Prison Relocation Commission to Meet August 11 at 2 p.m.
Will Consider Recommending Site for New Utah State Correctional Facility
SALT LAKE CITY – The state Legislature’s Prison Relocation Commission (PRC) will meet August 11th at 2 p.m. to discuss the four finalist sites for a new Utah State Correctional Facility. The PRC may then vote to recommend one of the sites to the Legislature and Governor Herbert's consideration.
“At our last meeting in July, we received a great deal of technical detail about the final four sites and PRC members were asked to review the materials and submit questions for legislative staff and PRC consultants to answer,” said PRC Co-Chair Sen. Jerry Stevenson. “Since then, our staff and consultants have worked to answer those questions and finalize their reports. As a result, it’s very possible we will be ready to select a recommended site on August 11th.”
“This has been an unprecedented and intricate process that has become very emotional for residents of the four communities that are finalists to host the new correctional facility,” PRC Co-Chair Rep. Brad Wilson added. “We owe it to them and to the rest of the state to arrive at a decision as quickly as possible without compromising the integrity of a very complex site-review process. I’m confident we’re finally reaching the end of that road.”
The PRC meeting will be held August 11 at 2 p.m. in Room 30 of the House Building on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City.
Next steps after PRC recommendation
Once the PRC chooses a site for recommendation, it will report its choice to the Legislature and Governor. It is anticipated that the Governor will then call a special session of the Legislature to approve or reject the recommended site.
In the 2014 General Session, 95 of 104 legislators voted to move the state prison from Draper and to construct a modern, efficient correctional facility elsewhere. At the same time, the Legislature also created the PRC to identify and recommend a location for a new Utah State Correctional Facility. Since then, the PRC has sifted through more than 50 sites voluntarily submitted by property owners to arrive at four finalist sites.
Over the past 18 months, PRC members, legislative staff, and site-selection consultants have held numerous meetings with landowners, elected and appointed city officials, social service providers, environmental groups, economic development agencies, various government agencies, and others, to acquire information on these four sites. The PRC also hosted three five-hour-long public open houses and question-and-answer sessions, and a public hearing, to better understand community concerns.
The PRC’s consultants were charged to provide the Commission with an in-depth technical analysis of each finalist site, as well as how site challenges could be mitigated if needed. These include, among other things:
Site acreage, configuration, and topography;
Geotechnical conditions (soil type, proximity to fault lines, and potential for soil liquefaction);
Environmental issues (flood hazard potential, presence of wetlands, potential special status species habitats, waste contamination, known cultural resources, presence of insect pests, air quality impacts from transportation of inmates, supplies, staff, and volunteers);
Land use considerations (zoning and potential for conflict with current and future uses on surrounding properties);
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