Damage Control Press Conference Held By EDC
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By Jesse Bryant
Friday, June 11, the Southern Gila County Economic Development Corporation held an invitation only Press Conference concerning the private prison to be built in the vicinity of the Gila County Fairgrounds.
The press conference came after media reports of the suspicious track record of Corplan Corrections and Emerald Correctional Management that span across the country. The two long time partnering companies spoke before the Globe City Council at the April 12 and April 19 meetings, asking for a resolution of support for a 1000 bed private prison facility. The facility will cover 10 to 15 acres within the perimeter fence. The EDC had learned of the proposal 2 months prior, but had kept it a secret until the council meeting. The council was given one week to consider the multi-million dollar project. Councilman Wheeler raised concerns then about the drain on the city’s very limited water supply. According to Mr. Parkey of Corplan, the facility will use approximately 100,000 gallons a day. |
The press conference was reported to be “damage control” by the EDC. Present at the press conference were Jerry McCreary of the EDC, Mayor Fernando Shipley, Supervisor Mike Pastor, and Councilman Lerry Alderman. EDC Director Melissa Woodall, James Parkey of Corplan Corrections, and Chris Cuny representing Emerald Correctional Management appeared via telephone. Five reporters were present representing KQSS, Copper Country News, and Arizona Silverbelt. The meeting began shortly after 10 a.m.
For the first hour, reporters were not allowed to ask questions. However, comments, and discussion carried on between the elected officials, Mr. McCreary, and the representatives on the phone. Their discussion covered the financing plan for the project, and a number of details about the construction and operation.
Mayor Shipley said that City Attorney Kane Graves has gone through every line of the bid proposal to the Department of Corrections. He says even if the project did go south, that the sewer infrastructure the project will bring to the area makes it worth while. Mayor Shipley admitted that Corplan and Emerald’s promise that the state will pay the city $5 per inmate per month is not likely going to happen.
Jerry McCreary said he had attended the Gila County Industrial Development Board meeting the day before, and was told by the Board Chairman, area contractor Fred Barcon, that the IDA will likely act as the bond issuer. The construction will require tens of millions of dollars from private investors. It was explained that Corplan needs a government entity to be the Bond issuer for the investors in order to gain a tax exempt interest rate. Corplan and Emerald promised that the IDA’s credit would not be affected if something happened to the project. They said that the IDA is not obligated for the bonds; they will only act as the issuer. Bonds typically issued by a government are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the particular government. In this case, Emerald and Corplan insist that Gila County’s IDA will issue the bonds, but the bonds will not be backed by the “Full Faith and Credit” of that government.
If Corplan wins the bid for the state trust land, they say it will be a lease purchase agreement with the state. In 20 years, the state will own the facility. The state will have the option every year of purchasing the facility at a continuing depreciated amount.
Once discussion ended among the officials, EDC director Melissa Woodall said they only had about 15 minutes left, and would allow one question from each reporter. Another portion of that time was absorbed as the discussion began again among Private prison representatives and members of the EDC. It turned out that only four of the five reporters were permitted to ask one question with a bit of clarification before it was announced that time was up.
Discussion with Mr. McCreary after the question period revealed that Mr. McCreary had asked Councilman Terry Wheeler to not come to the meeting. He further commented that he told Councilman Wheeler that he did not know how he learned of the event, that one of the reporters must have told him. McCreary commented that the odds of winning the DOC bid are very good. The nearest competitor is the Town of Florence. After that he asked that further discussion be left off the record.
During the earlier discussion, EDC member Jerry McCreary said that the information given to the media concerning the track record of the prison companies came from an individual with a personal agenda, named Frank Smith. KQSS asked the two companies about another source alleging fraudulent actions. CBS’s former anchor, Dan Rather hosted a documentary discussing private prison fraud across the United States on HDNet’s “Dan Rather Reports”. Both Corplan Corrections and Emerald Correctional Management are named in that documentary. KQSS asked how do they respond to this. The prison representatives asked which facility CBS was referring to. They said that their facilities are audited by the Inspector General every year. They also said that they would invite anyone who suspects them sit across a table with them and discuss specific examples. Dan Rather reported that Emerald Corrections in La Salle, Texas, refused their repeated requests for an interview.
In the documentary hosted by Dan Rather, he had an economist and a former securities regulator look into the bond packages put together by several prison companies building in Texas. The economist described the operation as “Turnkey”. He went so far as to describe it as a “racket”. The segment explored the La Salle, Texas facility. The project was developed by Corplan Corrections from Texas, constructed by Hales-Mills, also from Texas, bond underwriters Municipal Capital Markets Group, also from Texas, and investment bank Sims and Company from Connecticut. The segment states that all these companies have worked together around the country negotiating dozens of prison deals in the past 10 years. The economist says, They all benefit.
During the April 12 Globe City Council meeting, EDC director Melissa Woodall was asked if the EDC had discussed this project with the city’s Northeast corridor planning committee. Ms. Woodall was unaware of the committee, or the master plan produced from the committee. At the ushering of Mayor Shipley, the City hired a consultant company for $50,000 to aid in the producing of a development master plan for the area of U.S. 60 North toward the fair grounds. The master plan revealed that the city will fall well short of the needed water for full development of the plan.
Dan Rather’s report revealed that in La Salle, the town’s water and sewer systems were overwhelmed by the detention facility, and when the wind gets up, the Town of Encinal smells of raw sewage. Emerald presented to Globe plans to build an onsite treatment plant.
Also in the discussion of La Salle, it was reported that the county has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for lawsuits over operation, maintenance, and shoddy construction.
The report spoke also of research conducted which showed that in private prisons they have 49 percent more assaults on staff, 65 percent more inmate on inmate assaults, higher levels of riots, and higher levels of idleness. Mr. McCreary of the EDC disagreed with one reporter’s comment and asserted that the Globe City Council has done their homework on this proposal.
Among the final statements from the press conference, Corplan’s James Parkey said to members of the press that he wants them to help sell this project to the public.
Dan Rather Reports Episode Title: Private Prisons click here