Rosenthal

To DOC:

No Thanks!

By Andrew Gorosko

 The town will not submit a proposal to expand the state’s Garner Correctional Institution, as has been requested by the state Department of Correction (DOC), according to First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal.

Mr Rosenthal said, “I really don’t think I’ll be submitting a proposal on behalf of the town,” stressing that the town does not want an expansion of the high security prison on Nunnawauk Road.

In recent letters to the leaders of all towns and cities in the state, DOC Commissioner John Armstrong asked the municipalities to consider allowing DOC to build new prison facilities or expand existing facilities in their areas.

“[DOC], as you know, is faced with a serious population management situation. The inmate population has grown dramatically in the last few years, and the long-term rate of growth shows no immediate sign of slowing or reversal,” Mr Armstrong wrote.

“We ask that you give serious consideration to submitting a proposal. The submission of a proposal does not obligate your municipality or the [DOC] in any way. It is a first look at our potential in-state options,” Mr Armstrong’s letter added.

Mr Armstrong asked that Newtown provide him with information on the local interest and viability of developing additional prison space in the form of a Garner expansion project. Garner, which opened in 1992, is designed to house more than 700 inmates.

Mr Rosenthal stressed he does not want Garner to expand.

The first selectman said he hopes the DOC is successful with its expansion plans, adding he hopes that such success occurs somewhere other than Newtown.

 Mr Rosenthal said a DOC attempt to expand Garner would meet with organized local political opposition. He added, though, that it would be foolish for the town to again mount a major legal battle against prison construction, such as the losing battle the town fought over the construction of Garner a decade ago, spending roughly $500,000 in attempting to prevent the facility from being built here.

In a past letter to Mr Armstrong, Mr Rosenthal wrote, “Any attempt to build a second facility or a major expansion of the existing Garner facility will be strongly opposed by the Town of Newtown, and any political might that we can assemble will be used.”

Town officials and state legislators representing the town have said they plan to stay informed of the DOC’s intentions to create additional state prison space, with the goal of preventing the DOC from building that prison space in Newtown.

According to DOC, the construction of new prison space would mean increased state grant subsidies to host towns; short-term and long-term prison-related jobs; and increased local purchasing of goods and services by the state.

The closing date for letters of interest to DOC on prison expansions is July 21. Completed proposals are due from towns by September 1.

For municipalities interested in having a new prison or an expanded prison in their areas, the DOC has scheduled an informational session for July 26 at its Cheshire training center.

Mr Rosenthal said the DOC’s expansion plans might be workable in some areas of the state where there is high unemployment and where increased state grant subsidies to towns would help the local economy.

The state legislature recently turned down a DOC initiative to create more prison space in New Haven in light of strong New Haven opposition to that proposal.

To stem prison overcrowding in the state, the DOC has sent about 500 Connecticut inmates to Wallen’s Ridge State Correctional facility in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. That prisoner transfer has proved controversial among the relatives of those inmates, who have alleged there are instances of abuse against inmates at the Virginia prison by prison staff members.