Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary J. Hess on Wednesday urged the county prison board to draft requests for proposals asking companies to submit estimates for buying or leasing a building to house nonviolent inmates close to the end of their sentences.

He said the RFPs would “consolidate specifics” and allow the board to “look at all the options and alternatives on pricing.”However, Commissioners’ and Prison Board Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said outside the public meeting that requests for proposals may be difficult. He would rather see requests for qualifications.“Then we can see what they can bring to the table,” he said.The building would house inmates in a program known as intermediate placement.President Judge William E. Baldwin supported Hess’ suggestion.Referring to the county’s practice of placing overflow inmates in other county prisons at a cost of $65 a day per inmate, Baldwin said “We’re losing $90,000 a month. We’ve got to see what’s out there because the money’s flowing out pretty fast.”He said alternatives include having a county facility and contracting with county agencies to provide drug and alcohol treatment, or hiring a company to provide both housing and services.The intermediate placement program would help alleviate overcrowding at the county jail on Sanderson Street in Pottsville.“The goal is to get training for people, job skills, so they can return to the community as productive citizens,” Halcovage said.The program would not be for hardened criminals, he said. Rather, it would house those convicted of crimes such as driving under the influence or minor theft.“We need to rehabilitate and train them to do the right thing,” Halcovage said.The requests for proposals/qualifications are important so the county can choose the best option for the best price.“Costs are a prime consideration,” Halcovage said. “If we do this the right way, it will cost less than incarceration.”Commissioners about 10 years ago ended a plan to build a center near the state prison in West Mahanoy Township because it would have cost too much.Hess raised the issue as the prison board discussed the inmate population.As of Wednesday morning, it was 244. That was with 48 inmates being housed in Berks, Centre, Columbia, Delaware and Snyder county jails.The housing of inmates outside the county — at about $65 a day per inmate, not counting travel expenses and overtime wages for sheriff’s deputies — began in March after the state Department of Corrections in May ordered Schuylkill to immediately address its overcrowding problem. The state capped the number of inmates at 277, and barred the county from jailing offenders sentenced to terms of two years to five years.A recent drug bust in Shenandoah pushed the population up.The alternate housing is costly.District Attorney Christine A. Holman suggested revisiting a 2012 proposal from a company based in Williamsport that offered to house 50 inmates in treatment halfway houses for addicts it operates in Pottsville, Dauphin and Indiana County.Then the company, called Firetree, charged $9,000 a month for 50 inmates.The company director at the time said the county would realize savings in the long run because the inmates would likely not return to prison.