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Breaking: Chateaugay prison closure "off the table" in budget deal
That's according to Dan Macentee, spokesman for state Senator Betty Little.
According to Macentee, Little was told late Tuesday that "Chateaugay [closure] would not be included in the budget."
"The Democrat's proposal" to mothball the facility and spare a downstate prison "has caused a lot of concern in the community," Macentee added.
"I can understand the angst in the community."
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The Chateaugay prison employs 114 people.
Macentee shared the language of the specific spending bill that focuses on public safety and correctional spending.
The measure states that "the governor is authorized to close the Bayview and Beacon correctional facilities of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, in state fiscal year 2013-14, as he determines to be necessary for the cost-effective and efficient operation of the correctional system..."
There is no mention of the facility in northern Franklin County.
Speaking Thursday morning, Franklin County legislator Billy Jones from Chateaugay said concern remained high about the threat of closure, which he said would be "devastating."
"We have confidence in our area state leaders and we're pretty confident that it will stay open," he said.
Final passage of the spending plan is expected soon.
