South DaCola

UPDATE: DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be in Sioux Falls on Tuesday

l3wis September 11, 2023 7Comments

UPDATE: You learn that maybe the reason there is NO media coverage is because there is nothing to report. I guess the only media event for today will be in Salem as Pete was in Sioux Falls last night meeting with the city’s first responders (which was probably about this). Most mayors, Republican, Democrat or Non-Partisan would have welcomed the DOT Secretary with open arms. Maybe Pete could hold a presser about how taxpayers in Sioux Falls tend to pay double for our infrastructure projects?

I have been following the news of Pete’s visit to South Dakota. I interviewed him in 2018 and would love to see him speak Tuesday. He was in Chamberlain today and will be in Salem and Sioux Falls tomorrow, just don’t know when.

While I understand the news may have difficulty getting an agenda from the Secretary, it would be nice to have a general idea of when he will be here and where so I can hear him speak.

The information may not have been shared with the local media for security reasons, or they really don’t know when he will make it to Sioux Falls after visiting Salem.

I just hope the local media isn’t withholding that information from the public so they would NOT be encouraged to attend, you know, to see an openly gay cabinet member and former mayor and Democratic Candidate for President in a very deep red state and even deeper red media.

I sent this letter to the Secretary last year, wonder if he will have a meeting with Sioux Area Metro?

Dear Secretary Buttigieg,

I am writing you with my concerns about public transportation in our city, Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota (200K+).

We had met in 2018 when you were the guest speaker at the McGovern Day Dinner and I interviewed you before the event about municipal government for my blog, southdacola.com and enjoyed our conversation. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI61OLyHNLw)

My main concerns about public transit in Sioux Falls are;

• Does not cover the entire city

• Inefficient routes

• Only runs limited hours and 6 days a week (no Sunday service)

• Is underfunded and understaffed

• Has decreasing ridership

One of the biggest complaints I hear from people relocating from other urban areas across our country is our poor public transit system (we grew by 7,000 residents in 2021).

It is not that Sioux Falls coffers are destitute. The 5-year Capital Plan will spend $900M with only 1% going towards improving public transit and 43% going towards road maintenance and new roads.

We have the capital to improve it. We have dedicated city employees that can improve it. We just don’t have a workable plan and I am asking for your help in reaching out to our city leaders to help guide them.

Sam Trebilcock is the Public Transit advisor for the City of Sioux Falls. I would appreciate you contacted him with any assistance you may have; (605) 367-8890, strebilcock@siouxfalls.org.

You can also contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Scott L. Ehrisman

Bringing Metro Communications under city umbrella is a good idea . . . but

l3wis September 7, 2023 9Comments

Bringing Metro 911 under city management is a good idea and will help with improving the lives of their employees. But there seems to be some little white lies strewn throughout the presser;

As the Sioux Falls City Council is currently in the process of establishing the city’s 2024 budget, cost is an important factor. TenHaken, however, claims the merger will have almost no financial impact.

“The cost is budget-neutral, we’re just shifting this over. Currently, the city and county both pay into Metro — along with the 911 surcharges and other revenues,” TenHaken explained. “Basically those just move under the city’s budget.”

It’s NOT that simple kids. If you are proposing providing better wages and benefits to the employees and more internal services provided to them, as well as new staff, it is going to cost more, a lot more. So while it is true the funding entities will remain in place it will cost more. You can’t just improve an entire department and think it will cost nothing. Councilors have told me they just recently heard about this and are disappointed they were not brought in at the beginning of this process for input, or better yet, input from the public.

As I have said, when government keeps things from you, they are up to no good. They know this will cost more, and they didn’t want to tell the council, and ultimately the public, because they are trying to avoid having that conversation, because unless they planted money trees at the new Metro offices, this is going to cost us more.

Riverline Baseball Stadium? Maybe? Still?

l3wis September 7, 2023 2Comments

Lalley and I stumbled on to this story the same day. He told me there were some angles he wanted to take it so I agreed to hold off posting about it, and I am glad I did. Besides Lalley being an actual professional journalist (and myself a schlump) he was able to fish a story out of the owner of the Canaries who recently bought land by the Riverline District;

Through one of his many companies – True North SE Real Estate – Slipka purchased a plot of land adjacent to the Riverline District on East 10th Street. The Riverline District is the dreamscape that covers eight acres that the Sioux Falls Development Foundation optioned earlier this year with plans for an as-yet undetermined multi-use space.

In his telling of the story, his staff identified the two pieces of property that are now the Riverline site as a potential space for a “live, work, play” development that could be the new home for the team and a center of year-round recreation and commerce.

“The side of the story that has never been told, which is frustrating to me, is that we’ve only tried to do the right thing every step of the way,” he told me recently. “We stood down. The city said those two parcels, we’d like to pursue, and I said OK.”

Slipka did secure the rights to a third parcel, an irregular plot that currently is the home to Record Keepers, Inc., on South Franklin Avenue and tucked under the 11th Street viaduct.

“The way we see it is, it’s a prudent long-term play as an investor and as a business person. I had the option before the task force was even formed,” he said. “Was there an additional motive around potential future sites (for a stadium)? Absolutely, that was how we initially started the conversation a year or two prior to that.”

The land deals that have been going on are very interesting. I was glad to see Lalley was able to interview him, don’t think he had much luck some of the other players.