What’s going on with the Events Center area task force recommendations?

The Loneliest place in Sioux Falls

I got a reminder today about the desolation of the area around the Denty when a restaurant chain nearby decided to close that location for good, citing prior to Covid things were not so hot;

But “even before COVID, some of the events in the arena had decreased from the prior heyday when it first opened up,” he said of the also nearby Denny Sanford Premier Center, which opened in 2014.

I have noticed that the city has put a lot of things on hold because of Covid, or should we say using Covid as an excuse. I think with having Covid closing down things it would have been a perfect opportunity to bulldoze Sioux Falls stadium and renovate or tear down the Arena. I have also noticed that this administration, even before Covid, doesn’t do much with recommendations unless they are something they want, like 5G.

The mayor either has his agenda or no agenda at all. I guess he can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

Sioux Falls City Council Agenda, April 20, 2021

Information Meeting • 4 PM

I will have to congratulate whoever put the agenda together for the informational. When posted on Friday, all the supporting documents were also there. Maybe someone has been listening to my bitching afterall?

• External Audit Results: Public Parking Enterprise Risk Assessment by Derek Flanagan, Eide Bailly, Partner; Joy Feige, Eide Bailly, Partner; and Kristin Taffe, Eide Bailly, Manager

• March 2021 Financial Results, we are up 6% from last year so far. I have no doubt by the end of the year we will probably be between 7-9% up from 2020.

Regular Meeting • 6 PM

Item #7, Approval of Contracts. Sub Items #12 & #30, Retainers for legal services.

Item #36-38, 51 2nd Readings, City giving Covid money away on unrelated Covid items.

Item #50, 1st Reading, Changes to the Parking Advisory Board. I don’t know everything about this, but this should be an interesting item.

UPDATE: Will TenHaken run for Re-election as Sioux Falls mayor?

UPDATE: A South DaCola foot soldier told me today that they heard an interview where Paul said he intends to run for a 2nd term as long as his COS, Erica Beck, is on board and she said she would stay on. I had to chuckle a bit, because Paul has to keep her on board if he serves a 2nd term, because she is the one running the city.

With about a year away from the 2022 municipal elections I’m sure most people have other things on their mind. For instance, Curt Soehl is also up for re-election as the Central District councilor, but he doesn’t have to announce for awhile, and I think that race will be quite crowded.

It seems strange to me that Paul hasn’t said one way or another if he is running again. He wouldn’t need some big news conference, just a simple press release saying he will or will not run again. At the very least, just to raise money.

If I was a betting man, my guess is that he will seek a 2nd term AND will beat his closest competitor in a landslide. I also think Paul knows the job is gravy train, that is why he pays his COS $177K a year to run the city for him while he makes supposed side developer deals with inside information. It’s win-win for everyone.

If he decides to NOT run again, my guess is there would be a long list of people that would think about running like Huether, Erickson, Neitzert, Jamison and Stehly.

If Paul does announce he is running I’m not sure if he will have any serious contenders, and it will sure be fun watching him debate David Z.