Tomorrow Houghton County residents will hear from the jail house project consultants. The special meeting inviting the community to the Courthouse will go over the design for a project expected to cost between 26 and 36 million dollars. Houghton County provides several services to residents. Some of which it is not required to provide.
Last week Commissioner Joel Keranen reintroduced the topic of offloading properties or services, with a tight budget and a large public safety project in the works.
Mr. Chairman, you brought up this matter of timing. Timing is great now to look at those things, whether we proceed with that or not. I’m probably the minority on this board of those things right now, but I’m on this board and I want to bring up the attention of the people. I just feel like our millage failed three times in the past 20 years for a jail. I’m fully on board with the chairman. I think everyone on this committee and this board wants a new jail. We had a lot of meetings today. The first stop I made as a newly elected commissioner was the jail. I asked the undersheriff today, I want to march through that jail again. I’ve never served in law enforcement, I’m not a corrections officer, and I wouldn’t work half a shift over there where the corrections officers were. I was in with the prisoners. No doubt in my mind, that we need, not want, we need a jail. – Joel Keranen, Commissioner, Houghton County
Commission chairman Tom Tikkanen expressed the county does need to look at how it will afford the jail, and other services, with public budgets continuing to tighten. He expressed that many of the services the county has an interest in, residents would not otherwise have easy access to.
He also shared with Keranen that Commissioner Jansen had looked into what properties the county owns have potential value two years ago. Jansen and Tikkanen shared that many of the properties are landlocked by surrounding ownership or have little value due to flooding concerns.
Commissioner Tikkanen shared with the public at a recent League of Women Voters presentation the county may seek a millage rate of 1.75 mills for the jail project when the bond comes up for a vote later this year. The Special meeting tomorrow will begin at 10 am inside the district courtroom at the Houghton County Courthouse.
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