Tribune Exclusive Report

Paso plan includes 2 fences, 2 towers

Prisons chief says minimal work is needed to get ex-boys school ready

By Leah Etling

WHERE TO GO

Public meetings about the plan for the future of the Paso Robles Youth Correctional Facility will be held Monday and Tuesday at Paso Robles City Hall, 1000 Spring St.

A presentation will be made by state officials, and those who attend can offer comments and ask questions. Monday’s presentation is scheduled for 7 p. m. and Tuesday’s is scheduled for 11 a. m. State officials will be available to talk to people one hour before each presentation.

Not reusing El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility for up to two adult prisons and an inmate-staffed fire camp would be a waste of taxpayer resources, retiring state prisons secretary James Tilton said Friday.

Plans presented by Tilton’s staff show that minimal construction would be required to get the former boys school ready to house up to 900 male inmates, most of whom would be serving life sentences in a medium- security prison.

Major changes would include two fences to be built within the existing property’s perimeter, and two 2-story guard towers to be constructed to watch over the prison, one visible from Airport Road.

Residents can see the plans for themselves at two meetings scheduled for this week.

The former boys school is closing July 31 because of state budget cuts and changes in the way juvenile offenders are handled in the state of California. The future of the property, which may have multiple uses, is being closely watched by many because of its potential effect on jobs, the local economy and quality of life.

A master plan

The state’s master plan for the 156-acre property off Highway 46 East also includes the potential for a 250-inmate state re-entry prison. Plans show a re-entry prison in the property’s northwest corner where inmates could receive education and job training that would help them return to society upon their release.

San Luis Obispo County has received bonus points in a local jail grant competition for agreeing to site a re-entry facility in Paso Robles for prisoners who are within a year of their parole dates.

But for that proposal to move forward, the Paso Robles City Council must approve the reentry plan by passing a resolution within 90 days of May 8.

The re-entry facilities, to be constructed around the state, are another component of the secretary’s master plan to fix California’s ailing prison system.

“The long-term solution is to identify the inmates in the prison system who will participate in their rehabilitation,” Tilton said.

That means giving inmates who are receptive to it access to education, job training, drug and alcohol avoidance programs, and teaching them how to interact with their families and other citizens once they get out of prison.

A Paso Robles facility would house inmates who offended in San Luis Obispo or San Benito counties. When released, they would return to those counties.

Paso Robles City Councilman Fred Strong, who attended a meeting with Tilton, other prisons officials and local leaders Friday, said he supports the comprehensive plan, including the re-entry prison.

“I would rather see entire property planned now rather than some unpleasant surprise in the future,’ Strong said.

In a meeting with The Tribune’s editorial board, Tilton, who will retire as secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation next month, stressed that the 900-inmate prison proposal in Paso Robles is vital to relieve prison overcrowding statewide. His successor, Matthew Cate, has the same approach, Tilton said.

The California prison system currently has around 170,000 inmates, Tilton said, but was built for 70,000 to 80,000.

Having been “hammered by the Legislature for inefficient use of facilities,” Tilton said, it makes fiscal sense to use existing corrections property at Paso Robles for adult inmates.

“If we don’t, we’re wasting state resources,” he said.

Local officials react

County Supervisor Harry Ovitt said that another aspect of the secretary’s visit was to reassure employees that they will have jobs at other facilities after El Paso de Robles shuts down.

Paso Robles City Councilman Duane Picanco asked the secretary what efforts are being made for the employees to come back to work there when the prison is in place.

And Strong said the city hopes some employees will be able to return to the facility after it is reopened, but that will depend on the outcome of union negotiations with the state Human Resources Department.

“I wish I could just turn a switch and convert it so people didn’t have to move,” Tilton said.

Ovitt said he is hopeful the North County will end up with a higher tax base after the facility is fully converted to its new uses.

“During this transitional time period, the employment base that was out there is dollars lost to the community,” Ovitt said. “But from the employment perspective they’re going to be able to provide that and more after it is reopened.”

It’s not clear how long it will take to reopen the facility, but the state would like to have it back up in one year. About 370 people will be employed at the 900-bed prison, the same as at the boys school. It’s not known how many could be employed at the re-entry prison.

The former boys school has housed juvenile offenders for 54 years. It closed once before and reopened.

A former fire camp on the site is expected to reopen with 100 inmates, who will live within the fences of the Level II prison.

Cost estimates for the conversion are not yet available, officials said.

Employees affected by the closure will have individual meetings with personnel specialists during the first week of June to learn where they could work next.

Reach Leah Etling at 238-2720, ext. 20.