PRC co-chairs refute statement that
decision has already been decided on site of new prison
Prison Site Evaluation Process is Still Underway;
No location a front-runner
SALT LAKE CITY – “No decision has yet been made on where a new state correctional facility will be located, and statements by Rep. Jake Anderegg that the ‘political will’ exists to build it in Salt Lake City are an unwelcome and damaging intrusion into a long and detailed evaluation process,” said Rep. Brad Wilson, co-chair with Sen. Jerry Stevenson of the Legislature’s Prison Relocation Commission (PRC).
Rep. Anderegg represents areas near two of the four proposed sites for a new correctional facility in Eagle Mountain and Fairfield. He has told constituents and news reporters that he has informally polled legislators and says there is enough support to locate the new facility in Salt Lake City, if a vote were held today.
“Rep. Anderegg seems to be motivated by a political need to please his constituents by trying to shift discussion away from the two Utah County sites,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately, he’s getting ahead of himself and doing a disservice to the site selection process, those who have worked so long and hard on it, the Legislature as a whole, and his own constituents.”
“The bottom line is that we will continue to proceed with our analysis and make the best site recommendation based on all of the information we gather.”
The PRC will hold a public hearing on the four sites under consideration on Tuesday, June 16, at 6 p.m. at the House Building, Room 30, on Capitol Hill. In the weeks following the hearing, the PRC will then make a final recommendation to the Governor and Legislature, which will decide whether to approve the site recommendation.
The four finalist sites being considered by the PRC as the new location for the Utah State Correctional Facility are:
§ Lake Mountains West in Utah County – This site is located at the southernmost part of Eagle Mountain City.
§ Cedar Valley South in Utah County – This site is located southwest of Eagle Mountain City at the southern end of the town of Fairfield along SR 73.
§ I-80 / 7200 West in Salt Lake County – This site is located west of the Salt Lake City International Airport.
§ SR 138 Industrial Site in Tooele County – This site is located near the Walmart Distribution Center on the west side of SR 138 in Grantsville.
For more information about the Prison Relocation Commission, please visit the PRC's website at le.utah.gov/prc.
