103188-Work Session4 7 6 MINUTES
City Commission, Sanford, Florida
October 31, 19 88
The City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, met in Work Session in the
City Hall in the City of Sanford, Florida, at 4:00 o'clock P. M. on October 31, 1988.
Present: Mayor-Commissioner Bettye D. Smith
Commissioner Whitey Eckstein
Commissioner Robert Thomas
Commissioner A. A. McClanahan
City Attorney William L. Colbert
City Manager Frank A. Faison
Absent: Commissioner John Y. Mercer
City Clerk H.N. Tamm, Jr.
The meeting was called to order by the Chairman.
The Chairman explained that this was a work session for discussion purposes only
with representatives of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and that no action would be taken by
the Commission at this time.
The Chairman also announced that there would be a Public Hearing at 7:00 o'clock
p.m. at the Geneva Civic Center on October 31, 1988 at which the prison officials would
answer questions about a possible federal priSon site on the "2200 acre" property owned by
the City of Sanford.
Ms. Pat Sledge and Mr. Larry Long appeared to explain the process the Federal
Bureau of Prisons employs before a site is considered. Ms. Sledge explained that there
would be approximately 250 acres needed of the 2200 acres and out of the 250 acres only 50
to 60 acres would be used for the prison facility. The facility is built so that it looks
similar to a college and would not be offensive to the neighborhood. The cost to build the
facility would be between $50 to $60 million and would take about three (3) years; one year
for architectural and engineering study and two (2) years for construction. The annual
budget is between $12-15 million, of which $8.~to $10 million is in salaries and operating
budget. Since the employees would live in the area, this money would be spent and utilized
in the local economy. The inmate population consists of 68% white, 29% black, 2% American
Indian and 2% Asian for white collar crimes, not for violent or dangerous crimes. There
are approximately 582,000 inmates in Federal Prisons. Ms. Sledge stated it was the
intention of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be good neighbors, and the staff would be
squeaky clean with FBI investigations on each employee. The congressional delegation has
to approve the site for the prisons as well as the design and construction, also, this is
just a preliminary evaluation of the site location.
The Chairman announced there are public forums scheduled for Tuesday, November 1,
1988 and Wednesday, November 2, 1988 at the Sanford Civic Center.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.
Attest: UM A Y O R