SPRINGFIELD — Saying her commitment is to “a vibrant downtown,” Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher and Sangamon County Board chairman Andy Van Meter pledged support for proposed legislation that could bring about expansion of the Bank of Springfield (BoS) Center and construction of a new hotel.
Both delivered remarks at the “State of Greater Springfield” luncheon put on by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel May 19.
This is the fourth year of the city-county format.
Springfield had “great momentum and you’re all part of that,” Buscher told the sold-out crowd.
Van Meter said that “every transformative project requires a community-wide partnership and spirit and good will and cooperation.”
The board chair reproved some Springfield City Council members who have maintained that the proposed Capital Area Tourism Authority, which would oversee the downtown project, was undermining municipal power.
The legislation, as it stands, calls for Sangamon County to have three seats on the authority and the city and the Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA), which operates the BoS Center, to have one seat.
Some alderpersons have called for the city to have a greater seat at the table, with two or three representatives. A city resolution calling for that shift was recently defeated.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Mayor, county board chair pledge support for expansion plan
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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