The Shapiro administration’s final recommendation on Wednesday to close two state prison facilities in Centre and Clearfield counties drew the ire of local officials who have railed against the proposal since it was first revealed seven months ago.
Rockview prison in Benner Township and Quehanna Boot Camp in Karthaus are poised to close following the final report and recommendation from a Department of Corrections steering committee, which cited cost savings of up to $100 million, declining inmate populations and an opportunity “to align department resources with current needs.”
A formal announcement of the final decision is expected by Friday.
Centre County Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Higgins said in a statement that the decision would be detrimental to employees, their families and the local economy.
“Centre County and our neighboring counties will certainly feel the employment and economic impacts of this decision,” Higgins said.
Higgins and Commissioner Amber Concepcion also pointed to the impact on inmates and returning citizens who have family nearby and who have built relationships with local service providers.
“This decision makes the meaningful and already-difficult work of rehabilitation all the more difficult. I am worried about the impacts,” Concepcion said. “We received numerous heartfelt letters from staff and inmates at both facilities, all of whom wanted their respective facilities to remain open.”
The commissioners estimated earlier this year a $117.9 million economic loss across Centre, Clearfield and Clinton counties, including lost wages, indirect jobs, local purchases and per capita funding resulting from the closures.
DOC’s 1,200-page report acknowledges a negative economic impact, citing projections from the Department of Community and Economic Development. In Centre County, they estimate $5.8 million in lost payments to local vendors and $167,000 in lost economic activity for each employee that moves out of the area. For Clearfield, it’s an estimated $1.1 million in lost annual payments to local vendor and $190,000 in economic activity per employee that moves.
The report noted that 41% of Rockview staff have a home address in Centre County and 70% of Quehanna’s have an address in Clearfield County.
But the recommendation says the facilities have extensive capital needs, that Rockview has regularly high vacancy and overtime rates and that the staff, inmates and programs at both facilities can be absorbed by other prisons throughout a system that has is operating at about 82% capacity.
The 110-year-old Rockview, the second oldest facility in Pennsylvania’s system, has upwards of $85 million in deferred maintenance needs over six years, not including $7 million needed to install air conditioning or routine upkeep and repairs, according to the DOC report. Quehanna, meanwhile has up to $7 million in maintenance needs. Neither facility is well equipped to handle an aging inmate population, according to the report.
The Pennsylvania Prison Society has said that Rockview’s infrastructure is indeed in poor condition, and if handled properly, the closures could be beneficial to staff and inmates.
With lawmakers still negotiating the late state budget, though, the timing of the decision to close the facilities “makes little sense,” said Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) President Michael Ohler.
“These closures were pitched as a way to save the commonwealth money, but taxpayers are still conservatively spending well north of $150 million on properties that have already been closed but haven’t been repurposed,” Ohler said. “The department is more interested in playing budget games than focusing on the safety and quality of life of our brave corrections officers and staff.”
The 658 employees at Rockview and 234 at Quehanna — about 20% of whom at both facilities are currently eligible for retirement — would be offered positions with equivalent pay and classification at another facility within 67 miles. While Benner Township state prison is next door to Rockview and Clearfield County has Houtzdale state prison, unions representing staff have said opportunities close by will be limited, and many will have hourlong drives in each direction for their new location.
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, whose district includes Rockview, called the decision “a slap in the face to the brave, hard-working officers and staff who not only keep us safe but also help the incarcerated people in their custody and care.”
“This decision will have devastating consequences for many families and our local communities,” Takac said. “It will take an incredible personal toll on the workers and their families. The longer, more costly, and more dangerous commutes these workers may have if transferred to another facility will also impact responsibilities and opportunities to give back to others, such as volunteering for the local fire and EMS services and community organizations.”
Takac, who said he will continue to urge DOC Secretary Laurel Harry and Gov. Josh Shapiro to reverse course, has been among the elected officials who have vocally and vehemently opposed the possible closures over the last seven months. He held multiple community forums, and said he has had dozens of conversations with state agencies, including one as recently as last week with the administration, “to prevent this from happening and to mitigate the harm that it would cause.”
“Unfortunately, those arguments fell on deaf ears, and we are left with this misguided decision made by out-of-touch bureaucrats in Harrisburg who failed to meaningfully engage with the public beyond minimum requirements and who did not even care to visit the facilities before recommending their closure,” Takac said.
State Rep. Dallas Kephart, R-Decatur Township, whose district includes Quehanna, said the boot camp not only provides jobs, but plays a key role in rehabilitation, with the state’s lowest recidivism rates and savings of $11,400 per inmate.
He suggested that the two packed-house public hearings required by law and held in the spring by the DOC were merely for show.
“The DOC held hearings that we now know were nothing more than political showmanship,” Kephart said. “This is a gut punch to our communities.”
Republican state Rep. Mike Armanini, who represents part of Clearfield County, likened the prison closures to Penn State’s decision earlier this year to shutter seven Commonwealth Campuses, calling it “an ill-conceived plan to reroute funding where it does not need to, and should not, go.”
State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township, whose district includes all of Clearfield County and western Centre County, said he “would strongly recommend that the secretary not adopt this closure.”
Though neither facility is in his 77th District, state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, has also urged the administration to keep the facilities open and said that based on their track records the decision to close them “makes no sense.”
“This decision is a gut-punch to our area,” Conklin said. “Rockview and Quehanna are both professionally operated by dedicated officers and staff, most of whom are our friends, neighbors and family. Although these facilities are outside of my district, I worked in a bipartisan manner in the fight to save these institutions… I stand ready to support my colleagues, the corrections officers, staff and their families in the difficult days ahead.”
While the focus Wednesday was largely on the immediate impacts to staff, inmates and families, the question of what will happen with Rockview’s 5,700 acres also remains. The property, much of it farmland between State College and Bellefonte that would no doubt draw significant interest, is the largest in the state system.
Harry and DOC Deputy Secretary Christopher Oppman said at a budget hearing earlier this year that the commonwealth would need to maintain at least some of it because it serves the adjacent Benner state prison. The report, meanwhile, recommends that Rockview’s forestry program be transferred to Benner.
But the DOC would not be involved in the sale or transfer of land, the steering committee wrote. That would fall to the Department of General Services, and typically could only occur by legislation.
Takac said he will demand that the divestiture of any Rockview land must be “fully open and transparent.”
“I will continue to insist that the state not make backroom sweetheart deals or fail to receive fair value or compensation for any land transfers or sales,” he said. “Further, any future uses or transfers must take into account a significant public and community benefit because that land belongs to us, the people of Pennsylvania, held in trust, and any future changes or decisions must fully take that into account.
“I insist that the costs of moth-balling and ongoing maintenance be minimal and that the facilities will not become abandoned and blighted, or ever become a burden borne by local taxpayers.”
Higgins and Concepcion, meanwhile, said that they “share in the sense of loss and concern of so many community members who have advocated for these facilities to remain open,” but also struck a hopeful tone.
“If there is anything we have learned during the public hearing process, it is that Centre County residents are dedicated, resilient and tenacious,” Concepcion said. “We have seen these characteristics on display as community members have taken to their pens and papers, their keyboards and microphones at public meetings to make their voices heard. We are certain this is the resilience and tenacity that we will use to navigate this transition.”
