Mangum Farm to reopen
By KIM HOYUM, Journal Staff WriterArticle Photos
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At the board’s meeting Tuesday night, commissioners heard from law enforcement, court and civil officials before approving the recommendation.
County Administrator Steve Powers presented two possibilities for adding jail beds while staying within the county’s financial limits.
The first was to lease Mangum Farm from the state for housing low-risk inmates, adding 80 beds. The minimum-security section of the existing jail would be closed, which reduces the bed space by 20, but also reduces expenses.
Twenty-five more beds would be rented to the U.S. Marshal, Western District of Michigan, so the total increase in beds for local use would be 35. Capital and starting expenses would be $640,000, within the amount budgeted in 2008 for jail expansion.
Operating costs at Mangum Farm would be $978,000 in the first year, increasing to more than $1 million the second year, according to the recommendation from Powers.
The recommendation lays out a five-year projection, and states the plan is made financially workable only by the rental of beds to the U.S. Marshal.
Powers said a new agreement for the added beds is being drafted, and the U.S. Marshal can fill those beds on a constant basis.
“Repeatedly, over the three years that Mangum Farm has been considered, the (U.S. Marshal) has said there is a need,” he said. “The Marshal will fill all the beds we can give them.”
The second option was to convert the sheriff’s administrative offices at the county jail into 28 beds, and moving the offices to vacant space in the courthouse annex. Capital costs would be more than $1 million and would use some money from the county’s 2009 public improvement fund.
However, the operating expenses would be lower, about $95,000 in the first year.
Sheriff Michael Lovelace, Marquette County Prosecutor Gary Walker, Circuit Court Judge Thomas Solka, Chocolay Township Supervisor Greg Seppanen and Ishpeming Police Chief Jim Bjorne all spoke in favor of using Mangum Farm as an additional facility for inmates.
Walker said he supports it because the county is likely to need even more beds in the future, and Mangum Farm has more flexibility for future needs without the high capital costs of renovating the current jail.
Lovelace agreed, saying the renovation of the administration space would limit future expansion because it is based on an old linear design, which is not efficient or useful for modern jails.
“I personally just think that’s throwing good money into a bad situation,” he said.
Lovelace did tell commissioners, though, that the county jail still will be in need of security upgrades, such as replacing cameras and cell doors, and the sheriff’s office would be likely to request money separately for that in future budgets.
Seppanen said the township had discussed security concerns with re-opening the Mangum facility, but concluded that it had no opposition to the plan.
He said while the township police department would be responding to calls for back-up at Mangum Farm, that added responsibility is outweighed by the need for more jail beds.
“Our police officers also tell me, ‘we need to be able to pick up people and put them in jail,’” Seppanen said. “So when you look at the security issues one against the other, we need to solve the overcrowding problem.”
Powers said the next steps would be to arrange the lease with the state of Michigan, to begin renovations at Mangum Farm and to close down the dormitories at the current jail. Another immediate step included in the plan is the addition of a second detoxification cell at the existing jail to meet the needs of an increasing number of female or mentally ill inmates.
Lovelace said another long-term solution will be needed, and he encouraged the board to continue discussing an entirely new jail. Chairman Gerry Corkin noted a regional jail also has been under discussion.
“Mangum Farm is an immediate fix,” Lovelace said. “It’s the closest thing we have to an immediate solution to this overcrowding.”
Corkin added during board discussion that the recommendation goes along with the board’s preference not to raise taxes to pay for the jail.
“This would be using a facility that’s already built and equipped and in good shape for the most part,” Corkin said. “In tough economic times, it makes sense to reuse things that are still good rather than spending two or three times as much on something new.”
