MONROE — Scott Frakes, who has worked at five state prisons for 26 years, will take the helm of the Monroe prison complex Tuesday.
“I’d like to say I’m a prison guy. I have pretty good background of prison management,” Frakes, 49, said.
Frakes will replace Ken Quinn, who has been a superintendent at the Monroe prison complex since 2005. Quinn now works on special re-entry projects at the Everett field office of the state Department of Corrections, while he undergoes medical treatment.
Dan Pacholke, who has served as an interim superintendent in Monroe during Quinn’s absence since late April, will become a prison administrator in Olympia, according to the department of corrections.
Frakes is coming to Monroe from Connell, in Franklin County, where he had been a superintendent at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center for the last three years. His annual pay in Monroe will be $102,264, said Chad Lewis, a spokesman for the department.
Frakes said he’s excited to supervise operations at the Monroe prison complex, the state’s largest one with about 2,500 inmates and 1,100 staff members. He wants to work with others to keep the complex clean, which he believes will improve security behind the walls, he said.
“My mantra is a clean prison is a happy prison,” Frakes said.
His success will depend on whether he can create and maintain good relationships with staff, the community and area lawmakers, Frakes said. Once he starts his new job in Monroe, he plans to attend City Council meetings and meet Mayor Donnetta Walser.
“I’m going to become a part of the community,” he said. “I need to know what’s going on.”
Monroe has had issues with the corrections department’s bureaucracy in Olympia regarding the Corrections Center’s utility bills, Walser said.
The prison complex is in the city limits and uses the city’s utility services. The complex lost 19 million gallons of water because of a leaky pipe. In September, the state agreed to pay the city $219,999.
Establishing a good relationship with Frakes may improve the situation.
“I’d like to set up a system that allows direct communication,” she said.
Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, said that he will keep an eye on how Frakes will treat staff members.
“I’m optimistic that people will be happy,” said Pearson, who sits on the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, which deals with prison issues. “If they are not, he will know it, too.”
Frakes said he started his career as a correctional officer at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla in 1982. He went on to work at four different prisons moving up ranks: Olympics Corrections Center near Forks, McNeil Island Corrections Center in Steilacoom, Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen and Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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