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l3wis

Developers Development Downtown Sioux Falls Mayor TenHaken Planning Commission SF City Council Sioux Falls

More Backroom Shady deals from the TenHaken Administration and the spineless Sioux Falls City Council

l3wis 23Comments

While the city councilors did a lot of whining last night, all 8 of them voted for this deal;

The Sioux Falls City Council voted to discontinue parking at a downtown surface lot, as well as declare it surplus property — the first steps in a plan that could add a four-story building and 150 apartments to downtown Sioux Falls.


The pair of 8-0 votes were taken in relation to a 0.5 acre surface parking lot at 400 S. 1st Ave., one of two lots that have been up for sale since September 2020.


The project is not final, with Powers noting the resolutions passed by the council would enable the city to enter into negotiations on the sale of the lot, which was appraised last year at $502,000.


In an informational meeting earlier this year, Soehl had said he didn’t believe the lot could legally be declared surplus, and called the system of informing the council about submitted proposals “inadequate.”


Basically, as I predicted on Sunday (item #47), a backroom deal was concocted with the developer, which seems to be an odd coincidence considering Mayor TenHaken’s Chief of Shaft, Erica Beck, was a former executive with the company and the developer has continued to receive tax incentives, TIFs, land discounts and other goodies from this administration and council.


Just look at the appraisal price. It is laughable considering that an unblighted lot, on prime downtown property with plenty of access to sewer, water, gas and electrical would only be worth $500K. That lot should go for at least 4 times that amount. I would be curious who appraised this lot and how many appraisals were done? Good luck with that request.


While the City Council wrings their hands about how this deal is being done, they voted for it and refuse to remedy the issue. Oh that’s right, because most of their butts are owned by the banksters, bondsters and developers in town, and they know it. This also should NOT have been voted on as a resolution as ‘surplus’ after a deal was already done with a developer without a proper RFP process. The lot should have been voted on as surplus before ANY developer put in a bid. A little game of the cart before the horse. There should have also been a recommendation to only allow workforce housing be sold at the location. Instead, it appears these will be higher rents. The inept council has had ZERO control of this process from the beginning, but golly gee they sure let the city staff have it by voting 8-0 to approve 🙁


The WAR on transparency and open government continues and the rubberstamp council just plays along while ‘pretending’ they are concerned.

SF City Council Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion Zoo

When is the Washington Pavilion going to present the 2019 & 2020 Annual Report to the Sioux Falls City Council?

l3wis 3Comments

The last report to show up on the Pavilion’s site is 2018. If you do a search of city council informational meetings you are unable to find the last time the Pavilion has presented an annual report to the City Council. I guess I’m curious why the 2019 and 2020 annual reports are missing? The Great Plains Zoo will be presenting their annual report to the Parks Board on Wednesday (no supporting docs).

I would also like to see what the financials are for the Levitt from this past season (we may not see those until next spring).

I am often curious how organizations that receive millions in tax dollars to subsidize and provide maintenance to their facilities can just skirt providing financial reports to the citizens or don’t even post them online to at least view. This is what happens when you have a city ran by a cruise control mayor who hates open and transparent government, or maybe he just doesn’t understand it?

CHIEF CULTURAL OFFICER RESIGNS?

In more cruise control government ineptness, the rumor is that the Chief Cultural Officer that the Mayor so desperately needed has resigned and leaving the city this week. If true, I find the timing ironic considering several councilors have asked publicly at meetings when they will get a review about what she has contributed to the city since her position was created. I guess the best way to get out of giving a report is to quit. LOL.

SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Council Agenda, MONDAY Oct 18, 2021

l3wis 8Comments

As you can see the City Council will meet on Monday instead of Tuesday this week. Have no idea why, because, as you know, this council and administration are not real big on transparency.

At the informational meeting they will discuss the September financials and a sewer study (which means spending more money 🙁 and a fun filled executive session. Is it just me, or does this administration have an unusual amount of these? Oh, right, the secrecy and corruption thing again.

At the regular city council meeting, it is pretty sleepy except for item #6, Approval of Contracts, Sub-item #9; Engagement Agreement to Provide Legal Services as Plaintiff’s Counsel, Woods Fuller Shultz & Smith P.C., $20K. Could we be more vague? It seems this administration is getting sued quite a bit. Who is the ‘Plaintiff’? Is it a city employee? An elected official? Shall we play Bingo to figure it out?

Item #31, 1st Reading, addresses the Historic Neighborhood vote the Planning Commission decided to throw into the consent agenda and have a zero discussion about.

Item #43, 1st Reading, raises the vacant building fee from $200 per year to $1,000 per year. I fully support this. I have a property owner in my neighborhood who has had 3 vacant houses and several other commercial buildings for several years (10 years? 15th and Cliff). They have now become a dumping ground for his junk vehicles, tractors, trailers and whatever other crap he can throw there. I have pressured the city numerous times to at least get him to clean up the property and rent out the houses with NO avail. But as I have said in the past, it isn’t happening on White Church Lane, so it doesn’t matter.

Items #45-46, resolutions, more (Covid) money to welfare queens, Lewis & Clark. Once these guys see a government tap of money, they come a running, and now strangely, the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, City Council is authorizing monies from the State of Iowa. Did GOP chair, Iowa Dan Lederman have something to do with this?

Item #47, As we all know, the city plans to sell the parking lot directly South of the downtown Ace Hardware to Lloyd properties to build an apartment building. I may be wrong about the developer, but this sh!t show has been in the works for so long, if they sold it to someone else I would be totally shocked. This, of course, is what happens when you have a former executive from the company working as the mayor’s chief of shaft. It will be curious what kind of ‘deal’ they receive for the property and other tax incentive goodies for building an apartment building in the heart of downtown.

Item #48 is curious since there is NO attached documents telling us what this surplus property is. Shady I tell yah, very Shady!

Art Denny Sanford Premier Center Downtown Sioux Falls Event Center Music Sioux Falls

Concert Cancellation could be a lesson in Economic Impact

l3wis 7Comments

While I understand peeps frustration in Stapleton cancelling his show last night (he really could have done it earlier in the day) I really think this could be a lesson in local economic impact. As we know, the Denty hasn’t really helped the economy in Sioux Falls that much, in fact it is a drain of over $10 million a year to taxpayers, money that could be spent on needed infrastructure instead. As I have said before, besides the little bit of tax revenue we draw from the place each year, almost 100% of the money that is spent at the facility goes straight down the highway. The promoters, management companies (beverage and food included) and the artists get the lion’s share and take it straight out of town. Very little gets recirculated in the community.

But last night, I saw something amazing in DTSF. The streets were filled with flannel wearing, boot scootin’ concert goers that were stuck in town for the night without a show to go to. They were spending the money they intended to throw away at the Denty in our town at local businesses instead of to a corporate giant.

It would be interesting to see what the sales tax boost to the city was from last night.

One of the main reasons I opposed the Denty, wasn’t because of the price tag, it was because it would not benefit local business. When people are dropping $400 per person in one night (tickets, beverages, taxi, hotel, etc.) basically in one place, they have blown their entertainment budget for several months and not spending it locally.

I remember a time around 10-15 years ago when you had oodles of options to see live music and entertainment at a host of different venues. And not just local yocals but National and Regional acts. The money spent got recirculated in our community.

Let us learn from this incident.

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