A Luzerne County Council majority sent a letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday urging him to keep the State Correctional Institute at Retreat in Newport Township open, saying the economic impact of a closure would be “disastrous.”

The state Department of Corrections recently announced it will close two of five prisons. In addition to SCI Retreat, the other facility closures under consideration are SCI Frackville in Schuylkill County, SCI Waymart in Wayne County, SCI Mercer in Mercer County and SCI Pittsburgh in Allegheny County. A decision may be announced Jan. 26.

Closing SCI Retreat would “uproot and severely challenge” the facility’s 400 employees and their families and hurt small businesses in the county that sell services and products to the prison and its employees, the letter says.

Officials have noted another 400 Luzerne County residents commute to work at the Waymart and Frackville facilities.

Workers may be offered positions in another correctional facility if SCI Retreat closes, but relocating displaced workers will negatively impact the county and “provide a major setback to our recent progress in ridding ourselves of massive debt,” the letter said.

The county must pay around $26 million annually through 2028 for inherited debt and relies on real estate taxes as its primary revenue. The tax base could be impacted if residents abandon their property. A population decline also may reduce fee revenue for county services and state and federal funding awards based on formulas that factor in the number of residents, officials said.

A choice between relocation and unemployment “will tear apart families with roots of several generations and change the culture of our county as it impacts their lives,” the letter said.

SCI Retreat also could be a key part of a new county prison, the letter said.

The county has been considering building a “sorely needed new prison” to replace its aging, multistory facility on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre, the letter said. One of the proposals “in the early stage of review of options” is a county prison near SCI Retreat that would allow some shared services to reduce costs for both the county and state, the letter said.

“Your decision to close SCI Retreat will deny both the state and the county the opportunity to collaborate and conserve resources,” the letter said.

County officials had tossed around the idea of a constructing a facility near SCI Retreat in 2007, but periodic discussions about new construction since that year remained on the back burner due to the estimated $100 million construction cost.

The county council and administration have not discussed specific prison construction options at any public meetings since county Manager C. David Pedri called for revived focus on the project in July.

Several council members have concurred a new prison is needed and would be great, but paying for it is a problem. In addition to the county’s more than $300 million in outstanding debt and $9.4 million deficit, most, if not all, remaining past-borrowed funds have been earmarked for other pending and proposed capital projects. Additional capital funding may be needed to finish other projects on the horizon, including a proposed $19.3 million switch to a new 911 digital emergency radio communications system to replace an analog one that will become obsolete in 2020.

The county council letter expresses appreciation for Wolf’s desire to invest in education but said the elected officials remind him that public safety and economic stability also must be “balanced and managed.”

“We in Luzerne County understand well the challenges and stresses of budgetary considerations,” the letter says, inviting Wolf to visit the area and facility to talk to those who would be impacted.

Eight council members signed the letter: Linda McClosky Houck, Tim McGinley, Edward Brominski, Harry Haas, Eugene Kelleher, Robert Schnee, Eileen Sorokas and Jane Walsh Waitkus.

Council members Rick Williams, Stephen A. Urban and Kathy Dobash declined an offer to sign the letter. Urban and Dobash could not immediately be reached for comment.

Williams said Wednesday he doesn’t want any county residents to lose their jobs but made the “difficult decision” to not sign the letter because he doesn’t have specific information on all options and wants the state to make a decision that is best for the state overall.

“I trust they will include the effect of their action on all residents of the state,” Williams said.

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By Jennifer Learn-Andes

jandes@timesleader.com

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.