October 2013

Does anyone get the feeling the city is being run like a subprime credit card company?

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So now the city is considering charging $25 to appeal a parking ticket, they already charge $50 to appeal a code enforcement violation and now, if you don’t scoop (their) sidewalk, they will not only charge you to have a contractor remove the snow they are also going to tack on an additional $100 fine (this has never been done in the past).
This goes back to something I have seen over the last couple of years at city hall; A move to increase user fees, fines and enterprise fees in order to have more money in the CIP for ‘other projects’ Like paying off a EC bond.
If I were running a for-profit business, this would be a nice little way to make extra money for my business, in the name of ‘service fees’. But should any of this surprise you? What was the name of that Credit Card that would have a $250 credit limit with $200 in fees on it when you received it . . . hmmm.

Talk about getting your ass handed to you (H/T – Craig)

Craig:Not that anyone reads things beyond the first page of this blog, but the Brandon bond vote failed horribly.  Those in support of the new park managed to collect less than 7% of the vote.  That’s right – over 93% of the voters voted against a 12.5MM park that would have added $300 in taxes per $100k of value.

Saw this one coming from eight miles away.  Just another example of how out of touch city leaders are from the citizens.”

BRANDON, SD – It’s back to the drawing board for Brandon’s City Council and its plans for a city park.

1,940 ballots cast Tuesday voted against plans for a $12-million renovation to Aspen Park.

134 voters were in favor of the proposal to updated the town’s pool and add softball and baseball fields.

If the bond had passed it would’ve added $300 in property taxes per $100,000 of value.

WOW! I knew this would probably fail, but the bigger failure is the proposed plan the Brandon city council came up with. It reminds me of when the SF city council approves of something and the public is strongly opposed, or vice versa, like snowgates. The Spring municipal election should be very telling of just how much the public agrees with their local government officials. Apparently in Brandon, they don’t have much confidence in their proposals.

Sioux Falls newest gigantic-triple-plex elementary school to be named after Super Homenn

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In an amazing, yet deserving move, the naming committee for the new school that will replace Mark Twain will be named after the presiding Super Homenn.

When one of the committee members was asked what the heck they were thinking by throwing out 200 suggestions and naming the school after a sitting super, she responded, “Thinking? Who needs to think when Homenn makes all the decisions for you? Besides, most of the suggestions (given to us from the super’s office) were for Homenn, or at least Homenn Like.”

While the over 200 suggestions that were presented to the committee were shredded, South DaCola, was able to dumpster dive into the instructional center’s recycling bin and hire an illegal immigrant to piece the paper shreds together (Thanks Sharif, hope you enjoy the McDoubles).

While Sharif wasn’t able to piece the entire list together, I did find a recurring theme within the first few pages;

Homenn Elementary

Oprah Winfrey Elementary

P. Homenn Elementary

Equal Pay Elementary

Pam H. Elementary

Anis Nin Elementary

P.H.d. Elementary

Mimi Van Doren Elementary (a very famous SD woman)

Well you get the picture, it looks like the committee had no choice but to name the school after Homenn. After all, it really was Homenn’s school to begin with. She recommended the consolidation of schools, hired a realtor to buy up houses in the area before the school board even approved the consolidation, had the School Board rubber stamp her recommendation (even though several parents objected) kept the naming committee she appointed secret, and shredded the over 200 suggestions that were made to the committee.

I feel good about the name change, after all, it’s about time we name a school after a living legend, rather than a dead one. Remember, Homenn has been a true rebel since her inception, first by breaking district rules by living out of the school district (because of her precious horses), denying sick kids a graduation ceremony, blaming the Shopping News for an anti-abortion ad in a sanctioned school directory that the communications director approved. Hiring two of her daughters to work at SE Tech, claiming it wasn’t nepotism because she isn’t the BOSS of SE, just the BOSS’s Boss of SE. She kept her contract a secret until state law made her reveal it, giving herself lavish benefits while denying raises to subs. I could go on and on about the other ‘infamous’ actions of Homenn, but I think the sub title underneath the actual signage at the school will say it all,  “Well behaved women rarely make history.” And you can bet a Susan B. Anthony coin the community will embrace this name to.

*This was satire. No Susan B. Anthony coins or horses were damaged during the writing of this article.

What’s going on at the Pavilion’s Visual Arts Center? Good Question.

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That was the response I basically got when I called the Box Office to ask what exhibits were going on at the VAC. If you go to the web page, they have 3 exhibits listed, two expired on October 6. If you click on upcoming exhibits they have two listed for January and February.

When I told the box office representative that nothing was listed on the website, she replies, “We have no information in our office either,” Then transferred me to the VAC, to which I talked to a person who told me they are setting up some big exhibit for this weekend.

Okay, no big deal we all get a little behind on things, but let’s review the big changes going on over at the Pavilion;

1) Development Director leaves without explanation

2) They add another CEO/President, so they have two now

3) The Visual Arts Center starts charging admission, because as they told us, they were going to bring in better art. We just are not going to tell the public or our box office employees what that art is. But thanks for the subsidy every year! Money well spent, just not on our website or IT services.