By Cliff Lewis
At the Tuesday, May 12 County Commissioners Meeting, the Board will vote on a motion to invest $15,000 in exploring the possibility of an expanded work release program that could potentially include the acquisition of a standalone facility. The money would go to Kimball Architecture, a firm that has recently assisted the County in assessing expansion options for the overcrowded Lancaster County Prison.
Commissioner Scott Martin introduced the request at the May 11 Work Session. On behalf of the Lancaster County Prison Board, Martin explained the proposed amendment: “The Board voted to reengage with Kimball to look at a possible new design of a work release facility and to look at possible site acquisition, working with the County engineer to determine whether any sites that we could possibly look at are able to house what we are looking to put on there.”
The proposed work release program itself would serve to alleviate congestion in the prison, which has recently housed close to double its intended capacity. In January, Kimble Architecture presented the LCPB with an “Expansion Options Analysis,” which aired the idea of constructing a new, $169 million prison. Since then, public discussion has turned to other options to delay the need for such a massive project.
Commissioner Craig Lehman agreed with the request to continue work with Kimball, but stated that he did “have some concern regarding the site acquisition and the standalone work release center.”
NewsLanc later spoke with Lehman, who emphasized his commitment to the expansion of the County’s work release program, stating that his only objection is to the early acquisition of a standalone site. In Lehman’s thinking, it is only a matter of time before a new prison is built. And when that time comes, it would be more cost-effective to base all prison functions in the same facility. Lehman also indicated that he has seen proposed work release programs that could offer housing solutions more temporary than property acquisition.
