The ordinances for the city of Springfield will be organized in a more user friendly way. The council approved using the services of Municipal Code Corporation to organize the ordinances, and create a new code book.

Mayor Barton Alderman said he met with representatives from the company for a presentation, and a sample was left for officials to look at.

“I don’t know if any of you have looked at our book of ordinances, but it’s chronologically filed, so you may have two different ordinances related to the same thing, and they’re 20 years apart,” he said.

City Attorney Charles Barrow said the city has ordinances from the early 1900s.

“It is, in my opinion, not the best way to keep an ordinance book,” Barrow said. “It’s just very difficult.”

Barrow said he has not worked with this company, but the process was done in Thunderbolt within the last few years.

“It’s not going to be overnight, no matter who does it,” he said. “It’s going to take some time.”

City Manager Brett Bennett said the process would take approximately 12 months.

Barrow said also if there are conflicting ordinances found, the council can adopt the new book to remove conflicting ordinances.

Bennett said the company will check for conflicts within the ordinances and for any conflict with state law.

“I dealt with them when I was in Rincon,” he said.

Bennett said he was “very satisfied” with the company from his Rincon experiences.

Alderman said the company also will check the available minutes to make sure there was not an ordinance passed in a council meeting but not written down for the ordinance book.

Bennett said in the long run it will save Barrow time when he is researching for the city, and needs to find the ordinances regarding whatever matter needs to be addressed.

Usher said along with the user-friendlier book, the codes will be available for the public online as well.

The council also approved to abandon and cap well number two on Second Street.

Public Works Director Lowell Morgan said there was an inspection of the wells a couple of years ago, and he does not believe the well has functioned since the other well has been built.

“We kept it in place in the event that we might go to the lower Floridan to get water one day, but it doesn’t look like that’s feasible after Rincon’s well and some other things,” Morgan said. “We can’t pump below Highway 119 anyway, so I don’t see any reason to prolong capping this well.”

Bennett said the state Environmental Protection Division also requested the city cap the well.

Morgan said the policy is if you don’t use it a certain number of times in two years, you are supposed to cap it.

“My recommendation would be we just take the building down and cap it far enough below ground and sell the lot,” he said.

Bennett said what will happen to the land can be decided at a later date, but the council did need to vote to officially abandon the well.