UPDATE: 2nd Penny will have to be used to Support Bunker Ramp

by
Reader submission

You can say what you want about Stehly, but she warned that the Parking Department Enterprise Funds would NOT be able to support the bond payments for the Bunker Ramp, and this is why we used the 2nd Penny Road Funds for collateral;

Mayor Paul TenHaken wants the City Council to dip further into the city parking fund to come up with another $1.5 million, which his administration says is needed to open the ramp. Using that cash would drain the account the city is using to pay back the $18.5 million it borrowed to build the ramp, making it more likely that the city could need to dip into tax dollars to pay off the debt. 

Once again folks, we are dipping into our infrastructure funds for projects that have nothing to do with needed infrastructure.

UPDATE: Joe Sneve found this great quote from TenHaken;

“Unfortunately, the public doesn’t have all the facts and getting at the ones the taxpayers do have has been a challenge. The City government needs to be open and transparent with taxpayer dollars, which includes settlements like the one in question. We all can agree that bringing openness to historically closed door processes of City government is a great move,” Paul TenHaken told KSFY News while campaigning for mayor.

Posted in: Bunker Ramp, Downtown Sioux Falls, Former Mayor Bucktooth & Bowlcut, Mayor TenHaken, Sioux Falls

Covering up the Bunker Ramp mistake with a mural is insulting

by

As a fine artist and graphic artist I have been asked to do some unusual projects. Most of the time, you are asked to sell something. I told a frequent SculptureWalk artist last year that was kind of the purpose of SW, to promote Downtown and sell more beer and pizza. He didn’t take kindly to my words. I’ve gotten to do some fun projects like creating logos and t-shirt art for Jazzfest or designing posters for ZombieWalk and the SF Roller Dollz. Most of the time, these projects are not only fun, but for the betterment of the community, then I read this;

Erica Beck, chief of staff in the mayor’s office, said the TenHaken administration is taking “more intentional focus” on culture and arts through all of downtown, including murals.

The south side of the city’s new parking ramp, which faces one of the busiest thoroughfares downtown and sits on the busiest corner in the neighborhood, is an ideal candidate for a mural, she said.

I have been very vocal for years that DTSF needs to implement a public art/mural program. I have even went so far to say that spending millions on one sculpture was shortsighted and the money could have been more wisely spent on implementing hundreds of small art projects and murals downtown. Where I draw the line is when government wants to use the talents of artists to essentially cover up a massive mistake. If we paint a mural on one the most incompetent decisions our city government has ever made, what kind of message are we sending to the public and artists? When government screws the pooch, we’ll just paint over it?

If the city chooses to spend a large chunk of money on a mural for the bunker ramp (something that could cost between $30-60K) we are sending the wrong message to taxpayers. What’s next? A mural on the Denty to cover up the bad siding?

I think we should leave the ugly Southside of the bunker ramp ‘as is’ for a constant reminder of how badly things can get when our supposed leaders are not paying attention. In fact, I think we should paint the names of the city councilors, mayors, and city employees responsible for this huge mistake.

A more appropriate solution would be a temporary large scale banner wrap, you could even make it cost neutral by selling advertising on it or to put out important public service announcements, historical images or even just artistic in nature. While they used to be quite expensive, they are very reasonable these days.

Posted in: Arc of Dreams, Art, Developers, Development, Downtown Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls

What’s happening with the apartments by Sunshine GS Downtown?

by

As you may or may not know, the apartments are being built by Legacy Development, the same business involved with the Parking Ramp Debacle and collapse of Copper Lounge.

I do believe the project also got some Federal tax incentives(?)

Almost every night I ride my bike through DTSF to look at how progress is going on various projects. This week Raven tore down the old building by their parking lot and they have been working on the donor wall at the Arc of Dreams (which is funny because they built a concrete block wall a single block wide, then attached cut quartzite to the concrete block. Why not just use solid quartzite? Weird.

But the one thing I have noticed is the Legacy apartment project has been hardly touched for several weeks. In fact the plywood and studs that are exposed are starting to dis-color with all the rain and heat.

I have a city official looking into the progress and hope to give an update.

Posted in: Developers, Development, Downtown Sioux Falls, Legacy Developments, Sioux Falls

Is the Levitt banking on a parking ramp at Sioux Steel site?

by

Someone forwarded this email to me today that was apparently sent to the city council last week AFTER the Levitt’s director gave a presentation to the city council at last Tuesday’s informational;

First Name

Nancy

Last Name

Halverson

Subject

Parking for Levitt at the Falls

Detail

Dear Council Members, During my presentation to the council on Tuesday, Councilor Stehly asked if I felt the 2700 identified free parking spaces were adequate for our expected attendance at Levitt at the Falls. As parking has been the primary concern I have heard from residents, I was hesitant to go too far in answering Ms Stehly in such a public forum. However, I am following up to voice my concern. This summer we are hosting 30 concerts, with an average expected attendance of 1500-3000 people per concert. I am concerned that parking will be an issue and see additional challenges as we grow to 50 concerts each summer beginning in the spring of 2020. I am working closely with Lloyd Companies and am delighted to know that they hope to add a parking facility within their new Sioux Steel Development. I hope that you will do what you can to lend your support to this much-needed facility to make our downtown more easily accessible to all. Thank you for your service to our community!

My first concern is that a director of a local non-profit that receives a ton of public funds doesn’t see the need to share this information at a public meeting, well at least she found it necessary to share it with them in an email.

Secondly, I don’t see 1,500-3000 people at these events. I wish it were true, but my guess is it will be closer to 300-500 people until people get a feel for what kind of concerts these are. I also don’t understand the cries for parking. There is plenty of parking, and I also think people can use resources like Lyft/Uber, the Trolley to shuttle them from central downtown or even better ride your bike or walk. Ironically, as someone pointed out to me the other day, the Walker parking study indicated that the best place to build a new parking ramp wasn’t at the current controversial site but in the spot just South of the Levitt where Raven is tearing down an old building. What a concept!

Lastly, I’m annoyed that the Sioux Steel development is using a Non-Profit to leverage for a TIF to build a parking ramp. I can hear the arguments already if the expected 3,000 a night don’t show, “People said they would come, but couldn’t find any parking.” Oh, poppycock. Isn’t it amazing that 40-50,000 people show up for parades downtown like Parade of Lights and St. Patty’s or the Sidewalk Arts Festival and find plenty of parking, but now all of sudden we can’t find parking for a couple thousand?

The fix is in folks.

This disappoints me even more since I am supportive of the Levitt and am excited about the first year’s lineup. Now I hear they are being used as a pawn in a multi-million dollar corporate welfare tax scheme. Doesn’t anyone in this town fight fair anymore?

Posted in: Levitt Pavilion, SF City Council, Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Another Downtown Tifilicious project seems to be having some issues

by

Click to Enlarge

UPDATE: Damage was caused by a delivery truck backing into the building. Put away your Jenga.

A SouthDacola foot soldier sent this to me this morning, it’s behind Washington Square in the East alley. They said they couldn’t figure out what they were trying to fix, but there are braces holding up the bricks over the overhang that is below the parking ramp.

Jenga anyone?

It seems there are quite a few new projects around town with issues. Someone told me last month that a new office building built on that swampland by Good Sam headquarters had it’s windows popping out because it was sinking due to a poorly poured foundation. Shoddy work.

Posted in: Downtown Sioux Falls