Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, September 21, 2021 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: Janet Brekke, Christine M. Erickson, Alex Jensen, Rick Kiley, Greg Neitzert (arr. 4:06 p.m.), Marshall Selberg, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr Council Members Absent: None Council Chair Curt Soehl called the meeting to order at 4 p.m. 2. Committee/Commission Reports A. Multi-Cultural Center Intergovernmental Board: Wednesday, September 15, 2021 (Council Member Starr) Council Member Pat Starr announced that the Board met this morning and gave their approval for a new executive director. A name will be released at a later date. He added that this is a restart and refocus of the program. B. Urbanized Development Commission (UDC): Thursday, September 16, 2021 (Council Members: Brekke, Kiley, Neitzert, Starr) Starr said the commission provided letters of support for Brandon and Crooks; and received an update on the Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan Annual Progress Report. He added that there were a lot of updates and projects. 3. Councilor Remarks Soehl said he spoke at the MIA/POW recognition ceremony on Friday at Veterans Park. He said it was very moving. 4. Presentations A. August 2021 Financial Results by Shawn Pritchett, Finance Director Presentation: Approximately 10 minutes followed by discussion Pritchett said that Labor Force and Employment is up 6.5% compared to 2019 and up 8% compared to 2020. He said there is a 3% growth for year-to-year. The unemployment rate for July was at 2.3% compared to a 2.7% statewide average,  and 5.7% nationwide rate. Inflation continues to be up, due in part to the energy and food sectors. Pritchett said that we were at 5.3% for inflation, which was similar to the 5.4% of the previous month. For August, we were at approximately $725M for Building Permits YTD Building Valuations. This is approximately $315M ahead of last year or a 77% increase. The multi-family housing, which is up approximately $165M, is the driving factor for the increase. Commercial construction and remodels are up about $85M, new residential is up about $60M, manufacturing is up about $40M, and retail outlet malls remain down. Sioux Falls YTD Residential Permits (Units) for August show: 638 single family homes; 1,479 multi-family units; and 308 townhome/duplex units. Pritchett said in total through August, there have been about 2,400 units of housing permitted, which is equal to the last two years combined for this time of year. Sales Tax Collections w/out Audits are up 19.4% compared to August 2020; and up 17% compared to 2019. The rolling average is 11.1%. Entertainment Tax Collections w/out Audits is 23.4% over August 2020; and up almost 19% from August 2019. Lodging has continued to increase. There was a lot of growth across several sectors, in regards to the Industry Taxable Sales Data. Lodging Tax Receipts are up 34% from 2019. Lodging BID Tax Receipts are up 3% from 2019. Sixty-six percent of the General Fund - Revenues YTD have been collected; and 61% of the General Fund - Expenditures YTD have been expended. Pritchett spoke about a new chart that provides an update on the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) and Local Government Assistance (LGA) funds and projects. Discussion followed regarding: positive citizen comments regarding the budget; inquiry into the numbers for the events that took place over the weekend at the Event Center, Convention Center, Arena, and Howard Wood Field; the $66K debt still owed by the Sioux Empire Community Theater; the reasoning behind the increase of the local labor force; and appreciation was expressed for the new chart tracking the ARPA and LGA funds. 5. Public Comment There was none. 6. Executive Session A. Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25- 2(3) A motion was made by Council Member Jensen and seconded by Council Member Erickson to enter Executive Session at 4:30 p.m. for Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25-2(3). Voice vote to enter Executive Session. 8 Yes: Brekke, Erickson, Jensen, Kiley, Neitzert, Selberg, Soehl, Starr; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. A motion was made by Council Member Selberg and seconded by Council Member Jensen to exit Executive Session and adjourn at 5:07 p.m.  Voice vote to exit Executive Session. 8 Yes: Brekke, Erickson, Jensen, Kiley, Neitzert, Selberg, Soehl, Starr; 0 No: (None). Motion Passed. 7. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 5:07 p.m. Denise D. Tucker, MMC, Assistant City Clerk