NEOSHO, Mo. —
After a Newton County judge settled voting issues that halted progress in the Neosho Transportation Development District, the district’s board of directors approved a financing agreement that could allow road projects to begin this year.
TDD Chairman Gene Schwartz said it is a relief to have all of the district’s issues resolved.
“It’s been a long, hard struggle, but we’re there and everybody’s on board,” he said after Friday’s meeting of the board. “It’s exciting again. It was concerning for a few months, but that’s all behind us, and we’ve got the issues resolved.”
Directors approved loan terms with Arvest Bank. They were the last hurdle to be cleared before Friday’s meeting of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission.
In a June 1 letter to Schwartz, Kevin Keith, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, said a stoplight at the intersection of U.S. Highway 60 and Kodiak Road could still be completed by the end of this year if the TDD resolved all issues by Friday.
That work, originally scheduled to be completed by the start of school in August, has been delayed by questions raised about elections within the TDD.
Associate Circuit Court Judge Kevin Selby issued an order Monday establishing the TDD as a landowner voting district and redrawing the district boundaries to exclude the Neosho Inn and two residential properties along the southern edge of the district south of Highway 60.
According to City Attorney Steve Hays, the newly defined boundaries will result in a slight reduction in the size of the 527-acre district. Under the provisions of the court order, voting in the TDD is based on land ownership, with one vote being awarded for each acre of land owned within the district.
Under an agreement reached between Hays and attorneys for the TDD in a pretrial hearing earlier this month, the TDD will conduct its annual election July 16, with all subsequent elections to be conducted the first full week of April in conjunction with municipal elections.
The city of Neosho is the largest single landowner in the district with approximately 249 acres. Hays said the contraction of the TDD boundaries could give the city added weight in the July 16 vote.
Hays said he is not sure of the actual size of the district following the changes imposed by the court.
In an effort to answer that question, the TDD board also approved a resolution to hire Newton County Abstract to compile a list of all owners of real property within the district and determine how much acreage each of them owns.
“I don’t think it will be a major change, but I think there will be a difference in some properties compared to what was thought to be, particularly around the golf course,” Schwartz said.
The municipal golf course is the linchpin of the city’s voting power. Hays said the city estimates its size as 249 acres, but there have been questions about possible past transactions involving land around the course.
Schwartz said the study should resolve those questions and all others concerning land ownership in the TDD.
“We believe Newton County Abstract is qualified, and their qualifications should put them above all questions as to what’s right and what’s wrong,” he said.
Hays said even if it is determined that the city owns fewer acres, its voting power in the TDD will be bolstered by the fact that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has given the city power to vote as its proxy, adding 29 votes to the city’s total.
Hays said in addition, Lowe’s has a corporate policy of abstaining from all TDD votes, thus reducing the total number of votes by 14.
The Neosho School District also owns about 30 acres of land inside the district around the middle school.
The city did not participate in the initial board election in April 2011. The city also abstained from subsequent votes, including a decision last year to impose a half-cent sales tax within the district, but Hays and Mayor Richard Davidson have indicated the city’s intention to participate in all future TDD elections.
Background
THE NEOSHO TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT was created in 2011 and is funded by a half-cent sales tax on purchases at businesses within the district’s boundaries. The district includes a Wal-Mart store and a Lowe’s. The district started collecting the tax in January, and it is projected to generate $450,000 annually. The tax, which sunsets in 20 years, is intended to help pay for roughly $7.5 million in road construction and transportation infrastructure projects within the district. The state has pledged to share $2.4 million of the projected costs.
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