The message was and is simple. Don’t panic, keep your head about you. Show some leadership.
Don’t get this message wrong, the current health scare going around the world right now, is serious. Just like your kindergarten teachers stressed hygiene is important to stop the spread of any virus and especially the coronavirus now.
Does it rise to local and national declarations of possible martial law? In a word, No.
Does it rise to fearmongering? In a word, No.
Does it require leadership, planning, plans? Yes, Yes, Yes.
What did Sioux Falls get on March 12th, 2020? Only reactions we got was from the youth pastor’s sermon to the choir scrambling for something.
The Sioux Falls belated response to the novel coronavirus in our nation is seems to be turning into an Orwellian nightmare of central government edicts. Instead of reassuring the public before the mess hit our shores and our town, the public officials should have been preparing the public with proactive messaging. Our national leaders have decided to lock down our shores except to white English speaking visitors from the U.K.? How is this reassuring?
The last minute, rushed through open-ended Emergency declaration has no sunset built into it. It was so rushed, the city attorneys and the committee didn’t even check the get the date of the Sioux Falls Board of Health correct. It had to be corrected by a motion. We have seen so many contracts and official documents in the past, back-dated and postdated and never corrected, leaving some of us to wonder if they ever review their final work.
Heck, the sewer plant contract is so messed up we don’t even know what we are paying for it.
Cameraman Bruce tried to get information upon hearing of the meeting and there was no notice. It starts to make you wonder what else was happening behind the scenes. Do you realize during the 2019 tornado emergency, the administration never called an official emergency but still acted as if had been official? Our Charter has very specific processes for this and in 2019 it did not happen.
In the past, Cameraman Bruce has asked consistent questions concerning disaster and emergency planning. How often do we have actual public planning meetings and organized disaster practices. This goes back to the lackadaisical attitude REMSA, Metro Communications, emergency services and the other local governmental units have shown. If we had a repeat of the United 232 disaster in Sioux Falls, we would not have the ability to respond. Bruce was one of many Sioux Falls people who experienced the amazing response firsthand in Sioux City that saved many lives.
To illustrate how weak this committee response is was summed up when there was no point person publicly announced at the Emergency City Council meeting. What? It just shows how little was learned from last year’s 3 tornado event where the emergency sirens were forgotten to be turned on.
So we now have public buildings shut down for a period of time. Now that we have an official emergency, closing down city buildings releases the city and promoters from financial loses because of the hysteria. The actions of our ineffectual national government leadership is causing the economy to head into bear territory. Look at Minnesota Gov. Walz asking the legislature to set aside $1.2 billion surplus money to prepare for likely cash shortfalls. This is going to be a bumpy ride and all we have are public leaders who’s main job is to prepare for these emergencies doing nothing.
After Cameraman Bruce finished speaking during the public portion of the ram rodded ordinance process, the response from the usual rubber stampers on the dais was degrading comments, laughter and hoots. How is this respect for the public. How is that leadership? City “leaders†hiding their lack of answers behind degrading remarks, as the public was asking for leadership.