It was unfortunate, as one commenter stated, that the mayor wasn’t in the chambers to hear it. The city had a presentation on the gutted sustainability program presented by a coordinator whose only experience in sustainability is with the city over the past year or so (she does have an environmental degree).
Before public input councilor Rich Merkouris asked the question, ‘How can we call this the city’s plan if the city council wasn’t involved with that plan? Help me understand that.’ They gave a non-germane answer.
But the public input was where the meeting really got interesting. From not upgrading the 2009 environmental building codes, to the mayor caught in his lies about collaboration and meetings to the basic tenants of open and transparent government. It was so fast and furious I could barely catch my breath just listening. Of course the Homebuilders Association is just fine with ‘leaving it up to the consumer’ and how well has that worked?
As I have told a couple of people on the steering committee, we must first have open government in Sioux Falls then we can tackle some of these bigger issues. We must first STOP this precedent of the mayor forcing his policies and ideas onto the public and council.
The funniest or should I say most troubling thing to come from this re-written program is that the mayor proposes we further study the issue right up until he walks out of office right after they break ground on the can kicking park.
Isn’t it fair to say that Merkouris is more of a wild card than we expected? He’s like a “conservative” justice appointed to the Court by a conservative president, who then goes Earl Warren or David Souter on us.
Per Google search:
In the strong-mayor and council form of Home Rule Charter, the mayor acts as real chief executive of the city or town, with the prerogative to veto actions of the council.
When the mayor doesn’t show, there’s no result. He can proceed without informing the council or citizens. It’s not about transparency when it’s subliminal.
Of course mayor selfie wasn’t there. He didn’t want to get his feelings hurt!
I’m sure the bike rack was full Tuesday night for this hypocrisy brigade
I’d like to see you place “changing building codes for climate change” on the ballot.
Your views are not main stream for this community or even this country for that matter.
It’s about time someone tells this minority special interest to pound sand.
Constitutionally, someone who pays attention has the right to listen and be heard. There’s no longer enough news from the $3.75 2 page newspaper or nationally oriented broadcast. What’s left is council meetings. Where did the bike and sand thing come from? Must be someone with bike tires flat on Election Day. They’re uninformed and not missed because their head has been in the sand.
I don’t go to council meetings because I moved outside city limits to escape harassment and could no longer accept city autocracy and socialism. However, I will always be a court witness against the city and assist when the right constitutional argument gets into State Supreme Court.
The Fed’s stopped Noem from bombing Mt. Rushmore. Is this the 3rd or 4th time?
Pounding sand will be all that will be left to do if we don’t address climate change soon. #TheMajorityIsNotAlwaysRight
Climate has always changed, why do you think we can have an effect on it? Because people keep screaming it at you? Will it be the ice age that was predicted and didn’t come true? Acid Rain? Oceans rising and flooding the coast, you know, where Obama bought his mansion. Did Al Gore tell you that while buzzing around the world on his private jet collecting $$$$ for appearances?