WINDHAM (WGME) -- Will the Maine Correctional Center in Windham be rebuilt? That's the question state and local leaders are trying to answer.

Friday morning, members of the criminal justice and public safety committee toured the prison to see for themselves. It's the $100 million question.

Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, chair, criminal justice and safety committee: "I want to see what the proposals are. I want to see what the department's request is really going to be..."

Before the state legislature opens its checkbook to $100 million in renovations to the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, they want to see firsthand what really needs work.

Gerzofsky: "They're talking about tearing down eight buildings. I want to see what those are."

On Friday, members of the criminal justice and public safety committee got that chance. The medium-security prison opened its doors for an exclusive look at life behind bars in order to further its case of why they should receive a multi-million dollar bond proposed by governor LePage.

Superintendent Scott Burnheimer, Maine Correctional Center: "We are challenged by the age of the buildings, the upkeep and maintenance and the security issues. Even our newer buildings, the security measures in those dorms, the control panels and such are older and harder to repair."

The prison is proposing tearing down and rebuilding 8 buildings, some of which date back to the 1950s. From dorms to education spaces, prison management argue that the repairs are needed to keep up with the times.

Committee chairs say they'll weigh all the options before they look at doing any upgrades to the prison. They say, especially now in tough economic times, they say everyone is being forced to work with a tighter budget, and that includes corrections.

Gerzofsky: When we're looking at spending $100 million of tax payer money on rehabilitating facilities for educational purposes and we're looking at our schools at home and seeing how they're deteriorating, we have to start doing some checks and balances and trying to balance different needs."

They take a further look into the issue in the coming weeks when committee members will have the chance to ask more questions at a public hearing. The prison superintendent says they want to pay back some of the money if they receive it for renovations. They plan on using money they have saved through heating and utility costs to repay the state.
Maine Correctional Center asks for $100M for renovations