By JONNELLE DAVIS
News & Record
TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Eden and Rockingham County officials got an eyeful during their visit Wednesday to the Alexander Correctional Institution: a woodworking center where inmates learn to make furniture, a full-service cafeteria where they prepare meals for themselves and the staff, and a unit that houses the most violent felons.
But what impressed Eden City Manager Brad Corcoran the most was a gold shovel mounted in the prison’s administrative area. The plaque showed officials in hard hats during the November 2001 ground-breaking ceremony.
“That’s what we want,” Corcoran said, pointing at the photo.
Rockingham County is one of several counties vying for a state prison. On Wednesday, officials traveled to Alexander County to learn what it might take to bring a prison - and more than 300 jobs - to the county.
The N.C. Department of Correction is to build one minimum and two medium custody prisons by 2016. A medium custody prison would employ about 339 people.
“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for all of Rockingham County,” Corcoran said.
Should Rockingham County win out, the prison would be built in Eden. City officials have identified about 1,800 acres off Harrington Highway.
Only about 150 acres would be needed for the prison, and officials have said the owner has agreed to sell the property and have it annexed into the city. The land would be given to the state for the prison.
But first, the county must overcome possible opposition.
State Rep. Ray Warren, the one-time sheriff of Alexander County, joined officials at the prison Wednesday and shared the county’s struggle to get the prison.
There was opposition among local government officials, and Warren said the county had problems finding a site. Property owners hedged on selling their land because their neighbors didn’t want the prison in their backyards.
“Expect some opposition. Be prepared to deal with that,” Warren said.
Bill Stovall, deputy secretary of the Department of Correction, said the state likes to build prisons in communities that are seeking jobs as part of their economic development plans.
Boyd Bennett, director of the state’s division of prisons, said Burke, Caldwell, Surry and Wilkes counties also have expressed interest.
Eden’s leaders have been working on their pitch since October but have kept their plans under wraps for fear of misconceptions getting widespread play.
Corcoran said city officials have held a series of meetings with community stakeholders over the past couple of weeks. About 50 business and community leaders toured the Alexander prison, a 1,000-inmate capacity maximum security prison that employs close to 500.
“I didn’t see much of a downside to it at all,” said Mike Dougherty, Eden’s economic development director, of what he learned during the tour.
Leaders are most attracted to the fact the prison jobs would be secure and able to withstand a soft economy.
Commissioner Bobby Stanley said he’s all for seeing a prison in Rockingham County. He pointed to the 720 jobs that will be lost when Hanesbrands closes in Eden. When jobs leave an area, so do people, Stanley said.
“So it’s very, very important to get jobs in the community. This is one way you can do it,” Stanley said. “This will benefit the community as a whole.
Copyright 2008 News & Record (Greensboro, NC)