Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Doc Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee adds shell language for DOC Wi‑Fi, reviews elevator funds and Springfield land transfer
Summary
Committee agreed to include a line item and shell language requiring ADS and DOC to work together to install Wi‑Fi in correctional facilities (previous placeholder ~ $3.3M discussed), reviewed elevator and sprinkler allocations and noted a land transfer amendment for the Springfield correctional facility.
The Corrections & Institutions committee on March 24 instructed staff to add shell language and a line item in the capital bill to advance Wi‑Fi installation at state correctional facilities and reviewed a set of DOC‑related projects including elevator work, laundry facility reallocation and a planned land transfer to the town of Springfield.
Chair and staff said the numbers for a statewide DOC Wi‑Fi project are not finalized; staff noted prior estimates were several years old and the committee discussed using last year’s request as a placeholder. "Sometimes you gotta put language in to get people," a member said while the group agreed to include a Wi‑Fi line in section 3 and to ask ADS and DOC to provide updated cost figures.
Committee members reviewed other DOC line items on the spreadsheet. For one elevator project the committee discussed keeping $1,000,000 in bonded funds, cutting $500,000 cash and adjusting future bonded years; staff said they would confirm the precise dollar figures. Members also described how leftover funds from prior projects (for example, laundry facilities or sprinklers) have been repurposed previously and asked staff to track reallocations carefully.
On property, the committee discussed language to transfer 10–22 acres from a correctional facility to the town of Springfield for municipal services and economic development. Staff said PGS would work with the town; members asked that the bill be amended to reflect the land swap.
Chair closed the session by scheduling an 8:30 a.m. preview of the capital bill for the next day so staff could circulate the revised language and updated figures before the floor schedule.
What happens next: staff will insert Wi‑Fi shell language and a placeholder line item for DOC facilities, confirm dollar figures for the elevator and other DOC projects with Scott, and draft the Springfield land‑transfer amendment for committee review at the 8:30 preview.
