New life for empty East Side prison?

The daily rate paid to local jails to house a federal detainee is roughly $70.
& lt;a href=mailto:meade@vindy.com & gt;By PATRICIA MEADE & lt;/a & gt;
and BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
YOUNGSTOWN -- U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott says there are "no guarantees," but he's taking a look at housing federal detainees at the mothballed private prison on the East Side.
"Reopening the prison would be a huge tax boost for the city of Youngstown and create a number of jobs," Elliott said. "I know it would be great for the economy, and that's one of my considerations."
The U.S. marshal, based in Cleveland, said he'd like a federal detention center there but is considering other options in an effort to make the best decision for his marshal district.
"I'll say this, I'm taking a very good hard look at [Youngstown]. I will have a number of discussions and meetings," Elliott said. "I hope to have a decision after the first of the year."
Federal detainees are now housed in county jails in the vicinity of federal courthouses where they have matters pending. Occasionally, judges will remand defendants to custody the day of sentencing and they stay in county jails until the federal Bureau of Prisons designates a prison.
Former U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr., for example, spent a few days at the Summit County jail before being sent to a federal prison in central Pennsylvania in August 2002.
Operated four years
Northeast Ohio Correctional Center, the private prison on Hubbard Road, has a bed capacity of 2,106. It opened in mid-1997 and operated until July 2001, after losing its contract to incarcerate roughly 1,500 federal inmates, mostly from the Washington, D.C., area.
The prison had an annual payroll of $11 million for a staff of more than 400 and paid the city $250,000 in income tax its last year.
Elliott said that he has roughly 300 federal inmates housed in eight county jails. For each inmate, the government pays the jails a daily rate of about $70.
"It's the federal marshal's call. We'll cooperate in any way we can," said Mahoning County Sheriff Randall A. Wellington. "It would be good for the economy of the whole area."
Wellington said overpopulation with federal detainees is a problem nationwide. This past week, the Mahoning County jail had 75 federal inmates.
NOCC could open with 300 inmates but would need more federal detainees from other districts -- not just Northeast Ohio -- to show a profit and sustain operations, said sheriff's Maj. Michael Budd. He said the idea has been discussed with and received favorably by county and NOCC officials.
How it would work
Budd said the concept of housing hundreds of federal detainees locally for the U.S. Marshals Service would work like this:
The Mahoning County jail would take the first 100 inmates and serve as the conduit for the overflow who would go to the private prison on "piggyback contracts" that would include food service from a local vendor. Mahoning County would get a processing fee from NOCC, say $1 per day for each inmate.
NOCC would collect the going rate, $70 per day, for each federal detainee.
Budd described the proposed arrangement as a marriage between the public and private sectors. He said the county would want a long-term contract to ensure that it remains the conduit for federal detainees placed at NOCC.
Steve Owen, spokesman for Community Corrections Corp. of America, NOCC's parent company in Nashville, Tenn., said the company has been actively marketing the Youngstown facility to state and federal officials. He said that there's nothing to report at this time and that he looks forward to the day he can report a contract has been signed.
Owen echoed Wellington's comment that housing federal detainees is a problem nationwide.
"They have a daily challenge across the country to find space to serve the practical needs they have," Owen said. "We're ready to step up."
Reactions
U.S. Attorney Greg White said Elliott makes a good case for consolidating federal detainees in one location. He said he'd also like to see video conferences, which would eliminate the need to transport federal inmates to court.
"I'm cautiously optimistic," said Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey.
The mayor said the county jail wins with additional federal inmates, the city wins with additional income tax, CCA wins by opening a closed facility and, "the biggest win" -- nearly 500 prison staffers return to work.
& lt;a href=mailto:meade@vindy.com & gt;meade@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;bjackson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;