Like me, many residents of Tooele County object to having the prison at the proposed site next to Miller Motorsports Park for some of the same reasons other communities are rejecting it. Here are just a few: It will stifle economic development on prime land. It will lower home values. And it will increase strain on already overburdened roads. To address these concerns, some have suggested putting the prison farther out in more remote areas of our county.
However, putting the prison farther out does not solve the problems. Relocating the prison into a county like ours is bad not just for our county but for the rest of the state.
The top criterion in the site selection is "proximity to staff, visitors and volunteers." Why move the prison to Tooele County so these individuals have to commute 100 miles round trip to a county without mass transit? Having 1,400 volunteers alone, traveling a minimum of once a week, will result in an increase of 112,000 miles’ worth of air pollution weekly. Not to mention 8,000 to 10,000 weekly round trips by employees and visitors.
Another top criterion is proximity to medical and treatment providers, in which our county is not adequately equipped to support a prison population. Lack of such will result in our inability to provide the necessary rehabilitation services offenders need so they can once again be a productive member of society.
Lastly, placing the prison in a relatively "remote" site will mean higher expenses to bring in potable water, sewer and utilities. Our Tooele and Grantsville mayors have said their cities hardly have enough for their needs and future development, so the prison would have to be self-sustaining.
Other methods of obtaining water for the prison, such as wells or having its own septic system would be prohibitively expensive. Is that a responsible use of taxpayer money? The prison inmate population is expected to increase by 50 percent in 20 years. How can we possibly sustain a prison’s demands on water out in the west desert when we are already chronically faced with drought?
Relocating the prison to Tooele County is not in the best interest of a community that does not want it. Neither is it in the best interest of Utah taxpayers; prison service providers, staffers and volunteers; and inmates and their families. With communities closer in proximity to Draper rejecting the prison due to legitimate reasons, the best option is to renovate and keep it where it is.
Jewel Allen is a journalist, author and ghostwriter who lives in Grantsville, Tooele County. She is the co-founder of the citizens Facebook page No Prison in Tooele County. Visit her website at www.jewelallen.com.