New Fayette prison grounds will include SPCA
When the new Fayette County Prison opens next year, the facility’s two-acre site will also be home to an animal shelter.
Nearly nine years after the state Department of Agriculture revoked the license for the nonprofit Fayette County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals forcing the shelter to close down, it has been reformed.
Inmates that qualify may be used for supervised labor at the shelter, Commissioner Scott Dunn said last week.
“Inmates will be able to volunteer to work with the animals as part of programming we plan to introduce in the new jail,” Dunn said.
“That kind of labor force will help the SPCA stay solvent and cost-effective with their operation,” Commissioner Vince Vicites said.
The former Fayette SPCA on Rankin Airshaft Road in North Union Township was placed under quarantine, and cited for keeping animals in unsanitary and inhumane conditions by the state in 2014. Citing a lack of money to fix the problems, the facility’s board closed the shelter in August 2014.
Commissioner Dave Lohr said he’s been advocating for an SPCA facility adjacent to the county jail, where inmates could be hands-on in caring for the animals, benefiting the inmates and the animals alike.
Vicites said the commissioners would like to see programs similar to those in state prisons, where inmates take care of pets in their cells.
As to the prison itself, officials said construction is continuing both on schedule and on budget. The most recent development saw the roof completed.
“Now that it’s under roof, it allows them to finish the project internally when the weather gets bad or during winter weather,” said Vicites. “That was important to get done so we can move forward.”
In March, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the former site of the Army Reserve Training Center on McClellandtown Road in Uniontown for the new prison. It will replace the current prison, built in 1892, which has faced multiple issues like overcrowding and deterioration in recent years.
Dunn said estimated the prison is about 60% complete, and Vicites noted it’s on schedule to be completed by the end of March or beginning of April.
Vicites said it may take a couple of months to transfer operations to the new facility from its existing location next to the county courthouse. The county booking center, currently in the Uniontown police building, will also be located in the prison, he said. A transition team is working on that, too, he said.
“We’re continuing to work cooperatively with the courts and prison staff for this transition,” Vicites said.
Vicites said the cost-saving measures by the commissioners early on in the project – including getting the land from the government for free and acquiring a low interest USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan – has saved millions on the project.
“The project was projected to be $44 million,” Vicites said, adding that when they awarded the bid, the total project’s cost was $39.5 million. “We’ve had change orders, but we’re still well under $44 million.”
To date, Dunn said the county has spent a little under $30 million and the change orders they’ve had in light of supply-chain issues and inflation have been minor.
“The timing of this was perfect,” Dunn said. “We got a lot of the materials brought prior to the supply-chain issues and inflation.”
Once the new prison is complete and running, Vicites said it will meet the standards of state regulations for a county prison, and added that because the new prison will have space the current prison doesn’t have, the prison will offer various programs, classes and services that can be provided in the same facility.
“It will have a medical wing and it’s going to have areas for job training and other programs,” Dunn said.
The Fayette SPCA is currently seeking members to serve on its executive and advisory committees. Anyone interested can contact Susan Lee at farm_mom50@yahoo.com or call 724-562-8682 for more information.