Opening prison or pre-release center debated at hearing

The question of whether the Downeast Correctional Facility (DCF) in Bucks Harbor will be reopened or whether it will be replaced by a new pre-release center in the Machias area was the focus of discussion during a well-attended public hearing by the legislature's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on March 27 for two bills that seek to reopen the minimum-security prison. The sponsors of the bills, Rep. Will Tuell of East Machias and Senator Marianne Moore of Calais, were joined by Rep. Robert Alley of Beals, former Senator Joyce Maker of Calais, representatives from the state employees unions, prison workers and their families in testifying in support of the measures. Two spoke against the bills, most importantly Department of Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty, and one spoke neither for nor against.
Liberty outlined his opposition, explaining that his fiscal responsibility to the state is the primary reason for supporting a pre‑release center at a new location rather than any option at the DCF site. He also noted that 10‑year projections show a decline in prison populations and the need for fewer beds. "As everyone in this room knows, the department has looked carefully at the possibility of reopening the existing DCF," he said.
A DOC study completed in February 2019 had an initial estimate of $17.3 million to bring DCF buildings up to standard. Lowering the bed count to the use of one dorm and other cost‑cutting measures brought the costs down to $10.7 million. To build new on DCF land would cost about $9.4 million, not including demolition costs of the old buildings. Cost estimates to purchase an existing and retrofitted property in the county for a 50‑bed and 15 full‑time DOC staff pre‑release center had estimates of between $2.1 and $3.1 million. Such a center would operate under the supervision of the Mountain View Correctional Facility, located northwest of Bangor. Liberty did not mention any costs or plans associated with having the defunct DCF property readied for sale or otherwise disposed of.
Rep. Tuell's bill, LD 128, "would be a straight‑up reopening" of the DCF facility with the same staffing and inmate levels, Tuell explained. "I'm upset that a halfway house is being proposed instead" by the DOC in its budget.
Senator Moore's bill, LD 608, would use $10 million from a $147 million bond passed in 2016 to repair the Maine Correctional Center in Windham that had a provision to use some of the bond funds for a facility located in Washington County. "In 2016, the Washington County community was promised $10 million to improve and update the existing DCF campus," said Moore. "My bill would simply use the money that was promised then to bring at least part of the former facility back into operation, putting up to 50 inmates back to work in area businesses that rely on the labor force that was once generated by the facility, and bringing back a handful of good‑paying jobs with benefits to our area."
DOC Commissioner Liberty asked the committee if the $10 million amount was in statute, because he found no mention of it. A number of testimonies pointed out the first‑hand knowledge of the negotiation process that took place a few years back. One of the committee chairs even noted during the proceedings that, after Liberty's statement, she and her co‑chair had been receiving emails from legislators past and present who had been present for the $10 million bond agreement negotiations and were well aware of the promise. While the bond language states that funds need to be used for a facility in Washington County, it does not specify an amount or a location.
"Several of the legislators directly involved in securing $10 million in bond funds for our prison are starting to come forward," Tuell said. "It was promised. We need to hold the state to that promise and use that money to renovate and reopen the prison we have. That's our goal."
Jeff McCabe, director of politics and legislation for the Maine State Employees Association, Service Employees International Union Local 1989, said, "I was around in those days for that agreement, and promises were made but clarification is needed." He suggested that Moore's bill be used "as a vehicle to clarify the $10 million designated by the legislature for a DOC facility in Washington County." Sarah Bigney, representing Maine AFL‑CIO, said, "I was here when that bill was amended, and the agreement was made that DCF would not close but rather was to be invested in. Ten million dollars was to be spent on a DOC facility in Washington County. That was the promise made."

Pre‑release center met with objections
The Machias‑based nonprofit Sunrise County Economic Council had been tasked by the DOC at the request of Rep. Tuell and others to find potential pre‑release locations. Tuell says, "The DOC is looking at the former SuprTek call center in East Machias. They are looking at the old Blueberry Ford garage in Machias." Tuell stressed his support of using the DCF site rather than one located elsewhere.
Maker stated, "I support both bills because DCF was a model correctional facility operated on a shoestring." She said of the pre‑release concept, "To put it in downtown [Machias] is ridiculous." Maker added, "The Bucks Harbor site is the best location. The state owns the land. It is not next to a medical marijuana store. It is not across the street from a gun shop or a hotel. It is not 15‑20 miles down a bumpy pothole-infested Route 1. The state does not have to walk away from the current site and buy another piece of property. We have one -- one that has facilities that can be overhauled or, if need be, rebuilt."
Melissa Hinerman of Machiasport noted during her testimony that the closure of a pre‑release center does not need legislative action, as the closure of a prison would need. Her point was a reference to the action taken by former Governor LePage when he abruptly and illegally closed DCF with no warning in early February 2018, disrupting inmate educational and work programs, long‑time DOC staff and county businesses who were utilizing work‑release inmates. The Kennebec County Superior Court ruled in March 2018 that the closure was illegal, given that the legislature had funded the prison through the fiscal year.
Maker said, "Simply put, 15 workers and 50 inmates -- to be located at a halfway house somewhere in Washington County that the Department of Corrections has yet to publicly commit to -- is a far cry from a full-fledged prison, with 50 workers and 150 inmates at peak, located in Bucks Harbor. It is a slap in the face to everyone who made that facility what it was, who fought for it over the years, and who was promised that it would reopen in the new year."
A work session by the committee on the two bills has not yet been scheduled. The committee will then make a recommendation to the legislature.