Huether said he doesn’t see why his actions are controversial. He said he is doing a “really good job trying to be open” and wants to be the most transparent mayor Sioux Falls has had.
“That’s truly a goal of mine, and I believe that I’m on the right path,” he said.
C’mon Mike. If this is your GOAL you need to stop having private meetings on your Events Center vision.
Huether, who intended those advisory meetings to be private, won’t name those who attended, raising the question of who is advising the mayor and how much power they have, as well as how public the early planning process for a project such as the events center should be.
“I don’t think the names are important. I think the work and the stewardship that these people did is,” Huether said.
The group meetings included city directors Gene Rowenhorst, Mark Cotter, Mike Cooper and Darrin Smith, along with councilors Jim Entenman and Sue Aguilar and community leaders Kevin Lampe, Dave Knudson, Michael Bender and Rob Oliver, according to some people who were there. Most are not willing to talk.
So a prominent realtor and the president of a private college have a seat at the mayor’s table, but citizens don’t? Are they paying for your ‘Vision’? No, but they sure will benefit from it. I also see you met with the Downtown group;
Steven C. Hildebrand Reposting: We met with Mayor Huether for nearly an hour. We presented the mayor and city officials with some initial information and shared that our downtown supporters have now exceeded 1,000. He made it clear that his vision includes building the events center at the arena site. We pressed our case that only a downtown location will spur the kind of growth, job creation and expansion that is necessary when taxpayers are asked to invest $100 million in an events center.
We have no doubt that the mayor heard us. But now we need to convince him of all the merits of a downtown site. The mayor needs to hear from you.
The ballot question should be simple. Should we fund it with bonding and should we build it at the Arena, Downtown or neither site? Enough farting around with private meetings, put it on the ballot already. Rip that bandaid off in one quick tug.
But Councilor Greg Jamison, who was not at the meetings, said he’s hearing from residents that when an issue involves public money, it needs to be public.
“It’s not always clean and neat or nice when you do it that way, but that’s part of the process,” he said.
It’s all about Mike controlling the message, and if he doesn’t it isn’t clean and neat or nice like his well sculpted haircut. But it gets better, Munson tells the biggest white lie of the day;
Former Mayor Dave Munson said he can’t remember employing a similar strategy of organizing such meetings.
So does that mean Dave is going to release the video, audio and transcript of his private meeting(s) with the Cherapa Place’s lead developer? Trust me Dave, you have no room to talk when it comes to transparency and the countless private horse trading meetings you had with past councilors.
Huether said his meetings are not comparable to a task force. Instead, he sought attendees’ advice on how to effectively communicate with the council, present his events center ideas and sell them on the need for a study.
In other words he wanted advice on how to sucker the public and the council (he already succeeded in suckering 5 councilors). Nothing good comes from keeping the public in the dark, only distrust.