SF City Council

Is another City Manager bailing on us?

I remember when we were told how incredible our liquor cart boy Technology Manager was going to be and there was push back from concerned councilors. He got hired anyway. Then he left, and recently his replacement left. You know, all that ‘building a team’ bullsh!t Paul feeds us.

Remember when we were told how great this person would be as our internal auditor even with push back from city councilors.

Now I am not sure if Shana Nelson is quitting the position, but I find the above employment listing interesting since I thought they were fully staffed in the auditors office.

But I do know that while her and her husband Matt Nelson (parking director) are full-time paid directors with the city they are also owners of a very busy pet store franchise. So how is it that you can both work as full-time city managers and manage a retail business? At least we can’t accuse them of drinking at 3’O Clock in the afternoon at a DTSF bar on a weekday like two other directors were a couple of weeks ago (yeah, I saw you Ron Swanson).

Like I said, I am only speculating that there will be turnover in the Auditor’s office, again, but if it is true maybe this time they will actually do a national search for someone who is qualified to run an auditor’s office, or at least one that actually does audits.

We care about the SF bus system

This post was sent to me by Bread for the World Sioux Falls Chapter;

Transit survey:

Have you taken the online transit survey? SAM is developing a Transit Development Plan update and says this survey will help. Find it Here.

Public input meetings are next week. You might have thoughts about where routes should go, or how often, or other ideas. Four meeting options:

  Monday, Aug.1, 10:00am

  Monday, Aug.1, noon

  Wednesday, Aug.3, 3:30pm

  Wednesday, Aug.3, 5:30pm

They will be at the new City Center Building, 231 N Dakota Ave, Cooper Room. You can park across the street at the downtown library, where parking is now FREE.

They want local public participation, so please come.

Please choose one of these meetings and RSVP to BSchweitzer@siouxfalls.org .

Kids’ rides. Thanks for your support for getting more kids on the bus. If you haven’t weighed in with city council, there’s still time. They will on this at the council meeting next Tuesday, Aug.2, 6pm.

Email for City Council: gneitzert@siouxfalls.orgmselberg@siouxfalls.org

csoehl@siouxfalls.orgpstarr@siouxfalls.org,  

AlexJensen@siouxfalls.orgRich.Merkouris@siouxfalls.org

Sarah.Cole@siouxfalls.org,  David.Barranco@siouxfalls.org

PTenHaken@siouxfalls.org

Public transit is a critical part of a city that works for its people, as well as for a more sustainable environment.  Thanks for your interest in improving our public transit system.

Another Bunker Ramp update. Let me guess, we have winner!

It has only been a couple of weeks since we were told they were going put lipstick on that gigantic concrete pig, now we are getting another update;

• Downtown Parking Ramp Update by Erica Beck, Chief of Staff

More than likely this is an update with the mural selection process, but you never know, they may have an interested party. A few months ago I heard a rumor that Councilor Neitzert was telling some constituents he wanted to do an investigation into how the Bunker Ramp got so messed up. I almost died laughing. I told this person we could save a lot of time if we just handed Greg a mirror.

They will also be amending the Shape Places;

• Shape Places Ordinance & Proposed Amendments by Jason Bieber, Senior Planner

I find the expedited timeline of getting these changes in place interesting. This means many of them have been in the works for months without the knowledge of the public or council.

Mayor TenHaken’s Budget Address

During his address today there were a couple of interesting tidbits;

• He is proposing hiring an Art Specialist. He didn’t give many details but it sounded like a full time position. While I am somewhat supportive, (I think this idea has been floated by Mayor Huether and maybe even Mayor Munson) as someone said to me tonight, it seems like more of an authoritarian move to control the arts advancement in Sioux Falls (tourism). Not sure if I see that, so I will keep an open mind about the job duties. I think this will be a controversial addition and there may be dissenters on the council. I remember when TenHaken asked for a cultural officer and she quit. He may have a fight on his hands.

• Paul said there will be an announcement soon about a TIF being granted for an affordable housing project. Like the Art Specialist there were few details. I have felt that TIFs for affordable housing is a reasonable use of them, but I want to see if the TIF will benefit the dwellers or the developers.

While the meeting WAS posted in advanced on the city website, the PPT was not included. When the meeting started there was NO link to the live feed on the city website for at least 10 minutes at the beginning. Fortunately, Dakotanews was streaming the meeting on FB with their own cameras. I just find it ironic that Mr. TechNology was so concerned about his PPT being posted in advance they had to delay the live feed so it would NOT appear until after the meeting started.