By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Fearing that a strip club being fought in Jasper County might wind up down the road in Lawrence County, the County Commission is asking voters on Tuesday to endorse a special tax on adult cabarets to make it more costly for them to set up shop in Lawrence County.
Rodney Barnes, Western District commissioner, said the matter was put on the ballot by the commission in response to inquiries from an adult-video business on Interstate 44 at the Stotts City exit.
The commission is seeking permission to levy a special tax of 10 percent on a cabaret’s gross receipts. The special taxation would last for a period not to exceed four years. The money would be used to investigate the backgrounds of the employees of the business and for general law-enforcement use of the Sheriff’s Department.
“They (the owners of the adult-video store) did approach us a few months ago about what they wanted to do,” Barnes said. “We told them we would need a health inspection on it with regard to their lagoon. We thought if they could see the cost, they would not turn it into a juice bar or adult cabaret.”
Barnes said the county’s health inspector provided “some pretty big numbers” with regard to modifications to the lagoon system for the wastewater from the cabaret.
“The cost was high enough that they backed off,” he said. “The last we heard they were not going to do it.”
A spokesman for the business could not be reached by the Globe for comment.
“But Jasper County was having such a battle,” Barnes said, “we decided if they can’t easily put them in Jasper County, they might look for counties that will be easier for them to be put in.”
The special taxation provision is part of a state statute that regulates health departments.
The measure, if approved by voters, would be put back to the voters again in three years. Barnes said a simple majority is needed for passage.
Barnes said the commission supports the concept of selective taxation with regard to this issue.
“We could be concerned about that, I guess, but we think we have got a statute that allows us to do it,” he said. “We are trying to deter that type of business. It is selective taxation. There is no other way of putting it.
“But we did some research, and found that these businesses create a drain on the sheriff’s department and the health department. We wanted them to pay for the extra costs that this may bring to our county. That’s the way of justifying a special tax on a special business.”
Local News
County seeks selective tax as obstacle to strip clubs
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
