Paul Hammel
LINCOLN — A site in northeast Lincoln was announced Thursday as the location for a new, $366 million state prison, with state officials pledging it would a nation-leading facility for inmates and workers.
Gov. Jim Pillen, along with recently appointed State Corrections Director Rob Jeffreys, cited the location’s proximity to workforce and inmate families for being chosen. Interstate 80 is also close by, they said, easing visits by family and commutes for workers.
The 1,500-bed facility will replace the aging State Penitentiary in southwest Lincoln, which has a capacity of about 1,200 inmates but has been plagued by water main breaks, including another minor one Thursday morning.
Building the prison in Lincoln, they said, will allow the current 500 workers at the State Pen to be transferred to the new prison.
Pillen and Jeffreys also said a new prison would be better designed to provide rehabilitation programming for inmates.
“This investment will allow us to literally lead the nation in taking care of those who have a debt to pay to society,” Pillen said at a press conference.
This spring, the Nebraska Legislature voted to approve the final $95.8 million to complete funding for a new prison. The 305-acre site cost $17 million, Jeffreys said, and the prison will cost $32 million a year to staff.
He said inflation will probably increase the construction costs from the most recent estimate of $366 million — an expense that likely sets a record for construction of a single state facility. Jeffreys said the State Penitentiary, which has portions that date back to before Nebraska became a state in 1867, would be decommissioned when the new prison opens.
Officials on Thursday did not have a date for completion of the new facility, though they said construction is expected to begin in about a year.
Nebraska’s prison system, like other employers across the nation, is struggling with workforce issues, but Jeffreys said that he is placing a greater emphasis on wellness and engagement to retain workers.
Turnover of workers reduced
Recent pay increases for security staff appear to be making an impact. Turnover in 2022 was 16%, according to a corrections spokeswoman, and is projected to be 17% this year. Only a couple of years ago, turnover was topping 25%.
Still, two state prisons, the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln and the Tecumseh State Prison, remain under staffing emergencies, requiring 12-hour shifts to fill posts and some restrictions on activities and out-of-cell time for inmates.
About 80 workers are bused from Omaha each day to fill positions at the rural prison in Tecumseh. As of Aug. 2, corrections had 367 vacant positions, up from 333 in February.
A site somewhere in the Omaha and Lincoln area, or between them, had been sought by the state to provide adequate workforce, but some communities had expressed no interest in hosting a prison. Jeffreys said 70 sites had initially been considered.
A statement from T.J. McDowell, the chief of staff for Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, was guarded in its reaction to site selection.
“The new prison is a state-led project, and the city does not choose the location,” McDowell said. “We understand the project is in the design phase and anticipate future conversations about the needs of their project.”
‘Waste of time’
Others were not pleased with the selection.
Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney, who has advocated for less expensive and more effective alternatives to incarceration, said it was obvious that state officials didn’t consult with community members who are seeking alternatives.
He said he was also saddened to hear Pillen, during Thursday’s press conference, say he didn’t favor adopting sentencing reforms to stem the flow of new inmates into the prison system.
A bill passed by the Legislature this spring called for creation of a task force to look at sentencing reforms to send fewer people to prison.
But, McKinney said, “If we’re just getting together to waste everyone’s time, it’s just not worth it.”
Nebraska has one of the most overcrowded prison systems in the country, holding about 1,600 more inmates that its design capacity, according to figures from the first quarter of 2023.
A consultant’s report has projected that Nebraska will need an additional 1,500 prison beds by 2030.
The new prison has not been touted as a solution for the overcrowding, though Jeffreys said Thursday that since it will be 300 beds larger than the State Pen, it should provide some help.
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