CORALVILLE - You can blame last February's ice storm for one more repair bill. This time it's a prison security fence.

The weight of snow and ice caused a 20- to 30-foot section of fence at the medical prison at Oakdale to sag a bit. But rather than fix it now, prison officials hope to replace all the fences soon.

The section of damaged perimeter fence is at the back of the Iowa medical classification center. You can't see it, and prison officials wouldn't let the cameras in for a look. But for weeks, a small section was supported with wooden two-by-four posts. Still, correction officers weren't too worried.

“They never brought it up at a union meeting. It was never brought up as a labor management issue. Most of us knew they were going to fix it one way or the other,” said Al Willman, AFSCME Local #2985 President.
Willman represents correctional officers at the Oakdale facility.

Rather than repair a 40-year-old fence, prison officials want to replace all the aging perimeter fences. Lawmakers are studying a million-dollar new fence system request that's part of a prison funding bill.

“Rather than do a temporary fix and throw the money away, I think it's much better and fix it the way it needs to be fixed and that's a new fence,” said Willman.

Prison officials tell TV9 prospects for funding appear good this year. Architects are scheduled to visit the Oakdale facility Friday to begin drawing up some plans. One assistant warden believes the work could start as soon as July.

Prison officials say the fence was sturdy enough to do without wooden supports after the ice melted. But those supports weren't taken down until Thursday after TV9 called officials to question the fence's stability.