The Forsyth Park Audit: Fair or Not?

By nature, I confess to two recurrent problems in my life; one, an ongoing and entrenched form of naivety and two, a sense of curiosity that often gets me into trouble. Blindly walking into problems is no way to live a life, but that’s just the way I was built. So, it was with a growing sense of curiosity that I began to follow the exploits of the City of Forsyth and its seeming trouble with parks.

Let me begin with what I think a park actually is. By one definition, it’s ‘an area of land, usually in a largely natural state, set aside for the enjoyment of the public, having facilities for rest and recreation, and which is often owned, set apart, and managed by a city, state, or nation.’ That would seem to be a pretty good starting definition to me. But, I also feel that a city’s park(s) should be locales that are planned, implemented and managed in such a manner that the citizens feel they have been a part of the process. Did that happen here? I’m not sure.

Here in Forsyth, Missouri we have now have two parks; Shadow Rock Park, a site that spends part of it’s time underwater and a recent addition, Shoals Bend Park. Interestingly, neither park actually resides within the city limits. Shadowrock lies on federally owned land and Shoals Bend is…well, it’s down Highway 76 a piece.

The first park, Shadowrock, has been under the control of the City of Forsyth for some time. As I understand it, we rent the place from the Corps of Engineers. However, the stuff built there over time has come from the city and the folks who paid property taxes. That was until a bill was passed in 2000 whereby a half cent city tax was enacted. The proceeds of which went into a fund for the future management of local city parks. (This act then repealed the City Ordinance numbered 128 which levied a portion of the funds collected from property taxes for park purposes). A move that would hopefully make money spent on the park systems much easier to track. Theoretically at least.

That half cent tax, by the way, amounted to something like 1.6 million dollars in the ten year span of time to up to 2010. How exactly that money was disseminated over that decade has only recently come into question by some in the community. The problem some have with Shadowrock is one of visual infrastructural accounting (VIA). Over the last ten years, where has the money gone and for what purpose? (I believe that even the walking path which runs from the Shadowrock Park proper to the property managed by Empire Electric was subsidized by the Federal government at a cost to the city of only $40K)! Then, there was the recurrent flood damage over the years. I’m not sure what the cost was there, but I do know that volunteers were employed at least once to help make things right. (I know, because I was one of them). Other expenses that were visible was park maintenance and the building of a bandstand. Other than that…what? I need some help here!

Now, we have us a brand new park area known as Shoals Bend Park. A sprawling 78 acre track of land which I understand was purchased by the city and which has now has been leased out to the Taney County Fair Board for a period of thirty years. As I understand it, both the city and the Fair Board will help build a couple of baseball parks and an arena along with other needed improvements to function as a vehicle for future Fairs and such. The profits of which will be funneled back into the park system for additional improvements. Did I get that even close to right? But, wait a minute! What about that half cent tax thingy? Are they still collecting it, and if so, which park will it go to? Both? Neither? I dunno. Tangled webs were never my bag man.

The bottom line is this park deal seems to be a bit of a mess, and I wholly endorse the expenditure of monies to have an audit performed at this time. I’m also confident that there is enough concern in the Forsyth community to warrant such an investigation. A process I would like to see done in a timely and transparent fashion.

Disclaimer: All the opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and may or may not be factually accurate. Readers are encouraged to do their own research, and in doing so, come to their own conclusions.

Trash Services for the Forsyth Missouri Area

Here in the Forsyth Missouri area, I have looked at four companies that provide trash removal services on a regular basis. They are Allied Waste, Plummer, Raintree and Tri-Lakes. If there are more, please let me know and I’ll post them here.

Of the four, Allied Waste appears to me to be the most costly and getting more so on a quarterly basis. I say appears because I’m not really sure why their collection cost of around $29 per month averages fifteen dollars higher than either Plummer or Raintree who I am told come in at around $15 per month. (If any of these prices are incorrect, I will be happy to post that in a future blog).

Now of the three, Plummer seems to have the most basic equipment where as both Raintree and Allied have larger and heavier duty trucks. That said, I’m told by some people who use Plummer that they are very accommodating and have been know to take items that other companies might not. If true, good for them! I have noticed that Plummer seems to work even on some Holidays where as I know for sure that Allied does not.

Disclaimer: The information posted here may not be accurate in the future due to changing prices offered by the service providers.

Downhill Bikes in Branson Missouri!

One type of business I would like to see more of in the Taney County area would be bike shops like Downhill Bikes located at 116 Flynn Road, Branson, Mo 65616. This shop, owned and operated by Craig Erickson, has been in operation for a number of years. I think they moved to the site on Flynn a couple of years ago, having had another shop located on Highway 76.

Inside you can find bikes to fit most every need, including both touring and mountain bike configurations. They also stock a wide assortment of accessories such as air pumps, lights and even clothing to help make your biking experience all that it can be.

Check them out on Facebook or give them a call at 417-335-4455. You’ll find Craig to be knowledgeable and fair in all things related to biking!

Missouri Gun Bill HB294! Please read and act!

A bill, known as HB294, has now passed both houses of the Missouri General Assembly and currently resides on Governor Jay Nixon’s desk awaiting his signature. This bill is due to become law on August the 28^th, 2011 and while it has a number of good provisions, also has one that (intentionally or unintentionally) discriminates against the weak and poor. Here is the paragraph in question:

(10) Specifies that a certificate of firearms safety training course completion may be issued to any applicant for a concealed carry endorsement by any qualified firearms safety instructor if the applicant completes at least eight hours of instruction that includes a live firing exercise of sufficient duration for the applicant to fire both a revolver and a semiautomatic pistol and successfully hits the target with both handguns and specifies that any firearms safety instructor who knowingly provides any sheriff with any false information concerning an applicant’s performance on any portion of the required training and qualification will be guilty of a class C misdemeanor (Section571.111)…

In the past, an applicant only needed to qualify with a pistol or a semiautomatic, not both. This bill, as written, would exclude anyone who could work a handgun but not a semiautomatic due to hand weakness and for the rest of us, the course will cost a lot more money to boot! Credit for this change in Missouri law apparently goes to Dale Roberts of Target Masters in Columbia Missouri and Todd Burke of Tactical Training Specialties.

You can contact Governor Nixon by clicking here and let him know what you think!

Rockaway Beach Fourth of July 2011

A friend of my mine told me, a few days ago, about the Rockaway Beach 4^th of July Celebration that was going to take place on the main drag on Monday the 4th, so I made it a point to motor on down there to see what was what.

When I arrived, I noticed that a part of main the main street had been cordoned off. A company called Party Station (nixapartystation.com) had also set up a number of rides for kids right out on the street. And even though it was very hot (92F), when I arrived at 4PM, there were already a number of kids running around having a good time. At the very end of the blocked off area, a band that literally had no name (it was thrown together at the last minute according to one of the band members) was playing and sound pretty darn good!

My hat really goes off to all the volunteers that were in attendance to help made this deal go off. Been there and done that. It's hard work. Here’s a picture of some of them in a tent area recovering from the heat. And speaking of heat, I was really impressed with the folks at the food tent who not only were dealing with the blazing heat of the day, but also the heat of the grills that were turning out brats, hot dogs and hamburgers. I personally had a hamburger and I gotta tell you, there’s nothing better than eating good food on a hot summer day. It brought back a lot of good memories of days gone by.

During the balance of the summer season, Rockaway Beach is still a good bet to go hang out, what with many of the other nearby recreational areas flooded out. The city offers great accommodations, good fishing and that small town feeling that seems to be disappearing from much of Americana. I’d also like to say a big thanks to Rita and Steve at the Upper Deck Bar for offering a cold retreat and warm company to help one recover from the heat outside. Right next door to them, is the White River Grill. A venue I’ve written about in another blog.

You know everyone, throughout the remainder of the summer and on into the fall, Rockaway Beach, Missouri will be offering a action packed fun calendar of things to do and experience. Do yourself a favor and stop on by! Tell em DanO sent ya!

White River Grill in Rockaway Beach Now Open for Business!

If you plan on cruising through Rockaway Beach anytime soon, be sure and stop in at the White River Grill. A full service restaurant that recently opened for business and which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. After looking through the menu, I’d have to say that there are meals here for just about every taste and at affordable prices!

I made it a point to stop by on the first of July where I sat down for a good old fashioned hot dog and fries. The food was delicious and there are many more items that I will want to try out in the future. Also, I was impressed by how friendly and professional the service staff was. My order was taken promptly and the wait was very short. So, if you’re in the neighborhood, I would heartily recommend the White River Grill as a great place for the family to come and eat.

Valley View Sewer Update for June 2011

I would think it now safe to say that groundbreaking for the Powersite Sewer Project which also affects Valley View Village will not be happening this year. I'm not certain, but the absence of any material stockpiles is a good hint. I also don't have any idea how long the entire project, once started, will take. I'm guessing at least a year or more. Obviously, the flooding of Bull Shoals has hindered progress to some extent. For sure, the point at which the pipe will cross the river will have to wait for lower lake levels. That could be late this fall or even longer depending on how much rain we get.

What really concerns me, however, is how much the project could be affected by the planned work on the Highway 76 bridge that will be closed for up to a year starting in 2013. That alone will be a major undertaking and certainly one that will cause traffic delays in its own right. Add to that scenario, a major plumbing project that will affect over three hundred dwellings and you have the makings of a bad dream.

Whatever happens, it should be a most interesting period of time.