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Herbert Open to All Options for Prison Relocation

Bryan William Jones | http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/

Governor Gary Herbert isn’t taking a stand on whether the new state prison should move from Draper.

Speaking during his monthly news conference on KUED channel 7, Governor Herbert said he’s open to any and all recommendations that he receives from the Prison Relocation Commission, including if that means it stays in Draper.

“I’ve always said, if Draper is the best place let’s keep it there. If it’s not, if there’s a better place than Draper let’s move it. That’s my position first, last, and always.”

But Herbert also implied that building an updated prison in Draper might be too difficult.

“But the question is going to be, can we build a new prison while the existing prison is there in its location? Is there enough room to in fact improve it? Or are we going to have to have band aid remodeling impact on existing buildings to accommodate the new buildings that would be built?”

Either way, Herbert says he wants to make sure that wherever the new prison is built, it is done in a way that ensures prison reforms have the best chance of making a difference.

“If we’re going to build a new prison, let’s build a new prison that gives us the best bang for the taxpayer dollar that we’ll service for the next 50 to 100 years.”

The Prison Relocation Commission is expected to make a recommendation on a new location in August. 

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