September 2016

City Administration Building Sioux Falls Stop the Funding

UPDATE 2: on Stop the Funding court filing

l3wis September 8, 2016 2Comments

I hope to have more details about the actual filing this afternoon, I know some of the details, but will wait until I see the actual documents;

Citizens for Integrity will continue its challenge of a new Sioux Falls administration building in court.

Bruce Danielson says he and former councilman Kermit Staggers are challenging the city after it rejected petition signatures to put funding of the planned building to a public vote.

Here is the court filing;Â stopthefunding-court

Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether Rex Rolfing SF City Council Sioux Falls US Postal Service

Sioux Falls City Councilor Rolfing goes on junket to support the F-35 lemon

l3wis September 8, 2016 15Comments

I don’t support the F-35 project, not because I don’t want our air base to do well, it’s because the old F-16’s we currently have already fly circles around the Lemon the US military has been ‘developing’ called the F-35. Many military experts have contended that they pretty much tried to pack 2 pounds of sh*t into a 1 pound bag while developing the F-35. They want it to dogfight, be a harrier and drop big bombs. It can’t do all three. Don’t believe me, google the project and read all the pros and cons, not to mention it is a gigantic waste of money.

Either way, speaking of wasting taxpayer money, RolfingÂ recently told the press that spending $72K on a special election for an administration building is a waste, I agree. Where we don’t agree is that he thinks flying to DC to hand deliver a letter (from our prestigious mayor) to our Washington delegation (who already support the F-35 coming to Sioux Falls) is a great expenditure of tax payer money. Apparently Rex and Mike have never heard of the US Postal service, a FAX machine or an email;

Mayor Huether sent a letter to Senators John Thune and Mike Rounds and Congresswoman Kristi Noem, that highlighted the history of 114th Fighter Wing and pledges Sioux Falls’ unwavering support to ensure the city is a selected basing site for the F-35.

Sioux Falls City Council chair Rex Rolfing and Community Development Director Daren Ketchum hand-delivered the letters to Thune, Rounds and Noem.

When you refer to a government trip as a ‘junket’ it usually means it is an unneeded trip. I wonder if he also attended any music award shows while in DC?

Whether you support the F-35 (you shouldn’t) or not, there is absolutely NO reason we needed to send our Council Chair and Community Development Director to hand deliver letters. The next time Huether or Rolfing want to spout off about being prudent and saving tax dollars, I will gladly point to this ludicrous trip (and that worthless Tennis Center).

Denny Sanford Premier Center Event Center Sioux Falls

Events Center settlement used to buy more beer coolers

l3wis September 8, 2016 3Comments

How is that for transparency folks?

We are not allowed to know the details of the siding settlement on the events center, and the money isn’t being used to fix the dented up, rippling, rusting, Swiss cheese siding, but hey, we are going to be able to sell more beer;

To remedy what Stoner called operational inefficiencies, SMG, the management company that operates the event center, and Spectra have been given the all clear by the city to use some of the $2.8 million left over from the construction budget to add up to 1,200 square feet of the storage space in various areas throughout the facility. The kitchen will also see about 1,900 square feet of additional space as a part of the planned upgrades.

Although he said there’s no estimated constructions costs that can be shared yet, Huber said it’s unlikely the work will eat up all of the $2.8 million â€œDay 2â€ funds, which include the $1 million settlement the city was reimbursed by event center contractors last year.

So, let’s review. We failed to build enough cooler space to begin with, so we are going to use money (that we already borrowed) that was given â€˜back’ to us (on paper) in a siding settlement to build more cold storage space, at tax payer expense, (for a vendor that is rolling in the dough already in beer sales).

So why isn’t the city getting a cut of these beer sales to help offset the mortgage payment? Oh, that’s right, it’s a secret.

Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

Is it time to change the parking structure of Downtown Sioux Falls?

l3wis September 8, 2016 3Comments

When I travel, I try to make it to downtowns to see how their parking is setup for visitors. This is what I found on my last trip.

In Rapid City, they allow 3 hours free parking on their main street. I talked to downtown gallery owner Joe Lowe about it (we mostly talked politics :)Â and he said that they do monitor it, and you can move your car after 3 hours if you want more time.

In Deadwood I walked from my hotel, but it seemed there was plenty of public parking available for free in flat lots.

In Cody, WY I didn’t see a time limit on the main drag (Sheridan Ave?) and NO parking meters.

In Fort Collins there was 2 hours free parking in the Downtown area, plus 2 hour free flat lots.

While downtown Sioux Falls does allow free parking on Main Avenue, Phillips Avenue does charge on the meters from 9-5, weekdays. I have often argued if we want even more activity downtown we should remove the parking meters on Phillips Avenue from 14^th to 6^th Street, leave them everywhere else, and still charge for the ramps. I think the Phillips Avenue parking should be a 2 hour time limit, and monitored.

We consistently hear that since the parking system is an enterprise fund, we need the revenue to support it. I think with the possibility of a new ramp, and all the other ramps available and side street meters we could easily afford to give FREE parking on Phillips to visitors. The economic boost would be worth it. I would even implore we charge additional property taxes to Phillips Avenue businesses to offset the meter loss.

I am just baffled how I can visit four other Midwestern communities who have figured out free parking for their visitors, but for some reason this boomtown can’t.

Art Photography

Roadtrip!

l3wis September 7, 2016 2Comments

I decided for some reason a 2,000 mile road trip was a good idea. I hit the Black Hills, Devil’s Tower (a must see) and Yellowstone (2 days) and finished in the Midwest’s capital of beer (Ft. Collins) before heading home. I am relaxed and ready to get back at it. I recommend to anyone spending 6 days by yourself, it will set your mind free.

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