Prison contract approved

PALMER— The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly approved a contract Tuesday night with Alaska Planning & Architecture to develop the design-build solicitation requirements and evaluation criteria for the 1,536-bed prison near Point MacKenzie.

The prison is expected to cost more than $250 million to build. The contract with AP&A will not exceed $460,000 and will ultimately be repaid by lease-revenue bonds. The prison is a joint project between the Borough and the state of Alaska. The state will repay those revenue bonds over 25 years of lease payments. Borough taxpayers are not paying for the project.

Because of the project's complexity, independent experts are needed to develop a comprehensive list of construction and design requirements, to evaluate design firm capabilities, and the proposed designs.

Based in Anchorage, AP&A had already begun this work. However, today's concept is different than originally planned. With a change in state leadership, the prison project also changed. Previously it was a mega prison with 2,251 beds under a single roof. Today the concept is for a smaller facility separated into pods. The prison near Point MacKenzie is part of a regional expansion of facilities across the state in efforts to return Alaska prisoners from Arizona.

If the Borough started over with a new firm, the project would be set back four to six months and could cost $200,000 to $400,000 more. By continuing with AP&A the design-build team selection will occur between June and October.

The Borough and Dept. of Corrections have been pushing for construction this summer. Site preparation is occurring with tree removal. Heavy construction, however, likely won't begin until next spring.

The prison is projected to employ 350 workers at an average annual salary of $48,000.

For more information call Purchasing Officer Russ Krafft at (907) 745-9639.