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| What's cookin' at NICI? |
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| Kitchen remodeling project under way; facility keeps inmate feeding costs lean |
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By David Rauzi (editor)
COTTONWOOD -- Think an $850,000 kitchen remodeling project is cheap? That's a good deal for officials at North Idaho Correctional Institution.
"Our budgeted amount was $1.1 million," said NICI Warden Lynn Guyer, "and we're coming in way below that bid, which is a good thing."
In this case the Cottonwood-based minimum security facility is benefiting from a slow construction market, according to Guyer. Contractors are hungry and so are willing to take on a project for minimal profits. Contractor on the NICI remodel project is Kepha Construction of Nampa.
Health, safety and security concerns are at the heart of this project, funded through the state's public works department. Built in the 1950s as part of an Air Force radar station, the kitchen area will be gutted to install a new electrical system up to current code. Along with this, a wall area will be opened up into the existing bakery, which is separated by a wall and door accessway. This improvement will provide staff unobstructed sight throughout the entire food preparation area. Ventilator hoods with fire suppression systems will also be replaced over every cooking area.
Separate but also funded through this project will be remodeling four bathrooms in NICI's unit 2, which were last remodeled in 1986, according to Guyer.
"You can imagine, running 130 inmates through there, after 24 years they're in a bad state," he said. Facilities will be gutted and redone, which will include improved ventilation to address ceiling mold issues.
In the interim while the kitchen project is under way, the 414 inmates will be taking breakfast and dinner meals in a group meeting room and served from a concessions-type kitchen trailer on loan from the Idaho Department of Correction's (IDOC) St. Anthony Work Camp.
NICI's kitchen project comes up coincidentally when IDOC is announcing programs to reduce its budget through smarter ways of feeding its inmate population. Statewide, IDOC serves 4,700,000 meals a year at an average cost of $1.63 per meal; the department's goal is to reduce that to $1.47.
This won't be a problem at NICI which averages 89 cents per meal.
It's not that it's a much cheaper meal, but rather it's the lack of inmate theft that makes the difference here, according to Guyer. Inmates doing time in other facilities are trained in kitchen duty, largely work independently without much staff oversight, and as a result there is a large amount of theft. In contrast, inmates serving riders at NICI work under constant staff supervision and instruction.
"They still steal stuff," he added, "but it's not as rampant as at the other facilities."
Even before IDOC began its work to reduce its overall food service budget, NICI had implemented cost-saving measures such as eliminating an option for staff to have one meal per shift from the kitchen. Once the new kitchen is in operation, Guyer said, they will be going to a new open feeding method, which allows inmates food choices, rather than the "blind" method that provides the entire selection to each inmate.
"They found in Boise there was a lot of waste. Items inmates didn't want they were throwing away," Guyer said.
In a press release, IDOC Director Brent Reinke stated, "We've had staffers digging through the dumpsters to determine what's being wasted. But while we're serious about saving money, we also know food management is critical to the safe and orderly operation of our institutions, so we'll be moving forward very carefully."
Statewide, cost-saving measures being implemented include replacement of juices with less expensive fortified drinks with more nutritional value, centralized purchasing and greater reliance on bulk items for serving, and staffing adjustments through modification of work schedules.
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