To Vote or Not to Vote – That is the Question.

Everybody is speculating on just what the event center finance package is going to look like. In addition, there are a lot of rumors whether this whole thing is even going to a vote of the public. The finance package will determine whether there is a vote or not by the public.

The mayor has identified money for the Event Center coming from the General Fund Reserve, Private Donors and Bonding.  Bonding the project with an issuance of bonds may require a vote of the public per state law.

Now, there are rumors surfacing that to get out of a public vote, the financing would be done using the general fund reserve and sales tax. Issuing bonds covered by sales tax would not require a public vote unless it is referred.

If the mayor and city council intend to issue bonds, state law requires an election with 60% of the voters in favor of the bond issuance unless otherwise provided.

6-8B-2. Election required for issuance. Unless otherwise provided, no bonds may be issued either for general or special purposes by any public body unless at an election sixty percent of voters of the public body voting upon the question vote in favor of issuing the bonds. The election shall be held in the manner described by law for other elections of the public body.

If the city council wishes to issue bonds for the event center project they would need to declare the necessity to issue bonds by resolution or ordinance at a regular city council meeting or by special meeting. Sioux Falls City Charter requires an ordinance for this activity.

6-8B-3. Resolution or ordinance declaring necessity of bond issue--Contents--Election. If it is determined by the governing body to be necessary or expedient for any public body to issue its bonds the governing body at a regular meeting thereof or a special meeting duly called may by resolution or ordinance declare the necessity thereof and may submit the question of the issuance of bonds to the voters of the public body at any annual election or at a special election called for that purpose. The resolution or ordinance shall set forth clearly the purpose for which the bonds are to be issued and the maximum amount of the bonds. The resolution or ordinance may also include the maximum rate of interest which they draw, and the maximum time within which they shall become due and payable or other matters the governing body determines relevant to the bond issue.

State law also provides that the authorization of bonds for the purpose of construction of a building or facility includes authorization to expend the proceeds of the bond for any equipment and furnishings, the purchase of any land, and the payment of all fees and expenses reasonably necessary to complete the building or facility. (6-8B-6)

Financing the construction of the event center, paying for equipment and furnishings for the building, purchase of any land and other fees and expenses necessary to complete the event center using general fund reserve and sales tax from the Capital Improvement Program raises serious red flags. The general fund is the city’s primary operating fund and to use these operating funds for construction purposes should be highly questionable as other funds have been put in place to fund capital improvements.

The first penny sales tax and property tax provides the primary revenue source for operations. The second penny sales tax primarily supports the Capital Improvements for general fund departments and is also used for debt retirement. User fees (water, sewer, electricity, parking and landfill) are second highest level of revenue support in the capital improvements program.

The only money in the 2011-2015 Capital Improvement Plan for the Event Center is $500,000 in 2011 and $500,000 in 2012. It would seem that serious realignment of capital projects programmed in the 2012-2016 capital plan and the years moving forward will need to be significantly adjusted if the Event Center project is going to be funded using second penny sales tax.

So where do you think the mayor and his team is going to propose getting the necessary funds to build his vision?  I say pay attention general public. The next couple of months will be very interesting.

Mother's Day Without a Mother

I started ignoring Mother's Day the year my mother died. She died on April 25, 1983. That was the year my whole life changed as I knew it. I was living and working in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I had been in Virginia Beach since 1970.

Then my son and I flew to Sioux Falls one October day in 1982. He, to go to his paternal grandparents in Luverne, MN for a special visit; me to travel to Mankato, MN with my twin sister to be with my mother who was having her gall bladder removed. Little did we know just how seriously ill our mother was that day. We all thought this was a routine simple surgery. The surgeon gathered my dad, sister and brothers together and told us our mother had gall bladder cancer that had metastasized to her liver. Her condition was terminal and she would likely be dead in 6 months. We all felt like death had just walked right into our lives uninvited and unwanted.

You go through your life thinking you are invincible. You take your health and that of your family members for granted. Sickness and death happens to someone else. You plan life like you have a million tomorrows. Then you get shot right through the heart. We were stunned. My mother was only 57 years old. We were too young to be dealing with the possibility of losing our mother. We shoved this news off to the side and told mother she was going to beat this. If I wasn't so involved in my feelings of despair, maybe I would have recognized the desperation in her own eyes.

Life without a mother is heartbreaking. I feel robbed. More importantly, she was robbed of a retirement life with my father that they talked about and planned with enthusiasm and expectation.  Her grandchildren were robbed of so many opportunities of the love only a grandmother can make special.  She was robbed of  two more grandchildren born into the family and 5 new great grandchildren.

My mother was the most kind hearted, generous, and giving woman. We were lucky to have grown up in such a loving and nurturing home. She reveled in being a grandmother and a day doesn't go by that my sister's son and daughter and my son don't talk about some memory created by my mother. Birthdays were special days where we would eat in the dining room, with a special meal prepared, served on the china and family silverware fit for holidays only. There was always a special treat when we came home from school. Meal times were filled with talk and laughter of our day. My mother did not work outside the home. Her job was to take care of her family and she dedicated her entire life to her husband and her children. A mother who became a friend and confident when I became an adult. I miss her no less today than I did when she died 28 years ago.

I have hated Mother's Day since that April day in 1983. I could not bring myself to go into a store this time of year and see all those Mother's Day cards. Mother's Day without a mother was not something to celebrate. It still isn't.

I try everyday to be the kind of mother my mother was to me. I try everyday to be the kind of grandma my mother was to her grandchildren. She left an imprint in our lives and in our hearts that shall live forever. So today, I rejoice in the fact that I was so lucky to have a mother who loved me and sacrificed for me and I am thankful for the years and moments we had together.

Still, it's not easy to spend Mother's Day without my mother.

Numbers, Numbers, Whose Got the Right Numbers?

Jonathan Ellis, ARGUS LEADER reporter, wrote a column on the assumptions used to develop the potential 34 new events if the Event Center is built at the Arena instead of Downtown.

AECOM, the firm hired to develop an economic analysis, assumes that 34 events with an average daily attendance of 3,500 people will be held each year if an events center is built adjoining the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The number is only seven events if it's built downtown.

I am hearing rumblings that the consultant used current shows to pad the numbers. How can current shows be used to show economic development? If the number included shows like the Home Show and Sportsman's Show, those figures would tend to skew the daily average, wouldn't it?

The Home Show, Sportsman’s Show and Lawn & Garden Show are all held in the March time frame, usually starting late in the week and going into the weekends. These are the same weekends that we want State Boys & Girls Basketball Tournaments and the Summit League Tournaments to be held at the Arena.  So if we are going to use a newly connected events center to our convention center to expand the flat floor space for the Home Show, Sportsman Show & Lawn and Garden Show – how will we  be able to host any of these basketball tournaments in the new events center.

As I recall, the mayor specifically used these shows as an example at the Q & A the other night. And Scott Kavanaugh used them in the Argus story yesterday . I don't know whose numbers are correct. I just know there are questions about the numbers. Maybe the city needs to go back to the consultant and ask them to enlighten everyone on how the numbers were developed. Lay it all out and get these questions answered so everyone can move on.

The city council has a big task ahead of themselves. They said they were committed to a review of the numbers and assumptions made in an economic analysis of a new events center.  The only two councilors who seem to be up to the task are Jamison and Brown. The others seem to rubberstamp whatever the mayor wants. Look how they all rolled over on the $65,000 naming rights study. Let's hope they are up to the task.

Just Can't Pull the Trigger on the Truth

The mayor was interviewed live online by the ARGUS LEADER Editorial Board on Wednesday, May 4th regarding his first year in office. When given the opportunity to come clean with the public regarding the firing of Sally Felix, the mayor, once again, could not pull the trigger and come clean.

The mayor was asked to give an update on the hiring of a new library director. He stated that he would be meeting with one of the top candidates on Friday or within the next two weeks.  Randell Beck followed up by asking, "Did you fire the previous library director or did she resign or retire?"

The mayor stumbled with his response and said he was not going to answer that and that he was surprised he (Beck) even asked it in that way. What other way could it be asked? It was a straight forward question that deserved a straight forward answer. The mayor said, "Sally Felix retired from her role."

Here is a mayor who held press conferences and issued press releases when he fired several appointed officials within weeks of taking office. Yet, he still cannot come clean on his firing of Sally Felix.
To continue to say she retired, is doublespeak.

What does that say about someone who cannot come clean with his own action regarding Felix? We don't need doublespeak from our mayor. We need public officials who have the conviction and character to take responsibility for their actions, criticism not withstanding.

To say Sally Felix retired is double speak, pure and simple. Everyone knows he fired her. She chose the option to retire because she was out of a job because he fired her. He knows he fired her. Yet, he still cannot take responsibility for his action and has to doublespeak it. If he could just admit it, this would not continue to be a story. Maybe that's one of the reasons he can't sleep at night.

Moving On - I Can Only Hope!

Hopefully, I went to my last Q & A Session on the Event Center location topic. It made me want to access my grandson's Talking Tom application on my IPAD and touch his paw so his nails scratched across the screen like finger nails on a blackboard.

The format was changed so there was no interaction or follow-up allowed by participants. Questions had to be submitted in writing or by e-mail. All the questions were screened by the moderator, Jack Marsh. This was the best format for a mayor who likes to control his environment and what he says. As such, it allowed the mayor to keep the agenda on his message. I heard most of the dialogue already.

Once again we heard about his business acumen, the way he grew up and why he is the most fiscally conservative person we will ever meet. Why he must continually tell us that is beyond my comprehension. Although it is getting very old, I wish he would just find a new tag line. I don't really want to hear about his personal life, what he brings to the table, blah, blah , blah. The campaign is over. We know who he is and where he came from.

Here is what I heard last night that stuck out above the same old, same old:

• We are building the Event Center for the 60% who live out of town.
• We need more parking for the McCart fields even if we didn't pave the fields over.
• There's a good chance this facility will not pay for the operating costs, so there will need to be budget subsidies.
• The way the Event Center pays for itself is economic development, not commercial development.
• He has a vision for the railroad tracks. When asked to be specific, he said green space, retail, restaurants and Condos.
• He is going to run for re-election in 3 years.
• The job is really hard and people need to stop being mean to him.
• He will get all the information to the city council by the end of July for a vote in November.

Let's kick this thing into high gear. I know I am not the only one out there who wants to move on to the red meat - financing this thing and when and if it will go to a public vote.

Are you ready to move on?

The Face of the War on Terror is Dead

The breaking news last night that Osama bin Laden was dead was cathartic. It has been a long time wanting and waiting.  I am sure there will be people and news outlets who will want to politicize this action.  There will be people who won’t believe it because for them the boogey man, going by the name of conspiracy, is always tucked into a corner of their brain.

Both the Bush administration and the Obama administration were committed to getting bin Laden.  Who cares who got it done?  I am just thankful the party in charge at the time the intelligence brought credible information forward, had the courage to take the action.

Osama Bin Laden was buried at sea.  I say hurrah! It saves this country from paying billions of dollars to protect someone who has killed thousands of innocent people in the name of Jihad against America.

Young people appearing almost immediately outside the White House.  People gathering at Ground Zero in New York City. People taking to the streets in jubilation.  Pride in a job well done.  Celebrating the courage and bravery of the specially trained and highly mythologized SEAL Team Six, officially called the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, but known even to the locals at their home base Dam Neck in Virginia as just DevGru. These brave people carried out the mission of our Commander-in-Chief. These are visions of patriotism, love for our country and its citizens.

The sun is shining today and it just seems different out there.  Sure, we are in Sioux Falls, SD.  A little oasis away from real danger and the deadly stain of death by terrorists.  But we can still celebrate this day.  As we reflect on 9/11 and the visions that will forever be stamped in our memories, we can be thankful that we live in America. We can be thankful for our armed forces and our president.

Justice has been served.

Sense and Sensibility

This Event Center process has been interesting to say the least. There are definitely four camps of thought and support regarding this major project.

A.   The No Camp

B.    The Just Build It-Who Cares Where Camp

C.    The Arena Convention Center Camp

D.   The Build It Downtown Camp.

Every camp has been vocal in their position, whether it is in person, online commenting on articles written in the ARGUS LEADER, comments posted on television stories through websites or Facebook pages, or blogs/comments. The exchange of ideas and public input is absolutely necessary to this process and should be welcomed, no matter what camp it comes from.

Small numbers of people actually attend Event Center Updates or public Q & A sessions. There is a huge group of voters out there who never comment, never go on the Internet, never email or call their councilor or mayor, and may never read the local paper. We know what the vocal minority wants. What does the silent majority want?

We have elected people to make the decision regarding whether the city should build an event center. They will have to decide if we can afford to build and operate an event center. And they will have to decide where the Event Center will be built if, in fact, we can afford to build and operate it.

Elected officials get lobbied regarding various public issues. What has been going on with this project is just that – lobbying... lobbying through the Internet, face to face meetings, and public meetings.   

The time is finally approaching where it will be in the city council’s hands and that decision(s) will be made through a majority vote of the council. The city council will ultimately decide whether we vote on this issue at all. If we get to vote, I wonder what the ballot will actually look like.   I wish the mayor and the city council had framed this issue differently and made some crucial decisions upfront.

We got a glimpse of where the councilors were at on this whole issue in the  Argus Leader.  At least there are some councilors who have the big picture at hand. It's all about the finances, what debt are we willing to carry forward, and what are we going to have to give up.

All this rhetoric about who is right and who is wrong is growing to a frenzy. People are frustrated and angry and impatient. The debate can go on forever. I wish we had used sense and sensibility in the beginning and talked and debated the financing of the project.

Then the public could have made the decision if they wanted an event center and where it should be built.