Looks like I’m about to beat on a dead horse some more.
Join me will you?
(He walks over to the small tree growing near the pasture, breaks off an appropriately sized branch and flexes it back and forth. He gives it a couple of swings through the air to test speed, drag and its ability to thoroughly whip the intended target back to death without breaking in the midst of the act. Then it’s just awkward for all those who came to watch.)
Tallassee is getting a prison — a mega-prison. That’s news to no one within the region. However, there is a small dedicated group so single-mindedly focused on opposing said opportunity for economic and industrial development that they placed a paid ad within the pages of the Tallassee Tribune.
Working for the Tribune in a past life, I know the ads weren’t cheap then and pretty sure the cost has increased now given the ‘Ronaconomy and I can only ponder who amongst the naysayers felt so moved by the spirit to not only purchase the space but also dictate the verbiage to expound their message of intolerance.
It’s ironic I’m using the word intolerance when opposing a prison, but that’s what it is. This group is intolerant to the growth of Tallassee — intolerant to the creation of jobs; the influx of money from utility purchases; the renewed interest of retail and luxury businesses and any other positive that can be gained from a complex of this magnitude being built within this portion of town.
We have a hotel looking to move here. We have a possible housing development in the works and possible new eateries. That’s a direct result of the prison’s announcement and with the work of Retail Strategies marketing the City of Tallassee.
After looking at the website Point2Homes.com the desire to keep status quo is unequivocally displayed: There have only been 60 new homes built in Tallassee since 2010.
I knew the population here had stagnated, but wow. That stat is quite staggering.
That explains a lot of the fear and vitriol being spewed: “we had some new folks move in 10 years ago … that was enough.”
It also serves to note the location of the proposed facility perilously close to the makeshift site of the annual Battles for the Armory. I’m relatively sure fellas playing Confederate soldiers with their cannons and blackpowder muskets and pew pew pew sound effects would elicit a phone call or three from their new neighbors.
Maybe once ground is broken they’ll take their musketballs and go home.
But, like Thomas doubting the Christ, this small but vocal and financially empowered group of pessimists won’t believe anything positive can come of this until they see the light from the Arby’s (please let there be an Arby’s in that retail development conversation) glowing bright red and a sign on the door that says: “Hey because Tallassee now has a prison, you also can have the meats.”
Now in the advertisement several questions were raised, chief among them were safety and economic impact. The ad states “4,000 inmates near work and school,” and “work release inmates near your home.”
While the language is nothing less than an unabashed attempt at fearmongering it’s also misguided and coming from a group that more than likely doesn’t know life outside of the town limits.
Horror author H.P. Lovecraft said: “the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is of the unknown.”
I’ve lived all over the state and more importantly spent 10 years living in Wetumpka where the state’s only women’s facility — Tutwiler — is located and made multiple trips to the greater metropolitan area of Deatsville home to Draper, Staton and the Frank Lee Youth Center. More importantly I grew up in Tallapoosa County where there is a work release facility located outside of the Alex City limits.
I’ve never been stabbed, assaulted, spit at, harassed or otherwise violated by any of those facilities. I was told I looked great in a pair of jeans once, but she was on Year 9 of a 10-year bid and her opinion of what’s actually sexy was mostly skewed. She was also working the concessions at a community event in town while serving out the remainder of her time.
“But you’re a man” — That’s the counter to that statement and I get that.
The point is, the people that are supposed to remain behind bars remained behind bars.
Not one time did any school go on lockdown for fear that some salivating-at-the-mouth rapist has escaped and is on the way to the school because he (or she) feels like howlin’ at the full moon, so to speak.
This is a max security prison that is going to be built here. Because your imagination is so creative, let’s play around with the world in my head for a second.
Picture this: in order for, let’s say for Lex Luthor or the Joker or Bane (all comic book villains that have been housed in comic book supermax prisons, escaped the prison through some form of chicanery and blown up their respective cities), assuming they are just people with weird personality traits, to escape they must first leave their cell which features a heavy metal door, with a slot for a food tray and a window the size of a shoebox. Then navigate a corridor with guards armed with more than pepper spray and a bad attitude. After all that, they will have to scale large walls with razor wire at the top and possibly electricity circulating through it.
If they do all that — they aren’t coming after teenagers — they are going to be looking for the first thing smoking to get them out of dodge and will more than likely already have that lined up.
But again, that’s hyperbole.
To quell the hyperbole and actually address the doom merchant language within the ad, I reached out to CoreCivic. No one else has — the opposition surely isn’t because that would absolutely negate the Chicken-Little-Level of Sky-is-Falling their advertisement brings to the table as it also addresses “higher utility rates” and “decreased property value.”
The property value argument is negated by an LA Times article from 1987 that found that: “A study conducted by the State of Alabama found real estate values nearest the Kilby Correctional Facility Complex in Montgomery are 14.4% greater than the median city value.”
That neighborhood nearest Kilby is now the Town of Pike Road. The average median income there is north of $100,000 and over 12 months, the per capita income is nearly $42,000. Imagine what will happen to this area if it were to get a shot of economic growth hormone like that.
In comparison: the average median income in Tallassee is just south of $38,000; the average median household income in Tallassee is around $57,000.
I’m not trying to come off as a know-it-all, but research and facts trump feelings.
But let’s not let the facts get in the way of a hearty dose of manufactured panic.
Amanda Gilchrist, director of public affairs for CoreCivic, responded Monday: “Good morning. We are proud and appreciative of the opportunity to proceed to this next phase of the state’s procurement process. Out of respect for the state’s ongoing process, we cannot provide further comment at this time. Please direct your inquiry to Samantha Rose, Public Information Specialist at the Alabama Department of Corrections.”
And that’s what I did — sent an email to Rose and then a call, multiple calls actually and a voicemail.
On Monday afternoon, she responded. I asked three questions focusing on CoreCivic’s credentials and the process, commitment to safety and community involvement.
Rose: “An evaluation committee composed of stakeholders from the ADOC and the Department of Finance (including the Division of Construction Management, formerly Alabama’s Building Commission) conducted a thorough evaluation of the proposals submitted by pre-qualified Developer Teams and subsequently made the recommendations to DOC Commissioner [Jeff] Dunn who then shared them with Gov. Ivey. In September 2020, we announced the successful Developer Teams chosen to enter into lease negotiations as well as the proposed site locations for the three new facilities.”
That negates any argument the City of Tallassee, the mayor, the council, the leadership in general had any involvement in the selection process.
Rose notes the developer teams “demonstrated they possess the experience, financial capacity” and the “ability necessary to build new, safe, secure and sustainable facilities.”
Since they are still in negotiations, the information regarding the developer teams is limited.
Now let’s move on to safety. Again Rose’s response: “We can share that the three new sustainable men’s facilities will be safe, secure and compliant with the ADA the American Correctional Association’s guidelines and other nationally recognized standards, with a driving goal to provide evidence-based rehab to all inmates and to help reduce recidivism.”
And lastly community involvement: “The department estimates that construction of the three new facilities will create thousands of construction jobs … ”
It’s estimated the three new facilities will create roughly 10,000 new jobs: 2,900 at Bibb County; 3,900 at Elmore County and 2,800 at Escambia County.
Quoting Rose: “Historically, the development of a facility within a community initially generates common concerns from residents, we have built strong relationships with our communities that value the presence of our facilities for the economic benefits they provide. We look forward to reaching a point in the procurement process where we can actually engage with these communities and provide information and education that assuages their concerns, and begin to build strong relationships akin to those that exist with the communities in which our current facilities are located.”
So — if you’ve made it this far — thanks for reading. But there’s the facts and the research. Some of you are still going to choose feelings over facts and continue to inaccurately place blame. That’s your prerogative, just like it’s my prerogative to do the research and use this space to point out where the city will benefit by keeping an open mind to new opportunities outside of the stereotypical mill mentality that over the years plagued the progress of the town.
This is economic development. This is industrial development. This is how Tallassee develops into a new and vibrant community.
It’s that simple.
Griffin Pritchard is a Tallassee resident and correspondent for TPI.
