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).
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.
VISION FUND AND CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Rapid City is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan guides the City’s development and decision-making at all levels and is the primary planning document for the community. It will serve as a long-term strategic plan with a guiding vision by the community and strategies to support that vision. To learn more about the future Comprehensive Plan and how you can be involved, please visit 2025 Comprehensive Plan Webpage.
2025 Vision Fund project submissions should utilize the vision and values outlined in the City’s 2014 Comprehensive Plan as the baseline for project goals. You can access the 2014 plan on the City’s Community Development page at the following link 2014 Comprehensive Plan.
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(MARCH 10, 2025 UPDATE)
CITY RECEIVES VISION FUND PUBLIC PROJECT PROPOSALS
Citizens Committee Will Review, Make Recommendations to Council
RAPID CITY, SD (March 10)--The City of Rapid City received 32 applications for Vision Fund resources from organizations and City departments for a variety of public projects, many calling for new, expanded or upgraded facilities.
Three of the project submissions were determined ineligible as they did not involve City assets. The Vision Fund Citizen Committee will review the remaining 29 proposals and make recommendations to the City Council. Collectively, the 29 entities are requesting more than $74.2 million in Vision Fund allocations. The total project cost for the 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.
Earlier this month, the Council approved selections for the Vision Fund Citizen Committee. The goal is for the Committee 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.
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.
"There was a phenomenal response from the community as well as internally from City departments," said Mayor Jason Salamun. "There are requests for projects ranging from $70,000 to $10 million. The Vision Fund Committee will have its work cut out for them but whatever recommendations they make, and whatever projects are approved for funding by the City Council, the community and its citizens will reap the benefits for many years to come.”
The Committee's work timeline is as follows:
*March-May: Citizen Vision Fund Committee working sessions
*Late May/June: Committee makes recommendations to City Council
*June: City Council reviews, discusses and makes funding decisions on Vision Fund projects for the 2025-29 cycle.
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,
"The Citizen Committee is ready to roll up its collective sleeves and get to work,” said John Kaiser, Citizens Committee chairman . “We have a lot of project applications to review and consider, and a short window to make recommendations. We have a great committee that’s ready to get to work.”
The Vision Fund Citizen Committee will consist of nine members and two alternates. Mayor Salamun’s committee selections include Leslie Magnusson Hildyard, Greg Hansen, Holly Howie, Matthew Hasvold, Reese Niu, Lloyd LaCroix, Mary Drumm, Matt James and John Kaiser. Kyle Caudle and Mary Gilbertson-Lee were selected as alternates. Kaiser will serve as the committee’s chairman.
The last cycle of Vision Fund community projects was approved in January 2022 by the City Council.
For more information, contact the Mayor’s Office at 394-4110.
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VISION FUND CITIZEN COMMITTEE (NUMBER OF MEMBERS)
9 voting members. The Committee will select a chairperson from the nine voting members.
SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS
Committee members must be citizens of Rapid City.
SUMMARY OF DUTIES
The purpose of the Vision Fund Citizen Committe is to accept and take comments on potential civic improvement Vision Account projects for recommendation to City Council in support of projects that accomplish the City’s long-term goals and values. 3.16.090B.2.
CITIZEN COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
The City is seeking applicants to develop a nine-person Vision Fund Citizen Committee. Interested citizens are encouraged to apply by submitting a can submit a Citizen Interest Application online. Application deadline is Friday, February 7.
The Vision Fund Citizen Committee will consist of a chair person and eight additional committee members. Committee members must be legal residents of Rapid City and willing to serve until the end of 2025.
The purpose of the Vision Fund Citizen Committee is to accept and take requests for city government Vision Account projects. The committee will provide thorough review of the applications and make recommendations to the City Council in support of projects in accordance with the Council-approved Vision Fund plan for the upcoming five-year cycle.
PROJECT APPLICATIONS
The City is seeking applicants for potential Vision Fund public projects. Vision Fund public projects will be considered for the five-year period 2025-2029 in the areas of community projects, economic development and civic improvements. Project applications can be found on the Vision Fund Citizen Committee page on the City’s website or obtained in hard copy through the mayor’s office. Deadline for submission of public project applications is Friday, March 7.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
The Citizen Committee will review project applications and schedule public hearings, inviting applicants to present their projects at a public hearing for the purpose of taking comment on and discussing each project proposal.
CITIZEN COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Citizen Committee will present final recommendations to the City Council in support of civic improvement projects that best align with the City's long term goals and values.
The City Council will review the recommendations and make decisions on which civic improvement projects will be approved and at what funding levels. The Council will assess the needs of the City, and will take all funds and projects being undertaken to ensure that Vision Funds are allocated towards projects that best accomplish the City's long term goals and priorities.
Please contact the Mayor's Office if you have questions we can assist with.
Mayor's Office
300 Sixth Street
Rapid City, SD 57701
605-394-4110
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MEDIA RELEASES (May 2, 2024-March 3, 2025)
(MARCH 3, 2025 UPDATE)
CITY COUNCIL APPROVES SLATE OF VISION FUND COMMITTEE MEMBERS
RAPID CITY, SD--At its meeting Monday night (March 3), the Rapid City Council approved the mayor's recommendations for the Vision Fund Citizen Committee.
The Vision Fund Citizen Committee will consist of nine members and two alternates. Mayor Salamun’s committee selections include Leslie Magnusson Hildyard, Greg Hansen, Holly Howie, Matthew Hasvold, Reese Niu, Lloyd LaCroix, Mary Drumm, Matt James and John Kaiser. Kyle Caudle and Mary Gilbertson-Lee were selected as alternates. Kaiser will serve as the committee’s chairman.
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(JANUARY 8, 2025 UPDATE)
CITY COUNCIL APPROVES FORMATION OF VISION FUND CITIZENS COMMITTEE AND SOLICITS FOR PUBLIC PROJECTS APPS
City opens 30-day window for committee applications and 60-day window for city project proposals
RAPID CITY, SD--At Monday night’s meeting, the Rapid City Council approved two Vision Fund resolutions, one establishing a nine-member citizen committee and another increasing the amount of money being allocated to public projects from the Vision Fund in the upcoming 2025-2029 funding period.
“With the Council’s approval of resolutions Monday night, we are ready to move forward with the Vision Fund process,” said Mayor Jason Salamun. “I have appreciated the input and feedback we have received over the past year from the public and the hard work put in by the Council to get us to this point.
“I’m encouraging citizens to consider applying to serve on the Citizen Committee, which will have a very important role in determining public projects to be funded from the Vision Fund. I’m also encouraging citizens and groups to submit proposals for public projects to be considered by the Citizen Committee.”
CITIZEN COMMITTEE:
With the Council’s approval, the City is seeking applicants to develop a nine-person Vision Fund Citizen Committee. Interested citizens are encouraged to apply by submitting the committee application found https://www.rcgov.org/departments/finance.html . The links are also available on the Finance Department page and the Vision Fund Citizen Committee page on the City’s website. Application deadline is Friday, February 7.
The Vision Fund Citizen Committee will consist of a chair person and eight additional committee members. Committee members must be legal residents of Rapid City and willing to serve until the end of 2025.
The purpose of the Vision Fund Citizen Committee is to accept and take requests for city government Vision Account projects. The committee will provide thorough review of the applications and make recommendations to the City Council in support of projects in accordance with the Council-approved Vision Fund plan for the upcoming five-year cycle.
PUBLIC PROJECT APPLICATIONS:
The City is also seeking applicants for potential Vision Fund public projects. Vision Fund public projects will be considered for the five-year period 2025-2029 in the areas of community projects, economic development and civic improvements. Project applications can be found on the Vision Fund Citizen Committee page on the City’s website or obtained in hard copy through the mayor’s office. Deadline for submission of public project applications is Friday, March 7.
With Council’s approval Monday night, the Vision Fund Citizen Committee will consider city government projects with approximately $12 million in Vision Funds.
Project applications can be found at the following link https://www.rcgov.org/departments/finance.html , on the Finance Department and Vision Fund Citizen Committee pages on the City’s website or obtained in hard copy from the Mayor’s Office.
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).
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.
Please direct questions regarding the Vision Fund Citizen Committee or the project application submittals to the Mayor’s Office at 605-394-4110.
JANUARY 7, 2025 UPDATE)
Minutes of January 6 City Council meeting: Approve 7-1 with Evans voting no CC121624-02.2 - Approve Resolution 2024-104 Establishing a Citizen Committee to Solicit & Recommend Projects Submitted by the Community to be Funded from the City’s Vision Fund. (This item was continued from the December 16, 2024 City Council Meeting.) Recommendation: Approve CITY COUNCIL JANUARY 6, 2025 4 46. Approve 7-1 with Evans voting no CC010625-02.1 – Approve Resolution 2024-107 Amending the Five-Year Plan of Projects and Programs to be Funded from the Vision Account of the City of Rapid City’s Capital Improvements and Vision Fund; and Establishing the Allocation of Funds between the Funding Priorities included in the Plan. Committee Recommendation: Approve
(DECEMBER 17, 2024 UPDATE)
Minutes of December 16 City Council meeting: The Rapid City Council voted to change the amount from $5 million to $12 million for the Citizen Vision Fund Commitee to work with in the next funding cycle. The Council would reallocate $3 million from strategic growth and $4 million from comprehensive plan projects to fund the $7 million difference. The Council's motion also placed a requirement that the projects to be considered by the Citizen Committee would be for civic improvements, such as city-owned assets. The motion passed 8-2 with Council members Maher and Evans voting no. The amounts will be changed and the resultion heard at the January 6, 2025 City Council meeting.
(NOVEMBER 19, 2024 UPDATE)
Minutes of November 18 City Council Meeting: Motion was made by Maher, second by Roberts to approve. Substitute motion was made by Roseland, second by Biberdorf to transfer $5 million from Civic Improvements - Comprehensive Plan Improvements to Community Projects – Establishment of Non-Profit Endowment. Motion failed 5-5 with Maher, Pettigrew, Seachris, Biberdorf and Roseland voting yes and Lehmann, Roberts, Strommen, Ham and Evans voting no. Mayor Salamun could not vote because the item dealt with allocating funds. Motion was made by Strommen, second by Roseland to move $1.7 CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 18, 2024 5 million from Comprehensive Plan Improvements to Establishment of Non-Profit Endowment. Giving the Establishment of non-profit endowment a total of $3,035,436 and Comprehensive Plan Improvement a total of $25,134,954. Motion carried 8-2 with Lehmann and Evans voting no. CC110424-03.1 – Approve Resolution 2024-092 Adopting a Five-Year Plan of Projects and Programs to be funded from the Vision Account of the City of Rapid City’s Capital Improvements and Vision Fund and Establishing the Allocation of Funds between the Funding Priorities Included in the Plan. **This item was continued from the November 4, 2024 City Council Meeting.**
(OCTOBER 22, 2024 UPDATE)
Minutes of October 21, City Council Meeting: Approve 8-1 with Evans voting no Authorize Approval of a Resolution Adopting a Five-Year Plan For Projects and Programs to be Funded from the Vision Account of the City’s Capital Improvements and Vision Fund.
(AUGUST 6, 2024 UPDATE)
Minutes of August 5 City Council Meeting: Acknowledged CC080524-04.1 – Discussion and direction regarding the 2025-2029 Vision Fund Process
(MAY 7, 2024 UPDATE)
Minutes of May 6 City Council Meeting: Approve 5-3 with Strommen, Pettigrew and Ham voting no. LF041024-13 – First Reading of Ordinance No. 6617, an Ordinance Updating the Process for Approving Expenditures from the City’s Capital Improvement and Vision Fund by Amending Section 3.16.090 of the Rapid City Municipal Code. Committee Recommendation: Approve 4-1 with Evans voting no
(MAY 2, 2024 UPDATE)
PUBLIC PROVIDES INPUT, ASKS QUESTIONS AT APRIL 29 VISION FUND OPEN HOUSE
More than 60 people turned out for the Vision Fund Open House April 29 at City Hall.
The event included several information tables and visual displays with City staff available to address questions and share information. The public was invited to ask questions and provide feedback, including submitting written comments and filling out funding pie charts.
At the April 1 City Council meeting, Mayor Jason Salamun presented a general outline for allocating Vision Funds over a five-year budget cycle for 2025-2029. The mayor suggested the Council consider dividing the Vision Fund resources over the five-year period into four distinct areas: community projects including citizen-recommended projects and development of a non-profit endowment to help non-profit capital projects; economic development; comprehensive plan priority projects such as parks/recreation projects, public safety training center and a new fleet maintenance facility; and formation of a strategic growth revolving fund for investment in proactive development in strategic areas. Learn more about the proposal by clicking on the link below:
The next steps in the process rest with the City Council, which must first consider and approve ordinances updating the process for approving expenditures from the City’s Capital Improvement and Vision Fund.
The ordinance revision will be on the agenda at the Legal and Finance Committee meetings and City Council meetings in May. Two readings of the ordinance revisions must be approved by Council before any plan or proposal can be considered for the next Vision Fund cycle.
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ITEMS FROM PREVIOUS VISION FUND ROUNDS
pdf 2018 Community Projects (189 KB)
pdf Public Hearing Schedule (104 KB)
Public Hearings held December 18, 2018
2 p.m. Public Hearing Video
6 p.m. Public Hearing Video
Public Hearings held December 20, 2018
2 p.m. Public Hearing Video
6 p.m. Public Hearing Video
PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS
pdf 2019 Citizen Committee Project Recommendations (116 KB)
pdf 2019 City Council Vision Fund Allocation Summary (99 KB)
ADDITIONAL RELATED INFORMATION
3.16090 Rapid City Capital Improvements and Vision Fund
pdf
HISTORY OF VISION FUND PROJECTS
(84 KB)
Rapid City Comprehensive Plan
