Sioux Falls City Council Agenda, 11/17/2020

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South Dakota has just become the most dangerous place for Covid in the Nation;

Risk factors: No statewide mask mandate – 154.5 new daily cases per 100,000 people – 58.8% of Covid tests are positive

Few governors have been more defiantly anti-mask than South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican, whose state is the epicenter of Covid-19 spread. The Mount Rushmore state is recording a staggering 154.5 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people, on a rolling weekly average, according to the Harvard-Brown risk-assessment tool. Any state with over 25 new daily cases per 100,000 people is colored red on the map, which means it is considered “at a tipping point.” South Dakota’s risk level is more than 500% above that threshold, a breathtaking failure to manage the crisis.

That last sentence says it all; FAILURE. This is why it is important to support Councilor Starr and Brekke’s mask mandate and lingering ordinances on Tuesday. While I have been on the fence about masks mandates (I think it has more to do with giving private businesses the authority to kick people out who don’t want to follow their rules on private property and trespassing) I do think distancing people at bars and restaurants is important. I want to remind people, we all hope this is temporary and by next Spring a majority of Americans will be vaccinated. Your Civil Rights are not being infringed upon. If anything, if you go into a private store and refuse to wear a mask when asked to by the business, you are infringing on their property rights. And I would love for anybody to show me where in the Bill or Rights or US Constitution that you have the civil right to do what you want on private property. You absolutely don’t.

City Council Informational • 4 PM

October Financial Report (no supporting documents posted yet)

Regular City Council Meeting • 7 PM

Item #6, Approval of Contracts/Agreements, Sub Items 2-3,

Option to Extend: Extending agreement for contractor to provide executive coaching services and individual assessments on as-needed basis. AND Amending original agreement to include a two day strategy and vision planning for the Innovation and Technology for the next three years.

Why is the city subcontracting with a BUSINESS executive training program for over $20K? Just go to their website, they have zero mention of training or helping governments, they help BUSINESSES and train executives for private for-profit businesses. When are elected officials going to figure out that government doesn’t run like business. I don’t pay taxes to a for-profit entity, I pay them for services.

Item #21, 2nd Reading, Another $18 Million+ towards wastewater.

I asked someone the other day in city government, ‘Where has our public works director Mark Cotter been?’ Sure, he has been quietly working from home on things, but remember how much of a public, public official the former mayor made him? Why is our Public Works director in the shadows these days? I don’t know the answer, but many people are curious.

Item #22, 2nd Reading. So we spend $250K on Covid tourism and $20K on educating people about Covid spread. Makes sense 🙁

Section 2. That the use of the unobligated fund balance of $20,000 for the 2020 health budget is authorized to fund a public health education campaign to encourage preventative measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Item #23, 1st Reading, Allowing city employees to carry over vacation time into 2021;

Any unused vacation hours remaining in an employee’s accumulated balance in excess of maximums identified above as of 12 midnight on December 31 of each year shall be forfeited, except as specifically set forth in this Code. The above-forfeiture provision shall not apply for the calendar year ending December 31, 2020.

This one would make sense if you had your employees work thru a pandemic and couldn’t travel, because they were working, but this ONLY makes sense in the private sector. The public sector has been working from home for months or not working at all, so we are going to reward them on our dime by letting them carry over ‘vacation time’? Really?! I can almost Guaran ‘F’ing’ Tee that if taxpayers knew about this and had a voice in the matter, they would say HELL NO! I have PTO I have to burn up this year, and I can guess my employer wouldn’t let me float it next year due to Covid. Rules are Rules folks, but it seems public employees don’t have to follow them. If the city council had any gnuts at all they would kill this in an 8-0 vote on 1st Reading, but it’s not their money, so it will pass.

Item #32-33, 1st Reading, Repealing the 5G Tower agreement in McKennan Park. Once again, our all knowing city attorney’s office has a monkey screwing the football and didn’t even know the names of the entities involved in the deal. Go read the documents online, it’s a laugh fest. While we want to embrace 5G technology, we have no idea who is providing that technology.

Item #34, Emergency 1st reading of business regulations.

Item #35, Emergency 1st reading of a mask mandate.

Item #36, a ‘polite’ resolution reminder from the mayor to wear a mask. I’m surprised he didn’t also ask you to eat a turkey sandwich through your mask next week. Now that’s a ONE Sioux Falls challenge I would like to see. Maybe we could livestream it on FB while reading a children’s book?

Item #37, Resolution, to add a storage freezer for a Covid vaccine. Finally some planning from the city. Probably the only item on the agenda Tuesday night that will get full support from the council. They should also purchase a microwave, I prefer my vaccine to be at least tepid.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I also want to point out that not only has our city government been derelict in their duties managing Covid, they also have been doing the same when it comes to open meetings. Besides titling agenda items to read like a Latin Mass Litany, they have been failing for months to provide citizens with hard copies of these ordinances at the meetings and not just at regular council meetings but at other public board meetings. Some would argue when you have 5 very capable council staffers that could do this, two of which make over $100K a year, that maybe it is laziness. Sure they follow the letter of the law by providing the documents online, but why doesn’t the state’s largest city do all the law commands of it? I don’t think this is because of laziness. I think this is being done intentionally and commanded by City Council Leadership (Neitzert) and the Mayor’s administration in their ‘HATEFEST’ towards open government. If that statement is untrue, prove me wrong. What sad, sad, sad individuals in their sad, sad, sad quest for power. And as for the city council staff that bows to these commands, you are sad, sad, sad public servants for not standing up to them.

UPDATE: Is a Sioux Falls School District Employee violating the Establishment Clause?

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UPDATE: According to commenter VSG, the cross has been taken down. I figured once it was pointed out it would not take long, considering the consternation the SFSB had over having to put up a ‘In God we Trust’ sign in the lunchroom. Which is kind of ironic, because it is Federal taxpayers that are feeding almost 50% of our kids in the school district, not God. Maybe a more appropriate sign would be ‘Teach a man to fish . . .’

A South DaCola foot soldier sent me this picture tonight. Was this Christian cross hanging in the window of a private Christian business owner or a private Christian school?

Nope.

It was hanging in the window of the IPC Center for the Sioux Falls School District.

Now I’m not a Grinch. This employee who hung this up should not be fired, or even reprimanded for having religious symbolism in the window of a facility supported by taxpayers. But it should be removed immediately and they should have to write a 10 page essay about the importance of the Establishment Clause. Then if the employee refuses, they can certainly grab a box and pack up the rest of their belongings because they should be out of a job. Then they can apply to work at one of our fine Liturgical schools in town.

I have often argued that your faith is between you and the God of your choice (or not). Separation of Church and State is important. Why? Because it protects the faithful from the government telling them how to worship. Why is it so hard for these people to understand this? It PROTECTS YOU! Now, if on your own time you want to convert people with your idols and symbolism, go for it. The School District has NO right to tell you what to do or who to worship on your own time. But when you are on the taxpayer’s dime, you must refrain from your cutesy cross crafts.

I can hear the comments already about how I am anti-Christian, anti-God, etc. I am not. I believe in God. What I don’t believe in is using my tax dollars to promote God. God promotes itself everyday when the sun rises in the morning, when the rain comes, when the birds sing us beautiful songs. I don’t need to see a cross in a publicly funded facility to convince me God exists and is all powerful. 

I’m sure Jesus has a few words to say about this? Oh he does;

1 John 5:21;

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

Weekly Tidbits

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CORY & SD VOICE WILL WIN THEIR CASE

Let’s just chalk it up to another failure in state government;

To refresh your memories, I am challenging two main points of state petition law: first, 2019 House Bill 1094, Rep. Jon Hansen’s (R-25/Dell Rapids) circulator badge and registry scheme now mostly encapsulated in SDCL 2-1-1.3–2.1.1.9, and the state’s requirement that initiative petitions be submitted a full year before the election at which you would get to vote on them.

There are so many constitutional issues with the legislation, I don’t even know where to start. If I had to make a bet on this, I would put $1K down in the first Aberdeen telephone booth video lottery casino I could find that they will win, and win huge.

I sometimes wonder if SD State Legislators take there pocket US Constitutions (if they have ever had one) and burn it before the first day of session.

MINNEHAHA COUNTY COMMISSION SAYS ONE EMT IS A-OK

I still have not figured out why they decided to go for this in the biggest county in the state;

AMBULANCE ORDINANCE HEARING
Mr. Gearman gave a briefing on the proposed amendments as follows: Article 2, Section 6 updating language to align with South Dakota law and administrative rule; Article 6 to remove the requirement of consent and a written agreement between two licensees for special events; and Article 14 updating language to align with South Dakota law and administrative rule regarding minimum personnel requirements Other minor changes were made for the purposes of consistency and formatting. Speaking in favor of the amendments, Dr. Jeff Luther, Rural Ambulance Quality Assurance Director, explained that he believes reducing the requirement from two emergency medical technicians (EMT) to one EMT would not cause a decrease in quality. Tim Haight, 3403 W 93rd Street, Sioux Falls, inquired about the proposed amendment to Article 6. Maggie Gillespie, Senior Deputy State’s Attorney, responded to Mr. Haight’s question explaining that he would need to contact his own legal counsel if he had legal questions, and that the change to Article 6 only removes the requirement to obtain consent from the existing service area ambulance service for a special event. Jay Masur, 25968 476th Ave, Sioux Falls, Med-Star Paramedic Ambulance President & CEO, spoke in opposition to lowering the number of EMTs. Dr. Luther responded to the concerns brought forward by Mr. Masur explaining that smaller ambulance services struggle to find enough people to serve. Therefore, the requirement of two EMTs made it hard to operate. Additionally, many Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Deputies are trained EMTs with impressive response times. Mr. Gearman explained that the ordinance is a minimum standard. Ambulance services may choose to set their standards at any level they want as long as the minimum is met. MOTION by Karsky, seconded by Barth, to approve Ordinance MC31-6-19, the 2019 Ground Ambulance Licensing Ordinance. By roll call vote: 5 ayes. The entire Ordinance is on file and available for inspection at the County Auditor’s Office.

I think it is a cost saving measure for the for profit ambulance services. It will be interesting to see how staffing changes.

SOUTH DAKOTA DEMOCRATIC PARTY FINALLY GETS THEIR SH*T TOGETHER

So this was pretty cool;

The state party’s Central Committee elected Randy Seiler to serve as the chair on Saturday, according to a party announcement. Seiler, the party’s vice chair, has been serving as the interim chair since Paula Hawks resigned as chair in September. SDDP Executive Director Stacey Burnette jointly resigned with Hawks.

Isn’t it crazy that stuff is not so bad with the Dem party in SD?  I kind of wonder what kind of BS has been concocted over the past couple of years. I hope in the name of transparency the party tells us what has been going on and how they are going to fix it. This could be a great moment for them rooting out the corruption. As an Indy, I have never liked the party system. It just seems like a system that needs to go away and make government on all levels non-partisan. I had a friend tell me once that he doesn’t belong to ‘clubs’ because they seem to ‘clubby’ with lots of rules and other stupid crap. It always made me laugh, because I agree.

CITY SHUTS OFF EMERGENCY SIRENS FOR THE WINTER

I just think this is weird. Why wouldn’t you want to make sure they work all year long? There are other ‘disasters’ you might want to warn citizens about in the winter besides tornados. I almost wonder if this has to do with the embarrassment of the tornado warning system failing this summer and they are trying to minimize the failure. Hey, McFly, that is over and done with, time to move on and make sure they work moving forward. Don’t people learn from their mistakes anymore?

WHO IS BEHIND THE STACE NELSON CASE

The rumor mill has been on full cycle that the SD GOP is behind going after Nelson about blocking people of FB. They have been wanting to get Stace for his big mouth for years, and I think they want to bury him with this Federal case. I think it is funny how the SD GOP is concerned about the 1st Amendment when they want to hurt someone, but the rest of the time they are the most secretive party of all time. And corrupt. If you want to apply these rules to Nelson, which I think that is a good thing, you also have to follow them to. So if you want to make sure politicians are not blocking people on FB, maybe in the next session you should pass sweeping open meeting transparency laws . . . wait, maybe that is why Stace in trouble, he told us about the warts of the GOP.

James Freeman having a hay day with the SFPD

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James was back in town a few days ago and showed how the SFPD continues to violate their own policies on recording them. I love it when citizens get involved to try to help the police knowing NOTHING about their own constitutional rights.

I also like his evaluation of the Mark Burgess situation;

Can the city council legally eliminate public input?

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The Sioux Falls city council is set to debate public input again on Tuesday night (Item #35). While I support the changes (5 minutes on 2nd reading) you know my real opinion on the matter, unlimited on 2nd readings if it is quasi judicial and affecting property rights.

According to Roberts Rules the council does have the right to limit public input, they are even able to tell us when we can have it, and for how long. The chair also has the right to limit during the meeting. This is all according to Roberts Rules of course.

But could there be a Constitutional right (1st Amendment) that says total elimination of public input at a meeting on any reading is legal? While city’s like to hide behind Robert’s Rules and city charters they really are sworn to uphold the US Constitution. I also am unimpressed when city attorneys ‘TRY’ to be constitutional scholars and dance around an excuse. I haven’t seen it yet from Kooistra the current CA but Fiddle-Faddle did it all the time. I’m waiting for Kooistra’s ‘Grand Moment’.

It’s always fascinating to me to listen to local governments debate ‘public input’. I often find it an incredible waste of time and resources. Just let people talk. OPEN GOVERNMENT UP! Sunshine is a good thing!

If you don’t want to listen to your constituents, please resign.