DOC eyes expansion in Palmer

PALMER — With approval from the city council, the Alaska Department of Corrections is looking at expanding its presence in downtown Palmer.

DOC already has a footprint in the city, with the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility and DOC and Public Safety Officer Training Center. The plan under consideration would expand the pretrial facility, create a new work release center and build housing units for officers in training.

The pretrial facility is over capacity, explained Dwayne Peeples, Deputy Commissioner of DOC. An expansion would include a large prisoner booking center with an additional 20 cells.

There is a large number of prisoners released into the Mat-Su Valley, Peeples said, coming from both the pretrial facility and the medium security prison in Sutton. With the 1,500 beds coming online at Goose Creek Correctional Facility, the number of releases will increase.

A work release center would not only give those recently released a place to go, but low-security prisoners could stay at the center as well, Peeples said. This way, there can be a level of security over the ex-convicts without completely isolating them from society. Communities all across Alaska have similar facilities, Peeples said, but there are none in the Mat-Su Valley.

DOC already trains its corrections officers in Palmer, but the living arrangements are less than ideal for the three to six weeks officers attend the classes. The officers are often spread out, Peeples said, making the logistics hard to coordinate. A new housing facility would have approximately 24 single- or double-occupancy rooms.

The idea is supported by the Palmer Board of Economic Development, and the Palmer City Council gave DOC a green light to start looking at the project.

Palmer City Manager Bill Allen said the benefits to the city would be many. The expanded presence would mean more jobs in Palmer — perhaps as many as 75 — stable jobs that don’t go up and down with the economy. Allen said more trained law enforcement personnel in the community equals a safer community. The city would work closely with DOC personnel, who would help with community service projects, Allen said.

With the new Goose Creek Correctional Facility coming to Point McKenzie, there will be an influx of prison guard jobs in the Mat-Su Valley, Allen said.

“What we want to accomplish is to provide the training here in Palmer for the employees that work out there, as well as the other employees involved in corrections throughout the state,” Allen said.

The idea is for DOC to buy the entire block where the pretrial facility now sits. This includes the Palmer Police Station and the Palmer office of the Alaska State Troopers.

“If this concept comes together, then we would be looking at building a new facility for the police,” Allen said. “We’ve outgrown that as well.”

Peeples said DOC is trying to get the preliminary assessment of the proposed project out in the next few weeks for presentation to the Alaska State Legislature. He said he would like to see the entire campus completed in the next few years.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.