Steven Spearie
The State Journal-Register
Anger, then confusion, then resolution. That seemed to sum up Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting. The tumult stemmed from the city’s attempt to annex a number of properties that were considered “holes in the doughnut,” that is, completely surrounded by Springfield, but not considered to be in the city.
About 25 or so people attended the meeting to protest the ordinances after receiving letters from the city about the proposed annexation. Included were single-dwelling homes and multi-acre properties in places like Curran and Gardner Township.
Things got hairier when the committee voted to withdraw the ordinances — put together in an omnibus form — even though, the presenter, Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder, wasn’t at the meeting. A debate centered on if anyone other than the councilperson presenting it could withdraw an ordinance.
The motion to withdraw passed 6-4, but then Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath asked for a reconsideration and then a vote to table the omnibus. It passed 9-1. That means it would take seven votes to get the omnibus back before the city council, a virtual impossibility given the vote.
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Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who voted against the withdrawal and the tabling, said it was disrespectful to Langfelder to take something off “that he hasn’t been able to talk about with us. The better course of action is always to use established procedures and what we’re doing here is doing something we’ve never done before.”
Corporation counsel James Zerkle said his concern was “that the rules do not provide for a majority of the council to deny an alderman the right to present an ordinance.”
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 