Arkansas officials OK amended lease for planned Franklin County prison

by Mary Hennigan, Arkansas Advocate
December 10, 2024

Arkansas prison officials on Tuesday approved a lease agreement between the state’s Development Finance Authority and the Department of Corrections for 815 acres in Franklin County.

The land is expected to be the site of a 3,000 bed prison.

Arkansas purchases Franklin County land for new prison site

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the nearly $3 million land purchase in October, and the Board of Corrections approved it in November. Residents and lawmakers alike have since voiced concerns about a lack of government transparency regarding the site selection process.

The Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA) purchased the 815 acres, and the lease outlines parameters for the Department of Corrections to follow under the agreement, including a $1 annual rent and a month-to-month term.

A motion from board member Lee Watson amended the lease to expire in one year so it could be voted on again by the Board of Corrections; it was unanimously approved.

Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace said the lease for the property at 6310 South Highway 215 in Charleston would allow the department to establish utilities in its name, begin clearing the property and provide security.

Wallace and board Chairman Benny Magness both said the lease was not an attempt to “circumvent the Legislature.”

“This will give us the ability to create the legal interest to turn those utilities on, but still allow us to be deliberate in our next steps with property transfers and all of those things,” Wallace said.

Wallace later added that the lease will ensure the property is in great shape “whenever whatever ultimately happens.”

A property transfer could be several years down the road, depending on adjusting encroachments on the property — instances where the fence line does not line up with the legal description of the property — and how the expected facility built on the land is paid for, said Chris Bell, deputy director of the Division of Building Authority.

Bell said the agreement was “very standard” for what the ADFA does, and any public funds used for the project would have to be approved by the Legislature.

The new prison is expected to help alleviate pressure from crowded county jails, where approximately 2,000 state inmates are housed. The additional space is also anticipated to be needed under the Protect Act, a 2023 law that overhauls the state’s parole system and eliminates the possibility of parole for the most serious offenders.

Public pushback

Last week, Franklin County residents took their concerns about the prison site to a legislative committee in Little Rock, a nearly five-hour round trip.

Concerned residents take qualms with Franklin County prison to Arkansas lawmakers

Natalie Cadena with the Franklin County & River Valley Coalition, a group that formed shortly after plans for the prison were announced, predicted the actual cost of the prison will be around $1.5 billion based on communications she received in a public records request.

State officials have allocated roughly $400 million for construction of the prison. Sen. Ben Gilmore, R-Crossett, told reporters last week that it’s likely more funds will need to be approved as needs are identified.

Though public comment wasn’t offered at the Board of Corrections’ special-called, virtual meeting on Tuesday, some Franklin County residents joined virtually via Zoom.

One of those attendees was Adam Watson, a member of the Franklin County and River Valley Coalition who also joined last week’s legislative meeting.

On Monday, Adam Watson sent an email to the members of the Board of Corrections citing an email from Jake Bleed, ADFA’s chief legal counsel, to Mark Conine, ADFA president, and Kimberly Helble, an executive assistant, that said the land purchase in Franklin County is “not for a prison tho,” but “we are purchasing it to pursue our own corporate purposes.”

Watson also cited the ADFA’s October meeting minutes in which the land purchase was approved “with the intent of transferring control over the property to another agency within the state, and that agency will be responsible to obtaining appropriate legislative approval to further the use of the property, and will be responsible for reimbursing the [ADFA] in full, for all its costs associated with this transaction.”

After Watson expressed concern that the Board of Corrections was trying to bypass the Legislature, Sen. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, asked the Bureau of Legislative Research about the possibility of legislative review.

Approximately two and a half hours before the Board of Corrections met on Tuesday, BLR staff told Leding, “There does not appear to be any law that would subject this lease to legislative review.”

“Leases of real property are not commodities or services under the Arkansas Procurement,” BLR Administrator Joi Leonard said. “Arkansas Code[s] … provide that the Arkansas Development Finance Authority can provide funding for the construction of prison facilities used by the Department of Corrections by lease, subject to the project being reviewed and approved by the Building Authority.”

After Tuesday’s meeting, Adam Watson said he was “heartened to hear that the [Board of Corrections] is at least giving lip service to our concerns.”

“While we still think a lease in any form skirts the intentions of the ADFA board, we do appreciate Mr. Watson’s comments as far as not leaving it open ended,” Watson said. “We also noted the chair’s comments that it is still somewhat up for discussion whether this property does, in fact, fit the DOC’s intended purpose.”

Watson said he and other Franklin County residents would continue to oppose the prison.

“While this is by no means a victory, we are happy for any small bit of progress in a fight for this magnitude against the state, who has the luxury of [a] significant head start due to working to advance its agenda in secret for the past several months.”

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