The northeastern Sioux Falls site selected by Gov. Larry Rhoden’s administration for a new men’s prison. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden’s new draft legislationaddresses many of the details of a proposed $650 million, 1,500-bed men’s prison in Sioux Falls, but doesn’t address at least three areas of concern raised by lawmakers ahead of the Sept. 23 special session where they’ll consider the bill.
Those concerns were raised in the seven months since the collapse of an earlier, more expensive rural Lincoln County prison proposition during the regular legislative session:
- The bill calls for competitive bidding on the project’s subcontracts, but would not seek bids for a new construction manager at-risk.
- Neither the legislation nor Rhoden’s recently launched “Frequently Asked Questions” webpage contains a full accounting of millions of dollars already spent on the Lincoln County plan.
- Questions remain about potential one-time construction-related costs and ongoing costs, such as road improvements at the prison site and the operational budget for a newer, larger facility.
Some see need for more bids
Lawmakers raised questions about the first issue during meetings of the state’s Project Prison Reset task force…