Latest news with #ProjectPrisonReset
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prison task force picks Sioux Falls, caps price at $650 million for 1,500 beds
South Dakota State Engineer Stacy Watters, left, and Vance McMillan of JE Dunn testify to the Project Prison Reset task force on July 8, 2025, in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) SIOUX FALLS — South Dakota can't build the prison it needs at the price it wants without sacrificing quality and longevity. That was the message delivered Tuesday to the Project Prison Reset task force by the state's construction manager, the state engineer and the consultant hired earlier this year to evaluate the options for addressing prison overcrowding. The message didn't take. Citing the political realities of a skeptical Legislature, the task force voted unanimously to recommend that lawmakers support a men's prison at a price point of $650 million during a special session whose date has yet to be set. Prison task force rejects original Lincoln County site, tightens budget for new facility That's $50 million higher than the limit the group set last month. It's also $75 million less than the experts said the group's preferred project would cost hours before the vote. Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, who leads the task force, said the figure is a compromise that moves the state toward a replacement for the 144-year-old penitentiary in Sioux Falls. 'There is no appetite, none, for going above $650 million,' Venhuizen said. House Speaker Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids, said securing a two-thirds majority in both chambers — required for spending bills — will mean convincing lawmakers that the job can be done without cost overruns and supplemental budget requests. 'We're going to need to know that we can actually do it for $650 million,' Hansen said. The group also endorsed two vacant plots of industrial land in northeastern Sioux Falls just off Interstate 229, near Gage Brothers, a precast concrete company. The choice of which was left to legislators. The task force voted to shoot down options in Mitchell or Worthing early on during its final meeting Tuesday, which took place at the Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls. Other site options were ruled out during earlier meetings, and some communities, including Box Elder, removed themselves from consideration after submitting proposals. Unlike the residents of Mitchell and Worthing, Joe Bunker of Gage Brothers told the group his company had no qualms with having a prison as a neighbor. 'I just want you to know that we're not opposed to it,' Bunkers said. The buildings on the recommended prison campus should be designed to last 100 years, the task force decided, with 1,200 beds for higher security inmates and another 300 for lower-security inmates. That configuration was one of 14 options presented Tuesday morning from Arrington Watkins, the consulting firm hired to assess the prison system's space needs. The price estimate for the northeastern Sioux Falls prison complex is $725 million. That's $100 million less than a 1,500-bed men's prison proposed for Lincoln County, whose failure to earn the support of the Legislature back in February spurred the creation of the task force. The two sites in northeast Sioux Falls selected as potential prison locations. Mike Quinn of Arrington Watkins ran the task force through the options Tuesday morning. None came in below $600 million, the price cap the task force adopted previously. In addition to brushing off Mitchell and Worthing as site options, the group's final recommendations eliminated options that would have placed buildings in multiple locations. Those included a small prison just north of the penitentiary across a Big Sioux River diversion channel and an additional dormitory-style building in Springfield, current site of Mike Durfee State Prison. Those options were an outgrowth of questions from task force members about the need for a single high-security facility. Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, a task force member, asked Quinn if any of the multi-building setups would be 'the best option for the taxpayer.' The answer was no. Each prison site, regardless of size, Quinn said, would need to have recreation areas, kitchens and mess halls and other support areas. 'When you build three facilities, you're building those buildings three times,' Quinn said, adding 'it's never more economical to split it up into smaller units.' Hansen was one of several task force members to ask about a 1,512-bed Nebraska prison priced at $313 million for inmates at a variety of security levels. South Dakota State Engineer Stacy Watters said the state of Nebraska has refused to release specifications for that facility, and denied a records request from South Dakota for more details, citing nondisclosure agreements with its contractors. What the state did learn, Watters said, was that the $313 million price only includes construction, not site preparation or design, and that it doesn't include the intake area or medical facilities that South Dakota's proposal does. Nebraska has already spent $130 million on buildings with those services over the past seven years, she said, and plans to use cheaper piping for its plumbing in the new prison project. The design and materials being used in Nebraska are unclear, but 'we had to assume that at that price, there was a reduced level of construction,' said Vance McMillan of JE Dunn, the state's construction manager at-risk. Hansen questioned why Nebraska would hold back on sharing its design features for a public project. Venhuizen suggested that Nebraska is building a 'sub-par' facility, and 'that's not something they're really looking to admit.' McMillan told the group it had done all the due diligence necessary to keep its estimates low, bidding out every piece of the project. A cheaper price would mean building a prison that would need replacing sooner. Comparisons to Nebraska or other states weren't 'apples to apples,' he said. Report: Tough-on-crime policies could push prison construction costs as high as $2.1 billion But House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, said lower reported price points in other states have created enough doubt to put a new South Dakota prison in political jeopardy at the prices offered Tuesday. 'I'm sitting here as majority leader trying to figure out how I can sell this to a two-thirds majority of the Legislature not knowing all the answers,' Odenbach said. The state has $566 million set aside in an incarceration construction fund, a balance built by infusions of COVID-19 relief money and earning interest. About $50 million of that is earmarked for a women's prison in Rapid City, which is currently under construction. The fund will grow by $23 million of interest in August, Corrections Department spokesman Michael Winder said Tuesday. That the state has the money set aside makes the project more palatable, but Rep. Greg Jamison, R-Sioux Falls, said worries about ongoing operational costs and concerns that the state might not be getting the best deal have left some lawmakers unwilling to trust the experts. 'Other states are doing it for less. There's a shadow of doubt, and we need to rebuild that trust,' Jamison said, to get legislative approval. Jamison suggested that the group vote for 1,500 beds, cap the price at $600 million, and recommend looking for a new construction manager at-risk, as JE Dunn and Henry Carlson's single proposal was the only one the state fielded back in 2023. McMillan, as well as some task force members, bristled at the idea of dispensing with JE Dunn and starting from scratch. McMillan told the task force that every month wasted carries the potential for greater costs. He urged them to make a decision, and insisted that the team that's worked on prisons for the state for the past two years could meet whatever design specifications that lawmakers want. 'We would be happy to build you a steel structure that would last you 50 years. That's a decision that you guys have to make,' McMillan said. McMillan said it would be 'a tall order' to build a 100-year facility for $650 million. Judge Jane Wipf Pfeifle, a task force member, said switching gears on a construction manager would ultimately cost taxpayers. She also questioned the wisdom of setting an 'arbitrary' cap on costs that could hamstring a new prison's ability to meet the state's needs. Two consultants' reports since 2022 have pointed to inmate population growth that will outpace the state's ability to house prisoners without major policy shifts or new construction. The experts, she said, have shown their work to explain their prices and how their designs can address the problem. Prison task force is offered sites east of Box Elder, near unbuilt hog operation in Sioux Falls 'They're not saying 'Gosh, I read in the newspaper that it's cheaper in Arkansas or Nebraska,'' Wipf Pfeifle said. Sen. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls, was among the task force members to worry aloud about what the state would lose — including space for things like rehabilitation programming — by placing a cap of $650 million on the project. Smith said he had little choice but to support the lower-cost compromise figure, but that 'there are going to be corners that will have to be cut in order to get to that number, based on everything that you've seen today.' Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre, expressed similar concerns. Based on a question from Mehlhaff, Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko told the group that after closing up the penitentiary, she could likely fill 1,500 beds with the state's current prison population. 'We might build a facility that is overcrowded the day we move in,' Mehlhaff said, adding that spending $600 million of saved-up money without solving the problem would be 'a poor stewardship of taxpayer money.' Even so, Mehlhaff said, he recognizes that his fellow lawmakers need to be willing to move forward. Mehlhaff moved that the task force recommend the Legislature to direct the Department of Corrections to 'come up with a plan' to build 1,500 beds 'in the most efficient way possible,' with 300 beds for lower-security inmates. Attorney General and task force member Marty Jackley suggested a $650 million price cap as an amendment. Prison work group peppered with public testimony in first Sioux Falls meeting That addition was 'not necessarily friendly,' the Mehlhaff said, 'but if we could move the ball forward, I could accept that.' Before the final vote, both Venhuizen and Hansen, a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, lauded the result as a win. Venhuizen said the task force had produced a workable compromise. Hansen said the group was able to find a location that, unlike the original Lincoln County proposal, is palatable to neighbors. When asked if the lower price might force the Legislature to build a facility meant to last less than 100 years, Venhuizen said 'I would rather build it smaller' than cheaper. Compromises will need to be made, he said, but those decisions will need to come from the Legislature. Hansen said he also wants to see a durable facility. He couldn't speculate on what kinds of compromises might be necessary, but said there's no question that a higher price tag is off the table. 'We'll have to see what these guys bring to the Legislature,' Hansen said of the design team. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Special legislative session scheduled for South Dakota prison vote
Cells at the South Dakota State Penitentiary. (Courtesy of South Dakota Department of Corrections) South Dakota lawmakers will gather in September to decide whether to replace the state penitentiary. On Friday, Gov. Larry Rhoden issued an executive proclamation calling a special session of the Legislature for Sept. 23. The news comes a little over a week after the governor's Project Prison Reset task force voted to endorse a 1,500-bed complex on undeveloped land in northeastern Sioux Falls. Prison task force picks Sioux Falls, caps price at $650 million for 1,500 beds The group recommended a price cap of $650 million, which is roughly the amount that has been set aside for prison construction over the past three years, potentially allowing the state to pay cash for the project rather than taking on debt. The cap is around $75 million less than consultants and work managers said would be necessary for a project of that size during the task force's final meeting on July 8, but the group decided that a higher price wouldn't earn legislative support. Spending bills require the support of two-thirds of lawmakers. The final spending push for an $825 million prison on a controversial Lincoln County site failed to clear that hurdle in February. In a letter to Rhoden requesting the special session, Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, who leads the prison task force, said compromises were necessary to find an answer that would appeal to the Legislature and ease overcrowding in the state's Department of Corrections facilities. 'The task force's unanimous vote for its recommendation demonstrates that we have found a good site for a new penitentiary and a strong path forward,' Venhuizen wrote. The new prison, if approved by lawmakers, would replace the oldest parts of the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls. That building was initially constructed in 1881, prior to statehood. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Inside KELOLAND: Prison, Brain awareness and KELOLAND+
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – From new developments in the saga of Project Prison Reset, to a new show we're bringing to KELOLAND+, to a mystery at McKennan Park, there is a lot happening in South Dakota. What to know about SF protests set for this weekend On this week's Inside KELOLAND, we're going to run the gamut on some of the big happenings. You can watch the full show in the player above. June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month — we'll hear from the state executive director of the Alzheimer's association about current developments. We'll sit down with Digital Reporter Maddie Paul about a brand new show we're bringing to our KELOLAND+ CTV app. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Next steps for men's prison delayed
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Lieutenant Governor Tony Venhuizen has sought and received a delay for when lawmakers at a special legislative session can learn about Project Prison Reset's recommendations. Venhuizen's letter says extra time is needed to come up with a proposal with enough detail. Project Prison Reset is looking at how and where to recommend construction of a new prison facility or facilities in the state. USD still weighing decisions with NCAA settlement Greg Jamison is on that task force, and he says they still aim to have a proposal completed in July. He says a delay will not only benefit them, but the entire legislature. 'We're knee deep in all the details, but the other legislators are not,' Jamison said. 'And so, the concept of asking them to approve something that we know inside and out, and they've only maybe had a couple of weeks to digest that seems like a challenge.' The group's next meeting is scheduled for July 8th, and a special legislative session was originally set for July 22nd. Governor Larry Rhoden says in a statement, 'I will accept the task force's request and will consult with legislative leadership on a rescheduled date for the special session. I'm eager to see what the task force can accomplish in their next meeting.' 'It makes a lot of sense for him to do that,' Jamison said. 'As a former legislator, he understands the complexities of this decision and the enormity of building this new prison.' Attorney General Marty Jackley, who is also on the task force, supports an extended timeline. 'I believe this project can get done for that $525 to $625 million, 1,500 to 1,700 beds. You know, whatever the legislature needs to get that done. I think it makes sense to give them that time,' Jackley said. As for how long the delay might be, Jamison isn't sure. In the meantime, the delay can allow lawmakers to voice their concerns, and it also leaves the task force adequate time to adjust their proposal. 'So if we're getting feedback from the legislative body and they want changes to it or they won't pass it, well then we need to make changes because we need to pass it,' Jamison said. 'We've got to do something.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislative decision on prison construction will come later than planned
South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks during a press conference Feb. 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre with Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) South Dakota lawmakers will not convene to make the call on a new prison site on July 22, according to Gov. Larry Rhoden's office. Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen wrote a letter to Rhoden this week asking that the special session the governor had hoped to call on that date be pushed back. Lawmakers would be asked to back plans for a new prison at that session. Venhuizen leads the Project Prison Reset group, called into being in February via a Rhoden executive order and charged with deciding if the state needs new prison facilities, how large and where those facilities should be. Members voted during a Springfield meeting in late April to build a replacement for the South Dakota State Penitentiary, which is located in Sioux Falls. Pierre played host to the group's most recent meeting last week, where the group narrowed down locations to Mitchell or Worthing and existing prison campuses in Springfield and Sioux Falls, and voted to cap the cost of such a prison at $600 million. Elected officials in Mitchell including the mayor and sheriff have since come out against locating the prison near their community. Prison task force rejects original Lincoln County site, tightens budget for new facility This week, Venhuizen wrote that the group had made 'excellent progress,' but that the two weeks between the next Project Prison Reset meeting and the intended special session aren't enough. 'Even if the task force is able to adopt a specific proposal on July 8, we do not feel that two weeks provides adequate time for a final proposal to be completed with adequate detail, and for state legislators to learn about that proposal prior to the special session,' Venhuizen wrote. Rhoden, through spokeswoman Josie Harms, said the governor will 'accept the task force's request' and 'consult with leadership on a rescheduled date.' 'I'm eager to see what the task force can accomplish in their next meeting,' Rhoden wrote. The cost of the Rhoden administration's preferred solution to correctional overcrowding – a 1,500-bed, $825 million facility south of Harrisburg in Lincoln County – was among the primary concerns for the lawmakers who rejected the idea in February. A consultant hired on behalf of the task force to reevaluate the state's needs concluded that the state needs more beds than that, 1,700, immediately, to ease current crowding. A 1,700-bed prison wouldn't solve the state's problems long-term, however, according to the consultants. By the mid-2030s, the state would need yet another 1,500-bed prison. The task force ultimately rejected those conclusions, betting that $600 million would be enough to bulk up the system and replace the oldest parts of the Sioux Falls penitentiary complex. Lawmakers had put back more than $600 million for prison construction before the 2025 legislative session, and the fund had swelled larger than that with interest by winter. Ongoing construction bills at the site of a new women's prison in Rapid City – an $87 million project that earned legislative approval – have since come out of that fund, DOC spokesman Michael Winder told Searchlight on Thursday. The state's also paid some of the bills associated with site prep at the now-rejected Lincoln County site out of that fund. Lawmakers had approved the spending of up to $60 million in prison design and site prep for a men's prison in 2024, and the state spent or obligated $52 million of that money for the Lincoln County plan before it came to a halt. Subtracting the money spent since the last legislative session's end and adding the $23 million earned in interest this year that will be deposited in August, Winder said, the fund's available balance will sit at approximately $538 million by the end of summer.
