Corrections urges $65.5 million for asset preservation, seeks Rush City expansion to reduce idleness

Paul Schnell, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, told the Capital Investment Committee on Feb. 20 that the department faces substantial deferred maintenance and programming-space shortfalls and asked the committee to support the governor's bonding priorities for corrections.

The DOC asked the committee to approve $65,500,000 in asset preservation funding the governor recommended to complete about 40 critical projects, Commissioner Paul Schnell said. “This extensive infrastructure is critical to our mission and requires constant attention and upkeep,” Schnell said, noting the agency manages 11 prisons and more than 3,300 buildings covering over 7.5 million square feet.

The nut graf: the department says deferred maintenance and limited rehabilitative space undermine safety and recidivism-reduction efforts. The DOC reported a $732,000,000 deferred-maintenance backlog, with 16 buildings in crisis condition and 61 in poor condition; deferred…