I have to tell you that I was a little astonished with how this is being handled;

Tuthill House Gifting Agreement: Mieras shared details of the Gifting Agreement and also shared concept drawings of the exterior of the property. This Gifting Agreement will provide for exterior and interior house renovations and hardscaping to be funded and completed by the Tuthill Neighborhood Association. Upon satisfactory completion, the improvements will become City property. After some discussion, a motion to recommend approval of the Gifting Agreement was made by Weber and seconded by Nachtigal. Motion passed unanimously with all present Board members voting yes.

I say I am surprised, because normally this is NOT how things are done. Usually the city puts the bids out and pays the contractor. In this case, the neighborhood association is hiring the contractor and paying them. I applaud this. I have surmised while watching this process, this decision was made because often the city doesn’t get the best deal. Yah think? I love it how it took fixing up an old house to show how bloated the city is when it comes to their bids.

There of course was a discussion about how we need more parking for Levitt, or something;

Park Purpose Recommendation—Parking Concept at Levitt Shell East Edge located in Falls Park West, along with the west edge of Kiwanis Park: A motion that the Park Board finds the parking concept would be open and available at all times to the public was made. It further finds such parking stalls as described in the parking concept would provide a convenient supply of parking that would benefit not only access to Levitt Shell but also direct access to Kiwanis Park and the Phase III of the Big Sioux River Greenway. Motion was made by Nachtigal and seconded by Sundleaf. Motion passed unanimously with all present Board members voting yes.

The meeting ended with the City’s Chief Liar and Director of Parks piping off about robbing CARES money, lack of life guards, and the scooter ordinance;

Report of Director of Parks and Recreation: Kearney shared the status of pool openings and staffing. He also shared that City golf courses have been extremely busy with the warm weather. He touched base on some CARES ACT funding and the American Rescue Plan. He also stated there may be more projects that will be able to be completed with these funds. The ordinance change proposed for motor scooters at last month’s meeting did not pass at the City Council level. The Great Bear Recreation Park chairlift is on track with larger pieces being built off-site at this time.

Notice that Don didn’t mention that the real reason he thinks he can’t get lifeguards is because teenagers just don’t want to work because they may be missing out on something (I guess he told city officials this privately). I can tell you why you can’t get lifeguards, YOU DON’T PAY ENOUGH.

5 Thoughts on “Parks Board stays hands off with Tuthill House Reconstruction

  1. D@ily Spin on July 4, 2021 at 7:49 am said:

    Obviously, the city fears the Tuthill Ghost. Any mayoral candidate who vows to replace the Parks Director gets my vote.

  2. Reliable Voter on July 4, 2021 at 10:08 am said:

    To be eligible for employment as a guard, you must receive water safety instruction certification. It’s offered a couple times a year over the course of a couple of weekends – classroom and in-pool. The cost was around $250., plus you need an appropriate suit. If you are hired the city will eventually reimburse the training costs. So if you don’t have the money to pay for the training, or purchase a suit, or have other things going on during the training weekends, you cannot apply to be a guard. Or, you may spend the money and not get hired. How many reading this would drop $250 to apply for a job. But the city could establish a fund to pay those costs. The worst outcome would be more SF kids would know how to rescue potential drowning victims and perform CPR even if they weren’t hired as lifeguards. Which isn’t a bad use of city resources

  3. anonymous on July 4, 2021 at 3:26 pm said:

    What he, of course, didn’t mention is that he plans to use this as a case for why Frank Olson (the only remaining 50 meter outdoor pool in SF) needs to be closed permanently.

  4. Warren Phear on July 5, 2021 at 8:46 am said:

    It was disappointing to read Frank Olsen pool did not open this year. Especially for the reasons expressed here. My kids grew up at that place during the summer, swimming, and winter, ice skating. Hard to imagine what the kids in that neighborhood are doing now.

    But, prioriites rule the day at city hall. $1,950,000 for a 7300 foot bike trail spur from legacy park to family park. Go figure.

  5. Mike Lee Zitterich on July 7, 2021 at 11:55 am said:

    For me to have the right to buy and sell USED CARS, I have to buy a “BOND” which costs between $100 to $1,000 all depending on my credit, let alone I have to pay for the License $175, and get insurance up front before approved.

    This is the same equivilent to a Person choosing to want to become a Life Guard in the Sioux Falls or South Dakota area.

    Just pay the certification, and the sky is the limit, perhaps you can become a honorary Lifeguard in another City, let alone for another organization. Its the same rules the business owners have to do in order to start their business.

    The ‘wages’ are fine, $12-13/hour is great money, and can buy a lot of things in South Dakota.

    Also Note: With your Training, your Certification, your Experience, and Knowledge you can now go out and sell your services to other people or organizations teaching them survival tactics in water, thus increasing your income.

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