State of the City Address (Online only) • Tuesday May 26, 1 PM
Some on the council are questioning why this is only online. Just two hours after the address there will be a PUBLIC meeting at Carnegie. Heck even last Thursday the council candidate forums were open to the public. Once again, I’m pointing out the hypocrisy of our mayor who seems to be hunkered down while the rest of us are working and getting on with our lives. Heck, I even sat on a patio yesterday and had a beer and a bite to eat at one of our fine downtown eating establishments. If I could ever accuse Mayor ‘COG’ of one thing, it is how inconsistent he is on his decision making process. But this is something we should expect from a guy who wears a suit and tie when Denny’s checkbook is out and trucker hat when talking to constituents about a pandemic.
Special City Council Meeting • Tuesday May 26, 3 PM
More inconsistencies, while it is true the 4th council meeting of the month is usually considered ‘special’ what is not special about it is it should be held at it’s regular time of 7 PM. This administration has done these meetings at many different times, 10:30 AM, 2 PM, 3 PM, 4 PM, 5 PM and 6 PM. This is a backdoor way of preventing the public from showing up to testify. Even if you don’t have to work at these times, will you even know the meeting is being held? It reminds of the transit task force and their eventual plan. Nobody knows what it is, because it keeps changing. Heck, we don’t even know if it is moving forward. During a crisis, there are very simple, common sense rules all elected leaders should follow, the easiest one is consistency, this city government (not just the mayor) has failed miserably at consistency.
Also notice in this meeting, the general public input at the beginning of the meeting has been eliminated. This is not a violation of law, because they are still having public input during the items, but proves once again how much this administration HATES transparency and open government.
Item #4, 2nd Reading: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SIOUX FALLS, SD, REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 47-20 ADOPTING THE SIOUX FALLS BOARD OF HEALTH BUSINESS REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) DATED MAY 1, 2020.
So this is interesting, on one hand, they are passing an ORDINANCE (a city law) to lift the restrictions then pass a resolution (a suggestion with no legal teeth) telling people to be safe;
Item #5, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SIOUX FALLS, SD, ENCOURAGING THE PEOPLE OF SIOUX FALLS TO BE DILIGENT IN THEIR ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOR TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS THAT CAUSES COVID-19 AND TO PROTECT VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
• Wash hands often;
• Take precautions every day to keep space between others (stay a minimum of 6 feet away, which is about two arm lengths);
• Keep away from people who are sick;
• Maintain an adequate supply of essential items;
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched services;
• Avoid all cruise travel and non-essential travel; and
• Call a health care professional with questions about underlying medical condition, COVID-19, or if you are sick.
Only this administration and city council would pass a law lifting restrictions why telling everyone (nicely) to restrict themselves – all in the same meeting. I know, weird.
I’m still waiting for them to pass an ordinance that requires all administrative and manager staff with the city to go back to the office.
A bunker with an unnecessary ramp. Two bridges on 26th, that don’t match. Sirens don’t work. But some do. the JazzFest, maybe next year. The Levitt, hopefully next year. Restrictions ended. But be careful. Health care integral to economic development. Alcohol integral to downtown development. Dillard’s, yet? Chick-fil-A a hope. Mall closed. Tie. No tie. AirPods. No AirPods. Shaved. Unshaven. Heels with tennis runners. A “Fargo movie” was once made about Sioux Falls. It was called: ‘Dazed and Confused’
Okay, even I’m ‘Dazed and Confused’ now. The mayor didn’t want stricter restrictions recently because potential hospitalizations didn’t warrant it and new cases shouldn’t be the determining factor, when deciding if greater restrictions are needed. But now, a decline in cases is being used to get rid of restrictions, while hospitalizations are going up #WhatGivesHere? #WhoseOnFirst?
#WhatsOnSecond? #DataDrivenMyAss #KillingGrandma
( and Woodstock adds: “Maybe the truth is found in the moment, except life has many moments last I checked”..)
Life and business should go on despite the virus. People have learned they should wear a mask and observe social distancing. Not always the case but spread will be less. There’s no proven vaccine yet but there’s treatment that often works. State of the city is bad. It was not good before the virus and Teehaken’s term due to Huether’s bleeding city credit worthiness. Since the virus, budget revenue from sales tax is not there. I doubt bond payments can be made. Ongoing, leadership is important. I’d like to see the mayor negotiate with creditors yet keep infrastructure serviced. I would respect him for handling business in this environment. Huether, the business man, was a carnival barker. All we have from him is sideshows you see yet recognize as totally fake. He wasn’t worth a dark tent with pickle jars of pasted together unsubstantiated plasma.
The city mentions three models concerning hospitalizations to either justify or not justify the removal of the restrictions which the city has just removed, but if the recent restrictions were working wouldn’t they be responsible for the lower hospitalizations and by removing them wouldn’t we be letting the cows out of the barn? Or, were the restrictions not working, or relevant, to the restrictions, which would mean the hospitalization numbers aren’t relevant now, either, in removing the final restrictions, and that it is actually an issue of cases and not hospitalizations, which would mean the mayor was right before he was wrong and the governor was always wrong?
This pandemic doublespeak can only be justified if you are worried about the economy more than Grandma, but without Grandma, who will care for your children as you go back to work finally, spot you a fifty when needed, or cook you a chicken that Chick-fil-A could never match after you realize that you maxed out your credit card thanks to DoorDash?
“or relevant, to the hospitalizations,”….
Any one who wants a test can get a test.Right 34,000 may have had the virus thanks Mayor.