THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506160202
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
City officials are mum about the specifics of getting two privately run prison facilities in Suffolk.
But Vice Mayor Curtis R. Milteer said sites in the Whaleyville and Cypress boroughs, delineated by Hosier Road, are being considered.
Milteer, who represents Whaleyville, said he and City Councilman Charles Brown of Cypress will host community meetings after the firms offer proposals.
The approval process is detailed, and construction would require community approval. Proposals include a 1,500-inmate, medium-security prison and two 750-bed facilities.
Two steps have already been completed.
First, Gov. George F. Allen said the state needed more prisons. Subsequently, the Department of Corrections sent out requests for proposals.
Second, the city council passed a motion saying it had no objection to applications for state prison facilities in Suffolk.
Two firms - The Corinthian Group, based in Newport News, and a partnership between the Coral Gables, Fla.-based Wackenhut Corrections and the Virginia Beach architectural firm Hayes, Seay, Mattern and Mattern - have expressed interest. Officials of both declined comment.
``This is just the first step in the process,'' Mayor S. Chris Jones emphasized. ``We haven't approved a prison.''
Jones, instrumental in getting the Western Tidewater Regional Jail here, said council would approve no deal until after a series of public hearings.
The first hearings, which would permit comments by residents, would be before the planning commission. The second would be held before the city council. Council would then vote on the applications.
Would-be builders of medium size facilities have until the end of June to turn in proposals to the Department of Corrections. Requests for proposals for other types of detention centers, such as work release, will be sent out later this summer.
The state agency would select a company based on which one could provide the best financing, costs and design, said Department of Corrections administrator Russell Boraas. In turn, a partnership would be formed between the state and the private company to run the prison through a lease-purchase agreement.
Wackenhut Corrections, formed eight years ago, has built 15 detention and prison facilities across the nation, said company spokesman Patrick Cannan. The biggest project was a 1,200-bed, medium-security facility in the Allen Parish area of Louisiana. Officials at Corinthian did not comment about its efforts.
Meanwhile, Boraas said he hopes Suffolk residents won't balk at the idea of a prison in their neighborhood. Last week, the Northampton County Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal for a maximum security prison there.
Boraas said Suffolk would be a prime place for a work release center, allowing inmates ``controlled re-entry'' into society by requiring them to take jobs after release. Suffolk, said Boraas, has a downtown urban area and is also near other urban areas that provide jobs.
``There's no question of the economic benefit,'' Jones said.
Now, it's a matter of waiting for the companies to turn in their proposals. by CNB