County board adds $15M justice center bond to ballot

Daily Mining Gazette: POSTED: July 14, 2010

HOUGHTON - This fall, Houghton County voters will decide if they want to fund a new $15 million jail, sheriff's office and district court located across the street from the courthouse in Houghton.
By a 3-1 vote, the Houghton County Board of Commissioners approved putting a bond proposition on the November ballot.

The jail would have a maximum capacity of 110 beds, up from a combined 54 beds between the jail and a work camp at the airport. Officials say the 46-year-old jail is outdated and in need of replacement.

Commissioners Ed Jenich, Anton Pintar and Dennis Barrette voted in favor of adding the proposition. Commissioner Scott Ala, who lives in the neighborhood where the facility will be built, opposed the measure.

Chairman Paul Luoma could not attend the meeting, but expressed his support for adding the proposition on the ballot.

Numerous residents spoke out against the measure, saying while expansion is necessary, more time is needed to study alternatives. Some started a blog, gardensnotguardtowers.blogspot.com, to mobilize opposition to the location.

Resident Sarah Cheney said building such a facility would hurt the neighborhood. She was appointed to the justice center committee during its last month following a neighborhood meeting, not enough time to make an impact, she said.

"My voice is not a voice that's been heard - the voice of a family that lives in the neighborhood," she said.

Among the popular alternatives were creating a regional jail at Camp Kitwen or building the new justice center at the airport. While state law requires the sheriff's department and jail to be in the county seat, residents suggested building a satellite office.

But commissioners said the other options were not feasible. In the case of Camp Kitwen, commissioners said, the proposed $7.3 million cost would be too high for a property the state could take back at any time.

Additional costs, such as transportation, wood heating and a near-full-time sewage manager, would make it prohibitively expensive.

"We do not feel Camp Kitwen to be a viable resource," Ala said. "Not just transportation (costs) but operation would be extremely high."

However, residents attacked the lack of hard numbers for alternative costs.

"$15 million is a lot of transport," said Mary Ann Predebon. "That's a lot of bus drivers, a lot of chauffeurs, over the year. Don't tell me it's transportation. That's a lame excuse."

Sheriff Brian McLean said transport should also be minimized because of safety concerns. While 60 to 65 percent of inmates are in on misdemeanor, there are some violent offenders. At one time, McLean said, four murderers were in the jail at the same time.

And the release of prison inmates is expected to have an impact on jail populations throughout the state, in some cases doubling populations within five years, he said.

"I think if you walked into any sheriff's office in any county, you'd get the same reflection," he said.
Resident George Dewey questioned the need for 110 beds; the consultant's recommendation had only been 80, he said.

"I don't believe that's what the consultant told me, but I'll check with them and get back to you," McLean said.

District Court Judge Mark Wisti said more space is needed for the court. A state safety inspector earlier this year called the location an "absolute nightmare," and estimated the court space is a third of the size it needs to be, Wisti said.

"It isn't something that can be remodeled," he said. "We need a new district court."
The conditions could eventually lead to a lawsuit, which would cost the county more than the new building, Wisti said.

Some residents suggested using teleconference for arraignments, as is done in Leelanau County. Wisti said it's possible, but that it wouldn't make much of a dent, as they only make up 5 percent of court appearances.

And there's another benefit to having them in court, Wisti said.
"I'd rather have them in court and let them know they're there," he said. "It has a certain effect, psychologically."

Ala said it would take more millage to operate the new facility almost immediately. He also pointed to studies that counties respond to additional beds by jailing people for offenses for which they would not previously have served time.

He was disappointed by the lack of detailed cost comparisons to other options, such as removing the parking decks behind the courthouse and expanding the building.

"I don't think this should go to the voters until we have more information than we do now," Ala said.
Afterward, Dewey said he was disappointed by the vote. He suggested exploring the use of Camp Kitwen as a regional jail, or, as a last resort, making the facility taller but restricting the footprint to one city block.

"I think it's a very poor time to ask voters in the county to pay new taxes," he said. "I think the voters will turn this down."

Barry Fink, who co-chaired the justice committee, said the committee felt it had done a "pretty exhaustive look at alternatives."

They will now begin an educational outreach campaign heading into the election, making presentations to various community groups.

Bond wording:

"Shall the County of Houghton, State of Michigan borrow the sum of not to exceed $15 million payable in not to exceed 30 years from the date of issue, and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds for the purpose of paying the cost to acquire, construct, furnish and equip a new County Justice Facility Center? The estimated millage to be levied in 2011 is 1.2956 mills ($1.2956 per $1,000 of taxable value) and the estimated simple average annual millage rate required to retire the bonds is .9929 mills ($0.9929 per $1,000 of taxable value). The taxes will be disbursed by the county to pay debt service on the bonds."

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette
District Court Judge Mark Wisti speaks in favor of moving the district court at Tuesday night’s Houghton County Board of Commissioners meeting. The board voted 3 to 1 to put a $15 million bond issue for a combined jail, sheriff’s office and district court on the November ballot.

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