You were probably asking the same question I was. Why on earth would Sioux Falls build a blast freeze refrigerate warehouse at Flopdation Park when our main industries are Banking and Healthcare?
Remember, we are spending over $50 million of Sioux Falls and South Dakota taxpayer’s money on infrastructure at Flopdation Park. Please tell me how a big refrigerator that may produce a handful of warehouse jobs is getting value for our expense?
Oh, and it gets better when you find out who might be using this big fridge.
Look no further than Iowa. I guess one of the nation’s largest ice cream makers has been facing a ‘space’ problem. So instead of building more warehouse space in their own state, taking on the capital expense and HIGH property taxes, why not ship it all to Sioux Falls and lease cheap space in South Dakota.
Once again we are a place to avoid taxes for the rich while spending the people’s meager tax funds.
The Iowan ice cream makers, the investors, the developers, the contractors and the bankers all cash in on the taxpayer’s investment, and what do we get? about 3 dozen warehouse jobs.
Sounds like a good trade off to me.
They get a hundred million dollar casino and we get a few jobs that cost us more in development cost. Huether business man at his finest.
Where do you get the $50 million figure for infrastructure from?
“The Iowan ice cream makers, the investors, the developers, the contractors and the bankers all cash in on the taxpayer’s investment, and what do we get? About three dozen warehouse jobs.”
50 million dollar infrastructure cost is very conservative. Sewer alone is checking in at over 38 million. 50 million might cover just the cost of water and sewer. Last year the PW director explained to taxpayers why water and sewer rates would be going up every year for the foreseeable future. Seems the second penny cannot keep up with infrastructure upgrades (playthings are more important than infrastructure), so they pass on those infrastructure costs to taxpayers. What Mark Cotter failed to tell us is the vast majority of those infrastructure costs are in getting water, sewer, electric, street and gutter to an outpost several miles away from existing taps.
So, is this how city expansion works? Leapfrog into the country and swallow up everything in it’s path and call it what it is? Imperialistic forced annexation.
Every project under Huether has had hidden if not underestimated cost. There’s also known but unreported cost. It’s devious and deceptive. Realize too these are promises made to attract new business. None of which are fully met. Once they’re here, they’re stuck until another city makes a better offer.
50 is a VERY conservative estimate….
Where is this $50 million figure coming from, and what does it include?
The state issued a press release in 2016 approving $9.287 in srf loans for Sioux Falls “for a new business park being developed in northwest Sioux Falls”. This is a far cry from $38 million. I found this information in less than 2 minutes on the DENR website. Where is the other $40.7 million coming from?
It is coming from increased water and sewer rates. Why? Because we’ve already spent 9 million on getting sewer to foundation, with another 39 million to come. Come On, look at the 5 year CIP. Or mark cotters presentation last april on the needed water and sewer rate increases. It’s all there.
This story from 2015 says $10.5 million
http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/city/joemetro/2015/08/19/utility-bill-expected-foundation-park/31997923/
“City councilors expect to spend about $10.5 million to extend water, sewer and roads to a proposed development park northwest of Sioux Falls.”
But I have heard those numbers go well over $75 million with completion of the park. The problem is, we don’t have the workers to fill those 1,300 jobs they expect to produce.
Not 39 million to come. 29 million to come. Anyway, a lot of millions, just for sewer.
Here is some more from the state;
https://harr-lemmecommercial.com/news-and-resources/mega-industrial-site-slated-for-sioux-falls
“The state is investing $11.5 million in REDI Fund and Future Fund money to help build Foundation Park, while the City of Sioux Falls is planning critical infrastructure to enhance the new megasite.”
We are up to $23 million, and we still haven’t broken ground on the first facility.
Ok…so you’re combining city, state, and private sector commitments.
It all sounds like a money shuffle to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSovZptgAvM
Back in April of 2016 mark cotter gave this sales pitch to the city of SF. It was a presentation explaining why water and sewer rates would need to keep going up each year for the next 5 years. If you go through it looking for the keyword “foundation” you will see that for water reclamation alone the city spent nearly 9 million for foundation park in 2016. It also shows an additional 29 million needed for water reclamation in the year 2020. This money was supposed to come from increased water bills. Now it appears it could have come from any number of places. Or another explanation is 38 million for sewer to a frontier outpost was all just BS to help prop up another round of water and sewer rate increases.
https://docs.siouxfalls.org/sirepub/mobilemtgviewer.aspx?meetid=2403&doctype=AGENDA#
https://docs.siouxfalls.org/sirepub/mobilemtgviewer.aspx?meetid=2403&doctype=AGENDA#
Come on, where the tens of millions come from is important, but not as important as those tens of millions being used as justification to raise water and sewer rates.