City Council Informational • 4 PM
Update on Fire training center and the transit core team.
City Council Regular Meeting • 7 PM
Item #6, Approval of Contracts. The EC is only a few years old and they are already planning a HVAC upgrade. This was one of my contentions when we were building the facility, if you go on the cheap on the front end, it will cost you millions in maintenance later. I believe the Pavilion was supposed to cost us around $19 million. With maintenance and upgrades over the past 20 years it has far exceeded $50 million. This is why we had to keep the entertainment tax.
Item #28, 2nd Reading, State Theatre funding (this is tied in with Item #35, resolution to authorize the contract. Basically the council approves the supplement in ordinance then they later approve the contract in resolution (I know, confusing) I have attached the contract. While the document is 110 pages long, the contract itself is about 11 pages. This will most likely pass 6-0 (Stehly and Soehl are expected to be absent). While I can see the payoff in tax revenue (eventually) I still take issue with where we are taking the money from and by the whims and demands of one man. It’s a piss poor way to govern a city, whether it is a $20 gift or $1.5 million dollar gift, the well to do of our town shouldn’t be able to put demands on citizens to gift money.
As you can see in the chart below, we will be paying for ‘specific’ things, and if I understand the contract correctly, we will be paying the contractor who does the work as it is completed. In other words, we are not handing the State Theatre Company directly. It is very similar to the Facade easement program (something PTH has eliminated).
Charter Revision Commission • 4 PM (Thur, July 18)
They will discuss council pay.
Events Center Campus Study Group, Public Input;
Wednesday, July 17th – 7am Upstairs Club Room, HyVee on Minnesota and 38th
Wednesday, July 17th – 6pm Falls West Room, Holiday Inn Sioux Falls-City Centre
Thursday, July 18th – 11:30am The Center for Active Generations
Thursday, July 18th – 6pm Rooms 8, 9 and 10, Sioux Falls Convention Center
If PTH eliminated the facade easement program, do we get our money back from Legacy for destroying our
Copper Lounge facade?
Who do Paul Tenhaken, the City Council and the Sioux Falls State Theatre Company think they are kidding? Certainly, not the public!
In true altruistic style they are offering free field trips (like most businesses) and a grand total of 1,000 free MATINEE passes Annually to underprivileged youth.
I guess none of them are aware there are over 12,000 kids in the SFSD who qualify for free and reduced lunches. Most of these kids come from families who do Not have the discretionary income to spend the 12 dollars a ticket that has been suggested.
Members of the Council and staff of the State Theatre repeatedly threw this phrase around at last Tuesday’s Council meeting……So, tell the public once again…
“Everyday for Everybody.”
Really.
In addition, I would strongly suggest Director of Finance, Shawn Pritchett, stick to what he knows…the numbers.
When giving his presentation to the Council, he decided to editorialize a bit. He actually ended up revealing how little he knows about the history of this community.
Quote (referencing the Washington Pavilion):
“I thought about how difficult that decision was for the City Council at the time to invest in the Washington Pavilion.”
FACT:
The decision to invest in the Washington Pavilion was NOT made by the City Council. It was decided by a Very Controversial Public Vote. Many voters who supported a new Convention Center did NOT support renovating the old Washington High School into the Pavilion, but they were forced to vote for it when it was attached to the Convention Center vote.
Quote:
“If you look at what has happened to downtown over the last 20 years, if there was one point that changed the trajectory of downtown it was the Washington Pavilion. It was a nuclear reaction that we are still benefiting from.”
Really, Director Pritchett.
I see that on the 30th, we can spend the noon hour with Congressman Dusty…. Well, I’ll tell ya, there’s nothing better than some nuance with ones salad.
“‘Extremely’ Stable Genius”
dusty johnson’s vote to abolish the Peace Corps needs to haunt him for the rest of his (hopefully, short-term) political career.
Especially, if he is arrogant enough to run for Mike Rounds U.S. Senate seat!
Dusty says “No” to the Peace Corps, but “Yes” to EB5: Why are we surprised? Dusty speaks of a generation of Republican political leaders are willing to have the world lead us instead of us leading the world.