In a very quick meeting the Bradley County Quorum Court meet Monday August 18th for their monthly session. Normal reports were approved and Judge Neely provided an update on county road work. He also stated that plans are under way to close out cells at the county landfill that are full. He asked if any JP had any new information relating to a new county jail. No member responded. The Judge said he had no new or additional information.
The last few minutes of the meeting consisted of a discussion about a notification the county had received from the state asking if the county had an interest in having a state prison located in this area. Judge Neely indicated there had been some brief talk among local officials in southeast Arkansas about looking into pursuing the project but nothing has been decided. He indicated it would likely take a joint effort of several counties and cities to have a chance.
According to the letter the Judge shared with the Court, the state wants to build facility to house 1000 maximum security inmates. It could later be expanded. The estimated cost is $100,000,000.00. The annual operating budget would be $19,000,000.00 and would employee 250 people. It should be noted the prison has not been approved by the Arkansas Legislature at this point.
To seek an opportunity to get the prison located in a specific area would require the donation of 400 acres of land that is generally square and flat. There are a number of other requirements such as utilities, closeness to major medical facilities, be free of environmental and archaeological issues and not be in a major earthquake zone.
After talking about the matter for about 10 minutes the Court voted 9-0 in favor of looking into options of working with other local governments and organizations to try to get the prison located in or as close to Bradley County as possible. The motion was vague but seemed to encourage the Judge to work on the possibilities.
Please tell me that Bradley County will not be ruined with the placement of a Maximum Security Prison in the middle of a region that would be an escaped convict's dream. Place prisons in the prairie areas of the state where there's 20 miles of I obstructed view in any direction. There are many other ways to generate business opportunities that draw good people and infuse higher pay scales into the are economy. They may be harder to come by but the longer term rewards are far more lucrative. Many of us had to leave in order to make a living. Warehousing murderers, rapists and other violent felons in Bradley County will ensure many of us don't come back. Why not consider a very large lake and golf course system to draw in the baby boomer wealth from retirees? The ancillary commerce for taking care of retirees will be more beneficial than the businesses that support prisons.
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