September 2013

Platting Fee Surplus!? LMAO!

One reason I often shake my head at our local media is because they never tell the whole story, this story about platting fees is a prime example;

In 2009, the city added development fees when it raised the second penny sales tax to a full penny. So far the city has collected $750,000 more than they thought they would be getting in 2013.

What they leave out is that the taxpayers of Sioux Falls have contributed almost 13x times more to the arterial roads fund since it’s inception. And while I think it is wonderful that they have taken in more money this year (about fricking time!) I still contend that the developers have never held up their end of the deal by contributing 50% to the fund like they promised. Mayor Munson and the developers suckered the council at the time and have taken the taxpayer’s of SF for this money and have contributed very little.

That should have been the real story. Scroll down after clicking on this link to read my extensive posts about platting fees.

Who let the dogs out?

Did Spencer’s dog park cost us 500K? Nope.

When the mayor helped four councilors approve the million dollar dog parks, he did a gigantic disservice to the taxpayers of Sioux Falls. Am I against dog parks in Sioux Falls? No, and I think the four councilors that voted against the expenditure were not either. They simply were asking, “Why so expensive?” But apparently the mayor thinks that is a nice pricetag. Why is that?

My guess is because someone is getting a hell of deal on contracting fees. It reminds me of when the Pavilion window project was re-bid, and another contractor came in several thousands of dollars lower (I think it was 200K lower then original bid). I think it is a bit ridiculous that we spend 500K for each of these parks for a fence, a couple parking spots and some lights (we already own the land).

Councilor Anderson suggested before the vote that the land use committee look at more economical options before approving this. Mayor Huether, Councilors Entenman, Erpenbach, Aguliar and Rolfing don’t seem to care that we are blowing a cool million of taxpayer’s money on these parks, and don’t seem to think we should explore more economical options. Shame on them. I guess the council has really gone to the dogs. Literally.

What it really comes down to is that a mayor and some councilors are afraid if we start digging around on RFPs we may reveal something troubling, some contractors in town are taking us to the cleaners.

Rant a bit #14: The first interview of Indy governor Candidate Mike Myers

Former Mayo-St. Marys CEO Mike Myers has accomplished a lot in his long life. Besides his work in the medical industry, he has also been a journalist, radio host, and, most notably, a Healthcare Law Professor.

At the young age of 77, Myers is now entering politics, challenging incumbent Governor Dennis Daugaard in next year’s election. Myers joins Scott Hudson and Scott Ehrisman to discuss his reasons for entering the race, and his plans for changing the economics and politics of our state. He also puts his foot to his forehead, literally.

Hudson and Ehrisman also spend some time discussing local issues, including the recent fight to keep a giant Wal-Mart out of a residential area, and the controversial use of TIF’s to help finance so many of our city’s building projects.

Rant-a-Bit can be found in the ITunes store, and can also be streamed on Hudson’s iPhone/Android app, The Ledge. Or, you can…

CLICK HERE TO DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM THIS EPISODE!

Both Scott’s would like to thank Dr. Myers for appearing on our show.

Missing shoes

While having dinner tonight at a friends, (BTW, GP makes hella pasta!) I heard the story about size 12 Patagonia shoes that were left on their breezeway over the weekend. If you own these shoes, please email me so they can be returned (they live in the McKennan Park neighborhood). There is more to the story, but we won’t get into that right now.