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My first reaction was "Oh, no, not another committee."
Initially, news that Mayor Dave Munson is creating yet another task force related to building an events center made my heart sink ever so slightly.
As a matter of fact, I recalled chatting with a colleague not long ago after the school board decided to delay a decision about making renovations to Howard Wood Field. That move gave a little breathing room to folks hoping that the Howard Wood site could be used as a parking lot for an events center that would be built nearby.
My colleague and I pondered the possible next steps that might unfold in this long, long journey to find a suitable upgrade for the Sioux Falls Arena.
We noted that at least two groups within the past several years have delved into a myriad of event center issues, ranging from size to site location to parking.
Clearly, I said, we don’t need another committee.
But I’m backtracking – somewhat – from my knee-jerk reaction to Munson’s latest task force incarnation.
That’s because this newest group’s mission includes moving the city in the direction it must go if we’ll ever get an events center built.
We’ve paid a lot attention recently – and rightfully so – to the question of where to build an events center. To this day, that question is still very much in the air, so there’s more work to do on that front.
But there’s another thorny question that involves how to pay for it, and that debate must come to the front burner to make any events center possible, regardless of location.
It seems that’s where this new task force will come into play.
Munson plans to charge this new group with proclaiming the events center message throughout South Dakota.
The goal is to help convince lawmakers across the state – especially lawmakers from cities that eventually might need to build similar venues – of the virtues of Sioux Falls’ hoped-for facility.
The idea is to gain support for statewide legislation that would allow individual cities to increase the sales tax. Sioux Falls, in turn, would use its revenue to help pay for construction of an events center.
Support for the increased tax has been missing, and its absence is a major roadblock for Sioux Falls’ plans.
So Munson is wise to direct these latest efforts toward finding solutions to the financing question, although it’ll take more than a group of private citizens to do that.
The city’s own legislative delegation will need to step up to the plate, too. Those folks will need to convince their own colleagues to give cities the ability to raise taxes temporarily.
And as a former state legislator, Munson himself has more than enough experience to help lawmakers see the light.
Still, if members of his new committee can help with efforts to find financing, then it’s worth letting them try.
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