While I appreciate Jen’s opinion’s on some topics, I often chuckle when she writes a post about her sudden surprise when a politician is saying one thing and doing another, especially Smiling Mike;
I joined the Build It Downtown Group because I believed in what this passionate and highly committed group of business people wanted to do – engage the Mayor in considering alternative sites for an event center. Consider, not demand. Talk, discuss and give input to the mayor and his staff as they work through the process. Work with them on this project. It is a noble cause spearheaded by noble people who have the best interests of the city at heart. These people are taxpayers, citizens of Sioux Falls and voters. This group has worked hard to gather data, meet with architects, engineers, city planners, developers and the public. They have studied this issue extensively and reviewed dozens of cities’ successes with their own events centers. They deserve to be heard, not ignored.
Why is it that this group is being ignored and even demonized?
There are a lot of groups in SF that deserve to be heard. What makes BID special? Because Hildy runs the group, or because you are a part of it? This should come as no surprise, the mayor has chosen the Arena site from the beginning and all data will point in that direction.
What I don’t get is why the Mayor and members of his staff choose to ignore the Build It Downtown group’s repeated requests to meet and discuss their ideas.
What is Not to Get? The fact that he is king and will run his court the way he chooses? Munson did it for 8 years, and you never heard a peep. I’m not defending Mike, I’m just saying, isn’t it a little late to bitch about the mayoral dictatorship we have had for years? Where was your blog and voice during the Munson years . . . oh . . . that’s right, you were collecting a paycheck from the city and worked at the pleasure of the mayor, so you bitched quietly in a corner by the water cooler.
The mayor promised to seek public input before decisions were made. He has chosen to ignore or even listen to voters who want to give input or their opinions regarding this important project. He is failing to keep his promises. He is failing the voting public.
And all of this is a shocker? I have said all along, if Dr. Staggers were mayor right now, this would be a very open process, in fact, you can probably guarantee he would not be involved at all. The EC debate belongs in the private sector, not the public sector. To quote a frequent commenter on the Argue Endorser’s forums, “If it is such a crackerjack idea, why isn’t the private sector putting their money up? (paraphrasing)”
Build it Downtown’s original FACEBOOK post on the topic:
Steven C. HildebrandFebruary 17, 2011 at 6:24pm
Subject: Seems the Mayor and his staff won’t answer any questions.
Whether the questions come from city council members, the press or from Build it Downtown, the mayor and his staff refuse to answer questions directly about possible locations for the events center and about the process to make decisions.
We’ve been trying to get a meeting with his staff to discuss possible downtown locations. They first refused to meet with us, now they just ignore our requests. We’ve asked for public record information and they’ve refused to provide it.
Seems that in the next few days the mayor will announce which downtown location will be studied. He’s making this decision without public input, without discussing this with the city council (who he will ask to refer this issue to the voters), without discussing it with stakeholders and without meeting with Build it Downtown.
Our group has worked hard to gather data, meet with architects, engineers, city planners, developers and the public. We’ve studied this issue extensively and reviewed dozens of cities’s successes with their own events centers.
Yet the mayor and his staff ignore us and want us to go away. Seems like a poor way to serve the public. Maybe he’s forgotten that we are voters and taxpayers who pay his salary. Maybe he’s forgotten about his promise to be the most transparent mayor in Sioux Falls history. Maybe he’s forgotten about his promise to seek public input before all the decisions were made.
This mayor, like any mayor should be accountable to you and me. We are here to help him build a successful events center. We have the best interests of Sioux Falls at heart.
I hope you will express your concerns with the mayor. You can email him at mhuether@siouxfalls.org. He needs to hear from us.
Thank you.
Steve Hildebrand, Co-founder, Build it Downtown