Ohio Controlling Board approves over $315,000 for construction services at Youngstown prison

The Ohio Controlling Board has approved over $315,000 for construction services at a prison in Youngstown.

The Board approved $315,205 for construction services at the Ohio State Penitentiary on Coitsville-Hubbard Road in Youngstown.

The grant money will go towards building improvements including work to the structural support columns, installing masonry dividing walls with doors and hardware and adding more HVAC units.

Construction services will be done by United Contractors of Northeast Ohio Inc., a company based out of Trumbull County.

"This money will go a long way in improving conditions and I was happy to see the prison partner with a neighboring county to get the job done," said Ohio State Representative Lauren McNally.

The Ohio State Penitentiary opened in 1998 and is the only "supermax" prison in the state. It is one of 28 institutions operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.