Rev. Tim Tatum, pastor of Long Branch Church of God, comments during a public meeting held Monday night to discuss the prospect of locating a prison in Jenkins County. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett)

"Jobs for Jenkins" is the slogan uniting local efforts to secure the construction of a 1,000 bed prison in Jenkins County by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

A large crowd gathered Monday night at the Jenkins County High School gymnasium for a public meeting hosted by the Jenkins County Commissioners, Millen City Council, Jenkins County Development Authority and Millen-Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce, to learn more about the proposed prison project, the impact it could have on the community and the process by which the state will decide its location.

In welcoming remarks, Jenkins County Board of Commission Chairman James Henry encouraged those present "to listen with an open mind and make a decision based on the facts."

He then turned the program over to representatives with the CCA and the Wheeler County prison operated by the CCA.

Louise Grant, CCA vice-president of communications, Nashville, outlined three areas that the prison would impact locally: careers, taxes and community partnership.

She noted that the facility would employ not only security personnel but also personnel in other areas such as administration, human resources, teaching, maintenance, safety, chaplains, counseling and medical. Initially, the facility would create approximately 200 jobs. Should it be expanded to a 2,500 bed facility, the number of jobs created would increase to 500. Most of the jobs would be entry level positions that would be hired locally with the CCA providing training, she said.

Ms. Grant reported that the CCA operates facilities in 19 states with one opening in Nevada next year that will bring the total 20 states. The corporation employs approximately 17,000 persons, manages 80,000 inmates and has been named as one of "America's Best Big Companies" by Forbes magazine.

"You are hiring on with a company that has a national reputation," she commented.

In the area of taxes, Ms. Grant predicted that the CCA would pay $500,000 annually in property taxes to local governments and $800,000 utilities. This would give local governments much needed revenue for things such as schools, keeping property taxes low and helping build roads and parks, she said.

The importance the CCA places on community involvement and support was noted by Ralph Kemp, warden of the Wheeler County prison in Alamo. Mr. Kemp noted that prisoners at that facility had built a police station, fire station, installed irrigation systems, constructed a walking track and were currently assisting with the construction of a recreation department. He also pointed out the positive impact of the prison's use of the local hospital, stating that the hospital would have been forced to close.

During a question and answer session, Mayor King Rocker reported that a large portion of the $3.4-$3.6 million needed by the city and county to provide infrastructure to the facility, which will be located in the Pine Avenue area, was available through grants and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenue. The city and county would only need to provide 10- 15 percent of the required funds, he said.

Chairman Henry responded to a question concerning the impact the facility would have on the local landfill. He noted that the landfill was designated as a "construction and demolition" facility. All garbage, therefore, was transported to a site in South Carolina.

"This means it will not impact the landfill substantially at all," he said.

Local resident Edward Wilson spoke about his recent tour of the Wheeler County facility stating that he was "sitting on the fence" before the visit, but was now supporting the local effort to secure a prison for Jenkins County.

"I think it would be a pleasure and an honor if we can get this prison here," he said.

When a concerned citizen inquired as to the worse case scenario that could be expected regarding safety, Warden Kemp noted that during the 11 years the prison had operated in Wheeler County, only one serious incident had occurred.

"We have had no attempted escapes and no escapes," he said.

"We would not be in business if governments did not trust us to operate secure facilities," Ms. Grant added.

In his remarks, Commissioner Tommy Lane commended the CCA for not having asked for tax abatements during initial negotiations with the city and county on the project.

"I just want to commend them. We've never had a company do that," he said.

A decision on the project is expected from the state within the next several weeks. Local citizens were encouraged to contact state representatives to secure their support for Jenkins County and to sign cards of support at the meeting that will be delivered to the Governor by local leaders sometime this week.