Golden Grove Cafeteria Being Renovated; Director Says It’s Just The Start

ST. CROIX — The Golden Grove Correctional Facility cafeteira is getting a facelift. Construction workers have been laboring to remove old equipment, break walls, uproot tiles and make other important work in preparation for the overhaul. Above, the old cafeteria, under construction.

Bureau of Corrections Director Rick Mullgrav said the cafeteria hadn’t been renovated in over 20 years. “It’s necessary that the inmates receive quality food. They have not been able to eat inside of this cafeteria because of the rusting of the roof and parts and pieces falling off,” he said. The director said B.O.C. received a federal grant and redirected the funds to renovate the dilapidated building.

But that’s just the beginning, if Mr. Mullgrav is to be believed. Speaking in an interview with The Consortium on Monday, the director spoke of erecting new prisons here and in St. Thomas — which would come at an estimated combined cost of $140 million — and initiatives currently underway to turn the prison system in the territory into more secure facilities. He even spoke of some issues that were listed in the federal consent decree levied against the Golden Grove that remained uncorrected up until his tenure.

“In order to be efficient and get more efficiency out of your employees and your space and the money that the government puts forth and spends, we need to build a new facility,” Mr. Mullgrav said. He did not know where the money would come from, “but all we could do is ask.”

There are currently about 150 inmates being housed at Golden Grove. Mr. Mullgrav said the decreased number has led to the facility being safer, although not completely immune from violence.

“Anywhere you go in a correctional facility, you’re going to have altercations here and there. We have been blessed that we have not had them lately; our officers are being more accountable with their jobs and what they do. They are being proactive instead of reactive, and because they’re on top of their game now it has made it a lot easier and a lot safer here,” he said.

Mr. Mullgrav said B.O.C. has been looking into bringing back to the territory some inmates that have been shipped to mainland facilities. But those hoping to return must have a history of being hard and skilled workers, Mr. Mullgrav stressed, “not people that’s going to sit around in the dormitory.”

The director said following salary increases at B.O.C. — some employees went from just over $2,000 to over $4,600 monthly — morale has been on the rise. “A large amount of the officers are very happy to have received their payment. Some people who have been here for up to 12-13 years had not seen a pay increase, so that means a lot to them. And it means a lot to the bureau too because at least we can compensate them in some manner for the amount of years they have contributed,” Mr. Mullgrav said. He noted that being a correctional officer is a dangerous and hard job, and that the pay increases were well-deserving.

Lastly, the director said some easy-to-handle issues raised in the federal consent decree had not been corrected up until he became director. He said the prison’s east gate, located near its tower, did not work and stayed open. The entrance where inmates come into the facility, called R&D stayed open 24 hours as well.

“If you look into the consent decree reports you’ll see. It was talking about the doors.” He added that the sally port where inmates come into R&D didn’t work either, “so you had to walk the inmates into a little gate.”

The director fixed all those issues, as well as other longstanding problems at the facility. He said he’s ultimate goal to turn the prisons in the territory into stringent, lawful houses, but it’s a project that won’t come to fruition in the near-term, he admitted.

Feature image credit: Ernice Gilbert, VIC