Rapid City prison delayed a year

Corrections chief vows to find another way.

By Jeremy Fugleberg, Journal staff | Tuesday, December 02, 2008

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It will likely be another year before construction could begin on a minimum-security prison in Rapid City.

With an eye to the state's tight budget and a number of other factors, Corrections Secretary Tim Reisch told members of the Corrections Commission on Tuesday he won't ask state lawmakers for money to build the prison.

"It is on hold at this time," Gov. Mike Rounds said. "It's a matter of making sure everything fits together and that we can afford it."

The state Legislature approved building the prison in 2003, and state officials continue to emphasize the need for the facility, which would include about 260 beds.

One-third of state prison inmates come from the Black Hills area, Reisch said. The year-end closure of the minimum-security unit in Redfield adds to the need for a new facility in Rapid City.

To provide a spot for the facility, city leaders offered to sell the state 30 acres along S.D. Highway 79 next to the landfill for $1, and the site's environmental checks were within acceptable standards.

It would cost the state about $15 million to build the prison on 20 acres at that site, and that cost includes more than $2 million just to extend utilities. But Reisch hopes to drop the price tag to $9 million by considering some other options.

"Having that gap, we need to put our thinking caps on and try to develop other alternatives that would fit the bill here," he said.

That will likely require another hunt for a new location with utilities connections in place somewhere in Rapid City.

"We're really shooting for a year," he said. "We hope to have some plan for the legislators in the 2010 session and have it as something the state can support."

Reisch is considering a range of options, including lopping off some areas of the building, building it with different materials or retrofitting an existing structure in the city.

That could be a concern for some Rapid City residents. In 2007, state lawmakers supported paying $500,000 for a five-acre plot of land near Ash Avenue and Tallent Street.

But the Legislature quashed that plan after neighbors complained to city officials and state legislators, citing concerns about safety and property values.

A second attempt to settle on a location for the facility, this time on land north of the Flying J truck stop, failed when it was discovered the land was partly in a flood plain and thus unsuitable. The city then offered to sell the state the land near the landfill.

Reisch said that although any area with existing utility connections would be near other buildings, he is aware of concerns and intends to steer clear of areas near residential zones.

"We are cognizant of the sensitivity residential neighbors have toward a facility of this nature," he said.

Rep. Garry Moore, D-Yankton, chairman of the Corrections Commission, said neighborhood opposition, which already delayed the project, would be unfortunate. Yankton is home to the state Human Services Center and a minimum-security prison in the middle of town and has had no trouble with inmates from either place, he said.

"You're seeing boogeymen that just aren't there," Moore said.

Other roadblocks for the facility were Pennington County's decision not to collaborate with the state for work-release space at this time, increased construction costs and the rising cost of bonding the project. Some of the construction costs might decrease if fuel prices stay low and the recession and financial markets smooth out.

A year's wait is just business as usual for the temporary 102-bed minimum-security unit in Rapid City.

"Not a thing's going to change for us," Sgt. Gary Jensen said. "We let out three or four for parole or whatever, and they send us more."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach Jeremy Fugleberg at 394-8421 or jeremy.fugleberg@rapidcityjournal.com