READING — On Feb. 2 of this year, Fred Sheeler had urgent news to share with Berks County’s three commissioners and district attorney.
“We just recorded a deed for one of the new large warehouses,” Sheeler, the elected official in charge of maintaining real estate records, said in an email. He included the address of a 520,000-square-foot facility in Upper Bern Township that had been vacant for years.
“The purchaser is The United States Of America, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.
“I thought you should know as soon as possible.”
Emails obtained by Spotlight PA show the commissioners learned of the federal plans the same day as the public, confirming what they’ve said publicly.
However, records for the first time appear to reveal divisions among the region’s officials, and previously unknown and specific requests for community compensation. They also show that Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, who represents the area, did not invite local Democratic lawmakers to an informational meeting about the warehouse.
County attorneys redacted much of the commissioners’ reactions to the facility and their approach to press communications. Spotlight PA has requested a review of a number of the redactions through the state’s Office of Open Records.
For months, residents have questioned commissioners at town hall meetings and over email about whether they knew ICE planned to buy the warehouse. Inquiries stemmed in part because of Spotlight PA reports in January about ICE’s presence on the site and subsequent social media conversations about a possible acquisition.
Communication from the federal government about the center has all but ceased, but public reports show the plan at the time of purchase was to open a 1,500-bed processing facility in Upper Bern Township, and a much larger detention center in nearby Schuylkill County.
Their future is in limbo as the new DHS secretary considers mothballing or even selling warehouses like them around the country, according to reports from Project Salt Box and NBC News.
Meuser told Spotlight PA on June 10 that he is in communication with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and said the federal agency is currently deciding how to proceed with the Berks and Schuylkill facilities.
“We let him know how important it was that we get some more definitive, solid information, and an understanding that these tax bills are coming due,” Meuser said.
There are also ongoing local conversations about the Berks facility, including an agreement in May between Upper Bern Township and the warehouse developers to provide more than $82,000 to complete outstanding infrastructure issues — none of which would address resident concerns that a 1,500-bed processing center would strain local resources.
Who knew what, and when?
Email records show that while officials may have heard rumors or been asked questions about the warehouse, none knew what was planned.
In mid-December, Upper Bern Township received an email from a project assessor from a global firm looking for property information on 3501 Mountain Road. A month later, and a day after federal officials toured the vacant Berks County warehouse, township officials received another inquiry about the property. This requester sought zoning information and code violations, among other records on the property’s permitting and site plans.
Meanwhile, Christian Leinbach, chair of the county Board of Commissioners, received an email from a community member about the possibility of a local ICE facility. Leinbach asked the sheriff, district attorney, and others in late January if they’d heard anything, and they all said they hadn’t. One noted reports of a possible detention facility in nearby Schuylkill County.
When news of the deed change came days later, officials and residents quickly had questions.
The township’s attorney told commissioners on Feb. 2 that supervisors were not aware of the purchase and had “not received any applications from either the prior or new owners regarding the future use of the property.”
Commissioners received a flow of emails in opposition to the warehouse, many of them asking local leaders to stop the federal project. The officials repeatedly responded they were unable to do so because of federal preemption laws.
At the same time, the county sought to quantify the financial impact of the now tax-exempt warehouse and the capacity of Upper Bern’s infrastructure.
Sheeler asked Leinbach on Feb. 6 if he had considered putting the county’s portion of the sale’s transfer tax (about $26,200) aside in case Upper Bern needed assistance for possible legal challenges involving the warehouse.
(Estimates from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection show the processing facility would produce as much as 100,000 gallons of sewage per day, which would overwhelm the local system. For that reason, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration is working through DEP to stop the facility from accessing local water and sewer.)
Leinbach told Spotlight PA he did not reply to the email or talk with Sheeler about possibly saving the money for Upper Bern legal fees. He did not know if the county could have even reserved those funds for a specific purpose, but he assumed that replying to the email “fell through the cracks” in the hectic weeks after commissioners learned about the purchase.
The same day, a representative with Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office jointly emailed the Berks and Schuylkill County commissioners to ensure everyone was in contact. Berks Commissioner Michael Rivera thanked her, saying sharing information would be key moving forward.
“I don't know if the Schuylkill Commissioners have had the same issue, but there has been a lack of communication and transparency from ICE/DHS,” Rivera said in a Feb. 6 email. “If there are any updates as to what the plans are that would be great. We are getting questions, but have no answers.”
The commissioners first met with DHS and ICE representatives Feb. 23, but without receiving many of the answers they requested.
Meuser told Spotlight PA that though news of the planned facility came as a surprise to him as well, he has been in contact with DHS officials. He said they were apologetic for not giving prior notice, adding that the department had since been very “cooperative.”
Leinbach outlines costs for new 911 radios
After the county’s first meeting with DHS, Leinbach sent Meuser’s office a follow-up email to share with the department. He described “The Two Big Asks That Can Make a Fundamental Difference in this facility garnering local support.”
The first was for agencies in Berks that already partner with ICE, like the sheriff’s department, to be able to make quarterly, unannounced visits to the facility and have the ability to respond to any incidents.
The second ask was for long-term financial support to Upper Bern, Hamburg School District, and Berks County to make up for the lack of planned property tax revenue — more than $828,000 annually.
Leinbach has spoken about the two primary points publicly and made mention of support for infrastructure and public safety.
However, emails show he specifically sought updates to the county’s 911 radio system for the agencies that would be responsible for emergency response at the warehouse.
The county passed its budget for 2026 knowing those radios would be a financial strain in coming years. At the time, employees told Spotlight PA the bill would likely come due in 2027 or early 2028.
Without outside involvement, the county is responsible for the radios its agents use, which come with an upfront cost of between $5 million and $6 million. The rest is divvied among unaffiliated agencies, which the county has agreed to pay for, and the municipalities. The county negotiates a single contract with Motorola, and each responsible party pays its share, Leinbach said. Those negotiations are ongoing.
According to the February emails, Leinbach shared an estimated cost breakdown for new radios for the relevant fire and emergency service agencies. Costs for the first agencies that would respond (Shartelsville Fire Company and Hamburg EMS) totaled more than $359,200. The projections then scaled up, organized by what companies may respond and the nature of the emergency. The full cost for all fire and EMS agencies that may respond was more than $5.1 million.
The total need, including for agencies outside of the service area and for law enforcement, was more than $31.8 million.
Leinbach reiterated the two points, without going into the specifics about the 911 technology, in a March letter to Fetterman and Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick after his second meeting with DHS.
He told Spotlight PA he had publicly “alluded” to the request. He wanted DHS to understand that the local agencies already had a big bill coming due.
“I said anything that you could do relative to these radios would be a big, big deal to these entities,” Leinbach said.
Berks Commissioner Dante Santoni, a vocal opponent of the warehouse and the sole Democrat on the commission, told Spotlight PA he did not know about the request. However, he noted he may have overlooked it, given all the communications within the weeks following the announcement.
He understood Leinbach’s goal of getting revenue, but also said he did not believe DHS would follow through.
“I would welcome any kind of help that is provided for us,” Santoni said of possible financial assistance to the county. "But just because they're going to say they're going to do it, I'm not going to support the facility.”
Democrats excluded from DHS meeting, questions of public messaging
Meuser did not invite Santoni and Gary Hess, the lone Democrat on the Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners, to the March 12 meeting with ICE and DHS officials that Leinbach referenced in his letter, emails and text messages show.
“I'm only going to invite you, Michael [Rivera] and Larry [Padora] and Boots [Hetherington], just the Republican commissioners,” Meuser said in a text to Leinbach when organizing the meeting. “For a few reasons, you guys know it best and if there's some positive messaging, I'd like it to come from you all.”
Subsequent email invitations from Meuser’s office show Santoni and Hess were not on the list of expected attendees. The meeting agenda said that DHS would provide updates on the detention facilities and allow attendees to ask questions and provide comments.
Hess still attended the meeting at the request of the Schuylkill County chair, Leinbach said. He added that he wished he had similarly insisted Santoni attend.
Meuser told Spotlight PA in an interview that the situation was a miscommunication. He said he first intended to invite the commissioners who knew the most about the situation, and he “failed to inform” Leinbach that the Schuylkill County chair later invited Hess.
“I just thought that since they were most informed, that they would be the ones to be in this meeting,” Meuser said of the Schuylkill County Republicans. “And with the positive messaging, I thought we had a good solid understanding with DHS, and that they were agreeable to our terms that we all worked on together. If we were going to have an announcement, I wanted it to come from those who were as informed as possible, so it was honest and factual.”
Santoni told Spotlight PA that he did not know his political party impacted his invitation. Meuser, who Santoni said apologized to him following the meeting, called the omission a misunderstanding, and said he was invited to any future meetings.
“I would be very disappointed, because he did apologize that I wasn't invited to that,” Santoni said. “Now, if he's sending text messages to one of my colleagues saying we only want Republicans, and then he told me that afterwards, that's not good. That's disappointing.”
Leinbach had asked Santoni if he planned to attend, Santoni said, but the Democrat felt it would be inappropriate to go to a meeting he wasn’t invited to.
Moving forward, Meuser said all commissioners will be invited to meetings with DHS.
“If one commissioner is going to be invited, all will … Republicans and Democrats,” he told Spotlight PA.
Despite the exclusion, records after the meeting appear to still show different ideas over public messaging.
Meuser told Leinbach in text messages that the commissioner’s letter to Fetterman and McCormick “failed to indicate that DHS was agreeable very agreeable to those two issues…causing confusion.”
Leinbach responded that though DHS had verbally agreed to a potential bed tax or citizens’ group, he would need to have a written agreement. He also did not believe the citizens' group met the described need.
Meuser still agreed to organize the meeting, assuring Leinbach that “the writing is coming.”
“I'm not trying to cause problems,” Leinbach replied. “I simply have a responsibility that when I say I have a commitment I can prove it. I did not hear a clear commitment and I have nothing in writing. I appreciate everything you are doing to help. I really do.”
In June, Meuser told Spotlight PA he had felt the letter should have included the promises DHS made. Officials have not received a written commitment yet as DHS decides how to proceed with the sites, but the Zoom call was recorded, he said.
“I felt that information would have been helpful for [Fetterman and McCormick] to understand that it was covered with DHS, and in fact they were agreeable to it,” Meuser said. “So, and again, it's not whether it's positive messaging or not. It's just accurate messaging.”