Worthing, Springfield, Sioux Falls, and Mitchell are the four choices the Project Prison Reset Task Force is exploring for a new penitentiary.
In Mitchell, the proposed 160-acre facility south of I-90 is already picking up steam for some city leaders. But the public may not be buying the hype, and one local law enforcement official is responding.
The city council, Mayor Jordan Hanson, Mitchell Technical College and Davison County Commission have all thrown their support behind the proposal. This is largely due to the $600 million capital investment and 440 full-time jobs the project brings with it.
Davison County Sheriff Steve Harr was among the supporters, signing onto a letter asking the task force to consider Mitchell. But now, he said he’s opposed to the project.
“In the past week, since this decision was made, it’s very, very clear that the majority of Davison County does not want this prison to come here. So that’s the line of thinking on that,” Harr said. “The initial support letter was not saying, ‘We want a prison in Mitchell.’ It was more along the lines of ‘We want to make the cut to put this prison in Mitchell, and then let the citizens talk about it and express any concerns or support.’ And the concerns long outweigh the support on it from what I’ve seen.”
Many are concerned about public safety and whether a state prison poses risks.
As for the level of public safety concerns Sheriff Harr said whether it’s a county jail, treatment center, or state prison, there's always going to be some level of pushback.
“There’s always going to be some issue when you’re looking at a facility, whether it’s a state prison or a county jail or treatment center, anything along those lines. There’s always going to be concerns there. Is there something specific? Probably not," Harr said. "I tell people all the time that people generally do not escape from a state prison. The movies have really put that out in the forefront that people go through ceilings or cut through walls or whatever. That’s just not reality. You’re not going to see prison escapes, that type of thing. But there’s some concerns. People getting paroled out of the prison, you know, if they happen to stay in the general area.”
He said it’s just things that come with any correctional facilities, calling it “the same worries but on a bigger scale.”
In response to the growing conversation, the Mitchell Area Development Corporation is hosting community forums and events to gauge public support and opposition.
Public input kicks off with an in-person forum at Mitchell Technical College Auditorium Tuesday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m. That's followed by a virtual forum on Wednesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. Access is available on the city website. A community debate at Dakota Wesleyan University begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 24.
Details, updates, and maps of the proposed site will be posted on the City and Chamber of Commerce websites in the days leading up to the forums.
As for the project itself, legislators on the Project Prison reset Task Force are expected to meet tentatively on July 8 in Sioux Falls. JE Dunn, a contractor looking to build the state’s new prison, is expected to have proposals for the project under a $600 million price tag.
A special legislative session to act on the prison is set for July 22.
