ST. PAUL -- Two western Minnesota legislators want to remove medium-security prisoners from the state's Moose Lake facility and make way for additional sex offenders under court-ordered treatment.
The 776 medium-security prisoners at the Moose Lake prison would be transferred to a private prison in Appleton, Minn., under a bill promoted by Rep. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake, and Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria. Westrom said the shuffle would save as much as $25 million on daily prison costs and avoid a planned $90 million expansion of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake. He said moving state inmates to Appleton's Prairie Correctional Facility would boost the economy in that part of western Minnesota.
Westrom said the bill is a "measure of common sense." Housing prisoners at Moose Lake costs up to $122 per day compared to $62.90 at Appleton, Westrom said.
Ingebrigtsen said it makes more financial sense to refurbish the Moose Lake facility than to build new to house the offenders he proposes to move to Appleton.
But Sen. Tony Lourey, DFL-Kerrick, said that the state should not farm out prisoners.
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"Many, many other states have experimented with privatizing their prisons and had dubious results," said Lourey, whose district includes Moose Lake.
Lourey said that among his fears are that workers in the Appleton prison are underpaid and that a private facility is more prone to graft.
"Any cost savings are not worth the price," he said.
Ingebrigtsen and Westrom give their bill a 50-50 chance this year. They promote it, in part, as a way for the state to save money in light of what most predict will be a $7 billion budget deficit.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, told the West Central Tribune in Willmar that he is open to more use of Appleton, which already houses hundreds of state prisoners.
While several states have reduced the number of prisoners they house at Appleton, Pawlenty said Alaska is considering sending some of its prisoners there.
"My administration is also looking to utilize Appleton for some short-term offender prisoners, instead of counting on housing them at county facilities," he said. "Appleton has been a good partner for the state and we will continue to use them when it makes economic sense."
Westrom said any job loss at Moose Lake would be countered by more jobs in Appleton.
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Ingebrigtsen said he was making this bill his major project for the legislative session.
"Increasing our use of private prisons also could bring a healthy element of competition to the state-run facilities to operate more efficiently and extend the savings even further," Ingebrigtsen said.
