GF&P moving full speed ahead on $13 million outdoor campus

PIERRE — The deep financial difficulties elsewhere in state government haven’t slowed down plans by the state Game, Fish and Parks Commission to spend $13 million to construct a new regional headquarters and outdoor campus at Rapid City.

Bidding documents will be made available Nov. 16 followed by a pre-bid conference for contractors Nov. 24. Bid opening is scheduled for Dec. 15, and GF&P officials plan to award the contract yet this year.

Their target for occupancy is April 2011.

A “best guess” based on current conditions in the construction industry placed the cost of the buildings at about $12 million, and site development such as trails, bridges, picnic space and other outdoor work accounts for another $1 million-plus, Wildlife Division Director Tony Leif told commissioners last week.

Game, Fish and Parks Secretary Jeff Vonk said those numbers were “useful information” but that they could send “a false message” about the project’s costs. He said the bids will tell the real story.

Leif agreed but said state officials needed to have a general idea of possible costs before they seek bids. “Until those envelopes are open and the numbers are on the table, we don’t know,” he said.

The outdoor campus would be similar in concept to the GF&P’s complex in Sioux Falls. The commission plans to pay for the project with money set aside in its game fund from license sales in past years.

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