A school board member is switching it up next year — running instead for Ward 4 on the city council.
Scott McFarland wants to focus on his area of the city — choosing the Fair Plaza on Sangamon Ave. as a backdrop to highlight the amount of vacant retail spaces in the area.
He wants to incentivize development through TIF districts, but wants to make sure the school district gets a bigger piece of the pie.
“We know Mayor Houston is talking about doing another TIF near the YWCA, I’m sure that won’t be the last one,” McFarland said. “I want to make sure that if we are going to be doing that, we’re doing it in areas of town that really need it, like this area of town, but also that we’re supporting our infrastructure in terms of the school district.”
McFarland, an eight year Springfield resident currently seeking his doctorate from the University of Illinois Springfield, is currently running unopposed — current Ward 4 Alderman Frank Lesko is running for City Clerk.
McFarland says the city should take a multi-pronged approach to revitalizing the north end, and that includes tackling brownfields such as the former Pillsbury plant that shut down for good in 2001. Cargill bought the plant from Pillsbury in 1991.
He says he’ll spend the next few months talking to his neighbors to get a more comprehensive idea of what the north end needs from the city council.