The federal government has verbally promised to reimburse local municipalities for approximately $1 million in property tax revenue lost to the planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, but Schuylkill County officials are demanding the agreement in writing.
Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora shared the update Friday with an audience of more than 80 people at a Tremont town hall organized by the grassroots group No Skook Detention.
Padora said the verbal pledge came during a virtual meeting last Thursday between county commissioners, U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, and officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE.
The federal government officially purchased the former Big Lots Distribution Center for $119 million on Jan. 29. The purchase made the property tax-exempt, creating an estimated annual revenue loss of $500,000 for the Pine Grove Area School District, $222,000 for Schuylkill County, and $196,000 for Tremont Township.
Padora told attendees Friday that a verbal agreement to make the municipalities whole is not enough.
“I want that in writing,” Padora said.
Padora maintained a neutral stance on the project as a whole, noting that his priority is securing binding agreements. “Some people don’t like the answers. Some people want us to fight. I will not make a statement if I’m for or against it. It’s not at that point,” he said. “I want everything in writing.”
No Families, Children
Addressing concerns raised at a prior commissioners meeting regarding the potential of children being detained and the subsequent impact on local schools, Padora said the issue was raised directly with federal officials.
ICE assured local officials that the Tremont Township facility, which is expected to house up to 7,500 people, will only detain adult men and women.
“They said this will not have families in it in any way, shape, or form. They’re saying there’s no children,” Padora said. “We want that in writing.”
Water and Sewer Capacities
Infrastructure remains a critical hurdle. Padora said commissioners informed federal officials Thursday that there are severe local concerns regarding freshwater supply and wastewater disposal.
“We told them right out, the capacity is zero,” Padora said.
Fears that the facility could exhaust the public water supply prompted the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to issue orders preventing DHS from drawing freshwater or pumping wastewater into the area’s public sewer system.
According to a DHS memo, agency engineers are reviewing sites to ensure they will not overload public utilities. Padora said he pressed DHS for a short-term proposal, referencing workarounds like trucking water in and out.
Padora said he told the federal officials that he doesn’t want any local residents footing any part of the bill of expanding water and sewer demands created by the detention center.
“Why should anyone from this community pay for their expansion if they need it,” he said.
Emergency Services, Trucking
DHS intends to “sit down” with members of local emergency services in the Tremont area to discuss the impact its ICE detention center will have on them, Padora said. He said in the coming weeks, the agency will appoint an outreach person for Schuylkill County and they’ll be tasked, at least in part, with coordinating emergency management at the detention center.
One of the bigger concerns with emergency services, apart from the lack of numbers of people to serve, is the lack of communications. It was expressed to the Commissioners Friday that emergency radios don’t function properly already in the area.
He also said County officials expressed concern over road usage. Padora said he doesn’t want transportation to and from the ICE facility using anything but Interstates 81 and 78.
Future Plans
Another concern raised by residents who attended the town hall last Friday was what happens with the detention center when it, in the future, may not be needed to house 7,500 detainees as the federal government believes it does now.
Padora said DHS officials spoke about this but specifics were few. He said the facility could be used as part of a regionalization of its agencies in the future and the detention center could serve other purposes in the future.
Again, however, nothing in the way of plans for the building beyond a detention center is a certainty.
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