It didn’t take long for accusations of conflict of interest being hurled at newly elected Alderman Stephen Marshall after Branson’s April 2007 election, not long at all. In a column published April 22, 2007 the Ole Seagull said, “This week’s column is a response to an anonymous post, by someone calling themselves “Grizzly,” addressed to the Ole Seagull, in an on line forum he posts on www.1Branson.com. The post is entitled ‘City aldermen Code of Ethics ???’ Its topic is so very timely and pertinent to the events starting to develop within our community that the Ole Seagull wanted to share it with the whole community through the printed medium before posting it on line to a relatively small segment of that community.”
Why is what happened almost a year ago germane today? In a discussion of the Ole Seagull’s Feb. 24 column entitled, “Though April elections may come your way, they bring the TIFs which bloom in May” taking place in the Ole Seagull’s Forum on www.1Branson.com, a poster identified as “lilley” said, “I sought after this forum after reading about and receiving a letter from Marc Williams running for city alderman ward 3. I wanted to see if I was the only one who thought this was a huge conflict of interest, electing a partner of a firm who is doing business with the city… “doing business with” is a huge understatement by the way. I’m sure he’s a great guy and would be a fine alderman… in another town… but not in Branson where HCW is such a prominent force in business dealings within Branson.”
Even that alone is not enough to bring up potential conflict of interest again except for the fact that the very first reply was from Grizzly responding, “HCW rents land from the City of Branson. The lease is long term and already signed sealed and delivered. …As far as I know all business HCW has had with the City is completed. Hilton (the company, not the franchisee) has a contract with the City to manage the convention center. Now that everything is built, HCW really is nothing more than a tenant.” Grizzly, in referring to Williams, goes on to say, “If his interests are anything, they are less conflicting than some existing council members.”
In responding to another poster’s comments about Marshall’s potential conflict of interest Grizzly adds, “And let us not mention the future Hotel/convention center his company is building at Lake of the Ozarks as a moderately potential competitor to our convention center.” Isn’t it interesting, even after almost a year without one iota of evidence indicating anything except Marshall using his expertise to do exactly what he was elected to do, Grizzly and a few others keep playing the potential conflict of interest card in Marshall’s case while choosing to ignore it in the case of Williams and, in some cases themselves?
Is there a current alderman who has publically suggested the possibility of Marshall being in a potential conflict of interest situation while at the same time failing to recuse themselves on votes where millions of dollars in city funds actually went to the very department in an organization where a close family member worked? If so isn’t that at least the appearance of the conflict of interest and the height of hypocrisy for that alderman to suggest it in Marshall’s case?
To an Ole Seagull, for Grizzly, or anyone else for that matter, to say, “Now that everything is built, HCW really is nothing more than a tenant” and “If his [Williams] interests are anything, they are less conflicting than some existing council members,” is at best uniformed. For what it matters, an Ole Seagull would suggest that, in fact, the opposite appears to be true.
Is there another company that has the same manager for its two hotels that the city has for its convention center? Do not some of the different agreements that the city has with the manager of its convention center tie back to the apportionment of expenses to the HCW owned hotels? Are there active agreements between the city and HCW pertaining to expenses etc. for the operation and maintenance of the fountain and other privately owned areas of Branson Landing?
Is there the possibility that even as this is being written that the city is in negotiation with HCW to purchase some land for the rec-plex expansion for a price of between $1 and 2.2 million? Are there other agreements that the city and HCW are involved in? Does Williams as a principal in HCW, indeed the “W” in HCW have a fiduciary duty to it?
