Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register
The full Springfield City Council will take up on the debate agenda next Tuesday the question of paternity/maternity leave for city employees and the future of a sports complex in the Legacy Pointe development.
The committee of the whole sent both items, along with an ordinance setting parameters on a cannabis tax collected by the city, through on Tuesday.
The long-discussed sports complex, covering 90 acres and with multi-use indoor and outdoor facilities, is sure to stir lively debate though a developer’s agreement is still being hammered out.
Scott Dahl, director of the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the Legacy Pointe site off MacArthur Boulevard near Interstate 72 had the potential of bringing in 250,000 new visitors along with about $30 million in new spending each year.
The city’s Community & Economic Development Commission greenlighted the project Monday with one dissenting vote.
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Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin questioned why 25 percent of all the hotel/motel taxes raised by the city would go towards one project.
“That’s one project in one part of town,” McMenamin said. “I think it’s a mistake to devote so much money to one project. That part of the project has to be reconsidered.”
McMenamin said he would like to see the city have a project of that scope for a gateway entry point to the city, like Peoria Road, Cook Street, Clear Lake or South Grand.
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 