Just another ‘Town Hall’ meeting in Sux Falls
I just attended the ‘supposed’ town hall meeting at the Elmen Center that KSFY and the Gargoyle Leader hosted. No one called on me to ask a question, because I forgot to wear my armband, apparently. This is how the town hall was sold to the public;
Tonight, there’s a town hall meeting just for you.
The Sioux Falls Next Town Hall Meeting isn’t designed for city officials or development groups, although many of those folks will be there listening to you.
Rather, the meeting is designed for you – you, the one with ideas.
Participating in this event is quite different than attending a planning meeting that often has a set agenda and pre-determined array of topics.
At tonight’s meeting your suggestions will drive the agenda and discussion.
BULLSHIT! They pre-selected questions and guests and didn’t let a single person from the audience ask a question unless it was preapproved. This was the worst form of propaganda I have ever seen in Sioux Falls in a long time. The only thing that was missing was SS troops and Hitler. After they stopped filming, I told Brian, the moderator from KSFY, (Paraphrasing), “This was not a real town hall, people from the audience couldn’t ask questions. This was sold to us by the Argus Leader that if we showed up we could ask questions.” He told me that the panel was still there if I wanted to ask questions. I just waved my hand at him and said “Whatever.”
I should have expected this out of a half-ass TV station and a half-ass newspaper, no, a quarter-ass newspaper.
And watch the video, they talked about how great our bike trail is and why Downtown is not a place for the EC, for one hour straight. The only comedy relief was at the beginning when a ‘LaRouche-Bag’ ranted about the British Revolution and magnetic trains until he got cut off.
On a positive note, I had lots of tasty buttery snails at Tre Lounge afterwards. Yummy. Thanks Dan!
So, how do you really feel about the meeting?
The LaRouche-bag was the only resemblence, too bad Terry Baloon-in-my-ass didn’t bust in and ask him “On what planet do you live?”
I also love how when he spoke of the Events Center, he said how he worried more about the last 45 years than the first 5. Yet, I was told by a TF member who I talked to afterwards that a good percentange (not a majority though) of the TF prefers the downtown location, but they just didn’t want to fight the battle to promote it & pitch it properly to the public. Neither do the downtown groups, which was reflected in Jamie Zea’s “I could go either way” attitude on the topic.
It’s confirmed, groupthink has set in and they are only concerned with advancing what they perceive as the least-offensive EC plan. I thought the idea of a Task Force was to take the politics out of it and put forth the best plan, with the best payback, funded in a way that is best for the citizens of SF who are ones taking the risk?
Nearly everyone wants to see downtown develop and flourish, but phuc n a, adding some curb cuts and a playset at Falls park ain’t gonna cut it.
I’m sorry, L3wis, but the campaign Stehly led against the indoor pool really fuct us over in getting shit like this done properly.
“It’s confirmed, groupthink has set in”
Heil, Hitler!
“I’m sorry, L3wis, but the campaign Stehly led against the indoor pool really fuct us over in getting shit like this done properly.”
I have said this a million times;
1) I did not know Theresa before the indoor pool voter
2) I did not support it because;
A) Cost too much
B) Horribly designed
C) don’t believe the city should compete with private businesses
The indoor pool failed because of these reasons, not because of Theresa. Lay it too rest already.
It was directed and well rehearsed. Served many special interests. Probably the best way to direct attention away from real issues. It should be regular for local space cadets but will never be a reality show. However, no doubt, it met the ordered criteria for the Reich. Next time, I’ll dial an 800 number and press numbers on my phone to see if a real person every answers.
I think it is funny how there is no comments (except for me) on both the AL and KSFY site. Tells you how many people cared or watched the dead horse beating.
A long list of “I want I want”, but no info on financing it all, and no alternative veiwpoints were offered. It was a commercial for the people on the panel and a few people in the audience who were pre-screened.
They didn’t even pre-screen very well. The larouchebag managed to go for several minutes before someone cut him off.
L3wis:
“A) Cost too much”
Not really, considering the potential long term payback of swim teams/meets year round. Tam Baker is correct, we got a splash park.
B) Horribly designed
Not really, it was just percieved by it’s opponents as too big, too fancy and catering to the “elites”.
C) don’t believe the city should compete with private businesses.
Maybe so, but we already have several other “splash parks” and the only people who are complaining about competition (Wild Water West) are doing very well despite that fact. If anything, it’s helping WWW by making them take their business to the next level.
All of those points were allowed to run unchecked and yes the result was a victory for Stehly, but the impact has frozen our leaders into a groupthink mode of seeking the path of least resistence.
a) Cost too much.
The YMCA built an indoor pool and fitness center for $10 million, this proposal, simply an indoor, non-competitive pool was $12 million.
B) Horribly designed.
Even the Snowfox swimteam opposed the final design, because there was no competitive lanes, Tam Baker brought that up last night
c) Private business
WWW is not a competitor with indoor pools. The fitness centers are. There are over 8 indoor pools in SF you can swim at for a fee, just like a public pool, if you want to get technical, there is 30 of them if you count all the hotels. There is not a ‘need’. I would support an indoor pool if the School district built it and attached to Lincoln High and had it open to the public.
L3wis,
A. The difference is not relative unless you compare size & finishes. The Y was building for it’s members. The City needs to build for it’s populace.
B. Exactly, I’ll go one better and say we should’ve killed all the birds with one stone and built the $30 million rec center with a competitive pool, a smaller splash park, and the indoor ice rink. All of which would’ve been both direct and indirect year-round revenue generators for the City.
C. Those pools are either the Y’s, the colleges, or tied in with a hospital. None of them are a primary revenue stream, they are more of a perk. Most require a year membership. If you want to use a hotel pool you have to pony up for a room.
The Rec center would compliment, not compete with any of those pools and again, as we look over the life cycle of 30-50 years, the payback would easily warrant the investment.
And I agree the Rec Center/indoor pool wasn’t a “need”, but it was definately one of those “Quality of Life” items that would’ve been utilized extensively and a money make, just like a City golf course.
You realize the reason the indoor pool at Nelson park failed wasn’t because people who didn’t want an indoor pool voted it down. I can guarantee half of the no vote were people who were frustrated with the location and design. If it would have built in Lincoln county and been designed for competition, it would have passed with flying colors. People cry and try to blame Stehly, but we both know she was only half of the battle.
I like the photo album of all the zombie politicians
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=DF&Dato=20091022&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=910220804&Ref=PH
If we could arise a moment above the personal little pleasures that we consider our “life”: the smallness of most of the rants about the meeting are exceeded only by the manipulative fashion in which the meeting was conducted. Could there have been a more controlled enviroment? The comment about Hitler approaches sanity if it is seriously considered but I question if the author realized the implications. You tell me….do the people of Sioux Falls live in a little bubble untouched by the real world? Does anyone CARE that their Country’s future prospects are being destroyed by a intentional takedown of the dollar? Why not discuss this at the town hall meeting?