Centre County’s Board of Commissioners continued to express frustration and concern about the pending closure of Rockview state prison, days after the Shapiro administration issued its final decision to shutter the 110-year-old facility in Benner Township and the Quehanna Boot Camp in Clearfield County.
In announcing the closures last week, the Department of Corrections cited declining inmate populations, an opportunity “to align department resources with current needs” and long-term costs savings of $100 million, stating that Rockview alone has upwards of $85 million in deferred maintenance needs. The closure process began immediately on Friday and will continue over a period of at least four months, according to the DOC.
“The governor probably needed to close a prison or two. We just disagree with the two that were closed,” Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Higgins said on Tuesday. “We still feel that Rockview and Quehanna were a couple of the better state correctional institutes in the commonwealth. And we still question the wisdom of closing those two particular facilities.”
Chief among the commissioners’ concerns were the 658 employees at Rockview, about 41% of whom have home addresses in Centre County, according to the DOC’s 1,223-page closure report published last week. About 17% percent of Rockview staff are currently eligible for retirement
The DOC says every employee at Rockview and Quehanna, which has 234 staffers with 70% living in Clearfield County, will be offered a position with the same classification and pay at another facility within 67 miles. For many, though, that may mean long commutes and household disruption.
Higgins and Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair Amber Concepcion said the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County and other organizations are working on job assistance efforts for Rockview staff who wish to find other employment rather than transfer to another correctional institution.
“Not everybody’s going to be able to move to another facility if that means driving a really considerable distance from their home here in Centre County,” Concepcion said. “I understand that the CBICC… will be looking to do whatever they can to help people in those transitions. As there’s positions open in Centre County government, hopefully, people will be looking at our website as well for potential employment.
“I think that will continue to be something that we’ll be keeping an eye on and having some concern about is getting folks into new jobs if they’re not looking to move to another correctional facility.”
Commissioners said earlier this year that they projected closures of Rockview and Quehanna would result in an estimated economic loss of $117.9 million in the tri-county area including Centre, Clearfield and Clinton, including lost wages, indirect jobs, local purchases and per capita funding resulting from the closures.
In addition economic and employee concerns, the commissioners continued to question what would become of the 5,700 acres of Rockview property, including its rolling farmlands between State College and Bellefonte, its dozens of structures and its infrastructure.
“You have vacant buildings, you have complexes that I don’t know that we’ve got clear answers to what that looks like next year, the following year, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years down the road,” Commissioner Steve Dershem said. “I think there needs to be a little bit more transparency of what that process looks like, what happens to those facilities.”
The Shapiro administration hasn’t indicated any plans for the Rockview property, and the closure report says the DOC would not be involved in the sale or transfer of land. That would be the responsibility of the Department of General Services, and would typically only occur by legislation.
Secretary of Corrections Laurel Harry and DOC Deputy Secretary Christopher Oppman said at earlier this year that the commonwealth would need to maintain at least some of Rockview’s land and infrastructure because it serves the adjacent Benner Township state prison. The report, meanwhile, recommends that Rockview’s forestry program — and presumably at least some of its forestland — be transferred to Benner.
“You’re not talking about insignificant amounts of not only infrastructure, but also of actually a variety of different types of land,” Dershem said on Tuesday. “I would have hoped that we would have known a little bit more about that coming into this decision, and I’m looking very much forward to seeing, hopefully in the near term, what the plan is for those facilities. And I would hope that this board and a few other folks across our community have the opportunity to weigh in on the realities that they represent.
“So hopefully we’ll have some discussion in the near future about the future of the property.”
The commissioners concerns reflected those expressed by other lawmakers representing the region on both sides of the political aisle over the last week, as every state representative and senator for Centre and Clearfield counties condemned the decision to close Rockview and Quehanna.
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, said last week he will insist that the properties not become blighted or “a burden borne by local taxpayers,” and 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.”
