Petition drive to stop $25M admin building underway

The City Council has been overruled but Sioux Falls citizens could still stop a $25 million city building project from going forward.

Citizen activist Bruce Danielson Thursday filed the necessary paperwork to begin collecting signatures to put the decision to build a 79,000-square-foot government office building in downtown to a vote of the people. But because the bonds for the project are set to be sold in October coupled with the procedural hurdles it takes to hold a special election, Danielson has about three weeks to get the necessary 5,700 signatures of Sioux Falls voters.

That’s a hurdle Danielson believes he can overcome.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but it’s been accomplished before so why shouldn’t I be able to do it?” he said moments before certifying his initiated measure with the City Clerk’s Office. “But it will be tough.”

The City Council could still kill the project, but it’s unlikely it will have enough votes to override Mayor Mike Huether's use of his veto power. The Council last week voted 5-3 to repeal the ordinance that authorized the project’s financing. Those votes are expected to hold, leaving the council one vote short of what it takes to overrule the mayor.

Danielson said that realization motivated him to pursue an initiated measure.

“It’s not me against the mayor. It never was and it never will be,” he said. “This is about the public.”

Getting an initiated measure on the ballot is no small feat, especially when a bonding ordinance is in play. Here’s what has to happen:

Get signatures: Danielson needs 5,700 signatures from Sioux Falls residents who are registered to vote in the city. A few signatures usually get disqualified during the validation process, so a rule of thumb is to have at least 7,000 signatures just for good measure.

Verify signatures: Once signatures are gathered, the City Clerk has to validate them. Usually that’s done by reviewing a small sample of the collected signatures. But if someone challenges and wants every single one validated, the City Clerk must adhere to that request, which can take two to four weeks.

Council action: Once validated, the City Council has to set a date for an election, which requires two readings. It can either put the initiated measure on the next municipal election ballot – in this case April 2018 – or schedule a special election. By law, an election must be scheduled no less than 30 days in advance.

Bonding complications: State law says an initiated measure can’t be used to nullify the purpose for which a bond has been issued. That means if the public vote is to have any impact on the city administration building project, it has to happen prior to Oct. 1, the first day bonds can be sold.

Canvassing: No election results are official until the City Council reviews and approves them, called canvassing. That also has to happen prior to Oct. 1.

Councilors Greg Neitzert, one of the five who voted to pull the project funding, said if Danielson is able to come up with the necessary signatures, the Council owes it to the civic process to let the public have its say.

"If the citizens demonstrate that they want a voice in this, I believe we are morally obligated to let them have their voice," he said.

But others have a different idea. Councilor Michelle Erpenbach said she senses voter fatigue from her constituents, and questions whether passing the decision off on them is the right thing to do.

"If they were to miraculously get all these signatures … I guess I can't say what I would do," she said. "Let’s have that conversation if it happens."

Follow metro watchdog reporter Joe Sneve on Twitter at @Argus_Joe.