Mayor Huether requested a meeting with me a few days before the Events Center vote. Well we found time today to get together for about 30 minutes. We didn’t touch on many things I wanted to talk about but we did discuss some important topics. Here is a brief overview;
• Before the meeting he showed me his office (I have never been in the Mayor’s office) and told me why he set the room up the way he did. I joked it was his version of Feng shui, which surprisingly he knew nothing about, well, I’m sure after a little googling he is rearranging his furniture right now 🙂
• We discussed the crumbling politics of Washington and the games they play. Mike actually dug up a quote from Kristi Noem in the SD Municipal League’s newsletter and how she accuses the senate of playing games.
• We discussed the reason this meeting was called, his frustration with anonymous blogs (what he really means is ANON comments on blogs) I told him I like the FACEBOOK option of commenting and I agree with him that I am not real keen on anon comments. But I also reassured him that I know most of my commenters and do not allow garbage that may be libelous to filter thru. He did ask a weird question, he wanted to know who one of my anon commenters were. Which I found a bit strange, because they are pretty obvious. I did tell him, and he wasn’t surprised, like I said, pretty obvious. It kind of made me chuckle to myself, because he didn’t want to know who Angry Guy or Pathloss was. Sorry guys. Let’s just put it to you this way, it is unimportant.
• He did brag a bit about the EC passing which got us into a discussion about the entertainment tax, local control (which is important to the mayor, and me) and Lewis & Clark. He assured me we are locked and loaded and getting the water, but agrees with me that the Feds have no interest in funding it anymore.
• Mike did answer one question for me (partially). Shawn Tornow has yet to have his civil service hearing. He did not tell me why there has been a delay, but he did reassure me that Tornow has not been receiving compensation or benefits since his dismissal. I joked that Tornow was the king of dragging things out. Which he did not have a response or even a smirk.
I wanted to talk about ethics, Debra Owen’s firing, snowgates, code enforcement, and Rex Rolfing but we never got to that. He did touch a bit on Debra though, and how he has become gun shy of interfering with council business. It came up after we discussed moving the Monday Council meeting to Tuesday nights and I mentioned to him that they are considering day meetings. He told me, he didn’t concentrate on their business anymore after the Debra Owen ‘fiasco’.
As I said in our last podcast, I like Mike and enjoy talking to him, he has a pulse on our city. Do we agree on things? Not at all, but he will talk to you about it, and told me before I left that if I ever have any questions to call. Oh, I will.
Can you tell us the mystery anon? Not the real name, but the pseudo. Does this mean no snowgates in my neighborhood?
Nah. But I’m sure this person will find out soon enough. Like I have said before, I’m not keen on ANON comments, but this person was pretty obvious, that is why it kinda made me laff when he asked me. He actually thot it was someone else (that made me laff too, becuz they hate anon comments also).
If he’s so open, then he has to fulfill his promise to appear on our show again to talk about non-EC stuff.
I’m crushed.
I guess Sy needs to be a little more clever with his username if he wants to throw off the heat! 🙂
He has become gun shy of interfering with Council business……
He should be, it’s a separate branch of government!!!!
Before you all poop in your panties, I will tell you this, it is none of you. While it is a person who has commented here in the past, they have always used their real name. It was actually someone who commented on the AL forum. I just found it funny he could not connect the dots and figure out who it was, because his guess was someone who HATES anonimity, so in all fairness I had to defend them and tell him who it really was. It doesn’t really matter, and I would guess most of you already know who I am talking about. The irony of it all was that I told Mike I was troubled by their anonimity myself.
Co-opted?
thank god you didn’t rat me out. rocco would be mad, finding out that eddie spaghetti is my boyfriend.
Hmmmmm.
Holsen has a great post about administrative changes: http://jenholsen.blogspot.com/2011/12/when-shall-city-council-meet-and-other.html
Detroit Lewis named name!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaTbErVDQ40
As for the change in meeting times – don’t like it. It may be nicer for the mayor and some council to have their evenings freed up, and it will cut down on the rabble rousers who can attend, but it doesn’t improve access or promote more thoughtful discourse.
And why is the Fife squeaking about why the council should should change the meeting time. All he should be doing is telling the council if they are permitted or not under the law to change the meeting time – period. Anything beyond that blurs the line between city attorney and quasi-council member.
I wish one of them could be honest and say “we want to change to daytime meetings because it frees up our evenings, and it will mean less hassle with public comment on issues.”
The Council’s desire to change their meetings from Monday to Tuesday seems to make sense.
On the other hand, the Administration’s request to have the meetings changed from evening hours to daytime hours makes no sense.
David Pfeifle’s reasoning that people work all kinds of schedules these days and have opportunities to view the meetings on TV and on the Internet is a very weak argument. His suggestion that employers would grant time off to employees who would want to address the Council is absurd!
This change is a suggestion that would accommodate the Mayor and his Administration, not the working public.
NEWS FLASH: This is public service not the private sector. You are all well compensated by the taxpayers for your efforts, and if you don’t like the hours, then please feel free to return to the private sector!!!
• We discussed the reason this meeting was called, his frustration with anonymous blogs (what he really means is ANON comments on blogs)
Mikey…Mikey…Mikey… where do we begin? I just watched KSFY News at 6. Now you got no problem with anonymous crime stopper tips, yet you are disgusted with anonymous posters to places like SouthDacola?
You are one hypocritical SOB Mikey.
Poor guy, those “anon commenters” must really get to him. Maybe all the facts being “spewed” upon these websites about the Events Center, made him want to go with an “easy to approve” plan, rather than one that made complete economical sense.
I would have loved to have been apart of bidding for a large convention for an organization of ours to come to Sioux Falls, but the complex and location are nearly an embarrassment to our city. I wouldn’t want to show off Sioux Falls like that, but Mike was just too caught up in getting this thing done rather than doing what was right. He sure does know how to play politics, and I commend him especially as a new-comer. It’s just unfortunate he doesn’t realize his current look of a “role-model” and how it doesn’t look very well.
Here’s to his political “future” and seeing where it turns out. It’s unfortunate he plays the game the way he does, but he gets certain things done.
You are all well compensated by the taxpayers for your efforts, and if you don’t like the hours, then please feel free to return to the private sector!!!
You got that right. These so-called public servants make $320.00 a week. They put in all of 10 minutes at this weeks council meeting.
CR. Please run. We need someone who appreciates these kind of part timer hours.
You are all well compensated by the taxpayers for your efforts, and if you don’t like the hours, then please feel free to return to the private sector!!!
Poly43……………My comment is directed at our city’s current Administration and their desire to change Council meetings from evening hours to daytime hours!!!
and YES, they are well compensated by the taxpayers!!!!
The meetings should be held at night so that working people can attend, if they so desire.
Poly43 – Looks like MMM called another press conference today and the press, as usual, was all too happy to come a-runnin’:
http://www.keloland.com/videoarchive/index.cfm?VideoFile=111214neighborhood.
You’re absolutely right about the double-standard: MMM says anonymous tipsters “good”, but anonymous opinions “bad”.
Will this madness ever end?!?
Especially when he wants to turn in code enforcement violators. On a different note, I found out last night that he didn’t set up his office, Paul Schiller’s wife did as a favor. Doesn’t matter, here nor there, my office is much cooler with a devil or alien on every wall done by COOP. Either way, I find his lack of art on his walls (besides a couple of Paul Schiller photos and a couple of Mary Groth loaned paintings) to be troubling. While I think the Mayor is very smart, I don’t think he understands art or the emotion it brings. When you walk into Kermit Staggers humble home (and it is very humble) you are struck by the beautiful artwork that he has collected from all over the world.
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