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Windsor officials don’t like idea of temporary youth center

WINDSOR, Vt. — A bill in the Vermont Legislature would use part of the shuttered Southeast State Correctional facility to temporarily house at-risk youth after the closing of the state’s only youth detention center.

The former prison has been idle for several years but the latest proposal isn’t sitting well with local officials, WCAX-TV reported.

Windsor Town Manager Tom Marsh said a temporary youth detention center is a non-starter because two-thirds of town residents oppose the idea.

“We do not want corrections or social services. We have demonstrated that. We’ve met with state agencies. And now the first thing out of the box is a corrections use,” Marsh said.

State officials have already proposed a six-bed juvenile facility in Newbury to replace the closed Woodside facility in Essex, but that plan was unanimously shot down by Newbury town officials.

The old Windsor prison is another short-term option while the state appeals the decision in Newbury.

Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, said a temporary detention center would fall under the purview of the Department for Children and Family Services, not the Department of Corrections.

Emmons, who chairs the House Corrections and Institutions Committee, said the state is paying $250,000 each year on upkeep of the shuttered facility.

State officials say the next step is to determine what buildings can stay and which need to be torn down. Any future development can’t move forward without knowing that first.

— The Associated Press

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