The Cochise County Board of Supervisors and the Arizona Department of Corrections are trying to hammer out a new long-term lease agreement and water rate charges for service at the state prison at Bisbee-Douglas International Airport.
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County Administrator Mike Ortega said most water systems are meant to last about 50 years. The existing system is “close to failing,” and two working pumps will have to be lowered in the wells. The price tag for a new distribution system could run from $2.5 million to $5 million. Any new plans would include refurbishment of the water storage tank.
For Ryan and Hallahan, the main concern at the prison is adequate water in case of fire.
Ortega said since the 200,000-gallon tank lacks an altitude control valve, if the county had to work on the system, the lines and tank would have to be drained, leaving the prison defenseless.
County Facilities Director L.H. Hamilton confirmed there are deficiencies within the old system that need to be remedied. Repairs to the storage tank would cost about $150,000 to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations.
“We thought we only had two lines going into the prison, but we have multiple lines going there, and we don’t know if they’re hooked up or not,” Hamilton said. “With almost 70-year-old pipe in the ground, it would be difficult to get a repair of a line to hold.”
Ortega and Hamilton have determined that to recoup costs of running the water system, the prison needs to pay more than the current 83 cents per 1,000 gallons. Ortega proposed $1.46 per 1,000 gallons. That includes $1.29 per 1,000 gallons that would cover the costs of providing water. Seventeen cents of that rate would be placed in reserve for emergencies. Over five years, the $100,000 it would generate could help in a pinch.
Douglas has shown an interest in providing water to the prison.
How to get the money needed for the infrastructure could prove challenging.
The state cannot pay for it or even take it on as a project, Ortega noted. There are funding opportunities the Arizona Development Authority, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies.
A bond measure could provide the funds and still leave the county in good shape if other needs arise, Ortega added.
What happens if the Douglas prison is sold, and the county has just spent $5 million, asked Call. Wouldn’t the Department of Corrections be on the hook?
It could be held responsible for a portion of the debt even with the current “incredible debt load,” Hallanhan said.
Over 41,000 prisoners are in the state system and 5,000 more have been “farmed out” to other prisons in Oklahoma and Colorado. If the prison were to shut down, the county would get a three-year notice.
Searle, who is reluctant to fund a capital project that size, said, “I support the prison at BDI. But we gave the land to the state at virtually no cost. The state has realized financial benefit. Now, 25 years later, I don’t think our response should be to spend $5 million on water infrastructure. The county’s and BDI airport’s needs are minimal. I don’t know that we should be in the water business.”
The Department of Corrections pays the county $1 a year for the lease and helps the county out with inmate labor crews.
The county and the department will work on the memorandum of understanding for the prison lease and the water rate and bring it before the supervisors next month.
In other action ...
At Wednesday’s special meeting, the supervisors approved without discussion an amended primary tax rate as requested by Tombstone from $0.7935 to $0.7927 per $100 of assessed value.
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