On lemons, carrots, wastewater and a proposed prison

LINCOLN COUNTY, S.D. (KELO) — Harrisburg, S.D. Mayor Derick Wenck’s stance on a proposed men’s prison near the community he leads is clear. At the same time, he’s looking at what happens if the facility is built between Harrisburg and Canton.

“The city, we don’t want the prison out there,” Wenck said. “Like, we don’t want it. But if it is going to get built out there, what does Harrisburg want to get out of it?”

The South Dakota Department of Corrections is proposing to tie the proposed prison’s wastewater into the city of Harrisburg’s sewer system. If the Harrisburg City Council approves the resolution set to go before the council Tuesday night, the city would receive just under $7.2 million. This, Wenck explains, would repay loans and result in cheaper utility payments for people who call Harrisburg home.

“You get handed a batch of lemons, are you going to try to find a way to make lemonade or to make use out of the lemons?” Wenck said.

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Sam Eiesland owns land in the area, farms right next to the proposed prison site and is a board member of the group NOPE, which stands for “neighbors opposing prison expansion.” He is also a plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit against the Department of Corrections, DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s office. Rather than lemons, he compares the sewer proposal to something else.

“It’s dangling a carrot, essentially, in front of Harrisburg, is what it is,” Eiesland said.

He hopes to see the sewer resolution fail Tuesday night. But beyond that, he wants to see people involved in this conversation.

“The people of Harrisburg and Lincoln County residents need to come to that meeting and voice their opinion and because right now you have four people up there that are going to make the decision for you,” Eiesland said.