Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Springfield removes Stern Square bench over safety concerns; parks staff to seek repair estimate as preservation groups press for faster action
Summary
City parks staff removed a deteriorating historic bench from Stern Square citing safety risks. Preservation groups and neighborhood leaders asked the parks department to get a restoration estimate quickly so a Community Preservation Act (CPA) proposal can be filed before the end-of-February deadline.
Councilor Perez, Ward 1, and members of Springfield’s preservation community pressed city parks officials on Jan. 28 after the parks department removed a historic bench from Stern Square because of safety concerns.
The meeting convened by Councilor Brown, chair of the Maintenance Development Committee, focused on the bench’s removal, the bench’s storage at Forest Park, funding options for repair, and next steps to return the bench to Stern Square.
The bench was removed after a parks inspection found “sharp edges that posed a potential danger to the public” and evidence that sections were sinking into the ground, Parks superintendent Tom Edge said. “So I made the decision to remove it,” Edge said, adding that staff plan to have the bench assessed by an outside…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
