Numerous grants totaling more than $9.5 million awarded to the City of Springfield will help fund stormwater projects and public health services, including Renew Jordan Creek.
At its May 6 meeting, the Springfield City Council accepted seven grants in 2022, including nearly $8.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for four projects selected by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Grants are allocated to specific projects or general services, and some require local matching funds.
Renew Jordan Creek is a project to daylight, or excavate, a portion of the waterway in downtown Springfield. As of July 2023, the total cost of the project is estimated at $29.2 million. The cost then ballooned to $37.5 million.
$5.4 million to restore Jordan Creek.
The largest of the seven grants approved at Monday's City Council meeting is $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to fund two projects. become.
The grant, along with $2.86 million in quarter-cent capital improvement sales tax revenue and $4 million in environmental services enterprise funds, will support portions of the Jordan Creek daylighting project and the intersection of Booneville Avenue and Phelps Street. Fund a nearby box culvert.
Additionally, the city received a $400,000 Natural Resource Damage Assessment grant from the Missouri DNR, also for the Jordan Creek Restoration Project. This funding will be used to naturalize stream channels with native plants to protect groundwater quality.
The grant money comes from monetary damages recovered by the DNR from lawsuits and bankruptcy related to contamination at the former Kerr-McGee plant and is now available for groundwater remediation projects.
The first phase of the Renew Jordan Creek project is expected to go out to bid this summer and begin construction by August.
$3.6 million awarded for neighborhood stormwater improvement, detention project
ARPA funds also help fund a variety of stormwater improvement projects in and around residential neighborhoods.
Approximately $5 million, consisting of a $2,024,755 ARPA grant and $2,950,000 in quarter-cent capital improvement sales tax funds, will fund construction of a stormwater harvesting facility near the intersection of Chestnut Expressway and Cedar Brook Avenue.
A new regional detention pond could provide 25 acre-feet of rainwater storage. The site is located in one of five areas along Jordan Creek identified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as suitable containment sites to reduce the risk of flooding in downtown Springfield, and at a cost The effectiveness ratio is high. The project also includes the installation of new storm drains and sewer lines along Rockhurst Street, as well as ADA accessibility improvements and green infrastructure installations at Glenwood Park.
Stormwater protection work around the intersection of Lone Pine Avenue and Catalpa Street was funded by a $734,000 ARPA grant and matching funds from the city's quarter-cent capital improvement sales tax, with additional Includes construction of a reservoir and new stormwater piping. The project also includes several hundred feet of sidewalk installation and landscaping along Catalpa Avenue.
Residential areas along another stretch of Catalpa Street and portions of Meadowmere Avenue and Carla Avenue will be funded through an $838,000 ARPA grant and $1,187,000 in matching funds and additional reserves. A new underground rainwater system should reduce flooding.
Both projects around Catalpa will be advertised for bid in July 2024, with construction expected to begin in the fall or early 2025.
Department of Health receives funding for core services and underserved populations
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department was awarded two grants on May 6th. The larger of the two is $474,210 in grants from the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The term of the fund established in 2020 will be extended until January 31, 2025.
With this funding, the Department of Health will help mitigate COVID-19 by identifying underserved populations and connecting them with community health workers who can help educate, monitor, and refer them to programs and resources. You will be able to control risk factors associated with other high-risk chronic diseases.
In addition to the $325,455 the Department of Health receives annually under a three-year contract with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the Department was awarded $108,406 in core services funding.
Springfield-Greene County Public Health Director Katie Towns said funding will become available in 2023 to local public health agencies that meet certain goals related to certification and staff training. This funding will be used for core public health services and maintenance needs.
