Buffalo residents upset after car show cancellation

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Residents in Buffalo, Missouri are speaking out after a decision by the city’s Board of Aldermen led to the cancellation of a popular car show in the area.

The Board of Aldermen approved permission to have the car show on the town square.

However, they did not approve of part of the show; burnouts.

“Without the burnouts, there’s not a draw. There’s no reason for anybody to drive the extra mile to come to Buffalo, Missouri, when they can go to one in their own hometown or wherever they like,” Greg McKinney, one of the organizers said.

Because of the denial by the city, the entire event was canceled, despite approval from the BOA.

“When you provide the burnouts, [it] provides a crowd, provides something for the young people to do. It’s just a good thing for the community,” McKinney said.

He says he wasn’t aware the vote was taking place at the most recent BOA meeting, and they’d already paid insurance to cover the event, a total of around $3,000 McKinney says he won’t get back before the denial came through.

“They called me two days afterward and said that it was a done deal,” McKinney said. “We’ve already paid for the insurance and then we get denied the license to have the burnouts. We would be more than happy to address [the concerns] and try to comply with anything that they want to do.”

The biggest question about the denial is the why, especially when burnouts aren’t banned city-wide, they’re just not permitted near the town square during a car show that now is not happening.

Kenall says there was a lot of discussion held at the Aldermen meeting.

McKinney says he’s only heard rumors but when Mayor Kenall called him recently, McKinney says he was so mad, he says he did ‘more talking than listening’.

“The safety concerns that I heard were that cars were continuing to burn out past the designated burnout area and that there were people along the sides of the road,” McKinney says.

OzarksFirst spoke to some business owners on the square, who like McKinney, say they were unaware of any vote about the burnouts.

Kenall says event applications for special city events are supposed to be turned in 30 days before the event.

Kenall claims the applications were given less than 2 weeks before the event.

“We moved them down a block, and I don’t think we’ve had any problems since [that] at all. So I don’t have any problem there,” McKinney said.

Why the town square? Surely, if there’s no city-wide ban, burnouts can be done anywhere, right?

McKinney says the stretch of road they would use near the square has a historical significance that can’t be replicated elsewhere.

“It’s the city square. That’s where it’s supposed to be. That’s where it was back in the old days, in the 70s, and in the 80s,” McKinney said. “There was a time when that when the town square was alive, there were cars around the square all night on Friday night and Saturday night, and we’re trying to bring a little bit of that back.”

He adds the event annually gives the area, whether it be hotels or restaurants, an economic boost, plus many of the proceeds go to charity.

Other area residents like Ryan Baldwin say the city can’t have its cake and eat it too.

“[The denial for the burnouts was] a huge letdown. You know, families from all over the area would come to here and enjoy food, burnouts, hot rods, and it was a huge letdown,” Baldwin said. “Businesses are losing revenue. I mean, families are just having a free night out on the town, enjoying what Buffalo has to offer.”

Baldwin adds that his family will have to leave Buffalo to enjoy cars unless the burnouts are allowed back in the square.

“We’ll definitely be looking elsewhere for car shows. My wife and I and my family, we all enjoy hot rods and it’s a great thing. So yeah, we’ll definitely be looking in Springfield and other places,” Baldwin said.

McKinney says he hopes things can change as the year goes on.

“The things bring thousands of people to the city on [each time]. You’ve got the young people that are that get to see the burnouts and it’s just a great family-friendly great deal,” McKinney said. “I just hope it comes to fruition and everything works out for the whole community, you know?

Kenall adds the city still carries liability given its location event when organizers pay for liability insurance ahead of time. He says safety teams are typically placed at these events but says some safety measures are not always followed.

Kenall says the area in the square is “not ideal” for the event for a “number of reasons”. He says the BOA loves the event, they just “have to take into account the event from different points of view.”

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