SUNBURY — The coming change in administration may be what is needed to improve conditions for inmates at the Northumberland County Prison, the Rev. Walter Everett said.

Everett, who retired Tuesday as pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church, which sits directly across the street from the prison, has voiced many concerns over treatment of inmates at the county lockup over the past few years.

“I feel like they’ve made some improvements, and I’m looking forward to the new administration, hoping that those improvements can continue,” Everett said.

Warden Ralph “Rick” Reish, who is retiring, will be replaced this month by Roy Johnson, of New Cumberland.

“I am hopeful that the person who comes has the backgrounds and skills to plan some of the rehabilitation programs I would like to see,” Everett said.

Most people believe prison is for punishment, he added, but punishment makes inmates no better when they leave the prison than when they went in.

“Some real needs are not always being met promptly, and I’m concerned about that,” Everett said. He visits often with inmates as part of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, which advocates for just treatment of inmates and preparing them through rehabilitation, not punishment, to face the world when they are released.

Everett said he supports a proposal to combine five regional county jails into one prison. Individual county prisons are not large enough to support many of the necessary rehabilitation programs, he said.