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The Portage Township Board of Trustees is circulating a working draft of a “425” agreement, which is used to transfer land from one municipality to another. Members gave input at last night’s meeting, it goes before an attorney this week, and should be ready to be presented within days.
The potential pact would concern the First Apostolic Lutheran Church site on Sharon Avenue, which is where Houghton County intends to put up a new Justice Center. The facility would include the Sheriff’s Department, jail, and most likely the 97th District Court as well, which handles arraignments and other procedural matters for inmates. Bill Fink said that the draft being considered now would give the county nine years to construct the building or it would revert back to Portage Township. Supervisor Bruce Petersen says most likely they will be forced to act much sooner than that.
By law, the facility is required to be a part of the county seat, which is the City of Houghton. Portage Township is concerned about allowing Houghton to annex the land only to see the jail deal fall through, and the city having an opportunity to develop the land into something that generates tax revenue that the township would lose out on. Fink hopes the arrangement being bandied about will ease concerns on all sides.
