Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Iowa Lawmakers Investigating Prison Delay

Jason Parrott
/
Tri States Public Radio

Members of theIowa Legislature spent hours touring the current and future Iowa State Penitentiaries in Ft. Madison on Friday.  They did so as part of their inquiry into why the new $130-million dollar complex remains empty.
Deputy Warden Mark Roberts said he understands the frustration.  It's been about 15-months since the new prison'sgrand opening and nearly a year since inmates were supposed to be relocated.

An ISP employee points out buildings at the new complex.

"The problem is the wait," said Roberts.  "Anytime we have a wait in our lives, anytime we have a pending change we don't know about."

The new prison sits on 44-acres of ground, just a few miles north of the current facility, which was the first prison built west of the Mississippi River.

Roberts said the new prison addresses all of the problems and deficiencies seen in the old one.

"We are proud of what the state has done to support us in giving us this new facility," said Roberts, "and we plan to run it the most efficient way we can and in the safest way we can."

Inside one of the cells

But it remains unclear when that might occur.

The opening was delayed due to problems with the geothermal system. Roberts said those problems have been resolved, but now, the ventilation system cannot pass inspection.

"The problem is the design of the building did not allow for enough fresh air intake," said Roberts.

Roberts showed a small group of lawmakers exactly what the problem was during Friday's tour.  They were joined by legislative staff, prison staff, and journalists from across the state.
 

Credit Jason Parrott / Tri States Public Radio
/
Tri States Public Radio
ISP personnel are looking for advice in the current prison's cafeteria

Roberts was asked several times why the problems that led to the delay occurred.  He said he could not answer the questions, which clearly frustrated State Senator Tom Courtney (D-Burlington).

"I was here.  I spoke at the grand opening of this prison a year and a half ago and this prison is still empty.  A year and a half ago!  What's going on?"

Courtney said taxpayers deserve answers, starting with what happened to the Durrant Group out of Dubuque, which went out of business after designing the prison.

Credit Jason Parrott / Tri States Public Radio
/
Tri States Public Radio
Lawmakers saw firsthand the cells in the current ISP

"We hired them in good faith and they screwed this up and now they go broke, they went broke or belly-up.  What is that?  What kind of deal is that?  You go broke and then you run," Courtney said 

"This is one of the premier, one of the most important jobs that company could have had in this state and they blew it.  What's going on?  I think someone should be made to pay for this.  I am not blaming anybody in particular, we just need to find out what happened."

State Representative Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton) said that is exactly what he is trying to find out.  Kaufmann heads the House Government Oversight Committee, which has been charged with finding out what led to the delay.

He said there are three questions that must be answered before the committee moves ahead.

"Why is (the prison) not open?  What's it going to take to get it open? What's the reason it took so much longer than we anticipated?"

Credit Jason Parrott / Tri States Public Radio
/
Tri States Public Radio
Inside the walls of the current ISP

Kaufmann said his committee will continue to hold hearings until he is confident it has received enough insight and information to offer a report to the House leadership.

He said answers have been forthcoming, but the most critical information could be delayed for some time as the state considers legal action against some of the companies involved in the project.

As for Deputy Warden Mark Roberts, he said he is just waiting for the go-ahead from the state.

He said once he gets it, he will need 30-60 days to move the inmates.  It's unclear when that will occur.

But Roberts said his people will prepare for the worst and hope for the best that day.

"It will be a bad day to do a bad thing in Fort Madison on the day we move because it will be dealt with swiftly."

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.