The Deseret News reported this week that a new prison site may not be put before the Legislature this session (“New prison site not expected to be named during 2015 session,” Jan. 25). This process has been slow. I believe that it should be relocated, but there should be three qualifications. First, it should be relocated in stages, not all at once. Second, the Draper prison parcel is larger than it needs to be to accommodate any future prison needs. And third, there are too many cooks in too many kitchens.
First, the prison should be relocated in stages. A study regarding the life expectancies of the current Draper prison facilities was presented to the PRADA board in April 2012. It indicated that some of the facilities have already exceeded life expectancy, while others have life expectancies of more than 30 years.
The April 2012 study indicated that the average life expectancy of the North Point Correction Facilities is 22 years; the South Point averages 31 years. Fourteen of the 24 current facilities have life expectancies of 30 or more years; moving the prison all at one time would be a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars. The taxpayers deserve to have their taxes spent wisely; relocating the prison in stages, over many years, would get the most out of our taxes that have already funded the Draper prison.
Second, the Draper prison is on a parcel of land much larger than it needs. There is approximately 700 acres of land associated with the prison. Only a small part of it is utilized. There is a high voltage, electricity transmission line that dissects the 700 acres, creating a natural divide of the property. The current correctional facilities are all located on the east side of the power lines; the west side is open. It has taken somewhere between 15-20 years for the Thanksgiving Point Office Park to reach its current stage. It would be safe to assume that it would take a similar amount of time to develop the west side of the Draper prison property. During those 20 years, the remainder of the prison facilities could be relocated so that the lands on the east side could be used for economic development.
It has been suggested that the economic development of the Draper site could generate up to $1 billion of tax revenue for the state, an ambitious goal. To generate this type of revenue, development would have to be limited to commercial real estate, much like the Thanksgiving Point Office Park. Commercial real estate development generates taxes such as real and personal property tax; sales tax, with additional sales tax for restaurants and hospitality uses; development would bring in more employees, which would generate more income tax. Commercial property taxes require 100 percent of the assessed property tax be paid, whereas residential properties only pay 55 percent of the assessed property tax. To reach the $1 billion goal, residential properties would need to be excluded in this project.
Third, there are too many cooks in the kitchen. There have been multiple legislative committees and commissions working to relocate the Draper prison. They have evaluated options, looked at other states’ correctional facilities, hired out-of-state consultants, accommodated special-interest groups and set very limited criteria for a site. With all the cooks involved in the various kitchens, it is no wonder that the menu is hard to complete. The more cooks, the harder it is to complete the menu. Up to this point, the system hasn’t worked well. Refining the process requires that one person with experience in this type of a complex project needs to be given the responsibility and authority to make this happen.
The Draper prison should be relocated, but in stages, with the west side of the property beginning office park development. It is time to turn this project over to a qualified master chef, with the authority to take the necessary actions to complete the menu.
Doug Fullmer has worked for 30-plus years in real estate, including 12 years for the state of Utah, with eight years at DFCM, where he processed numerous real estate acquisitions, leases and managed revenue bond real estate issues.