June 2015

Developers Development Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Sioux Falls

UPDATE on the Phillips/Banks project

l3wis June 19, 2015 5Comments

Besides the hilarity of the bossom buddies screwing up another press conference and making announcements before final deals have been cut . . .

“There’s no deal,” Haugo said Wednesday from his home in Arizona. “No money has been exchanged and there’s no signed agreement. This was a case of the mayor and (development director) Darrin Smith overdriving their mouths.”

Well that mayor’s mouth has been on overdrive ever since he decided to run for mayor, I’m pretty sure it runs off a Hemi 440. His mouth was certainly in overdrive Tuesday night when he decided to get up from his chair and chew Kenny Anderson’s ass for not â€˜controlling’ the city council discussion at the meeting, but you won’t see that tidbit on SIRE since somehow it mysteriously got edited from the video. Rex Rolfing likes to remind people to remove their hats during public testimony because of â€˜decorum’. If we want real decorum at our council meetings maybe we should remove the mayor?

I digress.

Back to the $40 million dollar project that may or may not happen. I asked a committee member with the RFP the other day what proposals are being thrown out there (and these are very, very preliminary)

-The project would request $10 million from the city (taxpayers) to build the ramp. The city would own the ramp, and lease space to the hotel and apartment dwellers.

-The project may also be asking for a TIF.

I say one or the other, but not both. I like the idea that the city would own the ramp, but with such a large project ($40 million total) I don’t like the use of a TIF. I would want the remaining $30 million in private investment to be paying the FULL property taxes when the project is completed so that we can recoup our parking ramp expense. I would also be willing to throw in FREE use of the landfill if the other buildings need to be demolished.

I don’t thinking building a â€˜boutique’ hotel is a wise choice of TIF money, and since the city would be ponying up $10 million already, I think the gift giving should end there.

Cartoon Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether

UPDATE: Freedom is not Free! (Click to enlarge)

l3wis June 18, 2015 7Comments

If you watch the latest version of ‘Ask the Mayor’ (FF: 13:00) you get to listen to his take on all things FREE in this community. He really doesn’t understand our tax structure and the basic tenant of a socialistic democracy, or to put it in simpler terms ‘Sharing’. While I will never use our pools, tennis courts or even the bus system in town I am fine with my tax dollars subsidizing the programs. There are hundreds of things I get for ‘free’ because we all share the burden, like the streets, snow gates, the bike trail. That is how it works. As for saying someone ELSE is subsidizing the kids that get free pool passes and bus rides, I say hogwash. We pay sales taxes in Sioux Falls, EVERYONE pays them. Rich, poor, young or old every time we purchase something. There is no sliding scale. Everyone subsidizes the freebees in town. Heck, the mayor had NO shame when he collected a check for $500K from the fine taxpayers of Sioux FallsÂ so 102 members could buy equipment for an indoor tennis court that he put his name on. Let’s talk about ‘valuing’ something. Because that is real ‘rich’.

Here’s a nice little screenshot of the video being interrupted and probably edited (FF: 1:01:30) Notice how it pauses and gets fuzzy while the audio is still going.

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

Sioux Falls Parks Board Meeting 6/16/2015

l3wis June 18, 2015 4Comments

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcjm6qbpikI[/youtube]

Finally a video recording of these mysterious meetings.

My cameraman Bruce finally found a Sioux Falls Park Board meeting to attend on June 16, 2015. He searched the dark Great Bear lodge and found a place to setup so you might understand how it works in Sioux Falls, aka, Huetherville, SD. Don Kearney could not have found a more out of the way place to hide his planned rate increase vote and still be in Huetherville.

Notice how the camera and 4 citizens sitting in the audience had a difficult time seeing the panel discuss the topic of the day, the gouging of the swimming and not Huetherville public.

Remember this is only a swimming pool, its just indoors. Why do we have to worry about the difference between “Aquatic Center” versus “Swimming Pool” for a rate increase? When did the City Council adopt the classification difference. We will get into this more in our next installment, “Kearney goes to Council”.

As Kearney completes his PowerPoint the interesting events start to take place. In short order, the Park’s department agenda quickly tanked. The 7 members of the board torpedoed the administration’s planned rate increase. Mike Crane offered a temporary counter rate plan when Kearney insisted he had to have something to take to the City Council the same night.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute to try and sneak something past the voters, Park Board and City Council only to fail in a big way. Congratulations Mr. Kearney!

By the way, we have be advocating for all city boards, commissions, planning sessions and working sessions to be broadcasted. CityLink and the Internet access would allow all the people to see how their government works. It would go a long way to opening up the process for all. The many of the disastrous decisions perpetrated by our “most open administration in city history” could have been adverted.

Art Lydia Loveless Music

Music Club w/Lydia Loveless & Scott Hudson

l3wis June 17, 2015 2Comments

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDq1_rnJVE4&list=RDEMdgfAWBNumpwmztOBt2jqpQ&index=4[/youtube]

As you know, Scott and I had a short-lived podcast. He is a monster music fan and helped with a Replacements documentary, and now he is assisting with one about Lydia Loveless. They have been filming and he has been posting some fantastic photos of this amazing song writer.

I texted him the other night, “I’m so jealous of you right now!”

Sioux Falls Walfart

Sound Familiar Sioux Falls?

l3wis June 17, 2015 4Comments

Funny how WM’s charitable giving goes up when they need public support. I remember all the charitable donation stories in the local media before the last election:

The Walmart Foundation’s contributions in some cities rose steadily as Walmart tried to curry local support and gain access in those markets, according to the complaint. The foundation donated just over $200,000 to organizations in Los Angeles in 2008 and 2009, the complaint said, but raised that amount to $1.4 million in 2011, just as plans to open a store were getting underway. In 2013, the year that store opened, donations dropped to about $230,000.

â€œI think if this is truly charitable donations, they would be giving this every year,â€ said Matt Ryan, the executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Alliance for a Greater New York, which signed the complaint. â€œI would characterize it as part of a smoke-and-mirrors campaign that Walmart would run when they’re trying to move into a city.â€

I often said instead all the charitable giving or spending almost $20 a vote in a direct marketing campaign, they should have just sent every registered voter a $50 gift card.

UPDATE on the Phillips/Banks project

UPDATE: Freedom is not Free! (Click to enlarge)

Sioux Falls Parks Board Meeting 6/16/2015

Music Club w/Lydia Loveless & Scott Hudson

Sound Familiar Sioux Falls?

You Missed

UPDATE: Let Sioux Falls Vote! Sign Data Center petition!

Trust

I have been telling council this stuff for over a decade

First Ave Doc, many memories