Most days blogging I get little grocery store samplings of issues concerning our city and a little light digesting. Not today. I just left the buffet and I am about to hurl.
I will say this, my sources are very reliable, and I have spent a fair amount of time before posting this backing some of the sources up. Unlike our non-free online newspaper, I don’t have to name my sources. And I won’t. If you have a problem with that, start posting your comments using your full name and address.
This information was given to me by a couple of different people, some of it is backed up by documentation, some of it is not. So for now, let’s just say this is speculation, and leave it at that. You be the judge. It is not to hard to connect the dots.
NAMING RIGHTS OF THE EVENTS CENTER
Let’s talk about the naming rights issue, I have a feeling that this will boil over in the public forum soon enough. You know that $60,000 we spent on the naming rights consultation? That is only about the interior not the exterior. Darrin Smith has taken it upon himself to handle the naming of the building. Guess how that is working out? Let’s just say if the events center remains nameless, it will be no surprise. More to come . . .
(how much money is this dude costing us anyway?)
HOW CAN WE PAY FOR A NEW EVENTS CENTER?
This was often a topic. We were promised many different things; a temporary increase in sales taxes, a 25% kick-in from private business. In the end we bonded for it. But what if we had a private business offer to give us revenue to make the bond payments for us every year, and they didn’t want naming rights, just permission to set up shop in Sioux Falls? Sounds like a pretty good idea? Doesn’t it? They might even offer to help us book acts and conventions.
The rumor is the city did get this offer and the mayor refused to meet with them. It’s a little more complicated then that though, the business would have had to get permission from the state and governor also to set up shop in Sioux Falls. But refusing to even hear the proposal and NOT letting the citizens of SF to vote on it seems ludicrous to me.
WHAT IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET WARREN BUFFET?
Pretty easy question, isn’t it? Just as an average joe why would you turn down the opportunity to meet one of the greatest economic minds of our time? Even for 15 minutes over coffee and some biscotti?
Let’s turn it up a notch. What if you had a dilemma, like moving railroad tracks from the downtown of your city you are mayor of said city, and Warren just happened to own controlling stock in the RR you were trying to get moved? Would you meet with him then?
Well, rumor has it that was the proposal on the table to our mayor, and he didn’t seem to find the importance in such a meeting. I hope this was only a rumor.
Mike have you ever played the game of ‘Monopoly’? What properties do you want to buy first?
UPDATE
In my crazy frenzy to post about all this stuff, I forgot another tidbit of information that just happened to drip off my bucket hat in the rainstorm. The Sanford sports complex TIF. Apparently the TIF started out at $700,000 to help pay for the road to the complex. Sanford had a good gripe, why should they pay for a road that also goes to city facilities? Fair enough. So the original TIF was to pay for this road. Overnight it turned into $9 million dollars. (well, not overnight, just when Darrin and Mike took over) And if you ask the city what this money is for you probably will hear crickets. In fact, nobody knows what it is earmarked for. My guess is to pay for the entire complex.
BTW, I have one more rainstorm puddle I am going to post about, but it deserves it’s own post.