South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Development

Amazon Developers Development Employment Foundation Park Sioux Falls

What are the Benefits of Amazon coming to Sioux Falls?

l3wis 13Comments

As we have known for several years, Amazon was looking to put a distribution site in our area, it was only a matter of time. We also know, like most businesses that move here, they want handouts, and if there is one thing we love in Sioux Falls and South Dakota is giving out massive amounts of corporate welfare. Flopdation Park has already received around $50 million for infrastructure from the taxpayers. Amazon has received a Federal Grant and now the SF Development Foundation pretty much wants an open ended TIF to attract more businesses. Their argument is always the same, growth for growth’s sake (which I have never understood, because growth only drives up the prices of affordable housing due to infrastructure and public education costs) and JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!

So let’s look at the kind of jobs Amazon supplies. Most workers will be pickers that make around $15 to start. So where will Amazon get these workers? I have argued that they will suck from other businesses in town that pay less (and there is quite a few of them) and once that bleeding is done, people will start moving here. I also believe many workers at Smithfield will try to move over to Amazon. So in essence, Amazon will not be depending solely on our current workforce, they will have to do a lot of transfers.

Another reason I think it will be hard for Amazon to fulfill their worker needs is because of a very difficult qualification process, like background checks, drug tests and physical fitness. It will also be interesting to hear what Amazon’s policy on marijuana use (outside of the work place) will be if it becomes legal in our state.

But all of those things aside I think there are a few benefits to bringing Amazon here. First off, they will support many other businesses in town, maybe even create some new ones. I also believe once they start stealing workers from local businesses, it may force some of them to raise their wages to keep people.

Amazon coming to town will have some benefits, but I often am confused by Sioux Falls’ mantra ‘Growth for Growth’s Sake’. Which just ends up costing taxpayers more in infrastructure and public safety and public education while the fat cats get their TIF’s, tax breaks and government grants. Let’s face it, Sioux Falls has just turned into a welfare state for the rich, which is no surprise when it is so cheap for them to buy the city council and mayor’s office.

Developers Development SF City Council Sioux Falls

City of Sioux Falls to give $350K interest free loan to developer

l3wis 7Comments

On the Sioux Falls city council agenda Tuesday night you will see a little tidbit in item #7, approval of contracts, sub-item #4;

Don’t be fooled by the title, this interest free loan is a pass through from the Feds for affordable housing to Lloyd Companies. I wonder if someone will ask exactly what the rents will be for this supposed affordable housing. Once again, developer welfare for a developer that doesn’t need it.

Just imagine if we gave interest free loans to people in the core of our city to help clean up their property? How far would this money go? Maybe we could clean up 50-100 properties with sidewalk repair, roof and siding repair, windows, landscaping? Let’s go even a step farther and give mini-TIFs to property owners in these affected neighborhoods in the form of property tax relief.

I truly believe the death of Tracy Saboe could have been avoided if we would have started cleaning up these neighborhoods over 12 years ago when first proposed by Mayor Munson. NOTHING has been done. So now crime increases while wealthy developers continue to cash in on projects that do nothing to prevent crime. But hey we have a $115 million dollar dented up events center (that sits empty while we pay a $10 million dollar a year mortgage on it). A $26 million dollar bunker ramp (that has yet to open) and a $20+ million dollar TIF to a project that is in flux while we go ahead with a $11 million dollar bond to build a greenway project around it (even with speculation if the project will ever happen). Why do we keep blowing the money on welfare for wealthy developers instead of helping hardworking Sioux Falls residents to clean up their properties and ultimately their neighborhoods? Because of the greedy fools we continue to elect.

So instead of using the money to clean up these existing neighborhoods we are using it to tear down a nature area and create more density where it is NOT needed.

You are going to see a lot of this over the next two years especially with a banker on the council and only two councilors left to ask the tough questions and a mayor who is more concerned about cashing in on his 5G investments(?) (That’s the rumor going around that our local media refuses to look into because the mayor has a tight grip you know where).

Developers Development Property Taxes Sioux Falls Taxes

How Strong Towns Principles Relate to Sioux Falls — Municipal Ponzi Scheme

l3wis 4Comments

I was sent this article, that I found very interesting relating to the urban sprawl of our city;

Since 2010 the City of Sioux Falls has annexed 3996 acres of land into the city. That is almost 400 acres per year. How much tax revenue did that additional property bring in? How much did it cost to annex those areas? How much will it cost to replace all the associated infrastructure when it needs replacement? The answers to those questions are hard to piece together (maybe a good use of tax dollars would be to hire a company specializing in this kind of data to pull it together for us). In the meantime, we have some anecdotal data to look at.

So Detroit is a cautionary tale for cities caught up in a municipal Ponzi scheme. Here in River City things look pretty good . Sales tax revenue is floating our boat right now. We have money in the budget. Marohn refers to this as the illusion of wealth. It looks like we have money but the residential developments on the edge of town — which don’t generate sales tax directly — are new and don’t require replacement. When that infrastructure requires replacement the property tax revenue collected in those areas probably isn’t going to be enough to pay for it. Other areas of the city that are generating revenue will have to subsidize those areas — until they can’t. It happens slowly then all at once. Welcome to Detroit.

Ironically, several years ago when I got into Strongtowns, one of the main reasons I was drawn to it’s message was what they were saying about Urban Sprawl. It soon will be very expensive to live in Sioux Falls, if we are not already there.

Corona Virus Developers Development Mayor TenHaken Sioux Falls Socialized Healthcare

Mayor TenHaken asking housing providers to embrace socialism

l3wis 18Comments

Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice sentiment on his official stationery, but there are a few issues with it. First off, while the bigger housing providers can probably float people for a few months, the little guys certainly cannot, and are in the same boat as the rest of us.

But what is even more glaring is the obvious hypocrisy. Isn’t it tragically funny how all these supposed free market conservatives are embracing socialism? Unlimited unemployment benefits, free virus testing and healthcare, deferred income taxes, deferred student loans, and sending checks to Americans (who might not even need them). Funny how socialism all of a sudden is the answer, while Dems vote for Biden over Sanders as the guy to beat Trump. What an incredible missed opportunity, TWICE! Sanders whole platform that NO ONE said he could accomplish as president is playing out before us in a matter of weeks! I watch this sometimes while imagining pig blood being splattered on me in the poor seats of the Globe Theatre.

The representation of private interests … abolishes all natural and spiritual distinctions by enthroning in their stead the immoral, irrational and soulless abstraction of a particular material object and a particular consciousness which is slavishly subordinated to this object.

Marx, On the Thefts of Wood, in Rheinische Zeitung (1842)

Like I said, I support helping my fellow brothers and sisters, but we would probably not be in this predicament if it weren’t for the greed of the few at the top. While the rich will argue they did not cause the virus or it’s spread, they are gravely mistaken. Global warming has caused disease and viruses to spread more rapidly. There is also the argument that by destroying the middle class (basically starting in 1980 by electing Ronald Reagan) most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and cannot weather an economic crisis with savings. It’s not the virus that will kill us, it’s greed folks.

Developers Development Sioux Falls

UPDATE II: What is happening at the School for the Deaf site?

l3wis 3Comments

UPDATE: I was told that the Ministry Center and Boys and Girls Club is still a go, but is taking longer than expected. There is also no word if the apartment complex will be built or planned. There is also some dual ownership of the property.

UPDATE II: I guess they are building some more apartments at the site, they bring it up in this Planning Preview. They are basically converting existing office space into apartments;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSQplTFZUvc

Previous Post;

First we heard a major church was moving there, than we heard it was going to be a ministry site. None of that panned out, and we have no idea why.

The latest rumor I have heard is that the developer that owns the site is now just converting into more apartments with a plan to build a larger apartment building on the old track field.

Not sure if any of that is true, but I would assume a plan like that would be for affordable housing units which of course come with tax credits, and potential TIFs. I’m also not sure if the City’s Planning Department is working with them on this project.

CHARGING FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS

I have been hearing from several people and from doing some online research that if you want to rent from this same company they have you fill out an application and do a credit and criminal background check. This of course is not unusual. What is strange is that they charge between $35-40 for this check that is non-refundable. It would be like being charged for an urinalysis while seeking new employment. Why would a company that is looking for potential clients want to charge you? It would be like paying a gate fee to get into the Mall. What makes this even more egregious is that it’s not like they are just a high-end condo renter, many of their units are for lower income folks, and on top of that this company has gotten millions of dollars (across the state and region) in taxpayer subsidies and tax credits. You would think they would just eat the cost? Yeah right.

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