LAKE OZARK – The Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen on Tuesday voted to make their city the second at the Lake to formally endorse legislation to reverse the 2011 merger of Missouri’s Water Patrol with the Highway Patrol.

Camdenton State Rep. Diane Franklin is the primary sponsor of a bill in the Missouri General Assembly this year that would sever ties between the Water Patrol and the Highway Patrol. Lake-area Reps. Rocky Miller and David Wood also support the measure.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Lake Ozark Board of Aldermen agreed to send a letter to Franklin signed by Mayor Johnnie Franzeskos expressing the board’s support for the bill. Earlier this month the Osage Beach Board of Aldermen sent Franklin’s office a similar letter.

In the letter, Mayor Franzeskos said Franklin’s proposal to restore an independent Missouri Water Patrol makes sense. He said the merger has “impaired the safety of residents and visitors” to Lake of the Ozarks.

“Prior to the merger we had an independent Water Patrol who focused on the unique challenges of boating safety and law enforcement on the water,” he said. “Our Lake of the Ozarks is one of the crown jewels of Missouri’s recreational and second-home communities and the safety and security of our residents and visitors is an issue of primary importance for all levels of government.”

Gov. Jay Nixon pushed the merger in 2011, saying the change would increase efficiency and save the state millions of dollars. But Franklin said the merger instead has resulted in fewer uniformed officers exclusively patrolling waterways.

In May 2014, the Highway Patrol came under fire after a man drowned while in custody at the Lake of the Ozarks. The trooper who arrested 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson of Iowa for boating while intoxicated was charged in December with involuntary manslaughter. The trooper, Anthony Piercy, allegedly did not properly secure Ellingson.

Lake Ozark City Administrator Dave Van Dee said he supports the letter.

“I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “I haven’t had that much experience, but I have to be honest with you, I notice the service you get now versus what you used to get when I first got here, it’s very different.”

In other business, the board unanimously approved a $12,575 bid from Lakewood Alarm to provide a video and audio security system for the Police Department and City Hall.

Police Chief Gary Launderville said the department was able to secure a $10,000 grant to help pay for the audio and visual equipment, which will bring the department in compliance with state law that stipulates police departments must have an interview room with audio and visual recording equipment.

Launderville said, besides the police interview room, the contract includes installation of video cameras in the booking area, the city courtroom, City Hall and hallways, part of the parking lot and at the entrance doors of City Hall.

Van Dee said the project will benefit more than the police department.

“We’re actually going to have some video capabilities for this room and we may, ultimately, be able to stream some of our board meetings,” he said.

In other business Tuesday, the board:

  • Added Darrell Cook as a volunteer reserve officer in the police department.
  • Gave final approval to a temporary construction easement and a permanent sewer easement as part of a sewer project to construct a lift station near Ozark Yacht Club.
  • Approved an ordinance amending the city’s personnel policies and procedures to establish a one-year probationary period for police officers and a six-month period for civilian employees.

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