Board OKs up to 1,000 additional inmate beds

The panel also approved more change orders for the Chevrolet Centre.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF Writer
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's board of control approved an amendment to its contract with a private prison company to allow up to 1,000 more inmate beds.
The approval Thursday is contingent on final approval from the city's law department, said Mayor George McKelvey, who attended his last board of control meeting.
Corrections Corporation of America of Nashville, Tenn., operates Northeast Ohio Correctional Center on Youngstown-Hubbard Road.
The company is considering an addition to its facility on the city's East Side that would accommodate the extra prisoners.
Any changes to the development agreement, such as tax abatements, would have to be presented to city council.
The board of control consists of McKelvey, its chairman; city finance director David Bozanich, its secretary; and city law director, Atty. Iris Guglucello.
A spokeswoman for the Nashville company said last week that the Youngstown-Hubbard Road prison houses about 1,800 prisoners and has a capacity of 2,016.
No immediate plans
She called the amendment a routine matter that would allow for additional inmates at the prison if the need arises, but said there are no definitive plans to expand the facility.
McKelvey said the change means a potential $10 million investment in the local economy and between 200 and 250 new jobs.
The panel also approved more change orders for the Chevrolet Centre.
All three change orders were for Lencyk Masonry Materials of Youngstown and totaled $4,380 for masonry work.
Change orders approved thus far for the facility total nearly $1 million.
The Chevrolet Centre, home of the Youngstown SteelHounds, opened in late October and is projected to cost $45.38 million. A final cost is expected in the next couple of months, city officials have said.