Prison is staying put for now

DRAPER — The Utah State Prison won't have to pack its bags any time soon.

Relocating the prison's operations to another county will simply cost more than the state would gain from the sale and development of the 670 acres of land where the prison currently sits, according to a new study released Friday.

"We will not proceed with moving the prison based on costs. We said early on the numbers would drive this decision. And indeed the numbers have driven this decision," Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said.

Huntsman came up with the idea last year during his campaign of relocating the state prison to a "more remote, acceptable" location and selling the site to developers. He said then a move "economically and socially made sense."

But that was before the study found that the state could lose as much as $372 million by building a new prison elsewhere. "It's a significant number," the governor said. "It made the decision pretty easy."

It comes as a relief for at least a few government entities, including the state Department of Corrections.

A relocation would have been a logistical nightmare for transporting inmates, but most employees likely would have had to pick up and move, said Chris Mitchell, corrections deputy director.

The 1,100 employees who run the 4,000-bed prison largely live along the Wasatch Front, and Mitchell said she was concerned a significant portion of the workforce wouldn't be able to commute — or even move — to a new facility. A new locale would need a sufficient population that could make up the difference for the employees who couldn't stay with the department, she said.

Not only that, corrections spokesman Jack Ford said, a move would likely mean the prison would lose some of its 1,200 volunteers who provide services such as teaching classes and providing guidance.

Matt Lawrence, Tooele County Commission chairman, said his county has been hoping the state wouldn't build a prison there. Huntsman has mentioned Tooele County as a potential site, and Juab and Box Elder counties were also seen as possibilities.

"It just doesn't fit in our county, and we just think there's other better places it could go," Lawrence said. "Tooele County is going in different directions now and we want to be selective with what type of things are going to be invited into our county in the future."

Draper Mayor Darrell Smith said he's not surprised.