The state prisons board on Thursday approved sending out a request for general contractors to submit proposals to build a new prison in Franklin County.
According to documents provided to the board, the Department of Corrections will begin advertising the request on April 8, with a deadline for submitting proposals on April 22.
The department is aiming to receive approval from the Division of Building Authority in June. Also in June, the department plans to bring the project to the Arkansas Legislative Council for review.
Early sitework is proposed to start in September, with the start of construction for the planned 3,000-bed prison in January 2026.
The board also voted to appoint an executive committee to review the proposals and oversee the overall design process for the prison.
The executive committee will have “approval and decision-making authority” in the interest of making decisions about the proposed prison “expeditiously,” according to documents provided by the board.
“These decisions will not carry cost impacts until we have designed to the approved budget,” a document about the committee read. Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion said committee members would be selected later.
The committee will submit the designs for each design phase to the Board of Corrections for approval. Once the budget is finalized, any changes that would impact the cost by more than $250,000 would require additional approval from the board, something that board chair Benny Magness expressed satisfaction with.
“That’s more than adequate to me,” Magness told officials from Vanir Construction Management Inc., which the board retained to oversee the firm selected to build the prison.
The board did not spend long discussing the prison, but briefly talked about utilities — specifically, how drinking water and wastewater service would be established for the prison, which is proposed for a rural part of Franklin County. Opponents of the prison site have criticized its selection for a lack of adequate infrastructure.
Vanir officials discussed potentially building pipelines to bring in drinking water from Fort Smith; a wastewater pipeline is receiving similar consideration. Meetings with the city of Fort Smith about the matter would be happening on Friday, said Mike Beaber, the regional director for Vanir. Being able to pipe wastewater to Fort Smith instead of building a treatment facility on-site would allow builders to “put that money back into” the prison.
“Nothing is off the table,” Beaber said.
A $750 million appropriation bill needed to fund the prison’s construction failed to pass the state Senate for the third consecutive day Thursday.
In addition to the Franklin County prison, the board also raised the budget of a bed expansion at a work-release unit in Mississippi County by $4 million, which brought it up to $6.3 million. It had originally approved a $2.3 million budget in 2022, but multiple changes in the design have led to delays. The original budget called for adding 50 beds; the project now calls for 100 beds.
“We’ve still done nothing?” Magness asked. A department official confirmed that was the case.
Now, the estimated cost of the planned expansion is $5.6 million.
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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Thérèse Boudreaux | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-31 16:20:00
(The Center Square) – Many older individuals and primary caretakers receiving food stamps could face work requirements if recently introduced Republican legislation becomes law.
Currently, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) does not impose work requirements on able-bodied adults with no dependents over the age of 54. It also exempts able-bodied adults who are primary caretakers of a dependent child from work requirements.
But theSNAP Reform and Upward Mobility Act, reintroduced by U.S. Rep. John Brecheen, R-Okla., with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, would change that. Brecheen said the SNAP status quo “has created a culture of dependency instead of opportunity,” necessitating reform.
“For decades, the federal government has grossly mismanaged SNAP, loosening eligibility requirements, allowing more recipients to be totally exempt from work requirements, and overseeing massive fraud and abuse,” the lawmaker said. “It’s time to return to commonsense policies that promote our American values of hard work and individual responsibility.”
The bill would change the work requirement age from 54 to 64 and require able-bodied primary caretakers to work once one or more of the dependent children turns seven years old. For married couples with a dependent over the age of six, the work requirement hours can be fulfilled jointly.
It would also amend how U.S. poverty levels are determined, require participating states to increasingly match federal SNAP funds, and crack down on fraud, including by permanently disqualifying food stamp recipients from future benefits if they commit fraud.
In 2024, the federal government spent $93.6 million in taxpayer dollars on SNAP benefits. More than 42 million individuals received these benefits in September 2024, averaging $189.55 a month,according to datafrom the United States Department of Agriculture, which runs the program.
SUMMARY: A ceremony held in Oklahoma City honored the life of David Boren, the former governor, U.S. senator, and president of the University of Oklahoma, who passed away at 83. Around 600 attendees gathered at Saint Luke’s Methodist Church to celebrate Boren’s legacy and impact on the state, reflecting on his dedication to public service. Friends and colleagues, including Chancellor Sean Burrage and former U.S. Senator Don Nickles, shared personal anecdotes highlighting Boren’s influence on their careers and the bipartisan cooperation he embodied. The service was a heartfelt tribute to a respected figure in Oklahoma’s political and educational landscape.
Life of David Boren memorialized in ceremony attended by hundreds
SUMMARY: A tornado watch has been issued for central and northeastern Oklahoma until 1 a.m., with severe thunderstorms moving across the region. Storms near Elk City have been upgraded to severe, with quarter-sized hail and 60 mph winds. Additional storms along the Red River are also producing severe conditions. While the storms are primarily bringing heavy rain and lightning, the tornado risk remains low due to a cold front pushing through. Areas affected include Enid, Hunter, and Salt Fork, with storms expected to continue northeast toward I-35 in the next couple of hours.
Tornado watch, severe thunderstorm warnings issued for Oklahoma
