SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Gov. Kristi Noem is committed to paying cash for a proposed new men’s prison.
Noem said during her budget address Tuesday that her fiscal year 2025 budget address includes the “remaining need of $182 million in one-time dollars to fully fund this new prison.”
The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the proposed new men’s prison in Lincoln County is $825 million. The state has already set aside $567 million for the prison. Noem said in her budget address that the state should earn an estimated $76 million in interest on that money.
The result is a need of about $182 million to complete the prison funding, which Noem’s budget plans to fund.
“Paying cash for this facility will save more than $600 million in interest, fees, and annual debt service payments,” Noem said.
Noem said it is amazing what the Legislature has already done to save for the prison. Those actions will save taxpayers money, she said.
“Thank you for saving ahead for this project,” Noem said.
A new prison would replace a 143-year-old facility in Sioux Falls.
Noem talked about the prison under a safety category in her speech.
“Our current State Penitentiary is older than the state of South Dakota. The current building is falling down,” Noem said. “It is long past time to replace it for the safety of our people. The new facility will be built to meet our medium- and maximum-security needs far beyond our lifetimes.”
The Governor also cited the new women’s prison which was also needed. Construction is well underway on a facility that will allow inmates to leave better equipped for their lives outside of prisons.
Noem said this summer that she planned to dedicate the $80.7 million surplus in the FY24 budget to the new men’s prison.
The proposed prison site in Lincoln County between Harrisburg and Canton has drawn some opposition.
The opponents of the men’s prison site lost a lawsuit in October but filed an appeal in November with the South Dakota State Supreme Court.
The city of Lennox agreed to allow the SD Department of Corrections use the city’s wastewater treatment system for the prison.
