By Lindsay Whitehurst
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — With a site recommendation deadline looming in six weeks, Utah lawmakers say they can’t build a new prison at the same location as the current facility in Draper.
Utah Sen. Jerry Stevenson, who co-chairs the Prison Relocation Commission, says it’s not feasible to tear down the old facility and build a new one in Draper while trying to keep some 4,000 inmates under lock and key.
“This isn’t like building a new elementary school,” Stevenson said Tuesday.
The Layton Republican also said the Draper site is a poor choice because it’s split by highways and major power lines, and bordered by the Jordan River.
Still, those who want the new prison to be built in Draper say they’re not giving up. Heidi Balderree with Keep it in Draper said Wednesday that her group is appealing to the Utah Supreme Court to get the issue on the ballot in November.
The Prison Relocation Commission is set to recommend one of four possible new sites by Aug. 1. The decision could be delayed for a short time, however, after rainy weather slowed land study work.
Stevenson made his comments after a hearing that drew some 200 people. Some people spoke in favor of updating the aging facility and creating better programs to help rehabilitate inmates. But most speakers opposed moving it. The four possible sites on the short list are in Salt Lake City, Grantsville, Eagle Mountain and Fairfield.
While Lawmakers say moving the prison will create a modern facility and open up prime Draper real estate for development, residents counter that the idea of keeping the prison in place was too quickly disregarded and the public was shut out of the process.
Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, who co-chairs the commission with Stevenson, disagreed.
“I think it’s been the most public and open process the state has ever had in locating a building,” he said.
After the commission makes a recommendation, Gov. Gary Herbert is expected to call the Utah Legislature into a special session to consider it, giving opponents another possible avenue for protest.
“Our government was built with a system of checks and balances for expressly this purpose,” Balderree said, noting that power lines and roads that are problematic for rebuilding on the Draper site could also stymie redevelopment of the area.
The Salt Lake City site is off Interstate 80 near the airport. The Grantsville parcel is located near the Wal-Mart Distribution Center on state Route 138. The other two locations are in Utah County, one south of Eagle Mountain in the Lake Mountains West area, and the other southwest of Fairfield near Cedar Valley South.