Jackie Rehwald

JREHWALD@NEWS-LEADER.COM

One would be hard pressed to find someone with more north-side pride — as they call it — than Zone 1 councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson.

She became a councilwoman in April 2015 for one reason: to be a champion for the Zone 1 Blitz, the city-led initiative aimed at improving quality of life for people living in northwest Springfield.

"We don't need a politician in Zone 1," she said. "We need someone who will get down in the trenches and work and fight for what we need to improve."

When asked her favorite zone blitz projects, Ferguson would rather show than tell. And there's no place better than the passenger seat of Ferguson's Subaru to see the problems, learn about the fixes and appreciate the charming characteristics of northwest Springfield

"I bought my home in '99," she said, putting her car in drive. "It had a homeless guy and some pigeons in it. And we didn't have a neighborhood association at the time."

Ferguson, the chief operating officer for Mexican Villa, has lived in Springfield for about 40 years. She said she was drawn to the north side of Springfield because of the older homes and historic feel of the area. She helped form the Woodland Heights Neighborhood Association shortly after moving to the neighborhood.

"You make a choice to live in one of our old urban north side neighborhoods," she said. "There's a trade off. I love my house. The old part of the house is supposed to have been built right before the Civil War."

As she spoke, she pulled her car over near the intersection of Boonville Avenue and Chase Street. She pointed to the remains of a demolished building. Beyond the rubble and overgrown brush was a homeless person's tent and belongings.

"That's dangerous, in my opinion. Think about if that was your house right there," Ferguson said, motioning to the neatly-kept green house across the street.

Addressing such chronic nuisance properties is a major focus of the Zone 1 Blitz. As part of the blitz, director of building services Chris Straw is refining definitions in the city's building code. The changes will allow for faster, more effective enforcement of unkempt property codes.

Also, property owners are getting steeper penalties when they don't comply and the city has to do the mowing or clean-up work.

Ferguson's car rolled further up Boonville, coming to a stop at Lafayette Park. She pointed to the tennis courts.

As part of the Zone 1 Blitz, folks in the neighborhood came out just a few days prior for a Tennis Under the Lights event. They hung twinkling Christmas lights around the courts and played tennis. More than 75 people were there, Ferguson said.

"We had kids who not only didn't know what a tennis racket was that were playing, but their parents were playing too," Ferguson said.

The Zone 1 Blitz calls for the creation of extracurricular programs throughout the northwest part of town. The Park Board and the United States Tennis Association have already begun giving free tennis lessons in the historic park, Ferguson said.

Heading east on Thoman Street, Ferguson pointed to painted utility poles, parts of a neighborhood-wide art project led by the Moon City Creative District.

"There are things happening on the north side that are not happening anywhere else," she said later, referring to the painted poles. "Where else do you see such creativity and whimsy?"

Ferguson circled the block and headed west on Chase Street, still grinning and pointing out her favorite poles. Her smile faded as she approached the house at 1851 N. Main St. — the "epitome" of chronic nuisance properties.

The house has been tied up in foreclosure for more than a year and has been occupied by squatters for some time. The windows are knocked out and despite the "no trespassing" signs, homeless people come and go as they please.

As recently as last week, squatters could be seen looking out the broken windows and smoking on the front porch. A motorcycle was parked in the yard.

"The police are there all the time. You can't get those people to leave," Ferguson said. "What does that do to our property values? What does it do to our morale?"

Lisa Cox, spokesperson for the Springfield Police Department, later told the News-Leader that officers have been dispatched to the address about 20 times in 2016 and 50 times in 2015. According to Straw, the house is on the city's dangerous buildings list and will be demolished soon.

Ferguson drove north to Talmage Street and then west. She wanted to show the News-Leader the dangerous "Talmage dip" — a narrow point on Talmage Street near Kansas Expressway. With steep hills on either side of the dip, Ferguson said vehicles often travel through there at high rates of speed.

Unfortunately, there are often pedestrians who have no sidewalk or shoulder to walk on. When two vehicles meet at the dip, it can be particularly dangerous for someone on foot, she explained.

Ferguson parked her car near the dip and walked to the road. She explained that many people in that neighborhood don't have a vehicle and must walk to the grocery store.

"Picture yourself pushing a baby stroller, hanging on to a kid and two cars are meeting in the dip," she said. "Who would say our citizens deserve this? It's just too dangerous."

Change is coming, Ferguson indicated by pointing to a sign that read "Zone Blitz progress point: Talmage Dip stormwater, roadway and sidewalk improvements COMING SOON."

According to Public Works Director Dan Smith, the Zone Blitz Public Works projects throughout northwest Springfield will total approximately $8 million in construction costs. This includes sidewalks, stormwater improvements, and roadway projects.

Returning to her tour, Ferguson pointed to an old craftsman-style stone house.

"Isn't that just darling? You just can't write off the north side. We've got such charming houses," she said.

Ferguson talked more about the Zone 1 Blitz projects. The Zone 1 Blitz, which launched in July, is an 18-month long initiative of more than 60 projects aimed at decreasing poverty and improving quality of life in the northwest quadrant of Springfield. So far, some 200 individuals and organizations have signed up to help.

"One of the things I'm really excited about doing is pop-up job fairs," she said. "A lot of our people, they lost their job in the recession and they've been unemployed for a long time. And the longer you've been unemployed, the harder it is to get reemployed."

For the pop-up job fairs, employers will set up tables inside stores and other public places around Zone 1 to talk to job seekers and accept applications on the spot.

In addition to the job fairs, the Missouri Career Center is opening a satellite office inside Cox North Hospital at 1423 N. Jefferson Ave., as part of the Zone 1 Blitz. Currently, it can take someone living in Zone 1 who depends on the bus system about two hours to get to the center's main office on Sunshine Street.

Leaving the Woodland Heights Neighborhood, Ferguson pointed to another older home. The yard was mowed and front porch tidy. The roof was patched in several places with tarps and plastic.

"I'll bet you money, they can't afford a roof. When we talk about these 200 partnering agencies, I'm very, very hopeful that we'll be able to connect agencies with people who need things done and can't afford it," Ferguson said. "And they can get no-interest or low-interest loans and get things they need. Because a roof is pretty much just quality of life. It's not an extra."

As she frequently did, Ferguson waved as she passed a home where someone was sitting on the front porch.

"If you wave at people, that is a good thing. It's a front porch neighborhood," she explained later. "They still have front porches. A lot of people don't have air conditioning so they sit out on their front porch when the weather is good. And you get to know your neighbors."

Ferguson drove by some of the parks in northwest Springfield like Tom Watkins Park and historic Doling Park and talked about the blitz projects that focus on expanding digital access to students and adults living in Zone 1. That will include possibly adding free WiFi to Doling Park.

"Getting WiFi in our parks is one of the things the Zone Blitz (is doing)," she said, adding that many people in northwest Springfield cannot afford internet access in their home.

By expanding WiFi access at parks and other public places, more people in Zone 1 can use the internet to do homework, search for employment, connect with friends on social media and find information.

Ferguson returned to Big Momma's and parked, but still had issues on her mind including the low food access her constituents face on a daily basis. She is working to get a "grocery store on wheels" for neighborhoods in north Springfield modeled after Tulsa's Food on the Move program.

"I feel like forever and ever people in the northwest corner of Springfield just felt like they were ignored," she said later. "Now, so much attention has been put on Zone 1 that it's hard to say, 'Oh no, they don't care about us.' Because we've got people stepping forward from every corner of Springfield saying, 'What can we do to help you? We are here and we want to help.'

"I feel like people are getting hope," Ferguson added. "Once they feel like there is hope, then it kind of helps you raise yourself back up and go after it again instead of just feeling beat down."

To learn more about the Zone 1 Blitz visit www.springfieldmo.gov/2794/Zone-Blitz. To volunteer for a project, email cscott@springfieldmo.gov.

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