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BY LOUIS WHITEHEAD
South Dakota State University came out a big winner in Pierre this year.
During its recently concluded 81st session, the state Legislature gave its blessing to no fewer than six SDSU construction projects, all set to begin within the next few years.
Total costs for the work will exceed $21.4 million, but thanks to creative financing, much of the tab will be picked up by someone other than the state’s taxpayers.
Gov. Mike Rounds has already signed bills relating to the building of a $3.3 million equestrian facility north of the Highway 14 Bypass and the $2 million renovation of the third floor of SDSU’s Wecota Hall. That extensive remodeling project is necessary to create a campus headquarters for the National Children’s Study. (That major research project will get under way once federal budget issues are resolved.)
"Everything that we submitted passed, but Gov. Rounds hasn’t signed everything yet," SDSU Executive Vice President for Administration Michael Reger said. "But there’s no reason to think that he won’t sign."
He added that the SDSU Foundation is providing the funding for the construction of the equestrian facility, which the university will lease from the Foundation for $165,000 per year for 10 years. The Foundation will then donate the facility to the university.
"It’s a great deal for SDSU, because we’ll only have to pay half for a $3.3 million facility, and the SDSU Foundation can cashflow the donation. It works out well for everyone," Reger said.
Because of a related emergency clause approved by the Legislature, construction of the equestrian facility can begin immediately.
"It’s key to providing Title IX compliance, and it fits in well with the region. So we have potential athletes in the region that we can recruit," Reger said. "And groundbreaking could be as early as summer or fall."
The largest of the construction projects the Legislature approved will be a new $12 million university wellness facility. SDSU has already earmarked $6 million for the construction, and the other $6 million will come from a 20-year bond. Students can expect to see a $2.75 per credit hour increase in their activity fees. That means that a student who signs up for 32 credits per year can expect to pay an additional $88 in fees.
"It’s clearly a priority on the part of the students, and they did a great job of promoting it to the Regents and the Legislature," Reger said.
State legislators also approved the university’s collaboration with the dairy industry to build a new $4 million dairy plant. All funds for construction will come from private gifts. The university’s existing dairy plant was built in the 1960s.
Other projects include building a $17,000 feed storage shed at the university’s Southeast Experiment Station located southwest of Beresford and a $114,000 fan separator for SDSU’s dairy facility north of Brookings. The separator will break cattle manure down into solid and liquid form so that the solids can be used for fertilizer, and the odors from the liquefied manure can be reduced. Funds for both projects will come from budgeted SDSU Agriculture Experiment Station funds.
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