Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion met with elected officials in Canton Thursday night.
The group wants answers about how a new planned men’s prison came to be in their community. Representatives from the Department of Corrections did not attend the meeting.
The state DOC recently announced its purchase and plans for a new men’s state prison in Lincoln County.
A group named Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion, or NOPE, met to discuss concerns about the plan.
This comes after the group moved to take legal action against the DOC over its proposed new site.
Maddie Voegali is the Vice President of NOPE.
“Litigation was filed on behalf of NOPE Lincoln County to seek clarity on the states claim that they do not need to go through the zoning process and comply with the county's comprehensive plan,” said Voegali.
State Representative Aaron Aylward (R) said the legislative process allows for a way to stop the project.
“This thing isn’t completely funded yet. The land is, the building and specs, but, the whole thing isn’t funded yet. They’ll come back and tell you, ‘well we started the process we have to follow through with it.’ I call, bull on that. That’s a way to stop it, going forward," said Aylward. "Maybe the attorneys can play into that a little bit and maybe have some info on it, but, there’s still a lot of funding that hasn’t went through on this thing.”
One question was how Lincoln County was chosen to be the location for the new state prison.
Kevin Jenson (R) is a State Representative for District 16. He said he was told by a Senior Policy Advisor for the Governor’s office that Governor Kristi Noem wants the location.
“I was told by Ryan Brunner very specifically, Kristi wants it in Lincoln County. Just that simple, he told me in those few words, Kristi wants it in Lincoln County,” said Jenson.
Residents of Lincoln County continue to wait for answers to their questions and concerns.
