Some in power in this great town think they are the ONLY one who gets to make the grand decisions, like when it comes to Indoor Pools or Administration buildings.
In this Documentary, Jane Jacobs takes citizen activism to her city, NY, on a large scale;
Citizen Jane is a timely tale of what can happen when engaged citizens fight the power for the sake of a better world. Arguably no one did more to shape our understanding of the modern American city than Jane Jacobs, the visionary activist and writer who fought to preserve urban communities in the face of destructive development projects. Director Matt Tyranuer (Valentino: The Last Emperor) vividly brings to life Jacobs’ 1960s showdown with ruthless construction kingpin Robert Moses over his plan to raze lower Manhattan to make way for a highway, a dramatic struggle over the very soul of the neighborhood.
Jane shows that you can make a difference on a local level, and take on the ‘big wigs’ and win.
And guess what else? They built the facility so they could expand it and it’s parking! What a concept! They also have it next to a proposed Middle School! WOW! Planning ahead. I bet the lockers are big enough to at least fit your sunglasses and car keys into.
I often wonder how construction costs in Sioux Falls could be that much higher then in Watertown? I actually think it would be MORE expensive to build in Watertown a facility like this.
Like many Sioux Falls city projects, I believe the contractor and price is set before the bidding process even begins. The CMAR process is a boondoggle to make sure contractors rake the tax payers over the coals. It’s unfortunate that with all the ‘smart’ people we have working within city government (that we pay quite nicely) couldn’t see that the Indoor Aquatic Center was a complete rip-off. But Mayor Ramrod had to have it. This is what happens when you don’t let taxpayer’s decide on these projects. A NO vote on an outdoor pool only said that people might prefer an indoor pool. But since there never was an official vote we will never know. Was it a preferred location? Good Price? etc. We see what happens when we only let the mayor pick these projects, we get a huge price-tag and a $25 million dollar administration building.
As he was gloating over the ‘Ask the Mayor’ show Holsen produces and his great service of informing the public (because the local media does not) he mentioned that the Midco Aquatic Center will never operate in the black ‘Like the Events Center does.’
Give it up Mike. While the sponsorships and rental fees at the EC make SMG a profit and probably cover operating fees, the over $10 million in mortgage payments and normal maintenance is NOT covered by the profits of the Events Center, that comes out of our road funds. If anyone ran their business like we run the EC, they would be bankrupt in 6 months.
I am actually glad to hear this. Like I said at the council meeting, I hope the place is so successful we don’t have to subsidize it with tax dollars. As I have often argued with public projects, if there is a true need, they will be self sufficient. It looks like the indoor pool is heading in that direction;
The Midco Aquatic Center is just one week removed from its opening day- and already the center is surpassing expectations.
In the first week-the water center drew in over 2,000 people for a swim and 600 others in for a tour.
“We are trying to really reach all different kinds of demographics and programs so that we have a lot things going on and a lot of things happening to encourage people to come join us at the Midco Aquatic Center,” said recreation coordinator, Jean Pearson.
Many people in the community say the $24 million indoor facility was a great investment for Sioux Falls.
So with this great success, will the propaganda wing of the Mayor’s office stop peddling the lies that got us here?
When Tom Simmons spoke the other day, he actually was closer to the truth than he or the mayor ever could have realize. The 2014 voter was asked to select a YES box for a new OUTDOOR pool. A NO vote was to reject the outdoor pool. There never was an indoor pool on the ballot so a NO vote could be for no pool at all or maybe a larger outdoor pool or the natural pool proposal. The city never asked for other solutions. The mayor and his cronies took the outdoor pool loss as their justification for moving forward on the extravagance of an indoor facility costing 1,500,000.00 per year in deficits over the $25+ millions cost to build not counting the interest on the borrowed levee money ($30 million approx.).
In other words, did the 22,177 Simmons mentioned voting NO on the outdoor pool are going to be in hiding as they realize they let Huether going ahead on Sioux Falls spending at least $100 million dollars during its 50 year lifetime?
It amazes me that an executive from the company that is sponsoring the project is still peddling the lie that we ‘voted on this’. He said this during the grand opening ceremony (FF: 9:20);
“I’m going to guess in not to long of a period of time from now, after the community has had the opportunity to visit and take advantage of this fabulous facility, it’s gonna be darn near impossible to find anyone in Sioux Falls to admit they voted no. And if they do, just shake your head and just say, every once in awhile nobody is perfect we all make mistakes.”
The mayor even goes on to say that ‘22,193 citizens who voted . . . to support our new indoor pool’ (19:20).
Yeah, I’m shaking my head that you would make the mistake of blurting out a lie. He knows better. Even after the falsehoods sold to us in the advocational sessions and election campaign leading up to the project, the players in this cheating game can’t resist to get in one last dig and lie about the pool.
One person chose to build the indoor pool. Mike Huether. There was no vote (on an indoor pool) and it wasn’t entirely paid for with cash. You would think, that with the pool already built, they could finally start telling the truth. I guess not. You won, why continue to lie?
Noem's latest report covered the period of October 20, 2022, through December 31, 2022. It showed her campaign began that final two-plus months period with a balance of $6,168,261.95. She reported receiving $1,045,422.49 of revenue during that time and spending $4,526,915.48.
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