Minimum Security Prison Proposed for Prescott Valley (Camp Verde, Maricopa: house, rent)

[Shelly C]

Originally Posted by JeepGirl118

I had my parent's read this thread last night and they just cannot understand what all the fuss is about. The town is not exactly considered elite - it's not very expensive and they feel the homes are quite reasonably priced. They had a good point about something - if residents feel that if PV is very expensive, then maybe some better paying jobs and opportunity coming to the town will help better some resident incomes and expand their minds to where they will not see $1M as "very expensive" - when $1M is actually is becoming more and more average for homes nowadays.

For those who don't want the prison there . . I doubt the same who are complaining will even show up at the Town's meeting for it. Not that it would make much of a difference, but it's the mere point. Then again, you can always move instead of complaining about it for years upon years to come. . . .

It may not be ELITE to some......but to me and my family it is our life and our home. If you dont live here you shouldnt worry so much about what they do to this town which you arent, but if you did live here you too would be concerned as much as we are. This town is creating many jobs every year with everything they have brought to this town, all we need is a little time....besides, I think the unemployment rate is low compared to other places which only tells me we dont need the prison to create jobs. They are in the middle of excavating for a huge retail center which will create jobs and bring in more upstanding people than a prison would. AND I am going to the town meeting......so dont be so quick to judge!!!!

[blue578]

I agree with Gretchen.The prison built outside of Kingman has not had the positive effect at all. In fact, the families of these people move here too. I do not like the idea of the prison. the city uses the
prisoners to clean the roads and clean and work at the college and various other places. So, on a daily basis you see the "men in orange" I call them. I have met several peope who work at the prison and they cannot buy there own homes on the pay.
I remember driving back east toward Texas with a friend and he warned me, do not get out of the car, it's a prison town. I would really hate to see Prescott, which has a fine reputation, have a nearby prison. As a potential homebuyer, this would certainly turn me off. I guess we do not have the right to vote on those issues that directly impact the communities.
Since the prison was built here, a different "strata" of society has moved in. I hope people do not have to go past the prison to get to Prescott. I think the prison is somewhere between here (Kingman)
and Lake Havasu City.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by Artliquide

Yes, that makes sense. Why isn't the local government trying to bring in more white collar businesses? There are many jobs at many levels of experience and salary with office type jobs. Though, I can imagine that it would be difficult for PV to compete with Phoenix in that area. Like I said, the PV area is lovely, but it's a bit far from the metro areas to entice higher paying and more reputable industries.

Ah, there's the issue. It's a Catch-22. Lots of people want to relocate here, but there's not a lot of professional and tech jobs. OTOH, companies are reluctant to relocate here because they don't feel we've got the labor force needed.

On the plus side of things, a number of good companies have been moving here. Ace Hardware is expanding its distibution center by more than twice. Lockheed Martin just relocated one of it's main admin offices here, so that was huge. The momentum is really starting to build, but it's still in the toddler stage.

Therefore, the keyword here would be "CAUTION". Prescott/Prescott Valley can choose to become a center for clean industries and tech jobs (and many companies are considering relocating to the area). This is do-able, but will take intense recruitment efforts. Or they can take the easy road and become a town where the largest employer is a correctional institution employing mostly blue collar workers making less than the AZ median wage.

Which direction would seem to be the best for the local economy?

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by blue578

I agree with Gretchen.The prison built outside of Kingman has not had the positive effect at all. In fact, the families of these people move here too. I do not like the idea of the prison. the city uses the
prisoners to clean the roads and clean and work at the college and various other places. So, on a daily basis you see the "men in orange" I call them. I have met several peope who work at the prison and they cannot buy there own homes on the pay.
I remember driving back east toward Texas with a friend and he warned me, do not get out of the car, it's a prison town. I would really hate to see Prescott, which has a fine reputation, have a nearby prison. As a potential homebuyer, this would certainly turn me off. I guess we do not have the right to vote on those issues that directly impact the communities.
Since the prison was built here, a different "strata" of society has moved in. I hope people do not have to go past the prison to get to Prescott. I think the prison is somewhere between here (Kingman)
and Lake Havasu City.

Thanks for the info, Blue. I was hoping that somebody that's seen the changes firsthand would weigh in on the subject. Your post has been most enlightening.

[Artliquide]

Originally Posted by blue578

I guess we do not have the right to vote on those issues that directly impact the communities.

You vote for your city council members who vote for or against proposed developments after holding legally required hearings so that you, the city resident who voted for those council members can try to sway them in one direction or another. So, you do have a lot of power to influence the vote, as a resident. If people aren't active in their local politics, then no, they have no power.

[and the]

Even if you can't vote in a particular city, that can't stop you from circulating a petition on behalf of someone who CAN vote there. You can take part in an initiative to force the issue onto a ballot for a referendum, as in a referendum to prohibit prisons from being built in your city. With a city the size of PV, it shouldn't be that difficult to get enough signatures to force a vote. Your local elected officials don't tell you about this because they think it's only THEIR job to decide what gets voted on.

Western states were some of the first to get the initiative and the referendum during the reform era of the early 20th century. Use them with vigor.

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by and the

First, I said "generally", and second, I said "smart" drug dealers. Your friend the dope man may be well-to-do, but if he couldn't find a way to do his time in a federal prison as opposed to a state prison, he can't be all that bright. Any idiot can make a ton of money dealing narcotics, for a while.....The smart ones don't get caught, let alone get caught by a state agency. Then again, maybe the state offered him a better deal to roll over on someone. Better be careful who you associate with.....



????? I always thought they were Buick Roadmasters....

It seems clear that you speak from experience as "one of the smart ones."

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by Shelly C

It may not be ELITE to some......but to me and my family it is our life and our home. If you dont live here you shouldnt worry so much about what they do to this town which you arent, but if you did live here you too would be concerned as much as we are. This town is creating many jobs every year with everything they have brought to this town, all we need is a little time....besides, I think the unemployment rate is low compared to other places which only tells me we dont need the prison to create jobs. They are in the middle of excavating for a huge retail center which will create jobs and bring in more upstanding people than a prison would. AND I am going to the town meeting......so dont be so quick to judge!!!!

If you say so.

[Shelly C]

Well I just got back from the town meeting.......they all but 1 decided against moving forward with this proposition.....yay for democracy and for public opinion. They said they recieved alot of feedback on this issue so thank you to prescott valley for standing up for what you believe in.

[Artliquide]

Originally Posted by and the

Even if you can't vote in a particular city, that can't stop you from circulating a petition on behalf of someone who CAN vote there. You can take part in an initiative to force the issue onto a ballot for a referendum, as in a referendum to prohibit prisons from being built in your city. With a city the size of PV, it shouldn't be that difficult to get enough signatures to force a vote. Your local elected officials don't tell you about this because they think it's only THEIR job to decide what gets voted on.

Western states were some of the first to get the initiative and the referendum during the reform era of the early 20th century. Use them with vigor.

I just got an "A" in my AZ Constitution class, but I must have skipped the part about city referendums. I know we have citizen created state initiatives and referendums, just didn't realize those were available at the city level as well...Makes sense though...hmmm, guess I need to crack that book open again.