When I was a child, my mother once tasked me with the responsibility of being the steward over a dark chocolate cake that was baking in the oven. Her directions were simple: When the oven buzzer went off, I was to take the cake out of the oven, put it on the counter to cool and, most importantly, make sure no one ate the cake. This proved to be a monumental mistake as my insatiable appetite for dark chocolate cake naturally led to a dereliction of my duty — I partook of the cake even before it had a chance to cool. This was the fault of my mother — she allowed the fox to guard the henhouse. This is exactly the problem we are facing with the recent proposal to relocate the Draper prison.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the state legislature has been clamoring to have the prison relocated and has already spent more than $1 million on consultants in an effort to find a suitable spot. This has led to a public outcry from citizens of the cities being considered who would rather not have a prison built in their backyard. It would be one thing if it were just the cries of those being inconvenienced, but it’s quite another when one considers the tax burden that will affect nearly everyone in the state.
According to the consulting group MGT of America, Inc., moving the prison could cost as much as $1 billion, while simply keeping the prison where it is and renovating it would run about $783 million. Naturally the public would be expected to foot the bill for the $217 million dollar difference, which leads to the reasonable question of why anyone would want the prison moved in the first place.
Proponents of the move argue that the land the prison resides on could be turned into a very attractive real estate opportunity for developers and that at some point the taxes reaped from these developments would make it worth the investment. This sounds like a terrific deal for all those involved with the development process, as they will likely stand to make millions, with the only hold up being that pesky prison and convincing the public to foot the bill of moving it. If this sounds like a rather one-sided proposal, it’s because it is a terrible deal for the taxpaying public. It should be safe to assume that there isn’t a politician in his or her right mind who would support such a farce, unless the public has elected a fox to guard the henhouse.
Rep. Brad Wilson (R-Kaysville), who is leading the charge to have the prison relocated, doesn’t seem to care that a recent UtahPolicy.com poll shows that 55 percent of Utahns do not want the Draper prison moved, while only 36 percent would support the move. The Salt Lake Tribune has reported that Wilson believes the prison site could be turned into a massive business park and admits that while it will take an upfront investment and some borrowing, the legislature shouldn’t fixate on the immediate costs. If that sounds like advice coming from a developer, it’s only because Wilson is in fact a developer by trade and is president and CEO of Destination Homes.
If we allow compromised politicians like Wilson to continue to push for the relocation of the Draper prison for the economic benefit of his developer cronies, then we shouldn’t be surprised when we are left holding the bag for the $217 million difference in moving the prison instead of just renovating it. It would be just as silly as when my mother expected a chocolate cake-loving child to not give in to his instincts when faced with his greatest temptation cooling on the countertop. She never made that mistake again and neither should Utah.