HOUGHTON – Along with the kitchen upgrade at the Houghton County Jail, badly needed expansion of administrative space is also underway.

Expansion of that space will include increasing the size of the front desk and the sergeant’s work station, said Houghton County Sheriff Brian McLean.

In addition to the expansion of the those items, the lobby will also be expanded, allowing more people in at a time, and it will also have increased security. Currently the front area is wide open, McLean said. The project will separate the lobby from the sergeant’s desk and will contain a window.

“I don’t really like that,” McLean said. “It’s not very friendly.”

The detective’s office will also be moved from the basement, and a small meeting room. Expansion will also allow increased storage of administrative items, data, and equipment. Inadequate storage space has been a problem for years, McLean said.

“Nothing can be put away. There’s just nowhere to put anything,” McLean said.

With the expansion in the basement, McLean said the walls will be left unfinished.

“We’ll add shelving or whatever whenever we can, (to) keep costs down,” he said.

While the construction is in progress, the sergeants perform their tasks in the captain’s office, McLean said.

“So, they’re answering the phones in there and watching in the window from there, while this is all being done in here,” he said.

The project required a variance from the city, because the new addition will be closer to the street than the city ordinance permitted, McLean said.