Carl Junction, MO

I received this neighborhood letter from the Briarbrook Community Improvement District (BCID). It's full of great information about the latest happenings at the Briarbrook Clubhouse and the Golf Course Tournament Schedule for 2012!

Dear Briarbrook Friends,

Amazing is the word many of you have said when discussing 2011 here at Briarbrook. Just one year ago, the Briarbrook Community Improvement District (BCID) took possession of the facility and now we have a restaurant & bar, remodeled swimming pool, remodeled clubhouse, and a wonderful golf course. 2012 is going to be very exciting for the community. Café on the Green is very excited to be the restaurant of the BCID and for the upcoming golf season. Their staff has enjoyed getting to know all of you. The workout room is now under construction and should be completed soon.

We are also replacing the cart path on #4 immediately and more replacement is coming this spring! Work on #4 cart path will begin on Monday January 30th. This will be a major aesthetic transformation for the hole. I am excited to see the finished result once we can complete the finish work with sod. Unfortunately, the hole must be closed during construction of the new path. Please be patient with the construction crew as it could take up to two weeks to complete if the weather cooperates. By skipping the hole, everyone can just take a par on the hole and move on to #5 or just come back around and play #1 again after hole 18. Remember all private cart trail fees go directly into the cart path replacement fund and come spring time, with the remaining balance from 2011 and 2012 renewals, we will be able to get a good amount of paths replaced.

I am beyond words for describing the changes that have occurred and am very excited about the future of our community facility. I think everyone is proud of Briarbrook and excited to spread the word to our friends. This is a great family facility and an incredible value.

Good News!!! The 2012 rates will remain the same as 2011. The annual memberships will still be available for a discount if paid up front. Monthly payments are an option but ACH (automatic payment) through a checking or savings account will be required. Both locker rooms now have very nice showers for your use. The locker rooms are complete and lockers are now available for rent. There are several lockers that have been in use but we don’t have record of who is using them, nor do we have an extra key. Please inform us if you have a locker and whether you want to keep it for this year. We need to know this by 3/1/12 or we will be forced to replace the locks and remove the contents in the lockers. The locker fees will help fund towels and shampoo/soap. The towels will be for locker room use only and not for golf course use.

Briarbrook has also added more events for 2012. Some events require shotgun start and some just call for you to sign up and play anytime during that day with whomever you want and the results will post the next day. Below is a list of tournaments Briarbrook will be hosting. These events are open to the public but members will receive a discount.

• March 17, 2012 Modified Stableford: This is a points-based format similar to the former PGA International tour event. This will have a minimal entry fee and as long as you play with someone else that is signed up for the event, you can play anytime throughout the day with any group you want. This way, the course doesn’t get shut down for a shotgun start but still offers an event for all to participate.
• April 7, 2012 Green & Grow 9:00 Shotgun Two-Person Scramble
• April 14 & 15, 2012 Hall of Fame Tee Times Briarbrook & Twin Hills
• April 28 & 29, 2012 City Qualifying Tee Times
• May 5, 2012 City Championship-BB Tee Times
• May 15, 2012 Ladies Nutcracker 9:00 Shotgun 2-Lady Member Guest
• May 17, 2012 Senior Scramble 8:30 Shotgun Two-Person Scramble
• May 28, 2012 Memorial Day Couples Scramble 8:00 Shotgun 4-person teams. Pro Shop will pair teams.
• June 8 thru 10, 2012 Briarbrook Invitational Tee-Times 54-Hole Stroke Play
• July 4, 2012 Scramble 8:00 Shotgun 4-person Scramble. Pro Shop will pair teams.
• July 21 & 22, 2012 Beauty & Beast 7:30/1:00 Shotgun 4-person teams
• August 4 & 5, 2012 Horton Smith / Ky Laffoon Qual. Tee Times.
• August 11 & 12, 2012 Donneybrook (Member-Guest) 9:00 Shotgun 2-person Scramble
• August 18 & 19, 2012 Horton Smith / Ky Laffoon Matches. Tee Times.
• September 3, 2012 Labor Day Couples Scramble 8:00 Shotgun 2-person Team. Make Your Own Pairing with Another Couple.
• September 15 & 16, 2011 Club Championship. Tee Times.
• October 13, 2012 Falling Leaves (27-Holes) 9:00 Shotgun 3-person Teams

I hope these new and different formats will entice more golfers to participate. The formats are designed to get to know more of our Briarbrook family with some geared toward building relationships with people you haven’t played with before while others are designed to play with your best friends. We have had a warmer-than-normal winter but I know we are all ready for the spring and summer temperatures. I am so thrilled and proud of the progress the facility has made in such a short amount of time. Thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you soon.
Jacob Hosp

I too am impressed with all the new updates at the club house. Several times a month my husband and I frequent The Cafe on the Green for their wonderful chicken nachos and some great conversation. Don't forget that the Restaurant & Bar is open to the public and runs amazing specials. Come and see for yourself on Saturday February 11th for their Pre-Valentines Day Party Starting at 6:30. The will have an amazing buffet, great drink specials and the The Geritol Five will be playing from 7:30 - 10:30.

If this sounds like a great place to live, it's because it is. I've been a resident of Carl Junction for over 11 years and have truly enjoyed all Carl Junction has to offer. See what Carl Junction Homes are available and become a part of this great community.

Audrey Preston

We had a great turnout for the Planning and Zoning meeting last night. I wish we saw even a fraction of this sort of turnout for everything that impacts the city. Unfortunately we just didn't have enough room for every one that wanted to be in the meeting so it was decided that we wouldn't take any action on the proposed rezoning last night but would see if we could make arrangements to hold a meeting at the school auditorium so everyone that's interested can hear and be heard.

I did want to take a moment to give the preface to the public hearing that I was going to give last night and will give again before we conduct the public hearing at the next meeting. Currently the property in question is zoned C-2 which means that the owner, without input or permission from anyone else, can build anything from a single family residence to an apartment building to a car lot and anything in between. So long as they apply for the proper building permits and follow the building codes the City cannot forbid them the right to build what they want ont he land they own anymore than any other landowner. Rezoning to R-2 would actually restrict what can be built on the land to only single family or two family residences. This is all that the Planning and Zoning Commission can hear or consider. This is not a meeting or a decision about the proposed project. We want everyone that wants to talk about the merits of rezoning or not rezoning the property to be heard but the comments should be limited to the merits of changing or not changing the zoning, not about the proposed project.The proper place to give opinion for or against the project is at whatever public meeting the MHDC holds concerning the issuance of the tax credits sought byt the developer to finance the project.

I personally think the City Council made a grave mistake and sent a very bad message to other developers that may be looking at Carl Junction when they rescinded their support for the proposed project but at the end of the day that is all the City can do to dissuade the developer from doing what he is proposing to do. There is nothing to stop the developer from going through with what they want to do as the land is currently zoned.

I was just reading an article on the reasoning for increases in electric rates starting in January (http://www.jsonline.com/business/128109718.html). This isn't the only utility that will be raising your rates due to unfunded mandates handed down from the all powerful Federal Government without any input from your elected officials. Expect your water and sewer rates to go up as well. Federal and State mandates on utilities are driving up consumer costs to force you to lower your standard of living. The City of Carl Junction is about to have to spend millions of dollars on a waste water plant expansion and upgrade, not because we have too many users, but because for about 3 months out of 12 we get enough rain and still have enough infiltration that the plant gets overloaded. We can't do anything to increase storage capacity so this can be treated later so we have to expand the plant. It doesn't matter that the rest of the year the plant runs at less than 50% of capacity most of the time. This is unsustainable and must be stopped.

January 20th, 2011

Dear Ward 2 Resident:

The people of Ward 2 have allowed me to serve as an Alderman in Carl Junction since 2003 and for that I thank you. This year is the first time someone has put their name forward in addition to my own so you will have a choice in whom you select for Alderman in the election on April 5th.

Since taking office in 2003 we have accomplished many things in Carl Junction. We have been very proud, as a council and your city staff, of the fact that while constantly seeking to improve the services provided to the citizens of all of Carl Junction, we have done so while being very conservative in spending the money that each of you pay out of your hard earned dollars.

Here is a sample of some of the accomplishments we've made as a team since 2003 when I was first elected to the position of Alderman:

1. New Police Department and Courtroom building - After the May 4th, 2003 tornado destroyed the building that housed police department and court we were able, with the help of grants and insurance money, to build a new state of the art police department and courtroom building without asking the citizens of Carl Junction for an increase in taxes. This building also includes a storm shelter capable of housing up to 200 people for a short time in case of emergency.

2. Parks and Pool - In 2006 the people of Carl Junction voted to impose a ½ cent sales tax on purchases for the purpose of improving our city parks. Since passage here are just a few examples of how that money and other city money has been spent improving your parks. Installed over $300,000 in new playground equipment in Memorial, Center Creek, Country Club and Four Oaks Parks. Along with energy efficient lighting for all the ball fields at those parks. We also reduced the costs to manage and operate the city pool from $82,000 in 2003 to $24,000 in 2010

3. Sidewalks - we've poured literally miles of new sidewalks within the city and will soon be putting sidewalks on both sides of Pennell, a long time dream come true for a lot of citizens within Carl Junction.

4. Trails - using grants we've been able to create several miles of hiking/biking trails from Allen St. south into Briarbrook. This will eventually tie into the network around Joplin and from Carthage.

5. Sewer System - in 2003 over 1/2 the capacity of the waste water treatment plant was being consumed by storm water infiltration during heavy rains. We've been able to repair or replace enough sewer line and manholes to significantly reduce the I&I problem.

6. Trash Pickup - successfully transitioned to a Poly Cart system and established a rate structure based on the consumer price index to minimize price increases in trash pick-up fees.

7. New Community Center and City Hall - another long time goal was realized when, with the help of the citizens of Carl Junction, we were able to construct a state of the art facility to house our Seniors, Chamber of Commerce, recreation needs and a new City Hall. Since its completion this has been a much used facility.

8. Long Range Planning Committee - Not wanting to rest on our laurels we are seeking to research just where we might be in 2030 and what our needs will be. This will allow us to plan for the future growth of the city rather than react to issues brought up by that growth.

All of these things have been accomplished and we will continue to work on these items without picking your pockets to do it. City property taxes have only risen from .7545 to .7558 in this time. For someone living in a $100,000 home that's only a 24₵ increase in your annual city real and personal property taxes since 2003.

On a more personal level during this period I've been involved in the community in the following ways:

1. Economic Development Committee: 2003 - 2005

2. Carl Junction Chamber of Commerce where I served for 1 year as vice president and 2 years as president.

3. Carl Junction Planning and Zoning: 2002 - 2005; 2010 - Present

4. Webb City Carl Junction Rotary Club: 2005 - 2007

5. Charter Member of Carl Junction Lions Club.

6. Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Carl Junction: 2006 - Present

7. Owned RE/MAX New Directions which operated in Carl Junction from 2001 – 2007

8. Served as either a member or chairman of the Budget, Code Review and Long Range Planning Committees.

9. Participated in the development of Schoolview Estates which was developed by the Hayes Family and to date has added 64 families so far to the City of Carl Junction and raised the total valuation of properties in the city by over $8 million helping to keep your property taxes lower.

As you can see I have been very involved in helping Carl Junction be the absolute best that it can be. I've been part of creating solutions to help Carl Junction and have enjoyed seeing the results of our hard work.

It's important to note that the position of Alderman is not one of power or money. The only power an Alderman has is the single vote he casts while in a City Council Meeting. In Carl Junction Alderman are paid $21.00 for each council meeting they attend. There is no pay for the countless hours spent in committee meetings, planning sessions and time answering questions from the public. This is a position of service to the community and nothing more. City Alderman are the truest form of citizen legislators.

If you want someone in the office of Alderman that will continue to put the needs and welfare of the entire city of Carl Junction first and serve your best interests, then I humbly ask for your continued support by voting for Walter Hayes on April 5th, 2011.

Please do not hesitate in contacting me by emailing me at walter@walterhayes.com if you want to discuss what is going on in the city.

The real estate market in Carl Junction has been the driving factor in the City's ability to continue to decrease the property tax levy from 2000 through 2008 while at the same time spending on the order of 6 million dollars to build a new Police Department and City Court building then most recently the new Community Center and City Hall. In that same time the city has spent 100s of thousands of dollars in improvements to the parks, streets, water and wastewater systems.

The market has taken a hit the last 3 years in particular however. As the graph below illustrates Carl Junction suffered from the same problems those around us have in that the inventory of homes for purchase has gone up significantly since 2005 resulting in many more homes for sale than there are available buyers.

New construction took the major hit the last few years. From a high of 44 new homes sold in Carl Junction in 2006 there have only been 31 new homes sold for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 combined. Overall sales in Briarbrook have started to come back since the situation surrounding the golf course has started to settle down but new construction has yet to see much of a comeback. There was some inventory that needed to be sold but in 2006 there were a total of 18 new homes sold in Briarbrook whereas there have been only 21 new homes sold in Briarbrook in the years since then combined. New construction has started to tick back up though so hopefully 2011 will see new home sales start to make a come back.

How does this impact my taxes? Building and selling new homes adds to the total property valuation of the city. Selling existing homes with appreciating prices also increases the total valuation for the city. If the total valuation for personal and real property taxes goes up faster than the rate of increase in city expenditures, then the property tax rate can be (and has been) dropped. With the contraction in the market and prices of the last few years, coupled with the lack of new construction, the total valuation has fallen though, creating a need to increase the property tax levy in order to meet city expenditures, even though the actual budget for the city has not increased that much (the City budget has averaged 4.65% increase per year over the last 6 years. The inflation rate has averaged 2.44% over that same period). (Note: Federal spending during this same time average over 7.5% during this time and has been over 10% the last 2 years.)

What does the future look like? Interest rates are still at an all time low. House prices are as affordable as they've been in 30 years or so. If the economy starts to gain some momentum 2011 could be a good year for Carl Junction. The bottom line is that if you need to sell you still have to make sure that your house is in top condition and priced "in" the market as opposed to just being on the market. If you need to buy, then there's been no better time than now and waiting is no guarantee that it will get better. Have a great 2011!