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HOUGHTON - While the Houghton County Board of Commissioners and its jail committee continue to pursue approval of millage to fund a new jail, public comments suggest voters lack adequate information on the issue. The Houghton County Jail Committee published a post on July 19 discussing a county jail closure in 1961, necessitating transfer of all prisoners to Marquette and Baraga and incurring for the County exorbitant costs for housing and processing of prisoners.
One responder to the post is a common sentiment among many voters: "Start housing them in the church," the commenter said. "That's what you guys bought it for without the consent of the people."
However, because the property was purchased with federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and not county tax revenue, the county was not legally required to seek or obtain voter approval before buying the property.
The church in question refers to a former church located on Sharon Avenue, which the county purchased with the intention of using the location to build a new jail.
While the county did not require voter approval, many residents have expressed frustration with how the ARPA funds were used, particularly as the board purchased the property before receiving public approval to actually construct a new jail.
Another commenter posted: "Houghton County “leadership” has had 60 years to fix this problem? They just keep kicking the can down the road and making poor/shady decisions. And now time has run out."
The jail committee responded, saying the county has tried to fix the problem, but has not found a jail plan that the public will support with a yes (millage) vote.
"That is why we are trying again to design a solution that the public can support," the committee said. "The problems cropped up in 2000. After 37 years, so much had changed in the county, in MDOC regulations, in drug offenses, and frankly in more serious offenses. We have not addressed these issues for 26 years."
State and federal regulations mandating jail facilities have become far more stringent, particularly since 2000. Based on modern standards, the 62-year-old jail is outdated and obsolete. According to county planning consultants and jail committee reports, the current jail fails to comply with 13 out of 14 major categories evaluated under the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) Jail Standards.
Since the jail was construct, modern regulations now include requirements for day areas, square footage required for those areas, and increases in square footage mandated per inmate per cell.
Criminal law has become more stringent, too, leading to more convictions as the county's population is increasing.
The current average daily population of the jail is 28, the capacity of the current jail. Thus the jail is often full, said jail committee co-chair Faith Morrison. The way the jail currently operates, it holds steady at 28 beds by releasing inmates before their sentences expire.
According to one committee report, law enforcement officers arrest suspects who are then housed in the jail - if there is appropriate space for them.
"If there is not appropriate space for an individual who should be detained in the jail," the report states,
"the prosecutor's office and the judges must determine who from among the jail population should be released to make room for the new detainee."
The process is regularly repeated, says the report, which poses a danger to the public
This process takes place continuously when the jail is full, presenting a danger to the public in the form of released inmates who should be detained.
The jail committee reported the first attempt to replace the current jail occurred in 2000. There were millage attempts in 2000, 2010, 2018 and 2025. County residents have rejected them all.