LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Board of Corrections on Friday approved an 815-acre site for a planned prison to house 3,000 inmates, despite objections from residents and local officials that they were blindsided by the purchase of the land by the State.

The board voted to approve land the state purchased for nearly $3 million to build a prison that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and corrections officials say is needed to reduce the inmate backlog of the state in county jails.

Officials have not said how much the prison will cost or given a timeline for its construction. Sanders, a Republican, called for 3,000 new prison beds and lawmakers set aside $330 million for it last year. An additional $75 million, initially earmarked for a prison unit expansion, is also available for the project.

“This vote today launches a lot of study and a lot of reflection,” President Benny Magness said during the meeting held via Zoom with nearly 300 people. “There’s probably a remote possibility, but it’s a possibility, that this site won’t work. But we’re at the point where we have to accept the site where we can go ahead and verify some of this information.

The state announced last week that it had purchased the land in Charleston, located about 105 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock. The purchase sparked complaints from area residents and officials who said they were unaware of the decision until or shortly before the day it was announced.

“A formal public hearing should have been held before the state committed millions of dollars to a project in Franklin County,” area resident Rosemary Underwood said during a packed town hall Thursday. evening.

Former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri, a senior adviser to Sanders, said at a town hall Thursday that the property was optioned for 90 days before the state finalized the purchase.

Sanders thanked the board Friday for approving the prison site, saying she was committed to working with the community throughout the construction process.

“We’ve put this behind us for too long. It’s time to make the first investment in our prison system in two decades and finally address the failure of our system of arresting and early release of violent offenders,” said Sanders in a statement. statement.

Board member Lee Watson abstained from voting on the measure and said he believed there needed to be more public discussion about the purchase and the site.

“Given the magnitude of the decision we have to make, I don’t feel like I’ve had enough time to make a decision,” Watson said.