RAPID CITY, SD — At a speech outside city hall this afternoon, people of Rapid City gathered under the banner of a grassroots group they are calling “No Free Rides” to show their support for a “No” vote on the proposed TIF which if approved would, they say, grant just under 47 Million dollars in what appear to be subsidies to the Libertyland project in facilities and amenities contributions.
“Prior to this TIF and the Catalyst TIF, the average amount of an active Rapid City TIF was around 13 million or less. Significant? yes, to a tune of a $112 million difference,” said Lisa Pustejovsky, Chair of No Free Rides, “This is almost a 1000% increase. Past TIFs reflect the fact that most of them only have infrastructure cost in them, not discretionary funds that can literally be used for anything short of an actual residential structure”.
Pustejovsky was joined at the podium by Republican Tonchi Weaver and Democrat Jay Davis in a rare show of bipartisan agreement, and the group was additionally joined by State Senator Taffy Howard, each of whom approached the issue from differing angles. They emphasized the necessity of the tax revenue generated by the project in funding for schools and libraries, a conviction against what the organization sees as a “corporate welfare plan”, and additionally emphasized that the Catalyst District (housing the sports complex) and the Destination District (housing the area of Libertyland) were separate and that they did not oppose the TIF given to the sports complex.
The group did not as a position oppose the existence of Libertyland as a matter of unified position, however Sen. Howard noted that she had seen significant backlash from individuals on the project, something which the organizations’ collection of around 5000 signatures, which led to the special election currently being slated for January 20, may prove to be indicative of.
Disclosure: Libertyland is promoted or affiliated with the HomeSlice Group, the parent company of The Rapid City Post.
