The Florida City Council approved a contract with the Florida Department of Corrections for the use of an inmate work squad from the DeSoto Correctional Institute last week. The squad would assigned specifically to the city on a regular basis instead of the current "as available" basis.
Under the agreement, the city would pay about $55,000 for a position at the prison. Arcadia could then use an eight- to 10-man inmate work crew on a daily basis.
"So I think that the only other requirement would be that we would have to provide a vehicle," said City Administrator Ed Strube.
The city would also provide an enclosed trailer for equipment.
"We would have anywhere between $20,000 to $30,000 in capital that we would have to come up with for the equipment -- vehicle and trailer," Strube said. "So for less than $100,000 we could get the equivalent of a work squad that would be valued at over $200,000."
He said money for the squad would come from various departments. Strube said the School Board has the same arrangement with the prison. "There's no reason why we can't do the same thing," he said.
He said the prison would transport the inmates to and from the prison every day. The prison would provide lunches for the squad, which would work five days a week.