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The new RFP for more prison beds in Arizona is out and bidders will be expected to turn in their packages by February 24th.  Here in Globe, we don’t know who the bidders are at this point. We don’t know if the Emerald Companies who presented before the Globe City Council and EDC on the first go-round will be among the bidders this time. We don’t know even, if Globe is still considered as a site for contention. But what we do know is enough for continued concern and vigilance by all who want to protect this community from becoming another host for these ill-conceived projects.

The Mayor of Globe, Fernando Shipley and three of the six Globe Councilmen: Carmen Casillas, Mary Ann Uhl and Lerry Alderman voted last week to ignore a large majority of Globe and Gila County Citizens (2500+) and send a letter to DOC Director Charles Ryan telling him a “majority of Mayor and Council” were in support of a Private Prison.

In a 3-3 vote with Wheeler, Wilshire and Baker voting NAY, the Mayor broke the tie to give the letter of support a “majority.”  Hardly a resounding message.

In fact, Director Ryan would be well advised to know just how little support is actually contained in that letter.  That kind of ‘majority’ pales in the face of thousands of real citizens who have put their signatures, their faces and their facts on the line.

We know that the attitude of the three Council people – as stated by them at last week’s Council meeting- is dismissive and patronizing to the opposition. Uhl said she was “appalled” by the group’s questioning of the EDC, and Casillas commented that she thought these discussions with the public should be limited, noting that she has better things to do. Alderman accused the opposition group of presenting “lies by omission and veiled threats.”

Yet, in six months of public debate on this issue, none of the prison promoters including Mayor Fernando Shipley, EDC Director, Jerry McCreary, and Councilmen Alderman, Casillas nor Uhl have refuted any of the points made by the opposition with their own facts. Choosing instead to attack the members and tactics of the grassroots opposition. A group they now accuse of intimidating others. The same group which during the September presentation to the Council nearly 7 months ago, was heralded by the Mayor as one of the most civil, well-spoken, well-organized groups the Council had ever heard.

Funny how these charges of  “veiled threats” have arisen just in the last couple weeks. It appears that after 6 months of tone-deaf leadership in which a handful of pro-prison leaders have steadfastly refused to debate the merits of a private prison, they now find their voice to talk about some ‘veiled threats’ issued by the Opposition group. Weak!

The thing that is veiled here are the accusers’ facts. They can’t tell us – or anyone else it seems- just who was involved, or what was said. It apparently never seemed important enough to go to the Police, or confront the  organizers with this. Until last week. When they couldn’t think of anything else to say in the face of opposition except to scold and cast aspersions on those in the audience who have steadfastly opposed a Private Prison in Globe.

This week the DOC put out a new – and revised- RFP for 5000 beds. See Complete RFP Here

This RFP had been re-written in light of the Kingman fiasco just six months ago and has more stringent safety measures.

It also includes new language on page 36 which seems to cast doubt on whether Globe will even be considered as a viable site.

Page 37:

2.3.2
The Department has the ability to offer state-owned land for the purpose of this RFP. The following locations identified below along with the information provided on Attachment 10 can be used for the purpose of providing a response for the use of available state-owned land. The state-owned land identified within this section is the only state-owned land being offered for the purpose of this Request for Proposal. Offerors are cautioned not to include state-owned land that is not stated within this section as part of their offer.”

The locations identified within the section are: Florence, Lewis, Perryville and Yuma.

This language seems to preclude Globe, however in speaking with Barrett M, who is a Public Information Office with the DOC, he indicated that the language actually meant “State Land that is currently under DOC control. ” Really? It seems that the Department of Corrections- who is adept at writing RFPS – would have made the language clearer if that was the case. So what’s up?

This week a new report came out in the Arizona Republic on Kingman. www.azcentral.com/…/20110130kingman-prison-still-under-scrutiny0130.html

One of the “fixes” the State insisted on was beefed up monitoring. This is being accomplished by using more Corrections Department employees on site. But, as House Minority Chad Campbell says, ” …what’s the point of a private prison if we have to put (state corrections) personnel up there to make sure MTC is living up their obligations?”

It was a packed house at Monday nites' Council meeting in which the Mayor and 1/2 the council passed a measure to send DOC Director Charles Ryan a letter of support for a prison. The vast majority of people in the audience that nite were there to protest such an action.

PRESS RELEASE — 1-25-11

From:  Jim Moss, Spokesperson, Citizens Opposed to Becoming a Prison Town

A “silent majority” wants a big private prison in Globe, according to several elected officials.  Sound familiar?  That’s a similar claim Richard M. Nixon made prior to being impeached.

Globe’s Mayor and four Council Members voted down a Citizen’s Resolution calling for leaders to cease their pursuit of a private prison for Globe.  It is no surprise.  At least now we know for certain where they stand.  Mayor Shipley, Vice Mayor Wilshire, and Council Members Uhl, Casillas, &  Alderman decided long ago they wanted a private prison project regardless of what citizens of Globe say.  This group is joined by Supervisors Dawson & Pastor, and EDC President McCreary.  These Officials ‘circled the wagons’ long ago, determined to bring a big For-profit to our town. 

They purposefully tried to keep this prison project quiet to avoid public controversy.  Now they claim there is a “silent majority” of Globe residents who really want their grand prison project, but are “afraid” to come forward and speak out!  That’s right — they choose to represent an imaginary “silent majority” — instead of respecting the wishes of 2,500+ area residents who signed a Declaration that Opposes a private prison project.
We thank Councilmen Wheeler and Baker for standing up for democratic principles, and for their steadfast opposition to bringing a private prison to our community.

This action by the Mayor and Majority of Council is deeply disappointing.  From the very beginning, they failed to conduct careful due-diligence.  Now, they realize they cannot win the debate on the merits or substance of their case, so they have resorted to personal attacks and false accusations.  Conduct truly unbecoming of elected representatives.
Although, we had hoped this matter would be settled by now, there remains much work to do.  We will continue to build community coalitions, will fight for what we believe is best for our community, and we intend to achieve our goal of stopping a private prison.

By: Linda Gross

The Globe City Council  voted last month, 3-2 to install photo radar in the city of Globe. The vote came after hearing public comment which ranged from concerns about Big Brother , and a perception that the cameras represent a violation of rights… to destroying the quality of small town life. Despite the emotions which ran high at the meeting, the effort of the Mayor and Council to stay the course and move forward with the contract to Redflex is grounded in a belief that a limited number of photo radar units will actually serve to protect small town life by making streets and roads safer for all who live and work in the area, as well as visitors who come here. They point to such dangerous stretches of road as the curve on Hwy 60 near DeMarcos where people pulling out into traffic have to compete with poor visibility and drivers going – on average- 20 miles over the 45mph posted limit.

Redflex Stationary Camera

According to Police Chief Dan Melvin there have been 585 accidents, 231 injuries and 4 deaths. And on Ash Street alone, where the High School borders the Highway there have been 123 accidents and 32 injuries. This is especially problematic since most people driving through our community are not aware of the High School and the likelihood of student pedestrian traffic.

Melvin acknowledged that he was initially against photo radar for some of the same reasons cited by local citizens; invasion of privacy, Big Brother etc. However. once he took a tour of the Redflex headquarters in Phoenix and did some additional research on the issue, he became supportive of the cameras. “Just consider the value to a local merchant of security cameras in his store. If someone steals merchandise, he has it on camera. We don’t consider that invasion of privacy. How is it that we consider cameras on public roads to catch speeders and red-light runners an “invasion of privacy?”

As for the argument that the cameras “make people guilty before they are tried, Melvin explains that the two options you have when handed a ticket by an officer is (1) pay the ticket as it stands or (2) go to court and argue your case. Drivers will have exactly the same options with tickets issued by photo radar. The term “reasonable and prudent” is used in applying the law and refers to the idea that if it is two in the morning and you are clocked at 60 instead of 45, it might be the reasonable and prudent thing to ignore the “violation.” The discretion of those reviewing the “violation” will be viewed the same whether it is photo radar or a uniformed police office which clocks you at 2am.

Melvin points to statistics which show accidents have decreased in areas which have photo radar. That, plus freeing up officers to pursue other issues which truly require one-on-one intervention from domestic violence calls to drug busts.

Globe Mayor, Fernando Shipley initiated the review of Photo Radar for the city after talking with the mayor of Star Valley, a relatively new community in Northern Gila County. Mayor Bill Rappaport reported a drastic reduction in speed on one stretch of highway which had a posted speed limit of 45. Prior to radar being installed the average speed on this stretch was 82 mph and there had been 8-12 accidents. Rappaport said after the cameras went in the average speed dropped to 43 and accidents fell by half. The community also receives revenue from the tickets which was another hot items in the public debate. Some felt the city was doing this just for the money.

While the income stream was not overlooked in reviewing the program for the local area, the program was first and foremost initiated because of its ability to reduce accidents and force people to slow down when going through our community.

City Manager, Kane Graves, negotiated a five year contract with Redflex with a one year “easy out”, whereby the City has the option of backing out of the contract with no penalties should they feel the program did not meet their expectations for any reason. This caveat gives both detractors and supporters of photo radar one full year to review the real-time data collected by Redflex on the local area instead of relying on stats from other communities (like Star Valley).

Since the mere mention of  Photo Radar conjures up such a love/hate battleground where successes and failures are held up by both sides as proof-positive that they are right and the opposition is wrong, the advantage of a year long trial basis – which is what the one-year “easy out” option- really is all about, gives some breathing room to both sides to get some much-needed facts on how the program works in our community.

Here is how it will work:

On the issue of Safety:

The Globe Police department has identified the most dangerous sections of road in the area. They include the stretch of Ash/Hwy 60 which borders Globe High School, the intersection at Hwy 60 and Main (Oak Realty), the intersection at Hwy 60 and State Rte 188 (Judy’s Cookhouse), the intersection of Hwy 60/70 and the entrance to the Historic District at Ash & Broad Street. (Entrance at the train trestle) and Hwy 60/70. Photo Radar will be installed at four of these locations and a fifth- mobile unit- will be moved around and used to address other problem areas as needed.

On the issue of Citations & Enforcement

The cameras will only record drivers going 11 miles or more over the posted speed limit. The tape on all “possible citations” will first be reviewed by three Redflex employees to determine extenuating circumstances such as “Did the driver have to accelerate to pass a large truck? Or did construction in the area obscure signs” etc. After the tapes are reviewed and approved by Redflex, they are sent to the City to be reviewed. The process will be handled by a Globe police officer or a trained and deputized individual. If the City approves the evidence submitted only  then will Redflex send out citations to the drivers. Tickets will be based on the existing rate structure – ie, higher fines for higher speeds- but Redflex takes $35 (or about 25%) and the balance of the citation is divided between city,county and state – as are all court fees. The monies received by the City for this program “will go into the general fund and be prioritized in addressing the needs of the community.”

On the contract and upfront costs

Redflex will incur all upfront costs of the program including (5) cameras and all administrative and field personnel required to maintain and manage the program. The costs of each camera is estimated at $150,000 and with the added overhead of personnel and oversight of the program it is estimated that the company will put out nearly $1 million the first year with no guarantee the contract will make it past that time period.

Redflex, which is an Australian company, has operated in the United States for nearly 20 years and employees over 400 people at their headquarters in Phoenix. According to their website, they have provided photo radar services to 240 communities in 21 states throughout the United States and hold the contract with Star Valley which was negotiated through the County two years ago. The contract which the City of Globe negotiated with Redflex drew on a joint agreement between the County and City which allows the City to take advantage of contracts negotiated by the County. This meant City Manager, Kane Graves, could “tag on” to the county agreement which has a preferred rate over any current rates.