Commission Meeting November 3, 2025

All there.

**Focus
An actual conversation: After Second Harvest spoke about getting their $50K from us, Tackett asked, "Can we provide a comprehensive list? A place folks can go to look for resources? And can we share that on our social media page or website?" To which Logan Cobbs actually said, "I know the Communications team put out some information last week. I know we have a list of pantries. The school district did that. We can definitely add to that." It must be me again. How would a city just now be talking about this and why does Logan Cobbs keep trying to speak?

The City and County moved meeting days, times, and locations on the Thursday and Friday before election week. The Clark County Board of Elections announced on Facebook that their website had gone down. It was all so very November 2020. They do love their election interference and censorship and think nobody's ever caught on. What am I saying, they don't care who sees it. Their corruption is the ONE thing they don't seem to care about hiding.

Explained at the bottom of this page is Katie Eviston, the Finance Fixer (and her $3 million dollar department) and her Moral Obligations List. You know, in her "interest of transparency".

**Presentations/Staff Report

Epilepsy Awareness month

People talked about epilepsy awareness in schools.

The Epilepsy Foundation – is that in Springfield.

Thank you to the city for your partnership.

Sarah’s Law in 2023

A city picture and a proclamation

**Rue Statement
The prayer/invocation and pledge. Please be with us as we serve our city. Please give us peace in our community, Lord. (This is always directed at the citizens - we're still dangerous.)

His usual warning to citizen speakers about disruptions. Some new stronger sentences. Read the city's statement (still in the news).

Those providing false information will not be allowed. Those deemed to be impeding the orderly progress notified of trespassing and banned from any future meetings.

**Citizen Speakers

Gary Armstrong – our clock is not working. I had a revelation – I’ve gotten old. 2 things – I’m not angry. I thrive on honesty and integrity. My neighbor – I’ve said it 20 times – an elected official followed nothing of his oath and violated the rules every day. He’s not honest and he’s not kind. I’m just a citizen that lives in the neighborhood. He’s an LLC and doesn’t care. He’s got an oath and living it up. He's violating his oath and violates me while he sits there. He cussed him and called him names in Gary’s backyard. Turned it into a 4-unit and was an elected official. He’s worked for OIC for 16 years. A deal – about buying 2 hotels – the most ridiculous deal for what they were gonna do. And it failed. 3rd highest manager in Ohio.

**Rue's Immediate Comments

None. He was more ticked off than his usual about even being there.

**Heck's Reports and Answers

Estrop asked Heck to clarify the Charter amendment on the ballot.

Lateral entry for fire police – if they’re serving in another community – can start laterally without an exam process. HELL NO. He’s reading. Designates leadership positions as unclassified. Can consider internal and external for top positions. We can consider the strongest candidates. He’s selling it, “this is about people” “life’s most critical moments”. WHAT A POS.

This amendment does not lower standards. Must undergo all the qualifications and rigorous hiring process.

**Commission Comments

Tackett
Tackett thanks the community for being a part of downtown trick or treat. The Police. The downtown businesses and the City for being a great partner. Rue was a judge of the best witch contest.

And reminded everyone to vote.

And she thanked Tom Franzen for the field trip to the Dayton airport today.

Estrop
Estrop thanked everyone for their get well wishes. Great, more taxpayer funded medical care.

**First Readings

$100K Huntington National Bank November 2025-2027. 2-year renewal periods.

Ohio State University for fiber – wifi - to the airport.

Sheltered Inc for comprehensive solutions. Approved providing for hotel stays and hire a case manager for the hotel operations. They’ve used it and there’s money left over and can move the money over WTH???

Estrop clarified: We’re not adding additional funds. Just reallocating what they were given to spend it in a different way.

Armstrong spoke – can I read that contract online? Or do I have to request that?

Homeless at a hotel is highly inefficient. Rue cut him off and said this is just to reallocate funds. He shut him up.

**Second Readings/Votes

From last meeting: Development and deferred taxes - 35% to schools for first 10 years. Unanimous yes. Tax increment City with Sycamore Ridge for development. Authorized in 2022. 220 homes. This allows for the 30-year 100% TIFF to go to infrastructure costs to the developer. The developers will do up front bond payments. Three. In case there are more kids. Getting them up front to plan. The school did not oppose this. The state puts these TIFFs all over the place. This adds the Western Ohio Port Authority to the project. WTH??

The Sunflower Field can be redeveloped. Covenant with Land Reutilization and EPA for greater Euclid Elements site. 1029 plum street. Land bank broke ground on the Sunflower field where the company was before. New housing will come in this quadrant. Big concerns about the toxic levels of the land there. Esttrop – we want to make sure everyone is safe. (BUT they already broke ground - done deal)

Emergency ordinances:

PO for monthly access fees for the radio system. $32,100 July 2025 to June 2026. Annual fee fuels the 800 mhz radio system.

Dedicated .149 acres South Limestone and E Pleasant as public right of way. Decorative light replacement It’s a parcel now and we’re cleaning it up.

Contract Henry street sewer replacement not to exceed the contract 1,830, 210 November 28, 2025 extension. Change order.

Submit a grant of $89,171 for the realignment of a runway (didn’t they just do that?) Seth Timmerman the Airport Manager – this is already underway – 95% FAA 5% city – the state said they’d cover the 5% for us. So 100% financed. Done later this month.

Katie, Finance Director spoke something.

Said they recently went through each departmental budget and could reduce $1 million in general funds. Called it "supplemental appropriations to change the budget".

Then she said, "in the interest of transparency" (their favorite new term and yet will never be), in the Charter is something about a moral obligation list (see My thoughts below after I looked into this). They need to pay for a service for which there is no PO. So she brings the list to the Commission meeting so they can approve all the invoices. The vendor has already performed the service. The list is on the city website.

Estrop asked Katie if the shutdown affecting our cash flow?? She said no. It’s just if we have questions of people. But the money is fine.

Asking for $50K for Second Harvest.

Heck and his usual, "I'll have Logan Cobbs speak to it." And she read, "Food insecurity is the most urgent needs in our community. SNAP benefits related, so this is us helping Second Harvest and partner agencies. They’ll likely see increased demand. I met with the Second Harvest team last week. I was very encouraged by the work they’re doing." (the genius never ceases to amaze)

Second Harvest did a presentation about getting their $50K from CDBG HUD funding. Doubling November to keep up. Pot luck pantries for furloughed employees. Food, transportation, labor, fuel and all maintenance fees for the pantries and delivery. Alex Jackson is their new executive director. And just moved here from Columbus. Reduced staff by 4. Staff of 17 serving 3 counties. 50K every year. Support 65 pantries.

Second Harvest Food Bank is owned by Feeding America ($5 BILLION nationwide)
Second Harvest also gets money from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.($73 mill in annual revenue)
And the Ohio Tri-County Food Alliance.
And so on and so on....

There are 248 food banks in Ohio
6 in Springfield

It should be common knowledge that Feeding America is one of the most corrupt charities in the country.

**My Thoughts

Why are they talking about epilepsy at a City Commission meeting? For the proclamation and PHOTO OPP.

Tackett shoved her way to the middle next to the people in the picture. And then hugged everybody she could. They all lap her up, just like Vivek. It has to be in the water.

Commission retreat will be at the Airport's National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence (NAAMCE) facility. At least somebody's using it. The City for the City.

Rue never ever wants to hear from citizens. Gary Armstrong tried to ask about the first reading for additional funds to Sheltered Inc for some reason. And Rue shut him up.

Tackett – can we provide a comprehensive list – a place folks can go to look for resources and can we share that on our social media page or website? Logan Cobbs - I know the Communications team put out some information lst week. I know we have a list of pantries. The school district did that. We can definitely add to that. How do they not have this??!?!? Didn’t occur to Logan? Anybody? The collective genius. I can't figure out if it's the water or the school system or both.

The second readings were all votes. But they were already done "deals". They had already broken ground on the Sunflower property. And they've already built houses at Sycamore Ridge. So, why the theater vote?

Katie the Finance Director, and Jill Allen, the Law Director, must have also attended Wittenberg with Heck, because there just has to be a class in "use words but never make any sense" speak.

**The Springfield Moral Obligation List (an oxymoron if I ever heard one)

This is the Form

This is the May 8, 2023 List of Payments to be Authorized

This is one from April 25, 2023

And the November 3, 2025 List of Payments to be Authorized

"On the City website always sounds easy, but they purposefully bury everything. People have complained about it to Heck for years, to which he always responds, "I know, we're getting a new website." Yet, it never comes (because he doesn't want things to be found, of course). Sort of the Logan Cobbs school of how to not answer things. "We're working on it."

The Moral Obligations List date does not coincide with the Commission meeting date. There is no searching for Moral Obligation Lists on the website. This is the ONLY way to see them.

To find a Moral Obligations List, one must follow this path:

City website > click on Government > click on City Commission > click on Agendas and Minutes > Here's a tricky part - you have to know the exact date OF THE MEETING in which it was discussed > click on the HTML Agenda link - must be the HTML link > open the page > Here's tricky part #17, you need to know that the List is discussed in the Emergency Ordinances portion of the program > scroll to the Emergency Ordinance section > Here's tricky part #189, you need to know the Codified Ordinance number because Moral Obligation isn't used in the Agenda (I mean, why would they?) > click on the link for the ordinance that says something like, "00625 Confirming purchases and the obtaining of services for the City and providing for payments therefor; and declaring an emergency therein > if you're lucky a list of items will pop up and the Moral Obligations List should be at the bottom > save it if you want to refer to it as it's a view of a file on their servers.

I had questions, so I asked Katie Eviston to explain, specifically using the two most expensive items on the November 3, 2025 (meeting)/October 31, 2025 (list):

She emailed back (after 4 attempts to get a response):

Under Section 37 of the Springfield City Charter, the City can’t enter into any contract, agreement, or other obligation involving more than $100 unless the Finance Director first confirms that enough money is available in the correct fund and hasn’t already been committed for another purpose. This confirmation happens when a purchase order is issued. If that step isn’t completed before the expense occurs, the payment must be approved by the City Commission before it can be made. These approvals are called “moral obligations.”

In practice, these are legitimate City expenses that, for timing or administrative reasons, fall outside the normal purchase order process. Some common examples include:
- Grant-funded expenses where the funding source changes after a purchase—for example, something paid from local funds that is later reimbursed once a grant agreement is finalized.
- Contract timing issues, where services are provided before a purchase order is fully executed.
- Recurring supply purchases such as gravel, pipe, or similar materials, where a purchase order exists but isn’t increased before additional orders are placed.

Each item on the list is submitted by the department that incurred the expense and reviewed by the Finance Department before going to the City Commission for approval. These are not hidden or discretionary payments - they are part of a transparent process that ensures compliance with the City Charter. These lists are typically brought forward monthly, depending on volume.

Regarding the First Transit and SMHA items:

- First Transit: Invoice #11956286 was for services provided in July 2025 totaling $173,948.49. Of that amount, $21,043.67 was classified as a moral obligation related to the City’s SFY2026 Urban Transit Program (UTP) grant from ODOT. The grant period began on July 1, 2025, but the City did not receive the official award notice until September 23, 2025. Although this is formula funding, an application was still required, which was submitted on October 24, 2025 following City Commission approval on October 21, 2025. Because part of the expense occurred before the funding was officially available, that portion had to be processed as a moral obligation. A second, smaller payment to First Transit on the same list was an unexpected expense related to buying out First Transit’s Xerox lease, which also required separate Commission approval.

- Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority (SMHA): SMHA is paid through the Continuum of Care grant, which supports rental assistance activities under the Springfield Permanent Supportive Housing Program, a tenant-based rental assistance initiative in Springfield. A Subrecipient Funding Agreement was established with SMHA to administer this program; however, the contract was not fully encumbered due to the timing of the grant agreement and its grant year (October 1 – September 30). As a result, moral obligations were incurred to cover eligible costs associated with program operations and administrative activities that exceeded the previously encumbered amount. In addition, there was a change in the administrative fee reimbursement amount allowed during this period. Of the total $69,892.70 paid, $26,351.70 represented moral obligations, which were necessary to align funding with actual costs and ensure compliance with HUD program requirements.

This process ensures that no payments are made without proper review, documentation, and Commission approval. It’s one of several safeguards that help maintain accountability and transparency in how the City manages public funds.

You buying it? Me neither. There's nothing transparent about the finances of this city. They don't pay people astronomical amounts to show or provide information, only to hide it.