Gov. Phil Scott’s administration is proposing that Vermont contract with a private company to build a 925-bed correctional facility in Franklin County.
Calling it a “10-year vision,” Secretary of Human Services Al Gobeille emphasized that the complex would be constructed gradually over the course of a decade.
Legislators asked the Agency of Human Services to come up with a plan to address the state’s aging correctional facilities as well as shortcomings with its mental health care system. The recommendation is in a report from administration officials to legislators.
The facility would house male and female offenders, including those with mental health diagnoses.
Its construction would cost roughly $140 million, according to the agency’s estimates. A private company would build the facility and then lease it to the state.
Scott’s communications director, Rebecca Kelley, said the governor supports the “vision” laid out in the report and “recognizes there’s a lot of work to do to make it a reality.”
The project would replace the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington and the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans. Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center would close. The new facility would eliminate the need to send Vermont prisoners out of state, according to the report. The report suggests that the facility could save the state money over a 20-year period.
The House Committee on Corrections and Institutions will discuss the matter at a Statehouse hearing Tuesday.
“We’re going give the report a full vetting and we’ll do our due diligence,” said chair Rep. Alice Emmons (D-Springfield). “It’s going to be a long conversation.”
Related Stories
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
Why close the one in St Albans? It is hard enough for the visitors to make it there let alone Franklin county!
A better use of taxpayers money would be to take a long look at the cost benefit of incarceration, which is an inverse one. We are not getting good outcomes from incarceration. Prisons are a holdover from a time when there was not the technology available now. Incarceration is expensive, long prison sentences do not deter crime, and “corrections” is a misnomer. Let’s look at what is done in other developed countries around incarceration, invest in more restorative justice programs, and stop incarcerating people who pose no safety risks to our communities. Instead of building better prisons for older inmates and the mentally ill, let’s find a better solution for them than incarceration.
Where and why in St. Albans ?
Perhaps this comment thread has proven that adult education should be a priority in this state? It’s like none of these commenters are capable of reading and absorbing information. It’s a sad state of affairs out there…
Its not going to be a private prison – its going to be built by a private company and leased to and run by the state. Also, the mental health facility will be a stand-alone with the purpose of getting MH folks out of incarcerative setting and into MH facility. Read the friggin article before you post your knee jerk reactions.
We have got to stop supporting the private prison industry. Prisoners are people, not commodities! Yes, they have erred and must serve their sentences, but putting them in the hands of organizations who’s first priority is their shareholders is a huge mistake. This industry needs to go away.
We need to stop incarcerating the mentally ill. It is not a viable solution. We need less prisons and more mental health treatment. Otherwise they are released sicker than they went in.
Didn’t we learn from the experience of Pennsylvania where a juvenile court judge was arrested for sentencing young people to jail time at a private facility. He got a kick-back from the private corporation for every person he sent to the facility. Prisons are a public responsibility. How about criminal justice reform first, before we sell our souls?
As expected, a Republican Governor advocates for a private prison. Creating an incentive to imprison people is NEVER a good idea. Vote for James Ehlers in 2018 to stop this madness.
And communities and school boards across the state are harangued into closing schools and cutting costs.