Category Archives: Snowgates

Yup, you heard me right, taxdollars going to pickleball.

Some ask where will the city come up with extra money for snowgates? Well why don’t we tap the pickleball budget? That’s right, the city built a pickleball court at Menlo park, invested in equipment that you can borrow, and are even building an indoor pickleball court at the Kenny Anderson community center (so you can play pickleball in the winter). Just watch this episode of City Scene (about at the 50% mark) that explains pickleball.

And how did this come about? Someone walked into the Parks and Rec office and asked for it, and like magic, the city built it for them. No petition drives, no messy elections, not even City Council approval.

Oh, but it gets better. We both know that the money budgeted for snow removal comes from the operation fund (1st Penny) and Parks and Rec comes from the capital fund (2nd Penny). You would think former mayor of Sioux Falls, Rick Knobe would understand this;

Petitions are being circulated in Sioux Falls to mandate the use of snowgates. I am not going to sign a petition, and if a vote is held, I will vote “no.”

City staff is prudently researching the cost efficiency of snowgate use. The research is not yet complete. I may ”think”  they are a good idea, because I don’t like cleaning out my driveway after the plows have come thru. However, the higher cost, extra time, and maintenance of the additional equipment may not be worth it.

Our federal government is broke because they continue to make  promises we can no longer  afford to keep. As local taxpayers, it doesn’t make sense to mandate a service(raise taxes), just because we  are tired of shoveling snow.

We elect a  mayor and eight council members to make policy and daily administrative decisions on our behalf. If the mayor wants snowgates, he can put them in the budget. If the council wants snowgates, they can add them to the budget.

Should we have public votes on the type of technology the city uses? Equipment on fire trucks, or in police cars? How often the grass in the park is mowed?

It doesn’t make sense for us,  ”sidewalk(driveway) superintendents,” to direct or micromanage snow plowing operations.

Hey, Rick, that’s not how the operation’s penny works. The ‘first’ penny CANNOT be raised. The city has to work with what they take in, period. That means budgeting responsibly for PUBLIC SERVICES. Obviously we will still have money for pickleball in the 2nd penny, even if snow gates get implemented by the voters. The people are not voting on ‘budgets’ they are simply asking for a public service. You are right, it is the Mayor and City Council’s job to create the budget, and if voters approve snowgates, the city will have to find the money in the first penny for them. TAXES WILL NOT BE RAISED (at least on the 1st penny), because they don’t have the power to RAISE THEM.

But essentially it is about priorities, not higher taxes or pickleball. Snowgates are a public service and public safety issue not a ‘frill’ like pickleball or monkey hot tubs. Our taxdollars need to be spent on PUBLIC SERVICE not PICKLE SERVICE.