Branson News Guide

Aldermen meeting went 4 hours 15 minutes

Board approves bill dealing with temporary animal adoption events

Often, government agencies and non-profit animal welfare groups want to hold temporary events in Branson where they put dogs and cats up for adoption to the public. This bill allows for such temporary adoption events with certain conditions as required by state statutes. The new ordinance allows pet adoption events in the city for no more than four days, and the adopting agency must have appropriate licenses and permits from the Missouri Department of Agriculture and a license issued by the city of Branson. Aldermen approved this bill on final reading.

Branson Arts Council receives funding for fine arts show

Aldermen approved a request from the Branson Arts Council for $35,000 to promote and advertise the city’s first fine arts show at the Branson Convention Center in October. The funds will come from the city’s Tourism Contingency Fund, which are monies held by the city from the tourism sales tax to be used for marketing special events approved by the Board of Aldermen.

Bill to expand Board appointed committees gets first reading nod

Aldermen approved on first reading a bill to expand the personnel committee, budget and finance committee, and capital improvements committee to include non-elected citizens. Currently, only aldermen are appointed to these standing city committees. Now, two citizens will be appointed to each of the committees.

Board approves expanded written minutes

Board approved on first reading a bill that creates a change in the city code requiring more detailed written minutes of public comments at aldermen meetings. Currently, written minutes of aldermen meetings only show the vote on ordinances and only the names and addresses of citizens who spoke. Under this ordinance the city clerk will provide a synopsis of comments made by citizens speaking during Board meetings. Second and final approval of this bill is set for June 11. All Board of Aldermen meetings are audio taped, and those recordings are available to the public and also can be heard in their entirety on the city’s website.

Funds for a new hiking and biking trail approved on first reading

A bill authorizing the city to enter into a cost-sharing contract with MoDOT for a new hiking trail received first round approval. The trail will extend from the end of Schaefer Drive in west Branson and continue west and north to connect with the Highroad right-of-way. MoDOT will pay for 50 percent of the $200,000 total cost. Second reading on this bill comes up June 11.

Resolution to continue exploring the integration of city and county health departments gets approval

Board approved a resolution authorizing the mayor, working with the chairman of the Taney County Health Department Board of Trustees, to establish a task force committee to study the feasibility of merging the city and county health departments. The resolution also included the mayor appointing two aldermen to serve on that committee. No appointments were made at Tuesday’s meeting.

Board does away with policy of protecting Branson name

In a unanimous 6-0 vote, the Board of Aldermen withdrew the program by which the city tried to protect the Branson name. Last fall, aldermen passed an ordinance instructing the city attorney to send letters to businesses opening outside of the city limits to get permission from the city attorney if those businesses wanted to use Branson in their names. The vote at that time was 5-1 in favor of the ordinance. The purpose was to protect Branson’s name in the event businesses like a casino or adult entertainment use Branson in their names when they aren’t even in Branson. Several citizens and businesses have complained about these letters saying the city should not be doing this, and that the city has no right to require new businesses outside the city to get permission to use Branson’s name. And as of May 30, the city will no longer be making attempts to protect the Branson name.

Another sign of increased tourism in Branson this year is the amount of drinking water produced by the city’s public works department. Overall water use increased significantly this spring compared to spring 2006.

In March, water use totaled 93.21 million gallons, an increase of 4.73 percent over March 2006. April of this year also surpassed the previous year with 104.02 million gallons, an increase of 3.8 percent.

This pattern continued the first weekend of May when 12.6 million gallons of water was treated, an increase of 8.7 percent over last year.

For all of 2006, the amount of drinking water produced by the city set a record with almost 1.4 billion gallons.
Of the total amount of water produced by the city, 92 percent comes from surface water out of Lake Taneycomo and 8 percent from ground water wells.

According to city officials, three major factors contribute to the record water usage — new development, more visitors in town and more people moving into the city.

The Branson Board of Aldermen will be considering a Resolution at its next meeting to further explore service integration between the city’s health department and the Taney County Health Department by establishing a community task force committee.

Aldermen held a joint public meeting with the Taney County Health Department Board of Trustees Friday afternoon and heard presentations by the directors of the city and county health departments on the advantages of merging the two into one countywide health system.

Taney County Health Director Jim Berry said the current dual health system causes confusion with citizens. Currently the city health department conducts all environmental inspections for commercial businesses while the county provides general health programs for adults and children. Berry said people will call the wrong health department for the information they are seeking, and they can’t understand why that department can’t help.

“The structure of health services in the county could be strengthened with this integration of services,” Berry said. “Every citizen in our county expects a public health department to meet certain standards.”

Under the proposed merger, the eight environmental health inspectors from the city health department would be absorbed into the county health department with no loss of salary.

The Taney County Health Department is funded by a portion of property taxes plus federal grants as well as state reimbursements for certain women and children’s programs. Berry said the county health department’s budget is about $3 million.

During the transition to one health department, Berry said the city of Branson would contribute $800,000 a year, and that amount would probably decrease over time.

Both Berry and city of Branson Health Director Linn Smith recommended a task force be established to further study the integration proposal.

Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley said a resolution will be brought before aldermen May 29 that authorizes her to appoint two members from the Board of Aldermen to serve on this task force.

The Taney County Health Department Board of Trustees will also appoint two members, and representatives from the Branson lodging and theater associations will also serve on the task force.

Veteran Branson police officers Scotty Penner and Sean Barnwell have successfully completed their Crime Scene Investigator’s Certification from Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.

Penner, a 23-year veteran of the police department, is a captain in the detective division, and Barnwell, who has been with the department for 14 years, is a detective sergeant.

The certification consisted of 81 hours of training that covered crime scene analysis; enhanced fingerprinting techniques; forensic laboratory services and technology; and courtroom preparation. Penner and Barnwell joined law enforcement officers from three states to attend the training at Missouri Southern with the instructors being nationally certified by numerous state and federal agencies.

Branson Police Chief Caroll McCullough congratulated Penner and Barnwell on their accomplishments, and said he is continually updating training for his officers to provide the best law enforcement services for residents and visitors.

Board considers bill dealing with temporary animal adoption events

Often, government agencies and non-profit animal welfare groups want to hold temporary events in Branson where they put dogs and cats up for adoption to the public. This bill allows for such temporary adoption events with certain conditions as required by state statutes. The new ordinance allows pet adoption events in the city for no more than four days, and the adopting agency must have appropriate licenses and permits from the Missouri Department of Agriculture and a license issued by the city of Branson. This is the first reading of the bill. Second reading will be May 29.

Board approves application process for tourism tax contingency funds

Aldermen approved a resolution to have in place a formal application process for groups seeking money for the Tourism Tax Contingency Funds. Several years ago, the Board of Aldermen set aside a small portion of the tourism tax marketing revenues to fund special events or activities designed to bring more visitors to Branson. In the past, groups wanting these funds made a presentation before the aldermen at a regular meeting. With this Resolution, there is a formal, written application that must be completed and submitted to the aldermen before the request for funds is considered.

Chamber gives tourism update for first quarter 2007

The Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce reported that Branson enjoyed a good first quarter in 2007. From January through March, the city sales tax increased 26 percent, the tourism tax 13 percent and hotel room occupancy was up 9 percent compared to first quarter 2006. The Chamber also reported that for the first time, more inquiries about Branson are coming through website hits rather than telephone calls. This year’s marketing strategy is to continue advertising in larger markets like Chicago and Dallas where targeting those markets in 2006 really paid off. Chamber officials say visitation will continue to grow in 2007, but more moderately and consistently.

Convention center update

Representatives from Turner Construction told aldermen that the convention center and convention center hotel remain on schedule to open in mid-August.

Board wants to expand written minutes

Board directed city administration to create a change in the city code to require more detailed written minutes of public comments at aldermen meetings. Currently, written minutes of aldermen meetings only show the vote on ordinances and only the names and addresses of citizens who spoke. Aldermen now want a synopsis of speakers’ comments on future written minutes. An ordinance to expand the written minutes will be on the May 29 Board of Aldermen agenda.

The city of Branson Public Health Specialist Laura Hunter has received an outstanding student award from the Environmental Health Department at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.

Hunter graduated from the university in December and was hired by the city of Branson’s Health Department in January as a state certified public health specialist. Her workday includes inspecting day cares, tattoo and massage parlors, hotels and some of Branson’s 444 restaurants.

Each department’s full time faculty collaborates to select the outstanding students. The student’s grades, leadership and university contributions are evaluated.

The departmental awards for outstanding students were given May 1 at Missouri Southern’s annual honors convocation.

Michael Rankin to enter private sector

Branson Economic Development Director Michael Rankin has announced his resignation effective May 31.

Rankin was hired as the city’s first economic development director in 2002. Prior to joining the city, he was the executive director of the Branson Regional Economic Development Association (BREDA).

Rankin said he is seeking other opportunities and has already lined up jobs doing consulting to private companies when he leaves the city later this month.

“While at Branson the past five years, I have had an opportunity to work with an incredible staff, “ said Rankin. “This was a difficult decision to make, and I will miss working with the city’s staff and administration to further the unprecedented growth in the Branson area. It’s been quite a ride!”

Rankin said he will use his economic development experience to assist in his consulting work, which will include clients from throughout Missouri.

During his tenure as Branson’s economic director, Rankin played major roles in the attracting and development of Branson Landing and Branson Hills. He was significantly involved in drawing new businesses to Branson like the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum and the Sight and Sound Theater. He also assisted several local businesses in expanding their customer bases.

Branson City Administrator Terry Dody said Rankin has been a huge asset in diversifying Branson’s economic base.
“Mike brought the credentials and expertise that further enhanced the city’s economic development efforts,” said Dody. “He was certainly the right man at the right time. I am convinced that the fast pace of Branson’s growth during the past four years would not have happened without Mike’s leadership in economic development. He will be missed, but he has established a firm foundation for the city in the future and for his predecessor.”

Dody said the city would begin immediately advertising for candidates to fill the economic development director’s position.

The city of Branson is making it easier for citizens to gain access to the city’s municipal codebook and to hear entire board of aldermen meetings by way of the World Wide Web.

City officials have provided a link to the city codebook and audio of the board meetings on the city’s official government website, www.cityofbranson.org.

On the city’s homepage, the Branson Municipal Code is in the section at the bottom of the page entitled “Other Important Links.” The codebook will be updated every six months; however, ordinances passed within that six-month period will also be available on that web page called Municode.com.

In addition, the Municode website has a search engine whereby a word or topic can be typed in, and wherever those words appear in the codebook, that section of the code will be quickly displayed. This makes it easy for people to find specific subjects without having to scroll through the whole 800-page plus codebook.

Hard copies of the city codebook are also available for purchase online at that same website.

To access the audio of all board of aldermen meetings; click on “Agendas & Minutes” on the city’s homepage.

By putting these features on the web, residents and businesses can access this information at anytime and from anywhere in the world. The city is serving citizens online rather than in line.