Iowa Board of Corrections Recommends State Prison Overhaul

DES MOINES, Iowa — The state Board of Corrections endorsed a nearly $300 million proposal to upgrade Iowa’s prison system as the state’s prison population sits at a record high of more than 8,900 inmates.

With a design capacity of 7,288 beds, the prison system is operating at more than 20 percent above maximum capacity. The BOC proposal, which is based on a recently completed consultant study of the prison system, recommends allocating the majority of the proposed $290 million spending toward the upgrade and replacement of existing facilities, some of which are more than 100 years old.

The proposal calls on Gov. Chet Culver and the legislature to spend more than $121 million to replace the aging maximum-security men’s facility at Fort Mason and $51 million to centralize the state’s women’s correctional system at a new facility that would replace the existing women’s prison in Mitchellville. The proposal also calls for a $25 million expansion at Newton prison with an additional $15 million to be spent upgrading existing facilities in Mount Pleasant , Oakdale and Rockwell City .

The board also endorsed recommendations to spend more than $41 million to expand community-based corrections with up to 275 beds at existing facilities in Des Moines, Ottumwa, Sioux City and Waterloo. The proposal would allocate more than $36 million toward facility maintenance throughout the state system.

The department is set to complete a systemwide reclassification analysis designed to provide officials with a detailed overview of security risks and demands. If approved by state lawmakers and the governor’s office, construction would not begin before 2011, officials say.