Mike Houston will be serving his third term as mayor of Springfield. The ICON PAC wants to congratulate Mayor Houston on his victory. We are excited and pleased that the Mayor took such a strong position regarding the elimination of boarded properties during his campaign.
One of his earliest press conferences was held in front of a property identified as “unsafe and dangerous”, a term designating it as a property to be demolished. However, it took over three years to be torn down. His commitment to eliminating this type of problem, which plagues many of the neighborhoods in the city, is reflected in his plan to assign legal staff specifically to concentrate on problem properties.
The ICON Ordinance Review Committee is ready to recommend a series of steps to systematically remove the problem properties. They include the registration of all rental property, increased fines and specific time limits on correcting code violations, increased fees for boarding registrations, and implementation of foreclosure proceedings. Property obtained by the city through foreclosure will be given to approved not for profit organizations to demolish or revitalize for single family ownership.
The ICON plan parallels many of the proposals presented by Mayor Houston and we look forward to working with him and the new City Council to bring this effort to fruition.