Event Center Presentation

The Mayor presented his vision to the City Council Monday night. I think it is fair to say that; overall, the public seems to support the building of an event center. Huether stated the people of Sioux Falls will ultimately decide. What is it the public is going to ultimately decide?  I guess we get to vote on his plan only. So be it, but it should only happen after both sites have been properly and equally vetted and one of them proven to be lacking economically. He is recommending the event center be built at the Arena/Convention Center site because, as he stated in his presentation, that location is the most popular, the most palatable to the public, and the hotel and restaurants are already there. Huether says it will spur economic development in that area. Really? The Arena/Convention Center has not brought any economic growth to that area of the City. If they build it, they will come, I guess? Economic growth along that corridor is sure taking its sweet old time coming to the city. A new hotel attached to the Arena and a new convention center sure didn’t spur economic growth in this last decade. He says he is going to do a comparison and his puppet councilors say they believe he will do that. What comparison exactly? The only way a legitimate comparison can be made of both the Arena site and the downtown area is to spend like dollars on both locations and then lay them side by side.  Cooper’s fact sheet on why the downtown area is not workable is not a satisfactory comparison.  The downtown group is getting kicked around for organizing and bringing their opinions to the Mayor.  They clearly stated they support the building of an event center. All they are asking is for a fair and balanced analysis of both sites. That has not been done and no dollars are allocated for it. I don’t care what the Council says about the trust level that the comparison will be done.  It won’t be a legitimate comparison if both sites don’t get the same analysis and attention from Cotter’s process. Prove to the “good folks of Sioux Falls” that the downtown site won’t work and why. Mayor Huether doesn’t like to be questioned on his vision. He states he has started this process and already people are whipping it.  Well, as the leader of the city, it is the Mayor’s job to listen and present a fair and balanced report to the citizens, not just cram your big idea down everybody’s throat and demean people who legitimately question your vision and want a seat at the planning table.