Mayor Curtatone praised the work done by inmates from Billercia House of Corrections as part of Middlesex Sheriff Koutoujian’s job training program.~Photo by Harry Kane

By Harry Kane

Painting renovations are finished at 220 Washington St. after several weeks of work. Prisoners from Billercia House of Corrections did the painting, saving the city of Somerville some money.

The Somerville Police Department wants to personally thank Middlesex Sheriff Koutoujian for providing government partnerships and a community outreach program such as this one.

“This year it’s been almost $53,000 worth of services to this point,” said Koutoujian.

The sheriff explained about the other work to be completed. “We’ve got our custodian certification program, which is a brand new program that we started this year.”

Middlesex Sheriff Koutoujian, Somerville Police Chief Thomas Pasquarello and Mayor Joseph Curtatone. ~Photo by Harry Kane

“Custodians are trained, and then certified in green custodial services to clean the floors.

This is the first time that this type of program has been used outside of the institution to clean up an external facility,” said Sheriff Koutoujian.

“It’s a great value, but the quality is high quality work,” said Mayor Curtatone.

Last year other inmates worked on Somerville’s City Hall and the schools over the summer, says Deputy Chief Michael S. Cabral.

The DPW has also replaced ceiling tiles. Some 1500 tiles that were water stained or broken were replaced.