South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

SF City Council

County Commission Developers Development Minnehaha County SF City Council Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly

VILE comments about Councilor Stehly on FB

l3wis 9Comments

During the joint Minnehaha County/Sioux Falls City Council Meeting yesterday, Councilor Stehly suggested that we need more mobile home parks in Sioux Falls. I have heard Stehly talk about this in the past. What she is essentially saying is we need to promote more affordable housing solutions for people in Sioux Falls. Whether that is mobile homes, tiny homes, smaller manufactured homes, etc. A new, modest family home in Sioux Falls will run you well over $250K. Other affordable pre-owned housing will run you around $150K, but those houses are few and far between in Sioux Falls. One reason is we allow the major developers and hospitals run the planning department. They admitted to it when I attended the Citizen Planning Academy a few years ago when an attendee asked why Sanford Hospital is allowed to tear up these affordable neighborhoods, the answer was it came down to ‘money’. They have a lot of it, so they get to do what they want to. Many people are being ‘priced out’ of housing in Sioux Falls, and all Stehly was asking for is options.

That didn’t stop this frequent commenter and A-Rod on Pitty Patt’s blog to comment on FB that suggesting more mobile homes or other affordable housing is ‘Stupid’. I just want to tell ‘Troy’ that the only thing that is ‘stupid’ is the greed of people like him. I can tell you why contractors are not building affordable housing in Sioux Falls – there’s no excessive profit in it.

Speaking of ‘Dead Jensen’ (My new nickname for him) his all knowing treasurer, Paulson, sent out this fundraising email the other day;

Good afternoon –

Over the last couple of years, I’ve become increasingly interested in local political issues. Your local city and county governments have a significantly higher influence on your day-to-day life than your state or federal government. They maintain infrastructure, build public amenities such as parks and bike trails and foster future economic development. Because of the role local government plays in our lives, I think it’s incredibly important to have a solid mayor, city council and county commissioners. 

This election cycle, I am backing candidates in Sioux Falls that will support future growth in the city, work collaboratively with stakeholders across government and private industry and put the best interests of the community first. Specifically, I have agreed to serve as the campaign treasurer for Alex Jensen who is running for the At Large position (currently held by Theresa Stehly) in next Spring’s city council election.

Alex is one of the most positive, sharp and community-minded people I know and he will be a fantastic addition to the city council. He and his wife Nikki just welcomed a son (Jack) into the world. Alex works as a business banker for First Premier and has volunteered with the YMCA, Junior Achievement, the Home Builders Association of the Sioux Empire and Faith Lutheran Church. He previously served in the state legislature where he voted to increase teacher pay, provide property tax relief and implement a new roads and infrastructure plan. 

There aren’t many politicians I get excited about, but Alex is one of the good ones. Alex hopes to reach every voter in Sioux Falls with his “positive and proven” message. I plan to give my all over the next five months to help get him elected and hope that you will consider helping too. 

Thank you for your consideration. 

Matthew Paulson

I think it will be funny if ‘Dead Jensen’ raises and spends $100K+ and Stehly decides NOT to run. It will show that apparently it costs $100K in Sioux Falls to just get on the city council without a competitor.

County Commission Minnehaha County SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Council Agenda • Nov 26, 2019

l3wis 1Comments

Informational Meeting • 4 PM

Alcohol Licensing Changes by Councilor Christine M. Erickson

LINK TO PRESENTATION

Joint Minnehaha County Meeting • 5 PM

Presentation on Housing Advisory Board Brief and Review of the Augustana Research Institute Study – Marshall Selberg, Suzie Smith, and Chellee Unruh

LINK TO STUDY

Monday Transit Meeting

SF City Council Sioux Falls State Legislature

Liquor Licensing needs a full overhaul in our state

l3wis 1Comments

While I understand the concern and the intentions of Sioux Falls City Councilors Erickson and Selberg, I think instead the legislature needs to overhaul the entire system;

“It’s just created this crazy investment for some that have seen incredible return on it, and it’s not supposed to be that way,” Erickson said.

I agree that to often developers and business owners have been using the current licensing system as an investment with big returns instead of actually using it for it’s intended purchase. I agree with this line in the proposal;

“Use it or lose it!” Once offered the license, the individual or corporation must purchase the license. If unable to purchase, they will no longer be able to remain on the list.

And while that will be a good fix in the short term, in the long term I have suggested a better solution, giving out yearly licenses like we do for beer and wine, something other states have done for years. In Nebraska they do yearly licenses. For example, you can either buy a beer and wine license for the year or a full alcohol license for the year. That price tag would also depend on the population of the city. For example in Sioux Falls it could be $10,000 a year but in Dell Rapids it could be $1,000 per year or less.

Some ask ‘what about those with licenses already?’ You would give them a ‘credit’ on the license that they could use against the yearly fee, that price would be based on the current value of a new license. So let’s say it is worth $200K, that means you could avoid the licensing fee of $10K for 20 years. But you could not transfer that credit to another bar or another owner. Once you sell or close, the grandfathered credit would end. I would also suggest a limit like our current system, but it would be way more competitive because new licenses could become available yearly because of businesses closing or not renewing their licenses. This also helps the business owner who may go out of business, decide to close on their own or just say after a year, they really don’t see the value in having the license. This way they are not ‘stuck’ with something they need to sell on the open market. It also makes the bar and restaurant business more competitive so that people that don’t have the means to compete now with the current system can with the new system. It evens the playing field. And with more competition, it gives consumers a better value. I also see it as a better revenue stream for the city on two fronts. You are collecting yearly licensing fees and probably collecting more taxes from alcohol sales, which in turn could be shared more fairly with the counties. This is a far better approach then just changing a few rules in our city.

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