Trending Topics

Utah prison committee wants consultant to move faster

“April 2015 ain’t going to work,” lawmaker tells hired consultant

By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The painstaking process outlined by a consultant hired to help the Prison Relocation Authority and Development Committee decide if, when and how to relocate the state’s main prison facility drew quick reactions — one polite, the other heated — from two lawmakers Wednesday.

Brad Sassatelli, project director for MGT of America, told the board his firm would have a preliminary feasibility report ready at the end of January but projected that, if a decision is made to move the Utah State Prison, a contract would not be awarded until spring 2015.

“This is a very aggressive schedule we’ve laid out for the state to move forward with,” Sassatelli said.

But not according to Rep. Eric K. Hutchings, R-Kearns.

After listening to Sassatelli’s broad overview of process steps and timetables, Hutchings said he could have learned the same information by flipping through a copy of Architectural Digest.

“So far, I haven’t really learned anything today that you didn’t share when we sat down to hire you,” Hutchings said, adding: “April 2015 ain’t going to work.”

Full story: Prison committee wants consultant to move faster