South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

2010

Darrin Smith Sioux Falls

My favorite kind of neighborhood association? Mind your own damn business.

l3wis 10Comments

“I wonder if a neighborhood association could fix my golden locks of hair?”

Darrin “Director of neighbors and junket trip digger-uppers” Smith (Image; KELO-TV screenshot)

While I agree neighborhood associations are a good idea, especially neighborhood watch associations, I sometimes feel like this is an excuse for the city to encourage neighbors to turn in neighbors for stupid crap like ‘leafy branches’ or ‘long grass’. Thank Gawd I don’t live next door to Costner, or I would be fixing my sidewalk and trimming my boulevard trees every ten minutes. Maybe the conspiracy theorist in me is talking here, I don’t know?

I do have a terrific relationship with my neighbor to the South. We share a fence and a grapevine and have many great fence line conversations about city government. They have lived in my neighborhood since 1950 when they built their house. But my neighborhood is interesting, for several reasons, I’m zoned ‘light industrial’ and can never add onto my home without council approval (which I think is a violation of my property rights) and the fact that my home was built in 1889 and as far as I can tell has been added on to at least 5 times since the original structure was built (the original siding still exists in a crawlspace above my kitchen). We also have several businesses in the hood, a casino, a sandwich shop, a plumber’s outfit, a fireplace installer, a mechanics garage, a lawnmower repair shop and a copy machine peddler (and a can crusher, gas station, and my favorite; a liquor store) We also have some guy who works on his hotrods and sells electric scooters. Besides that, there is several rental properties that have residents come and go like the wind.

Like I said above, I am all for neighborhood associations, but this isn’t fucking Mayberry. I’ll stick with the neighborhood association I like the best, Me and Don bitching about city hall while standing by a grapevine.

Sioux Falls

Just what we need at City Hall, more beauracrats – not!

l3wis 2Comments

While I’m not a fan of the AL ed board, they do get it right on occasion;

City Council doesn’t need another committee to oversee its contracts with private firms

It’s hard to see how hiring a compliance officer or creating an oversight committee to monitor the city’s contracts with private companies will improve management of those agreements.

It’s no secret that ‘certain’ contracts were handed to ‘certain’ contractors under Munson’s administration. This was apparent with the Pavilion window’s bid that came way under then originally budgeted when a contractor that doesn’t normally do city work put a bid in. The city was obviously letting certain contractors to bilk taxpayers for a long time. But believe it or not, I actually trust Mike won’t pull those kind of favors. If the rules are followed there is no reason to be too concerned that contracts are not being honored honestly and economically.

Code Enforcement Sioux Falls

Code Enforcement gear up – but what about that pesky 5th Amendment?

l3wis 5Comments

While I agree with Mayor Huether that we do need code enforcement and should require people to cleanup dangerous properties (public safety and health issues) I advise him to read the 5th Amendment of the US  Constitution before he starts saying stuff like this;

“If you have a business and it’s dangerous to the people of Sioux Falls, we’re going to ask you to take care of it, and if you don’t, we’ll take care of it and send you the bill,” said Huether.

City officials aren’t just focusing on commercial property.  They say they want homeowners to do their part too.

“Folks, if you’re a neighbor who’s not going to take care of their yard, their sidewalks or have a junky car sitting in front of their house, you’re not going to like me as your mayor,” said Huether.

First off, as it sits now, the city has NO authority to cleanup any private property and send people the bill, until you dismantle the ‘administrative appeals’ process which has been found to be unconstitutional. And as for sidewalks adjacent to the boulevard, the city owns them so that is your responsibility. So cleanup, fix and invoice away, without due process a citizen doesn’t owe the city a penny for the work.

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