After the June 1st tornadoes severely damaged several neighborhoods in a half-mile swath across Springfield, city officials were overwhelmed with the rebuilding efforts. They've now hired a consulting firm to help them form A long-term plan, and to estimate construction costs.

"Our initial assessment is we're going to, we're kind of clumping those neighborhoods into three areas."

Bobbie Hill is a principal with Concordia, a New Orleans-based community planning and development firm. She says the eight Springfield neighborhoods affected by the tornado will be divided into three areas, and each will get its own development plan. And her team of architects and urban planners will hold public meetings in each of the three areas.

"In the places where we have done this work, in everything from at a scale of New Orleans and Haiti and places like that, when there is disaster there is a resiliency that is really important to harness because, frankly, the way that you're really going to come up with the best plans and the way that you're going to find the resources to implement those plans has everything to do with the people and the relationships."

Concordia will have three months to come up with the plan to rebuild from the June 1 tornado. The firm will be paid between $500,000 and $700,000 for the PROJECT. Mayor Domenic Sarno SAYS that money will come from a combination of city, state, federal and private sources and will be overseen by the DevelopSpringfield program, a public-private partnership. The consulting group will also help the city find funds for the actual bricks and mortar that will be needed to rebuild.