Members of the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce met with Price City Council members on Wednesday requesting a letter of support from the city to submit an application for consideration of the relocation of the Utah State Prison to the area. Members of the council agreed to support the application by signing a letter of support.
The request for support stems from a meeting local officials recently hosted regarding the prison. Officials from Carbon and Emery counties met to discuss the possibilities of relocating the prison, which currently resides in Draper, to the area.
“Recently, Carbon and Emery county business and political leaders met together to gauge interest in pursuing the prison and putting in an application for the PRC (Prison Relocation Committee) to at least look at and consider our area,” newly elected Emery County Commissioner Keith Brady shared. “Carbon alone doesn’t have what the PRC is looking for, neither does Emery, but together, I believe we do.”
After the meeting, officials decided that submitting an application for consideration would be beneficial. However, there is not much time to apply. The application for consideration must be submitted to the PRC by Friday, Jan. 30.
Officials have been working fervently to complete the application before the deadline and leaders are confident that between Carbon and Emery County, the PRC will consider the local area a possible beneficial change for the prison site.
“The current pushback from the Wasatch area opens the door for our area. So, why not us?” Brady questioned.
When the legislature proposed relocating, it specified several strict criteria that must be met when identifying a plot of land on which to build.
These criteria include looking at whether the state currently owns land where a new prison could be built, inmate programming that encourages a reduction of relapse into criminal behavior, maintaining an adequate level of volunteer and staff support, proximity to medical facilities, access to courts, expansion capabilities and emergency response factors, to name a few.
Though relocating the prison to Carbon or Emery County could greatly benefit the local communities in terms of jobs and local revenue, it is unclear whether or not there is a suitable location that would fit the stringent criteria set by Utah legislators. The PRC will review the application from local officials to determine if further consideration will be made.