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Residents urge refocus to neighborhoods, propose alternate jail site and warn against oversized facility
Summary
Multiple public commenters urged commissioners to prioritize neighborhood investment and opposed aspects of a proposed large county jail; one speaker proposed using the Cooper Energy (East Works) site and cited estimated cleanup and acquisition costs and capacity concerns for a 454‑bed facility.
At the informal portion of the meeting several residents used public comment time to press the Springfield City Commission to refocus investments on neighborhoods and to challenge the scale and siting of a proposed new jail.
Jean Barnett urged the commission to consider the Cooper Energy (East Works) site — a roughly 27‑acre parcel near East High Street — as an alternative to building what she described as a 454‑bed “mega jail.” Barnett said Cooper Energy already…
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