Senate institutions committee declines to advance Windsor correctional-facility amendment after debate

Becca White, one of Windsor County’s three state senators, told the Senate Committee on Institutions on May 2 that an amendment to the capital bill would require the commissioner of Buildings and General Services to deliver an "actionable plan" for the underused Southeast State Correctional Facility in Windsor and, if conditions are met, transfer portions of the property to the town.

White said the facility has been ‘‘relatively underutilized’’ since 2017 and that residents and local officials are frustrated by what she described as a lack of state decision-making. She told the committee, "we don't want another report. We want an actionable plan," and said the amendment would seek removal of unsafe buildings and a $2,000,000 payment to Windsor to support redevelopment.

The committee spent substantial time reviewing the amendment’s background, including earlier studies cited by presenters (reports from 2018 and 2021 and a more recent March report on partial…