One struggling Weld County town may get an economic boost thanks to a women's prison, while another community is canceling plans to bring in a similar facility.

Voters in Hudson - home to about 1,200 people about 30 miles northeast of Denver - decided Tuesday night to rezone about 320 acres northwest of town for a women's lockup. Plans call for an 832-bed facility.

The annexation and rezoning proposal passed 135-63, a good turnout for the town, which has 629 registered voters. "It was one of the best turnouts in a long time," Town Clerk Judy Larson said.

Proponents said the prison - to be run by Houston-based Cornell Cos. - would pump $27.5 million into a town with dirt roads and a tiny local economy.

Opponents said the projections were overblown and the prison would ruin the town's down-home image. A majority of residents, however, thought otherwise, Mayor Neal Pontius said.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Corrections has rescinded its offer to GEO Group to build a 1,500-bed men's prison in Ault, north of Greeley.

The deal fell apart late last month over financial disagreements, including GEO's insistence on a bed guarantee, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Alison Morgan.

GEO entered into a tentative agreement with Ault, population 1,500, last spring, but many residents were opposed.

Ault Mayor Brad Bayne said he was disappointed with the state's decision.