The High Point City Council tonight will consider rezoning 90 acres of land considered as the site for the state’s forensic mental hospital that would be operated by a private-sector Florida company.

The N&R editorializes, saying “(p)ardon the expression, but the City Council would be crazy to stand in the way of this plan.” Meanwhile, the High Point Enterprise breaks down the 200 jobs the hospital would bring, ranging from housekeepers to nurses to programming staff. GEO Care also projects “a $20 million capital investment in renovation and new construction at the site within the first year, and $40 million in annual economic benefits to the city.”

I’ve expressed my skepticism of the hospital’s economic development impact, but it’s gotta go somewhere, and if the neighborhood’s down with it, then the City Council should go with the bird in the hand, eh?