CityLink tries to one up Cameraman Bruce
l3wis Here is their tour of the Water Reclamation Plant.
Here is ours (several months ago);
Public Works
Sioux Falls Public Works Director, Mark Cotter, stretches the truth a bit
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As you can see from the chart above, that was presented to the Sioux Falls City Council during the budget hearing yesterday, Mark says we have $7 million in ‘DEBT’. He goes on to explain that we have extremely low debt for the water department.
At first I thought the number seemed a bit low, I wasn’t the only one. Councilor Stehly asks Mark what we have in the Water Department’s enterprise reserve fund, he tells her around $22 million. So then councilor Stehly asks, “Why not just pay off our debt?†Then Cotter admits that we actually have over $76 million in water department debt, and the $7 million number is actually ‘DEBT SERVICE’ for 2017.
These are the games the city directors play with presentations, they intentionally leave out certain words and key information in order to confuse constituents and councilors.
Most of debt is due to the Lewis & Clark pipeline (you know, that $80 million dollar pipe that trickles around 10% of our water supply to us).
Is the mayor’s #1 Cheerleader also a bad neighbor?
Not sure if this is the same person who hosts the mayor on his local radio show once a month (Items #24 & #26) but if it is, I would love for Mike to ask him “Why are you a bad neighbor?” on his next appearance.
You will also see Item#25, Project Trim, forcing and charging citizens to trim trees the city owns. This program needs to be abolished.
Two Thumbs up to Zach DeBoer, Two Thumbs down to the SF traffic department
Screenshot, KSFY-TV
I applaud Zach for his perseverance and volunteerism;
A local business owner says he was so determined to see more parking in downtown that he proposed an idea, involving 60 new parking spots and a bicycle lane. It’s been a project that’s been a year in the making and, with the approval of the City Council, it’s almost complete.
In the early afternoon heat of Thursday morning, the sound of spray paint could be heard along north Main Avenue in downtown Sioux Falls.
“I said ‘Listen, I think this is important for these reasons and I’ll do it, like I’ll come out and I’ll paint it myself” said Zach DeBoer, owner of Exposure Art Gallery on Phillips Avenue.
And for the last two days, that’s exactly what he’s done, putting the finishing touches on a project that he’s been working on for the last year.
What was once duct tape outlining parking spots one September for Food Truck Friday… is now permanent.
So you might be wondering, how is this legal and how did Zach DeBoer do it? After the success of the duct tape parking spots last September, DeBoer drew some “amateur versions” of the proposed new ideas to the City Traffic Engineer with one question, was it possible?
From there, a team looked at the idea and said that the measurements and everything was good. He just needed to get the neighborhood on board.
“What I needed to do is get approval from 80 percent of the property owners located on both sides of the street that would be affected by it,” explained DeBoer. He went door to door and explained that the new idea would not only help their businesses by bringing in more customers with more parking spots but that it would also increase the property’s value.
The hardest part, DeBoer explained, was tracking down phone numbers and email addresses of property owners and getting them to listen past ‘Hey, so…’. But with the 80% approval the project moved forward, to changing the stretch of road on north Main Avenue.
Starting Tuesday, workers stripped the only center lines and painted not only the new center but also the bike lane. That’s when Zach DeBoer, owner of Exposure Art Gallery located on Phillips Avenue, bought spray paint and started painting the 60 new parking spots.
While the city claims that it is legal for Zach to do this because of the 80% approval from the neighborhood, one has to question the liability of the city and and safety concerns of having a citizen buying his own paint and standing in a public street painting stripes?
It’s bad enough citizens risk their safety trimming city owned trees in the boulevard now they have citizens striping the streets, something public works and the traffic department should have paid for and contracted after Zach did the legwork of the approval process. Are we so destitute for money in the city we now are having citizens buying and painting city streets?
Two thumbs down to the city of Sioux Falls.
*Note; I did not speak with Mr. DeBoer about this before posting or his feelings on volunteering his time and capital.
Dan Daily weighs in on the McKennan House trial
Dan would know, he experienced it first hand;
He was told it was his responsibility to prove his innocence; which he did five years and $40,000 later in the South Dakota Supreme Court. But in his opinion, it should have never gotten that far.
“The city does not allow appeals in court,†he added, “They make all these rules and they can’t enforce them; they can’t take you to court.â€
Barbara and Pierce McDowell and Joseph and Sarah Sapienza entered litigation after the McDowells claim the Sapienza’s home is built far too close to theirs. However, Daily says the frustration should be directed at the city who gave the green light on construction.
“The city by charter is supposed to protect citizens, and they don’t.â€
Fiddle-Faddle and the Mayor use the city charter to punish citizens while covering their asses. It is a perfect example of what a charter should NOT look like.