Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess said this morning that he’s “not OK” with the planned ICE detention center in Tremont Township.
Hess and his fellow Commissioners were being pressed to take a stand on the ICE detention center planned for Schuylkill County during the public comment of their work session meeting Wednesday morning at the Courthouse.
Mechanicsville resident Steven Moyer wanted the Commissioners to say one way or another how they felt about the ICE detention center, particularly Chairman Larry Padora.
While Padora said he wasn’t ready to take a stand on the Dept. of Homeland Security’s plans until more information about them were known, Hess told Moyer he’s against the facility.
“I made a statement before, at the beginning of this, that I was against the building, of that facility coming into that building, especially of the area. I want to make that clear. I’ve said it time and time again.
“That’s me, personally, that I’m totally against that building coming into this county. It’s not good for the county. I’m not going to sit here and someone’s saying I’m OK with this. I’m not OK with it. I’m not OK with it,” Hess said.
Later, Commissioner Boots Hetherington said, “Am I happy about it? No.”
But Moyer kept pressing Padora to take a stand, which the Chairman would not do.
Instead, Padora said, “My concerns are the impact on our county. I don’t have any information on the facility. We don’t have anything.”
So far, the only things that are known about the ICE detention center is that it’s supposed to house up to 7,500 detainees with plans to process them out within 45-90 days.
Since the building is now federally-owned, it is off the tax roll of the County government, Tremont Township, and Pine Grove Area School District, which amounts to a tax loss of a little less than $1 million.
Also, from information released at a recent Commissioners meeting, the ICE detention center could employ between 2,000 and 2,500 people.
“You guys should have a stand,” Moyer pressed on the Commissioners.
Padora said he will not be drawn into a debate on the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Moyer said that’s not what he’s asking of the Commissioners.
“Are you OK with them putting a center up there and that you’re going to have to pass more taxes to us.
“I think it’s very poor that we elected politicians that will not stand up either way. I could care either way but I want to know,” Moyer said. “I’m very heartbroken that you don’t have a stand. Thirty-five years in the military and I’ve got to listen to County Commissioners that won’t take a stand? That’s not what you were elected for.”
Padora questioned why Moyer believed that the Commissioners would have to raise taxes. He said a new Amazon warehouse next to the current facility is ready to come online and be on the tax roll once it gets its occupancy permit.
“It’d be better to have both but this will help offset the cost of (losing the Big Lots tax revenue),” Padora said.
Commissioner Says Schuylkill County Needs Federal Support to Host ICE Detention Facility
While Padora did not take a stand on whether he supports and opposes the ICE detention center, he recently sent a letter to federal officials notifying them of the County’s need to be made whole, as it were, in exchange for hosting the facility in Tremont Township.
“I am formally placing the federal government on notice that the operation and planned scaling of the ICE detention and processing facility in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania designed to house up to 7,500 detainees creates significant fiscal, infrastructure, public safety, and judicial impacts that require mitigation prior to sustained full-capacity operations,” the letter reads. “This position is not political. It is a governance responsibility. We remain willing to work collaboratively and in good faith with DHS, ICE, and our congressional delegation to establish a responsible and sustainable framework.
“Operational scaling without structural mitigation is not acceptable,” Padora states.
The letter was addressed to US Rep. Dan Meuser, who represents Schuylkill County in Congress, Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman, and the Dept. of Homeland Security.
Padora notes the tax loss to Schuylkill County, Tremont Township, and Pine Grove Area School District. He also compared the 7,500-bed detention center to a municipality bigger than most in Schuylkill County operating inside a building. He said that as things are, it’s not sustainable.
“At full capacity, the facility functions as a municipality larger than many communities within our county without a tax base, without independent emergency services, and without judicial infrastructure. The County cannot absorb this scale of impact without structural federal support,” the letter continues.
Padora calls for “enforceable written agreements” between the federal government and Schuylkill County before the ICE detention center can operate at full capacity. He calls for a per-detainee-day safety surcharge the government should have to pay to cover emergency services in the area.
He also requests Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) to restore the tax loss the federal government’s purchase caused.
The Commissioner’s letter also details the strain the facility is likely to cause on emergency communications and services in the area.
It reads, “The County’s volunteer-based emergency services system is not structured to absorb sustained urban-scale demand without dedicated funding. A federally funded, dedicated Advanced Life Support unit assigned to the facility must be operational prior to sustained occupancy levels exceeding baseline local capacity.”
Further, Padora notes the strain the ICE detention center will cause on the utility infrastructure once it’s up to capacity.
“If system upgrades, plant expansions, pump station improvements, fire flow enhancements, or environmental compliance modifications are required to accommodate federal occupancy, those capital and operational costs must be fully federally funded,” he writes. “The County will not assume environmental liability exposure or ratepayer impact created by federal operations.”
The Commissioner also wants traffic to and from the facility to be limited to Interstate 81 and US Route 209 and that any travel through Tremont Borough be limited to emergencies only.
Padora said that without these assurances from the federal government – including a meeting and binding agreements between the parties – Schuylkill County will act to protect its own interests.
“Absent timely federal engagement and enforceable commitments, the County will be required to evaluate all available legal, regulatory, and administrative remedies necessary to protect local taxpayers, emergency services capacity, and infrastructure integrity,” the letter states.
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