I-229 Corridor Website & Video

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www.i229study.com

The Interstate 229 (I-229) Corridor through the City of Sioux Falls carries commuters and tourism traffic, provides access to the ever expanding east side of this thriving community, and allows direct access to downtown. The I-229 Major Investment Study will allow the City of Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Planning Organization, the South Dakota Department of Transportation, adjacent landowners, and area users to help determine the vision of the corridor. The I-229 Corridor Study Team will be using technology on this project that will allow us to distribute traffic in a manner that better mimics how delays during peak hour periods change driver behavior on our arterial streets and on I-229. Please become engaged in helping the study team work through this complex and dynamic study to learn what I-229 will become over the next 20 to 40 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffKRg1lrydU&t=586s

Posted in: I-229, Sioux Falls

Sales Tax revenue in SF up about 3.2% from last year

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Okay, this is good news. But certainly not organize a blowout BBQ bash good news. More like, I’m going to eat at Red Rossa instead of Burger King for lunch kind of news. See, when you factor in inflation and the fact sales tax revenue was down last year a 3.2% increase is kind of like, well, ah, really nothing.

Of course, I’m sure they will talk it up at the informational meeting today, but seriously, just look at the numbers: SFTAX

I also can’t help to bring up the fact that taxpayers have been bilked for $45 million for arterial streets while developers (who were supposed to give equal amount) have put in under a million. Don’t remember this meeting when they begged for the tax increase and promised to put in matching funds? It was the meeting where Quen Be De Knudson was watching TV and complaining how she was tired. In fact she was so damn tired she wasn’t using her brain and voted for the tax increase. Boy, that turned out well.

Posted in: Sioux Falls, Taxes

Sorry, but you have NO skin in the game

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I watched Jared Smart mumble about how developers needed more money from the taxpayers for arterial streets because they have had ‘Skin in the Game’ (FF 51:00) (he was referring to the platting fees developers have been paying since the 2nd penny tax got raised to a full penny.)

Wanna know how much SKIN developers have put in the game compared to taxpayers (financial report August 2011) (screenshot)

He was crying because there was a 81% cut in arterial street construction. But, Jared failed to mention that their ‘Skin in the game’ is barely 10%. We were told that the developers would match the city funding when that 2nd penny was passed. Sorry but $200,000 towards $2 million isn’t MATCHING funds. I think a 4 year old kid could do the math. I wonder what kind of audacity a person has to have to come before the city council and ask for money when they have contributed virtually nothing. This makes me furious, because I was there the night the council and mayor Munson made us sit for two hours before we could give our testimony, and I had to endure Craig Lloyd’s bathroom jokes about Joe Six-Pack’s contribution. I knew this would end this way, but I never imagined that a developer would have the nerve to show up and ask for MORE money when they have given virtually nothing. Jared, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Posted in: Sioux Falls

One more reason why the Home Rule charter handcuffs our council

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I just magically appeared after a little rain and ice.

This should come as no surprise that our mayor, or any mayor of Sioux Falls for that matter (cough . . . Munson . . . cough), just does things without consulting the council, well, because he can. The Home Rule charter pretty much gives absolute power to the mayor. But as we have been finding out more and more of this power has been found unconstitutional. So does our new council have the guts to dismantle the charter or will it be in the hands of the people? Comments from at least one of the council members is encouraging, but I am not going to hold my breath;

There wasn’t a mayoral candidate in all of Sioux Falls who didn’t have a thing or two to say about potholes.

And after securing victory, one of the first steps Mayor Mike Huether took was to redirect $2.6 million to the war on crumbling streets. That money piggybacked on former Mayor Dave Munson’s redoubling of efforts on street repair in March.

But the additional money didn’t materialize out of thin air, and it will come at a cost to other projects. About $1.4 million of the additional money will come from the city’s arterial street expansion program, meaning that some projects, including work at major intersections, will be put off.

Huether made the decision unilaterally, without consulting the council. He has the authority to do it, but City Council Chairman Greg Jamison said it would have been nice to get a heads up, especially for councilors who had projects in their districts delayed because of the switch in funding.

“I just felt like, out of courtesy, he could have brought us in,” Jamison said.

While I agree our potholes should be fixed pronto, I think the council should have been a part of the decision. Like I said above, these kind of decisions will continue unless we tear down the Home Rule Charter. Case in point;

Huether and four new councilors were not around when the council fought a bruising battle over arterial streets. Faced with an $85 million backlog, a split council in 2008 voted to increase the city’s second-penny sales tax and development fees for more work on arterial streets.

And who made the final passing vote on this debacle that has FORCED taxpayers to pay their fair share but not the developers? Mayor Munson. But even more troubling, some developers still are blaming the weather;

Chuck Point, a vice president at Ronning Cos., was among the developers who pushed for more money for arterial streets. He said he’s not worried about diverting some money from arterial streets to make repairs – for now.

“I can’t fault him for it,” Point said of Huether’s decision to divert funding from arterial roads. “If you drive around Sioux Falls, you saw it. What I get frustrated about is people blaming the wrong thing. It was the weather.“

Bullshit!

While the weather did make the potholes literally explode, I find it hard to believe that this happened overnight. These potholes have been festering for years. Like I have said in the past, I have ridden my bike on the streets of this town for years, they were in bad shape to begin with, and if you just ignore them, they will only get worse, which happened. The city, the past mayor and council ignored keeping up with infrastructure during good economic times. We had record sales tax revenue and we squandered it, now we are scrambling to fix something we have no money for. We missed the boat to literally put money away for a RAINY DAY, now we have to pay the piper, and that means delaying new projects.

This new mayor and council better come to a quick realization that prioritizing should be their number one concern.

Posted in: Mayor Subprime Mike Huether, Mike Huether, Potholes, SF City Council, Sioux Falls

Staggers lands a zinger

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Seems things are heating up in the mayoral race. Bout time.

“While every person, business and organization in the community knew we were in the middle of a serious economic slowdown, City Hall chose to ignore reality,” said Bill Peterson, who voiced his criticism Tuesday.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t Bill one of the advocates of the tax increase for the arterial streets and the 3rd penny for the EC? At both council meetings I warned of a economic downturn. Where were your concerns then, Bill?

“This is just another example on how city government is becoming more out of touch on what the citizens of Sioux Falls want,” Huether said.

Yah think? I’m glad to see Mike is out there talking to citizens. I think he is coming to the realization that people are hurting, I can tell you that 2009 wasn’t the greatest year for Detroit Lewis, but I don’t have four kids to feed. I can’t imagine what some of these people are going thru.

Mayor Dave Munson, who is term-limited, said Peterson’s criticism almost sounds like he is running against him. “I hope that he’s not trying to create a crisis for one that doesn’t exist,” Munson said.

Well, Dave, if you think a $330 million dollar city debt and a sagging economy are not a crisis, I have a bridge to sell you in the Sahara.

“They should have seen this coming and they didn’t, and that’s a failure of leadership, period,” Peterson said.

Well, well, well, seems Mr. Peterson doesn’t even know the ‘failure of leadership’ he created himself. He wrote the unconstitutional home rule charter for the city which pretty much ties the hands of councilors to make budget decisions. Kinda hard to lead when you are handcuffed Bill. You pretty much eliminated the checks and balances the city council would have had over the mayor.

Five months ago, some council members and the mayor sparred over the 2010 budget, which is 4 percent larger than last year’s. Staggers introduced 30 amendments to cut spending. Only one passed. It pushed a capital project to a later date.

Yes, and only a couple of those amendments were seconded for debate. That is the rubberstamp council at their best. What I can’t understand is even if you do not agree with Kermit’s amendments, why wouldn’t you at least be willing to debate them?

The current plan for potential holdbacks is to put the city, and the next mayor in a good position, Munson said.

“I really do want to leave it solid,” he said. “We have to make assumptions ahead of time.”

Yes. A solid debt. $100 million for ‘Quality of Life’ projects like monkey crappers, wood thingies and football fields for kids living in Montrose. $70 million for a water pipeline that we won’t have for another 2-6 years (maybe) and over $10 million for levees that the Feds should be paying for out of our income taxes.

Staggers said his opponents who supported the local sales tax funding option for the events center are contradicting themselves.

“It’s interesting that they are concerned about the budget, but at the same time they are out there advocating tax increases,” he said.

ZING!

Posted in: Sioux Falls Mayor Race