A feasibility study for the expansion found that York County can’t afford the project unless U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fills 550 of the extra beds with immigration detainees over the next three decades.  The commissioners on Tuesday reaffirmed past statements that they won’t approve the project unless there is a guarantee from ICE, an agency that historically has shied away from giving such assurances.  If immigration officials refuse, the federal government will be asked to assume the $52 million cost.  “The ball’s in the their court,” President Commissioner Steve Chronister said. “ICE has to decide what commitment it will make. This is not going to be a speculative project.”

ICE spokesman Mark Medvesky said Tuesday that the agency is open to all ideas … An expansion would provide more space for ICE, which approached the county about using 300 to 600 more beds in the Springettsbury Township facility …

In order for the county to avoid a massive financial hit with the expansion, the federal government would have to hold about 1,250 detainees in the prison each day at the $63.35 per diem rate it pays, county engineer John Klinedinst said.  Either way, the expansion never received serious consideration from the commissioners; they believe jail diversion programs could empty enough beds to satisfy ICE.   Their plan, however, could be complicated by an agreement with Springettsbury Township. More than 150 detainees are housed in trailers on the prison campus, and the agreement requires that the trailers be removed by late 2010.

The project’s $52 million cost accounts for more than additional beds. Parts of the prison must be renovated in order for the expansion to be effective. The building’s women’s wing, admissions area and control center are sorely outdated, Klinedinst and prison Warden Mary Sabol said. Klinedinst believes an enlarged admissions area will eliminate some security issues and make more efficient use of the prison’s staff.

Read the complete article at the York Daily Record.