April 2019

Developers Development Downtown Sioux Falls SF City Council Sioux Falls Taxes TIFs

UPDATE: Is Sioux Steel Development looking for a ‘Massive’ Record Breaking TIF?

l3wis April 4, 2019 9Comments

UPDATE: Big Thanks to Snevelicious for following up on this story!

So this is taking place next Thursday, April 11 (City Council Meeting Calendar)

4 PM Architecture Ideas and Presentations

Held at the receiving building of Sioux Steel Company, 196 1/2 E. 6th St.

Please park on the west side of the Sioux Steel Building or in The Market

5 PM Heavy appetizers and drinks at The Market, 196 E. 6th St

The Sioux Steel Development folks have already mentioned they want to build a 900 stall parking ramp (or around that size) they have also mentioned using TIF. What they haven’t said is how much. I believe the largest TIF ever given out in Sioux Falls was for the Sanford Sports Complex (I can’t remember the actual dollar amount, but I think it was $9 million and I believe 20 years). The rumor going around is that the Sioux Steel will be asking for a TIF in the amount to cover the construction costs of the parking ramp a number that could range between $20-30 Million dollars. The largest TIF ever given out in the history of the city. It also seems the event next week is away to smooze the city council into this.

Some would look at this as an ‘opportunity’ for the city to get out of paying for a parking ramp like we did Downtown already, but as I look at it, we shouldn’t be contributing anything. TIFs are the largest form of corporate welfare. We should be focusing tax incentives on rebuilding our neighborhoods.

Oh, but it gets even better. Another developer is rumored to be offering the city to buy some of the RR redevelopment land. He said he doesn’t want any TIFs or tax reductions, but he is only willing to pay HALF of the appraised value. They always have to have something. This developer has already raked the city over the coals for other DT developments along the river greenway.

I think it is ironic that all these FREE market, ant-socialist Republican developers in town are the biggest socialists of them all. Maybe we should rename the area ‘Karl Marx Greenway’.

Potholes Rick Kiley SF City Council Sioux Falls

Councilor Kiley blames God for Potholes instead crappy road contractors

l3wis April 4, 2019 8Comments

Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

UPDATE: City of Sioux Falls dismissed from Copper Lounge collapse lawsuit

l3wis April 4, 2019 6Comments

UPDATE: So I reported on this on March 22. After a couple of days I wondered why NO ONE in our local media said anything. Then it occurred to me, because the city didn’t put out a press release about it (which surprised me) or they couldn’t scrap it from another news agency. So this past Tuesday I ask Sneve at the Informational Meeting, “Why hasn’t the Argus done a story about this?” The next day the AL does a story, then as I predicted all the other news agencies fell inline.

Lazy asses. And I’m the ‘un-credentialed journalist.’

On Tuesday, March 19, Circuit Judge Camela Theeler entered a Memorandum Opinion and Order dismissing the City of Sioux Falls from the lawsuit in which the Plaintiffs alleged that the City had liability as a result of the December 2, 2016 building collapse.

Attached a copy of the Judge’s written decision;Â MMO_DISMISS

SF School District

NOW is the time to run for Sioux Falls School Board

l3wis April 3, 2019 5Comments

According to the SFSD website you have until April 12th to turn in 20 nominating signatures;

I encourage someone to run that is for transparency. As we saw today at the working session, a leak of a secret document has parents livid about cutting fine arts. As the lady who testified, studies for decades have shown that fine arts education combined with regular subjects increases test scores in those regular courses. Fine arts education works.

But besides the obvious, this constant behind the scenes planning and scheming is NOT working. I still am highly skeptical that 85% of people voted for the school bond. It’s just not plausible. But when you go about these things by gaming the system (votes were hand counted by mostly finance staff of the SFSD) you get what you want at the expense of others.

Today we found out that the school district is essentially broke. After tapping the taxpayers for several op outs and now probably around $400 million in debt they still have to cut programming. How does this happen? My simple guess is that when you run a government agency, like the SFSD, behind closed doors you have a select group of people making decisions without the input of parents, voters, taxpayers and even teachers. Open government SAVES money and helps to implement the best policies and practices. I often wonder when government officials in our city, county and state are going to figure this out instead of just begging us for more money due to their lack of open and transparent planning. Pathetic.

SFSD Budget FY20