Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Proposal Submitted To Prison Board

A proposal has been turned in to the Arkansas Department of Corrections concerning a new medium security prison.

Walt Denton, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, submitted the proposal recently.

Under terms of the proposal, the Prescott-Nevada County Industrial Board will provide about 408 acres along Interstate 30 to the DoC as a possible location for the facility.

Denton said the hope is by providing this location with direct interstate access, it will as a draw to the DoC.

Several years ago, Prescott vied for a prison, making the cut to the final three before the DoC chose to built the facility at Newport instead.

The facility the DoC is looking to build now is expected to cost $29 million to build, and house 780 medium-security inmates when construction is completed.

According to information from the DoC, the facility will be built and operated by the DoC and will be expandable to about 1,600 beds.

There will be plenty of positive results for Prescott and Nevada County, should the DoC decide to locate here.

First, some 225 jobs will be created for the unit, which will have an annual operating cost of approximately $11 million. The average salary for workers at the institution will be $11 per hour.

When the facility expands, it will require some 475 workers and have an annual operating budget of about $23 million.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor said he and Denton, along with the interlocal board, are working hard to make sure the city is in the running for the facility.

A packet of information was compiled for the DoC to show what Prescott has to offer.

This is considered a "fast-track" project as the DoC plans to look at all packets submitted in June, visit its top five site selections and make a final determination by July.

According to Taylor, construction in the facility will begin by January 2000, with the project to be done in 10 months.

Denton said such a facility would have a major economic impact on the area with the annual payroll and number of jobs it would create.

"We're exploring our options," he continued, "to see if we can come up with the land." This project will require at least 400 acres of roughly square and flat land for the facility.

According to the DoC, the net bearing capacity of the soil should be no less than 2,500 pounds per square foot, in a zone one seismic area.

Denton stressed there are no guarantees as far as Prescott getting the facility, but said the area has as good a chance as anyone else.

"We need to get a solid proposal done," he said. "We're doing all we can to be in the best position. We need to work hard to promote Prescott and get community support."

Should Prescott be awarded the prison, he said, service jobs could follow, helping the area's economy be more diverse.

And, he added, with this "industry" locating in Prescott, should it happen, it should be easier to get other industries to locate here as well.