Local lawmakers say Wolf grant program not enough to deal with losses of SCI-Retreat, White Haven Center
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Mar. 17—Gov. Tom Wolf's administration on Tuesday touted $5 million in funding to help Northeast Pennsylvania communities offset the closure of State Correctional Institution at Retreat in Newport Twp. and the pending closure of White Haven Center in White Haven.
A bipartisan group of Luzerne County lawmakers quickly criticized the move, saying it's a one-time grant program that doesn't fulfill Wolf's promise to provide recurring financial aid to the communities devastated by the loss of the facilities. They also say the $5 million will be spread among communities in 11 total counties, not on the places hardest hit.
Wolf's press release said the money will be available to counties "directly impacted and contiguous counties," including Butler, Carbon, Clarion, Columbia, Crawford, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Luzerne, Mercer, Monroe, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Venango.
A joint statement by state Sen. John Yudichak, I-14, of Swoyersville, and state Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, of Lehman Twp., said Wolf created the program and its guidelines with zero input from legislators and local leaders. They said the program also has a needlessly "aggressive" March 31 application deadline for communities.
"All of northeastern Pennsylvania legislators were unified in their support of the State Facility Closure Transition Program and urged Governor Wolf to work with local leaders to craft a comprehensive long-term economic recovery plan to help Luzerne County move beyond the loss of two facilities that added over $100 million annual impact to our local economy and bolstered our region with 800 good-paying, union jobs," Yudichak said. "It is intensely regrettable that the Wolf Administration ignored local leaders in the drafting of these guidelines and continues to look at the loss of jobs at White Haven Center and SCI Retreat in such a short-sighted way."
Baker accused Wolf of "failure to recognize the added burden these closures have caused for our host communities."
State Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-119, of Newport Twp., accused Wolf of "failure to adequately protect those areas most affected by the governor's decisions."
"Despite our initial satisfaction with this program's inclusion in the 2020 budget, it was devastating to learn the administration had zero interest in a recurring funding program for these communities," Mullery said. "What is equally important to note has been this administration's failure to adequately protect the communities directly impacted by the closures of SCI-Retreat and the White Haven Center."
Contact the writer:
570-821-2055, @cvbobkal
