Who has the bigger water cannon?
As I have been predicting for awhile, Huether plans to borrow most of the money to build the EC, as explained in more detail;
Most of the $99.5 million facility would be paid for through bonds, with an estimated $15 million in cash and up to $24.5 million in private donations.
This plan will never fly. Not with the city council or residents.
I spoke with a city councilor this week about how they were frustrated about the private meetings, and I told them exactly this (and it’s almost like the Argus was quoting me);
The private meetings with Huether have included three or fewer city councilors at a time. Any more than that would create a quorum and require the meeting to be open to the public under South Dakota law.
“It’s the oldest political trick in the book: divide and conquer,” Vernon Brown said.
Yah think? Maybe it’s time to get out the sweet velvet hammer? I find it ironic that the only councilor that complained about this practice during the Munson administration was Staggers. Now all of sudden it’s a problem?! Give me a break.
This isn’t about private meetings, the budget or how to fund a new Events Center.
I think what this is about is the Mayor finding it acceptable to set public policy in a back room. At some point , when he needs the citizens to pay, he is going to come to the public and say “this is your events center”. problem is, it’s not. it’s a private plan hatched up in private so it should be privately paid for.
Beyond that, what are we as citizens getting for our $500K? A set of drawings and a cute little model? How much is going to selling this pile of crap to John Q?
Like Jamison said in the AL piece, the other Task Force was able to conceptualize what they were pitching without spending that kind of coin, why doesn’t Huether spend his own $$ on his idea? Or is this another one of his “gifts” to all of us?
(BTW, link is down and I can’t find the original story on the AL site, what up with that?)
Tried again and it works now..my bad.
he hasn’t addressed the parking situation either. not sure how he’s going to cram the events center into the Arena site without addressing the parking situation
Why would Staggers want to get involved in this contest? Besides he does not have time. He is too busy wallowing in his own mess which HE MADE.
Staggers made a mess???
Yeah? What mess are you talking about? He lost an election because his opponent repackaged all of Kermit’s ideas and stamped them with a happy face and spent 3 times more money.
You know, for $100M, we could build a pretty nice modern streetcar line from Downtown to the Mall along Minnesota Ave and 41st Street. Do you think that would have more economic (and social) potential than an events center by the arena?
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