Juniata County Prison will be closing.
Effective immediately, any new prisoners will be housed in the Mifflin County Prison. Current inmates will be transferred to Mifflin County in a timely manner, said Chairman of the County Commissioners Jeffrey Zimmerman.
He expects the closure to save the county half a million dollars but said it was ultimately a hard decision to make.
"When you're dealing with families, employees who have done a good job for us ... and their families it is certainly a consideration," he said.
Zimmerman said the commissioners have been considered closing the prison, which houses an average of 35 inmates per day, since December. Juniata County will now pay Mifflin County $55 per inmate per day. It currently costs Juniata $137 per inmate per day at their county prison.
Juniata's agreement with Mifflin County will continue until 2016. If Juniata decides to build a new prison or renovate an existing one, they can terminate the agreement with a year notice.
