County says federal government bought Wright Road warehouse; DHS describes site as intake processing facility, not a detention center
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Summary
Administrator Gordon told the Board that the federal government purchased a warehouse at 16220 Wright Road in Williamsport and that Department of Homeland Security officials described the site as a processing/intake facility with an estimated "about 500 beds in use on any given day," not a detention center; the county says it has no jurisdiction over the federal property and no formal decisions were made by the board.
Administrator Gordon read a prepared statement to the Washington County Board of County Commissioners about the Federal Government's purchase of a warehouse at 16220 Wright Road in Williamsport.
Gordon said Washington County "was not involved in the site selection process and was not consulted by the Federal Government or the private entity involved in the sales transaction of this existing structure." The county administrator emphasized that because the property is now federally owned, "Washington County government has no jurisdiction, and we are not the governing body that will be overseeing this project." (Administrator Gordon)
According to the county's summary of what DHS told local officials, Department of Homeland Security staff characterized the site as a processing or intake facility rather than a long-term detention center. The statement reports DHS estimates that the facility could be sized for 1,500 beds while DHS anticipates that about 500 beds "would be in use on any given day" and that detainees would stay an average of "3 to 7 days, after which they would be transferred to a detention center out of state for long term needs." (Administrator Gordon)
Gordon also read DHS's assurances about operations and oversight: the statement says DHS described on-site medical staffing, ancillary services and regular audits by an independent third party, and that DHS told the county it would pay for any required infrastructure improvements (water, wastewater, roads) and any fees associated with additional capacity.
The county statement named KVG LLC as the firm contracted by DHS to perform engineering and construction work related to the project, including an assessment of water and wastewater capacity. Gordon said KVG had not yet contacted the county regarding its engineering study.
Gordon read that the federal letter, provided to local historic preservation and planning officials, concluded under federal review that "no historic properties [are] affected," and that federal law does not give the county an opportunity to overrule that determination. The statement advised that written questions about environmental or historic issues may be submitted to ICE environmental staff at icesustainability@ice.dhs.gov and said a link to the DHS letter had been posted to the county's social media pages.
The statement also noted that Congresswoman April McClain Delaney convened a stakeholder meeting on March 23 that was not open to the public and to which the county commissioners were not invited. Gordon said no further meetings with DHS or KVG had been scheduled and that the county would share information as it becomes available.
The board took no formal action on the matter during the public session. Commissioner and staff questions during the meeting focused on clarifying jurisdictional limits and what infrastructure and oversight commitments the federal government had described.
