According to councilor Stehly on FB and local media;
Happening Now: Metro 911 wants $9-11 Million for a new facility vs $6-8 Million to remodel. Unfortunately,the meeting was not recorded.
She also told me that she was chastised at the meeting by another city councilor for posting that information on FB. This was a public meeting, so I’m not sure why that was an issue? Oh, because without the media there they can try to keep people in the dark. I’m not sure why our public officials like secrecy so much. I have often argued that if you keep the public informed from the beginning they can never come back and say ‘You never told us about this.’ That is why the Bunker Ramp has been such a disaster, too many behind closed door deals.
My early opinion is this must happen. The recent tornado proved prime and secondary emergency services are needed and they must be significantly apart from each other. The new site would be in NW. Sioux Falls. The best way to implement new tech and hardware is an independent location while the present location functions normally. The original location remains in case the new location gets compromised.
Here’s the field goal: Doesn’t cost the public! Funds come from the line item taxes on your cell phone bill. The county has a window to use this. Otherwise, it goes somewhere else. Hence, it’s why there’s sneakiness. There’s no time for dissent. Major millions will be lost into oblivion.
Is it just me, or is there irony to be found, that in the same week “They” hold a secret meeting concerning Metro 911 and emergency management, that the city also decides for the first time in 48 years to not test the sirens on a monthly basis?
They claim that winter testing challenges the sirens. So, like most car collectors, who know what happens if you let a car sit for six months, they just expect them to all work in April, huh?
( and Woodstock adds: “Yah, but what if we have warm temperatures this March (You know, like what happens sometimes, if you have climate change), which invites early tornadac activity”… “Will the new ‘human error’ be admittedly the decision to not continually test them throughout the year?”…. #JustCurious ….)