Okay, so this is the whole press conference of the mayor on the RR relocation, but if you (FF: 44:00 – sorry for all the background noise, it settles down a bit) you will get to hear him brag it up with Stu about all the secret meetings.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j4FeKUwvqs[/youtube]
We’ll be giving more thoughts on this weird land deal in the near future, like when the city finally lets us see it. Here is the Presser given in Sioux Falls City Hall Commission Chamber on July 22, 2015. It was the usual speeching by a master speecher.
Have you heard the expression “hot mic”? Apparently some people don’t know much about it. In our latest video we are given inside scoops on city hall inside scoops from mmm and his press secretary.
If you are going to talk insider stuff, don’t do it next to a hot mic…
So what was the secret stuff here? Sounds like he was discussing this with a reporter, but I could not make out what the secret was.
Exactly! I think it is funny how he says to Stu, “Let me scoop you on this.” Everybody already knew about the plane trip and the meetings in the cities, but the mayor acts like he is giving Stu some kind of exclusive. At the end of the day, there was no ‘negotiations’. The RR asked for $27 million to close their Railcar parking lot, and they will still get to run the trains through the same area. What did we get? A gigantic bill and 10 acres of lead and petroleum soaked land. Big Whoop.
They actually came away with nothing with the RR at the meeting in MSP. And the RR was going to do nothing, not even move the switching area. It took lots more pull than the local politicians have to get this deal done. And I agree that paying $60/sq ft for development land is way to much.
There was never any way that all the tracks were going to be rerouted anyway. Those tracks that will be left are essential for manufacturing in the city and surrounding areas.
You are correct, the tracks can’t really move, and it hasn’t been a part of the plan for a long time. The issue I have is that some people seem to believe by cutting back to the two tracks that the train noise will disappear, if anything it will probably become more frequent. And who would want to build a ‘European Town Square’ next to these tracks? I think Jeff Cantspellhislast name has the best idea for the area, a parking lot.
Private developers would steer clear from the expense of an environmental cleanup. Not the city. They don’t have to pay taxes on commercial real estate. Nor do they have to produce a business plan. It’s tax payer dollars the city flushes like toilet paper. It’s slivers of land with easement, setback, and sideyard restrictions. There’s no practical use except for the outset rectangle portion next to 8th & Railroad Center. This parcel has potential but only after it’s cleaned of pollutants and quit claim deeded free to the mayor’s spouse.
Was nauseating to listen to HisManMike [TM] on Belfrage’s show this week.
But someone on HisManMike’s staff reads this blog. Heard during the show as HisManMike chronicled the perilous negotiations RE: relocation of the RR switching yards: “As I told Stu Whitney, literally under the cover of darkness …” If you’ve been busted on a hot mic, might as well be proud of it !
“Literally Under The Cover of Darkness” – a fitting metaphor for HisManMike’s methods. Likely the name of his autobiography.