http://chiefsview.com/2015/04/16/lets-talk-about-the-civic-center-expansion/
"I believe that if the Civic Center expansion would have passed the
public vote, it would have been a successful endeavor. I also believe
that there were many errors made during the planning process, public
information process and marketing campaign. Overall, no one in their
right mind could have expected a majority of Rapid City residents to
accept the expansion plan after being kept in the dark for over three
years. Plus, $180 million is too much money.
While the $180 million Civic Center expansion project was the most
expensive purchase proposal in the history of Rapid City, Mayor Kooiker
sought to shield himself throughout the entire process. There are people
in Rapid City who voted for Sam Kooiker because he promised to protect
them from big government. There are also people who voted for him
because he promised economic development. Ironically, when you try to
play both sides of the coin, you can’t win.
Unfortunately, during this massive failure, the City spent $700,000
for studies and design and we are no further ahead on this issue than we
were three years ago. In fact, the City has taking a giant step
backward, if the original intent was to merely bring the Civic Center
Arena into ADA compliance. One thing is for certain: we now have a
legal, binding agreement
with the federal government to bring the Don Barnett Arena into
compliance with ADA codes. Tens of millions of dollars will be spent
doing so, and in the end, we will have the same Civic Center arena we
have today. Is this progress?"
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