All 29 project proposals scheduled for review during four days of hearings
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Mayor Jason Salamun and Vision Fund Citizen Committee Chairman John Kaiser will be available for comments prior to Tuesday’s opening session. The availability is scheduled Tuesday (tomorrow) at 3:30 p.m. in the media room of City Hall. The first session follows at 4 p.m. in Council Chambers.
RAPID CITY—City officials remind the public the Vision Fund Citizen Committee is hosting four days of public sessions this week for 2025 Vision Fund applicants to present their projects to the committee.
The meetings are scheduled from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and from 4-6:30 p.m. this Friday. The sessions will be held in Council Chambers of City Hall, 300 Sixth Street. The public is invited to attend.
The hearings are divided into 20-minute segments and will include the applicant’s presentation and a question period from Committee members.
Collectively, the 29 applying entities are requesting more than $74.2 million in Vision Fund allocations. The total project cost for all 29 submissions is nearly $120 million ($119.8 million). Last year, the Rapid City Council approved $12 million in Vision Fund resources for public projects for the 2025-29 funding cycle.
The Vision Fund Citizen Committee is comprised of nine members and two alternates and is currently reviewing public project proposals submitted by individuals, community organizations and City departments. The Committee hopes to present their recommendations for which projects will receive Vision Fund resources by late May or early June. The City Council will make final determinations on which projects will be funded for the five-year cycle.
For more information about the Vision Fund Citizen Committee, visit: https://www.rcgov.org/public-meetings/city-committees/vision-fund-501.html . For more information about the project hearings, contact the Mayor’s Office at 394-4110.
Vision Fund history:
The origin of the Vision Fund dates back to 1972 when voters approved an additional half-penny sales tax increase with the revenue to be spent on the building of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. In the mid-1990’s, voters approved continuation of the half-cent tax to build a fund to support community projects. Today, Rapid City assesses two cents in municipal sales tax on every dollar spent with one cent devoted to the City’s general fund and the second penny divided between the City’s Capital Improvement Fund (58 percent) and to the Vision Fund (42 percent).
This is the eighth Vision Funding cycle. The other seven funding cycles – 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2022 – also utilized a process that included a citizens committee reviewing proposals and making recommendations along with Council discussion and approval. A total of 104 projects have been approved by the City Council for Vision Funds since 1995 with a total combined allocation of more than $212.7 million.
Examples of Vision Fund projects approved by the City Council in the past include Canyon Lake Dam Reconstruction, Skyline Wilderness Park, Rapid City BMX Park upgrades, Rushmore Little League field lighting, Roosevelt Park Swim Center’s 50-meter outdoor pool, Harney Little League renovations, South Middle School and West Middle School Community Gym facilities and Horace Mann Pool,
A portion of the Vision Fund resources are used towards the debt on The Monument’s Summit Arena with other funds to be utilized for civic improvements, economic development and community projects.
