In April I told you about all the people leaving the administration over the past year. Well this shoe dropped today;
Dr. Charles Chima is out as Mayor Paul TenHaken’s top official in the Sioux Falls Public Health Department — two days shy of his second anniversary in the post, The Dakota Scout has confirmed.
While no reason yet has been given for his departure there have been rumors about the doctor and the mayor not seeing eye to eye on things.
Hopefully, for once, we will get his version of the departure. But like most directors that come from out-of-state he probably just left quietly in the night and never looked back.
A bit of a rant here; A city employee, any city employee, especially a director, has the obligation to be honest with the public. And if the administration or council is doing something they know is wrong or mis-guided, they have an obligation to tell the public.
I’m not holding my breath.
I GUESS COUNCILOR CURT SOEHL THINKS YOU CAN REMODEL A HOUSE IN 30 DAYS
Ironically, it has taken a guy 10 years to build a house that is still not finished! Curt is proposing we stick it to vacant property owners IMMEDIATELY (Item #17)!
(a) The owner of a vacant building shall pay an annual fee of $1,000 for the first year period
the building remains becomes a vacant building. If the property is located in a historic district
identified by the city of Sioux Falls, the owner shall pay an annual fee of $2,000 for the first year
period the building remains becomes a vacant building. Thereafter, if any property remains
vacant unoccupied, the subsequent annual fee shall increase by $1,000 increments each year.
(b) The first annual fee shall be paid not later than 30 days after the building becomes a
vacant building. Any subsequent annual fee shall be due upon renewal of the vacant building
registration. If the fee is not paid within 30 days of being due, the owner shall be in violation of
this subchapter.
(c) The fee shall be paid in full prior to the issuance of any building permits, with the
exception of a demolition permit.
While I support the vacant housing fees, especially for vacant properties that are not being refurbished, I’m not sure 30 days is enough time for a remodel job. In other words if you are renting a property and the tenants move out and you want to do some work to the place before re-renting it, you only have 30 days to get the permits and knock it out. I would suggest an amendment that clarifies if the house has permits pulled for a remodel they should have 6 months before registering the property. If a property owner is actively trying to keep up with maintenance on their homes by remodeling between renters, we should encourage it, not punish them.
Once again the council and administration are pulling rules from their butts without reason or explanation.