South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

June 2017

Developers Development Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce

Great idea for a database I thought already existed

l3wis 1Comments

At first glance, I thought, WOW! What a fantastic idea and tool for our community;

A new database, OpenSiouxFalls, will become a central repository for data reflecting the metro area’s workforce, economy, social services, education and quality of life.

Like I said, great idea. But one wonders why the Chamber, the City or the Development Foundation weren’t already using such a database? Maybe they have been, but by the sounds of the development of this site, you wonder how comprehensive it is?

Beta testing for the first phase of the project is planned for this summer.

So has this information been used in the past by organizations? And if so, who was the gatekeeper? Like the affordable housing study by Thrive, one wonders if anyone has been compiling such essential information or just flying by the seat of their pants?

I applaud the efforts to make this public, let’s hope they pull it off smoothly and actually make something public that seems to have been either stored in a safe for a very long time or didn’t exist at all.

Gear Up Kyle Schoenfish

Someone needs to tell Representative Schoenfish there is no ‘I’ in Teamwork

l3wis 3Comments

I have done a lot of things for SD, except answer key questions about the GearUp program

Kyle wants you to know all the great things HE did in Pierre this last year (notice he leaves out his stellar performance as GearUp’s auditor);

I have been appointed to the workforce housing summer study by the legislative executive board. My experience as a CPA working on muncipal audits and housing/rental components of income taxes will be beneficial on the committee.

Maybe these are some things that Kyle should be answering;

1)How long has Schoenfish and Company conducted audits of Mid-Central Educational Cooperative?

2)How many years were you Kyle Schoenfish personally involved with doing the audits and what years where they?

3)What was your response Kyle as an auditor to the discrepancies in the monthly balances shown in Mid-Central’s financial reports from June 2011 through March 2014?

4)What other irregularities did your audits find in Mid-Central’s finances that might be related to the improper use of funds that has led to criminal charges for Mid-Central personnel?

5)When did you first become aware or suspect in your audits of businesses associated with the  Westerhuis’s of what SD Attorney General has described as misappropriating “at least” $1.2 Million from the state and federally funded GEAR UP program?

6)When, to whom, and how did you report these $1.2 misappropriations?

7)When did you first become aware or suspect what SD Attorney General describes as 17 illegal secret contracts let by Dan Guericke, worth $3.8 million, that were not lawfully approved? 

8)When, to whom, and how did you report these $3.8 million worth of illegal contracts?

9)When did you first become aware or suspect what SD Attorney General reports was evidence in the Gear Up  financial records of over $300,000 of “…misuse, or misapplication of monies designated for Native Americans and their education.” By Stacy Phelps, Dan Guericke, and Stephanie Hubers? 

10)When, to whom, and how did you report $300,000 of “…misuse, or misapplication of monies designated for Native Americans and their education?”

Open Government Open Meetings Paramedics Plus SF City Council Sioux Falls

REMSA supports transparency, fooled me

l3wis 2Comments

All of a sudden Gary Meyers and The Bride of Franken are claiming they are all about transparency, even B-N-B chimes in and says ‘It sounds like you are being transparent’ (Greg had to call a city official the night before for questions to ask Franken and Meyers).

I call BS on both of them, heck, all 3 of them.

Franken has said to councilors and the public in the past when asked to explain the new 980 policies that it was ‘too complicated to explain’ and buried herself in a hole. It is also rumored she was ushered off to Texas for a brief period to learn the NEW system.

Meyers says he has NO idea who Commissioner Barth is, even though Barth sits on the county medical board.

Meyers says you can come to their meetings that they are open, yet they often change the schedule of the meeting at the last minute and REFUSE to have the meetings recorded (with the backing of the mayor) so the public can view them later online or in replay on Channel 16.

As I have told the mayor during public input in the past, saying your transparent and ACTUALLY being transparent are two different things.

Here is a transcript of the show (it gets interesting at about page 8); 2017-06-22-belfrage-show

Mayor High Crimes Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether

Huether announces he will not be running anymore errands for the rest of the week

l3wis 4Comments

In a press release he said that the ‘dry cleaning is done’ and the ‘dishes are washed’. He went on to say that since he finished all his errands by the end of the day Wednesday, it will give him time to be fully prepared for the weekend.

“Not sure what NEW errands will arise come Monday, but myself and the good folks of Sioux Falls will be ready for them.”

Huether has also asked for privacy over the next two days before the weekend so he can truly contemplate and absorb the impact of getting his errands done early.

Annexation Foundation Park Sioux Falls

Annexation Fairness

l3wis 4Comments

As a longtime reader of DaCola pointed out a few days ago;

Warren Phear;

Speaking of foundation park. Something I would love to see the Argus follow up on. This I know. 820 acres were purchased by whoever for $24,000 an acre. The anchor tenant just bought 54 acres for $106,000 an acre. How did this land come to be worth so much? It came to be worth so much on the backs of SF water users. Getting the needed infrastructure to foundation is costing tens of millions of dollars. To pay for water and sewer to foundation the city raised those rates. Not once, but each year. The gift that keeps on giving. In the 2018 CIP the city allocated $29,000,000 to just get sewer to foundation. Stop and think about it. That is more than the admin building. 5 million more than the indoor pool. All for what? So somebody, don’t know who for sure, can make $80,000 an acre in profit. For 820 acres. Not a bad deal, once you consider who made that land worth that much.

I’ve been following the Annexation study group meetings lately, and one of the main points of the people that may be affected is, “How will this benefit me?”

As you can see from Warren’s comments, annexation was essential to launching Flopdation Park, and the benefits are numerous. The park is receiving millions in corporate welfare in the form of city infrastructure. Of course, the city ‘thinks’ they will recoup these costs in property tax revenue and platting fees. There is also the economic impact and job growth. I don’t think those costs will be recouped for decades, if ever.

So why would we charge annexation neighborhoods directly for these same kind of infrastructure upgrades? Shouldn’t the city just absorb these costs since they would essentially recoup some of this with new frontage fees and property taxes? While I am on the fence whether to NOT charge them nothing, I don’t think the current proposals are equitable, especially for properties that are older. I think maybe an additional fee of $500 a year for the next 20 years may be more palatable, or less.

But there is the bigger question here. If the city feels that they would have to charge homeowners directly for the annexation upgrades, is the annexation even worth it to the city coffers? I guess what I am trying to say is if the city can’t just absorb these costs equitably, is it really worth annexing them? Show to me that it will make our city stronger financially by annexing these islands than I would be all for it, if not, like Flopdation Park, it’s just a handout that benefits no one, and maybe that is why they think they should charge for the upgrades upfront. Now if we could only apply that philosophy to tax dodging Iowa ice cream makers.

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