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Resident urges council to prioritize local jail funding over subsidies for chamber-affiliated projects
Summary
At public comment, resident Steve Simpson presented security-camera images and urged the city to withhold subsidies tied to the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce and instead allocate funds toward a new jail, citing safety concerns and parolee incidents he says affected his property.
Steve Simpson, a Mitchell resident, used the council's public-comment period to urge council members to prioritize funding for a new local jail rather than provide subsidies to businesses affiliated with the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce.
"What's being handed out is a picture from one of my security cameras from 07/27/2025. The person with a very large knife was on active parole after being released from the Jameson Annex in December 2022," Simpson said, presenting a photograph to the council. He described multiple prior convictions and plea agreements for the individual depicted and said the person had been returned to the Jameson Annex after spending 57 days in the city jail.
Simpson told the council he had attended local prison task-force meetings and said some community leaders and a district legislator had downplayed citizen concerns about public safety. He said the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce had organized forums that limited or filtered citizen participation, and he criticized an apparent request by the chamber for more than $500,000 in subsidies. "Instead, that money should be budgeted for a new jail for this community," Simpson said.
Council members did not take action during public comment; Simpson's remarks were recorded for the public record. The mayor and council offered no immediate responses beyond acknowledging the public-comment procedures.
The transcript contains Simpson's account and allegations; the council did not adjudicate or verify the claims during the meeting. The individual Simpson identified and the specific criminal history he described were presented by Simpson as his account and not independently confirmed on the council record.
