Signing ceremony with Gov. Palin

PALMER–At a signing ceremony today, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Curt Menard, Borough Manager John Duffy, and Commissioner Joe Schmidt of the Alaska Dept. of Corrections initiated the construction phase of the $240 million Goose Creek Correctional Center.

Construction will begin this spring. The 450,000 square-foot center will be the largest building construction project in state history. Neeser Construction Inc. is the design builder. The site is 330 acres, nine miles from Port MacKenzie in the region of Point Mackenzie.

At the afternoon ceremony, Borough Manager John Duffy thanked many who helped move the project forward, singling out Gov. Palin, Sen. President Lyda Green, the MAT-SU State Delegation, Commissioner Schmidt, the Borough Assembly, among others.

“This project began over seven years ago, and I've worked with three different Governors and three different commissioners on it, and I'm happy that an all MAT-SU team is now here to celebrate the signing of the construction contract, which brings the entire effort to a reality,” Duffy said.

The medium-security facility will have 1,536 beds for male prisoners. The Center will help bring home many of the 800 or more Alaska inmates who are housed in Arizona. The project will also return millions of Alaska dollars to the Alaska economy. Additionally, it will create roughly 600 construction jobs with a payroll of $100 million, as well as some 350 to 400 permanent prison jobs.

“We sold the prison bonds in December and closed them in January at a time when worthy municipal projects throughout the nation were delayed because no buyers could be found,” Duffy said. “Luck was not only on our side during this skittish market, skillful timing and an A+ credit rating of the Borough are what moved our bonds.”

Gov. Sarah Palin highlighted the Borough's involvement. “MAT-SU Borough, you guys have been absolutely amazing with this project, to say nothing of the tenacity that has been required in this project to see it come to fruition, and we are going to consider this coming to fruition,” Palin said.

She commended the collaborative partnership between the Alaska Dept. of Corrections and the MAT-SU Borough. “All of this is new money, new jobs, new construction, new opportunity that will create a positive ripple effect throughout the MAT-SU Borough and the state of Alaska. All that, and serving a great need. I'm very proud that the Valley has been the area that has been able to step up and make sure the project is built.”

Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt spoke of how the new prison will support the key concepts of public protection, recidivism reduction, and supervised community reintegration.
“Our Alaskan system moves 38,000 people in and out every year in a state with less than 700,000,” Schmidt said. “That's a significant number. ...We really have to pay attention to who we are releasing, thousands and thousands of people a year are reintegrating back into our communities. And so those are very important concepts...This prison—after we took a look at it, and to the chagrin of some, took it apart and rebuilt it from the ground up—this facility will do all three of those things.”



For more information, call Patty Sullivan, public affairs director, MAT-SU Borough 907.745-9577 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Photos are: top-Borough Mayor Curtis Menard, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt signing. Middle photo-Borough Manager John Duffy and Finance Director Tammy Clayton worked long hours to sell and close the revenue bonds. Bottom-Commissioner Schmidt, Gov. Palin, and Manager Duffy.
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