Goodwin pitches state prison to Hill City

Hill City Common Council members discussed putting in a bid for a new men’s South Dakota State Prison at its July 14 meeting. The matter was brought to the council by District 30 Rep. Tim Goodwin.

Goodwin said Box Elder had recently withdrawn its application, however, it was not clear why. He said currently if someone goes to the penitentiary to visit an inmate, they have to travel to Sioux Falls and that having a site West River might be more convenient for people since the area has a high recidivism rate.

Goodwin’s main focus was what he touted as an economic boon for the area, with a facility that would provide about 125 $25 per- hour, year-round jobs. 

“Maybe Hill City would want that,” Goodwin said.

He said the state prison task force could be looking for two sites. The new location he’s proposing in Hill City would house about 800 inmates and need to sit on about 80 acres of land. Goodwin said a penitentiary in Hill City “would be a huge economic boost to the Hill City community,” adding the site would be “very safe.”

He said parolees could end up working in the community after release. 

“If you guys want to do it, we’d have to get it on fast,” he told aldermen, suggesting a press conference to tell the state that Hill City was exploring the option. 

Goodwin also suggested that Hill City include its water and sewer projects in the proposal, remarking again, “You’d get a lot of benefit from it.”

City engineer AE2S represenative Joe Noble said if the city decided to apply for the facility, its current infrastructure plans would not work and that a new wastewater plant would need to be built. Noble said waste from a prison would be heavier than residential, adding that “for inmates their toilet is their trashcan.” 

Jim Evans, wastewater treatment facility operator for the town, questioned Goodwin as to where future employees might live and what benefits it would really bring to Hill City if those employees lived in Rapid City or Custer, as Goodwin suggested. A citizen listening to the meeting on the phone said the facility could be very beneficial to the community and urged the council that they “don’t want to miss an opportunity  like this.”

Aldermen had some questions. The first was how to apply for the facility when the city itself doesn’t own a property large enough. It was suggested the former Rushmore Forest Products site could be used, but it was unclear if the parcel was for sale or how its floodplain status might affect the facility. 

Council president Lori Miner wanted to know what kind of “rocks we need to have in a row” for housing, adding, “We don’t have a huge chunk of land.”

Citizens Vic Alexander and Jim Peterson suggested that land could be found from developers or the Forest Service. 

Alderman Dennis Siebert saw a lot of difficulties with the suggestion but was in favor of taking time to consider it. 

“To take two weeks, I think it doesn’t hurt us too much,” he said. 

Mayor Tana Nichols agreed, saying, “I think we can afford two weeks to see if we can.”

During this time frame, Noble will pause all work on the water and sewer infrastructure projects. 

“If I was in your guys’ shoes, I’d put in a bid,”  Goodwin said.

Nichols said, “We’ll take the next two weeks and see what we can figure out.”