Construction of New Jail In Faulk County to Begin Soon

The Faulk County Sheriff's office in Faulkton has moved to the first floor of the Faulk County Courthouse in preparation for the demolition of the current office and jail.  Demolition will begin August 1 and should be completed in two weeks.  New construction will begin sometime after that.  Voters overwhelmingly approved the $5.5 million project in December of 2015 with a voter turnout of 49% on the single ballot issue.  The 85-year old building was becoming obsolete and inefficient to function as both a jail and office space for law enforcement staff.

With the passing the of South Dakota Public Safety Improvement Act a few years ago, more courts are trying to keep offenders out the state penitentiary system and in local jails.  The goal is to improve public safety by investing in programs, practices and policies that have been shown to improve rehabilitation and reduce repeat offenders and hold them more accountable by strengthening community supervision.  Faulk County States Attorney, Tim Bormann, says it becomes more important than ever for counties, such as Faulk, to have a jail that serves more than just Faulk County.  Faulkton's location between the existing jails of Aberdeen, Pierre, Huron and Selby is ideal.  Many other jail facilities across the state are in the same condition as the old Faulk County jail and have no solid plans for new jails coming on line.  The new regional jail facility will help solidify the future of the Faulkton area as a regional hub. The ability to house outside prisoners will also provide the county with a financial opportunity to improve the bottom line of the existing jail budget.

Faulk County Sheriff Kurt Hall is excited about getting a new jail and says it is important for the future of the Faulkton area.  There are 26 jail facilities in the 66 counties in South Dakota and 15 to 18 of those are starting to show their age similar to the present jail in Faulkton.   Building a new facility is also a good economic move for the county since it has a direct financial impact on other businesses in the county, such as the hospital, pharmacy, food services and convenience stores.  It also preserves an existing business in the community that employs nine people.  With growth and increased jail occupancy, a new jail provides for the potential of 4-6 more job opportunities in the community.  Another important component of a new facility is securing the essential 24-hour dispatch for fire/rescue and ambulance services.

During the construction project, access to the Sheriff's office will be the east door of the courthouse.  A contract has been signed with other counties in the region to house adult prisoners until the completion of the building project, which will be later in 2017.