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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Majority
Whip Bill DeWeese |
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DeWeese says Fayette prison project narrowed to five sites
HARRISBURG, June 26 – State Rep. Bill DeWeese announced today that the state Department of General Services has narrowed the list of sites for a new $200 million state prison to five locations, all in the Fayette County portion of the 50th Legislative District.
DeWeese met recently with James P. Creedon, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, which will select the site and build the prison, for a detailed update on the project, estimated to create 700 jobs.
"Secretary Creedon and his staff told us they sent out more than one hundred letters of interest to property owners and discussed dozens of sites," said DeWeese, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington. "They also stressed that their department is keenly interested in picking a cost-effective development site, given the extremely tight nature of the state budget."
DeWeese said the next step, according to Creedon, is obtaining a "right of entry" from each of the five finalists, which would permit access onto the property to conduct "minimally invasive" drilling tests to determine if the site can support the prison structure.
DeWeese said Creedon estimated that DGS should complete its suitability analysis of the five sites by late summer, final site selection should be announced this fall and site preparation for construction could begin by the middle of 2010.
However, DeWeese said Creedon issued a caveat that it is possible, though unlikely, that all five sites could be deemed unsuitable after core drilling takes place. In that event, DeWeese said DGS would have to come up with a new list of site finalists.
"Although I stressed to Secretary Creedon my preference that the prison should be built in the 50th District -- particularly in German Township, which was the objective when the project was announced -- I am also aware that the state has an obligation to shop around for the best deal and that geology will play a part in this," DeWeese said. "The good news is that under statute, the prison will absolutely be built in Fayette County, and that will still mean 700 new jobs."
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