With the inmate population at the Schuylkill County Prison only decreasing slightly from March to April, county prison board members said during Wednesday's monthly meeting they will listen to proposals from two organizations that have contacted the county.
"Right now, we are kind of without a solution," said county President Judge and prison board Chairman William E. Baldwin. "The question is what the county can afford, which is not much right now."
Baldwin suggested a special meeting for the two organizations to present their plan to deal with the overcrowding issue, but did not choose a date or reveal their names. County Administrator Mark Scarbinsky said the county is looking to meet within the next two weeks.
The average inmate population for the prison for April was 277, according to Warden Eugene Berdanier's monthly report. The population peaked at 294 on April 14 and was at 274 on Wednesday. The average for March was 286, peaking at 289 on March 29.
April was the first month of 2012 that the inmate population has not increased. The suggested capacity for the prison is 240.
In other news, the board recommended three names for the three vacant correctional officer positions. They were Jonathan Pozza, Minersville; Daniel Fritz, Minersville; and Theodore Styka, Mahanoy City.
Also, the current prison education program will end for the year on May 31. The 2012-13 program will begin again on Aug. 27.
During the Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners work session, a contract extension was approved with PPL Energy Plus Gas through Oct. 31, 2015. The contract price will be approximately $5.369 per million British thermal unit, which is 16.4 percent less than the current contract of $6.423 per million Btu.
The board also approved a master treasury management services agreement with M&T Bank. The agreement is for electronic banking, updating previous contracts. M&T Bank will waive all fees for the services. The agreement went into effect immediately and the county can change services at anytime.
According to the monthly treasurer's report, the county's budget was at $47,315,579.04, up about $9 million from the last report issued on April 12. The county general fund also had an increase of about $6 million from last month's report to $15,446,412.35.
During the salary board meeting, the appointment of Paul Fetterolf, Ashland, to building superintendent was approved at an annual salary of $39,727. The board also approved the appointment of Kelly Murphy, Norwegian Township, to the newly created part-time secretary III position for victim services at an hourly rate of $12.95. The position is funded through a grant expiring on Dec. 31, 2012, and is for 36 hours biweekly. Also, the board increased the hours of current part-time secretary Katelynn Steich, Eldred Township, from 30 to 36 hours biweekly.
The Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners will hold its public meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the commissioner's board room.