Branson sells $56 million in bonds for waterfront plan

The city of Branson recently announced the sale of bonds for the permanent financing of the waterfront projects, according to a news release.

Plans for commercial development along the Taneycomo lakefront, including a public boardwalk, town square and a downtown convention center, are moving forward with the sale of bonds to finance the project.

Branson City Administrator Terry Dody said there was enormous interest by investors in purchasing Branson's bonds, and the issuance of the bonds underscores the confidence investors have in the economic future of the waterfront project.

"On one conference call, we had 22 institutional investment firms at the same time questioning us about every aspect of Branson," Dody said.

The bonds, totaling more than $56 million, are frontloaded with $12 million in principal repaid in the first three years. The average interest rate for the first 10 years is 2.1 percent, and the first year is 1.7 percent.

The rate tops out at 5.5 percent in the last five years of the 30-year life of the bonds.

In other Branson news:

The city has implemented a sewer construction cost reimbursement program to encourage private developers to construct sewer systems to serve future needs of the area, not just the immediate needs of the developers.

"When repairing existing systems or beginning new construction projects, we need to look toward the future," said Branson Mayor Lou Schaefer.

Developers building larger systems will be reimbursed for the additional construction costs when future users of the system come on line. Reimbursement fees are collected from the new users by the city prior to connecting those users to the sewer lines. Developers are then paid by the city.

Deborah Deuster, Branson city attorney since April 2001, has accepted a position with the legal department for the city of St. Louis.

"This new position will allow me to focus on economic development law, which I really enjoy," Deuster said.

Dody said Deuster was a tremendous benefit to the city during the past two years. "St. Louis is getting a very capable attorney. She has an excellent background in all areas of municipal law," Dody said.

A search is under way to fill the position, Dody said.