A Message from Chamber CEO Douglass Wilhoit:
Stockton being made to

 pay for State's Mistakes

SEPTEMBER 2008 - While I sat at my computer planning my September Port O Call article and deciding how to express to all of you the sinking and sickening feeling I have about the quarter century of “dereliction of duty” of the Executive and Legislative Branches of the Government of California, in regards to the ongoing issue of the State’s dysfunctional prison system, my level of my frustration raised to an even higher level. I was first tempted to revisit what I have written before of the history of the Women’s Prison. By now you should all know it is being transformed into a Men’s Re-entry Facility (Prison)!

 I also wanted to share with you how the State Government (at all levels) has violated its own laws and the people of this County in regards to this issue. I also dredged up my old frustrations with State Government while on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors and during those 16 years having the privilege of working with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) culminating by being CSAC President in 1994. I lost track of all the times the CSAC Board, staff and I warned and pleaded with the Governor’s office and leaders of both Houses of the Legislature to properly plan for the coming of a prison crisis. This futile effort started back in the middle 1980’s.

It is now “WE TOLD YOU SO TIME!” At last count, California’s state prison system holds over 170,000 prisoners in a system designed for 83,000, and most California prisons currently hold populations more than double their design capacity.

To “try” to meet this self-made disaster the state has progressively been forced to manage this overcrowded system year by year through various workarounds, including referring nonviolent drug offenders to special “drug courts” that mandate treatment rather than incarceration (Prop 36), early releases of prisoners, trying to raise non-existent funds to build more prisons, and transfers of prisoners to the federal system or out-of –state privately run institutions with whom the state has contracted. I submit this is all due to hiding their heads in the sand – quicksand I hasten to add.

The correctional healthcare system and several of its institutions have been found inadequate or “inhumane” by federal courts in successive cases, which have resulted in the correctional system to be placed under special Federal Court oversight. This is what I want to fully bring to your attention.

On Thursday August 7, 2008 Chamber President Goldstrand called a special board meeting in regards to the “proposed” California Health Care Facility (PRISON) to be placed at a site on the Northern California Youth Correctional Center (NCYCC) in STOCKTON. The meeting was well attended by board members and leaders in the community from many disciplines. URS/Bovis representative Laura Sainz, CEQA project manager for the California Prison Receivership (CPR), and a representative from the court appointed receiver were present. It was a spirited and frustrating meeting since more questions than answers were the end result.

No answers on the anticipated and real impact on Law Enforcement county wide, Court system, Coroner’s Office, all the hospitals in the county, mental health treatment programs, drug and alcohol programs, doctors, nurses and all other social services that will be impacted at a cost to our residents for the benefit of convicted felons.

On August 12, 2008 I received a Revised Notice of Preparation (NOP) For An Environmental Impact Report(EIR) for the project. I will give you the scary highlights and at the end will ask you to voice your concerns and disgust with the whole issue.

The EIR will include such items as visual resources, agriculture resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic to name just a few. (I see all these as quality of life issues for our residents now and into the future!) In the document it states, “it is anticipated that trustee and responsible agencies will rely on the EIR when considering issuing their applicable permit(s) or other approvals for the “proposed” project.” Don’t you believe it because this is all done under a Federal Court Order and the state will hide behind this excuse and take short cuts ignoring important mitigations to get out of their own mess and at the expense of the City of Stockton and the County of San Joaquin!

 Now to the description of this “project,” “ In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the California Prison Health Care Receivership (CPR) will be preparing an EIR to “evaluate” the environmental (no mention of community wellbeing and quality of life) effects associated with development of a new medical care facility with up to 1,800 beds (note more beds than all of our public and private hospitals combined) on a 144.2 acre site (the former site of CYA Karl Holton Facility closed in 2003).”

“In order to fulfill a 2005 mandate from the Federal Court, CPR has been tasked with the statewide construction of up to seven (four in Southern California and three in Northern California) health care facilities, which CPR estimates will provide approximately 10,000 medical and mental health patient beds.

“The proposed project (Stockton) represents one of the seven facilities to be constructed over the next three years.” Note: Keep in mind there is more land at the CYA property with the recent closure of DeWitt Nelson (about the same land mass as Karl Holton) so what will keep the CPR from looking at this as more land to place one of the remaining two facilities planned in Northern California?

“Since the release of the original NOP dated June 16, 2008, CPR’s program at the Stockton NCYCC site has been “further refined.” Particular attention has been given to the staffing needs of this facility. The refinements do not change the total number of beds (my note: yet) proposed (1,800) at the project site, but do require a substantial increase in the proposed number of staff that would work (commute to) the site. Compared to 1,890 staff as indicated in the original NOP, the proposed project will now involve 3,030 staff. The staffing increase is due to the fine tuning of the medical and mental health programs, as well as a review of the staffing needs for a facility that includes both men and women. The bed count of 1,800 will continue to include half mental health and half medical patients.”

Now what will the facility look like? At the August 7^th meeting, the presenters were very proud that the facility will have a “Community College Campus Look!” From the August 12^th NOP, “The facility would consist of housing clusters, diagnostic and treatment centers, an armory, warehouse facilities, a central plant, outdoor recreation fields, a gatehouse, a regional kitchen facility and parking. A LETHAL ELECTRIFIED FENCE would surround the secured area, a sally port would be incorporated into the fencing, and GUARD TOWERS, at a minimum would be located at each corner and at the vehicle sally port.

“The project also included exterior lighting (note: a beacon to the world of prison central). Parking would be provided for staff personnel and visitors” (note: families of convicted criminals).” On and off-site infrastructure improvements would be installed. The proposed medical care facility (note: call if what you want but it is still a PRISON) would employ up to 3,030 staff and approximately 75 to 100 visitors are anticipated per day.”

The NOP allows comments to be presented no later than September 11, 2008. PLEASE SEND ANY AND ALL COMMENTS TO CEQA PROJECT MANAGER, LAURA SAINZ, URS/BOVIS LEND LEASE JOINT VENTURE, 2400 Del Paso Road, Suite 255, Sacramento, California 95834. Phone number is (916) 779-6409 and email is laura.sainz@ursblljv.com.

Since this is a Federal Court action brought on by LONG TERM DERELICTION OF DUTY IN THE STATE CAPITOL, it is imperative that your voice is heard loud and clear! I do believe that the community must resist something like this being jammed down our throats, so please take a moment and state your views to Ms. Sainz.