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.