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‘Adult prison facility still needs its systems installed’
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Posted on Dec 04 2005
The construction of the multi-million-dollar state-of-the-art adult prison facility in Susupe had been completed, but a lot of systems have not been finally installed.
Department of Corrections Chief Operating Officer Michael A. O’Toole told the Saipan Tribune that although the building of the new jail facility is already finished, they still have a lot of things to do to make it operational.
O’Toole said the facility needs furnishings, fixtures, and installation of computers and telephone lines.
“The targeted date [for its opening] so far is the end of February 2006 or beginning of March 2006. That hasn’t change yet,” O’Toole said.
The construction commenced sometime in 2002. The scheduled completion of the project had been reportedly delayed several times due to many technical changes.
O’Toole also stated that they can’t move in to the new facility until all the staffers are trained.
“That’s a very sophisticated high-tech building and that’s going to take a lot of training before people can walk in and operate it,” O’Toole stressed.
The Department of Public Works in December 2004 disclosed that the total project cost reaches approximately $18 million, nearly $1 million higher than the original project cost of $17.29 million.
In July 2004, Gov. Juan N. Babauta signed a bill into law, which partly appropriates some $3.9 million for the project’s completion.
The prison facility is being erected on a 100,000-square-foot Susupe lot near the Department of Public Safety compound. A consent decree forged by the CNMI with the U.S. Department of Justice a few years ago mandated the prison project, following findings of deplorable conditions at the present jail.
