Sioux Falls, S.D. (KELO AM) - A joint meeting of the Sioux Falls City Council and Minehaha County Commissioners has awarded a bid for a new building to house historical documents and records to Peska Construction of Sioux Falls.
Nearly 15 companies expressed interest in the project and in the end seven bids were submitted, with all of them coming in under the proposed 4.03 million dollar budget for the project. In the end Peska's bid of 3.2 million dollars won out. The city and the county will split the savings.
The new structure will house and protect historical documents that are currently spread out among several buildings in the city and county, including the Old Courthouse Museum and the current courthouse building.
The proposed building will be located at 54th St N and Westport Ave. City Councilor Rex Rolfing spoke on behalf of Councilor Michelle Erpenbach who was absent from the meeting but considered the records building one of her pet projects. "She's seen the [deplorable] conditions that we have for some of the things that we are storing at the old courthouse museum. We need to take those treasures and put them someplace where they can be safe and secure," said Rolfing. He also said that storing some of the documents as they are can constitute a risk to those occupying the building.