Delano residents air thoughts on prison plan
DELANO -- North Kern State Prison appears to be a good neighbor, but the road that leads to it could use some improvements.
That's
what state environmental planners heard from several people at a
meeting Thursday regarding plans that would add more buildings and beds
so inmates don't have to sleep in areas such as gyms and dayrooms.
The
growth is part of Assembly Bill 900, which gave the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation authority to design, construct or
renovate prison housing and other structures to add up to 16,000 beds
in several phases at state facilities, including North Kern.
The
state is seeking local agency and the public's feedback about
environmental issues and prison growth, which will be addressed in a
report. The draft report may be ready for review in late summer or
early fall, said Roxanne Henriquez, a senior environmental planner with
the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Cecil
Avenue, which leads to North Kern and Kern Valley state prisons, is a
two-lane road. Inmates are transported back and forth in large buses on
Cecil, and soon more vehicles will be using it because Delano is
growing in that area. A third high school and a satellite Bakersfield
College campus will be close to the state prisons.
Additionally,
Mayor Grace Vallejo said she would like to receive more of the
mitigation funds, $800, that the county gets per inmate bed each year.
"We're the impacted location," she said. "The legislation needs to be changed."
Proposed
growth at North Kern includes building five 100-bed housing units and
facilities for health care and academic vocational training. The cells
are designed for one inmate but may likely accommodate two. If the new
cells are used for double occupancy, North Kern could gain 1,000 more
inmates, which would bring the bed capacity to 6,473. Staffing levels
could increase by 520, to 2,011 people.
Resident Stu Collins
thinks the state prisons bring good jobs to Delano. But he would like
to see Cecil Avenue improved, something that's been talked about for
years.
"Don't tell us you're going to do something and don't do it," he said.