EVANSTON (WNE) — The Uinta County Commission chambers were again full for a regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 21, when commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the sale of approximately 63 acres of county property to CoreCivic for the intended purpose of constructing an immigration detention/processing center.

A memorandum of terms regarding the property sale between the county and CoreCivic lists the purchase price as $5,000 per acre. At that rate, the total purchase price of 63 acres would be $315,000.

The project remains contingent on CoreCivic securing a contract for the facility from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

According to Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson-Kallas, the price the county paid for the land when purchasing it from the state about a decade ago was approximately $550 per acre.

In a continuation of what has become commonplace at public meetings concerning the ICE facility, numerous people spoke both for and against the proposal at the Jan. 21 meeting.

Many of the comments were similar to those voiced at any number of meetings over the past nearly three years since the proposal was first mentioned in the spring of 2017.

However, some new concerns were raised.

Evanston resident Joice Mander asked if the property had ever been listed as being available for purchase and said other businesses should have been given the opportunity to purchase the land. Mander even suggested she knew of another potential buyer that would meet or better the agreed upon price.

The property is adjacent to Bear River State Park.