The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published July 22, 2015

Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen actions Tuesday July 14

LAKE OZARK - In other business at the July 14 Board of Aldermen meeting:
* The approval by the board of a special event permit will bring the 2015 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Meet & Greet back to the Bagnell Dam Strip.

The event will be held Wednesday, Aug. 26. Race participants will once again be placing their boats on The Strip’s center lane to allow visitors and residents the opportunity to view the boat and meet with the racers and their crews.

The event had been held at the Laurie Fairgrounds for the last two years. (See separate 2015 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout story on page one)

* Another special event approval paves the way for the Ozark Kiwanis Club’s annual Dam Duck Drop which will be held Saturday, Aug. 1 below the Bagnell Dam.

Rubber ducks will be dropped from a helicopter and will “race” with the Osage River current to the “finish line.”

A family fun zone will include inflatable attractions, music provided by a DJ, a petting zoo and demonstrations from dance troupes and cheerleaders.

* Four Public Works Department employees were on duty the evening of July 1 when severe storms blew through the area with torrential rainfall, according to Public Works Director Matt Michalik.

“We had two men from the utility department and two men from the transportation department here most of the night,” Michalik said in a report to the board. “They did a tremendous job handling the issues that arose.”

Michalik noted that the heavy rainfall resulted in “a few small grinder pump stations going underwater with the rapid rise of the lake” and “one grinder pump station at Riverview Campground go under about a foot of water when Ameren discharged over 80,000 cubic feet a second out of the dam.

He noted that the discharge was equal to over 598,000 gallon of water a second. In the storm’s aftermath, the department continued to clean up washouts and rutting on gravel roads and culverts.

* The Police Department’s recent Kids Academy hosted 24 participants at the two-day event, according to Police Chief Gary Launderville.

The police chief noted that traffic “quadrupled” over the Fourth of July weekend (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) because of the open floodgates on Bagnell Dam.

Launderville also stated that two new officers “are progressing well with their field training” and a new patrol car will soon be outfitted with radio, light bar, security cage and other necessary items.

A second patrol car should arrive in September, according to Launderville.

* The Pregnancy Help Center’s special event application for a 5K “Walk For Life” set for Oct. 10 was approved by the board.

The event will start at the parking lot of Paul’s Supermarket and run across the Community Bridge and back again. Organizers expect 100 racers with up to 150 spectators.

* An ordinance amending the qualifications for the city’s municipal judge position and an ordinance authorizing the city to retain special legal counsel for ongoing litigation with Relaxation, Inc. were approved.

The litigation with Relaxation, Inc. involves the city’s use of eminent domain in regards to the Eagles Landing Shopping Center.