The Prison Relocation Commission has narrowed the list of potential prison sites down to three.
After doing a more detailed assessment of the six top rated potential prison sites, the commission has chosen to move forward with three. One is located at I-80 and 7200 West, another is on the southern boundary of Eagle Mountain, and the third is in Tooele County next to the Miller Motorsports Park.
Rep. Brad Wilson is a co-chair of the commission. He says despite all of the opposition the commission has faced, he believes the criteria and process they’ve selected are working.
“We are doing what we believe, and the legislature believes, is in the best interest of the entire state," he says. "We’ve got to balance that with people not wanting this prison in their backyard and we will do our best, we will do our very best, but at some point we have to site this prison somewhere.”
While the commission will focus on these three sites moving forward, its members say they are still open to other recommendations that could come forward until January 31. The commission will also begin holding public hearings in the communities near the top three sites with the hope of having a recommendation to present to the legislature before the end of the 2015 session.
