Earlier this week it was reported that the last phase of the Branson Fall Creek Road extension to the north is in jeopardy for lack of funding. A reasonable person might ask, “How can that happen? To an Ole Seagull, the answer is simple, “Because city staff and the city’s elected leaders let it happen.”
Some might ask “Why?” Hasn’t the Fall Creek road extension north to its intersection with Roark Valley Road and James F. Epps Road and its continuation on to its intersection with Highway 248 been one of the crown jewels in Branson’s transportation plans for the last few years? Wasn’t it supposed to provide one of the main intercity north south routes to give relief to 76 etc.? The answer s to the last two questions would be “Yes.”
The answer to the “Why” question is both simple and complex. The obvious and simple answer to the “Why” it happened, based on the Ole Seagull’s personal observations, and the financial consultants the city has hired, would be that the city staff and its elected officials do not have adequate access to the financial information in the format it needs to make the decisions they must make in a timely and, more important, efficient manner.
It’s not a matter of not having the information in the system, it’s a matter of getting it into a format that the decision makers can use to make the decisions they must make to effectively manage the financial condition of the programs they manage and the city. The “how” the city got into the position it is in goes far beyond the scope of this column.
A reasonable person might say, “Well that’s all real nice Seagull, but hasn’t the city already spent about $3 million on the Fall Creek Road extension so far?” The Ole Seagull would answer, “Yes.”
The anticipated follow up question would be, “What has Branson received for the $3 million it has invested in the Fall Creek Road Project?” An Ole Seagull would reply, “A stop light, an almost one of a kind inefficient zigzag approach to the intersection and the commitment of city government it would give Branson another major north south route with connectivity to Highway 248 to the north.
Why some might even ask, “Wasn’t the low bid of $4.5 million, received from a reputable low bidder, about a million dollars lower than the conservative estimate of $5.5 million and the high estimate of over $7 million prior to the bid openings?” The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
A reasonable person might ask, “With a deal like that how can they not complete the project?” The city’s current answer is simple, “There is only $3.8 million in the budget which is $700,000 short of what is needed.” Someone more astute than an Ole Seagull might reply, “If they can come up with $1.6 million for the Forsythe Street diabolical, which wasn’t even on the financial calendar two years ago, why can’t they come up with what is needed to finish a major project that has been in progress for years?
An Ole Seagull really can’t effectively reply to that because he hasn’t seen the comparative studies showing the relative benefits of the city spending $1.6 million on a road that was supposed to be free to the city and why that expenditure should take precedence over a project of the magnitude of Fall Creek Road where $3 million dollars had already been expended. Exactly what traffic studies and reports did the alderman study prior to jumping off in that direction?
The city has about 60 days to decide whether or not to accept the bid to complete the Fall Creek Road Project. To an Ole Seagull, it is a matter of honor and commitment. In his mind, the pathetic zigzag intersection at the current intersection of Fall Creek Road and Highway 76, and whether it stays or goes as part of the overall completion of the project, is a monument to that honor and commitment. “But Seagull, what if they just correct the zigzag.” That too speaks to that honor and commitment.
[Seagull’s Note: From a potential conflict of interest point of view the Ole seagull would point out that he is planning to move into a condo located off Fall Creek Road next week. Regardless of that, this column would have been written this week exactly as written.]
