State picks a firm to do prison relocation study

Utah has made one more step in the process for deciding whether or not to move the Utah State Prison from Draper: Who gets to do the feasibility study.

It was a fairly easy step, since only one proposal for the study was received by deadline.

"It basically met everything we were looking for in the (request for proposals)," said Ken Nye, deputy director of the Division of Facilities Construction and Management.

Wikstrom Economic and Planning Consultants Inc., based in Salt Lake City, will have $140,000 and six months to do the study.

The group has experience in performing public planning and economic analysis, according to a news release from DFCM.

An Internet search of the company name revealed studies and estimates by Wikstrom for cities along the Wasatch Front and state and local agencies.

Two projects are the Daybreak development in Salt Lake County and the redevelopment of the Geneva Steel property in Utah County.

Some areas of the feasibility study, due to begin in two weeks, will go beyond what the division requested, Nye said. One of those areas will be a more comprehensive analysis of prison locations throughout the state.

The study will estimate how much money a sale of the prison property would bring the state, as well as how much a replacement prison could cost.

The first draft of the feasibility study is due Sept. 15, and public comment is welcome throughout the entire study.

Public hearings will be held in November to discuss draft findings, the release states. Comments may be submitted to prisonstudycomments@utah.gov.