Not sure how I missed this, but I found this PDF (FULL DOC: Awarded-Scopes-071714) on the city of Sioux Falls website the other day by accident. Not sure how long it had been looming on there. Of course, this doesn’t go into full detail about the contracts and how much they were paid, which we are still waiting for almost a year after it opened.
While our Mayor, City Attorney’s office and Planning department seem to bend the rules for Walmart to move into a well established middle-class neighborhood in Sioux Falls, other city administrations are realizing how much of a pain in the ass they are to the community (not counting the millions each year they bilk from Federal taxpayers for welfare and Medicade benefits to their underpaid employees).
BEECH GROVE, Ind. — A mayor in Indiana reached his wit’s end last week after another publicized scuffle at a local Wal-Mart.
According to the Indianapolis Star, Beech Grove, Ind., mayor Dennis Buckley declared the business a public nuisance after a string of incidents, the latest of which involved a shoplifting suspect wave his gun at store employees before shooting himself in the head. The suspect, 42-year-old Gillace Monroe Samples, died over the weekend from his wounds.
As a “public nuisance,†the Wal-Mart can now be assessed a fine whenever police are called there, the Star reports. The mayor said it was a necessary resolution.
“We’re better than that, our community is better than that and I don’t want to get a phone call every day saying that somebody pulled a gun at Wal-Mart and has done something out of line,†Buckley said.
As one of my friends said to me when they used to be on SNAP, “You should go to Walmart at Midnight when they re-load the cards, it’s 10x worse then black Friday.”
I find this funny for several reasons. First off, I can’t stand Disney, but Banksy isn’t the first artist to take a stab at the giant. One of my favorite cartoonists, Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth created ‘Rat Fink’ on a Diner napkin in retaliation of Disney Land and Mickey Mouse way back in the 1950’s. Rat Fink was the Anti-Mickey, Anti-Establishment character.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMER_4UJVNI[/youtube]
In case the audio doesn’t work for you:
. . . Wanted to let you know that you’re invited to our kick off Saturday celebration that is taking place at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning prior to the game is beginning, Sanford helicopter will be landing on field two and dropping off the balls. Mayor Huether will be in the helicopter and also get out and have a little bit of a speech about mission accomplished because our fields are now finished up in Sioux Falls . . .
Looks like a little Deja Vu to me. I thought the Junior Football fields were completed a long time ago?
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiyeVO5hrrI[/youtube]
We are treated to an unusual Sioux Falls City Council appeal process held on August 18, 2015. The meeting concluded the Touchmark at All Saints expansion plans rejected by the Board of Historic Preservation. Touchmark has gone back to the drawing board several times attempting to design a complimentary building addition only to be refused by the historic preservationists this year.
It took them almost 18 months of wrangling with the neighbors and the boards to get to this point. Ironically, only one neighbor came in opposition, and she just doesn’t like the color pink. This seems to be politically motivated.
While the current Phase 1 and Phase 2 pink stucco look is becoming a bit dated and tired, the latest designs may in the end be a welcome look. It appears Touchmark has taken the concerns of many of the neighbors and townspeople into consideration with the current plans.
The City Council had to become what’s called a quasi-judicial body to hear the appeal being presented. Items 48, 49 and 50 are the steps necessary to process the Board of Historic Preservation appeal.
Asst. City Attorney Danny Brown guides the Mayor and Council through the processes required to meet state law. The City Council became an appeals court chamber to hand down this type of judicial decision.
Item #48 is the hearing of the steps taken to this point, neighbor’s issues and filed plans. We were treated to some names and faces from Sioux Falls past bringing back some history to not forget. It was good to remember how bad the complex was before Waterford / Touchmark bought the place.
Item #49 is motion necessary to approve the project as stated in appeal.
Item #50 authorizes the City Attorney to file and post the Council’s decision.
Betty Best would be happy Touchmark has saved the complex and is expanding it’s footprint for the future.
l3wis