While Paul was still in his garage polishing his medals and ‘other stuff’ I have been following this POS project from the beginning, so it surprised me when he flat out lied about his position;
“Obviously, you know, it’s no surprise that that project hasn’t gone like anybody would’ve like to seen it gone, myself included,†Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said. “But, it was here when I took office, trying to do the best we can with it and move it forward. I’m confident that soon we’ll see some progress happening there.â€
To Paul’s credit, he was NOT involved with the ground breaking or taking out the bond, BUT, the project was in stand still when he rolled into office, and he could have stopped it. We would have had to pay a small fine for returning the bond, somewhere around $1 million, but we would have saved taxpayers around $26 million in a project that should have never happened and he could blame Mayor Bucktooth and Bowlcut for the fiasco. Instead he accepted a bar napkin credit validation from the developer and moved forward. To say the Bunker Ramp was completed when he took office is a flat out lie. Of course, I don’t blame Paul for his normal ‘you betcha’ moment, but a cruise control media for not challenging him on that lie.
I remember when Bucktooth and Bowlcut was walking out the door, it seemed the last 100 days of his administration we were reminded of all the ‘S**T’ he got accomplished (not my words, his). But only a little over 2 years later, let’s look at those supposed accomplishments;
Railroad Redevelopment. While this hasn’t totally flopped (there are a few projects and apartments being built in the area, after developer friendly deals were cut at taxpayer expense) The major developments flopped due to issues with engineering and bedrock. I actually don’t see this development ever coming to fruition for at least 20 years. It was touted as his greatest accomplishment but really was just a massive waste of Federal tax money that never solved the rail traffic issues downtown. They continue to store rail cars downtown less than a few blocks away. And to add insult to injury, we are spending millions for an overpass on 26th street so the trains can continue to march through downtown.
Events Center. Besides the possible impending doom if Mr. S gets brought up on criminal charges, the Denty has been nothing but a complete failure only 5 short years after it opened. Not just the major screw job on the cheap siding and many other issues with the building, sponsorships have continued to fall and attendance is at near zilch. And that’s not just because of Covid. Last year several businesses in the area complained that there was little activity at the place. Besides the rusted up tin can looking like a total waste, taxpayers are stuck with propping up this place with around a $10 million dollar a year mortgage payment while a majority of the profits go straight out of town. We didn’t need a new Events Center, and I think citizens will come to that realization within the next few years.
City Administration Building. Besides the fact we didn’t need this place, it has had issues from day one. The HVAC that clearly got screwed up by the CMAR had to be replaced at taxpayer’s expense, with still no word from the city attorney’s office if we will get reimbursed (likely not). When we decided to gift the other city building for the TRIAGE center, it proved that we didn’t really need another city office building. This was just another developer handout because of some backdoor promises MMM made .
Indoor Aquatic Center. I haven’t been in the place since it opened, but what I have been hearing from peeps in the neighborhood, it is turning into a real wasteland. There has been issues with the windows, leaks in the pool and extensive rusting. And that’s just the little things. There has also been multiple complaints about customer service and the horrible locker rooms. Attendance was also down before COVID hit and our subsidies grow every year. Now I wasn’t opposed to an indoor public pool, but I think we should have done it with a partnership with Sanford Sports Complex and built the pool out there. So not a total failure, but wrong place and wrong deal. I suspect it will become VA property within 10 years.
Bunker Ramp. This is the disaster that keeps giving. After MMM & Mini-Mike Darrin Smith screwed up the initial development, they marched forward with the guys that were associated with the Copper Lounge collapse LLC debacle. Even though many in the public and in the developer world told them it was a bad idea to get involved with these folks, a majority of the council pushed forward. Then when Mayor Stoneless rolled in, he also passed on the opportunity to kill it (contrary to what many believe, Paul and the council could have stopped the project and paid a bond funding fine, which could have been around $1 million, but saving us about $25 million). Not only did the past mayor and council fail to stop one of the biggest dupes on the public, the current administration continues to bungle with this project. Recently they decided to sell two flat surface parking lots (I’m guessing to push those parking tenants to the ramps). The worst part is that neither the current mayor or past mayor and councils apologized for this massive f’up. That  building will always be a stark final reminder of MMM’s legacy of a multitude of failures.
He did have one success during his administration. He supported and endorsed Snowgates, even though he could not get it passed through the idiots on the council at the time. It took a petition drive by Stehly to get this service. So in a sense, he failed at snowgates also.
When I hear rumors about a possible run for mayor again in 2022, I look at the above screwups and wonder how he even thinks he has a snowball chance in Hell of ever serving in public office again? If I was MMM, I would just plan on spending more time at my trailer house in Wessington Springs.
I won’t give Mayor Stoneless all the credit on this one, this actually started with Mayor Bucktooth and Bowlcut. I noticed in the last few years of his administration and into TenHaken’s there really hasn’t been a strong effort to plow the side streets during the winter, which turns them into icy ruts. After Paul’s church volunteer tornado cleanup effort, I’m getting the feeling more and more he is more concerned about developer handouts and less on citizen services. We pay taxes for a reason, to keep our infrastructure maintained. It will be interesting to see how he reacts this year, but if it is anything like the end of last winter, we are going to be driving on some pretty crappy ice covered streets.
This question has come up a lot with me from foot soldiers and political friends.
I try not to think about it too much, because I am so glad he is no longer in leadership, but I will try to break this down. I think the positives would outweigh the negatives;
POSITIVES
• Hardworker. I could never argue with the fact that B&B was a 24/7 employee. I guarantee he would have not taken off a single weekend until we got through this crisis and would have worked at it every day putting in long hours.
• B&B was not afraid to make hard decisions, right or wrong. He was pretty resolute when he made a decision and would not backdown from it, even if it was tragically wrong.
• He would follow expert’s plans and emergency management manuals. B&B knew he wasn’t an expert about a lot of things and would rely on the knowledge of others to implement the best plan. Of course, he would still take credit for it. He leaned on his directors a lot during a crisis, we saw this with the ice storm. This is what leaders do. Lincoln was a great example of this. B&B was no Lincoln though.
• He would find a way to balance business and government. In other words he would have not taken a heavy hand, but would have been strong about getting businesses to do preventive things. I also think he would have acted much, much earlier.
• He would have put city employees to work, helping business to secure safety by redirecting them to do other job duties. B&B would have never let a single city employee slouch during this unless they had underlying health conditions.
• B&B was not afraid to take legal risks. He did this during the entire 8 years he was mayor. Laws? We don’t need no stinking laws. He certainly would not have been a wilting flower when it comes to our Governor and her box of rocks for a brain.
NEGATIVES
• B&B would have taken advantage of the situation for business opportunities for himself and friends. We would have never heard about it because those plans would have taken place behind closed doors. City councilor Brekke said it best recently, ‘During a time of crisis there will be Heros and there will be Scoundrels.’ He would have worn both badges – proudly.
• He would have used the crisis to promote himself. We saw this during ‘Operation Timberstrike’.
• B&B would have used the opportunity to use his authoritarian powers under home rule charter to the fullest extent.
• He would not have bothered to consult the majority of the council to get buy in. He would have garnered the four votes he needed and steamrolled the rest of them.
• He would use the opportunity to bilk taxpayers more in the future with hidden and not so apparent tax and fee increases and unnecessary bonding.
• Lastly, he would have used the crisis to be even less transparent and lie to the public about what is going on behind the scenes to put a ‘positive’ spin on the situation.
But I will be honest with you, during this time of crisis if I had a choice between the last guy or the current guy, I would pick the last one.
How truly sad is our options?
What I want to know is why PTH doesn’t know the age of two of his three kids? So odd.
l3wis