Sure they follow state law, a law that was hijacked. When our current open meeting laws were implemented they were originally written by a Democrat, Nancy Turbak. But instead of the SD GOP opposing her bill, Dave Knudson convinced them to work with her on the legislation, instead, Dave gutted it leaving it up to local governments to decide what is open and what is not, kind of like the fox watching the hen house. Just look at how our city attorney ‘interprets’ our open meeting laws in this presentation to council;
• If a quasi-judicial item, then the applicant is allowed a rebuttal following public input. (while I think it is fine for an applicant to have a rebuttal, that equal time should be afforded to the opposition. Not in Sux, business owner first, citizens dead last.)
• General Public input must be included on the agenda and is limited to topics which did not involve those agenda items appearing earlier. (As I have said in the past, the council can’t limit what you can say during general public input, it is a violation of your 1st Amendment rights).
• Can the public body discuss the issue(s) first raised by a General Public Input Presenter at the same meeting? No.
Then it may become an agenda item which was not properly noticed. (this excuse made me chuckle. If a constituent asked the age of a city councilor while standing at the podium and that councilor answered, that is NOT a whole new item. What a ridiculous excuse. Constituents used to be able to question council at meetings but Mike had that rule changed. This has NOTHING to do with open meeting laws. The council knows they can answer a question they are just to scared of the city attorney.)
• Are email discussions an “official meeting”? Official meetings can be conducted electronically. “A quorum of a public body who discusses official business of that body via electronic means is conducting an official meeting.” (this would explain why Fiddle says we have 500 meetings a year, he thinks sending an email to the mayor is a ‘meeting’.)
If you review our current State Open Meeting laws you will see they grant massive power to local governments to self-determine what can and cannot be transparent, in other words LEGALIZED CENSORSHIP.
Nomination for At-Large “A” City Council Member Vernon Brown 2019 S Pendar Lane Sioux Falls, SD 57105 Nomination by Council Member Miranda Basye Nomination seconded by Council Member Ryan Spellerberg
It was no secret that the council was likely going to appoint a former city councilor this next Tuesday night to take over Dr. Cole’s seat after she HAD to leave Sioux Falls for her profession.
The question was who? My short list was;
Rolfing
Starr
Kiley
Neitzert
Jensen
Stehly
Brekke
I could also see Jeff Barth or John Paulson.
Another name brought up to me last week was Erpenbach. And I thot this may be the wisest choice since she just disbanded Thrive maybe she could take the next 6 months on the council to to reorganize the homeless task force. So while I am NOT a Michelle fan, it was much better then others on that list. It’s not Michelle but it’s close, it is likely someone who works for Michelle’s husband Steve.
I figured over the weekend the true candidate would emerge, and they may have. The rumor is that Vernon Brown will be nominated on Tuesday night and there will be no other nominations. I guess things could be worse, we could nominate Matt Paulson to the city council, of course they would have to change house rules so Matt could bring his emotional support dog* to the meetings with him.
They may mix it up and nominate Michelle, Vernon and Rick just to make it look like they are doing their due diligence, but I hear they didn’t have to many takers (or at least takers that are willing to wear knee pads around 9th and Dakota).
*That was satire. I know ‘who’ his emotional support dog is, and they don’t eat Alpo.
UPDATE II: Sometimes you have to go straight to the source. I was asking a former city attorney today about the ordinance that was referenced and the intent. They first told me that their is a HUGE difference between ‘recused’ and ‘excused’. They went on to tell me they actually wrote the ordinance (30.017) and the intent since authored was for councilors and the mayor to present their financial conflict at the time of the recusal, which Mr. Spellerberg did not. So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth, the author of the ordinance ALWAYS intended that you disclose that conflict in public as it says SHALL DISCLOSE. Funny how our city attorney decides to interpret the law differently then how it was written, but that is what he is infamous for. I wonder if Spellerberg will come clean on this? Doubtful. They learned from Selberg you can break all kinds of ethical rules and it doesn’t matter, just look at who is running our country.
UPDATE: Remember when you were just a snot and you broke your mom’s favorite matador/bull sculpture and instead of just telling her you tried to fix it with school glue? Remember how that turned out? Apparently Mr. Spellerberg hasn’t had this experience, because of instead just admitting that he broke the matador, he tries to glue it back together;
Roll call vote to adopt. 6Yes: Thomason, Basye, Cole, Merkouris, Sigette, Soehl; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. Spellerberg was excused from the meeting and the vote on this item pursuant to City Ordinance 30.017.
This specific ordinance reads;
City council members may not abstain from voting, but may absent themselves from the meeting by physically leaving the meeting at the time an item is called by the clerk. Members with a financial interest in a matter shall disclose that interest and shall absent themselves from the meeting by physically leaving the meeting while the matter is considered.
In other words it is something financial, but what is more interesting is he didn’t follow the ordinance quoted in the minutes by telling us what that is (ex; loan security, board membership, personal assets, etc.) This get worse by the minute(s);
Spellerberg was excused from the meeting
Notice they said ‘excused’ instead of ‘recused’ there is a legal difference;
In legal and ethical terms, recuse is to withdraw from a case due to a conflict of interest, while excuse is a broader term for releasing someone from a duty or requirement, which can be due to reasons other than a conflict of interest. To recuse is a specific type of excuse, a voluntary action taken by a judicial official like a judge or juror to remove themselves from a case to avoid bias or the appearance of bias.
So which is it Fiddle Faddle and your trusty city clerk? I await your answer, of course, after your 500 board meetings. LMFAO!
——————————-
City council members may not abstain from voting, but may absent themselves from the meeting by physically leaving the meeting at the time an item is called by the clerk. Members with a financial interest in a matter shall disclose that interest and shall absent themselves from the meeting by physically leaving the meeting while the matter is considered.
It seems the neighborhood is all for the street closure and project at the council meeting tonight, so who am I to tell them otherwise? The city council did what they are supposed to do, listen to the neighbors and proceed. I personally don’t like the project because there really isn’t anything special about it which is troublesome so close to a historic neighborhood, but if the neighbors are fine with it, I support the council in their decision, BUT, Councilor Spellerberg didn’t follow city charter when he recused himself tonight;
35.056 DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST. City council members who have a financial interest in any matter pending before the city shall disclose that interest to other members of the city council, and shall refrain from further discussion of the matter; shall not be physically present when the subject is discussed in an executive session; and shall not vote on or participate further therein in any manner.
In other words when you are telling the rest of the council, you don’t do it in an email or private phone conversation, you make the announcement at the public meeting, as he did, and you TELL the council and the public what that conflict is, which he DID not. Several current councilors have followed this rule, when recusing themselves they tell the council and the public why they are recused. For example, Councilor Thomason has recused himself several times on an issue in which he serves on a board, and he told the council and the public in a public meeting WHY he was recused. This is the proper procedure. But the misstep tonight was just a culmination of conflicts. The city council has voted on this item three times before the second reading (a first reading and two deferrals) in August, September and October, and each time, Spellerberg voted and did not recuse himself. So why now? Not sure, but my educated guess is that he works for a company that is handling the finances of the developer, but who knows?
So let’s just say for a moment that Spellerberg didn’t have Tre Ministries as a client until after the last vote in October, that just makes it even more troubling because the passage of this item effects his bottom line. It would be one thing if he voted in August then withheld the next two, but I have a feeling he knew all along what he was concocting and this is why it is a serious ethics violation, I would even suggest he should be recalled, even if he wasn’t elected 🙁
The irony of this is that it is Ethics 101. When you have a conflict, you explain that to the public, you also don’t lie about that conflict for 9 months then recuse yourself when it matters. Ethics don’t work that way, they are not like laws that can be turned on and off, they are guide on how to govern, and if you don’t follow it, you are not only cheating your reputation but the citizens who put you there. This isn’t hard. You can’t just be ethical when it is convenient, which is exactly what councilor Spellerberg did.
I’m sure they will blame the city attorney for bad advice, but everyone and their cousin knows he is a legal dolt. Just watch his stellar performance at the informational today where he did everything in his power to shut down open meetings and transparency, even claiming at one point that the city has 500 separate board meetings a year. I literally busted up laughing when he said that and went to the city calendar. The city has about 75-100 board/committee meetings a year with about a third of them being canceled. I’m not sure where the 500 number came from, but I am assuming Fiddle-Faddle thinks having a Diet Coke with the Mayor in a city hall hallway constitutes a board meeting. Or maybe he is referring to having a couple of micro-brews and Fireball shots at a downtown bar as a ‘board meeting’?
I know it is hard to see with all the political turmoil going on right now, but our city government is corrupt, and the sad part is they don’t even realize it.
UPDATE: IT REALLY IS A TACO TRUCK! I was glad I have been posting about this, because I assumed the contractor would drag the restaurant owner to the meeting after my transparency needling. I know now why it has been under the radar, which we will get to in a moment. When the contractor introduced this restaurant owner to the podium he didn’t say his name or even the name of the establishment, only that he was ‘experienced’. Yeah, experience with failure. This guy has been carting his Gringo Walmart food truck around town after his physical restaurant failed several years ago. And now he wants to park the fart mobile next to a drive thru. Of course the council passed it, but I want to reassure the neighbors, the place will be closed before it even opens. Let’s just say they should name the place ‘Mediocre Microwaved Burrito’.
Item #28, The applicant is requesting to develop a new retail building that would include a drive-through service window and outdoor speakers adjacent to residential uses. The neighbors are vehemently opposed. But what I find interesting is NO ONE is saying what the restaurant is (what style). All they say is fast food. One of the neighbors at the meeting said, ‘Nobody knows what it is. Is it a taco truck?’ And even after that NO ONE on the planning commission or the planning department mentioned what it was and they are using a private contractor to submit the application. I guess it is safe to say it is fried fish head eatery. Can’t wait! These folks have ran from transparency so long they forget how to tell the truth. Also, if I were opening a restaurant in a busy neighborhood I would tell everyone what it was to get the buzz going before I opened. Maybe it will be a mystery bag restaurant. ‘On Monday I got a meatloaf sandwich and on Thursday I got hot beef, yah just never know! It’s whatever Clem throws together in the back.’
Item #5A, the Data Center folks barely took a breath and they are back for their rezone. I found this designation interesting;
Light Industrial Employment Center
While the ‘Light Industrial’ is a proper designation, I am not sure the ‘Employment Center’ is proper considering this place will be full of buzzing servers and NOT employees. There is also the energy sucking these places do and there have been stories across the countryabout how these facilities drive up energy costs for users in the vicinity because of increased infrastructure costs. But our city council can’t be bothered with that. They will approve this without asking one single important question like ‘Why hasn’t the electrical utility provider appeared at these public meetings to reassure the public their rates will not increase?’ I am not against data centers, they are needed, but there is an alternative. Some companies are building self-contained data centers that provide their own water and power thru wells, an on-site water filtration facility and solar and wind energy. Not only are they not taking away from residential needs, the energy is renewable and has NO damaging effects on the environment. The facilities also make more money and employs more people to handle the containment. Maybe the council needs to ask if this place plans wind turbines and solar arrays? Nope, in South Dakota we like to do things dirty and cheap while screwing over our neighbors, and I am sure this FOREIGN owned company (likely Communist Chinese)* isn’t real concerned about Brandon Bob’s garden.
*Nobody has been able to tell me who is ALL in the investor group.
City Committee and Boards by Jim David, Chief Administrative Officer; Thea Rave, Executive Support Coordinator
I’m not sure what this is about, but I was told a few months ago that several of the city boards have NOT been fully filled since TenHaken has taken office, because ‘He won’t appoint anyone he doesn’t know or referred to him by a friend.’ Which is sad in a town of 200K+. And it is NOT like anyone is applying, I guess there are plenty of applicants, but if they can’t pass the ‘white church lane’ test, they don’t get appointed.*
*A neighbor and associate of the mayor recently told me he moved from the infamous street. Maybe he is living with Marshall Selberg in Harford?
Item #35/41, (35)The purpose of this rezoning is to allow for the construction of an office and apartments. (41) The city has been working with the applicant for the redevelopment of the property bounded by 18th Street and 19th Street and also Minnesota Avenue and Dakota Avenue. With this redevelopment, they have requested the vacation of 19th Street. This resolution would vacate 19th Street between Minnesota Avenue and Dakota. Tre Ministries, who I have encouraged to change their name to Lyre Ministries, is taking another bite at the apple. The rumor mill tells me that this was the plan all along and they went thru this sideshow to fool the council and the city, but who knows? I have heard all kinds of stories about conflicts with certain councilors, the mysterious ownership of the lot, the city loan that wasn’t, and a whole host of other problems. I have made it clear with certain councilors that the neighborhood is NOT against a project there, they just don’t want that street closed. I would also suggest denying the request based on the integrity of the applicant. I’m hoping the neighbors put on their pissy pants Tuesday night and read the council the riot act. Stop pleading with these folks, start demanding. They just blow you off when you come in with your hippy dippy crap. Be truthful and to the point, and call them out in advance before they even vote. Ask them who frosts their cupcakes and wipes their asses. Hard to answer the question when your mouth is full of brown nose cake and chamber charcuterie.
Item #39, Providing supplemental appropriations from Sales/Use Tax available fund balance to fund police radios. I’m all for new police radios, but how this rolled out is super suspicious. Let’s just say that the Curtist the Blurtist show will be on full display with this item. I guess the city is getting a black Friday deal with the radios. So nice the Chinese government will be able to listen in on our police calls 🙂
Item #43, The resolution adopts the City’s legislative priorities for upcoming session of the South Dakota Legislature. They should call this year’s priorities ‘Mo Money’ because all they do is ask for money from Pierre. Go read it, it reads like Baron Trump’s Santa Wish List. Ironically the stuff they are requesting money for can be handled thru non-profits that get Federal grants. Instead of asking for money from Pierre maybe help these organizations write Federal grants. Sally Tomato will be gone before we know it and hopefully all this stuff will get back to normal. The Orange Menace is like a ghost fart, deadly and sneaky at first, but it soon will dissipate.
I have not learned much from Shawn ‘Fireball’ Pritchett’s finance reports over the years, and yesterday’s wasn’t much different. Before he started his presentation he said he was presenting them finance numbers from September instead of October because the state hasn’t released the October numbers yet because of the government shutdown. Not sure why our state revenue department would have trouble creating financial reports about state collected taxes during a Federal shutdown? It would be like our state DMV shutting down due to the government shutdown, which didn’t happen because it is a state agency. Either way, they did release the October numbers, yesterday.
A local economist, Mark Weber, comes to the finance report meetings every couple of months and gives the council his version of the financial report he puts together by using the state data. He included the October numbers in his report (FF: 57:45). The council was so intrigued by his report they let him go almost a minute over his time (tsk, tsk – don’t let Poops catch you giving away free seconds).
While there was a lot of bad news in both Fireball’s report and Weber’s report, the part that shocked me was when Weber said that retail sales tax growth has been flat for the last 7 months and some sectors are negative in Sioux Falls. So where does the 2% growth come from? Internet sales. If it were not for them we would have negative sales tax growth right now. You almost have to thank god we have a diversification of services in Sioux Falls to prop up our sales tax collection. I have often thought sales taxes and tariffs are regressive and we should tax income only because of the volatility of the tax and no guarantees or expectations. Or better yet, start taxing advertising.
Weber said he hasn’t seen this kind of negative sales tax growth for this long in Sioux Falls.
l3wis 
