Plans emerged at a Schuylkill County Prison Board meeting Wednesday to install two modular holding cells inside the Central Booking office to house people arrested overnight by police departments.

The office is on the first floor of the county courthouse. Plans include having two sheriff’s deputies on call to guard the detainees until they can be arraigned when district judge’s offices open in the morning.

Arresting officers would escort the detainees to the holding cells.

The need stems from a shortage of district judges to handle overnight calls to arraign detainees, who would then be lodged in the county prison pending hearings.

In the past year, one district judge has retired and another elected as a Commonwealth Court judge, leaving just five. Yet another has been having health issues.

That problem will be partially resolved when an additional district judge is appointed, hopefully in November, said Commissioners Chairman Larry L. Padora.

Prison Board Chairman Commissioners Barron L. Hetherington said state Sen. David G. Argall is helping the county acquire another district judge. Where that judge would serve has yet to be determined.

There are issues with holding people who are not arraigned, or formally charged, in the prison. They are not classified as inmates, so are not subject to the same rules and regulations.

The matter first surfaced at a regular Prison Board meeting on Sept. 2, when police chiefs from Tamaqua, Ashland and other departments brought the matter to the board’s attention. Most departments lack holding cells for detainees and the staff to guard them.

Tamaqua Police Chief Michael Hobbs noted that sending his officers to take detainees to the prison, in Pottsville, takes their time away from protecting borough residents.

Since then, officials have worked frantically to find a fix, contacting surrounding counties to see how they handle the situation and debating various options.

“This is the quickest, most cost-effective solution we could find,” Padora said.

Creating a separate space in the prison, and the guards to staff it, would cost at least $300,000 in addition to the construction work, and take almost a year to finish.

Using the Central Booking office would cost much less; the modular holding cells cost between $25,000 to $35,000 each. Sheriff’s deputies are paid much less than corrections officers.

Engineering Rick Yutko said it would take up to five weeks to draw up the plans and another eight or nine to install. He noted there is already a bathroom close by in the office.

Sheriff Shawn Butler said polices and procedures will also need to crafted.

District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake would prefer detainees be held at the prison, but said he is “not opposed to the idea, but there’s a lot to be hammered out here … to make sure things run smoothly.”

He noted that “people who come in at night tend to be unruly.”

District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, noted that “90 percent” of detainees are released on bail when they are arraigned in the mornings. Most have calmed down by then, he said.

Hetherington initially presented the option of housing the detainees in the prison, but cautioned that the state Department of Corrections pays close attention the prison, inspecting it every two years.

“All we have to do is screw up once, and they’ll be here every six months,” he said.

President Judge Jacqueline L. Russell expressed concern about detainees who might be hiding drugs inside their bodies, saying that’s why the prison has a full body scan machine every inmate is put through. She’s worried that hidden drugs may cause overdoses in detainees.

Warden Michael Buchanan said that inmates are required to comply with the body scan, but detainees would not be because they had yet to be formally charged.

Judge Russell also is concerned about detainees with medical problems. Controller Sharyn M. Yackenchick asked if nurses working for the county’s prison medical provider, PrimeCare Medical, could be called over from the prison to check on them.

A PrimeCare nurse who attended the meeting said their contract would have to be modified to reflect that.

Judge Russell also sharply rebuked the board for failing to include all concerned in discussions concerning the overnight holding facility.

“There is a total lack of communication,” she said.

Yutko echoed the judge’s frustration.

“The lack of communication drives me nuts,” he said.

He suggested group emails be sent to include all concerned.

Hetherington said the matter was not one of the Prison Board, but rather the commissioners, and that the solution was to be worked out between the board and the sheriff.

Commissioner Gary J. Hess called for cooperation.

“I’ve said it time and time again. We have to work together,” he said.