Committee reviews HVAC and temporary cooling plan for state correctional facilities

Buildings and General Services officials told the House Corrections and Institutions Committee on Jan. 30 that the state is moving forward with temporary and permanent HVAC upgrades at several correctional facilities to address heat in common and living areas.

Joe, director of design and construction with Buildings and General Services, said temporary air-conditioning units are already installed at Southern State Correctional Facility and contractors are working at Northern State and the Northeast Regional facility in Saint Johnsbury. "This is a product that's been in works for a while," he said, adding that long lead times for equipment mean some installations may not be complete until late summer or early fall.

Committee members reviewed prior appropriations and the governor's proposed changes. Staff noted an FY26 allocation of $4 million and discussion centered on an additional governor-proposed package for FY27 that staff described as roughly $8.4 million in bonded funds plus $1 million in cash to support design and permanent system work. Joe said the $1 million in cash would help complete Springfield and Newport phased work and that the additional bonding would extend permanent systems to more sites.

The temporary systems are focused on shared spaces: dining halls, gyms and certain living-unit common rooms. Joe said Southern State's temporary work is complete and the goal is to have temporary units in place at the other sites for the cooling season, then proceed to permanent rooftop or packaged systems once design and equipment procurement are finished.

Members pressed for more precise cost estimates. Joe said earlier appropriations paid for site assessments and preconstruction services and that full facility permanent systems could be in the range of several million dollars per facility, "but each facility is different" and final numbers depend on bids.

The committee asked staff to return with clearer line-item tracking of cash versus bonded funds and timelines. Chair indicated markup will begin in late February and asked agencies to provide updated estimates before that date.

Ending: The committee did not vote on budget changes during the session; it asked BGS to clarify spreadsheet line items and return with refined cost estimates and procurement timelines before markup.