The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Earlier this year, Aliceville citizens held a public meeting with U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to celebrate an initial appropriation of $15 million toward construction of a federal prison in the south Pickens County town. The federal prison could create about 350 jobs with annual salaries of $30,000 each, Aliceville residents were told at the Jan. 10 hearing.

This week, the state prison commissioner announced he wants to replace Alabama's only prison for women, which is now more than 60 years old. The goal is to have a new women's prison up in 2008, and four municipalities have expressed interest - Gordo, Thomasville, Brundidge and Livingston.

Tutwiler Prison for Women, which is in Elmore County near Wetumpka and houses fewer than half of the 1,977 female inmates in state custody, has plumbing and infrastructure problems.

“We know we need a new women's facility,” Commissioner Richard Allen told the Montgomery Advertiser in a story Tuesday.

Brian Corbett, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said Livingston has proposed building a prison and leasing it to the state, and Gordo is working on a proposal.

“I have talked with the mayor of Gordo,” said Aliceville Director of Economic Development Alan Harper, who is also the state economic development representative for District 61, which include Pickens County and the western part of Tuscaloosa County.

“They have entertained the prison commissioner at a luncheon and expressed their desire to host a women's prison. I have committed to the mayor I will help any way I can at the state level,” Harper said.

“Gordo has a lot to offer in the way of transportation, infrastructure and a quality work force,” Harper continued. “They're good, caring folks who want to work hard.”

The department spent $450,000 on a study to determine the prison population's needs and the state corrections system's future. Allen said the study will be completed by January and will include research on the feasibility of housing female inmates in private prisons, similar to the incarceration of 397 in Louisiana.

If the study indicates a need for a new facility, Corbett said it would likely be built for a population of 2,000 female inmates.

“It would be a significant financial impact for the county,” Harper said.

He said the study may also determine if the Tutwiler property has a future with the state Department of Corrections or whether it should be sold.

Eric Basinger, director of the Elmore County Economic Development Authority, said he's been told renovation of the Tutwiler complex is possible.

“Since it's been here as long as it has, I would be surprised if we didn't do something to keep it here,” Basinger said.

He said Tutwiler employs 300 state and contract workers, so there would be concern if it shut down completely.

Meanwhile, planning continues on the Aliceville federal prison project.

“The Bureau of Prisons has narrowed it down from six possible sites to three sites (in southern Pickens County),” Harper said. “They're about to complete preliminary studies which include environmental, geotechnical, cultural and historical portions. They should have that done by the first of the year.”

Harper said the three possible sites all lie within five miles of downtown Aliceville.

“Last week, the bureau selected a national consultant to undertake the public hearing and documentation process,” Harper said. “Some time in January or February, they will begin to focus on the best site and conduct in-depth studies of that potential site.

“We feel like late next summer or early fall, we will have zeroed in on the site.”

While Aliceville has seen a loss of jobs with the closing of two plants in the last decade, Harper said the unemployment rate in Pickens County is less than 4 percent.

“Those in the county who want to work, can find jobs,” he said.

http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2006/12/13/local_news/local03.txt