You are receiving this email because we believe that you may have an interest in opposing the new jail that is being proposed for the old Houghton High School site in central Houghton. I am interested in communicating with other citizens of Houghton County who are opposed to having a new jail build in central Houghton next to downtown. This memo will offer a few details of the current situation, some references to other material on the web, and most importantly suggest a meeting this Thursday evening of interested parties to start planning a strategy to oppose this project. Please pass the word to others that may be interested. Word of mouth will be important to this effort.
As you likely know, the Houghton County Commissioners created a committee in 2009 to develop a proposal for a new jail facility in Houghton. That committee made a presentation of their recommendation to the Commissioners at their June meeting. Not surprisingly, they are again (as in 1999/2000) recommending that the new jail be constructed next to the old Courthouse. You may recall that Houghton County voters voted down a similar proposal in 2000. At that time the County was proposing a $2 million project consisting of a new jail and sheriff’s office on the same site. The County has learned a lot from their defeat in 2000 and have put forth a much more polished effort this time including a new name (Justice Center) and have included a new District Court in the proposed building. The estimated cost of the new jail is now $15 million.
While I am reasonably convinced that Houghton County has a need for additional (and updated) jail space, sheriffs office, and district court, I am strongly opposed to seeing a new large (with room for expansion) jail build in central Houghton. There are other reasonable options to what has been proposed. My hope is that a strong show of opposition to this project can affect the final outcome.
I would like to get together with other people interested in being involved in the effort to stop this project. I would like to meet at the proposed building site this Thursday June 24 at 7pm. Just west of
the community gardens. I know it is short notice but time is of the essence. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets to sit on and lets have an initial meeting to start this process.
Some key dates where we need representation include the Houghton City Council meeting on Monday June 28 at 5:30 City Center. I have a meeting tomorrow morning with City Manager Scott MacInnes, but there is a public comment period at the beginning of each Council meeting and I intend to state my opposition to this project then – others are welcome to do the same. I would like to see the Council take a position on this project. The key Houghton County Commissioners meeting is July 13 at 5pm 5th floor Courthouse. The Commissioners will vote to put the project on the November ballot. Please talk to your representative before then and come to the meeting if you can. Invite all your friends too. A strong show of opposition is important. The geographic areas each County Commissioner represents can be found at http://www.houghtoncounty.
Some local reporting of recent meetings concerning this project can be found at the following sites:
Daily Mining Gazette articles
Camp Kitwen not feasible - http://mininggazette.com/p
Committee meeting with area residents http://mininggazette.com/p
Committee presentation to Commissioners http://mininggazette.com/p
Channel 6 reporting
http://www.uppermichiganss
http://www.uppermichiganss
You can find a copy of the committee’s presentation to the Commission and a copy of their “Sourcebook” on the home page of the Houghton County web site http://www.houghtoncounty.
The committee took much of their background material from a 2008 study done by UPCAP (not sure what UPCAP stands for?) on UP County jails. You can find their report at http://www.digital-communi
It is clear that resources on the UPCAP site have been used by the study committee in their process, background, and presentation. Houghton County info is in appendix G – a must read for anyone really
interested in this effort.
- George Dewey
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