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Luzerne County Council approves capital projects plan

Rice township supervisors address lake drainage

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Luzerne County Councilman Harry Haas braved an upstairs floor caked with bird feces inside the county&#8217;s old juvenile detention center in Wilkes-Barre Tuesday so he could obtain an accurate assessment of its condition.</p><p>As he peered out a window, a pigeon burst out of an adjacent room and flapped around his head for a few seconds before retreating.</p><p>&#8220;I feel like I&#8217;m in an Alfred Hitchcock movie,&#8221; said Haas, who joined Councilman Rick Williams on a tour of the vacant structure atop a hill along River Street near the county courthouse.</p><p>The tour was scheduled to help interested council members gauge if the building can be used for something else or should be sold or torn down. The administration received capital budget authorization to spend $160,000 to tear down the center and a veteran affairs garage but hasn&#8217;t advanced demolition plans.</p><p>The center has been empty since 2002, when former judge Michael Conahan said it was not fit for habitation and stopped sending youths there. The building had passed state inspection, but Conahan returned the center &#8216;s license to the state, forcing its closure and leading to the county&#8217;s use of a private detention center that played a role in corruption charges against Conahan and others.</p><p>Built in 1937 as a women&#8217;s prison, the three-story building is solid and not leaking but needs a new furnace and other repairs. Some officials say the choppy layout and shortage of parking makes it unsuitable for reuse.</p><p>Haas pointed to the building&#8217;s fallout shelter sign and said its location near the county prison, courthouse and other county offices is a consideration, he said.</p><p>&#8220;This structure is sound. It&#8217;s not going anywhere,&#8221; he said.</p><p>He looked beyond the peeling paint and admired a fireplace and other antique cabinetry that were remnants of the living quarters for the prison warden and his family when it first opened.</p><p>County officials have blocked the access road and secured the property to deter thieves and vandals.</p><p>Haas told his council colleagues Tuesday he believes the property should be considered for reuse, possibly as a record storage facility.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sick and tired of seeing our buildings going to waste,&#8221; Haas said.</p><p>County Operational Services Division Head Tanis Manseau said newer safety codes increase the cost of adapting older buildings for government use.</p><p>The ceilings at the detention center are too low for record storage, he said. The engineering department concluded there wasn&#8217;t enough room at the site to hold a basic, one-story building for records, and a new multi-story building would cost &#8220;way more than $1.45 million,&#8221; which is the amount the administration plans to spend purchasing and rehabbing a property in Hanover Township for record storage, he said.</p><p>Williams, an architect, said he formed a different conclusion as a result of his tour and believes the building is too far gone to reuse at a reasonable cost.</p><p>Instead, he believes the county should hold onto the parcel for its prime location and explore removing the top of the hill to make a larger pad for a county building or park. He stressed that project would have to wait for years until the county repays its debt and builds a reserve.</p><p>Prison officials have discussed converting the center into a prison for female inmates, but that would cost an estimated $6 million.</p><p>Council could try to sell the property to a private developer interested in a small office building or residential structure, but the pool of potential buyers might be limited or nonexistent because of the site&#8217;s limited parking and front-row view of the county prison, officials have said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County officials continue to debate plans for the old juvenile detention center in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_juvie01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Luzerne County officials continue to debate plans for the old juvenile detention center in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_juvie02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Deterioration has accelerated inside Luzerne County&#8217;s juvenile detention center. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_juvie02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Deterioration has accelerated inside Luzerne County&#8217;s juvenile detention center. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_juvie03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A jail cell inside the old Luzerne County juvenile detention center in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_juvie03.jpg</photo2><caption2>A jail cell inside the old Luzerne County juvenile detention center in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_juvie04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County Councilman Harry Haas inspects the county&#8217;s old juvenile detention center during a tour Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_juvie04.jpg</photo3><caption3>Luzerne County Councilman Harry Haas inspects the county&#8217;s old juvenile detention center during a tour Tuesday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County Council members tour old juvenile detention center