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Springfield City Council elects Michael Fenton president, Tracy Whitfield vice president; adopts 2025 rules, refers three zone-change items
Summary
At its Jan. 6 organizational meeting, the Springfield City Council adopted its 2025 rules, elected Councilor Michael Fenton as council president and Councilor Tracy Whitfield as vice president, completed a lottery for seating, and read three zoning referrals that were sent to the planning board.
The Springfield City Council on Jan. 6, 2025 adopted its rules for the 2025 legislative year and elected Councilor Michael Fenton as council president and Councilor Tracy Whitfield as vice president.
Councilors approved the city council rules and orders for 2025 by roll-call vote. The clerk conducted the roll; each councilor recorded a "yes," and the rules were adopted without amendment.
The council then opened nominations for president. Councilor Michael Santanello nominated Councilor Michael Fenton; Councilor Govan seconded the nomination. Councilors cast voice votes by saying the name of the nominee; Fenton received a majority and was declared president. After the vote, Councilor Michael Fenton said, "I am not just the city council president. I am your representative and designated voice for our institution." He told colleagues he is "deeply honored and humbled" and said he will "work every day to demonstrate that your trust has not been misplaced."
Councilor Maria Perez nominated Councilor Tracy Whitfield for vice president; Councilor Klick Bruce seconded. Whitfield was elected by voice vote and later told the chamber, "It feels really, really good to have a unanimous vote of my colleagues on the council."
As part of routine organizational business, the clerk conducted a lottery to assign seating for the 2025 session and read three zoning referrals that require planning board review. The clerk read the referrals into the record as: (1) an amendment to the Springfield Zoning Ordinance, Article 4 Section 4.7, concerning registered marijuana dispensaries and off-site medical marijuana dispensaries; (2) an amendment to Article 4 to add Section 4.7.120 on accessory dwelling units; and (3) a request to change the zoning of a property identified as the east side of East Columbus Avenue from Business A to Business B. Those items were referred to the planning board for recommendation.
The council handled the organizational items as limited business for the day and said members would change seats after the meeting.
