Gov. Linda Lingle, citing a lack of support by the state Senate, has canceled plans for a new $235 million jail on Maui that was to replace the overcrowded Maui Community Correctional Center in Wailuku.

The new jail was planned for 38.8 acres in Pu'unene and would have housed up to 843 inmates who were awaiting trial or in work furlough programs. Maui Community Correctional Center, the second-largest jail in the state, now houses about 350 inmates, well over its design capacity of 209 inmates, according to the governor.

Lingle, in a letter Friday to state Sen. Shan Tsutsui, D-4th (Kahului), said the state was beginning an environmental assessment and moving into pre-final design work on the new jail.

Lingle cited Tsutsui's critical comments of the project in a recent Maui News article as an example of the Senate's lack of support. Tsutsui is the vice chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which oversees state spending.

Lingle wrote that "as it now appears that support of this facility is no longer available, we are reluctantly ending our efforts."

Tsutsui has said that the project's price tag was too high and the design looked more like a school than a traditional jail. Other lawmakers have also been concerned about the project's cost.

Tsutsui, who plans to respond to Lingle in a letter today, said it is odd the governor would cancel the project based on his comments. He said the governor should not be surprised that lawmakers might have concerns about the project.

"To say she is going to stop it because I made some comments expressing concern?" Tsutsui said. "I find it odd that she wouldn't anticipate that we would have legislative review if she's proposing something this large."

State Sen. Will Espero, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu), the chairman of the Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee, called Lingle's reaction strange. He said the administration could have approached lawmakers to discuss the project's future or less-costly alternatives.

"These needs and issues will not go away," Espero said of the state's lack of prison capacity. The state has been sending prisoners to the Mainland because of overcrowding at state prisons, the high cost of housing prisoners in the Islands, and opposition in many communities to proposals for new correctional facilities.

"At the very least, if we thought that the proposal was too expensive or too much, we could have made recommendations to, for instance, how about just a minimum-security jail with an emphasis on drug rehabilitation or re-entry at a cost of no more than $50 million or whatever the case may be?"

Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares said it is understandable the state would look at cost-cutting given the poor economy. But she said overcrowding at Maui Community Correctional Center has to be addressed at some point.

"I have not yet seen the letter outlining this decision, but given the state's current financial situation, it's understandable that they are looking at all their projects to determine which ones can be delayed until the state's economic picture improves," Tavares said in an e-mail.

"The current facility is overcrowded and needs a new location, so I hope that at some point in the future a plan to address these needs can be brought forward."

State Rep. Gil Keith-Agaran, D-9th (Wailuku, Pu'unene, Makawao), said he was surprised to hear of Lingle's decision because he was scheduled to be briefed by the state Department of Public Safety on the project next week. He said in a direct message on Twitter that the state money sent to a for-profit corporation to house prisoners on the Mainland could instead provide local corrections jobs and programs. He also said building the new jail could provide jobs for local construction workers.

Clayton Frank, director of the state Department of Public Safety, said he hopes to talk with Tsutsui about the project and perhaps win back lawmaker support so it can be revived.

"For me, I'm going to still try and plug away and see if we can get this planning and design completed and get this EA and everything situated and in place," he said. "Hopefully, we can start addressing the how and the means of trying to finance this project."