CLEARFIELD- Residents from various counties reacting to comments made by commissioners regarding the Moshannon Valley Detention Center, located in Decatur Township and operated by the Geo Group, topped the meeting of the Clearfield County Commissioners Tuesday.
Recently, Commissioner Dave Glass sent letters to the editor and made statements on social media regarding federal enforcement of immigration laws and the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country.
Bobbie Erickson spoke to the commissioners and thanked Glass for his courage and commitment to the Constitution and basic human rights.
She said Geo Group has an indefensible record and has been sued repeatedly for neglect, forced labor and even deaths at the Decatur Township facility.
Conversely, Erickson said Commissioner Tim Winters recently stated he is happy with what he had seen during a recent visit to the facility, but that the facility had a week’s notice of the visit and was prepared, adding that it was political theater not transparency.
She asked Winters and Commissioner John Sobel to join Glass and vote “no” on renewing the contract.
James Hartsack, a resident of Philipsburg, also spoke and read from a report regarding the MVPC, which told the story of an inmate who was a refugee from Venezuela who filed for refugee status with the United States Government.
The man went in for an annual check in with officials and was detained by ICE officials and has been at MVPC since Aug. 1 with overcrowded conditions.
Hartsack read that inhumane conditions have been a problem since before the Trump administration but they have gotten worse and the process has been completely upended.
Commissioners thanked both for their statements but made no other comments.
In other business, the Salary Board met prior to the regular commissioners meeting and voted on a motion from both President Judge Frederic Ammerman and Judge Paul Cherry to give bonus payments to full time probation officers of $2,500 and $500 for the part time secretary in costs and fines.
It was noted that employees hired after Aug. 1 would not be included in that bonus since they received a hiring bonus, and that the money does not come from the general fund but through the probation supervision fund.
Half of the bonus will be paid in the payroll after approval and the rest during the second payroll of December.
All board members voted for the measure except for Sobel.
The board also set the salary of the new tourism director at $75,000 per year effective Oct. 20.
The commissioners also commented on the lack of not only a state budget but also now a federal budget. Currently the county is dipping into reserves, but the impasse is hurting not only governing bodies, but also county services such as those for domestic violence, which has had to cut staffing and help to victims.
Winters said the situation is reaching critical mass and something has to give soon.
