After just a few short months the city has removed the CityLink viewer on the city’s main website. I actually applauded the move for people who don’t have cable television. I’m not sure why it was taken down, but I do know they were having problems with the software last Tuesday. The search engine hasn’t been working well on the city website either.
For all the money we spend on our city website each year (I think it is around $30K a year, which is ironic, my hosting fees cost around $100 a year) you would think it would work? We constantly hear about all the technology our city is investing in, but they can’t get the city website to function properly.
Kids, web development and maintaining a site like this isn’t rocket science, as I have mentioned in the past, the city could actually just copy code from other city websites like Omaha, which I think functions very well. They could also receive free hosting on YouTube for ALL public meetings (instead of just propaganda).
I don’t believe for one moment that these failures are due to ignorance or lack of talent to create such a site, I think it is being done on purpose to make it harder for folks to get information from the city and force them onto Facebook or Twitter to get their information. It should not work that way. All citizens who fund our city website should be able to go to THAT site and get all the information they want or need, including videos and important documents.
When a cluster like this is created, it can only be done on purpose, NO one is that incompetent.
It passed 7-0 (Stehly absent). There of course were pie in the sky statements made, like how we are going to get huge property tax revenue from it – 20 YEARS FROM NOW! They also talked about how they could have asked for $50 million, but they didn’t – how nice of them.
They also falsely stated their is NO cost to the city. Uh, yes there is. We are missing out on millions of tax revenue over the next 20 years, we are going to spend $10 million on the river greenway that fronts this development, which is beneficial to them. They also did not mention that it competes with our taxpayer funded convention center. But lastly, when big private developments get tax rebates like this, the rest of us have to supplement them. So YES their is a taxpayer expense here. You also have to remember here, in a world that constantly talks about ‘Socialism’ this is exactly what this is. A $21 million dollar tax rebate to a private business is ‘Socialism’ and developer welfare.
I still believe the Bunker Ramp was stopped from moving forward because of this TIF and development. I haven’t been able to connect the dots yet, but it is highly suspicious that we stop the construction of a DT hotel then turn around and give this development a TIF. Things that make you go hmmmmm.
So now we have two parking ramps we don’t need that were directly and indirectly funded by taxpayers. I knew the council would support this, and it proves what I have known for a very long time, there isn’t one iota of fiscal responsibility when it comes to our city’s elected official’s decisions, it’s just more of sticking it to the little guy. Thanks for nothing!
Paying cash instead of borrowing for Sioux Falls’ next fire station, replacing the ski lift at Great Bear and repairing more roads are priorities for the mayor’s office as it looks to spend some leftover dollars from last year’s budget.
Mayor Paul TenHaken told the Argus Leader on Monday that he’ll ask the City Council to expedite several infrastructure projects using nearly $6.2 million in capital surplus funds while setting aside another $1.7 million in City Hall’s rainy-day fund.
Sure, his department heads should put together a list of needs, but that list should have been handed off to the council to make the decision in a work session. The rumor going around is that 3 of the RS5 met quietly with the mayor to concoct this proposal, and the others were blindsided by this.
When is this city (current mayor and council and past administrations) going to realize the separation of powers? It’s the mayor’s job to manage the city and abide by the rules and expenditures set forth by the council with guidance from department heads. If the mayor is going to do both jobs – why even have a council? Why not just declare him King so we can all do other things on Tuesday nights?
Does this guy even understand how a representative government works? Well first you would have to show up to the office a few days a week.
While I agree with him using an app, or the city website to report potholes is a good idea, it doesn’t always work, especially with government. Sometimes the good old fashion way of calling or emailing an elected official gets results. Besides, isn’t that their job? Representing us and getting results? I can see PTH’s 2022 campaign, ‘Re-Elect TenHaken, there’s an app for that!”
Only agenda item is a going away party for Departing Members Pauline Poletes and Robert Thimjon. They accomplished their very successful shut down of charter amendments. Party on Garth.
Sub Item #25, $136K to YMCA for after school programs and
Sub Item #26, $111 to VOA for after school programs.
I wish the merits of these four items would have been discussed in the regular meeting instead of stuffed into the consent agenda.
Item #7, Change orders, we will be handing about $1.5 million to Journey Construction for the Village on the River Bunker Ramp.
Item #20, Transfer of 2020 Retail Liquor License, with video lottery terminals, and 2020 Package Liquor License from Badlands Gaming LLC, Badlands Gaming, 1600 West Russell Street, to South Dakota Veterans Alliance Inc., 1600 West Russell Street. It looks like this deal is moving forward.
Item #25 (29-30), 2nd Reading of TIF agreement with Lloyd Companies and Sioux Steel Development. As I have said in the past this will pass. I guess councilor Stehly will be absent from this meeting and NOT voting on the issue due to previous commitments. I have said that a better approach would be to gift them the River Greenway property (so they can develop it at their expense) and give them a $10 million dollar TIF only for that redevelopment. I think it is a crying shame that local lawmakers across the country are suckered into these kind of agreements which are truly developer handouts and little else. I’m praying for an amendment, but I don’t think it will happen.
Item #26, 2nd Reading, ordinance on campaign financing and elections. I feel there will be some amendments to this item and it will be an interesting to see what is slipped in. I still think that this ordinance should be amended so it is NOT implemented until after the municipal election.
Item #27, Supplemental appropriations for police overtime pay for special events. Like I said yesterday in a post, I fully support this, but I think a discussion should have occurred with the council before the mayor’s office proposed this. It is the council’s job as laid out in charter to be the legislators, not the mayor’s office.
Item #28, Parks and Rec fee increases. You will notice that some of the biggest increases are at the Midco Aquatic Center.
Item #31, Resolution approving preliminary plan for the controversial Golden Gateway addition.
Item #32, A RESOLUTION REMOVING UNCOLLECTIBLE, DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS FROM THE RECORDS. Interesting that these accounts are confidential?
Item #34, Resolution, allowing Landscapes Unlimited to modify the noncompetition clause under the Management Agreement.
Item #35, Charter Revision Commission presents their ballot amendments. I’m urging a vote NO on amendment ‘B’ which would increase the number of signatures needed for a charter revision petition.
l3wis 
