The possible location of a privately run state prison in Jenkins County has breathed hope into the small town of Millen.
The creation of at least 300 jobs by Corrections Corp. of America in a county with a nearly 20 percent unemployment rate would provide a big boost and potentially draw other industries, officials said.
"We're just kind of praying it will work out in our favor this time," Millen Mayor King Rocker said.
Several Jenkins County representatives, including Mr. Rocker, plan to travel to Atlanta today to present Gov. Sonny Perdue with more than 2,000 cards signed by residents pledging support for the proposed prison.
The Georgia Department of Corrections is expected to announce the winning bid for the 1,000-bed facility by the first week of November, CCA spokeswoman Louise Grant said. Department of Corrections representatives said they could not disclose how many other bids were in the mix before the award was announced. Ms. Grant said she believed the process would be "competitive" and said she would guess at least three other companies have submitted bids. CCA is the only company that has promised to put the facility in Jenkins County.
Jenkins County, with a population of 8,500, would benefit from the added jobs, tax dollars and potential new businesses, said Paula Herrington, the executive director of the Millen/Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce and Jenkins County Development Authority.
"It would be a big attraction, believe it or not," she said.
The county would have to make infrastructure improvements in areas such as water and sewer lines and roads to prepare for a prison. Mr. Rocker said the county should qualify for grant money and estimated the cost to taxpayers for improvements at between $300,000 and $400,000.
The prison would likely generate $1.4 million in yearly utility payments and property taxes -- with property taxes accounting for at least $500,000, Mrs. Grant said.
About 400 people attended a public meeting Monday that included county and CCA officials, something Mrs. Herrington pointed to as a sign of support.
"The area's economy is absolutely terrible. We don't have any industry left," Mrs. Herrington said. "The jobs that are left mostly are retail businesses or others of that sort. They are just hanging on by a shoestring because we don't have anyone working."
A prison would provide people not just with a paycheck, but also career opportunities, Ms. Grant said. Jobs run the gamut from counselors and front office staff to teachers and doctors.
"Working in a prison is a fairly recession-proof career, and working at a national company like CCA is not just a job, it truly is a career," she said, noting that CSA has 17,000 employees in 20 states. "The opportunity for rapid advancement is significant."
The prison could open as soon as 12 months to 15 months after a decision is made, she said.
Reach Erin Zureick at (706) 823-3217 or erin.zureick@augustachronicle.com.
BY THE NUMBERS
20 PERCENT: August unemployment rate in Jenkins County
300: Estimated jobs created by the location of a privately run state prison
8,500: Jenkins County population
5: Other prisons Corrections Corp. of America operates in Georgia (two are state prisons)
$500,000: Yearly revenues that could be generated in property taxes
Sources: Georgia Department of Labor, Corrections Corp. of America
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Keep working Georgia, we just payed a friend of an elected official to get this contract. Guess that elected official has a retirement plan!
working in a prison is a fairly recession-proof career ? lets see , our insurance is going up 15% this coming year alone , and we have not had a raise in about 5 years and have been furloughed once and will be furloughed twice more before 2010 !
how about a 50,000 bed long-term "storage" facility for richmond county that will go a long way in keeping those who want to live outside the confines of the law out of society.
Well, there will be at least a 1000 beds for the residents of Millen to sleep in! There are a lot of criminals in Millen and some of them are running the place! Millen could have had this facility a long time ago but the "good folk" didn't want a prison in their community! Amazing how desperation changes things! It's hard to see how the people in Millen can afford any tax increase as they struggle now to pay their property taxes. And, the water and sewer systems will require a complete overhaul--thery are as old as the city! You turn the water on and it comes out brown....yummy! I'm not sure how many people in the commnunity could actually work in the prison as most of them have criminal records and/or on probation! And, as a last note I doubt Rocker has prayed a day in his life other than in a way to benefit his wallet! In any event, good luck Jenkins County, there are a few people there who deserve the opportunity this prison would bring.
The prison in Edgefield did a lot for that place. Especially for the motel owners, who fill their rooms with the parents, friends, babymamas, and thugs who come for visiting day.
A privately run state prison does not have the furlough days that the state run prisons do. My husband used to work for CCA and they are a great company to work for.
corgimom that is so true! Of course, there is only one motel but I'm sure Cindy's restaurant on the famed Cotton Avenue will make a killing feeding the prison visitors. The drug dealers will have a lot of fun trying to sell their wares to the prisoners ( and don't think they won't try or won't find a way....they are smart when it comes to their drug dealing!)
Will the state might actually finish the highway there so it doesn't look like a disaster area? Maybe this will force the citizens to clean up the place.
leoswife, you sure do seem to THINK you know a lot about Millen and Jenkins County, as well as the people who live there. Perhaps it would benefit you, as well as the community you insult, if you would rather put your time into creating positive. I in no way believe the county or its citizens asked for the awful times they are experiencing. May the Lord deliver a prosperous future for them and their hard work at improving their circumstance.
We should be thankful for this kind of opportunity. We've seen too many jobs leave, and now a national company is willing to come in and provide 300 positions. Look what happened in Adams County Mississippi: http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2578538/
CallMeOpinionate I don't THINK I know, I do know the county and it is a sad, sad ghost of the place I knew and loved. I still love some of the people there--a select few who are hardworking people who live for their families and their friends, but it is who you are and what you can do for me now. It is a place where teen pregnancy and drinking is accepted. It is a place of drug dealers. The Millen of old is gone and that is the place I miss the most. There are people there who DESERVE the work this place will bring and I hope those people get the chance. I know that since the current administration of the city has taken over every business has run away. Start looking into the drugs and who supplies and buys a little more and you will see what runs your town. May the Lord deliver a prosperous future for those who work hard at immproving their circumstances and who deserve it!
Saying derogatory things about a community, as you had earlier, is no way to support the county. All is based on your opinion. The businesses have left Millen because there have been no jobs to be had to allow pay to support patronage to them. When the light is dim, the darker things glow more, the rays of hope this prison will bring will perhaps allow for this small community to shine again.
Businesses leave when the incentive to stay isn't worth the paper it's offered on. I'm not talking the Mom and Pop businesses, but the industry. The dark is there because it's allowed to be there. Look at the place...there's no pride. Get together and clean the place up. Make it more appealing to INDUSTRIES looking for a place to start business. My opinion is based on personal experience of having lived in this town! I have witnessed the blinders people put on when it comes to progress and moving forward. People in Millen like it the way it is and don't like change. They are stuck in an era that is gone. I stated before that I hope they get this jail and I hope that it employs those deserving, willing and hard working people in the community. I don't want to see so and so's little druggie son getting a job because of who his daddy is!
THE COMMENTS ABOVE ARE STRICTLY MY OPINION WHICH IS BASED ON FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE!
JCHS Class of 1987 here. Born and raised in the FANTASTIC community of Millen and Jenkins County. I wish nothing but the best for the citizens of and will keep my fingers crossed and prayers said for a brighter future for Jenkins County. Build that prison in Jenkins County!
WooHoo! Everything makes sense now!
Just because it will be in Millin doesn't mean locals will be locked up there. It's not county or state, it's private. The private one in Mcrae, Ga houses federal inmates http://www.correctionscorp.com/facility/47/