Women's prison in city facing possible closure

<p>The North Piedmont Correctional Center for Women in Lexington and one other women's prison in Rocky Mount are in jeopardy of closing in an effort to save nearly $11 million annually. </p><p>The closures are recommended in Gov. Pat McCrory's 2014-15 proposed budget and have met opposition locally. Pamela Walker, communications director for the N.C. Department of Public Safety, said shutting the doors of both prisons is being proposed due to a decline in the female population of inmates. Therefore, the department of public safety conducted a study to determine potential budget cuts that it could manage. There is no discussion of a closure to the Davidson Correctional Center, which houses male inmates.</p><p>Dwayne Baker, superintendent of the North Piedmont Correctional Center for Women on Raleigh Road just inside the Lexington city limits, referred all questions to Walker.</p><p>The closure at North Piedmont would result in 44 jobs being eliminated and an annually savings of $2.1 million, Walker said. The communications director stated in an e-mail the department has kept the beds at the facility full on a regular basis.</p><p>"However, if the closure does happen, the department could manage to house that female population at existing facilities," she wrote.</p><p>The Fountain Correctional Center for Women in Rocky Mount is also being proposed to be nixed for an annual savings of $8.8 million. The two closures would mean there would be three remaining women's prisons in the state, Walker said. The governor's proposal includes converting the Eastern Correctional Institution to a female facility, so female inmates from Fountain could be transferred there.</p><p>The North Piedmont Correctional Center for Women has a capacity of 144 inmates and opened in 1997. In addition to the Rocky Mount and Lexington facilities, the other women's prisons are in Raleigh and Buncombe and Montgomery counties.</p><p>Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said North Piedmont's closure would not specifically impact the sheriff's office. The sheriff is fearful the women's prison's closure would mean family members and other visitors would not be able to visit the inmates at other prisons in the state. He explained the support system of family and friends is crucial to reintegrate the inmates back into the community. </p><p>Grice alluded to an effort years ago to locate multiple women's prisons throughout the state so the females would be closer to their communities. "We saw a need to get people closer to home where they were convicted," the sheriff said.</p><p>Judy Butler of Welcome has volunteered at North Piedmont for about 13 years. She is the chairwoman of the Community Resource Council for the women's prison. Butler called working with the women at the prison her passion.</p><p>Butler said she worked last year toward preventing North Piedmont's closure as she wrote members of state House and Senate committees. She plans on taking the same efforts this year.</p><p>"I am devastated," Butler said of the possible closure.</p><p>Butler emphasized the need to rehabilitate the inmates before they go back into society. She said there are about 40 different ministries, including providing GEDs for inmates, at the North Piedmont Correctional Center for Women. Butler is fearful the programs would not continue at other prisons. Between 350-400 people volunteer at the women's prison in Lexington, she said.</p><p>Like Grice, Butler also is concerned about family members being able to visit inmates if they are relocated throughout the state. She noted the locations of the other prisons in the state could cause a problem with inmates receiving visitors. Churches from all over the Triad support North Piedmont, Butler said.</p><p>A closure of the North Piedmont Correctional Center for Women would not impact Lexington's tax base because the state does not pay taxes on the prison, said city manager Alan Carson. However, the women's prison is a $110,000 a year customer of Lexington Utilities, he said. </p><p>Carson said the impact would mean the city's population would decrease because it can count the female inmates toward its Census numbers. Prospective businesses look at population numbers, and appropriations from the federal and state levels are based on those numbers. He said businesses may not do the research to find out the population was impacted by the closure of a prison. </p><p>“It does not indicate growth,” he said, referring to the possible closure. He added one of the things the city needs to experience if it wants to attract a restaurant like Chick-fil-A is population growth.</p><p>Carson said the city is in favor of the prison remaining open. He said the city has not had trouble out of the women's prison.</p><p>“They (the women's and men's prison in Lexington) all figure into the general well-being of the community,” the city manager said.</p><p>Rep. Rayne Brown, R-Davidson, reiterated the possible closure is due to a lack of funding and a decrease in the prison population. She added the prison nearly closed in 2013.</p><p>"It's not definite, but it doesn't look good," Brown said. "I hate it. I know there are a lot of people who would like to see it stay."</p><p>Brown was unsure of when the budget may be approved.</p><p>Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com. Follow Darrick on Twitter: @DispatchDarrick. Reporter Dave Exum contributed to this report.</p>