Board approves Arkansas site for planned 3,000-inmate prison despite objections

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Arkansas Board of Corrections on Friday approved an 815-acre site for a planned prison to hold 3,000 inmates, despite objections from residents and local officials that they were blindsided by the state's purchase of the land.

The board voted to accept the land that the state had purchased for nearly $3 million to build a prison that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and corrections officials say is needed to ease a backlog of state inmates in county jails.

Officials have not said how much the prison will cost or given a timeline for its construction. Sanders, a Republican, called for 3,000 new prison beds and lawmakers set aside $330 million for that last year. An additional $75 million that was originally intended for the expansion of a prison unit is also available for the project.

“This vote today, it starts a lot of studies and a lot of thought processes,” Chairman Benny Magness said during the meeting, which was held via Zoom with nearly 300 people. “There's probably a slim possibility, but it's a possibility, that this site won't work. But we're at the point where we need to accept the site where we can move on and check some of that information.”

The state last week announced it had purchased the land in Charleston, located about 106 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock. The purchase prompted complaints from residents and officials from the area who said they did not know about the decision until the day it was announced or shortly before.

“A formal public hearing should have been held before the state committed millions of dollars to a project in Franklin County,” Rosemary Underwood, a resident of the area, said at a packed town hall held on Thursday night.

Former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri, a senior adviser to Sanders, said at Thursday's town hall that the property had been optioned for 90 days before the state closed on the purchase.

Sanders on Friday thanked the board for approving the prison site, saying she was committed to work with the community throughout the construction process.

“We kicked this can down the road for far too long - it’s time to make the first investment in our prison system in two decades and finally address our failed system of catch-and-early-release of violent offenders,” Sanders said in a statement.

One member of the board, Lee Watson, abstained from voting on the measure and said he believed there needed to be more public discussion about the purchase and the site.

“Given the magnitude of the decision that we have at hand, I don't feel like I've had sufficient time to make a decision," Watson said.