SPECIAL REPORT: Prison Problem скачать в хорошем качестве

SPECIAL REPORT: Prison Problem

YOUR DESCRIPTION HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED AND WAS CUT. FORT MADISON, IA ( CBS2/FOX28 ) - Some lawmakers trying to wrap up the 2015 legislative session in Des Moines say the effort to open the brand new Iowa State Penitentiary is back on track, while others predict the nightmare of repairs and soaring costs is far from over. The extent of the problems at the new maximum security prison in Fort Madison came to light in January as House Oversight Committee Chairman Bobby Kaufmann lead a fact finding tour through the lockup. After a ribbon cutting and celebration in 2014, engineers found the geothermal heating and cooling system was not sufficient to service the entire prison. It had to be redesigned and repaired. Then the state fire marshal wouldnt sign off on a venting system designed to remove smoke from the cell blocks in case of fire. It too had to be redesigned and repaired. The problems mean the new prison is still empty more than one year after the scheduled opening and the original 32 Million price tag continues to climb. At the time of the tour, State Senator Tom Courtney, a Democrat from Burlington, was livid over the mistakes and lack of answers. Now, three months later, hes still shaking his head, Its not any better than it was, we think now the total of this prison is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 00-Million to 20-Million. That could be as much as 00-Million more than it started out. There's no question, taxpayers are going to be on the hook for a lot of this, just no question about it. Senator Courtney admits that number may be worst case, but hes concerned the total cost will climb higher before a single prisoner ever walks into a cell. Senator Kaufmann says while its been an unfortunate chain of events, there is some good news. He says the geothermal heating and cooling system is now fixed at no additional cost and the smoke venting system is repaired using funds already in the budget. Unfortunately Kaufmann says there are some other ventilation problems that recently cropped up and need to be repaired and there is still an issue of some 8-Million in cost overruns demanded by the construction company, Some say 18, some say 20. Its a dispute between the overall contractor and the state that I believe is in mediation and will probably be in the courts for years. " State Senator Rich Taylor has a unique perspective as he examines the prison problems, he spent nearly 30 years working at the old Iowa State Penitentiary. He still has many friends, corrections officers and inmates, waiting to make the move. He says safety is a huge concern and he worries that contractors cut some corners, to try to save money. Senator Taylor says there may be more problems just waiting to be discovered and hes concerned the geothermal fix is just a band aid on a problem that could be worse once everyone moves in, Being a maximum security penitentiary we can't just ship these guys down the road to the local gym for a couple days while we fix the problems. While Representative Kaufmann vowed from the beginning to keep his investigation from becoming a witch hunt and free from partisan politics, it hasnt been easy. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says he wants people to know the history of the prison construction, This was started under the Culver administration. They sold about 30-Million worth of bonds, what they didnt tell the public is theres also going to be another 6-Million worth of costs to furnish the prison. But former governor Chet Culver returned the volley and says Governor Branstad fired the experts in state government who could have detected the problems at the prison. In a statement, Culver says in part, The Branstad administration needs to take full responsibility for the mismanagement and waste of taxpayer money. The delay in the plan to move 500 of the most dangerous inmates in Iowa to the new prison leaves hundreds of troopers, deputies and police officers waiting for a date. They will all be needed to transfer all the prisoners in a single day. For security reasons, the exact date probably wont be made public, but at the moment, following all the problems and uncertainty, no one could do more than guess when the first cell might finally be occupied. Representative Kaufmann says he anticipates maybe September. Senator Taylor says hes just hoping it will be by winter. When asked if he could point to a calendar and say it will probably be this or that week, Senator Courtney just smiled, I could do that for you, but it wouldn't mean a thing. Lets just say by the end of September. " If that is indeed close to the date, it would mean the new Iowa State Penitentiary will open a year and a half later than scheduled. Meantime, the Iowa Attorney Generals office continues to investigate who might be responsible for the problems at the prison during construction and whether any of the additional taxpayer dollars can be recov