Article: Prison Industrial Complex/Private Prisons
Source: The Courier of Montgomery County
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/geo-group-to-build-second-federal-jail/article_24a46679-c9f8-537c-b819-17d285bed300.html
GEO Group to build second federal jail
Posted: Saturday, May 18, 2013 11:11 pm
At the same time Montgomery County Commissioners Court approves an agreement for the management and operation of the Joe Corley Detention Facility, the court will throw its support behind construction of a second federal prison owned and operated by The GEO Group.
The agreement stipulates the county “pledges” to pass a resolution to cooperate and assist in “any planning, permitting and/or zoning efforts for the new facility” within 30 days of the agreement’s approval.
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The GEO Group is proposing the development and operation of a federal detention facility – with as many as 1,500 beds – located on a 23.75-acre site adjacent to the Joe Corley facility on Hilbig Road in Conroe.
Approval of the maintenance and operation contract between the county and GEO is on the commissioners’ agenda for 9:30 a.m. Monday in the Alan B. Sadler Building, 501 N. Thompson.
Amber Martin, vice president of contract administration, already has signed the agreement on behalf of Florida-based company. With 96 facilities, The GEO Group is regarded the world’s leading provider of correctional, detention and community reentry services, according to its website.
Opened in 2008, the Joe Corley facility has a capacity of 1,287 beds. Currently, the jail houses approximately 900 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
Built at a price of $44.8 million, the Joe Corley facility was put up for sale in January when a concern surfaced regarding the status of the bonds sold for construction. County commissioners sold the Corley facility to The GEO Group on May 6 for $65 million.
Located on 19.6 acres, the Corley facility is valued at $54.627 million by the Montgomery Central Appraisal District.
The 23 acres of land at the proposed second jail site is valued at $208,690. The GEO Group purchased the land from the estate of Lydia Johnson in July of 2010.
Like the sale of the Corley facility, the new facility is expected to generate between $1.5 million and $2 million in countywide property taxes annually. And, like the Corley facility, GEO agrees to pay the county another annual administrative fee of $500,000 for the “monitoring and administrative management” of the new facility, the maintenance and operations agreement states.
County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack endorsed a second federal prison, noting it would create several hundred jobs.
On the agenda:
Public hearing: Precinct 4 Commissioner Ed Rinehart will conduct a hearing on whether to establish a 50 mph speed limit on Crockett Martin Road between Texas 105 and FM 2090.
Mobility study: Commissioners will decide whether Noack will enter into an agreement with the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the cities of Shenandoah and Oak Ridge North, The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Road Utility District for a regional mobility study at a cost of $50,000.
Treasurer: Commissioners will decide whether to appoint a replacement for retiring County Treasurer Martha Gustavsen on, or soon after, her retirement date of June 30.
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