I briefly spoke with Jodi about this new project a few weeks ago and got the impression she wanted to do something different our local magazines and local MSM was NOT doing, telling a story behind a story. Good Luck!
COVID TOURISM IS STILL ROARING
On Ms. Schwan’s other site she talks about Experience Sioux Falls and the continued ‘covid tourism’ in the middle of a pandemic;
“The website was built to be a part of a larger strategy that will complement the marketing campaigns we implement,†said Krista Orsack, director of marketing for Experience Sioux Falls. “It’s imperative that we stay up to date and continue evolving to consumer and industry expectations, especially as we recover from a tragic pandemic.â€
I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but ‘recovery’ is months away. While I agree we shouldn’t totally shutdown as a city to visitors and should be planning events after the pandemic has calmed down, I think the reason the pandemic has dragged on so long is because of the selfishness and impatience of the public wanting to get out and party. I think right now in Sioux Falls we should concentrate on keeping our workplaces and schools safe while vaccinating as many people as quickly as possible. Oh, and to all you mask deniers, isn’t it ironic that once Sioux Falls passed a mask mandate our infection rates have been dropping. Coincidence? I think not.
We will have plenty of time to party once we gain enough immunity. Chill the F’ck out!
During public input today at the Sioux Falls City Council informational meeting (FF: 1:39:00) I touched on the morality and ethics of tax incentives and rebates for citizens and local contractors and business owners opposed to International Companies. What I did not touch on is what this TIF is really about, a select group of investors making a buttload of money while using the city as collateral.
Before reading anymore, I encourage you to first watch the presentation of TIF 23 than consider what I think I saw;
• The real beneficiary of the TIF would be the Development Foundation, not the businesses coming in or the citizens of the city.
• Basically the DF is using the TIF as a slush fund (for about 15 years) to make the land more appealing by spending the money on upgrades and infrastructure instead of putting it back into the existing city infrastructure for street improvements, public education or judicial/public safety expenses. In other words they are robbing from the other governmental entities (that benefit us all with their services) to build an industrial park we never needed to begin with (seriously folks, it was much better as farmland).
• Do you think this slush fund will just sit in a metal box down at the executive offices of the Foundation? Nope, now we bring in the banksters and bond salesmen to get their cut while they use the city (taxpayers) as collateral if any of these deals fall thru.
I ask a simple question; If you had two choices as the Mayor and City Council where you could spend $94 million in tax incentives/rebates over the next 15 years? Would you . . .
• Spend it on upgrading existing infrastructure in our city which would improve neighborhoods, reduce crime, create much needed affordable housing, employ local contractors and enrich local small multi-housing property owners or would you . . .
• Spend it on building NEW infrastructure (that we will eventually have to maintain) that will house International and National businesses (which pay substandard wages and little in local taxes while shipping profits overseas) attracting more people to our city who will be looking for housing, public education and creating more social headaches.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an issue with attracting good employers to our city, but why do we always have to dangle the TIF carrot? If our economy was truly strong in Sioux Falls (I think a certain sector of it is) why would we have to offer property tax breaks? If a business truly has a good business model, they should have no problem paying for land upgrades, infrastructure upgrades, living wages and 100 percent of their property taxes on day one. Isn’t that what Free Enterprise and Capitalism is founded on? Not to sound like Ayn Rand, but Cheese & Rice!
But like I said, TIF 23 isn’t about investing in any of these things it is clearly about a handful of bloodsuckers who want to scrape up the fat drippings from the bottom of the broiler pan while our council and city administration is either too blind, too dumb* or too paid off to see it.
*During the Q & A session Councilor Marshall Selberg (who was actually awake for a meeting for once) asked if he could build a Burger King out there. Remember, Marshall is NOT a self-employed piano teacher, he has worked in commercial real estate for a very long time. After asking his question of the DF director, Bob responded, “It’s an industrial park, you can’t build a Burger King out there.” Think about that the next time you hire Marsh as your realtor. Whopper’s are on me!!!!
 Introduced by: The Committee on Appropriations at the request of the Department of the Military Catchlines are not law. (§ 2-16-13.1) Underscores indicate new language. Overstrikes indicate deleted language.Â
1 An Act to authorize the construction of a National Guard Readiness Center in Sioux 2 Falls, to make an appropriation therefor, and to declare an emergency. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA: 4 Section 1. The Department of the Military may contract for the planning, site preparation, 5 construction, furnishing, and equipping of the construction of a National Guard Readiness 6 Center, together with furnishings and equipment, including heating, air conditioning, 7 plumbing, water, sewer, electric facilities, sidewalks, parking, landscaping, architectural and 8 engineering services, and such other services or actions as may be required to accomplish 9 the project, for an estimated cost of twenty million dollars, subject to permitted adjustments 10 pursuant to section 3 of this Act. 11 Section 2. There is hereby appropriated from the general fund the sum of $500,000, and 12 the sum of $1,500,000 in federal fund expenditure authority to the Department of the Military, 13 for purposes of design and construction of a National Guard Readiness Center in Sioux Falls. 14 Section 3. The Department of the Military may adjust the cost estimates to reflect inflation 15 as measured by the Building Cost Index reported by the Engineering News Record, additional 16 expenditures required to comply with regulations adopted after the effective date of this Act, 17 or additional sums received pursuant to section 4 of this Act. However, any adjustments to 18 construction cost estimates for the project may not exceed one hundred twenty-five percent 19 of the estimated project construction cost stated in section 1 of this Act. 20 Section 4. In addition to the amounts appropriated in section 2 of this Act, the Department 21 of the Military may accept and expend for the purpose of this Act any funds obtained from 22 gifts, contributions, or any other source if the acceptance and expenditure is approved in 23 accordance with § 4-8B-10. 21.297.13 2 400 Catchlines are not law. (§ 2-16-13.1) Underscores indicate new language. Overstrikes indicate deleted language. 1 Section 5. The design and construction of this project shall be under the general charge and 2 supervision of the Department of the Military. The adjutant general of the Department of the 3 Military or the state engineer shall approve vouchers and the state auditor shall draw warrants 4 to pay expenditures authorized by this Act. 5 Section 6. Any amounts appropriated in this Act not lawfully expended or obligated shall 6 revert in accordance with the procedures prescribed in chapter 4-8. 7 Section 7. Whereas, this Act is necessary for the support of the state government and its 8 existing public institutions, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this Act shall be in 9 full force and effect from and after its passage and approval. Â
UPDATE:Â The rumor swirling around is that this TIF could have a value of over $91 million+ and a certain bank with a certain councilor working at this bank wants to finance projects at Flopdation Park with the caveat that this TIF can be used as collateral. So guess who is on the hook if the Development Foundation defaults . . . you guessed it. I’m hearing that many of the councilors are very uncomfortable with the TIF and they may have the 5 votes to kill it and send it back to the drawing table. Of course this is all speculation until we hear more tomorrow, stay tuned, they are going to have to clean out Carnegie with skid steers after this meeting.
To say I was a little disgusted when reading the agenda of the meeting is an understatement. Of course I knew this was coming;
• TIF 23 – Foundation Park North Update by Bob Mundt, President, Sioux Falls Development Foundation; and Jeff Eckhoff, Director of Planning and Development Services (No supporting documents in SIRE)
• Marion Road Improvements at Foundation Park by Mark Cotter, Director of Public Works (there are supporting documents and maps in SIRE)
The State, County and City has already given millions towards Foundation Park in infrastructure, and we are set to give more with the road improvements. I can’t imagine if we spent the same amount of money on our core, fixing up the infrastructure we already own?
But that is the least of our problems. The city is proposing for the first time an open-ended TIF. While I am opposed to millions in tax rebates to even local developers, I am even more weary of international companies that pay little to no Federal taxes and make billions paying less than a living wage. But what makes this TIF even more egregious is that it will give the Development Foundation carte blanche to have an open ended TIF that can use for however long they want to. One of the reasons the docs are not yet posted on SIRE is because this will be the largest scam in property taxes in the history of our city. Large corporations will come into Foundation Park, pay little in property taxes, little in Federal income taxes, pay low wages and send all the profits straight out of town while us worker bees pick up the slack in higher property taxes and infrastructure costs.
In other words, for the hardworking folks in Sioux Falls like you and me, IT’S A BAD DEAL!
Anybody promoting this on Tuesday and tells you this is a good thing for our community is FULL OF SH!T!
l3wis 
