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Department of Corrections asks for studies and asset preservation funding as Stillwater prison faces closure planning
Summary
The Department of Corrections asked the Capital Investment Committee for asset preservation funding and $1 million to study how to decommission or manage a potential closure of the century‑old Stillwater Correctional Facility.
Safia Khan, deputy commissioner of the Department of Corrections, and Carl Hunt, capital resources director, briefed the Capital Investment Committee on the DOC’s revised capital request and a new proposal to fund studies related to the Stillwater Correctional Facility.
DOC asked for $44 million in general obligation bonds and $9 million in general fund cash for asset preservation across state correctional facilities, describing repeated deferred‑maintenance needs statewide. The department also requested $1,000,000 in general fund cash to finance two studies focused on Stillwater: a decommissioning study (environmental assessments, historic‑preservation review, site reuse planning and redevelopment options) and a management study (operational planning for vacating the facility, workforce transitions and logistics of relocating incarcerated people).
Deputy Commissioner Khan told members the DOC does not have authority to close Stillwater without legislative approval; the studies would provide options for lawmakers and administrators. The department cited a 2020 OLA safety and corrections report and a third‑party analysis that estimated immediate safety and security fixes at about $113,000,000 and a full replacement on the current site at roughly $1.35 billion. Stillwater has accounted for roughly 25% of DOC’s deferred maintenance — DOC reported a systemwide deferred maintenance total of about $733,000,000 and noted it has spent $8.4 million at Stillwater since 2020 on priority projects.
Khan and Hunt said the management study would examine staff relocation options, noting Stillwater employs about 576 staff and nearby facilities (Oak Park Heights, Lino Lakes, Red Wing and Shakopee) could absorb many positions depending on retirements and vacancies. Committee members asked how the study budgets were set; DOC said estimates were provided by Department of Administration staff and modeled on similar decommissioning efforts by other agencies.
