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Committee urges scope before study of Southeast State Correctional Facility’s future
Summary
Lawmakers at the Senate Institutions Committee on Jan. 23 debated whether to fund another study of the former Southeast State Correctional Facility, with members urging the committee to set a clear scope — including mothballing, winterization or potential sale — before spending additional state money.
Members of the Senate Institutions Committee discussed the future of the former Southeast State Correctional Facility and urged that the committee define a study scope before commissioning another evaluation.
Joe Ajah, director for design and construction at the Department of Buildings and General Services (BGS), said the site is currently “semi‑mothballed” with utilities and some fire‑alarm systems still active because parts of the property are used for canine training by the Department of Public Safety.
Committee members noted the site has been the subject of multiple prior studies. One member said those studies — “5, 6, 7, 8 studies,” in the transcript’s words — have not produced a clear path forward. Committee members raised three central questions: whether the state wants to sell the site, whether the town wants to own it, and what uses would be allowed if sold or transferred.
Several members urged the committee to require BGS to provide a written scope for any new study that would identify options such as deactivation and winterization, restoration to state use, or marketing the site for sale. One committee member recommended convening an in‑person community meeting so potential local concerns and priorities could be identified before BGS spent additional funds.
Representative Evans was named as a point of coordination for compiling earlier studies and preparing a scope; committee members asked staff to assemble relevant prior work and return with a recommended study scope and timeline before authorizing new design funding.
Ending
No formal action or funding decision was taken on Jan. 23. Committee members directed staff to collect prior studies and asked BGS to provide a draft scope of work before the committee considers new expenditures.
