Derek Dowsett is the Producer of the County Seat. Now entering his 11th season of the program, he has received what he considers a "Crash Course" in County Government.

In early March of 2013 the legislature passed Senate Bill 72, a proposal creating the Prison Relocation and Development Authority, or PRADA. Their charge is to collect the necessary information about relocating the prison and bring their recommendation
to the legislature and the governor.

The Prada Board is made up of 11 members: an urban and rural county representative,
four legislators, a judge, the Draper City Mayor and individuals with expertise in
real estate, employment and rehabilitation programs. Moving the prison is obviously no small task, with a long list of factors that must be taken into account. The first question is simple: How much will it cost? On the surface there are the associated expenditures and benefits of moving the prison out at Draper. Building costs and interest rates are both low; the current location is valuable for development; and the current facility will
require extensive updates if it remains in its current location.

However, the decision isn’t all black and white. If the prison is relocated, the question
becomes: where? The location will affect 4,000 inmates, 1,900 employees and 1,500 volunteers. Access to support services, such as the courts and medical care, is another logistical hurdle. However, the new location would also have potential for positive economic development to other parts of the state. Other questions arise regarding how to reduce recidivism and costs, while still offering programs for rehabilitation. In order to better answer these questions, a request for proposal, or RFP, was sent out on October 2nd to get propositions on the new prison development project. PRADA later voted
unanimously to pull the request and hired a consultant to help the group better
understand the relationship between corrections and the counties in housing state
inmates.