The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Meanwhile, the county has been left wondering what would happen. Refusing to believe GEO would walk away from the multi-million-dollar facility, officials think of the closure as a temporary situation. Granholm¹s office and GEO officials want the facility to reopen to house inmates from entities other than the state of Michigan. Doing that required a change in state law, which had mandated the facility be filled with only violent youthful offenders.

On Friday, Granholm signed into law a bill, sponsored by Rep. Goeff Hansen, R-Hart, allowing GEO to fill the beds with inmates from out-of-state or from federal agencies. The move was a way to create jobs for the area and make it easier for the company to reopen the prison.

³We appreciate the governor¹s support of the bill, and we appreciate the legislation becoming law,² said Pablo Paez, director of corporate communications for GEO. ³It is an important step in this process, and we are continuing to market the facility.²

Paez gave no specific timeline as to when the prison could reopen, but said the company continues to ³work with the community and the state to find an alternative use for the facility.²

³That¹s our ultimate goal.²

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation visited the facility as it looked to house inmates in out-of-state prisons to ease prison overcrowding in the state. The Lake County facility had been mentioned as a possible recipient of the California inmates, a possibility which hinged on Michigan passing HB 5800 and California determining what was required to send inmates out of state.

To transport an inmate out of state, California would have to secure the inmate¹s permission. Currently, the CDCR is surveying inmates to determine how many inmates would be interested in serving their time out of state ‹ possibly in Lake County.

³We believe the state of California remains interested in available beds throughout the country,² Paez said, noting GEO has heard nothing specific from the CDCR about the Baldwin facility. ³We¹ve continued to market the facility and we remain hopeful the facility will be reactivated.²

Webber Township Supervisor Tony Gagliardo is optimistic the prison will reopen as well. The township is stuck with a water and sewer system that has too few users to support itself now that the prison, the largest user of the infrastructure, has closed. To keep water cycling through the township¹s water tower, officials have to open fire hydrants. To date, they¹ve drained millions of gallons of water.

³I¹m glad, obviously,² Gagliardo said. ³(Granholm signing the bill) is what we¹re waiting for. Now we¹ll see what GEO does. The ball¹s in their court. We¹ve got a tank full of water. We¹ve been waiting to get this behind us and get back to normal.

³It¹s been about a year now, and we¹d like to get the water moving and get some jobs back in town.²

Lake County Clerk and CFO Shelly Myers said the year without the prison and without the jobs has been difficult.

³It¹s been tough, but it would get a lot tougher if this bill wasn¹t signed and we didn¹t have hope in the future,² Myers said. ³Our budget is not doom and gloom, but it¹s not pretty.²

Myers said she trusted Granholm¹s assurances the bill would pass. Now, she hopes GEO will do everything it can to get the prison reopened.

³From here on out, I hope it runs smoothly and we get inmates back in the prison,² Myers said. ³We want to get bodies in there, hopefully by spring.

³Then we¹ll see people moving back and get the jobs back in full force and businesses looking back up. We¹ll keep on moving forward.²

She would like to see the prison open as soon as possible so Webber Township doesn¹t have to worry about its water tower freezing this winter.

³I think the weather is going to be colder than people expect,² Myers said. ³We need to get the water flowing. Webber Township is really going to be strapped if they don¹t get the water flowing. I¹m really concerned.²

Still, Myers remains optimistic good things are in store for the county. She said the best case scenario would be for GEO to sign a contract for the bed space by the end of the month and for prisoners to be moved into the facility before November.

³Hopefully we¹ll have a Christmas party up there,² Myers said.

http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=33011