Horror Hospital I guess I would have sprung for the less expensive terra cotta planters. (On sale now at LEWIS DRUG!)
Sioux Falls favorite bitcher (yeah, I don’t have the title quite yet) is bitching again about something that isn’t tickling his balls quite right. But his complaint isn’t about the cost of the planters to the taxpayers (which is F’ing outrageous) it is how they look.
Sixty-two round concrete planters are some of the last pieces of the puzzle to complete the Phillips Avenue project. At $800 a piece
the planters cost almost $50,000. The concrete spheres are meant to bring some beauty to the curbside, but when it comes to the new planters beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
You could have bought terra cotta planters at about $50 bucks a pop, filled them with gravel and soil and they would have served the same purpose. What have I said about city hall’s Cadillac tastes?
But Tiny Brain Timmy doesn’t care about that;
Tim Kant, owns Stogeez, and two other businesses downtown and doesn’t like the new additions to the area.
“The people that we have talked to, it’s almost unanimous that they don’t like them,” Kant said.
Tim, Tim, Tim. Will you stop frowning for about 2 seconds? We all know why you don’t like them. Not only do they remind of that bad ass bead experience you had in college, they most likely block more seating at your patio ‘lounge’. Just admit it. You could put out an extra 6-10 tables if they were not there.
But what is more concerning is what the city thinks is appropriate amount to spend on planters;
Public Works Director Mark Cotter says that when city took a public survey, planters were number two on the list for the Phillips Avenue project.
Yes, I’m sure that is true, Mark. But $800 for a planter?! C’mon! What a waste.
King Krybaby Kant.
The Duke of Douche.
Prince Phillip(s).
How many extra seats did Doucheez acquire in the Phillips Ave renovation? We all know that is what this is about, potential seating.
Gawd, I really don’t like that guy.
Knowing him he will devise a way to put tables over the top of the planters.
It’s natural for any bar owner to want to put some more butts in chairs, but I agree with you guys this is kinda fuct with what they are spending.
I guess if was me, I’d have put out my budget number of $50K and gotten a few more options for planter designs/placement/styles and went with the most bang for the buck.
Hey Sy…. STFUhhhhh Hey wait a minute…..
Did you just agree with us? WTF? No fair.. I don’t have a comeback when you do that… Say something stupid.. quick! before I lose my will to snark.. oh.. too late.
“I guess if was me,”
That’s just it Sy, it’s not THEIR money, so they don’t care what they spend.
I’m still trying to figure out how you can charge $800 for $20 of molded cement?
Labor. Also, because it’s in the budget.
I like them based solely on the fact that the Duke of Douche doesn’t.
The question I want answered is will they stop a H2?
Yeah, because it takes $780 to pay someone to fill a mold.
Union labor… plus benefits.
My bad, it’s justifiable then.
i love, love, LOVE the new planters. they look fantastic! $800 each is kind of crazy, but i am happy to help out with my tax dollars for a cool-ass looking downtown.
Oh, I think they look cool too. I think once the plants grow over the sides they will look better.
What I can’t figure out is, if a client was buying that many, you would think they would have gotten a discount or something. I just think it is a bit ridiculous to charge that much for $20 worth of molded cement.
Now I have to go down there and find out what they planted. Hopefully perennials.
For that money, you’d think they’d have a plumbing system and a line into the sewer for double duty. (he said “duty” heh he heh)
That way no matter how bad it ever gets, we’ll always have a pot to piss in.
I was going to ask you, Sy. Does your business give a discount based on volume? You would think if the city of sioux falls was ordering 60+ of these, we would get a discount?
I think it is outrageous that they spent that much money on a bunch of planters, for plants that will have to be watered regularly, which in turn will cost more money. The city fathers really have to control their impulses.
l3wis,
Of course, we’d always take a hack at a multi-unit order, especially in today’s climate.
But, if I sent out a quote for one, and they simply came back and ordered 60, I’d prolly take it, again especially in today’s climate.
the cost of molded cement is a lot higher than you would expect. Call an expert to pour a few steps and you will pay much more than you could imagine. that’s why my steps have ‘decorative color’, as it was cheaper than pouring new ones.
I was wondering where DL was getting the $20 figure?
AG- Out of my ass. I guess I would have to know the square footage and volume of the planters to give a better number. But I can tell you this, buying cement on a volume basis can be pretty inexpensive.
Hos- There is a difference between building custom footings for steps and pouring cement into a mold. My grandfather made cement lawn ornaments as a hobby. He used molds. It is very easy to do. Besides making sure there is very few airbubbles and grinding down the mold seam, it doesn’t take much to make a molded piece of cement.
The city got ripped off.
“The city got ripped off.”
I think you’re going to need to prove it. $800 seems like a lot, but using your grandpa’s hobby as a source isn’t convincing me. These aren’t lawn ornaments.
Do we know where they were made/shipped from? Was it a local company? (doubt it)
Word is that Tim Kant, actually ended up losing outdoor seating space even though they had told him he would be gaining. My guess wold be that is where the sour grapes are coming from.
AG- I guessed that Gage brothers probably made them, but I may be wrong. I betcha I could email the planning office and get the info. Maybe you should, they won’t give me the time of day.
Don’t think so, L3w. Gage usually doesn’t mess with stuff like that.
Are you certain they are poured concrete and not actual terracotta/clay?
Concrete would definately hold up better in this climate, but I don’ think they’d look nearly as nice.
Also, (dumb question I know) is the pot in the pic above the actual ones on Phillips?
Not Gage. More likely Peterson Mfg in Denison IA. Sioux Falls gets lots of their concrete preform stuff from there. I called, and she couldn’t find that particular order readily, so I let her off the hook and just asked if they offer discounts for large orders, and she said “absolutely”. A 36″W x 30″T ROUND concrete planter is $468… making $800 for a similarly sized yet more complex SPHERICAL mold seem a little on the high end.. but not by much, especially after freight costs.
Good work detective AG.
I do think that shipping wouldn’t run you more then $1500-$3000. I used to have to get shipping quotes where I worked before. The shipping is an additional charge. The dissapointing part about it is what you said. They could have bought a less expensive kind, and better yet, bought it locally.
Yes, they are definately cement Sy. I used the picture of the terra cotta as a sample of what they could have gotten instead. I do agree, I like Terra Cotta better, but I think they went with cement because of weight and barrier reasons.
OIC, I may have to run downtown around cocktail hour and take a peek at these so I know WTF I’m talking about/paying for.
Maybe I’ll roll into Stogeez, grab a cold one, and rip a SBD fart in there in your honor.
Hold the phone, I think I may have stumbled on a new idea. How about you use your bully pulpit here to inspire your flock to do the same. You could come up with a nice T-shirt design that says “I ripped one at Stogeez” on the front and “If you can read this, it probably reeks really bad” in smaller font on the back.
You get a couple dozen people to go in there a day and before too long one of two things will happen:
1. The “in crowd” will soon find a less putrid environment, while Kant spends a small fortune to figure out where the mystery sewer leak is eminating from.
2. Enough methane will accumulate that the next short dicked, hilfiger wearin’, brownie hound, wife beatin’, hi fivin’, chronic masturbatin’, wanna be CEO who fires up a $30 Puente will solve your problem for you in a rather explosive fashion.
Even if number 2 (heh heh) doesn’t happen, it would still be worth it. A true, SDCola Ass Roots movement, if you will.
I like the chemical warfare idea… would this be taking it too far, legally speaking?
I think so, and of course the spent cartridge(s) would be traceable evidence.
I’d personally rather see them chasing farts, much harder to quanitify unless they can produce the skid marked undies of the perpetrator(s).
Of course, we could all work around that by going commando.
All this talk of commandos and chemical weapons… homeland security is watching us!
So what do you guys think of the soap bandits?
I think it’s funny as hell.. as long as it isn’t doing actual damage to the fountains.
They should throw some in at the top of Falls Park, that water could use a little cleaning.
Although.. if the suds are running down into the storm sewers, isn’t that poluting?
I think most detergents are biodegradable now. Not sure what crime you could charge them with, besides trespassing.
I sure miss disinform and getting blamed for all of his stuff.