Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Private Prison Considering Nevada County As Location

LaSalle Management Company has approached Nevada County Economic Director Jon Chadwell about locating a privately-owned prison in Nevada County.

Chadwell informed the Nevada County Quorum Court of a proposal by LaSalle during the regular meeting of the JPs Monday night, June 12, at the Nevada County Courthouse.

LaSalle Management, according to Chadwell, will be the first company to hopefully build and manage a private prison in Arkansas.

Chadwell said there were several state-owned but private-managed prisons in the state.

LaSalle has requested that JPs sign a contract with JPs in hopes of encouraging the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) to look closer at this type of prison system and approve placing state prisoners in private prisons.

Chadwell reminded JPs that Nevada County came in second for a state prison system that will eventually be built in Malvern and LaSalle based its decision on the ADC site selection committee.

Instead of 250 acres for a site as the state was looking for, LaSalle has shown interest in 25 acres, according to Chadwell.

More than 60 people will be employed if the prison is approved, Chadwell said, with an average wage of about $10 per hour.

400 to 500 beds will be built in the minimum security prison, Chadwell told JPs, and the unit will house only male prisoners.

If the state approves the contract and allows LaSalle to build a prison in Nevada County, Chadwell said 15 beds will be dedicated to Nevada County prisoners at no charge, with another 15 beds available upon demand at $30 per prisoner per day. This fee would go up after a number of years.

Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell and Chadwell put their heads together earlier and crunched numbers, determining Nevada County will immediately save over $30,000 per year from its jail fund.

Chadwell said he and Otwell looked at numbers and determined at the costs of increase by the prison to the county over a 20 year period, it would cost the Nevada County residents $2,000 a year more than the current jail budget for this year.

JPs were reminded that potential lawsuits from locally kept prisoners would no longer exist and Nevada County residents would not have to face a possible tax or bond issue in the future to build a new county jail.

Chadwell, Otwell, Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor and Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown visited two of LaSalle's prisons in Louisiana recently and talked with the company's financial institutions to see how the company was operated.

Chadwell said LaSalle appeared solid and was told by its financial backers that there would be no problem with the company's finances as far as building in Arkansas.

LaSalle owns and operates several prisons in Louisiana. The state of Louisiana did not have privately-owned or operated prisons until just a few years ago.

JPs will consider LaSalle's contract during the August meeting.

In other business, JPs also heard from Chadwell concerning the water project in the lower part of Nevada County.

He stated the pipe was almost laid and testing should begin soon on the system.

JPs approved American Investors as the county's new health insurance provider, after being notified this spring its current health insurance carrier would be moving from Arkansas and not providing services after July 1.

American Investors turned in the lowest proposal at $178 per month for one person with a $1,000 deductible and a prescription card.

County employees who have insurance plus one person on their plan will pay $347 per month, while a family plan will cost $427 per month.

Currently, Nevada County pays for the employees part of the insurance.

JPs also increased the budget from $111 to the $178. This divided out at $9,600 in County General,$2,000 in Solid Waste and $4,000 in Road and Bridge.

It is possible the county will have to reduce its share of contribution to employees insurance policy in 2001.