Promising prison

Alabama detention facility holds economic hope for rural county

By June Mathews

A formerly wooded stretch of land in Uniontown, Ala., is the site of a new multi-level security prison scheduled for completion in February. The Perry County Detention & Rehabilitation Facility is located in a largely rural area in the state's underprivileged Black Belt region and is designed to serve minimum-, medium- and maximum-security requirements.

Perry County Commission Chairman Johnny Flowers has high hopes for the privately owned facility and what its presence can do for the economically depressed community.

"I feel it's going to be a win-win situation for Perry County and the State of Alabama," he said. "It's costing the state nothing to build this facility that will relieve the overcrowding in our prisons, and it will provide about 140 jobs for this area. That's going to make a big difference. I believe it will altogether change the economic base of our county."

Flowers said the facility falls under the authority of the newly formed Perry County Prison District and the county will act as a buffer between the State of Alabama and the private prison industry.

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"It's a partnership between government and private sectors," he added.

Flowers, who played a major role in bringing the project to fruition, said the 25-acre jobsite lies within the Uniontown city limits - an intentional move on the part of local leaders that will allow the city to benefit from the sale of city water to the facility.

Flowers also expects a host of spin-off businesses to crop up, including hotels, stores and restaurants. These businesses would not only serve local residents and provide even more jobs, but would also serve - and potentially profit from - family members coming into Perry County to visit inmates at the prison.

Patrick LeBlanc of The LeBlanc Group Inc. of Lafayette, La., is the architect-of-record for the Perry County facility, which currently consists of three pre-engineered steel structures. Plans call for buildings to be added as needed.

"The site is master-planned for future construction," LeBlanc said.

One of the three existing buildings will house inmates; another is designed to house the prison's kitchen and dining facilities along with administrative offices.

The third building is slated for educational purposes and will contain classrooms, a computer lab and other areas of training geared toward helping released inmates become productive members of society.

LeBlanc said design work on the $14 million facility began in mid 2004 and construction began in January 2005. Preparation of the site was a straightforward process involving grading and bringing in engineered fill.

The foundations of the structures are 8-in. concrete slabs reinforced with No. 4 bars at 12-in. widths. The walls are built of concrete-filled 6-, 8- and 12-in. concrete masonry units, painted and clad with an Exterior Insulation and Finish System.

The standing seam roofs are composed of 26-gauge pre-finished metal panels. Energy-efficient solar panels light the walkways in and around the compound.

One of the biggest concerns in designing and building a prison is incorporating appropriate security measures.

"Security cameras are being installed in and around all the buildings, and all the hardware we are using is security grade," LeBlanc said. "All the openings are security hollow metal and the ceilings in the dormitory and lockdown buildings are metal security ceilings."

He added that a double perimeter fence outfitted with razor wire will surround the compound. Non-lethal electrification will be used to charge the fence, serving as a further deterrent to inmates wishing to take unscheduled leaves.

Flowers said expanding the detention facility is something that will soon become necessary.

"We're already talking about adding a building," he added. "The ones we have now are set in an L-shape configuration. The next building would probably be built to make it a U-shape."

The Perry County Prison District holds an option to purchase land adjacent to the present site as needed.

In addition to The LeBlanc Group, key players in the Perry County Detention project include Ted Beaullieu of Beaullieu & Associates, Lafayette, mechanical engineer; Phillip Thomassee of Thomassee & Associates, Lafayette, electrical engineer; Carmichael Engineering Inc., Montgomery, Ala., geotechnical consultant; Bruce Higginbotham of Burk-Kleinpeter Inc. (BKI), New Orleans, civil engineer; John Jones of Barnett, Jones, Wilson LLC, Pell City, Ala., structural engineer; and John Blackburn, LeBlanc Construction, Lafayette.

The facility is owned by Perry Developers LLC.