Lawmakers Propose Delaying Rural Prison Closing

DENVER (AP) - State lawmakers on Tuesday proposed delaying by six months the shuttering of a southeastern Colorado prison, providing hope to nearby low-income rural communities who have been bracing for the closure's likely negative economic impact.

The six-member Joint Budget Committee unanimously voted to close the Fort Lyon Correctional Facility in Las Animas on March 1, 2012, instead of on Aug. 31, as proposed by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The full Legislature must approve the delay.

The state is facing a $1 billion shortfall and closing the prison this year would save the state $3 million and $6.3 million every following year. The governor's office has said the prison facility is old, difficult to maintain and too expensive to operate compared to other prisons with a similar number of inmates. Fort Lyon has about 500 inmates and employs 204 people.

Before the committee voted for the delay, Republican Rep. Jon Becker of Fort Morgan said lawmakers should give businesses, schools and other stakeholders a year to prepare.

"I think no matter what we do it's going to cause a mass exodus for some of these people from this community, and therefore hurt prices of homes," he said.

The sprawling facility, about 205 miles southeast of Denver, was once a veteran's hospital. It became a prison in 2002, and lawmakers said Tuesday they will introduce a bill to decommission the prison and return the property to the federal government.

The governor's office has been talking with local officials about the possibility of repurposing the facility as a hospital for wounded veterans or as a training campus for potential national guard recruits, said Henry Sobanet, Hickenlooper's director of planning and budgeting.

Rep. Mark Ferrandino, a Democrat on the joint committee, said lawmakers will have to figure out where to find money to cut if they delay the closure. He said the state revenue forecast due out Friday will give them a better picture of what they can do to balance the budget.

"We have to make difficult decisions. And this is just one of those difficult decisions," he said. "Hopefully we did it in a way that will help at least give some time to transition, which is important."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)