County makes good decision

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As I have said in the past, the best place for a homeless shelter would be downtown, close to detox and the jails. The county finally took the bull by horns and took the first step by buying the land on 3rd and Minnesota.

Bravo.

The Minnehaha County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to purchase property at 700 N. Minnesota Ave. and 314 W. Third St. and will seek architectural concepts on developing it as housing for the chronically homeless.

The purchase price is $252,000, and the deal will close Feb. 26. The commission approved spending $10,800 for concept designs and site development plans for either a 24-unit or 32-unit facility.

It’s too bad it took the county commission full of lame duck commissioners to get the ball rolling on this. Yes, several city councilors sit on the committee, but it is disappointing that our mayor didn’t help more with this. I guess we are too busy buying empty lots for parking and parks in the boondocks to worry about a public safety issue like the homeless.

I want to commend councilor Anderson for pushing for this site. Good job!

The State is at it again; Skimming the till

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The state has this great idea to control the internet licensing renewals even though each county already handles it themselves. They just can’t figure out why the counties wouldn’t want them to help out;

Hillmer said she knows some county officials are worried, but those concerns are unfounded.

“We’re trying to provide consumers with a mechanism to do online renewals, and to do it efficiently,” she said.

“I guess I’m miffed that somebody would complain that we’re doing something of this nature,” she added.

Um. Well where do I begin? You F’ckd up the software to begin with. You blamed the counties for the F’ck up, you have been cashing in on the late fees and now you want to skim the till a little more. Miffed? I think the counties have a right to miffed.

Minnehaha County Treasurer Pam Nelson said she has one full-time staffer and a half-time person devoted to handling the county’s online renewals. She questions whether the state will have to add staff to handle the duties, which would cost taxpayers more money.

“In the end, it’s going to take money away from counties, and it’s going to cost people more money,” Nelson said. “That’s what I care about.”

And that’s what Pierre loves about it, making government bigger, more expensive and less effective.

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