State Senate Passes Cheshire Prison Bill

The State Senate gave final, unanimous and bipartisan passage Friday evening to a bill that will allow the town of Cheshire to renegotiate the terms of its prison contracts with the state. 

Town officials pushed for the legislation because they say it is vital to the town. The current contract between the town and the state pre-dates the expansion of the prison in 1990, and the prison has been sending more wastewater to Cheshire’s water treatment plant than the old contract allows.

Cheshire’s agreement with the DOC has daily flow permitted at 350,000 gallons per day, but the complex’s daily flow has averaged more than 450,000 gallon per day. 

A new contract could allow Cheshire to recoup some of the increased cost of treating that wastewater.

 “This is a huge victory for the town of Cheshire, which is the only community that has not been able to renegotiate as their facilities aged and conditions changed over time,” said Senator Dante Bartolomeo (D-Meriden), one of the co-sponsors of the bill. “This is a matter of fairness. It is my hope that Cheshire will revisit and update its prison contracts so that they are beneficial to the taxpayers who host these facilities.”  

“This is great news for the Town of Cheshire, which has a DOC contract that’s unlike those enjoyed by other Connecticut communities with prisons,” said Rep. Al Adinolfi, a longtime legislative advocate for the town in its efforts to tweak its deal with the state agency. Adinolfi worked with bill co-sponsor state Rep. Mary Fritz, who also represents Cheshire, to shepherd the bill through the Judiciary Committee and to the House floor for a May 15 vote.   

 “It has taken a couple of years to get to this point, and I am so happy that Cheshire is now going to be able to work with the state Office of Policy and Management and the Corrections Department to amend their contract,” said state Fritz, the architect of the agreement. “This is good for the people of Cheshire, and hopefully this will better the relationship between Cheshire and Corrections.”  

Specifically, the bill specifically allows a municipal legislative body to seek an amendment to a contract that is currently in effect between the municipality and a state agency and relates to a correctional facility within the municipality owned or leased by the state and supervised by the Department of Correction. 

The Cheshire Correctional Institution at 900 Highland Ave. was designated for adult males in 1982. In 1993, the galleys closed and the new North and South Blocks were opened; in 1998 the commissary housing unit opened. The prison currently houses 1,349 inmates and 428 staff. 

The John R. Manson Youth Institution at 42 Jarvis Street opened in 1982.  In 1986 the facility saw a beginning of doubling of cells, and in 1994 a 155,000 square foot building opened, containing 22 classrooms, a library, vocational education programming, a full-sized gymnasium, a chapel, mental health and medical facilities, a full production kitchen, a laundry and a warehouse. It houses 399 inmates and 283 staff.

The bill now goes to the governor’s desk for his signature.