Mat-Su prison expansion may not pass Legislature this year

Last fall, when Kenai voters turned down a private prison study proposal, John Duffy wasted no time in contacting Department of Corrections Commissioner Margaret Pugh and touting a regional prison expansion plan. But Sen. Lyda Green, R-Mat-Su, said Senate Bill 231, the bill she submitted outlining the plan, may not make it through the Senate this year.

"The story … is an ever-changing story in the capital," Green said. "Sometimes I get a sense that no prison bill is going to pass this year. Other times I think they might tie the two together."

The second bill Green spoke of is often referred to as the Whittier prison bill. The House recently passed a bill that would authorize the DOC to enter into an agreement to develop a private prison in Whittier, a bill that some borough officials say could rob Mat-Su of up to 1,100 potential jobs. And what's more, they said, the bill was backed by Mat-Su Legislator Rep. Vic Kohring, R-Wasilla and Rep. Beverly Masek, R-Willow. Still recuperating at home at the time of the passage, Rep. Scott Ogan, R-Palmer was absent for the vote.

Borough Manager John Duffy said he wasn't willing to comment on the actual votes cast, but he had misgivings about the Whittier plan.

"I believe it's wrong to have a sole-source contract on what could be the biggest contract in the state," Duffy said. "Every contractor should have an opportunity to bid … every community should have an opportunity. I believe Senate Bill 231 is the best vehicle there is, for not only the Mat-Su Borough, but for other communities across the state as well."

According to information from Northern Economics, a firm the borough hired at a cost of $5,000 to estimate the potential effects of the proposed regional expansion, SB 231 could create nearly 2,500 jobs during the construction phase, and an additional 818 long-term jobs, spread out over six communities -- some of which desperately need jobs.

"All of these communities have unemployment rates much higher than in Anchorage," Duffy said, "which is where the labor would come from to build this thing … in Whittier."

But Kohring said he was simply holding to his philosophy of shifting government functions to the private sector where possible.

"I like the private-prison concept," Kohring said. "I look at it as a cost-saving measure, when you look at it from an overall perspective."

Kohring said the idea of one large prison facility ties in to his 10-point cost-cutting plan, which suggests closing about half the prisons in the state and sending remaining prisoners out of state.

But DOC officials say that's the opposite of what is needed.

"In terms of … total outlay of dollars for the numbers of beds, the megalith [Whittier proposal] is cheaper," said Margot Knuth, the department's strategic planning coordinator. "The problem is, it doesn't suit the needs of the state of Alaska."

Knuth said the Alaska corrections system has a capacity for 5,000 prisoners per year, but 33,000 prisoners are booked each year. The majority of them are in the system between two and 10 days, she said, and regional facilities, which have not been expanded for many years, are simply not adequately meeting the needs of pre-trial inmates.

"You have to have a place for them when they're first arrested … They have to go back for a change of plea or trial … You could not economically be flying these people from the point of their arrest, down to the megalith and then fly them back for court appearances," Knuth said. "You have to have their beds where the criminals are committing their crimes."

If a "megalith" were to be constructed, she said, the regional expansion would still be needed. Conversely, a regional expansion alone would be enough to meet the needs of the department.

"We need regional expansions of our jails, and our position is we should expand our jails as well," Knuth said. "We would pick Palmer and Wildwood in Kenai … that would mean bringing everyone home from Arizona."

According to information from the Mat-Su Borough that was gathered in support of Green's bill, 800 to 900 prisoners per year are currently transferred from Alaska's overcrowded facilities to the state of Arizona at an annual cost of about $20 million. That number is expected to continue to grow by about 50 per year, as will the associated cost to house the prisoners out of state.

"The whole notion of sending $20 million out of state is totally backward," Duffy said. "I believe that this is an excellent opportunity for some sound development. To me, it just makes sense -- and it makes jobs."

Green said the bill she put forward -- which would more closely address the needs brought forward by the department of corrections -- may have to be resubmitted early in the session next year, but she and her staff are still gathering support for it this session.

"We're still working it in the halls," Green said.

And she's collected significant support, she said, on a statewide level. Several amendments have been recommended, she said, such as a phase-in period so the construction and new jobs the expansion would necessitate won't flood the labor market.

Ultimately, however, Green said she felt the proposal had more merits than the Whittier proposal, simply on a logistical level.

"I just think that would be just a huge, huge cost," Green said of transporting prisoners to the relatively remote facility. "And that's a lot of people to put in a town of about 182. But we're all entitled to our own opinions. I have, in the past, been supportive of private prisons -- I just don't happen to think Whittier is a good idea."