Project Haystack: What’s the punchline?

Guilford County Commissioners vote 7-2 to move forward with plans to develop the county’s prison farm, aka Project Haystack.

The vote –which commits $30,000 toward establishing a nonprofit to oversee the project— came after proponents made their pitch:

But the commissioners balked at some of the project’s terms:

• Guilford County likely would have to donate 600 acres of its 800-acre prison farm, valued at about $3.7 million, to private corporations for development.

• The county would need to spend about $15 million to buy at least 600 acres surrounding the land it already owns.

• The county would need to join with the state, Alamance County and the cities of Greensboro, Burlington and possibly Gibsonville, to fund infrastructure improvements, including water and sewer lines and road upgrades. The work would take about two years and cost $81.1 million.

After hearing those conditions, Commissioner Hank Henning summed up the general feeling of the board.

“What’s the punchline?” Henning said.

Looks like the county –plus Greensboro and Burlington —will be asked to take a lot of risk up front. With those conditions, it’s pretty incredible that seven commissioners still voted to move forward, with Henning and Alan Branson casting the only ‘no’ votes.