Will the Washington Pavilion’s Board of Directors consider cutting the Director’s pay during the Pandemic?

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I’m not sure what Darrin Smith’s salary is as the Director/President of the Pavilion, in fact the public hasn’t heard in years what that pay level is since they moved the annual meeting until sometime in July(?). Moles have told me it is well over of $170K. Now, don’t me wrong, if Covid didn’t exist and the Pavilion was having sold out shows throughout the winter and the endowment was overflowing, it may be justified, but when you are cutting staff like mad and you literally have NO SHOWS going on (the Pavilion’s bread and butter) wouldn’t you consider cutting executive pay at least until they can start booking shows again? For all management?

Money wise, the Pavilion has turned a corner starting with the past presidents and continuing with Smith, but mostly because Smith has gotten out the axe well before the pandemic. Isn’t it ironic when a crisis occurs (even at a non-profit) the first to be thrown to the curb or receive pay cuts are the minions while the execs still roll in the dough. It’s pretty pathetic, but a continuing tradition of the Pavilion that has only been a drain on taxpayer’s entertainment tax fund.

Besides the Events Center (losing close to $3 million now) the Pavilion may be next in line for a bailout, we wouldn’t want Director Smith’s lifestyle interrupted, would we?

It looks as though the cartoonist who ran the VAC (he lasted longer than I thought he would) and the HR director are on the outs, probably not in too big of a hurry to rehire;

The Director of Museums is an amazing position responsible for the Vision and Mission of the Washington Pavilion Management, Inc. Museum filled with visual arts! This role reports directly to our Chief Operations Officer. FT, exempt-level (salary) position; Monday-Friday, Day shifts (flexible on creating a schedule)with some weekends and evenings for occasional & special events. Plus Director on Duty rotation every 6-8 weeks to be the on-call DOD for the Washington Pavilion. Excellent compensation based on education experience & leadership skills plus an excellent full benefits package!

The Human Resources Manager is an engaging position at the Washington Pavilion responsible for the overall administration, management and evaluation of Washington Pavilion Management, Inc (WPMI) human resource related functions, including recruiting and selection; on-boarding and employee development; performance management; compensation and benefits; policies and procedures; employee well-being & safety; and compliance with state and federal employment laws and regulations. The HR Manager will also have responsibility for submission and/or tracking of worker’s compensation information, OSHA logs, and FMLA records. This role will report to the CEO/President and work closely with the Accounting department to support Administration & the Executive team.

Washington Square Developer whines about the easement process

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(FF 41:00)

Yes, folks, only in good old Sioux Falls would a developer complain about how he had to front a little money in legal fees and surveying (City Council Meeting, Items 16-17) after receiving some easements.

First the obvious, and replying to one of his main complaints, that while taxpayers are essentially giving him FREE land, that this gifting party should somehow also pay these fees?!

This same developer also received millions in a TIF (massive tax rebate) before the project was built. While I do complain sometimes when the council doesn’t discuss an item or answer constituent questions, I did chuckle a bit last night after this developer stood at the microphone and cried about how he had to spend a couple of grand (to receive FREE property). Their non-response to this unwarranted fit was completely appropriate. Not a single councilor, the mayor, the city attorney or any of the planning/environmental staff responded to his rant.

It reminds me of when I used to wait tables and people would want a free meal if I forgot to give them complimentary free bread. This developer has received free property and millions in tax breaks and has the nerve to complain about it?!

UPDATE: City of Sioux Falls spends over $200K of your taxdollars to promote covid tourism and super spreader events

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCq8I6NpgSo

After watching this press conference, I just shook my head, just like I do every time I see the POTUS at a press conference.

UPDATE: You will notice in the video, Teri Schmidt, who runs the CVB mentions that ClickRain is the company who has the contract with the CVB. This of course is Mayor TenHaken’s former company. The city council just approved over $200K to go towards this promotion, which will essentially be handed over to ClickRain. Can anyone say ‘conflict of interest’?

It was also pointed out to me after the meeting, that Paul stated to someone he is very nervous about how this is all going to work with our recent spike. As it has been said, Paul, now is the time to lead.

Why on earth would we be promoting tourism in the middle of a pandemic (and soon influenza season) while our numbers are spiking out of control?

A new program championed by the city of Sioux Falls called Sioux Falls Alive aims to give people safe programs and events during the fall and winter months.

“We have to figure out how we co-exist with COVID-19 over the winter,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said.

“We have to continue to look at ways to give our community, give our families, give people in Sioux Falls ways to stay engaged in the community, ways to stay involved in activities to do but doing so in a very safe and socially distant fashion … believe it or not those things can co-exist.”

Sioux Falls is “going to demonstrate how that can be done,” he added.

We have hardly figured out how to keep our workplaces and nursing homes safe, how on earth can you have beer gardens and masquerade parties? At least people will be wearing masks at one of the events.

While I often have said Mayor Stoneless really does have stones (mostly between his ears) I wonder who is really pushing this hair brain idea of ignoring the covid, let’s party?!

He is right about one thing, the hospitality industry will be devastated over the winter in Sioux Falls. With our numbers spiking, especially in Minnehaha and Lincoln county, our bars and restaurants this winter will be practically empty. They struggle anyway when it gets cold out, put Covid on top of that, not a good situation.

While I commend our city leaders for trying to keep the hospitality industry going in SF during a pandemic, this is a poor plan.

There should be more exploration of how to make takeout and food delivery more convenient and affordable AND profitable for these businesses instead of worrying about our public entertainment facilities (the Romans called it Bread and Circus for a reason). One of my friends suggested easing the laws so bars/restaurants can deliver pre-made cocktails to your home with food, or to avoid the alcohol laws, deliver setups with recipe instructions on what alcohol to add.

There are many great ideas out there to keep businesses open, but promoting a Covid holiday and super spreader events in our city, while using my tax money, is about as Covid stupid as I have seen.

Events Center Complex loses $2.5 million in past year

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Of course, it was no surprise they lost this much, it was just a little unusual we heard it at a SF City Council informational meeting from the finance director. The complex (EC, CC and Arena) was probably expected to lose money during Covid, but as I have mentioned over the past few days and weeks, the Denty hasn’t exactly been that stellar in attendance for well over a year and trust me, the bleeding of the complex will continue well into 2021.

What was not included in the discussion is the $10 million a year bond payment the taxpayers will continue to have to pay out of our 2nd penny (which should be spent on needed infrastructure and roads). We will also have to keep the lights and heat on as well and timely maintenance while the city’s finance director has given sponsors a pass on paying their dues.

While the management company has said they laid off many people, what they didn’t mention is if the executives took a pay cut? I mean really? What are you doing right now? I can only imagine they have all built George Costanza beds under their desks. Why not just furlough the entire management company until we can start booking shows again? Why are the taxpayers subsidizing these salaries?

The Washington Pavilion, as I understand, cut 25% of their workforce, for that very reason, if you have no shows, you don’t need people to work them.

As I said, the Denty was already bleeding, and this place will eventually become the dented up yolk around taxpayers necks for decades. I don’t expect the place to turn a profit again for at least 5 years, but that’s okay, we can keep digging into the taxpayer’s pockets even though almost 50% voted against it.

Taxpayers may have to bailout the Pavilion

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Hey, I don’t blame the Pavilion for having to cancel their shows, Covid has wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry;

The Washington Pavilion has canceled its 2020-21 Performance Series, which would have brought hit shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Hairspray” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to Sioux Falls.

Many Broadway tours have been put on hold or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to supporters, the Pavilion said it is working to rebook as many shows from this season as it can for next season.

This will hit the Pavilion hard since they depend on this revenue to float them each year. In fact the Pavilion has made money from these shows over the years and if they didn’t have to float the arts center and science centers (which lose money) the Pavilion would have been very profitable. The problem is they don’t split the pot of money up between the entities, they just move it around.

Of course they have a plan, not a very good one mind you;

While refunds will still be offered, the loss of the tours has put the Pavilion “in a very challenging situation,” Smith said. “As a nonprofit reliant on ticket sales, sponsorships and gifts of support from the community, the loss of these tours – a $3 million impact – has put the organization in a very challenging situation. We are asking our loyal customers – if they are able – for their support at this unprecedented time.”

In all reality, it will probably be the taxpayers that will have to bailout the Pavilion during this down economy. But we have already been giving it millions in maintenance for years. It is what I suspected it would turn into, a money pit, and the Events Center and Aquatic Center are not to far behind.