Some Fayetteville residents are concerned about a proposed halfway house for federal prisoners

The city council voted against it two weeks ago, but Dismas Charities, the company that wants to build it, could appeal.

Russell Jones lives on Cain Road, about a quarter mile away from the site.

“It’s a prison,” Jones said. “It’s like a mini-prison. It’s not a halfway house.”

Dismas Charities says the facility would be a place for federal inmates to transition back into society during the last few months of their sentences.

Jones and others who live nearby believe it is too close to nearby neighborhoods.

“I just don’t feel like it should be in a residential neighborhood,” Jones said. “You’ve got a school a half mile down the road.”

Dismas Charities already has facilities in Greensboro and in other states, including Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Alabama.

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The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It’s not clear whether Dismas Charities will appeal the city council’s vote.

Rafael Rivera, a Fayetteville resident, said he hopes any appeal would be denied.

“The concern is that it is over a 14,000-square-foot federal facility housing 100-plus beds, federal inmates of every crime,” Rivera said.