Event Center
l3wis UPDATE: Events Center Campus Book Club meeting • 8:30 AM, Wednesday
UPDATE: I guess the meeting this morning went for about 4 hours. CityLink and Cameraman Bruce were there to film it. It also looks like the city took my advice and started posting meetings to YouTube.
I guess the meeting was a ‘Me, Me, Me’ fest in which potential investors of the area were wondering what the city (taxpayers) were going to give them to incentivize them to develop there. Should have never built the Convention Center or EC there. Dumbest decision ever.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Convention Center
8:30 AM
Open Government is paramount, because it is OUR money
We all know the truth, Mayor TenHaken and his staff were forced to open up the Events Center Campus Book Club meetings because councilors Starr and Stehly are sticklers about open government. God Bless Them!
So in a ‘sour grapes’ move I’ve been hearing they had their first ‘Open Meeting’ in the crowded old commission chambers instead of Carnegie. They supplied about 2 chairs for the public for a 3 hour meeting. Staff was rude, and several city employees were burning up the time clock ‘hanging out’ in the meeting.
This is NOT open government, this is obstinance.
Many people in government, conservative, liberal or whackadoodle don’t believe government should be open. They think things get done ‘faster’ when we shut r’ down. While this may be true, it usually doesn’t turn out well for the public. It has been proven time and time again open government prevents fraud, corruption and saves taxpayers money, but all those arguments aside, only one thing matters; We OWN this government, we have a right to see what is going on, it is OUR money.
I have told people if Sioux Falls city government sided on openness I wouldn’t have to have a blog. The fight gets tiresome sometime, because it’s always the tired old predictable things that happen under closed government.
Why must we fight for something so hard that is so easy? You promised transparency Mayor TenHaken, NOW is the time to deliver.
Ethics
Event Center
Mayor TenHaken
Patrick Starr
SF City Council
Sioux Falls
T.J. Nelson
Theresa Stehly
So who is lying about the openness of the Events Center Campus Book Club?
The ‘Painless’ Meeting in Public
We watched as this all played out. The meetings were going to remain closed, the TenHaken administration was digging in their heels. Then councilors Starr and Stehly bring a resolution forward opening the meetings. All of sudden the Task Force was claiming they decided they were going to open them up all on their own according to some secret vote, in a secret meeting and informed the Mayor in a secret email (to this day no one has seen);
An email from the event center group’s co-chairs Dan Statema and Jeff Eckhoff to Mayor Paul TenHaken said that the group had voted at their first meeting on Feb. 27 to allow the public and media to attend the rest of the meetings.
“We see no harm in having interested parties gain the same education we are as we progress through this process,” the email read.
Now fast forward today to the first open meeting. Deputy COS TJ Typeover tells those TV folks this;
“Pat Starr and I brought forth a resolution when we found out these meetings were going to be closed to the public and the resolution requested that they open the meeting and as a result of that the meetings have been opened,†says Stehly.
“After the first meeting they talked in between that meeting and this meeting and decided to open these up to the public,†says Nelson.
So which is it TJ? Did they vote on it? Did they decide later? My guess is both stories are TOTAL BS. You and the Mayor decided to open these meetings up after pressure from Starr and Stehly. Just admit it. Because just lying about it makes you look even more foolish, and certainly NOT transparent.
Events Center Revenue down over the past 3 years
Finally the chart I have been waiting for. I found it in the back of a booklet handed out at the EC Campus Book Club meeting today (click on image to enlarge);
In fact, if you look at the numbers closely you will see that the Denty actually would have a $1 Million year loss if it were not for sponsorships. Add the almost $10 Million a year in mortgage payments then you figure out why we are dodging potholes.
I also wonder if the city survey ever asks if people attend events at the Denty, or Pavilion, Orpheum, Arena, MAC, etc.? I would be curious just what percentage of Sioux Falls residents attend events.