There were two revealing moments yesterday during the Sioux Falls city council informational meeting when council was questioning the siding review consultant.
Councilor Neitzert started asking some pretty (basic) questions and got some very frank answers. What I noticed was when the consultant answered two of these questions, he wasn’t nervous, but VERY confident in his response.
So what were they?
Neitzert asked if the siding was applied to the building according to specifications?
Consultant, “The siding was not installed according to specifications.”
(We have to remember that while MJ Dalsin was the contractor on the siding, they used a subcontractor that Mortenson recommended for the curved portion of the building, and were NOT the direct contractor installing the siding. That contractor is responsible for the buckling siding on the Pinnacle in Lincoln and the botched dome job on the Corn Palace they had to redo).
Neitzert then asked about the photos of the siding being installed, and asked the consultant if he thought it was visible the buckling was occurring during installation.
The consultant confirmed that it was apparent the siding was buckling during installation.
So where does this leave us? Right at the beginning; WHO AUTHORIZED THE FLAT PANELS?!
While councilor Stehly wants to hire outside legal counsel for an opinion about the legality of looking at the draft reports I think the council needs to pressure the mayor publicly for the documentation that has the signoff for the installation.
Let’s be realistic here, it was either the mayor or someone directly below him that authorized the installation, the public isn’t stupid. So please Mike, stop being a chickensh*t and fess up already – you ordered the Code Red.
For all of the passing the blame, consultants, and lawyers the siding could have been replaced by now. One thing for sure is the EC will always be known as ‘The Denty’.
Perhaps this summer, tornadic winds will hit WestSoo (The Entertainment District to some) causing the sliding issue to become moot?….. (But if this results in everything be coming flat in the “Distict,” then I wonder what kind of bent our City officials will try to put on all of it?…..(Sorry 😉 ))
Very interesting interview with Neitzert today on Patrick Lalley’s show.
I didn’t know this is NOT the siding that was first approved for the EC. It was a cost-cutting measure in order to shift money to improvements on the inside of the building. He said both the architect and the City would have had to sign-off on this. Why would Jeff Hazard agree to this?
anon – That’s because people in this town, especially business men feeding at the trough of city taxpayers are to chickenshit to stand up to the bully mayor.
And to tell you the truth I’m getting tired of everyone bitching about him and doing nothing about it. I just run a blog, I can’t do much, I have been very public about how he is a liar, the only other one in the media willing to call him out as a liar is Lalley. If people want things to change they need to stand up to MMM. And it needs to be very public.
There’s no policing Huether. Strong Mayor Charter makes him an absolute unchecked dictator. The Argus had to take the city to State Supreme Court. One cannot sue in Circuit Court per city ordinance. State court ruled there should be a study but there were no provisions for blame or court supervised correction. Denty will always be Denty until the sides fall off.
Were they not to blame, Huether and/or the architect would be anxious to point out the guilty party. Not doing so proves they’re responsible.
The other revealing info in Lalley’s interview was the siding that is on the EC is no longer made.
So, then what?
Siding to be replaced because present material is no longer manufactured. An escape clause for Huether? No more consultants paid tens of thousands so they say what they’re told to say?