Committee approves $220,000 package for Springfield Cleanup Corps, reduces prior grant ceiling

A city committee on Monday approved a revised grant package to Springfield Preservation and Revitalization (SPAR) to continue the Springfield Cleanup Corps, with a final budget that rolls $20,000 from an earlier grant into a proposed $220,000 grant.

The move amends a prior 23-24 city grant so the earlier grant—s maximum indebtedness is reduced to $180,000 and the $20,000 difference is attached to the new grant, Council staff said during the meeting. The amendment and the bill as amended passed by voice vote and later recorded as 7-0 in the committee.

The Springfield Cleanup Corps, described by its executive director as a neighborhood-based volunteer and part-time-staff operation, provides daily litter removal, alley clearing and "beyond-blight" projects such as installing trash cans, maintaining bike racks and planting trees in Springfield. "We are localized to the service area, so there's almost no overhead or transportation costs associated with the programming that we do," Michael Haskins, executive director of Springfield Preservation and Revitalization, told the committee.

Haskins said SPAR combines fundraising and volunteer recruitment with a small paid staff to respond quickly to neighborhood needs. He described an incident in which volunteers and a donated trailer removed hundreds of pounds of illegally dumped concrete with only a request for a few hours of city staff time and reimbursement for disposal; he said the remainder of the work was done through donations.

Councilman Miller, who sponsored the bill, told the committee the program is intended as a model that could be replicated around the city: "The idea here is to have as comprehensive of an approach toward beautification as we can," he said. Miller and other members said the goal is to create a sustainable template so blocks adopted by churches, businesses and nonprofits will maintain weekly cleanup schedules and eventually require less city funding.

Some members acknowledged the cost concerns. "I know it's a lot of money, especially during this tight fiscal time," Miller said, but added that the program could pay dividends if it becomes self-sustaining and is adopted as a template by other neighborhoods.

Committee members amended the city's 23-24 grant record to reduce its maximum indebtedness to $180,000 and carry $20,000 into the 2025 proposal, attach a revised budget for the earlier grant, and then approved the 2025 grant as amended. The committee recorded the final vote as 7-0.

SPAR officials said the program currently works with about 30 businesses in an Adopt-a-Block program, aims to plant at least 100 trees in Springfield, and expects major private development (about 2,400 units either under construction, proposed or planned) over the next three to five years that will increase demand for the group's services.

The committee amended and passed the bill; the recorded committee vote was 7-0. The approved language requires attaching the revised 23-24 budget and reduces the prior grant ceiling to $180,000 while funding the Springfield Cleanup Corps with the $220,000 package.

The bill will proceed for full council consideration per the city's legislative process.