Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess said Thursday he is against the idea of a pre-release center located at the former Giant store in Pottsville.

“That will never get my vote to put a pre-release center there,” Hess said.

Hess said he informed both commissioners Barron “Boots” Hetherington and George Halcovage about his decision previously.

Hess said he didn’t speak at the commissioners meeting Wednesday about the topic because he wanted to listen to what the callers had to say.

“It’s not a proper place to put it,” Hess said of the pre-release center which would be for non-violent offenders. Those with drug and alcohol or mental health concerns could obtain treatment at the center, which is also known as a intermediate punishment center, Gary Bender, county administrator said.

Hess said he believes the location is better suited to revitalization efforts taking place in the city. The county has property at the former Schuylkill Transportation Center at the Saint Clair Industrial site.

“I’m 100 percent in favor of putting it at the STS location,” Hess said of the center.

Hetherington said Thursday, “I think the question is very premature at this point.”

Halcovage, who is on vacation, did not return a call for comment Thursday and did not attend Wednesday’s meeting.

Backlash

The potential use of the former Giant in Pottsville as a pre-release center by the county elicited passionate comments against such a move Wednesday during the county commissioners meeting.

Pottsville Mayor James T. Muldowney was the first to call in saying it will “devastate our revitalization of downtown Pottsville.”

The store, formerly located at 500 Progress Ave., closed July 9. The closure was necessitated because it “has not performed to our expectations and after exploring all potential options, none were deemed viable for the long term,” Ashley Flower, public relations manager for Giant said.

State Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, said the site isn’t a good one for the proposed use.

“There are other Schuylkill locations,” he said.

“Your decision on this project will be a legacy. There is no doubt,” Tobash said of a pre-release center.

Savas Logothetides, executive director of the Pottsville Area Development Corporation, said “Investors have shown significant and conveyed interest in the property. A planned prerelease center, while needed in the county, is counterproductive and short sighted use for one of the few large and visible properties in our downtown. Over 2,000 have signed an online petition in agreement. This type of use is the exact opposite of what our strategic plan has spelled out. It would have a negative impact and act as a deterrent when attracting small businesses to our downtown, when attracting residential investors, and when improving downtown livability,” he said.

Logothetides said the county owns at least 10 parcels in the city that are tax exempt.

He said if the property is classified as tax exempt in the future, the city could lose “in excess of $150,000 annually when being added to the other 10 county owned properties... over $1.5 million every 10 years that will fall upon the taxpayers and businesses of the city of Pottsville.”

He implored the county to reconsider the potential purchase.

“I also urge you to talk to your constituents, business owners, and other elected officials, especially the ones in the city of Pottsville who would be directly affected by a short sighted decision like this. Pottsville deserves better.”

Other locations

City council members Dave Clews and Mark Atkinson also spoke.

“While the pre-release center is needed, the former Giant is not the place for it,” Clews said.

Atkinson said there are numerous properties in the city where the city could work with the county to “facilitate that move, but to place a correctional facility in our business district is just a recipe to destroy our business and climate. “

State Sen. David Argall, R-29, also voiced opposition in a July 20 letter to Hetherington and the commissioners.

He wrote about the revitalization efforts in the city and asked the commissioners to “reject any purchase of the Giant Food Store property for the pre-release center or other county use.”

County responds

Hetherington said Wednesday after the meeting the potential purchase of the property is “an opportunity” for the county.

“I understand what they (the public) is saying. I have an obligation to all taxpayers,” Hetherington said.

A pre-release center is not the only option. He said storage space is another possibility. The county spends about $30,000 a year for storage at a location and the roof needs replaced, something the landlord is not willing to do.

“Storage would be the biggest thing” he said of a potential use for the former Giant property.

Bender said he was informed previously the store could potentially close. He told the previous board of commissioners the site could be for sale. Hess confirmed Bender had mentioned this.

“We’re in the very early stages of speaking about it,” Bender said.

No formal offer has been made, Bender said.