Planned SC prison improvements might be pricier than originally estimated. What’s next?
Projects meant to improve safety and security at South Carolina prisons could wind up costing millions of dollars more than officials originally estimated two years ago, as work on these projects has been delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The S.C. Department of Corrections had planned to spend about $93 million on prison upgrades. However that same work — which includes replacing air conditioning systems, boilers, fire alarm systems, cell lock replacements, moving recreational yards and installing new observational towers — now is estimated to cost $108.8 million because of the work delay caused by COVID-19 and supply chain issues. It’s a 17% increase in estimated costs.
After approval from the Joint Bond Review Committee on Tuesday, the corrections department now can spend the money to move forward with about $92 million worth of work for now, with the additional $16.8 million to take place when future dollars become available or from savings from the first set of projects, agency officials said.
“We always take care of the most critical prisons to start with,” said Thomas Osmer, the deputy director of administration at the Department of Corrections.
Many prison security needs were highlighted after a 2018 riot at the Lee Correctional Institution that led to seven inmate deaths and 22 people injured. Inmates using illegal cellphones were partly blamed for the riot.
The prison improvements initially had been planned as part of the statewide 2020-21 budget. The work was put on hold when the S.C. General Assembly kept spending levels the same as the 2019-20 fiscal year because the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the economy and led to a drop in state revenues.
Because of the higher costs, the Department of Corrections is putting on hold some of its planned cell lock replacements, recreational yard work and observational towers construction.
“Those last projects were only an additional year down the road, so they weren’t as critical as the ones that are the top list,” Osmer said. “That doesn’t mean we’re not going to do those other projects, but we’ll do them as money becomes available.”
How quickly the work is completed depends on how quickly vendors and contractors can obtain the needed materials as supply chain backups drive prices up.
State Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said the agency is factoring in two years of inflation into the costs of construction and materials. Stirling also said work could get delayed if and when an inmate tests positive for COVID, requiring a prison unit or project to be shut down.
“It’s going to take a little while, a little runway to land this plane,” Stirling said. “We’re just projecting what good business people would do, which is there’s going to be inflation involved.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Planned SC prison improvements might be pricier than originally estimated. What’s next?."
