Board approves amended 76 Entertainment CID cooperative agreement after hours of debate on maintenance fee

The Branson Board of Aldermen voted 6–0 on April 28 to adopt Ordinance 6668, a first‑amended and restated cooperative agreement with the 76 Entertainment Community Improvement District (CID) that sets funding, maintenance and governance terms for the multi‑phase West 76 Country Boulevard improvements.

The measure authorizes the mayor to execute the agreement that the CID board unanimously approved after months of negotiation. The pact formalizes roles for the city and the CID in design, construction, maintenance and the handling of CID tax receipts to support a project the administration says will total “north of $100 million.”

Supporters, including City Administrator Kathy Stepp and public works staff, said the contract is the product of extensive forecasting and consultation with bond counsel and CID members. Stepp told aldermen the agreement is intended to “protect the significant $100‑plus million investment” by creating a predictable maintenance program and a funding schedule that, in the city’s estimate, will include a recurring maintenance payment tied to district sales tax receipts.

Opponents pressed that the maintenance payment — defined in the agreement as 10% of district sales revenue plus a separate 2% accounting fee — reaches too far into what the aldermen called core city services. “What I see here is when we’re collecting CID taxes to pay for city services that we already have to offer, I believe it’s essentially double dipping,” said the alderman who led the amendment effort. He argued some listed line‑items (milling, repaving, striping, storm‑sewer cleaning) are base city responsibilities and that redirecting a fixed percentage of CID receipts could reduce the CID’s debt‑service coverage and raise borrowing costs.

Stepp and staff said the line‑items were quantified using city cost estimates and that bond counsel reviewed the forecast and supported the structure used in the agreement. Director Michael Wood and the finance director explained that the CID will be accounted for separately, that some funds are being held in reserve for major components, and that federal and state grants will also fund parts of the work.

Alderman Schultz moved an amendment to change the maintenance payment from 10% to 5%; the amendment passed initial discussion but failed on roll call (3–3) and the mayor cast the tie‑breaking vote against the amendment. The Board then approved the original cooperative agreement and moved the item to final reading and adoption the same night.

The agreement accompanies a financing plan city staff said will include $4 million in city water‑line work, a MoDOT/TAP grant of about $800,000 for sidewalks and pedestrian treatments, a $6.2 million state cost‑share the administration cited, and CID revenue that staff estimated at roughly $5 million per year. Staff told the board bond documents will return in August and construction contracts will be brought to the CID, MoDOT and the Board of Aldermen for approval; staff said they expect a notice‑to‑proceed after Labor Day with construction lasting roughly one year per major segment.

The board’s action establishes the city’s role in maintaining CID improvements and creates an ongoing funding mechanism the city and CID said they expect to revisit through regular reporting. The CID board member who spoke at the meeting said the CID had vetted the numbers, that the board unanimously supported the agreement, and that further delay would add to construction costs.

What happens next: bond documents will return to the Board of Aldermen in August and staff expect to advertise construction bids after finalizing job special provisions for MoDOT review.