A SouthDacola foot soldier sent me this picture they took at the Fleetwood Mac concert. I know it is hard to see but there is a gaping hole in the ceiling with insulation hanging out. They said there was also air blowing out of the hole and the insulation was flopping around. This is what you get when you build an events center on a budget.
Looks like we are trying to make something work after the fact. Should have been built Downtown.
No blame here on the TenHaken administration, they are just trying to polish a turd that the former Ram Rod Mayor plopped out.
That wasn’t all entirely true, Councilors Brekke and Starr brought a little reason to the sewer rate increase discussion tonight after Rick Kiley had a total meltdown when Stehly called him out about disparaging the work of staff. Which made it even more ironically funny, because all Kiley does is constantly compliment staff sometimes just for opening the toilet stall door. So when Theresa reminded him that staff helped her come up with her numbers, Ricky Lee went ballistic, twice. Memorable stuff.
Soehl suggested that she share her information in advance (you know, like the rest of the council does with Theresa and Pat . . . LOL!)
But let’s get to the serious stuff. Janet was smart to bring up the history of the 2nd penny and it’s use for infrastructure and Starr quoted Citizen Stanga wondering why so much of the 2nd penny goes towards ‘play things’.
Most people don’t realize, when you buy anything in this town, a portion goes towards paying down the bonds on the Denty from the 2nd penny. Whether you use the facility or not (in which you have to purchase a ticket) you still have to pay for it’s mortgage. You can always sit outside for free and admire the ‘interesting’ siding.
The council totally ignored the gorilla. While they argued up and down that sewer rates must rise to pay for upgrades because it is only fair to charge the user, they avoided the fact that the play palaces bonds in our town are not paid for by user fees, not one penny. Brekke and Starr came the closest to suggesting we have a long term strategic plan to look how we spend the 2nd penny (to which they got crickets). All they could focus on was that Stehly said $300.
If you want to have an honest and fair conversation about user fees and paying down bonds, as several councilors suggested, then we need to start talking about how the Denty is going to start paying it’s own bonds moving forward. I don’t think a person who can afford to pay $150 to see a Jackass in a cowboy hat would blink an eye at paying an extra $3-5 ticket fee for bonds. Heck, most wouldn’t even notice it after there $10 Coors Light and $8 dollar pretzel.
If the council thinks it is fair to raise rates to pay for sewer infrastructure then they need to also pass a city ordinance that attaches a bond repayment ticket fee to all the shows at the Denty. Otherwise they are just a bunch of hypocrites . . . wait?!
Another portion of the conversation that was left out tonight is the simple word ‘conservation’. Actually, Public Works Director Cotter was the ONLY one who brought it up, recognizing that the conservation programs he helped implement have reduced water usage. And you can’t argue with his numbers, they are astounding and measurable (bravo to Cotter). While he gave this ‘gentle hint’ to the council, no one decided to run with it. We could actually spend a lot less by implementing even stronger and more stringent water conversation programs which would decrease our sewer usage. Many have even suggested eliminating lawn watering by planting more draught resistant natural grasses instead of non-native ones.
Besides just considering the 2nd Penny, we have alternatives to save us money on these projects, but as Brekke has suggested since she ran for the office, it takes PLANNING!
UPDATE: It seems Jorgi at Stormy is a bit baffled by Terry’s disappearance;
The man in charge of the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center is no longer there. It’s a story that has a lot of people scratching their heads. It has a lot of people asking what happened to Terry Torkildson.
As I reported on Friday, it sounds like a lot of internal corporate crap. I do know that Torkildson is in shock. I also heard that it had to do with the lack of brown nosing skills Terry had compared to Chris Semrau. Let’s just say one of them was a lot better at smoozing then the other one. I guess that is why one of them was promoted and the other one was let go. Hopefully we will hear more in the coming week.
I’m hearing from several sources that the GM of the Denty was terminated. Not sure if that happened today? I also no few details as to why or if it really happened.
As you know, Torkildson has been with SMG for many years, and to be very clear, this would have been a decision by their corporate offices and NOT City Hall (I would assume).
It comes as a surprise really, because I felt Terry was doing a good job. He fought like a good soldier to get the Denty, and for attendance records it was doing well (even though SMG hasn’t paid a penny of the mortgage). He also was always up front with me and even pulled me aside a few times at council meetings to set me straight on details I blogged about, which I appreciate.
As you know, Terry was the one that told then councilor Rex Rolfing in a recorded council coffee meeting that the dented up siding on the Denty made it “Look interesting.” That still cracks me up.
With most things corporate America, I’m sure it has to do with internal garbage, and one has to wonder about this taking place so shortly after Chris Semrau left Sioux Falls to take on another position elsewhere with SMG? I have been told some reasons why it may have happened, but at this point I’m not going to speculate.
Remember former Mayor Bucktooth & Bowlcut’s mantra? Facilities/services should be paid for through user fees.
This has been the argument for raising sewer and water rates to pay the treatment plant bonds.
Yet, all of these facilities have NEVER been paid for through user fees;
Indoor Pool, Admin building, Huether Tennis Center and most famously the Denty.
The idea was certainly pitched that every ticket purchased at the Denty would have a fee attached to it to help pay down the $9 million a year mortgage. The former mayor responded something like this, “We will certainly look at it.”
While the Denty has done a good job covering operating expenses and management fees, it has contributed very little to capital improvement or paying the mortgage, both which come from the 2nd Penny (we all pay it when we purchase something in Sioux Falls).
A $5 ticket fee or more could easily be attached to the ticket price to help pay down the mortgage, other facilities across the nation do it, but SMG has said that artists and promoters set ticket prices and are opposed to it. Phooey!