New Chillicothe Correctional Center Construction Project is 80 Percent Complete

   
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Assisted by good weather, construction crews building the new Chillicothe Correctional Center (CCC) have completed about 85 percent of the facility. Crews recently finished the perimeter fence and more than half of the parking lot is paved. The Missouri Department of Corrections looks to take "substantial completion" prior to September 1.

"It's going very well," CCC Warden Jennifer Miller told the Horizon. "Right now, our focus is shifting to hiring. We have started that process."

Governor Matt Blunt made funding for the new prison a budget priority for 2008. The Legislature supported Governor Blunt's recommendation for an approximately $14 million increase in the fiscal year 2009 budget for the Department. The funding will allow the Department to hire about 175 additional corrections officers at CCC. More than 25 additional corrections officers have been hired thus far. The Department has been holding career fairs across northwest Missouri.

CCC currently has more than 205 full-time Department employees, with an annual payroll of $6.2 million. Current CCC employees recently traveled to the new site.

"It was neat. All of our employees went to the new site to see where they will work. (Division of Adult Institutions Deputy Division Director) Patty Cornell approached the contractors and helped to make this happen," Miller said. "The employees traveled by van to get there. It caused a boost in employee enthusiasm and revitalized staff, because they see how nice the new institution will be."

Department Director Larry Crawford said the new prison will improve safety and security for the public, staff and offenders. Crawford notes the old prison does not have basic security measures such as a full perimeter road or good surveillance cameras. The current prison also has been a problem for maintenance staff. CCC regularly experiences collapsed sewer lines. CCC has been in existence as a youth facility or prison since 1895.

Cornell told the Horizon the date when offenders are moved from the old prison to the new CCC won't be announced because of security issues. Cornell confirms the actual move will take place several months after the Department takes substantial completion. Furniture and computers will still need to be installed, along with phones.

Missouri's female prison population has increased by 150 percent during the past ten years. Missouri had 1,071 female prisoners in Fiscal Year (FY) 1996. In FY 2006, that number had increased to 2,522. There are currently 515 offenders at the existing CCC, which has an operating capacity of 525. Capacity for the new CCC will be 1,636.

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