Nearly two weeks ago, the Altoona Mirror confirmed the location of what is loosely being called “the prison ground,” the parcel of land in Blair and Allegheny townships that the Blair County commissioners seek to purchase for a new prison.

At that time, we declined to identify the parcel, after Commissioners Chair David Kessling warned that he would seek the advice of the county’s solicitor if the deal would sour because of our reporting.

While that in and of itself would not prevent us from disclosing the location, we chose to withhold those details while we investigated how the commissioners discussed the land, how much the county is paying for the parcel and if the land has been studied, to make sure the county doesn’t end up with a nearly 80-acre plot of ground that can’t be developed.

The Mirror has many questions about this purchase, including how much it will cost the county to prepare the land and build the prison.

Reporter Conner Goetz has contacted a number of state and local agencies and officials in an effort to discern the facts surrounding the land purchase and what it will mean to the community as your tax dollars will be footing the bill.

We feel the discussions about the land purchase and costs involved should be a matter of public record.

When asked, Kessling told the Mirror that “when (we) own the land, we plan on announcing its location.”

In our opinion, that answer isn’t good enough.

Once the purchase is made, it is too late for anyone to question the viability of the land.

For instance, this is a mostly wooded tract of land, on a hill in Duncansville, behind the former Aviation Inn and Inlow’s.

A township official noted that the land could include a cave used by a colony of bats.

In addition, there are two nearby streams.

Excavation would be needed, and perhaps logging operations, too, to prepare the land for a construction project that is likely to take up to two years to complete.

Once the prison is complete, transporting prisoners to and from the courthouse in Hollidaysburg will add to operational costs.

PennDOT will need to complete a traffic study, likely finding that a new prison will bring an influx of traffic to the area.

County residents will need to brace for a tax increase, or perhaps several over a period of years, as a project of this size will be costly.

The public deserves the answers to these questions and more, before the land is purchased. If the purchase agreement includes a caveat that the land can be returned if studies determine it can’t be used for the prison, that also should be made public.

We don’t believe anyone can dispute the fact that the current Blair County Prison is well past its usefulness.

But without open discussions about the costs involved, possible tax increases and assurances from the commissioners that they have done their due diligence, how can we and the community feel anything other than left in the dark?

The state’s open meetings law, the Sunshine Act, requires government bodies to hold open discussions, while providing for confidential meetings involving specific personnel issues and land acquisition, among others.

The Mirror has been unable to locate any public agendas of meeting minutes showing that the commissioners properly announced executive sessions to discuss the land purchase or showing that the commissioners voted publicly on the letter of intent to purchase the land.

Our questions to the commissioners about the purchase have been met with silence and pushback.

In an effort to get answers, the Mirror has filed Right-To-Know requests, seeking information about the land discussions, when they happened and if they were properly announced. We will keep the public informed as we seek to remain transparent and informative.

Holly Claycomb can be reached at hclaycomb@altoonamirror.com.