Long-running efforts by community advocates to provide outdoor recreation for inmates at the Centre County Correctional Facility have taken another step forward.
The county plans to enter a contract with TranSystems Corporation Consultants of Pennsylvania not to exceed $82,840 for a feasibility study of outdoor recreation options at the 20-year-old jail in Benner Township. The Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved adding the contract to the consent agenda at its Jan.14 meeting for final approval.
Warden Glenn Irwin said once the contracts are in place, the study is expected to take about six months.
“This is not a construction project,” Irwin said. “This is just for this company to come in and perform the study as we outlined in the [request for qualifications].”
Pennsylvania law requires that all jails provide inmates “at least 2 hours daily, physical exercise in the open, weather permitting.” Centre County, however, has an indoor recreational area with openings for fresh air, but the only time incarcerated individuals are outdoors is when they are out for work release.
Among the 47 of Pennsylvania’s 62 county jails that responded to a Pennsylvania Prison Society survey in 2024, only nine reported not having “an outdoor, open-air recreation area in addition to a covered/enclosed exercise area for the general population.”
“Research shows that spending time outdoors can reduce anxiety and help people cope with stressors. In a prison environment, the constant stress, and lack of options to alleviate it, makes contact with nature–even if it’s just seeing the sky–especially important,” Claire Shubik-Richards, executive director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, wrote in a statement.
Community members began pressing for outdoor recreation at the Centre County jail in 2022. After two years of discussion, the Prison Board of Inspectors voted unanimously in favor of a study, and the Board of Commissioners authorized issuing an RFQ in March.
Putting together the RFQ, legal review and advertising took time, Irwin said, and TranSystems Corporation Consultants was the only respondent. Negotiations reduced the original proposed cost by about $60,000, he added.
The study will “look at all possibilities for recreation, whether that includes expanding what we currently have or if that includes adding traditional outdoor exercise areas.”
Several residents said they are grateful the county is conducting the study, but noted the importance of being outdoors for physical and mental health, and that county’s current arrangement is not sufficient. They hope the solution will be true outdoor recreation time.
“As a person who has been incarcerated in this facility, there is no direct sunlight,” Ferguson Township resident Jenna Henry said, adding that inmates would seek out spots of sunlight in the room. “This is a serious issue. Getting outside is extremely important for people who are suffering from addiction, suffering from mental health issues.”
Added Ferguson Township resident Tyson Daniels, “You can’t replace the actual experience of being outside with something else. The law requires people to be outside. Full stop. Two hours a day. I really appreciate you guys working on this, but I’m also hearing ‘if it’s convenient, if its ok, if we can maybe get some light through better windows.’ No, we really need outdoor recreation at our local jail.”
The consultant was given no specific parameters, “so we’re open to their ideas, their suggestions in their review,” Irwin said.
The study will also analyze the amount of personnel required for any additions.
“If we add outdoor recreation we will definitely need to hire more staff, which we struggle with greatly already,” Irwin said.
Harris Township resident Ken Kline Smeltzer has been among the community members leading the push for outdoor recreation at the jail. He said he is hopeful the study will include community input and that it will result in actionable recommendations, such as designs and staffing plans.
“We appreciate the support of the commissioners and the prison board to actually do something about this,” Kline Smeltzer said. “We know a lot of county prisons don’t have outdoor rec and have these indoor yards that somehow qualify to meet the state mandated requirement that prisoners be able to exercise outside. The law is clear but the Department of Corrections doesn’t seem to understand that. So we appreciate you being willing to step out and take a move forward in advance of other counties and set examples.”
Ken Fraley, a Spring Township resident and convener for the Pennsylvania Prison Society, said the society “tried to make this happen many years ago with not much luck,” but that he is encouraged the county is now taking this step.
“Sometimes our role in the prison is looked at as all we’re doing is criticizing, so I wanted to come and make sure I said thank you for doing the right thing,” Fraley said. “The law says we’re supposed to have outdoor rec, so let’s do the right thing.”
Commissioners said they appreciated to work of community members and jail and other county staff to move the project forward.
“This has been discussed over two years in the Prison Board of Inspectors meeting and has had a lot of public input over that time,” Commissioner Amber Concepcion said. “There’s been a lot public interest among folks attending those meetings at the Board of Inspectors. Really this is kind of the result of the public feedback we received asking us to take a look at this issue.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that a majority of Pennsylvania’s county jails did not have outdoor, open-air recreation areas. It has been updated to reflect data from a Pennsylvania Prison Society survey that shows the majority of jails do have outdoor recreation areas.
