Maintenance, renovation going well at county prison

by justin strawser (staff writer justin_s@newsitem.com)
Published: March 18, 2010

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SUNBURY - Maintenance and renovations are running smoothly at the Northumberland County Prison, according to Warden Roy Johnson at the prison board meeting Wednesday morning.

"We no longer have a bulge in the wall," he told the board.

The board approved the repair of a section of the stone wall surrounding the prison last month by contracting with Precision Masonry of Mount Pleasant Mills at a price of $2,750.

The bulge was due to water freezing in air pockets between the inside and outside walls and expanding outwards.

"It was timely, because when they set the scaffold up, the rocks in the wall could be pushed and moved by hand," explained Johnson. "We got rid of a safety issue."

The wall didn't pose a security risk, since it was located in an area not inhabited by inmates. Officials were concerned, however, that someone could have been injured by falling block.

"Certainly these walls needed barged," said District Attorney Tony Rosini. "It's been let go for 150 years."

Johnson said more cells had been identified for renovations, and showers would be installed in the upper level of the prison.

Another priority Johnson identified was to disconnect and remove the old coal fired boiler, which was "putting some sludge into the steam system that we don't need there," he said.

The work would be done in house, and be completed as soon as the steam could be shut down when the prison no longer needs heat, he said.

Commissioner Vinny Clausi asked whether the building could be powerwashed.

Johnson was friendly toward the idea, but added, "We just have to be careful we don't damage the walls because of that soft mortar."

In addition to the powerwashing, plans are also in place to give the inside walls a fresh coat of paint.

"It's cosmetic," said Johnson after the meeting, "but its preventative maintenance. It might be old, but there's no reason it needs to be dirty."

The board entered executive session for nearly 40 minutes.

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