Proverbs 21:13Â Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.
Psalm 106:3Â Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
At the last minute, I decided to show up to this meeting. It was a packed house and held in the room where the men normally sleep.
I chose two biblical verses to start out this post, one about helping the less fortunate and one about fairness, because they both apply.
Did I go into the meeting with an open mind? That’s hard to say, but I left with some clarity.
The meeting started with the director, Chad Campbell explaining all the good things the house has done since it has opened in January. And those accomplishments took him almost 40 minutes to lay out, and they are great.
As the public began to ask questions, the lights went out (power outage) but the meeting continued. Several people commented on the great things they are doing, and several neighbors commented on improvements that could be made.
I commented that there is NO DOUBT the facility is needed, and doing good things. But I questioned the process in which the location was selected. Mr. Campbell did a fantastic job of explaining all the other services in the area as for picking the location, as did City Councilor Kenny Anderson. But I was disappointed that Mr. Campbell commented that those decisions were made before he came aboard. While that is true, I suggest that Chad studies those discussions and educates himself in what happened in the past. They will be very useful to him in the future. History teaches us to not repeat mistakes . . . most of the time.
I also commented that many who were in the room tonight, including staff, would probably be uncomfortable having this shelter in their neighborhood, I even suggested having it next to the Bishop’s home. I mentioned that I watched the Safe Home discussions very closely, and felt that it’s location choice was well thought out, and that has proven to be so.
Remember, my main reason to comment tonight was not about the mission of the house, but the process that was performed to pick the location.
It’s no different then the Hotel sized home being built in McKennan Park, or the Walmart in the SON neighborhood. Neighbors and citizens must be listened to when zoning decisions are made. Period. It is beginning to sound like a broken record and a dysfunctional turn table.
I personally believe in the long run, the house will actually improve the neighborhood, but I will also warn people, it’s going to be a rough first year, including this summer.
At the end of the day, we need to use this house as an example of how feelings and relationships get burnt when we don’t listen to all sides. That is why I spoke up tonight. The downtrodden and the property owner all breath and share the same air, we are all brothers and sisters.
BTW, would like to commend all the Police Officers, including Mr. Larson for attending tonight. Would also like to thank local leaders and lawmakers Kenny Anderson, Michelle Erpenbach, Darrin Smith and Pat Kirshman for attending tonight, and anyone I might have missed. True leadership comes from courage and the willingness to listen and participate in a community discussion.
So in other words your were and after the fact rabble-rouser and brought nothing to the discussion but you told them so. It’s always about you isn’t it.
Did you read my post? It is about EVERYONE in this neighborhood, not just the charity but the ones who built it.
A good article Scott. Thanks for attending the meeting and reporting on it.
BTW Kirschman is the only State Representative to attend a Minnehaha County budget meeting.
It is once again interesting a person who was not at this meeting or any other meeting comes on here bitching about something anyone else does to get answers. Proper questions were asked again by L3wis and neighbors Monday night not to stir up the crowd but to get answers to the promises made before this building was started.
LJL and others, if you have any answers, why don’t you ever show up at these meetings and join in? Some seem to be continually upset with L3wis and make comments here when you should actually be attending the meetings to help find solutions. If you show up and join in, things could start to change.
Before it happened and then once the decision was made to place another social service in a neighborhood long ignored or beat up by the city government there should have been a better plan to help this area. All the other social service groups should join together in an alliance to improve their image and accept their responsibility to their residential neighborhood.
On a side note, the police promising to start a neighborhood walk beat program is probably the best P.R. thing I’ve heard in ages. There will be less fear of residents and police once they get to know each other.
Rule of law, not rule of neighbor, or rule of mob.
What I took from the post is that we all should really check with you before anything is built in this town.
Isn’t it a sign from God that the lights went out???? The mission shall continue.
It’s probably not those who get in the facility at nite. It’s the ones who don’t get in. Build some more. Van eps park would be a good location better yet build some lofts for them and watch the council and mmm use shape places to discriminate and purge even a larger radius around DT. Even TOE must have bothered some of the lofters.
On the front door of the Bishop Dudley House hangs a list of those who are PERMANENTLY barred from the facility.
How does this jive with Catholic doctrine and how Matt Althoff, spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese, waxed eloquently about how they would turn no one away (of course, this was before the project was built).
Maybe the Roman Catholic Diocese would have had a more realistic view of who they would be serving if they had had a few conversations with the Salvation Army.
A rabble rouser is when you show up at a meeting and continue with a debate thats long been dead. The building is there and operations are running so what is the point of continuing the it’s in the wrong place BS.
Here is my original posts on this. http://www.southdacola.com/blog/2015/03/residents-of-whittier-neighborhood-warned-of-the-problems/#comments
So what did you bring to the table to help the debate Scott? Altho I have contributed to the BDH I don’t live in the neighborhood either, so what should I have to do with this debate either.
I think it’s great that your connected and report on these issues Scott. And have thanked you and have congratulated you for a job well done several times for providing good information. But you had no business injecting your thoughts into this subject at that meeting. Your comments were simply salt in the wound after the battle.
It’s built, operating and not moving. So if your input doesn’t improve the problem, just STF up and listen.
Chill! This is something oriented toward the downtrodden and less privileged. I’m impressed there were so many usually harsh people there who came back into humanity. Also, I regret I missed the warmth of helping and realization. Gawd, Erpenbach was there. I’ve never wanted to be in the same room with her. I’m reconsidering. There’s heart when (politics aside) people come together personally and compassionately.
There was nothing said or done by L3wis or the neighbors Monday night. There was a great dialogue of concerns and praise. What was missing was you and many more from Sioux Falls who are afraid of seeing what is actually happening in the hidden and ignored Sioux Falls.
Comment #5 FTW. If zoning regulations say it’s a permissible use, then it’s a permissible use. If neighbors don’t like it, tough beans. There’s no discussion to be had. Property rights are not and should never be subject to the capricious and arbitrary feelings of those next door, or across the street. If they don’t like the regulations, work to change the regulations. But the regulations need to be consistent. That predictability is to the benefit of all citizens. And if there’s one thing that’s rarely consistent and rarely transparent, it’s the conditional use process.
My family has volunteered our time to help with the homeless and needy many time, but you can keep on pretending to be the only one who cares.
Be careful on that pedestal whoever you are.