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Developers Talk About 200-Bed Facility
July 29, 2008
ECO
Staff -- Laure Cioffi, senior journalist
ELLWOOD CITY -- With rumors
swirling about the planned development of the former GJ’s Auto Service and
Sales property on Wampum Road, Gabe Cilli and Dominick Farina wanted to set
the record straight.
So, when the men heard that opponents of their plan to put a 200-bed
transitional living facility were meeting with elected officials at the
Ellwood City Borough building, they showed up.
“We’ve been criticized unfairly by gossip columns on the internet, ” Cilli
said of recent posts on EllwoodCity.org’s Sound Off. Cilli is the project’s
developer.
The meeting, which included state Rep. Jaret Gibbons, Ellwood City Mayor Don
Clyde and members of Ellwood City Borough council, quickly became a forum
for Cilli and Farina to talk about their project.
“This is not a prison,” Farina said. “It is more of a halfway house and
reentry program.”
Farina is president of the Union Township-based Community Alternatives, the
agency operating the program.
According to Farina, the 200-bed facility will accept male inmates from
state corrections institutions. The men will stay at the Wayne Township
facility for a 90-day community reentry program where they will be expected
to find jobs, go through counseling and learn to live again outside prison.
But community members are worried about the facility.
“There are seven women who live alone within a half mile of the [proposed
facility] and they are scared to death,” said Lillian “Tootie” Welsh, a
member of the Wayne Township planning commission who lives adjacent to the
planned facility.
Farina said there will be 24-hour security that includes video monitoring
and 30-second delays on opening of all doors, but there will be no armed
guards.
Cilli said Community Alternatives will not accept sex offenders or arsonists
into the program.
Cilli touted the economic impact the project would have on Wayne Township
from the increased property taxes to wage taxes the expected 50 employees
would be paying to the community.
“I’m excited about the prospects for the township. I think its going to be
one of the biggest employers in Wayne Township,” he said.
Farina said there will be two professors from the University of Cincinnati
helping administer the program and train the staff. Staff will include
everything from food service workers to counselors and psychologists, he
said.
“There is a lot of money and a lot of thought being put into this program,”
Farina said.
Men accepted into the program will be required to pay 20 percent of their
income to the state and family members will be encouraged to participate by
visiting and transporting the men to and from work.
Farina said none of the residents will be permitted to have automobiles and
must get approval before leaving the facility.
“There’s a series of checks and balances,” he said.
Residents questioned why this location.
Cilli said the location on the highway and the fact that all utilities were
available is the reason they chose the site. The building that will include
dormitory-style living will be constructed on more than five acres.
Welsh and township resident Lenore Bazzichi said they visited Penn Pavilion,
a transitional living facility in New Brighton, on Monday and they were not
impressed.
Welsh said they were told the facility had an 80 percent recidivism rate.
Farina noted that Penn Pavilion works solely with those with drug and
alcohol problems. The Wayne Township one will accept different types of
inmates. He noted that most will likely be from Lawrence County or counties
nearby since they are expected to work with family on their reentry into
society.
Cilli, the developer, said they have submitted plans for the
25,000-square-foot, split block building to the Wayne Township and Lawrence
County planning commissions.
The Lawrence County Planning Commission is expected to consider the land use
plan at its Aug. 12 meeting. The county planning commission will make a
recommendation to the township over whether the building fits into county
and township building guidelines. They will not be considering the use of
the land since Wayne Township has no zoning laws in place.
Cilli said they will have the facility built within seven months of
receiving the building permit.
He said they have already received approval from the Pennsylvania Department
of Corrections to administer the program.
Petitions opposing the project have been placed at businesses in Wayne
Township and Ellwood City Borough.
Welsh, who is helping to organize the opposition, said they realize there
will be no legal ramifications from the petitions, but hope they cause
“public outrage” over the project.
“Right now we are stretching for straws,” she said.
(Laure Cioffi can be reached at LaureCioffi@EllwoodCity.org) |