CHARLESTON PRISON TO OPEN AS SCHEDULED

The lack of funding that will delay opening of a new Missouri prison at Bonne Terre for at least a year won't affect the opening of Charleston's new prison.

The Missouri General Assembly appropriated $5.6 million for the fiscal year beginning Sunday to equip the 1,600-bed Charleston prison. Lawmakers earmarked no money to open the 2,700-bed Bonne Terre prison.

Both prisons are still under construction, but the Charleston facility is closer to completion.

Tim Kniest, a state Department of Corrections spokesman, said interior painting and wiring work and completion of the lethal fence surrounding the prison are the only major items unfinished at Charleston. A shakedown to make sure all security measures work properly will follow. Kniest said the prison is slated to open by spring at the latest.

The smaller size of the Charleston prison means it will cost less to open than the one in Bonne Terre, which is why opening Charleston was given priority, Kniest said.

The Bonne Terre prison will cost $12 million to open and nearly $45 million a year to operate. The Charleston prison will cost an estimated $20 million a year to operate.

Unless lawmakers pass a supplemental spending measure adding money for Bonne Terre, funding wouldn't be available until July 1, 2002, at the earliest, said Brian Long, state budget director.

When both new prisons open, the Department of Corrections will have enough beds for 31,834 inmates, more than double the 1991 statewide capacity of 15,125 beds.