Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, asks a question during a Dec. 6, 2024 committee meeting about a prison planned for Franklin County. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
If Arkansas’ new 3,000-bed prison is built as expected in Franklin County, Jonathan Tedford will be able to see it from the back porch of his house, where he is raising three young children.
Tedford’s family is rooted in Charleston, he said. His grandfather bought his first piece of property in the area 60 years ago. The prison, Tedford said, would send his grandfather’s legacy out the window.
“At the very least, we have a prison we have to look at every day, while we work cows, while we ride horses, while our kids fish,” Tedford told reporters Friday after a legislative hearing about the proposed prison. “And knowing that he worked his whole life for something that may not even be able to be sold for pennies on the dollar at this point once that prison goes in, because not many people are going to come in and want to live next to a prison if they don’t have to.”
At this stage in the project, Tedford said his family plans to stay, but he’s “not real excited about our kids being raised in a spot right there.”
Tedford was among a handful of Franklin County residents at a sparsely attended state Senate Children and Youth Committee meeting on Friday chaired by Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders formally announced a nearly $3 million land purchase for 815 acres near Mill Creek Mountain on a local radio station on Oct. 31, surprising county residents and area lawmakers.
State officials for years have pursued construction of a new prison to alleviate crowding in existing facilities and county jails, which costs approximately $30 million annually, according to the governor’s office.
More prison beds also likely will be needed in the future due to the Protect Arkansas Act, a 2023 law that overhauls the state’s parole system and eliminates the possibility of parole for the most serious offenders.
Since Sanders’ October announcement, lawmakers have spoken out on the same radio station, officials with the state Department of Corrections held a contentious town hall meeting and community organizations have voiced opposition to the development.
On Friday, Natalie Cadena with the Franklin County and River Valley Coalition – a group that formed shortly after the property purchase was announced – presented a case against the prison site to King’s committee.
Cadena’s presentation marked the first time residents’ concerns were brought to a state legislative body. The content mirrored concerns shared previously, such as a lack of government transparency and local input.
Cadena said she spoke as part of a “devastated community” who was “denied a voice in this process by the very people that we voted for.”
Among Cadena’s concerns about the site on and around Mill Creek Mountain were karst topography, a lack of available water resources, a limited labor pool and few nearby emergency services. She also told lawmakers the prison could cost upwards of $1.5 billion, instead of the approximate $400 million that state leaders have referenced.
Cadena’s cost estimate stemmed from information she received from a public records request.
Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, agreed Arkansas’ new prison will far exceed officials’ estimated costs.
“We can’t build this thing for a billion dollars with the cost of materials and workers right now,” Stubblefield said. “There’s no possible way.”
He also echoed concerns about the lack of transparency from state officials during the site selection process.
“What really bothered me about this whole thing… was the fact that the people of Franklin County, including myself, were cut out from even knowing about something this large happening in our county,” Stubblefield said. “That is one of the most un-American things I have heard since I’ve been down here… That was totally unnecessary.”
King has frequently been vocal about the site for the new prison and said the process has been moving “way too fast” and needs to be done with a “holistic approach.”
After the committee meeting, Sen. Ben Gilmore, R-Crossett, told reporters he appreciated hearing concerns from constituents and he found similarities in Friday’s presentation that everyone seems to agree a prison is needed in the state.
Gilmore, who was the primary sponsor of the Protect Act, also said officials have to be careful of what details of a land purchase to share because prices could increase, a reason previously given for keeping the purchase secret until the deal was completed.
When asked if there’s a possibility the prison wont be built on the purchased land in Franklin County, Gilmore said officials needed to be good stewards of taxpayer money and there is a “very slim likelihood that we look at any other land.”
Moving forward, Gilmore said, lawmakers will be involved in several votes to release money that has been set aside for the prison.
“I will say, we understand that there may be more dollars needed as we progress through this project,” he said. “…When you are building something of this magnitude, you set aside money to start it, and then you continue to evaluate and look and understand where you’re going as you get there.”
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