Month: April 2005

A recent news article reported that “Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon shares the frustration of many American citizens who seek information from the federal government.” Nixon said that it is “a headache and a pain in the neck” to try to get information out of Washington.

If Nixon thinks that it’s a headache and pain in the neck to get information out of Washington he ought to try to get information out of local governments in Missouri, such as the city of Branson, using Missouri’s Sunshine Law. It too is a “headache and pain,” one that is caused, in large part, because of an Attorney General’s Opinion issued by him!

“Seagull, I thought you admired Nixon and the job he is doing?”

“That’s true but it doesn’t change the question.”

“What question?”

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

As an example, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent and obligated over the last three years for recreation centers, conventions centers, infrastructure costs, marketing and other contracts, etc. by the Branson Board of Aldermen. Unless an Ole Seagull misses his guess, an awful lot of the discussion relating to those expenditures has taken place behind closed doors in what the Branson Board of Aldermen call an “Executive Session.”

“Is that what the Sunshine Law refers to as a closed meeting?”

“That’s it.”

“Then why do they call it an “Executive Session?”

“Don’t know for sure, maybe because it gives them a chance to meet with the real “executives” that control Branson and discuss issues without public involvement or scrutiny.”

The Sunshine Law states that it Missouri’s public policy that meetings of public governmental bodies be open to the public and that exceptions to that policy shall be strictly construed to promote that openness. In furtherance of that policy, the very section authorizing the exceptions for closed meetings states that its provisions shall not be construed as to require a public governmental body to hold a closed meeting to discuss or act upon any matter.

“Gosh Seagull, does that mean that in most situations where the Branson Board of Aldermen hold closed meetings that the law doesn’t require them to?”

“That’s a distinct possibility.”

“Then why do they do it?”

“As evidenced by their action involving the removal of the Liberty Tree, one reason could be so that government and their ‘executives’ can do what they want when they want with minimal public involvement in the process.”

Unfortunately, Attorney General’s Opinion No. 68-95, issued by Nixon’s office, makes it very easy for those who do not want to comply with the Sunshine Law to do so. The law appears to require that the notice for a closed meeting contain both the subsection of the law authorizing the closed meeting and “its tentative agenda, in a manner reasonably calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered.”

Nixon’s opinion states that “the mere reference to the subdivision” authorizing the exception is sufficient and completely ignores the requirement that the notice be “reasonably calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered.” How can a notice that merely says, “Subsection 610.021.12” be reasonably calculated to advise the public of the matters to be considered, provide even the basic information needed to formulate a request for information under the Sunshine Law, or ensure that the exception being used for the closed meeting is authorized?

“It can’t”

“Well, the same person complaining about what ‘a headache and a pain in the neck’ it is to get information out of Washington says it does. That creates ‘a headache and a pain in the neck’ for Missourian’s who are trying to use Missouri’s Sunshine Law.

“But Seagull the Branson Board of Aldermen could give as much detail in their notice as they want to or even open up a lot of closed meetings to the public?”

“That’s true but, they could ask Target and Home Depot to build in Hollister, contribute toward the four laning of Highway 65 to the Arkansas state line, and support casino gambling in Rockaway Beach too.”

Anyone want to bet that they will?

The very first sentence of an Apr. 5 Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB press release on the Gas Buster Program says, “Visitors will be rewarded with Gas Buster discount cards, accepted at more than 100 Branson area businesses.” The release goes on to point out that the Gas Busters card is “worth $50 in discounts at participating area shows, attractions, restaurants, lodging and retail businesses.”

“Seagull, what’s not to like about ‘100 Branson area businesses’ offering discounts to encourage people to come to Branson?”

“Nothing if in fact there were 100 businesses participating in the program on Apr. 5.”

The press release said, “For more information, log on to http://www.explorebranson.com/.” On the morning of Apr. 14, nine days after the date of the press release, the Ole Seagull did just that and clicked on the “Gas Buster” link. At the Gas Buster link there was another link to “a list of participating Branson area Gas Buster sponsors.” The list was conveniently set up in categories with the participants in each category listed by number. There were 7 attractions, 25 lodging establishments, 6 restaurants, 1 retail shop, and 14 shows listed.

“But Seagull, that wasn’t anywhere near 100.”

“Didn’t I just say that?”

“But why would they say they had a hundred if they didn’t?”

“Who really knows, perhaps someone was humming the song “Anticipation” when the release was being written and got a tad carried away.”

“Isn’t it kind of sad that out of the hundreds of attractions, shows, restaurants, and retail establishments in Branson that only a total of 28 of them are participating in the program?”

“Yes, but it’s even worse than that!”

An inspection of the list of participants documents the obvious, that the program does not currently have the participation or support of the vast majority of Branson’s shows, attractions, restaurants and retail establishments. Even more foreboding, is the fact that it does not enjoy the active support of some of Branson’s most popular and advertised attractions and shows such as but not limited to: Silver Dollar City, Celebration City, White Water, Ride the Ducks, Dixie Stampede, Show Boat Branson Bell, Presley’s, Andy Williams, Cirque, the Grand Palace, Shoji Tabuchi, Shepherd of the Hills, etc.(Editor’s Note: for update please see note #2 below.)

To an Ole Seagull, the lack of participation by Branson’s major shows and attractions indicates that the real purpose of the Gas Buster program is not to actually give Branson visitors $50 dollars worth of discounts that most of them would actually want to or be able to use. Its purpose, apparently relying on the media’s gullibility, was to use the program to get as much “free” publicity from newspapers, magazines, television etc. as possible.

Ironically, unless an Ole Seagull misses his guess, within a few months, the owners of a lot of these non-participating attractions and shows will be trying to convince the voters of Branson that they should vote a one percent retail tax on themselves to be used for the marketing of Branson. Why wouldn’t these same attractions and shows jump at the chance to show their public leadership and commitment to the marketing of Branson by participating, particularly when the program is originated and sponsored by the very organization that most of them want to market Branson?

At a minimum, one would hope that the attractions, shows, restaurants, and retail establishments represented by members of the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB’s Marketing Advisory Council and board of directors would participate in the program and, through their example, encourage others to participate.

(Note 1: As of 8:00 a.m., on Apr. 15 the number of attractions, shows, restaurants, and retail establishments participating in the program has grown from 28 to 36. The participation of the major attractions and shows listed in the column remains the same, non existent.)

(Note 2: As of 6:00 a.m. on May 1 the number of attractions, shows, restaurants and retail establishments has grown to at least 62. Of the organizations listed in the column Presleys’ , Ride the Ducks, Cirque (Remington), and the the Grand Palace are now part of the program. Counting lodging estabishments and the multiple shows at Grand Country the program now has over 100 participants. ) There will be no further updates on particpation.

The Ole Seagull, recently received an email from a lady who said, “Branson for decades has ignored the huge pedestrian problem its popularity has created. Shame on you, Branson.” What had so riled this lady that she would cast shame upon Branson? The tragic and needless death of her grandfather and serious injury to her grandmother which occurred Apr. 27, 2004, as they attempted to cross Branson’s “76 Country Music Boulevard,” in the middle of the famous Branson “Strip.”

The writer said that as her grandparents attempted to cross the street, a 22-year-old uninsured motorist drove into the center turn lane, passed a stopped car which was letting pedestrians cross the street in front of the Presley Show, and stuck both of her grandparents. She went on to point out that, as a result of being struck, her grandfather incurred a back broken in three places, broken, knees, legs, and feet, had a massive heart-attack at the scene, had internal bleeding, and “suffered for 16 days in neuro-trauma ICU in Springfield” before he died.

Then she said something that just jumped off the page, “It is an outrage that the City of Branson doesn’t value the lives of the tourists it attracts. It is an outrage that in over four miles of the main strip there are no crosswalks, not even at the four stoplights.” The Ole Seagull thought to himself, “Surely this is wrong, there has to be places for tourists to cross from one side of the Strip to the other.” Boy howdy, was he ever wrong!

As he “drove” west on Branson’s famed strip, from its junction with Highway 65 to its junction with the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway the Ole Seagull could not find one marked pedestrian crossing. The question that came immediately to his mind was, “How are pedestrians supposed to get across highway 76 safely?

Going to the nearest stop light and crossing is not really a viable choice because there is about a 2.5 mile distance between the stop light at the junction of Highway 76 and Roark Creek and the light at the junction of Highway 165 and Highway 76. As has been previously discussed going to the nearest pedestrian cross walk is not a viable choice because there are none.

The only other choice is to use ones own devices to safely get across the street. Easier said than done on most days, especially when the average age of the typical Branson visitor and the volume of traffic on Highway 76 during the season is factored in. A normal progression would be to wait for a traffic break to get from the curb to the center turn lane and then, wait for another break in the traffic to try to get from the center turn lane to the other side.

“Come on Seagull; from a safety point of view that’s a “crap shoot” and you know it.

“Of course it is but it does describe the reality of the current situation.”

To an Ole Seagull it seems ludicrous that as a community we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in building new developments and advertising to bring more visitors to Branson when we can’t even get the ones we have from one side of the road to the other without risking their lives. There are thousands of hotel and condo rooms within a two block range of Highway 76. Does it take a Solomon to realize that a lot of those people are going to walk up to the Strip, to participate and enjoy all it has to offer? Besides, isn’t that what we want them to do?

It logically follows that there will be large numbers of pedestrians crossing from one side of the Strip to the other. Along with building infrastructure like roads, bridges, sewer and water plants, it almost seems negligent not to build the necessary infrastructure to get our visitors from one side of the road to the other safely. If “sin city” can use “crossovers” to get its visitors safely across Las Vegas Boulevard without impeding traffic why can’t Branson use a modified version to get its visitors safely from one side of Highway 76, or the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, to the other safely?

At a minimum, would it be inappropriate to suggest that either the Chamber or the City form a “Pedestrian Safety Committee” to study the status of pedestrian accessibility and safety? Obviously, an Ole Seagull doesn’t think so.

On Apr. 5 the voters of the Branson School District will vote on whether or not to approve a $22.8 million dollar bond to, among other things, build a new school for the 5^th and 6^th grade, add 12 rooms to the existing high school, complete the athletic, whoops, sorry, the “activities” complex, and improve the traffic congestion problem at the Cedar Ridge elementary school. This will be on top of the $35.8 million dollars in bonds issued in 1998 for the expansion of the Cedar Ridge elementary complex and to build the new high school.

“Wow Seagull, that’s a lot of money to spend on education.”

“That’s certainly one way to look at it but, in reality, isn’t it an investment in the future of our children and grandchildren?

“Oh, give me a break Seagull, I don’t have a problem with giving our kids the best education possible but why do they have to build a new football stadium when they have a perfectly good one at the junior high?

“I know you asked first but, your concerns about the football stadium aside, where would the education of Branson’s children be if the $35.8 million dollars used to fund the new high school and the improvements to the Cedar Ridge elementary complex had not been authorized by the voters in 1998?”

Hey, here’s an idea, let’s close the new high school that was built with the proceeds of the 1998 bonds, take the students currently attending it and move them back to the “old” high school. Of course to do that the 7^th and 8^th graders currently attending class at the old high school, the “new” junior high, would have to go back to the Cedar Ridge complex. Oh, what the heck, while we’re at it let’s remove that portion of the Cedar Ridge complex that was built or improved with the 1998 bonds.

“Now that’s just stupid Seagull. There’s no practical way that either the junior high or the Cedar Ridge complex would be able to efficiently handle the load under those conditions. Are you suggesting that we move kids back to the old elementary school downtown or add whatever number mobiles it takes, to handle the situation?”

“No, just describing the type of conditions that our children’s education would be challenged with today if the bond issue had not been authorized in 1998 for the new high school and the improvements to the Cedar Ridge elementary complex that it funded.”

Things can always be better managed, particularly in hind site, and will never work out so that everyone is satisfied simply because our personal perspectives, perceptions, concerns, values, and priorities are different. In an Ole Seagull’ s opinion, peripheral issues, what ever they are, should not cloud over what should be the primary concern, the quality of the education that our children and grandchildren are receiving. The quality of the education that is so basic and vital to their ability to effectively live and compete in a much more advanced, complex, hectic, and technical world than any generation before them has ever had to face.

In 1998, as the voters went to the polls they had to answer the question, “Where will the education of Branson’s children be in 2005 if we don’t pass this bond issue?” In Apr. of 2005, as voters go to the polls, the children of the district reap the benefits of the choice the voters made in 1998. An Ole Seagull’s prayer would be that the children being educated as voters go the polls in 2012 will be as blessed.

How many would go to a horse race and bet on a three legged horse? Not too many and for good reason. Unless every horse in the race has three or less legs, all else being equal, a horse with four legs will have a better chance of winning than one with three and the horse with four healthy legs has a better chance of winning than one with a bad leg.

In the “Destination Derby,” an annual reoccurring horse race, where the prize is millions of first time and repeat visitors, the horse “Branson” has four legs to help it win the race. Those four legs are, entertainment, shopping, outdoors, and Silver Dollar City. In terms of the reasons why major segments of people come to Branson, there are those who come for entertainment, those who come to shop, those who come for outdoor activities, those who come to go to Silver Dollar City and the majority who come because of a combination of one or more of these things.

Now there will be those who might ask, “Why is Silver Dollar City a separate leg, isn’t it just another attraction that provides entertainment to Branson’s visitors? Yeah sure, and Mount Rushmore is just another mountain located near Custer, South Dakota.

Silver Dollar City is the single entity in the Branson area providing a “stand alone reason” for a major segment of potential Branson visitors to decide to visit Branson. What other single entity, retail store, shopping center, show, or attraction brings as many people to Branson as Silver Dollar City and has done it for as long?

The horse “Branson” not only has four legs as it enters the gate for this season’s Destination Derby but those four legs are in excellent condition. Branson’s already strong entertainment leg is strengthened by the addition of the new Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater Complex, the return of “The Promise,” the steady stream of name guest talent that theatres such as the Grand Palace, Welk Resort Theatre, Branson Variety Theater, Tri-Lakes Center bring in, the addition of the “Great Exposition” at Silver Dollar City, the Titanic Museum, the brand new “Butterfly and Rainforest Attraction, etc.

The addition of Branson Landing will provide a shopping experience available nowhere else in southern Missouri. The entire experience that will be Branson Landing will strengthen not only the shopping leg of the horse Branson but its entertainment and outdoor legs as well.

A horse can have four great legs but without a healthy heart those legs aren’t going to take it very far. The heart of a destination race horse is its marketing and the blood that keeps it pumping is funding.

Wisely, in Nov. of 2005, voters in the Branson area voted for a marketing tax to help rehabilitate Branson’s ailing marketing heart and keep it healthy for years to come. Thanks to that vote and the coordinated efforts of the Branson Board of Aldermen, City Administrator Terry Dody, the members of the Branson Lakes Area Tourism Community Enhancement District, and the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, as the horse Branson breaks from the gate in 2006, it’s heart is not only healthy but will continue to grow stronger with each beat as the race goes on through 2006 and into the future.

To an Ole Seagull, from a destination city point of view, the horse Branson has always had the legs of a champion. Now it has the functioning marketing heart of a champion and is being ridden by a jockey that will be able to maximize the potential of both to put Branson “in the money” for the 2006 season and beyond. “Now hold on there Seagull, are you saying that it’s the marketing heart and the jockey, not all the “new stuff” that will put Branson in the money?”

Exactly, Branson has new stuff every year, some of which lasts and some of which doesn’t. What has lasted and served Branson well is its historic entertainment foundation. From the very beginning Branson has had the “right stuff” and the innovators to provide its visitors with an evolving enjoyable experience that they return to again and again.

What it has not had up till now is the ability to effectively market what it had. It’s not the “new stuff” that is the key to Branson’s future prosperity, it’s remaining true to its values and family entertainment roots and their effective marketing that will preserve it and enable it to prosper and grow in 2006 and into the future, nothing more and nothing less.