Luzerne County officials may have to figure out what to do with the 123-acre Keystone Job Corps Center property in Butler Township if the federal government shuts down the federally funded, residential educational and vocational program.
The county owns approximately 530 acres in the township, including the Keystone Job Corps site, because the county had operated the Kis-Lyn work camp for juvenile delinquents from 1912 to 1965. Prior commissioners had approved a 50-year lease extension with the federal government for Keystone in 2001.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced last week it will pause operations at all 99 of its contractor-operated Job Corps centers by June 30.
Blaming significant financial deficits, the federal government said it will work with state and local workforce partners to help students advance their training and connect them with education and employment opportunities.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo sent council an update Monday, saying Keystone Job Corps leadership was notified to begin the shutdown process by June 30.
Crocamo said it appears the buildings on the county-owned land will “revert back to the county when the lease is terminated.”
”As of the writing of this email, the county has not been informed that the lease is terminated. We will be reaching out to the Dept. of Labor for direction,” Crocamo wrote.
A list she attached to the communication indicated there are 44 buildings at the complex, including dormitories, classroom and vocational education structures, a dining facility and buildings linked to storage and utilities.
Keystone has 467 active students, including 401 from Pennsylvania and 11 who were considered homeless, Crocamo said. The facility is working with students on alternative housing.
The Northeast Pennsylvania economic impact of the Keystone Job Corps and Red Rock Job Corps Center in Sullivan County, which also is impacted, totals $50 million annually, her communication said.
A total 357 workers are employed at both campuses, which serve 1,000 students annually.
In other impacts, Crocamo told council Keystone Job Corps pays the following annually: $259,000 to Butler Township for wastewater treatment; $672,000 to PPL for electric; and $21,000 to Service Electric.
Keystone representatives also donate thousands of volunteer hours annually supporting community organizations.
Published reports said the U.S. Department of Labor indicated it will work with local and state workforce entities to help students continue their training and link them to education and employment.
Federal officials cited financial deficits and an assessment of outcomes as reasons for the decision, reports said.
Authorized by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, Job Corps serve low-income youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who face education and employment barriers. To be eligible for the program, applicants must be U.S. citizens or legally authorized to work in the United States, meet low-income criteria and present at least one barrier to employment, reports said.
Separate from the Keystone Job Corps parcel, the county leases 17.8 acres of the township property to the Ferrwood Music Camp.
Council recently voted to lease another 146.5 acres to farmers for crops.
Council had contemplated subdividing some of the land so it could be sold and returned to the tax rolls, but a council majority expressed opposition to a sale last year, largely due to citizen complaints about additional development in the municipality.
The 2001 Keystone Job Corps lease extension with the U.S. Department of Labor reduced the center’s annual rent from $140,000 to $12,000 in exchange for the federal government’s commitment to fund at least $15 million in building improvements, according to prior reporting.