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Homeless

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless SF City Council Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Sioux Falls Citizen Survey results down in almost every category since 2021

l3wis 1Comments

And some of it isn’t good, some categories dropping almost 10+ points in 2 years. They will do a presentation today at 4 PM, and here is a link to the document.

UPDATE: Here is the entire survey. You will see that they did not include any citizen comments on the survey, they have in the past. This tells me, there probably wasn’t too many positive comments. They also went the BIGOTRY route by filtering out Hispanics on the race question. Not sure why they did that because we have several immigrant communities in Sioux Falls. Weird.

I will do a deeper dive tonight after the presentation but there were a few stats I wanted to point out.

It seems the council is hestitant to fund childcare services or transient management but the citizens seem to be ok with it;

• 80% support funding for transient issues and housing

• 70% support funding for childcare

• 70% support funding for airport

Where the survey takes a bad turn is government services and transparency, many failing grades, but this one surprised me;

I’m sure there will be more details at the meeting today, but it will be interesting to see how the council addresses the transparency issues. I was surprised by these stats because I have been telling folks for 20 years the lack of transparency in city government and how bad it has gotten over the past 12 years but just figured no one notices because when you don’t inform people they tend to not be involved or care. If only 50% trust the government in Sioux Falls, yah got problems.

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls homeland security Homeless SFPD Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Was the Sioux Falls homeless encampment ordinance passed with pressure from the Feds and Governor?

l3wis 3Comments

UPDATE: Speaking of the homeless, last night a DTSF business owner who has been frustrated with the city’s response to homelessness spoke at the council meeting (FF: 34:10). She explained to the council she did a FOIA request with the city and her findings were astonishing. Basically the city has spent millions over the past few years putting transients in this cycle of citations without providing assistance. If we simply housed these folks with housing first initiatives we could actually save taxpayers money while addressing the issue and providing housing.

Her biggest suggestion? Have a coalition of services, in other words TALK TO EACH OTHER and coordinate those services thru different non-profits, the city administration and the Police Department. I have often said managing this issue isn’t rocket science, it just takes a conversation, transparency and the will to spend the money (or should I say ‘re-direct’ the money). I have even suggested such housing programs could be sponsored by local business donations. As far as I am concerned, it has gotten so bad, anything at this point is improvement.

Screenshot of some of the ‘citations’ our SFPD is wasting our time with;

Screenshot

A few weeks back the homeless coordinator for the city was at a public meeting. She was asked how the new ordinance is working out. After a brief pause she admitted that they haven’t implemented it yet because they are working out logistics. But you could tell from her nervousness she was probably making up an excuse.

What I found baffling about her answer is that when they pressured the city councilors to pass this there was a sense of ‘urgency’. So did that urgency go away? Not at all. I rode to all 4 corners of the city on Sunday, and while there is more transients in the downtown area, I saw groups of them (6 or more) wandering the sidewalks, bike trail, etc. all over town. I counted at least 10 different groups and many individuals.

If the city has realized this wasn’t the best solution, then why not rescind the ordinance?

So today, Jordan Deffenbaugh was on a city government rant, and there was a sentence in his rant that caught my attention;

Repeal the encampment ordinance – a failed policy making vulnerable residents surveillance targets.

Jordan was talking about the Feds accessing out extensive camera system in Sioux Falls to catch homeless immigrants and his concern.

Was this ordinance sponsored by the Police Department and the Mayor’s office just a pass thru with pressure from the Governor, AG and Feds?

It just seems odd to me this ordinance was needed just around the time of Prairie Thunder then never implemented after ICE was finished harassing us. So now we have the White House influencing our local laws and policies. Nice 🙁

Speaking of Sally Tomato, I have often rejected the comparisons to Hitler, but it seems they have more in common then we thought, just ask Stormy.

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless SFPD Sioux Falls

Rumor Mill: Private Security for Downtown residents?

l3wis 3Comments

As I have said in the past, I don’t post about 70% of what is fed to me because I can either NOT get another source or it is so personal, I just avoid it. But sometimes I get a rumor sent to me, and this person was just as inquisitive as I was, so he asked me to do some digging. I couldn’t find anything from internet searches, which doesn’t surprise me, because this would be a ‘word of mouth’ kind of personal security firm. Supposedly there is a NEW private security firm specializing in protecting high-end residents and businesses in downtown, so anonymity would not surprise me to protect their clients. I am not sure if any SFPOs are moonlighting with this business or even investing in it, which I think would present HUGE union conflicts. But let’s just pretend for a moment that indeed this was cooked up by either current or retired officers, it makes you wonder if the transient problem DTSF is being ignored on purpose? It’s good bizzo for private security.

I knew it was only a matter of time, and wouldn’t be surprised something like this is already in operation or in the works. Minneapolis has had similar firms in their downtown and there main objective is knocking transient heads together, and they seem to do it with impunity. I have seen them in action. Let’s just say that I saw several transients quickly walk the other direction when they saw them.

What a sad state of affairs. This is what happens when a problem is ignored. The minions suffer while the wealthy buy their way out of it.

1st Amendment County Commission Downtown Sioux Falls Elections Homeless Lincoln County Minnehaha County SF City Council SF School Board Member SF School District Sioux Falls

We lack TRANSPARENCY in local government

l3wis 4Comments

I agree with Joe that there is a lack of leadership, experience, accountability, common sense and diligence;

That kind of leadership requires listening, relationship-building, and the willingness to work together. It means re-establishing trust among institutions that have drifted apart and reminding everyone that Sioux Falls’ success has always come from collaboration, not isolation.

Many of these leadership issues can be solved with one word; TRANSPARENCY. When you have a government that is open to the public’s ideas by bringing them along with the process you get more involvement and when the public is more involved you have a better planned community. The problem with local government on all levels isn’t a lack of leadership or even laziness it’s a lack of openness and accountability. You could have 9 monkeys sitting on the dais and the city would still run incredibly well because of transparency. I am of the position that it doesn’t matter who is on that dais, as another realtor announces a run for council today, if we have folks that are willing to open the books and bring the public along that is ALL the leadership you need. Because real leaders are honest, open and accountable.

THE SOLUTION TO THE TRANSIENT PROBLEM IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES

After reading this article last night about transients at the downtown library I sent this email to Jodi;

I am putting an invitation to you and a companion to ride on the back of my pedi-cab on a weeknight DTSF after dark, I will take you to all the places transients congregate and you can see just how serious it is.

But what I found fascinating about the article is Police Chief Thum offering a solution to the problem without realizing it;

My point is not to lack compassion for those who probably could benefit from a quiet, safe place to spend their day. Ideally, we’d find something more productive for people to do in such a place — maybe we offer classes or even the chance to create art — but if safe shelter with a way to charge a phone is really all people are looking for, maybe we need to create that somewhere other than the library.

We need the library to function as it was intended to promote literacy and access to information and related resources, not as a social services agency. 

At the top of the post I talked about common sense in government. Are you listening to what you are saying? Maybe we need a temporary shelter? It is pretty obvious to me that we need a temporary shelter this winter for these folks where they can stay 24/7 if they wish. Will it cost money? Sure, but the alternative is paying for ER visits when we are scraping them from the cold concrete in a parking ramp which costs way more then just funding a facility for the winter months. I would also hand every single one of them a bus ticket when they arrive at the shelter if they desire to go home.

This is what I mean when it comes to leadership. You obviously see the issue, you also obviously see the solution, so why not fix it?

Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless SFPD Sioux Falls

Hey, Jodi, let’s go for a bike ride

l3wis 9Comments

It seems our local media has been on a ‘look at how great the city is’ kick these days. Blaming bicyclists for poor planning of detours on the bike trail, and now patting themselves on the back over the transient issue, not so fast;

Because repeatedly, now, as I’ve walked throughout downtown Sioux Falls in essentially any direction, the difference is clear: The feeling on our streets has changed for the better.

While I would agree, the panhandling has been less in that 3 block strip on Phillips, the transient population HAS exploded this summer DTSF (in the fringes).

I ride almost every night DTSF after dark and I do a homeless count. The biggest night I had was 36. Most nights I count over 20. They hide at various parks and camp out on the fringes of DTSF. They absolutely love the Levitt space (because they have outlets to plug in their smart phones) Sure, they have been pushed out of the main drag, but they are seeping over into the neighborhoods around DTSF (some of the poorest in the city with very little police presence unless they are hiding on a break, that happens a lot). There is a picnic shelter close to my house on the bike trail that is literally a campground for around a dozen transients, and when the police chase them out, they are back the next night, same people, same spot.

I would encourage Jodi to take a ride with me at night, and SEE just where the police DTSF are pushing these folks. Because while the panhandling has been down, the population has exploded and the problem exists in the shadows. The SFPD, which I believe are responsible for eliminating the issue (they are called public safety officers, it is YOUR job to keep us safe, that means addressing the transient issue instead of playing whack-a-mole.)

I would give each transient approached by either a street team specialist, ambassador or an officer FIVE options;

• The LINK (ONLY option if they were extremely intoxicated). After DETOX, these four options will be available;

• A bus ticket back home.

• Stay with a friend or relative locally, and have them pick you up.

• Go to a shelter that would except them.

• Jail for trespassing, and after incarceration the three options above.

If we started being strict with these options, you would see the problem lessen, right now they are playing a game of whack-a-mole and just moving checkers around on a board. I think MOST of these options are compassionate and humane, and they actually work.

So Jodi, you can keep writing stories about how glorious DTSF is, or you can get on a bike with me and see the real issue.

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