Not sure if many people follow tiki artist, SHAG, but you can see his images here. SHAG was actually inspired by mid-century commercial artists that painted in a similar style. I love the style and have a bunch of SHAG prints. But the mural needs more tikis and martini glasses.
Not sure if Portz was inspired by SHAG, but now days nothing is original, and I certainly steal ideas from several artists, most notably, Andy Warhol.
During the video the mayor made the comment that they are ‘doing it the right way’. According to who? You? He also said that the image was ‘Non-Controversial’ though I do see a nod to this guy going on. As the mayor also said ‘Art is subjective’ and exactly the reason that we shouldn’t allow ONE person or special group of people to be selecting public art behind closed doors.
During the public input period at the Active Transportation Board I commented on the darkness of city hall and how I have never seen it this bad in 20 years. I told the board, until you have a transparent government you accomplish very little.
I feel bad for all the good people involved with this project, from the artist, to the donor to the city staff who have to tow the line of secretive government because that is what your master demands, but at the end of the day you can either feed at that trough or you can do the right thing and say ‘NO. This is wrong.’
The mural will ultimately be an improvement of what we have now, but golly, that’s a lot of lipstick!
I had several city government nerds call me in frustration during the city council meetings this afternoon and tonight because the live stream was NOT working in SIRE (the online meeting portal). This has been happening a lot recently and on and off over the past decade with no fix or solution. The irony is the meetings still stream in citylink, so I just watch them there now instead of waiting for the Model T version of the meeting software to warm up. And how does that work? The cameras are rolling and feeding to CityLink but not to SIRE? Hmmm? I think the city deserves a Sooperhero award for at least being consistent over the past decade and not fixing the problem.
BRIDGE DISCOUNT? WHAT BRIDGE DISCOUNT?
Remember how we got duped out of $20 million dollars for a bridge that is only having the decking replaced? Public Works Director Cotter told councilors during the run up to the funding that they will get a $1.5 million dollar discount because they changed the timeline of the project (extended it). During the budget hearings today he said that hasn’t happened yet and mumbled something about legal. In other words, it will be like the $1 million dollar EC siding settlement that was our money in a contingency fund. This administration and it’s lackey’s will stop at nothing to cross the finish line, including lying about possible cost savings.
ANOTHER CITY FACILITY WE DON’T REALLY NEED
Also during the meeting this facility was mentioned to be planned for in 2026. It is interesting that they have architectural drawings of a facility the public knows nothing about. Maybe I missed it, but this was the first I heard about this project.
I ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO WANTS TO RIDE THEIR E2 ON THE SHARED USE REC TRAIL TO ATTEND AND TELL THE BOARD WHY YOU WANT THIS CHANGE!
The board will be taking action on the E2 recommendation from Councilor Greg Neitzert with some clarity with rec trail speeds and ADA mobility devices.
As I have mentioned in the past there is a lot of misinformation out there about E2s.
The Micro Mobility Device industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, most users in Sioux Falls are over 60 years of age and finding an E1 bike has become increasingly difficult and will probably be non-existent in 5 years. Police Chief Thum has told councilors that he supports the change and doesn’t see any issues with it, just more concerns about speed, which is addressed. The Parks Director (and probably the board) support the change also telling us at a recent meeting their hasn’t been any major accidents involving E2s on the trail in the past 5 years. I have heard about 2 major accidents, but didn’t get a lot of details.
Besides the health and mobility advantages for seniors, I like my E2 for commuting and can easily switch from the trail, to a sidewalk to a street, riding safe speeds on all (I can lock in certain speeds depending on level, essentially a cruise control).
The opposition is coming from the fact that E2’s can be throttled (I have suggested a no throttling rule on the trail) which is a shallow argument since most users only throttle when starting out or going up a hill. There is also the ‘what about the kids’ group, and I get it, I want kids to safely play along the bike trail, but when I am riding my bike ON THE TRAILmy main focus is my safety and the safety of riders and walkers around me. If your child suddenly decides to break free in a public park and jumps in front of my bike on the trail, that’s on the parent or caregiver. I have never had a close call with kids. WHY? Because parents ARE responsible and ARE watching their kids when in the parks. I have almost got into serious accidents when dogs off leash decide to run in front of my bike, maybe that is the rule that needs to be enforced?
Your attendance is crucial form informing the board about your experiences with your E2.
If you cannot attend, please call or email your councilors HERE telling them you support the change.
UPDATE: I am getting word that they will be working with Walter Portz over the next year to develop a mural, or something like that. Walter just recently finished the mural at Levitt. I guess the VAC expressed they were NOT happy about the process or the secrecy, can’t wait to see how the administration will spin this. I guess they are also keeping the donor’s name a secret as of right now, though we have some pretty good guesses who it is.
I am hearing a rumor that Planning Staff decided to drop a turd on the Visual Arts Commission at their meeting this morning, I would assume it is under new business, public art update.
I was NOT in attendance but I am hearing there was a work around for the Bunker Ramp mural and they are going to announce tomorrow (10:30 AM at the city’s Wednesday presser) that they are bringing it back (different design). I guess they did the planning and selection for this behind closed doors (I know, SHOCKER!) with ZERO input from the VAC and public and using a familiar donor.
It seems someone’s ego must have gotten the best of them.
As of right now, I can’t find much about it except on the agenda which spells nothing out so I guess we will have to see the big announcement, which I am sure will be announced HERE in advance.
Any dolt with just a little bit of experience in public art could tell you this is NOT how you approve public art.
Sub-Item #6, River Greenway Improvements: Downtown River Greenway – Phase 3; To award a formal bid. Lloyd Construction Co., $10.7 million. (So we are going to pay the very developer who is benefitting from the greenway adjacent to their commercial property, Sioux Steel District, all the while they are getting a $25 million dollar TIF and a $3 million dollar BID tax grant).
Sub-Item #9, Park Land Acquisition: 1328 N Phillips Avenue Site Demolition and Restoration; $16K (the price tag isn’t at question here. I’m trying to figure out what park we are trying to improve by tearing down this home?)
Item #45, 2nd Reading, Re-Zone for halfway house (The council has expressed they will be voting against this rezone, but the discussion should be interesting considering councilor Neitzert pulling the halfway house ordinance change and deferring it to next month’s meeting).
Item #51, 2nd Reading, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SIOUX FALLS, SD, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A LEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SIOUX FALLS AND THE SIOUX EMPIRE TRIAGE CENTER. (apparently this is the only agreement the city has in writing, or at least the only one they are willing to share. I have told reporters that I don’t think the city has a standing contract with the non-profit that lays out operational obligations or expectations. Recently the Director of the Link resigned with no comment. Why was that? And who is running the facility now? Looks like the city’s cruise control button just landed at another quasi-city-non-profit.)
The board will be taking action on Councilor Neitzert’s proposal to change the E2 bike ordinance on the shared use rec trail. If you look at the agenda packet and read Greg’s changes he is simply just adding E2, and making some minor adjustments to verbiage and ADA accessibility while identifying speed limits. I am not sure how this vote will go, but hope to sit in on the discussion. There is a Parks Board meeting that same afternoon and they will also be taking action on the proposal.
The CRC will be taking up two proposals that were presented in the last round of CRC hearings and will likely be rejected by them again. Kirby wants to remove the mayor as a city councilor and chair of the meetings and Zitterich wants to increase the size of the council. I agree with Kirby’s proposal and is long overdue, but I disagree with increasing the city council’s size. I think we should only have 7 councilors that ALL represent a district and NO At-Large members.
While I will give them kudos for going thru the proper process, a better approach would be getting all parties that want to make changes to the charter together and agreeing on a charter revision package that they can sell to the voters thru a petition drive and election. The CRC is setup to be an obstruction to the public from making direct policy changes at the ballot box, and so far, they have been very successful in their mission.
