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3 days ago
- Politics
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Arkansas corrections panel OKs design firms for new prison; next step legislative approval
From left, Arkansas Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne, Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness and Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace listen Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, to questions about the state's purchase of land for a new 3,000-bed prison near Charleston, Arkansas. (Photo by Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate) Arkansas' prison oversight board on Tuesday unanimously approved a contract with two architectural engineering firms to design a planned state prison. The state Board of Corrections gave preliminary approval in May to the $57 million contract with Omaha, Neb.-based HDR and Little Rock-based Cromwell Architects Engineers, but held off formal approval until Tuesday's special-call meeting because some members had questions. The Arkansas Legislative Council, which is scheduled to meet June 20, must give final approval. The contract does not specify where the prison will be built, and board Chairman Benny Magness emphasized the lack of specificity. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her legislative leaders have said the state intends to build a 3,000-bed prison on 815 acres in Franklin County. That decision rankled some lawmakers and local officials who said they hadn't been consulted on the site choice, and lawmakers opposed to the location helped kill a bill this spring that would have appropriated $750 million toward the proposed prison. Board member Lee Watson, who had asked for the delay in approval of the design contract, said his concerns had been addressed. He'd wanted to know whether the architects would have the ability 'to scale as needed depending on what the Legislature budgets for us,' he said. In May, he asked whether the contract would allow for the possibility of another location and whether it would allow for construction of the facility in stages. Luann Salado, project manager for the board's construction manager, Vanir Construction Management, said in May that the aim is to prepare a design that would 'at least let you understand what it would cost to do — what 3,000 beds would look like, and then allow the state to choose how much [it's] actually going to build based on how much is actually appropriated to use to build. But we have to start somewhere.' 'You absolutely will have to do this in stages. That is the approach,' she said. The prison board hired Vanir last October, before Sanders announced the state's purchase of the Franklin County prison site. The board chose the two design firms in April and chose the partnership of Nabholz Construction of Conway and J.E. Dunn Construction of Kansas City, Missouri, as the general contractor for the prison in May. Watson asked Corrections Department Chief Financial Officer Chad Brown at the May meeting if it would be 'kosher within our budgeting process' to pay for the full design. Arkansas Legislature concludes 2025 legislative session; conflict over planned prison continues Brown said the contract will be a 'pay as we go' arrangement as long as the total payment remains under an 'authority dollar amount.' The contract allows the state to withdraw from it with seven days' notice. Some of the local frustration over the 815 acres of Franklin County land for the prison comes from the Indigenous Chickamauga Nation, which has said the project could have a negative impact on its burial sites in the area. The HDR/Cromwell contract has a clause that states the Board of Corrections will 'appropriately adjust' if anything in the project will 'materially change,' Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace said. This story uses information previously reported by the Advocate's Tess Vrbin.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Senate rejects prison appropriation bill for second time
Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, asks a question during a Dec. 6, 2024 committee meeting about a prison planned for Franklin County. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate) The Arkansas Senate on Wednesday rejected for the second day in a row a $750 appropriation bill to support construction of a new 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. Opposition to Senate Bill 354 grew Wednesday with three more senators — Republicans Alan Clark, Steve Crowell and Dan Sullivan — joining ten colleagues who voted against the legislation Tuesday. Proponents of expanding prison capacity, including the governor, argue the new prison is necessary to address overcrowding in county jails. Officials last month set the preliminary cost estimate of the project at $825 million. Local officials and residents were caught off guard last October when Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the state's $2.95 million purchase of 815 acres near Charleston for the project. Community members and elected officials have pushed back against the project for months. Prison appropriation bill stalls in Arkansas Senate Sen. Bryan King, a Green Forrest Republican who's been a vocal opponent from the start, on Wednesday referenced costly prison projects in states like Utah, and said building a 3,000-bed penitentiary in the rural western Arkansas county would be fiscally irresponsible. 'These mega prisons are still mega-financial disasters,' he said. 'The only winners are going to be the prison building companies out of state that's going to take millions of our dollars.' King also criticized the decision to not expand the state's Calico Rock prison. Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed expanding the facility by roughly 500 beds using surplus funds, and state lawmakers approved $75 million in reserve funds for the project in December 2022. That was put on hold when Sanders threw her support behind the Protect Arkansas Act, a 2023 law that, among other things, removes the possibility of parole for the state's most serious offenders. Inmates serving more of their sentences means more prison space will be needed, which Sen. Justin Boyd, R-Fort Smith, said needs to be addressed. 'In this chamber we voted to create new penalties for Arkansans…so we all want to say we're tough on crime, but yet then we don't want to provide the space,' Boyd said. The Legislature set aside $330 million in 2023 to support the governor's prison expansion efforts, but disputes between the executive branch and the Board of Corrections, and among state lawmakers, have delayed the project. While the process may not have been perfect, state lawmakers need to find a way to fund this effort to protect constituents, Corning Republican Sen. Blake Johnson said. 'I appreciate everybody's differences, but please let's try to work together for the safety of Arkansas citizens,' he said. Johnson was one of 18 senators who voted in favor of the measure Wednesday, one fewer than Tuesday. Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, voted for the measure Tuesday, but did not vote Wednesday. Sen. Ken Hammer, R-Benton, who did not vote Tuesday, cast an affirmative vote Wednesday. Sullivan supported the measure Tuesday, but voted against it Wednesday. SB 354 has twice failed in the Senate because appropriation bills require 27 votes to advance out of the upper chamber. There is no restriction on how many times lawmakers can vote on an appropriation bill, but they only have until the end of the session to advance legislation to the governor for final approval. The General Assembly is expected to finish considering bills by April 16. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prison opponents voice concerns as Arkansas officials proceed with 3,000-bed project
Members of the Arkansas Board of Corrections attend a meeting at the North Little Rock headquarters on Feb. 12, 2025. Left to right: Lona McCastlain, William "Dubs" Byers, Chairman Benny Magness, Lee Watson, Brandon Tollett, Grant Hodges. Board member Alonza Jiles attended remotely. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate) Sen. Bryan King and a group of Northwest Arkansas residents who oppose the state's plan to build a 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County asked the Board of Corrections Wednesday to pause site developments. But before the lawmaker and prison site opponents spoke, the board voted to seek an architectural firm to design the proposed penitentiary. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the purchase of the prison site near Charleston in October, and a local group formed quickly in opposition. Members of the Franklin County and River Valley Coalition recently shared their concerns at a legislative committee, were kicked out of the Department of Corrections headquarters and held a press conference urging lawmakers to identify alternatives. Members were again present at Wednesday's prison board meeting. Among King's concerns were an unknown price for building the prison and the secretive nature in which the prison site was selected and announced. 'As people that decide about educating kids and paying for everything, we should know [the prison price] today,' King, a Green Forest Republican said. 'We should have known this before the property was purchased. When you have gross negligence and gross incompetence — I think it's time to put a pause on this.' King pitched his alternative plan to correction officials, which includes reallocating the $470 million set aside for the prison and investing in county-level facility renovations, construction and partnerships. Because a high percentage of inmates come from specific counties, King recommended investing the money in those areas to address the 'three-headed monster' that he said is high crime, high incarceration rates and crowding in county jails. Corrections staff reported Wednesday that 1,626 state inmates were currently being held in county jails. Marilyn Moore, a Franklin County resident, told the board Wednesday that the coalition learned through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act that the prisons board was not heavily involved in the site selection process. Rather than the process being led by corrections officials, Moore said leaders with the Arkansas Division of Building Authority championed its selection under the influence of the governor and former department secretary Joe Profiri, whom Sanders hired as a special adviser after the Board of Corrections fired him. 'What we have come to realize is the Board of Corrections has been under an immense amount of political pressure,' Moore said. 'As a common citizen, I can only imagine what that pressure is. However, as a board, you have the constitutional duty … You have made unilateral decisions that will negatively impact the Department of Corrections and the state of Arkansas.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX More said public records showed officials were aware of 815-acre site's shortcomings during the selection process and proceeded anyway. She said the new prison would be a strain on the area's existing electric and water resources. Citing communication from state officials, Moore said the available workforce in the area is poor and the road access makes the site 'not viable.' Board members did not ask any questions of the presenters, but Chairman Benny Magness referenced the prison in Calico Rock as a similar site and urged coalition members to visit. The prison oversight board approved a request for qualification (RFQ) that invites architectural firms to submit proposals for carrying out the design work on the new prison. FranklinCoRFQ Magness said he thought the RFQ's timeline was too long. If the board doesn't vote on an architect until May, as outlined in the document, he said, 'we're not going to turn dirt this year.' Corrections department staff assured Magness that the timeline could be condensed and that the stated dates are considered maximums. The contract is set for four years, with the option to renew annually for up to seven consecutive years, or until the project is completed. According to the document, the programming and design phase is estimated to begin in June. The RFQ draft states that the design professional would conduct a phasing schedule for the 3,000-bed facility, plan infrastructure such as a wastewater treatment facility, wells and emergency power generation. A site study should include a model to determine road parking, buildings, perimeter security and patrol roads, according to the RFQ. Among other features, the facility should also include dining halls, indoor- and outdoor-recreation areas, medical and infirmary locations, intake processing, visitation, a vehicular sally port and laundry, according to the document. Though state officials have referred to the prison as having 3,000 beds once built, board member Lona McCastlain recommended adding language to the RFQ that would instead say 'up to 3,000.' In addition to the RFQ, members approved tentative members for an 'evaluation committee' to select the optimal bidder. The committee is expected to include one board member; Thomas Burns, the board's attorney; Richard Cooper, assistant director of construction and maintenance; and William Straughn, deputy director of institutions. The committee will also include designees from the department secretary, the director of the Division of Correction and the governor's office. The prisons board also approved a 99-year lease agreement with the Department of Human Services for $1 annually to operate what Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace called a 'women's health unit' in Little Rock. In a separate vote, members approved $2 million to invest in renovations to the building, most of which would fund a new HVAC system. SiteofWomensCenter Under the Protect Act of 2023, corrections officials must allow 72-hour bonding periods for incarcerated mothers and their babies. Seven incarcerated women are currently pregnant, Wallace said. Renovations could start in March, upon lease approval, Wallace said. By August, inmates could be housed in the 50 proposed beds, with pregnant women in one wing and elderly and women with health issues in the other, she said. 'This will satisfy our requirements of the Protect Act, but it's also going to offer an opportunity for us to do some partnering with the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health to provide some basic services, to teach moms how to care for their kids, to teach them about bonding, maintaining healthy bodies during pregnancy and after pregnancy,' Wallace said. The site is located at 4800 W. 7th St. near the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Central Arkansas Community Corrections Center. The Board of Corrections also took up several other items of business during its all-day regular monthly meeting, including approving the purchase of a laundry washing machine, eight night vision binocular sets and one narcotic analyzer. Members shared concerns about the delayed progress on a Phillips County Jail agreement that would supply the state with 80 additional beds. Dexter Payne, director of the Division of Correction, said inmates could likely move in within the next week or two, but staff is having trouble finalizing a food source. While the plan was to partner with a hospital across the street, the prices were too high, he said. Outwardly frustrated about the delay, McCastlain recommended using a nearby McDonald's, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the inmates or parking a food truck nearby. Also concerned, board member Brandon Tollett asked Payne for a 'hard date on when we'll have bodies in beds.' Payne said he could not provide a hard deadline because of the dietary and nutritional restrictions on providing food. Chad Brown, the department's chief financial officer, told the board it was 'death by option,' and he was currently in conversation with a local grocery store owner. Brown said the goal was to feed each inmate for $5 per day. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Senate confirms ex-lawmaker to state prison board over one member's objection
Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, asks a question during a December 6, 2024 legislative meeting. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate) The Arkansas Senate confirmed more than three dozen new members to state boards and commissions Tuesday, with the only opposition directed at a Republican ex-lawmaker who now works for a Little Rock lobbying firm. Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, requested that the Senate vote separately on Grant Hodges' appointment to the Board of Corrections, one of many appointments Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced this month. Hodges represented Centerton for four terms in the House, from 2015 to 2020 and from 2023 to this year. King said he did not believe Hodges was qualified to be on the seven-member board that oversees the state prison system. He also took issue with Hodges' work as an account manager at JCD Consulting since November, reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. King has regularly objected to the frequent involvement of lobbyists and consultants in state government affairs. In 2023, he sponsored a bill that would have prohibited former lawmakers from employment 'as a consultant or director with a firm, business, association, or other private entity with the primary purpose of lobbying an elected official of Arkansas.' The bill died in the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs. 'You can title yourself whatever, but I say if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck,' King told the Senate on Tuesday. He added that the Legislature should establish a 'clear line' for affiliates of lobbyists not to cross. Republican Sens. Terry Rice of Waldron and Gary Stubblefield of Branch also voted against Hodges' appointment, which passed with a voice vote. Rice said in an interview that he shared King's concerns about the influence of lobbyists, because even if Hodges 'is evidently not one right now, he works for one.' According to JDC's website, the firm is 'the largest Republican campaign shop in the state' and the only Arkansas-based firm Sanders hired for her 2022 gubernatorial campaign. Sanders is running for reelection next year, and one of her campaign's special advisers is Chris Caldwell, who managed her 2022 campaign. The Senate confirmed Caldwell to the Game and Fish Commission in December. Rice said Tuesday that he voted against Caldwell's appointment for the same reason he voted against Hodges, since Caldwell runs a political consulting firm. 'I just think when you're in and around the executive branch, there needs to be separation for the public,' Rice said. Hodges is Sanders' third appointee to the Board of Corrections after Brandon Tollett and Lona McCastlain. Members of both the Board of Corrections and the State Library Board serve staggered seven-year terms. Sydney McKenzie of Rogers, wife of Republican Rep. Brit McKenzie, was confirmed to the library board in a batch of the remaining appointees that the Senate passed with no dissent. Hodges' and McKenzie's terms on their respective boards will expire in 2031. McKenzie is Sanders' third appointment to the library board, which oversees the distribution of state funds to public libraries. The Senate confirmed Jason Rapert, a former Republican state senator from Conway, and Shari Bales of Hot Springs to the board in December 2023. Rapert has called for the state Legislature to abolish the State Library Board in response to other board members, including Bales, rejecting his efforts to withhold state funding from libraries that contain books he considers inappropriate for children. McKenzie told the Democrat-Gazette that she is 'grateful for this opportunity to advance access to safe learning environments and promote greater literacy for children across our state.'
