The Georgia Department of Corrections is recommending that Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto be closed. Newly-appointed Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver delivered the department’s proposal to lawmakers on Thursday. The plan includes closing the main prison while keeping the prison’s transitional center open.
The facility will be known as the Lee Arrendale Transition Center.
The existing 112-bed transitional center will continue to function as such, and the Department of Corrections will continue to maintain the facility’s food and farm operations, packing station, and fire station.
“These changes will reduce the inmate population by approximately 1,000 persons but will have no reduction in staffing levels, according to the Department of Corrections,” says District 10 State Rep. Victor Anderson, whose district includes the prison facility.
“Over the next 6-12 months, the inmate population will be reduced to approximately 200 people in the Transition and Residential Substance Abuse Treatment programs.”
The Prison population will be distributed between a new facility in McRae and other existing women’s prisons, according to Anderson.
Georgia Department of Corrections Director of Public Affairs Joan Heath says prison employees “have been made aware of the re-missioning plans.”
One of oldest state prisons in Georgia
Lee Arrendale State Prison is one of the oldest facilities within the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC). It was built in the early 1900s as a hospital for tuberculosis patients. In 1951, it was turned over to the state prison system.
For over fifty years, the facility operated as a men’s prison, housing adults and juveniles. It developed a reputation as one of the most violent prisons in the state. A 2003 GDC study showed it had the second-highest rate of violent disciplinary infractions among Georgia prisons. In 2005, it was turned into a women’s prison, housing adults and juveniles.
In recent years, LASP has come under fire for its alleged mistreatment of inmates. There has been a series of employee arrests for alleged sexual misconduct, inmates arrested for fighting, and, most recently, a suspicious inmate death.
LASP is understaffed and its facilities are outdated. Heath says because of its age, LASP “does not support the addition of design features of modern prison facility construction.” She adds, “The GDC now has the opportunity to place the existing offender population of LASP in a more modern structure that incorporates up-to-date technologies and design.”
Rep. Anderson and District 50 State Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia) issued a joint statement regarding the proposed closure stating that “For years, the Georgia DOC, and particularly the Lee Arrendale State Prison, has been significantly challenged with hiring and retaining employees. While we hate to see the downsizing of this facility, we are encouraged that Commissioner Oliver is taking steps to streamline and improve the Department of Corrections statewide.”
The proposed changes are included in Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposed FY 2024 budget. Closing the prison will save the state approximately $18.7 million.
The budget must still be deliberated and approved through the House and Senate appropriations process.
“This is the proposed budget from the governor. I really don’t see anything that will change this particular situation. However, it’s not a final thing until it’s approved by both chambers and signed by the governor,” says Anderson.
Local impact
The closure will have a significant impact on Baldwin and Demorest, both of which provide services to the prison.
When Now Habersham contacted Baldwin Mayor Joe Elam by phone Thursday morning, he was surprised to learn of the impending closure.
“I literally just got this information, so I can’t even begin to look at the impact, but I’ve got to. It’s disappointing, and it will absolutely affect our enterprise due to the loss of that revenue,” Mayor Elam said.
“We, being the city of Baldwin, will have to begin immediately to find the appropriate plan to either replace that revenue or right side our operations to not depend on that revenue.”
The cities of Demorest and Baldwin will see a significant economic impact on water and sewer usage with the significantly reduced inmate population at Lee Arrendale over the next 18 months should the state legislature approve the state’s FY2024 budget. The two cities will start to feel the impact after July 1st of this year, and the full impact will be felt mid-year 2025.
Demorest provides only water service to LASP. The prison’s average monthly bill currently from Demorest is approximately $42,440. Once the prison reduces its population from 1,200 inmates to just 200 inmates, the average monthly bill will be approximately $7,073. This will result in an annual loss of approximately $424,000 for the city of Demorest.
The city of Baldwin is in a similar position.
Baldwin provides sewer service to the prison but also provides water to Demorest, which in turn, sells to the prison. Also, Baldwin is in a court-ordered contract with LASP that expires in December 2025. Baldwin could potentially lose approximately $290,000 annually in sewer revenue and approximately $152,000 annually in water sales to Demorest. Once the prison is reduced to a Transitional Center, the annual combined impact in water and sewer sales for Baldwin will be approximately $442,000 annually.
Baldwin also has a provision in the contract with LASP related to a debt service payment of approximately $153,000 annually. This additional payment will expire with the contract in 2025. The annual loss to Baldwin in 2026 could be nearly $600,000.
Such reductions in revenue could have a significant impact on water and sewer rates in the future for customers in both cities.
Demorest Mayor Jerry Harkness did not respond to Now Habersham’s request for comment.
One positive local impact is that the Lee Arrendale Transition Center will retain its fire department. The women firefighters at the prison are an integral part of local public safety in Habersham and surrounding communities. While they had to stop responding to calls during the pandemic, Lee Arrendale’s well-trained inmate firefighters provide valuable mutual aid that helps local communities maintain better ISO ratings. That, in turn, lowers homeowners’ insurance rates.
‘I’m ok with it’
Anderson says he was not included in talks about the prison’s future but adds he wouldn’t expect to be since GDC operations fall under the executive branch.
“I knew that there were plans in the works, but we did not know the details of those plans until the governor’s budget proposal came out and the new commissioner was in place,” he tells Now Habersham.
“Short term, I really hate to see it downsized; however, I know the staffing challenges they’ve had for many years. The fact that they are looking systemwide to try and improve that situation, and the fact they do appear to have long-term plans for the facility there, I’m ok with it,” he says.
Even with all that his city potentially stands to lose, Mayor Elam still sees a sliver of a silver lining.
“It happening now versus, say ten years ago; our enterprise system as a whole is better off now. They [LASP] used to represent 55% of our sewage flow. That has dropped off since then. We’re in a better position to cope with this today than we would have been ten years ago.”
