Informational Meeting

MINUTES Monday, March 21, 2011 Informational Meeting 4:00 PM at Carnegie Town Hall Sioux Falls City Council 235 West Tenth Street Members Present: Sue Aguilar, Kenny Anderson Jr., Vernon Brown, James Entenman, Michelle Erpenbach, Greg Jamison, Rex Rolfing, and Mike T. Huether Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Debra A. Owen, City Clerk/Chief of Council Operations and Tamara Jorgensen, CMC, Assistant City Clerk 1. Call To Order Council Chair Jamison called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 2. City Council Staff Report A. Debra A. Owen, City Clerk/Chief of Council Operations Owen gave updates on the following: The start time for the City Council Working Session scheduled for Thursday, March 24, 2011, has been moved to 4:00 p.m. There will be an Audit Committee Meeting on Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. There will not be any amendments to any items at tonight's City Council Meeting. 3. Public Services Committee A. Report from meeting held on Monday, March 14, 2011 Anderson Jr. gave an update from the last Public Services Committee Meeting covering the Executive Orders, the Pawn Shop ordinance and Administrative Rules. 4. City Council Open Discussion Jamison opened the discussion regarding the $3.8 million left over in the CIP fund and its uses. At Thursday's leadership meeting, Jamison shared with Mayor Huether what the Council's intentions were regarding using these funds. Jamison stated that the Mayor has other plans for this money and he wants input from the Council on what their intentions are.  Jamison requested additional information from Mark Cotter, Director of Public Works, on roads that could use work/updating as soon as possible. Jamison stated that discussions need to occur among the Council on what is best for the City of Sioux Falls with these funds. Discussion followed. Entenman stated he wants to see discussions occur, in conjunction with the respective City Departments, to ensure we are 'shovel ready' to go with projects. Erpenbach stated there is a need for allocating the hold-back money because this is based on 2010 sales tax money - part of which went to the city. The Council needs to determine what the priorities are for the citizens of Sioux Falls. Anderson Jr. asked Cotter about 'shovel ready' projects on the 2010 hold back listing. Discussion continued regarding the 2010 hold backs and expenditures. Jamison asked the Fiscal Committee to review funds received from the Federal Government, the State and any other outside agencies, and how those funds were going to be affected with recent budget changes. Turbak stated that the directors have been working on reviewing federal aid dollars and that this was a work in progress. He stated that this information would be made available to the Council once it is completed. Brown stated that these discussions should also occur at the monthly meetings with the counties and the school districts, as these funding changes would have an impact on them as well. Erpenbach encouraged the Council Members to attend the monthly meetings with the representatives from the School Districts and the Counties. She said the timing of the Events Center discussions was going to coincide with the announcements of a raise in sewer rates as well as major announcements such as 3,000 teachers and staff being told of pay cuts due to the budget changes that will be effective on July 1, 2011. 5. Presentations A. Events Center Update by Mayor Mike Huether At the conclusion of the presentation, Council Members asked Huether the following questions: What are the expectations of the City Council regarding the Events Center? Does the Council choose the ballot language? Does the Council choose the site? Huether stated that after the studies and reviews have concluded, he would return to the City Council with a recommendation for the Event Center. Huether would like to see the Events Center team meet again with the City Council within the  next few weeks to answer any additional questions and address any concerns. Brown asked what entities would be the main users of the facility. Discussion was held regarding an 'anchor' tenant and the representatives stated this facility would be flexible enough to be used for a variety of venues. Jamison asked the representatives for their feedback on the best sites for the Events Center. Jamison and Huether discussed several items. Jamison asked if Kendra Siemonsma, Special Projects Manager, had been introduced to the Events Center project. Discussion of slide #6: "It is unrealistic to build a new events center for Sioux Falls without sacrifice somewhere else". Discussion of slide #7: "Short- term "nice to haves" will conflict with longer term, more expensive needs of Sioux Falls". In reference to earlier comments made by Huether regarding the 'speed of government' vs. the 'speed of business', Brown stated that there are reasons why government moves slowly, at times. We are not spending one person's money; we are spending every citizen's tax dollars here. Even businesses take time for decisions that involve a large amount of money. He stated it is unfair to be critical of government and that not all businesses run like credit card companies. After the discussion, Huether apologized if his comments offended anyone. 6. Adjournment Council Chair Jamison adjourned the meeting at 5:58 p.m. Tamara Jorgensen, CMC Assistant City Clerk