SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Advocates of open government are criticizing the city of Sioux Falls for keeping secret the details of a $1 million settlement with Denny Sanford Premier Center contractors regarding bulging metal siding.
City officials announced the settlement on Sept. 18, two weeks after saying they were going to sue. The settlement was between the city and M. A. Mortenson Co., Sink Combs Dethlefs PC, Koch Hazard, M.J. Dalsin Inc. and Innovative Metals Co. Inc.
The city attorney’s office rejected a request by the Argus Leader newspaper (https://argusne.ws/1Nra7G7 ) to see the agreement, saying terms of the deal prohibit its public disclosure.
“The parties agreed to a confidential settlement whose contractual terms prohibited the city of Sioux Falls from disclosing the settlement document and the specific terms of each of the other parties’ contributions to the global settlement,” City Attorney David Pfeifle wrote.
Open records advocates believe the city had a choice to make settlement details public when it entered into the agreement.
“I think it’s debatable because this is something that was not a legal action. They weren’t in court over this,” said Dave Bordewyk, general manager of the South Dakota Newspaper Association. “This is simply an agreement hammered out by two sides, and one of those sides is the city, which represents taxpayers.”
Argus Leader Media attorney Jon Arneson said even if there was pending litigation prior to the settlement being reached, agreeing to keep details from the public isn’t in the best interest of taxpayers.
“Legal expediency often overshadows principle, and there are certainly times when it should not,” he said. “Arguably, the public’s right to know government-based information such as this might justify some inconvenience in settlement.”
Issues with the bulging panels began even before the $117 million events center opened a year ago. The city said the problem is one of aesthetics; an investigation concluded that the metal siding was structurally sound and did not need replacing.
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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com
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