Last Chance to Get Info About Proposed New Jail

Are you a Grant County resident? Do you want to learn more about the proposed new jail in Milbank? Would you like to see the architectural drawings and diagrams? Do you have questions? Make plans to attend one of the final public meetings in Milbank or Big Stone City. The meetings are designed to give you all the information you need from the people with the answers so you can be ready to vote on June 5. 

WHEN ARE THE FINAL PUBLIC MEETINGS?  WHERE? 
Monday, April 22 – 6:30 p.m. Community Room of the Milbank Visitor Center at 1001 E. 4th Avenue in Milbank.
Tuesday, April 23 – 6:30 p.m.The Big Stone City Community Room at 400 Washington Street in Big Stone City. 

WHO WILL BE AT THE MEETING?
You, we hope! And all your friends and neighbors. Also, many from this list plan to attend: Grant County Sheriff Kevin Owen; Grant County State’s Attorney Jackson Schwandt; the citizen jail committee of Dan Snaza, Greg Thomas, Dave Page, Travis Lester, and Adam Hunt; Grant County Commissioners Marty Buttke, Mike Mach, Doug Stengel, William Street, and Bill Tostenson; Kathy Folk Grant County Auditor, Karen Layher former Grant County Auditor and current assistant to the Grant County Commissioners; Adam Kuehl, a representative of HMN Architects of Overland Park, Kansas; Corey Johnson of GA Johnson Construction of Harrisburg; and Tom Grimmond, senior vice president of Colliers Securities in Sioux Falls. 

WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE OFFICIAL? 
In March, the Grant County Commissioners passed “RESOLUTION NO. 2024-03 – A RESOLUTION DECLARING NECESSITY AND EXPEDIENCY FOR ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND CALLING AN ELECTION” to allow Grant County voters to decide if they support the a $6 million general obligation bond (GO) to fund the jail project.

WHEN IS THE ELECTION?  June 4, 2024. The election regarding the proposition to approve the bond will be held in conjunction with South Dakota’s primary election. Polls will be open on June 4 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. 

2024 Primary Election – June 4
Voter Registration Deadline – May 20
Absentee Voting Begins – April 19

HOW MANY VOTES ARE NEEDED TO PASS THE PROPOSITION TO APPROVE THE BOND?  A simple majority is required for it to pass.

WHAT QUESTION WILL I SEE ON MY BALLOT?
SHALL GRANT COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA, ISSUE AND SELL ITS NEGOTIABLE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS IN A PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT EXCEEDING $6,000,000, ISSUED IN ONE OR MORE SERIES, BEARING INTEREST AT SUCH RATES AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY THE COUNTY COMMISSION, PAYABLE AND MATURING FROM ONE AND NOT TO EXCEED 20 YEARS AFTER THE DATE OF ISSUANCE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING THE NEW GRANT COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER WILL BE A NEW BUILDING LOCATED SOUTH OF THE EXISTING SHERIFF’S OFFICE ON THE NE CORNER OF THE PARK ALONG DETENTION STREET.  THE PROPOSED FACILITY WILL INCLUDE THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE, DISPATCH, JAIL, AND JAIL SUPPORT, FURNISHING AND EQUIPPING OF THE SAME, (THE “IMPROVEMENTS OR CONSTRUCTION”), AND THE COSTS OF ISSUING THE BONDS, IF SO APPROVED BY THE VOTERS; THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL MEET ALL BUILDING CODE AND AMERICAN CORRECTIONAL ASSOCIATION REQUIREMENTS PROVIDING SAFETY FOR THE PUBLIC, STAFF, AND DETAINEE.

SHALL THE ABOVE PROPOSITION BE APPROVED AND THE BONDS ISSUED?

IF THE PROPOSITION TO APPROVE THE BOND PASSES, WHERE WILL THE NEW JAIL BE BUILT?
South of the existing sheriff’s office and south of the Grant County Courthouse parking lot on the northeast corner of the Courthouse Park and adjacent to Detention Street.

WHAT WILL THE NEW JAIL LOOK LIKE?
Come to a meeting to see the architectural and structural drawings. In general, the proposed facility is a 10,000- square foot, single-story building on a concrete slab. The building’s footprint includes 20-bed jail pods,day rooms, administrative offices, and training areas. It also features an interior recreation yard with a retractable roof, kitchen, laundry, and a sallyport or secure and controlled entrance for the transfer of inmates. 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE CURRENT JAIL?
Attend one of the public meetings to find out.

HOW MUCH WILL THE NEW JAIL COST?
The total projected budget for the project is $6.8 million.

WHERE WILL WE GET THE FUNDING?
Approximately $800,000 will come from allocations earmarked by Grant County from taxes or monies received, and $6 million is proposed to be financed by the issuance of a 20-year general obligation bond (GO). A general obligation bond is secured by the issuing government’s pledge to use all available resources, even tax revenues, to repay the holders of the bond. At the local level, pledges can include a levy of property taxes.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME?

WHEN WILL CONSTRUCTION START?
The bidding process is expected to start this fall (2024).  

WHEN WILL THE NEW JAIL BE COMPLETED?
Construction is estimated to take 14 to 16 months. The expected completion date is sometime in 2026.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE JAIL WE HAVE?
Come to the meeting to find out. Or attend one of the tours of the Grant County Detention Center that Sheriff Owen plans to conduct in the next few weeks.