This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
MDL tucked away on page three this week the news that Lake County managed to unload nine acres of its old poor farm Tuesday. Despite my vigorous exhortations to you eager land speculators (and even one commenter's agreement that the land was a great investment), no one showed up to bid on this choice lake property besides Sioux Falls developer Ted Thoms, who got the property for $100K. Nine acres at Lake Madison for $100K -- total steal. Expect Thoms to at least triple his money.
But keep saving your pennies, kids: the county still has 140 acres or so of poor farm on its hands. The county will need more cash to patch the roads, so more sales may be coming.
There is a runoff
-
You can now go vote at the Minnehaha County Administration office Downtown
Sioux Falls at 6th and Minnesota Avenue. Your choices are Mr. Jordan
Deffenbaugh...
18 hours ago
Why would selling off the poor farm necessarily equal more money spent on road maintenance?
ReplyDeleteWe are going to have to accept less services for our limited tax dollars. Maybe we have too many paved roads. I can remember many of our paved county roads being gravel 30 years ago.
Nothing wrong with McMansions as they add to our property tax base. I'm guessing it will get cleaned up and developed correctly so it enhances the general Marr's Beach area. Maybe the County Commissioners would consider adding a public area with boat launch on their lakefront property east of the old Marr's Beach area. People are finding fewer areas to launch their boat, so the County's Poor Farm would be a sensible location. They'll have to quit calling it the poor farm pretty soon as lake frontage values now exceed $2000 a running foot. During the Nation's Bicentennial Celebration in 1976 a proposal was discussed to turn the Lake County Poor Farm into a National Park for families to use. Maybe that proposal is still viable?
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:12...I can remember taking a Sears Catalog to the outhouse many years ago too, but I wouldn't want to go back to those days. If paved roads are going back to gravel, it should be based on daily usage, not budget woes. Our county could opt out if they need more funds for roads or work on increasing the wheel tax. If we want good roads we have to be willing to pay for them.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1 is right: no guarantee our commissioners will put that money toward roads, but it's more money for something, both up front in the payment price and ongoing as the land goes on the tax rolls.
ReplyDeleteA National Park?! Wow! Who was behind that 1976 proposal? Did it go anywhere? Lake Madison has a couple of public access areas, but a nice park right on Highway 19 would be a real gem for the lake! It might not generate property tax revenue, but it would add to the draw for tourists and prospective residents.
Just curious. Where exactly is the county poor farm located?
ReplyDeleteMaybe I will invest if this is supposed to be such a money maker!!!
re: Anon 12:29, I have two points.
ReplyDeleteLake County Commissioners already charge the highest wheel tax availalbe, so it can't be increased any higher unless legislators raise the limit or change the regulations on the tax.
As for opting out, commissioners have discussed it, but prefer to work within the budget they have because they don't feel an opt out will pass.
As for the location of the poor farm -- go down SD-19 and the "poor farm" land starts just south of marr's beach/sunset harbor and includes the county gravel pit and rented out farm land adjacent to the Hilde housing development.
Very close to where the country poor farm is located is an ancient and I mean ancient 5000-10000 year old Indian Burial Ground. So good luck to those lovely people in their new McMansions. I would love to send them a copy of Poltergeist to watch as a house warming gift.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the money the county gets it will get wasted on yet another project to make the already rich business owners even richer.
Increase the wheel tax...good idea how about to beyond four wheels per vehicle. I believe that tax is limited to four wheels per vehicle licensced. So maybe they could just make all vehicles big and small pay a fair share to maintain the roads. Also, how about regulating the Golf Cart/4 wheeler Traffic around Lake Madison especially by the Lakes Golf Course. Maybe they should all have to be licensced to run on the roads. There is a huge untapped road tax potential. I know I have to pay a fee to licensce my snomobile and last time I checked very few snowmobiles arer ran on roads.
Indian burial grounds? Wow! I'm learning all sorts of stuff here. Where is the burial site? Have any archaeologists dug around in there? Does the site have any official designation or protection?
ReplyDeleteI don't want to slander anyone about the burial site but a friend of my family who has lived very near there for many found several artifacts and had at one point contacted different tribes but none of them were interested at the time. This person kept the artifacts and has quite the treasure room in their house. Only a few have seen it, I find it distasteful and disrespectful. It might me interesting when they start doing dirt work in that area and see what they find. Something similiar happened up by lake Ponnset (spelling?) where a new group of houses were put in and several things were unearthed. I never heard how that one eneded up.
ReplyDeleteCorey please edit the last post for grammar...I appologize.
ReplyDelete[No biggie, Anon -- besides, I can't edit comments, only delete.]
ReplyDeleteAnon here again...Elsie is right. The county commission has decided to be very conservate with their spending. We will just have to see if the $400K they didn't spend this year will have any more buying power next year.
ReplyDeleteNo one is forcing the county to sell anything. If they want to sell the poor farm to a developer so they can then practice capitalism, they can easily do so.
I miss the days of Marr's Beach and Maury Beyer.