Developer Wants Shot At Running Prison Says He Can Build Facility, House Older Inmates Cheaper

A proposal to let a private contractor build and manage a prison for male inmates aged 55 and older has caught the attention of the state Department of Corrections.

Boise commercial developer Robert Hosac estimates he can operate a prison for less per inmate per day compared with what the state currently pays, and save taxpayers money.

His 148-bed facility would be built on Gowen Road, near the state’s prison complex outside of Boise.

Corrections senior administrative assistant Ann Thompson said the proposal is the only one the agency has received to date, although another private group is believed to be working on a bid to build and run a 500-bed facility.

The department will not act until it receives a mandate from the Legislature this winter, Thompson said, adding a competitive bid process would be used.

“I can provide the same service the state is providing - the business of incarcerating a prisoner - for about $4 to $7 a day less,” Hosac said. He can house the older prisoners for an estimated $48 to $52 per day.

It would be a minimum-security facility meeting prison standards set by various agencies, and would be monitored by the state.

The savings would come through competition for various goods and services, he said.

Thompson said a survey is ongoing, but for fiscal year 1995, it cost $48.31 per prisoner each day, across the entire prison population. Idaho’s costs are among the lowest in the country, she said.

The cost of housing older inmates is higher, Thompson and Hosac agreed.

Hosac’s prison would cost more than $3 million to build, and he would put up the money.

It would contribute to the local tax base.

Several states have used the private prison idea extensively, and the Idaho Legislature has indicated it is open to the concept depending on the results of a thorough study, Thompson said.

She said her task is researching the issue for a report to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

The Idaho Department of Corrections contracted with a private developer to build a men’s inmate work center in Twin Falls. The state runs operations.

“Certainly the department benefited by not having the up-front construction costs,” Thompson said.

Built by Steed Construction, Hosac’s facility would have four wards, plus isolation cells, Hosac said.

It would employ up to 25 people, and is expandable by 72 beds.