The Smart Choice will Generate Jobs

The Smart Choice will Generate Jobs

and Help Pay for the Justice Center

There are at least 5 different viable options for solving the shortcomings in the Criminal Justice components of our County Government. All of these possible options have both good and bad points about them that must be considered.

A) Option A is the current Justice Center proposal next to the existing historic courthouse, This option includes a 110 bed modern Jail, new Sheriff’s office, and a new District Court. All of these functions are housed in a 50,000 SF two story rectangular structure spanning 1 ½ city blocks. It is also build for efficient expansion when needed. Supporters of this plan point to efficiencies associated with housing all these functions in one building, but opponents have major objections to building a Large Urban Jail in central Houghton.

B) Option B would locate the jail at Camp Kitwen so that it could be a no-frills facility that is built large enough to be used to generate income by boarding inmates from other counties. The other functions of the Justice Center including the District Court and the Sheriff’s law enforcement functions could easily be accommodated in a more modest facility in Central Houghton. This more modest facility could also include community space and functions that would be available to all Houghton County residents (not just the inmates).

Michigan Law clearly states that the jail can be located anywhere in Houghton County. The Camp Kitwen facility was previously used as a minimum security prison for 240 inmates and was closed in 2009 resulting in 38 lost local jobs. A national expert on jails – Rod Miller of Community Resource Services (CRS), estimated it would cost $5.3 to $5.5 million to remodel Camp Kitwen into a modern Houghton County Jail. This estimate seems reasonable in light of the 125 bed jail just opened in West Branch, MI for under $6 million.

The primary advantage of the Camp Kitwen location is that unused beds could be rented to other counties to board inmates after sentencing. If a 200-bed jail were created at Kitwen, the 150 beds not currently needed by Houghton County could be rented out and could generate millions of dollars per year in additional income. This money could be used to create new jobs at the facility and for transporting inmates as needed. Many counties operate with their jail facilities separate from their courts and safely and efficiently transport inmates to court when needed. In fact, some of these counties also use a video link to handle some interactions with the courts.

C) Option C would involve moving the entire Houghton County Government activities to a new location. If a suitable location can be found in the city of Houghton, the county seat would not have to be moved. Leelanau County just build a new entire County Complex for $17.5 million and moved the county seat also. Their county complex includes a 72 person jail that can be expanded if needed. Depending on location, this type of move in Houghton County could happen over a period of time rather all at once.

D) Option D would include remodeling the existing courthouse facility by removing the parking deck and building a new 3-story addition on the back. This new addition could wrap around over the existing jail with steel perimeter columns on the outside of the jail. The jail and courthouse could remain operational while this construction occurred. The major disadvantage of this option relates to limited options for expanding the jail. Because of the sensitive nature of adding on to a historic building, this option would require a larger design fee.

E) Option E would include a scaled down jail from the current Justice Center plan in Option A, and be built as a 3 story structure next to the existing courthouse. The advantage of this option is that keeps the 3 components of the criminal justice system in one building and it could be built on only one city block. This type of facility would be less visible from downtown Houghton. Opponents object to the urban jail with concerns about future expansion.

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It would be nice if the Justice Center Committee could show up at the October 28^th meeting at the Houghton Public Library prepared to answer questions about their assertions about why these alternatives will not work.

In particular, it says on page 6 of the Sourcebook that over a 30 year period, the Camp Kitwen Jail alternative would cost more than the proposed urban jail. Please show us the numbers used to make this statement. In the comparison you made, do the budgets for either facility include income from boarding non-Houghton County inmates? If not, why not?

The Justice Center Committee claims their national expert recommended a size of 110 beds. Please provide a detailed explanation of the rationale used to arrive at this size. Specifically, what historic ADP numbers were used to arrive at the projected 2040 ADP and in the equation below, please explain the “mystery factor” of 1.5 apparently used to get to 110 beds.

# of Beds = Projected ADP (60) x Functional Size Factor (1.25) x Mystery Factor (1.5) = 110

Voters voted down an urban jail plan in 2000 and will likely do so again on Nov 2. The County Commissioners will then have to decide whether to abandon the urban jail concept in order to get voter approval. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 jail votes before elected officials listen to the voters’ concerns and put forth a plan that a majority of the community can support.

IF YOU WANT TO_____AND

THEN

ON NOVEMBER 2