According to Erik Kriss, spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, one dormitory unit will be consolidated, which will eliminate 36 vacant beds and will also eliminate five correctional officer positions which are currently not filled.
“There are enough scattered vacant beds that we can close the dorm and save money on positions without much affect,” Kriss said. “This is our part in cutting back expenses.”
This plan is part of an $8.7 million savings plan throughout the department in response to Gov. Paterson’s call to agencies across the state to cut back expenses.
“The Governor has asked agencies statewide to cut 20 percent of their expenses because of the state that Wall Street is in. We aren’t getting revenue from the private sectors that we used to so we all need to make cuts,” Kriss said.
Across the state, 14 other men’s medium and minimum security prisons and two infirmaries will be consolidated, more than 130 correctional officer positions will be eliminated, and 36 of 205 inmate work crews will be disbanded, including five of Mount McGregor’s 10 work crews.
According to Kriss, populations at medium and minimum security facilities are decreasing due to alternative programs and shorter sentences for non-violent criminals and inmates who take part in rehabilitation programs along with the fact that the crime rate in New York State has been dropping over the past few years. There are currently 61,032 inmates in the New York prison system, down from the all-time high of 71,538 in 1999.
Mount McGregor Correctional Facility was opened in 1976 with just 150 minimum security inmates, despite much opposition from the surrounding communities. In order to ease the minds of the locals, a Citizens Advisory Committee was formed to open lines of communication between the community, the facility and New York State. The group met monthly to discuss concerns of locals about the presence of the prison and came in especially useful when inmates were cleared to perform supervised community service in the area. Inmates have done work at Spa State Park, developed trails at Roger’s Rock, Prospect Mountain, and Moreau State Park and helped to build cross-country ski trails throughout the area. They were also used by the Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls Public Works Departments to carry out jobs that would otherwise be left undone because of lack of government funding. Locals began to see the benefits of Mount McGregor Correctional Facility and slowly accepted its presence.
In 1981, the facility began taking their first medium-security inmates and was forced to expand due to the growing inmate population. Currently there are nearly 450 inmates.
Mount McGregor was named after Duncan McGregor, a local settler who purchased the property after being overtaken by the view from the peak. After purchasing the property, McGregor opened a hotel and restaurant until 1881 when he sold his holdings to Joseph W. Drexel, a financier from Philadelphia, who then built a railroad from Saratoga Springs to the top of the mountain. Drexel tore down McGregor’s hotel and constructed Hotel Balmoral, a luxurious hotel which could accommodate up to 300 guests until it was destroyed by a fire in 1897.
The property lay vacant for 16 years, until it was purchased Metropolitan Life Insurance Company with the intention to build a tuberculosis sanatorium. The sanitarium included an administration building, a refractory, an infirmary, six open wards, a rest house, private cottages and various other buildings. During its operation, more than 1,470 patients were treated and the incidence of TB began to decline until the sanitarium was phased out and purchased by New York State Governor Thomas Dewey in 1945 as a rest camp for World War II veterans. In the early 1950’s, there were charges that the facility was being used more as a resort than a rest camp, especially in the summertime during racing season. Following the allegations, the rest camp was closed and the property was then given to Rome State School for the Retarded.
In November 1975, residents of the school were moved to the new Wilton Development Center located about two miles from the mountain. During this time, the Department of Correctional Services was seeing an influx of felons and the need developed for a new state prison. Mount McGregor Correctional Facility was then opened in 1976 with just 150 minimum-security camp men.
Today, Mount McGregor is accredited by the American Correctional Association and provides many programs for inmates such as Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment, Aggression Replacement Training, Recovery Dynamics and a wide range of academic educational programs and transitional services
For inmates to be placed at Mount McGregor, they must be designated as medium-security, express an interest in participating in alcohol or substance abuse treatment programs as well as having a history of substance abuse. Inmates take part in community services such as fighting fires and providing services to senior citizens.
The history of Mount McGregor was provided by the Department of Correctional Services.
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