Aug 15, 2002 By Steve Ostrosky 2 min read

WAYNESBURG – Though all Fayette County inmates have been returned from Greene County, the county’s prison is still housing inmates from other counties and reaping the financial benefits. Warden Harry Gillispie told the county prison board Wednesday that 14 Erie County inmates are being housed in his facility, while all of the Fayette County inmates that had been housed there were returned July 19.

He told the board that as many as 20 inmates from Erie were staying in Greene, but that number has dwindled as space has become available. For the year to date, the county has received $137,000 for housing inmates from Erie and Fayette counties, weekend inmate costs and work release costs.

Fayette County just paid another $25,250 for Greene County to hold inmates during July, while Erie County owes $960 for June and $16,800 for July, Gillispie said.

The county prison has been able to hold inmates from other counties after an expansion project in 2000 increased the prison’s capacity to 116 beds. The county is still hoping to receive reimbursement for that project, though the money appears to be stalled in the attorney general’s office in Harrisburg.

Gillispie said he applied for funds under Act 71 of 1990, a $200 million bond issue that counties could tap into to receive money for new construction or renovation to increase inmate capacity or for electronic monitoring as a means to reduce overcrowding. Gillispie said he was encouraged to seek the funds because the county had not applied when the bond issue was first released.

He said he submitted an application for funds in March 2001 and submitted more information later last year, but he is still awaiting word on whether the prison expansion project will receive reimbursement.

Noting that the county is expected to receive about $16,000, Gillispie said the lag has come from Harrisburg.

“We’ve jumped through all the hoops, and we still have gotten no money,” he said.

In another matter, Gillispie reported that new prison counselor Barb Benchek has been working with local county agencies, such as the Salvation Army and Community Action Southwest, to provide services for inmates once they have been released from prison.

He added that a contract could be awarded for a new air conditioning system within the next four weeks.

The prison board will next meet Sept. 18 at noon at the prison.