Is the Levitt banking on a parking ramp at Sioux Steel site?

l3wis

5 years ago

Someone forwarded this email to me today that was apparently sent to the city council last week AFTER the Levitt’s director gave a presentation to the city council at last Tuesday’s informational;

First Name	Nancy
Last Name	Halverson

Subject	Parking for Levitt at the Falls

Detail

Dear Council Members, During my presentation to the council on Tuesday, Councilor Stehly asked if I felt the 2700 identified free parking spaces were adequate for our expected attendance at Levitt at the Falls. As parking has been the primary concern I have heard from residents, I was hesitant to go too far in answering Ms Stehly in such a public forum. However, I am following up to voice my concern. This summer we are hosting 30 concerts, with an average expected attendance of 1500-3000 people per concert. I am concerned that parking will be an issue and see additional challenges as we grow to 50 concerts each summer beginning in the spring of 2020. I am working closely with Lloyd Companies and am delighted to know that they hope to add a parking facility within their new Sioux Steel Development. I hope that you will do what you can to lend your support to this much-needed facility to make our downtown more easily accessible to all. Thank you for your service to our community!

My first concern is that a director of a local non-profit that receives a ton of public funds doesn’t see the need to share this information at a public meeting, well at least she found it necessary to share it with them in an email.

Secondly, I don’t see 1,500-3000 people at these events. I wish it were true, but my guess is it will be closer to 300-500 people until people get a feel for what kind of concerts these are. I also don’t understand the cries for parking. There is plenty of parking, and I also think people can use resources like Lyft/Uber, the Trolley to shuttle them from central downtown or even better ride your bike or walk. Ironically, as someone pointed out to me the other day, the Walker parking study indicated that the best place to build a new parking ramp wasn’t at the current controversial site but in the spot just South of the Levitt where Raven is tearing down an old building. What a concept!

Lastly, I’m annoyed that the Sioux Steel development is using a Non-Profit to leverage for a TIF to build a parking ramp. I can hear the arguments already if the expected 3,000 a night don’t show, “People said they would come, but couldn’t find any parking.” Oh, poppycock. Isn’t it amazing that 40-50,000 people show up for parades downtown like Parade of Lights and St. Patty’s or the Sidewalk Arts Festival and find plenty of parking, but now all of sudden we can’t find parking for a couple thousand?

The fix is in folks.

This disappoints me even more since I am supportive of the Levitt and am excited about the first year’s lineup. Now I hear they are being used as a pawn in a multi-million dollar corporate welfare tax scheme. Doesn’t anyone in this town fight fair anymore?