Federal officials unveil Folsom Prison medical facility plan

Federal officials unveil Folsom Prison medical facility plan
By Cathy Locke - clocke@sacbee. com
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, August 30, 2008

Federal officials this week unveiled their proposal to build a 1,500-inmate medical facility on the grounds of Folsom Prison.

The presentation by representatives of the Federal Receiver's Office at Tuesday's City Council meeting prompted questions from council members concerned about the project's effect on the city, especially traffic.

Albert King, head of the team charged with building the facility, said his staff will work with city officials to make sure it is compatible with the community.

"We want to set a new standard in terms of response to the context they are in," King said.

The medical prison would be part of an $8 billion program that, among other things, would build seven such complexes statewide to improve health care for inmates. The program comes in response to a federal court ruling that the medical system in California's prisons is deficient.

Four medical facilities are to be constructed in Southern California and three in Northern California, said project management team member Wendy Saunders.

To control costs, the facilities will be built on existing prison property. Not all of the sites have been identified, but projects are under way in Stockton and San Diego.

Folsom's facility would be maximum security and house prisoners who need medical and mental health services. It would employ about 1,500 people, half medical professionals and half correctional officers, Saunders said.

The complex of single-story buildings would be built over about a two-year period, and two sites out of three were identified as the most likely.

The "upper hill" alternative in the northeast section of prison property would be accessed by building an intersection off the new Folsom Lake Crossing road. The "entry hill" site in the southwest would have two entrances off East Natoma Street, and a berm would be constructed to screen the buildings from public view.

Saunders said a third option, the "valley site," was ruled out because it would disrupt prison operations.

Councilman Jeff Starsky was concerned the construction project and the facility's new employees would create traffic problems anew just as the city is set to open a new bridge over the American River to relieve traffic congestion created by the 2001 closure of Folsom Dam Road.

Construction could begin as soon as next summer, about the same time as the scheduled opening of the new Folsom Lake Crossing bridge.

"We just spent eight years getting over the closure of that road," he said. "I don't want this to push us back eight years."

Councilwoman Kerri Howell said she would object to any project that would significantly increase traffic on East Natoma Street. It's bad enough now when wild turkeys venture off prison property into the roadway, she said, without adding 1,500 vehicles.

Howell also noted the site would be across from a residential neighborhood. Existing prison buildings haven't been a problem because they aren't visible from nearby neighborhoods, she said.

"I don't want to see anything on Natoma Street except the cows and those turkeys," Howell said.

The public will have opportunities to comment on the proposal. A public meeting to determine issues that will be covered in the environmental impact report is expected to be held in Folsom in early October, and a draft of that report is anticipated by early 2009.