I've been asked to speak to a civic group about some of the long-range issues facing Springfield.  Here are some notes I've put together in preparation.

A little over a year ago, we Springfieldians received several report cards, report cards that looked at Springfield’s issues, but each from slightly different perspectives.  I will be using data from some of these report cards during this post and these report cards should be a wake-up call to anyone with a long-term interest in our community and our region.

I’ll be referring to a report card prepared by the Market Street Services organization, out of Atlanta, which focused on the topics of People, Prosperity, and Place. 

The Next Generation Consulting group developed a Dashboard Report, which zeroed in on seven factors that would make a city attractive to young professionals.

Finally, a “Springfield/Greene County Social Capital Survey Report” was developed and completed by members of the Missouri State University faculty.  You will hear more about this topic and report from Dr. Mike Stout this afternoon.

These report cards identified several common issues.

In the Market Street survey, one of the issues that we were warned about was the very, very real danger of our community’s slipping into a “culture of poverty.”  I’ll use myself as an example of what we’re talking about.

When I was growing up, I attended Campbell Elementary School. For those of you who are from Springfield, that’s about all I need to say.  For those of you who aren’t from Springfield originally, Campbell Elementary was a poor district—it is now as well. The neighborhood’s existence today is further complicated by the meth and drug culture.

However, the narrative in my family when I was growing up was simply an understanding that my sister and I would finish high school and go to college.  I can’t remember anything really being said, but it was simply an expectation from our elementary school days.  And—following that family narrative—we both went to college and embarked on successful careers.  As a matter of fact, my sister lives in Spain where she was a translator for the United Nations.  In other words, we achieved that “American Dream” where our standard of living was better than our parents and theirs was better than our grandparents.  Others in our community are not so fortunate.

The Market Street survey cautions that we are now at a point where almost 20% of the fourth and fifth generations of Springfield families live in poverty and they are in very real danger of succumbing to a family narrative that says, “We’ve always been poor; we’re poor now; we’ll always be poor.”  And, folks, when it comes to the overall economic health of a community, that type of attitude or narrative can be a real boat anchor.

A seat on City Council is a non-partisan position, so since I’m quoting a Republican here, I promise to quote a Democrat a little later.  President Ronald Reagan often said, “The best welfare program is a good job.” So, we turn to economic development and job creation as ways to intervene in this culture of poverty.

Recently, we were competing with other cities for a new IBM facility.  Columbia, Missouri wound up with that facility because they bought and gave IBM a building.  And there have been other instances where Springfield either could not or chose not to match the economic development incentives offered by other cities.  And as a result, we did not entice those jobs to come to our city.

Springfield has always been very conservative in using economic development tools.  In fact, Chamber president Jim Anderson is fond of saying that “Springfield does not play the sweepstakes game.” 

But, as our economic recession still drags on, unemployment hovers just under 10% nationally and 8% locally, and 50% of our children qualify for free or reduced lunches, is it time to modify our philosophy on the use of economic tools?  Should we be more aggressive in using certain economic development tools? This is a question that has come up a couple of times and perhaps it is a conversation that Springfield needs to have. 

Mayor O’Neal—during the campaign two years ago—talked about “re-engineering government.”  We are now beginning discussions on what that means and how we go about it.  Hopefully, local government will emerge more effective and more efficient. What role the City should take in economic development will play a big part in that discussion.

For every Point A, there’s a Point B.  For every yin, there’s a yang.  In the Economic Development discussion, the spectrum ranges from the idea of breaking the culture of poverty on one hand and, at the same time, attracting and retaining the best and brightest of our young professionals in Springfield. 

In other words, how can we young attract folks to come to Springfield?  What does there need to be in the Springfield community to keep our recent graduates either from looking for employment in San Diego, in Denver, in St. Paul, in Orlando, or in Savannah or for choosing Springfield over those communities?

A couple of weeks ago, representatives of The Network, a group of young professionals affiliated with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, presented a one-year follow-up report to the Next Generation survey that I mentioned earlier.

The Network reported four major issues that our young professionals found lacking in Springfield.  The first is “Earning and the Cost of Lifestyle.” 

It’s well-known that, in many of our jobs within the community, pay levels are below the national average.  One of the Springfield myths is that our cost of living is significantly below average as well.  This may be true for housing and utilities; however, in many of the other categories, Springfield is not that far behind.  For example, groceries are 93.4 of the national average; transportation 93.3; medical services 97.7; miscellaneous services 94.4.  (Overall, our cost of living is 88%.)

Again, the types of jobs that we grow and attract in Springfield will be the key to this issue.  Without trying to insult anyone, additional time-share call centers won’t solve our situation.  That’s why organizations such as JVIC are such an integral part of the solution—new jobs in the new economy.  We seek jobs that require a specialized knowledge; jobs that require a degree; jobs that appeal to young professionals. Those need to be our focus.

Now, if ending poverty and creating jobs aren’t enough, now we get to turn our attention to two other major, long-range issues. 

In the United States, we are in a transitional period—moving from a manufacturing era into a knowledge and technology era and then into a who-knows-what?  In addition, our population is mobile—moving from one area to another.

I said earlier that I’d get around to quoting a Democrat, so here goes.

President John Kennedy once said, “The person who solves the water problem will be worthy of two Nobel prizes—one for science and one for peace.”

There is more talk going on now regarding water quantity, distribution of water, use of water, and the cost and pricing of water than at any time since the range wars of the old west. And Springfield and the Ozarks region are already in the thick of that discussion. And it’s heating up.

About three years ago, the City of Atlanta, GA, was in a desperate situation after an extended drought. Reservoirs were drying up and water was being rationed.

The level of our own aquifer, the Ozarks Aquifer located right under our feet, is dropping, and it’s dropping at a faster rate than in the past.  Water levels drop because water is being removed faster than the aquifer can recharge itself.  Populated areas all over the United States are turning away from aquifers and are moving to surface water, i.e., water drawn from lakes and reservoirs, for their water.  Springfield is no exception and City Utilities is in the process of “buying” the next allotment of surface water from Stockton Lake

There is a new organization called the Tri-States Water Coalition.  This organization was formed just west of us in the Joplin and Lamar area to deal with a very real concern about water quantity.  And, because it’s a multi-state group, they’re also dealing with a number of tough legal issues involving city, county, regional, state, and national entities.

And just when we get concerned about the quantity of water for our existing population, we find that the southwest Missouri area is one that is predicted to have a major population increase between now and 2050.

In his book The Next Hundred Million, author Joel Kotkin joins others in predicting that the population of the United States will increase from 300 million to 400 million by 2050, but his specialized studies indicate that the majority of this increase will locate in or relocate to mid-size cities.  Springfield, Missouri is right in the bulls-eye of this growth.

This population growth, while it’s an increase of one-third nationally, is predicted to be about 450,000 in southwest Missouri.  Since our MSA numbers hover around a half-million, we’re looking at a doubling of our population in the next forty years.

The implications for education, for our infrastructure, for housing, and for job creation are just staggering.  My Council colleague Dan Chiles has suggested that Springfield needs to build 180 five-story apartment buildings in the center city area to take care of the influx.

However, Kotkin feels that the growth will be in the mid-size cities because of the opportunities for single-family dwellings, for the opportunity to have a yard for your kids, and for a moderate cost of living. 

Let’s face it, folks.  Springfield is a prairie town.  We are land rich; we spread out; that’s why you can count the number of “skyscrapers” in Springfield on one hand—maybe one finger!

While Mr. Chiles’ suggestion sounds to me like old Soviet style planning and population warehousing, I do agree with his assertion that we need to start thinking and talking about these issues now, rather than be overwhelmed later.

And this brings us to my last issue confronting Springfield.

Citizens and voters from our area have been working for months on a new Strategic Plan for the City of Springfield.  This will be ready for presentation early in April probably and, for the first time, there will be a chapter entitled Global Perspective and Diversity.

Even though Springfield is pretty much smack in the middle of this very large country, I think most of us understand that we’re in a global economy.  We have companies in Springfield whose corporate owners are based in other countries.  We have companies who regularly and in great quantities market to foreign markets. In other words, we get it.

However, it is the diversity component that has the potential to be problematic.

We all know the story.  On Easter weekend, 1906, three black men were lynched beneath a replica of the Statue of Liberty on the public square. With that lawless action by a frenzied mob, race relations in Springfield were altered forever.

Also, we all know the routine.  Every year around Easter, the newspaper does an article about the lynching; all the blacks in the community are angry and frightened; the whites feel awful and are embarrassed that the lynching occurred.  And then the next day we bury it for another year.  At some point, we have to—as a community—deal with the lynching.

Probably every adult in Springfield, at one time or another, has said, “Springfield is a great place to live.”  And it’s true.  We have great parks and trails, a wonderful art museum, a highly-rated school system, and tremendous medical facilities. But rarely do you hear someone say that Springfield is truly a welcoming community.

And if your skin color is different, or your religion is not of the mainstream, or you’re poor, or you’re gay, or you are one of a variety of other differences, the welcome can be and often is even cooler.

The Next Gen Dashboard, that I alluded to earlier, ranked Springfield lowest in the area of Social Capital.  Next Gen stated, “race/ethnic diversity is a considerable challenge in Springfield. Additionally, the proportion of women-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses is substantially below average” when compared to other cities in our size category.

However, what gives me hope is the fact that there are a number of conversations and projects underway in our community that can begin change this situation. 

First, the Market Street Survey indicated that, among other factors, we have trouble attracting and retaining workers due to “outdated and false perceptions about the Ozarks . . . and the lack of diversity within the region.”

This was reaffirmed last week when The Network, a group of young professionals affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce, reported to City Council and provided the results of their informal poll of young professionals.

They pointed out that, although 8% of our population is non-Caucasian, 14.6% of students enrolled in Springfield Public Schools are non-Caucasian.  Our minority population is growing and it will continue to grow.

This is what The Network was getting at in their report to City Council.  However, the issue is not that Springfield is the second whitest city in its size behind Portland, Maine. The real issue is how we treat people who come to Springfield to work, to go to school, and to live.

Among some of the other activities that have occurred:  Brentwood Christian Church sponsored an Economic Development and Minorities conference last year and, this year, hosted an “Understanding and Analyzing Systemic Racism” conference.

“Minorities in Business” is a new networking group that helps minority- and female-owned businesses look for opportunities and works with companies that need to modify policies in order to provide a level playing field.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce has sponsored two sessions of the “Facing Racism” training from Grand Rapids, MI.  They are planning to sponsor another session and then also host a “Train the Trainer” workshop so that we can continue the momentum locally.

At this point, I want to publicly acknowledge the courage of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and staff.  They have received some significant pushback for their efforts in this area and have lost some members. But they stayed with it because it’s the right thing to do.

And, as I have mentioned, the City of Springfield has initiated a chapter in its new Strategic Plan dealing with diversity and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is sponsoring a “Civility Project,” designed to foster more civil conversation and increased civic engagement.

So, we have a lot of good things going on in Springfield.  We are a good City. We have a great deal to offer.  But those of us who are elected officials or are otherwise community leaders know that Springfield can be so much more.

We have work to do.