Briarbrook CID Looks To Be Near Finalization

From today’s Joplin Globe:

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Members of the interim board of a newly created taxing district have a “handshake agreement” to buy the former Briarbrook Country Club and its 253-acre golf course for $1.6 million.

Toby Teeter this week told other members of the board of the Briarbrook Community Improvement District that he has begun preparing a contract for purchase of the property.

Teeter said the price is based on the agreement with the property’s current owner, Equity Endeavors, headed by Joplin attorney Steven Hays.

“It is (Equity Endeavors’) wish to proceed with what we identify in the petition as option No. 2,” Teeter said, referring to the proposal involving the purchase of the property directly from the owner.

Hays was unavailable for comment earlier this week.

The proposal would cost the owner of a $100,000 home in the taxing district about $90 per year in special assessments. The board has authority to borrow $2.1 million through a bond issue, which would cover the $1.6 million purchase price as well as maintenance and renovations.

The other option identified in the CID petition involved giving the property to the state in exchange for tax credits. Teeter said Equity Endeavors was not interested in that option.

Teeter said he has had informal discussions with representatives from Edward Jones about bond issuance, but there is no contract as yet. He said the board will not issue bonds until the purchase contract has been executed.

He said the board will meet again, either in special session or at its regularly scheduled time on the first Monday of the month, before signing the contract.

Also on the horizon for the CID is the formal election of board members. The 10 candidates up for seven seats on the board are Teeter, David Englert, Randy Brownlow, Gary Greene, Phyllis Sanders, Dan Hartley, Karen Rutledge, Tim Huff, Bill Albright and Ron Brewer, according to City Clerk Maribeth Matney.

Ballots will be mailed to residents on June 1, and they must be postmarked by June 15, Matney said. All registered voters in the 3rd Ward, which encompasses the Briarbrook neighborhood, are eligible to vote.

To begin a system of staggered terms, the three people who receive the most votes will serve four-year terms, and the four people who receive the next highest number of votes will serve two-year terms. All subsequent elections will be for four-year terms, Teeter said.

Teeter said he has received a written request from Ron and Teresa Brewer to be removed from the CID, as allowed under state law. The board can grant that request if it can fulfill its budgetary needs without the special assessments of the property owner.

Teeter said the board will likely decide on the matter at its next meeting. He said Ron Brewer did not give a reason for wanting to be removed from the district.

Brewer did not respond to calls seeking comment.