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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Bill DeWeese |
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German Township site remains in prison mix
HARRISBURG, Jan. 21 – A German Township site has cleared preliminary analyses and has become a contender for a new state prison, state Rep. Bill DeWeese said following a Tuesday meeting with Department of General Services officials.
DGS Secretary James P. Creedon and Deputy Secretary Elizabeth O’Reilly told DeWeese the German Township location, situated off Route 21 near Masontown and known as the Wolf-Clark site, has qualified for the next steps in the selection process, which include appraisals of fair market value, on-site environmental testing and sketch layouts.
However, DeWeese said Creedon cautioned that these developments do not represent a guarantee, and that they only mean the German Township site preliminarily qualifies to be in competition with three potential prison sites in nearby Luzerne Township.
DeWeese said Creedon told him, "Wolf-Clark is officially on the list and is being evaluated, along with other sites." Creedon also said an October meeting at the German Township Municipal Building, where officials urged a closer look at the site, proved helpful in getting the site in play.
O’Reilly said DGS analysis of the German Township site thus far, which includes a matrix assessment that judges suitability based on things like topography, highway and utility access, and brownfields issues, has not turned up any negatives to rule out the site.
DeWeese said he was pleased to learn that German Township, his long-preferred choice for the 2,000-bed, $200-million prison, was still in the running. He reminded DGS officials that the local community has rolled out the proverbial welcome mat.
"If the site is picked, it will be the equivalent of Christmas morning in German Township," DeWeese said. "This project would not only provide 700 family-sustaining, recession-proof jobs to benefit the local economy; it also would create infrastructure enhancements in water and sewerage that would set the stage for spin-off development in the German Township-Masontown area."
Regarding the project timetable, DeWeese was told that if the appraisal and land acquisition process goes smoothly, DGS is hopeful that bids can be let by summer and that construction can begin by fall or winter.
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