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Sioux Falls City Council Agenda June 14-15, 2021

l3wis 6Comments

Police Chief Finalists Meet and Greet • Monday June 14 • 5:30 PM, Belbas Theater at the Washington Pavilion

The public is invited to meet the final candidates for the City’s next Police Chief during a “Conversation with the Candidates” event at 5:30 p.m. June 14 in the Belbas Theater at the Washington Pavilion. The final candidates for the position are Lt. Nick Cook and Lt. Jonathan Thum, who both currently serve with the Sioux Falls Police Department (SFPD).

The event will be an opportunity for the candidates to introduce themselves to the community. A meet and greet will be held from 5:30-6 p.m. in the Belbas Lobby, followed by a moderated conversation from 6:15-7 p.m. with the candidates in the Belbas Theater. Attendees will be able to suggest questions for the candidates prior to entering the theater.

Districting Commission • Monday June 14 • 5:30 PM • Carnegie Town Hall

(Yeah, apparently the city needs to schedule this important meeting at the same time as meeting the Police Chief candidates. I often tell people when it comes to openness in government it’s the smallest and simplest things, like not scheduling two important meetings at the same time. Open government is NOT complicated and doesn’t need someone to provide recommendations or a list as many have asked me to do. I have often said, if it doesn’t have to do with city employees private records or pending litigation, it should be open for review by the public, and that’s basically what state law says also.)

The Commission will discuss maps and a timeline.

Informational Meeting • Tuesday June 15 • 4 PM • Carnegie Town Hall

Presentations on the USD Discovery Center (I think they will be asking for more money from the city), the May Financial Report and Workforce Housing Study (and as I mentioned above, only one of the presentations has supporting docs already posted. Not sure why these cannot already be posted before Tuesday. It’s the simple things folks, like allowing citizens to review documents before the meeting).

Regular Meeting • Tuesday June 15 • 6 PM • Carnegie Town Hall

TIFs and a lot of other garbage.

Downtown Sioux Falls Levitt Pavilion Sioux Falls

Levitt returns with some interesting adjustments

l3wis 5Comments

As you can see from the pictures, it was a packed house which was awesome, and the weather was fantastic.

Two things that stuck out was the very long line for drinks, because in 2019 the lines were not bad at all. I found out when I got up there that drinks went from $5 in 2019 to $7 and you could no longer buy drink tickets, so you have to run your card or pay cash every time you go get a drink which I’m sure delays the line. The bartender told me though, I could have a tab. I asked why there was NO tickets, and he said something about a ‘city decision’. I’m not sure what that is about, because if it has anything to do with underage drinking, there is nothing stopping people from buying drinks for minors. I think they just want to slow the line so there is less intoxication. I also think they should allow people to bring at least their own beer and wine, but I will stay away from that rant.

My 2nd surprise was the sound. While the quality was fine, the volume was at about the same level as your grandma’s turn table. The volume has been turned down quite a bit since 2019. I have no doubt it has to do with Downtown’s ridiculous decibel levels and people complaining about the music after they decided to live across the street from a band shell. I guess all the trains running through downtown don’t have to follow those rules, but a Jazz Band does. I wonder what the sound level was at The Alliance last night at the Martin Zellar concert our Supreme Leader was attending?

I have thought for a long time the fun police in Sioux Falls would find a way to hinder the Levitt. As I told a friend today, ‘If it doesn’t have to do with youth sports, church or dogs it is NOT a priority in Sioux Falls and the fun police will find a way to kill it.’

Affordable Housing Planning Commission SF City Council Sioux Falls

City of Sioux Falls Housing Funding is Hypocritical

l3wis 2Comments

First off, many have wondered what happened to the housing coordinator. Not sure if Chellee Unruh was terminated or quit, but I guess she departed in April with no fanfare and no press release from City Hall. Seems a lot of Paul’s directors seem to disappear these days in the dark of night. There are often rumors of termination but no verifications from the big man himself. He must be busy taking selfies on bike rides or something. There was even a funny rumor a few weeks ago that Stoneless fired a public works minion (personally) after a citizen video-taped him flipping the bird. Not sure if that is true, but if it is, I got a good laugh. Hope he gave him a hug and a Guadd Bles Yah before he walked off.

Either or on housing, yesterday at the informational meeting a non-profit wants $500K from the city for a victim’s home for women saved from the sex trafficking industry. While I have no issues with this funding (except that they are probably one of those Christian conversion places) I find it a bit ironic that this administration AND police department can’t get a handle on all the illegal massage going on in our community when they know exactly where these places are. Heck, everyone knows where they are. You would have to be a complete dolt to not know where to get a tug and rub in Sioux Falls!

I think if I was on the council I would include an extra $1 million to the sex crimes unit with the PD to show that they are serious about it, I would also get the new Police Chief to make it his top priority. Kind of seems pointless to help a victim’s home if we are not going to do anything to stop these businesses in Sioux Falls. Isn’t prevention the key?

Also, doesn’t anyone find it a bit odd when these rare stings happen, the ‘victims’ are always apprehended but somehow the Johns and Pimps slip a way? Things that make you go Hmmmm.

Art Levitt Pavilion Music Sioux Falls

2021 Levitt Concert Series starts Friday

l3wis 2Comments

To say I am a ‘little excited’ is an understatement. In 2019 the one thing that made it bearable to live in Sioux Falls was the concert series, I think I attended almost every concert and only skipped out early on a couple of them. This is an enormous gift to our community and I encourage everyone to attend as often as possible. The concerts are FREE to the public (that is what makes them special) and present award winning and national and international talent. I am a bit bias as a visual artist I have often been jealous of musicians and love live music. Besides the bike trail, the Levitt is truly a gem in our city. Come join the fun Friday where Ranky Tanky will open the concert series, and many thanks to local director Nancy Halverson, her crew and volunteers for giving us the true gift of art.

Ethics SF City Council Sioux Falls

UPDATE: David Z will be asking the Sioux Falls Ethics Commission on Tuesday to investigate the widespread bribery in elected city officials

l3wis 18Comments

UPDATE: As I predicted, the Ethics Board slithered their way out of doing their job by saying they didn’t define the word ‘common’ very well. You can’t make this crap up. I was waiting for Bill Clinton to pop out of the back and say, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” A video of the meeting will be posted soon.

The meeting on June 8 at 1:30 PM will review David’s complaint. Basically when the city council let Councilor Neitzert get away with taking a bribe (and also the Mayor) they said that these kind of gifts were common practice and the council needed to tighten up the rules. David is asking them to investigate these bribes if this so widespread. It will be interesting to hear how they worm their way out of this one.

On a separate note, the complaint filed against Neitzert was appealed by the Complainant and is still pending.

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