The state prison at Frackville is among those being considered for closure by June 30 by the state Department of Corrections.

Department of Corrections and Secretary John Wetzel on Friday announced the plan.The others are SCI Mercer, Mercer County; SCI Retreat, Luzerne County; SCI Waymart, Wayne County; and SCI Pittsburgh, Allegheny County.The department will announce its final decision of which two to close on Jan. 26.“We have implemented a variety of cost savings initiatives over the past several years, yet we are again in the position where the Department of Corrections must make significant reductions because of the dire budget forecast,” Wetzel said. “The most significant reduction we can make as an agency is a prison closure.”The annual cost to operate Frackville in 2017-2018 is estimated to be $56,983,000, according to the state. Closing it would save $44,000,000 a year.“My first reaction is that this would be a huge loss to the Schuylkill County economy. There are many jobs in jeopardy. Our county has one of the highest unemployment rates, and this would not help,” said Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine A. Holman.Frackville employs 409 people.“Every affected employee will be offered a position elsewhere in the Department of Corrections,” Wetzel said. “We understand that moving to another facility may be difficult, but we will try to make the transition as seamless as possible.”Gov. Tom Wolf supports the plan.“Our commonwealth faces a serious budget deficit that means we have limited funds to provide the services the people of Pennsylvania expect from their government and we must make government more efficient to avoid broad cuts to education, job creation programs and social services for the most vulnerable,” he said.“Department of Corrections’ announcement of these cost-saving measures is exactly the kind of action that we must take to ensure we can continue to invest in middle class families and Pennsylvania’s future,” Wolf said.In making its decision the agency is taking into consideration the ages, sizes, locations, operational costs, and specialty functions of the prisons, as well as economic impact on the affected communities, Wetzel said.Local lawmakers oppose the actionState Sen. John T. Yudichak, D-Luzerne, Carbon, says the move hurt middle-class families. Prisons at Frackville and Retreat are in his 14th legislative district.He says he’s been talking with union representatives, and intends to ask for a delay in the decision and to hold public hearings before any action is taken.“A lot of people from Carbon and Luzerne counties work at these prisons. We’re in the center of the storm,” Yudichak said.Retreat employs 400 people. Yudichak said the economic impact would also hit communities surrounding the prisons hard.“To have this kind of job loss is unacceptable. I will fight it. This would hurt working families,” he said.Yudichak also criticized Wetzel and Wolf for making the decision without input from legislators and the public.“This was an arbitrary political decision driven more by ideology than good fiscal sense,” Yudichak said. “We’re going to fight it every step of the way.”State Sen. David G. Argall, R- Schuylkill/Berks, and state Reps. Neal P. Goodman, D-Schuylkill; Jerry Knowles, R-Berks/Carbon/Schuylkill; and Mike Tobash, R-Schuylkill/Berks released a joint statement.“We’re shocked that Frackville is included on this list. Out of the five state prisons under consideration, SCI Frackville is the newest facility and has an ‘excellent infrastructure’ according to the Department of Corrections. Furthermore, SCI Frackville has the second lowest cost-per-inmate, would generate the least amount of annual savings for taxpayers if closed and is the most versatile because it can accommodate all four levels of prisoners.“We believe if the administration is seeking cost-savings, they should be looking at our corrections system as a whole and all institutions should be under review; not a select handful. Furthermore, this needs to be an open and transparent process since this impacts all Pennsylvanians from a cost standpoint as well as a safety and security standpoint.“We’ve already spoken with Gov. Wolf and Secretary Wetzel and will do everything in our power to convince them to keep this facility open. We know there are facilities that are not economically viable, but Frackville is not one of them. We are sure that after the Department of Corrections does its due diligence it will see what we already know — that Frackville is a top-notch institution that must be maintained. We are hopeful the administration can strike the right balance between cost-savings for taxpayers and the safety of Pennsylvanians.”State Sen. John Blake, D-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Monroe, also opposes the potential closure of SCI Waymart, citing public safety and jobs.Wetzel said that the Department of Corrections “can close prisons without a security risk because of the historic reduction in the inmate population. Also, an additional one thousand unused beds were recently made available at SCI Camp Hill, making it feasible to close a second facility.”Blake disagrees.“SCI Waymart houses over 1,400 dangerous criminals, a third of whom are in the facility’s specialized mental health and forensic inmate population. This specialized capacity is unique to this state correctional facility. SCI Waymart is at 90 percent capacity, and most other facilities are at or over capacity, which begs the question of how other facilities can absorb the influx of so many inmates,” Blake said.Waymart employs 700 people.“I am cognizant of the state’s budgetary challenges and the need to reduce prison populations. However, I am not convinced that such precipitous action by the Department of Corrections is the solution to our immediate fiscal distress.“This is a matter of public safety and I will be voicing strong opposition to the closure and I will continue working with the administration to protect the specialized operations and family-sustaining jobs at SCI Waymart.”Crime is down, Wolf saysThe Department of Corrections “believes we are able to close prisons without security risk because of the historic reduction in the inmate population and crime is down,” Wolf says.“By investing in the things that make Pennsylvania a better place, like reducing recidivism and improving our schools, we can ensure the long-term prosperity and safety of our commonwealth.“I chose to invest in schools — not prisons — because it’s both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. The future of Pennsylvania depends on making investments in what works and I’ll do everything I can to ensure we’re investing in all our kids and their futures,” he said.