Augusta Correctional Center town hall provides residents, employees with answers

CRAIGSVILLE – The Augusta Correctional Center (ACC) closure is hitting Craigsville.

On Jan. 4, many of the prison employees, their families, and Craigsville residents gathered in the Craigsville Town Hall to hear what representatives from the Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) had to say about the closure. A panel’s worth of government officials lined the front of the room and enough people arrived early to fill nearly every chair.

Craigsville Mayor Richard Fox opened the town hall, asking for participants to be respectful and stay positive. Fox kept to this message for the entirety of the meeting.

“I’m 69 years old,” said Fox. “When Lehigh Portland Cement closed in 1968, it killed Craigsville. Totally, totally killed it. We’re not going to let this happen this time. We’re going to get back on our feet, we’re going to move on.”

The human cost of closing the facility, however, was made apparent by the speakers. Amy Bates’ husband, Stafford Bates, works at the facility and has been with DOC for over 30 years. Bates thanked the DOC for the opportunities it provided to their family before now, but felt the closure was “slimy” because administration “waited” until “ten days before Christmas” to tell everyone they were losing their jobs.

“I don’t really think you all really care about us as a small community,” said Bates, followed by a round of applause. “I think you showed up because you had to. If you cared, my husband would have a job. Most of them are going to be four hours away and I would miss seeing him on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I wouldn’t be stuck at home, disabled, not able to drive.”

Sylvia Jolly, owner of Sylvia’s Styling Salon, felt “this is going to kill Craigsville” and doesn’t know “how any of this is going to help.” Jolly also expressed concern for her rentals, the housing market, and the local elementary school.

Barbara Workman, whose husband Andrew has worked at the facility for 25 years, said DOC “lied to us in November.”

"A couple of months ago, a bunch of inmates were moving," said Workman. "The staff was told ‘We’re not closing, we’re just moving inmates.' Now you come two weeks into December and we’re closing. How do we trust you? How do we trust you? We have families to care for.”

Former Pastures District Augusta County Supervisor Tracy Pyles told the panel exactly what many in the room wanted to say.

“We’ve heard a lot about concerns, prayers, empathy. What we haven’t heard is what we want to hear – this prison needs to stay open.”

No one offered any real hope the decision could or would be reversed.

The Augusta Correctional Center closure is practically set in stone

Why will Augusta Correctional Center close? According to DOC Chief of Corrections Operations David Robinson, the state’s inmate population has dropped over the past several years, prompting a review of prisons across the state approximately six months ago.

As DOC examined ACC, they found difficulties in hiring and retaining new employees to fill vacancies. Robinson’s team estimated that over a million dollars a year was being spent on overtime due to the staffing levels. Robinson’s staff also received concerns about “the safety of the staff” due to the staffing levels.

The staffing safety concerns lead DOC to reduce the number of inmates at ACC. According to reporting from Mark Bowes with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the facility housed 1,300 inmates in Dec. 2022. The number has fallen to 489 inmates as of the Jan. 4 town hall.

The facility’s distance from a hospital was considered – according to Google Maps, the nearest hospital to the facility is over 40 minutes of driving away.

As a result, the Virginia Department of Corrections chose Augusta Correctional Center as one of several facilities to close.

Senator Mark Obenshain confirmed the closure would need legislative approval, but it will not be considered individually.

“The way it goes in front of the general assembly is in the budget,” said Obenshain. “The budget has all kinds of details for what we’re going to fund over the next two years. In the governor’s proposed budget, he has language that will close Craigsville.”

The governor's proposed budget is then used as a guideline for the legislature to propose its own budget. A final budget will likely be voted on in February, meaning the closure has not been formally approved yet. While Obenshain and Delegate Chris Runion could each introduce amendments to remove the closure from the budget, Obenshain felt it would be “unlikely that budget amendment gets adopted.”

Obenshain advised the ACC employees not to “take that to the bank” and to “work hard at finding your other job.”

“I could stand here and make promises or tell you that we’re going to fight like hell, then we come up one vote short,” Obenshain said. “I’d feel good about myself and maybe I’d voodoo’d somebody, but that’s not what I’m here for, to give you false hope and expectations. These folks over here," Obenshain gestured to the panel of DOC leadership and state officials, "these are the people who know what they’re doing in terms of helping find you new work.”

Who does the closure affect?

As of Jan. 4, Augusta Correctional Center has 218 employees. The inmates will be moved before the June 30 closing date, but Robinson noted this would likely happen around the time of the closure. Inmates currently leaving are either doing so for medical reasons or because their term has ended.

Employees staying through the June closing date can expect to receive their full salary. Robinson explained that the budget for the facility is already in place and is not expected to change.

“Closing prisons is very hard,” said Robinson. “My heart goes out to all of you here. I assure you that this agency is going to do everything in its power to get every employee at that prison a job. That’s my goal, I assure you of that.”

Lucinda Childs-White, HR Senior Manager for the Virginia Department of Corrections, outlined what will happen to the employees.

“The most senior person gets first bid,” said Childs-White. “We give that person a certain amount of time to make a decision about whether or not they want to take it. They are only required to take that position if it meets two criteria. One is that if it is in a 60-mile radius of where they live. The second is that they need to be able to retain their salary. If either one of those things don’t happen, that person does not have to take that job and that person still has their severance package. They also have recall rights for a full year if they end up taking that job outside the 60-mile radius.”

If DOC cannot find placement for the employee, they will be issued a yellow card. This card gives the employees “preferential treatment” against other competing candidates for state jobs in other agencies. However, the card can only be issued once the employee has been through the entire process, meaning that many will need to wait until HR works through the seniority list.

County Administrator Timothy Fitzgerald noted that the Middle River Regional jail currently had 23 openings. Although the training requirements are not the same as the Augusta Correctional Center’s officers, the legislators are working on a program to provide anyone transferring paid, accelerated training to get them up to speed.

DOC Environmental Services Unit Director Tim Newton confirmed that the building would be sold through “surplus." Several speakers expressed concern about both upkeep on the facility and the difficulty of repurposing a prison.

Robinson also confirmed the previous warden is no longer in that position, but also specified their transfer was unrelated to the closure. David Newcomer was transferred to manage dysfunction at the Greensville Correctional Center. Robinson noted the issues were visible in the news. Samuel B. Parker with the Richmond Times-Dispatched reported the facility had several inmate deaths in November and, according to reporting from Victoria Lucas with ABC 8News, an array of drugs, 21 homemade weapons, and 10 cell phones were found during a search.

Will DOC require employees to pay back thousands in hiring bonuses?

Robinson confirmed earlier in the town hall that bonuses with time stipulations were used to attract employees to fill staff vacancies. Several speakers, and the audience, were outraged when it was confirmed that employees that do not stay with DOC through June 30 would have to pay back those bonuses, with one stated to be $6,000.

“We can go back and see if we can make a waiver,” Robinson said. “I was advised that he had to stay through the contract period he signed up for. We will go back and see.”

Obenshain asked Robinson to provide the legislator’s budget language to fund this type of issue, calling it “the definition of unfair.”

Water rates are not expected to increase

There are many ways the ripple effects from the closure could move through the town. Several speakers expressed concern for future of Craigsville Elementary after a potential population drop.

Another concern is about local water bills without one of the system’s biggest users. Will there be a rate increase?

“We have no intention of doing so,” said Fox. “I am totally, 159%, against any raises on people in the town. The rest of this council is the same way. We want to keep it so people can afford it.”

As explained by Fox, the sewer treatment plant was owned by the Department of Corrections but was built with loans that passed through Craigsville. Of the two loans, the first has been paid off, and the second, 30-year loan is 10 years into its repayment process. The contract included a clause stating that the plant and the debt would come back to the town if the prison closes, like what is happening now. This means the town is on the hook for approximately $6,900 a month.

Even so, Fox thinks the deal was in Craigsville’s best interests.

“The town of Craigsville could not build that plant with the money we’re going to be paying for it,” said Fox. “The town has got to have a treatment plant.”

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s budget currently has “resources” for the town and the water treatment plant, according to Josh Humphries, Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security for the governor’s office.

Mayor Fox is hopeful

Fox is currently working to set up a job fair for those affected by the closure, though no details are currently confirmed. He hopes to attract new businesses to Craigsville, but also explained that the "biggest problem we have with not getting industry out here is that we're so far from the interstate. That's the first thing they tell you."

When speaking with The News Leader after the meeting, he held on to the optimistic outlook he walked in the town hall with, but not without seeing the reality in front of him.

"It's going to be a change for all of them," Fox said. "I hate that they lost their jobs. It's a sad situation when you lose your livelihood like that. I feel like we can pull back up from it, find good jobs, and move on. We'll be okay."

Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It’s welcome through email to lbordelon@gannett.com. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta Correctional Center town hall provides residents, employees with answers