Knife River Corp., owner of the former Concrete Materials Co., has offered Minnehaha County $65 million for the William H. Lyon Fair Grounds.
Maybe it wasn’t that big of a surprise.
A 1999 task force went through a similar exercise with consultants and concluded the fair needed $31 million in capital improvements, but the county didn’t identify a source for the funds, Meyer said.
“It also struggled to develop an operating business model that made the fair self-sustaining and no longer continually dependent upon county subsidies as it is today,” he said.
I had a discussion with a Commissioner before the task force was created and said that if Knife River puts forth a good offer they should take it. The Fairgrounds are crumbling and Knife River needs aggregate to keep Sioux Falls growing, but there are some legal issues;
Commissioner Jean Bender, who is an attorney, said the county does not have a clear legal path to sell the property.
“That land was a gift to the county, and that gift is very tightly constrained, and the risk is if we sell that property that that property would go back to the heirs, and the county would get nothing,” she said. “So there are very significant legal impediments, which is why it hasn’t been done in the past.”
I actually think the county could overcome those hurdles, and they really should;
“If you ever want to bankrupt somebody, give them a white elephant,” Commissioner Dean Karsky said. “We have something we have to take care of, but we have no revenue source to do that.”
I have suggested that after a successful sale, the county could relocate the fair to a smaller community in the county like Dell Rapids, Brandon, Hartford, etc. The new fairgrounds could start with tent rentals and really doesn’t need a grandstand. We have plenty of entertainment options in Sioux Falls, we don’t need another concert facility. If they put the $65 million in an endowment to fund the fair moving forward, it could work well.
I hope the commission doesn’t sit on their hands and explores other options.
Last night at the joint Minnehaha County/Sioux Falls City Council meeting, Bob Kolbe brings his old shotgun for a presentation during open public input about how Republicans and the NRA have lost their minds. I’m with Bob, I support the 2nd Amendment and believe it is crucial that citizens can bear arms, but I am also in agreement with Bob, that 2nd Amendment clearly spells out with that right there is a responsibility of government to regulate that right. Just look at abortion, it was a right for 50 years, with regulation. Same goes for the 1st Amendment, numerous regulations with it comes to obscenity and libel.
What some may be wondering though is how did Kolbe walk into Carnegie, a public meeting space, with a gun (which I would assume was NOT loaded). Guess what? It is completely legal according to state law. Years ago (I believe during the Munson Administration) several councilors wanted to ban weapons at Carnegie Town Hall but quickly found out that they cannot because of our wacky legislature who thinks you should be able to carry guns anywhere. I have often been nervous about coming to meetings that have controversial items because there is nothing stopping anyone from walking into ANY public building in this city with a gun (I think the Federal and County Courthouse and Post Office is exempt). I do not own a gun and never have, but I support people who choose to. Now if we can only convince people to stop bringing them everywhere, especially public meetings.
To say the job Auditor Kyte performed last Tuesday was less than stellar is an understatement. It was a disaster. Besides the wrong ballots being handed out in several precincts and the calling out of NON-REPUBLICANS showing up to vote against Amendment C, there was also the issue of Kyte running an election where he appeared on the ballot (a possible violation of state law). Well he did lose. But many have been asking if he is qualified to run a general election (his term doesn’t end until the Spring of 2023) or if they need to bring in outside help. Apparently it didn’t take the MCC very long to come up with a solution, posting this job ad on Friday;
When I went to vote today I noticed an empty auditor’s office with directions to go to the 2nd floor (which I am sure is quite convenient for the elderly and handicapped 🙁 I asked the lady when I got there why it was on the 2nd floor she seemed bewildered and said that is the only place they had room (even though like I mentioned before, there was an empty auditor’s office). I was told later by a county official that they wanted to have people vote at the election center but that is currently being used by the equalization office because the administration building is being remodeled.
Let’s get things even more confusing for voters – and we wonder why no one shows up for muni-elections? There was also NO sample ballots available that I could see (I did not ask for one).
There was also this sign posted on the door of the building.
Not sure why a NON-city petition cannot be circulated while people are coming in to vote. I’m not even sure if they can legally restrict petitioners on public property.
This state, county and town is turning into a real fascist state.
While I would love to blame the Commission for the authoritarian move to put a time limit on public input, it seems the Trumper election deniers have ruined it for the rest of us. The group (who obviously believe Trump won the election) have been berating the Commission over the past couple of months about election integrity and all the supposed problems with our elections like drop boxes, mail in ballots and of course fake news.
So the Commission has decided to change their long standing rule of NOT having a time limit on public input to now having a 5 Minute limit (with a cute little clock on the big screen) and similar to the SF School Board a sign up sheet, to which the chair said was to make sure they are spelling the public inputers names correctly. It is also a very nifty way to turn them over to the NSA, CIA and FBI 😊
While I totally understand the annoyance of ignorant morons who watch to much Newsmaxx (the city council has the march of the Anti-vaxxers that show up each week), I think instead of changing a long standing public input rule maybe the commission needs to change the rules of engagement with the inputers. I think a lot of times at public meetings, whether it is city council, school board or county commission some of these issues can be quickly resolved if you would just answer their questions on the spot. They may not like the answer, but if you are clear with them that they got a response there would be no reason to show up week after week complaining about the same stuff while building up their conspiracy theories.
After watching this, I have come to a different conclusion on ‘general’ public input. It really isn’t about the time limit, the position on the agenda of even decorum, it’s more about the governmental body interacting with the public during this time. But you will never get that since most of the local governmental bodies are run by authoritarians who want to keep their backroom deals and schemes secret. Just watch how the chair of the Lincoln County Commission runs the meetings . . . scary stuff.
ICE RINK AT EVENTS CENTER MALFUNCTIONS
The Denty having to cancel the Stampede games this weekend due to malfunctioning icing equipment is a flashing warning sign of what is coming for taxpayers. If you think the $10 million a year mortgage is draining us, wait until major upkeep and maintenance starts. The building is getting to the age that this stuff needs to start being budgeted for (7+ years old). Just look at the Pavilion, a place that was supposed to cost us $19 million has probably gone far beyond $100 million in maintenance and upgrades over the past 20+ years, and this is just a small facility compared to the Denty. A city official told me recently they will have to start budgeting major maintenance expenses starting next year (like siding replacement) and the price tag will NOT be small. I still think the Denty (besides the bunker ramp) was one of the stupidest investments this city ever made that sends around $20 million in profits straight out of town and out of state every year never to be recirculated locally, and don’t get me started on the location!
What has baffled me about all the local government bodies across the state approving Covid bonuses for employees from federal money is the lack of a mandate. While the mostly conservative SCOTUS has thrown out government mandated vaccinations it seems puzzling to me we would give bonuses to county employees for working through Covid yet not requiring them to be vaccinated. They mention that the jail staff had to be exposed to Covid but don’t say anything about requiring them to get a vaccination. I don’t think any public safety officer or government employee should receive a bonus unless they prove they have been fully vaccinated and boosted. You would avoid officially mandating it, and you would create an incentive to get it. It seems silly to me that we would reward people for working through Covid yet allowing the ones without a vaccination to expose citizens that come in contact with them.
What about the healthcare costs for taxpayers of unvaccinated county employees?
The massive hypocrisy of local governments willingly taking Federal Covid money and dispersing it as Covid retention bonuses without the requirement of vaccination is mind boggling.
Minnehaha County commissioners will consider a resolution Tuesday on whether to establish a task force that would review and establish a future vision for the William H. Lyon Fair Grounds.
“It’s very much a concerted effort of the entire commission,†Commissioner Dean Karsky said. “We just know we need to address it, the public expects it, and we feel the fairgrounds deserves the attention it needs.â€
The only thing to address is a purchase agreement. It is no secret that a North Dakota company wants to buy the land for a quarry, but before they can do that, they have to figure out what to do with the fair;
In creating the task force, the commission “seeks to focus future county investments, community support and donor gifts, both for facilities and general operating support, to best meet the needs of the community and the intent of the Lyon’s gift,†according to the resolution on Tuesday’s agenda.
In other words since the County and Fairgrounds have failed to sell significant naming rights over the years, the place has gone to the birds, I have suggested for a long time this was done on purpose so they could eventually sell the property for a quarry. No body wants to invest in it. There has also been an underground campaign by the potential buyers to sway Lyon family members.
Make no mistake, this taskforce is just smoke and mirrors over selling the land for a cement quarry. Why beat around the bush, just put the sale to an up or down vote of the Commission right now. I can tell you why it hasn’t been put up for a vote, because it would be very close and controversial, but after 12 months, the commission will change and they may have the votes to sell, and trust me, it will get sold as a quarry.
My suggestion is to sell it, but to the highest bidder, and since what’s under the fairgrounds is worth more than the rat’s nest sheep barns on top of it I would also suggest selling the mineral rights under it. My suggestion would be a significant down payment with a contract for deed over 4-5 years that the county could use for relocating the fair. My suggestion would be to Hartford where the town has been actively pursuing economic development, and I really don’t like Brandon, because, well it’s Brandon (Hartford should really sell shirts that say ‘F’ck You Brandon’)
A county official suggested to me it should be put to a public vote, and my response is that most residents in the county (which mostly live in SF) would vote for the sale. It would probably be a bigger landslide than the SF School Bonds.
Maybe it is time Minnehaha County just throws in the towel and starts a new fresh purpose for the fair somewhere else. Sorry Hairball, you are playing Hartford next year. But look on the bright side, it isn’t Brandon.
A few years back on a couple of occasions there was a very public push for a concrete company in Sioux Falls wanting to buy the Sioux Empire Fairgrounds because of the rich quarry reserves below. It was rejected by the County Commission. The fairgrounds are county property, and while they do have some infrastructure cost sharing with the city, the actual property was gifted to the County by the Lyon family. I may be wrong on my history but I think when the land was gifted for the fair it was farmland out of the city limits.
There were two issues with the sale a few years ago. 1) The Lyon family did NOT want it sold for a quarry and 2) The County didn’t have a plan to replace the fairgrounds.
Moving forward, the company has supposedly renewed their appeal for the property, according to one of my county sources. This time around they are claiming the Lyon family is on board, but my source is telling me the commission cannot approve the sale because the commission’s counsel has told them they cannot legally sell it for that use. The other issue is where will the SE Fair be moved to? And what would it cost to replace the grounds? The suggestion floating around is to just put a big tent up each year for the fair. How festive in a 1920’s Ringling Brothers sort of way.
While I could care less if we have a fair each year (just brings up bad memories of being in 4-H and how much I hated it) my concern is having a gigantic hole in west central Sioux Falls. I also wonder what the city would think about that attractive hole?
We will see how public and transparent this battle becomes.
DJ Buthe was employed as the Minnehaha County Highway Superintendent between December 2011 and February 2021, at which time he resigned to accept the position of Public Works Director for the City of Brookings.
The FY 2020 construction projects expenditures for the Highway Department were approximately $4 million over budget which led the Minnehaha County Board of Commissioners to engage Eide Bailly to conduct an internal controls examination of the Highway Department. Eide Bailly was engaged in early February, 2021, and the report was completed as of March 30, 2021. Eide Bailly reviewed policies and procedures, budget reports and supporting documentation, contracts/agreements and change orders, and conducted interviews with employees focused on identifying strengths and weaknesses within the controls over their respective positions. Eide Bailly determined the deficit was related to a flawed process to track encumbered funds. Corrective action has since been implemented by the County, including the purchase and use of additional software designed to prevent this budget deficit issue from recurring.
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You gotta love it when Councilor Kiley’s strategy of telling half the story gets shot down. He often tells only partially what is going on to support his argument. Last night he tried to compare a wedding barn facility in rural Minnehaha County on a dirt township road to wedding barns annexed into the city limits. The problem is he left out the part they were annexed in the city limits. He also did this a few weeks ago when he tried to accuse councilor Starr of saying firefighters stand around too much. Starr did say that, but he wasn’t referring to fighting fires he was talking about mutual aid with calls of service for ambulance. In the past they had to wait for our rinky dink ambulance service to show up before administering care, now they are allowed to assist before they arrive eliminating them ‘standing around’ on ambulance calls. Kiley has been pulling his ‘half the truth’ arguments so long, he just can’t resist, unfortunately for him he failed last night and the rezone was approved. He probably told friends and colleagues after the meeting that he still prevailed because some of the votes were the same as his 🙂
Also the FAA told the private airport folks no dice. I knew they would, it’s just too close to other residential areas and as Greg Jamison pointed out the FAA says it would cause flight pattern issues with the main Sioux Falls airport. I guess those poor rich folks will still have to drive the whole 3 miles in their Range Rovers to Tea Town. I feel so bad for them . . . maybe we should start a Go Fund me for a valet service?
I also made some comments on agenda item #5 and some other ones about panhandling and TIFs during public input. I have been throwing around the idea of taking panhandlers to the neighborhoods our elected officials live in and let them ask for money there. That would be fun to watch.
A very busy forecast is ahead for KELOLAND as spring and winter do battle here in the northern plains the next few days. Winter has won this morning, with -12 in Aberdeen and a new record low. Spring-like t-storms will arrive tomorrow night in southeastern KELOLAND, with some severe weather in the form of hail […]
