The rumor has been swirling for awhile and the other day councilor Thomason said in the council presser that they could take in private donations. It is also no secret that for years Denny has been estate planning for when he bites the big one and there are a lot of folks at the grifting and feeding trough. The zoo could get up to $35 Million from him, for example (just no money for the dusty monkeys).
If Denny did donate $100 million and another $100 million came in private investment, the city could borrow the money on our current tax base, the problem is that would be a $20 million dollar bond payment for a very, very, very long time taking out of our 2nd penny.
I’m am still opposed to a taxpayer funded convention center or even an indoor rec center. Let a private company come in and provide the space. As I have said before private indoor rec centers are doing great and they are building more! I see the same in the convention business. Hotels and event centers are booked out for months. There is absolutely no reason the taxpayers of this city need to subsidize these things.
I can’t imagine the meetings at City Hall today after the SD Legislative Taxation Committee killed the 3rd penny tax in a squeaker, 7-6. It is no secret their ignorant plan was to convince some rubes from rural districts to support this so they can build a street. But most people knew the jig was up. This was about building a Convention Center that nobody wants or cares about. The Ice Ribbon is a great example of a project NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE asked for. But now $16 million later here we are.
So some are asking, without this special 3rd penny tax authority can we move forward with the Riverline District? Yes and NO.
While I think the mayor is about as bright as a bar of soap in a truck stop restroom, I think he knew this may not pass, so they may have a backup plan.
I hate to break it to you Poops, but the legislature is dug in on this one, it ain’t going anywhere. Even if passed out of committee it would have been DEAD in the full legislature.
So how can they still salvage the Convention Center deal? It will be financial gymnastics, but they can still do it within their means, but on a smaller scale. My guess is they will push all bond expectations toward the project and see how much they can borrow. They have also been banking reserve funds which I think they want to use for a down payment (It is between $70-80 million) Why does the city have a savings account from our taxes that is 3x what ordinance asks for? With this surplus and borrowing authority the city could build this without a special tax, but the private donations would have to be significant.
My suggestion all along is to implement an INCOME tax on corporations in SF that have more then 500 employees, Hotels and Hospitality to pay for this. They are the benefactors of conventions, visitors and tourism, the average citizen buying a Twin Bing at the GC won’t benefit BUT these industries would. MAKE THEM PAY FOR IT!
To tell you the truth, the more I think about it, I am not opposed to the city buying the land, it has potential, but with this crappy tax revenue source killed, the city will have to get creative. My suggestion? Demo and plant grass, form a committee that will tell us the best use for the land for the least expensive capital improvement. One idea I had years ago is turning Fawick park into a sculpture garden and put all the SculptureWalk sculptures in the park as a destination, essentially an outdoor museum. We could do this here for minimal costs.
It is no secret that Poops would benefit financially thru this deal (still digging on this one, and will crack that case).
Make no mistake, TenHaken’s lack of leadership, transparency and vision put the last nail in this coffin, and I got to admit after I watched the vote live, I howled in enthusiasm. I think I even did a jig. I am a good jigger.
But don’t get lazy, they will try to cut a deal and we must ride their asses until they are dragging on a gravel road. This ain’t over.
The irony of all this is Poop’s record on getting things done. It is awful. And if I was him I would be embarrassed and resign. Bunker Ramp, 6th street bridge, Delbridge dead monkeys, and the constant lying and belittling of public inputers. YOU ARE NOT A LEADER. YOU ARE NOT A VISIONARY.
UPDATE: I guess the original developer has already sold the development to tRE ministries so they are no longer involved. But if you connect the dots you will see that one of the leaders in the institution is married to a certain person connected to a very large company in town. So instead of this being funded by Big MJ, VL and Liquor it’s being funded by ‘Big Corn’(Which these days seems more scandalous with all their money scam pipelines they want to build.)
This money will come out of the Community Development funds. (Item #6, Sub-Item 28):
Agreement for a redevelopment project located within the All Saints Neighborhood and the Sherman Historical District, tRE ministries, $500K (interest free loan).
I received a Community Development loan about 20 years ago for needed upgrades to my house, my loan was about $4,500 with a 2% interest rate. I guess I am wondering why we would take this much for ONE project when we could rehabilitate 40-50 houses with this money instead? And I mean ‘Rehab’ not demolition, which is what this money will be spent on. There is also the questionable relationship with the developer who is worth millions from video lottery, liquor and Med MJ (unless he has already handed over ownership). Why isn’t he just loaning them the money? I also don’t think tax dollars should go to non-profits (religious organizations) since they pay very little taxes and the fact they have a Daddy Warbucks taking care of them (who ironically makes money from sin taxation). I actually support this project to clean up that part of town but like any development with private parties, they need to pony up the money, but NOT in Sioux Falls, GRIFT, GRIFT, GRIFT. I thought at least ONE councilor would vote against this, but who am I kidding. The mayor wants to turn the entire town into a mega-church. Ick.
MAYOR FIRST AMENDMENT DENIER, INTERRUPTS A CITIZEN, AGAIN
Poops was at it again tonight, ignoring his Constitutional duties and denying a commenter his input. (FF: 1:44:00) Jordan Deffenbaugh came up tonight to talk about how housing would be affected by the Riverline District and the mayor cut him off saying this was already discussed. Oh, Paul, we have been over this, you can’t control the narrative at the podium that is a violation of their 1st Amendment rights but you seem to be above that. I wonder what it is like to take an oath on the Bible, surrounded by friends, family and colleagues and once installed ignore all those constitutional ‘thingies’. Paul, it may not be me, but the city and specifically you as the chair will be sued and it isn’t going to be pretty. Maybe they will let you on one of those East Coast TV morning shows where you can talk about your lack of knowledge when it comes to the Constitution and the lawsuit should be dismissed because of your stupidity. Stranger things have happened.
CORRECTION: The city will GET the $8 million back IF the deal falls thru. BUT, this is interest FREE and NO taxes will be paid on the property for 3 years. I guess my question is ‘Why would we buy property for a project that hasn’t been approved by voters or the council?’ It’s insanity. Usually the city gets approval before they move ahead with an ‘agreement’ with current property owners. Or better yet, why doesn’t Lloyd just sit on the property for 3 years if we waive the property taxes? Or why doesn’t the Development Foundation buy the land? Taxpayers ARE NOT speculators. We give you the money to spend on infrastructure and services not to buy a plot of land that may never come to fruition.
The more I look at this ‘deal’(Item 29) the more it looks like a money scam and NOT an actual Convention Center. If you read the purchase agreement, one thing is for sure; The city is buying the land for $8 MILLION and ‘gifting’ it to the Development Foundation. WHY? Well if you read carefully the purchase agreement you will SEE that the land reverts BACK to the original owners in 3 years if nothing is done, State Partners, LLC, which looks like they are brokering the deal thru Ernst Capital (which one of the partners is Chris Daugaard, yes the son of the former governor and partner Todd Ernst, son-in-law to Craig Lloyd.) It appears they are brokering the deal for Lloyd. Either way, if the Convention Center fails (which it will) the property reverts back to the original owners and they DO NOT have to give that $8 million back. In other words we are GIVING the Development Foundation AND State Partners, LLC. $8 million to play with over the next 3 years. Even if the CC was legit, there is NO WAY it will even pass, we will need a 3rd penny revenue source to pay for this, and I think most people are like, F’ that. If the Development Foundation really wants a new CC why don’t you borrow the money and pay for the land yourself and if the CC passes a vote, then we will buy it from you.
Why is the city in the land speculation business?
This is just a money scam to make a lot of people a lot of money and little else. I encourage folks to attend the council meeting tonight and call out this scam for what it is; A LAND GRAB!
UPDATE: I was speaking with someone who works in law enforcement recently (they are NOT employed by the city) and asked them for an anededote about all the shootings. I first wondered if it had anything to do with the scanners being shut off. They felt that would have little impact but they did remind me that in July of 2019 the OPEN CARRY law went into effect in South Dakota and since then crimes with guns have gone up. As they put it to me, ‘Everyone is carrying these days.’ That wasn’t really reassuring. I have been surprised for a long time that we have not witnessed a shoot out in a grocery storein Sioux Falls. I guess we don’t have to worry about people being frustrated at the grocery store anymore, Donald Trump will be president soon 🙁 I encourage who is left in the SF MSM do a little digging around on this, and see if gun related crimes and accidents have gone up since the law went into effect.
This is pretty typical of Poops, and the social challenges he ignores; climate change, covid, the homeless, panhandlers, dead monkeys, and many, many, many more. This is a guy who recently said, “I’m over it.” He just doesn’t f’ing get it? Does he? At a presser today he said this about our 700% increase in murders;
“Last year, we had a near-record low number of homicides. We had two. So, crime ebbs and flows,” said TenHaken.
Typical of a challenge with Poops. If it is too difficult to solve; ignore, deny, coverup and kick that can down the road.
The first thing I would do boy genius is have chief Thum research how each crime occurred and break it down into categories. Some may be preventable, some may not. This is Criminal Sociology 101. Why do I feel like this town is being ran by a class of 5th graders?! Ironically, they would probably make better choices. Stop worrying if you are going to get your big fat commission on the new convention center and start acting like the chief administrator of our city, of course after your jumping jacks with the kiddos. weird
l3wis 