Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

Are the Sioux Falls Parks Board Meetings moving to Wednesdays?

l3wis June 16, 2018 0Comments

It appears the Parks Board is not only moving to a different location (as it does every month), but now they have also done a switcheroo on the day of the week. Not sure if this is a permanent thing or not?

Regular meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, with a quorum of four board members being necessary for a meeting.

SIOUX FALLS PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MEETING

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

4:00 p.m. Regular Board Meeting

Kenny Anderson Community Center, 3701 E. 3rd St.

No highlighting of the change of date/day of the week on the above agenda notice.

No mention in the May 2018 meeting minutes that June’s meeting will be on a different day of the week than usual.

Could it have something to do with this?

6. New business

a. Golf update – Justin Arlt – Landscapes Unlimited

***Unofficial minutes to be approved at June 19, 2018 meeting

Report of Director of Parks and Recreation

a. Kearney handed out the monthly financial reports from Landscapes Unlimited. These reports will be provided each month going forward, along with 2017 year-to-date actuals from 2017 for comparison purposes. The market manager for Landscapes Unlimited, Justin Arlt, will attend the June Board meeting to give an update on upcoming special events, clubhouse updates, as well as a report on rounds and revenues through May and answer any questions about golf course operations at that time.

b. 2019 Operating Budget – Kelby Mieras

This could also prove to be interesting.

Sioux Falls City Council NEEDS to listen to this Parks Board Meeting!

l3wis June 7, 2018 2Comments

It seems we are running into some gray area when it comes to who will destroy Ash trees in the boulevard (parking strip – city owned property). I really think it is time the city council proposes an ordinance that makes the city responsible for removing these trees. (It costs around $1,000 to remove a full grown healthy tree, the cost goes up once it is diseased and brittle).

This could cost homeowners (adjacent property owners) millions to take care of city property if the council doesn’t act now!

Listen HERE. First meeting at the top.

Taxpayers of Sioux Falls need to STOP subsidizing special interests at 100%

l3wis April 20, 2018 5Comments

As if we didn’t do enough monument building in the past 8 years, here we go down that rabbit hole again;

If the Sioux Falls Canaries get a new home anytime soon, it should go downtown.

That’s one of the takeaways from a report that’s been shared with the Sioux Falls City Council that resulted from an intensive study of city-owned entertainment and convention facilities that took place last fall.

Here we go again. A consultant that taxpayers paid for are telling us what the administration wants us to hear. Think Midco Aquatic Facility. When is the city instead going to ask for public input on these matters instead of an expensive consultant?

Sioux Falls Stadium is 55 years old and hasn’t had any major upgrades in nearly two decades. The report says annual attendance averages there have declined steadily since 2013, which could be a result of the game experience that an outdated facility provides patrons.

A new stadium and a more active location could bring those attendance numbers back up, according to the report.

Maybe numbers are down because people don’t care? Why not ask the public? With all the different entertainment options these days in Sioux Falls, maybe people just are not as interested in baseball as much?

If I was the city council, I would explore some options. 1) Tear down the stadium for more parking at the Denty. 2) Refurbish the stadium, but make the baseball franchise pony up at least 50% or more. 3) Don’t build a new stadium downtown if we decide to tear it down. Have Canaries use Harmadon Park, or fold.

Some mention it would make a good place for concerts downtown. Hey McFly, we are building the Levitt Pavilion for $5 million for outdoor concerts downtown already.

Enough already with special interest monument building that none of us benefit from except having another bond to pay off. Besides the skatepark proposal which organizers have promised to kick in $500K privately, we really just need to take a deep breath and take a break for awhile.

I really think the next council and mayor need to use 2018 as a year to review finances. They also need to do forensic audits of all the departments budgets and enterprise funds. They also need to look at deregulation and LOWERING fees and taxes.

This Spend, Spend, Spend mentality is going to eventually break us.