Prison expected to be filled by end of month

By MaryHelen Swanson
Projections are usually based on history, and such was the case at the Rush City Correctional Facility. Accordingly, the facility was not expected to be full until 2004.
But it will happen a year earlier, according to Warden Burt Mohs, in fact, it will be at capacity in about a month.
That means 1,015 offenders on any given day, with as many as 1,033 when each bed is full.
When the prison is full, it will cost the state $57.61 per day per prisoner, the lowest per diem in the stateís correctional system.
ìWeíre just about as efficient as we can get,î Mohs told the community advisory group that met in the prisonís training room Jan. 14.
Mohs said the Rush City population was holding steady for the past few years while other state facilities were being filled in an attempt to lower per diem costs. Rush Cityís costs were already lower because of the good design and because it was built to be a prison. He noted that three of the states medium security prisons were not originally built as prisons and need more staff for control. Lino Lakes was originally a juvenile facility, Moose Lake and Faribault were state hospitals converted to prisons. Rush City has good site lines, he said, and 500 cameras for control.
Now that the other facilities are full and more offenders are coming out of the courts, the Rush City facility is receiving more prisoners.
Mohs said he doesnít know if the new DUI law has had an impact on the number yet, but he said when St. Cloud gets 50 new inmates, 50 are being sent to Rush City. Many of Rush City offenders are in for sex offenses, drug offenses and property crimes.
Being a close custody facility, level 4, Mohs said some in Rush City could probably be at a level 3, or medium facility.
He also noted that there are 70 INS - immigration and naturalization service - detainees.
In response to questions about how the stateís budget cuts might affect the prison, Mohs told the citizen group that he is comfortable with the officer to offender ratio right now. He noted that there are two programs at the prison: education and industry.
He said the prison could handle additional cuts, but that would mean the offenders would spend more time in their double-bunked cells.
Twenty new correction officers are being trained and will be ready for the offenders in the last unit which is now being opened.
Aware that citizens are interested in knowing how many area people have jobs at the prison, Mohs presented a pie chart showing the numbers and home cities of the prison staff.
One year ago, he pointed out, 146 of the 228 staff lived in the local area. Currently, 200 of 296 live in the area. (pie chart on front). When the facility is at maximum capacity the total staff will be 319.
Mohs also told the group he is retiring in April. Mohs has been the only warden at Rush City since the prison was built. He actually began as acting warden during construction of the prison.
Altogether, Mohs has worked in the prison system for 36 years.
His replacement will be made by appointment by the commissioner of the Department of Corrections. One option, Mohs said, is that a warden from another facility will be moved to Rush City.
Another item discussed at last weekís meeting was a plan for a firing range.
Lt. Dave Gurney, an officer at the RC facility, has put together a proposal for an outdoor firing range located at an area southeast of the prison buildings on the 356-acre site.
Currently, officers are doing their firearms qualifications at a county-owned gravel pit near Harris. As the pit is actively mined, the firing range must be reconfigured every time training is conducted. And scheduling of training must be coordinated around the mining of the gravel pit.
Gurneyís plan includes a detailed layout of the range with 20-foot berms and lead collection area. Originally, Gurney figured it should cost about $60,000-$80,000. After receiving input from the DNR and every state agency that would be concerned about lead, the cost has increased to around a quarter of a million dollars.
The idea received lots of support, he said, there just isnít any funding for it. He noted that the range could be used by Chisago and Pine county deputies, Wyoming police and even Sandstone prison staff. Warden Mohs said officers at Lino Lakes correctional facility could use it too.
The purpose of the firearms qualification is three-fold: to assure that staff wonít hurt themselves, to help staff learn to use firearms as they should be used and to hold up in court.
Mohs noted a significant percent of staff never touched a firearm before coming into training. He said because the prison has an armed perimeter, there is an obligation to meet legal qualifications in case any staff member ever has to use his or her firearm.
Mohs said he hoped there would never be a need to use firearms at the Rush City facility. He said the use of weapons at any Minnesota facility has been very limited.
In further discussion with the group, Mohs told the citizens that the in the future, Rush City would be dealing with an aging population thus increasing costs of physical and mental health care.
Attending the meeting last week were two of the areaís new legislators: Sen. Sean Nienow and Rep. Pete Nelson. They took a tour of the prison with Warden Mohs after the meeting.

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