PRISON OFFICIALS GET COOL RECEPTION

If the Bureau of Prison's site selection specialist was expecting warmer
temperatures for his trip to Lompoc from Washington, D.C., the reception
was a little on the cool side - possibly even chilly.

At a meeting last night at City Hall - known in federal lingo as a "scoping
meeting" - Rodney Anderson faced a small but skeptical audience while
presenting a proposal to build a high-security prison on existing land
northwest of Lompoc.

"It was a pretty small meeting," Anderson said after the 30-minute meeting
in which most speakers opposed the new construction project. "I think we
have a lot more support than what came out tonight."

About 30 Lompoc Valley residents and government representatives brought up
their concerns for inclusion in a "draft environmental impact statement"
being prepared by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the consulting firm of
Louis Berger & Associates of East Orange, N.J., as part of federal
requirements before construction can begin.

Flanked by an environmental specialist, a lawyer and the consultant,
Anderson stressed that no decision had been made on the construction of a
new $120 million facility that would house 1,000 high-security inmates at
the existing BOP facilities just outside Lompoc.

He said the prison system is only looking at one other site in California
but did not comment on whether prisons may be built at both sites.

BOP plans - if the project is approved - would mean the existing U.S.
Penitentiary would be changed to house medium-security prisoners.

The other three facilities - the Federal Correctional Institution, the
Intensive Confinement Center and the boot camp - would remain unchanged.

Lompoc resident Gary Sanchez questioned the impact of the new facility on
housing and traffic in the area, emphasizing that "police and fire would be
overwhelmed" with the addition of prisoner families moving into Lompoc.

James Carucci of Lompoc echoed the sentiment of other speakers claiming "a
big show is made (by federal officials), but public input is ignored."

Anderson attempted to reassure the audience that the meeting was a
preliminary step before a final decision is reached.

"These are standard questions we get because it's a major concern to these
people," he stressed. "We really do a thorough job (of addressing these
questions) in all these studies."

Joni Gray, 4th District Supervisor, urged the federal officials to meet
"with the county of Santa Barbara, the cities of Lompoc, Santa Maria, and
Guadalupe" to address the questions of housing and traffic.

"However, we are excited about the prospect of new jobs," she stressed.

Federal officials have said the proposed prison staff of some 350 people
would seek housing off the prison site.

Gray claimed that there might not be adequate, affordable housing in the area.

Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees and Police Chief William Brown attended the
meeting, but did not address the BOP panel.

Ben Romo, a representative for Congresswoman Lois Capps, 22nd District,
read a prepared statement for the record:

"Concerns about the environmental impacts of the project itself have also
been brought to my attention. The process needs to examine these important
issues and a variety of other factors."

The draft report would be done in about four months, according to Anderson,
and more public hearings would be held at that time.

Most federal correctional facilities are operating above rated capacity for
inmate populations and the prison system is now in the process of
constructing new facilities around the country, according to a prison
system spokesman in Washington.

Anderson said a new prison is currently under construction in Victorville
and a site selection process will begin shortly near Herlong in Northern
California.

Lompoc residents see pros, cons to another prison

By Yadira Galindo - Record Staff Writer

A proposal for a new maximum security prison stirs a mixture of feelings
among Lompoc residents.

"It's all right with me. I go out there all the time," said Loyd Morris,
57. He has been a resident since 1977 and has toured the existing prison in
the past. I just see barb wire. When you go in and they close the gates
behind you it's scary."

Long time residents like former mayor and councilwoman Charlotte Benton saw
the prison site go from Army disciplinary barracks then part of Camp Cooke
to the present federal penitentiary.

"I never felt any danger," said Benton. "I couldn't say anything negative
about it."

During her 16 years on the city council, Benton said there was a lot of
cooperation between the prison and the city.

The city did get a share of the increase spending from families who came to
see prisoners, but most of them left, said Benton. She said there was an
influx of poor families coming to see prisoners.

Lompoc residents worry that more prisoners will mean a change in the
socioeconomic levels of the people who move into town.

"I'm not really in favor of the prison," said 63-year-old Ray Cunningham, a
resident of Lompoc for 37 years. "It brings more jobs I suppose, but it's
pulling in people from Santa Barbara with low cost housing.

"Families of prisoners who come also have children with problems. Our
community is drifting were everyone goes to surrounding areas. I'm seeing
more people move out of town to the Village."

City Councilman Mike Siminski, a 35-year resident of Lompoc, agrees.

"There is a downside, sometimes families that are on government subsidies
living move here to be close to a family member in prison," he said. "But
the pluses are greater than the minuses."

Among those pluses is the thought of more jobs. Several Lompoc residents
like Gean Paxton, 32, wondered "How many people are they going to hire?
Where can I get an application?"

Siminski said he thinks the prison is a "good neighbor."

"It provides jobs that are living wages and they don't require high
technical skills," Siminski said. "Our sons and daughter have the
opportunity to stay and work in Lompoc."

Housing will be in demand and that means property values usually go up,
said Siminski. Some residents expressed concern that a prison near by will
actually lower property values.

"It may cause a housing trench," said Dennis Headrick, special events
coordinator for Life Options, Vocational and Resource Center and resident
since 1950. "It may be problem down line on this respect."

One other concern is community safety. How safe are the residents of Lompoc
from prison escapes?

"Having lived with a prison, there's been no impact," said Headrick. Lompoc
has had some kind of correctional facility for a long time, he said. And he
admits there have been escapes, but not since the prison became a maximum
security facility.

"They have to put the prison some place," said Carol Burnard, a resident
since 1984. "We already have one anyway. It's a pretty secure prison and
it's good revenue for Lompoc."