BELLEFONTE — Centre County commissioners reiterated concerns about the closure of SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp, which was finalized Friday, while urging the state to be transparent about what happens next.

The closure, announced last week by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections months after it was expected, will begin immediately and take at least four months.

The department cited a declining prison population and $100 million in future savings for the state in justifying the closure. Centre County, however, estimates the move will cause more than $118 million in losses to the regional economy.

“We understand that, due to decreasing state prison populations, … the governor probably needed to close a prison or two. We just disagree with the two that were closed,” Commissioner Mark Higgins said Tuesday. “We still feel that Rockview and Quehanna were a couple of the better state correctional institutes in the commonwealth, and we still question closing those two particular facilities.”

The concerns commissioners voiced at their weekly meeting echo those expressed by stakeholders since the potential closures were announced in the spring. Commissioner Amber Concepcion said their current focus, however, is on those facing job losses.

“Not everybody is going to be able to move to another facility if it means driving a considerable distance from their home here in Centre County,” she said.

Although all of the roughly 850 impacted employees have been guaranteed job offers at their current pay and classification levels, commissioners estimated in their March economic impact study that only about 20 percent of those positions would remain in the region, as many staff say relocating to other facilities may be financially impossible for their families.

And the potential job losses, officials warned, would not be confined to Centre and Clearfield counties.

In April, Clinton County Commissioner Angela Harding said the closure would be devastating for the small neighboring county where many corrections employees reside.

“Clinton County is a blue-collar community of just 38,000 residents,” Harding said. “More than 100 people losing their jobs would be hugely detrimental to our community.”

Commissioner Concepcion encouraged those who are unable or unwilling to transfer to another correctional facility to consider applying for the variety of open positions in Centre County government.

She also added that the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC) is exploring avenues to support those in Centre County facing loss of employment.

“CBICC is actively partnering with PA CareerLink in Bellefonte and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor’s Rapid Response Team to make sure displaced workers from SCI Rockview have timely access to career services, retraining and employment resources,” said CBICC president and CEO Greg Scott. “These agencies are highly experienced in supporting impacted employees across the state, and our role is to serve as a bridge between them and the local business community. We’re also in close coordination with Centre County Government, because this is truly a team effort–no single organization can address this challenge alone, and we’re committed to working together.”

Commissioner Steve Dershem then shifted the discussion to the future of the correctional facilities’ properties.

“My concern continues to be not only with the folks that are impacted in the community, but the resources that are up there,” Dershem said.

Those resources include the facilities themselves, but also the surrounding 5,700 acres of primarily farmland.

“I would’ve hoped that we would’ve known a little bit more about that coming into this decision,” he said, adding, “There needs to be a little bit more transparency of what that process looks like.”

He also said he hopes community members and local politicians have the opportunity to weigh in on the future of those properties.

“If something were to happen to that land, we’d want that to be an open, public process,” Commissioner Higgins added.