Branson Board of Aldermen to convene after CID rejects City’s meeting proposal on district’s future

The Branson Globe received a request from Cris Bohinc, Administrator of the Historic Downtown Branson CID, Community Improvement District, to publish a notice urging community members to attend the August 26, 2025, meeting of the Branson Board of Aldermen (Board) at city hall starting at 6 p.m. According to the request received August 7, 2025, “our aldermen will vote to allow downtown to continue the district as it is, or for it to end in a few months.” It goes on to further state, “We tried tirelessly for 16 months to get the city’s backing, and we are running out of time.”

Under the Sunshine Act, the Globe got two recent documents, which appear to summarize the 16 months of “tireless effort.” One is the July 25, 2025, letter from City Administrator Cathy Stepp to Kyle Junck, the “Vice-Chair” of the CID. The other is his August 4, 2025, response.

In her letter, Administrator Stepp says, “The City is amenable to the following proposal, which will accomplish most, if not all (and more) than what you requested.”

The letter goes on to list the following: “A one (1) year extension of the CID, as is, and without exception, in order to allow time for the City and CID to facilitate the amendment of the petition of the CID to include the following scope of powers of the Downtown CID: Power to maintain a free downtown trolley; improvement and beautification of deteriorating downtown storefronts and private businesses; the ability to purchase or lease land to aid in more free parking downtown; expenditure of Downtown CID funds to promote and directly buy marketing for the downtown businesses to increase visitation; expenditure of Downtown CID funds to improve the level of service to the downtown area with enhanced landscaping and expenditure of funds to maintain improvements made since the inception of the Downtown CID; expenditure of Downtown CID funds to promote, host, lease space for and/or attract large regional festivals within the Downtown CID boundaries; the ability to bond for a parking structure in the Awberry parking lot or otherwise within the Downtown CID boundaries (this would merely provide the ability to bond, it does not obligate a future CID board to do so); support business activity and economic development in the district (including promotion of business activity, development and retention, and recruitment of businesses); and to possess and maintain any, and all, other powers allowed under the Missouri Community Improvement District Act and Missouri law.”

The letter also says, “The City is open to discussions on how long the term of the Downtown CID should be following the one-year extension described above.” It concluded by saying, “I respectfully request the opportunity to meet with you and your fellow CID board members to discuss this proposal and to further highlight the expanded opportunities this pathway could provide in benefit to the Downtown district.”

In his response, Junck declined Administrator Stepp’s request for a meeting, saying, “Because of the urgency of this matter, the fact that the CID submitted a proposal to the City over six weeks ago that already addresses all of the specific requests in your letter, and since the CID Board already met with City staff on April 2, we must respectfully decline your request for a meeting between you and the CID Board. We simply need to know whether the board of aldermen will vote to extend the CID term.”