Under a plan outlined Thursday, Luzerne County will spend as little money as possible on repairs at the aging prison in the coming years as officials develop a long-term plan for a new correctional facility.
The matter was discussed during County Council’s Correctional Services Committee meeting, which is chaired by Councilman Steve Coslett and also includes Council members Jimmy Sabatino and LeeAnn McDermott.
Based on discussions with county Correctional Services Division Head Stanley Fiedorczyk and others, Coslett said the consensus is that it does not make sense to “throw good money out” on the current prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre when a replacement structure is unavoidable.
“We don’t want to keep dumping tens of millions into the one we have,” Coslett said.
The committee asked Fiedorczyk and his staff to work with the county infrastructure planning consultant, CMTA/ICS, to identify prison repairs that must be completed within the next five years for the health and safety of staff and inmates. A briefing on those recommendations was scheduled for the committee’s next meeting Oct. 6.
Fiedorczyk said after the meeting, his immediate concerns include air conditioning and repairs to stop leaks.
County officials have periodically discussed a new prison for more than two decades because the existing aging, multistory facility requires significant maintenance and is too small.
The prison capacity was set at 250 inmates when it was remodeled around 1986, but it has largely run at double capacity since the 1990s through the use of bunk beds and conversion of day rooms into housing units, officials have said.
A retired county prison corrections officer, Coslett reiterated Thursday he wants to start planning now so the county is fully prepared when a final decision must be made years from now.
“We want to plan ahead so we’re not blindsided at the last minute that all of a sudden we need a new facility due to some sort of catastrophic failure,” he said.
Coslett emphasized the plan must include ways to generate revenue, such as leasing unused beds to other counties, to reduce the burden on county taxpayers or even fully cover the expense. Another option would be the inclusion of a segregated juvenile unit so the county does not have to pay to house juveniles elsewhere, officials said.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo told the committee the first steps would be identifying a suitable location and a design. Lehigh County has an urban prison with towers, and a past county proposal was for a wheel design with a command hub at the center and wings extending outward like spokes to house inmates and other services. Coslett has suggested a U-shaped design.
Sabatino asked if CMTA/ICS would help with a “very preliminary” site search.
Crocamo said the consultant will help with the feasibility of different locations and prison designs, but she emphasized “all major stakeholders” must be involved, including county courts and the district attorney and public defender’s offices.
Coslett agreed, saying he expects mixed views on where a prison could be located.
For example, he said after the meeting, expansion at the current site may be possible. A remote, rural location may not work due to logistical challenges getting inmates to court and medical treatment, he said.
He does not believe there is widespread support for using the vacant State Correctional Institution at Retreat complex in Newport Township. Concerns have been raised about the condition of the existing buildings and reliance on a steel bridge off Route 11 to access the site.
“All options are on the table,” Coslett said after the meeting. “We have to start somewhere.”
Fiedorczyk said a new prison is needed due to the condition of the current structure and challenges in identifying space to house inmates based on their classification.
The facility houses inmates serving sentences of up to two years and those still awaiting adjudication.