SPRINGDALE — Prisoners are building walls at the old Springdale Armory — but those walls aren’t meant to keep them in.
Office walls are being constructed in the armory, the new site of the Arkansas Department of Correction Work Release Center.
“We should be done in nine to 11 months,” said Jim Brooks, center supervisor. “We’ll have a big open house then.”
The Department of Correction is leasing the armory at 600 W. Sunset Ave. from the city. Building improvement allows the program to expand from 42 to 100 participants. The prisoners will work in the community and not sit in cells.
“They get paid, like anyone else who has a job,” Brooks said. “The money is used to pay outstanding fines or restitution. Any money remaining would go to them when they are released to help their transition back to society.”
The work release center has been in Springdale since 1980, Brooks said. Brooks has worked in the program since 1990 and supervised it since 2003, he said.
An expansion made sense, he said, since the area has a lot of jobs employers have difficulty filling.
The department will spend up to $1 million renovating to the armory, according to the contract with the city. Money for renovation comes through a contract with the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, said Shea Wilson, communications administrator for the Department of Correction.
The city signed a 25-year lease with a payment of $1 per year. Nine workers from the program will clean city buildings, according to the contract. The center will provide three meals a day to inmates in the city’s jail.
“We’ve been a huge benefactor of the program for years,” said Mayor Doug Sprouse. “They save us the expense of cleaning our buildings. They can also provide extra laborers for any special task we have.”
Prisoners with special skills have been used for duties other than cleaning. One program participant who had a background as a contractor renovated restaurant space in the airport, said Wyman Morgan, city director of administration and financial affairs.
“We had one who was such a good mechanic that we hired him when he was released,” Sprouse said.
Work release prisoners are expected to help move the Police Department Criminal Investigation Division to its new location on Spring Street, said Capt. Mike Peters. The move is in two to three weeks.
“The men are glad to get out and not be in their quarters all weekend,” Peters said.
By The Numbers (w/logo)
Work Release Programs
The number of prisoners and percentage of capacity in each state-run work release center as of April 24. Wrightsville is the only work release center for women.
• Benton, 314, 96
• Mississippi County, 116, 96
• Springdale, 42, 100
• Pine Bluff, 59, 95
• Texarkana, 127, 99
• Wrightsville, 52, 100
Source: Arkansas Department Of Correction
Until the armory renovation is complete, participants in the work release program continue to spend the night in the Springdale Jail. The new quarters will be much better, with windows that will let in outside light, Brooks said.
The main room of the 8,000-square-foot armory will be converted to sleeping quarters. The bathroom and kitchen will be expanded. A 1,800-square-foot adjoining building will be renovated to use for visitation, conferences and as a day room, Brooks said.
Tong Lee, an owner of the Oriental Market next to the armory at 502 W. Sunset Ave., said he didn’t think moving the work release program would change his business.
“We are a local market,” Lee said. “Our customers live or work near the store. I don’t think the armory will change that.”
The city has experienced few problems with work release prisoners, Peters said.
“We’ve had a couple over the years that were hard to get along with,” Peters said. “We let Brooks know and they were gone the next day.”
Prisoners in work release programs have to be classified 1A, a status earned with good behavior and no discipline problems, Wilson said.
The length of time each prisoner spends in work release varies, Wilson said. They have to be within 42 months of being eligible for parole, and could spend the entire 42 months on work release.
Area employers have committed to hiring additional program participants, Brooks said.
By The Numbers (w/logo)
Work Release Programs
The number of prisoners and percentage of capacity in each state-run work release center as of April 24. Wrightsville is the only work release center for women.
w Benton, 314, 96
w Mississippi County, 116, 96
w Springdale, 42, 100
w Pine Bluff, 59, 95
w Texarkana, 127, 99
w Wrightsville, 52, 100
Source: Arkansas Department Of Correction