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December 20, 2006
CO: State Dumps Contract with Geo--Ault Prison Not Decided
"Corrections is leaving the question of a revenue guarantee for the proposed Ault prison to Gov.-elect Bill Ritter." _________________________________
State dumps contract with prison firm
Geo Group never broke ground for facility in Pueblo
By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
December 19, 2006
Colorado has formally canceled a 2003 contract with the Geo Group to build a private prison in Pueblo for 500 state inmates.
Geo has failed to break ground in the four years since it won the state contract. At the time, Community Education Centers won a similar deal with the state, and it built a prison in Colorado Springs and opened it 13 months ago, the cancellation letter noted.
Geo officials could not be reached for comment after hours on Monday.
Florida-based Geo ran into local opposition and zoning problems in Pueblo. But Geo also demanded repeated changes in the deal that it won in a competitive bid, according to the cancellation letter from Corrections chief Joe Ortiz. Geo wanted government financing and changed the size of the proposed pre-release prison. It also had problems meeting state requirements for both the prison building and the programs Geo would offer to inmates about to be released into society, the letter said.
Recently, Geo demanded more money. It wanted either more money per inmate, or a revenue guarantee that amounted to $1 billion over 30 years for two prisons. Geo also has won a deal to build a prison in Ault.
Corrections is leaving the question of a revenue guarantee for the proposed Ault prison to Gov.-elect Bill Ritter.
But in the meantime, fed up with the delays and changes on the Pueblo project, and in need of prison space, Ortiz canceled the Pueblo deal.
The department plans to re-open the competition for the pre-release prison, which need not be located in Pueblo.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5223804,0
0.html
Posted by lois at December 20, 2006 06:52 PM