Sioux Falls Police buy E2’s for bike cops

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I saw the above bike DTSF this past weekend so I inquired about it from a city official. The city bought 2 but not sure what they paid (they retail on other sites for about $4K without all the whizz-bang cop extras). A bike in this class should run you about $2,500 without police sirens.

The bikes come in 750 or 1000 watt, the city chose the 750 which I would assume would give you a longer charge because you are using less power. I would have just went with the 1000 watt to have that extra power and bought backup batteries for the bikes so you have a spare charged, you can even rig bikes with dual batteries.

It is pretty obvious to me this company uses ‘bike cop’ mantra to sell these units, but they are really no different then a regular E2.

With all the sustainability boloney floating around you would have thought the city would have had a big presser about the bikes . . . oh that’s right, you look pretty foolish telling people they can’t ride their E2s on the trail when you are riding your E2 on the trail (for the record I have only seen the bike on the street).

UPDATE: City Hall launches ‘The Person Next Door’ initiative to find new management talent

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UPDATE: I was having a serious discussion today about this topic and one city official recommended to me that the council should pass an ordinance that requires ‘interim’ directors to be replaced within 6 months. I suggested we go a step further and require an ethics clause in their employment contracts that they have an outgoing interview with city council in executive session telling them exactly why they either were terminated by the mayor or decided to resign on their own. Taxpayers have invested millions in salaries and programming for these directors and at the very least they can tell us why decided the city of Sioux Falls was NOT the right fit for them. The public deserves the right to know why after a couple of years and this kind of investment they decided to leave. Of course we KNOW the short answer, but for once it would be nice to get the long answer . . . you know . . . that whole open government thingy the Sioux Falls City Hall seems to be immune to.

Some have been wondering if it is just pure coincidence or if city hall has been purposely hiring directors that are not qualified for the position, like the new health director coming from finance.

The administration has admitted they were slow to tell the public about the new initiative but they wanted to wait until they had more positions to announce;

The city is proud to announce that Todd T. Bradd, a former diesel mechanic, will be running the marketing and communications department for the city. Bradd said about the appointment, “I mean it’s one thing to keep a big rig running it can’t be too tough to keep a copier going.” When we inquired about his experience with press releases, etc., Bradd replied, “Not much, but I’m not sure there is anyone left in this town to send them to anyway. Do you have Tid-Bits email?”

Big changes are coming to the city dump. Retired part-time florist, Gladys Anderson-Johnson will be running the facility moving forward. Gladys remarked, “I just think the place could use some freshening up.” Anderson-Johnson says she has big plans to start a community garden, walking trails and eventually an indoor pool at the dump, “Since our current indoor pool is such a dump I figured why not just build an indoor pool at the dump and no one will notice. Who can beat an indoor pool heated by methane and wood chips!”

And just when you thought the changes were minimal comes Ms. Pessky. Ms. Patricia Pessky taught 5th grade social studies for 77 years in the school district now she will run the street department. Pessky gleefully exclaimed about her appointment, “I remember when it used to take 36 days to clean up after a snow event in Sioux Falls, of course, that was when the churches would gather up volunteers to scoop out the town and make it into a real Christian learning experience. I think that is what is missing in our street department, some good old fashioned Jesus. We were the original Jesus Snowplows!” Pessky proudly displays a bumpersticker on her Ford Focus that says; WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ 1ST AMENDMENT!

The Parks Department’s newest director may lack experience but her brilliant smile and go get em’ attitude will move the department in the right direction. Jordan Taylor-Hannah Spirit Smith will take the helm of one of the largest parks department in the country. Overwhelmed by the appointment all Smith had to say was, “I love flowers, especially when butterflies land on them.” Then she texted her manager at Starbucks her two week notice.

In their final announcement, big changes at the Public Works department, Cuddy McCalister, former volunteer honey-do-handyman for the widowers at his church will be offering his talents to run the city’s largest department. “You know, I retired in 87′ after a long career in pork bellies and lead paint awareness and I just thought it was time to give back, and they are paying me in kolaches and kuchen so not much different then my current employment.”

The South Dakota Border Iowa casino will be offering sports bets on how long these new directors last.

*Correction, Ms. Pessky taught for 87 years NOT 77. We apologize for the error.

THIS ARTICLE WAS SATIRE, OR WAS IT?

So this is what a $200K trip hazard looks like

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Almost a year ago I wrote about this expenditure;

Centralized Facilities Improvements – Milwaukee Depot Dock Renovation; To award a bid, 605 Companies, $202K

While I thought it was pretty expensive at the time, I assumed, it would be a solid aluminum deck for that kind of price tag. As I watched them work on the deck and landing this summer I noticed they dropped off 4″ thick cedar planks and I wondered how these would be implemented into the deck. They used it for the actual deck. When you have building materials like that they don’t really take on the shape you would like them to (did we learn anything from the Denty’s siding?) Also, Cedar takes on many shapes and forms as it weathers and if you think the gaps and lifts are bad now, give it a year.

I still don’t know how you can pay this kind of money for something and have this result. Maybe we should just pay the contractor a $1 and thank them for their humble service to the community. Some would ask how this passed inspection, oh never mind, city owned building.

City of Sioux Falls presents $16 Million dollar Bunkerland at the Falls without knowing the operating costs

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During the City Council informational meeting yesterday (FF: 46:00) Councilor Merkouris asked the finance director and the parks director what the operating costs would be for the new park. They said they wouldn’t know until 2025.

You are building a $16 million dollar facility and have NO idea what the operating costs will be?!

They played this same game with the Midco Aquatic Center which has become a bigger drain on subsidies every year and has never even come close to breaking even.

Before you purchase a home or car you know what your payments are and know what to expect for expenses, so why wouldn’t the city know what this place will need for operating costs?

Obviously a playground, splash park and dog park are NOT going to produce much revenue and any money made from user fees will easily be ate up with labor and other costs.

The councilors need to demand an operating figure before they vote to approve this, because refrigerating ice during a 60 degree winter is going to be spendy.

RIVER GREENWAY SHOULD BE CALLED THE RIVER GRAYWAY

There is nothing GREEN about our River Greenway! It often cracks me up when they call it this, all it is poured concrete with some crappy banners and goofy planter boxes. I have argued all along the River Greenway should just be a simple bike trail adorned with all kinds of native plants, that of course would save taxpayers millions in construction and maintenance costs and probably look a lot better. But I guess it is hard to attach a donor plaque to a daisy.