Sioux Falls City Council Agenda • July 16, 2019

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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

Charter Revision Commission has first meeting of 2019

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Local Attorney, Justin Smith was elected chair, and no surprise. He ran the meeting with an iron fist and made sure everyone was following procedures and gave extensive commentary to why policy and procedures should be followed. This is no surprise, as I told someone after the meeting, Smith made sure that the CRC last time around put nothing on the ballot, he was afraid that if something got on the ballot it ‘might pass’. Like a typical attorney, it was clear to me from this first meeting that Smith was building the case early to keep stuff off the ballot that may benefit the public. I’m not saying he won’t approve some minor language changes, but those likely will come from the administration.

During the meeting, councilor Neitzert spoke and told them to take their time on the salary increases for mayor and council (as if he was appointed by the rest of the city council to speak on their behalf) Well, he kind of is the self-appointed leader of the RS5. I’ve noticed several councilors depend on Neitzert’s research so they can hobble through the meetings while watching baseball games and texting their plumber or babysitter.

Another gentleman spoke at the end during public input, having several requests. One was to have a super majority for bonding (which I agree with). Smith asked him what would that threshold be ($$$)? The person said they could discuss later. IMO, there is no ‘threshold’. If the city council has to approve borrowing money, whether that is $20 or $20 million, it should have a super majority.

New CRC member, Anne Hajek also asked the public inputer for their street address, which took him off guard. We haven’t been required for several years to give our street address only our name and city we reside. He gave it anyway, though he didn’t have to.

I have lost all hope the CRC will put anything on the ballot accept pissy-ass crap about minor word changes in the charter. The only way to make real change in this city is by carrying a petition, and this time make sure the city clerk looks at it.

Sioux Falls Charter Revision Commission meets next week

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This is their first meeting of 2019, so it is just preliminary meeting to go over the agenda for the year. There are some new members this year, but I don’t have much hope things will change since Justin Smith will still be on the Commission reminding the members that we can’t risk putting stuff on the ballot because ‘it could pass’.

The CRC’s job is to make sure something is LEGAL and REASONABLE within the law to put on the ballot when it comes to changes to the charter. Their job is NOT to make educated guesses on whether something will pass or not.

I have a feeling nothing will be put on the municipal ballot in 2020 that is brought forward by councilors or concerned citizens or groups through the CRC. But I guess we will have to wait and see.

Thank God we still have the petition process, the only logical way to get ordinances passed in this town anymore.

Charter Revision Commission finishes 2017 with no items on the ballot

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As I have mentioned already, I have been disappointed with the CRC this time around. They have chosen to put no proposed amendments on the ballot for the 2018 spring election. I really felt it was because of pressure and legal mumbo-jumbo from one particular member, Justin Smith, a local attorney who specializes in government relations.

I told them how I felt about their ‘pointless’ meetings during public input this afternoon and told them they wasted their time with these meetings and let down the voters of this city.

I think there was many great amendment proposals, but the CRC chickened out and didn’t think the public should decide. Democracy at it’s worst.