Jared McCormick, grants coordinator for the Office of Planning and Economic Development, told the Committee of the Whole on Nov. 25 that Springfield’s Recompete strategy-development grant (awarded in late 2023) remains active and that the city has submitted a request to the Economic Development Administration to extend the grant term by one year.

McCormick said the planning grant funds have been used to hire a Recompete coordinator, contract a consulting firm for workforce-demographic analysis, host events that connected residents to city resources and to seed an upcoming minority business institute. “So the purpose of this track is to provide cities with the resources [to] gather workforce data,” McCormick said. He added the city submitted a scope revision that included catering for an October event, initial funding for community care coordinator positions, and support for the 2026 minority business institute.

Why it matters: Recompete is a competitive, federal initiative administered by the EDA intended to help economically distressed communities build workforce pipelines and strengthen implementation applications for larger federal investments. McCormick said the strategy work is intended to position Springfield to compete for a future implementation grant but emphasized that the EDA has not announced new implementation rounds.

Council members pressed staff on details. Alderman Gregory asked whether there were unspent funds; McCormick responded, “294 is unspent,” and said most of that balance would cover salaries for the community care coordinators and costs related to the minority business institute. Council members also asked how the coordinator positions would be sustained beyond the grant and whether the planning work had produced early findings on workforce gaps.

Director Posey said the community care coordinator positions were budgeted by the city and intended to be sustainable beyond federal support: “Those coordinators are sustainable. They are our community outreach team … those were already budgeted for and approved by city council.” Posey outlined plans for a December planning meeting with stakeholders to finalize dates for the minority business institute and for a small-business symposium organized with the Chamber of Commerce to expand employer participation.

Aldermen also questioned consultant selection and continuity after a prior consultant left for a state job; staff said the initial vetting involved local and out-of-state firms, that the city used consultants previously vetted by former staff, and that recent selections reflected capacity and prior experience. McCormick reiterated that the planning-track grant closes Jan. 30, 2026 unless the EDA approves the requested extension, which the city submitted to cover activity through Jan. 30, 2027.

What’s next: Staff said they will return with more detailed data as studies conclude, will share zone maps and summaries with aldermen on request, and will report back on the status of the EDA extension. The council did not take a formal vote on the presentation; the update will inform future budget and program decisions.