Not only are taxpayers subsidizing the landscaping and spray park along the river for a privately developed hotel the developers got a TIF to boot. And who approved this project before it went on to the city council? The parks board of course in which the wife and co-owner of the development company building the hotel belongs as a board member.
But hey, there is no conflicts of interest here, move along, nothing to see.
I will go on the record and say that I am not opposed to an indoor public pool, a few years ago I would have said no way, but with the construction of the Sanford Sports Complex and with the SF School District paying out millions in salaries to ‘administrators’. I have no doubt the city is ready for such a facility, and the school district can afford to pony up (even though several private ones already exist that you can pay a fee to use, just like a public pool).
There are two things that I would like to see explored first before building an indoor public pool at Spellerberg;
1) A possible partnership with the Sanford Sports Complex and building the facility there attached to one of the other entities (Like the Pentagon or the Hockey facility).
2) A partnership with the School District to build an indoor pool at either one or all of the high schools.
Recently, all knowing, and all wise, city councilor Erpenbach said in an Argus Leader interview we couldn’t build at the high schools because of ‘liability issues’. You mean like the liability public schools have to risk with other sports like football, wrestling, basketball, volleyball and even cheerleading, because, you know, they are all less dangerous then swimming. Nice try Michelle, but I am not buying your excuse.
The facility could easily be split up during school hours so that city staff would monitor one side and the school district would monitor the other side. This isn’t rocket science and I’m sure former law partner with Davenport-Evans, Sue Simons, Vice-Super, could draw up a plan.
What concerns me even more is the vendetta the Argus Leader, or at least it’s publisher has with the Drake Springs outdoor pool advocates. Calling their petition drive and election a ‘fiasco’. So much for democracy and the fourth estate protecting that democracy.
All I have ever asked from elected officials is to be honest and to use common sense. The stand alone public pool at Spellerberg makes no sense, and our elected officials, and even our local newspaper are not being honest about the cost. Looks like another ‘fiasco’ will have to occur to put this on the right course.
The SOS story is the South Dakota version of a 37 state effort to control our elections. This linked national article is the crux of what we are trying to highlight in the ongoing Gant-Gate story. Jason Gant as SOS is the conduit to make the strategy happen. Moderate Republicans and the Democratic Party don’t want to understand or admit it is happening. Their cute Facebook and other social media games make it appear they are active. Their efforts are nothing more than busy work with no election day results. The GOP moderates and Dems in general will lose, because nothing beats the organized hard work of long-term finding of voters, getting out their vote and fighting every SOS rule proposed to be implemented.
The ownership of our person, property and our right to vote are at stake. Keep in mind these 3 combined strategies the corporatists are using to dominate and own us. Everything else done by the opponents of the GOP (Greedy Old People) is window dressing.
Strategies:
1. lie and make it appear that they support prosperity for all Americans
2. make appeals to racism and dividing the white working class (union vs. non-union)
3. suppressing the vote
As we have discussed, the efforts are so broad based everything must be challenged. In the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Fight everything, every day, in every way with everything in the arsenal of legal methods. The fight requires us the people to research everything, question everything, leave nothing to the better natures of ‘man’. The average person will only win by banding together as a movement to put the masters back into their place out of our lives.
UPDATE: Okay, sometimes Detroit gets it wrong. Sorry, I apologize to both candidates and the debate organizer. Apparently there is many conflicting schedules in the debates being proposed. Thanks for clarification from the debate organizer. I do stand by my words though about debating your opponent, and feel it is important. I also put this information out there for these reasons, to get the RIGHT story.
Otten and Schriever, Senate candidates for District 6
From a South DaCola foot soldier;
Lennox HS debate coach has been attempting to put together public debates between District 6 candidates. He has set them up as two sessions; one, between the four House candidates and the other, between the two Senate candidates. O
ne of the Senate candidates (Ernie Otten) is resisting this – wanting to have all 6 candidates at one time.The debate coordinator feels this would muddy the comparisons between candidates. ÂRumor has it Otten has also been using conflict with high school sports season as a reason to reject various dates.
So why doesn’t Otten want a one-on-one with Schriever? If I was Otten I would leap at the opportunity to challenge my opponent one-on-one. Not only would you get more time to argue your case, you can clearly set yourself a part from your opponent. I wonder what Rich thinks of the whole matter?
“They didn’t provide us calculators in journalism school. (Argus Leader media screenshot)”
I’m no math wizard myself, but if the Argue Endorser’s ED Board thinks we can build an indoor pool for $6 million, they need to go take some finance courses at Colorado Tech;
That makes the aquatics center project, which is listed as a $6.7 million facility on the mayor’s budget, logical.
Actually, that is a typo, it is listed at $7.3 million on the mayor’s budget, but let’s not get worried over semantics just aquatics.
The ‘Actual’ cost of the indoor pool at Spellerberg hasn’t even been released to the public, but if you take into account that the Drake Springs indoor pool was supposed to cost $12 million, inflation and the fact that the Spellerberg pool is larger and more complicated, your looking at about $20 million for the facility on the low end.
As for the neighborhood coming together;
This time, it is nice to see citizen leadership, a healthy exchange of ideas and the promise to continue to listen.
Well, that isn’t what DaCola has been hearing. There is already a strong opposition group, and if the council and mayor plan to shove this through, you may see another election, which AL’s Publisher calls ‘fiasco’s’ (Watch this interview with councilor Erpenbach in which Beck called citizens voting on an indoor facility a fiasco.)
But let’s move onto other recreational facilities in Sioux Falls.
Indoor tennis facility
Project details: Seven-court indoor facility at the Sanford Sports Complex, with the potential to expand to eight courts.
Total estimated cost: $3 million
Private fundraising: $750,000 so far. The chamber-approved fundraising campaign begins in April.
Public funding: The 2013 city capital improvement plan budget includes $500,000, pending City Council approval next month.
Talk about a blatant conflict of interest on the mayor’s part! His wife is the president of the SF Tennis Association! It would be like me asking for the city to fund a Boston Terrier dog park if I were mayor. What a bunch of hogwash.
Either you support this stuff or not, go vote at argusleader.com;
l3wis