More than a year after firing Val Yazell, Mayor Jim Langfelder has hired Lynne Wooden (pictured) as Springfield’s new director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development.
Wooden capped a forty-year banking career by retiring in June as vice president of business solutions at INB. The banking experience and expertise is what impressed Langfelder.
“She shares the same vision as I do,” Langfelder told WTAX News Thursday, answering a question about what Wooden would do which Yazell couldn’t or wouldn’t. “She’s been downtown all her (professional) life. She walks downtown a lot. She looks at properties that should be developed. She has a lot of business and banking connections. That’s what’s most important, understanding that aspect and working together to have successful conclusions.”
The appointment is for one year and thus does not need city council approval.