Mr. Huwe had been with the city for 14 years and managed many large projects for the city. It seemed odd when he left in October with that kind of tenure. Normally a public employee who has made it that far down the road will stick around for at least 20 years or more.
We also know that a lot of management have left over the past 4 years without much explanation (Housing director, IT Director, Deputy COS, two Fire Chiefs, Police Chief, Health Director, Planning Director, Chief Cultural Officer, etc, etc.) While rumors tend to swarm like flies on turds, a reliable source told me that Huwe did indeed resign, and it wasn’t because he planned on moving to the private sector or that he was pressured to resign but likely due to a disagreement.
I’m still digging around and hopefully will have more information soon.
I am not sure if you have ever been to the HVAC challenged City Admin building, but it is pretty much just one gigantic conference room. Apparently, the city doesn’t have enough of them;
The project involved raising a ceiling at least 4 feet and painting it black and uncovering windows that had been concealed over time. The city team handled:
Demolition and space preparation.
Carpentry – framing, insulation, sheetrock, trim work and cabinetry install.
Electrical – piping, wiring, AV installation, light installation, appliances.
Plumbing – installation of all plumbing and fixtures.
Safe door restoration and installation.
Reuse of media equipment from previous Commission Room.
Contractors handled asbestos abatement, HVAC removal and reassembly, fire suppression system replacement, installation of the ceiling grid, counters and flooring, texture and painting. The project was paid for through an internal fund set aside for building repairs and upgrades.
If I had to guess, the project probably cost north of $250K, but who knows since it came out of some buried fund in finance. I wonder what the sound proofing cost?
So who gets to use this?
The conference room is designated as the mayor’s conference room, replacing a smaller one inside the mayor’s office suite, although it’s available for the building.
“We’re able to have virtual meeting, and the technology works extremely well, and that’s not necessarily something we had,” Beck said. “And ultimately when we’re bringing in individuals or even companies interested in moving here or business meetings with community leaders, it’s a really great space for hosting them.”
I guess the mayor had to move his meetings with developers and grifters out of the basement to a place that could supply snacks and beverages. Because if you are giving away the farm it’s always nice to do it with a charcuterie board on a custom built conference table.
What I find amazing is that the city administration would actually brag about blowing taxpayer money this way. Tone deaf.
UPDATE: I was told this afternoon that the meeting did take place this morning, but this person was not in attendance so they are not sure how it went down. I guess the argument is that the agenda was posted, but in the May 27th meeting slot. Because you know, that makes sense 🙁
It seems this city can’t figure out how to post agendas. They of course have argued in the past that as long as the agenda is available at the Clerk’s office or posted on the door (DT Library) they can proceed. We will see if they decide to have the meeting tomorrow morning at 8 AM or postpone it? This was supposed to be the meeting where they discuss waiving platting fees (passing those infrastructure costs on to us with higher property taxes).
Last I checked the charter says the Council is the policy body of the city. In other words, it is not up to the Emergency Manager or even the Mayor to determine how that siren is used, and it is pretty obvious the administration doesn’t want to make any changes. If the city council passes a new emergency siren ordinance that dictates when it should be used, the administration and city employees must follow it.
Last night the city had a severe storm blow thru with large hail. Not only were the sirens not used (4 AM) I never received an alert on my phone and other people told me their weather radio didn’t not go off either. I thought we were told to depend on other alert systems? But they were NOT used? Why?
I think it is time for the city council to model an ordinance similar to what Pennington County does (multiple emergencies and weather events). The problem is it is hard for a bunch of sheep to cry wolf.
DID THE MAYOR SNUB SIOUX FALLS PRIDE FESTIVAL AGAIN?
Of course, this should not surprise anyone. The word on the street was he was asked again to read the proclamation in person and said he has scheduling conflicts. I guess it went a step further and they asked him to video record it in advance if he couldn’t make it. Not sure what the answer was to that? Either way, it has become pretty obvious that the mayor isn’t big on the gays. But if you really feel a certain way about the lifestyle, why not just tell them that you personally do not approve and would feel uncomfortable with doing the proclamation instead of making excuses every year? Surprised he just didn’t contract it out to 211 like he did with his mentorship program.
l3wis 
