November 20, 2009
- Pasco, Washington
Final Prison Report Out
By Holly Zuluaga
WALLA WALLA--Closing the Main Institution at the Walla Walla Pen remains at the top of the list, but only if the state can come up with 41 million dollars.
The final report looks almost identical to the draft except for a third option that both the Walla Walla Task Force and the study are leaning towards. "Option three would be our preferred option, at least to begin with. It would mean an investment in infrastructure in the penitentiary," Dave Warkentin with the task force said. Dave Warkentin is with the chamber and a member of the task force, they're still digesting the report. Option three is like option two. It requires the state to come up with 41 million dollars to build new housing units at the pen, but the Main Institution closure wouldn't come until 2015. The Task Force likes that because it delays job cuts. The Chamber says the Pen doesn't outsource its food service. The inmates at the main institution provide it. That's where the kitchen is, so to close they'll have to build. That's just another reason that the state can't just close down the main institution in Walla Walla. The first option is recommended by the study if the funds aren't available, it would cut beds from other prisons. The Task Force doesn't think the state will come up with 41 million dollars to close the main institution, but even if the legislature picks option one that doesn't mean Walla Walla is out of the woods. "We know that long term our main institution needs to be modernized and so if we can dodge a bullet today that doesn't mean that bullets not going to be coming later," Dave Warkentin said. Dave says modernizing the pen needs to be part of the long term strategy, but Corrections Officer John Christy doesn't think it needs to be done now. "The main institution has been effective for 123 years and it still has a lot of useful life left in it," John Christy said. The Task Force says it'll continue to fight in Olympia to protect jobs in Walla Walla because cuts will hit home hard. |
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