Fayette moves prison population around

UNIONTOWN - Fayette County Prison Board discussed the monthly population report and learned that neighboring Westmoreland County has decreased the fee it charges for inmate cell rental.

Warden Larry Medlock told board members during a brief meeting Monday that the county has spent approximately $327,148 on out-of-county inmate cell rentals as of today. The commissioners had budgeted $187,050 on this line item, but cost-cutting by neighboring Westmoreland County could save thousands a month.

Commissioner Sean Cavanagh said the county has negotiated with the Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners who, in turn, decreased the daily inmate cell rental fee to $35 per day per inmate from $40.

Sheriff Gary Brownfield said that 13 inmates being housed in the Cambria County Prison were transferred to Westmoreland's lock-up. Fayette is assessed $45 per day by Cambria County. Brownfield said the $10 a day savings per inmate will save $130 a day or $3,900 a month for Fayette.

In addition, Fayette County is assessed $40 per day by Greene County, and now, $35 per day per inmate from Westmoreland County.

Medlock reported that nine inmates were still being housed in Cambria County as of Monday because, when the transferred occurred last week, Westmoreland's facility had reached its capacity. He noted that inmate populations for both Westmoreland and Washington counties were up.

As of Monday morning, 41 Fayette County inmates were housed out of county including the nine at Cambria County's facility; 14, Greene County; and 18, Westmoreland County.

'The goal is to get them out of Cambria County as soon as possible,' said Cavanagh of the nine inmates there.

Medlock reported that this month's average population was 238 inmates, a slight decrease of 2.5 percent from last month. However, this figure reflected a 32.6 percent increase in population over the first eight months of last year.

As of Monday, the total inmate population was 194 including those out-of-county. Medlock said that 19 persons were committed over the weekend but there were also nine releases.

'On Monday, people made bond that were brought in over the weekend,' said the warden.

District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon told members that the population figures will start to decrease as the intermediate punishment program has begun to kick in. She noted that the IP program 'is starting to kick off' and her office has fielded calls from defense attorneys calling about it on behalf of clients.

Louis Lazor, director of Adult Probation, reported that in July there were 34 individuals on the Intermediate Punishment electric monitoring system, and there are 11 sentenced and waiting to be hooked up with a monitor. The IP system, said Lazor, resulted in 939 jail days saved and a savings of $42,255 when the county is charged $45 per day per inmate.

Addressing the spike in the prison population, Vernon noted that more criminal complaints were received by her office in February and March from the Clerk of Courts office. She surmised that this increase could have resulted from more arrests by law enforcement officers, district justices holding the charges to court and more ARD violations.

Judge John F. Wagner Jr. noted that the number of criminal complaints filed this year has exceeded the total number filed in 2000. 'The district attorney and I tried to declare a moratorium on crime but it didn't catch on,' quipped Wagner.

Wagner then asked Cavanagh for an update on construction of the prison. Cavanagh reported that the commissioners this month awarded the contract for the purchase of the 'pre-phase' or pre-fabricated steel building which will serve as a minimum security facility.

The contract was awarded to Spartan Construction Co. of Uniontown at a bid of roughly $128,000, said Cavanagh. He noted his goal is to have the building constructed before the end of November to stop the bleeding to the county's budget.