Man returning to Maine to run state’s first multicounty jail

PORTLAND – A former Mainer will leave a corrections position in Alaska to run the state’s first regional, multicounty jail after overseeing its construction.

George W. Miller, 51, of Anchorage, Alaska, will serve as the first administrator of the Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority. His appointment was announced Monday.

A 1971 graduate of Morse High School in Bath, Miller will be responsible for programs, security, policy and personnel at the 120-bed jail in Wiscasset.

“George basically will be the chief executive officer,” said John O’Connell, vice chairman of the Jail Authority. “Jails can be a big distraction for sheriffs because you are responsible for managing people and buildings.”

Last November, voters in Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties approved borrowing $24 million to build a new jail on 70 acres. The Legislature also authorized creation of the Jail Authority, a 12-member agency consisting of six residents, four county commissioners and sheriffs of both counties.

Curtiss Pulitzer of Pulitzer-Bogard Associates, a New York-based consulting firm, has served as the counties’ jail adviser. He said the jail will cost about $18 million and have room for 170 inmates.

Construction could begin late this year and the facility is scheduled to open in October 2006, Pulitzer said.

Miller says he can’t wait to return to Maine. His parents live in Brunswick, and he returns every year to see them. “I feel as though I am coming home,” he said.

Miller began his corrections career more than 20 years ago as a jail guard. He works for the Alaska Division of Institutions Central Office.

Before that, Miller worked for three years as warden of the Wildwood Correctional Complex in Kenai, Alaska.