March 2020

A New Reality?

I have been thinking a lot over the past week about our current state of affairs, and every time I feel like I’m going to have an anxiety attack, I remember that staying calm, and thinking through my options is the more wise thing to do, then I put on my headphones and listen to some good jazz (or old school punk rock – they both have the same calming effect).

I have had many friends message me, call me and text me about the political ramifications of what is going on. Sorry. I don’t have the answers. I guess I could say what a lot of people are thinking, a divided country will have a hard time bringing this together, but it is the new reality.

So I will give you some advice, some you have probably heard already;

• Take your investments out of trading and transfer to money markets. I learned my f’ing lesson in 2008 and pulled mine out last week. Yes you will lose gains when the market turns around, but you will still have money to get in late. I’m not an economist, but I am also not stupid.

• Make sure any savings you have is secure, and contribute as much as you can.

• Don’t buy stupid crap.

• Talk to your employer about PTO and how they will participate in the forthcoming legislation to be signed by the president this week.

• Listen to the experts in the Federal Government, NOT the president. The only good coming out of his mouth will ensure our crops will be properly fertilized this Spring.

• Call your parents, your friends and other loved ones as much as possible, give them hope, love and comfort (this is the most important thing).

• Stock up on Beer, Cigarettes and Weed (just kidding . . . kind of).

Lastly remember we are all in this together, so help and think about others, don’t expose yourself if you don’t have to. I will be honest with you, I have no doubt in my mind, like the recession of 2008, the working man will be f’ckd over while big banks, Wall Street and industry will be bailed out. This time around I hope the American public stands up and says we have had enough. I will commend the handful of congress people who said this was most important in last week’s legislation, but there is more work to be done. If the airline industry fails, if the cruise industry fails, oh well, maybe as free market industries they should have had safeguards in place, why should I have to bail them out for not having a safety net when mine was taken from me decades ago. Besides, who goes on a Cruise anyway?

Stay safe. Pray, and remember, there is only one real cure for a pandemic, stop voting for Republicans!

BIDEN WILL LIKELY BE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

As I suspected, Bernie was Howard Dean’d, knee capped like a scene out of the Soprano. I saw it coming months ago. My choice was actually a Warren, but when I saw how the media was giving her the Hillary Clinton treatment, I knew where it was going. I think Biden will pick Amy Klobasomething as his running mate to secure the midwest vote.

STATEWIDE CITY ELECTIONS

I think the SOS and Governor Noem are seriously exploring postponing city elections across the state on April 14. Sioux Falls city councilor Theresa Stehly reached out to the governor’s office today asking them to look at options. While I understand this may be a touchy issue legally, as I told a government official last night (not Stehly) ‘Who works the polls? Senior citizens. They are not going to risk their health working an election.’ If you don’t have the poll workers, you can’t hold an election. I think we will be hearing from Noem soon on a postponement of the city elections across the state.

Stay safe, and if you need a laugh give me a call, I’m full of them.

Sioux Falls City Council Agenda, March 17, 2020

Not sure if the city council will happen or not on Tuesday, but it seems to be scheduled at this point;

Local Board of Equalization Hearings, 3 PM, Monday, March 16

Regular city council meeting, 7 PM, Tuesday, March 17

Item #6, Approval of contracts, Sub Item #23, a $50K data services contract with Midco. I guess they are getting their MAC sponsorship money back in one form or another.

Item #40, Resolution to dissolve TIF #5. I think this was the Cherapa Place TIF, hard to tell because no where in the documentation does it mention the recipient of this TIF. Unreal.

Item #41, Resolution, go into an agreement for a CMAR for the sewer plant expansion. This deal stinks to high heaven. The public deserves more transparency on this deal, I have a feeling there is a lot more going on behind the scenes on this deal. The way it is being handled is very suspicious.

Item #45, Appointing new Innovation Director. While I support this new director, I find it very odd there is NO bio or resume attached to this item on the agenda.

UPDATE: Mayor TenHaken has urged worship centers to forgo services

I wanted to correct what I found out was a rumor going around that the mayor only spoke with Christian clergy to not have Sunday services. This is apparently not true. What I did find out is that he has privately urged many different religious centers to forgo services. Which is a good thing and smart. Sorry for the confusion.

UPDATE: PAUL ADDRESSES THE ISSUE IN THIS VIDEO

But I will stress one thing, in this time of crisis, a world-wide pandemic, ALL leaders, large and small need to be very vocal and very public about their concerns. While sending an email is a nice gesture, transparency and openness is key.

While I agree 100% with his supposed decision to contact clergy in our community, he should have done it very publicly and put out an official memo from his desk at city hall that encourages ALL worship centers and businesses to close if they are not essential to our well being and health. In other words if you don’t have to go a social gathering which puts you in contact with others, don’t go. It really is that simple.

While I have watched many hours of news coverage about this virus, one thing is super clear, preventing the spread of the illness will flatten the curve and that should be our number one priority.

Once again, I sincerely apologize, but remain vigilant in this fight for open and transparent government.

UPDATE II: What is happening at the School for the Deaf site?

UPDATE: I was told that the Ministry Center and Boys and Girls Club is still a go, but is taking longer than expected. There is also no word if the apartment complex will be built or planned. There is also some dual ownership of the property.

UPDATE II: I guess they are building some more apartments at the site, they bring it up in this Planning Preview. They are basically converting existing office space into apartments;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSQplTFZUvc

Previous Post;

First we heard a major church was moving there, than we heard it was going to be a ministry site. None of that panned out, and we have no idea why.

The latest rumor I have heard is that the developer that owns the site is now just converting into more apartments with a plan to build a larger apartment building on the old track field.

Not sure if any of that is true, but I would assume a plan like that would be for affordable housing units which of course come with tax credits, and potential TIFs. I’m also not sure if the City’s Planning Department is working with them on this project.

CHARGING FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS

I have been hearing from several people and from doing some online research that if you want to rent from this same company they have you fill out an application and do a credit and criminal background check. This of course is not unusual. What is strange is that they charge between $35-40 for this check that is non-refundable. It would be like being charged for an urinalysis while seeking new employment. Why would a company that is looking for potential clients want to charge you? It would be like paying a gate fee to get into the Mall. What makes this even more egregious is that it’s not like they are just a high-end condo renter, many of their units are for lower income folks, and on top of that this company has gotten millions of dollars (across the state and region) in taxpayer subsidies and tax credits. You would think they would just eat the cost? Yeah right.

Will the Coronavirus affect city elections across the state of South Dakota?

Sioux Falls is NOT the only city having elections on April 14th, many cities across the state are having municipal elections, including Crooks, Brookings and Yankton, and several others.

Governor Noem has mentioned she is looking into her options. I guess according to state law, that date cannot change. What I don’t know is if she has the executive authority thru the SOS’s office to move that date up. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Noem said at a news conference Friday at the Capitol that one of her lawyers had met with the South Dakota Secretary of State staff about how the spring elections might be affected.

I have told candidates at this point I think a ‘wait and see’ approach may be better. For instance if the virus curve is going down by April 6th, there may be no reason to postpone, if it is spiking like crazy, Noem may have to take action.

Personally I would hate to see it postponed. I know that the candidates, all 4 of them in the race in Sioux Falls, have been working hard on getting out the vote.

I encourage people, if you are healthy, to absentee vote at the courthouse after March 30. I know the county courthouse in Minnehaha is looking into providing hand sanitizer stations in the lobby, which is good.

On a similar note, the city of Dell Rapids put out this advice on FB;

SANITARY SEWER NOTICE:
Due to the coronavirus concerns, there has been a shortage of toilet paper on store shelves. This may cause users to look for alternative products such as paper towels, facial tissues, baby wipes, flushable wipes, and other similar items. These products do not break down like toilet paper and can cause sanitary sewer overflows, which in turn can cause additional public health hazards. PLEASE DON’T FLUSH ITEMS OTHER THAN TOILET PAPER DOWN YOUR TOILET.

As for cleaning up campaign rhetoric in this election cycle, I suggest using a shovel.