2020

My Hopes and Dreams for 2020

l3wis January 3, 2020 4Comments

• Sioux Falls Skatepark. Hopefully the organization raising funds for the park will make their final push in 2020 so we can see a new park at Nelson Park in 2021.

• Re-elect Sioux Falls City Councilors Theresa Stehly and Pat Starr. I know that Theresa and Pat really haven’t made formal announcements, but I have an inkling they will both run for re-election and crush it. I think it will be fun to watch the monied elite in town get their butts handed to them.

• Deny Sioux Steel TIF and start TIFs for private homeowners, small rentals and citizens. I agree that TIFs can work if you put them to work. The Sioux Steel TIF is nothing but corporate welfare that doesn’t help the general taxpayer one iota. It’s time to re-direct the program to the working middle class.

• Start a private Sioux Falls arts organization promoting local visual and musical art. Would I want to be a part of this? Sure, if someone asked, but I don’t have the gumption anymore to start such a thing. But I think it would be refreshing to have a citizen driven organization not tied to other public entities.

• Pass Hemp legislation and tell Noem to shove it!

• Pass nepotism legislation in the State House. I know, I am not going to hold my breath, but after several past and current governors have decided hiring their family members is a good practice, it’s time. 

• Eliminate half-penny sales tax and fund public education thru investment funds. I think the SD Legislature looks like enormous fools over the half-penny increase. We have been told several times that the education investment funds could supply the money we need to fund education. Let’s admit it, our governor and most legislators are public education haters, they did the increase to stick it to us for bitching about the teacher pay increase. While they call themselves loving X-tians, they are very vindictive. They don’t believe kids should get an education unless a bible is involved, even though they don’t understand the teachings of that book, or any book for that matter.

• NO fees for police service to non-profit events. While I will admit a small standardized fee would not be out of line, we all know this has to do with budgeting. The city could easily give our SFPD a decent raise and budget for these events. We could also fast track hiring more officers.

• Defeat Trump with a Sanders/Warren ticket. While my first choice is Warren, I think Bernie will win the nomination. I know that I have said Bloomberg in the past, but Sanders has so much solid support, I think he is unstoppable. I also think that Warren and him agree on so many issues that he will choose her as his running mate. Some think such a ‘Socialist’ ticket won’t win, but I think a majority of Americans who vote are seeing Trump for the crook he is, and now a possible war with Iran.

• Tear down Canaries stadium. This really should have been done years ago, but it has become a yoke around taxpayer’s necks. Bring on the bulldozers and sell the land to a private developer.

• Resolve the Bunker Ramp fiasco. This P.O.S. project continues to get worse by the day. It’s time the city council, mayor and legal department pull up their big boy pants and and fix it.

• Bring a major business to Sioux Falls, manufacturing, research, etc. We need to stop nickel and dime’n workers in Sioux Falls. We need to bring in a major employer who provides good wages, good benefits and on the job training.

• Fix the Whittier neighborhood transient issues. You know what I think, we need to move the Dudley House to a higher profile area, like closer to the law enforcement center and future triage center. But since that will not probably happen, we need to get a handle on it. It is spilling over in to other surrounding neighborhoods. I had two different transients sleeping in my neighborhood this summer a block from my house. I live about 8 blocks South of the Dudley house. I have lived in my house for about 20 years and this is the first time I have seen transients sleeping in my hood. I think that the SFPD has very low morale right now and is understaffed, this is NOT helping the situation.

• Explore a public ambulance and garbage service. I’m not saying we should implement it right away, but the city council should study the possibilities.

• Project TRIM eliminated and become a taxpayer service. There is NO reason why the city shouldn’t trim the trees they own in the boulevard.

• Fix flood control with better drainage planning. This can only occur when we stop paving our city like one gigantic parking lot.

• More walkable, bikable city. We have made some headway, but we need to get more aggressive. This summer, everyday for a week I rode my bike down the sidewalk on 41st street from Minnesota Ave to Louise because of bike trail flooding, it was horrific.

• Wage collusion ordinance. Require salary scale in ads, and a $11 an hour minimum wage in Sioux Falls, absent of an age cap. I know it is NOT a livable wage, but it’s still better than the state minimum wage of a little over $9 an hour.

Please add your wish list to the comments section, or just bitch about mine, which I expect.