Senators quiz administrative services director about prison delays

DES MOINES - The leader of the state agency overseeing a problem-plagued state prison construction project faced tough questions Monday about escalating costs and ongoing delays at the vacant Fort Madison penitentiary that could hurt her chances of winning Senate confirmation, senators said.

Janet Phipps, director of the state Department of Administrative Services, said she was comfortable with the project oversight process in place, but senators said their confidence was shaken by the fact she was unaware of an issue Monday with geothermal system at the new prison that threatened but did not cause pipes to freeze.

Sen. Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, said he was concerned the state's cost for building the new Iowa State Penitentiary is approaching $200 million, compared to the original $132 million price tag and Phipps still could not tell members of the Senate State Government Committee when the new maximum-security facility might open. Design flaws have delayed the transfer of inmates to the new prison that was slated to open nearly a year ago.

'This thing is getting way out of hand. We need to straighten this thing out,” said Courtney. 'She's been there for almost a year and she doesn't know what's going on at the prison. I would think she would be down there all the time. This is crazy. I don't get it.”

Fred Scaletta, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, issued a statement after the Senate committee meeting saying 'below-zero temperatures in the Fort Madison area resulted in lower-than-expected temperatures in certain areas of building 7 at the new ISP.”

'The sprinkler system in this building was turned off. All proper rounds are being made through this building,” Scaletta said. 'Over the next few days, the temperature is supposed to moderate. If we find no issues, the water to the system will be back on ASAP.”

During Monday's Senate meeting, Phipps, who was appointed to the DAS post by Gov. Terry Branstad in April 2014, spent an hour telling legislators her philosophy is mission-focused and forward-looking as she manages a department that faced questions about state hiring practices, do-not-hire policies and other concerns that were the focus of a series of oversight hearings last session and during the legislative interim.

Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, said there are still carry-over concerns about DAS and unanswered questions about the handling of a prison project for which the agency has received up to $5 million in management fees.

'She wants us to write her a blank check and we're not going to do that,” said McCoy, who contended the Branstad administration is not treating the Legislature as a coequal branch of government.

'They're dodging, they're deflecting, and they're ignoring legislators,” McCoy said. 'I'm not going to vote for her (confirmation) until I have a comfort level that she's going to answer the questions because she's not answering the questions.”

Gubernatorial appointees subject to Senate confirmation must receive at least 34 affirmative votes to meet the required two-thirds majority threshold. There are 26 Democrats and 24 Republicans in the Iowa Senate.

McCoy said there are 'deep concerns” within the Senate Democratic caucus about Phipps but Courtney said he did not know whether the concerns would translate into a confirmation rejection.

Committee chairman Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, acknowledged 'there are serious issues,” adding that 'without better answers than what we heard today, I think she faces an uphill battle in her confirmation.”

Sen. Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said Phipps stepped into a complicated situation at DAS and appears to be doing a good job leading the agency and 'changing the culture,” although he conceded she should have been more attuned to issues at the Fort Madison prison.

'When you invest that much money in a prison, you want to see it up and running on time and when it's supposed to be open,” Whitver said. 'She should have a really good understanding about what's going on there. I don't think that disqualifies her from being confirmed.”

Whitver said he has not heard any problems with Phipps' confirmation among GOP senators, but he said it appeared there were problems among Democrats who were making her confirmation 'a political issue” and a 'media show.”

'It appears to me like every year the Democrats take down one or two people and it seems to me that she's one of them that has concerns, so I would not be surprised if they tried to take her down,” he added.