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Standard Examiner, OGDEN, UT
Tue, 04/30/2013 - 8:30pm
AP PHOENIX — Arizona intends to purchase a privately run prison but still have it run by a commercial company.
The
state will pay $150,000 to buy the Marana Community Correctional
Treatment Facility, a 500-bed minimum-security prison that houses male
prisoners with drug and alcohol problems, the Arizona Capitol Times
reported.
A provision in each contract for the
state’s five privately run prisons allows the state to buy each at a
nominal price as the contract expires.
Legislative
budget analysts estimate the state could save $850,000 annually by
buying the Marana prison from Utah-based Management and Training Corp.
The department has requested bids from companies interested in running the prison after the state takes possession in October.
Management
and Training Corp., of Centerville, Utah, has managed the prison since
it opened in 1994, and a spokesman said the company will submit a bid to
continue running it.
“We’ve created strong
relationships within the community and we look forward to continuing our
partnership with ADOC,” spokesman Issa Arnita said in an email.