Why aren’t we running shuttles to the Denty?

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Not sure why, but folks who attend concerts at the Denty have told me that it takes sometimes hours to get a cab from the place after a show. I’m guessing peeps have figured out that the gig economy isn’t so great.

With all this talk lately about the bad positioning of the Denty and Convention Center many are asking why do we have to move something when we can just figure out how to utilize it better.

Before the Denty was built there was talk about running public transit shuttles from downtown parking ramps to events. I think they did it a couple of times and it disappeared.

Instead of moving the convention center, why not just start running free shuttles from DTSF to the complex during concerts and conventions?

You could do it for free, or even charge a $1, and would get more people spending money in our town when they attend these events.

Another funding source would be adding a ‘parking’ fee to every ticket sold. I suggested to the council years ago that they should be charging a city ‘facility’ fee to each ticket that strictly goes towards the mortgage, but they argued the artists and promoters didn’t like it. Oh well.

So why don’t we do it? My guess is that the management of the Denty doesn’t want peeps who are driving from Mitchell to spend any of their money anywhere else except at the Denty.

We act like the Denty is in outerspace. If I had to guess, the Denty is about 2 miles from DTSF. This is doable.

Let’s admit it, building a CC and EC at that location was a mistake, but instead of spending $300 million to fix a mistake, why not work with what we have?

Posted in: Uncategorized

UPDATE: Open Letter to the Sioux Falls City Council about the (re)appointment of David Pfeifle for Lead City Attorney

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UPDATE: Last night at the council meeting where David was approved 6-1 (Selberg absent, Starr dissent) there were no questions for the appointee. I guess now the administration is even skipping the job interview process in appointing directors.

I also like when the mayor yells ‘Oh my Gosh!’ during public input (FF: 1:21:40) he then says, “See this Boy Scouts you are learning about decorum and professionalism.” What PTH doesn’t understand is that decorum and especially professionalism applies to the body on the dais as well and saying ‘Oh my Gosh!’ to a public inputer who you are personally irritated by is certainly not decorum ‘like’. I get it that you have to shut down people after their 3 minutes are up, but at least let them finish their sentence or point before yelling ‘Thank you’ at them 4 times in a row. The Boy Scouts were probably wondering why the mayor was acting like a Cub Scout.

Cameraman Bruce Danielson sent this email to the council today about David’s record. The proposed appointment with city council approval will be tonight at the 6 PM meeting (Item #44);

I ask the City Council to consider the following thoughts and let these weigh in on the decision to rehire a flawed nominee for Sioux Falls City Attorney.

How will the nominee deal with issues arising between the City Council and the Mayor’s office and the City Employees?

• Will the nominee once again switch sides, giving up his City responsibilities and use City information to personally represent the mayor such as in an ethics complaint without a conflict release from the City Council?

• Will the nominee give up his City Charter duties and use City information and position to personally represent the mayor, such as in an ethics complaint in violation of the City Home Rule Charter and attorney-client relationship with the City Council?

• Will the nominee, in issues before the Board of Ethics, recuse when confronted with conflict or once again risk disbarment similar to his part in two 2014 Board of Ethics hearings involving the mayor?

• Will the nominee once again step aside from his Charter responsibilities to become the personal attorney for the mayor as he did in one of the 2014 Board of Ethics hearings?

What does South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance have to say about their Executive Director taking inside information back to their largest customer?

• Will the nominee force the city to obtain outside counsel every time there is an issue involving his former employer, SDPAA?

• How can SDPAA Board be comfortable with their former employee, who possesses confidential information about its operations, now being able to use it against them?

• Has the SDPAA Board given a formal conflict release for all future cases involving this appointment?

• In most situations when an employee of one organization (SDPAA) decides to take a position with a customer of the first organization (City of Sioux Falls), there is a customary time gap between the resignation and the accession to the other.

Why do think there will be better choices by the candidate then there was last time in city employ?  A sampling of some of the candidates prior issues is not a great recommendation. 

• Events Center hidden cost overruns resulting in the loss of building warranty.

• First time in history a vendor placed a mechanic’s lien on a major asset of the city resulting in a hidden settlement – the Events Center.

• Downtown parking ramp issues, including a building collapse, causing death and the illegal asbestos removal.

• Backdated paperwork on city property sales and projects handled by the city attorney office.

• Interference with public driven activities such as the Administration Building petition drive and others?

• Created the template for advocational education programs to sway public voting illegally using City resources in violation of the 1st Amendment and plain language in SDCL.

• Approved the unconstitutional property zoning changes without legal service to the city’s 66,000 properties.

• Allowed destruction of evidence once a notice of claim under SDCL 3-21 has been filed?

These are just a few of the issues the nominee has been involved in to strip the people of their voices and the people’s representatives, City Council of their oversight. The city attorney is not the personal attorney of the mayor, the city attorney must be someone who understands their loyalties are to the public and act that way every time.

Posted in: SF City Council, Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls Mayor TenHaken’s Administration oblivious to transparency

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The one thing PTH has NOT kept secret; his total disregard for open and transparent government.

You would think after the failures of the bunker ramp due to the lack of financial transparency they would have learned something. Nope;

The city won’t say if or how many developers have expressed interest in buying or leasing the unfinished downtown parking ramp on 10th Street.

“Ultimately, this is how we set up the process,” said Dustin Powers, community development coordinator for the city.

Dustin, just who is this ‘WE’ you speak of? It certainly wasn’t the public that requested this process, or the legislative body, the city council. Maybe it was the mayor’s COS, who is a former executive for one of the largest developers in the city and state. Her former employer has ‘mysteriously’ received millions in tax breaks, land deals, TIFs, etc. since she was appointed. Are they on the short list? We will never know.

It’ll be a lot of behind-the-scenes work until the city chooses a potential buyer/lessee and makes that information public.

Yup. And once again we have learned nothing about the benefits of open government.

Posted in: 1st Amendment, Mayor TenHaken, Open Government, Open Meetings, Planning Commission

Sioux Falls City Council Agenda, Tuesday Oct 11

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MEETING CALENDAR

Informational Meeting • 4 PM

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

• Parks and Recreation – Ice Plex/Tennis Center Updates by Don Kearney, Director of Parks and Recreation

Regular Meeting • 6 PM

Item #6, Approval of Contracts, Sub-Item #16, Professional Services Agreement for Site Selection, Study for Sioux Area Metro Consultant will complete a site selection analysis of a maximum of five sites, including the existing site and planning-level cost estimate for a new transit office and garage facility for Sioux Area Metro. TSP, Inc., $94,600. (while the city may want to tell you that they are just considering moving the Bus Barn, it is pretty obvious that they plan to move it for a developer that wants the current location. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this site, it just needs to be remodeled and upgraded. I also find it a bit odd with the hundreds of city employees that work in engineering and public works that we can’t study a proposal internally.)

Item #12, 1st reading, Background & Objective: Ordinance supplements the Sales Tax Fund by an additional $2M for arterial street improvements resulting from platting fee projected revenues in excess of budget expectations and $70K for Police to purchase a vehicle using federal grant dollars; and supplements the General Fund by $100K for Fire due to high fuel costs; $500K for Parks and Recreation primarily due to high fuel costs and spring storm damage repairs; and $400K for the Planning Department based on higher than anticipated lodging at ESF BID tax revenues that are subsequently transmitted to Experience Sioux Falls. (The $500K for parks cleanup is kind of surprising since we are told all the time that the city keeps track of storm cleanup so they can get Federal reimbursement).

Item #13, 1st Reading, Background & Objective: This is the development agreement between the City and Nielson Development for TIF #26. This agreement is for up to $2,140,000, plus financing costs of eligible expenses to assist in funding the development activities required to create an accessible housing subdivision, which includes the site improvements infrastructure, utilities and professional services to develop the site. The end result will include 65 single-family housing units that will be priced below the South Dakota Housing First Time Homebuyer pricing. (this is a TIF that will NOT be passed on to the new homeowners. It is simply keeping the costs down for the developer and the banks that are funding the development. It has also been stated in the media that this will do nothing to provide affordable housing.)

Items #14-15, Resolutions, Background & Objective: Resolution to approve a new five-year facilities management agreement for the Events Center Complex with ASM Global Arena Management, LLC for the period of January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2027. ASM Global Arena Management, LLC is the current facility manager for the Events Center Complex.

Background & Objective: Resolution to approve a new five-year food and beverage services agreement with Ovations Food Services for the period of January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2027. Ovations Food Services is the current food and beverage service provider for the Events Center Complex.

(Notice in the audit meeting on Thursday below that they have audits of these facilities ready but are NOT releasing the information before the 1st reading tonight. I have also implored the council to pass a bond ticket fee of at least $5 per ticket to help pay down the bonds. Councilors and management have complained that promoters would not come here if that attached ticket fee applied. Hogwash. The fee doesn’t take profits away from the management company, the promoters or the artists, it is an additional fee paid for by the very people who use the facility. If you can afford a $150 dollar ticket fee and $9 Bud Lights, you can afford the extra $5 to help pay down the bonds.)

Audit Committee Meeting • Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 4:00 PM

I find it interesting that the Audit Committee is reviewing audits of the Denty 2 days AFTER the 1st Reading for Contract renewals for the Denty at the city council meeting. There is also NO attached documents in the meeting link letting the public know what is in those audits (I’m sure they will magically appear on Wednesday). Makes you wonder what is in the audits that they cannot show they to us before the meeting tonight.

Posted in: Audit, SF City Council, Sioux Falls

Mayor TenHanken’s Latest Interview

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I guess I missed this interview from a couple of days ago;

In the past four years, his city department head leadership team has changed considerably. There are new police and fire chiefs, new faces leading public health, planning and innovation. He has a new finance director and city attorney.

“So I spent four years building that team, and now for the next four years, we’ve got the team together, and I think we can do a lot.”

He has really spent the past four years dealing with a revolving door. Many people he chose after being elected to his first term have left. He has had to appoint a new city attorney, a new planning director, a new health director and police chief. He has also had to appoint 2 different Fire Chiefs. He is on his 2nd IT and technology director. He has also lost a deputy chief of staff, a housing director and his chief cultural officer. I am unclear what he means by building a team?

Often times whether it is in the private sector or public sector many times directors and department heads leave an organization because of (lack of) leadership. Sure, retirements do occur, but with this much turnover in just 4 years you have to question the relationship he has with his city directors? This may explain why his administration is so busy fiddling with the legislative process instead of running the city (his duties under the charter).

“Everyone wants to know what are we doing about housing, and I can tell you it’s just so challenging right now, with land costs and with attitudes about infill development,” TenHaken said. “If we can move two or three houses or create small programs to give developers a little bit of cost savings, we’re just hitting singles. There’s no home runs to be found.”

That’s because the housing crisis will not be solved in Sioux Falls until we solve the wage problem. We also can’t be constantly cramming affordable housing into certain neighborhoods, it has to be spread throughout the community. I know it is NOT an easy thing to fix overnight, but what groundwork has been laid over the past 10-15 years or even past 4 years on this issue? I will continue to cross my fingers that the city will implement real programs to fix up our core, build density and create more housing, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in this current city government makeup that they have any long term solutions.

There also will be a project to complement the downtown parking ramp on the north side of 10th Street east of Phillips Avenue, TenHaken said.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “We’re going to soon be announcing the timeline and process for interested parties to begin expressing interest in the site, so I think it will be good in the second term to get that underway.”

So the ink has barely dried on the check we sent to the defunk developer of the Bunker Ramp and we are already going to send out an RFP on what to do with the site? Which says to me, someone has already pitched the city an idea (we can make our guesses who this developer will be). Not sure what you could do with the site, but I have often suggested a multiple story studio apartment building.

Trying to solve the issue of child care is a bit like tackling housing, he said.

“There’s no silver bullet solution, but the discussions we’re having and the work and partnership we’re forming with the school district is something that’s never been done in the city before … kids and families is something we’re going to lay overtop of almost every decision we’re making.”

I often shake my head when community leaders across the country think they have some simple, unique solution to fixing the child care issues in their communities. Two things that could drastically change that situation in Sioux Falls would be higher wages and Federally funding for Pre-K education. Government is NOT always the solution, but in this situation non-profits, churches and private schools can’t solve this by themselves, there needs to be a government safety net for the kids that fall thru those cracks. So what is standing in our way? Partisanship, which brings us to his final thoughts;

“I think the next political cycle is going to be very ugly, so how do I as a mayor try to maintain a spirit of unity and a One Sioux Falls mindset when national news and all these forces tell us there are constant things we need to fight about, and that’s why (I focus) on the 95 percent of where we’re alike to keep moving forward.”

He is correct, politics have become ugly and getting worse. Why? Because Republicans like TenHaken have made local traditionally non-partisan politics into partisan. Everything has become about one-party rule, even on a supposed non-partisan branch of government like city council. I saw this rear its head during TenHaken’s first campaign, it got worse in ousting councilor Stehly and recently Brekke. It has become an all out death match to the end. And I’m not talking about a difference between Republican or Democratic philosophies, those are easy to break down. It is a devision between the elite, authoritarian Republicans and the traditional fiscal conservative Republicans and social conscious Democrats. The authoritarians like Noem and TenHaken are in charge and they will do anything in their power to squash a dissenting view on how to tackle an issue. Solutions come from bringing every view to the table. This is why they had to eliminate Theresa and Janet, they asked too many questions, and you never question the King.

I would like to think that things will be different in Sioux Falls in next 2-4 years, but with cruise control government, a lack of transparency, a rubber stamp council and very little planning or vision, I think we will still be talking about the same challenges in the Spring of 2026, just more exacerbated.

NEWLY ELECTED SIOUX FALLS CITY COUNCILOR SARAH COLE ALSO DOES AN INTERVIEW

It is such an honor to be elected to this seat on the City Council. I always encourage my kids about being the change that we want to see in the world. There are things that happen in our world that we have no control over, but we can control ourselves and our response to those issues. 

Yeah, it’s called voting in local elections. I still find it incredibly ironic and hypocritical that the first vote Cole cast in a Sioux Falls city election was a vote for herself 🙂 and the media has yet to touch that with a ten foot pole. Her absence in participating in local elections tells us all we will need to know about what her performance will be on the city council. Thank goodness the Mayor already setup a team of fellow rubber stampers for her so she doesn’t have to fart around for 4 years setting up that groundwork.

Posted in: Downtown Sioux Falls, Dr. Sarah Cole, Elections, Mayor TenHaken, SF City Council, Sioux Falls