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Prison Farm proposal protested by Putnam

March 26, 2008

Proposed Hastings Prison Farm

Putnam County officials don’t think St. Johns County is treating them fairly by proposing to put a prison work farm in Hastings, and they’ve sent a letter of protest to the St. Johns County Commission.

“We’ve picked up what information we have from the media,” Putnam County Administrator Rick Leary said Wednesday. “Certainly the commission is concerned and not supportive of that facility being located in the targeted area.”

The location is on the western edge of Hastings and only about two miles from the St. Johns Putnam County line. Leary said the commission had “indicated some information briefing (by St. Johns) would be appropriate” in a letter sent Feb. 29 by Putnam Commission Chairman Hermon L. Somers Jr. to St. Johns County Commission Chairman Tom Manuel.

Marcia Lane’s full story at TheRecordSheriff’s Agricultural Work Center

Written by AuggieNewsHound · Filed Under Government 

Comments

One Response to “Prison Farm proposal protested by Putnam”

  1. Mike on April 2nd, 2008 1:04 pm

    I always want to see the numbers!

    I looked at some of the most recent information presented by the Sheriff’s Office and found the following figures regarding the long term solution for the Sheriff’s p-farm compared to the current jail on Lewis Speedway:

    CURRENT JAIL REACHES CAPACITY: Within 3 years- FY 2011

    TIME TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT NEW FACILITY

    Conventional jail 48 months
    Agricultural work center 12 months

    COST OF CONSTRUCTION

    Conventional jail construction $ 350 per square foot/$41,000 per bed
    Work Center Housing $ 100 per square foot/$13,500 per bed

    COST OF DAILY OPERATION (per inmate)

    Conventional jail $ 84
    Agricultural work center $ 35

    It reads to me as though the Sheriff has to do something…. that is, unless we are going to stop housing prisoners and that’s not likely. Since we are going to run out of capacity within 3 years, according to the available “fact sheet”, we don’t have enough time to design and construct an expansion at the conventional jail without being overcrowded in the current jail for at least a year.

    “Why” the undertaking of this project was not begun sooner is my issue. Frank Cyr is still relatively new to his position overseeing the corrections center. Where was Ned Hafner, now the director of corrections and jail services at the Florida Sheriffs Association but formerly on our payroll as director of corrections for the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office?

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