Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prison Possible In Nevada County

How do you feel about a prison in Prescott and or northern Nevada County?

Well, you may express your views about a prison at a public hearing this Thursday, March 21, at the Nevada County Courthouse.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor told council members of a letter the city received from Corrections Corporations of America (CCA) looking for a 120 to 500 acre site with municipal water and sewage and has asked if Prescott might be interested in the project.

Council member were informed of the letter at Monday's regular meeting of the Prescott City Council.

CCA, from Nashville, Tenn., will operate the prison with eventual ownership reverting back to the state of Arkansas, according to information from Taylor's letter.

The community could have 180 new jobs and an anticipated salaries for those employees is expected to top $4.5 million a year.

Jobs are not the only benefit of a prison being placed in a community. According to officials, more than $10 million in local retail sales can be expected once a unit goes into operations.

The prison will house 18- to 24-year-old males in the anticipated 640 units.

Taylor said residents need to turn out for the public hearing - the city must reply by next Monday, March 25.

It appears a new prison will be built in the state and Prescott is not the only community being considered.

CCA will meet with the Arkansas Department of Corrections at its regular board meeting to give them the ideal area for the prison system.

Other information known about the proposed prison at this time is there will be two chain link fences with three strands of razor wire fence around the grounds.

Prisoners will not be released into the community for work release and the proposed site must also be accessible without having to cross railroad tracks or water.

In other business the council approved two resolutions, one of which aligns Prescott with other communities in times of need.

A mutual assistance agreement was entered into by council members with the city of Hope, North Little Rock, West Memphis and towns in northwest and northeast Arkansas.

The agreement is for the towns to offer assistance in the electrical department (labor, supplies, etc.) in times of disaster or emergencies when electrical companies are owned by the municipalities (cities).

It sets fees for usage of trucks by size, wages of employees, travel time and other assorted expenses.

Taylor said the agreement is not an interlocal agreement, but a statement of intention for services.

The only way a city cannot be paid or reimbursed for its services provided in times of disaster or emergency will only be when the municipal government is controlled by governmental budget restraints - by not spending beyond its anticipated revenues.

The council's second resolution was one agreeing to need a general election. This resolution is one approved as needed for primaries.

Council members may also find themselves meeting Thursday or Friday approving water construction bids for the newly annexed areas of Prescott.

Taylor informed the members the bids for water will be opened Thursday. So far six bids have been received.

Council members agreed to let bids for the sewage project in the same area annexed by Prescott earlier this year and late in 1995.

A sign for the new Rip Griffin Travel Center will be in place announcing the future site of the complex at exit 44 of Interstate 30 on U.S. 371 according to Taylor.

He said an area on the property had been cleared and signing of all papers had been completed.

Council members again discussed unsolicited advertising materials being thrown into yards in Prescott.

While it is illegal to prohibit the throwing of the papers into yards, council members were reminded a city ordinance which allows residents to contact the publisher of the material and inform them they do not wish to receive the product in their yard anymore.

A letter citing the city's ordinance should also be sent to the publisher of the material informing them they could be charged under the provisions of the ordinance if they do not cease to throw the material onto their private property.

This issue was discussed due to complaints received by council members.

Other complaints discussed were of a very large hog in one neighborhood.

The city has an ordinance prohibiting undomesticated animals (horses, cows, pigs, etc.) from living in the city limits, though it is not enforced unless neighbors complain.