South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Downtown Sioux Falls Riverline District Sioux Falls

CORRECTION: Is the Riverline District just a gigantic scam?

l3wis 3Comments

CORRECTION: The city will GET the $8 million back IF the deal falls thru. BUT, this is interest FREE and NO taxes will be paid on the property for 3 years. I guess my question is ‘Why would we buy property for a project that hasn’t been approved by voters or the council?’ It’s insanity. Usually the city gets approval before they move ahead with an ‘agreement’ with current property owners. Or better yet, why doesn’t Lloyd just sit on the property for 3 years if we waive the property taxes? Or why doesn’t the Development Foundation buy the land? Taxpayers ARE NOT speculators. We give you the money to spend on infrastructure and services not to buy a plot of land that may never come to fruition.

The more I look at this ‘deal’ (Item 29) the more it looks like a money scam and NOT an actual Convention Center. If you read the purchase agreement, one thing is for sure; The city is buying the land for $8 MILLION and ‘gifting’ it to the Development Foundation. WHY? Well if you read carefully the purchase agreement you will SEE that the land reverts BACK to the original owners in 3 years if nothing is done, State Partners, LLC, which looks like they are brokering the deal thru Ernst Capital (which one of the partners is Chris Daugaard, yes the son of the former governor and partner Todd Ernst, son-in-law to Craig Lloyd.) It appears they are brokering the deal for Lloyd. Either way, if the Convention Center fails (which it will) the property reverts back to the original owners and they DO NOT have to give that $8 million back. In other words we are GIVING the Development Foundation AND State Partners, LLC. $8 million to play with over the next 3 years. Even if the CC was legit, there is NO WAY it will even pass, we will need a 3rd penny revenue source to pay for this, and I think most people are like, F’ that. If the Development Foundation really wants a new CC why don’t you borrow the money and pay for the land yourself and if the CC passes a vote, then we will buy it from you.

Why is the city in the land speculation business?

This is just a money scam to make a lot of people a lot of money and little else. I encourage folks to attend the council meeting tonight and call out this scam for what it is; A LAND GRAB!

Downtown Sioux Falls Railroads Sioux Falls

UPDATE: What Quiet Zone?

l3wis 3Comments

UPDATE: I was at this same quiet zone yesterday around 11:30 AM and once again, the crossbars came down, the lights flashed and the train pulled up and blared it’s horn. Why did we build this if the RR isn’t going to bother using it? The recent passing of a transient trying to jump over a moving train is further proof that the trains DTSF need to go. I am hoping someone in Public Works has asked the RRs to use these quiet zones properly and STOP blaring the horn!

So they put a quiet zone RR crossing east of the new $20 Million dollar Non-Unity 6th Street bridge. How they are ‘supposed’ to work is the arms come down, there is a bunch of flashing lights, etc. It is called a quiet zone because ideally the trains won’t blow their whistles anymore going thru this intersection. I have suggested we have them all over DTSF.

So I was sitting at the crossing last week on my bike, and a train was approaching, the lights started flashing to stop and the cross arms came down. Then right before the intersection the engine stopped, which is normal protocol. The lights were flashing and the bars were down, and guess what Leroy the conductor did, blaired his horn.

So what was the purpose of this very expensive crossing? (I believe it cost like $1 million to build with money coming from the city, the DOT and the railroad). So what was the purpose if the trains are going to continue to blow their whistles?

The railroads have been doing what they want to for around 150 years. Did they really think they care if this is a quiet zone? Apparently not.

Sioux Falls

Why has the bicycle committee been skipping meetings?

l3wis 1Comments

So the Sioux Falls Bicycle Committee has been skipping meetings over the past couple of months and if you do a search on the city website it has been almost scrubbed from the site. The Active Transportation committee has taken recommendations from the group, but if those meetings don’t exist how do you take recommendations?

If you want to kill the committee, just do it. Bring a resolution forward at the city council meeting and dissolve it.

Please stop playing games.

If the new board has taken over these duties, just say it and move on.

I sometimes feel like when I ride bike in this town I am all alone, and that is not a bad thing since I enjoy my own company 🙂 but it is dangerous, and I really don’t think I have the city’s back on this, I am on my own.

Bike Trail SF City Council Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec South Dakotans

South Dakota Ranks 45th in Bicycle friendliness

l3wis 9Comments

H/T to Jordan Deffenbaugh for posting this on Turdbook;

While Sioux Falls as a city ranks a lot better, we do have work to do, trust me, someone who rides a ton in this town knows. What I found most astounding was the ZERO in Planning. I would think there would be at least ONE legislator pro bicycle. I guess I need to take Jamison out for a coffee 🙂 and a bike ride.

WE MISSED AN OPPORTUNITY WITH JORDAN

Speaking of Jordan, I see what his opponent has done so far and I am completely disappointed that the voters didn’t see what a great package we would have gotten with Jordan. Maybe Thomason will wake up after New Years, stranger things have happened, like watching Councilor Miranda ‘Lucy’ Bayse vote for a property tax increase next year. This is going to be fun.

Miranda Bayse SF City Council Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

Is the Sioux Falls City Council communicating with City Hall?

l3wis 4Comments

After watching the above presser where Councilor Miranda ‘Lucy’ Bayse said this, I wonder if the council is talking to city hall;

There isn’t anything that’s proposed that would increase the tax expectations or increase what community members would pay in their taxes to fund these things.

Over the last couple of years when the city council has discussed NOT raising property taxes (they always vote for the increase) the mayor’s minions have cried to the council if we don’t raise the taxes every year we would miss out on rec programming, street repair and any other bogeyman they can cook up. So how can Lucy say there won’t be any increases in taxes to pay for services? She can’t. She is either lying or doesn’t understand how the funding works. While we have a bond rating based on our 2nd penny collection, we also have other bond ratings tied to our total revenue take in which also consists of Federal and State grants and property taxes. While the bond itself to pay for the facility is attached to the 2nd penny some of the programming will come from property tax revenue. So where is the disconnect? You will pay more in ALL taxes to fund these facilities, does the council think the money is coming from the sky? Seriously? It will cost MILLIONS each year to subsidize these facilities, the money is coming from somewhere.

Instead of lying to the public to justify the means why not stop the hand wringing and propaganda and put it to a legal bond vote. If you really want to know what the public thinks, ASK THEM!

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