The Texas House voted yesterday for HB 2969 to sell property around the Central Unit in Sugar Land and 896 acres attached to the Estelle Unit in Huntsville. It also authorizes the sale of up to three, unspecified TYC facilities. The Estelle property is presently used "for cattle grazing, timber production, and recreational hunting."
In a report (pdf) last fall, the General Land Office also suggested selling off 16.4 acres in Mineral Wells, but that apparently didn't make it onto the list, probably because of deed restrictions on the property and the need to clean up soil and groundwater contamination and hazardous materials in the buildings. TDCJ owns 122,374 acres worth $2.4 billion at market value, according to the GLO. The Comptroller says there are more than 11,000 acres of "underused" TDCJ lands.
Grits had hoped the state would close the Dawson State Jail in Dallas - which the City of Dallas wants to use for its proposed Trinity River development - and selling off that property as well, but the Department of Criminal Justice has successfully fought off additional prison closures.
The Central Unit and TYC units would only be sold if the final budget eliminates their operating funds. All the properties would have to be sold by Sept. 1, 2013.
"The Estelle property is presently used "for cattle grazing, timber production, and recreational hunting."
ReplyDeleteThey are using convicts as hunting targets now? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
If the property is sold, how about using the funds for rehabilitation, instead of incarceration? Nah, makes too much sense. It just might work.
Read TEXAS TOUGH and it tells of using live humans for dogs to hunt down and devour. I believe the book states they did it once for some Government Bigshot too. Sounds loke something WAR CRIMINALS do to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat has Grits got against the Dawson State Jail anyway ? They advocate the facility's closure every chance they get. Yes, I work there and it isn't the freaking Hell hole your obviously biased informants claim it is.
ReplyDeleteGary, I never said it was a "hell hole." It's just one of the only units where the local chamber of commerce crowd WANT it closed instead of fighting to keep it. IMO Texas needs to close multiple units instead of slashing community supervision programs, and among TDCJ units Dawson is low hanging fruit.
ReplyDeleteDawson is a hell hole; however, the closes thing to hell today would be Dallas County Jail. Now that is a real hell hole!!!!
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ReplyDeleteDid Dawson sale are they closing it down
ReplyDeleteI do not think anyone understands that there is NO land that can be sold around the Central Unit. That land was sold Christina Melton Crane, Gary Johnson, Brad Livingston, and Tom Delay. This land was sold to a construstion firm in Houston for 5 million dollars. After the sell TDCJ stated that they saved money. Go figure, but the truth is that tdcj sold the land and leased land from the Texas Rail Road Commission, for 3 millions dollars. Save money, well when the lease is up and tdcj contracts for the land again, they will lease it for another 3 million, so the original 3 million and the new 3 million will create a debt of 1 million dollars. EVERYONE GOT PAID ON THAT DEAL, and now the clean up transpires
ReplyDeleteI thought it was illegal for TDCJ to sell their land at any time....
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