County commissioners hope Feds want to use Apalachicola work Camp

County Commissioners are looking for new uses for the now closed work camp in Apalachicola.

The 20 year old work camp closed last year and moved its prisoners to other facilities – most went to the new work camp at the state prison in Carrabelle.

The facility housed over 250 inmates and had about 70 employees.

The deed for the Work Camp property has a reverter clause that returns the nearly 40 acres to the county when the closure is complete – the county expects to have the deed in the next few weeks.

The work camp closure had a big financial impact on the city of Apalachicola so county commissioners are now trying to find a new group to take over the site.

The board agreed Tuesday to see if the federal government could use the site for housing people facing immigration violations.

Commissioner Pinki Jackel said there is significant federal funding for Immigration enforcement, and those facilities generally require a lower level of security than prisons which would make the work camp a prime location.

The board agreed to contact Senator Bill Nelson and Congressman Steve Southerland to begin the process.

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