Month: December 2007

By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull

The community was almost in shock when, in June, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced its intention to close the Business Highway 65/MO 76 Bridge across Lake Taneycomo (the bridge) for a year. The announcement came from MoDOT’s District 8 Transportation Project Manager, Chad E. Zickefoose at the June Partners in Progress meeting held in Hollister.

Specifically, Zickefoose said, “The bridge isn’t in any danger of falling in but the deck is deteriorating fast” and will require repairs which will necessitate the closing of the bridge for “a significant amount of time… in the vicinity of a year plus.” The public response was so overwhelming that the July Partners in Progress meeting was moved to the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks.

That meeting, the first of many held since, was attended by over 200 residents and public officials. Kirk E. Juranas, MoDOT’s District 8 Engineer explained that the problem with the bridge was its deteriorating deck, not the driving surface but the cement deck upon which it rests. He went on to explain that the unique architectural structure of the open-spandrel arch type bridge and the way the cement floor beams are poured as part of the deck prohibits its rehabilitation without its complete closure. MoDOT further pointed out that if the deck was not repaired it would have to be closed.

Since that time, a number of meetings have been held between various local government entities themselves and those entities with MoDOT. In addition, a MoDOT funded Value Engineering Study has been held and the voters of Taney County rejected a retail sales tax increase a portion of which would have been used to fund a new bridge.

At the Dec. 20, Partners in Progress meeting, MoDOT’s District 8 Transportation Project Manager, Chad E. Zickefoose indicated that, based on everything that has transpired so far, MoDOT is basing any alternative actions to the original plan of rehabilitating the current bridge, building a round-about and closing the bridge on the recommended alternative B-10 in the MoDOT Valuation Engineering Study.

That alternative provides for the construction of a new bridge just to the north of the current bridge that would connect to Branson Landing Boulevard. While the new bridge is being constructed the current bridge would remain open. After the new bridge is completed and operational the current bridge would be closed for the better part of a year for deck repair and rehabilitation.

Zickefoose said that if MoDOT cost shares the estimated $18 million cost at a 50 percent level, the remaining cost to finance a new bridge would be about $9 million. Of that $9 million, MoDOT’s District 8 would allocate the approximately $3.5 million that it was going to put into the original bridge rehab and round-about project leaving a gap of about $5 million to come from other sources.

As 2007 comes to a close, after six months of meetings, discussions, and studies, no local entity, except the city of Hollister, which endorses the B-10 option, has made a decision on what if any alternative to the closing of the bridge they want to pursue. Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley said that her board was still studying the issue and Taney County Commissioner Danny Strahan said he wanted to hold public hearings to see how the people feel about the issue.

Another meeting between MoDOT and the various local government entities involved is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2008 at which time it is anticipated that the local entities will have decided on what, if any alternative to the closing of the bridge should be pursued.

By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull

B-10 Alternative with new bridge to Branson Landing.

At the recent Partners in Progress meeting, held on Dec. 20 in the Hollister Town Hall, Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley said that there are some concerns among Branson’s elected officials regarding the construction of a new bridge over Lake Taneycomo. Her comments came during a discussion about the best course of action to take regarding the problems posed by the traffic congestion and the deteriorating deck condition of the Business Highway 65/MO 76 Bridge across Lake Taneycomo (the bridge) between Hollister and Branson.

During the discussion, Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) District 8 Transportation Project Manager, Chad E. Zickefoose, said that he thought that the Dec. 6 meeting between MoDOT and officials from Taney County, Hollister, and the city of Branson was very productive. He pointed out that as a result of the meeting MoDOT has agreed to delay any sort of construction work on the bridge and intersection at its eastern end until the Fall of 2009. He said, “We are essentially delaying the bid opening on the project a year to give us a little more time to look at funding options and things.”

Zickefoose went on to point out that Kirk E. Juranas, MoDOT’s District 8 Engineer, has been in discussion with the folks in Jeff City and with MoDOT’s Cost Share Committee to see whether or not there is a viable chance that some sort of cost sharing from the state would be available for the bridge. He expressed his optimism that some cost sharing funds would be available.

According to Zickefoose, MoDOT is basing any alternative actions to the original plan of rehabbing the current bridge and the original round-about on the recommended alternative B-10 in the MoDOT Valuation Engineering Study that has just recently been completed. That alternative provides for the construction of a new bridge just to the north of the current bridge that would connect to Branson Landing Boulevard. While the new bridge is being constructed the current bridge would remain open. After the new bridge is completed and operational the current bridge would be closed for the better part of a year for deck repair and rehabilitation.

Zickefoose said that if $18 million is used as the projects cost and MoDOT cost shares at a 50 percent level that brings the remaining cost to be financed to $9 million. Of that $9 million, MoDOT’s District 8 would allocate the approximately $4 million that it was going to put into the original bridge rehab and round-about project leaving a gap of about $5 million to come from other sources.

In stating the city of Branson’s current position on the bridge situation and the B-10 alternative specifically, Mayor Raeanne Presley summed it up by saying, “There is not an absolute consensus among our board that this is the right thing to do.” While echoing the thanks of the local entities to MoDOT for the extra decision making time she went on to express some of the concerns of Branson’s Board of Aldermen.

In amplifying on the boards concerns she said, “My board did have some concerns about the traffic impact as it heads into downtown Branson.” She said that the Branson Convention Center has just opened and that the downtown area was in the process of adjusting to the effects of that traffic. Mayor Presley also pointed out that the city’s planned traffic improvements for the downtown area had not incorporated a second bridge and that many of the aldermen wanted some time to study the downtown traffic patterns as relates to the impact of a second bridge.

The mayor also expressed the city’s concern over the physical tie-in and the costs involved with that tie-in at the western end of the bridge where it joins with Branson Landing Boulevard. MoDOT’s Chad Zickefoose said that the current estimates for the project, “Includes the cost of fully building the bridge across the lake and ties into the end of the four lane section on Branson Landing Boulevard. Branson City Engineer David Miller pointed out that it was more than just joining two roads together. Among other things Miller was concerned with access to the camp ground, Long Street [Branson Landing Boulevard], flood plain issues, etc.

Currently, a meeting between MoDOT and the various local government entities involved in the bridge project is scheduled for Feb. 6. At that time it is anticipated that the local entities will have decided on what they want and the actual procurement of the funding for the project can proceed. MoDOT Project Manager, Zickefoose pointed out that between now and then he would be meeting individually with each of the local entities involved, including the city of Branson.

By: Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull

Santa’s arrival was delayed about a week because of weather, but when he finally arrived at the Historic Hollister Train Depot on Dec. 16 the kids, parents and grandparents waiting for him did notseem to care. He arrived safely at about 3:00 p.m. in a Western Taney County Fire Protection Rescue Truck with a Hollister police escort.

Hollister Assistant City Administrator, Vonnie Mathiesen estimated that the turnout was about 100. She explained that although, for a variety of reasons, attendance was not as great as in years past, the important thing was that the long established tradition of Santa coming to the children in the Hollister area was continued. She said, “If just one child left happy then the whole event was worthwhile.”

The event was jointly sponsored by the Hollister Parks Department and the Hollister Chamber of Commerce. In addition to Santa Claus, the children were entertained by the clowns Ronzo and Sugar who also made balloon figures and Sprinkles, the clown, who did face painting. Pam Druffle, Chairman of the Board of the Hollister Chamber of Commerce described the event as a way of giving back to the community and said, “It’s all about the kids.”

Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.

By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull

The city of Branson and the Hilton Hotels Corporation have something in common, neither one has managed a municipally owned convention center before. At its Dec. 18 meeting of the city of Branson’s Budget and Finance Committee (the committee) met with members of the Senate Hospitality Group (Senate) to discuss an asset management relationship.

Glen Malone, the Chief Operating Officer and CFO described Senate’s asset management roll for the Branson Convention Center as one of providing knowledge and expertise in the hospitality industry, that the city does not currently have, to help maximize the return on the city’s investment in its convention center. In response to the specific question of Mayor Raeanne Presley, Malone said that although Senate has not done any asset management on a stand alone convention center they have done so on a number of convention and meeting facilities such as the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center complex in Nashville, TN.

Mayor Presley made it very clear that the city and Mark Hartman, the General Manager of the Hiltons of Branson, were working together as a team to try to efficiently manage the convention center. The general consensus of the committee was that for the city to effectively participate in the process they needed someone with the specialized knowledge and expertise that it did not have to help them insure that systems and procedures are put into place to enable the city to effectively monitor and oversee the convention center operations.

One of the immediate areas of concern of the committee was getting some assistance in evaluating the 2008 Operating Budget for the Convention Center that was recently presented by Hilton. It is anticipated that Senate will be able to review the proposed budget as to the appropriateness and reasonableness of some of the specialized items that the committee has no, or limited, expertise with. There was some concern among committee members that at least a part of the proposed budget mirrored the budget contained in a consulting report that the city had commissioned while the convention center was being initially evaluated.

While acknowledging that charge backs under the agreements could be pretty complex, the committee noted that there are a tremendous amount of charge backs to the convention center from the Branson Convention Center Hotel. It was also noted that between $500,000 and $1 million dollars a year are to be allocated to the marketing of the convention center and that although there is a marketing plan it is not very detailed as compared to the plan that the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & CVB is required to submit under its marketing contract with the city.

Another area of concern was the format of reports on the convention center operations. Although the city and Hilton are currently working on the further development and refinement of such reports it is anticipated that Senate would get involved in the process. As an example of the type of report that the committee would like to see, the reports of the St. Charles, Missouri Convention Center, managed by Global Spectrum was mentioned as an example.

Another area of concern expressed by the committee was an analysis of all current management agreements relating to the convention center. A lot of time was spent discussing the laundry that was built as part of the convention center, how the Convention Center Hotel is charged for the laundry done at the convention centers laundry, and the fact that the current agreement with Hilton is fairly mute on the operation of the laundry.

Senate will submit a proposal for a six month engagement by the end of this week. It is anticipated that during the engagement Senate will, at a minimum, review the proposed 2008 budget for the convention center, all definitive agreements that exist, give a summary of what rights the city has and advise of any unusual provisions contained within the agreements. Senate will also review how the sales and marketing of the convention center is being handled and help develop the final management and financial reports that the committee wants.

Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.

By: Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull

If ex-alderman David Edie’s request is honored, the decision that the previous board and mayor made to permit a 300 foot skyscraper to be built on one of Branson’s most prominent pieces of land will be reversed. He made his request at the Dec. 10 meeting of the city of Branson’s Board of Aldermen (the board) presided over by Mayor Raeanne Presley and attended by Aldermen Jack Purvis, Sandra Williams, Stan Barker, Bob McDowell, Dick Gass, and Stephen Marshall.

Edies’s request came during the Public Comment portion of the meeting and started off with a reading from the travelogue book entitled “The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America” by Bill Bryson. The reading described the author’s impression of a Hyatt Regency Hotel located in an older area of Savannah, Georgia, as “an instantly depressing sight. Massive and made of shaped concrete it was from the in your face school of architecture so favored by big American hotel chains. There was nothing about it, in scale or appearance that was remotely sympathetic to the old buildings around it. It just said, ‘In your face Savannah.’”

He suggested that the quote described how a lot of people in Branson feel. Edie went on to describe that on Dec. 11, 2006, while he was a member of the board, they were faced with a decision to allow a 300 foot building, “designed from the same school of architecture,” to be built on one of the most prominent locations in Branson. He continued saying, “It was barely allowed, as you all know, by a split vote.”

Edie suggested that had the building been built, there would have been nothing about it that would be “in scale or appearance in any way remotely sympathetic to or in harmony with this city or any of the surrounding area.” He concluded his initial remarks by saying, “I’m here tonight to ask you to revisit ordinance 2006-171 and to revise the paragraph and remove the 300 foot limitation and restore the original building height limit of 100 feet.”

The minutes of the Dec. 11, 2006 meeting of the Branson Board of Aldermen indicate that “an ordinance amending the Land Use Regulations for Planned Development PD-98-007 known as ‘The Point Entertainment Complex’ located at 448 State Highway 248 Branson, Missouri” was discussed at the meeting. They further indicate that there was a tie vote on the issue with Aldermen Gass, Barker, and ex-Alderwoman Martin voting “aye” and Aldermen Purvis and ex-aldermen Edie and Huff voting “Nay.” Ex-Mayor, Lou Schaefer, voted “Aye” and the motion carried permitting the developer to build a 300 foot tall building. Ordinance 2006-171 also repealed, in its entirety, Ordinance 2006-132 which has previously authorized the building of a 12 story building.

At the conclusion of Edie’s comments Alderman Gass, who was one of the aldermen who voted for the 300 foot building said, “I have just one comment Dave. I don’t see that building ever being built. I just don’t know how that could ever be built to that size where it would make money and I think that if you talked to some of the developers around here they realize that. When we voted on that. I think that is a prime location and I agree with you, I don’t think you’ll ever see a building that tall built there even though we voted it in that night.” Edie agreed and said he would be surprised if it were but said he would still like to see the ordinance changed so that no one could do that. Gass said, “That’s a good question.”

There were no further comments or questions by the board or city staff. Without further action by city staff or an elected official to change Ordinance 2006-171 the 300 foot height limit will stand.

Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent. https://bransoncourier.com/view_article.php?news_ID=41

When the downtown Lake Taneycomo Bridge was closed for repairs for about a half a day in November, two major areas of traffic congestion were apparent. One was the back up of traffic coming off the south bound Highway 65 ramp to take Business Highway 65 back through Hollister. The other was turning west off the northern end of Gage Drive onto the Business Highway 65 portion of the interchange when coming from Harter House, McDonalds, or the other businesses located off of Gage Drive.

There are two road projects underway in Hollister that will improve both situations, the northern extension of Birch Street and the Gage Drive Loop. The west bound traffic turning from Gage Drive onto Business Highway 65, back to the traffic signal at the College of the Ozarks can, at times be, in the very least challenging and, at the most, dangerous.

Currently there is only one way in and out of the area accessed by Gage Drive and that is through the intersection of Gage Drive and Business Highway 65, which is part of the Highway 65 interchange. At certain times of the day there is moving traffic coming from both directions on the Business Highway 65 portion of the interchange, westbound traffic waiting to turn off of Business Highway 65 onto Gage Drive and traffic on Gage Drive waiting to turn west onto Business Highway 65 towards the College of the Ozarks traffic signal.

The situation gets even more complicated as those coming off of Gage Drive, westbound on Business Highway 65, wanting to go either into the College of the Ozarks or towards Hollister, have to cross two to four lanes of traffic to do so. It gets even more complicated because a lot of the traffic in those lanes, coming from the east, is also changing lanes trying to do the same thing.

Hollister City Administrator, Rick Ziegenfuss explained that the Gage Drive extension will not only help eliminate that situation but provide more parking area and safety for the Hollister Police Department. Gage Drive is being extended south, just past the front of the Hollister Police Department where it will turn west and proceed up to an intersection with Historic Highway 165. This will provide an alternate route to enter and leave those businesses located along Gage Drive and help alleviate the current traffic challenges at its intersection with the Business Highway 65 portion of the interchange.

Ziegenfuss also said that as the project is completed there will be some work and elevation changes at the Hollister Police Department on Gage Drive that will provide for better parking, security, and functionality. He indicated that the project is ready for gutters, curbs, and completion of the road as soon as weather permits.

The north bound Birch Street extension will provide more convenient access to the South Towne Center and the development taking place around it to those travelers coming from the east. Basically, the extension will proceed on a northerly line paralleling Highway 65, from it current intersection with Mall Avenue, and intersect with Business Highway 65 just east of the east end of the Highway 65 flyover bridge.

Ziegenfuss pointed out that the extension will also provide an alternate route to access the Highway 65 interchange which could help more evenly distribute the traffic using the interchange and help it operate more efficiently under heavy traffic situations such as that experienced when the Taneycomo Bridge was closed. He anticipates that the Birch Street extension will be open to traffic in Spring of 2008.

Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.

By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull

“Christmas” has always been an inherent part of Ozark Mountain Christmas now it’s official. At the Dec. 10 meeting of the city of Branson’s Board of Aldermen, presided over by Mayor Raeanne Presley, and attended by Aldermen Jack Purvis, Sandra Williams, Stan Barker, Bob McDowell, Dick Gass, and Stephen Marshall, the board approved a resolution stating, “The Board of Aldermen hereby states its support of the celebration of Ozark Mountain Christmas.”

Originally, the resolution, entitled “The Support of the Board of Aldermen of the city of Branson to the celebration of Christmas in Branson as part of Ozark Mountain Christmas” (the resolution), was scheduled to be the last item on the meeting’s agenda. It was moved to the first item of business to accommodate those coming to the meeting who might have come just to speak to the resolution. The motion to approve the resolution was introduced by Alderman Marshall. There was no city report, recommendation, or input given from city staff as part of the introduction.

During the public comment portion of the meeting every speaker but one supported the motion. Representative of the comments would be those of Bob Simmons who stated his support for the resolution and said, “It reaffirms what our position on Christmas and this season which has meant so much to us in many many ways.”

The board’s discussion of the issue started with Alderman Purvis stating his objections to the resolution as presented. He stated he didn’t believe it would do anything for us, and said that he believed, “that there are some ramifications that could be of a negative impact that could draw attention to us as the super destination Christmas.” Alderwoman Williams stated her support of the resolution and pointed out that all it did was, “suggest and encourage the businesses in the city of Branson support and promote an event that we are marketing for the visitors that are coming here and that they expect to see and experience. She went on to point out that it is not religious at all and doesn’t tell anyone who does not want to celebrate Christmas to do it.

Alderman Marshall said, “The whole intent of this resolution had nothing to do with religion, zero, zip.” He went on to point out the vast support he has received from the public in support of the resolution, explain his rationale for why he believed the resolution was necessary, acknowledged the concern that some businesses in the community had that the ACLU would some to Branson because of the resolution and pointed out that the whole situation had become something bigger than it actually was. At that point he made a motion to amend the resolution to eliminate the last two sections from the resolution.

After the amendment, the operable portion of the resolution read, “The Board of Aldermen hereby states its support of the celebration of Ozark Mountain Christmas.” The first section that was eliminated read, “In furtherance of that support, the Board hereby urges Branson businesses to try to keep the word and spirit of ‘Christmas’ in Christmas and to foster the history and heritage of the traditional American Christmas in Branson, Missouri.” The other eliminated the section read, “The Board of Aldermen also hereby encourages all businesses and residents of Branson to show their support by the displaying of Christmas decorations during Branson’s Ozark Mountain Christmas to ensure that all visitors experience the old fashion Christmas they imagined.”

During the debate on the public debate on the amended motion, local editorial cartoonist John Logan spoke passionately against the amendment. From a conflict of interest perspective this writer spoke in favor of the amendment. The amended motion was approved by the unanimous vote of the board. Prior to the vote on the amendment, Mayor Presley stated her position that in the case of a tie she would be voting for the resolution.

Related Links:

1. Board to decide how much Christmas is in Ozark Mountain Christmas.
2. Branson’s resolution is about "Christmas" not the establishment clause!
3. Will Branson celebrate Christmas or some other neutered politically correct holiday?

Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.

By Gary J. Groman, a.k.a. The Ole Seagull

Just how much “Christmas” is in Ozark Mountain Christmas may be decided by the city of Branson’s Board of Aldermen at its Dec. 10 meeting. At the Dec. 4 work session of the city of Branson’s Board of Aldermen, presided over by Mayor Raeanne Presley, and attended by Aldermen Jack Purvis, Sandra Williams, Bob McDowell, Dick Gass, and Stephen Marshall, Alderman Marshall presented a resolution supporting “the celebration of Ozark Mountain Christmas.”

Marshall said that the resolution was prompted by a column written by this reporter. That column entitled, “Will Branson celebrate Christmas or some other neutered politically correct holiday?” appeared in the Nov. 23 edition of this paper and on line at www.bransoncourier.com under “Editorials.”

The column said that the name of the celebration that the Branson community markets to the world is “Ozark Mountain Christmas” and that with every other festival or celebration, residents, businesses, and employees are encouraged to get with the spirit of the occasion being promoted. It expressed the writer’s hope that it would be important to that same community that Christmas is celebrated and preserved as its own holiday and not lost in a myriad of other holidays or hidden in a closet filled with “commercialism” and “political correctness.”

The resolution that Marshall presented contains three short operable sections. The first states that “the Board of Aldermen hereby states its support of the celebration of Ozark Mountain Christmas.” The next section says, “In furtherance of that support, the Board hereby urges Branson businesses to try to keep the word and spirit of ‘Christmas’ in Christmas and to foster the history and heritage of the traditional American Christmas in Branson, Missouri.” The last section reads, “The Board of Aldermen also hereby encourages all businesses and residents of Branson to show their support by the displaying of Christmas decorations during Branson’s Ozark Mountain Christmas to ensure that all visitors experience the old fashion Christmas they imagined.”

In introducing the resolution Marshall pointed out that the area markets “Ozark Mountain Christmas.” Marshall said, “People come to Branson because of Christmas’ and went on to say, “I believe that as a city we should endorse that.” He pointed out that as you drive around town you see less and less decorations happening and less and less use of the word “Christmas.” Alderwoman Williams said, “We do spend money marketing ‘Ozark Mountain Christmas’ and we pull lots of people here.” She continued, “I feel that if we are going to market it that we almost owe them what they expect when they get here.”

When the mayor referred the matter to the city of Branson’s attorney Paul Link, he started off by saying, “I can tell you that I haven’t seen the resolution but when I saw the topic I called the Missouri Municipal League about it and before I even got very far into the dialogue I was met with an absolutely do not do that….” Mayor Presley said, “We are fairly warned.”

At that point, Alderman McDowell said, “Wait, can you get clarification from them Paul on specifically what the areas of concern are?” Link responded, “The area of concern is the establishment clause of the United States Constitution. The government is not supposed to encourage one sect of religion over another.” When Link implied that the resolution somewhat mandated someone to say “Merry Christmas” both Aldermen Marshall and William pointed out that the resolution did not mandate anything. Link responded, “You are not mandating. What I am saying is that when you encourage one religion the establishment clause is set there to protect those so that they don’t think they are at a disadvantage with the government because they don’t follow the religion that’s being encouraged by that governmental entity.”

Alderwoman Williams then asked, “How can we take city money and market “Ozark Mountain Christmas?” Link said, “Um, as far as the difference, all I can say to that is I can’t guarantee you that someone that is not a Christian would not take issue with that and sue the city at some point for our financial support…” Link went on to say, “There are things that we do at this city that if the ACLU came down we would more than likely be prohibited from doing.”

Alderwoman Williams said, “Paul, let us know if you think we need to reword it.” Acting City Administrator, Frank Schoneboom, before Link could reply said, “I think what we are saying is that we don’t think you should do it.” Aldermen Williams and Marshall indicated that they wanted the proposed resolution reviewed. A comparison of the operable portions of the resolution, as presented on the city of Branson’s website and quoted above, are virtually the same as the draft resolution Alderman Marshall presented at the meeting.

Furnished courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent.