[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJePJHokyZY[/youtube]
Video credit: Analog
Citizens Network Against the Events Center
Will Respond Directly to the Mayor’s Comments at the October 11th
City Council Informational Meeting
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Bob Barclay of the Citizens Network Against the Events Center will have a press conference following Mayor Mike Huether’s presentation on the events center at the Sioux Falls City Council Informational Meeting which begins at 4 P.M., Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at the Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th Street. The press conference will be held at approximately 4:45-5:00 P.M. at the Carnegie Town Hall. The Citizens Network invites all citizens who have concerns about the building of a new events center to attend the press conference. Mr. Barclay has declared: “Presenting an alternative perspective on the new events center is vitally important in order to counter the legion of city employees who have been involved in presenting some 50 presentations to date. The events center is a want and not a need.â€
Citizens Network Against the Events Center
Will Hold Its First Organizational Meeting
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Bob Barclay, concerned citizen and Instructor of Social Sciences at the University of Sioux Falls, invites all citizens who have concerns about the building of a new events center to an organizational meeting of the Citizens Network Against the Events Center. The Network’s first organizational meeting will be held at 7:00 PM, Thursday, October 13, 2011 at the Downtown Public Library (200 N. Dakota Avenue) in Meeting Room A. At the meeting, strategy will be discussed and people will be given the opportunity to volunteer for various tasks. Mr. Barclay has declared: “Building an expensive events center during a time of economic crisis when the current Arena is rarely, if ever filled is irresponsible. The events center is a want and not a need.â€
Can’t wait to hear the numbers tonight;
http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=121955
I still think the voter turnout will be high, 20-30%. It would be nice to prove the AL wrong for once. Wait, I do that almost weekly.
“The press conference will be held at approximately 4:45-5:00 P.M. at the Carnegie Town Hall.”
The Mayor is currently reviewing his options with “Clear the F*%king building again!” being near the top of his list…
LMFAO! I was thinking the same thing!
I watched a listening and learning session with the YPN group. He was asked about the firing of Debra Owen. I have heard him comment on this several times, and his answers are pretty consistent. But during this session he said she was terminated due to ‘Job Performance’
WTF! If that was the case, she should have gotten a raise not terminated.
I also watched that listening and learning session, but I had watched it a few weeks ago. I have probably heard or read every public statement from anyone involved in the Debra Owen affair, and the mayor’s statement at that session was the first time I had heard it was due to performance. At first I thought that was nonsense. I then talked to a few people who know what happened, and I do believe that it was due to ‘performance’ TECHNICALLY. HOWEVER, the BIG caveat is that she was fired for something extremely minor, at least that’s what I’ve been told. It would be like being fired for walking into work 30 seconds late after being an excellent employee for a decade more or less, that’s the impression I was given. I think a certain group of council members wanted her gone and they seized on something to get it done. I still don’t know what it was exactly, for example if it was the infamous amortization schedule, which as Jonathan Ellis reported her sending that out to the council on the request of one councilor enraged at least one other one (I have a strong feeling I know who the ‘enraged’ one was). Maybe it had zero to do with the event center. They had the power to do what they did, but I still strongly object to how it was handled and question the judgement of firing someone so universally respected. Sounds like the truth is probably far more boring than what people can dream up, which is pretty typical, but the handling of the whole affair was terrible and it makes me question the judgement and integrity of some of the council members. I will give the Mayor credit for having the guts to admit outright he didn’t handle it in the way he should have in certain respects. That took guts to do. I wish certain council members would do the same, whose silence is deafening.
The fact that there has already been heavy turnout with absentee ballots really has me second guessing my own conventional wisdom on this one. I was in the Ellis camp before he wrote the article he did about how special elections have a miserable track record. I kind of wonder if higher turnout means it could be closer than I thought. On the other hand, there are a lot of BID fans on Facebook who are claiming they are already voting no so maybe many are no votes. I would think if turnout is low, it fails miserably, but the higher turnout is the closer it may be. L3wis may be right in what he’s said in the past, this one could be different than others because its such a big deal, and could break conventional wisdom and be really close. I’m starting to think that way.
GregN
Even more reason to make sure that everyone gets out to vote.
This is where citizens can really help out by talking to others about either absentee voting or showing up on November 8th.
Also, if someone is not registered, they still have time to do so…deadline is October 24thth. They could register and vote all at the same time at the county courthouse….it can’t get any easier than that!!
I will say this, after talking to someone in the know. Debra was fired for trivial reasons.
Next case.
cr
I’ll do my best to encourage as many as I can to get out to vote. As you point out there is no excuse its so easy. I’m trying to encourage as many people as possible to get informed. The information is out there, you just have to take a little effort to find it.
I’ll be attending the city presentation on the EC at Caille Thursday. I’m more interested in the questions citizens may have more than anything. The actual presentation isn’t anything I haven’t heard before.
Here’s a clip I recorded today on the steps. Unfortunately the middle section didn’t remain…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJePJHokyZY
About how many people were there Analog?
I would guess about 12-15.
The next meeting which occurred tonight went quite well. Bob stressed that we need volunteers for preping letters in envelopes, door-to-door-flyer handouts and #1 donations. The letters will ask for donations and some of them could be handed out along small shops around town.
Please call Bob Barclay if you can help Saturday from Noon to 3PM – 605-336-8904