SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Despite support from Mitchell city officials, multiple residents are voicing their opposition for a proposed prison site in Davison County.
During a prison task force meeting Tuesday, Mitchell was chosen as one of the remaining possible sites to build a new 1,500 to 1,700-bed prison.
City leaders ‘would like to have a prison in Mitchell’
Many residents in Mitchell have come out against a site, which is a mile from Highway 37 and less than three miles from I-90.
“A lot of us really don’t see Mitchell as being a well prepared community for a prison site, for a brand new facility like that. We have existing facilities in this state,” Emily Wee Hohn, a business owner and resident, told KELOLAND News.
Wee Hohn created a Facebook page on Tuesday after the site in Davison County was still in the running. The page has been active for less than 24 hours and has over 700 members so far.
“There were a lot of people in opposition to it. There are some people for it, I understand that too, but I felt like a lot of us needed to kind of unite and come together that are against this,” Wee Hohn said.
Mitchell resident MiKayla Johnson is worried about safety in the community, the lack of infrastructure to support a prison, as well as the workforce needed.
“Our town doesn’t have the workforce to support a large prison,” Johnson said. “That means workers would need to be brought in, which doesn’t benefit locals, and it puts a strain on our housing and services. Mitchell’s public safety, healthcare and infrastructure are built for a small town, not for a high security facility with around the clock needs.”
SD prison task force narrows focus to specific sites
Those against the prison in Davison County are also frustrated with city leaders and the Mitchell Chamber and Development Corporation and feel they haven’t been heard when discussing the possible prison site.
At a Monday city council meeting, the council voted unanimously on a resolution expressing interest in the construction of a correctional facility in Davison County.
“We need to be heard,” Johnson said. “When it is proposed that it has unanimous support but nobody in the community wants it, we’re not being represented, so that’s why we need to be heard.”
During the meeting on Monday night– the day before the prison task force voted, Mitchell resident Steve Sibson criticized the city’s transparency with the prison site.
“Mitchell is one of the locations being considered tomorrow morning in Pierre and we’re just getting around to talking about that tonight,” Sibson questioned. “That’s not open dialogue. We’re not addressing this thing in an open manner soon enough. Where is there going to be time for the push back?”
Mitchell Chamber of Commerce CEO Mike Lauritsen, who also spoke for Mitchell at the task force meeting in Pierre on Tuesday, said the city has scheduled three upcoming forums for residents to discuss the proposed site.
Speaking to the alleged lack of transparency or open dialogue, Lauritsen said the site needed to be considered more heavily and they needed to be “invited to the table” before getting community input.
“We don’t want to split the community for something that may not happen,” he said. “Just to get to the point where we could start these conversations, we have to at least be invited to the table or be one of the remaining sites. … We’re invited to the table, now it’s time to visit with the community and share what this looks like.”
The first community forum is Tuesday, June 17 from 5:30-7 p.m.
Despite the forums, Johnson and Wee Hohn still want Mitchell to be removed from the list of options and are opposed to the prison site.
“We’ve worked really hard to build Mitchell into a safe, family-oriented community. A prison undermines that process,” Johnson said. “The risks are real, blocked emergency access, multiple escape routes, dangerous weather, division of our community, and property devaluation.”
