Surprise!
Fayette County Commissioners Angela M. Zimmerlink and Vince Zapotosky have unveiled the prison design plans compiled by the Pittsburgh architectural firm of Astorino/CannonDesign. The commissioners hired the firm to solve the overcrowding problem at the current Fayette County Prison, which was built in 1889.
The new construction would add 128 beds to the lockup, a designated law library area, multi-purpose room and janitorial and storage space. The plan calls for construction in two-phases, with the first phase, including two housing units, food service/kitchen, laundry area and a temporary outdoor recreation yard in a 42,000 square foot space at the rear of the current prison.
The second phase would include a new intake/booking area, sally port, staff and public spaces, and medical and visitation areas, adding 13,662 square feet to the prison.
However, surprise, surprise, the price tag for construction of the design has been revealed to be $32 million, approximately the same cost as prison plans supported by Fayette County Commissioner Al Ambrosini.
Of course, Zimmerlink and Zapotosky, along with their supporters, have long criticized Ambrosini’s plans as too expensive for the taxpayers of Fayette County. Funny, though, how it’s always easier to criticize someone else’s plans until you have to come up with something of your own.
Zapotosky did note the $32 million was not a final figure and could be adjusted or streamlined as necessary. Zapotosky added that he thought the $30 million price tag for Ambrosini’s plan was far too low, claiming the actual cost would be around $40 million. Zimmerlink also pointed out that Ambrosini’s plan did not include the purchase of property, sewerage, utility installation, road access or inmate transportation.
However, the fact remains that the $32 million prison design favored by Zimmerlink and Zapotosky had to be much higher than their supporters expected. Some critical of Ambrosini’s plan had contended the prison overpopulation problem could be solved for as little as $10 million. Well, that’s certainly not going to happen. The fact is that remodeling sometimes can be just as expensive, if not more so, than constructing a new building.
While Ambrosini’s plans may have been a little pricey, there was lot of hard work and effort that went into their design. They weren’t just numbers plucked out of thin air by Ambrosini.
And as Ambrosini noted, the plan favored by Zimmerlink and Zapotosky provides only 128 beds compared to the 480 proposed in his plan. He said their design also didn’t have a chapel, counseling areas and courtrooms, which were included in his plans. Furthermore, he said their plan would increase the staff, while his would reduce it.
So, where do we go from here. Well, the commissioners are expected to review the latest plans and meet within the next couple of weeks to discuss them. All three commissioners agree that something has to be done, so that’s a start.
The next thing is they have to agree on a location. Either they find a new site, or they will have to focus their efforts on the site of the current prison. Given all the problems Ambrosini has had in finding a site for a new prison, it might be best to work with the current prison site. As Zimmerlink noted, at least the county owns the land for that property.
Then, the focus should be on either remodeling the prison or building a new facility. This isn’t rocket science. The commissioners should be able put aside their considerable personal differences and work together. They need to explore fully all the options available and come up with the best plan possible. To do anything less would be a great disservice to the residents of Fayette County.