Chamber Advocate 6/4/21
City Council Meeting Highlights
This week, City Council discussed and explored several initiatives. One was aimed at bringing motorized foot scooters to Downtown Sioux Falls and another explored a proposed increase to inspection fees.
Motorized foot scooters
Before we dive into the issue, it should be noted that the motorized foot scooters ordinance that was introduced at the June 1 meeting was recently withdrawn and is no longer being considered by the Council. However, the issue is still worth exploring. The ordinance would have brought motorized foot scooters to Sioux Falls under the following parameters:
- The scooters will only be allowed between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. from May 1 to Sept. 30.
- These scooters must be picked up every single night and stored by the owner or a third party entity.
- The City would be authorized to limit the number of scooters and licensees. However, they would have started with 15 total.
- Scooters will have a maximum speed of 15 mph.
- The motorized foot scooters will be limited to the sidewalks only. Roads are be off limits.
- Scooters will be equipped with geofence technology that allows each to be tracked.
- The intent was to restrict the scooters between 9th and 12th street on Phillips Ave. and the scooters will only be used in the downtown area.
Again, this ordinance is no longer being considered, but we anticipate seeing a similar initiative in the future.
MEP Fee Revisions Recommended
At the informational meeting, City Council heard a proposal that would increase mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) fees. The MEP fee revision recommendation is outlined in the table below.
| Min. Valuation | Max. Valuation | Valuation | Min. Fee | For the first… | Fee | For each additional… | Max total fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $40 | $40 | |||
| $5,000.01 | $25,000 | $25,000 | $40 | $5,000 | $6 | $1,000 | $160 |
| $25,000.01 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $160 | $25,000 | $5.25 | $1,000 | $292 |
| $50,000.01 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $292 | $50,000 | $4.50 | $1,000 | $517 |
| $100,000.01 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $517 | $100,000 | $4.25 | $1,000 | $1,155 |
| $250,000.01 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $1,155 | $250,000 | $4 | $1,000 | $2,155 |
| $500,000.01 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,155 | $500,000 | $3.50 | $1,000 | $3,905 |
| $1,000,000.01 | and up | $3,905 | $1,000,000 | $3 | $1,000 |