general fund budget amendment in an official explanation provided to the City Council ahead of Tuesday night’s meeting.
“To cover the cost of the special election, the city wishes to amend the general fund budget for the city clerk’s operating budget to provide funds incurred for this special election,” Allen wrote. “The special election costs are a one-time expense and are not part of the normal budget provided to the city clerk’s budget.”
Elevation Enterprises’ project plan called for lower-level retail and office spaces and about 100 apartments on the upper levels of two buildings. Elevation Enterprises and/or the City of Springfield could challenge an appeals court ruling and request for the zoning matter to go before the Missouri Supreme Court.
In an effort to stop the development, Galloway Village residents collected signatures to use a referendum petition procedure spelled out in the Springfield City Charter. The petitioners collected enough signatures to put the zoning case up for a public vote.
The Galloway Village Neighborhood Association circulated a “Top 10 Reasons to Vote ‘No’” on the ballot measure. Among the reasons, the group lists concerns over the amount of tree removal needed for the development, the potential for stormwater runoff to cause flooding in Sequiota Park, added traffic that apartment buildings hold the potential to generate, changes to the landscape and aesthetic of the park and surrounding neighborhood and pedestrian safety.
When it comes to election costs, the Galloway election clocks in slightly cheaper than the citywide municipal elections in April 2023. The Springfield City Clerk’s Office set aside $105,000 in its budget to cover the cost of running the April election through the Greene County Clerk’s Office.
